Monday, February 28, 2011

Taza 60% Cocoa Bar:

One unique bean-to-bar chocolate maker that is headquartered in Somerville, MA – not far from where I lived when I was in grad school, is Taza Chocolate. They’re unique in that they use a stone-grinding method for their chocolate production, which reflects a traditional Mexican style instead of the European preparation methods that (usually and hopefully) result in super-smooth chocolate.

They offer many chocolates in varying cocoa percentages and also offer several discs with flavor enhancements. Though I’ve picked up several Taza products, I elected to start my tasting adventure with their 60% Cocoa Stone Ground Dark Chocolate Bar.

In addition to the stone grinding approach, a neat feature of this bar comes from the packaging, which informs the consumer that the beans are sourced from the Dominican Republic.

Knowing that the bar maker is closely associated with the sourcing of the beans they use in production, I was left to do more hands on research, and opened the wrapper. I was greeted with a very fruity aroma.

There is certainly a hint of cherry in the taste, as well as some coffee. But what about the texture resulting from stone-grinding? It’s very, very different from most fine, artisan chocolates, in that it is gritty, but it is not grainy; further, it’s obvious that high-quality cocoa butter is involved, as the bar is quite soft. As coarse bits of cocoa float throughout the bar, the flavor comes across even more intensely, and I can see the appeal of the stone-grinding approach even if I enjoy smooth chocolates myself.

Have you had stone-ground chocolate before?

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Baker's Chocolate Devil's Food Cake: Vintage Ad & Recipe

Today is National Chocolate Cake Day! Celebrate with any chocolate cake that takes your fancy or try this Baker's Chocolate 1940 Devil's Food Cake!
Vintage 1940s Baker's Chocolate Ad for Devil's Food Cake

Cinnamon-Chocolate Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies: Daring Bakers' Challenge

February is almost over. And with the close of each month, I bring to you yet another Daring Bakers’ Challenge post. This one isn’t too exciting, but does include two items. You see, the February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe *and* Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Two recipes. No pressure. I started with the panna cotta.

Two layers? What? Well, you see, Mallory offered up TWO recipes. One plain and one chocolate, I, of course, had to try the chocolate recipe for the bottom layer.

Come on. Did you forget which blog you were reading? Here’s how the chocolate layer went down.

Chocolate Panna Cotta Ingredients

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 tablespoon unflavored powdered gelatin

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (Scharffen Berger 70% Cacao Bittersweet)

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Pour milk into a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top, set aside for five minutes. Heat cream, sugar, and vanilla over medium heat, bring to a low boil. Add chocolate and whisk until melted, then whisk in the milk-gelatin mixture until uniform. Transfer to a 9-inch springform pan lined with parchment paper and wrapped in aluminum foil.

Allow this layer to chill at least eight hours before tackling the next layer, which I chose to turn into a cinnamon panna cotta by using Mallory’s plain panna cotta recipe.

Cinnamon Panna Cotta Ingredients
1/2 cup whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

2 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

pinch of salt

1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

Pour the milk into a pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Heat over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Add cream, honey, sugar, and salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in cinnamon. Chill slightly in refrigerator, whisking occasionally to ensure that the mixture does not solidify, then pour on top of chilled chocolate layer. Refrigerate six to eight hours.

So that’s nice and pretty, and the folks at the party I took it to enjoyed the flavor combination. But this is the Daring Bakers’ challenge, right? Where’s the baking?

Woah now. This was a two-part challenge, remember? Onto the Florentine cookies, to which I added a cinnamon kick because…because I could.

Cinnamon Florentine Cookie Ingredients

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 cups quick oats

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 ½ teaspoons molasses

4 tablespoons cream, divided

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

5 ounces dark chocolate

2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided

Mix the oats, sugar, flour, one teaspoon of cinnamon, and salt in a bowl, set aside. Mix corn syrup, molasses, two tablespoons of cream, and vanilla in another bowl, set aside. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, once melted, remove from heat and add liquid and dry mixtures. Mix well.

