Thick, Creamy Chocolate Custard Yogo

Where do you keep your chocolate stash? Come on, I know you all have one, even if it is just an unintentional stash. Sometimes I find myself in the pantry with my hand in the cooking chocolate bag.
Last night I sneaked the block of chocolate out of my hospital bag. It was meant to be a midnight treat for after the baby is born, but now baby is overdue and  necessity calls--the chocolate is out, paired with girlie movies and other feel good things when the night comes and the babies are tucked up in bed. Why is the waiting game so hard?
I don't know...but chocolate sure makes everything feel a little better.
And I have just found the ultimate chocolate feel good recipe that pleases little people and big people alike. It reminds me of the chocolate custard recipe my mum used to make--or those yummy chocolate yogo tubs you get at the supermarket (although they're never big enough.) This super thick, creamy chocolatey goodness is easy and simple to make and cost effective--considering you buy a tub of the stuff for about 5 or 6 dollars. This probably costs a dollar. And I could seriously eat a litre of this stuff in a sitting. Although I can't, because my stomach isn't big enough anymore to do something as reckless as that. Just as well!
You can use cocoa powder instead of Milo powder for this recipe, but I used Milo/chocolate drinking malt for it's added nutritional benefits, and lowered the sugar from the original recipe. My kids can't get enough of this stuff and it makes a nice and not too naughty treat for them that they can scoop on their own from individual little plastic tubs. It's a winner all around.

THICK, CREAMY CHOCOLATE CUSTARD YOGO (Adapted from Best Recipes)

3 cups milk
1/2 cup Milo powder
1/3 cup sugar
4 tbsp. corn flour
1/2 cup boiling water

Place two cups of milk in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Heat until it boils. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, place the chocolate powder, sugar, corn flour and boiling water. Stir to combine and dissolve. Add the final cup of milk to this mixture and stir.
When the milk on the stove-top is coming to a boil, pour the chocolate milk mixture into the saucepan through a sieve or strainer. Lower the heat and whisk continuously until the mixture begins to thicken, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a container or individual tibs. Place a layer of plastic wrap directly over the top of the custard to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate until cool before serving. Custard will thicken on refrigeration.

NOTES: Makes about 700mL. You can use cocoa powder instead of Milo for this recipe. Some brands of cocoa are stronger than others, so adjust accordingly. You may also like to add a little more sugar if you use cocoa, as Milo is sweetened.

Pipeable White Chocolate Ganache

What foods say Christmas to you?
At Christmas, I personally can't go without cherries, white chocolate and brandy custard. Gingerbread, pavlova and mince pies also come runners up. What's your favourite Christmas food?
I had a lovely lady ask me the other day how to make white chocolate ganache. She specified that it was for piping, however she was unable to get the ganache thick enough and firm enough to pipe at all. So here we have it, a recipe that's good for ganache anyway you want it--be it for dipping, drizzling, spreading or piping. It's very versatile and I think it's practically foolproof. You can use it for dipping as soon as it's cooled, or for spreading after sitting a little longer. If you want to pipe it, you whip it after refrigeration. Its a win win recipe.
I used compound Nestle's Melts cooking chocolate but you can use any type of cooking chocolate. The better quality, the better the result. Also, a little rule of thumb--always twice as much chocolate as cream!

Here we've paired the pipe-able White Chocolate Ganache with Dutch Spaculaas and fresh Cherries...perfect for Christmas!

THICK WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup white chocolate chips (I used Nestle compound white melts)

Place the cream in a small saucepan. Place over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbles begin to form around the edges. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate chips, and arrange them so that the cream covers them. Place a lid on the saucepan and sit for two minutes. Remove the lid and using a hand whisk, beat until the cream and the chocolate are incorporated and smooth. Sit on the benchtop until cool enough to refrigerate. Refrigerate for an hour. Beat the ganache mixture with electric beaters, for 1-2 minutes, until thick and creamy. Pipe onto your cake or dessert as desired.

Makes approximately 1 1/4 cups of ganache

Sorry about the grainy photos--my kitchen is poorly lit!

NOTES: If you desire pourable or dip-able ganache, simply use before refrigeration. The ganache thickens the longer you let it sit, in or out of the refrigerator.

