flours in baking - part3

Self raising flour – exactly what it says it is. It’s essentially white wheat, or wholemeal flour premixed with leavening agents (for the rise). Used when you want a spongy texture. (think muffins and sponge cake).

SELF RISING FLOUR BISCUITS

5 cups. self rising flour
1/3 cup. Crisco
1 cup. buttermilk
Sift self rising flour into a large mixing bowl. Place the 1/3 cup of Crisco in a hallowed out place in the flour. With a fork, mix the flour and Crisco. Do Not use all of the flour. Pour the buttermilk over the flour, Crisco mixture. Gradually, mix until the dough is firm enough to handle. Sprinkle flour on a flat surface, place dough and knead gently. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness, cut and place in a greased pan. Cook at 350 degrees until brown. (About 15 to 20 minutes)

flours in baking - part 2

Cake flour – finely milled grains that make cakes soft. Suitable for cakes or cookies.

LEMON SPONGE CAKE

6 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

method
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Beat yolks of eggs until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in the sugar, grated lemon rind, and juice. Fold in half of the stiffly beaten egg whites.
Cut in sifted flour and salt, add nuts, and remaining egg whites.
Bake in a slow oven for about one hour or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out nearly clean.

flour in baking - types of flour and thier uses

Types of flour and their uses.

There are many types of flour around but do you know what they are, and what they are used for? Over the coming weeks, I will introduce a type of flour and a recipe to go with it.

Wheat flours

Plain flour – this is the common type of flour. It is a blended mix of flours, and is suitable for general purpose baking.

Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour (120g)
1 ½ cup castor sugar
3 eggs lightly beaten
150g chopped butter
125g chopped dark chocolate
¼ cup cocoa powder (20g)
1 tsp. vanilla essence
pure icing sugar to dust

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180C ° (355 ° F) Grease 20cm (8”) square tin with oil or melted butter
Line the base with baking paper, extending over two opposite sides (to help you lift the brownies out). Alternatively, grease the sides with butter or margerine

Method:

1. Bring small pan of water to a simmer. Put butter and chocolate in heat proof bowl.
2. Place the bowl oven the pan, but do not let the base of the bowl sit in the hot water. Stir
occasionally until smooth.
3. Remove from heat and cool slightly
4. In a large bowl whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla together
5. Add melted chocolate mixture and whisk together
6. Stir in the combined sifted flour and cocoa. Careful to not over-beat
7. Pour into the greased tin and bake for 40 minutes or until slightly risen and just firm.
8. Leave to cool in the tin (brownie will sink back down on cooling)
9. When cool lift out and cut into squares.
10. Dust with icing sugar and serve

Variations:

For nut brownies, add 1 cup of chopped roasted macadamias, walnuts, or pecans to the mixture.

For white chocolate brownies, use white chocolate melts instead of the dark chocolate.

For marshmallow brownies, add 1 cup of mini marshmallow to the raw mixture.

To make a brownie ice-cream sandwich, cut brownies into small squares and sandwich two squares together with vanilla ice-cream.

Serve with hot chocolate fudge sauce as a dessert.

Chocolate muffins

Chocolate Muffins
Yield: 6 very large muffins or 12 normal size.

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2/3 cup (160 ml) milk
2/3 cup (160 g) butter
4 oz (120 g) semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
2. Grease 6 large muffin tins or cups (paper muffin bake cups are recommended).
3. Beat the eggs with sugar, mix with flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla and milk.
4. Fold in the melted butter.
5. Add chocolate chips (please note that these might end up in the bottom of the muffin).
6. Bake at 350 degrees until a until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes.

The Chocolate Muffins may be served hot or at room temperature.
Variations

1. If you wish to use less saturated fat, try substituting 1⁄2 the butter with a good quality vegetable oil.
2. If you wish a strong chocolate flavor you can add 1-2 more tablespoons of cocoa powder.

Classic Chocolate Souffle

Classic Chocolate Souffle
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
1/3 cup (65 g) sugar
5 ounces (150 g) bittersweet chocolate (70%)
3 egg yolks
5 egg whites
a pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C)
2. Grease one large souffle dish or 6 small souffle dishes.
3. Melt the chocolate over hot water (in a double boiler).
4. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks.
5. Add 1/3 cup of sugar gradually while whisking with the electric mixer.
6. Mix gently the melted chocolate with the egg yolks and approximately one cup of the whisked egg whites.
7. Fold in the remaining part of the whisked egg whites.
8. Bake in the middle of the oven until crusted on top and practically cooked in the middle, approximately 25-35 minutes for a large souffle dish.

