Chocolate Ganache Cake

Chocolate Ganache Cake 

In the past few months every time I sit down to write a post I inevitably end up questioning myself if its worth it to blog than do something else. The last time I sat down I was in one of the most beautiful towns that I have ever been in my life. A quaint little University town in the Western Cape of South Africa but then I looked out the glass window and I wanted to take a long walk and I did exactly that.

Frankly speaking in a world where photograph trumps everything else in the world of blogging at times I feel a bit discouraged to blog. Truth is I cook and bake. I cannot feign interest in photography plus honestly I enjoy the part where I plan, shop , cook and serve. 

Freshly brewed coffee, long walks , a well made pastry and by that I mean a filling of fresh cream (not the non dairy nonsene) have always been sources of constant joy for me and recently a pack of Dunhill or Marlboro makes my day with some strong coffee. 

Ideally when I am happy and cook a dish I mostly forget to click pictures but in Kolkata there is hardly anything else to do than work, read and click pictures of the dishes which I make. Long walks are out of the question what with the terrible heat, overpopulated streets and the high level of pollution. There are no mountains to drive off to and the orange red autumn leaves make me miss Stellenbosch pretty bad. 

Then I remembered this chocolate cake and a promise made to myself and I cheered up a bit. Frankly its one of my favourite chocolate cakes. A pure chocolaty cake for which I follow Larousse's recipe along with some ganache makes it the chocolate cake of my dreams 

To begin with you need a 7 to 8  inch round pan no more no less 

For the cake :-

3 eggs 

125gm caster sugar 

125gm all purpose flour 

150gm dark chocolate (I use 70% dark) 

4 tbsp milk 

125gm butter at room temperature 

For the ganache :-

100gm dark chocolate 

200ml double cream or single cream (In India you dont get double dairy cream so I usually use the one we get with 25% fat) 

Preheat the oven to 180C for 10 minutes. 

Grease and dust your pan with flour. 

Separate the eggs. Heat the milk and chopped chocolate together to form a smooth mixture. Take the yolks and the sugar in a steel bowl and use the bain marie method to gentle heat the yolks and sugar but make sure you dont scramble the eggs all the while whipping them vigorously. It will become pale , light and fluffy. 

Whip the softened butter and chocolate and quickly add the yolk sugar mixture and fold in the flour. Pour it in your prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes to 40 minutes.
Depending on the oven it can even take you upto 60 minutes. So take the cake out at 40 minutes and do the toothpick test. If the toothpick comes out clean you are done else it needs to bake a bit more but keep a sharp eye on the oven so that you dont over-bake the cake. 

Let the cake cool down overnight. 

Using the bain marie method heat the cream, add chopped chocolate and whip till fluffy . Cut the cake horizontally and fill it some of the ganache and then top the cake with the rest of the ganache and serve with coffee. 

Chocolate Shake (Silky , smooth , chilled and gorgeous)

Chocolate Shake (Silky , smooth and gorgeous) 

 Most of the people I am close to know that I am not normally fond of chocolate shakes. I mean I usually prefer a cold brewed coffee which comes out amazing. Read about how I make it right at home without much hassle but a bit of time Click Here.

Anyway late one night I was suddenly craving some chocolate not just any chocolate but chilled mousse. Usually on any given day my refrigerator would definitely have eggs in them but on that night there were none. The moment I realized I could not have mousse my cravings became more strong. For a moment I thought I should temper some chocolates but then again in my head I wanted a creamy chilled chocolaty taste and I always listen to what I crave very carefully. In my case substituting the craving with something not only fails to take care of it in the end I end up gaining weight because I eat the substitute food and then ultimately satisfy my craving.

I immediately started scourging the refrigerator for other possible alternatives when I found the milk with reduced milk in it. By reduced I mean 3/4th of its original content. I always add reduced milk to my coffee for a rich taste since adding cream is not the healthiest option for a regular beverage.

Anyway I suddenly realized that I love hot chocolate not hot cocoa mind you. The difference is in the cocoa butter. Hot cocoa is basically cocoa powder, milk and sugar and maybe a bit of water . Hot chocolate on the other hand is creamy, silky decadent because you basically melt cooking chocolate and add it to milk for a creamy decadence.

And suddenly I knew what I had to do. I quickly took out a bit of milk and put the rest in the freezer. In the meantime I melted the chocolate and added a little bit of milk and stirred it to create a smooth consistency and slowly added the milk from the freezer and everything went in the blender with a bit of sugar and 1 minute later I was sipping on the best chocolate shake for me. It was completely chocolaty, silky , smooth and gorgeous but needed some improving on.

So the next time I developed it and after 2 tries voila I have my perfect chocolate shake for those rare days of indulgence.

