Chocolate Meringue truffle cake with liquer 43

Did you know that Nigella Lawson is hosting a cookalong, on her own website. I didn't! Untill i accidentaly found out last week when i saw this Chocolate meringue truffle cake featured on the front page. So i decided to make it immediately.
Nigella says"This is a dinner-party stalwart from a couple of decades back, and I like it no less than I did when I first tasted it, made by my sister Thomasina, about twenty years ago. But I have added something: I make a thin meringue base instead of crumbling biscuits into the tin. This is not hard, not even remotely, and you don't have to worry about anything since you don't want airy puffy meringue, but rather a contrastingly crackling base, with just a hint of chewy marshmallow."

Since i don't like rum i substituted it for liquer 43, thats more my kind of thing. The taste went wonderful with the truffle chocolate cake. But probably you can substitute it for any liquer that you might like(i think coconut or mint infused rums would be great also).
The cake was not difficult to make but the time of baking the meringue bottom is a little short i suppose, because it became wet after putting the filling on it(and it still hass to sit in the fridge overnight). So the taste and surely the crackling base where Nigella talks about was completly gone. Next time i bake this cake i think it would be a great idea to brush the meringue bottom with molten chocolate before putting the filling on it, so it won't go to waste.
But after all this cake was still amazing!

Recipe adapted from here
INGREDIENTS FOR THE BASE:

1 egg white
50g caster sugar
2 teaspoons cocoa
Drop of wine vinegar

FOR THE TRUFFLE FILLING:

400g dark chocolate
60ml liquer 43
60ml golden syrup
500ml double cream 
cocoa to decorate
sugared pecans to decorate

METHOD
Serves: Makes 10-12 slices

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C. Line a 20cm springform tin with baking parchment and oil the sides with some flavourless oil; almond would be good.

Whisk the egg white until foamy peaks form and then whisk in the sugar a little at a time to make a thick, glossy mixture. Sieve over the cocoa and sprinkle with the vinegar, and whisk again to combine everything. Spread as evenly as you can over the bottom of the prepared cake tin and then put in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes. Leave to cool while you make the truffle filling.

Melt the chocolate with the rum and syrup in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and let it sit off the heat for 5 minutes or so.

Whisk the cream until it thickens slightly - it should be slightly aerated and have the consistency of thick pouring custard, no thicker. Pour into the chocolate mixture, beating gently until everything is amalgamated. Pour into the meringue-bottomed tin and cover the springform with clingfilm, and put in the fridge for a night or day, or for up to two days.

A short time before you are ready to serve the cake, take it out of the fridge and let it lose its chill. It will be easier to spring open if the chocolate truffle filling has become less fridge cold, although you don't want soft room temperature chocolate. Spring the cake free, then transfer to a plate without removing the base unless you think you can with ease (and have one of those big round spatulas). Smooth the sides with a spatula if you want a smarter look, and push the cocoa through a sieve to dust the top of the cake.

Cheese-swirled chocolate bundt cake - THB

A new baking challenge with The Home Bakers. Starting today with this delicious cheese-swirled chocolate bundt cake!





About The Home Bakers

We are a group of home bakers who share the same passion in baking and we love collecting cookbooks! Most of us would probably have tried out about 2 or 3 recipes from some of the books that we own and these books somehow got pushed back till later or kinda forgotten, as we collect more cookbooks along the way! So at THB, we will bake from one cookbook only, until every recipe has been baked. This will not only fully utilized your cookbook to the maximum, but it will widen your baking skills, and learn more about baking as we share our experiences together. Come join us as we venture into the exciting world of baking right in our own kitchen haven. The challenge of The Home Bakers is to complete every recipe from one chosen cookbook. This will be an easier challenge if we are baking and sharing our experiences together. There's always something new to learn about baking!

The Chosen Book
We are currently baking from "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas, who has written more than 50 cookbooks. "Coffee Cakes" is a beautiful cookbook with various bakes covering Sunday Brunch Cakes, Everyday Morning Cakes, Savory Picnic Cakes, Bundt Party Cakes and Delectable Dessert Cakes, a total of 60 wonderful recipes. Just by taking a peek at this book, would make you want to bake each and every recipes!

