Chocolate Mousse

First post of 2015 had to be something sweet.



200gms chopped dark chocolate
3tbsp unsalted butter
1tsp vanilla essence
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
3tbsp sugar
1/4tsp cream of tartar
1/4cup sugar
1/2cup whipping cream



In a large bowl melt the chocolate. You can melt chocolate in the microwave or a bain marie. For detailed instructions please refer to this page. Set aside.

In another heatproof bowl whisk together egg yolks and sugar (use powdered sugar if possible). Set the bowl in a double boiler and whisk constantly until thick and resembles a silky sauce. Remove from the water bath and whisk thoroughly into the melted chocolate. Do not wait for the egg to cool as it will scramble the mixture. Set aside to cool at room temperature.



In another large bowl, beat egg white until triple its volume so as its light and foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat till peaks form. Incase you don't have cream of tartar, you can use a teaspoon of vinegar or omit it all together. Gradually beat in the sugar until the peaks are stiff.

Fold in the egg white mixture into the chocolate mix one quarter at a time.



In a smaller bowl, beat whipped cream till soft peaks form. Gently fold the cream in the chocolate mixture. Divide equally into bowls or ramkeins or even fancy martini glasses and refrigerate for 6hours or till the mousse is set.

Serve as is or with a dollop of whipped cream or white chocolate shavings.

Homemade Nutella

This chocolate hazelnut spread needs no introduction. A spoonful of this will lift up your bread, dress up your ice cream, and even take you through a breakup. It is amazing, and this coming from a person who isn't into chocolate.



A jar of Nutella won't even last a week in my kitchen, but nowadays it just makes me sad. Since I'm getting married, I'm on a diet and its just impossible having just one spoon of this stuff. Which got me thinking, why not make my own Nutella, and try making a healthier' version? The important word being try! How you may ask? I've replaced milk chocolate with dark and palm oil with olive oil.



My dad got me some hazelnuts from his trip to Abu Dhabi, and I know its not easily available in India, but unfortunately there's no substitute.



Adapted from Buzzfeed.com

Makes a jar full

1 cup peeled hazelnuts
1 large bar of cooking dark chocolate
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbs sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder (co-incidentally I found a hazelnut flavoured powder in my pantry)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Toast hazelnuts in the oven for 10-15mins at 130 degrees Celsius. Set aside and let them cool completely. Melt chocolate in the microwave and stir till smooth.

Grind hazelnuts with oil until they form a paste. Add the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla & salt and blend till mixture is smooth. Lastly add the melted chocolate and process till combined.

Transfer to a jar and wait till it cools to room temperature before putting the lid. Since no milk/cream is used, the spread will last at room temperature for few months (if it lasts that long!)



Note: I was concerned that my spread was too runny, but give it time to set and its just the right spreadable texture.

Update:
People from Mumbai attempting to make this: I managed to find Hazelnuts at Haiko supermarket in Powai, all Hypercity outlets and ofcourse Crawford Market.

Oreo & Peanut Butter Banana Pops

I did a ton of reading around Vegan desserts and most of them revolve around the humble banana. Its surprising what you can make out of one fruit and how diverse it is.

I got the inspiration for this recipe from BuzzFeed where I stumbled upon a video of someone rolling bananas in granola and chocolate for a tasty breakfast treat. So I thought to myself, why not combine my favourite vegan ingredients?

Serves 1 (Who wants to share?)

1 ripe green banana, chilled (not frozen)
1/2 cup melted dark chocolate
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp soy milk or regular milk if not vegan (optional)
1 pack or 12 oreos crushed as fine or chunky as you prefer
a pinch of salt

You will also need wooden skewers. I trimmed mine down as I cut my bananas in thumb-sized chunks. If using whole or half portioned bananas cut skewers accordingly.

In a bowl mix melted chocolate with peanut butter. Add a dash of soy milk if too thick. You can also add in a neutral tasting oil instead to dilute the mixture. But lets make this dish 'healthy' with soy milk alright? Add a pinch of salt. Salt actually make chocolate taste sweeter!

Place crushed oreos in another bowl. Peel and cut bananas according to preference. I cut my bananas into smaller portions but you can cut it in half or use whole if you prefer. Dip bananas first in the chocolate mix and then roll it in the oreos. Now get ready to dirty your hands. Pick up the banana and insert skewer in the middle.

