Sunday, August 31, 2008

MY FAV CHOCOLATE RECIPES

Find my favorite chocolate recipes here; tested and approved! Some of them I found in other blog or web.Anna Olson is one of my favorite pastry chef; her show "Sugar" always inspire me throughout my cooking experiences. Since being fultime homemaker for last eight years,baking became my passion, hobby and way of bonding with my girls and the boys as well. They love chocolate so much and became my 'loyal customer' since then. Love to share what I love about and looking forward if someone have the same passion.




Old fashioned chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine

Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.

Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Vanilla Frosting: 1 stick (1/1 cup) butter, room temperature 1-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons milk

Beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy. Sift powdered sugar into the mixer bowl (right on top of the beaten butter). Beat to combine. Add the vanilla and the milk. Beat until combined.

Notes: This cupcake recipe is the kind that will result in a flat cupcake (not domed). One thing you must be careful of is over-filling the cupcake paper. It will over flow and make a mess. So only 2/3 full. If you are unsure, do less.


BEST CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Ingredients :

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essance
3/4 cup buttermilk *
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Note : To make buttermilk : 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice Method :

1. In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder,baking soda and salt.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg and vanilla essance until smooth.
3. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of buttermilk, beating until bater is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven at 180 celscius for 22 - 27 minutes or until top of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.
5. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minute












ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES


Ingredients

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar 1

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup warm water

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Mix in wet ingredients. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let the cupcakes cool completely before icing them. (Makes 2 dozen)

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Ingredients 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter 1/2 cup cocoa
4 cups confectioners sugar 1/4 cup milk Beat butter on high for about 30 seconds until soft. Add cocoa & 1 cup of sugar. Beat till incorporated. Add half of the milk & remainder of sugar. Beat till incorporated. Continue to add milk till you get the consistency you want.
(I added it all and got a really wonderfully creamy frosing)

Adding the sweet, sweet innards Once your cupcakes have cooled use a small serrated knife to cut out a funnel shaped piece of cake from the top. Don't cut all the way to the edge, leave a bit of room so that the seam will be covered


Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cupcakes

~30 regular cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temp
2-1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temp
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
4. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine
6. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
7. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2’s full. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Note: As mentioned previously with this recipe, if you overfill the cupcakes, they will overflow and then sink. To be on the safe side I am now recommending that you fill the cupcakes 1/2 full. With a big batch you may still have some problems with one or two of them, but the majority should work out just fine. Your oven must be for sure hot enough, so it doesn’t hurt to get an oven thermometer and make sure it’s at the correct temperature. These cupcakes are temperamental, but the resulting cake is worth it.



Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter,
melted

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg +1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips


Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.







Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.






SUBWAY STYLE CHOCOLATE CHIPS COOKIES

1 cup unsalted butter (or substitute 1/4 cup golden Crisco for 1/4 cup of the butter)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups chocolate chips (or coarse chopped, semi sweet chocolate chunks)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream the butter with the brown and white sugars until well blended. Stir in vanilla and egg.

Fold in flour, baking soda, salt and lastly, chocolate chips. Chill dough one hour.

Form into rounds the size of a golf ball and place, two inches apart, on baking sheet.

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F. oven until just light brown around the edges (14-16 minutes). Too much baking will make cookies hard. Cool on racks. They may seem a little underdone, but will set up as they cool.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen





Tangerine Chocolate Cupcakes

Yield: 18
Ingredients:

Cupcakes

  • 2 1/4 cups pastry flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp freshly grated tangerine zest
  • 1/4 cups fresh tangerine juice
  • 2 large eggs, seperated

Chocolate Icing

  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 3 cups icing sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 cup cocoa, sifted
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp freshly grated tangerine zest
  • 1 to 2 tbsp fresh tangerine juice
  • 2 oz semisweet chocolate, melted
  • orange colour candies, for garnish
Directions:

Cupcakes

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. and line muffin tins with paper cups.
  2. Sift flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add oil, buttermilk, vanilla and tangerine zest. Beat one minute with electric beaters. Add tangerine juice and egg yolks and beat another minute.
  3. In a separate bowl and using cleaned beaters, whip egg whites until foamy. Gradually pour in remaining ½ cup sugar and whip until whites hold a stiff peak. Fold whites gently into batter and spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when pressed. Allow to cool.

Chocolate Icing

  1. For icing, beat butter until fluffy. On low speed beat in icing sugar and cocoa until smooth. Beat in vanilla, zest and tangerine juice. Stir in melted chocolate. If the icing is too thin, add a touch more icing sugar. Spread icing onto cupcakes and garnish with orange-coloured candies of your choice.





Chocolate Walnut Brownie Neapolitan

Brownies –everybody’s favourite! Toasting the walnuts before baking the brownies adds more dimension and flavour. Remember, the longer you bake your brownies, the “cakier” they become, so bake to your liking!
Ingredients:

Brownie

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar
  • 4 egg, room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 0.67 cup walnut pieces, toasted
  • 1 L strawberry ice cream

Chilled Hot Chocolate Sauce

  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • dash of salt
  • 2 egg yolk
  • 3 tbsp sugar

Fresh Raspberry Sauce

  • 2 cups fresh raspberries
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
Directions:

Brownie

  1. Preheat oven to 325 F and prepare 2 greased 2 x 3 1/2-inch loaf pans (or 1 4 x 8-inch loaf pan).
  2. Melt butter (over stove or in microwave) and pour into a larger bowl. Sift cocoa into butter and stir in. Stir in sugar.
  3. Add eggs to mixture, blending well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt (do not sift). Add to cocoa mixture and blend. Stir in walnuts.
  5. Pour brownie batter into pans and bake for 40-45 minutes, until firm when touched. Allow to cool.
  6. Thaw ice cream for 5 minutes, just to soften.
  7. Remove brownies from loaf tins. Wipe tins and line with plastic wrap. Slice each loaf horizontally in half. Place bottom half back into each tin. Spoon ice cream onto brownie in tin and spread into corners. Top ice cream with other half of brownie. Wrap and freeze until ready to serve (brownie should not freeze completely due to high sugar content).