Drop tablespoon-size bits of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Since I baked these shortly before Valentine’s Day, I thought I would pipe these into hearts.

Regardless of the shape you choose, bake at 375°F for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on cookie sheet.

So much for those cute hearts.

Luckily, I still had the ganache filling to tackle, the thoughts of which immediately lifted my spirits.

To make the ganache, heat the chocolate and remaining cream over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat, add remaining cinnamon. Allow to chill to room temperature, then spread ganache on half of the cookies.

Then sandwich them.

Cinnamon, chocolate, and cookies. Very nice. Even if not heart shaped.

Thanks for the two-part challenge, Mallory! Not too time consuming, and both new things for me.

Have you made panna cotta before?

Academy Awards Chocolate: Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn, Chocolate Martinis, Cocopotamus

So how are you celebrating the Academy Awards? What chocolate creations? Last year I did a post on Chocolate Oscars. This year I thought I'd post a few of my favorite 'movie' foods. Easy and perfect for the big Night!

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE MARTINI

1 1/2 oz Vincent Van Gogh Dutch chocolate vodka (of course you can substitute a chocolate vodka of your choice)
1/2 oz creme de cacao

Pour both ingredients into a cocktail shaker with a few ice cubes. Shake well, strain into a cocktail glass and serve. Garnish with grated chocolate. You can also rim the chilled glass with cocoa powder but pour slowly. Even better: Rim a chilled glass with chocolate sauce and put it in the freezer until you're ready to make the drink!

CHOCOLATE COVERED POPCORN

Make a bag of popcorn (buttered or plain) and pop it according to the directions. (airpopping!)
Put the popped popcorn into a large bowl or a flat baking pan (for more even distribution).
Melt some dark or white chocolate or both (in separate bowls)  in the top of a double boiler (or in the microwave).
Drizzle the chocolate on the popcorn.
You can always add more chocolate, but you can't remove it, so use it sparingly.

What chocolate is in the Swag Bags? Cocopotamus
Cocopotamus dark chocolate fudge truffles have been chosen for the Celebrity Gift - also known as the "swag bag" - for the 83rd Academy Awards tonight.

Cocopotamus took the handmade chocolate truffles live to the celebrities for a charity event at The W Hotel in Los Angeles in the last two days preceding the actual Oscars ceremony today.

The 23 Cocopotamus flavors range from classic dark fudge "Cupcake" and the popular "Holy Cow" (their only milk chocolate fudge truffle, hand-dipped in dark chocolate) to the exotic "Hottie," with cinnamon and chili, and "Lemon Shiver," infused with zesty organic California lemon. For lovers of ultra dark chocolate, there is "Bo Beep," an 88% intense dark chocolate fudge with organic black raspberry.

Cocopotamus ships its handmade dark chocolate fudge truffles nationwide from http://www.cocopotamus.com, including gift, party, corporate and wedding chocolate. Cocopotamus is also sold in 28 states at retailers including Whole Foods Market, Mother's Natural Kitchen and Hy-Vee, and in 3 provinces in Canada.

Enjoy the Academy Awards tonight! 

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Chocolate & Pistachio Surprise Cake: National Pistachio Day

Today is National Pistachio Day! I love pistachios for their taste and for their vibrant green color. They dress up just about any chocolate treat. So in order to celebrate the day, you can make:

Chocolate Pistachio Apricots
Pistachio and Cherry Dark Chocolate Bark
Chocolate Pistachio Fudge

Chocolate & Pistachio Surprise Cake adapted from Clotilde's Chocolate & Zucchini blog. I really love this cake because it's not overly sweet. It's great just about any time, and I don't add the ganache (see the original recipe link for the ganache recipe). I like this Bundt Cake with Tea in the morning: toasted. Don't ask! It's nice and moist just the way it is, but sometimes I like "toast." Be sure and get an "All Natural" Pistachio Paste, and, of course, use the very best dark chocolate and cocoa.