Chilled silky chocolaty do I need to go on and on?

So here is what you need to serve one. And pair it with these gorgeous Double Chocolate Chip Cookies and its sheer indulgence. Usually when I have this I skip an entire meal.

What you need :-

10gm brown sugar
60gm to 70gm dark chocolate (50% or more. I used 70% dark)
500ml milk

Freeze 100ml milk in the ice cube tray. Reduce the rest of the milk to 1/2 of its original quantity.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Once completely melted add 50ml milk and create a smooth concoction and slowly add the rest of the milk bit by bit and the sugar and then put it all in a blender and blend away. Chill it extremely well.

Before serving the beverage blend it again with the frozen milk cubes and there you have silky smooth chilled chocolate in a tall glass.

P.S. If you want you can replace half the reduced milk with double dairy cream or single dairy cream.

Chocolate Indulgent Cake

Chocolate Indulgent Cake 

I shall be honest. Lately I have come to find chocolate cake to be highly overused mostly because most good Indian bakeries mostly keep two to three variants of cakes , one with a lot of fresh cream and then there are 3 to 4 variants of chocolate cake.

To be fair while one can never get tired of a good slice of chocolate cake it can be tiring at times. While growing up I would see my aunt bake chocolate cakes which were the typical buttercakes which meant it was butter based and used a bit of cocoa powder for that taste of chocolate which somehow did not really click.

To be fair the ones you get at good bakeries are quite honestly very delicious but then again once you start baking at home and expand your knowledge you realize that you can actually customize a chocolate cake as per your liking.

What is 'my perfect chocolate cake' will perhaps not be your's. Anyway I have tried a good 6 variants of the good old butter based chocolate cakes. I am not even going into the sponges . So it turns out this cake is one of my favourites mostly because it is moist and light enough to stand out on its own with your cup of tea  and with a dollop of whipped cream it can be turned into a fabulous dinner time dessert. In my experience when one uses icing it is best to stick to sponge cakes because a butter based cake is quite heavy on its own and layers of buttercream or ganache makes it too rich an indulgent but then again there are those times when you simply just need some indulgence. And this cake happens to be one of them. Hence I named it the Chocolate Indulgent Cake.

I had already shared the recipe for the main cake in one of my earlier posts. Use the recipe for the cake and leave out the recipe for icing given there  So here is the link: My Perfect Chocolate Cake. Let it cool down and slice in half. Cut the top of the cake to level it out.

For the icing try this ganache , its rich , chocolaty and when fluffed up and used with the cake it becomes a pure sinful indulgence

Recipe adapted from Larousse Gastronomique

150ml fresh cream
225gm finely chopped chocolate (70% dark)
1 tbsp sugar syrup

Use the bain marie method to heat up the cream and add the chocolate and stir till you get a smooth creamy mixture and then keep whipping till it fluffs up. use this as a filling and then cover the cake and let it set at room temperature for an hour and then serve it up.

Important tip :-

A cake is meant to be eaten as fresh as possible so it is a good idea to finish it off within 2 days of it being baked. try not to refrigerate the cake but in case you do refrigerate it make sure you take it out 1 hour prior to serving. The cake if served straight from the refrigerator will be hard as lard. It needs to be soft hence it needs to come to room temperature.

Brioche au Chocolat

Brioche au Chocolat 

'Rain drops and roses and whiskers on kittens ......these are a few of my favourite things.'

 Well roses and kittens are definitely some of my favourite things but when it comes to ingredients and the kitchen here are a few items I love working with. I love whisking egg whites to soft or firm peaks and using it, I love using butter , ghee, I love the freshest of vegetables and I love working with yeast among a few of my favourite things to do in the kitchen.

It was my very first attempt at making Brioche au chocolat that delightfully rich French bread made with lots of butter and eggs , the filling of chocolate was entirely an added bonus.

When you have a perfect recipe to follow you usually find success.

I followed Croquez, Craquez's recipe (A french blog) and I had the most soft rich delightful bread ever

So here is the recipe :-

Makes about 10 brioche

For the Brioche :-

250gm All purpose flour
25gm Castor Sugar
5gm Salt
3 Eggs
100gm Butter
15gm fresh yeast / 7 gm dry yeast

Yolk from 1 egg for brushing

For the filling

150gm chopped chocolate

Proof the yeast by dissolving it with 4 tbsp lukewarm water and  sprinkling a bit of sugar. If it forms bubbles and becomes frothy after 10 minutes its good enough to be used.

Mix the ingredients for the brioche except the chocolate and leave in the refrigerator for 4 hours. It would have doubled in size. Now punch it down to remove the carbon dioxide and make 10 ball. Flatten the balls and using a bit of chocolate as filling and then roll it back to form a rectangular shaped brioche and leave it on a tray which has been buttered and floured to rise for 45 minutes if you stay in a tropical country or 1.5 hours in cold countries.

