chocolate

Chocolate Praline Berry Tart

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 5 Comments

Time is running and we are leaving Denmark in less than two weeks! It has been a huge decision to leave family and friends and travel to the land of opportunities. Chris and I are quite different when it comes to leaving loved once behind to fulfill our own dreams and hopes for the future, but not once have we disagreed on this decision!

With only 10 days left, we have sold almost all of our kitchen tools so cooking can be quite challenging (and some days quite boring)!! We are used to cooking whatever we want on that particular day, but with a freezer that needs to be emptied and only few tool it takes a lot more kitchen creativity to get interesting and delicious food (I’m not saying that few ingredients and no tools = bad food, I’m just saying that my imagination is somewhere else these weeks, trying to figure where to live, how to buy a car (+ insurance), buying a phone etc.)

Even though the freezer and pantry is almost empty, there is still one ingredient that I have dozens of: CHOCOLATE. I always have lots of chocolate in the house, so that I can create delicious chocolate dreams all day and night if desired 😀 And today has been one of those days where I just wanted to celebrate the existence of world class chocolate, and bake something delicious and pretty for tonights marriage date! Thankfully I haven’t sold my pie dish yet, and I therefore decided to make this fabulous (and pretty) chocolate praline tart with strawberries. If you have trouble finding good strawberries, you can use other berries like raspberries or blueberries. Tonight I’ll serve the tart with a scoop of creamy home made vanilla ice cream, but but you can also serve it with sour cream or just as it is 🙂

 

Ingredients (8 servings)

1 cup flour

2/5 cup icing sugar 1 tbsp. cocoa powder

1 stick butter, cold and cubed

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp. water

Pinch of salt

 

Praline Filling:

4/5 cup double cream

3 1/2 oz. dark chocolate chips (70%)

5 oz. hazelnuts, skinned and finely grounded

 

Topping:

10 oz. strawberries (or other berries)

10 scoops vanilla ice cream (optional)

 

Begin by making the pastry. Shift flour, icing sugar, cocoa powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and add the cold cubed butter. Use your fingers and rub all ingredients together until it looks like breadcrumbs. Then add egg yolk and water and mix well with your fingers until you can form a ball of dough. Cover the dough with plastic foil and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven at 360F and lightly grease a 9-inch pie dish. Place the dough between two pieces of baking paper and roll it out until it can cover the pie dish. Remove the baking paper and place the dough in the dish and trim the edges. Place one of the used pieces of making paper on top of dough and fill it with baking beans (you can also use rice or some other heavy thing, that prevents the dough from raising). Bake for 20 minutes before removing baking beans and baking paper. Bake for 15 more minutes. Place the baked pastry on a wire rack to cool.

Bring cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate chips. Let rest for 30 seconds before stirring. Add the hazelnut flour when all the chocolate is melted and stir to combine. Let thicken a bit before pouring it into the baked pastry and smooth with a spatula. Leave to cool completely.

Slice the berries (only you use strawberries – all other berries should be added whole, or at least I think so) and place them on top of the cooled chocolate tart.

image

Serve immediately as it is or with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream :-

 

Bon Appetit!

 

Ingredients (8 servings)

125 g flour

50 g icing sugar 1 tbsp. cocoa powder

110 g butter, cold and cubed

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp. water

Pinch of salt

 

Praline Filling:

200 ml double cream

100 g dark chocolate chips (70%)

150 g hazelnuts, skinned and finely grounded

 

Topping:

300 g strawberries (or other berries)

10 scoops vanilla ice cream (optional)

Advertisement

Sea Salt Caramel Truffles

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 3 Comments

Every year around christmas time I crave for truffles – who doesn’t?? And as my cooking skills have developed a lot within the last one-two years, I decided to advance from simple chocolate truffles to something a bit more advanced (of cause I will still be making chocolate truffle).
Looking for some cooking tools at Williams-Sonoma’s home page I stumbled upon this sea salt caramel truffle recipe and rushed to the nearest super market to by sea salt 🙂

I’ve made caramels many times before and find it relatively easy as long as I have the appropriate tool (a candy thermometer!!!), but it is quite time consuming so if you consider to try it – what a silly question, I know that you consider trying it 😉 – do it on a day where you have other duties to do at home, so that you can combine things (make the caramel mixture, do the laundry, roll the caramels, prepare dinner, cover caramels with chocolate, serve dinner, eat caramels with evening coffee 🙂 ).

