Chocolate Fix

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Jump to: Chocolate Truffles | Bittersweet Chocolate Tart | Chocolate Truffle Cake | Double Choc Muffins | Classic Chocolate Mousse | Upside Down Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate melts best at a fairly low temperature - between 30 and 40 degrees C is ideal (86-104F). Higher temperatures can cause it to go grainy and muddy, as can condensation or any accidental droplets of water added to the melted chocolate.

You will need a bain marie (a double boiler), or simply rest a heat-proof dish in another dish of simmering water. It may not even be necessary to add further heat if the amount of chocolate you're melting is small. If you do, take care not to allow the water to boil too rapidly as this will raise the temperature too high.

If your chocolate does go grainy, add a drop or two of grapeseed or sunflower oil.

If you've used your melted chocolate to make moulds or for dipping, it's best to allow the finished items to cool at a higher temperature than your refrigerator : 14 degrees C (57F) is the optimum temperature. If your house is not cool enough for this, use an Eskie (insulation box or cooler box) with an ice pack or two to cool your chocolate.

(Image by Hannah Chapman)

Ingredients

200g of couverture or baking chocolate pieces
1 carton (1 cup or more) of cream, beaten until thick
4 eggs, separated, beat the egg whites to peaks
brandy or liqueur to taste

- Melt the couverture chocolate, remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly.
- Spoon the chocolate into the beaten cream and gently mix to combine.
- Add egg yolks and brandy/liqueur and mix in.
- Fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture and lightly whisk the mixture to combine fully.
- Spoon into a serving dish, or separate martini glasses and refrigerate until firm.

4 to 6 servings.

Image by Elsa Neal

Ingredients:

1/3 cup cream
400g dark chocolate pieces
2 teaspoons liqueur of your choice (optional)
cocoa powder (optional)

- Heat the cream in a saucepan.

- Melt the chocolate.

- Add the cream to the chocolate and stir until smooth.

- Stir in the liqueur.

- Refrigerate the mixture for two hours until firm.

- Roll the mixture into balls and roll in cocoa powder if desired.

An alternative is to dip the truffles into dipping chocolate and leave to set.

Chocolate should not be stored in the refrigerator. Condensation that inevitably follows refrigeration causes the sugar to dissolve and form a sugar bloom over the outside of the chocolate. You've seen it - the chocolate has a white-ish waxy coating.

Too high temperatures can cause the cocoa butter to begin to separate from the chocolate, so if you have to keep your chocolate cool in very hot weather, pop it in the Eskie with an ice pack.

(Image by Jill Smith)

About two thirds of the world's supply of cocoa beans are grown in West Africa. The type of bean grown in Africa is called Forastero, and it originates from the Amazon. Criollo is another, rarer, type of bean originating from Central America. It has a more delicate flavour than the Forastero bean, but lingers on the palate.

A combination of these two beans has been produced in the Trinidad area, and named Trinitario.

The first step in the process is separation of the beans from their pods and then fermentation of the cocoa bean for several days. They are then dried and roasted.

The roasted beans are ground, forming a liquid called cocoa mass or cocoa liquor. This substance, once cooled and hardened forms the base of baking chocolate and couverture chocolate.

Cocoa mass can also be warmed, which causes the cocoa butter to separate from the grounds, leaving behind cocoa. Extra cocoa butter is often added to chocolate (especially couverture chocolate) to increase its glossiness.

White chocolate is produced by using only the cocoa butter, combined with sugar and milk. Milk or plain chocolate contains cocoa mass in addition to the ingredients for white chocolate. And dark chocolate is plain chocolate with no milk added.

Once the sugars and cocoa components are combined, the liquid chocolate is ground again for several hours (or days, in the case of very high quality chocolate) in a process called conching.

Finally, the chocolate is tempered by gradually decreasing its temperature, mixing it, then reheating it slightly again. This process allows the chocolate to harden to its best quality, with a higher melting temperature.

(Image above right by Krista Davis)

Ingredients:

150g dark chocolate pieces
1/4 cup caster sugar
additional 1/2 cup caster sugar
90g butter
5 eggs, separated
1 tbsp cornflour

- Melt the chocolate, sugar, and butter together in a bowl over hot

water.
- Whisk the egg yolks and cornflour together and stand.
- Whisk the egg whites with 1/2 cup of caster sugar until stiff.
- Add the melted chocolate mixture to the yolk mixture and whisk.
- Add the egg white mixture and combine.
- Pour into a cake tin (approx 20cm)
- Bake for 40 minutes at 160 degrees C.
- Decorate as desired - cocoa powder or icing sugar dusting recommended.

Chocoholics Chocolate Hamper - Overwhelm someone with this extraordinary holiday chocolate gift basket containing gourmet foods, chocolates, and cookies.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 cup dark chocolate pieces
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
90g butter, softened

- Sift flour, baking powder, and cocoa.
- Add sugar and chocolate pieces.
- Mix together the egg, milk, and butter, and add to dry ingredients. Mix lightly until combined but still lumpy.
- Spoon into a muffin tin.
- Bake for 12 minutes at 180 degrees C.

Optional: top with chocolate icing for even more choc overload.

Ingredients:

Pastry -
500g flour
300g butter
150g caster sugar
1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
pinch salt
50ml water

Filling -
250g cream
100ml milk
300g dark chocolate
2 eggs

- Prepare the pastry:
- Sift flour, salt, and sugar
- Rub butter into dry ingredients
- Mix together egg, egg yolk, and water and mix into flour until just combined.
- Roll pastry to desired thickness to fit pastry dish.
- Blind bake the pastry at 190 degrees C for about 10 minutes, or until golden.

- Prepare filling:
- Heat the cream and milk together.
- Add chocolate, stirring until melted. Cool until mixture is at room temperature.
- Whisk in the eggs.

- Pour mixture into pastry case and bake at 190 degrees C for 12 to 15 minutes.

Pudding ingredients:

60g butter
50g caster sugar
1 egg
half cup milk
125g flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
third cup chopped hazelnuts
quarter cup chocolate chips
3 tbsp raisins soaked in brandy for a few hours

Sauce ingredients:

1 cup milk
80g brown sugar
90g white sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
30ml dark rum

***

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C

Mix pudding ingredients as follows:

Cream butter and sugar together
Whisk in egg and milk
Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt and fold into mixture
Add nuts, chocolate chips, and raisins

Grease 8 ramekins and fill with mixture, or use one large pudding dish

***

Mix sauce ingredients as follows:

Simmer milk in saucepan
Whisk in brown and white sugar and cocoa
Add rum

Pour hot sauce over pudding
Bake individual ramekins for 15 minutes or large dish for 40 minutes

Pudding rises to top and sauce sinks to bottom.

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