does anyone know of a good chocolate recipe?
thanks for all the great recipes but i meant for making actual chocolate itself.
does anyone know of a good chocolate recipe?
thanks for all the great recipes but i meant for making actual chocolate itself.
Yes… These are two Nigella Lawson recipes from her "Chocolate Heaven" episode of "Nigella Feasts" on the Food Network. Yum Yum!!
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson
Show: Nigella Feasts
Episode: Chocolate Heaven
Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup best-quality cocoa
1 1/2 sticks soft unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons good-quality vanilla extract
2/3 cup sour cream
Special equipment: 2 (each 8-inch diameter) layer tins with removable bases, buttered
Frosting:
6 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
3/4 stick unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon good-quality vanilla extract
Sugar flowers, to decorate, optional
Take everything out of the refrigerator so that all ingredients can come room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Put all the cake ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture.
Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, which should be about 35 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 25 minutes. Also, it might make sense to switch the 2 cakes around in the oven halfway through cooking time. Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. Don’t worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the frosting later.
To make this icing, melt the chocolate and butter in a good-sized bowl either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Go slowly either way: you don’t want any burning or seizing.
While the chocolate and butter is cooling a little, sieve the confectioners’ sugar into another bowl. Or, easier still, put the icing sugar into the food processor and blitz to remove lumps.
Add the corn syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved confectioners’ sugar. Or just pour this mixture down the funnel of the food processor onto the powdered sugar, with the motor running.
You may need to add a little boiling water, say a teaspoon or so, or indeed some more confectioners’ sugar, depending on whether you need the frosting to be thiner or thicker. It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off.
Choose your cake stand or plate and cut 4 strips of baking parchment to form a square and sit 1 of the cakes, uppermost (i.e. slightly domed) side down.
Spoon about 1/3 of the frosting onto the center of the cake-half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, normal way up, pressing gently to sandwich the 2 together.
Spoon another 1/3 of the frosting onto the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way (though you can go for a smooth finish if you prefer, and have the patience). Spread the sides of the cake with icing and leave a few minutes until set, then carefully pull away the paper strips.
I love to dot the top of this with sugar pansies, and you must admit, they do look enchanting, but there really is no need to make a shopping expedition out of it. Anything, or indeed nothing, will do.
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Triple Chocolate Brownies Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson
Show: Nigella Feasts
Episode: Chocolate Heaven
3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups superfine sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white chocolate buttons, chips, or morsels
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate buttons, chips or morsels
Approximately 2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
Special equipment: Baking tin (approximately 11 1/4 inches by 9 inches by 2 inches), sides and base lined with baking parchment.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a large heavy based pan over a low heat.
In a bowl or large measuring jug, beat the eggs together with the superfine sugar and vanilla extract.
Allow the chocolate mixture to cool a little, then add the egg and sugar mixture and beat well. Fold in the flour and salt. Then stir in the white chocolate buttons or chips, and the semisweet chocolate buttons or chips. Beat to combine then scrape and pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake for about 25 minutes. You can see when the brownies are ready because the top dries to a slightly paler brown speckle, while the middle remains dark, dense and gooey. Even with such a big batch you do need to keep checking on it: the difference between gooey brownies and dry ones is only a few minutes. Remember, too, that they will continue to cook as they cool.
To serve, cut into squares while still warm and pile up on a large plate, sprinkling with confectioners’ sugar pushed with a teaspoon through a small sieve.
ingredients:
one chocolate bar
directions:
fold back wrapper, eat.
serves 1.
Decadent Brownies
1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2¼ cups sugar
1¼ cups flour, divided- 1 cup for batter, ¼ cup in walnuts
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces (pecans ok, too)
Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease and flour a 13x18x1½” sheet pan. Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and bitter chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.
Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 30 min, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not overbake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.
–My variation of Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies
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TUNNEL OF FUDGE CAKE
CAKE:
1 ¾ cup sugar
1 ¾ cup margarine or butter, softened
6 eggs
2 cups XXX sugar
2 ¼ cups A/P flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups chopped walnuts**
GLAZE:
¾ cup XXX sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
4-6 Tbsp. milk
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt® pan or 10-inch tube pan. In large bowl, combine sugar and margarine; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar; blend well. By hand, stir in flour and remaining cake ingredients until well blended. Spoon batter into greased and floured pan; spread evenly.
Bake at 350°F. for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is set and edges are beginning to pull away from sides of pan.** Cool upright in pan on wire rack 1 1/2 hours. Invert onto serving plate; cool at least 2 hours.
In small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients, adding enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered.
** Nuts are essential for the success of this recipe.
–1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off Winner
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Chocolate Pudding Cake
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 Tablespoons cocoa
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 Tablespoons melted, cooled, margarine
Sift sugar, flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa together in pan. Stir in milk, margarine and vanilla. Batter will look like brownie batter. Spread batter into greased baking dish (Pyrex bowl or 9”x15” dish).
TOPPING:
½ cup of granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
Mix topping sugars and cocoa together and sprinkle dry ingredients over batter. Pour 1 ½ cups of tap water over all. DO NOT STIR.
Place in oven and bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes or until topping is done. (In the baking process, ingredients will reverse themselves – finished product will look like a brownie on top and have chocolate pudding on bottom.)
Serve in bowls with spoons. Serves 6-8 people. Good with vanilla ice cream or cool whip.
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MOLTEN CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES
½ C. butter, unsalted
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
¼ C. sugar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
Butter and flour custard cups or specialty molds. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Melt the butter and chocolate, but do not let it boil. Remove from heat and set aside. Beat together the 2 eggs plus 2 yolks and the sugar, until it’s light and thick… about 5 minutes. Pour the now tepid chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, and beat to mix. Quickly beat in the flour until just mixed in. Pour into the custard cups. (At this point you can refrigerate for up to 24 hours. If you refrigerate, let return to room temp before you bake.) Put custard cups on a baking sheet and bake at 450ºF for 6-7 minutes. The outside will be set up, but the top may still be slightly wiggly. Invert on plate, let sit for 10 seconds or so, remove custard cup. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and surround with a raspberry sauce or add a scoop of ice cream or real whipped cream on the side — your choice.
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Chocolate Almond Pie
16 to 20 large marshmallows
4 (1½-oz) Hershey chocolate bars with almonds
½ cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (8”) graham cracker crust
Melt marshmallows and candy bars in milk in double boiler. Remove from heat and cool. Whip cream until stiff and fold into cooled mixture. Add vanilla. Pour into prepared crust and chill. Good as is, or topped with whipped cream.
*****Truffles
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon amaretto
1/2 cup coarsely chopped milk chocolate
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup finely ground almonds
Put the semisweet chocolate in a medium-size mixing bowl and set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until hot but not quite simmering. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand for 3 or 4 minutes. Stir until smooth.
Using a hand-held electric mixer, beat in the butter and amaretto until the mixture is light and creamy. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
Use a teaspoon or melon baller to scoop up heaping teaspoons of the chocolate mixture, then use your hands to roll them into smooth balls, about 3/4-inch in diameter.