I had a cookie jar with christmas cookies (vanilla wreath cookies, gingerbread cookies and Jewish cookies) and these lovely truffles with me to the office this morning, and OMG i was popular 🙂

 

Ingredients (70 caramels)

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 stick butter

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp. sea salt, for sprinkling

10 oz. dark quality chocolate (70%), I prefer Amedei Toscano Black

 

In a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter and 1/2 cup of the cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, and then cook, stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240°F, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and drizzle in the remaining 1/2 cup cream, stirring to mix well. The mixture will bubble up slightly.

Sea Salt Caramels 1_Fotor_Collage

Return the pan to the heat and continue to cook until the thermometer registers 244°F, about 10 minutes more. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture into a prepared pan. Sea Salt Caramels 2_Fotor_Collage

Let stand for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The mixture should be firm to the touch but not hard. Using a teaspoon, scoop out and form balls of caramel and place them on a sheet of baking paper. If you want the caramels to be exactly the same size, you can weight the caramels – to get 70 caramels, they should weight 0.35 oz each. The caramel scraps can be gathered and shaped into balls by hand. Sprinkle each ball with a few grains of sea salt. Let stand for 1 hour before dipping. Sea Salt Caramels 3_Fotor_Collage

Chop the chocolate roughly and melt 2/3 in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Pour the melted chocolate over the remaining chocolate and wait for 30 seconds before you begin to stir.
Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Sea Salt Caramels 4_Fotor_Collage

Dip the caramel balls one at a time into the chocolate, turning to coat. Transfer to the baking paper to cool. Add a sprinkle of salt to the top of each truffle and let stand until the chocolate is firm and set.
Store in layers, separated by waxed paper, in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Sea Salt Caramels 16Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (70 caramels)

2.5 dl sugar

2.5 dl light corn syrup

113 g butter

2.5 dl heavy cream

2 tbsp. sea salt, for sprinkling

285 g dark quality chocolate (70%), I prefer Amedei Toscano Black

Chocolate Orange Cookies

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 1 Comment

We both love chocolate cookies as they are, but sometimes it is funny to experiment and make new variations of old recipes. As christmas is coming up, I wanted to try a version with orange as it reminds me of my childhood where my mom had oranges with cloves hanging in the windows.
Last year I bought a few tablespoons of orange purée and it was very expensive, so I decided to try and make my own this year. It turned out to be great and will definitely recommend that you make it yourself (it is very easy). Putting my home made orange purée into these cookies has been nothing less than a hit and I am without doubt going to make them for christmas 🙂

 

Ingredients (16 cookies)

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate (I prefer Amedei Toascano Black 70%)

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (— // —)

1 tbsp. butter

1 egg

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. orange purée

 

Melt chocolate and butter together slowly in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Be careful not to get any water into the bowl, as it will ruin the chocolate.

In another bowl whisk together egg, sugar, vanilla sugar and orange purée. Whisk until combined and add the melted chocolate (before adding the chocolate, make sure that it is not warmer than room temperature, otherwise it will ruin the batter).

Chocolate Orange Cookies 1_Fotor_Collage

Combine until smooth before shifting in flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk again until combined and then add the chocolate chips (if your chocolate chips are large, it is good idea to chop them roughly, before adding them to the batter).

Chocolate Orange Cookies 2_Fotor_Collage

Put teaspoonfuls on a baking tray, and bake at 350F for 12-13 minutes.

And VERY IMPORTANTLY – don’t forget to lick the bowl, spatula and spoons so that nothing goes to waist 😀

Chocolate Orange Cookies 3_Fotor_Collage

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (16 cookies)

100 g bittersweet chocolate (I prefer Amedei Toscano Black 70%)

50 g bitterweet chocolate chips (— // —)

1 tbsp. butter

1 egg

85 g granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla sugar

40 g flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. orange purée

 

Orange Cake with Chocolate chips and Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Aside ~ ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

This was my first ever orange cake, and I must admit that i am quite proud of myself. It looks good and tastes delicious – what more can one demand?

