Chocolate Archives - Page 12 of 27

Chocolate Chip Cake

16|11|2015

I think there are some things in life that can be solved with a chocolate chip cookie. They do help me beat stress a lot of times. So the more chocolate chips, the better? Going by the trend in Sydney in November, prices drop for all kinds of chocolate things…chips, chunks, buttons. Despite that I seem to have a constant shortage at home. Well, you know why! I’ve used two cups in this cake itself.
The cake is sponge-like in texture with chocolate chips in every bite. I’ve frosted it with vanilla buttercream and a chocolate glaze, Then piped some buttercream flowers with more chocolate chips in the center. Because there’s never a thing called too much chocolate, there’s a bit of grated white chocolate on top as well:-) And,…………. that’s all!
I hope you are having a great November. My calendar looks a bit scary at this time. A big to-do list and so little time!

Chocolate Chip Cake
Makes a 3 layered, 7 inch round cake

250 g butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (150 g), castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
250 g self-raising flour
2 cups chocolate chips, divided (leave aside 1/4 cup for decoration. I used a mix of mil and dark chocolate chips)

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4 egg whites
1 cup castor sugar
300 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze
75 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
50 g butter

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C (150 degrees C for fan forced). Grease and line the bottom of 3, 7 inch pans with non-stick baking paper.

In an electric mixer (or by hand), whisk the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time until it is frothy and gradually incorporated in to the butter and sugar mixture.
Sieve the flour into the mixture and fold in gently until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and chocolate chips. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared pans. (If you don’t have 3 pans, you could go with two and adjust the baking time accordingly. It will increase slightly.) Bake for 12- 15 minutes or when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and leave aside for 5 minutes.
Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled to room temperature, frost the cake starting from the layers to the sides and top of the cake. Allow to set in the fridge for 30 minutes. Pour the chocolate glaze on top of the cake and let it flow down the sides of the cake. Decorate with buttercream flowers and chocolate chips.

To make the Vanilla Buttercream, Place the egg whites and sugar in a large bowl that is placed over a saucepan of simmering water (over low heat), and whisk continuously, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the bottom of the bowl is warm to touch

Remove the bowl from the heat and whip on high speed until meringue holds stiff peaks and looks glossy. The bowl should have completely cooled by now.
Add the butter, 2 tablespoon at a time, until thick and fluffy. If it begins to look curdled, continue to whip until it comes back together, before adding in remaining butter.

When the buttercream has come together, add the vanilla extract and mix till smooth and well blended.

To make the chocolate glaze, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave or in a small saucepan under low heat. Stir to mix. Remove from heat and leave to cool to room temperature. Don’t let it solidify before pouring.

Lavender Cake Minis With Chocolate

4|11|2015

Lavender cake minis made with a dark chocolate base a super easy lavender glaze that looks and tastes delicious. Makes a pretty gift or an impressive wedding dessert table item.

I can’t describe in words what draws me to Lavender but I am simply smitten by it. It could be the colour (I do have my fair share of purple photos on the blog:-)) or the scent or just the way you could wrap your fingers around the stalks and bring them close to your nose and experience a moment in paradise. I met a wonderful lady called Mrs Lavender at the children’s school library the other day and I instantly liked her. She had the loveliest smile and knew the books by heart. So maybe I like the name too. La-ven-der! Anyway, I dream of growing them..heaps of them in my own garden soon.

2 years ago when I had just started blogging, I would have a list of fresh produce farms to visit on the weekends. I enjoyed it so much that I would kook forward to Sundays and our outings so much. A picnic basket, camera and we would set out. Sydney was new to me and I was falling in love with every inch of it. I had a berry farm in mind for weeks but on the day we were hoping to go picking, it poured and visits were cancelled. We ended up visiting a Lavender farm. What an amazing day it was! The owner had celebrated her 75th birthday the previous day and she had a few of her best friends over. There were no other visitors that day due to bad weather and we had the fields and the beautiful ladies to ourselves. My little boys enjoyed a tractor ride through the dreamy fields and we gorged on baked treats the ladies had prepared. The pride and passion I sensed in the owner’s voice was powerful. The stories were touching. To own something so beautiful, can only be a blessing. I have to go back soon, I keep telling myself.

