dessert Archives - Page 29 of 57

Chocolate Cream Tartlets

28|01|2016

I notice a connection between tarts and Australia Day in my house. Whether simple or complicated, I seem to be making a tart/tartlets every year on this holiday. I think its because tarts are a great way of serving and eating summer fruits. Last year I made an Ice Cream Tart with an Anzac crust and was pleased with myself for coming up with a make-ahead dessert that took away a lot of stress from my lunch menu. This year I wasn’t as planned or organised after returning from my holiday so I decided to keep things really simple and make these Chocolate cream tartlets.

Using store bought tart shells, I filled them up with a chocolate whipped cream first thing in the morning. They were in the refrigerator until lunch time and I added cherries and raspberries just before serving along with a sprinkling of finely chopped almonds and pistachios. I was surprised that they went down a treat. To be honest I was feeling guilty and expecting everyone to be disappointed that there wasn’t something more exotic on the table. There were cupcakes too that I’ll post next but then again cupcakes are not considered dessert at my place.
These tartlets are not just simple to put together, but also egg free and no bake.

Well, I love Australia Day for many reasons! This is a country I have been in love with since the day I stepped foot into it. It is also the first holiday of the year and right in the middle of a spectacular Australian Summer. In recent times, this day stands as a reminder that it’s time to get ready for school, holidays are officially over and the little munchkins will be on their way to another New Year filled with exciting adventures. So school reopened today! Yay…I have the house to myself…yet this empty feeling.

Will I ever outgrow this feeling in the years to come…I wonder!

Chocolate Cream Tartlets (chocolate cream adapted from Joy of Baking)
Serves 6

6 small tart shells (store bought)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 – 4 tablespoons castor sugar (or as per taste)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dutch processed)
1 cup cold whipping cream
fresh raspberries, cherries, grapes or other fruits
finely sliced pistachios and almonds, to dust

Place your mixing bowl and wire whisk in the freezer for about 15-30 minutes. Place the vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and cocoa powder in the cold bowl. Stir in about 2 tablespoons of the cream to form a thick paste (this will dissolve the cocoa powder).
Then add the rest of the cream and beat just until stiff peaks form. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate. Makes about 2 cups (480 ml) whipped cream.
Fill up the tart shells by using a spoon or by piping the cream into it. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve with berries, cherries and stone fruits. Sprinkle with nuts.

Ice Cream Lolly Cake

6|12|2015

This is another cake I am posting on request by many on Instagram and Facebook. I am truely overwhelmed by your support and sweet messages to me. I wish I could make a cake for each one of you on your special day and sit by your side to enjoy it.

For others, who are seeing it for the first time, I made this cake for the twin’s 6th birthday in November. We had booked a mini golf centre and the boys had an awesome time with their friends. It threatened to rain in the morning which is so typical cold-after-warm kind of Sydney weather. Therefore the highlight of the day were the 28 little fellows in bright colored raincoats (that were supplied by the golf centre) running all over beautifully landscaped gardens with golf clubs in hand. The previous day was boiling hot and I did not want to risk making a buttercream cake. My fridge was already housing two store-bought cakes for the party so I opted for an ice cream cake instead. The boys loved the idea especially since it would have lollies and ice cream. I loved the idea of a make-ahead cake that was so simple to put together. Win win!
There’s no hard and fast rule here. Play around with the ice cream flavours if you want to. Go crazy with the cookies and candies. It tastes great anyway.
It was such a pleasure to see the little faces light up at the sight of this cake on their birthday.

Ice-cream Lolly Cake (inspired by Ice cream cakes from the Family Circle magazine)
Makes a 19 cm round cake that will serve 6-8 people

200 g chocolate cookies
70 g unsalted butter
1 packet (200 g) milk chocolate Tim Tams
6 Ferrero Rocher chocolates
6 Oreo Cookies
12-14 Maltesers
1 litre Vanilla Ice cream (store-bought), slightly softened
1 litre Chocolate Ice cream (store-bought), slightly softened
Lollies, candies, cookies to decorate

Chocolate Glaze
75 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
50 g butter

Line the base of a 19 cm round Spring-form pan with baking paper.
Place the cookies in a food processor. Process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix to combine. Alternatively, you could crush the biscuits with a rolling pin inside a zip-lock bag. Using your fingertips, press biscuit mixture over base of prepared pan. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes or until firm.

Meanwhile, fill up a large zip lock bag with the Tim Tams, Oreos, Ferrero Rochers, Maltesers. Seal and crush with a rolling pin or an heavy object till the candies/cookies are crushed into big and small pieces (We don’t want fine crumbs). Add the crushed mixture to a large bowl along with a vanilla ice cream and fold in till just mixed (do not allow the ice cream to melt fully). Drop large spoonfuls of this mixture into the prepared springform pan alternating with softened chocolate ice cream. Cover the pan with cling film. Freeze overnight. Before serving, pour the chocolate glaze on top. Decorate with lollies, chocolates and candies. To stick them onto the cake, use a bit of the glaze underneath the cookies/candies. The lollies can be inserted directly into the cake.

To make the chocolate glaze, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave or in a small saucepan under low heat. Stir to mix. Remove from heat and leave to cool to room temperature. Don’t let it solidify before pouring.

Cranberry Swirl Cake

27|11|2015

I promise, I made cranberry sauce to go with some kind of meat. I have no idea how it ended up in cake:-) This was the first time I made a cranberry sauce at home. In fact, this was my first time cooking with cranberries. Until now I did not even know that we could buy frozen cranberries in Australia. We are always using the dried cranberries for everything. So, when I discovered it in the freezer section of my local supermarket, I wanted to jump. It was nice to see them outside the Internet, in my hands. Oh hello, Cranberries!