 

Ingredients (10 servings)

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 tbs. baking powder

1/4 tbs. salt

1/2 cup orange juice, fresh-squeezed

2 tbsp. orange zest

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (I prefer to use Amedei Toscano Black 70%)

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

7 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tbsp. orange zest

 

In one bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking powder.

In another bowl whisk together butter and sugar until light and fluffy with an electric mixer, then add one egg at a time and whisk thoroughly between each egg. Now add vanilla extract and whisk again.

Shift in flour mixture i two batches, alternating with orange juice. Whisk until just combined and smooth. Fold in orange zest and chocolate chips (if your chocolate chips are big, you might want to chop then into smaller pieces).

Add half of the batter into a 6 inch greased springform pan and bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for about 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let rest on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing the cake from the springform. Do the same with the other half of the batter. Let both cakes cool completely.

When the two cakes are cooled down, whisk together cream cheese and half of the confectioners sugar. Then add one tbsp. sugar at a time until the frosting has the right texture. Whisk till the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Fold in 2/3 of the orange zest.

Add one forth of the frosting on top of one of the cakes, and spread it around and make sure that you get all the way to the cake edge. Take the other cake at put on top of the first one. Cover the whole cake with the rest of the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle the last 1/4 tbsp. orange zest on top.

 

Ingredients (10 servings)

113 g butter, room temperature

112 g granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

155 flour

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 tbs. baking powder

1/4 tbs. salt

1.25 dl orange juice, fresh-squeezed

2 tbsp. orange zest

50 g dark chocolate chips (I prefer to use Amedei Toscano Black 70%)

 

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

200 g cream cheese, room temperature

2.5 dl confectioners sugar

2 tbsp. orange zest

 

Chocolate Birthday Cake with Berries

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 2 Comments

Yesterday a friend of mine turned 30 and she asked if I could make her a cake. She did not have any preferences other than CHOCOLATE, so I went for a day wondering what to make. First I wanted to make a chocolate cake with strawberry mousse, but the strawberry season is long gone, meaning that the taste of the berries are gone. So instead I decided to make this chocolate cake covered in whipped cream with crushed chocolate meringue cookies. Making the cake made me totally peckish, but unfortunately we was unable to take part in her birthday – DAMN! But but but that only gives me a reason to make the cake once more 🙂

 

Ingredients (12 servings)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/8 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 sticks butter

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup dark quality chocolate (70%)

 

2 cups cream

2 cups chocolate meringue cookies, crushed

20 strawberries

20 raspberries

1/4 cup dark quality chocolate (70%), chopped

 

Melt butter and sugar in a sauce pan. Stir to combine. When melted and combined, transfer to a mixing bowl and whisk at medium speed until cooled (takes 5-10 minutes).

In another bowl mix together cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

When the butter and sugar mixture is cooled, add one egg at a time and whisk between each. Then add vanilla extract.

Shift in flour mixture in four batches, alternating with the sour cream, and whisk until just combined. Add the melted chocolate and gently fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula.

Add the batter to a springform pan and bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle of the cake. Let cool for 20 minutes before loosening the edges of the cake with a butter knife (but do not remove in from the springform). Let cool completely before removing the cake from the springform pan.

Slice the cake into 3 equally thick pieces. I do not have a tool to do it with, so I just use a piece of wire, which works very well.

Whisk the cream until it gets soft peaks. Then whisk a little bit more, but be careful not to over whisk and turn it into butter! It just needs to be thick enough to cover the cake without running off. Add the crushed chocolate meringue cookies when the whipped cream has reached the wanted consistency. Fold until combined.

IMG_1182

Place the bottom of the three cake slices on a cake stand. Spread 1/2 cup of whipped cream onto the cake in an equally thick layer all the way around. Slice 10 strawberries and place them on top of the whipped cream. Sprinkle with half of the chopped chocolate. IMG_1183

Place the middle-slice of the cake on top and repeat the procedure, but replace the strawberries with half of the raspberries. Then top of the cake with the last slice.