So a few weeks back i stumbled up on this site and as a cookbook addict it seemed nice to join in a club where whe would make every recipe from just one book(and didn't already started baking/cooking). So i ordered the book immediatly. I finally received my copy of coffecakes last week ans started baking last saturday. The recipe for this first time baking together was picked by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours who also is the creative mind behind The Home Bakers.

She chose to make this Cheese-swirled chocolate bundt cake and the recipe can be found at her blog, Right here.

The preparation of the cake wasn't very difficult to me, but i had some questions about how to put in the cheesecake filling? Because in the picture in the book the filling is actually INSIDE the cake and mine isn't(like you can see in my picture). In the recipe it is descriped as "Spoon half of the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan. Carefully spoon the cheesefilling over.Spoon the remaining chocolate mixture over and smooth the top." Naive as i am thinking the cheescake would end up nicely in the middle of the cake! Does anyone of you has any recommendations or tips how to get it in the middle of the cake the next time i would bake this cake?

Also i had to alternate two ingredients; The first one was the canola oil because its not a common product in this little corner of the world i substituded it for the exact amound of sunflower oil. The second where the walnuts i substituded them for pecans just because i had them in my pantry.

The baking time of 1 hour and 15 minutes my cake really needed that time to be ready, but after 45 minutes i coverded the cake pan with thin foil because the bottom was getting a litlle dry. Then when i removed the cak pan after 15 minutes waiting to cool down, i saw that the cheesecake filling didn't and up in the middle of the cake and i was a little bit dissapointed. But when i served this as a dessert that evening for my guests they loved it! and ofcourse i did too. The bottom became a little dry but the rest of the cake tasted even better the next day....

 Next time we will be baking a Apricot-Pistachio-Lemon Coffee Cake, so come bake here to see that on the 24th of April!



Goodbye Tessa! Nutella Hazelnut chocolate balls

This is the week we say goodbye to Tessa Kiros who whe have been cooking with for the past six months over at I Heart Cooking Clubs. I have been enjoying this six months en fell in love with this cook, where again i'd never heard of before. I own copies of her books Twelve and Apples for Jam and i want to buy Food from many greek kitchens, because where fond on the greek food to.

For this last time a made a real treat Nutella hazelnut chocolate balls, its homemade Ferrero rocher but i liked it even better. Next week where start cooking with Rick Bayless, feel free to join in!



Nutella Hazelnut chocolate balls
adapted from Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam

Makes about 30

3 hazelnut wafer biscuits
250g (9oz) Roasted peeled hazelnuts, copped quite finely
about 165g (6½oz) Nutella/chocolate hazelnut spread
250g(9oz) milk chocolate

Crumble the biscuits into a bowl and add the hazelnuts and about two-thirds of the Nutella to start with. Mix together until it all looks a bit like a mud cake. Try rolling a small portion into a ball, if it breaks up, mix in more Nutella until it will hold shape. If the weather is hot, put the mixture into the fridge for a while before rolling.

Line a tray or a large flat plate with foil. Roll slightly heaped teaspoonfuls of mixture between your cool palms into compact little balls. Put them on the tray and into the fridge for an hour orso to firm up.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler, makins sure that the water doesn't touch the top bowl. Remove from the heat and let the chocolate cool for a few minutes. Drop the balls in one by one, turning them around so that they are completely covered. Return them to the tray, where they will flatten a bit on the bottom. Let them set completely, even in the fridge for the first half hour or so if the wheater's hot. Bring them out to room temperature and store in a tin in a cool dark place or the fridge. They will keep for a couple of weeks.

Posting this to:

Chocolate cake with icing

Tessa says,"This is exactly the kind of chocolate cake i loves as a child. Sometimes i make this just chocolate, sometimes halved and filled with not-too-sweet raspberry or strawberry jam or puree and a few dollops of cream(and then i don't ice it). If you like, you might also add some chopped nuts in with the flour or scatter some over the top."


