I have been craving chocolate…craving for a while now. Not a bar or two. Not even a cake or an ice cream. A wicked craving. Shut myself away from the world, sitting with knees folded on the couch, my favourite music playing in the background, a rich..luscious..sinful dessert in my hands, savoring each mouthful.
A little note from a cousin along similar lines was enough to ignite the fire..or should I say an explosion. Before I could gather my thoughts together, I was weighing, whisking, stirring, piping with a vengeance. A self-proclaimed Pastry chef and Chocolate..its a bittersweet symbiotic relationship.
Shut myself away from the world, sitting with knees folded on the couch,my favourite music playing in the background, a rich..luscious..sinful dessert in my hands, savouring each mouthful.
Double Chocolate Brownie (adapted from here)
Preheat oven to 180C.
In a small saucepan or a bowl in the microwave, melt the chocolate and butter over low heat. Stir until smooth and if you used a pot, pour into a bowl.
Stir in the sugar, vanilla and eggs; blend well. Add the flour, cocoa and salt and stir just until blended.
Spoon the batter into buttered ramekins, filling them about half. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until just set. (A toothpick inserted will come out with lots of moist crumbs sticking to it.) Cool completely before removing from the pan.
Once completely cooled cut out the tops to get a even surface. Then refrigerate till needed.
Yields 6-7 truffles
50 g Dark chocolate
60 g Milk Chocolate
60 ml (about 1/4 cup) whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small pieces
6-7 whole toasted hazelnuts.
1 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts or any nut of your choice for coating.
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized heatproof bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for a minute or two. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth. (If the chocolate doesn’t melt completely, place in the microwave for about 20 seconds, or over a saucepan of simmering water,just until melted). Cover and place in refrigerator until the truffle mixture is firm.(This may take several hours).
Place the chopped nuts for coating on a plate. Remove the truffle mixture from the refrigerator. With your hands, a small ice cream scoop, a melon baller or a small spoon drop 3/4 inch mounds on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place one hazelnut in the centre of each mound and roll mounds into smooth balls. Immediately roll the truffle in the chopped hazelnut coating and place them back on the baking sheet. Cover and place in the refrigerator till firm. Bring them to room temperature before serving.
Serves 4-5
I followed David Lebovitz technique for caramelising the white chocolate. The process has been explained very well and produces consistent results every time. Recipe here. Yields about a cup.
3 Egg Yolks
¼ Cup Sugar(or to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ Cup heavy cream for the custard (Crème Anglaise)
5 tablespoons of the caramelised white chocolate
2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
¾ Cup Heavy Cream for whipping
Soak gelatine in 1 tablespoon room temparature water. Heat the ½ cup cream and caramelised white chocolate in a saucepan. Beat the egg yolks,sugar and vanilla extract together in a bowl. When the cream reaches boiling point take it off the heat and slowly pour it over the egg mixture whisking constantly. Add the gelatine (which by now should have bloomed). Return the egg-cream mixture to the pan.
Heat the mixture under a medium-low flame, whisking constantly till the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Remove from heat and pass it through a sieve into another bowl. Cool to room temperature.
While the custard is cooling, whip the remaining ¾ cup cream to stiff peaks. Store in the refrigerator till needed.
When the chocolate mixture has cooled down completely add it to the whipped cream gradually & fold in till no white streaks appear. Refrigerate till set, about 4 hours or longer.
To Assemble
Place a chocolate truffle in the centre of a brownie base. Fill up a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip with the caramelised white chocolate. Pipe all around the truffle centre. Dust with cocoa powder. Refrigerate till set
Anonymous says
looks great!! got any photog tips, i wanna start a blog soon but need help getting nice pics. i have a dslr
Thank you and wish you luck with the blog. It would be nice if I could have your name or email. You can write to me at sonalighosh21@gmail.com
Wow! These are beautiful! I have never heard of caramelized mousse! I would love to try this.
Thank you! Yes, caramelised white chocolate is delicious. Its definitely worth the effort.
Those brownie are beautiful and super tempting! I must say, you are great at photography, I am having your brownie through my eyes!
Thank you Vini! I can say the same about your blog…took me back home. Cant wait to try out your recipes:-)
WOW!! You are amazing! I can’t imagine making something so gorgeous and delicious!!! Well done… although I think I might have to be content to just admire them… I don’t know if I could produce anything nears as beautiful!
I haven’t been able to get that gorgeous chocolate fondant out of my mind since I saw the picture on your blog. You are very talented Julie…and very sweet.
Double Chocolate Brownie looks amazing… I lovee chocolates and you make me drooling with lovely pictures.
When i fisrt visit your blog i really fell in love with your wonderful recipes.
Hi Sonali, i have nominated you for liebster Award. Please do visit my blog to collect it. Congrats and all the very best for your wonderful blog.
http://www.mysrilankanrecipe.com/liebster-blog-award/
Thank you Dhanish! You are so thoughtful and sweet. Love your blog and recipes:-)And awesome to know about you!
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Wow! These look divine Sonali 🙂
This is amazing! I’m a chocoholic myself and have chocolate cravings everyday but couldn’t imagine attempting such a project in one day! Everything looks so divine and what a “wow” dessert it is once assembled! Heavenly…
You are definitely a true goddess of chocs and certainly, good at making and loving them as well. Its simply stunning and I can go on looking at the visuals over and over.
these look incredibly delicious – and more than that, extremely unique! can you please clarify what you mean by Crème Anglaise? is it just heavy cream with 38% fat content, or something different? thank you!
Hi Valerie! Thank you so much. Crème Anglaise is a French term to describe the base of a mousse. Basically the outcome of mixing egg yolks and cream. In simple terms, it is a custard made out of egg yolks, sugar and cream. Hope this helps.
Hello! I was wondering if the mousse will hold up if put in between cake layers? (Really light cake layers, lighter than a chiffon)
Hey, Sonali!
This recipe has some (or all) of my favorite things! Hiding a truffle under the mousse was just genius!!!