IMG_1184

Cover with the remaining whipped cream and decorate with berries. Serve with a good cup of coffee 🙂

IMG_1187

 

Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredienser (12 stykker)

0.6 dl usødet kakaopulver

2.8 dl sukker

3.5 dl mel

1 tsk. bagepulver

1 tsk. natron

1 tsk. salt

172 g smør

2 store æg, stue temperatur

1 spsk vanille ekstrakt

2.5 dl creme fraiche

75 g mørk kvalitets chokolade (70%), smeltet

 

0.5 liter piskefløde

5 dl rutebiler, knuste

20 jordbær

20 hindbær

0.6 dl mørk kvalitets chokolade (70%), hakket

 

God fornøjelse venner 🙂

Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

These cupcakes has a perfect combination of chocolate, cream cheese and orange  – YUMMI they are delicious!

These was made for a colleague who retired a few days ago, and he loved them 🙂

 

Ingredients (36 cupcakes)

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups flour

2 1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 sticks butter

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup dark quality chocolate (70%)

 

2 cups cream cheese

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

3 oranges, zest

 

Melt butter and sugar in a sauce pan. Stir to combine. When melted and combined, transfer to a mixing bowl and whisk at medium speed until cooled.

In another bowl mix together cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

When the butter and sugar mixture is cooled, add one egg at a time and whisk between each. Then add vanilla extract.

Shift in flour mixture in four batches, alternating with the sour cream, and whisk until just combined.

Chop the dark chocolate and fold into the batter.

Line standard muffins tins with paper liners. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each 3/4 full.

Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes. Halfway through, turn the muffin tin 180 degrees, to secure that the cupcakes are baked evenly. Transfer tins to wire racks and let cool for 10 minutes before turning cupcakes onto racks to cool completely.

While the cupcakes cool, you have time to make the frosting.

Place cream cheese and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl and whisk until soft and fluffy. Shift in confectioners sugar and whisk until combined, soft and fluffy. Fold in 3/4 of the orange zest.

Decorate the cakes with the frosting and sprinkle the remaining orange zest on top.

IMG_6210

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (36 cupcakes)

1.9 dl unsweetened cocoa powder

375 dl flour

450 g sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

345 g butter

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

4.4 dl sour cream

100 g dark quality chocolate (70%)

 

500 g cream cheese

1.25 dl confectioners sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

3 oranges, zest

 

Strawberry Mazarin Dream

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

We really miss the summer…. And what other way to recreate great summer memories than a cake with strawberries?

The recipe is found on our favorite chocolate blog from which we often find inspiration (we thank Maja for her chocolate generousness). This particular cake is a modernized version of a strawberry tart, but with a more light consistency and a fresher taste of both strawberry and sour cream.

It is nothing less than fabulous (especially if you miss the summer and all the good it brings)!

 

Ingredients (10 servings)

Mazarin cake:

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup marzipan, grated

1 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup flour

 

Chocolate ganache:

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (i have used Amedei Toscano Black)

1/10 cup cream

1/2 tbsp. butter

 

Vanilla cream:

1/3 cup cream

1/3 cup sour cream

1 vanilla pod, seeds only

20-30 strawberries

 

Mazarin cake:

Whisk together butter and sugar until it get s light and fluffy. Add the grated marzipan and whisk until just combined.

Add one egg at a time and whisk until just combined. Then shift in flour and fold until the batter is combined and smooth.

Add the batter to an 8-inch springform pan covered with baking paper, and bake at 350F for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before removing the cake from the springform.

 

Chocolate Ganache:

In a heatproof bowl bring together chocolate, cream and butter. Melt over a pan of simmering water until the ganache is combined and shiny.

Add on top of the cooled mazarin cake.

 

Vanilla Cream:

Whisk the cream and seeds from the vanilla pod. Whisk until the the cream forms soft peak. Be careful not to over whisk. Add the sour cream and fold until evenly combined.

Pour over the chocolate ganache and decorate with strawberries 🙂

Serve with a good cup of coffee or an glass of sparkling wine.

