Chocolate Archives - Page 24 of 24

Many years ago, I met a little boy. He had an angelic face with the cutest curls around them, eyes that told stories of twinkling stars and a smile that could melt the strongest of hearts. Like most little boys, he adored everything with wheels. Toy cars, big cars and makeshift cars (the ones that are generally meant to carry belongings but at times can carry a toddler or two…Suitcases).

I told him stories at bedtime, made him laugh during the day with faces and expressions that only we could read, filled up his stockings with little presents during Christmas Eve and made him cry when he played with my dolls.
We walked together a zillion roads, his fingers tightly clutching mine. Till one day he became the ‘cool guy’. Cool guys don’t hold hands. He morphed into a teenager. Fiercely independent..with an understanding of the world that was so rare of his age..who kept a lot to himself but was always ready to offer a lending a hand. Under the pretext of doing homework we spent many afternoons together, sharing secrets, cracking jokes, hiding behind windows and spraying water on innocent passersby and sneaking into the kitchen to do the ‘great taste test’ for dishes that were meant to be served to guests. Needless to say there were other days when we drove each other crazy and fought over every little thing under the sun. My heart aches to think that those moments can never come back.

Before we realised, the spirited teenager grew into a handsome man with a heart of gold. The responsible son, the doting brother…wise, quick witted, generous, loving…and set out to conquer the world. He made our hearts swell up with pride as he went on achieving milestones. He found himself a partner, equally spirited and loving. A beautiful addition to the family.

I made these cupcakes for my brother’s birthday back in January.While going through a few folders on the laptop, i found these bright pictures during the weekend. I thought they were decent enough to post though very few. I could have taken more had i known I would have a blog someday.
A simple chocolate cupcake made extra chocolaty with the addition of chocolate chips. The frosting is gorgeous.

I did not bake a cake as he was not around to eat it. My brother lives on the other side of the world where the sun sets as it rises here in Sydney. Perhaps he will be here on one of his birthdays to perform the ‘great taste test’ with me.
But our hearts are ever so close and securely fastened with a bond called family. A bond that celebrates childhood, big dreams, secrets and adventures. A bond that lives outside the touch of time.

A bond unique to a Big Sister and her Little Brother.

Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting (adapted with a small variation from Joy of Baking)

Chocolate Cupcakes
Yields 16

1/2 cup (50 gms) dutch processed cocoa powder
1 cup (240 ml) boiling water
11/3 cups (175 gms) all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup (113 gms) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 gms) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling water and cocoa powder. let cool to room temperature. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips.
Then in the bowl of your electric mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. (Do not over bake or the cupcakes will come out dry). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or pipe lovely swirls.
These cupcakes are best the day they are made but can be stored for a few days.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

120 gms unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup (150 gms) unsalted butter, room temperature
11/3 cups (160 gms) icing sugar sifted
11/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy(about 1 min). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy(about 2 min). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2-3 min).

I have been craving chocolate…craving for a while now. Not a bar or two. Not even a cake or an ice cream. A wicked craving. Shut myself away from the world, sitting with knees folded on the couch, my favourite music playing in the background, a rich..luscious..sinful dessert in my hands, savoring each mouthful.

I have been trying to put away this chocolate hankering for a long time now…saving it for the orange hued months that are to follow. I can only blame it on summer…I have been trying too hard to take advantage of the beautiful summer fruits. It almost saddens me to think that summer is officially over. Berries..no berries..

A little note from a cousin along similar lines was enough to ignite the fire..or should I say an explosion. Before I could gather my thoughts together, I was weighing, whisking, stirring, piping with a vengeance. A self-proclaimed Pastry chef and Chocolate..its a bittersweet symbiotic relationship.

Dark, milk or white…I debated for a while. Then I decided to go with all three. Unsure of what the final dessert would be, I baked the brownie bases in ramekins. White chocolate is not really a favourite in its regular form but caramelized white chocolate..I could kill for that one. It is a simple technique but patience is the key. You need to be cooking it at a low temperature, checking the oven every 10 minutes till the white turns to the colour of Peanut butter. It is, I think, the most gorgeous and delicious thing on Earth…tastes and looks almost like Dulce de Leche.

One cup of caramelized white chocolate..sent my mind racing in all directions. I decided it has to be a mousse.

