Amazingly Easy Chocolate Cake

This is a dark moist and delicious chocolate cake and its so easy to make. Its perfect for any occasion and can be adapted to your taste by adding orange zest or any other flavourings that your heart desires.
Try it!

Chocolate Cake with ganache icing

Ingredients:

• 250g dark chocolate roughly chopped
• 250g butter
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 4 eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup Castor sugar
• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds/hazelnuts

Ingredients

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Centigrade.
2. Grease a 20cm spring form cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
3. Melt the chocolate, butter and coffee powder in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Allow to cool (the butter, chocolate and coffee can be melted in the microwave for 1-2mins, stir until smooth) 
4. With an electric beater, beat the eggs and sugar for 4-5 minutes, or until pale and fluffy.
5. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. 
6. Gently fold in the flour and the ground almonds.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50-55minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out. 
9. Allow to cool completely on a wire wrack before icing and decorating.
10. I iced my cake with chocolate ganache. With 250g of dark chocolate melted and 100ml of cream. poured over the cake and left to drip over the sides. Then I grated 45g of white chocolate onto the top. Use whatever icing you prefer or you can simply dust with icing sugar.

Crisp, melt in your mouth, chocolate biscuits

These chocolate biscuits are wonderful! They melt in your mouth and have a deep, rich, chocolatey taste. They are exceptionally quick to make and have minimal ingredients which is perfect for when you are having another one of those chocolate craving days.

Try them out and see what you think:

Crisp Chocolate Biscuits

Ingredients: (makes +/- 20 biscuits)

• 125g butter
• 50g caster sugar
• 125g self raising flour
• 25g cocoa

Ingredients

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade
2. Grease a baking sheet well or put a silicone mat onto a baking sheet (a"silpat" works well)
3. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy.
4. Sift in the flour and cocoa and mix well.
5. Form the misxture into small balls.
6. Place onto a greased baking sheet and flattern with a damp fork.
7. Bake for 10 - 15minutes
8. When they come out the oven they may still feel soft and uncooked to the touch, but don't let that concern you. Once they are cooled they will be hard and crisp.
9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy with a cup of tea!

Today's Chocolate craving fix

I have been craving chocolate the whole day, and not too long ago, I was craving these cupcakes but for the life of me could not find where I had put the recipe, but finally found it a few days ago. I got the recipe from my chef when I was at Silwood and they are absolutely divine, dead easy to make and a real treat! you have to try them!

Here is the recipe

Tracy's Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients: Makes 12 medium-large cupcakes

• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Ingredients

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade
2. Sift cocoa, flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt together in a bowl
3. In a jug mix together all the wet ingredients
4. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients
5. Pour the mixture into your prepared paper casings in a muffin pan until they are each 2/3rds full. 
6. Bake for 20 minutes.

After baking, before icing



Iced and ready to eat!





Amazing!



Chocolate coffee icing:

Ingredients:

• 150g butter
• 300g icing sugar
• 1/2 cup strong coffee with milk
• 1/2 cup cocoa

Icing ingredients

Method:

1. Cream the butter with an electric hand beater
2. Slowly add the icing sugar until it has all been used and absorbed by the butter
3. Add the cocoa and keep beating
4. Add as much coffee as needed to make the icing smooth, creamy and spreadable

Enjoy! :)

Cupcake recipe source: Tracy, Silwood

Mouth watering mini chocolate eclairs filled with Creme Patisserie

Yesterday Sarah and I catered for a 21st Birthday party. One of the things that we had to make were  70 chocolate eclairs filled with creme patisserie, otherwise known as Pastry cream. They were absalutely divine and were a hit at the party.

Here's the recipe for you to try! Let us know how they came out :)

Mini Chocolate Eclairs filled with Creme Patisserie:

Ingredients: (Makes +/- 60 mini eclairs)

Eclairs:

• 125g Butter
• 250ml water
• 125g/ 1 cup Plain flour (sifted)
• 4 eggs (lightly beaten)

Filling:

• 1 litre milk
• 8 tablespoons caster sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 eggs
• 8 tablespoons cornflour
• 10 tablespoons caster sugar
• 50g butter
• 1tsp vanilla powder/extract.

Topping:

• 30ml Cream
• 150g dark chocolate

Eclairs Ingredients

Creme Patisserie Ingredients

Method:

Eclairs:

1. Preheat the oven to 210 degrees centigrade
2. Grease 2 baking trays.
3. Combine the butter and water in a saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until the butter melts.
4. Increase the heat. bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.
5. Add the flour to the saucepan all at once and quickly beat into the water mixture with a wooden spoon.
6. Continue beating until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball.
7. Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly.
8. Beat the mixture with an electric beater to remove any excess heat.
9. Add the eggs (1 by 1) and beat thoroughly after each addition.
10. After all the eggs have been added the mixture should be glossy and thick.
11. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain 1.5cm nozzle.
12. Sprinkle the baking trays lightly with water.
13. Pipe the size of eclairs you want onto your tray, leaving room for expansion.
14. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
15. Reduce the heat to 180 degrees centigrade.
16. Bake for a further 15minutes until golden and firm
17. cool on a wire rack.

