99 Chocolate Delights

Author Archive

Swiss Chocolate Cake - delicious!

Switzerland is the country of chocolate – Toblerone, Lindt & Spruengli, just to mention the most famous chocolate brands. For this recipe I recommend Swiss baking chocolate from Lindt. The Swiss chocolate cake is easy to make and is a wonderful cake for the holidays or any festive event.

Ingredients
200 gr butter
6 separated eggs
200 gr sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
200 gr Swiss baking chocolate
50 gr Kirsch (1 shot glass)
250 gr loose crumbled bread

Baking Instructions

- Mix butter with sugar until it is creamy in use a mixer.
- Then add the egg yolks slowly one after the other, add Vanilla and crumbled bread.
- Melt the chocolate in using the double-boiler method which is:
Use a medium sauce pan and an oven safe dish which can float in the pan.
Add enough water into the sauce pan, place the dish so that it will float without
touching the bottom of the pan. Heat the water and put the dish inside. Break
the chocolate in pieces so it fits into the dish.
(Using microwave: Break the chocolate into small pieces and add them into a
microwave safe bowl. Calculate 1 minute per ounce, every 30 seconds check if
chocolate is melting, stir it with a spatula so it gets evenly melted.)
- Stir the chocolate several times per minute, it should not start to stick to the
bottom and should melt evenly. Remove it from the heat when chocolate has
melted.
- Mix Kirsch into the melted chocolate and stir gently. Let is cool down a bit and
mix it to the butter cream.
- With a mixer beat the egg yolks foamy. Add the egg white to the mix.
- Grease a spring form slightly with butter and add the mixture.
- Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F and bake the cake on 325 degrees for about 50
minutes to 1.5 hours.
- Do the test by using a metal stick or knife and poke it into the cake. If
no batter sticks, then it is done.
- Let it cool off on a rack upside down.
- Sprinkle some powdered sugar through a doily on the top of the cake or if you
like.
Topping
- Sprinkle some powdered sugar through a doily on top or
- add a thin layer of pure, and without sugar, cocoa powder or
- whip heavy cream and squeeze some swirls onto the top.

ice cream with home made chocolate sauce

Ice cream socials are a tradition in Iowa. And what is better than home made ice cream with home made chocolate sauce; men discuss weather and farm, children play softball and the women serve the delightful afternoon snack. Life is good.

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 large can evaporated milk
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Cooking Instructions
- Boil sugar and evaporated milk in heavy sauce pan for 2 minutes;
- Melt chocolate in double boiler and add milk and sugar;
- Beat until smooth and then add butter;
- Mix well, then add vanilla and salt and stir.
Enjoy it over some ice cream.

Chocolate cantuccini delight

Biscotti (pronounced /bɪˈskɒti/, Italian pronunciation: [bisˈkɔtti]) more correctly known as biscotti di Prato (English: biscuits of Prato), also known as cantuccini (English: little hiding places (translated by M. Bulpitt)), are a twice-baked cake originating in the Italian city of Prato. The cakes are large almond biscuits, made dry and crunchy through cutting the loaf of dough while still hot and fresh from baking in the oven or can also baked with chocolate.

Ingredients
120 g dark chocolate (70%)
120 g butter
2 eggs
200 g sugar
1 package vanilla sugar
335 g flour (Typ 405)
1.5 tbsp baking powder
60 g cocoa powder (no instant and without sugar)
1 tbsp salt

Baking Instructions
- melt butter and chocolate with double-boiler method;
- whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla sugar until foamy;
- add butter-chocolate mix while steering;
Mix flour with cocoa, add salt and sieve it, knead it to get a firm dough which should not be sticky;
- Divide the dough and form 2 long sticks; lay them on a baking tray on baking paper and bake them in pre-heated oven on 175 degrees C or 345 F  for 25 minutes;
- let them cool off a bit  then cut them in 0.5 inches thick slices.
- place them again on the baking tray and bake them another 20 minutes on 100 degrees C or 200 F – when done let them cool off. Enjoy them with a cup of coffee.

Chocolate Dessert or Souffle

For this recipe you need a dark chocolate coating which is called in German “Kuvertuere” or “Couverture” in French. This is not a brand or type of chocolate but rather a term used to describe professional-quality coating chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa butter — at least 32 percent and often as high as 39 percent for good-quality couverture. The extra cocoa butter allows the chocolate to form a thinner coating shell than non-couverture chocolate. Ghirardelli, Hershey’s, Lindt, Droste or Valrhona are offering this coating.

Ingredients Chocolate Souffle (serves 4)
25 g soft butter
25 g flour
5 Kardamom pods or ground kardamom (see also: http://www.cardamomspice.com/)
If you cannot get kardamom use cinnamon or vanilla  instead
125 ml milk
30 g dark chocolate coating (German Kuvertuere available here)
20 g cocoa powder
2 egg yolks
3 egg white
35 g sugar
50 g powdered sugar

Cooking Instructions Chocolate Souffle
- Grease 4 souffle forms or cups (glass) and add some sugar which will stick on the butter; remove sugar which is not sticking.
- Knead butter and flour.
- If you use the pods remove kardamom from pods and crush it in a mortar.
- Chop the dark chocolate coarsly; in a pan heat milk, add the chocolate; add kardamom and cocoa powder as well, while stirring bring it to a boil – add the kneaded flour-butter  but not at once, bit by bit. Let it cool off.
- With a mixer add the egg yolks one after the other  until you have a smooth cream.
- Beat egg white until firm, trickle the sugar into the egg white. Add 1/4 of the eggwhite to the cream.
- Fill the cups or forms until 1 cm underneath the edge. Place them on a dripping pan and add as much hot water so the forms are 2/3 in the water (using the double-boiler method here).
- Bake them for 40 minutes on 400 degrees F (200 C) on the 2. level.
- Take the souffles out and sprinkle them right away with powdered sugar.

Serve the souffle with whipped cream that is spiced with kardamom.

White Chocolate Cream

Holidays are coming soon! It’s time for a delicious dessert for the holiday menu; this one is from Germany. It is a very extraordinary dessert with an espresso sauce, and instead of dark chocolate, we are using white one.
Ingredients
300 g white Kuvertuere – see it here at German Deli -  you also can use white chocolate from Valrhona Ivoire White Baking Chocolate by ChefShop
1/2 l heavy cream
5 sheets white gelatin
find it here at German Deli or available in the USA from Dr. Oetker on Amazon
2 eggs, 1 tbsp sugar
chocolate leaves or similar for decoration
Sauce
2 egg yolk
2 tbsp curacao white
1 sachet vanilla sugar
2 tbsp instant espresso powder
1 tbsp cocoa  powder

Mixing the cream

Baking Instructions
1. Cut the white chocolate in rough pieces and melt it in the heavy cream on mild heat, then put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
2. For the sauce mix yolks with Curacao and vanilla sugar. Mix 1/8l hot water with espresso powder and add it very slowly and while stirring to the yolk cream. Put it in the fridge.
3. For the cream soak the gelatin. Separate eggs, mix sugar and egg yolks until foamy.
4. Now beat the chocolate-cream semi firm and add it to the yolk cream. Dissolve gelatin on low heat and mix it into the cream, put it in the fridge.
5. When the cream is getting a jelly-like consistence, beat the egg white until firm and mix it carefully with the white chocolate cream.
6. Decorate with chocolate leaves or hearts or similar chocolate pieces.

Serve it with the sauce  as made in #2