All Info About Chocolate Recipes

posted by Carol on Nov 19

Makes about 25-30. These just walk straight off the plate, so don’t worry how they keep!

Ingredients
65g/2-1/4oz butter
60g/2oz castor (fine grained) sugar
60g/2oz plain (all purpose) flour
2 tbs cocoa powder
2 tbs milk
150g/5oz plain (semi-sweet) chocolate, melted, for coating

Peppermint filling
220g/8oz icing (confectioners) sugar
1-2 tsp peppermint essence or oil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C, 350 deg F and line 2 baking sheets with non-stick paper.

2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and frothy, sift the flour and cocoa together then mix into the butter and sugar mixture, adding the milk gradually.

3. When the mixture forms a soft dough, knead it then cut in half. Roll out the first half between sheets of non-stick paper to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Using a plain cutter, 1-1/2 inch in diameter, cut out cookies from the dough and place on a baking tray.

4. Repeat the last step with the other half of the dough. Bake all the cookies for about 10 minutes and then cool on a wire rack.

5. Peppermint Filling - Beat egg white and about half the sifted icing sugar together. Add the peppermint essence - you need to taste this to get the right amount of peppermint to suit your own taste. Beat in the remaining sifted icing sugar. You might need more icing sugar than shown above. You need a soft dough. If you do need more icing sugar to achieve this, add it gradually. If you overdo it, you can always add a drop or two of water.

6. Now you need to break a piece of peppermint filling and use them to sandwich two cookies together. The filling should come right to the edges of the cookies. Continue doing this until all the cookies are sandwiched together.

7. Dip half each sandwich cookie into the melted chocolate and then leave to set on non-stick paper.

posted by Carol on Nov 18

The Victoria sandwich is a classic recipe and the chocolate version is even more delicious.

Ingredients
115g/4oz plain chocolate
200g/7oz self raising flour
150g/5oz softened unsalted butter or margarine
150g/5oz light muscovado sugar
3 eggs
45ml/3tbsp milk
15ml/1 tbsp cocoa powder

Chocolate Buttercream for filling
75g/3oz unsalted softened butter or margarine
175g/6oz icing sugar
15ml/1tbsp cocoa powder
2.5ml/ 1/2tsp vanilla essence

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C/350deg F/Gas mark 4.

2. Grease two 18cm/7in sandwich tins and line the base with greaseproof or other non-stick paper.

3. Put some water into a small saucepan and bring to the boil, then turn it down to a slow simmer. Whilst waiting for the water to boil, break the chocolate into small pieces and then put them and the milk into a heatproof bowl which you should put on the saucepan. It should not touch the water. Leave this for the chocolate to soften.

4. Cream the butter or margarine and sugar together until pale, creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs gradually and beat well with each addition. If the mixture starts to curdle, add a tablespoon of sifted flour.

5. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture making sure that it is mixed well.

6. Sift the flour and cocoa together and fold in to the mixture with a metal spoon until well mixed. Do not beat or you will beat the air out and it won’t rise.

7. Divide the mixture evenly between the two sandwich tins and smooth and level the mixture.

8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. It is done when a sharp, dry knife comes out clean or when the top of the cake is pressed and springs back up.

9. Turn onto wire racks to cool.

10. When the cakes are cool, evenly spread the chocolate butter cream (see below) over one half and then sandwich the two halves together. Dust with a little sieved icing sugar and cocoa. If you want to get really fancy you can put a paper doily with a cut out pattern on top of the cake and sieve over that. Remove the doily and voila! you have a pretty pattern on your cake!

Chocolate Butter Cream
Sift the icing sugar and cocoa to ensure there are no little lumps. Put all the ingredients into a bowl together and beat well until you have achieved a smooth consistency.