The Chocolate and I

Dark chocolate (sitting attractively on the shelves): You won’t admit you love  me (I know you do) and so

How am I ever to know (exactly)

You only tell me (come on, take me)
Me: Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps (I can’t make up my mind, to eat or not to eat you)

Chocolate (batting eyelashes): A million times I ask you and then
I ask you over again (see how much patience I’ve got?)
You only answer (are you shy ?)
Me: Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps (thinking of the weight ;)) )

Chocolate: If you can’t make your mind up
We’ll never get started (come on, bite me)
And I don’t want to wind up
Being parted, broken-hearted (You make my heart melt, you know)

So if you really love me say, “yes” (or someone else will)
But if you don’t, dear, confess (the truth will set you free)
And please don’t tell me (I am dark, I can handle the bite)
Me: Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps

Chocolate: If you can’t make your mind up (you are a woman I know it’s hard :P)
We’ll never get started
And I don’t want to wind up
Being parted, broken-hearted (you know how it is)

Chocolate: So if you really love me say, “yes”
But if you don’t, dear, confess (I will always love you anyway)
And please don’t tell me

Me: Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps (you know how much I love you but too much chocolate is just too much)
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps (mmmmm) 

The secret of this song is no longer a secret. Now you know it is a love story between chocolate and me. It was love at first bite. Who said that Belgian chocolate is one of the best was right. But I am shy. It takes time. Indulge me indulging it. Yummy! ❤

It’s That Time Of Year

It’s that time of year when the world falls in love… ❤
It’s that time of year when the world falls in love…with food too. And definitely with something like frosted fruit and chocolate baskets. This is a special dessert for a special moment. You choose the moment. Or me, it doesn’t matter. In fact, if I think of it, all the moments are special so yeah, have it this everyday if you want. I amuse myself now as I think you will tell to your special someone in your life, one hot summer day, ‘Let’s have frosted fruit…’ To cool yourself down or not. Is it hot here or it is just me… kidding.

Now, about the serious stuff. I got the recipe from a 2005 Somerfield Magazine and loved it all the way. Thank you for reading, now it is time to get back to work. See you soon.

Frosted Fruit and Chocolate Baskets

Serves 4

Preparation time: 35 minutes (plus chilling time to set)

Ingredients:

• 200 g (7 oz) Belgian plain chocolate
• 115 (4 oz) mascarpone cheese
• 115 (4 oz) Greek style yogurt
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) icing sugar
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) brandy
• 55 g (2 oz) cranberries (if you can’t find fresh fruits, try frozen ones)
• 55 g (2 oz) raspberries
• 55 g (2 oz) blueberries
• 1 clementine
• granulated sugar to sprinkle
• non-stick baking parchment

Method:

• Cut four 18 cm (7 in) squares of non-stick baking parchment and mould each firmly around a small dish or jar to make a flat base in the center. Place each in a small dish to support the sides.
• Break up the chocolate and heat gently until melted in a bowl over a pan of hot, not boiling, water. Spoon a large spoonful of chocolate into each paper mould and use a small paintbrush to spread the chocolate up the sides, making a jagged edge. It is best to spread the chocolate evenly and fairly thickly or it will break very easily when you remove the paper. Chill in the refrigerator to cool.
• Mix together the mascarpone, yogurt, brandy and 15 ml (1 tbsp) icing sugar. Carefully remove the paper from the chocolate baskets and spoon the mascarpone filling into the baskets.
• Moisten the fruit very lightly with a little water and sprinkle with granulated sugar to ‘frost’. Arrange the fruits on top of the baskets and sprinkle with the remaining icing sugar (sifted). Decorate with frosted rosemary or mint sprigs.

Bon appetite!

Biscuits With Love

Today I would love to eat some homemade biscuits. I will not cook them though as I am not in the mood. Would there anyone make them for me? Mum? Anyone? Lol. At least I can describe the way I make them. With love, of course. This is the main ingredient. I am afraid I didn’t write down on the printed recipe, the name of the book I took it from. If anyone knows it, please, write to me. I am concentrating in visualising the biscuits. I made them a few times and I loved them every time. I could eat them all and because the recipe here gives me just a few biscuits, I double the ingredients and I have to my heart’s desire. Yummy! Here they are:

Soft biscotti with chocolate

Biscotti morbidi con cioccolata

Serves 10

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 250 g plain flour
• 65 g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 100 g chocolate chunks or roughly chopped plain chocolate (use a good one, of at least 70% cocoa)
• 150 g pistachio nuts
• 100 g butter, softened
• 225 g unrefined golden caster sugar
• 2 medium eggs, at room temperature

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180˚C/ 350˚F, gas mark 4.
• Grease a baking sheet with a little butter and dust lightly with a little of the flour.
• Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, chocolate chunks and pistachio nuts in a bowl.
• In another bowl, beat together the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until well combined.
• Stir in the flour mixture until it forms a stiff dough. Place the dough on the baking sheet and press onto shape until it is 30 cm long and 10 cm wide.
• Bake for 35 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean when you insert it into the biscotti. Remove and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Place on a wire rack and leave to cool to room temperature. Slice into thick fingers and serve with coffee or vin santo.

