Tag: chocolate

Chocolate-Pear Tea Bread … Love Baking for Friends

“The key to successful baking is just to enjoy it. Don’t fuss, don’t stress, and don’t try to make it ‘perfect’.”
Kathleen King

Chocolate-Pear Tea Bread A Chocolate-Pear Tea Bread from Baking for Friends by Kathleen King flooded our home with warmth and happiness yesterday! Kathleen’s baby, Tate’s Bake Shop needs little introduction. Iconic in the US, a must stop over in New York. The shop is called a ‘destination … worth putting miles on the odometer’ by the New York Times, and her books a must have on the kitchen shelf!

The creator and owner of the acclaimed Tate’s Bake Shop has an inspiring story. She began her baking career at eleven, selling her all-natural baked goods off a card table on her family’s farm.  Her award winning cookies are now sold at over 5,000 gourmet retailers throughout the US.

I got down to baking the day I received my copy for review! First Milk Chocolate Brownies, then little Chocolate Raspberry Tarts! If the feedback from the teens is anything to go by, the book is a winner!  I connected with Kathleens style of thinking and writing almost instantly. The little snippet before each recipe, the reaction to a test bake, her sons comment on his first bite of the Hurricane Irene Cookies, “Oh, don’t give these to anyone” …  all part of my everyday life as a home baker! It’s a tough {read delicious} cookbook to put down. The very idea of an Apple-Italian Plum Deep Dish Pie had me swooning. Then came  PUMPKIN recipes!!! Sometimes I wish I lived in canned pumpkin country as Kathleen offers a number of winners now that Fall is here. For those who can grab a can, the book is full of delectable options – pumpkin apple cake, pumpkin whoopie pies, two-recipe pumpkin pie, pumpkin mousse pie … and more!

Yesterday I was bitten by the Bread Baking Day bug, and though I had some itty bitty yeasty ideas, they radically changed. It was time for tea bread from my new fave baking book! {Sorry the post is a day late but I have had a plethora of internet issues with the service provider, Firefox etc. Now experimenting with Google Chrome!}   The book has something for everyone. Since I love baking with fruit and since it was Bread Baking Day yesterday, the Chocolate-Pear Tea Bread was my pick! It baked as I furiously punched away at my keyboard, the house filled with the most amazing bakery aromas. Tate’s Bake Shop must feel like home!!

Did I tell you I did everything from scratch that morning? Made a big batch of butter, then saw the recipe had applesauce listed.  Was tempted to substitute but what the heck!! Had a bowlful ready in a matter of minutes and I think that might be the secret of this moist tea bread! Chocolaty, moist and fruity …. it tasted even better the next day!

The Chocolate-Pear Tea Bread is part of the Fetish Fridays at Javelin Warrior.

The book has an interesting chapter on “health & lifestyle baked goods” which includes gluten free and vegan recipes. The book is therapeutic because it connects the baker in me to the bake shop, the beginnings of the success story, touches base with reality and makes you believe in the goodness of natural, home baked comfort food. For me, more so after the rather pathetic recent experience of Rose Cafe. I needed some sense of reaffirmation in bakeries and cafes, and this was it!

Baking for Friends is much more than a book of recipes. It’s about the sweetness of connecting with the ones you love. Kathleen welcomes you into her kitchen in the Hamptons, debuting more than 120 delectable, easy-to-bake recipes—from plump scones and muffins to mouthwatering pies and tarts to scrumptious gluten-free treats. Kathleen shares precious time-saving tips, designed to help you breathe easy in the kitchen without sacrificing taste.

I did a few other bakes which should show up here on PAB soon. The first was a batch of Milk Chocolate Brownies as I was curious to see how they fare since I am a dark chocolate person. I never buy milk chocolate {as a rule} but the hub got me a few bars from HKG and they weighed heavy on my conscience.

