Wednesday, August 31, 2011

S'mores Trail Mix

Today is National Trail Mix Day! Want to extend the summer? Mix up a batch of S'mores Trail Mix. Perfect for the Trail, an afterschool snack, or a lunch box treat. O.K. not the healthiest of snacks, but delicious and easy.

Teddy Grahams, Bear shaped graham cracker snacks, come in chocolate flavor, but the regular honey grahams work best for a contrast of flavor and will make your trail mix more 'S'more' tasting. There are all kinds of wonderful natural graham cereals, too.

S'mores Trail Mix

Ingredients
15 ounces Golden Grahams cereal (Teddy Graham cereal or a natural Graham Cereal)
16 ounces miniature marshmallows
12 ounces chocolate chips

Directions:
Empty all ingredients into a LARGE bowl or bag and mix.


Cote d'Or: Noir de Noir

Yesterday’s entry in “Bad Chocolate Week” was actually edible. Intriguing. But, given how terrible the plain milk chocolate by Cote d’Or was, I figured the next entry for “Bad Chocolate Week” could be their dark chocolate: Noir de Noir, purportedly 54% cacao.

The bar is vanilla-heavy, with a very, very slight earthy undertone at the end. I suspect that Cote d’Or is using vanilla to mask inferior cacao bean flavor, a hallmark of subpar chocolate making, but they are at least successful in covering up any offensive flavors.

The texture is a bit dry, and the bar is fairly sweet. Put all of that together, and you have a dry dark chocolate bar that tastes like sugar and vanilla. It’s not bad, but it’s not good.

Perhaps this could be “Not Good Chocolate Week.”

Nah. Some of the other stuff has been pretty bad.

Have you had anything by Cote d’Or? Would you say it is “bad” or “not good”?

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

National Toasted Marshmallow Day: Homemade Marshmallows

Today is National Toasted Marshmallow Day. Marshmallows date back to ancient Egypt. Pharaohs used to eat the sweet extract that comes from squeezing mallow plants. It wasn't until the 19th century that marshmallows evolved into the treats we know today.

Toasted Marshmallows are a major ingredient in S'mores. If you've been reading this blog, you know I'm a big S'mores Fan. Recently I did a S'mores Wrap Up that included lots of recipes for these wonderful campfire and now haute cuisine treat! So many ways to prepare S'mores from Cupcakes to Bars to Pie--and, of course, the humble Girl Scout S'mores.

Chocolate is a major ingredient of S'mores, so choose the very best chocolate. That being said, one of the other 'big' ingredients is Marshmallows, and they should be Toasted, preferably on an open fire, but toasted is toasted, and you can always use a kitchen torch. It's essential to S'mores to toast these guys. Saying that, you should also have a good marshmallow, and homemade marshmallows are the best. Perhaps you like them straight out of the package, but if you want to try your hand at something unique and sublime, here's a great recipe from The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller (Artisan)

HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS

Hint: Keep an eye on the mixer while beating because the marshmallow mixture tends to "walk" up the beaters to the motor. Scrape down frequently.
Yield: 12 large marshmallows

Ingredients:
3 envelopes of unflavored Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar for dredging

Preparation:
1. In bowl of electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes.
2. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in small saucepan. Bring to boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture. Scrape into 9 x 9-inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly. (Note: Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper). After pouring marshmallow mixture into  pan, take another piece of plastic wrap and press mixture into pan.
3. Let mixture sit for few hours. Remove from pan, dredge marshmallow slab with confectioners' sugar and cut into 12 equal pieces with scissors (best tool for the job) or a chef's knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners' sugar.

***
O.K. From the sublime to the ridiculous. No time to even toast a marshmallow today to celebrate National Toasted Marshmallow Day? Pick up a handful of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans Toasted Marshmallows. Yum!

Cote d'Or: Saveur Noisette

Tuesday. Another day in “bad chocolate week,” which we launched with calcium supplements on Sunday and continued yesterday with that milk chocolate from Cote d’Or. Up for today: another milk chocolate by Cote d’Or, this one with hazelnuts.

The hazelnuts aren’t chopped and incorporated in chunks, rather, it is finely ground and incorporated like a ginaduja. The result is a very soft chocolate, with a creamy melt.

The flavor is overwhelmingly sweet and creamy, though not artificially so like the Lait Melk. A faint hint of hazelnut flavor is also evident, but not other chocolate flavors come forward. That all said, this bar is far superior to the Lait Melk and would possibly, possibly be worthy of purchase.