Chocolate cake with icing
Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam(page. 311)

Cuts into 10-12 slices

180g (6½ oz) butter
50g (1¾ oz) Dark semi-sweet chocolate, broken up
30g (1 oz) unsweeted cocoa powder
3 eggs, separated
180g (6½ oz) caster sugar
125g (4½ oz)/1 cup) all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons milk

Icing:
80g (2¾  oz) butter, softened
60g (2¼ oz) confectioners (icing) sugar
30g (1 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk
2 generous teaspoons golden syrup

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/gas 4). Butter and flour a 24cm(9½ inch) springform tin. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then add the chocolate and cocoa and stir until melted. Remove from the heat. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until they are creamy and stiff. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they are foamy, then beat in the sugar. Add the chocolate mixture, a bit at a time initially to acclimatize the eggs. Next, sift in the flour and baking powder and mix well. Add the milk and mix until smooth.
Carefully fold in the beaten whites, trying not to deflate them, and gently mix until they are completely incorporated into a fluffy but dense mixture. Scrape out into the thin and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin before moving to a serving plate.
For the icing, whip the butter with the icing sugar until fluffy. Whisk in the cocoa a bit at a time so that it doesn't fly everywhere. When it is completely incorporated, add the milk and golden syrup and whisk until very smooth. Spread it over the top of the cake with a spatula, using swift smooth strokes. I like it not completely smooth but in chocolate waves.

Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies

This weeks cooking theme at I Heart Cooking Club is Attitude of gratitude. Wich foods are you most grateful for? Since we don't celebrate thanksgiving in Europe(Those who do celebrate, I hope you all had a wonderful time). I cooked something up with chocolate! Because i'm so grateful for every piece of chocolate that i can put in my mouth. I really have to have my "shot" of chocolate well.... almost every day. With christmas coming up i thought this would be a good choice and i'm going to give them away this year as Tessa suggested.


Tessa says, "These I learned from my American friend Sue. When I first made them my children said they were the best ever and I must definitely put the recipe in this book - so here it is. I also love them with dried strawberries instead of cranberries, and sometimes my girls prefer them without the cranberries, just chocolate. I like these small so I make them no bigger than a good teaspoon of dough, but you might like to make them larger. I also like to take them as a gift, packed in a lovely box and tied with a ribbon. Unless you have a huge oven, you will need to bake these in batches so have the two cookie sheets ready."

Chocolate & cranberry cookies

Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam(pg.58)

Makes 30 cookies

5-1/2 tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 cup firmly packed soft brown sugar

1/4 cup superfine sugar

1 egg

a few drops of vanilla extract

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

salt

3/4 cup coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup dried cranberries (dried cherries would also be nice)

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Mash up the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until well mixed, then whisk with an electric beater until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Sift in the flour and baking powder, and add a small pinch of salt. Beat with the wooden spoon to make a soft sandy mixture. Stir in chocolate and cranberries.

Lightly moisten your hands and roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls. Arrange them on the sheets, leaving a fair space between for flattening and spreading. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden and darkening around the edges. Remove from the oven, but leave them on the sheet to cool and firm up. These will keep in a cookie jar for a couple of days.



Cocoa brownies with peanut butter chips

Peanut butter chips are not for sale in the dutch grocery stores, so last year when i bougt some stuff in an american online shop bought this chips two. But they where waiting and waiting to be used in my pantry. But now with our upcoming travel to the states our heads are all about eat, drink, sleep and live the american way! Whe really can't wait to go there again and whe where really craving for brownies, so i found this great recipe to finally use my peanut butter chips. Now i will have to take a lott of them home after our travel, because whe loved this chocolate brownie with the creamy texture of reese's peanut butter chips!