Variations

1. You may use bittersweet chocolate flavored with orange or raspberries for a delicious fruity flavor.

Kahlua Fantasy Chocolate Cheesecake

All recipes really are are a set of instructions. They are like a set of directions telling you what to do. Like a set of directions, recipes have been tried by many people, but the taste may be not what you expect. It may be too sweet, too spicy, not spicy enough, etc.
It is OK to tweak a recipe to your liking, as long as you follow the general set of instructions given so you don’t make mistakes when doing so.

Here is this week’s recipe:
Please note this recipe contains alcohol.

Kahlua Fantasy Chocolate Cheesecake

1 1/3 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup coffee liqueur
2 tablespoons butter
2 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
2. In a bowl combine chocolate wafer crumbs, melted butter and 1 tablespoon sugar. Pat into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt semi-sweet chocolate chips with coffee liqueur and 2 tablespoons butter; stir until smooth. Set aside.
4. In a bowl, combine eggs, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt. Add cream cheese; blend well. Gradually blend in the chocolate mixture. Turn into the prepared crust. Bake for 40 minutes, or until filling is set. Remove from the oven and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Then refrigerate for 3 hours. Whip cream and powdered sugar to stiff peaks. Garnish cheesecake.

Makes 12 servings.

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

I think I can improve a recipe. Can I do so?
Yes! If you can make a recipe a little better so that it tastes better and looks better, go ahead and do so. If you do, please submit it to your peers and to your friends so they can try and give you feedback. Here is this week’s recipe:


Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

1 (9-ounce) package chocolate wafer cookies, crushed into fine crumbs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups whipping cream, divided use
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
3/4 cup cherry liqueur
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling

1. In a large bowl, combine chocolate wafer crumbs and melted butter. Pat firmly into a 9-inch springform pan, covering the bottom and halfway up the sides; refrigerate while preparing filling.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
3. In a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate chips and 11/2 cups cream; stir until smooth. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar, beating until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate mixture, cherry liqueur, and vanilla; mix until blended. Pour into the prepared crust.
5. Bake for 60 minutes. Turn the oven off and let stand in oven with door open for 1 hour. Remove from oven, wrap and refrigerate overnight.
6. Spread cherry pie filling over the top of cheesecake 1-inch from the edge. Decorate the edge with remaining cream whipped to soft peaks.

Makes 12 servings.

Chcolate Lava Cake

How good are recipes?
Recipes are only as good as you make them to be. If you follow a recipe and don’t like the taste, you will say the recipe is bad.
Recipes that have stood the test of time have been around for many years. This means the majority of people like them, and fel they are worthy of being kept around for the next generation.

Here is this week’s recipe:

Chocolate Lava Cake

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients
10 oz (280 g) semi or bittersweet chocolate (preferably 70 % cocoa)
4/5 cup (200 g) butter
8 eggs
1 1⁄4 cup (260 g) sugar
11⁄4 cup (160 g) all-purpose flour

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
2. Grease 10 large muffin tins or cups; paper muffin bake cups can also be used.
3. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with butter over hot water.
4. Beat the eggs with sugar and mix with flour.
5. Slowly fold in the melted butter and chocolate.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for only 8-12 minutes; the outer part should be cooked and the inner part liquid.

The Chocolate Lava Cakes may be served hot on its own or with custard, whipped cream, ice cream and / or berries. The Lava Cakes may be dusted with icing sugar. If your Lava Cakes stick to the tin/cup after baking, you should try lining the tins/cups with aluminum foil and grease the lined tins/cups well before use. You can also use paper muffin bake cups.

Variations

1. You may use pudding/soufflee cups instead of muffin cups and serve the Lava Cakes in the cups in order to avoid the difficulty of removing the Lava Cakes from the muffin cups.
2. You may add two tablespoons of orange liqueur and finely grated rind of one orange. This gives a delicious orange-chocolate flavor.
3. You may try adding some ground cinnamon and nutmeg or cloves to the chocolate and butter mixture.
4. You may add some mint flavoring.
5. You may add a little coffee essence to mixture.
6. Place moulds in freezer then brush with melted butter to give a thin even coating. Use cocoa powder to "flour" the molds so when you turn out the Lava Cakes there is no white flour marks.
7. Serving suggestion: serve with an orange and star anise ice

Chocolate pound cake

For those of you wanting a low-fat chocolate recipe, here is one.

