coffee

My very first cup of coffee ever by Koffie Kàn

/ sarahgiebens / 2 Comments

Hi guys!

Today was International Coffee Day! And I have a confession to make. Never ever have I had a cup of coffee before… And I still wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for Koffie Kàn.

One day, I got an invitation from the coffee brand to try their coffees. I told them I actually never had a cup of coffee before so I didn’t know if I was the right person to give coffee to. But Koffie Kàn saw it as a challenge and gave me some of their coffees and the cutest little cup ever!). I was excited and scared at the same time xD

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I waited a long time before trying the coffee. But today was the perfect day to finally do it!

I tried both Santos Mild and Aroma Maragogype. Santos Mild really is a very mild coffee. Perfect for starters if I may say so :) It almost has this soft touch over it. I can’t really explain it xD Aroma Maragogype is said to have a very strong taste of biscuits. And it actually does! It has a much stronger aroma and taste than Santos Mild and does have that biscuit taste in it. I liked it.

Santos Mild Aroma Maragogype

Oh my god. I’ve had my first cups of coffee! And that on International Coffee Day. Haha :p

It’s official now: Koffie Kàn has taught me to drink coffee. (I did had to add a little bit of milk to really enjoy my cup of coffee though ;))

My very first cup of coffee by Koffie Kàn

Don’t you just love that cute little cup!

Have a delicious day <3
xxx Sarah

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Place to be: Maurice

/ sarahgiebens / 3 Comments

Hi guys!

A few weeks ago, I went with some friends to coffeebar Maurice in Antwerp.
You can find it in the KBC building (den Boerentoren)
I LOVE this place! It really is ‘the place to be’.
The interior reminds me of my amazing time in NYC.
You’ll agree that the coffeebar looks like some fancy NYC place :)

maa

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Lojola: My favourite place in Antwerp

/ sarahgiebens / 18 Comments

Hi guys!

Last Friday, I took my best friend to Lojola.
Lojola is my favourite place in Antwerp, Belgium!
A friend introduced it to me and it was love at first sight!
It is the best coffee & cake store ever! Not only does Jolien (the owner) make fresh cakes and pies and other delicious stuff every day, the interior is amazing!
Lojola is a little bit kitschy but it is so so cozy!
I also love the building itself! It is such a beautiful old building!
I have some photographs for you to prove it ;)
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Lojola makes you happy! The street and the square where you can find Lojola is also very beautiful!

Now, let’s prove the inside is super kitchy but SO cozy! I wouldn’t change a thing about it!

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No, we didn’t go there just to feel happy in this cozy spot!
We did try some of the delicious treats!
My best friend and I went for the crumbles! Apple-Forest Fruits Crumble and Blueberry Crumble (YUM!)
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Jolien just made some Banoffee Pie (the one on the right!)
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She posted the recipe for this Banoffee Pie on her blog: Banoffee Pie
(She won first place in a baking competition on Belgian TV with this pie!)
But the recipe (and the blog) are in Dutch. So I will be making this incredible pie and I’ll post an English recipe ;)
But it may take a while :s

We really REALLY liked these pies!
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Oh god! Where did that piece go!?! ;)

We wanted some tea too :)
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And after the hot ones, we wanted to try the HOMEMADE Ice Tea!
My god! It was soooooooo good! I could keep on drinking it the whole afternoon…
Homemade Ice Tea Lojola

Let me tell you something more about Jolien.
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Jolien started Lojola about 4 years ago. I found it quite funny how she started because they first found the building and then decided what to do with it.
This little, cozy building is just perfect for a tearoom! And that is exactly what she thought!
Jolien is a self-taught baker who started by making Martha Stewart’s recipes.
She told me that her first cakes and pies weren’t really what they were supposed to be…
She’s even surprised no one ever told her to search for something else to do instead of opening Lojola!
But I am very happy to say that she does am amazing job!  Her pies are DELICIOUS!
And she does it all by herself!
What a women…

Where does the name “Lojola” actually come from?
The name came from ‘iGnatius of Loyola’. He was the founder of the Jesuits. Apparently he must have been quite a fast liver :p
The square where we can find Lojola also has the Carolus Borromeuschurch. This church used to be the iGnatius of Loyola church.
That’s why Jolien chose the name Lojola!
I like the fact that she incorporated a little bit of local (VERY local) history in the name :)

ik at Lojola

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Yup! We LOVE Lojola!
And YES! We will visit it again and again and again…

Want to visit Antwerp? Visit Lojola too!