Preheat oven to 180C , brush the brioche with the whisked yolk and bake for 25 minutes.

Let it cool down completely. Then either have it immediately or use a cling film to preserve the freshness.

Chocolate Cake (Felicity Cloake)

Chocolate Cake (Felicity Cloake) 

Over the years I have baked many a chocolate cake yet I still kept searching for one which would have the perfect fluffy soft texture and then one day I realized I should search for Felicity Cloake's version of the perfect chocolate cake. Here let me say that I firmly believe that there cannot be one perfect chocolate cake for everyone. Some like it fudge like, some like it extra airy but for me ah for that read along my friends. 

The lady in question, Ms Cloake  tries out different recipes by many a maestro and gives you the pros and cons of each recipe and finally shares the recipe for one which she deems is perfect for her taste buds. She says this cake is 'Not a torte, not a mousse, but a cake which actually tastes of chocolate: fluffy and light enough to eat at tea time, rich enough to serve with a dollop of creme fraiche for dessert'

Now there is a particular reason why I trust this lady. I tried her perfect recipe for Mousse au Chocolat and I must say there is no looking back for me. It was just perfect,  rich yet light and delicious and so quite naturally I knew this description of the chocolate cake would not fail me.

 I tried a simple frosting of tempered chocolate in-between and some chocolate to cover the cake. I would not go as far as to say it is perfect but it is pretty good.

Recipe adapted from Felicity Cloake

The cups used hold 250ml of liquid

50gm dark chocolate
50gm chocolate chips
250gm of all purpose flour (1.5 cups)
250gm of Brown sugar (3/4th cup)
250gm of Unsalted Butter
250ml of milk
100gm of cocoa powder (3/4th)
2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
Pinch of salt

Extra flour and butter to prepare pan

For the frosting

100gm dark chocolate tempered properly to create a silky melted chocolate

Prepare your two cake tins ( 8inch) by buttering it and then dusting it with flour. (An 8 inch pan would do)

Start by sifting the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder .

Now Cream your butter and sugar till its fluffy and add the eggs one by one and the salt and whisk till its a creamy fluffy affair.

Preheat the oven to 180C at this point . Slowly fold in the sifted dried ingredients and then add the melted chocolate and fold it in . Add the milk bit by bit and fold that in as well. Finally add the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter in two equal halves and pour the batter into the cake pans and tap the pan and then wet your hands and lightly smoothen the top and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes to 35 minutes .

Once baked insert a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean its done.

Let the cake cool down in the pan for 15 minutes and then run a palate knife around the edges and invert it on a rack and cool it.

Only when the cake is completely cool can you now move on to frosting.

Simply temper the chocolate over a double boiler and cut the cake in half and spread the chocolate. Sandwich the cake together cover the cake with chocolate and serve it as it is for tea or add a dollop of whipped cream and make it a delicious dessert.

Important tips :-

1. Once you are down with adding the whisk you must not use the whisk because the crumb of a cake largely depends on the technique of folding in the dry ingredients else you end up with a dense cake. The idea is to not knock off any air bubbles even though the cake is batter based and so it uses baking powder.  
2. Once you have poured the batter in wet your hands and smoothen the top and which leads to an even top baked cake. Do not firmly press your hands on the batter just gently press it. 
3. Always allow the cake to completely cool down before slicing it to apply frosting else your cake will break. 
4. In case you use a bigger cake tin you must increase the amount of batter. If you double the recipe use a 9 inch cake pan. 
5. In case you use salted butter then leave out the extra salt 

Chocolate Buttercream Sponge Cake

Chocolate Buttercream  Sponge Cake

Edited :-

You must be wondering what this edited bit is. Well this is my gratitude to a lovely lady who is a wonderful teacher. When it comes to baking and cooking in general I cautiously take advice because taste is very subjective so the only way to take another passionate baker's advice is to trust the person and see his reasoning. I am honestly scared of using syrups because it makes my cakes too sweet and I don't care too much for that intense sweet taste but then when a very seasoned baker advised me to soak the cake in syrup I knew I must do it. By this time exactly half my cake was devoured by friends and family who thankfully liked it. In fact the friend even asked for more . So I took my cake out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature then put a strip of butterpaper on the cake and brushed the sponges with syrup. Now I used the syrup sparingly yet because the sponge was well made it soaked it up very well. Then I refrigerated it for the cake to set and had  a sliver and even though it was a bit sweet than I would have preferred I would recommend the soaking with syrup because it gives the sponge a delightful flavour. I am have mentioned the steps required to soak the sponge in the recipe so please do use it. Of course I doubled the amount of syrup for the whole cake :) Hope you enjoy this sinful indulgence. before I move on to my experience with the cake here is a sneak peak into this talented lady's facebook page Sinfully Your's  and she takes regular cooking classes in our very own city of Dreams, Mumbai . Contact her for a great learning experience. 