Image

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (10 servings)

Mazarin cake:

225 g butter, room temperature

250 g marzipan, grated

250 g granulated sugar

3 eggs

1.25 dl flour

 

Chocolate ganache:

80 g chocolate chips (i have used Amedei Toscano Black)

0.25 dl cream

1/2 tbsp. butter

 

Vanilla cream:

0.80 dl cream

0.80 dl sour cream

1 vanilla pod, seeds only

20-30 strawberries

 

Chocolate Cookies for Coffee Lovers

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 4 Comments

Have you remembered Womens Day? Actually I had forgotten it, but was reminded as soon as I opened my Facebook. I am actually not the kind of woman who fights for equal rights for men and women, as I believe that both genders, have qualities which we should appreciate instead of trying to fight each other.

I could write up and down about my perspective on the gender issue, but as I properly disagree with most women, I will focus on these delicious cookies instead 🙂

I have made them for some of the women that I’am going to spend time with this weekend. I actually only made two changes in my recipe for chocolate chip cookies when making these fabulous and tasty cookies 🙂

First, I replaced the white chocolate chips with dark chocolate chips and second, I added 2 tbsp. instant espresso powder. If you love coffee, you will definitely love both the small and the taste of these cookies.

 

Ingredients (30 small cookies)

1 cup bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

2 tbsp. butter

2 eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tbsp. vanilla sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. instant espresso powder

 

Melt chocolate and butter together slowly in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Be careful not to get any water into the bowl, as it will ruin the chocolate.

In another bowl whisk together egg, sugar and vanilla sugar. Whisk until combined and add the melted chocolate (before adding the chocolate, make sure that it is not warmer than room temperature, otherwise it will ruin the batter).

Combine until smooth before shifting in flour, baking powder, instant espresso and salt. Whisk again until combing and then add the chocolate chips (if your chocolate chips are large, it is good idea to chop them roughly, before adding them to the batter).

Put teaspoonfuls on a pan, and bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 12-13 minutes.

Image

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (30 small cookies)

2.5 dl bittersweet chocolate

1.25 dl white chocolate chips

2 tbsp. butter

2 eggs

1.8 dl cup granulated sugar

1/2 tbsp. vanilla sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. instant espresso powder

How to Make French Macaroons

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

As my second warm-up entry to this weekends chocolate festival, I have chosen to make french macaroons. The choice fell on these fabulous and irresistible petit fours for three reasons; 1) I had all ingredients in my pantry, 2) I am going to a dear friends 30s birthday tomorrow night, and these are a lovely gift for the hostess and 3) the are to expensive to buy when you can make then yourself!

There are many way to make macaroons and I have tried several of them. Some are very time consuming while others are are quite fast to make. This recipe is in the time consuming category, but I am always going back to this one, as to my opinion this is the one that gives the best result – which of cause is the most important thing 😉

The basic ingredients in macaroons are blended almonds, confectioners sugar, granulated sugar and egg whites. Then you can add flavors and colors to match whatever theme you have in mind.

 

When making this recipe you will need a few basic tools:

A digital thermometer

An electric mixer

A rubber spatula

A pastry bag and

A 1/2-inch plain round tip

 

Without these, I doubt that you will succeed (but that shouldn’t keep you from trying if you have the drive) 🙂

What differs between this and other methods is the meringue. I prefer to work with Italian meringue when making macaroons, as I think that gives the prettiest surface and the best texture. Further more the baked (but not filled) macaroons can be stored in airtight containers for several months. For me, this is a huge plus as I can make a whole portion, store them and make a quick filling if I get unexpected guests for coffee.

Another reason for me to make a large portion is, that I suffer from a severe whiplash, which gives quite a lot of trouble some days. This means, I have bad days where need help to get out of bed, while other day are good (thank god for that!). Then when having guest on an ‘in-between day’, I can still look energetic serving great coffee and home baked macaroons.

As I make these large portions, I rarely use any coloring or flavors in the macaroon. Then when deciding on the filling, I sprinkle some freeze dried berries or colorful glitter on top and make sure that the color of the filling makes a good contrast to the neutral macaroon.

Below you will find a how-to-make-macaroons guide. Don’t give up if you fail the first time – the more you make, the better you get. If it can be of any comfort, I still fail once in a while ;-). An most often it is only 90% of my macaroon that gets perfect – a friend of mine has named the failed once ‘taste samples’. If you, like me, have trouble throwing away food that looks wrong but tastes fabulous, you can store the failed macaroon till the next time you are going to make a layered cake – they goes very well crushed between the layers.

