Chocolate Fondant

Firstly, let me apologize for the quality of the photo as it was taken at night. My 14 year old son made these. The most difficult part about making fondant is the timing in the oven. Too long in the oven and it's not nice and gooey inside. Too short in the oven and it won't hold its shape. These ones were firm around the outside and nice and gooey inside. One word to describe this is decadent.

Ingredients
210 gm dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
150 gm butter
5 eggs
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 cup self raising flour
4 ramekins
extra butter to coat the ramekins
4 small pieces of baking paper

Steps

1. Put butter in saucepan and melt the butter.
2. Take it of the heat and add chocolate. Stir until melted and leave it aside.
3. Cream eggs and sugar until thick and light.
4. Mix the melted butter and chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
5. Add flour into the mixture.
6. Butter all around the ramekins and put a small piece of baking paper at the bottom so that the fondant does not stick at the bottom and makes it easy to tip out when cooked.
7. Fill the ramekins with the mixture up to 3/4 full. 
8. Bake at 160C for about 15 minutes (depending on your oven) until firm on the outsides and still soft in the center when touched.
9. Let it cool down a little before tipping it into a plate.

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Chocolate Cake

The original recipe for this chocolate cake did not have flour or almond meal in the cake which would result in a very light cake. I have tried adding a little flour or almond meal and like it this way as well. So you could try both and see which you prefer. 


Ingredients
190 g butter
300 g dark chocolate
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs, separated
1/4 cup self raising flour or almond meal1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Frosting
2 tbsp cocoa
5 tbsp hot water
200g semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cup cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Steps

1. Melt butter and chocolate in a bowl over hot water.
2. Add vanilla extract and the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture.
3. Fold in the flour or almond meal.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites adding sugar and cream of tartar gradually to stiff peak.
5. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
6. Fold in the rest of the egg whites.
7. Divide the mixture into 2 and pour into 2 buttered trays.
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked through. Cool before frosting.
9. For frosting: 

• Mix cocoa with hot water. 
• Melt chocolate in a bowl over hot water. 
• Mix cocoa into chocolate. 
• Whipped cream with icing sugar until soft peaks. 
• Fold the cream into chocolate. Use to layer the cake and around cake.

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Lemon yoghurt cake

I like the lemony and yoghurty taste of this cake.

Ingredients
125g unsalted butter
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain low fat yoghurt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For syrup
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest, julienned
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup water
For serving
1 cup plain low fat yoghurt (optional)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Oil a 23 cm cake tin.
2. Beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until light and creamy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 
4. Stir in the yoghurt, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, lemon zest, flour and bicarbonate of soda.
5. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 45 minutes or until baked.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and pour the zest and syrup over the top while the cake is hot and still in the tin. 
7. Let the cake stand for at least 5 minutes before serving in slices and some extra yoghurt, if desired.
8. Syrup

• Combine 1/3 cup sugar, lemon juice and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. 
• Cook, stirring over low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then add the julienned lemon zest and simmer for 4 minutes.

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Best Ever Chocolate Brownie

I needed to bake something for the school fair. It has to be able to be stored without refrigeration. So decided to try this recipe before baking it for the fair. These brownies came out delicious, rich and moist so I hope the people that buy my brownie at the fair will like it too.


Ingredients
150 g butter
300 g dark chocolate
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Steps
1. Line a greased baking tin with baking paper
2. Melt butter and chocolate over low heat, and transfer to a mixing bowl.
3. Add brown sugar and mix together, then mix in the eggs.
4. Add sifted flour and mix.
5. Add sour cream and nuts and combine thoroughly.
6. Pour mixture into the baking tin and bake at 180C for 30 mins.

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Daring Bakers Challenge

After two savoury challenges, we're back to cakes again. I'm missing the savoury challenges already. This month's challenge is Caramel cake and it is hosted by Dolores from culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com

When I read this month's challenge, I knew that this was going to be a very sweet cake. I like cakes but not overly sweet ones so I normally reduce the sugar specified in cake recipes and I did the same here.

My cake turned out dense and heavy. But it tasted good because of the caramel flavour. I do not know where I went wrong. When it first came out from the oven, it seem okay but after frosting and putting it in the fridge, it became heavy. I was going to try baking it again. But because I'm also baking and decorating all my Christmas cakes, I do not have the time. I'll be posting some Christmas cakes soon.

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Happy Birthday

My husband's birthday is this week. So I've made him this birthday cake this week end. He loves chocolate(but of course that's not his first love) and so I am making a Chocolate Almond Cake for him. It turned out almost like a chocolate mud cake. But it's lighter and moist but still rich.

Ingredients
250 grams of chocolate
125 grams unsalted butter
250 grams semi sweet chocolate
1/2 cup orange juice
6 eggs, separated
200 grams almond meal
1 cup castor sugar

Steps

1. Line 20 cm round tine and preheat oven to 170C.
2. Put the butter and orange juice in a saucepan and heat over low heat until the butter has melted. 
3. Take of the heat and add chocolate. Stir until all the chocolate has melted.
4. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl and gradually add 1/2 cup of the castor sugar until soft peak. Leave this for later.
5. Beat the egg yolks with the other 1/2 cup of castor sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the cooled chocolate & butter mixture.
6. Fold in the almond meal. Fold in the beaten egg white.
7. Pour in tin and bake for about 45 - 50 minutes.

I decorated it with dark chocolate ganache and white chocolate ganache. The ganache is chocolate melted in hot cream. I do not have the exact measurement of cream to chocolate. 

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Chocolate Mud Cake

I have made mud cakes before and it used to turned out dry. Now I will take the cake out of the oven when the skewer comes out moist but not wet. An also Lindt chocolate makes a difference. It taste much better. This cake can also be covered with marzipan and fondant. It is very rich, I like it just as it is or serve with some cream.

1 cup (250 mls) water
250 grams butter
250 grams dark chocolate
150 grams self raising flour
150 grams plain flour
60 grams cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
450 grams caster sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
125 mls buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. Put butter, chocolate and water into pan. Stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Cool.
3. Sift flours, cocoa and bicarbonate soda into a large bowl. Stir in sugar and make a well in the centre.
4. Add combined eggs, oil and buttermilk and using a metal spoon slowly stir to start incorporating to dry ingredients. Gradually stir in the melted chocolate mixture.
5. Pour into greased line tin.
6. Bake for 1 3/4 hours. Test centre with a skewer. It is ready when moist but not wet.

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