Flourless chocolate cake

Recipe from taste.com.au...

Flourless chocolate cake

Ingredients (serves 8)

* 200g butter, chopped
* 250g dark chocolate, chopped
* 4 eggs, separated
* 1 cup caster sugar


Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan-forced. Grease a 6cm-deep, 22cm (base) round springform cake pan. Line base and side with baking paper.

2. Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (make sure bowl doesn't touch water). Stir over low heat until smooth.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar for 5 minutes or until thick and creamy. Beat eggwhites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar until dissolved.

4. Add chocolate mixture to egg yolk mixture. Mix to combine. Add one-quarter of the eggwhite mixture. Mix well. Fold in remaining eggwhite mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until top is firm to touch and a skewer inserted into centre has moist crumbs clinging. Cool cake in pan. Serve.

Bittersweet Chocolate Mud Cake

Recipe from taste.com.au...

Bittersweet Chocolate Mud Cake

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 120 minutes


Ingredients (serves 6)

* 3x200g blocks good quality dark chocolate
* 375g butter, chopped
* 1 cup (250ml) water
* 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 1 1/2 cups plain flour
* 1/3 cup self-raising flour
* 4 x 55g eggs, lightly beaten
* 1/3 cup (80ml) marsala

Chocolate glaze
* 1/2 cup (125ml) cream
* 150g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
* 20g unsalted butter
* 1 tbs liquid glucose


Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease and line base and sides of a deep 20 cm cake pan with baking paper. Ensure paper sits 4cm above the top of pan.

2. Break chocolate into pieces. Combine with butter, water and sugar in a heavy based pan. Stir over low heat until melted and sugar has dissolved. Cool for 20 mins.

3. Stir in sifted flours, eggs and marsala. Pour into cake pan. Bake for 1hr 50 mins, covering top of cake with foil after 1 1/2 hours to prevent a darkcrust. Cool in pan.

4. Place glaze ingredients in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth. Cool for 15 mins until thickened. Spoon over cake. Stand until glaze has set. Serve with thick cream.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

A recipe from taste.com.au...

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Ingredients (serves 4)

--> dark chocolate
--> 2 tbs golden syrup
--> 125g unsalted butter
--> 4 eggs
--> 1 tbs caster sugar
--> 1 tbs plain flour, sifted
--> Melted chocolate, to decorate
--> Chocolate sorbet, to serve

Coffee mascarpone

--> 200g mascarpone cheese
--> 2 tbs instant coffee
--> 2 tbs pure icing sugar


Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Grease and line the base of a 20cm round spring-form cake pan with non-stick baking paper.

2. Melt the chocolate, golden syrup and butter in a bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Place eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer or use an electric hand beater and beat on high for 10 minutes until very thick and pale. Gently fold in the flour then fold in the chocolate mixture until combined. Pour into the cake pan and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and run a knife around the edge of the cake. Remove collar from cake pan and transfer the cake to the fridge for 1 hour to cool (this step is important as it sets the middle of the cake).

4. Meanwhile, to make the coffee mascarpone, dissolve coffee in 1 tablespoon of boiling water and set aside to cool. Beat together the mascarpone, coffee and sugar in a bowl until stiff.

5. To make the chocolate leaf, brush non-toxic leaves with the melted chocolate. When cool, peel the leaf off.

6. Slice the cake and serve with a dollop of coffee mascarpone, a chocolate leaf on top and a scoop of sorbet on the side.

Banana Chocolate Cake

A recipe from taste.com.au

Banana Chocolate Cake

Ingredients (serves 8)

--> 1/2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
--> 3/4 cup self-raising flour
--> 2/3 cup cocoa powder
--> 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
--> 1 cup caster sugar
--> 2 eggs, lightly beaten
--> 2 large, over-ripe bananas, mashed (see note)
--> 3/4 cup buttermilk
--> 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Icing

--> 1 1/2 cups icing sugar mixture
--> 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
--> 2 to 3 tablespoons milk, warmed


Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease an 8-cup capacity, 24cm fluted ring tin. Sift flours, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Add husks from sieve. Add sugar. Stir to combine. Make a well in the center.

2. Combine eggs, banana, buttermilk and oil in a jug. Pour into well. Stir to combine.

3. Spoon cake mixture into prepared tin. Smooth surface. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand cake for 5 minutes in tin. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

4. Make icing: Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Add milk. Using a wooden spoon, mix until smooth. Pour icing over cooled cake. Using a flat-bladed knife, spread over top. Allow icing to run down sides. Stand for 20 minutes or until icing sets. Serve.