Kathleen convinced me to try them, and they were winners in my kids eyes. Fudgy, chocolaty and indulgent, well worth the bake. The lad even inquired if I had added melted chocolate on top {which I hadn’t}, and the continued to unwrap the little parcels like a birthday present! And then I made these absolutely sinful little Chocolate Raspberry Tartlets. The book has one large chocolate tart in a chocolate pastry base. I used another pastry recipe from the same book and made mini tarts. Absolutely divine!! The recipes also include a buttermilk pastry dough which is used extensively through the book. I’ve bookmarked it to try it next! In celebration of the highly anticipated release, Tates has partnered with KitchenAid to sponsor a Baking for Friends Bake-Off on Facebook. Join the Baking for Friends Bake-Off contest on the Tate’s Bake Shop Facebook Page.  Put your own spin on one of Kathleen’s recipes, then supply a photo/recipe for a chance to win $1,000 or a KitchenAid Artisan series stand mixer.

I can also offer readers of Passionate About Baking a  $5 discount on the cookbook from the website. The discount code is BAKEOFF, which entitles you to $5 off a copy of the book .

[print_this]Recipe: Chocolate-Pear Tea Bread

 

Summary: Delicate pears, brown sugar and butter come together with dark chocolate chips to make a specially delicious  moist and flavourful quick tea bread. A delightful fall special from ‘Baking with Friends‘ by Kathleen King.Serves 10

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 210g {1 3/4 cup} plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 100g {1/2 cup} unsalted butter
  • 115g {3/4 cup firmly packed} brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup applesauce {recipe follows}
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 400g pears {about 2 cups diced} or 2 large {or 3 small pairs}, chopped
  • 150g {1 cup} dark chocolate chips

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly butter a (9 X 5 X 3 loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. Sift together the plain flour, baking powder and salt. Reserve.
  3. With an electric beater, whisk the butter and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one by one, followed by vanilla  extract and applesauce
  4. On low speed beat in the flour mix.
  5. Fold in the chopped pear and chocolate chips with a spatula, and transfer batter to prepared tin.
  6. Even out the top and bake for about an hour until tester inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
  7. Let it cool in pan for ten minutes. Then gently invert onto cooling rack and remove parchment paper. Gently turn right side up and leave to cool completely before slicing {we couldn’t resist it of course!}

Recipe: Applesauce

Summary: Basic applesauce recipe. Makes about 1 cup.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 Apples, cored, peeled and sliced
  • 1-2 tbsp water {as required}
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp lime juice

Method:

  1. Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. {I cooked it for 3 minutes in the microwave and then another 2 minutes. Did not add any water}
  2. Mash the mixture using a potato masher or an electric mixer until it is smooth.
  3. You can add a dash of cinnamon if you like. I didn’t

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This recipe featured on Huffington Post – Dark Chocolate Recipes

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No Bake | Date & Prune Chocolate Truffles … truffles on a diet don’t get better than this #festivefood

“Life is like a box of chocolates … You never know what you’re gonna get.” Forrest Gump