If Hershey’s were the only other option. And that’s a place I hope I never find myself.

Have you had a gianduja bar before? Where?

Bear paws

4.5 oz (125 g) dark chocolate
9 oz (250 g) almonds
11 oz (300 g) sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons cocoa
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon cherry liqueur
1.5 oz (40 g) chocolate frosting
grated zest of half a lemon

Chocolate break it into pieces and grind it along with the almonds, then add this mixture 9 oz (250 grams) of sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, lemon zest and mix it. Egg whites beat until stiff and snow in it and stir in it cherry liqueur and previous mixture with almonds. From the dough, form into walnut-sized balls and roll in remaining sugar. Then place the balls in the shape of bear paws, press them, so that the rear third remains free. The mixture forms put on a plate, covered with paper and leave them to dry overnight. Put in an already heated oven at 350° F (180° C) and bake for about 15 minutes. When cool, bear paws decorate with chocolate frosting.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Cote d'Or: Lait Melk

I’m titling this week “not awesome chocolate” week. My life can’t be filled with Amedei and Hotel Chocolat every day. Neither can yours. So it’s important to know what chocolate to not bother with when passing the time between Teuscher champagne truffles. Yesterday’s post discussed chocolate calcium supplements disguised as “premium chocolate.” Nope. Don’t pick those up at the drugstore. Not worth it.

Also not worth it? Evidently, anything by Cote d’Or.

Let’s start with their milk chocolate, or, the “Lait Melk.”

It may have a fancy sounding name, but there is no aroma.

It does, however, have a grainy texture and an artificial creamy flavor with a burnt edge, which is unusual for a milk chocolate. There’s a bit of nuttiness, but overall, the bar is about a quarter of a step above Hershey’s, and is little more than some subpar cocoa butter and an unpleasant artificial flavor.

Gross.

What chocolate is not worth it for you?

Red Velvet Cake Moist SUPER

Ingredients



Red Velvet Cake Moist SUPER


 
1 box cake mix with butter flavored

1 bottle red food coloring

3 eggs

1 stick butter (half melted in the microwave)

1 cup whole milk or buttermilk

Sugar 1 / 4 cup

C. 1 Tea. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 ° C.

Butter and flour 3 cake pans 8 inches. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes.

Divide the dough and spread evenly in the 3 pans.

Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.



Red Velvet Cake Moist SUPER

Invert each cake onto a paper towel to cool

Icing:

February 8 oz block cream cheese

2 sticks of butter (1 / 2 lb)

3 / 4 sugar sachet sachet of powder 2 pounds (1 1 / 2 lb).




Red Velvet Cake Moist SUPER
Heavy mixer, place the cream cheese and butter in a bowl. Beat until smooth, add powdered sugar, a small amount at a time, until about 3 / 4 bag. You can add chopped pecans chopped is the icing, if desired.

** Always frozen in front of each layer down with the bottom up, making a cake shaped and perfectly smooth.


See also,Chocolate Brownie,Chocolate Cake,Chocolate Recipes,Chocolate Sweet,Hot chocolate,white Chocolate Cake , Chocolate Mug Cake

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Adora Calcium Supplements: It's Healthy (or Something Like That)

You may remember that I mentioned that the goodie bag I got at the Healthy Living Summit included chocolate.

Adora Dark Chocolate Calcium Supplements. According to the packaging, each disc of all natural “premium” chocolate includes 50% of your daily recommended intake of calcium, as well as some Vitamin D3 and magnesium, which optimize absorption.

Or something like that. I always believe labels.

Right.

So what does this “healthified” chocolate look like?

It’s purple. I like purple.

The chocolate itself has a caramel aroma with a hint of berry, and is quite light in color for a dark chocolate.

A very sweet taste is immediately evident, and there is a hint of mint with a strong cream flavor. The chocolate is creamy, yet also gritty, and the creamy taste takes on an artificial note at the end as the texture becomes downright chalky. There might be a bit of a banana flavor in there somewhere, but it’s difficult to tease out flavors when you are eating something that resembles chalk.

Now, that said, it's supposed to be a calcium supplement. My mom used to use Tums for that. These are better than that.

Have you had chocolate with a chalky texture before?

