Category: Chocolate

Chocolate Dipped Bagel Crisps

Chocolate Dipped Crisps

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Chocolate Dipped Bagel Crisps

 

If you often face the dilemma of whether to eat chips of chocolate, your problem is solved. Introducing… Chocolate Dipped Crisps!

The salty crisp paired with the smooth, sweet chocolate makes for a totally moreish treat that’s smooth yet crunchy, sweet yet salty, and undeniably delicious. These chocolate dipped bagel crisps will soon find there way into your belly and your heart; just in time for the ultimate party night. You can thank me later.

Chocolate Dipped Chips

Ingredients

  • 1 packet of Abe’s Bagels – Marlborough Sea Salt Bagel Crisps
  • 150g of good quality milk chocolate
  • 150g of good quality dark chocolate
  • 150g of good quality white chocolate

Method

  1. Place chocolate varieties separately in 3 heatproof, microwave safe bowls. In batches, microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring with a metal spoon every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.
  2. Dip half of each Abe’s Bagels – Marlborough Sea Salt Bagel Crisps into melted chocolate mixtures and place on a tray lined with baking paper for 15 minutes, or until set. Serve.

TIP: for a fun combination, try sprinkling chopped nuts, sprinkles or sherbet onto the crisp once dipped in the melted chocolate.

Enjoy!

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Chocolate Brownie

Chocolate and Hazelnut Brownie

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Chocolate Brownie

Three Chocolate and Hazelnut Brownies are one of the best tasting things that has ever come from my oven – and I have cooked some mighty fine pork in that bad boy. I also like to call them the Houdini Brownie as they instantly disappear once they are made.

They are super easy to make, even easier to eat and the ingredient combination can be changed to suit your preference. Me, I think this combo is perfection so I wouldn’t recommend changing a thing.

Ingredients

  • 185g of butter – cubed
  • 185g of dark cooking chocolate – broken into squares
  • 100g milk chocolate melts (you can use dark, caramel or white if you’d prefer)
  • 50g of hazelnuts
  • 85g of plain flour
  • 40g cocoa powder
  • 3 large eggs
  • 275g caster sugar

Method

  1. Preheat a fan forced oven to 160C and a line a 2ocm square baking tin with baking paper.
  2. Scatter hazelnuts evenly on another baking tray and place in the oven to roast for 5 minutes or until the skin is starting to peel away and toast.
  3. Remove hazelnuts from oven, allow to cool and place in a tea towel. Fold the edges in of the tea towel to form a sack and rub the hazelnuts to remove the skin. Discard the skin, roughly chop the hazelnuts and place into a small bowl.
  4. Combine butter and dark chocolate in a large, microwave safe mixing bowl. Place in the microwave on medium-high heat and melt, stirring at 30 second intervals.
  5. Allow the butter and chocolate mixture to cool completely to room temperature. Do not be tempted to place the mixture in the fridge or freezer as this may lead it to separate and for ice shards to appear.
  6. Break the 3 eggs into a medium sized mixing bowl, add caster sugar and whisk using electric beaters for 5-8 minutes, or until the mixture doubles in size and becomes thick and creamy like a milk shake.
  7. Ensuring the butter and chocolate mix is fully cooled to avoid the egg from scrambling, add the egg and sugar mix to the chocolate and butter mix and gently fold together using a rubber spatula. Don’t be tempted to over mix or you will knock out all the air from step 6, you want the mixture to still be streaky with the majority of the chocolate incorporated.
  8. Sieve the cocoa and flour into the milk and fold through until just mixed. All the chopped hazelnuts and milk chocolate melts, folding until they are dotted throughout.
  9. Pour the mixture into the prepared tub and use the spatula to smooth over the top. Place in the oven to cook for 30 minutes or until the middle is set, the top is crisp and flaky and the sides are begging to come away. It will still be gooey in the centre so don’t worry about the skewer test!
  10. Allow to cool completely in the tin and remove by lifting out the baking paper, cut into squares or cubes and watch it disappear!

Enjoy!

 

No-bake Cheesecake

Snickers Cheesecake

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Caramel and Chocolate Cheesecake

When life is so busy, I’m all for taking a few cooking shortcuts… and you’d need not feel guilty about it. Especially when the results are so delicious that your guests ask for the recipe!

So without further ado, may I present the recipe for one of my favourite desserts, the wickedly good, no-bake Scnickers Cheesecake. Chocolate, salty caramel and nuts – YUM! What’s not to love?