Recipe: as seen here

1 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter(1 stick is 113 grams)
1 1/3 cup of white sugar
3/4 cup Cacao
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour 1 cup of peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees(165 c) and make sure rack is in the lower third of the oven. Coat an 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. In a large heat proof bowl, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt. Set the bowl in a large skillet of water and simmer over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and mixture is hot to the touch. The mixture will look slightly grainy. Remove from heat and cool until warm. Add vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time mixing thoroughly after each one. When the batter looks well blended, smooth and shiny, slowly add the flour and stir until it's combined thoroughly, then stir vigorously for 30 strokes. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Pour into the baking pan and place a few more peanut butter chips on top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely then lift up ends of the parchment paper (if used) and transfer brownies to a cutting board where you cut into bite sized pieces. Enjoy.

Notes: I baked the complete 25 minutes and the toothpick still did'nt came out clean, baked 10minutes (2x 5 minutes)longer then the original recipe called for. The brownies where really wonderfull after that!

Daring cooks november 2010 Rise and shine: Soufflé

Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided two of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.

I've been missing out on the daring cooks for several months now, but when i saw this challenge i was back in immediatly!
Exited bij the challenge as i am, i was already afraight of disapointment. Thats because i have never made souffle's before and i still think its difficult to make them.

The batter is easy and while they where in my oven they did rise but as soon as i took them out the souffle start collapsing...
That was where i was afraight for but they still where delicious, i'm not intimidaded anymore and going to try some again. Thanks for this great challenge!

Ingredients

FOR THE DISHES

2 Tbsp (30 ml) 1 oz (30g) unsalted butter, for greasing
Cocoa powder or finely grated chocolate

FOR THE CREME PATISSERIE

2 tbsp (30 ml) (18 gm) (2/3 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tsp (10 gm) (0.35 oz) caster (superfine) sugar (regular sugar is OK)
½ tsp (4½ gm) (0.15 oz) corn starch (aka cornflour)
1 medium egg yolk
1 medium whole egg
4 Tbsp (60 ml) milk
5 Tbsp (75 ml) heavy cream (or double cream)
3 oz (90gm) good-quality dark chocolate preferably 70+% cocoa solids, broken in pieces
2 Tbsp (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
Optional: 2 tsp orange zest or 2 tsp minced chipotle chile en adobo or 1 tsp chipotle chile powder. (The chile version is a Monkeyshines favorite!) Optional: powdered sugar for dusting

FOR THE EGG WHITES

6 medium egg whites
6½ Tbsp (95 ml) 3 oz (90g) superfine/caster sugar (if you don’t have it, regular sugar is OK)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to moderate 375 ˚F/190 ˚C/gas mark 5.
2. Take four 1 cup/~240ml soufflé dishes and brush them completely with softened butter. Tip a little cocoa powder or grated chocolate into each dish, roll the dish around tilting it as you do so it is evenly lined all round.
3. For the crème patisserie, mix the flour, sugar and corn starch into a small bowl. Put egg yolk and whole egg into a medium sized bowl, beat lightly, then beat in half of the flour mixture to give a smooth paste. Tip in the rest of the flour mixture and cocoa powder and mix well.
4. To make the ganache, pour the milk and cream into a pan and bring just to the boil. Remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and beat until it is melted and smooth with no lumps.
5. Gradually stir hot chocolate ganache into the paste from step 3, and add the orange zest or chile if using. This is your crème patisserie.
6. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks with an electric whisk. Sprinkle in the sugar as you are mixing. Keep whisking to give stiff, firm peaks to give volume to
7. Stir about 2 tbsp (30 ml) of the beaten egg whites into the crème patisserie. Carefully fold in a third of the rest, cutting through the mixture. Fold in another third (take care not to lose the volume), then fold in the rest.
8. Spoon the mixture into the dishes. Run a spoon across the top of each dish so the mixture is completely flat. Take a little time to wipe any splashes off the outside of each dish, or they will burn on while cooking.
9. Bake the soufflés for 15-17 minutes.
10. The soufflés should have risen by about two thirds of their original height and jiggle when moved, but be set on top.

Mascarpone and Dark Chocolate Cream in White Chocolate Cups for IHCC

The first Month of cooking with Giada has gone by, and I really start to like her cooking already. Al that recipe's with creamy Mascarpone are great.
So this weeks theme is Chocolate cravings(women and their chocolate isn't there a better match). I found another recipe with Mascarpone this time with chocolate ofcourse...

