Decadent...triple hot chocolate with cream

When Elly decided to hold a blogging event associated with music I knew she was on a winner. Music along with food are life's essentials. I often have something playing in the background as I cook and photograph my creations. I was stumped initially about what I was going to do. I finally decided to go back to the 70's with a funky, get down, sensual song. Hot Chocolate's "You Sexy Thing". So I'm basing my entry on the bands name. I whipped up a decadent, rich, sensual hot chocolate loaded with calorific goodness! And boy is it sexy! Think full fat creamy milk, good couverture chocolate and whipped cream. (There's a lot to be said about the 70's isn't there?...flares, bad hair, cool music). I'm dedicating this creation to all the foodie gals of the blogoshere. After all, we should know by now that "chocolate is the universal language of women" worldwide. And chocolate is sexy! Here's my entry for Elly's Eat To The Beat.



RECIPE FOR TRIPLE HOT CHOCOLATE WITH CREAM

200 grams of good couverture chocolate (at least 70%)
2 cups of full fat creamy milk
whipped cream
cocoa powder for dusting
1 x Chocolate stirrer ( I used that iconic Australian chocolate called "Flake". It's a crumbly chocolate log that has these amazing layers..it melts as you "stir" the chocolate!)

Place your milk in a saucepan over a low heat and add the chocolate. Stir slowly till the chocolate melts. We want it slightly above warm and not too scalding hot. Otherwise the chocolate will get burnt. Pour in a mug or glass and top with whipped cream. Dust with cocoa and add your "chocolate stirrer" of choice i.e. your favourite chocolate bar. By the way, its up to you if you feel like adding sugar. It may be sweet enough as it is!

Tags:dessert drinks quick

Strawberries and Mascarpone...a great marriage

I'm continuing with my romantic desserts again. But even if you don't feel the "love" you can still cook them and enjoy them anyway. I hope you enjoyed the panacotta I dished up yesterday. Today's sexy dessert marries two of those ingredients that again were destined to be together. Strawberries and mascarpone. I mean who doesn't love strawberries? They taste fantastic and you can do lots of things with them as most people know. And how about mascarpone? Its often described as a cheese but its more of a thick cream. Actually I think its a soft cream cheese! Whatever it is, it has the most softest and silkiest texture. It can work both as a savoury and sweet ingredient. Fantastic! We love a versatile ingredient.

I saw this recipe on the local food channel during a commercial break from "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares". (How funny. A food network with recipes as ad breaks.). I immediately loved the whole concept. And of course I cheated and bought ready made puff pastry. Unlike Ben who makes his own puff pastry and Peter who rolls his own phyllo, I prefer to have someone else do it for me. I have a huge phobia about certain pastries and them not turning out. Maybe we'll tackle that in another post. Anyway, back to our tart. Its really easy and it can easily serve up to 6 people. As we approach the end of summer, the strawberries are still ripe enough to enjoy so its a perfect recipe to use them up.



STRAWBERRY AND MASCARPONE TART

250 grams of mascarpone cheese
250 grams of lightly whipped cream
2 punnets of fresh strawberries hulled
grated zest of one lemon
a good dash of vanilla extract
100 grams of caster sugar
1-2 sheets of puff pastry
milk for brushing
icing sugar to dust

N.B. Depending on the shape you make yours in its important to make a "casing" to put the mascarpone and strawberries in. For e.g. I made an oblong tart so I scored the inner edges with a knife and with the second sheet I cut out strips and created a border that I placed on the scored edges. That way the pastry puffs up and creates this wonderful container for us. I used the milk as glue and to brush the rest of the pastry with. Don't forget to prick the base of the pastry so it doesn't explode!

• Preheat your oven to 180 deg C
• Make the tart shell as explained above. Once it has achieved a goldenish colour take it out of the oven and let it cool. Mine took about 20 mins.
• While the tart shell is cooling whip you cream with the sugar, zest and vanilla extract. Once its whipped add the mascarpone and fold through until you have a silky, thick rich mixture.
• Fill the tart shell with the cream mixture.
• Add your strawberries on top.
• Dust with icing sugar and serve it up.

Serve with extra strawberries and mascarpone on the side if you wish.

Tags:recipes recipes baking Sweet Treats dessert

Dessert for two

Its that time of the year again. Its approaching Valentines Day. You know you want to impress your loved one. Instead of going out for dinner and paying the over exorbitant prices they charge for that one day of the year, stay at home and cook something sensual. Before I proceed, I know there's a lot of folks out there who don't buy into the commercialism of celebrating Valentines Day. That's fine and I respect that. I just think its a good excuse to get cooking. (What else?). Thats why I plan on highlighting a few recipes over the next few days that you may wish to cook and impress your loved one. Simple recipes. Ones that will leave you time for other things later....

Panacotta is that beautiful dessert hailing form Italy. I immediately fell in love with it the first time I tried it many years ago. It has a soft, gelatinous texture. Almost silk like. Panacotta literally means cooked cream. I thought I could "spice" up the original with some rosewater. The perfect romantic ingredient. Rosewater is a liquid used primarily in the Middle East. Its mostly used in sweets and I remember my mother dousing "kourabiethes" (the shortbread almond biscuits covered in icing sugar) with them once the biscuits had come out of the oven. The aroma is so hypnotising. And its even more magical when added to the cream. I was actually afraid to make this because I was scared of the gelatine. But it all worked out in the end.



ROSEWATER PANACOTTA

This recipe will make about six. Perfect you can always have seconds!

500 ml of pouring cream
one tsp of vanilla extract
100 grams of caster sugar
2 tbsp of rosewater
one 10 gram sachet of gelatine

Simply place the cream, sugar, vanilla and rosewater in a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Do not allow it to boil. In another saucepan heat up 125ml of water. Once this has boiled take it off the heat and add the gelatine. Whisk it briskly to dissolve the gelatine completely. Add the gelatine mixture to the cooked cream and stir thoroughly. Place this mixture into pre oiled panacotta moulds. Allow it to cool and then let the panacotta set in the fridge for a minimum of four hours or overnight. Top with toasted pistachios and drizzle with rosewater syrup. Garnish with rose petals.


Rose water syrup...perfect for the panacotta.

ROSE WATER SYRUP

one cup of water
one cup of castor sugar
2 tbsps of rose water
A drop or two of red or pink food colouring.

Pace all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved increase the temperature and let it boil for 5 mins. Remove it from the heat and let it cool. Use it to drizzle over the panacotta.

Tags:recipes recipes Sweet Treats dessert