Ingredients – Base

  • 250g chocolate biscuits
  • 1/4 cup of desiccated coconut
  • 100g butter – melted

Ingredients – Filling

  • 3 teaspoons powdered gelatine
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons boiling water
  • 500g cream cheese – softened
  • 300ml thickened cream – whipped
  • 1/2 cup of good quality caramel sauce – adjust amount according to your taste preferences
  • 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup of roasted, lightly salted peanuts – washed to remove excess salt, dried and roughly chopped
  • Melted milk chocolate – to serve

Method

  1. Grease a 20cm-round (base) springform pan and line the bottom with baking paper.
  2. Using a food processor, process biscuits and coconut to resemble a fine crumbs. Add butter. Process until combined. Press the biscuit mixture over base and side of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Note: to keep the rustic look and feel of the cheesecake, don’t make the edges of the biscuit base uniform.
  3. Sprinkle gelatine over boiling water in a small heatproof jug. Whisk with a fork until gelatine has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
  4. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and caramel sauce until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in gelatine mixture until combined. Fold in whipped cream and 1/2 of the peanuts into the mixture.
  5. Scatter the remaining peanuts over the biscuit base, pour mixture into the prepared pan, levelling top with a spatula. Cover. Refrigerate overnight or until set.
  6. Remove the cheesecake from pan. Decorate top of cheesecake with melted chocolate and serve.

Enjoy!

 

Homemade Easter Eggs

White Chocolate Easter Eggs

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Raspberry and White Chocolate Easter Eggs

It’s your turn to be the Easter Bunny as you create your own delicious, chocolate treats!

Lemon Curd and Raspberry Jam are swirled through the middle of white chocolate eggs to make each Easter treat a fun-filled surprise. With a simple and easy to follow recipe, the little ones will love creating their very own colourful Easter eggs and licking the bowl clean.

Equipment

  • 1 set of Easter Egg moulds

Ingredients

  • 1 jar of Anathoth Farm Raspberry Jam
  • 1 jar of Anathoth Farm Lemon Curd
  • 440g of good quality white chocolate – dark chocolate with the raspberry variety is delicious too!

Method

  1. Break white chocolate into a medium sized microwave-safe mixing bowl, place in microwave for 2 minutes on high, stirring half way through.
  2. Remove bowl from microwave and stir until chocolate is smooth and lump free.
  3. Pour a small amount into each mould casing and tilt from side-to-side to ensure the chocolate had coated all sides, leaving the centre empty. Place in the fridge and allow to set for 2 hours.
  4. In a small mixing bowl mix equal parts melted white chocolate with Anathoth Farm Lemon Curd and in another mix equal parts melted white chocolate with Anathoth Farm Raspberry Jam. Remove moulds from fridge and spoon Anathoth Farm white chocolate mix into the centre of each. Top each mould with plain melted white chocolate and return to fridge overnight or for a minimum of 3 hours to set.
  5. Remove from fridge and allow to stand for 2 minutes before carefully removing the chocolates from moulds.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Ice Cream Sandwich

Strawberry and White Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich

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Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches?  Yes, please!

I like ice cream sandwiches any time of the year, or day for that matter; and by using bought ice-cream and biscuits means these pretty treats are a breeze to make. The only thing easier than making them is eating them.

This recipe uses one of my favourite flavour combinations – raspberries, macadamia nuts and white chocolate… but why limit yourself to this?!  Make your own flavor combinations – try soft chocolate biscuits with mint ice cream or shortbread with caramel ice cream with crushed violet crumble… The options are ENDLESS!

Ingredients

  • 200g of McCain Season’s Choice Strawberries
  • 200g of McCain Season’s Choice Raspberries
  •  1L of good quality Vanilla Ice Cream
  • 1 packet of White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies

Method

  1. Add McCain Season’s Choice Strawberries and McCain Season’s Choice Raspberries to a large mixing bowl and using the back of a fork mash them into a chunky paste.
  2. Add softened ice cream to berry mix and fold through, allowing the berries to swirl in the ice cream. Cover the mixing bowl with cling-wrap and return to freezer for four hours or until set.
  3. Remove berry ice cream mix from freezer and simply sandwich a scoop of ice-cream between two cookies and eat quickly!

Enjoy!

Chocolate and Hazelnut Mousse with Raspberries

Chocolate and Hazelnut Mousse

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Chocolate and Hazelnut Mousse with Raspberries

This Chocolate and Hazelnut Mousse can be whipped up in a flash and is completely delicious and utterly moreish. The sour of the raspberries is complimented by the creamy mousse. Topped with Raspberry Caviar it’s the perfect Valentine’s Day treat for your someone sweet.

Ingredients

  • 300ml of thickened cream
  • 200g of good quality milk chocolate
  • ¼ cup of hazelnut spread
  • 2 ¼ cups of McCain Season’s Choice Frozen Raspberries

Method

  1. Scatter McCain Season’s Choice Raspberries, over the base of 4 small-sized serving glasses and set aside.
  2. Separate the raspberry  drupelets from the main fruit, place on a freezer-proof plate and place in the freezer until needed.
  3. Place chocolate in a heatproof microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium (50%) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring with a metal spoon halfway through cooking, or until smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.
  4. Beat cream in a bowl to soft peaks and then fold through the melted chocolate and hazelnut spread.
  5. Spoon the mousse among serving glasses over the raspberries, scatter with raspberry drupelets to resemble caviar and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Almond, Coconut and Raspberry Slice

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Raspberry, Almond and Coconut Slice 1

I am not much of a baker. It think it’s the pressure of non-success if you don’t follow the recipe. Things might not rise or bind and then you’ll be left with a pile of sweet goop. That being said, I decided to give baking another shot over the weekend and make Raspberry, Almond and Coconut Slice. Lucky I did because it is DELICIOUS! It is tasty, moist and moreish – everything you want in slice. 

