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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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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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 Chip Cookies

I baked some chocolate chip cookies yesterday. This recipe appears on a wrapper of a can of condensed milk and I have baked it many times. It's my favourite chocolate chip cookies. This recipe does not contain egg for people allergic to eggs. I normally double the quantity as my bunch finishes it so quickly. The quantity here yields about 35 average size cookies.

Ingredients
180 grams butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cup self raising flour
250 grams dark choc bits (choc chips)

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 180 Celcius.
2. Beat butter and sugar until creamy, beat in condensed milk.
3. Add flour and choc chips and stir until combined.
4. Roll spoonfuls into small balls and flatten slightly.
5. Bake for 15 minutes until golden.


They comes out nice and chewy from the oven. It does crisp up a little when it is cool. How much it crisp up depend on how golden it is baked.

Tips 
If you have a small ice cream scoop that will make forming the balls so much easier and you will get even shapes and size. I have not been able to find a small ice cream scoop so I use 2 spoons to avoid getting my hands messy.

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