chocolate meringue pie

finally! a recipe! chocolate meringue pie, a recipe worthed months of waiting.
recently im in a retro-with-a-dash-of-southern-life living obsess and what else should i make other than pies to live up to that obsession?
this is a crowd pleaser dessert, serve with whipped cream instead if you are not a meringue-loving person like me.








chocolate meringue pie

1 9-inch pre baked pie crust

chocolate filling
recipe adapted from baked cookbook

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons chocolate malt Ovaltine
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
5 large egg yolks
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 70 percent cacao), coarsely chopped
2 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons whiskey (I used bailey's irish cream)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, Ovaltine, salt, and cornstarch. Add egg yolks and whisk until combined; mixture will look like a thick paste. Slowly pour in milk and cream, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly; let boil for 30 seconds and immediately remove from heat.
Add chocolate, whiskey, and vanilla; whisk until well combined and mixture has cooled slightly. Let stand, at room temperature, for 15 minutes. If a thin skin forms on the filling while cooling, whisk until skin is gone. pour filling into the crust. Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.

meringue

2 large egg whites
4 tablespoon white sugar

in a large mixing bowl beat egg whites and salt using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment until fluffy, add sugar gradually and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

assembling.

preheat oven to 400 F.
take out the refrigerated chocolate pie while making the meringue, spread filling on top of filling right up to edge of crust. bake for 15 minutes or until meringue is lightly brown. chill the pie for at least 4 hours before serving, best served cold.

Lolita Bakery. Barcelona.

so i was in Barcelona last summer, nothing big, just Barcelona and few other cities in spain.
and oh, paris, milan, lisbon, frankfurt, amsterdam.
okay, IT WAS BIG! i spent a month travel through europe.
and it was AMAZINK!
now, being a sweet tooth and glutton slave i am, of course tasting, gobbling and eating my way through the whole journey was in my agenda.
its a shame really if im being honest here and tell you all that my favorite sweets were boxed or bagged artificial laden snack from rest area mini-markets.
but i know, you want to read and see pictures of something fancy.
i like everything fancy too, you know.
its okay.
so here i am, with fancy bakery review.






Lolita bakery is located in Barcelona, its near the famous Gaudi's Casa Mila.
never thought that i'd come across a bakery in my way to Casa Mila, but there it was, a cute bakery (with a cute cupcake man behind the counter.)
i stopped immediately because it was the cutest bakery i have ever seen. i swear.
it was very hot in Barcelona, the temperature might reached 35 degree Celsius and it was just slightly cooler inside the bakery.
but the cupcakes and their frosting were survive.





they had various flavors of cupcakes.
from red velvet, carrot cake, chocolate chip, chocolate and many more.
but i went with the red velvet, blueberry chocolate and carrot cake.
other than cupcakes, they also had muffins, brownies, bars and layer cake.
i had the apple crumble bars.
the cream cheese frostings on top of each cupcake i had seat perfectly under the mean summer heat.
fyi here, i brought along the box of cupcakes to Casa Mila to take pictures and literally admiring the architecture and maybe teared up a bit to see Gaudi's work.
so yeah, the frosting were a surviver.
maybe they're using stabilizer? could be.
anyway, all the cupcakes were good, just good.
the cake weren't moist and the taste were just, i dont know, standard?
the frosting were just good, no, it was better than the cake actually, i liked it.
although not great. but really, i liked it.
but the star was the apple crumble bars, which i forgot to take picture of.
but please trust me. it was greeeeeeaaaattt1!
the crumble and the crust were very buttery and married perfectly with the sour-ish, cinnamon-y and sweet apple filling.
i finished it in just two minutes and it was not a small bar.




overall, the Lolita bakery is worthy a visit if you're in barcelona.
its cute, its good and its just next to Casa Mila.
yes, its very very very touristy.

#FIRST

i still remember the day as if it was just happened yesterday, whilst it was actually three years ago. i had flown thousands miles from Jakarta to London with a certain mission to get my first Doc Martens.
that day, was cloudy and windy, like any other London day in summer. i took a bus ride from my hotel in London's suburb area, it was a rather long bus ride to covent garden and i was very excited that i forgot about my breakfast.
i remember, that it was saturday, covent garden was packed with London's youngs, art performers and tourists. i walked cluelessly, i didnt knew exactly where the DM shop is located, i stopped few times to ask some locally look people for direction. the rain came down, for few minutes, then stopped for few minutes, then it started again for another few minutes before it stopped. i was wet, hungry and exhausted, it wasnt easy being a tourist in London.
i almost gave up, i have a thought about 'not meant to be' and 'ordering online' but then i turned left and i saw that yellow and black building and people carrying big yellow paper bag. few steps forward and i was in Doc Martens store, i swear i could hear birds singing with joy.
i knew clearly which DM i had to get, it was a white 8 eye floral boots, i asked the shopkeeper about that particular boots and my size, and they do have it. it was meant to be.
back then, i didnt knew that doc martens need to be broken into before they become yours forever, so i wore them the next day to go around london, the result? feet disaster for a couple weeks. but it was worth it.


ps: the story may sounds really dramatic, but i swear with all my heart it was what actually happened, i am that dramatic.
pps: i now live happily with two pairs of docs, that white 8eye floral boots and pink pearl 1461 3eye shoes i bought in paris which has another dramatic story to tell. i am looking forward for my third pair.

well hello there!

it would be one cheesy line if i said "how i've missed blogging!" right?
no, i didnt miss blogging, i got kinda bored with it so i ditched the whole blogging thing for a while.
but i found some pictures just few minutes ago and i cannot resist the urge to share few and tell you all some stories.
few things i want to share and i hope my 82 followers enjoy those.

1. this picture is so glorious, i believe this is where my chocolate cake obsession first started. oh the whole enormous chocolate cake.. oh chocolate cake obsession..


2. this is how my future will look like. period.


3. my favorite girl went to San Fransisco and she brought home these american goodies for me, can i say hallelujah?! and, finally, i could get a taste of hostess dingdongs.


4. then me and my future bridesmaids met up for dinner, we had a good amount of laugh and like the best dinner, so good dutch foods for dinner.


5. found the cutest Hello Kitty dessert tiers.


6. found the cutest man alive


7. as you may have noticed, i love love love instagr.am



8. found the man of my life, the man that makes such a big impact in my life, the man that changed me, he could be the love of my life and he's my Indiana Jones. he simply makes my life turned upside down.


9. I OWN A KITCHENAID MIXER NOW!! AAAARGH! AFTER YEARS OF WAITING!! AAARGH!


10. im done with baking business, im done, done, done. effin bye!