All posts in category chocolate

No-Bake Chocolate Ganache Tart

Although we don’t have a television, which possibly makes us a slightly unusual family, we do watch a variety of TV programmes via BBC iPlayer and 4OD. Recently, we enjoyed Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall’s latest River Cottage series in which he gave up eating meat for four months over the summer. The programmes in this series charted his discovery of new vegetarian combinations and dishes, ranging from simple soups and salads to lavish banquets and wedding feasts.

Perhaps the most intriguing creation from the entire series however was Laura Coxeter’s raw chocolate ganache tart. Prepared with a heady mix of pecans, medjool dates, avocados and cacao powder, it really is a work of pure genius.

The idea behind the tart is that it can be served to raw food eaters, vegans and anyone wishing to avoid dairy, gluten and soya in their diet. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t normally associate such a recipe with something that turns out to be richly chocolately and sinfully sumptuous. But Laura really did appear to have pulled it off, judging by the velvet gooiness of the ganache and the fervent lip-smacking of its tasters. I was inspired to give it a go.

Now, I have to confess that I’m not a raw food eater. Okay, it’s probably not such a huge confession – Laura’s the first raw food eater that I’ve ever come across. I did therefore make a few changes to the tart, which will no doubt have raw foodies shuddering in their graves. In essence, my recipe is more or less true to the original although not an exact replication.

The secret behind the ganache is avocado. Whizzed up in a food processor with cocoa powder and sugar, avocados form the basis of a smooth, luxurious texture that is normally achieved by mixing chocolate and cream. The whole tart is ridiculously easy to make – you just need to make sure that you’ve allowed plenty of time for it to chill and set before serving.

The finished tart got a thumbs-up from my children, and I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to present it as the pièce de résistance at the end of a more grown-up dinner party. All in all, this recipe is just in time for the festive season. Happy Holidays 🙂

No-Bake Chocolate Ganache Tart (adapted from a recipe by Laura Coxeter)

For the base
300g/10 1/2 oz pecans
1 tsp salt
200g/7 oz medjool dates

For the filling
4 medium, ripe avocados
150g/5 1/2 oz rice bran oil
Seeds of 2 whole vanilla pods
200g/7 oz cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
300g/10 1/2 oz castor sugar

Blend the pecans in a food processor, then add the salt and dates. Whizz them all together until the mixture balls into a dough.

Press the dough into the base of a 9″ springform pan. Chill in the freezer to harden.

Peel and de-stone the avocados, then blend the pulp in the food processor. Add the oil, vanilla seeds, cocoa, salt and sugar and process until smooth.

Scrape the filling onto the base and spread evenly with a spatula or palette knife.

Set the tart in the freezer for an hour before serving.

14 Comments

by amerrierworld on December 8, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in chocolate, fruit, puddings

Tagged baking, chocolate, cooking, dessert, recipes

Posted by amerrierworld on December 8, 2011

https://amerrierworld.com/2011/12/08/no-bake-chocolate-ganache-tart/

Couture Chocolate

I’m lucky – my husband hates chocolate. Unfortunately, my three children all have sweet teeth and I’ve been forced to watch my own share of all our chocolate bars dwindle over the years to become a paltry quarter of what it was in the days before weaning. The only upside to this state of affairs is that I now have an enthusiastic army of homegrown tasters on ever-ready standby from the instant I even begin to think about baking with chocolate.

My experiences with chocolate so far however have revolved mostly around the themes of brownies, chips in cookies and simple dipping projects. Despite spending an enjoyable morning with Zach Townsend at the top of the Tour Montparnasse, I was disappointed to find afterwards that none of his expert chocolatier skill had rubbed off on me when we shook hands. I still tremble at the thought of tempering and steadfastly avoid any form of moulding or modelling. It’s those temperamental sugar crystals that get me – the way they want to clump together at the slightest opportunity. My aversion to working with chocolate goes hand in hand with my fear of boiling sugary syrups. And as for seeding … well really, that’s something for gardeners, isn’t it?

And then I was invited to review William Curley’s new book, Couture Chocolate. I have to confess that I fell in love with this book from the moment I held it in my hands. Not only is it superbly illustrated with mouthwatering photography …. but it smells good too. Honestly, it does! Just bury your nose deep into the binding of the open pages and you’ll see what I mean. But best of all, this book does exactly what it says on the cover – more than just a coffee table book, this really is A Masterclass in Chocolate.