Date, Prune & Walnut Chocolate Truffles are something I never thought I’d make. Yet a chance FB update sighting a while ago set me on the track. And my, what a great idea. Healthy, delicious, a power house of energy and guilt free indulgence, truffles on a diet don’t get better than this!These were fun to make, and so fast track! No bake, no cook, practically no work … almost like instant gratification! I got to step one in a matter of minutes but one bite into it was like, “Ummm nice, but something was missing, not indulgent enough“. Into the fridge they went!They sat there bugging me the next morning. Thought of adding some dark chocolate to the truffles and running them in the processor again but the task of remaking the little balls bothered me! Seemed daunting for a fast track dessert.Next idea, and it turned out to be a good one. The dark couverture I had ordered reached that same morning. Melted some in the microwave and had such a great time dunking each little ball into luscious, thick, satiny melted dark chocolate.Melted ooeey gooey dark chocolate is strangely therapeutic.  Is it just me? Whatever, but I really enjoyed this part and was rewarded in a while.These were GOOD! The teen loved them till the junior told her they had dates. “I don’t like them“, she declared, but soon was back digging into the bowl. ‘These are really good,” she declared. “Butter?” … the diet goes on, very conditional though!!  {Note: Thank you Sangeeta for the wooden board above. I ♥ it!}These make for good gifts in the festive season. They were a great addition to the Porcelain Buono Decoration Plate Silver from Urban Dazzle. It’s quite reasonably priced too. This was one of the many products I received for review which I shared when I made one bowl cocoa wholewheat almond brownies .About the truffles. They have a wonderful texture. You can play around with the combinations since both prunes and dates afford a good sticky base. Don’t like walnuts, use almonds. Don’t like nuts or are allergic to them, use dark chocolate, crystallised ginger, candied peel. Roll them in sprinkles after the dark chocolate has almost set; jazz them up if you like! Also, thank you Urban Dazzle for giving me a chance to review your Diwali range. I really love the variety and the quality of stoneware, ceramic, porcelain, drinkware and bakeware. You can see some of the range in my picture up there. I did wholewheat gingerbread men the other day and they looked so HAPPY on the platters, ornamental & ceramic.I also did a vanilla panna cotta in three flavours paired with three dessert sauces – coffee with a dark chocolate sauce, raspberry with a raspberry lime sauce, and saffron with  salted caramel saffron sauce! Then did mini panna cotta in these tiny little white ceramic bowls, three on a plate {The honeycomb plate is from a set my sis sent me from the US. White love!}The bowls are really versatile. Dipping sauces look great served with them. Else a good extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and queen olives with a sour dough bread served on a matching Mediterranean inspired ceramic platter! So much inspiration …

[print_this]Recipe: Date & Prune Chocolate Truffles

Summary: Healthy, delicious, a power house of energy and guilt free indulgence, truffles on a diet can’t get better than this!

Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:

  • Truffles
  • 100g dates {seedless}
  • 100g sundried prunes
  • 100g walnuts
  • 20g cocoa powder {3 tbsp}
  • 15g extra virgin olive oil {1tbsp}
  • Chocolate coating
  • 100g good quality dark chocolate melted {I used a 53%}

Method:

  1. Truffles
  2. Place dates, prunes and walnuts in bowl of processor and process for a minute or so until everything gets chopped fine. Taste and adjust sweetness if required adding more dates or prunes. {Thermomix: Speed 8, 30 seconds, repeat if necessary}
  3. Add the cocoa powder and olive oil and process briefly to mix. {Thermomix: Speed 8, 20 seconds}
  4. Roll into bite sized balls packing firmly.
  5. Dip into the melted chocolate and leave to set on a parchment lined tray in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

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Baking | One bowl cocoa wholewheat almond brownies … Alice Medrich {#urbandazzle}

“I am endlessly inspired and challenged by ingredients and flavors; the craft involved both in bringing them together and writing about the process.”
Alice Medrich

Cocoa Wholewheat Almond Brownies are a sweet opening to October, plated on the  new Diwali/festival gift collection from Urban Dazzle. Baked out of desperation since I had no good quality baking chocolate on hand, the wholewheat brownies were good unbelievably good!! They are adapted from a recipe by Alice Medrich – author, dessert chef, chocolatier.Alice Medrich is an iconic baker who changed the way we looked at food, desserts, chocolate and baking of course. She’s written a series of  cookbooks, the latest one Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts. Of the 9, Bittersweet and Pure Dessert are two of my favourites. Food weaves a magical pattern. I baked an adaptation of her Orange & Olive Oil Cake in 2008. Some time later I made delicious  Dark Chocolate, Walnut & Craisin Scones from a recipe @ David Lebovitz , another hugely talented cookbook author, dessert maker, ice cream man, story teller. Turned out that recipe was an Alice inspired one too.In late 2008, me, a very timid and shaky food blogger in far off North India, virtually met Alice via the Daring Bakers Caramel Cake with Caramelised Butter Frosting. Her Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels was an optional part of the challenge. Those caramels didn’t happen as we were just back from a trip to Sydney where the daughter fell ill with jaundice, was hospitalised …. and what not! Yet, it was another intriguing window into the creative world of Alice Medrich.Did I just forget to mention the Pebbly Beach Fruit Square cookies pictured above? Adapted from her cookbook “Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy: Melt-In-Your-Mouth-Cookies”, these are typical Alice style. Classic, comforting and high on taste. The fruit squares recipe is highly adaptable.

