Chocolate Rum Hearts

Lovers-it's that time of the year again. I've crawled out from my hiding place to bring you a very quick, easy and yummy recipe that is perfect for Valentine's Day, especially if you don't buy gifts but just do something thoughtful for your significant other. The only problem is life caught up with me and I wasn't able to post it on time, but never the less, it's a good recipe for just surprising your lover, regardless what day it is. Who needs a particular day to express their love anyway?
Just in case you've been wondering what rock I've crawled out from under, I am pregnant! That's one big boulder on the front of me. I haven't been up to doing much cooking or baking, and would rather be laying down and catching as many zzz's as I can muster with three toddlers under my care. Just kidding- toddlers 1, mummy 0.
But that's okay, because over the weekend, hubby and I and the kids are heading off on holidays to the Sunshine Coast. I cannot wait to get my grubby mits on that little beach house and really relax! Anyway, these heart shaped rum bites are delicious and you don't need to use an oven. If you're in one of those hot climates like I am, you will not want to pass this up. It's too hot to have that thing on.
If you're curious as to what you'll be creating, I can tell you what will be passing your beloved's lips-dense, chocolatey hearts with a nice dash of rum, rolled in red coconut. You will need a silicone heart mold. I suspect mine is supposed to be used for ice making but it's always been more handy for other non liquid creations like this...yum!

 CHOCOLATE RUM HEARTS (A Lick the Spoon Original)

350g biscuits (I used a bunch of different ones like Marie bisuits, plain sweet ones)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup (300g) sweetened condensed milk
2-3 tbsp. rum
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1 tbsp red food colouring

Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs in a food processor. Pour into a medium sized bowl.
Add the cocoa, sweetened condensed milk and rum. Mix until well combined.
In a zip lock bag, place the coconut and the food colouring. Mix around until the coconut begins to change colour. Sprinkle a little of this mixture into the bottom of each heart shaped silicone old.
Press the chocolate biscuit mixture into the silicone heart molds and firmly press the tops smooth. Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes, then pop them out. Refrigerate in a airtight container until ready to serve.

Baked Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes

Anyone who has known me for more than a year knows that St.Valentine's Day and I have a love hate relationship. I'm a hopeless romantic. Yet The Man Up Stairs has a great sense of humor and has sent me disappointments on that day just about every year since I have been in love. Yes, I'm talking about you, ex-boyfriends. Just kidding. They never lasted till St.Valentine's Day.
I've only ever been wined and dined by my darling husband for St.Valentine's Day, seeing as we both met at 19. He's the sweetest man and always spoils me, and St.Valentine's Day is no exception. But what do you do when fate wants to put a damper on your romantic evening? Every year?
Like what if the waterfront restaurant you booked happens to float away down the river?
Or the dozens of Chinese lanterns you decked the veranda out with decide to only light up for half an hour?
The bouquet of chocolates you sent to his work didn't arrive at his work before he left?
These are just a few of the things that could go wrong on St.Valentine's Day, and for me they did. Yes, that restaurant literally drifted away down the river a few days before our booking. Ironically, the restaurant was called "Drift".
Anyway, from past experience I now know that I can't rely on anyone else to make St.Valentine's Day special--with the exception of my husband, he has planned the dinner and is cooking it himself, and I can't wait to see what he serves. As you might have guessed, I'm to create the dessert. So I've been trialing a few different recipes that would make lovely romantic St. Valentine's Day desserts. Here's one of them--baked mini red velvet cheesecakes with a chocolate crust bottom, topped with a swirl of whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa. Needless to say, I'm in love with these deliciously creamy morsels.

BAKED MINI RED VELVET CHEESECAKES

Base:
10 chocolate chip biscuits
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp butter, melted

Filling:
250g cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp red food colouring
1 egg
1/2 cup whipped cream to decorate
chocolate shavings to decorate if desired

 Preheat the oven to 180C.
Lightly great 20 mini muffin holes (I used a silicone mini muffin tray.)
In a food blender, place the broken biscuits and chop until they resemble fine bread crumbs. Transfer to a small bowl and add the cocoa powder and melted butter. Combine thoroughly, then divide the mixture between the 20 mini muffin holes. Press the mixture firmly into each hole using your fingers or the back of a spoon. Place in the refrigerator while preparing the cheesecake filling.
To make the filling, beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the sugar and cocoa and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla and red food colouring and beat until well combined. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Divide the cheesecake mixture evenly among the muffin holes  so that the cups are almost full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until centres are firm, and leave for 15 minutes to cool in the tray. The cheesecakes may sink a little.
Cover and refrigerate for an hour at least, before garnishing with whipped cream and chocolate, if desired.

