Not my 'Favourite Chocolate Cake'

I was looking for a chocolate cake for my Bank Holiday BBQ, something rich and dense and finally picked Patrick Anthony's 'Favourite Chocolate Cake' from Hotel Chocolat 101 Best-Loved Chocolate Recipes.


Its definitely not my favourite chocolate cake, but this could have been the oven I was using cooking a little high. My cake looked like a mountain range and was a bit dry, his recipe states to serve with a raspberry ice cream which would have finished this off but I didn't have the time to make it.


The Recipe - Patrick Anthony's Favourite Chocolate Cake (from Hotel Chocolat 101 Best-Loved Chocolate Recipes)
A little oil to grease the pan
225g dark chocolate, (70% +), in pieces
110g butter
225g caster sugar
4 large eggs
3 tbsp whisky, rum or orange liqueur
2 heaped tsp plain flour
50g walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional - I didn't use these)
cocoa powder and icing sugar to dust


Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees C. Lightly oil a 23cm springform cake tin, at least 8cm deep.


Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heavy-based saucepan over a gentle heat, giving an occasional stir. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar. Next, add the eggs and beat into the mixture. Add your choice of booze, plus the flour and stir until well blended. Add the nits if using and stir to distribute.


Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake at the centre of the oven for 30 minutes. The cake will rise and sink back down and it might crack. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then release the tin and place on a wire rack to cool. 


My cake looked like a hilly landscape and did not sink back down, it looked a little better when I had sprinkled cocoa and icing sugar all over it but was not the rich fudgy cake I was hoping for.

Baked White Chocolate Cheesecake

My mum taught me how to make the most easiest and delicious white chocolate cheesecake, and I swore at the time I would not need to find another recipe, but as I had the ingredients for Mary Berry's White Chocolate Cheesecake I thought I would give it a whirl.


The Recipe - Mary Berry's White Chocolate Cheesecake (Hotel Chocolat 101 Best Loved Chocolate Recipes)
For the Base
50g butter
150g plain chocolate digestive biscuits, crushed


For the Filling
300g white chocolate, in pieces
400g full-fat, cream cheese
2 eggs
150ml soured cream
1 tsp vanilla extract


To Serve
Cocoa powder, to dust
225g strawberries or raspberries

The Method
Preheat the over to 160 degree's C. Grease a 20cm spring form cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.


Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat, Stir in the crushed biscuits and press evenly over the base of the prepared tin. Chill in the fridge to firm up.


Melt the white chocolate in a bain marie stirring occasionally with a spoon until runny and smooth. Allow to cool slightly.


Whisk the cream cheese and eggs together in a large bowl until smooth, then add the soured cream and vanilla extract and whisk again until the mixture is completely smooth. Stir in the melted chocolate until combined.


Pour this mixture over the biscuit base in the tin and spread evenly. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes until firm around the edges and just set in the middle. As you remove it form the oven, run a small palette knife around the edge of the cheese cake, and then leave to cool in the tin. The surface may crack slightly in the middle, but don't worry, this is part of the charm! Once cool, chill.


To serve, release the tin and remove the side, leaving the cheesecake on the base. Dust with cocoa and cut into slices topped with raspberries or strawberries.


This cheesecake was a great success at my Bank Holiday Monday BBQ, everyone loved it and the smallest slither was left which was gone by breakfast time. The cheesecake was creamy and smooth and with a chocolaty base was delicious with strawberries.

Jimmy's Chocolate Scones

Ages ago I found a scone recipe that I have been wanting to try for ages, but could I find it online again? So have found this one instead, as I have a high tea planned in a couple of weeks, so am pre-baking and freezing so I don't have to do so much on the actual day.


The Recipe - Jimmy's Chocolate Scone's


For the scones
1 ¾ c unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ c plus 1 Tbs unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
2 ¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
½ cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the ganache
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (be sure to choose a good-quality chocolate that you’d enjoy eating on its own)
3/4 cup heavy cream

The Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Drop in the butter, and using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter chunks into the flour until they are reduced to pearl-sized nuggets. Stir in the granulated sugar. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cream, eggs, and vanilla.

Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients, add the chocolate chips, and stir to form a dough. The dough will be firm but moist, and a bit sticky to the touch. Knead the dough lightly in the bowl about ten times—or, as Jimmy has found, if the dough is too sticky, don’t worry about kneading. It is better to undermix than to overmix.

