dessert Archives - Page 50 of 57

Ferrero Rocher Mousse Cake

23|03|2014

Ferrero Rocher cake with a biscuit base, a chocolate mousse filling, chopped ferrero rocher chocolates and chocolate ganache to finish.

Talking about blogger perspective, do you know what I love about Chocolate? That it is not seasonal. When you are a blogger you tend to keep track of what is seasonal, what your readers come to you for, what is trending on Pinterest and so on. Basically the bottom line is that I am completely in denial of the fact that we have left summer behind.

When I walk into the fruit market I am not too happy with the sight of berries, plums, peaches and nectarines being replaced with Persimmons, Guavas and Pomegranates. I like them too but nothing like berries and stone fruits. In fact the last of the summer fruits are still available but naturally at a higher price. So till I begin to take interest in autumnal produce I am finding comfort in the safe and faithful hands of chocolate. If you are on the other side of the world, I know you are smiling as you read this…in anticipation of what lies ahead of you (the glory of spring and summer) in the forthcoming months. Lucky you! But you are certainly not deserting me because I have a few summery recipes reserved for you in my folders. See what I mean by blogger perspective!

Back to the cake, it is an easy eggless cake to put together. Chocolate, cream and the star in the recipe. The base is a plain chocolate cookie crust. The swirls as you can see are dark chocolate ganache topped with a Ferrero Rocher. There are crushed Ferrero Rocher chocolates inside the mousse which is the only difficulty I had to deal with. I filled up a plastic bag with the chocolates and smashed them with a rolling-pin. The teeny bit of liquid chocolate inside the candies made it sticky inside the plastic bag and I had to do a few folds with the mouse mixture to distribute them. Which spoiled the textural element I was after (look wise). But the taste is yet amazing with crunchy bits of Ferrero Rocher hiding within creamy chocolate mousse. It is a rich cake so small portions are good enough.

I wanted a taller cake so I used a 19 cm springform pan. A larger pan can be used but the resulting cake will be lower in height.

Ferrero Rocher Mousse Cake
Serves 10-12

For the Mousse Cake
220g plain chocolate cookies
75g butter, melted
3 teaspoons gelatine powder
600 ml thickened or heavy cream
300 g dark chocolate
100 g milk chocolate
10 Ferrero Rocher chocolates, crushed in a plastic bag with a rolling-pin
6 Ferrero Rocher chocolates, to decorate
cocoa, to dust

For the whipped chocolate Ganache
150 g dark chocolate
1/2 cup thickened or heavy cream

Grease a 19 cm round Springform pan. Line the base and sides with baking paper. Place the cookies in a food processor. Process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix to combine. Using your fingertips, press biscuit mixture over base of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

Place both the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted then cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, bring 1/4 cup cream to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Soak gelatine in 2 tbsp. cold water for 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add to hot cream and stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Using an electric mixer, whisk remaining cream to stiff peaks. Working quickly, add chocolate and gelatine mixture to cream and whisk for 1-2 seconds or until chocolate is 1/2 incorporated. Using a spatula, gently finish folding in. Add the crushed Ferrero Rocher chocolates and gradually fold into the mousse.

Spoon over the base of the cookie mixture. Smooth out the surface with a palette knife or the back of a spoon. Cover. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Lightly dust with cocoa powder. Fill up a piping bag with a large star nozzle and pipe ganache around the cake. Top with Ferrero Rocher Chocolates.

To make the whipped ganache: Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy. Allow the ganache to cool completely and whip to a stiff consistency.

Peanut Butter White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake

15|03|2014

Peanut Butter and me haven’t been friends for long. Weird…I know! We are still getting to know each other. It’s a bit early to say whether its going to turn into a serious love affair but for now I am happy to have it for breakfast. Not on toast…in cakes! Anything that goes down well in a cake ranks high in my eyes. And yes, I can eat cake for breakfast!

This is light, moist cake with a subtle taste of peanut butter spiked with the occasional bite of white chocolate chips and raspberries. The last two and me are best friends so its one merry party…this cake! I used this recipe from BBC GoodFood as a base recipe for the peanut butter cake and made a few additions to it. The recipe used yoghurt which tends to leave a sour after taste in cakes in my opinion so I replaced it with sour cream. The cake as a whole is not too sweet so the white chocolate chips are a welcome addition. And raspberries add a little tartness that goes well with the rest of the cake.