This slice is gluten free and it can be dairy free with a simple recipe tweak. Also, if raspberries aren’t your thing you’re crazy you can replace them with blueberries or choc-chips.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups of almond meal
  • 1 cup of caster sugar
  • ¾ cup of desiccated coconut
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 150g of butter – melted and cooled (use Nutalex if you are making it dairy-free)
  • 1 cup of McCain Season’s Choice Raspberries – thawed

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180C and line a 20m baking tin with baking paper.
  2. In a large bowl combine the almond meal, coconut and sugar; using a whisk to remove all lumps.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the butter, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
  4. Add the butter mixture to the almond meal mixture and stir until smooth and free from lumps.
  5. Slowly pour the mixture into the prepared tin and dot the top with McCain Season’s Choice Raspberries.
  6. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden and a test skewer removes clean from batter.
  7. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

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75 foodies on Instagram

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Well I think it is safe to say that after drooling over reading this Daily Life article: http://bit.ly/1aGeE4i on the 75 best foodies to follow on Instagram my news feed is going to look a lot more delicious!

The are some stunning snaps and drool-worthy dishes on show. So much so that I felt it was my foodie duty to share the list with you. There are some I knew and followed like Jamie Oliver, Ida Frosk and Citrus and Candy; while there are others on the list I had never heard of, with great shots and very few followers. So if you like looking at pictures of things that taste great, which I assume is why you are here, then you MUST check these Instagramers out.

Oh and one little plug while I’m here – you should also follow me on Instagram! @daily_gluttony to keep up to date with all the delicious moments in my life like this Moroccan Lentil Burger – nom nom nom.

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Spiced Pear Cake

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Recently my family came for a trip to the country to celebrate my Dad’s Birthday, eat, drink and be merry. Being a birthday, a birthday cake was a must and given the recent Malteser Cake I made for Ben the stakes where set pretty high. Which I didn’t mind, until I remembered the mass of food allergies that were coming with them – no chocolate, no coffee, no nuts, no ginger and no berries. YIKES! Can you even bake without these?!

So I put my mind to it and after some major research the Spiced Pear Cake was born, or developed might be more apt. And… it was delicious!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of water
  • 1/2 cup of wine – I used a spicy Shiraz
  • 1 cup of caster sugar
  • 1 lemon – juiced and rind peeled
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp Queen vanilla bean paste
  • 2 William Bartlett pears – peeled, cut into thirds and cored
  • 1 1/2 cups of wholemeal self raising flour, sifted – plain would work too
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tbs of all spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 150g butter – melted and cooled – the cooling is important so your cake batter doesn’t include scrambled eggs
  • 3 eggs – lightly whisked
  • 1/4 cup of milk
  • Maple syrup to brush

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180C and line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Place water, wine, caster sugar, lemon rind + juice, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean paste in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir for 2-3 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
  3. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low, add pears, cover surface with a cartouche and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pears are tender.
  4. Transfer pears to a plate and allow to cool completely then thinly slice to fan.
  5. Meanwhile, combine flour, brown sugar, spices and vanilla in a large bowl and mix to combine.
  6. Combine butter, milk and egg, pour into dry mixture and combine.
  7. Pour cake batter into the lined cake pan, arrange the pears on the top of the cake in fans. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
  8. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a serving plate. Brush with several coats of maple syrup allowing each coat to absorb into the cake.
  9. Serve with reduced pear poaching liquid and good quality vanilla ice cream.

NOTE: a cartouche is a circle of grease-proof or baking paper used to cover a dish while poaching or simmering.

Enjoy!

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Spiced Chocolate Cookies

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If you’re a beginner baker, biscuits are an easy and delicious starting point. These Chocolate Spiced Cookies are yummy – crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Perfect!

Ingredients

  • 185g butter – room temperature
  • 300g brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 175g melted dark chocolate – cooled
  • 175ml milk
  • 150g plain flour
  • 200g self raising flour
  • 1/4 cup of cocoa
  • 2 tsp of all spice
  • 1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts
  • Icing sugar to dust

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180C and line 2 x baking trays with oven paper.
  2. Add the butter, sugar and vanilla essence to a large bowl and use electric beaters to cream.
  3. Add the eggs, egg yolk, melted chocolate and milk to the bowl and use the electric beaters to mix until fluffy.
  4. Shift flour, cocoa and all spice into the mixing bowl ensuring all lumps are removed. Add the chopped walnuts and guess what now, use the electric beaters to mix until fluffy.
  5. NOTE: if you’re okay with eating raw egg, which I am, you can stop the process here and enjoy one of the nicest chocolate mousse’s you will have ever eaten. It is seriously delicious; so much so that I even put some aside in a container for a certain batter eating friend to munch on.
  6. Roll the mixture into tablespoon sized balls, place on baking trays leaving a good 3-4cm between each cookie as they spread and bake for 18 minutes or until they are starting to brown.
  7. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully.
  8. Sprinkle with icing sugar and share with friends.

Enjoy!

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