 

Ingredients (60 macaroons)

200 gram almonds, blanched

200 gram confectioners sugar

200 gram granulated sugar

2 x 80 gram egg whites

80 ml water

 

Blend the almonds into fine almond flour in a hand blender or food processor. Then add confections sugar and blend again for at least 20-30 seconds. Shift into a mixing bowl. If there are anything left in the strainer, blend it further and shift again.

Take half of the egg whites and mix them into the blended almonds. mix until well combined and even.

In another bowl whisk the other half of the egg whites until they make soft peaks. Find a saucepan and add granulated sugar and water. Heat until the syrup reaches 230F, stir once in a while (use a digital thermometer). Pour the heated syrup slowly into the egg whites while whisking on medium-low speed. Be careful not to get burned on the sugar – it hurts like hell! When all the syrup has been added, turn up the volume of you mixer and whisk until the meringue has reached room temperature. It take about 10 minutes.

When your meringue has reached room temperature, add half to the almond mixture and mix well until combined. Then add the rest of the meringue and fold around – do not whisk, as this will ruin the batter! Fold until the batter is evenly combined and smooth.

Now it gets a bit tricky – the texture of the batter needs to soft, but not to soft. It still needs to keep the round shape when added to the baking paper, but it should be soft enough to prevent the macaroons from getting small tops. Did that make sense?

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch plain round tip, and pipe 3/4-inch rounds 1 inch apart on a baking tray with baking paper.  Turn the baking tray into the table top 8-10 times, to remove air bubbles from the macaroons.

Let the macaroons dry at room temperature for an hour. Bake at 300F for 13 minutes. Transfer the baking paper with the baked macaroons to a wire rack and let cool completely before filling or storing them.

IMG_5855

IMG_5858

Voilá – you have now made french macaroons 🙂

Bon Appétit!

Whoopie Pies with Orange Ganache

~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

I am home alone this evening and instead of watching TV I decided to try something new. For a long time my husband has been pestering me to bake whoopie pie, so why not?

They were easier to make than expected and tastes delicious. The combination of chocolate cookie filled with creamy orange ganache is a wonderful and definitely worth a try 🙂

It should be noted that they are larger than the look, and would properly only serve one per person for dessert.

 

Ingredients (8 whoopies)

1/3 cup butter, room temperature

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup light syrup

1 egg, room temperature

1 1/8 cup flour

3 tbs. cocoa powder

1 tbs. baking soda

1/2 cup chopped chocolate chips (this time I’ve used Belgian Callebaut 56%)

 

Ganache

1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 orange, zest

2 tbsp. orange paste

1 tbs. freeze dried passionfruit (optional)

 

Beat together butter, brown sugar and syrup until soft and creamy and then add the egg. Beat well.

Shift in flour, cocoa and baking soda and beat until combined and smooth. Fold in chopped chocolate chips and keep folding until the chocolate chips are evenly divided. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap a refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.

When the dough has hardened divide it into 16 equally sized pieces. Roll each peace into a small ball and squeeze a bit (but not to much) with two fingers. Place on a baking tray a bake a 350 degrees fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

 

Ganache

Chop the chocolate chips into small pieces – this will make the melting process easier. Bring the cream to a broil and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let stand for about a minute before you begin whisking. Whisk until completely smooth and then add orange zest and paste.

Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or until it is stiff enough to be applied to the woopies with a kitchen knife. When the ganache has reached the right temperature, apply it on half of the whoopies and put the other half on top. Sprinkle with freeze dried passionfruit (or confectioners sugar if you want some more sweetness).

IMG_5647Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (8 whoopies)

75 g butter, room temperature

67 g dark brown sugar

0.8 dl light syrup

1 egg, room temperature

2.8 dl flour

3 tbs. cocoa powder

1 tbs. baking soda

60 g chopped chocolate chips (this time I’ve used Belgian Callebaut 56%)

 

Ganache

130 g white chocolate chips

1.25 dl heavy cream

1 orange, zest

2 tbsp. orange paste

1 tbs. freeze dried passionfruit (optional)