The cake is a quick, one bowl process that comes together in minutes. If you like peanut butter, you can probably increase the quantity by a couple of more teaspoons.

Peanut Butter White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake
Serves 8-10

200g butter
4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
4 large eggs
1 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
1/4 cup roasted peanuts for the top (optional)

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Grease a 22 cm round cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, eggs, sugar and sour cream together until smooth and creamy. Fold in the flour and 3/4 of the white chocolate chips. Then carefully fold in the raspberries.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Top with remaining chocolate chips and peanuts (if using). Bake for 45-50 mins or until risen and golden.

Apple Blueberry Muffins

5|03|2014

A couple of Saturday’s back, I woke up with the widest smile on my face. It was time for the reunion. At last! A moment I had looked forward to since weeks. The call had come two days before. She was ready. And waiting!

Our apple tree!

At this stage, I need to take you back to a favourite little post I had done to share my excitement on adopting this apple tree. Time flies! It was almost a year back and with the first signs of Autumn in the air, we knew it was time to re-visit the orchard.

It was a rainy weekend. The ground was wet and the sun was missed. Yet it was a pleasure walking through the rows of red and yellow…surreal, indulging, inviting. Our tree like all the others was laden with sweet red juicy apples…almost sparkling from the rain wash they just received. They were picked in no time.

We’ve had two full weeks of apple eating but we are still nowhere close to finishing our pick. Neither are we tired of them. Galettes, crumbles, cake, soup and muffins are some of the ways we used them. Yes, there will be more apple recipes and photographs to share with you.

These muffins are quite fluffy and light on account of the buttermilk used in the recipe. Blueberries pair well with apples and a mouthful of these muffins will have you tasting different textures. I have used royal gala apples that are quite sweet. Both fresh and frozen blueberries can be used.

Apple Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup Castor sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 apples peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen)
1 large egg, lighly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
125 g unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C.
Lightly grease a muffin tray or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, apples and blueberries.

In another bowl, mix together the egg, buttermilk, butter and vanilla extract. Gradually fold in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a spatula, taking care not to over mix the batter.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan (about 2/3rd full for each muffin) equally. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Cake

1|03|2014

Brownies!!! I can never have enough of them. How about you?
Perhaps this is one sweet treat that one can go on talking about. None of which is new. But the thought of it can make one feel warm and fuzzy and mushy and gooey and like the best things in life make one feel.

If you’ve been with me for a while now, you know my love for raspberries. I would give you brownie points for that one. Or maybe this cake. Combining the best of the two. This cake is fudgy, rich and decadent. Firm on the outside, moist and a tad bit tart from the raspberries. I added a handful of hazelnuts to include an element of crunch.

The cake would easily qualify for a celebration cake. It has a good height and texture. While it is extremely easy to put together it is not an everyday dessert. There are frozen raspberries within the batter so it can be made at any time of the year. Feel free to add a ganache topping to make it sinful. Actually, it already is but maybe look wise it can benefit from the ganache. But looks can be deceptive. Like the little shadow that paced my kitchen, peeking through the glass while the oven was doing it’s work.
‘Brownie!!’ He exclaimed. ‘I want a large one!’
Much to my surprise, he ate a large one. Large for his size. Crumbs and all!

Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Cake
Serves 10-12

300g butter, roughly chopped
400g dark chocolate, chopped
11/4 cup castor sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups plain flour
2/3 cup self-raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped
11/2 cups frozen raspberries (or fresh)
Fresh raspberries, to serve

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Grease a 22 cm round cake pan and line the base and sides with baking paper. Place butter and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes or until smooth and combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.

Add sugar, egg, flours and cocoa. Mix well to combine. Fold in the raspberries and hazelnuts, reserving 2 tbsp of the hazelnuts to place on top. Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Level top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Top with reserved hazelnuts. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until top of the cake is firm to touch. a skewer inserted in the middle should come out with a few crumbs. Cool completely in the pan. Once cooled, top with fresh raspberries. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.