I bake for various reasons. Sometimes I bake because I like the idea of having a moist cake to accompany my tea . Usually these cakes are butterbased moist and delightfully fluffy yet rich enough which does not need any frosting and then there are other times for celebration such as meeting one of my closest friends after a long time.

Such special occasions call for a special frosted cake. Funnily both of us love butter based frosting less cakes but I never leave such opportunities to make a nicely frosted cake and usually frosting for me means a silky smooth buttercream.

So lets move on top the cake

I have already shared the recipe for the fluffy sponge cake for which the technique is as important as the ingredients used.

Here is the recipe for the foam sponge cake

Once you have baked the cake let it cool down completely before slicing it. You need to make four rings.

Now for the buttercream and ganache :-

For the buttery chocolaty buttercream

300gm butter softened at room temperature
150gm dark chocolate chopped well
200gm to 300gm icing sugar
2 to 3 tbsp cocoa powder
A few tbsp of milk to loosen the frosting

For the syrup :-

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the ganache

65gm dark chocolate
90ml to 100ml cream

You should ideally soak the cake with the syrup a day ahead of frosting.  Once the cake cools down completely just soak each ring with about Half a tbsp to 1 tbsp with the syrup and then refrigerate.

The next day simply whip the butter to a smooth fluffy consistency add the sugar bit by bit and keep tasting . Now temper the chocolate by chopping it on a clean water-free surface and melting it on a double boiler and then let it cool down and slowly add this to the fluffed up buttercream beating it constantly so that the fluffiness is not hampered. Keep whisking and add the cocoa powder till you have a beautiful fluffy buttercream frosting.

Now spread a thick layer of buttercream on one cake ring and let ti get set in the refrigerator for 15 minutes and do this with all the rings till you reach the final one then give a single coat to the entire cake and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Now make the ganache by warming up the cream and pouring it over the chopped chocolate and stirring ti till you get a smooth consistency. Let it cool down for 5 minutes and give the cake a coat with the ganache and then decorate if desired.

Let this set in the refrigerator. Decorate with some buttercream and enjoy with friend sand family.

Tip :-

This cake is a buttercream lover's delight so use thick layers so that you use up most of the buttercream leaving about 1 cup for decoration.

Coffee Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Coffee Chocolate Chiffon Cake 

Sometimes one has crazy needs. Lets take my last 1 month. I was overworked and tired and somehow craved chocolates at all hours. So after a simple chocolate gateau I wanted to make a cake with whatever ingredients there was at home and as it turns out it meant, I had coffee, chocolate, refined oil and flour. And I challenged myself to make a cake where I do not go out to buy any new ingredient.

Now I did read about this one cake where you use oil instead of butter and it is neither a batter cake nor a foam cake but somewhere in-between. So with a holiday to enjoy, 10 hours of work this is what was in store.

Now to be honest after having made it I would not really recommend this with my whole heart because I would rather recommend a foam cake but then again this can be made as a good option for layered cakes.

So here is what I made , a coffee chiffon layered cake with ganache frosting

Recipe adapted from SmittenKitchen

Serves 6

1/4th cup oil
6 eggs separated
6 tbsp strongly brewed coffee
170gm all purpose flour sifted
200gm castor sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Lemon juice

For the coffee syrup

1 cup of strongly brewed coffee
1 cup sugar

For the ganache

125gm chocolate
200ml cream

Prepare a 6 inch to 7 inch baking pan by buttering it and using flour all over the buttered pan.

Start by sifting the all purpose flour and baking powder together. Now separate the eggs and beat the egg whites after adding the lemon juice till it forms stiff peaks.

Preheat oven to 180 C. Now sift the flour and baking powder for a second time and whisk the egg yolks with sugar till you form a ribbon like consistency and add the coffee and beat well and then slowly add the oil and fold in the flour. lastly fold in the egg whites and bake at preheated oven at 180 C for 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

Once baked let the cakes cool down completely. While the cake is cooling down make your coffee syrup by boiling the coffee and sugar till it forms a thin syrup. Let it cool down completely. For the ganache simply chop the chocolate as finely as possible and then heat the cream on a double boiler and then add chopped chocolate and mix well till it forms a silky smooth consistency.

 Once the cake has cooled down completely cut them in half so that you have flour tyres. Now use a brush to soak each tyre of cake with coffee syrup and be generous with the syrup. Spread the ganache and then use it to cover the entire cake.