Chocolate Pound Cake
16 servings

2 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1 teaspoon cake flour
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup prune puree
3/4 cup sugar
3 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup dutch process cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces vanilla low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon powdered sugar

1. Coat bottom and sides of a loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. flour and set aside.
3. Cream margarine with prune puree.
4. Gradually add sugar and beat well.
5. Add egg whites and beat 4 minutes or until well blended.
6. Add vanilla.
7. Combine remaining flour, cocoa, soda and salt.
8. Add to creamed mixture alternatively with yoghurt (beginning and ending with dry ingredients).
9. Pour batter into prepared pan.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing.

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving:
Calories 143
Calories from Fat 31

Percent Total Calories From:
Fat 21%
Protein 8%
Carbohydrate 70%
Totals and Percent Daily Values (2000 calories):
• Fat: 3g (Saturated Fat: 1g)
• Cholesterol: 1mg
• Sodium: 139mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 25g
• Dietary Fibre: 0g
• Sugars: 0g
• Protein: 3g
• Vitamin A: 177 units
• Vitamin C: 0 units
• Calcium: 0 units
• Iron: 1 units’

Tiramisu 2

warning: This week’s recipe is one I would not recommend for those who are alcohol intolerant. If you are making this for guests, then please make sure you don’t use this recipe if they cannot ingest alcohol.

Tiramisu II

2 cups mascarpone cheese
3 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons coffee liqueur
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 (10-inch) sponge cake
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Combine in a large bowl, mascarpone cheese, cream, sugar, vanilla, coffee liqueur, and instant coffee. Whip until stiff.
2. Split sponge cake in half, creating a top and bottom layer. Spread cream mixture on bottom layer, and replace top half of cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Just before serving, dust top of cake with cocoa powder.

Makes 12 to 14 servings.

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Well… there’s not much else to tell you, except for recipes. From this point, I will give out one recipe to try per week. I will cull the recipes from a list I have. Here is this week’s recipe:

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 (8-ounce) package plus 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 cups frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
1 (9-inch) graham cracker pie crust

1. In a saucepan, melt semisweet chocolate chips until smooth when stirred. Set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and butter until smooth. On low speed with an electric mixer, blend in the melted chocolate. Fold in non-dairy whipped topping until blended; spoon into a graham cracker pie crust. Cover and chill until firm.

Makes 8 servings.

Black and White Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

Desserts – what are they?
Desserts are the last course of a meal. It is usually sweet, but can be strong, in the case of cheeses. The word dessert is commonly used in the US, Canada, Australia, Ireland and France. In the UK, and some other commonwealth countries it is called: afters, sweet, or pudding.
Before sugar became cheap and readily available, fruits and nuts used to be eaten for desserts. There are many types of desserts.

Here is this week’s recipe:

Black and White Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

1/2 cup white chocolate pieces
1/2 cup milk chocolate pieces
20 whole fresh strawberries, rinsed, patted dry, stems left on

1. Place white chocolate pieces in a small heavy saucepan; melt slowly over low heat. Cool slightly and transfer to a small deep bowl.
2. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Holding onto the stem end, dip strawberries one at a time in the white chocolate three-quarters of the way up to the stem. Place apart on wax paper and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, slowly melt milk chocolate in a small heavy saucepan. Remove strawberries from the refrigerator and dip in the milk chocolate, leaving part of the white chocolate showing. Return to the refrigerator to chill. Serve chilled.

Makes 4 servings.

Chocolate pudding

Did you know…
Cocoa is actually good for the body, but don’t eat the sweet ones you find in the stores. The sugar and fact counteract the goodness in the cocoa.
Do not eat too much cocoa though… like everything, too much cocoa is no good for you.
This week’s recipe:

Chocolate Pudding

2 Cups whipping cream

1/2 Cup milk
1/2 Cup cream

3/4 Cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon. vanilla extract

5 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

9 egg yolks

Heat oven to 300°F. Combine whipping cream, half-and-half, sugar and vanilla in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat just to a simmer; remove pan from heat. Add chocolate; stir to melt completely.