Bon appetite!

Is There Ever Enough Chocolate?

Are you a chocolate addicted? Then you will love this. Petit pot au chocolat. I remember that this recipe was among the few that I had tried at home, in Romania. I had found it in “The Sunday Times” at the end of my staying in London and I had decided to make it at home. It was worth waiting that long. And last Wednesday I thought of making it again. For Thursday. Why? Because Thursday was my birthday. Wow, I made a rhyme!

When I think of birthdays, I always think of doing something special, as long as is not that traditional. Don’t get me wrong, I am quite old-fashion in some ways but not in other ways. So, these delicious pots seem just perfect to indulge on somebody’s birthdays. You have a perfect smooth chocolate cream and you will ask for more until you die. Of pleasure, of course. I am sorry to ruin your daydreaming but let’s get to work.

Petit Pot au Chocolat

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 350 ml double cream
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways or 2 tbsp of vanilla sugar
• 250 g plain chocolate, broken into pieces (remember, remember: at leat 70 % cocoa)
• 150 ml milk (full fat please, please, if you make it for your birthday, spoil yourself)
• 4 small egg yolks
• 2 heaped tbsp icing sugar (or simply sugar, if you don’t have icing sugar)

Method:

• This is my favourite part. 😉
• Preheat the oven to 140 °C, 275 °F, Gas Mark 1.
• In a saucepan, warm the cream with a vanilla pod, whisk to disperse the vanilla seeds, the cover and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. With vanilla sugar just make sure it melts in the cream and leave to cool.
• In another pan, melt the chocolate in the milk. (I know you will taste a bit. )
• In a bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar, add the chocolate milk and vanilla cream, then blend thoroughly. (I bet that you will taste again, and I win. What I win? I won’t wash the dishes.) Pass through a fine sieve and pour into a little pots or ramekins. (I adore ramekins, there are never enough for me, that is why I have decided to buy some more the moment I am in London.)
• Bake in a bain-marie in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until slightly puffed-up and spongy. Don’t worry about the crust forming top. It may look as it is overcooked but it is not. Plus, this crust when cold, covers an intense chocolate cream. Cool in the fridge for at least 6 hours before serving.

Bon appetite!

PS: Some pictures with my “birthday cake”.

Yummy!

Blow the candles! 😉

Feeling Blue?

To be or not to be…

As we all know, a little chocolate now and then makes us happy. Very happy. Especially when we are heartbroken. But as they say, forget love, I’d rather fall into chocolate. :)) I wish!;) No, I’d rather fall into chocolate and Love. For the moment let’s talk about chocolate. Not any chocolate but something special. A chocolate cake full of this aphrodisiac.

I found this recipe a few years ago in a supermarket in Constanta in “BBC Good Food” magazine. In pictures it didn’t look extraordinary. But the look can be deceiving, as we all know. I read the ingredients and then it clicked. This cake had 7 chocolates in it! Imagine that! 7! I searched Google at home at that time to see if I could find something similar. But I couldn’t. There were only cakes with 3-5 chocolates mostly. That was different.

Because of this I decided to make the cake on a special day. It was almost 2 years ago, probably on Christmas, Easter, my name day or my birthday. Or mom’s. Who cares! I made it and it was an instant hit from the beginning. It was sooooo delicious, you can’t imagine. Feeling the chocolate melting in your mouth, the smell, sensations that can’t be described. I just felt happy. Thinking now of it, makes me happy again. 🙂

For a tastier and why not, funnier description of this simple cake with 7 chocolates try my choice. Because my choice of cake is made with plain chocolate only, of at least 70% cocoa. Yes, you already know that, but bear with me. I was more generous with the cream and chocolate. I would never put only 250 g of chocolate in something but go for 300 g. I know, you agree with me here.