Buono Decoration Plate Silver

So when I craved baking brownies and googled for a cocoa version, one of the first matches was a Medrich recipe. There was no looking further. I experimented with substitutions mainly because of the high-ish butter content. Using just whole wheat flour and almond meal instead of plain flour, they turned out to be brownie heaven – deep, dark, chewy, moist! Importantly, one bowl cocoa wholewheat almond brownies; hand whisked and with minimal clean up! The bell rang while the brownies were cooling off, and it was the new festive Diwali range of products from Urban Dazzle. Seemed like an early Christmas as I got a staggering array of their recently launched festive ware which includes stunning stoneware, ceramics, porcelain and much more.Stoneware is right up my street and the colours and texture hold instant appeal, the quality excellent too!  The soothing blue stoneware platter above with a Mediterranean appeal; and cups, mugs, soup bowls all in pretty colours, stuff you can mix and match. The good thing is the almost inexhaustive choice. You feel like grabbing it all. And that’s the good part! If you love it, others will to.Urban Dazzle is quite a dynamic online option. An e-venture based in New Delhi, they are constantly adding aesthetic, stylish and reasonable  kitchen accessories and home decor items. With Diwali around the corner, they promise to take some burden of gifting off your shoulders… though the extensive range promises to overwhelm you with what to choose & what not!You might like these stunning glasses, or a banquet footed platter, chic Borgonovo bottles, pot bellied  jugs and carafes … the variety is endless!A while ago someone inquired about these white ribbed fruit plates that I recently used for the Empanada Gallegas. I got mine all the way from Sydney two years ago. Imagine my surprise when I saw them on Urban Dazzle a few days ago! Raise a toast,  browse the topsellers, … or then just hit the ‘Sweet Spot’!

 [print_this]Recipe: One bowl Cocoa Wholewheat Almond Brownies

Summary: Single bowl cocoa brownies. Dark, deep, chewy, moist, chocolaty … and made with whole grain. Makes 16-20 squares. Recipe adapted  from Alice Medrich.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 140g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 80g cocoa powder {3/4cup}
  • 110g raw sugar {1 cup}
  • 2 eggs
  • 30g wholewheat flour {1/4 cup}
  • 25g almond meal {1/4 cup}
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • 100g dark chocolate chips

Method:

  1. In a large heat proof bowl, melt the butter, cocoa and sugar in a microwave for 1 minute. Whisk well until smooth.
  2. Whisk in the eggs firmly one by one.
  3. Whisk in the flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt and then whisk briskly for about 1 minute until the mixture becomes smooth and glossy.
  4. Fold in the chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared tin
  5. Bake at 180C for about 25 minutes.
  6. Cool for about 20-30 minutes before slicing {if you like them warm}, else cool, chill and then slice.

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Almond Chocolate Chip Cupcakes … and getting featured on Femina

“A good cupcake and a good life have many of the same ingredients – good timing, sugar, and spice.”
Evelyn Beilenson

Almond Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, my current favourites! A recent visit to the cupcake factory led me to hop back onto the cupcake trail after quite a long hiatus. Much to the teens delight, these little babies are beginning to show up more frequently now … dressed in butter cream and often  ‘undressed‘ too!Either way, they go like hot cakes. There is something endearing about a freshly baked cupcake! Of course, given the choice, the call is always for the ones lavished with butter cream. For school snack boxes though, the plain ones work great as it’s still quite warm here in North India.So when one of India’s most popular magazines Femina {first published in 1959} asked to interview me, with a photo shoot at home to follow, I wanted to bake something ‘nice‘, something original and something that was ‘me‘!