Chocolate & Pistachio Surprise Cake 
(Gateau Surprise Chocolat Pistache)

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt or sour cream (you'll have a different taste depending on which you choose)
1 1/2 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract
2 Tbsp unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped into smallish pieces
2 Tbsp pistachio paste
1/3 cup shelled pistachios, chopped 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 360 F. Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan.

Prepare the chocolate batter. In a food processor, mix together half of the sugar and half of the butter until fluffy. Add in two of the eggs, one at a time, mixing between each. Add in half of the yogurt and all the vanilla extract, mix again. In a medium bowl, combine half of the flour with half of the baking powder, half of the baking soda and all of the cocoa mixture. Add the flour mixture into the food processor and mix again until just combined. Pour the batter into the cake pan, and reserve in the refrigerator.

Prepare the pistachio batter: Rinse the bowl of the food processor. Mix together the rest of the sugar, the rest of the butter and the pistachio paste. Add in the two last eggs, one at a time, mixing between each. Add in the rest of the yogurt and mix again. In a medium bowl, combine the rest of the flour with the rest of the baking powder and baking soda, and all of the chopped pistachios. Add into the food processor and mix again until just combined.

Take the cake pan out of the fridge, and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the surface of the chocolate batter. Gently pour the pistachio batter on top, and smooth out the surface with a spatula.
Swirl a knife gently through the two mixtures-only once!!!

Put into the oven to bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let rest for five minutes on the counter, then turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Want to try another recipe?

Chocolate Pistachio Cake from Pioneer Woman. This recipe uses a box white cake mix and Jello pistachio pudding. I've made a similar version before, but Pioneer Woman's recipe adds some orange juice and that makes for a very nice balance. This recipe is a combination of Tunnel of Fudge and a Pistachio Chocolate Bundt... yummy!

Mozart Balls: A Serious German Confection

When Leigh came and visited me, she really pulled out all the stops when providing me chocolate. Not only did she bring me white and milk mousse chocolate bars by Lindt, she also brought over a box of Mirabell Mozart Balls.

Mozart balls were evidently invented back in 1890 by Salzburg confectioner Paul Furst, and are named after, of course, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The confection, which is actually Mozartkugel in German, involves chocolate, marzipan, and nougat.

Sign me up.

How does Mirabel do with this creation? Once I unwrapped it, I was greeted with a nutty smell that was reminiscent of high-quality peanut butter.

The chocolate shell out the outside is very soft, with nutty and vanilla flavors coming forward.

The interior offers three layers: A center of pistachio marzipan, a middle layer of praline, and a final layer of nougat. The very center is sweet, but not sickeningly so, and offers a hint of a fruity flavor. This center is just a tad dry and pasty, but the next layer, the praline, is much less sweet and is, in fact, quite nutty and smooth. The final layer inside the chocolate, the nougat, is sugary and nutty, but a tad grainy.

Since two of the layers are rich and two are a bit dry, and the layers have varying levels of sweetness, the best way to enjoy a Mozart Ball is to bite into the entire thing and enjoy it all together. That said, there aren’t many complex flavors; overall, it’s nutty, creamy, and sweet. I’d classify this as closer to a confection than a chocolate.

It’s a nice, sweet treat either way.

Have you tried Mozart Balls before?

Friday, February 25, 2011

Set Our Chocolate Free!

Ah - my dear readers, I was contacted my a new friend and asked to share this with you.  Take a look and see what you think.  I can only guess that the government wants to save us from eating the toys inside the egg and killing ourselves:
 
 
wp.me
Kindereggs are considered contraband in the United States. Yes, the little, delicious chocolate egg with the cool toys in the middle are illegal. The insanity of it all! With this blog, we are dedicated to reversing this law and providing American children with the joy that millions of childr
 
Now lets put this in perspective.  You can buy a gun, but you can't buy this chocolate egg.  Seriously?
 
I say let us make our own choices.  I signed the petition - I think that officially makes me a chocolate subversive.  I feel cooler already.
 
Set our chocolate free!!!
 
