Chocolate Recipes

Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Chocolate Charlotte

Whilst deciding what to make on this very humid day I decided to check out some of my archived recipes and I found this little gem. I have very fond memories of this recipe which I was introduced to whilst on a six month tour of Canada in 1982 at B.A.T.U.S which stands for British Army Training Unit Suffield that was the official name to all of us it actually stood for British Alcoholic Training Unit Suffield, and believe me it was.I was shown this recipe by a little old lady who was a farmers wife who was absolutely amazing when it came to making deserts and soups that were to die for made with almost anything you could imagine.During my time in Canada I was fortunate to go A.W.O.L and I say fortunate because two of us hitch hiked over 2,500 miles across Canada starting from Medicine Hat (Alberta) And finishing up in Sudbury(Ontario)passing through some amazing places with Moose jaw,Regina,Brandon and Winnipeg to name just a few of some of the places we visited,meeting some really interesting people and seeing some of the scenes in the amazing country that is Canada. Any way sorry for that back to the recipe and this would be a great dish to have during the summer months so without further ado the recipe.

Chocolate Charlotte

Serves 8

Ingredients

about 22 bourdoir biscuits (lady-fingers)
4 tbsp orange-flavoured liqueur
250 g/ 9 oz dark chocolate
150 ml/ 1/4 pint double (heavy) cream
4 eggs
150 g/ 5 1/2 oz/ 2/3 cup caster (superfine) sugar

To Decorate

150 ml/ 1/4 pint/ 2/3 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla flavouring (extract)
large dark chocolate curls
chocolate leaves or chocolate shapes

Instructions

1.Line the base of a Charlotte mould (mold) or a deep 18 cm/ 7 inch round cake tin (pan) with a piece of baking parchment.

2.Place the boudoir biscuits (lady-fingers) on a tray and sprinkle with half of the orange flavoured liqueur. Use to line the sides of the mould (mold) or tin (pan), trimming if necessary to make a tight fit.

3.Break the chocolate into small pieces, place in a bowl and melt over a pan of hot water. Remove from the heat and stir in the double (heavy) cream.

4.Seperate the eggs and place the whites in a large grease-free bowl. Beat the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture.

5.Whisk the egg whites until standing in stiff peaks, then gradually add the caster (superfine) sugar, whisking until stiff and glossy. Carefully fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in 2 batches, taking care not to knock out all of the air. Pour into the centre of the mould (mold). Trim the biscuits (lady-fingers) so that they are level with the chocolate mixture. Leave to chill for at least 5 hours.

6.To decorate, whisk the cream, sugar and vanilla flavouring (extract) until standing in soft peaks. Turn out the Charlotte on to a serving dish. Pipe cream rosettes around the base and decorate with chocolate curls and leaves.

Macs Tip

Chocolate Decorations can be bought at most cake decorating stores if you do not know how to make them or don't have much time.

Chocolate Facts

The first cacao trees were found growing in the Amazon river basin and the foothills of the Venezuelan and Colombian Andes.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Chocolate Cake with Coffee syrup