Chilled Hot Chocolate Sauce

  1. Heat cream over medium heat with sifted cocoa powder, vanilla and salt.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Gradually add hot cream to egg mixture, whisking constantly until all cream has been added. Return cream to heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Strain and chill until ready to serve.

Fresh Raspberry Sauce

  1. Puree all ingredients; strain and chill.



Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Yield: 24
Ingredients:

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

  • 3/4 cup whole hazelnuts
  • 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar, packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp instant coffee powder
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt
Directions:

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 12 minutes. Cool, then rub off skins with a tea towel and roughly chop.
  3. Melt chocolate in microwave, stirring every 10 seconds and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in eggs. Stir vanilla and instant coffee together and add to butter mixture. Stir in melted chocolate.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt and add to butter mixture to combine. Stir in chopped hazelnuts. Drop by large tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until just lightly crisp around the edges but the cookies should be chewy in the center.


MOIST CHOC CAKE

Ingeredients (A):

60 gm. cocoa powder
125 gm. hot water
180 gm. fine sugar

(B)
130 gm. Unsalted Butter
35 gm. Sugar
130 gm. Self-raising flour
3 eggs
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Essence

Method:

(1) Mix ingredients (A) and let it cool.
(2) Cream butter with sugar till creamy. Add in salt and vanilla essence.
(3) Add in eggs one at a time till evenly blending before the next addition.
(4) Pour in cocoa powder mixture gradually then add in the self-raising flour.
(5) Pour into a 7" round tray and bake till cooked at 175C for about 60 mins.
(6) For topping, spread some ganache on top.




CHOC FUDGE CAKE

Ingredients for sponge cake
:
(A)
120 gm. Superfine flour
1/4 tsp. Baking powder
1/4 tsp. Bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp. salt
85 gm. sugar
4 egg yolks
50 gm. cooking oil (any brand)
40 gm. water
1 Tbsp. chocolate emulco / paste
35 gm. cocoa powder + 60 gm. hot water

(B)
4 nos. egg white
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
85 gm. castor sugar

Ganache:

250 gm. dairy whipping cream
300 gm. cooking chocolate
50 gm. butter

Method:

(1) Mix all the ingredients (A) together into a smooth batter.
(2) Whisk (B) till until stiff peak.
(3) Fold (AS) and (B) together, taking care not to overmix. Pour into a 9" round cake tin and bake at 175C for about 45 mins. or till cooked. Remove cake from oven and let it sit on the cooling for 3 mins. before removing from the tin.
(4) For Ganache, heat up the dairy whipping cream, pour into the chocolate and stir till chocolate melts, then add in the butter. Stir till smooth and let it set until it's or a spreading consistency.
(5) Slice sponge cake into 3 layers. Spread ganache on every layer and sandwich them together. Cream the whole with ganache and decorate as desired.

* This chocolate fudge cake is using ganache and it's not the custard-like fudge cake.






Coffee cupcake




Ingredients:

180 gm. Butter
200 gm. Sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 tsp. Coffee paste
1/2 cup hot water mix with 1 tsp. Instant Office
1/4 cup milk

Sift together:

250 gm. cake flour or plain flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Bicarbonate of Soda

Method:

(1) Cream butter, sugar and salt together till creamy.
(2) Add in eggs one at a time and mix till well combined.
(3) Add in coffee paste, coffee mixture and milk and then fold in sifted flour.
(4) Scoop into paper cups and bake at 175C for 25 mins. or till cooked.



Chocolate Layer Cake

Ingredients
(A)
20 egg yolks
8 egg white
250 gm. sugar
200 gm. Hong Kong flour or cake flour
1 Tbsp. Ovalette

(B)
450 gm. Butter
6 Tbsp. Condensed Milk

(C)

1 orange skin - grated
1/2 tsp. orange emulco
2 tsp. coffee paste
1 Tbsp. Chocolate paste
3 Tbsp. Dark cooking chocolate - melted

Method:

(1) Beat ingredients (A) till thick and fluffy.
(2) Cream ingredients (B) till creamy.
(3) Fold ingredients (A) and (B) together and mix evenly.
(4) Divide mixture into 3 portions. Two portions add in grated orange and orange paste. The other portion add in coffee paste, chocolate paste and melted chocolate.
(5) Spoon 4 to 5 Tabsp. of orange batter into 8" x 8" sq tin and bake till half cook then turn to grill mode and bake till golden brown. Continue baking layer by layer till orange portion finish.
(6) Continue the same process with the chocolate portion and bake till batter finish.
(7) Continue the same process again with the orange portion and bake till finish.
(8) For the last layer, change back to oven temperature of 175C and bake a further 15 to 20 mins.
(9) Remove from oven and leave to cool before slicing.

Note: You can leave l layer portion of chocolate batter for the uppermost layer.