Imagine a rich, buttery, velvety smooth chocolate mousse; one so rich that an espresso cup full is more than enough.  Now imagine that the little fat in this mousse is primarily monounsaturated (thus good) and the entire pudding is cholesterol free.    Now imagine that this pudding also contains no refined sugars and takes less than 5 minutes to prepare.

Created using Clearspring’s new organic silken tofu which when whizzed up is deliciously creamy,  this was partially inspired by Jac and by an avocado chocolate mousse that can be found all over the internet.    I need you to trust me here, the finished product does not taste of either avocado or banana although on the surface they do seem to be odd ingredients.

This is probably more of a chocolate pot than a traditional mousse, without raw eggs it is safe for small children to eat, and there is no worry about the mousse separating in the fridge.

So Healthy Chocolate Mousse (serves 6)

1 350g carton silken tofu
1 ripe banana
1 avocado
4 dsp cocoa powder
4 dsp maple syrup
Scant zest of half an orange

Cacao nibs (optional)

Add all ingredients to the food processor and whizz.    Dollop into ramekins, or if feeling fancy, chill and then pipe into espresso cups.   Sprinkle with cacao nibs.

Enjoy and polish your halo for being so healthy.

Sending to this  month’s Sugar High Fridays, where the theme is grain free,  hosted by Z at Z”s Cup of Tea.

It has been too long since I blogged a smoothie.   Thick, satisfying and delicious it feels vaguely sinful having chocolate for breakfast, but this really is very healthy despite tasting like a spiced chocolate oaty biscuit.

You need to be slightly organised here and soak the oats and dates overnight for a creamier smoothie.   I think that the addition of a banana or some unsalted cashews would also be delicious.

I am sending this to We Should Cocoa; the monthly chocolate event hosted by Chocolate Log Blog and The Chocolate Teapot, as this month’s theme is chocolate and dates.   I am also sending it to my Breakfast Club this month as I think a liquid breakfast is the perfect thing for the morning after the night before!

Chocolate and Date Smoothie (Serves 1)

1/3 cup oats
1 cup milk (I use soy)
8 dates
pinch of cinnamon, ginger & all spice (to taste)
2 tsp cocoa powder

Mix all ingredients together in a container and leave in the fridge overnight.    Blitz with a stick blender in the morning.  If you forget to prep the night before just go ahead and make it anyway.

Simple and easy!

At the moment I seem to be slightly baking obsessed and am currently in  search of the perfect madeleine, as well as the quest for the ultimate chocolate cake, but that is another post.   I last made them about 3 years ago, and obviously liked them enough to write up the recipe.

Last week I was sent some samples from Hotel Chocolat, I will soon be having a chocolate giveaway, and used two of their products in my madeleines.    I baked this batch for my chocoholic friend S for her birthday.   She is just out of hospital and confined to her flat so I popped round yesterday with a bowl of warm madeleines.   I felt very Bree as I delivered them wrapped in a tea towel and still warm, although it was a distinct possibility that Bree would not have gone out in public with my level of dishevelment.

As remembered from 3 years ago, researching how to bake madeleines can lead to a huge time sink.   There are umpteen recipes and a myriad of blog posts all with conflicting information, even more than when I first cooked them.

Melt the butter – or not?  I did.

Add some milk?  I didn’t.

Tin or silicone tray?  Silicone for me, always although I may experiment with a metal tray (sadly Lakeland do not have a madeleine tray in their excellent Baking Genius range).

Turn the oven temperature down 2/3 of the way through cooking? Of course not – I may currently be baking obsessed but I still want to remain relatively Fuss Free.

You need good butter, I used Lurpak unsalted, I am sure the purists would use a French brand, but my palate is not quite that good.   If you want to get the characteristic madeleine “hump” you need to chill your batter for a good few hours, but half an hour in the fridge leads to equally delicious madeleines with a smaller hump.    I chilled mine overnight, making it easy to bake first thing in the morning and encouraging a Domestic Goddess image!

The double chocolate comes from adding cocoa and liquid chocolate from Hotel Chocolat.    Liquid chocolate is finely chopped quality chocolate intended for melting into hot milk to make a drink, after some experiments I discovered it is perfect for adding to cakes to scatter chocolate flecks throughout them.  I am sure that finely grating a good plain chocolate would work as well.  I generally prefer using Imperial measurements, but my scales also work to the nearest gram, so measurements are given in grams for the sake of accuracy.