I now wan't to bring you a recipe that I am very keen on but unfortunately I don't get to make very often as none of my family actually like coffee. In fact I can remember doing this recipe several times for dinner nights in the Officers mess and it went down a treat I can tell you,And this blog was my ideal chance to make this dish again all for me.While doing this dish I decided to find out a little bit more about coffee and in particular coffee houses and I was surprised at what I found out so I thought I would share a little bit of that with you taken from Wikipedia. Most widely known as coffee-houses or cafés, establishments serving prepared coffee or other hot beverages have existed for over five hundred years.
Various legends involving the introduction of coffee to Constantinople at a "Kiva Han" in the late 15th century circulate in culinary tradition, but with no documentation.
Coffeehouses in Mecca soon became a concern as places for political gatherings to the imams who banned them, and the drink, for Muslims between 1512 and 1524. In 1530 the first coffee house was opened in Damascus,. First coffee houses in Constantinople was opened in 1555 by traders arriving from Damascus and Aleppo. Soon after, coffee houses became part of the Ottoman Culture, spreading rapidly to all regions of the Ottoman Empire.
In the 17th century, coffee appeared for the first time in Europe outside the Ottoman Empire, and coffeehouses were established and quickly became popular. The first coffeehouses in Western Europe appeared in Venice, a result of the traffic between La Serenissima and the Ottomans; the very first one is recorded in 1645. The first coffeehouse in England was set up in Oxford in 1650 by a Jewish man named Jacob in the building now known as "The Grand Cafe". A plaque on the wall still commemorates this and the Cafe is now a trendy cocktail bar. By 1675, there were more than 3,000 coffeehouses in England.There we go I thought that coffee house were relevantly more recent than over 500 years old I guess I was wrong. I wonder how many coffee houses there are now in the World,Europe and the U.K.?

That brings me to the recipe and the fact this is my entry to this months great Chocolate challenge organised by Choclette @http://choclogblog.blogspot.co.uk/ And Chele@http://thechocolatepot.blogspot.co.uk/ and this months host Is Lucy@http://kitchen-maid.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/we-should-cocoa-june-2012.html with this months special ingredient being coffee.Any one else wishing to participate follow the links to any of the links above it's great fun and well supported so why don't you join us.Finally to the recipe and I hope all you caffeine addicts and chocoholics enjoy.

Chocolate Cake With Syrup

Serves 12

Ingredients

115 g/ 4 oz butter, plus extra for greasing

225 g/ 8 oz plain chocolate, broken into pieces

1 tbsp strong black coffee

4 large eggs

2 egg yolks

115 g/ 4 oz caster sugar

40 g/ 1 1/2 oz plain flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

85 g/ 3 oz ground almonds

chocolate-covered coffee beans, to decorate

Syrup

300 ml/ 10 fl oz strong black coffee

115 g/ 4 oz caster sugar

1 cinnamon stick

Instructions

1.Preheat the oven to 190oC/ 375oF/ Gas Mark 5. Grease and line a deep 20-cm/ 8-inch round cake tin.

2.Place the chocolate, butter and coffee in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of gently simmering water until melted. Stir to blend, then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

3.Place the whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a seperate bowl and whisk together until thick and pale. Sift the flour and cinnamon over the egg mixture. Add the almonds and the chocolate mixture and fold in carefully.

4.Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until the tip of a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly before turning out on to a serving plate.

5.Meanwhile, make the syrup. Place the coffee, sugar and cinnamon stick in a heavy-based saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.

6.Increase the heat and boil for 5 minutes, or until reduced and thickened slightly. Keep warm. Pierce the surface of the cake with a cocktail stick, then drizzle over half the chocolate syrup.

7.Decorate with chocolate-covered coffee beans and serve, cut into wedges, with the remaining coffee syrup.

Macs tip

Please treat this syrup as molten lava you really wouldn't want to come in contact with this syrup while cooking it or directly after cooking.

Chocolate facts

Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, Psycho, which actually took 7 days to shoot.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Official Diamond Jubilee cake(Not Chocolate)

As many of you will already know this weekend we will be celebrating the Queens Diamond Jubilee.Well as I did a feature on the wedding of Wills and Kate and the wonderful cakes that were made for them I decided to scour the web in the hope that a chocolate cake had been made to commemorate this great event and occasion.To no avail I'm afraid to say! However I felt I could not let this Cake slip by unnoticed even though it is not chocolate.This is the Official Diamond jubilee Cake created by the instructors at the Defence Food Services at Worthy Down,and was presented to Queen as the official Diamond Jubilee Cake at a event on May 19th at Windsor castle.The cake itself has taken over 6 weeks and 500 hours to make it weighs around 154lb or 70kg.The crown is made entirely of sugar,and the cake itself reflects the Silver,Golden and Diamond jubilees,the Royal Navy, the Army and Royal Air Force.For any of you that ever worked with pasttilage I am sure you will appreciate the work that has gone into this cake. I am only sorry I was unable to find out any more about the cake or indeed a chocolate cake made for the Queens Diamond Jubilee I have however posted the link to the gallery showing the making of this cake and the intricate work involved so with that I will leave you now to celebrate the Jubilee weekend in your own way.