William Curley is uniquely placed to direct this masterclass. Four times winner of the Academy of Chocolate‘s Chocolatier of the Year Award, he trained in some of the world’s finest Michelin-starred kitchens and was the youngest appointed Chef Patissier at The Savoy. From the opening chapters on the history and production of chocolate, through clear instructions on techniques for tempering and decorating, and with exquisite recipes for truffles, couture chocolates, bars, bouchées, cakes, patisserie and ice cream, Curley’s expert guide provides insight into the ideas and inspirations behind his work.

The recipes aren’t quick and simple. Curley uses quality ingredients and an array of specialist equipment that will probably require a trip to Amazon for most home bakers like me. Far from appearing daunting however, the recipes are broken down into manageable chunks throughout and combine practical tips with step-by-step photography. Recipes are included for many of the flavours and chocolate creations on sale in his own William Curley shops in Richmond and Belgravia, such as the Florentine Sablés and Salted Butter and Muscovado Caramel Chocolates (the highest marked chocolate in the Academy of Chocolate Awards 2011).

Curley frequently draws on a Japanese palette of flavours to create new fusions in his work. There are recipes for Matcha and Dark Chocolate Entremet, Chocolate Financiers with Yuzu Ganache, Chestnut and Sesame Brownies, and Green Tea Couture Chocolates. He attributes the inspiration behind these creations to his partnership with Japanese patissier Suzue – they met while they were both working at The Savoy in London and later married and opened their first shop together.

Perhaps the thing that inspires me the most about this book however is the knowledge that the stunning chocolates and intricate patisserie displayed in William Curley’s London shops are created in much the same way as detailed in these recipes. Although Curley’s staff have the advantage of some time-saving bits of machinery, the emphasis is firmly on using craft skills. As Curley points out, “I don’t want to have big cooling tunnels or machines that pump the ganache into shells. I want my team to make the ganache and understand the quality of the ingredients, and for everything to have that hand-made finish.” So … the ultimate implication is that Curley-quality creations are within the reach of every home baker if they take the time and care to follow this masterclass in chocolate.

Well, everyone needs a dream, don’t they?

Chocolate Madeleines (reprinted from Couture Chocolate by William Curley with permission from the publishers)

When I worked for Marco we would bake these little French treats to order for petit fours as they are best eaten fresh as possible.

Makes about 20 cakes
15g (½oz) fine dark (bittersweet) chocolate (70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped
115g (4oz/ 1 stick plus 1 tbsp) unsalted butter, plus a little extra, softened, for greasing the mould
115g (4oz/¾ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus a little extra for dusting the mould
20g (¾oz/1 tbsp) cocoa powder
3g (½ tsp) baking powder
135g (5oz/scant ⅔ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
175g (6oz) egg yolks (about 9 eggs), beaten

Note: You will need a 12-hole madeleine mould.

Grease with butter and lightly flour a 12-hole madeleine mould. Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie (water bath) until it reaches 45°C (113°F) and leave to cool. Melt the butter in a saucepan and also leave to cool. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a bowl and then mix in the sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the beaten egg yolks in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Gradually add the melted butter, being careful not to beat in air. Then mix in the melted chocolate. Cover the bowl with cling film (plastic wrap) and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes in a cool place.

When you are ready to cook the madeleines, preheat the oven to 220°C (400°F/Gas 6). Pipe or spoon the mixture into the prepared mould and bake in the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes until risen and the cakes spring back when pressed.

2 Comments

by amerrierworld on October 27, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in chocolate, cookbooks

Tagged baking, chocolate, dessert, food, recipes

Posted by amerrierworld on October 27, 2011

https://amerrierworld.com/2011/10/27/couture-chocolate/

Brownie Heaven

Before I write about Rose and Woody’s recent stay with us in Devon, I’ve promised this recipe to so many people now that I thought I’d better get my act together and post it here for them. There’s no shortage of recipes for brownies on A Merrier World – in fact, I even started this blog when I was in the middle of a brownie-baking spree. But I haven’t yet written about this particular recipe, which has evolved to become our favourite-ever recipe for chocolate brownies and the one we turn to by default.

I’m not sure how this recipe started out in life. I have a collection of about seventy different brownie recipes (honestly!) that I baked, analysed and compared back in my brownie-obsession days of 2007. [Checking that date just now, I’ve realised that I completely missed my blog’s 4th birthday last month – sorry, blog!] Somewhere between then and now, a list of ingredients and a specific way of mixing the batter to create the sort of brownie we discovered we liked the most began to emerge from the chaos of notes and eventually took shape in the form of a tentative recipe scribbled in green ink on the back of an A5 envelope in 2009.

