All Info About Chocolate Recipes

posted by Carol on Nov 19

Serves 6 - you need to make this at least one day before you serve it and finish it off just before serving. It would be far better, though, to make it well in advance.

Ingredients
350ml/11 fl oz milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 stick on cinnamon
4 egg yolks
95g/3-1/4oz soft brown sugar
200ml/6-1/2 fl oz chilled cream
2 tbsp brandy (optional)
105g/3-1/2oz fruit cake, broken into 1 or 2 inch chunks
45g/1-1/2oz chopped marron glacé
45g/1-1/2oz chopped glacé cherries
45g/1-1/2oz amaretti biscuits (cookies), broken into large pieces

Topping
185g/6oz good quality plain (semi-sweet) chocolate
30ml/1 fl oz oil (not olive oil)
50g/1-3/4oz white chocolate

Method
1. Put the milk, vanilla essence and cinnamon stick into a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil, then remove from heat.

2. In a bowl, cream the egg yolks and sugar together until thick, then, after removing the cinnamon stick, add the hot milk and mix until all ingredients are well combined.

3. Put the mixture into a fresh saucepan and very slowly, over a low heat, stir it continuously until it thickens enough to coat a spoon. Do not allow it to boil.

4. Using a sieve (strainer), strain it into a clean bowl and put aside to cool completely.

5. When it is completely cold, add the cream and brandy. Stir them in then put them in a container and freeze until just firm to the touch, about 3 hours.

6. Take the mixture out of the freezer, put into a bowl and beat until the it is thick and creamy.

7. Repeat the freezing and beating twice more but on the final one, add the marron glacé, fruitcake, glacé cherries and amaretti biscuits (cookies) and put in a 2 pint or 1 litre pudding basin to produce the traditional Christmas pudding shape. Cover with clingfilm (Saran wrap) and return to freezer. Check after 30 minutes and stir if the cake, biscuits and fruit have sunk to the bottom. Cover again, and freeze overnight.

8. Remove from freezer and then turn it out onto a plate. Flash the basin in and out of very hot water to loosen the ice cream, if necessary.

9. To make the topping, melt the plain (semi-sweet) chocolate (see techniques). When it is melted, add the oil, stirring it in well and until chocolate is cool but still melted.

10. Take the pudding out of the freezer and put in on a wire rack. Now pour the chocolate smoothly and evenly over the pudding so, except for the bottom, is completely covered. Put it back in the freezer for about 2 hours.

11. Melt the white chocolate (see techniques). Take the pudding out of the freezer and put on a serving plate. Pour the white chocolate over the top of the pudding. This time it should not be completely covered. The white chocolate is supposed to resemble cream poured over a pudding. Decorate with a sprig of artificial holly.

12. If you finish this off just before serving, put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set the white chocolate. It would be much better to make it in advance, wrap it well in clingfilm and keep it in the freezer. Take it out about 30 minutes before serving.

posted by Carol on Nov 19

Serves 6 - 8 The mixture of chocolate and meringue works surprisingly well and it makes a glamorous looking dessert especially for the festive season.

Meringues on Cake Rack Photographic Print
Buy at AllPosters.com

Ingredients
100g/4oz butter, melted
225g/8oz digestive biscuits (graham crackers)

50g/2oz castor (fine grained) sugar
3 egg yolks
4 tbs cornflour (cornstarch)
600ml/20 fl oz milk
100g/4oz plain (semi-sweet) chocolate

Meringue
2 egg whites
100g/4oz castor (fine grained) sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C/350 deg F. Line the outside of a 20cm/8 inch cake pan with a removable bottom (Springform are best) with two layers of foil to make it waterproof.

2. To make the base: crush the biscuits into crumbs then mix with the melted butter. A quick way to do both, is to put the biscuits in a food processor, then, when the biscuits have been reduced to crumbs, pour in the butter. Press the mixture evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the cake pan. Refrigerate.

3. Beat the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour to a smooth paste. Add a little of the milk if the mixture is too stiff.

