Delicious chocolate recipes to enjoy.
Cooking with chocolate generally:
When using chocolate to bake or cook you need to select the very best. Don't think that high cocoa solids of 60-75% alone is a good indication of the quality.
Always ensure that you chose high cocoa butter and high cocoa mass/solids. This content will provide a good base flavour that is smooth on the pallet and will melt easily for cooking. The best type of chocolate is "couverture" .
Holdens standard chocolate is couverture (min 53.8%), it snaps when you break it, is not bitter, deep chocolate taste with a lingering flavour that is soft on the pallet.
Try our ORIGIN BARs made with specially selected chocolate from various countries known for their quality cocoa beans.
Makes 6 puddings
Ingredients
70ml of very good espresso coffee (if possible, try to avoid using instant coffee granules)
240g butter
8 eggs yolks
4 egg whites
Half tea cup or 60g caster sugar
Seeds from one vanilla pod or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (Tip: keep the pod in your cooking sugar afterwards to give your sugar a vanilla flavour)
24g (2 tablespoons) plain flour
24g (2 tablespoon) cornflour
3 table spoons of orange liqueur brandy (optional)
Icing sugar
18 - 24 fresh raspberries (optional)
(Tip: Remember that sharing your achievement is always more satisfying than baking just for yourself. For this reason I suggest that you do not use chocolate that is too strong my experience suggests that no more than 65% cocoa solids. If you really want, say, Dumon 75% , cocoa then you should add 10-15gs extra sugar.)
Soft filling
NB. Make the night before to have these centers frozen
Melt the milk chocolate in a bain marie (a separate pan or bowl in a larger pot of hot water, IMPORTANT keep the chocolate free of water and steam.
Mix melted milk chocolate together with espresso coffee and freeze as 6 ice cubes.
Day of baking
Lightly butter six individual ramekins.
Beat yolks and sugar together until fluffy.
Melt the dark chocolate in a bain marie, add butter and combine.
Add orange liqueur if required
Mix flour and cornflour together and stir into mixture.
Whisk egg whites into peaks then fold into mix, stand for 60 minutes covered with a clean tea towel.
After 60 minutes use a spoon to ¼ fill the ramekins.
Add the ice cube of frozen chocolate and espresso.
Fill ramekins to ¾ full.
Bake for 18-24 minutes at 180 degrees,
Tip: ovens vary in efficacy, keep checking through glass after 18 minutes, you want to see them at just more than ramekin height.
Remove from heat, rest for 3 minutes, dust with white icing sugar, serve with two or three fresh raspberries.
Enjoy
More to come later.