Almond roll

Biscuit:
2 eggs
3 oz (80 g) sugar
3 oz (80 g) finely ground almonds
3 oz (80 g) flour
salt
rum

Vanilla cream:
1 cup (2 dl) milk
1 vanilla pod
4 yolk
100 g sugar + sugar for sprinkling
5 oz (150 g) white chocolate
3.5 oz (100 g) butter
chocolate frosting
chocolate chips for decoration

For the dough beat egg yolk with the sugar, stir in flour, almonds and beaten egg whites slightly salted. Bake it and bend. For the cream, lengthwise slit vanilla and boil with milk. Beat egg yolk with sugar and a thick bright mixture gradually stir in hot milk. Next stir on steam to jell the cream. Stir in grated white chocolate. When cooled, remove the vanilla, then add the butter. Carefully unwind the cake, sprinkle with rum and spread the cream. Fold the cake and drizzle with chocolate frosting and decorate.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Daring Bakers August 2011: Chocolate Candy

I really contemplated not doing Daring Bakers this month. With work trips to Boston and San Francisco, a triathlon to compete in and a conference in Philadelphia, I certainly had reason to skip.

Then I saw the challenge. It involved chocolate.

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

We had to make two things. We were supposed to temper our couverture, but I didn’t bother because 1. I have no spare time and 2. The people who would be eating the result would devour it before looking at it.

So go ahead. Report me to the Daring Bakers Police. But first, check out what I made. The first one is uber-fancy, utilizing exceptionally expensive saffron alongside high-quality chocolate.

Saffron-Maple Truffles - Ingredients

¾ cup cream

25 saffron threads

¼ cup maple syrup

10 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate (Scharffen Berger 70% cacao), divided

Mix cream and saffron over low heat, bring to and hold at a simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat, allow to steep for 15 minutes. Repeat twice; strain out saffron threads. The cream will have a light orange hue from the saffron.

Combine cream and maple syrup, heat to a simmer. Pour over six ounces of the chopped chocolate, stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is uniform to create a ganache. Allow to cool for 1-2 hours, then form the ganache into ½ inch diameter balls.

Melt remaining chocolate over low heat, then remove from heat and dip the ganache balls into the melted chocolate individually, removing with a fork and tapping the fork to remove excess chocolate. Place on wax paper, allow to sit for 1-2 hours or until chocolate is dry.

Then move onto the next recipe. Because Lisa and Mandy apparently don’t realize how much business travel can take out of you. My brain was fried, so I went with a standby combination: lime and salt.

Salted Lime Marzipan Chocolates - Ingredients

10 ounces marzipan

Zest from 3 limes

Juice from 3 limes

1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt

3 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate (Scharffen Berger 70% cacao)

Mix the first four ingredients thoroughly, form into ½ inch diameter balls. Freeze.

Melt chocolate over low heat, then remove from heat and dip the marzipan balls into the melted chocolate individually, removing with a fork and tapping the fork to remove excess chocolate. Place on wax paper, allow to sit for 1-2 hours or until chocolate is dry.

And there are my damn chocolate candies. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go try to relocate my life. I’m told that most of it is here in DC. Fascinating.

Have you made chocolate candies before? What kind?

Roald Dahl Cookbook: Willy Wonka's Nutty Crunch Surprise

As part of a continuing feature on DyingforChocolate.com, I'm posting chocolate recipes from my collection of Tie-in Cookbooks. My collection contains Mystery Cookbooks, Music Cookbooks, Art Cookbooks, Movie & TV Cookbooks and other "Literary" cookbooks.

The first in this series of posts was for Zodiac Chocolate Cake from the Mary Poppins in the Kitchen. Today, I chose another 'children's cookbook' Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes (Viking, 1994). Illustrated by Quentin Blake with photographs by Jan Baldwin. Recipes compiled by Josie Fison and Felicity Dahl.

According to Felicity Dahl, "Treats were an essential part of Roald's life--never too many, never too few, and always perfectly timed. . .    Revolting Recipes is an interpretation of some of the scrumptious and wonderfully disgusting dishes that appear in Roald's books."

Roald Dahl is one of the most beloved storytellers of all time. His many popular children's books include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, and Matilda. He died in 1990.

Quentin Blake has illustrated more than a dozen of Roald Dahl's Books, and he has collaborated with authors Joan Aiken and Russell Hoban, as well as illustrated his own picture books. He was honored with the OBE in 1988.

Willy Wonka's Nutty Crunch Surprise


Apple Muffins, Chocolate And Caramel





Apple Muffins, Chocolate And Caramel
Ingredients

* Green Packet 500g 97% Fat Free Choc Muffins Caramel

* 1 egg, lightly beaten

* 1 cup water

* 1 small Granny Smith apple, grated

* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Method

1.