Femina is a magazine, published fortnightly in India. It is owned by Worldwide Media, a 50:50 joint venture between BBC Worldwide and The Times Group. It is primarily a women’s magazine and features articles on relationships, beauty and fashion,travels,women fight back, cuisine, and health and fitness. It also features articles on celebrities and cultural facets of Indian women.

The Almond Chocolate Chip Cupcakes were what I baked! A natural choice because these are my current ‘cupcakes on the go‘, healthy, requested quite often, good with frosting and good even without. You can play around with the pairings as you like. Just plain almond meal is nice and carries frosting well. Roasted chopped almonds would pair well with a chocolate ganache, or maybe hazelnuts with a Nutella frosting {YUM}. I like the texture that almond meal adds. It’s a nice feeling to throw whole almonds into your processor with a little sugar and soon have ‘healthy nut meal’. I continue to use ‘raw sugar‘ in my baking and that has worked well so far. It’s marginally better than processed sugar. The good thing is that you don’t need to grind it as it has a nice, fine grain. I’ve even begun using it in butter cream instead of icing sugar. Works a charm, and is cheaper too!!The Borgonovo Bottle Indro from Urban Dazzle has my home made pure vanilla extract that is now ready. The polka dot cupcake liners are ones that my sweet friend Bina sent me from the US quite a while ago. I use them very sparingly Bina because I really like them, and they remind me of you.  When I’m in a more rustic frame of mind, I like to line the muffin tray with parchment paper squares. It gives them a rough, earthy look!

[print_this]Recipe: Almond Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Summary: ‘Cupcakes on the go‘, healthy, requested quite often, good with frosting and good even without. The almond meal adds interesting texture and taste to them. Makes 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • Cupcakes
  • 180g plain flour
  • 85g whole almonds
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • 150g raw sugar
  • 100g butter
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 vanilla bean
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 220ml 2% fat milk
  • 100g dark chocolate chips
  • Flaked almonds, optional
  • Buttercream
  • 100g unsalted butter, room temperature {not too soft}
  • 50ml low fat cream, chilled
  • 75-100g raw sugar {to taste}

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 12 cup muffin tray with liners.
  2. Run the whole almonds in the processor with 30gm raw sugar in short spurts until you end up with a fine meal. Don’t over process else you might have almond paste! {Thermomix Speed 10, 10 seconds, repeat as required}
  3. Put in the flour, baking powder and salt and process briefly to mix. {Thermomix Speed 10, 20 seconds}
  4. Beat the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla bean and vanilla extract and beat again for 30 seconds. {Thermomix Speed 4, butterfly attachment, 4 minutes for butter, and 2 minutes with egg. Remove butterfly.}
  5. Alternatively add the flour/almond meal mix with milk until just uniformly mixed. Donot over mix. {Thermomix: Add the milk and flour/almond meal mix and mix on reverse speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides once or twice}. Fold in the chocolate chips, and sprinkle over with flaked almonds if desired.
  6. Divide between liners and bake for 20 minutes/until risen and golden brown. Cool completely before frosting.
  7. Buttercream frosting
  8. Beat all ingredients until smooth and firm. taste and adjust sugar if required. {I keep the butter on the cooler side, almost firm, as it is still warm-ish here
  9. Place into a piping fat fitted with a star nozzle and pipe onto cupcakes.

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Petite Iced Cakes … Coffee Cream, Raspberry Cream & Chocolate Cream

“I loved their home. Everything smelled older, worn but safe; the food aroma had baked itself into the furniture.”
Susan Strasberg