Although there are quite a few varieties of fresh lavender that are edible, I prefer to use culinary lavender because it is ready for use and can be stored for a long time. The lavender in the glaze is mild and pairs well with dark chocolate. I used a chocolate cupcake recipe to make the cakes. If you are using a mini bundt cake pan like mine, do make sure you grease it well or the lavender cake minis might stick to the bottom and sides. I had a few of them sticking to the pan but the glaze covered up the flaws.

Lavender Cake Minis With Chocolate Base And Lavender Glaze
Makes 12-14

100 g dark chocolate
1 cup (250 ml) water
125 g butter, softened
1 1/4 cups (255 g) brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups (225 g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (75) plain flour
1/4 cup (30 g) cocoa powder

Lavender Glaze
1 tsp dried culinary lavender
1/3 cup milk
1 cup icing sugar
1-2 drops violet food color (optional)

Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a 12 hole mini bundt pan generously. Alternately you could use a muffin pan.

Combine the chocolate and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to coo

Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, until just combined. Add the flours and cocoa powder and stir until just combined. Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Spoon evenly among the greased pans. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, dip the tops of the cakes into the glaze and leave to set. Alternately, you can use a spoon to drizzle the glaze the over the tops of the cakes.

To make the glaze, gently heat the milk and culinary lavender in a small saucepan. As soon as it begins to boil, remove from heat and leave aside. Let the mixture steep for 15 minutes, then strain. Add the icing sugar and mix until smooth. Add the food color if using and blend into the glaze.

Easy Microwave Banana And Chocolate Chunk Pudding

29|10|2015

I don’t know about you but I cannot imagine my kitchen without a microwave. While moving houses in the recent past (4 times in 3 years) I made sure that it is the first of the electronic items to get plugged in…even before my beloved mixer and food processor. But coming to think of it, have I done anything with it other than reheating and defrosting food? Nope! Okay, maybe precook potatoes. Yet, it is an indispensable item that saves you time and a lot of dishes. I had 3 ripe bananas and no intention of making muffins, pancakes or even banana bread. So I did a Google search and came across this fabulous recipe.

I made it twice this week. The first time I was unsure how it would turn out so I halved the recipe and just threw everything casually into a microwave safe bowl. Voila! It was done in 4 minutes. It was golden, sweet, soft, smelling of brown sugar and butter (you know, the one) spongy, gooey in some places and very slightly crusty on the sides. In other words, it was enlightenment! ‘Don’t underestimate the power of your microwave!’ The boys came back form school and finished it in one go with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
I just had to share this recipe so I made it again and added a cup of dark chocolate chunks. And salted caramel sauce to serve! The original recipe calls for sliced bananas on top but I chose to mash up the entire banana for the pudding. You could go either ways. If you do not have a one-liter microwave safe dish, use two smaller ones like I did. Please excuse the photos..I’ve shot them in a jiffy as I had something else going on.

All I’d say is please make it. It’s too easy, not to give it a try and too delicious for words. Make it to believe it!

Microwave Banana And Chocolate Chunk Pudding (adapted with variation from BBC Goodfood)
Serves 6

100 g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
2 ripe bananas
100 g light muscovado sugar (brown sugar will work as well)
100 g self-raising flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 cup dark chocolate, roughly chopped into big and small chunks (or chocolate chips)
Salted Caramel sauce (store bought or home made)

Put the butter in a 1-litre baking dish and microwave on High for 30 secs-1 min until melted. Add bananas, mash into the melted butter, then add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, eggs and milk. Mix together well. Add the chocolate chunks and give it a stir to distribute evenly in the batter.