Form the dough into a 7- to 7 ½-inch round disk on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 6 wedges, and using a spatula, transfer the wedges to a baking sheet. Bake the scones for 17-18 minutes, or until set. Remove them to a rack to cool, and set the rack over a rimmed baking sheet.

To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it is very hot and steamy (not boiling, but close), remove it from the heat, and pour it over the chocolate. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is thoroughly melted. Use a spoon to drizzle the ganache over the cooled scones, and serve. [You will have leftover ganache, which can be refrigerated or frozen; the scones also freeze well and are remarkably good cold.

This recipe was taken from http://orangette.blogspot.com/2005/06/9-am-sunday-chocolate-chocolate-and.html 

Unfortunately I forgot about the scones whilst tucking into some lunch and slightly over cooked the scones. So my first attempt was not as good as I had hoped, I'll try these again next week when I'm more focussed on the cooking instead of the eating!!

Chocolate Ricotta Tart

Well I'm now in England and I was hoping to be making a chocolate recipe every day, I have somehow failed at this with the million things I have been trying to fit in!! My cook books all calling me I sat down to try and decide on something to bake. I agonised for ages not having this or that ingredient and then decided upon a Chocolate Ricotta Tart from my Hotel Chocolat 101 Best Loved Chocolate Recipes.


The Recipe - Ed Baines' Chocolate Ricotta Tart


Pasta Frolla
225g plain flour plus extra to dust
pinch salt
100g unsalted butter, diced
30g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp cold water


Filling
350g ricotta cheese
85g caster sugar
3 eggs
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
grated zest and juice of 1/2 an orange
60g blanched almonds, finely chopped
60g finely chopped mixed peel (i missed this out as I didn't have any)
4 drops vanilla extract
100g dark chocolate grated


The method
To make the pastry, put the flour salt and butter in a large bowl and rub through with your fingers until the mixture is the consistency of breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar, then the egg, together with the cold water to make a smooth dough. Knead lightly and gently to ensure a light and crumbly pastry. Form the pastry into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.


Meanwhile make the filling. Put the ricotta in a sieve to drain off any excess water, then tip into a clean bowl. Gradually beat in the sugar and the eggs, using a wooden spoon. Stir in the citrus zest and juices. Now mix in the almonds and chopped peel and finally the grated chocolate. Cover and chill.


Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Roll out the pastry on a well floured surface and use to line a 25cm tart tin. Cut away the excess pastry, overhanging the rim.
Pour the ricotta filling into the pastry case and smooth evenly. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown on top.


Decorate the tart with chocolate ganache or dust with icing sugar.


This recipe was fairly easy to follow, but the end result just did not resemble the picture in the book. The taste was good, I don't think I got my almonds fine enough, but added to the texture. I did not serve with a ganache, I think this would have improved it as for me it was just not chocolatey enough. More give me more chocolate!! If I were to make this recipe again I might try melting the chocolate instead of grating it, I think this would improve this dessert, plus my pastry recipe I use from Gorgon Ramsay is far nicer.

Scones Glorious Scones

So with my other half getting up at 5:30 this week its meant I've been waking up pretty early normally around 5am as I never just wake up with alarm, always before, and of course can never get back to sleep. I try my hardest to calm my mind, but all I can think of this morning is scones. Whats the point fighting the beast?

So I drag myself out of bed and make up a batch of scones using my no-fail recipe, after all whats better that fresh scones with cream and jam for brekkie.

The Recipe
450g Self raising flour
80g butter, cubed
1 tbsp caster sugar
250ml Milk
extra sugar for topping the scones

The Method
1. Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter, try and get as much air into the flour by lifting your hands high above the bowl. The mixture should resemble fine breadcrumbs.
2. Add the milk all at once and using a knife make a cutting motion to mix the milk with the flour mixture.
3. When the mixture starts to come together tip it out onto a floured surface and knead 4-5 times. Use a rolling pin to roll out the mixture until it is about 2cm in height. Use a 5cm cutter to cut out the scones.
4. Paint the scones with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar, this will give the scones a sugary crispy topping
5. Place on a greased baking sheet and cook in a pre-heated over at 230 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
n.b. if you want a soft scone, cover with a clean tea-towl once they are out of the oven.
I took the scones to work with me - that way I don't too many of them.