Petite Iced Cakes for an event I enjoyed creating for. I had a blast making these, experimenting with different flavours and layering mini cakes.  Had I the time, I would have made a second batch because the first one turned out to be such fun! The event? An Interflora challenge for the baking blogger community to create a delicious treat for ‘Grandparents’ Day Baking Challenge’ on Sunday 7th October.It’s got a nice feel to it . All you need to do is bake a recipe that’s been handed down to you from generation to generation, or something you have fond memories of baking with your grandma in the kitchen or simply a delicious sweet treat to celebrate the occasion. Bake it, blog about it and mail a link to these good florists in London who are hosting the challenge. A public vote will decide the winner!I have a confession to make. My Grandma never baked, an oven in a remote Indian house unheard of at the time. She cooked a LOT, my paternal grandma that is. I still remember her sitting all hunched up in a brick and stone kitchen, cooking over a low wood fire, blowing air through an iron pipe when the flame needed some help! The aromas from that almost extinct Indian kitchen still dance in my head, and come alive each time I smell a wood fire oven!So much for connect and food memories. She even had a dark room where she stored HUGE jars of Indian pickles and preserves, the room kept locked to keep pesky kids from sticking their fingers in. We visited once every year as my father was in the Air Force and we were always posted far away. The little dark room was always open for us, much to the other kids chagrin!Thankfully my mother did bake ‘some’, in the sense that she baked an annual Christmas Fruit Cake {with garam masala} that we waited for eagerly every December, the high point of our curious little lives. The funny thing is that it always got so late that in many ways it became a New Years Fruit Cake! I’ve blogged about her Garam Masala Chritmas Cake  and am thankful the kids can remember her as baking something, anything! She used to bake a mean roast once upon a time … about 30 years ago!

So here we go … I have created little somethings to help spread the awareness about Grandparents day, a day to recognise the contribution that the older generation gave to their families and wider society. These little iced cakes may not look perfect but they hold something for everyone! There’s Coffee Cream {my personal favourite}, there’s Chocolate Cream that everyone loves, and there’s Raspberry Cream, reminiscent of the favourite British Victoria sandwich cake.Once again ingredients laid out, the mind began experimenting. I had a genoise sponge in mind, using melted butter in the batter. Thoughts of the Del Monte contest on IndiBlogger made me reach out for Del Monte Olive Oil instead! The sponge came out moist and pillowy soft! The petite iced cakes are on their way to WorldFoody as there is some raspberry fruit filling from Del Monte in one of them too.

When I started off I had just  a layered coffee cream cake in mind. As I mixed the batter, my mind went towards many little cakes, and then the possibilities exploded in my mind. I was a baker in a hurry! I narrowed down to Coffee Cream, Raspberry Cream and Peaches ‘n’ Cream.  Then ‘normal life happened’. While one terrible teen demanded to be dropped to a friends place, the other had to be picked up, some more deadlines had to be met … blah blah blah! The peaches lived happily ever after in their tin, and I made a Chocolate Cream cake instead as I had a small portion of chocolate pastry cream in the fridge. So come, put your best baking skills forward and bake something sweet to celebrate Grandparents Day … a desert that might be a family speciality, a dessert that might be just the thing to bring a smile to their face, or one that you can surprise them with. When I looked at these little almost crooked cakes,  I heard the junior teens voice deep in my head, ” Why does Nana always keep laughing so loudly at everything, I mean EVERYTHING?”

To enter the competition simply email your photos, recipe and a link to your blog article to blog@interflora.co.uk by Friday 21st September.The winner will receive a luxury arrangement of flowers of their choice plus a Grandparents’ Day Gift Basket which will be delivered to your chosen recipient in time for Grandparents’ Day. 5 runners up will also receive a Grandparents’ Day Gift Basket for their nominated grandparent.

[print_this]Recipe: Petite Iced Cakes

Summary: Dainty little iced cakes lavished with a vanilla buttercream. Each good to serve four, they are made with different flavours – coffee, chocolate & raspberry. The flavour possibilities are endless … and the fun, infinite!