View gallery

Macs Tip

There is no tip I can offer for this cake.

Chocolate Facts

In 1502, Columbus and his son, Ferdinand, were in the area, doing the usual conquering and such, when they came across a dugout canoe laden with supplies. They promptly captured it and ordered the natives to carry the loot on board their ship. In the process, somebody spilled some cacao, and the natives ran for the beans “as if an eye had fallen from their heads,” according to Ferdinand. Columbus could have been known as the first white guy to “discover” chocolate, but he blew his chance to make chocolate history by forgetting all about the incident.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

A Summer Cheesecake (Banana and Coconut)

As temperatures soar in the U.K to around 28 degrees and today it's even hotter than in Egypt. I decided to make another summer dish I have not made in sometime and to be truthful I don't know why because it is a epic dish, the combination of Banana's,Coconut and Chocolate is like a classic film about to win the Palme d'or if you get my meaning.I am a great fan of all foods and very interested in food stories,facts and history so after a bit of research I decided to share with you some things about the ingredients we probably never ever knew so lets start with Bananas must be transported over long distances from the tropics to world markets. To obtain maximum shelf life, harvest comes before the fruit is mature. The fruit requires careful handling, rapid transport to ports, cooling, and refrigerated shipping. The goal is to prevent the bananas from producing their natural ripening agent, ethylene. This technology allows storage and transport for 3–4 weeks at 13 °C (55 °F). On arrival, bananas are held at about 17 °C (63 °F) and treated with a low concentration of ethylene. After a few days, the fruit begins to ripen and is distributed for final sale. Unripe bananas can not be held in home refrigerators because they suffer from the cold. Ripe bananas can be held for a few days at home. If bananas are too green, they can be put in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato overnight to speed up the ripening process.

Coconut Water (Photo credit: TaranRampersad)

Now moving on to the Coconut. Coconut milk, not to be confused with coconut water, is obtained primarily by extracting juice by pressing the grated coconut's white kernel or by passing hot water or milk through grated coconut, which extracts the oil and aromatic compounds. It has a fat content around 17%. When refrigerated and left to set, coconut cream will rise to the top and separate from the milk. The milk can be used to produce virgin coconut oil by controlled heating and removal of the oil fraction. This is a form of milk that is accessible to those who wish to follow a vegan diet..

Now after that brain sapping info let's move on to the recipe.

Chocolate Olympic torch(with Ginger and Cardamom Cream)

On Wednesday 23rd May 2012 my home town of Cirencester welcomed the Olympic torch relay to our town,I have never seen so many people gather in the town to welcome the Olympic torch and with it the Olympic spirit, I was able to skive of work for fifteen minutes to watch this highlight of Cirencester's year, or is it with the Diamond jubilee approaching and lots of events planned for this celebration.I was going to waffle on about Cirencester and events in history that made this town but I guess if you want to find out about my town you can do so by following the links above. So to commemorate this event I came up with this recipe Chocolate Olympic Torch with (Ginger and Cardamom Cream) this recipe is also a very light summer dish and like the torch a bit fiery so I hope you will let me know your thoughts if you try this.