 

Hazelnut Caramel Toffee Bon Bon: Chocolate Covered Nut Day

Today is National Chocolate Covered Nut Day! I've posted several recipes for Chocolate Covered Nuts, so here's a link to some of my favorite chocolate covered nut recipes. Each recipe will vary with the different chocolate and nuts you use. Try a variety. I also have a link to my post on Goobers from last year's Chocolate Covered Nuts Day! Scroll down for a new chocolate covered nut recipe: Hazelnut Caramel Toffee Bon Bons! Go nutty! Have some Chocolate Covered Nuts today!

Margaret Maron's Chocolate Covered Fried Pecans
Goobers
Candied Chocolate Almonds

And here's a fabulous easy recipe for chocolate covered Hazelnuts from the Hazelnut Council

HAZELNUT CARAMEL TOFFEE BON BONS

3/4 cup Hazelnuts, toasted, skin removed, divided
1/4 cup Toffee candy bits
1 1/4 cups (10oz) Semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1/2 cup Heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon Madagascar Vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Salt
20 (6oz) Caramels, unwrapped, cut in half
40 Hazelnuts, whole, toasted, skin removed

1. Process 1/4 cup hazelnuts and toffee in food processor or blender until finely ground; set aside.
2. Microwave chocolate chips and cream in small microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 to 1 1/2
minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until most of chocolate is melted. Do not overheat; lumps will melt when stirred. Stir in hazelnut mixture, vanilla and salt until blended. Cover and set aside until cool, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Flatten caramel piece and wrap around one whole hazelnut forming a round ball; repeat. Dice remaining 1/2 cup hazelnuts; set aside.
4. Form 1 heaping teaspoon chocolate mixture around each caramel and roll in diced hazelnuts. Let
set until firm.

Tip: When handling ganache, work quickly in a cool room.

Star Wars Cookies: I'm One Cool Sister

My brother’s birthday is today. Happy birthday, Doug!

Since he’s a big Star Wars fan, I bought him BOTH sets of the recently-released Williams Sonoma Star Wars cookie cutters.

Am I or am I not the best sister ever? But a really, really great sister would make cookies with those cookie cutters, too.

I’m a really, really great sister.

For the Darth Vader Cookies, I made Brownie Roll-Out Cookies.

I again used Gail’s “Between the Sheets” method to roll unchilled dough and subsequently freeze it. I cut out the cookies, and then kept the frozen until JUST before baking at 350° F for 15 minutes.

But why? To keep the shape of Vader’s beautiful face.

The other thing I did that I believe was important to my ultimate success in this project was humming the Imperial March during the entire process.

What? I live by myself. I have to take advantage of the perks.

Now onto the storm trooper cookies.

Since storm troopers are white, I needed a suitable white cookie. A non-chocolate cookie. I settled on Julie’s recipe for Maple Sugar Cookies.

I followed the same process as with the Vader cookies – keeping the cookies frozen until just before I put them in the oven.

Is that a formidable looking group or what?

The cookies have successfully arrived at my brother’s place in Cincinnati, and I trust that some of them have successfully been eaten.

Have you seen the Star Wars cookie cutters? Do you think you'll get them?

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Lindt Weiss: More Chocolate from Germany

One way you can tell that somebody a good friend is that they do all they can to ensure that you aren’t deprived of mousse-filled chocolate.

Obviously, Leigh is a good friend. When she came to visit, she brought me a Lindt Weiss Bar, which was a white chocolate bar filled with white chocolate mousse.

Hello, sugar.

For real.

The outer coating is quite smooth thanks to what seems to be some fairly high quality cocoa butter, and tastes like powdered sugar with a hint of vanilla – this is really, really sweet.

The mousse on the inside is light and fluffy, but is also just a tad waxy. Overall, each bite is sweet and buttery, with a flavor even less complex than that in the milk chocolate.

So if you like sugared butter, perhaps with a bit of extra cream, get this bar. If not, go for something else.

Do you enjoy very sugary chocolate?