Prep Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:

  • Sponge
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 60g {1/2 cup} all purpose flour
  • 110g {1/2 cup} raw sugar {or Castor}
  • 20g {1/4 cup} almond meal
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 10gm / 2 tsp Del Monte Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1.5tsp 2% fat mil
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder {or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract}
  • Classic Vanilla Buttercream
  • 100gm unsalted butter, not too soft
  • 40ml low fat cream {Amul}, chilled
  • 150gm icing sugar {it was a little oversweet for me, but fine with the kids}
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 vanilla bean scraped
  • Flavourings
  • 1 tsp coffee for the coffee cake
  • Dark chocolate ganache, chocolate chips
  • Del Monte Raspberry Fruit Filling

Method:

  1. Sponge
  2. Line the bottoms and sides of three small 4″ baking tins. Preheat oven to 180C.
  3. Sift the flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt together. Reserve.
  4. Mix the olive oil and milk in a small bowl Reserve.
  5. Beat the eggs and sugar over simmering water on high speed for about 10 minutes until the mixtures becomes thick and mousse like, tripling in quantity {Thermomix, Speed 4, Butterfly insert, 37C, 10 minutes or more}
  6. Take off water and continue beating for 3-4 minutes until it cools down a bit. {Thermomix, Speed 4, Butterfly insert, 3-4 minutes}
  7. Gently fold in the flour mixture in 3-4 goes. {Thermomix, Reverse Speed 2}, followed by the olive oil and milk mixture. Blend in gently but uniformly, divide batter between tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until the sponge springs back when touched lightly, ora tester comes out clean.
  8. Cool on racks for 5 minutes, remove from tins and cool completely.
  9. Classic Vanilla Buttercream
  10. Beat the ingredients together until smooth and light. Taste and adjust sugar if required.
  11. Assembling
  12. Reserve a little buttercream for piping on top if desired.
  13. Cut the little cakes horizontally into 2-3 layers each. Sandwich one with the buttercream, add a few chocolate chips within if desired, and top with a chocolate ganache. Pipe some plain buttercream if desired.
  14. Sandwich the second with some buttercream and raspberry fruit filling, topping that cake with some buttercream and a dollop of filling.
  15. Whi the remaining buttercream with 1 tsp of coffee and sandwich and frost the little cake with it. Pipe some plain vanilla rosettes if desired and add a chocolate lace border if you have the time and/or inclination!
  16. Chill until ready to serve.
  17. ENJOY

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Dark Chocolate Mousse, Peach Lime Cooler & Stone Fruit Salad … Summer!

“Anything is good if it’s made of chocolate.”
Jo Brand

My love for individual desserts in glasses knows no end, and I loved these glasses from Urban Dazzle the minute I saw them. Stunning and a million ways to use them, my first thought was dessert, maybe chocolate. Soon I proudly strutted Dark Chocolate Mousse with Balsamic Cherry Sauce in these beauties! They complimented each other beautifully … I think it was meant to be!Nice wine glasses said Mr PAB! Do you remember the Urban Dazzle goodies I received a while ago? I was lucky enough to get another lot of glassware to get creative with. This gorgeous set of glasses, goblet like, was something I’d never seen before, yet something I would instantly pick – pretty, versatile, stand out design, good quality glass, fabulous ridge and ever so attractive!I have a ‘thing’ for stem glass. I am also very skewed towards traditional glasses, crockery, cutlery etc. Modern design doesn’t normally catch my eye but these Alternato A.P tumblers were different. Functional and neat, appealing too, these are easily my favourite already. Despite being wine glasses, so much versatility!Thoughts flew through my head when I unpacked them {received them via courier, well packed indeed}. Tiger Shrimp Gamba like from the Leonardo day out at Olive recently! Ooh they would look great! Or a gazpacho … stunning red shining through?