Since then, the recipe has been tweaked, baked in different-sized pans, doubled, halved again and generally refined until it reached its current incarnation.

I can’t promise that this will become anyone else’s favourite-absolute-best-ever recipe for chocolate brownies, but it certainly produces my children’s idea of brownie heaven.

Brownie Heaven Chocolate Brownies (by me and according to my children)

5 1/4 oz unsalted butter
7 1/2 oz castor sugar
5 1/4 oz light muscovado sugar
9 oz plain chocolate*
3 tbsp golden syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs (7 oz without shells)
5 1/4 oz plain flour**
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt***
3 tbsp cocoa powder

* I use Green & Black’s organic 72% cook’s chocolate
** I use plain white spelt flour from Sharpham Park
*** I use Fleur de sel de Guérande

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.

Grease and line a 9″ square pan (it’s helpful to leave a bit of parchment sticking up at two opposite ends as you can use these as handles to lift the brownie out of the pan when it’s cool).

Put the butter, sugars, chocolate, golden syrup and vanilla extract in a bowl and heat gently until melted and smooth, either in the microwave (stirring frequently to prevent burning) or in a double-boiler.

Break the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk until bubbly and frothy.

Put the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder in another separate, large bowl and whisk to combine.

(I’m not sure why this next bit works, but it does – I tried just dumping everything together any old way once and the brownies didn’t turn out half so well. If you’re not subject to such kitchen witchery as I am, feel free to just dump everything together) Pour the eggs onto the melted chocolate mixture, but don’t stir them in. Scrape this chocolate-with-the-eggs-sitting-on-top mixture onto the dry ingredients and fold everything together with a spatula until well combined and there are no floury pockets remaining.

Scrape into the prepared pan and bake in the centre of the oven for 25 to 30 mins (28 mins is best in my oven). Don’t bake it until a tester comes out clean – it’s a leap of faith, but the top will be crusty and the centre will be only just set when you need to take the thing out of the oven. If you bake it for too long, the brownies will be dry and yuk. If you don’t bake it for long enough, the brownies will be runny and yuk. This is probably the most important part of the whole brownie-heaven process.

Leave to cool in the pan, then lift out using those neat little handles you created and slice into squares (I make 25).

9 Comments

by amerrierworld on September 20, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in chocolate, traybakes and slices

Tagged baking, brownies, chocolate, food, recipes

Posted by amerrierworld on September 20, 2011

https://amerrierworld.com/2011/09/20/brownie-heaven/

Caramel Shortbread: Going, Going, Gone!

You’re looking at the final slice, the very last square of that single most delectable confection that has ever tortured your sweet-toothed craving heart.

Buttery shortbread.

Oozing caramel.

Smooth, dark chocolate.

Perhaps you can’t see the beauty in this sticky, gooey slice. After all, I’m posting this on an Easter Sunday already replete with chocolate gifts in all shapes and sizes. Although L’s chocolate feast was delayed by her chorister duties at the Cathedral this morning, the choristers all made up for this by clutching armfuls of chocolate eggs as they emerged from the vestry after Mattins. By that time however, her younger sister and brother had already consumed an entire chocolate bunny each for breakfast. Things have been going downhill since then …

But when you’ve emerged from the nausea of the chocolate-induced hangover, do give this recipe a try. It didn’t hang around for too long in our fridge and I had to be quick off the mark to snap even this very last slice for you. A moment later, there was nothing more than a few lonely crumbs on an otherwise empty baking tray.

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread

Shortbread

2 oz light muscovado sugar
4 oz butter
5 1/2 oz self-raising flour

Caramel

3 oz light muscovado sugar
4 oz butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 x 14 oz tin condensed milk (NB not evaporated milk)

Chocolate

7 oz plain chocolate (or a mix of milk and plain)

Shortbread: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and base-line a 7″ x 11″ baking tray. Cream the butter and the sugar. Stir in the flour to make a smooth dough. Press into the base of the baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until golden.

Caramel: Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir over low heat until melted and combined. bring to a slow boil, stirring continuously to prevent burning. Simmer whilst stirring for 10 minutes until the caramel becomes a rich toffee colour and thickens. Pour onto the shortbread base, spread evenly and allow to cool thoroughly.

Chocolate: Melt then spread over caramel layer. Leave to cool, then cut into squares. Can be stored in the fridge for several days (if it hangs around for that long).

It’s probably best to cut it into squares before the chocolate becomes too firmly set. I left the whole tray for too long in the fridge before attempting to cut it into squares, hence the cracked chocolate layer. It’s certainly not a disaster – more of an aesthetic problem than a taste one!