No rest for the wicked

I had fine plans this weekend to chill out and relax a little after a very stressful week at work. Not bloody likely it seems, I headed into Perth bright and early for a pretty fruitless shopping trip, I did try on plenty of pairs of new shoes but nothing was quite right.


I had promised my other half a posh dinner tonight, but what with shopping and then buying the groceries, I didn't actually make a start until nearly 6pm. I've chosen to make our favourite Beef Wellington followed by a chocolate tart (I have never made one of these before. 


Its been a gloriously sunny day in Perth and all I would love to be doing now is drinking wine with my feet up, instead I am waiting on my chocolate tart, my Beef Wellington is prepped and waiting for over space, so I figured now was a good a time as any to write my entry for the weekend. Both of the main items I am making today are from Gordon Ramsey recipe's. I've found following GR's recipe's pretty easy, the Beef Wellington I saw on 'The F Word' and always remembered it, I've used it several times and it never fails to impress. 

Beef Wellington - The Recipe
Fillet Steak
prosciutto
mushrooms
English mustard
puff pastry
salt and pepper
oil

The method

1. Season the fillet steak with salt and pepper, heat a pan with some oil until hot and sear the meat to seal in the juices. Set aside to rest.
2. Place the mushrooms in a food processor and blitz until coarse, place in a pan and heat over a medium heat stirring frequently. Heat until all of the moisture is released from the mushrooms and the mixture starts coming away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Use a food brush to coat the English mustard around the fillet steak, turn it over and coat the bottom.
3. Take a sheet of cling film big enough to wrap around the beef and lay flat on the table. Place the prosciutto slightly over-lapping on top of the cling-film. Press the mushroom mixture over the prosciutto until it is evenly covered. Place the fillet steak on top of this and use the cling film to help wrap up the fillet steak so that it has mushroom and prosciutto all the way around it. Twist the ends of the cling film and place in the fridge.
4. Roll out the puff pastry, remove the cling film from the meat and place on top of the pastry, wrap the pastry around the meat, seal in place (use egg wash if needed) and place on a prepared baking tray. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes, adjust depending on the size of you steak. You want the meat to be rare but the pastry golden.

Before I had started making the beef wellington I prepared the chocolate tart.

Chocolate Tart - The Recipe

Rich Sweet Pastry
125g butter at room temperature
90g caster sugar
2 vanilla pods
1 egg, beaten
250g plain flour
good pinch of salt

For the Filling
1 egg yolk beaten together with a little water
400g dark chocolate chopped coarsely (min 60% cocoa)
150ml milk
250ml double cream
2 eggs beaten

The Method

1. Mix the butter and sugar in an electric beater until smooth but not fluffy. Split open the vanilla pods and scrape out the seeds and add them to the mixture.
2. Gradually combine the egg, bit by bit watching it does not curdle. Stop the machine once or twice to scrape down the mixture.
3. Sift together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Turn the machine down to a lower speed and spoon in the flour in stages. As soon as the mixture clings together as a crumbly dough. Stop the machine remove the dough and knead lightly by hand until smooth. wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
4. Roll out the pastry big enough to fill the prepared loose bottom 21cm flan tin, carefully line the tin with the pastry, leave the edges hanging over, press the pastry well into the tin being careful not to leave any tears. Lightly prick the base, reserve any leftover for patching.
5. Cover with foil, fill with baking beans and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat the over to 180 degrees.
6. Place the flan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes (mine needed slightly longer) or until the pastry is set. Remove the foil and baking beans. Using a sharp knife trim the edges neatly, patch any tears with leftover pastry.
7. Return the flan to the oven for 5 minutes or until it just begins to colour, remove and brush with a glaze of egg yolk beaten with a little water. Lower the oven to 130 degrees and bake the case for 3 minutes to seal the glaze. Remove and set aside.
8. Meanwhile place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Bring the milk and cream in a saucepan almost to the boil and then pour over the chopped chocolate, whisking to make sure it all melts and is smooth.
9. Put the beaten eggs in another bowl and pour in the chocolate whisking well, strain using a strong sieve to ensure the mixture is smooth.
10. Return the flan to the baking sheet and place on the over shelf which you have lifted out slightly. Pour the chocolate mixture into the case, taking the mixture up as high as it will go and bake the tart for about 25 minutes or until the filling has started to set. Turn off the oven and leave the tart in with the door shut for a 30 minutes, remove and set aside to cool completely

This recipe was take from Gordon Ramsay's 'Passion for Flavour' cook book