Apple Muffins, Chocolate And Caramel
 Preheat oven to 160 ° C. Grease a 12 x 1/3-cup capacity muffin pan with paper cases or equivalent.

2.



Apple Muffins, Chocolate And Caramel
 Place muffin mix in large bowl. Add egg and water. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Divide mixture evenly among the muffin cups, filling each three-quarters full.

3.



Apple Muffins, Chocolate And Caramel
 Press the apple in your hands to remove excess moisture. Spread a thin layer of grated apple in each muffin. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of each muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins rest for 5 minutes in pan. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

See also,Chocolate Brownie,Chocolate Cake,Chocolate Recipes,Chocolate Sweet,Hot chocolate,white Chocolate Cake , Chocolate Mug Cake

Choco Cake Of Ice




Choco Cake Of Ice
Ingredients


And 'chocolate cake without egg sponge


1 package (300 grams) chocolate cake mix without eggs or 1 / 2 kg. ready chocolate pudding sponge


To be mixed with a soaking syrup


1 tablespoon powdered sugar




Choco Cake Of Ice

2 c. tablespoons brandy (optional)


2 tablespoons water


To decorate


Family Package 1 (1 / 2 l) with vanilla ice cream


strawberries


See also,Chocolate Brownie,Chocolate Cake,Chocolate Recipes,Chocolate Sweet,Hot chocolate,white Chocolate Cake , Chocolate Mug Cake

Friday, August 26, 2011

Hurricane Cake

With Hurricane Irene on the way and people battening down the hatches, this Hurricane Cake is perfect.  This recipe has been around for ages. You can make it with a German Chocolate Cake Mix or a Devil's Food Cake Mix. Either way, it's really yummy. Even better after a day in the refrigerator!

HURRICANE CAKE

Ingredients
1/2 cup sweet butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup flaked coconut
1 (18.25 ounce) package German Chocolate Cake Mix or Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup sweet butter
3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt and spread 1/2 cup butter in bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.
Sprinkle coconut and pecans evenly over the bottom of pan; set aside.
Prepare cake mix as directed on package.
Pour batter over coconut and pecans in pan.
In saucepan over low heat, melt cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter. Stir in confectioners' sugar until mixture is smooth.
Spoon cream cheese mixture randomly over top of cake batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool and serve from the pan.

Amedei: Madagascar 70%

After I enjoyed the Amedei Venezuelan 70% bar so much, I had to evaluate Amedei’s work with cacao from other origins. A bar from Madagascar, also 70% cacao, seemed like a good starting point.

A starting point because I intend to sample their entire collection. This bar just happens to be the second. As with the Amedei Venezuelan 70%, the aroma was strong, but in this case, the overwhelming scent was tar with a hint of anise.

The tar and anise are also evident in the flavor, with some earthy and smoky flavor building throughout and a bit of a sour flavor at the end. The texture is exceptionally smooth and the melt is smooth – just like the Venezuelan version. While the bar is high quality, the flavor profile wasn’t appealing to me personally. I’ll likely just stock up on the Venezuelan version and pass on this one in the future.

Have you ever tasted anise in chocolate?

Soft Chocolate Cookies




Soft Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients 

2 cups brown sugar

1 1 / 2 cups white sugar

2 cups Crisco all vegetable (non-hydrogenated)

4 eggs

4 cups flour

2 c. Tea. yeast

2 c. Tea. baking soda

2 c. Tea. salt

2 c. Tea. Pure Vanilla

3 / 4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc.)

2 cups chocolate chips

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Method



Beat eggs until light in color. Add all ingredients except nuts and chips in a bowl and mix until blended (about 1 minute). Stir in nuts and chips.



Soft Chocolate Cookies

Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls and cook in a preheated 350 ° F for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven when they seem to be cooked, just as the edges are lightly browned.

Chefs Note: It is important not to burn, so keep an eye on them during the final minutes and do not go the timer for the cookies of different cooking times and oven sizes more or less affect outcomes.




Soft Chocolate Cookies
These cookies are dipped in large or flavored with chocolate!

Replacement therapy: Butter can be replaced, in whole or in part, Crisco, but this causes cookies to spread and to be sharp to soft.