(Low fat) Chocolate pineapple cake

Product using the English spelling "yogurt" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Summer may have reached us today personally I'm not convinced temperatures, soared to around 15 or 16 in parts of the U.K. Today after all the rain and the chilly days strong winds and to be honest totally unfriendly weather. I have still decided to continue with a summer recipe, Pineapple is a great summer fruit well to be honest we don't really get native fresh pineapple in the U.K.But it is coming soon surely. In the mean time we are going to be using tinned pineapple which I do adore,also in this recipe I'm using low fat natural yogurt
which has so many uses and health benefits, some of which I never even realized .So I thought I would try and enlighten you by giving you a couple of these benefits that could enhance your well being.

1. Yogurt is easier to digest than milk. Many people who cannot tolerate milk, either because of a protein allergy or lactose intolerance, can enjoy yogurt. The culturing process makes yogurt more digestible than milk. The live active cultures create lactase, the enzyme lactose-intolerant people lack, and another enzyme contained in some yogurts (beta-galactosidase) also helps improve lactose absorption in lactase-deficient persons. Bacterial enzymes created by the culturing process, partially digest the milk protein casein, making it easier to absorb and less allergenic. In our pediatric practice, we have observed that children who cannot tolerate milk can often eat yogurt without any intestinal upset. While the amount varies among brands of yogurt, in general, yogurt has less lactose than milk. The culturing process has already broken down the milk sugar lactose into glucose and galactose, two sugars that are easily absorbed by lactose-intolerant persons.

2.Yogurt contributes to colon health. There's a medical truism that states: "You're only as healthy as your colon." When eating yogurt, you care for your colon in two ways. First, yogurt contains lactobacteria, intestines-friendly bacterial cultures that foster a healthy colon, and even lower the risk of colon cancer. Lactobacteria, especially acidophilus, promotes the growth of healthy bacteria in the colon and reduces the conversion of bile into carcinogenic bile acids. The more of these intestines-friendly bacteria that are present in your colon, the lower the chance of colon diseases. Basically, the friendly bacteria in yogurt seems to deactivate harmful substances (such as nitrates and nitrites before they are converted to nitrosamines) before they can become carcinogenic.

These Quotes have been taken from askdrsears.com
So without further ado the recipe and remember stay healthy.

Black Forest Trifle

O.K. my quest to bring you the recipes for a lavish tea party is over. I am turning my attention to a really nice Summer dish a Black forest trifle.Many of you would probably think that trifle is a relatively modern dish as did I, But I was surprised that the earliest known use of the word trifle was recorded to be in 1596 in England,it was known to be a thick cream flavoured with Ginger and Rose water.Later on around 1747 came the introduction of gelatin or jelly.Whilst I'm sure I have not pioneered this recipe I can highly recommend this dish especially on a hot summers day.Not entirely sure what day summer falls on in the U.K. this year but you can be sure I will be ready with this recipe so without any more waffle here is the recipe so that you to can be ready.

Chocolate Cake(Afternoon Tea Party)

This is the last recipe in my quest to bring you your own lavish afternoon tea party, and this is the epicentre of the tea party a delicious chocolate cake. I have undoubtedly made more extravagant cakes and probably more eye catching but I have tried to keep this simple because it is going to be made only a couple of hours before your party and we don't want to get up too early do we.

You will probably have noticed all the recipes so far can be baked in advanced and stored for several days, this little baby needs to be cooked and eaten on the day which also provides the aroma of freshly baked chocolate throughout your home or venue,and gives you the opportunity to say you have been up since 4 in the morning baking all your delights and everyone will be most impressed with your efforts and you will no doubt be invited to many other parties and events,Everyone trying to out do your party the one thing is they don't know the secret.I know it's sneaky and a little bit of a white lie but it is harmless? I think, although it has to be funny trying to see people try to produce these 10 recipes in this series in one morning.Any way as it is Saturday afternoon FA cup on soon, I'm not even going to go into the history of the Chocolate cake or find a nice story I'm going right to the recipe,I will say if any of you actually have your own afternoon tea party based on these recipes please pass your comments or photos on they will be most appreciated.