Lojola
Hendrik Conscienceplein 14
2000 Antwerp

Have a delicious day <3
xxx Sarah

p.s. Lojola has a Facebook page: Lojola
Check here the amazing and delicious treats Jolien made!

Fiesta Friday #19: Coffee Biscuit Cupcakes

/ sarahgiebens / 54 Comments

Woohoo! It’s Friday again! That means my finals are OVER :D
Oh well, I have French on Tuesday but that won’t cause any problem.

I promised the recipe for my coffee biscuit cupcakes and I thought it’s a great dessert to bring at the party :) So here it is!
It was actually my boyfriend who came up with this idea… Wait, what?! I’m the one who makes the sweets…
Well, not this time apparently…
Anyway, I love this recipe because I can easily adapt it to my own taste :) You’ll figure out why ;)
Oh, so I DID ‘make’ this recipe…

Stilleven
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What do we need (+/- 16 cupcakes):
– 22og butter
– 220g cristal sugar
– 220g self-raising flour
– 4 eggs
– biscuits
– cupcake wrappers
– cupcake tin

How to:
First, mix the butter with the sugar until the sugar is completely absorbed.
Then, add the eggs while mixing. Add the flour and mix it all together until it’s a homogeneous mass.
Crush the biscuits to make crumble. Add as many as you like but be careful not to overdo it. I usually use 4 spoons of biscuit cumble.
Fill the wrappers with 2/3 of batter and put them in the oven for about 25 minutes on 180 degrees centigrade.
When they’re done, check by pushing your finger gently on the cupcakes. If they retake their original form, they are done :)

While our cupcakes cool, we can make the frosting.

What do we need:
– 500g cream cheese
– 350ml cream (40% fat)
– 125 g powder sugar (You can choose the amount: some like it sweet, some like it sweeter ;) )
– coffee powder

How to:
Whip the cream. Mix the cream cheese and the powder sugar together.
Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese and powder sugar. Mix it all together very gently.
Add the coffee powder. I usually use 2 spoons.
You can choose the strenght. As I’ve said earlier in this post, it’s competely adaptable :)
With my 2 spoons, you’ll get that nice mokka-coffee flavour.
If you want to have a real coffee coffee feeling, just add a little extra.
Tip: taste after every spoon! This way, you’ll always know how the frosting tastes and then you can decide if you want to add or not.

Don’t start frosting the cupcakes until they’re completely cooled. If you do, the frosting will melt and that’s not what we want, do we.
You can choose any decorating tip you like to frost your cupcakes. I really like #2D. It’s the tip which makes roses. Oh well, if you do it properly…
I’m still learning though.

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The cupcakes are frosted so I’d say: Take a bite!

Have a delicious day and a wonderful Fiesta Friday! <3
xxx Sarah

p.s. If you see my mom, hide the cupcakes or there won’t be any left for you guys…

FF

 

The one thing that started it all…

/ sarahgiebens / 11 Comments

Oh my god. I should be so ashamed of myself!
Here I am, sharing my (great) recipes with you. But I never even told you what the first thing I baked was!

Well, cupcakes!

It was my love for cupcakes that started my passion for baking.

Why I love them so much?
Cupcakes are delicious, which you obviously all know.
You can be as creative as you want with them!
Do you want colours? Go ahead!
Do you want sprinkles? Go ahead!
Or do you want fancy decorations? Go ahead!GO CRAZY!

Baking cupcakes works like some sort of therapy for me. I love to make decorations (I’m not a pro though)
I can do it for hours.

Last summer, I made some bees

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I was so flattered when my aunt asked me to make cupcakes for her wedding!

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My mom loves coffee and biscuit. So on Mother’s Day, I made her some cupcakes with both ingredients.
I’ll share the recipe in a next blog post ;)

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Now you know where my passion began :)

Have a delicious day! <3

xxx Sarah