Enjoy it after chilling it well.

Tips

1. The Lemon juice added to egg whites makes sure that the stiff peaks do not collapse once you have whisked the egg whites to stiff peaks 
2. Once you have heated the cream on double boiler and added the chopped chocolates keep stirring and if you find a few lumps put the bowl on the double boiler and it will yield the smooth consistency you are looking for, 

Simple Chocolate gateau

Simple Chocolate Gateau 

To be fair,  I love exploring new desserts and as a result some very basic ones are pushed in the little closet of my mind and unfortunately they remain there and are not used in reality. So when one of my friends asked me for a simple recipe for a cake which she wants to bake for her mother on her mother's birthday the most simple cake which came to my mind was the good old chocolate cake with buttercream filling  and a ganache frosting. To be fair most people who have baked foam cakes would know that a foam cake which air leavened and uses little flour and fat is the lightest base for a gateau or what is commonly known as a layered cake but foam cakes take a lot of practice and well in India most of the cakes we get at bakeries are not foam cakes but are still very light and airy because they use oil instead of butter which is quite obvious because if one carefully smells the cakes they would find that it doesn't have that special aroma which butter incorporates but the problem with baking a British chocolate sponge cake is that though it is basic it tends to be more packed than what we get outside and a reader had once pointed out that though she loved the cake which she had baked using my recipe for sponge cake she missed that light texture. Well that was a year ago , so this time what I did was use a simple trick to make the cake airy fluffy yet with the buttery smell. All one needs to do is separate the eggs and use some extra egg whites and voila you have airy spongy light cake , which is well less airy than a foam cake but tastes quite nice. I adapted Mary Berry's recipe for the cake base altering the recipe with my separation of eggs and addition of egg whites, used a basic buttercream recipe and ganache recipe .

So here goes the recipe

Serves 4 to 5

For the base :-

175gm of all purpose flour (1.5 cups ) cups which hold 250ml of liquid
50gm cocoa powder (Half a cup of cocoa powder) the cups which hold 250ml of liquid
100gm butter
4 eggs separated
4 egg whites
1 scant tsp baking powder
200gm castor sugar (2 cups)

For the buttercream filling :-

62gm good quality dark chocolate
100gm of butter
25ml cream
25ml milk
125gm of icing sugar (you can increase the amount of icing sugar as per your taste)

For the ganache

175ml of cream
100gm of dark chocolate chopped well

Start by first preparing your baking pans ( 6 inch to 7 inch) by greasing them  with butter and dusting it with flour. If you are doing this for the first time refer to the videos on youtube which show you how to prepare cake pans. Sift your cocoa powder. You need two baking pans of size 6 inch

Now start by sifting the flour with the baking powder. This helps in making the  cake airy and light.
Whip your egg whites to a firm peak. You are using a total of 8 egg whites.
Now preheat the oven to 180 C and quickly cream your butter with a wooden spoon,  that is mix the sugar and butter well with the wooden spoon till the sugar is well incorporated and now use a whisk to fluff it up. Add the yolks one by one and keep whisking. Once done sift your flour and baking powder which has already been sifted once again and fold it in with the wooden spoon. Add the cocoa powder and fold that in then fold in the egg whites.
Bake the cake at preheated oven for 30 minutes if using a convection oven and 20 minutes for regular OTG.  Once baked insert a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean your cake has been baked else bake for another 5 minutes or so. let it cool on the pan for 5 minutes to 10 minutes and then run a sharp knife under hot water and run ti along the edge and take invert the cake on a wire rack to cool down completely.

Once the cake has cooled down completely cream your butter and icing sugar and melt the chocolate over a double boiler and once its cool enough add it with your creamed butter. And keep whisking well till its fluffy and light and add the milk and cream and fluff it up again.

For the ganache simply chop the chocolate and leave it in a big bowl , heat the cream over a double boiler and pour the cream over the chocolates and mix well. If you find lumps put the entire bowl over a double boiler till everything melts into a smooth silky texture

To assemble the cake you must remember that the cake must be allowed to cool completely before you proceed. So once it has cooled down completely . I usually proceed. I usually leave it to cool down for 2 hours or more. Now First cut the cakes in two and apply a generous amount of buttercream on the middle layers and put it in the refrigerator to firm up for about 15 minutes and then assemble them by placing them on top of one another and apply a base coat of buttercream and put it back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Now generously apply the ganache and put it back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes and now simple cut the cake and serve .