I did a set of coolers as well, inspired too by the Luigi Bormioli Michelangelo Masterpiece Jug that was part of the parcel. Made a refreshing, full of flavour Peach Lime Cooler adapted from What Megan’s Making. I love the spout and the curves of the pitcher! The crystal clear glass shows off vibrant colours beautifully!Very artistic! It would look great on a picnic table with  a vibrant punch, ice tea, cooler, or sangria. A true masterpiece of Italian make, this belly pitcher from Luigi Bormiolo is a chic addition to any serving set or barware. I also did a Wild Indian Java Plum Juice with all its purple goodness, and Raw Mango Panna too. The latter neither beautiful nor vibrant to look at, packs a punch in summer! I have begun using natural raw sugar {khand / bura in India}, palm sugar {gur} or honey for my coolers.I went on to make a Stone Fruit Summer Salad which was as refreshing as can be. The dieting diva immediately declared that I must make some everyday … I could see myself peeling peaches, plums and mangoes till kingdom came!! The salad – peeled and cut peaches, plums and mangoes tossed in a sugar lime syrup {about 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 5-6 limes} and left to mature for half an hour …nice!The cherry on the cake was this Dark Chocolate Mousse with a Balsamic Cherry Topping that got made by default thanks to the power grid failure. My frozen cherries needed to get out of the freezer and be made into something! This was it!I had a cherry sorbet, pink and vibrant in mind for these glasses. But fate had other plans, and nothing frozen was going to happen in a while. My next best bet was dark chocolate which really pairs well with cherries. I used a similar mousse recipe from the Dark Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake I made in June.

So tell me dear readers, what would you use these glasses for, other than wine of course! 

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Recipe: Dark Chocolate Chili Mousse

Summary: A smooth as silk dark chocolate mousse topped with a balsamic cherry sauce. Seductive make ahead dessert. {Serves 6}

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:

  • Dark chocolate mousse
    {adapted from the Thermomix cookbook}
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • Pinch of cream of tartar
  • 70gm powdered sugar, divided
  • 1/2 vanilla bean scraped
  • 1/2 t vanilla bean powder {or paste}
  • 1 tsp chocolate chili powder {0r 1/2-1/2tsp chili powder} optional
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 40g low fat cream, room temperature
  • 170g dark chocolate, chopped
  • 200ml low fat cream, chilled, beaten to medium peaks
  • 5g {1t} gelatin powder dissolved in 1 1/2 tbsp of water
  • Balsamic Cherry Topping
  • 500g cherries, stoned {net weight}
  • 2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 3-4 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 vanilla bean shell from above

Method:

  1. Recipe is for the Thermomix. I reckon it can be adapted with the same proportions for regular top of the stove cooking, like a creme patisserie.
  2. Heat empty TM bowl for 2 minutes at 50C, speed 2.
    Insert Butterfly. Place egg whites in TM bowl with cream of tartar and beat for 4 minutes on speed 4 with MC off.
  3. Through hole in the lid, add half the sugar, 1 tsp at a time during the last minute. Set aside in a large bowl. remove butterfly.
  4. Without cleaning, place yolks, remaining sugar, vanilla bean powder and scraped seeds, butter, 40g cream and chocolate into TM bowl. Cook for 4 minutes at 70C on speed 3.
  5. Add a third of the beaten egg whites back into the bowl and stir for 10 seconds on reverse + speed 3. Add to the remaining whites.
  6. Fold everything gently together, including gelatin. Divide between glasses and chill for about an hour until slightly set.
  7. Balsamic Cherry Topping
  8. Place all ingredients in a non reactive pan and simmer for 3-5 minutes until the cherries soften and give up their juice. Make sure you don’t overcook the cherries, else they wont hold shape.
  9. Drain the cherries and reserve in a bowl. Return the syrup back to the pan and reduce until thick and syrupy. Pour back over the reserved cherries, cool and then chill. can be made a day or two ahead. It will thicken slightly in the fridge.

Recipe: Peach Lime Cooler

Summary: A great way to use up the bounty of summer fruit. Refreshing and ‘peachy’, this is a great summer cooler. Adapted from What Megan’s Making. Serves 6-8

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 500g peaches, peeled and chopped
  • 100g raw sugar {or honey; adjust according to sweetness of fruit}
  • 1 cup fresh lime juice (about 12 limes)
  • 5 cups water {or soda}

Method:

  1. In a sauce pan bring to a boil the peaches, sugar and water. Reduce heat, and simmer until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 10 minutes.
  2. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender), puree the peach mixture until smooth. Pour through a strainer, and press through to get out all of the juice. Cool completely.
  3. Once cool, in a pitcher combine the peach mixture with the lemon juice, stir until well combined. Serve chilled over ice.

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