4. Heat the remaining milk almost to boiling then slowly pour it on to the beaten egg mixture, whisking well as you do so.

5. When it is well mixed, put it in the pan again over a slow heat, whisking continuously. Do not leave it! If you do, it will thicken into lumps. Keep whisking until it does thicken then remove from the heat and whisk in the melted chocolate. Pour the mixture into the cake pan.

6. Put the cake pan in a larger roasting pan and pour boiling water into the roasting pan to a depth of about 1 to 2 inches.

7. Make the meringue by beating the egg whites into soft peaks. Beat in about 2/3 of the sugar then fold in the remainder together with the vanilla extract.

8. Spread the meringue evenly over the mixture in the cake pan, then bake for about 30 minutes or until the meringue is a lovely golden brown. This is a delicious dessert whether hot from the oven or eaten cold later.

posted by Carol on Nov 19

Serves 10 - Many people make a chestnut stuffing for the Christmas turkey, but did you know that chestnuts beautifully complement the taste of chocolate making this a good dessert for Christmas?

Ingredients
Sponge
1 egg
90g/3oz sugar
15g/1/2oz plain (all purpose) flour
15g/1/2 oz cocoa powder
3 tbs water

Mousse
30ml/1 fl oz water
3 egg yolks
90g/3oz caster sugar
120g/4oz plain (semi-sweet) chocolate
300g/10oz can of chestnut purée
3 leaves of gelatine (or 1-1/2 gelatine powder)
1 tbs rum
375ml/12 fl oz double (heavy) cream

Decoration
200ml/6-1/2 fl oz double (heavy) cream
3 marrons glacés
a little cocoa powder

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C/350 deg F. Grease and flour a 7 inch diameter cake tin (pan) with a removable bottom (Springform are best).

2. To make the sponge: put about 1/3 of the caster sugar and the egg in a bowl and whisk until they double in volume. Sieve the flour and cocoa together then fold in to the sugar and egg. Put into the cake tin and cook for about 12 minutes or until firm. When cooked, cool on a wire rack then clean and line the cake tin with a double layer of non-stick paper. When the cake is cool, replace it in the cake tin.

3. Put the remaining sugar, rum and water into a saucepan and dissolve the sugar slowly, stirring continuously. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the mixture to the boil for one minute without stirring. Pour the mixture evenly over the sponge in the cake tin.

4. To make the mousse: Slowly dissolve the sugar in the water in a saucepan, stirring continuously. Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and boil until a little of the mixture (about 1/4 tsp) holds its shape when dropped into iced water but is still soft to the touch.

5. Whisk the egg yolks, preferably using an electric mixer. Pour the boiling syrup into the mixer boil while continuing to whisk. Keep whisking until the mixture is completely cold.

6. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt (see techniques).

7. Stir the canned chestnut purée into the melted chocolate.

8. If you are using gelatine leaves, put them into a bowl of of cold water, just covering them. If you are using gelatine powder, dissolve it in 1-1/2 tbs of water.

9. Warm the rum in a saucepan, squeeze out the gelatine leaves and place them, or the dissolved gelatine powder, in the rum. Make sure the heat is very low. Shake the saucepan to dissolve and mix the gelatine. Cool the mixture then strain it into the chocolate and chestnut and fold it in.

10. Whip the double (heavy) cream until the whisk leaves a trail then fold it and the chocolate mixture alternately into the egg yolks and syrup. Mix well so that all three mixtures are well combined and there are no pale streaks through the chocolate colour.

11. Pour the mixture on top of the rum soaked sponge in the cake tin (pan). Tap the tin on the work surface to disperse any bubbles. Smooth the surface and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.

12. Unclamp the Springform tin and remove it. Whip the cream until it holds its shape and decorate the top of the mousse either by spreading it over and lifting it into peaks or by piping on a pattern. Cut up the marrons glacés and use them to decorate the top too. Finish off the decoration with a light sprinkling of cocoa powder.