Making the sauce was easy, just like any other jam or chutney. The problem happened when I was looking up protein combinations to go with the sauce. I came across pages that talked about ‘using up leftover cranberry sauce’. Some mentioned Cake. Distraction!

Now I only wanted to make cake. Maybe the leftover sauce could go into savory food. The definition of leftover still remains the same? Anyway, I was glad that I made the cake because it was delicious. The tangy sweet sauce made it a delight to eat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a frosted bundt cake. Why not…I thought to myself! Well, I need to tell you the real inspiration behind the look of this cake. A few weeks ago, I watched the movie Burnt at a theater. I was literally waiting for the movie release as you can imagine…it was all about food, passion and restaurants. Beautifully plated and styled food. I did not enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed glimpses of the food. And I just could not forget the cake, Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) served to the little girl on her birthday. That cake was far, far more beautiful than this one but I had no idea what and how it was made. When I saw the shape of my cake as I turned it out on the wire rack, I thought I might get it to look a bit like the cake in the movie.

You could make your’s in a bundt pan or a normal 7 inch pan. I’ve used whipped cream frosting to keep things easy and the sauce went into the frosting as well. The consistency of my cranberry sauce was quite thick, like jam so it blended well with the cream. You could use store bought cranberry sauce as well.

Here’s a little dialogue from the movie
‘Cooking should be consistent in experience, but not consistent in taste. I want people to sit at the table and be sick with longing.’ -Chef Adam Jones

I can’t agree more with you Chef!

Cranberry Swirl Cake
Makes an 8 inch bundt cake

120 g unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups plain flour
220 g Greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla essence
11/4 cup cranberry sauce (home-made or store bought)

Cranberry Sauce
3 cups frozen cranberries, thawed
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp grated orange or lemon zest

Cranberry Whipped Cream (makes about 2 cups of frosting)
1 cup heavy cream/double cream/thickened cream, cold
11/2 tbsp castor sugar (more as per sweetness desired)
1/3 cup chilled cranberry sauce
few drops pink food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (16 degrees C for fan forced)
Beat butter and sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time until bleneded. Mix together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture alternately greek yogurt. Add vanilla. Grease well, an 8-inch Bundt pan. Spread a layer of batter in the bottom of the pan, then scatter 1/3 of the cranberry sauce. Swirl with a knife. Repeat layers of batter, then cranberry sauce, swirling each layer with a knife. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until fully cooked (a skewer inserted into the pan should come out clean).

Leave in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack. Once cooled, frost with whipped cream or enjoy plain. I’ve used a large star tip to make the pattern

To make the Cranberry Sauce : Put all the ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue boiling for 5-10 minutes or until the cranberries become a soft mush and sauce has thickened. Cool to room temperature. Por into a clean jar and refrigerate until needed.

To make the cranberry whipped cream , Place the mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for about 15 minutes before whisking the cream. Place the cream and sugar in the bowl and whisk only until very soft peaks form. Then add the cranberry sauce, food colour and beat just until stiff peaks form. Add more sugar or puree as needed. Refrigerate until needed.

Chocolate Chip Cake

16|11|2015

I think there are some things in life that can be solved with a chocolate chip cookie. They do help me beat stress a lot of times. So the more chocolate chips, the better? Going by the trend in Sydney in November, prices drop for all kinds of chocolate things…chips, chunks, buttons. Despite that I seem to have a constant shortage at home. Well, you know why! I’ve used two cups in this cake itself.
The cake is sponge-like in texture with chocolate chips in every bite. I’ve frosted it with vanilla buttercream and a chocolate glaze, Then piped some buttercream flowers with more chocolate chips in the center. Because there’s never a thing called too much chocolate, there’s a bit of grated white chocolate on top as well:-) And,…………. that’s all!
I hope you are having a great November. My calendar looks a bit scary at this time. A big to-do list and so little time!

Chocolate Chip Cake
Makes a 3 layered, 7 inch round cake

250 g butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (150 g), castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
250 g self-raising flour
2 cups chocolate chips, divided (leave aside 1/4 cup for decoration. I used a mix of mil and dark chocolate chips)

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4 egg whites
1 cup castor sugar
300 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze
75 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
50 g butter

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C (150 degrees C for fan forced). Grease and line the bottom of 3, 7 inch pans with non-stick baking paper.

In an electric mixer (or by hand), whisk the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time until it is frothy and gradually incorporated in to the butter and sugar mixture.
Sieve the flour into the mixture and fold in gently until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and chocolate chips. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared pans. (If you don’t have 3 pans, you could go with two and adjust the baking time accordingly. It will increase slightly.) Bake for 12- 15 minutes or when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and leave aside for 5 minutes.
Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled to room temperature, frost the cake starting from the layers to the sides and top of the cake. Allow to set in the fridge for 30 minutes. Pour the chocolate glaze on top of the cake and let it flow down the sides of the cake. Decorate with buttercream flowers and chocolate chips.

To make the Vanilla Buttercream, Place the egg whites and sugar in a large bowl that is placed over a saucepan of simmering water (over low heat), and whisk continuously, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the bottom of the bowl is warm to touch

Remove the bowl from the heat and whip on high speed until meringue holds stiff peaks and looks glossy. The bowl should have completely cooled by now.
Add the butter, 2 tablespoon at a time, until thick and fluffy. If it begins to look curdled, continue to whip until it comes back together, before adding in remaining butter.

When the buttercream has come together, add the vanilla extract and mix till smooth and well blended.