Double Chocolate Madeleines (makes 18 small)

75g Butter – melted and cooled
2 Large Eggs
90g Granulated Sugar
90g Plain Flour
10g Cocoa Powder
½ Tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
2 tbs grated plain chocolate
Pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter)
10g butter for greasing the tray

Whisk the eggs and sugar together until they have doubled in size and are light and fluffy.  Slowly fold in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add the vanilla essence and chocolate flecks. Slowly add in the melted butter, gently folding all the time, the batter should be foamy and full of air. When mixed cover the bowl and put in the fridge for at least 30 mins, preferably overnight. Put a dollop of the mixture into a well buttered Madeleine tray, each mould should be about 2/3 full. Place in an oven at 375F/ 190C/ GM 5 for around 7 minutes until risen and shrinking away from the edges of the mould.

Leave for a few minutes and then turn out.

The Madeleines are best enjoyed when still warm and crisp on the outside, eat on the day you bake them, they really are not the same the next day.

Thank you to Hotel Chocolat for the free product samples that I used in this recipe.

I am sure that chocolate crispies are one of the first things that anyone learns to cook, I certainly have a memory as a young child of making them with my mother.    She often used whole wheat flakes or a half and half mix with cornflakes.    Surely with all that cocoa, sugar, syrup and butter the composition of the flake barely matters?    I also added some chopped dried apricots and a handful of omega sprinkles; a mix of linseed, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

My base was Kellogg’s Choco-Rocks; an updated, and supposedly healthier version of cocoa pops, containing more fibre & vitamins but less sugar than before.    I was not keen, I disliked the taste but appreciated the crunch.  I can see that a harassed and tired parent could easily feel assured by the blurb on the packet and bring these out at breakfast time.   Surely some breakfast has to be better than no breakfast for a child?

Gotta to be Slightly Healthier Chocolate Crispies (makes 15)

2oz butter
2 tbs golden syrup
2 tbs cocoa
2 tbs sugar

2tbs dried apricots – finely chopped
2 tbs mixed seeds

About 2 bowls of cereal flakes, pops or shapes.

Melt the butter, syrup, cocoa & sugar together in a medium saucepan, stir well and remove from the heat.  Add the apricots and seeds, stir in the cereal bit by bit, I find it is much easier to add it little by little stirring as I go.    Add more cereal if there is enough chocolate goo.   Spoon into cake cases and leave to set.

Enjoy.   These were actually surprisingly good.

Thanks to Kelloggs for the free sample packet of choco-rocks

]]> http://fussfreeflavours.com/2010/10/gotta-to-be-slightly-healthier-chocolate-crispies/feed/ 2 http://fussfreeflavours.com/2010/10/recipe-chocolate-risotto-with-pears/ http://fussfreeflavours.com/2010/10/recipe-chocolate-risotto-with-pears/#comments Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:55:52 +0000 Helen http://fussfreeflavours.com/?p=1501 I cooked this last week as another excuse to celebrate Chocolate Week!   It is impossibly rich, but very good,  it really does need that tot of brandy added at the end which will cut through the chocolate.

It took about 50 minutes to cook, I think that it was something to do with the sauce being so thick?   I served it with some pears, simply peeled and cored, then fried in butter and sprinkled with sugar and left to caramelise in the pan for 5 minutes. 

Chocolate Risotto (Serves 4)

1oz  / 25g butter
40z / 100g risotto rice
1.5oz / 35g cocoa powder
2oz / 50g plain chocolate
2oz sugar
¾ pint / 425ml milk
zest of half an orange – finely grated
Espresso cup of brandy

Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the rice until it is translucent, add the cocoa, chocolate and sugar and cook for a minute.     Slowly add in the milk stirring.    Leave to cook over a low heat, stirring every few minutes, adding more milk when needed until the rice is plump and cooked through.    Add the orange zest and brandy (or run, orange liqueur etc) and serve with some poached fruit, I think that cream and fresh berries would also work well here.  Enjoy!