Eat as is or chill in fridge before devouring!

 

Baked Chocolate Samosas

Samosas are my all time favourite tea time snack. There is nothing more comforting that piping hot samosas and chai...especially during the rains. And I think its so versatile. Traditionally indians use potatoes as stuffing, but I love meat fillings. And this got me thinking on sweet based fillings.

Being vegan really got me scratching my head for innovative desserts. I love sweets, and thats what I'm craving most. I had some left over spring rolls sheets from my previous recipe. And I recently discovered that dark chocolate (atleast the brand I used:Goldsmith) and Hersheys chocolate syrup are vegan!!! Hallelujah! I think I did a mini jig in the supermarket. So, I put the two together and omg it is divine! You have the crunchy exterior and beautifully gooey chocolate exterior. Its heaven in a bite. I made one and deep fried it. But it was too unhealthy and oily to eat beyond the first bite. Hence I tried baking it works just as well.

Ingredients:

Springroll sheets or samosa patti (both easily available ready made)
Dark chocolate bars chopped into cubes and frozen
Hershey's chocolate syrup

(No measurements here. You cannot put restrictions on chocolate :) Just ensure there is 1 cube of chocolate for 1 sheet)

It is essential that you freeze the chocolate before using. Room temperature chocolate will melt soon and ooze out leaving you with a big mess. Frozen chocolate with retain its shape and still give you a gooey centre.

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Place the spring roll sheet on a flat surface. Drizzle with Hersheys syrup. Use the back of a spoon to spread around evenly. This syrup not only gives an additional chocolatey taste but also acts as a glue to keep the rolls in shape.

Fold the sheet in half on the chocolate side. You should have a clean springroll surface again. Drizzle with chocolate syrup again. Place the cube of frozen chocolate in the middle and fold according to preference. I really experimented with shapes here. I did a traditional triangle, but also made springroll shapes.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place these rolls on top. Bake for 15mins or till slightly golden. If you aren't vegan like me, I'd suggest giving the rolls an egg wash before baking. You can drizzle with olive oil if you wish for a really golden crust, but I'm going for a 'healthy' version.

Pull out of oven, and let it cool. Enjoy the crispy and gooey treat!

Two Ingredient Nutella Cake

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

As a prequel to my Nigella Lawson Project, I thought I'd keep it simple. I was invited to a friend's party and wanted something easy and quick to whip up. I had a jar of Nutella and this recipe at the back of my mind that I've been wanting to try out forever. I've been toying with the idea of a flourless cake for a while, and I think Nutella is the perfect ingredient.

Note: This was an experiment on my part with just a mix and match of ingredients in my head. I knew the basics about flourless cakes, but this recipe was a shot in the dark. But it did have amazing results. How can one ever go wrong with Nutella?

My tips on making this recipe:

• DONT CHEAT. There are only two ingredients and it is easy to make. It takes 10 minutes to make the batter, but if you try to simplify it or lose patience with the eggs you will end up will poor results.
• The key to the cake is the whipping of the eggs. The egg whites must be whipped to death. This is what creates the texture of the cake and prevents it from being 'eggy'.
• Warm up the nutella to make it a little runny, but not too hot or your eggs will cook up
• When you fold in the eggs and Nutella, it needs to be done in batches to avoid deflating the egg mix

Ingredients:

4eggs (separated)

Half a jar of Nutella

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celsius.  In a big bowl, whisk the egg whites till extremely fluffy. I'd suggest you use a stand mixer or a hand mixer, just plain elbow grease won't do the trick. You are looking at a nice thick, silky smooth consistency that is atleast three times the volume.

Microwave the nutella to make it a little softer. Beat the egg yolks and add that to the nutella. Whisk together to form a smooth paste. Add 1/4 of the egg whites and gently fold into the chocolate mix. Repeat till the mix is fully incorporated.

Pour batter into tin and bake for 30 mins or until a toothpick inserted at the centre comes out clean. Let cake cool, dust with icing sugar and serve.

Note: since no flour is use, the texture of this 'cake' is more marshmallowy

Cake Pops

Is it a cake? Is it a lollipop? Hell, its both those things!!! I think Cake Pops were the pioneers of hybrid desserts. In a world of Cronuts and Crownies, I still think these pops take the cake (pun intended). I mean what is there not to like? Its cake on a stick!