Cook on high for 6 mins until cooked through and risen. Check with a fork or a wooden skewer and microwave for a couple of minutes more if not ready. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar, if you like, with a drizzle of salted caramel sauce and a scoop of ice cream.

Neapolitan Cake

31|08|2015

I think I am having too much fun with frosting! It is evident from the stains on my favourite pair of jeans. The other day, I wanted to hide somewhere when I saw myself in the large mirror at the shopping centre. The boys were with me so that’s a huge relief. Blame it on motherhood! Busy and tired mums have their fair share of excuses. Though the truth actually is that I am loving this whole idea of messy frosted cakes (even though it finds it’s way on my clothes).

I don’t remember making a single batch of buttercream this month. It’s been whipped cream all the way along with cheese based frosting. For this cake I’ve used whipped cream and chocolate ganache. I’ve made the cake batter in one bowl. That’s right! Unlike many Neapolitan cake recipes that require you to make 3 different batters, this one uses a large bowl for mixing. Then all you do is divide the batter into 3 cake pan. For the first one, you just add a few drops of vanilla extract. The second one, strawberry extract and a few drops of pink food colour. The third one requires cocoa powder and milk. I’ve mixed the colours and flavours gently in the cake pan itself. Otherwise, you can imagine the amount of dishes one would end up with for this kind of cake. On the texture front, the cake is moist and soft…thanks to the sour cream in the cake.

In between the layers there is creamy chocolate ganache. For the two-tone effect, I first applied chocolate ganache to the top and sides of the cake. Then I spread a bit of pink tinted whipped cream unevenly on the sides and top and ran my spatula around the cake to blend the frosting. Quite easy but very tempting though. It’s hard to resist licking it off the cake straightaway. Chocolate and Cream…is there anything better than that?

In other news, today is the last day of winter in Australia. It’s Spring tomorrow and it’s also September, my favourite month. I have many hopes for September because I will be able to see some of my work on print. Call it luck or coincidence, I have worked on different projects with different sets of people but the release dates have somehow been assigned to September. I am also excitedly looking forward to spending time with my Mum and sister who will be in Sydney shortly.
Come on September…faster please..I just can’t wait for you!

Neapolitan Cake
Makes a 3 layered 7 inch cake

350 g butter, at room temperature
11/2 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs
3 cups self-raising flour
3/4 cup sour cream
2-3 drops pink liquid food colouring
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoon milk

For the frosting
300 g dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup + 1/2 cup heavy/thickened cream
2-3 drops of pink food colouring
2-3 drops Strawberry extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees C for fan forced). Grease and line the bases of 3, 7-inch cake pans with non-stick baking paper.

Using an electric mixer (or by hand) beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until combined. Add half the flour to the butter mixture and stir until just combined. Add the sour cream and remaining flour, in batches, and stir until just combined. Divide the batter among 3 bowls.

Add a few drops of vanilla essence to the first. Mix gently
Add a few drops pink food colouring and strawberry extract/essence to the 2nd pan portion and mix gently to combine.
Combine the cocoa powder and milk in a small bowl and add to the 3rd portion of batter. Mix gently to combine.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20- 30 minutes (or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean). Remove from the oven. Leave aside in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully tun onto a wire rack. Let cakes cool completely before frosting them.

To make the chocolate ganache frosting, place chocolate and cream in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. Cover. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until a spreadable consistency. To make the strawberry cream frosting, whip up the heavy cream with an electric mixer till stiff peaks. gently fold in the colouring and extract.

To assemble, place the vanilla cake in the centre of a cake stand or plate. Spread about 1/4 cup of frosting. Top with the strawberry layer cake. Repeat. Place the chocolate cake layer on top. Frost the sides and top with chocolate ganache. Take a small amount of the strawberry whipped cream frosting on your spatula and spread unevenly around the cake in gentle strokes. Smoothen out with a clean spatula. Decorate with chocolate curls, piped ganache or strawberries.