Sweet Creativity

Studies have shown that baking can help lower stress hormones, such as cortisol and epinephrine. Not only is this good for lowering your levels of stress and anxiety, but that also has a knock-on impact on your sleep, immunity levels, blood pressure and more, thus making baking good for your overall health too. Furthermore, studies affirm that people who engage in small creative projects, such as cooking and baking, feel more enthusiastic about what they did the following day. In Sarah’s own words –

“I started baking at the age of 9, even though it may not have been perfect baked goods every time I attempted to make something I still enjoyed it. It’s always been a sort of stress reliever for me, to go online search up a recipe and try something new and of course eating something delicious at the end of it was an incentive too! It’s an easier skill to acquire than other talents as there are millions of recipes that guide you through the process of baking, so you simply need to follow those instructions. It has also been discovered that baking provides various benefits to your mental health such as improved concentration and it acts as an outlet to relieve stress. So enjoy these recipes and always remember to prioritize your mental wellbeing!”

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Frosting (make in advance): 18 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate (finely chopped) 2 cups heavy cream 1 cup unsalted butter For the Chocolate Cake: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 ½ cup granulated sugar ¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (sifted) 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs ¼ cup vegetable oil ¾ cup buttermilk (room temperature) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ¾ cup hot water

Preparation

Make the Chocolate Frosting (in advance) 1. Place chopped chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. 2. In a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream and butter. Cook on medhigh, stirring often, until just simmering. 3. Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit 5 minutes. 4. Stir gently until completely smooth. 5. Place plastic wrap on top of chocolate. Allow to thicken and set overnight.

Make the Chocolate Cake: 1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 8″ cake rounds, dust with cocoa powder and line bottoms with parchment. 2. Place flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until well combined. 3. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Very slowly pour in hot water while whisking constantly. 4. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix on medium for 2 to 3 minutes. Batter will be very thin. 5. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. 6. Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely. 7. Once cooled, cut each layer in half horizontally, if desired 8. Finally assemble the cake as you desire and be creative!

Ingredients

5 ounces (140 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces 2 tablespoons (15 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (regular unsweetened or Dutch-processed) 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar 1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure coffee extract (optional) 3 large (150 grams) eggs, at room temperature 3/4 cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) salt 3/4 cup (125 grams) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees

C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottom and sides of an 8 inch (20 cm) square baking pan with foil. Butter the foil. 2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl (I use stainless steel), placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and stir (or whisk) in the cocoa powder and sugar. Next, whisk in the vanilla extract and coffee extract (if using).

Then, whisk in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Finally, stir in the flour, salt, and chocolate chips (if using). 3. Pour into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon or offset spatula. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature or chilled. These

Brownies freeze very well.

Ingredients

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona 2 eggs 2 egg yolks 1/4 cup sugar Pinch of salt 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. Butter and lightly flour four 6ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet. 2. In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale 3. Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. 4. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

½ cup granulated sugar(100 g) ¾ cup brown sugar(165 g), packed 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup unsalted butter(115 g), melted 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour(155 g) ½ teaspoon baking soda 110 g milk 110 g dark chocolate chunk, or your preference

Preparation

1. Whisk together the sugars, salt, and butter in a large mixing bowl until a smooth paste forms. 2. Whisk together the egg and vanilla extract until light ribbons fall off the whisk 3. Sift in the flour and baking soda, then fold with a spatula (Ensure to not overmix). 4. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the tray with parchment paper. 5. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into a tray, leaving at least 4 6. inches (10 cm) of space between the cookies to ensure the cookies can spread evenly. 7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges have started to barely brown. 8. Enjoy it with your family and friends!

Ingredients

3 tbsp Unsalted Butter (43 gms) 3 tbsp Sugar 1/2 cup Graham cracker crumbs (I used Digestive biscuit crumbs) 1/2 tbsp of instant coffee powder 1/2 tbsp sugar 1/4 cup of hot water tin (395 gms) Condensed milk 1 cup Chilled whipping cream

Preparation

1. Melt butter in heavy small skillet/saucepan. Once it is melted, add sugar and stir until bubbling, about 1 min. Mix in the biscuit crumbs. Stir until colour deepens, about 3 mins. Turn out onto a plate and let it cool completely. 2. Stir condensed milk, the coffee version, add instant coffee powder and sugar to hot water. Dissolve it and let it cool. Using electric mixer, beat whipping cream in a medium bowl until firm peaks form; fold the whipped cream into the lemon mixture. 3. Place 1/4 cup of coffee and cream mousse in the individual serving dish. Top each with 1 tbsp crumb mixture, then 1/4 cup of mousse. Top parfait with remaining crumb mixture. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.