Chocolate Pudding

I made these for a supper party with some girlfriends who teach at the place I use to work at. By the time they finished class and came over to mine, supper started at 10.30 p.m. We hung out and chit-chatted till dawn so I'm partially wasted today.


Chocolate Pudding
makes 12 servings

200g butter
200g chocolate (55% ccoca)
200g hot water
170g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs, separated
35g flour
a pinch of baking powder

Preheat oven at 350F. Melt the butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Add in the hot water and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat then mix in the vanilla and egg yolks. Sift in the the flour and baking powder, whisking it until the mixture is smooth. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture a third at a time. Scoop the final mixture into ramekins or a large souffle dish and prepare a water bath by boiling a kettle of water.

Bake in a water bath for 25-30 minutes for ramekin portions or 40-50 minutes for souffle dish portion. Serve hot with pouring cream or chill overnight and serve with whipped cream.


Verdict: These puddings are great hot and fresh from the oven, served with pouring cream. It was very moist and the flavour was intense. The chilled versions were a lot denser and more ideal for a dessert that you can prepare ahead. They could have been sweeter for those who prefer less of a bitter chocolate flavour.

Chocolate Cupcake

I made these for my god-daughter’s birthday celebrations at her kindergarten. Still inspired by the beautiful images in Crabapple Bakery, I adapted the chocolate cupcake recipe and topped it with their vanilla buttercream frosting.

Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 24-30 cupcakes

1 cup or 2 sticks butter
2 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tbs vanilla
3 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp instant coffee
1 cup cocoa
1 cup hot water
1 cup cold water

Preheat the oven at 350F. Cream the butter until pale before adding in the sugar and beating until fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time until well combined then the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. In another bowl, whisk together the coffee, cocoa and hot water until a smooth paste. Stir in the cold water until combined. Into the creamed mixture, add the sifted mixture in three additions, alternating with the cocoa mixture in two additions. The end mixture will be runny. Scoop into cupcake liners.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when touched.

Verdict: The cakes are moist and not overly sweet, perfect for pairing with a buttercream frosting. I’ve frosted these with marshmallow crème and they were a hit as well.

Chocolate Cherry Macaroon Tart

The theme for HHDD#15 organised by TriniGourmet is tarts. While I have a serious aversion for working with pastry, I was going to try and overcome this. I was all prepared to try and fail, learn from my mistakes, start with frozen pastry and move on to become brave enough to make it from scratch. You get the picture...


So I went in search of recipes. I started with Donna Hay's latest book Simple Essentials: Chocolate, the same one that I sent Peabody as thanks for her Snickerdoodle recipe. There were two tart recipes and both didn't require pastry! Yay! So much for trying to conquer my fear...

I chose this one because it was for 6 individual small portions. However, I couldn't find the little tart tins with removable bases. I had to make a large one instead. The original recipe was for raspberries but I much prefer cherries so here it is.


Chocolate Cherry Macaroon Tart

Macaroon Shell (makes 6 3-inch tart shells or 2 8-inch tart shells)
3 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups or 200g desiccated coconut

Cherry Chocolate Filling (fills 6 3-inch tart shells or 1 8-inch tart shell)
4 oz or 125g dark chocolate, chopped (I used one with 65% cocoa)
1/2 cup cream
2 eggs
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
7 oz or 200g cherries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven at 280F. Combine the ingredients for the tart shell, divide it between the tart tins and press firmly over base and sides.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the macaroon shells are firm and browned then remove from oven.
Increase oven temperature to 320F. To make the filling, put the cream and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar to combine well. Sift in the flour and baking powder, stir in the chocolate mixture. Spoon into the macaroon shells and top with the cherries (if using frozen cherries, no need to defrost).
Bake for 25-35 minutes until the filling is just firm. Cool in the tins before removing to serve.


Verdict: The chocolate filling is rich but the cherries go very well with it. The macaroon shells add an interesting texture and overall, its a great tart - easy to make and everyone loved it! This is better eaten on the day it is made. If refrigerated overnight, warm in the oven before serving.

Very Chocolate Cupcake

My godson's mother had tasked me with making cupcakes and the dessert cake for her son's 3rd birthday party. She requested for chocolate and a jungle green theme. She also added that my godchildren have recently discovered the joys of peanut butter.

Not being so adept at icing or frosting jungle animals, I told her I could do the chocolate and peanut butter part. I spent quite a bit of last week experimenting with the various recipes in my collection and the one from Dorie's book wins hands down.

Dorie starts the recipe with an introduction that suggested saving this not very sweet, close crumbed cake for adults as kids may not appreciate it as much. I adapted it slightly and figured that with the sweet frosting that I was going to add on, I couldn't go wrong pleasing both adults and children.


In addition to the chocolate cake, I also used my banana cake recipe since it would go well with both a chocolate and peanut butter frosting. I mixed the cake and frosting recipes to get 4 different combinations for the cupcakes which I then decorated in a variety of designs.

The cupcakes were a hit at the party. I think everyone loved the idea of having an individually decorated cake all for themselves. There was a cotton candy machine at the party and I had a ball of a time fulfilling a childhood fantasy of creating huge puffs of those pink sweets. Here's a shot of the cheeky birthday boy Ryan, flashing a grin with a mouthful of pizza.


Very Chocolate Cupcake
makes 15 cupcakes

1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp instant coffee powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven at 350F. Cream the butter until pale before adding in the sugar and beating until fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time until well combined then add in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add the sifted mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and stir in the melted chocolate with a spatula until incorporated. Scoop into cupcake liners.
Bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting
makes about 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups icing (confectioner's) sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 tap salt
2 tbs creme de cacao
1 tbs milk

Cream the butter then sift in the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the creme de cacao and milk then combine well. Add more milk a little at a time to get the desired consistency. Spread or pipe over cooled cupcakes. Decorate as desired

Peanut Butter Frosting
makes about 2 cups

1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups icing (confectioner's) sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs milk

Cream the butter and peanut butter to combine then sift in the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the milk and combine well, adding more a little at a time to get the desired consistency. Spread or pipe over cooled cupcakes. Decorate as desired.