Chocolate Chilli Mousse Cups

Good things come in small packages, right? You will completely fall in love with this dessert made with Gourmet Garden's Hot Chilli paste. Paired with a smooth, velvety chocolate mousse, the chilli infused oil gives a warm kick at the back of your throat, making a delicious end to the meal on a cold night. Who would have thought that chilli would be such a delightful addition to a dessert? I made them in small shot glasses, because this mousse is super decadent and rich. It has hints of orange that are savored just before the warm surprise of the chilli hits, and the deliciousness of chocolate delights the whole way through. In one word it's scrumptious. It certainly was the grand, albeit petite, finale to an evening of gourmet herb and spice taste testing. You could sink into a hole of gluttony with this recipe. Beware.

Course 5:

CHOCOLATE CHILLI MOUSSE CUPS (Adapted from Taste.com)

300g good quality dark chocolate
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup mild cooking oil
2 tsp. Gourmet Garden hot chilli paste
2 tsp. orange essence or 1 tbsp. Cointreau

Place oil and chilli paste in a small saucepan. Heat on low for 5 minutes and remove from flame. Set aside for a few hours to completely cool. When cooled, pour the infused oil through a strainer or sieve into another bowl. Using a teaspoon, mash the chilli that has been retained in the strainer so that some small fragments pass into the oil. Discard the rest of the chilli.

Melt the chocolate gently in a microwave proof bowl, checking and stirring regularly to ensure it does not burn.
Set aside to cool slightly. In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Add the yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition until well incorporated. Gradually add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture, beating well until smooth. Add the oil gradually while beating, and lastly, incorporate the orange flavouring.
Place mixture in a piping bag and pipe into 12 small tumblers (I used disposable shot glasses) Serve chilled, decorated with chocolate curls.

Makes 12 shot glasses of mousse

Wish me luck! Judging is taking place on the 22nd of May 2012. Cross your fingers and toes for me!

Pink Strawberry Chocolate Fondue with Strawberries

Sadly this post comes with a warning. I made a trip to the dentist yesterday and it seems I am to pay for my sweet addiction with a possible root canal. I'm sure its been coming for several years now but it reminded me of how much sugar my body processes every year. Sweets. They rule my life. Yet the cost is far greater than just that of the ingredients.
No but really, don't expect a decrease in the number of recipes being posted on this blog. Although I am shirking sugar for a while until I cease to feel guilty about that tooth, the baking continues...just not for me.
But that's really what I'm about anyway. My satisfaction in cooking comes almost entirely by giving other people the pleasure of devouring it. Of course the cooking, photography and blogging is pretty awesome too. But cooking for the people I love, just tops it right off.
So here's a little bit of decadence, a great centre piece for table when guests are over, and an elegant end to a meal. Strawberry chocolate fondue with strawberries, cake, or any other delightful nibble you want to add to the skewer!

STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE FONDUE WITH STRAWBERRY SKEWERS

3/4 cup cream
12 oz white chocolate buttons
2-3 tbsp strawberry liqueur
1 drop red food colouring

Heat cream on a medium flame for 2-3 minutes until hot. Add the chocolate, and stir continuously until melted. Remove from heat. Add the food colouring and flavouring. Serve over tea-light flame with fresh strawberry skewers.

Serves 6 or more

Choc-Jaffa Pastry Cornets

So I am back from the most amazing mini break baby moon in the glorious Sunshine Coast Hinterland. It was so relaxing and peaceful, and the little cottage we stayed in was simply divine. Log fire crackling away, issuing that cherry glow over soft rugs, rain on the tin roof, strawberries, chocolate, and a hot spa *sigh*
Why did it ever have to end?
Somehow I enjoyed not being in the kitchen...it's nice when you don't have to prepare dinner. But when I returned home I felt a real longing to get into the baking again...I felt a part of me was disappearing! Mind you we were only away for a few days, but in that time we ate out at cafes and feasted on the continental breakfast that was delivered to our cottage mini kitchen. I didn't lift a finger!
By the time I got home my mind was once again overflowing with a million culinary ideas. Yes that's right...I lay in bed and my mind automatically creates all sorts of delicious things while I try to fall asleep.
I've been dreaming of these delights for ages. A buttery, pastry horn filled with delicious chocolate goo. A chocolate pastry horn filled with delicious chocolate goo. Chocolate pastry? Yes, I had some trouble finding a good recipe for that, so I tested my luck with puff pastry instead. And it was a success!
The awesome thing about my new discovery of these pastry horns is that you can use them for either sweet or savories. When they came out of the oven, looking cute and golden and perfectly cony, a million savory ideas ripped through my head. Look out for some fresh hors d'oeuvres ideas on here in the near future!

