Chocolate

Over the Christmas break I finished my last online cooking class on Rouxbe.com. It was on chocolate and was very interesting and I even made their chocolate cake. Believe it or not - I am not much of a chocolate fan so I gave most of it away! I like the salty better then the sweet but I thought it would be fun to have some chocolate recipes this week for those of you that didn’t make a “New Year’s Resolution” to go on a diet!
p.s. - I would highly recommend this culinary cooking class for anyone interested in cooking. They explain everything very well and have very good recipes to put what you have learned into practice.

Chocolate Ganache Cake

Source: Rouxbe.com Recipes

This incredibly moist chocolate cake is smothered with a creamy chocolate ganache.
Step 1: Making the Ganache
3/4 lb bittersweet chocolate - (min. 54% cocoa mass; approx. 2 cups)
3/4 cup heavy cream - (min. 33% milk fat)
5 oz unsalted butter - (soft)
To make the ganache, cut the butter into small pieces and let soften at room temperature. Next, chop the chocolate into small pieces. Heat the cream over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a gentle boil, pour it over the chocolate and let sit for a few minutes. Whisk until you reach a smooth consistency. Add the soft butter, whisk, cover and set aside.
Step 2: Making and Baking the Cake
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 t baking powder
1 3/4 t baking soda
1 1/4 t salt
1 cup cocoa powder - (dutched)
3 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
10 T vegetable oil - (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups strong coffee
Preheat your oven to 350° degrees Fahrenheit and prepare two 9” x 2” -inch non-stick cake pans. If not using non-stick pans, spray first with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder together. Whisk until everything is evenly combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and oil together. Then add the milk and cooled coffee and whisk until blended.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk well, making sure everything is evenly combined.
Divide the batter between the baking pans and place immediately into the oven. Bake for approximately 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and place onto a cooling rack for about 10 to 15 minutes. Flip the cakes onto a cooling rack, peel off the parchment and let completely cool before icing.
Step 3: Assembling and Serving the Cake
To assemble the cake, whisk the ganache. If your cakes have a dome shape, slice a bit off the top to even them out. Using an offset spatula, begin icing the cake by placing a large dollop of ganache in the center and spread it around evenly. Carefully place the second cake on top, crumb-side down.
If desired, you can do a crumb coat, but it’s not absolutely necessary for this cake.
To finish decorating, ice the top and sides of the cake with the remaining ganache and serve.
Notes:
If doing a crumb coat, be sure you don’t refrigerate for more than a minute or two before putting on the second layer; otherwise, it will be too cold and the ganache could solidify.
This cake is great even when made a day in advance; just be sure to let it come to room temperature before serving.
Cake boards are sold in specialty baking shops but you can easily make your own. Just cut out a sturdy piece of cardboard and cover it completely with foil.

Warm Chocolate Sauce

Source: by Rouxbe.com

Decadent warm chocolate sauce is perfect for drizzling over cakes, sundaes, fruit or just about anything.
Step 1: Gathering Your Mise en Place
4 1/2 oz whole milk
2 oz heavy cream
1 1/4 oz icing sugar
5 1/4 oz quality - semi-sweet chocolate
1 oz unsalted butter - (room temperature)
To prepare your mise en place, first weigh the chocolate. Chop it into small pieces and place it into a medium-sized bowl. Measure and weigh the rest of the ingredients and set aside.
Step 2: Boiling the Milk and Cream
In a small saucepan, bring the cream, milk and icing sugar just to the boil. Don’t let the mixture boil for too long, as the liquid will reduce and change the ratio.
Step 3: Making the Chocolate Sauce
Once the mixture has been brought to a boil, pour it over top of the chopped chocolate. Let sit for a few seconds before gently whisking to combine.
Step 4: Finishing the Chocolate Sauce
Once the mixture is smooth and completely melted, add the room-temperature butter. Gently whisk to combine. The butter will give the sauce a glossy sheen.
The sauce can be used immediately. If you need to reheat it, you can do this in a double boiler (bain marie) over very low heat. Stir often and remove from the heat once it has just warmed through.

Chocolate comes from the Cacao tree, originally discovered by the Olmecs and Mayas of ancient America. The Cacao tree grows large pods on its trunk and its largest branches. These pods contain cacao seeds (beans) and from these fermented, dried, roasted, and ground beans, we get chocolate.
The Aztecs could not grow cacao in their high mountain valleys, so they taxed the lowland tribes for a yearly sum of 980 loads of cacao beans, with 24,000 counted-out beans in each load. The cacao beans were so precious that they were used for money in Aztec market places. The Aztecs used the beans to make a regal chocolate drink which only nobility sipped. Print this post