Important tips : -

1. The butter for both the cake base and butter-cream filling must be at room temperature completely softened 
2. Once you have whisked your butter and yolks you must not use the whisk else you will knock down the bubbles and your cake will be dense , so after you have whisked the yolks you must use the wooden spoon to fold in the flour and then the egg whites 
3. In case you do not have two pans or your oven is small cream the butter and add yolks and then use half of this and use half of the flour and half of the cocoa powder and half the egg whites and bake , let it rest cool down and then leave it to cool on a wire rack, clean your pan grease it , dust it with flour and then fold the remaining flour and cocoa powder with the remaining creamed butter and egg yolk mixture and the egg whites bake again but you must never prepare the entire cake batter and leave half of it because then the cake becomes dense and horrible . 
4. When making the butter cream keep tasting it to check whether all the sugar has been incorporated. 

Chocolate ice-cream

Chocolate ice-cream 

The truth is I have always had this particular obsession inside of me where I have the compulsory need to make things from scratch and while some things cannot be made at home some others with a bit of research or rather extensive reading will prove to you how you can give a run to those big companies for their money. It was way back in 2008 when I tried my first homemade ice-cream. Needless to say as a 19 year old I searched for recipes and found that most of them required an ice-cream maker and then searched for recipes for ice-creams without an ice-cream maker , made ice-cream which was not bad but the problem of ice-crystals almost defeated me even with hourly churning for 6 hours and then freezing it. Quite frankly I had decided that making ice-cream at home isn't worth the trouble without an ice-cream maker but then this was before I became Mr.Blanc's fan. A few episodes on BBC and I realized this man is a real magician of the kitchen. He effortlessly showed a recipe for a frozen dessert which is basically what English speaking people would call an ice-cream and low and  behold there was no ice-cream maker involved. I was overjoyed and what followed was a immensely successful batch of ice-cream but more importantly I decided to read up as much as possible about this one dessert which most people cannot stop loving.

I was surprised to know that ice-creams in Europe in fact used raw egg yolks or even whole eggs for that decadent creamy silky texture and many a recipe doesn't even require a machine because there are other tricks. For instance Raymond's recipe uses a fruity wine or some other alcohol to prevent ice-crystals. After many a batch of successful ice-creams which included flavours such as vanilla, Blanc's coffee flavoured parfait. Parfait is the French word for a dish which is perfect and usually frozen and indeed his recipe is perfect but then again once you get the gist of a dish, that is you understand its characteristics and truly understand it you have already entered into a magnificent relationship with the dish and you can whip up a successful version of your own.

While I have usually stuck to coffee flavoured ice-creams or glace or parfait if you would like to call it and have followed Blanc's recipe changing the flavours between vanilla and coffee but this was the first time I made my very own glace or ice-cream and  it sure was creamy and delicious and here is why. My recipe does not use alcohol but the secrets in the butter,well not dairy butter but cocoa butter. All that fatty goodness makes it decadently silky smooth and creamy and then there are the yolks working magic but I have made this without eggs as well and while I wouldn't suggest leaving out the yolks for people who eat eggs for those who do not there is the other option as well  .

Makes about 6 large scoops of ice-cream

What you need :-

500ml double dairy cream (Non dairy will not work)
5 egg yolks /If you do not eat eggs substitute it with 2/3rd cup homemade condensed milk made from 500ml of full fat milk
130gm of dark chocolate
7 to 8 heaped tbsp cocoa powder . Now here is the deal, I like my chocolate to be bitter , I mean normally I like mine 85% dark so I suggest you adjust the cocoa powder and I will show you how
3 heaped tbsp icing sugar

Start by chilling the cream in a big bowl and whipping it and then using a second large bowl to melt the chocolate on a double boiler and take off the heat and add the yolks or if you are using the condensed milk use that and whip very hard. Don't let the eggs scramble so keep whipping and when you have a glossy texture slowly start adding the sugar and cocoa powder and a bit of cream to make a smooth texture when mixing. Here I suggest adding the sugar and cocoa powder bit by bit and tasting it so that you know when to stop. Now simply fold in the whipped cream to make a smooth mixture and then freeze in an air-tight container. The trick to not getting any ice-crystal is to serve it as soon as it freezes which can take somewhere between 3 hours to 5 hours.

Here are a few  very useful tips :-

1. We often find the ice-cram to be too hard and it stubbornly refuses to come out as a nice round scoop. Here is what you do. Simply warm water and plunge your ice-cream scooper in it and then try creating a smooth ball, You will be amazed , at least I was.
2. Remember that serving the ice-cream as soon as it freezes over gives you ice-crystal free smooth ice-cream. 