Scandinavian Brownies Recipe

Here's a Brownies recipe from cacaoweb.net...

Scandinavian Brownies
(One-layer Chocolate Cake)
Yield: 24 servings

Ingredients

1+1/3 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
1+½ cup (330 g) sugar
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (170 g) butter
3 fl oz (0.9 dl) boiling water
3 eggs
4 oz (120 g) chocolate chips (40-50% cocoa)
5 oz (150 g) chopped walnuts or pecan nuts

Frosting

1/3 cup (75 g) butter
8 oz (220 g) sweet or semisweet dark chocolate
2 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoon hot espresso or very strong coffee
Scandinavian brownies


Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
2. Line a 13 x 9 in (33 x 23 cm) cake tin with grease proof or other non-stick paper and grease the tin.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
4. In a bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract.
5. Add eggs, melted butter and hot water and mix until smooth.
6. Add chocolate chips and nuts.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 20-30 minutes.
8. Cool the cake. Glace with the chocolate frosting.
9. For the frosting, mix butter, chopped chocolate, syrup and coffee and heat in a double boiler until melted. Stir until smooth and spread over the cake.

Some Types of Chocolates

The type of chocolate is determined by the various amounts of cocoa butter and chocolate liquor the chocolate contains, as well the amount of sugar and any other ingredients added to the mixture. Other flavours can be obtained by varying the time and temperature when roasting the beans.

• Cocoa powder --> powder which is pulverized, partially defatted chocolate liquor
  
• Natural cocoa --> light in colour and somewhat acidic with a strong chocolate flavour and is commonly used in recipes which call for baking soda
  
• Dutch-process cocoa --> Alkalized cocoa powder; darker in color, less acidic, and has a milder chocolate taste; recommended for recipes that call for baking powder
• Unsweetened chocolate --> pure chocolate liquor, also known as bitter or baking chocolate, mixed with some form of fat to produce a solid substance; the base ingredient in all other forms of chocolate, except white chocolate
• Dark chocolate --> contains chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla and leicithin; has no milk and sometimes called "plain chocolate"
• Milk chocolate --> chocolate with milk powder or condensed milk added
• Semisweet --> classic dark baking chocolate which can be purchased in most grocery stores; a dark chocolate with a low (typically half) sugar content and often used for cooking purposes
• Bittersweet chocolate --> chocolate liquor to which some sugar , more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes lecithin has been added
• Couverture --> contains a very high percent (at least 30%) of cocoa butter, as well as a high percentage of chocolate liquor which makes it expensive; smooth and melts quickly and evenly
• White chocolate --> a confection based on sugar and fat without the cocoa solids; made with cocoa butter, sugar, milk, emulsifier, vanilla and sometimes other flavorings
• Compound chocolate --> primarily used for candy bar coatings and does not contain cocoa butter

What is a CHOCOLATE?

Cacao

Chocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree.

Cacao, native to lowland, tropical South America, has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mesoamerica and Central America . It was used in Mesoamerica both as a beverage, and as an ingredient in foods.

Chocolate has been used as a drink for nearly all of its history. The earliest record of using cacao shows that it was not simply as a beverage, but the white pulp around the cacao beans was likely used as a source of fermentable sugars for an alcoholic drink. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter, spicy drink called xocoatl, and was often flavored with vanilla, chili pepper, and achiote which is known today as annatto. Xocoatl was believed to fight fatigue, a belief that is probably attributable to the theobromine content.


Did you know that....?

->The Aztecs used a system in which one turkey cost one hundred cacao beans and one fresh avocado was worth three beans. All of the areas that were conquered by the Aztecs that grew cacao beans were ordered to pay them as a tax, or as the Aztecs called it, a "tribute".

-> South American and European cultures have used cocoa to treat diarrhea for hundreds of years.

->Chocolate contains alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine, which have physiological effects on the body. It has been linked to serotonin levels in the brain.

->Scientists claim that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower blood pressure.

-> Dark chocolate has recently been promoted for its health benefits, including a substantial amount of antioxidants that reduce the formation of free radicals, though the presence of theobromine renders it toxic to some animals, such as dogs and cats.


Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavors in the world. Molded chocolate gifts have become traditional on certain holidays and is also used in cold and hot beverages.

I personally love chocolates! How about you?

Chocolates