Quite pleased with myself, I started to think about a little surprise hiding between the brownie and the mousse. Finally I made a quick ganache and spooned out truffles.

While the mousse and truffles were setting up in the refrigerator, I baked a batch of doughnuts to use the white chocolate as a glaze. I was in a frenzy…an overpowering chocolate madness. The colour of the glaze was almost identical to the colour of the doughnuts which I was not too happy with. So out came more dark chocolate to drizzle. I will post the recipe of baked doughnuts with the caramelised white chocolate on another day.

By the end of it, I was so drained…physically and emotionally. Too much chocolate to deal with on one day. But that was the story behind creating it. I was so looking forward to assembling it. I love piping…there were days when I piped on the entire kitchen counter to practise and perfect the art.

And..then the much awaited moment. Time to reap the rewards of my labour.

Shut myself away from the world, sitting with knees folded on the couch,my favourite music playing in the background, a rich..luscious..sinful dessert in my hands, savouring each mouthful.

Brownies, Truffles, Mousse, Doughnuts..and a little left over gorgeous Caramelised White Chocolate. I am in Chocolate Heaven right now !

Double Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle and Caramelized White Chocolate Dessert

Double Chocolate Brownie (adapted from here)

Yields 4-5 brownies baked in ramekins

227 g semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

4 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 180C.

In a small saucepan or a bowl in the microwave, melt the chocolate and butter over low heat. Stir until smooth and if you used a pot, pour into a bowl.

Stir in the sugar, vanilla and eggs; blend well. Add the flour, cocoa and salt and stir just until blended.

Spoon the batter into buttered ramekins, filling them about half. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until just set. (A toothpick inserted will come out with lots of moist crumbs sticking to it.) Cool completely before removing from the pan.

Once completely cooled cut out the tops to get a even surface. Then refrigerate till needed.

Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

Yields 6-7 truffles

I halved the recipe from Joy of Baking and included whole and chopped toasted Hazelnuts.

50 g Dark chocolate
60 g Milk Chocolate
60 ml (about 1/4 cup) whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small pieces
6-7 whole toasted hazelnuts.
1 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts or any nut of your choice for coating.

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized heatproof bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for a minute or two. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth. (If the chocolate doesn’t melt completely, place in the microwave for about 20 seconds, or over a saucepan of simmering water,just until melted). Cover and place in refrigerator until the truffle mixture is firm.(This may take several hours).

Place the chopped nuts for coating on a plate. Remove the truffle mixture from the refrigerator. With your hands, a small ice cream scoop, a melon baller or a small spoon drop 3/4 inch mounds on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place one hazelnut in the centre of each mound and roll mounds into smooth balls. Immediately roll the truffle in the chopped hazelnut coating and place them back on the baking sheet. Cover and place in the refrigerator till firm. Bring them to room temperature before serving.

Caramelised White Chocolate Mousse

Serves 4-5

I followed David Lebovitz technique for caramelising the white chocolate. The process has been explained very well and produces consistent results every time. Recipe here. Yields about a cup.

3 Egg Yolks
¼ Cup Sugar(or to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ Cup heavy cream for the custard (Crème Anglaise)
5 tablespoons of the caramelised white chocolate
2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
¾ Cup Heavy Cream for whipping

Soak gelatine in 1 tablespoon room temparature water. Heat the ½ cup cream and caramelised white chocolate in a saucepan. Beat the egg yolks,sugar and vanilla extract together in a bowl. When the cream reaches boiling point take it off the heat and slowly pour it over the egg mixture whisking constantly. Add the gelatine (which by now should have bloomed). Return the egg-cream mixture to the pan.

Heat the mixture under a medium-low flame, whisking constantly till the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat and pass it through a sieve into another bowl. Cool to room temperature.

While the custard is cooling, whip the remaining ¾ cup cream to stiff peaks. Store in the refrigerator till needed.

When the chocolate mixture has cooled down completely add it to the whipped cream gradually & fold in till no white streaks appear. Refrigerate till set, about 4 hours or longer.

To Assemble

Place a chocolate truffle in the centre of a brownie base. Fill up a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip with the caramelised white chocolate. Pipe all around the truffle centre. Dust with cocoa powder. Refrigerate till set

Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting.

A Chocolate craving ! Double Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle and Caramelised White Chocolate Mousse