French chocolate truffle

French Chocolate Truffles 

The truth is that, there is precious little difference between Swiss chocolate truffles and French chocolate truffles. As per Wikipedia while Swiss chocolate truffles have the added butter, French truffle chocolates use cream and chocolate alone. Now I had already tried my hands at Swiss chocolate truffles and it was but natural for me to venture into the French chocolate truffles. Easy to make and easy to please your guests

What you need is :-

200gm double cream (the more the fat the creamier the taste)
250gm good quality dark chocolate
50gm cocoa powder to roll the truffles in

Chop the chocolates (it is advisable to chop them as small as possible for ease of mixing with the cream) Simply use low heat to warm the cream but make sure you do not burn the base, so keep stirring and when its warm enough pour it over the chopped chocolates and use a spatula to mix it well till its smooth and creamy and then let it cool down to room temperature and , in it goes in the refrigerator for 12 hours to 24 hours and then take the cocoa powder on a flat surface , dust your hands with cocoa powder and make little balls to make your friends and family go Mmmmmm

Mousse au Chocolat (Elizabeth David) / Chocolate Mousse

Mousse au Chocolat/ Chocolate Mousse 

by Elizabeth David 

I am pretty obsessed with trying out different recipes for the same dish. Take the case of the simple Mousse au chocolat, its available at virtually all bakeries around the world. Its chocolaty , airy and creamy but not creamy in the way dairy cream is supposed to be and that is exactly where I find my disappointment. That being said I always have maintained and still maintain that 'taste is subjective' Mousse made with cream is something I do not condone. Ever since I had stumbled across Maman Blanc's Mousse au chocolat I have sworn by it for the extra airy and light texture . Her's uses egg whites alone but then again this time I wanted something with a bit more body. Felicity Cloake has tried numerous recipes for Mousse au Chocolat (with cream and without it) and calls this 'the perfect mousse'. I do not consider any recipe to be perfect because what is perfect for me might not be perfect for someone else but if you like your's chocolaty , airy yet with that richness this is your mousse.

What you need is very simple

Makes 2 servings

2 eggs separated
60gm  dark chocolate , preferably 70% if you like it dark like I do or at least 50% dark ( the better the quality of the chocolate the better your recipe turns out to be)
A drop of lemon juice
1/2 tsp alcohol based coffee extract  Or You may experiment with any alcohol of your choice)

The whipped egg whites 

Start by whipping your egg whites to stiff peaks. Add the lemon juice to your egg whites when whipping it which prevents it from collapsing.

Now melt the chocolate over a double boiler (chocolate being a very delicate food item seizes,  that is forms a grainy mass with a little extra heat )

Quickly add the yolks and whisk it well till it is silky and smooth.

Quickly fold in 1/3rd of your whisked egg whites to loosen the chocolate yolk mixture and quickly fold in the rest of the egg white and pour it in your serving glass or cup of dessert bowl and set in the refrigerator for 2 hours and voila its done.

For a boozy and might I say better variant add 1/2 tsp alcohol based coffee essence. When folding in the whipped egg whites with the chocolate egg yolk base.

Very important tip :-

1. Never try and melt the chocolate and egg yolk together because not only will that make the chocolate seize leaving your mousse a bit grainy it might even scramble the egg so melt the chocolate and only  after melting it whisk in the egg yolks. 
2. Your expertise in folding the egg whites with the yolk-chocolate base will determine how mousse like the texture would be. 
3. I make my coffee extract at home by soaking 4 tbsp cracked coffee beans in 200ml vodka, for 1 week and then straining the extract. It stays for months in the refrigerator. So far these last me hardly 3 months or so because I use it to soak cakes , make mousse , ice-cream etc etc 

Dacquoise Cherry Amande Gateau

Dacquoise Cherry Amande 

(My Oval Coffee Cherry Dacquoise Gateau) 

It has only been very recently that I finally got the courage to venture into foam cakes. You see what many of us non-professional bakers do not know until and unless we read about it is that there are two very distinct types of cake bases, the butter cakes which are richer , buttery and make perfect tea-time cakes and then there are the foam cakes which is light , airy and perfect to make layered cakes. They are a bit dry to be taken on their own. I am calling this my 'Oval Coffee cherry Dacquoise Gateau' Basically gateau is the french term for layered cakes and so next time you find that in a bakery you know what it is.

So I have also quite recently discovered the joys of making Cakes with almond flour , the taste and flavour is amazing and this one is surely a winner.

So I had some leftover ground almond after I made an Opera cake and so it was time for a Dacquoise Amande with the leftover coffee butter-cream icing and some chocolate sauce on top . I added a bit of homemade chocolate syrup and some glazed cherries for that extra deliciousness

Here goes the recipe

For the base : -

5 egg whites
A few drops of lemon.
150gm of ground almond (made from blanched and toasted almonds which was cooled down and ground)
150gm icing sugar

For the Coffee French Buttercream frosting please use the recipe for French Buttercream but simply cut down the recipe by half.