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Chocolate Banana Bread: National Banana Bread Day

Today is National Banana Bread Day! Last year I posted a recipe for a traditional Banana Bread with Chocolate Chunks. Well maybe not all that traditional with the chocolate chunks. I adore Chocolate and Bananas, so any combination of these ingredients works for me. Today I thought I'd post an easy delicious recipe for Chocolate Banana Bread. This recipe is from Godiva, and since it's a Godiva Recipe, I suggest using Godiva Dark Chocolate.  You can always tweak this recipe as suits your fancy!

CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup alkalized unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
4 bars (1.5 ounces each) Godiva Dark Chocolate, finely chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottom and sides of 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
2. In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
3. Beat butter and sugar in mixing bowl 2 minutes or until light, using electric mixer at medium-high speed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add bananas and vanilla extract at low speed, mixing until combined.
4. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream. Add chocolate and blend just for a few seconds. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of bread comes out clean. Cool in pan set on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on rack.

Photo: Godiva Chocolate

Cream-Filled Chocolate Cookies: Pattie Tierney Guest Blogger

Today I welcome back Pattie Tierney as a Guest Blogger.  You're going to love these Cream-Filled Chocolate Cookies.. and what a fabulous photo!

Pattie Tierney is a blogger, reader, traveller, diner, jewelry-maker, and lover of all things chocolate and mysterious.  Check out her online jewelry shop; her online paper goods shop; follow her on Twitter @pattietierney or read her Blog.

PATTIE TIERNEY:

True chocoholics know the benefit of expediency where chocolate is concerned, when that craving hits you want something chocolaty and delicious, and you want it now!  Thanks to Debby Maugans and her book Small-Batch Baking, all of this is possible, and in a portion small enough for you to still remain virtuous. Is this perfect or what?  I stumbled across Maugans' book while perusing other cookbooks and was intrigued by the premise.  With just my husband and me left at home, making desserts got to be a bit of a problem when it came to portion control.  Well, no problem at all really, we ate with reckless abandon, then bought the next size up in pants. After a while this got to be expensive, so I decided smaller batches was the economical way to go.

This book fills that need perfectly. It's worth a look just to read the recipes alone because they are just so darned cute: a fourth cup of this, a tablespoon of that, a pinch of the other. It took me back to my Easy Bake Oven days. Cake recipes in this book call for their being baked in vegetable cans. Sliced and layered they look like products from Barbie's Dream Kitchen.

This was the first recipe I tried (making them from start to finish while on the phone with my daughter-in-law) and it's a winner. The yield of six cookies means you can each have three, be perfectly satisfied, and not be tempted by the leftovers in the middle of the night.

Maugan's new book Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers (she read my mind!) just became available earlier this month. I'll be sure to investigate and give a full report.

Cream-Filled Chocolate Cookies

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
About 3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-1/2 teaspoons well-beaten egg or egg substitute

Vanilla Cream Filling (recipe follows)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set it aside.
Place the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and whisk to blend.
Place 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons of the sugar, the butter, and the beaten egg in a medium-size mixing bowl and beat with a hand-held mixer on low speed until blended, about 20 seconds.  Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 20 seconds.  Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat just until the dough is blended, 15 to 20 seconds.
Roll rounded teaspoons of the dough in your hands to form 12 equal balls, and place them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart.  Pour the remaining sugar (about 1/2 cup) into a small bowl.  Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into the sugar, and press the sugar-coated glass onto a ball of dough to flatten it.  Repeat with the remaining balls of dough, dipping the glass in the sugar before flattening each cookie.  Bake the cookies until they are firm, 14 to 15 minutes.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven, place it on a wire rack, and let the cookies cool completely.
Spread 1-1/2 teaspoons of the Vanilla Cream Filling over the flat side of half of the cookies.  Place the remaining cookies on top, flat side down, gently pressing down on them to squeeze the filling out to the edges of the cookies.

Vanilla Cream Filling
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon solid vegetable shortening
1/2 teaspoon milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Place the butter, shortening, milk, vanilla, and salt in a small bowl and mix with a fork until a soft, smooth paste forms.  Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until the filling is well blended and smooth.  (This may take up to 5 minutes.)  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside at room temperature until you are ready to use it.