However having said that, I read up on a lot of 'easy' recipes and tutorials online before attempting mine....and they are not even remotely easy. Sure the recipe is simple...leftover cake and some chocolate. Sure its hardly 2-3 ingredients. But that is where the easy ends. Assembling these babies takes time, effort and a bucket load of patience. If you made these perfect at your first attempt, I must give you a standing ovation. I don't want to scare or discourage people from trying this out...it is a lot of fun! You get your hands smothered in chocolate, which you can later lick. But be prepared for your pops falling out, not coming together, not sticking etc. Like I said, you need a lot of patience. So if you are brave enough to try this out, here are my two cents:

• Crumbing: Using your hands to break bits of cake and crumb it up the cake, is actually quite relaxing and a lot of fun. But if you don't want to get your hands dirty or are a tad bit OCD about crumb size, use a food processor or blender. It will break the cake into even crumbs with no chunks.
• I didn't know this: You can melt chocolate in a microwave! Hallelujah! No more double boiler nonsense. Just roughly cut the chocolate and put in the your microwave at high heat. It takes all of two minutes!
• Go easy on the chocolate: Now the cake is already moist (and like always, I added a dash of brandy in mine), so only add a little chocolate. The only job of the chocolate/ frosting is to bind the cake. So add a little and check out if the cake comes together. Adding too much will make your 'batter' moist and you will end up having to add more cake to balance it out.
• If you do end up adding a lot of frosting/chocolate (like I did), put the cake in the fridge to cool so that the chocolate solidifies again and your mix will be easier to roll after. However, the only disadvantage to this is that once you remove the cake from the fridge, you have to work quickly else the chocolate will melt again and you are back to square one.
• Use your hands: It helps to mix and roll the cake in your hands so that you can get a feel of it. When I used a spoon, I couldn't tell if I had put too much chocolate. It was when I touched it that I realized the 'dough' was too moist and I couldn't roll it into a ball.
• Use ice cream scooper: This isn't mandatory, but use an ice cream scooper to scoop up the 'dough'. You will get neat and even balls. Not only does it save you a lot of effort, it will save you cleaning up time as well.
• Use a deep narrow cup for dipping. The bowl should be deep enough to be able to dip the ball completely 
• Use styrofoam (thermocol): A block of thermocol makes for a great holder to stick the pops in
• And lastly, why stick to boring straws and skewers? Have your cake and eat the stick too. I got a little creative and used wafer roll sticks and candy canes. 

Since I went ahead and did my own thing, no credits for this post. For the Cake Pops you will need:

Cake (duh): Preferably old crumbly cake. I used my parents anniversary cake. It was a rich plum cake with some fondant that was lying in my fridge for over 6 months. Its perfect because it was rich and crumbly at the same time

Chocolate: I used dark chocolate to bind the cake and white chocolate as frosting to coat it.

Optional:

A dash of cream: I added this to the chocolate to make a ganache instead of just plain regular chocolate

Sprinkles etc to decorate the cake pops. I omitted this in my pop as it was already too rich.
A dash of booze for added flavour

Crumb the cake to workable bits. I added some rum at this point.

Add the melted chocolate

Combine together to form a rough 'dough'. Roll into bite sized balls. I used thick straws and edible wafers as holders and hence I went for larger balls. But if you are using lollipop sticks aim for smaller balls.

Dip sticks into melted chocolate and insert into the balls. The chocolate acts as glue. Don't insert the straw too deep or the ball would start to come undone.

Refrigerate until firm. Use this time to prep up other supplies. Warm your chocolate or make a ganache. Bring out the sprinkles.

Dip the pop in the melted chocolate. Allow excess chocolate to drip from the pop before putting them in a holder. Once the chocolate is set, they are ready to be served!

I was going for the whole 'north pole' theme, hence I've used wafers as sticks and my ganache is set only half way, giving a snow covered effect.

You can go crazy with these. You can use any flavoured cake, even leftovers. You can use butter, frosting or even oil as a binding agent for the cake. And obviously you can go crazy with toppings. My favourite place to gawk at cake pops is www.bakerella.com (she apparently invented it! such genius).