Chocolate Archives - Page 19 of 24

Ferrero Rocher Mousse Cake

23|03|2014

Ferrero Rocher cake with a biscuit base, a chocolate mousse filling, chopped ferrero rocher chocolates and chocolate ganache to finish.

Talking about blogger perspective, do you know what I love about Chocolate? That it is not seasonal. When you are a blogger you tend to keep track of what is seasonal, what your readers come to you for, what is trending on Pinterest and so on. Basically the bottom line is that I am completely in denial of the fact that we have left summer behind.

When I walk into the fruit market I am not too happy with the sight of berries, plums, peaches and nectarines being replaced with Persimmons, Guavas and Pomegranates. I like them too but nothing like berries and stone fruits. In fact the last of the summer fruits are still available but naturally at a higher price. So till I begin to take interest in autumnal produce I am finding comfort in the safe and faithful hands of chocolate. If you are on the other side of the world, I know you are smiling as you read this…in anticipation of what lies ahead of you (the glory of spring and summer) in the forthcoming months. Lucky you! But you are certainly not deserting me because I have a few summery recipes reserved for you in my folders. See what I mean by blogger perspective!

Back to the cake, it is an easy eggless cake to put together. Chocolate, cream and the star in the recipe. The base is a plain chocolate cookie crust. The swirls as you can see are dark chocolate ganache topped with a Ferrero Rocher. There are crushed Ferrero Rocher chocolates inside the mousse which is the only difficulty I had to deal with. I filled up a plastic bag with the chocolates and smashed them with a rolling-pin. The teeny bit of liquid chocolate inside the candies made it sticky inside the plastic bag and I had to do a few folds with the mouse mixture to distribute them. Which spoiled the textural element I was after (look wise). But the taste is yet amazing with crunchy bits of Ferrero Rocher hiding within creamy chocolate mousse. It is a rich cake so small portions are good enough.

I wanted a taller cake so I used a 19 cm springform pan. A larger pan can be used but the resulting cake will be lower in height.

Ferrero Rocher Mousse Cake
Serves 10-12

For the Mousse Cake
220g plain chocolate cookies
75g butter, melted
3 teaspoons gelatine powder
600 ml thickened or heavy cream
300 g dark chocolate
100 g milk chocolate
10 Ferrero Rocher chocolates, crushed in a plastic bag with a rolling-pin
6 Ferrero Rocher chocolates, to decorate
cocoa, to dust

For the whipped chocolate Ganache
150 g dark chocolate
1/2 cup thickened or heavy cream

Grease a 19 cm round Springform pan. Line the base and sides with baking paper. Place the cookies in a food processor. Process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix to combine. Using your fingertips, press biscuit mixture over base of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

Place both the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted then cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, bring 1/4 cup cream to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Soak gelatine in 2 tbsp. cold water for 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add to hot cream and stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Using an electric mixer, whisk remaining cream to stiff peaks. Working quickly, add chocolate and gelatine mixture to cream and whisk for 1-2 seconds or until chocolate is 1/2 incorporated. Using a spatula, gently finish folding in. Add the crushed Ferrero Rocher chocolates and gradually fold into the mousse.

Spoon over the base of the cookie mixture. Smooth out the surface with a palette knife or the back of a spoon. Cover. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Lightly dust with cocoa powder. Fill up a piping bag with a large star nozzle and pipe ganache around the cake. Top with Ferrero Rocher Chocolates.

To make the whipped ganache: Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy. Allow the ganache to cool completely and whip to a stiff consistency.

Peanut Butter White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake

15|03|2014

Peanut Butter and me haven’t been friends for long. Weird…I know! We are still getting to know each other. It’s a bit early to say whether its going to turn into a serious love affair but for now I am happy to have it for breakfast. Not on toast…in cakes! Anything that goes down well in a cake ranks high in my eyes. And yes, I can eat cake for breakfast!

This is light, moist cake with a subtle taste of peanut butter spiked with the occasional bite of white chocolate chips and raspberries. The last two and me are best friends so its one merry party…this cake! I used this recipe from BBC GoodFood as a base recipe for the peanut butter cake and made a few additions to it. The recipe used yoghurt which tends to leave a sour after taste in cakes in my opinion so I replaced it with sour cream. The cake as a whole is not too sweet so the white chocolate chips are a welcome addition. And raspberries add a little tartness that goes well with the rest of the cake.

The cake is a quick, one bowl process that comes together in minutes. If you like peanut butter, you can probably increase the quantity by a couple of more teaspoons.

Peanut Butter White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake
Serves 8-10

200g butter
4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
4 large eggs
1 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
1/4 cup roasted peanuts for the top (optional)

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Grease a 22 cm round cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, eggs, sugar and sour cream together until smooth and creamy. Fold in the flour and 3/4 of the white chocolate chips. Then carefully fold in the raspberries.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Top with remaining chocolate chips and peanuts (if using). Bake for 45-50 mins or until risen and golden.

Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Cake

1|03|2014

Brownies!!! I can never have enough of them. How about you?
Perhaps this is one sweet treat that one can go on talking about. None of which is new. But the thought of it can make one feel warm and fuzzy and mushy and gooey and like the best things in life make one feel.

If you’ve been with me for a while now, you know my love for raspberries. I would give you brownie points for that one. Or maybe this cake. Combining the best of the two. This cake is fudgy, rich and decadent. Firm on the outside, moist and a tad bit tart from the raspberries. I added a handful of hazelnuts to include an element of crunch.

The cake would easily qualify for a celebration cake. It has a good height and texture. While it is extremely easy to put together it is not an everyday dessert. There are frozen raspberries within the batter so it can be made at any time of the year. Feel free to add a ganache topping to make it sinful. Actually, it already is but maybe look wise it can benefit from the ganache. But looks can be deceptive. Like the little shadow that paced my kitchen, peeking through the glass while the oven was doing it’s work.
‘Brownie!!’ He exclaimed. ‘I want a large one!’
Much to my surprise, he ate a large one. Large for his size. Crumbs and all!

Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Cake
Serves 10-12

300g butter, roughly chopped
400g dark chocolate, chopped
11/4 cup castor sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups plain flour
2/3 cup self-raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped
11/2 cups frozen raspberries (or fresh)
Fresh raspberries, to serve

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Grease a 22 cm round cake pan and line the base and sides with baking paper. Place butter and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes or until smooth and combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.

Add sugar, egg, flours and cocoa. Mix well to combine. Fold in the raspberries and hazelnuts, reserving 2 tbsp of the hazelnuts to place on top. Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Level top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Top with reserved hazelnuts. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until top of the cake is firm to touch. a skewer inserted in the middle should come out with a few crumbs. Cool completely in the pan. Once cooled, top with fresh raspberries. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

No Bake Caramelised White Chocolate Cheesecake. And a Blog Birthday.

22|02|2014

I wanted to start this post by saying Thank You! It’s been a year only, yet I feel I have done this all my life. I don’t remember having a single day in this year that I didn’t enjoy coming up with recipes, styling them, photographing them and blogging about them. And this experience has certainly left a desire in me to do more. To create, share, bond, grow!

This has been such an eventful phase in my life. Exploring blogging and uncovering a whole new world out there while discovering facets of my own personality that were unknown to me. I came across incredible bloggers who inspired me every day. I found friendship across the globe. So many of them made me feel like I’d go out for coffee with them every other day had we been aligned geographically.

Caramelised White Chocolate is my favourite thing in the world. I created a recipe around it during my first few days of blogging and have been wanting to do another one ever since. So I thought it was only appropriate that I make a cake around that. If you are new to caramelised white chocolate, it’s the most delicious thing one can taste. The chocolate caramelises on cooking slowly in the oven and turns into a light brown shade. It is very similar in taste to Dulce de Leche. I use David Lebovitz’s method of making this and have had success each and every time.

Putting the cheesecake together is a breeze. I made the base out of chocolate cookies. Then it’s a matter of mixing the components and placing it in the refrigerator to set. I contemplated the addition of a dark chocolate ganache topping. I wanted the white chocolate to shine in the recipe so I skipped the ganache and added a good dusting of cocoa. Good enough to look like a layer on top. We are enjoying berry season at the moment so it was easy for me to visualise my cheesecake. But if you don’t want to use berries, use shavings of dark chocolate, Maltesers (or a mix of other candies) or pretty swirls of whipped cream.

There is more cake coming up on my blog. The celebration has just started. Well to be honest, I am all for Sugar. I love cakes and desserts. But I have to think about how to get them finished since I don’t allow my pre-schoolers to indulge…let’s say over-indulge. Now, with family around there is enough reason to bake cakes.

Thank you once again for the wonderful year gone by. I am so excited to have started another one with you..another year of Sugar…..et al!

No Bake Caramelised White Chocolate Cheesecake with Berries
Serves 8-10

220 g chocolate cookies
50g butter, melted
2 tbsp. boiling water
3 teaspoons gelatine powder
300 ml thickened or heavy cream
500g cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp. Castor sugar (more if you prefer it sweeter, taste as you go)
1 cup caramelised white chocolate (recipe from David Lebovitz, here)
generous dusting of cocoa powder, to serve
Berries, to serve (or chocolate shavings, chocolate ganache or whipped cream)

Grease a 19 cm round Springform pan. Line the base and sides with baking paper.
Place the cookies in a food processor. Process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix to combine. Using your fingertips, press biscuit mixture over base of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

Pour boiling water into a small bowl. Sprinkle over gelatine. Using a fork, whisk until gelatine is dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Add in the caramelised white chocolate and combine. Stir gelatine mixture through cream cheese mixture to combine. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold through cream in the cream cheese mixture, gradually. Spoon over the base of the cookie mixture. Smooth out the surface with a palette knife or the back of a spoon. Cover. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Sprinkle generously with cocoa. Serve with berries.