CHOC-JAFFA FILLED PASTRY CORNETS

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
300g good quality dark chocolate
3 eggs, separated
125ml (1/2 cup) light olive oil
2 tsp. orange essence
1 chocolate covered honeycomb bar (Crunchy Bar or Violet Crumble) crushed
100g extra dark chocolate

Melt the chocolate gently in a microwave proof bowl, checking and stirring regularly to ensure it does not burn.
Set aside to cool slightly. In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Add the yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition until well incorporated. Gradually add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture, beating well until smooth. Add the oil gradually while beating, and lastly, incorporate the orange flavouring. Set the bowl aside in the refrigerator for 4 hours to set.
Meanwhile, cut the pastry into 20 strips (about 1.5 cm wide). Using metal cones and starting at the top (see note), twist each strip of pastry around, overlapping at the edges to hold, to form a cone. Cook in moderate oven (180C) for 30-35 minutes until golden. Cool for five minutes before gently removing.
Melt the extra chocolate and paint the rims of the pastry cones, dipping in broken honeycomb peices before leaving to set.
Using a piping bag and star nozzle, fill with jaffa mixture and refrigerate to set.

Makes approximately 20

Jaffa filling recipe adapted from Good Taste Magazine April 2007

NOTES: if you do not have the traditional metal horns used for making gingersnap cream horns like this one from TESCOMA
 

We have a cheap solution--one packet of ice cream wafer cones and some aluminum foil!

Romantic Getaway Chocolates

My darling husband surprised me this weekend by booking a romantic escape for two nights up in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.  It’s a long weekend, part of which is to be spent in front of a log fire in our own little wood cabin, nestled in one of my favourite parts of the world. It’s a beautifully romantic spot and I’m all geared up for it…babymoon here we come!

Does anything say romance than a few nights away from it all…and a box of chocolates?  Mind you the non-alcoholic bubbly will be coming along with us too (I tell you its just as good as the real deal) and plenty of these...

ROMANTIC CHOCOLATES

You will need:

A chocolate mold of some sort (unless you mean to make truffles)

Good quality chocolate for the cases

Any of the following filling ingredients.

THE BASICS:

What to know before starting:

Its worth getting good quality chocolate for your chocolate making adventure. Your chocolates will only be as good as the quality of the chocolate you begin with. Never rush the melting process. A good way to ensure even melting and avoidance of burning, is to have a bowl of boiling water sitting underneath another bowl containing your chocolate. Be sure the bowl containing your chocolate cannot fall into the water as this will curdle your chocolate.
Use of a pastry brush to obtain a good even coating of the bottom and sides of your chocolate mold is ideal. Place these chocolate shells into the freezer for quicker setting time and do not remove until you have filled them with the desired filling and sealed with a finishing layer of melted chocolate. Return to the freezer until set before removing.

EASY FILLINGS FOR MOLD CHOCOLATES:

An easy and quick way to fill chocolates is to make up some flavoured icing. Using icing sugar, food colouring and essence of your choice, mix with a small amount of water until you get a desired consistence. Fill the pre-made chocolate shells and seal with a layer of melted chocolate. The now flavoured, gooey centres with thicken slightly on setting and will look gorgeous upon biting!

USING LEFTOVER SWEETS AS A FILLING

Left over sweets such as cake are a lovely alternative filling, and a surprising one for the recipient. Moisten broken cake with a little cream and spoon into the chocolate shells. Seal with a finishing coat of melted of melted chocolate to finish and remove after further refrigeration.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES (can also be used as a chocolate filling)

250g dark chocolate, finely chopped

1/3 cup cream

Bring the cream just to the boil in a heavy saucepan. Remove from heat and add the chocolate to the cream. Beat until the chocolate has melted and both ingredients are well combined. Place in the refrigerator until firm, approximately 1-3 hours. 

You can use as a filling in prepared chocolate cases, finishing them off with a layer of melted chocolate to seal the bottoms. Alternately, you can use a melon scoop to make into ball shapes and then freeze until firm. You have lots of options such as coating in melted chocolate and decorating, or rolling them in cocoa powder, crushed nuts, coconut etc depending on your tastes. You can also add a flavouring such as peppermint essence to the ganache before refrigeration for a variation. Small chunks of apricot, nuts or mints also make interesting additions to your ganache.