Started with making the white chocolate cups, made them a few days in advance because i didn't had a lot of time this week. They where very easy to make but it took some time cause they have to sit in the freezer before you can put on the second layer of chocolate. They turned out very well, only one of the cups broke wile getting of the paper. Made the chocolate filling today and it was delicious(my boyfriend tasted it, and fell in love immediatly, just like me!)

Here is the recipe
(adapted from the foodnetwork.com)
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients
8 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
White chocolate curls, for garnish
Directions
Line 8 muffin cups with paper liners. Melt the white chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Spoon 1 tablespoon melted chocolate into each paper liner. Using a pastry brush, coat the chocolate evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the liners. Freeze until the chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes. Remelt the white chocolate in the bowl. Spoon 1 tablespoon into each cup and brush over the bottom and up the sides, forming a second coat. Freeze until completely set, about 1 hour.

Melt the bittersweet chocolate in top of a clean double boiler over simmering water, stirring until smooth. At this point, set aside to cool completely.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream and sugar in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Set the whipped cream aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the mascarpone cheese, melted bittersweet chocolate, orange peel, and vanilla in a large bowl just until smooth and glossy, about 30 seconds (do not overmix). Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture in 2 batches. Transfer the mousse to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe the mousse into the white chocolate cups. Sprinkle the white chocolate curls over the mousse and serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate overnight, and then let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

Chocolate chip muffins

During one of my holidays in the states i really fell in love with muffins especially chocolate chip, but since in my country muffins where still a rare item(poor me)i couldn't have any off them back at home. Luckily nowadays there are more and more bakerys that sell them. Some of that are quit nice but not as good as in my memories, so i wanted to try to bake them myself. I ran in to another disappointment, no chocolate chips/morsels could be found.

Then finally i found this dutch american webshop, they sold chocolate chips.
So here are my muffins...

Ingredients:
(makes 12 muffins)

2 cups All-purpose flour
1 cup sweet condensed milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup(or bag of 170g)semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

Preheat oven to 190c(375 f). Position rack in center of oven. Butter, or line with paper liners, 12 muffin cups.

Whisk together in a large bowl the milk, eggs ande vanilla extract.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in another large bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips. Fold the wet ingredients and the melted butter, into the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula. Just stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not overmix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. In a small bowl combine the vanilla sugar with the ground cinnamon and then sprinkle a little on each muffin. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18 - 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Daring Bakers May 2010: Piece Montée

When i saw this month's challenge i really was impressed, did they really think we could make something like in the picture(Down here), gladly we didn't had to make such a large french honeymoon cake. Piece Montée(or Croquembouche) is traditonal French dessert made out of cream puffs assembled in a conical shape, and served at weddings or baptisms. I chose to make the vanilla creme patissiere en drip it with chocolate, it was easier then it looked, and the taste was scrumptious! Cat thanks for introducing is to such a great dessert!



The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.

Preparation time: You will want to use your puff pastry batter and chocolate glaze or caramel as soon as it has been prepared and as close to serving time as possible. This is not a dessert that stores well and it may be a bit temperamental in humid areas as the glaze needs to harden to hold the choux together. The crème patissiere can be made a couple of days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.

You will need approximately 10 minutes to prepare the puff pastry, 10 minutes to pipe and about 30 minutes to bake each batch. The crème patissiere should take about 10 minutes to cook and then will need to be cooled for at least 6 hours or overnight. The glazes take about 10 minutes to prepare.

Equipment required:
• several baking sheets
• parchment paper
• a whisk
• a pastry brush (for the egg wash)
• a pastry bag and tip (a plain tip or no tip is best for piping the puff pastry; you can use a plain or star tip to fill the puff pastry with the cream)
• a flat surface such as a baking sheet or cake board/stand on which to assemble your piece montée
• some of the items you may want to use to decorate your piece montée include ribbons, Jordan almonds, fresh flowers, sugar cookie cut-outs, chocolates, etc.

Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Crème Patissiere (Half Batch)
1 cup (225 ml.) whole milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 Tbsp. (100 g.) sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. (30 g.) unsalted butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup of milk. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan; bring to boil; remove from heat.

Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.

Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking.

Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.



Pour cream into a stainless steel/ceramic bowl. Press plastic wrap firmly against the surface. Chill immediately and until ready to use.

For Chocolate Pastry Cream (Half Batch Recipe):
Bring ¼ cup (about 50 cl.) milk to a boil in a small pan; remove from heat and add in 3 ounces (about 80 g.) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, and mix until smooth. Whisk into pastry cream when you add the butter and vanilla.

For Coffee Pastry Cream (Half Batch recipe)
Dissolve 1 ½ teaspoons instant espresso powder in 1 ½ teaspoons boiling water. Whisk into pastry cream with butter and vanilla.

Pate a Choux (Yield: About 28)
¾ cup (175 ml.) water
6 Tbsp. (85 g.) unsalted butter
¼ Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup (125 g.) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

For Egg Wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Preparing batter:
Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.

Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly.
Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny.
As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes.

It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.

Piping:
Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide.

Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.

Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).

Baking:
Bake the choux at 425◦F/220◦C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 350◦F/180◦C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool.



Can be stored in a airtight box overnight.

Filling:
When you are ready to assemble your piece montée, using a plain pastry tip, pierce the bottom of each choux. Fill the choux with pastry cream using either the same tip or a star tip, and place on a paper-lined sheet. Choux can be refrigerated briefly at this point while you make your glaze.

Use one of these to top your choux and assemble your piece montée.

Chocolate Glaze:
8 ounces/200 g. finely chopped chocolate (use the finest quality you can afford as the taste will be quite pronounced; I recommend semi-sweet)

Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler. Stir at regular intervals to avoid burning. Use the best quality chocolate you can afford. Use immediately.

Hard Caramel Glaze:
1 cup (225 g.) sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice

Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan with a metal kitchen spoon stirring until the sugar resembles wet sand. Place on medium heat; heat without stirring until sugar starts to melt around the sides of the pan and the center begins to smoke. Begin to stir sugar. Continue heating, stirring occasionally until the sugar is a clear, amber color. Remove from heat immediately; place bottom of pan in ice water to stop the cooking. Use immediately.

Assembly of your Piece Montée:
You may want to lay out your unfilled, unglazed choux in a practice design to get a feel for how to assemble the final dessert. For example, if making a conical shape, trace a circle (no bigger than 8 inches) on a piece of parchment to use as a pattern. Then take some of the larger choux and assemble them in the circle for the bottom layer. Practice seeing which pieces fit together best.

Once you are ready to assemble your piece montée, dip the top of each choux in your glaze (careful it may be still hot!), and start assembling on your cake board/plate/sheet. Continue dipping and adding choux in levels using the glaze to hold them together as you build up. (You may want to use toothpicks to hold them in place)

Milka triolade cookies (triple chocolate cookies)

Milka is one of my favorite chocolates, I love every kind. But the Triple chocolate bar cant be bought in the netherlands. We discovered it a few years ago on a skiing trip in austria, and favor it ever since. So last January my boyfriend went on a skiing trip to austria again, and surprised me with some bars. Have been waiting to do something with it, except eating, so made some cookies of it today. It was the last bar so have to wait again for more...



Ingredients

200 grams unsalted butter(room temprature)
200 grams dark brown sugar
8 grams vanilla sugar or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 tblspoons cacao
200 grams flour
1 tsp baking powder
200 grams of the chocolate bar



1. Mix the butter with the sugar, vanilla and cacao until creamy. Add the eggs one by one untill the mixture is smooth again. Mix in the flour and baking powder. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and fold it in the batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap en let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. Prehaet the oven at 180c (355F). Line upt two baking thins with silicone sheets or parchment paper

2.Make small balls of the dough at the size of a walnut, place it on the sheet and form it by putting the palm of the hand on top of it. Let there be enough space between the doughballs because they will become runny while heating. Bake them for 15minutes, so they will be a litlle soft in the middle




Serves nice with some hot cocco or a cappucino.