Tag Archives: chocolate

Dangerous Chocolate Brownies

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Almost foolproof, and the only equipment needed is a saucepan, a spoon, and a baking tray.


Ingredients

  • 200g butter
  • ½ cup cocoa
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 cup flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder/soda
  • 2 eggs

Optional Extras

  • Block of chocolate, broken
  • Chopped Walnuts
  • White chocolate chips
  • Habanero sauce 😈

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C, grease or line a tin. 
  2. In a saucepan, melt the butter and cocoa together on very low heat
  3. Add the salt, sugar, and vanilla and mix well.
  4. Take the pot off the heat and sift in the flour, then mix Mix it in. 
  5. Add the eggs, but make sure that the mix is not too hot. (otherwise the eggs will start to cook early) Beat them in really well.
  6. Add any extra ingredients you’d like, either mixed in the batter or on top.
  7. Spread evenly in the tin and bake for 20-25 minutes, preferably it’s still a little bit gooey.
  8. Wait until cool, then tip out and cut into pieces. (it will be a bit too soft when first taken out of the oven)

Substitutions

The recipe works very well with substitutions:

  • Dairy-free: swap butter for oil, skip heating step. Use dairy-free chocolate for extras.
  • Gluten-free: use gluten-free flour substitute.
  • Egg-free: swap 2 eggs for an equivalent amount of banana or applesauce.

The Brownie Game

For some fun, make two otherwise identical batches of brownies – one with habanero sauce, one without. Present mixed together in one pile. 🤯

Chocolate Mousse Cake – vegan

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So good! Don’t tell your guests that it’s vegan, and they’ll never guess…

Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake

Makes a 20cm dia cake – Serves 8


Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake

Cake

  1. 11/2 cups plain flour
  2. 1 cup brown sugar
  3. 1/4 cup cocoa
  4. 1 teaspoon baking soda
  5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  6. 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  7. 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  8. 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  9. 1 cup water
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, and line with paper or grease a 20cm round cake tin.
  2. Sift A-E together into a bowl.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients, mix with a blender until smooth.
  4. Pour into cake tin, bake for 45 minutes, or until cake skewer comes out clean.
  5. Remove from oven, allow to cool, remove carefully from the pan for further cooling.

Mousse

  1. 1 block (200-250g) dairy-free dark chocolate, melted.
    (Many dark chocolate brands use milk solids, check the ingredients)
    (An easy method to melt chocolate; break it into squares and microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring well each time, until all melted)
  2. 1 packet (250-350g) of silken tofu
  3. 2 tbsp milk (coconut, almond, rice etc)
  4. 3 tbsp icing sugar
  5. 1 tsp vanilla essence
  6. Generous pinch of salt
  1. Put all ingredients together in a bowl.
  2. Blend at high speed for several minutes. The mousse should be completely smooth.

Assembly

  1. Half a jar of strawberry jam
  1. Turn the cake out of the pan.
  2. Using a long bread knife, cut the cake in half horizontally. Put the lower half on a plate, and the upper half aside.
    (The cake will be fragile, so take care to prevent it from cracking)
  3. If your cake tin is the spring-form kind, place the ring over the cake.
  4. With a spatula, spread the mousse over the lower half of the cake.
  5. Place the upper half of the cake over the top.
  6. Melt the jam in the microwave (about a minutes) until molten.
    (Warning: Hot jam is hot.)
  7. Spread/pour the jam over the top of the cake.
  8. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Serve on its own or with ice cream/sorbet.
If vegan: Do your best to keep everyone else away from your precious cake. Precious…

Salted Caramel Peanut Chocolate Tarts

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Here’s my new very dangerous tart recipe.
Not for diabetics or those with heart conditions!

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Pastry

A. 250g plain flour, sifted
B. 3tbs cocoa powder, sifted
C. 3tbs pure icing sugar, sifted
D. 165g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
E. 30ml (2 tbsp) chilled water

  • Process all ingredients except the water in a food processor until fine powder.
  • Add the water, process until combined.
  • Turn out onto floured board, knead for 1 minute, roll into a ball, cover with glad-wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
    …
  • Divide the dough into 8 portions, then for each portion;
  • Roll into a 12cm-dia circle, place into an 8cm-dia flan case, trim excess with a knife
  • Place on a tray in the freezer for 30 minutes
    …
  • Preheat oven to 200ºC.
  • Cover the cases with baking paper and pastry weights, bake for 10 minutes.
  • Remove and bake for 5 minutes longer – should be dry to the touch.
  • Let cool completely.

Salted Peanut Caramel

A. 300g caster sugar
B. 180ml water
C. 250ml double cream
D. 120g salted peanuts, finely chopped

  • In a heavy-based saucepan, dissolve sugar & water at low heat until the sugar dissolves.
  • Set heat to high, and boil without stirring. Occasionally remove sugar crystals from the side of the pan with a wet pastry brush.
  • Watch pot carefully! When mixture reaches 160ºC and becomes deep golden, remove from heat. (IR thermometers are great)
  • With a long-handled spoon stir cream quickly into the mixture – it will foam up!
  • Put back onto medium heat. Stir for at least 2 minutes, until mixture is smooth and bubbles up again.
  • Let cool for 30 minutes.
  • Stir in peanuts.

Ganache

A. 150ml double cream
B. 150g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

  • Chop, process or grate the chocolate into small pieces, put in a jug.
  • Heat the cream (but do not boil), then tip into the jug.
  • Stir with a spoon until the chocolate is combined, then mix with a stick blender until smooth.

Putting it all together

  • Pour caramel into each case, leaving room for the chocolate layer, tilt cases to spread caramel
  • Put back in freezer for 5-10 minutes
  • Pour ganache into each case, tilting to ensure coverage.
  • Place a few flecks of sea salt in the centre of each tart.
  • Chill until served.

The tarts will be very rich. Serve with cream or ice-cream.