Sugar et al

Because Life is a blend of flavours...

A Chocolate craving ! Double Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle and Caramelised White Chocolate Mousse

3|03|2013

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.

I have been trying to put away this chocolate hankering for a long time now…saving it for the orange hued months that are to follow. I can only blame it on summer…I have been trying too hard to take advantage of the beautiful summer fruits. It almost saddens me to think that summer is officially over. Berries..no berries..

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.

Dark, milk or white…I debated for a while. Then I decided to go with all three. Unsure of what the final dessert would be, I baked the brownie bases in ramekins. White chocolate is not really a favourite in its regular form but caramelized white chocolate..I could kill for that one. It is a simple technique but patience is the key. You need to be cooking it at a low temperature, checking the oven every 10 minutes till the white turns to the colour of Peanut butter. It is, I think, the most gorgeous and delicious thing on Earth…tastes and looks almost like Dulce de Leche.
One cup of caramelized white chocolate..sent my mind racing in all directions. I decided it has to be a mousse.
Quite pleased with myself, I started to think about a little surprise hiding between the brownie and the mousse. Finally I made a quick ganache and spooned out truffles.
chocolate hazelnut truffle
While the mousse and truffles were setting up in the refrigerator, I baked a batch of doughnuts to use the white chocolate as a glaze. I was in a frenzy…an overpowering chocolate madness. The colour of the glaze was almost identical to the colour of the doughnuts which I was not too happy with. So out came more dark chocolate to drizzle. I will post the recipe of baked doughnuts with the caramelised white chocolate on another day.
By the end of it, I was so drained…physically and emotionally. Too much chocolate to deal with on one day. But that was the story behind creating it. I was so looking forward to assembling it. I love piping…there were days when I piped on the entire kitchen counter to practise and perfect the art.
chocolate hazelnut truffle
And..then the much awaited moment. Time to reap the rewards of my labour.

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.

Brownies, Truffles, Mousse, Doughnuts..and a little left over gorgeous Caramelised White Chocolate. I am in Chocolate Heaven right now !
Double Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle and Caramelized White Chocolate Dessert

Double Chocolate Brownie (adapted from here)

Yields 4-5 brownies baked in ramekins
227 g semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt

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.

Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

Yields 6-7 truffles

I halved the recipe from Joy of Baking and included whole and chopped toasted Hazelnuts.

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.

Caramelised White Chocolate Mousse

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

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Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    looks great!! got any photog tips, i wanna start a blog soon but need help getting nice pics. i have a dslr

    • Sugar et al. says

      Thank you! Yes, caramelised white chocolate is delicious. Its definitely worth the effort.

  3. vinicooksveg says

    Those brownie are beautiful and super tempting! I must say, you are great at photography, I am having your brownie through my eyes!

  4. Sugar et al. says

    Thank you Vini! I can say the same about your blog…took me back home. Cant wait to try out your recipes:-)

  5. Gourmet Getaways says

    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!

    • Sugar et al says

      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.

  6. Dhanish says

    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/

  8. Anonymous says

    I was suggested this blog by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my trouble. You’re wonderful! Thanks!Also visit my web-site :: diets that work fast

  10. Monica says

    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…

  11. Nava Krishnan says

    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.

  12. Valerie says

    these look incredibly delicious Рand more than that, extremely unique! can you please clarify what you mean by Cr̬me Anglaise? is it just heavy cream with 38% fat content, or something different? thank you!

    • Sugar et al says

      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.

  13. Sam says

    Hello! I was wondering if the mousse will hold up if put in between cake layers? (Really light cake layers, lighter than a chiffon)