Makes 20 mini cheesecakes

Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes

Cochineal. You may associate this with the red dye used in Red Velvet Cakes, but when I think of the word I think cacti eating, crushed beetles.

Yes, believe it or not, that's where the red colouring comes from, the Cochineal beetle. They are found in Mexico and South America and are farmed for their colour properties. If this all sounds a little freaky, have no fear--plain red food colouring is a fine substitute, and makes these delicious red velvet cheesecakes brilliant. Not only are they delightfully delicious, they make a truly impressive appearance on the table when guests are over. I added these to our St. Valentine's Day menu for dessert, and they were a hit!

 MINI RED VELVET CHEESECAKES (Adapted recipe from Betty Crocker)


15 chocolate chip biscuits
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp butter, melted
400g cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder, extra
2 tsp. vanilla essence
2 tbsp. red food colouring
3 eggs
1/2 cup cream, beaten

Preheat oven at 180C.
In a small bowl, mix crushed biscuits with melted butter until well combined. Divide mixture among 12 foil regular sized cupcake cups (We used a silicone muffin pan instead) pressing into the base with a spoon.
Beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Gradually add the sugar, and then the cocoa powder until fluffy. Add the vanilla and red food colouring. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly among the cups, ensuring the mixture comes up almost to the rim.
Bake for 20-15 minutes until the centres are firm to touch. Cool for 15 minutes in the tray. (centres may sink a little)
Refrigerate in tray/baking cups for at least two hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and cocoa powder if desired.

Makes approximately 12 cheesecakes

NOTES: You can use any preferred biscuits for the base.

White Chocolate Hazelnut Rafaello Balls

With Saint Valentine's Day on the cards, I've come to ponder, what is romance? What is romantic? So I asked my husband what he thought and we both came up with the same thing.
It doesn't have to be a trip to Paris. It doesn't have to be anything sweep-me-off-my-feet movie style.
It's the little things, the thoughtful things, surprising things that are romantic in this house. I'm sure its different for everyone, but I don't need loud or extravagant gifts from my man to feel and know that he loves me.
So are you stuck for a St. Valentine's Day gift? What is romantic to you and your better half?
To be honest I swept my brow in relief to find out my husband had the same idea of romance as me. Truth be told, most couples probably share the same ideas on love and romance, otherwise they wouldn't be together.
So when I found myself stuck for a gift for my hubby, I started trying to think outside the box, and it brought me to the chocolate box. Whats that cacophony I hear? Oh its my readers...
Not a box of chocolates!
Oh hush. This isn't your ordinary box of chocolates. Its a designer box of chocolates.
So here's the idea. Its sweet, original, unique and hand made...nothing comes from the heart more than something home and hand made! It's relatively budget friendly too, if you can curb your wild creative side enough to stick within a budget.
So here it is...I am going to make a box of assorted truffles and chocolates. Each will be named after a special occasion that my husband and I have shared together eg. First Kiss, Wedding Day, Proposal, First Date, Honeymoon, you get the picture. You could also name the chocolates after pet names, places you've been on dates, or even things that spell romance to you. Each chocolate will have a little tag attached, a little story that goes with it. A box of memory chocolates! Reliving moments of romance over a box of chocolates...sounds pretty sweet to me!
So here I am, on the hunt for great chocolate and truffle recipes. I've found a few wonderful ones, so stay tuned!
Here's one for the Rafaello Fans. Ever wondered how to make your own Rafaello chocolates? Here's how. And you'll just fall in love with the simple decadence of these beauties. Coconut, white chocolate and vanilla wafer rolled around one roasted hazelnut. Divine.

WHITE CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT RAFAELLO BALLS (translated and adapted from Din Bucataria Mea)

200ml condensed milk

3-4 tbsp. full cream milk powder

50g butter, room temperature

100g coconut flakes

50g vanilla wafer biscuits, crushed

toasted hazelnut, if desired

150g white chocolate, melted

150g coconut extra

Mix butter with condensed milk, add milk powder, coconut flakes, and crushed vanilla wafers. Mix until well combined. Roll into walnut sized balls; flatten in the palm on your hand and press a hazelnut into the centre. Re-roll so that the hazelnut is well covered and positioned in the middle of the ball. Repeat until all mixture is used.

Melt the chocolate. Put the extra coconut in a small bowl. Using a fork, dip each ball into the white chocolate and coat. Let the excess chocolate drain from the all before rolling it through the coconut, then place on a tray. Repeat until all the balls are coated and refrigerate until ready to serve.

NOTES: These delicious chocolates are just as delicious without the nut in the centre, and look marvelous boxed as a gift

HAPPY ST. VALENTINE'S DAY!!

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.