Daim Macadamia Fudge Brownie

The BrownieBabe challenge is back and since I was so inspired by the entries from the last round, I wanted to make one of my own- a brownie recipe that would include my favourite things with chocolate.

Daim is the best thing to take home from Ikea and since they've come up with little sweet wrapped portions, I've been able to pace myself better in consuming it. Otherwise, its a bar each time and that's totally hazardous for my throat.

Macadamia is one of my favourite nuts and these ones were given to me by a thoughtful colleague. They've been languishing in the fridge because I've been saving them for such a recipe.


I adapted Magnolia Bakery's Fudge Brownie recipe to get the following:

Daim Macadamia Fudge Brownie
makes 16 3-inch brownies

Brownie:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
12 oz or 350g unsweetened chocolate
1 cup or 2 sticks butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract

Topping:
40 Diam pieces, whole or crushed, optional
1 1/2 cup macadamia, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven at 350F. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate with the butter, stirring until smooth. Cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract before adding the flour mixture. Combine well then pour the batter into lined or greased pans. I split my batter into two 11" x 7" pans. It can also be baked in a 18" x 12" jelly roll.
Bake for 25-28 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the center of pan comes out clean.

Verdict: Love the crunchy nutty top, fudgy middle and sometimes chewy bottom where the diam pieces had melted. Especially good with ice cream - had mine with Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey.

Chai White Chocolate Mousse

According to this, my recipe should actually be Masala White Chocolate Mousse. In any case, I love chai! I'm not much of a coffee person and when I drink tea, its most often tea flavoured milk, preferably with some spice.

When I found Chockylit's Chai Spice Mix, I soon set about making some for myself. I'm already on my second batch and steadily using it up. Tweak the spices to suit individual tastes because I added more cloves and cinnamon, my favourites.

Chai Spice Mix

4 tsp cloves, whole
2 tsp fennel, whole
3 tsp cinammon, ground
2 tsp ginger, ground
3 tsp cardamon

Put everything into the food processor and grind. Before storing, use a fine sieve to remove any bits not ground up.


While going through recipes for mousse, I discovered that there were generally two types, those made with egg whites and those that used gelatin. The main difference was in the texture and its really a personal preference.

Chai White Chocolate Mousse (with eggs)
serves 4

1 cup / 5-6 oz white chocolate chips
1 tbs milk
3 eggs, separated
1 tbs sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp chai spice mix

Melt the chocolate chips with the milk in a double boiler then blend in the egg yolks until creamy and set aside to cool. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and sugar until stiff. In another bowl, whip the cream then add in the chai spice and the melted chocolate mixture. Fold the cream and chocolate into the egg whites. Divide into containers and chill for at least 4 hours. Dust with more chai spice before serving.


For the gelatin version, I follwed the Donna Hay recipe posted by Tartlette but since I didn't have single or pouring cream (18% fat), I did the math and figured a cup of cream (35% fat) and a cup of low fat milk should be able to replace it.

Although this seems more custard than mousse-like (or did I mess up?), this is the version I prefer.

Chai White Chocolate Mousse (with gelatin)
serves 4

3 tbs water
2 tsp gelatin powder
1 cup / 5-6 oz white chocolate chips
1 cup cream
1 cup low fat milk
1 1/2 tsp chai spice mix

Place water in a bowl, sprinkle with gelatin and let it stand. Melt the chocolate chips in the cream and milk over low heat. Stir in the gelatin until dissolved then add in the chai spice. Remove from heat and whisk for a few minutes until cooled. Divide into containers and refrigerate for about an hour.

You might want to stir the the mix in each container after chilling for 20 minutes or so. This is to prevent the spices from settling to the bottom, which was the case in mine.

Baked Mini Cheesecake

Since stumbling onto a food blogging event on cheesecake, Hay Hay Its Donna Day (HHDD#10), there were so many recipes that intrigued me but I decided to start with the Mini Rasberry Swirl Cheesecake entry because I had just bought the same foil cupcake liners and I wanted to try them out.

The recipe originally came from Taste Magazine but I adapted it. I had already opened a pack of Arnott's Chocolate Ripple which was not going to last much longer despite being kept in an airtight container (nothing stays crisp in the humidity here). Use any finely ground biscuit as the base, preferably not too sweet since the cream cheese mixture takes care of that. Pressing the biscuit into the bottom of the foil liners was made easier using the base of a small plastic cup.

The sugar has been reduced since the original recipe used lemon and the tartness had to be taken care of. I topped these cheesecakes with melted white chocolate but any fruit puree should work well too.

Mini Baked Cheesecakes
makes 12

1 cup finely ground biscuits
2 1/2 tbs butter, melted
375g cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted

Preheat the oven at 320F. Mix ground buscuits and melted butter, divide among 12 paper or foil cupcake liners, pressing down firmly. Bake for 5 minutes then remove and cool. Reduce oven to 260F.
Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy then add the eggs and combine well. Fill each of the cupcake liners almost to the top then drizzle with the melted white chocolate. Bake for 40-50 minutes until just set and no longer wobbly. They expand a little in the oven and shrink upon cooling.

Verdict: I like to eat this straight out of the fridge when the base is firm. The flavours were as expected and the cheesecake texture was not too dense although the shrinking didn't make it so pretty.