Photo: Pattie Tierney

Chocolate Chickpea Cake: Get some Extra Fiber

Once you spend enough time in the kitchen, you discover that some things almost always pair quite well together. Cinnamon and ginger. Tomatoes and cheese. Chocolate and chickpeas.

Wait what? Chocolate and chickpeas? How do those combine into anything edible?

Evidently, they can be combined to make a dense, deep chocolate cake.

I’d seen a few recipes for chickpea chocolate cake, and added it to my “someday” baking list. Then, I noticed that this week’s recipe linkup at Healthy Living Blogs, which I actually belong to (honestly), was for recipes featuring beans.

Well then. Time to make some cake. Chickpea cake. With chocolate.

Chocolate Chickpea Cake Ingredients (as adapted from Serious Eats)

4 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature (Scharffen Berger 70% Cocoa Bittersweet)

1 (15-ounce) chickpeas, rinsed and drained with sinks removed

¾ c egg replacement (such as EggBeaters)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons sucralose (Splenda)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Line a 4”x8” loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Puree beans, egg replacement, and vanilla in a food processor until smooth.

Doesn’t that, uh, not look like cake batter? It’s ok. Proceed by adding the sugar, baking powder and salt, blend until smooth. Then add the chocolate and blend until well-combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times to ensure that a uniform mixture is achieved. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Now this is starting to look kind of like a normal cake. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan by lifting edges of parchment paper, then slice.

Since this cake is made from nontraditional ingredients, it should be no surprise that it doesn’t taste like a traditional cake. That being said, it is dense and moist, and offers a deep chocolate flavor without being very sweet.

And if you slice this into 10 pieces, each piece has only 120 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. To boot, it also packs 2.5 grams of fiber.

A perfect recipe for healthy living with chocolate, no?

Have you ever made a bean-based cake? How did it turn out?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Chocolate Margarita: National Margarita Day

Today is National Margarita Day, a holiday easy to celebrate. Of course, this being DyingforChocolate.com, it has to be a Chocolate Margarita. Following are two different recipes. Let me know which you like best! Both recipes suggest chocolate rims. How about adding a little salt to the rim mixture? Salt will bring out the chocolate and make this a bit more similar (ok, not all that similar) to a traditional margarita.

A simple recipe from Blenderking.com:  (Per serving)

I. CHOCOLATE MARGARITA

1 1/2 ounces Tequila
1 ounce Godiva liquor
3/4 ounce cream or half & half
1 Tbsp Hershey’s syrup
2 ounces orange juice
Ice

Shaker, not blender: Throw the ingredients into your shaker for a few quick shakes and pour into a margarita glass with crushed oreos lining the rim! Enjoy!

And, from Marcela Valladolid at Foodnetwork.com: This recipe is for a crowd:

II. CHOCOLATE MARGARITA

To rim the glasses:
Chocolate syrup
Finely chopped Mexican or bittersweet chocolate

Margarita:
1/2 cup chocolate syrup1 cup (8 ounces) tequila
1/2 cup (4 ounces) chocolate liqueur (recommended: Godiva)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup orange liqueur
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Ice

Directions
To rim the glasses: Put the syrup and chopped chocolate into 2 small dishes. Moisten the rims of 4 margarita or martini glasses with the chocolate syrup. Dip them in the Mexican chocolate until coated. Set aside.

Margarita: Combine all of the ingredients, except ice, in a pitcher. Working in batches, transfer the mixture to a shaker full of ice. Shake and pour into the prepared glasses. Serve cold.

Lindt Feinherb: Chocolate from Germany

Back when Leigh came and visited me, we had quite the time. Not only did she graciously accept some of my macaron experiments, but she also brought me some chocolate straight from Germany. The haul included a bar of Lindt Feinherb, which is a milk chocolate mousse bar.

The exterior has a bit of a waxy feel, and has clear vanilla and cream tastes with a hint of a coffee undertone.