I am a a few days ahead of the game here, but tomorrow is the Chocolate Consultant’s Great Brownie Bake Off, which sadly I cannot attend, but I have made some brownies and shall be raising one to her and everyone taking part.    I have made stout brownies, as well as being a potential consequence of over-consumption, these brownies contain stout!

I was contacted a few weeks ago by Young’s who wanted me to try some of their beer in some cooking, co-incidently are also my local brewery, located in Wandsworth, just over the river from me.   I have a history of using unusual ingredients in my brownies and was keen to have a go.

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout Brownie Recipe (Makes 16)

Preparation time : 15 minutes

Cooking time : 20-22 minutes

Ingredients

250ml Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
150g plain chocolate, preferable 70% cocoa solids
175g unsalted butter
200g soft light brown sugar
75g plain flour
50 g cocoa powder
2 large eggs

Pour the stout into a measuring jug and allow the foam to settle.

Break the chocolate into a large bowl, diced the butter into the bowl and place over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, remove from the heat and stir until smooth, beat in the sugar and allow to cool to lukewarm.

Meanwhile grease a 22cm shallow tin, line with greaseproof or parchment paper. Heat the oven to 180C/160Cfan/gas4. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder together.

Using an electric beater, beat in the eggs until the mixture is glossy, carefully stir in the chocolate stout then fold in the flour and cocoa. Pour into the tin and bake for 20-22 minutes until the middle is set. The top will probably have cracks. Test the brownie with a wooden cocktail stick and it should appear to be sticky. Do not be tempted to cook longer otherwise it will become cakey and lose its characteristic fudgy texture.

Leave to cool in the tin. Turn out onto a rack and cut into squares, dust with icing sugar if liked.

The recipe is very very easy, the beer comes in 500ml bottles, so there was some spare for the cook, although I suppose you could double the recipe and not test the stout!   Make sure you do use a large bowl to melt the butter and chocolate in, you will be adding all the other ingredients into it, my bowl was not big enough and I have chocolate covered jeans after being a little too enthusiastic with the electric beater.

Interestingly look at the cocoa, I finished one tub and started a new one, the lighter one is Waitrose, the darker Green & Blacks.   I have no idea if there is any difference in taste, but was struck by the colour difference.

These brownies are seriously fudgey, moist and moreish.  The stout adds another layer of malty chocolately flavour.

Next time I make these (and there certainly will be a next time), I’ll add some dried fruit and nuts, maybe chocolate drops, and I’ll certainly be making a double batch.

Fudgey!

Thanks to Young’s for the free stout for this recipe.

Pavlova was created in either Australia or New Zealand (sources disagree) in honour of the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova.

Pavlova is a meringue case, filled with whipped cream and topped with fruit. In my opinion the perfect Pavlova will have a crisp outside and a soft marshmallowly filling.
Chocolate Pavlova (Serves 4)

3 egg whites
6oz white sugar
2 tbs Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

Thick Double Cream

Fruit to decorate – Berries, Tropical, Nectarines – to taste

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Preheat oven to GM2/150C/300F

Whisk the egg whites until stiff and in peaks, slowly spoon in the sugar and cocoa and vinegar whisking all the time. When mixture is glossy and standing in peaks – this will take about 5 to 10 minutes, turn out onto a sheet of parchment on a flat baking tray.

With the spoon shape into a circle about 6” across and build the sides up to hold the cream and fillings.

Place in the preheated oven and immediately turn down to GM1/140C/275F.

Depending on the oven, weather, size of egg the Pavlova will take between 40mins to an hour to cook – when done it will be crisp and hard when tapped, but still soft in the middle. Turn the oven off and leave the Pavlova in it to cool. I usually leave it overnight.

Up to an hour before serving, peel the Pavlova from the baking parchment, fill with whipped cream and top with your choice of fruit. A non filled Pavlova will keep for several days in an air-tight tin.

A mix of cream and chestnut puree topped with toasted nuts makes for an indulgent alternative filling.

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Some recipes include a spoon of cornflower as well as the vinegar I have tried all combinations and personally do not think that it makes any difference to the finished pudding, the balsamic is included here for colour and flavour. For a non chocolate Pavlova I leave it out.

The left over egg yolks can be used for a Spanish omelette or tortilla; or freeze egg whites when you are using yolks in a recipe. They freeze well, but need to be at room temperature to whisk.

Read more about how easy making pavlova is here.