white chocolate Archives - Page 2 of 4

Rose And White Chocolate Mousse

21|05|2016

There are few things in life as exquisite as a tall glass of luscious chocolate mousse. It is one of those things that may not really be hard to whip up, but not many would do it at home. Nothing makes my friends more happy than the mention of mousse for dessert. Many years ago I used to dream of owning a mousse shop that would sell every flavour of mousse under the sun. I also set out to test recipes and flavors. The testing continued even as of today but the mousse shop of my dreams was long forgotten. Much the same way the cupcake shop, a cake shop, a handmade chocolate shop, candles, flowers, a store all about cake decorating tools came about existing and then disappeared. In my dreams:-) Who said life doesn’t give you options! There are so many to choose from. I tell my husband that maybe some day I’ll bundle everything together and open up a store. Even if it doesn’t have all of it, mousse is definitely going to be there. Rose flavoured mousse will be on top of my list.

If you have been following me on Instagram, you might have heard me ranting all the time about my obsession with rosewater. That bottle occupies a place on the top rack of my cupboard at eye level. The only others that share that space are milk and white chocolate, orange blossom water, culinary lavender, gold dust and some cupcake decorating items. So basically these are my absolute favorite things. I have quite a few mousse recipes on the blog but not with white chocolate. Also, all my recipes until now are egg yolk based as I am a fan of the rich, decadent mousse variety. This one is different. This chocolate mousse is actually easier to make and uses egg whites only. The rest is just cream, white chocolate, rosewater and sugar.

To get the ombre effect, once I whipped up the mousse, I divided them into 3 bowls and tinted them with pink food colour. I think the appearance of the mousse takes it to a different level. If you are not fond of white chocolate, I would recommend adding a bit of orange zest or orange liquor (or even lemon) or fresh berries or anything tart to cut down the sweetness. This is one dessert that is really sweet (typical of white chocolate). If you are fond of white chocolate, you are in for the biggest treat of your life!

Rose And White Chocolate Mousse
Serves 4

150 g good-quality white chocolate, broken into squares
4 egg whites
1/3 cup castor sugar
2/3 cup thickened cream
1 tsp rosewater

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Use a metal spoon to stir for 3-4 minutes or until the chocolate melts. Remove from heat.

Use an electric beater to beat the egg whites in a medium, clean, dry bowl until firm peaks form. Add half the sugar and beat until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining sugar and beat until glossy. Add the cream and beat until the mixture thickens. Add the white chocolate and rosewater and use a metal spoon to fold until just combined.

Divide the mixture between two or 3 bowls and tint with a desired shade of food colour (preferably pink since we are using rose). Layer them in serving glasses pouring each layer gently so as not to deflate the mousse. Place in the refrigerator to set for about 3-4 hours.

Serve with shaved white chocolate, candied rose petals or meringues.

Coconut Cake Minis With Blackberries And White Chocolate

19|03|2016

Berries are fabulous with coconut flavored desserts and so is white chocolate! I’ve been wanting to make a blackberry based cake for a long time but since I only had a small punnet of them at home, I decided to make mini cakes instead of a large one. Individually portioned desserts have their own appeal and are easier to decorate. Before I was the owner of a multitude of baking pans, my baking equipment was limited to a round cake pan, a muffin pan and a few ramekins. I got those 4 ramekins as part of a creme brule set and I put them to good use by baking miniature versions of all the bigger cakes recipes I knew at that time. So, I decided to go back in time and bake these coconut cake minis with blackberries in ramekins. They were then dipped in melted white chocolate and shredded coconut.

Another reason I like the pairing is because together they are kind of monochrome to look at. They offer a lot of textural drama to a photo which I’ve been dreaming up to create on a grey backdrop!

In other news, it has started to feel a bit like Autumn! The chill, the early sunset and the receding stone fruits. It’s certainly a relief after the soaring temperatures and humidity in March. But you know what, I would have loved Autumn a bit more if it didn’t come after summer. It marks the end of summer, the end of my favorite season. I am excited though for the people on the other side of the world. I’ll enjoy your spring and summer:-)

Coconut Cake Minis With Blackberries And White Chocolate
Makes 6

90 g butter, softened
1/2 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1/3 cup shredded coconut
100 g greek yogurt
200 g blackberries
1 cup white chocolate divided, roughly chopped.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C( 160 degrees C for fan forced). Lightly grease the bottom of 6 ramekins.
Process the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour and yoghurt in a food processor until smooth. Fold in blackberries and 1/3 cup white chocolate. Divide between the ramekins. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cakes are cooked through. Remove from oven. Leave aside for 2 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack.

Meanwhile, place the remaining white chocolate in a heat proof pan that is placed on a saucepan of boiling water. This is done to gently melt the white chocolate. Once melted, remove from heat. Place the shredded coconut on a plate.

Dip the tops of the blackberry cake minis first in the white chocolate (let the extra fall back in the pan) and then in the shredded coconut. Place on a wire rack to dry.

White Chocolate Mud Cake With Pineapple

11|03|2015

White Chocolate Mud Cake made extra delicious and moist by the addition of pineapple. A simple honey whipped cream completes the frosting.