The interior mousse is very sweet, and is substantial enough to hold up to the exterior coating quite well. It’s fluffy and creamy, and I believe I could eat some of this on its own.

You know, the way people eat chocolate mousse on its own.

The chocolate flavor in this bar isn’t that complex, but the bar offers a creamy, sweet treat that I enjoyed, though it isn’t one of my favorite milk chocolate treats given the waxy nature of the coating.

Have you had mousse filled chocolates before?

Monday, February 21, 2011

Mexican Brownies with Tequila Sauce

I've mention many times that different products and associations have great recipes on their sites. It should come as no surprise that Godiva Chocolate has some terrific recipes using their chocolate! Try this for a kick to an old favorite.

Mexican Brownies with Tequila Sauce

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 bars (1.5 ounces each) Godiva Dark Chocolate
17 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water
2 tablespoons tequila
3/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Tequila Sauce:
6 large egg yolks
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 vanilla beans
1 1/2 tablespoons tequila

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Make the brownies:
1. Line 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, letting foil extend 2 inches over two opposite sides. Butter foil. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in small bowl; set aside.
3. Coarsely chop 7 bars of chocolate. Place coarsely chopped chocolate and butter in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium (50% power) 1 minute. Stir. Microwave 1 minute more or until chocolate softens. Stir until smooth. Let cool.
4. Cut up remaining chocolate into 1/4-inch pieces; set aside. Whisk together eggs and sugar until well blended. Whisk in dissolved espresso powder. Whisk in melted chocolate mixture and tequila. Stir in dry ingredients until blended. Stir in pumpkin seeds, pecans and remaining chopped chocolate. Turn into prepared pan.
5. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool in pan on wire rack 30 minutes.
6. Lift brownies out of pan using foil handles. Let cool completely.

Make the sauce:
1. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Place milk and cream in medium saucepan. Using paring knife, split vanilla beans into lengthwise halves. Scrape out small seeds and add to milk along with pods. Heat to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and whisk about 1 cup into yolk mixture. Return entire mixture to saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened slightly. Do not boil. It is done when you can run your finger down back of coated spatula and a path remains in sauce for several seconds.
2. Remove pan from heat and immediately strain sauce through fine-mesh sieve into metal bowl that is set into larger bowl filled with ice water. Stir sauce for 10 to 15 minutes or until cool. Stir in tequila. Remove bowl of sauce from bowl of ice water. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Assemble dessert:
Invert brownies and peel off foil. Reinvert and cut brownies into 9 squares. Lightly dust with confectioners' sugar and place on dessert plate. Drizzle plate with tequila sauce.

Photo: Godiva

Artisan Confections Caramel Hearts: Because It's OK to Eat Valentine's Chocolate Late

I have a fun fact for you: kids forget things. Often.

What does that have to do with chocolate? Well, one of my swimmers very kindly got me a box of caramel-filled hearts from Artisan Confections, which is based in nearby Arlington, VA.

And she even did this well in advance of Valentine’s Day! So why didn’t I include this in my review of chocolates to consider stocking up on for Valentine’s Day? Well, you see, buying and delivering are two separate processes. And practice is hectic. So I wound up ACTUALLY receiving these later last week.

It’s cool. You can give me chocolate anytime. Especially from Artisan Confections, which I enjoyed the last time I was given a gift of their chocolates. How did these caramels measure up?

The dominant aroma was coffee, with a fruity undertone. The shell is quite thin, features a smooth, bittersweet chocolate with little added sugar, and offers coffee and earthy notes.

The caramel inside is just a tad liquid for my personal tastes, but is substantial enough to not result in an uncontrolled mess. The taste of the caramel is a perfect combination of sweet and salty, and blends well with the chocolate shell from a flavor perspective, as the bittersweet chocolate matches well with the sugar in the caramel. There is a bit of crumbling, but it’s not severe enough to make this impossible to bite into. I certainly enjoyed this treat, and need to get myself over to Artisan Confections to procure more caramels.

Soon.

Do you think it’s OK to eat heart-shaped candy after Valentine’s Day?