Filling: Creme Patisserie:

1. In a saucepan stir together the milk and 8 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla.
2. Bring to the boil over a medium heat.
3. In a medium bowl beat together the eggs and egg yolks.
4. Add the cornflour and sugar to the egg mixture and continue to beat until smooth.
5. When the milk comes to the boil, drizzle it into the egg mixture very gradually and continue to beat so as to not cook the eggs.
6. Return the mixture to the saucepan.
7. Slowly bring to the boil.
8. Stir the mixture continuously so that the eggs dont curdle at the bottom.
9. Once the mixture has thickened and come to the boil, remove from the heat.
10. Stir in the butter, mixing until well combined.
11. Pour into a heat proof container and place a piece of cling film directly onto the surface of the creme patisserie and refridgerate until needed.

Topping: Chocolate ganache:

1. Melt together the chocolate and the cream in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time. BE CAREFUL NOT TO LET THE MIXTURE SIEZE by allowing the mixture to overheat!
2. Mix together to get a thick, smooth, chocolate sauce consistency.
3. If the mixture separates and becomes grainy it has siezed.

Creating the final product:

1. Make a hole in the eclairs. ( I normally make mine underneath the eclair.)
2. Pipe the creme patisserie into the hole in the eclairs 
3. Dip the top of the eclair into the chocolate ganache... and VOILA!

Creme Patisserie



Mini Chocolate Eclairs!

Recipes adapted from: Sweet and Savoury bites - Jane Price
                                     Pastry Cream - Christini Beanie

Rich, sweet and delectable Millionaire Shortbread

Today I had to provide sweet treats for +/- 20 people so I decided to make "cara's magic brownies," Millionaire shortbread and a lemon meringue pie (watch this space for that recipe). Millionaire shortbread is a hit in my household, for those of you who aren't so sure of what it actually is, it is a shortbread based, caramel and dark chocolate slice. It is absalutely divine and once you have 1 you simply cannot stop eating them until you feel physically ill!

Here is the recipe:

Millionaire Shortbread

Ingredients: (Makes +/- 25 pieces)

Base:

• 60g butter
• 30g caster sugar
• 90g sifted self raising flour

Filling: (I sometimes double my filling to increase the amount of caramel)

• 60g butter
• 60g caster sugar
• 30ml/g golden syrup
• 1 can (397g) condensed milk

Topping:

• 100g Dark chocolate

Ingredients

Method:

Base:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade
2. Cream butter with caster sugar
3. Add sifted self raising flour and mix well.
4. Press into a greased 20cm x 20cm baking pan.
5. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown.

Filling:

1. Place butter, caster sugar, golden syrup and condensed milk in a saucepan.
2. Heat until dissolved on a low heat.
3. Then boil for 5 - 10minutes, stirring continuously (don't stress if you start seeing brown bits floating in your mixture, it happens when it begins to caramelize)
4. Once a caramel colour, turn heat off.
5. Pour over the cooked base, spread evenly.
6. Allow to cool.

Topping:

1. Melt chocolate in a bowl in the microwave or over hot water.
2. Pour over the caramel and shake pan from side to side to get the chocolate smooth, even and the caramel covered from corner to corner.
3. Mark into portions before the chocolate sets firm.

Delicious delights!

Delish Chocolate Brownies

Today was a "chocolate brownie day." They are super quick to make, so moist and decadently chocolatey! I absolutely love this recipe, it's 1 that my sister brought home from her home economics class when she was still at school and ever since then it is the "go to" brownie recipe in our household.

Here is the recipe for everyone:

Cara's Magical Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

• 250g butter
• 2 cups (500ml) caster sugar
• 1/2 cup (125ml) cocoa
• 3 large eggs
• 1.5 cups (375ml) flour
• 2tsp (10ml) vanilla essence
• 2 cups (500ml) nuts (optional) (I never put them in mine)

Ingredients

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees centigrade
2. Melt butter, add sugar and mix well.
3. Add eggs one by one.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients (sieve flour and cocoa)
5. Mix well
6. Pour into a greased oven pan (20cm x 20cm)
7. Bake for +/- 30mins
8. Cut when cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Decadent, moist and delicious brownies

Sunday lunch.

The weather in Cape Town is still miserable making it the perfect day for a hearty Sunday lunch in my home. The main meal consisting of Roast lamb, Roast chicken, roasted butternut, roasted potatoes, broccoli with a cheesy white sauce and delicious homemade gravy got our tummy's full and made us all very sleepy, BUT...there was still dessert, and this was my "department."

For dessert I made decadent, gooey, rich chocolate pots (Once again using Nigella Lawson's recipe: "Chocohotpots"). The center of the dessert caves in...which in most cases bakers would be distraught, but in this case the name of the dessert fits perfectly as it really does look like a chocolate "pot".

I served these decadent delights with some homemade custard (using custard powder) and a chocolate cigar.

The chocolate pots were a hit! And if you yourself are a chocolate lover I suggest you give them a try. The recipe is quick and easy.

Chocolate Pots: (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 125g butter, and some extra for greasing
• 125g dark chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 150g caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons (45ml) flour
• 100g white chocolate chips

Ingredients

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade

Grease 4 150ml ramekins with the extra butter,

In the microwave, in a bowl, melt the butter and dark chocolate, set aside to cool.

In another bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar and the flour, then add the cooled chocolate-butter mixture. Fold the white chocolate chips into the cooled chocolate batter.

Divide the mixture between the 4 ramekins.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. The tops will sink and crack and underneath will be gooey chocolate.

Serve hot.

sprinkled with icing sugar, served with a chocolate cigar and custard.

This recipe was derived from Nigella Lawson's "Feast"