Chocolate Cake

Serves 12

Ready in 1 hr 30 minutes, plus cooling

Ingredients:

• 250 g flour/ self raising flour
• 1 baking soda package (in case you don’t find self raising, mix flour with baking soda)
• 250 g unrefined soft brown sugar (if you don’t have it in your kitchen, choose the white one)
• 50 g cocoa
• 250-300 g plain chocolate
• 250 g butter (again, 80-82% fat if you don’t mind, because I do)
• 4 eggs

For the cream:

• 400 g plain or milk chocolate (please, please, please, plain)
• 300 ml pot single cream (my choice is full-fat)
• 25 g butter
• 100-200 icing sugar
• cocoa powder for dusting

Method:

• Heat the oven to 160°C/ fan 140 C/ gas 3. Line a 20cm x 20 square cake tin. I use at home my round 26 cm diameter cake tin.
• Mix the flour, sugar and cocoa together in a bowl. Melt the chocolate (don’t touch it!) and the butter together with 200 ml water in a pan and then beat this along with the eggs into the dry mixture. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. It may crack a little on top but this will be covered by the icing. Cool.
• To make the icing, melt the chocolate (I said to keep your fingers out of this!) with the cream and butter until smooth and then cool to a spreadable consistency, beat in enough icing sugar to make the icing opaque and stiff.
• Slice the cake horizontally into 2 or 3 layers and spread some icing (yummy) between each layer. Ice the outside of the cake in a thick even layer and smooth the icing down as much as possible, don’t worry about the top too much. I worry, I want it to be smooth on top too.
• Dust with cocoa powder just before serving.

Bon appetite!

Blessed those who have tried this out!

PS: while searching this recipe on the net one day, years after, I discovered that it was no longer on the BBC Good Food site. So I turned myself into a detective. And guess what? I looked closely on the printed recipe I had since 2009 and there it was: “Recipe from olive magazine, September 2007.” While you find it here too, the original is from that site and I must add this. I am glad that everybody can access it too, from different sources.

Lift Me Up (Tiramisu)

Close up

A little bit of…

Yesterday I posted the recipe in Romanian and I’ve decided that today I would post it in English. But it is not to be my first post for today, because I’ve had the nice surprise to read it on my nice colleague’s blog about my blog. Check this out, but only if you know Romanian:

http://mariuszarnescu.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/sweet-nothings-by-elena-granzulea/

Back to my tried and tested recipe, I have to add that it is not just any Tiramisu, it is a very special, exquisite one made by Heston Blumenthal. If you check Wikipedia you will find very interesting things about him.

Here is the recipe, taken from “The Sunday Times” some years ago. My intention is to make it again for this Easter and here is the proof.

Tiramisu

The key element here is the chopped chocolate – choose a good-quality one that you really want to eat.

Serves 4 (but you will probably want it all for yourself)

• 75-100 g good-quality chocolate (my fav is one with at least 70% cocoa) (you can always add more chocolate, like 2 bars or as my blue flower would say, a box 🙂 )
• 50 g unrefined caster sugar or just brown or plain sugar if you can’t find caster
• 235-250 ml double cream, chilled
• 265 g mascarpone
• 300 ml black coffee, cold and fairly strong
• 4 tbsp (or to taste) Marsala or amaretto (if you don’t have any, any liqueur will do as long as you think it goes with the taste of Tiramisu) (optional)
• 125 sponge fingers
• cocoa powder

Method:

• Chop the chocolate with a knife, or if you prefer, you can grate it, then leave it in a cool place. I prefer grating it (it is quicker) or use the food processor.
• Dissolve the sugar in 100 ml of the double cream over a gentle heat, then set aside to cool. Lightly whip the remaining cream over a gentle heat, then set aside to cool. Lightly whip the remaining cream in a cold bowl and set aside.
• Work the mascarpone with a spoon until it has loosened up a little, then carefully incorporate the whipped cream and the cooled sweetened cream. Add 4 tbsp of the coffee to taste – more if you prefer. It is important to add enough to get the flavour you want, but not so much that is loosens the mix.
• Pour the rest of the coffee and the alcohol, if using, into a flat-bottomed bowl large enough to lay the fingers in. Place a few fingers in the coffee mix and turn over a few times – they need to be soaked. Place on a plate and repeat until all fingers are done. If necessary, make more coffee.
• Once soaked, place enough fingers in the bottom of a serving bowl to form a single layer. Spread a third of the cream mixture over them and smooth out, then sprinkle with some cocoa powder and a third of chocolate. Repeat until all the cream is used up. You should have three layers of cream and three of the cocoa-chocolate mix.
• Place in the fridge for a couple of hours. Just before serving, generously dust with cocoa powder.

Bon appetite!

PS: don’t eat it all at once, indulge for a couple of hours, SAVOUR it!