Chocolate Caramel Squares

Well I really can't decide if this is a biscuit or a cake for the purpose of this post I'm going to say this is a biscuit. What I do know is this should absolutely be included in our afternoon tea party.

My mother used to bake these for as long as I can remember, what a treat not only for me but for my children and now due to Alzheimer's she is unable to bake any more so.

I have to continue this tradition so that my grand children can have the pleasure of eating these biscuits when that time arrives.

I can remember I was about 5 or 6 having to walk no sorry be carried on my dads shoulders alternating between my sister and myself Lynda was 2 years younger than myself to the discount ware house just to get the weekly shop about a 4 miles round trip,we nearly all ways walked back the whole way because my mum and dad were laden with shopping this pilgrimage was always on a Friday because dad finished at 4.30 on Fridays and that gave us time to be able to get there before they closed and do the shop with no time constraints.

I can ask you say what has this GOTO do with caramel squares well I shall enlighten you the next day mum would be baking with the weekly shopping goodies and 9 out of ten times these little beauties were on the menu I always new because a bar of dark catering chocolate was in the trolley.

Chocolate caramel squares really bring back fond memory's sorry for waffling on about my child hood and the good things from it,I hope you can create your own fond memory's from this recipe. And I am sure these do warrant a place in our lavish afternoon tea party.

Ingredients
100 g/ 3 1/2 oz/ generous 1/2 cup soft margarine
50 g/ 1 3/4 oz/ 4 tbsp light muscavado sugar
125 g/ 4 1/2 oz/ 1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
40 g/ 1 1/2 oz/ 1/2 cup rolled oats

Caramel Filling

25 g/ 1 oz/ 2 tbsp butter
25 g/ 1 oz/ 2 tbsp light muscavado sugar
200 g/ 7 oz can condensed milk

Topping

100 g/ 3 1/2 oz dark chocolate
25 g/ 1 oz white chocolate (optional)

1.Beat together the margarine and muscovado sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour and the rolled oats. Use your fingertips to bring the mixture together, if necessary.

2.Press the mixture into the base of a shallow 20 cm/ 8 inch square cake tin (pan).

3.Bake in a preheated oven, 180oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4, for 25 minutes or until just golden and firm. Cool in the tin (pan).

4.Place the ingredients for the caramel filling in a pan and head gently, stirring until the sugarhas dissolved and the ingredients combine. Bring slowly to the boil over a very low heat, then boil very gently for 3-4 minutes, stirrling constantly until thickened.

5.Pour the caramel filling over the biscuit base in the tin (pan) and leave to set.

6.Melt the dark chocolate and spread it over the caramel. If using the white chocolate, melt it and pipe lines of white chocolate over the dark chocolate. Using a cocktail stick (toothpick) or a skewer, feather the white chocolate into the dark chocolate. Leave to set. Cut into squares to serve.

Mac's Tip

If liked, you can line the tin (pan) with baking parchment so the biscuit can be lifted out before cutting into pieces.

Chocolate facts

Research suggests that chocolate was originally used more than 2,500 years ago, begining in Central America. The Mayan civilisation considered Cacao to be a divine gift and so, it was held in high regard. It was used ceremoniously and sometimes as a form of currency. The name 'Cacao' is a Maya word meaning 'god food' which after being introduced to Europe in the 16th century, formed the basis of the Latin name for the Cacao tree 'Theobrama Cacao' meaning 'food for the gods'. It is thought that the word 'cocoa' has come about through a miss-spelling of 'cacao.'

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Chocolate Butterfly Cakes

Well I guess your'e wondering why you haven't seen a post in five or six months and two in one day, but after my early morning baking frenzy it was a too good a opportunity to miss, to post about my exploits the reasons for not posting is too boring to even list. I always need true inspiration to be able to blog and today I feel really inspired and on fire the reasons for which I'm not sure but I hope to continue the trend.