Growing up in the tropics, pineapple flavored sweets were a prominent part of my childhood. I don’t think I had ever spotted canned pineapple back then. Fresh pineapple was the way to go and despite the work involved, prepping the pineapple never seemed daunting to anyone as much as it is to me today. My mum’s favorite thing to make was a fresh pineapple chutney with a generous squeeze of lime and two big dried red chillies. The blend of sweet, sour and spicy flavors would make my palate dance. Another flavoring agent was the pineapple essence. Pretty common and more popular than orange or strawberry. I would love to eat the tea cakes that were flavored with this essence and speckled with dried pineapple. I was a bit disappointed not to find the pineapple cake as popular in Australia when I came to live here.

Mud cakes however are pretty popular in Australia. Though I have never come across a white chocolate mud cake with pineapple before I made one, I could envision quite clearly how it would taste. Since mud cakes are rich and dense, I could foresee the pineapple totally blending with the texture and turning into a pineapple enriched fudge. Biting into the fudgy cake, you could taste tiny bits of crunchy pineapple. Mud cakes almost always have chocolate in them and here I’ve used white chocolate. It definitely adds to the sweetness of the cake but the primary flavor is pineapple.

Since the cake is quite rich, I chose a simple whipped cream frosting swirled with honey. With this recipe, I baked two cakes. Which means, I divided the batter between two cake pans. Then I served the first one with whipped cream while I dusted icing sugar on the other one to eat with tea. The cake on it’s own is not very sweet so I preferred the frosted one over the plain one, You could bake the cake in one pan as well but the baking time will increase. Or simply use half the recipe for the size and thickness of the cake you see in the picture. Mud cakes do take a long time to bake as they are cooked under low temperatures.

The cake keeps well for quite some time (about 4-5 days) even when stored outside the refrigerator. I find that it actually tastes better the next day. Frost the cake just before serving.

White Chocolate Mud Cake With Pineapple
Serves 8-10

350 g butter, chopped
150 g white chocolate, chopped
1 cup castor sugar
400 g can of crushed pineapple in syrup
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 cups plain flour, sifted
3/4 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1 cup heavy cream/whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks.
1/4 cup honey (or more)

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C ( 140 degrees C for fan-forced) Grease two 19 cm round cake tins and line the base with baking paper..

Place butter, white chocolate, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Leave aside for 15 minutes to cool.

Add the crushed pineapple and mix till blended. Add eggs one at a time and stir to combine. Add plain flour and self-raising flour. Stir to combine. Divide mixture equally between prepared pans. Bake for 50 minutes-1 hours or until a skewer inserted in the centre has moist crumbs clinging. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Fold in the honey gently with the whipped cream. Once the cake has cooled completely, spread the honey-cream frosting over the cake. Slice and serve.

Date Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache Frosting

4|06|2014

Sticky Date Pudding. Just saying those words make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Puddings and winters are just so made for each other. This winter, I have been a bit obsessed with puddings. It just seems so easy when you leave it to the moulds or ramekins to give shape and structure to your desserts. And in this case, cupcake liners. I turned the date puddings into cupcakes. Instead of the butterscotch sauce, I frosted them with a white chocolate ganache.

These cupcakes are moist, buttery and taste like caramel which is what makes them so delicious. But they are not overly sweet which is why they can be paired with white chocolate ganache. I was a bit worried initially if the combination would work. Or the resulting cupcake would be too sweet. Coming to think of it, most buttercream frosted cupcakes are high on the sweet too. These were perfect for me because I am all about caramel and ganach-y goodness. If you are making this and you are worried about the sweetness, you can add a teaspoon of lemon or orange zest to the frosting. That should add a touch of citrus tang which balances out the sweet.

The date cupcakes are the same recipe as the sticky date puddings I had posted earlier. The puddings traditionally are cooked in a water bath so they are gooey and extra sticky. To make cupcakes, I baked them directly and they were the right consistency for a cupcake. The ganache is the one I used in this cake recipe. Since it was already tinted at the time I made the cake, it was just a matter of whipping it up and decorating with sugar flowers.

Date Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Yields 8

180g dates, pitted and roughly chopped

1 1/4 cups (310ml) water
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 cup (165g) firmly packed brown sugar
60g butter, softened chopped
2 eggs
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
White Chocolate Ganache Frosting, to decorate (recipe below)
Sugar flowers, to decorate

For the White Chocolate Ganache Frosting
250 g good quality white chocolate, finely chopped
150 ml thickened or heavy cream
Blue Food Colouring (I used a gel based food colour)

For the Date Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees C fan-forced). Lightly grease a 12 capacity muffin tray or line with paper liners. Place dates and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat. Remove from the heat. Add bicarbonate of soda, stir until dates start to break down, set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.
Beat butter and sugar in a bowl using a hand beater, gradually add eggs one at a time, beat until light and fluffy. Add date mixture, stir to combine. Carefully fold through sifted flour, divide mixture evenly between the muffin liners, until 2/3 full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool to room temperature. Once cooled pipe frosting onto the cupcakes. Decorate with sugar flowers.

For the White Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

Place chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Heat cream over low-medium heat in saucepan until just boiling, pour over cream and set aside for 5 minutes. Use a whisk to combine mixture until smooth. Add food Colouring if using, little at a time till the desired shade is reached. Cool slightly in the refrigerator and whip up to a pipeable consistency using an electric mixer.