Yield: About 40 large cookies

See also,Chocolate Brownie,Chocolate Cake,Chocolate Recipes,Chocolate Sweet,Hot chocolate,white Chocolate Cake , Chocolate Mug Cake

Chocolate Fondue




Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients

12 oz (1 bar), milk chocolate or 12 ounces of baking chocolate semi-sweet

3 / 4 c. whipping cream

3 c. soup. Cointreau brandy or rum

2 med. size banana

1 1 / 2 c. strawberries, halved apricots, cherries or raisins

1 1 / 2 C. diced fresh pineapple

6 slices of cake, angel food cake or sponge cake, about 3 / 4 "thick
Method




Chocolate Fondue
Place chocolate and cream in a double boiler set over hot (not boiling) water and heat, stirring until chocolate melts and mixes with the cream. Stir in Cointreau. Transfer to a saucepan and place on either a tea light or electric hot. Or use a stove with a small bathroom with hot water. (Be careful not to overheat the chocolate sauce, or it can burn.)




Chocolate Fondue
Cut bananas into 1 / 2 inch sections and place in a bowl of nuts with a strawberry and pineapple cubes. Cut cake into squares and add 1 cm to the head. Bac place with hot chocolate sauce and served with bamboo skewers or fondue forks used to spear food and then dip in sauce. 6-8 servings.



Chocolate Fondue

See also,Chocolate Brownie,Chocolate Cake,Chocolate Recipes,Chocolate Sweet,Hot chocolate,white Chocolate Cake , Chocolate Mug Cake


HOT FUDGE Banana Cake

Ingredients
 
1 C. quick oats

1 / 2 cup butter

1 1 / 4 c. boiling water

3 / 4 C. honey

C. 1 Tea. vanilla

3 / 4 C. (2 med.) Bananas, washed, very ripe ones work best

1 / 2 C. chopped walnuts

1 C. chips semi-sweet chocolate

1 3 / 4 c. wheat flour, sifted

1 1 / 2 c. Tea. baking soda

1 teaspoon rounded. cinnamon

1 / 4 tsp rounded. nutmeg

1 / 2 C. unsweetened coconut flakes

2 eggs

Butter and flour a 13x9 inch cake pan.
Method


 
In a large bowl, combine the oats, butter and boiling water and let stand 20 minutes. Add honey, vanilla, banana, eggs, mix well. Add the sifted flour and other ingredients (to the coconut). Stir to mix well. Mix coconut, nuts and chocolate chips and pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes or until cake back when touched lightly in center (cake will not rise). Serve hot or cold.

See also,Chocolate Brownie,Chocolate Cake,Chocolate Recipes,Chocolate Sweet,Hot chocolate,white Chocolate Cake , Chocolate Mug Cake

Thursday, August 25, 2011

How to Make A Chocolate Book

I love these edible chocolate books so much that I posted a link to Hungry Happenings on my Mystery Fanfare blog. Yes, books and chocolate are two of my main passions. I think this post serves this site well, too.

Check out Hungry Happenings  for a great recipe for creating edible books with fruit leather and honey-scented white modeling chocolate–"the perfect treat for your book party."

Note: If you haven't made modeling chocolate before or haven't melted chocolate, you should read Hungry Happenings' chocolate making tutorial. All brands of white chocolate or white candy melts have varying amounts of cocoa butter or oil, so the recipe is just a guide. You may need to add more or possibly less honey. She used Peters White Caps which are similar to Merckens Super White Coatings or Wilton White Candy Melts. 


Photo: Hungry Happenings

Amedei: Venezuelan 70%

I may or may not have previously mentioned that I’m a sucker for chocolate made from Venezuelan cacao. Assuming it’s not poorly done. I’ll almost always pick up a Venezuelan-origin bar when I see one, and after hearing Candice discuss how divine Amedei’s bars are, I had to pick up the Amedei 70% Venezuelan single origin bar when I spied it at Biagio.

The bar features simple packaging, with appreciably more information about Amedei’s other offerings inside.

But for now, let’s focus on the chocolate inside this carefully wrapped package, a light-colored bar – so light that it nearly resembled milk chocolate – with a very strong aroma of bananas and smoke.

The flavor of this bar builds nicely, beginning with citrus and a hint of cherry, giving way to a notable banana flavor later on and a slightly bitter earthy note near the end. This complex, slowly-developing harmony of flavors is made possible by the long, slow melt that is quite smooth. No flavor is overwhelming, and the bar is just sweet enough to prevent the citrus notes from being overly sour.

Balanced and smooth. Divine. Find some of this.

Have you ever had a bar by Amedei? How was it?