So let's do it the second in my series of blogs on trying to give you the recipes to be able to create your own spectacular afternoon tea party this is a real classic Chocolate butterfly cake this one can't be omitted for sure you can clearly see they are missing in this picture of Kate and Wills cupcakes stand as part of a afternoon tea in New Zealand, I believe they are still feeling the repercussions of this.No sorry only joking.

Recipe

125g /4 1/2 oz soft tub margarine

125g /4 1/2 oz caster sugar

150g /5 1/2 oz self-raising flour

2 large eggs

2 tbsp cocoa powder

25g /1 oz plain chocolate, melted

icing sugar, sifted, for dusting

Filling

85g /3 oz butter, softened
175g /6 oz icing sugar
25g /1 oz plain chocolate, melted

Instructions

1.Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Put 12 paper baking cases in a bun tray, or put 12 double-layer paper cases on a baking tray.

2.Put the margarine, sugar, flour, eggs and cocoa powder in a large bowl and, using an electric hand whisk, beat together until just smooth. Beat in the melted chocolate. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, filling them three-quaters full.

3.Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

4.To make the filling, put the butter in a bowl and beat until fluffy. Sift in the icing sugar and beat together until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat together until well mixed.

5.When the cupcakes are cold, use a sharp knife to cut a circle from the top of each cake and then cut each circle in half. Spread or pipe a little of the butter cream into the centre of each cupcake and press 2 semi-circular halves into it at an angle to resemble butterfly wings. Dust with sifted icing sugar before serving.

Macs tip

When cutting the tops use the sharpest knife possible to get a crisp finish not a serrated knife that will only give a jagged edge.

Chocolate facts

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Chocolate Tiffin Cake

With all the delicious desserts that have preceded this post I felt it was time to get back to something more staple what better way to do that than a Chocolate Tiffin Cake full of delicious ingredients such as Biscuit,Cherries,fruit and of course Chocolate what a combination. This combination would grace any lunch box especially in today's economic times this Tiffin cake will give you the energy and lift you at any time of the day to carry out your daily tasks and even make you happier in those tasks hopefully. Give a try and please let me know.

Ingredients
200g butter
2tbsp golden syrup
200g dark chocolate chopped (50%60% cocoa solids)
200g digestive biscuits crushed
50g walnuts chopped
50g glacŽ cherries halved
50g desiccated coconut
50g raisins

Instructions
Melt the butter syrup and chocolate together in a saucepan (or in a microwave on medium setting).
Stir in the next five ingredients and combine well.
Pour the mixture into a lightly buttered 24cm round cake tin.
Once cold place in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 4 hours.
To serve cut into thin wedges and serve with some pounog cream or ice cream.
Macs tip
You can use toasted hazelnuts or unsalted pistachios instead of the walnuts and dried apricots pear or mango instead of the cherries. You can also make it even richer by topping with a thin layer of melted chocolate. Remember to serve in thin slices unless you belong to the Death by Chocolate brigade like me of course.

Chocolate facts

During World War II the U.S. government recognized chocolate's role in the Allied Armed Forces. It allocated valuable shipping space for the importation of cocoa beans.Today, the British Army standard ration pack includes 2 chocolate bars.

Pages

Saturday, June 30, 2012

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Ingredients

To Decorate

Instructions

Macs Tip

Chocolate Facts

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Saturday, June 16, 2012

Chocolate Cake With Syrup

Ingredients

Syrup

Instructions

Macs tip

Chocolate facts

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Sunday, June 3, 2012

Macs Tip

Chocolate Facts

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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Caramel Filling

Topping

Mac's Tip

Chocolate facts

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Saturday, April 21, 2012

85g /3 oz butter, softened 175g /6 oz icing sugar 25g /1 oz plain chocolate, melted

Instructions

Macs tip

Chocolate facts

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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Chocolate Charlotte

85g /3 oz butter, softened
175g /6 oz icing sugar
25g /1 oz plain chocolate, melted