For the Chocolate swirl cover

125gm of dark chocolate
100gm coffee syrup made with bringing 100ml of brewed coffee to a boil and adding  50gm sugar to it.
2 tbsp unsalted butter

250gm glazed cherries de-seeded

Prepare by first greasing your pan and using butter paper on it and drawing a circle on it which is about the size of a round baking pan which can bake a pound of cake. Preheat oven to 180 C Then start off by whipping your egg whites to soft peaks with the few drops of lemon (the lemon juice prevents the egg whites from collapsing if over whipped) and then adding the sugar and whipping it to a stage where you can hold your bowl over your head and it stays put. Now fold in the ground almond and then spread half of on one baking tray and the other half on another baking tray. Bake for about 15 minutes for regular oven and 25 minutes for convection oven and let the two discs cool. While the cake base is being baked quickly chop the chocolates and then then place it on a bowl in which water is boiling with the butter and once it melts add the syrup and whisk to form a smooth dark chocolate sauce. Slowly but firmly separate the butter-paper. Now apply a thick layer of buttercream and sandwich the two discs. Put it in the refrigerator to set for sometime and then apply a generous amount of buttercream covering the cake from all sides. Pour a bit of the sauce from top and make swirls for decoration and then let it set for 5 minutes and decorate with glazed de-seeded cherries and let it chill for 5 hours before serving. This light fluffy cake with this amazingly rich icing and smooth chocolate was a perfect hit with my friends and family.

Triple Gateau Au Chocolat

Triple Gateau Au Chocolat 

 My dear friends were coming over and I had been planning my menu for over 3 weeks. I was excited like a child , giddy with joy and anticipation and trying to read up as many recipes as possible. You see I had a bit of confusion, should it be the Dobostorte rich, dark, with a caramel layer, the elegant Opera Cake or the ever Classic Triple Gateau Au Chocolat.

Playing tic tac toe I suddenly decided Gateau au Chocolat it would be. I searched high and low for the perfect recipe and boldly tried out my own with amalgamation of two different recipes for the chocolate cake base. It was french yolk based utterly silky and sensuous chocolate buttercream frosting and of course a ganache layer to top it all. In this season of strawberries I but naturally used those plump , juicy, sweet and sour berries because not only are they the sensation of the season , they cut down on the sweetness of the cake and works wonderfully well inside one's mouth. Imagine fluffy, soft, moist , firm yet light cake with a creamy buttery lighter than mousse frosting topped with dark , bitter yet delightful chocolate ganache giving it the perfect vintage coat for this winter. Triple for the triple indulgence - chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream frosting and chocolate ganache :)

So here comes the cake, ta tah ta tah:

For the base

6 eggs
300gm all purpose flour
Baking powder (3 tsp)
4 to 6 tablespoonful of Sour Cream (I made homemade substitute of sour cream with heavy cream and buttermilk and allowed them to ferment for 24 hours before usage)
300gm of castor sugar
200 to 220 gm of butter
130gm of cocoa powder

For the chocolate butter cream frosting

6 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/4th cup water
200 to 300gm of tempered dark chocolate
250gm unsalted butter
200gm double cream

For the ganache

300gm dark chocolate
20gm butter
60gm double cream

I usually always start by baking the base a day ahead of serving because it not only lessens the pressure of the kitchen on the D-Day but helps in holding the frosting better. I also bake it in two batches and bake the cake batter twice by dividing the ingredients. Preheat ovent o 180 C and Start by sifting the baking powder and flour together and then moving on to creaming your butter with the sugar and when it is properly creamed add the eggs one by one mixing thoroughly. Fold your flour baking powder mixture but soft it once again before folding it because that helps in creating a light fluffy texture of the cake. Add your cocoa powder but sift it while adding it and then fold it . here you will find the mixture very thick and so add the sour cream. Fold gently because over mixing will cause the cake not to rise perfectly. bake at 180C for 47 minutes to 50 minutes. I use a convection oven and so my timing is more than what an OTG would require so lessen the time to 40 minutes in case of using OTG. Check if cake is done by inserting a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean you are done. Wrap in plastic leaving one side open and work on the frosting the next day.

Here are some tips :

1. Do not ever open the door even by mistake during the baking
2. After the toothpick insert let it rest in the oven for 10 minutes 
3. Let the cake cool down completely before trying to de-mould it else some of it remains stuck to the baking pan. 

Before frosting the cake. First cut the cakes to make four pieces the next morning. 

For the butter cream frosting 

Make the butter-cream using the French butter-cream method with the given amount of ingredients in thsi recipe 

Prepare ganache 

Temper chocolate on double boiler , take care not to seize the chocolate add cream and butter and mix really well. Now while it is in the liquid state use a spatula to gently spread all over the cake. decorate with strawberries and serve. Your guests will definitely remember this cake. 

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