Whisk in egg yolks one at a time until blended. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer. Divide pudding among eight 6-ounce custard cups; place in a deep baking pan and place in oven. Fill pan with enough scalding-hot water to come halfway up sides of custard cups. Cover with foil.

Bake puddings until set, 50 minutes. Allow puddings to cool in the pan 10 minutes. Remove from water bath; cool. Cover with plastic or foil, refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

brownies with cocoa recipe

Why do we use recipes?

Simply put, most people in modern society don’t have time to experiment while cooking. Also, a lot of ways of cooking have been established. A recipe is a sure-fire way of ensuring something works. You can always tweak the recipe later to suit your taste.

Recipes also have an added advantage of being time tested. The best recipes, and the ones that work have been kept over the years. For time restricted individuals, recipes with minimal preparation and cooking time are good.

This week’s recipe:

Brownies made with Cocoa

Yield: 24 servings

Ingredients

¾ cup butter
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt (optional)
3 oz (100 g) chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
2. Line a 13 x 9 in (33 x 23 cm) cake tin with grease proof or other non-stick paper and grease the tin.
3. Melt the butter.
4. Beat eggs with sugar, and add vanilla, flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt (optional) and melted butter.
5. Add chopped nuts.
6. Bake at 350 degrees until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 20-30 minutes.
7. Cool the cake. Dust with powdered sugar or glace with your favorite chocolate frosting.

Variations

1. Instead of all-purpose flour + baking powder you may use self-raising flour.

Did you know…

Chocolate comes from cacao beans. It is ground and roasted, and the resulting product is cocoa. Cocoa is actually very bitter. The chocolate you buy from the shops is sweet because they have added sugar to it. It was used by the Aztecs as a form of currency, and as a beverage.

This week’s recipe:

Rich Chocolate Mousse Cake

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

4 egg whites
½ cup (100 g) sugar
5 oz (140 g) hazelnuts, finely ground
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
--------
9 oz (250 g) dark semi or bittersweet chocolate (60-70%)
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup (60 g) sugar
¼ cup + 1 cup (0.6 + 2.4 dl) whipping cream

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
2. Line a 9 inch (23 cm) cake tin with greaseproof or other non-stick paper and grease the tin.
3. Whisk the eggs whites until stiff and in peaks by using an electric mixer, gradually add the sugar and whisk well each time sugar has been added.
4. Mix with finely ground hazelnuts and cocoa powder.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Cool the cake.

Filling

1. Melt finely chopped dark chocolate over hot water.
2. Beat the egg yolks with 2 oz sugar until white.
3. Heat ¼ cup whipping cream to the boiling point, and whisk in beaten egg yolks.
4. Fold in melted chocolate. The mixture will immediately thicken. Cool to approx. 100 deg F / 38 deg C.
5. Whisk 1 cup of whipping cream. Fold with the egg and chocolate mixture, one tablespoon at a time until the filling becomes soft, then the remaining part of the cream.
6. Transfer to the cake tin, and place in the refrigerator for several hours.

If served cold the filling appears more like chocolate truffle than mousse. If you prefer a more sweet flavor of the filling you can use semisweet chocolate (40-45%) instead of the recommended type.

Nutritional information:

Calories: 352, calories from fat: 179, total fat: 29g, saturated fat: 9g, trans fat: 0g, cholesterol: 96mg, sodium: 63mg, total carbohydrate: 40g, dietary fiber: 3g, sugars: 35g, protein: 7g.

Chocolate and dessert and recipes

There are recipes, and then there are chocolate dessert recipes. Most people enjoy that, but where to get the recipes, then what recipe to use? This blog aims to give you a recipe to try every week. It will either involve chocolate, a dessert or both at the same time. Give you loved ones something special after dinner with one of these recipes each week.

Here is this week’s recipe

Chocolate-Amaretto Cheesecake

1/4 cup chocolate wafer crumbs
1 1/2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese (for a total of 12-ounces)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup cottage cheese
1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup amaretto liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips

1. Sprinkle chocolate wafer crumbs in the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
2. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process cream cheese, sugar, cottage cheese, unsweetened baking cocoa, flour, amaretto liqueur, vanilla, salt and egg. Fold in semi-sweet chocolate chips. Slowly pour over the crumbs in the springform pan.
3. Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 65 to 70 minutes. Cool, cover, then chill for 8 hours.

Makes 12 servings