Fruit & Nut Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches

"No."

That's a word that doesn't exist in my vocabulary when people ask me for favors or if someone's asking me to help. Not that it's voluntary. There are so many times when I've been asked to help with something I have no intention or interest in and I don't know how to say "No". In my mind, I'm flailing my arms in the air and yelling, "no way in hell am I doing that", but in reality, I'm standing there with the biggest encouraging smile on my face eagerly agreeing to help. 

And when I'm faced with the really pushy and persuasive people, even the tiny defense I'm able to muster up gets reduced to the level of crumbs under our table that my puppy destroys in a matter of nano-seconds. 

So, after that, I'm left muttering and grumbling to myself, spending days wanting to hide under my bed just so I don't have to do whatever I've been asked to do. 

Does that ever happen to you?

And then there are times when I willfully undertake something I know I will make a mess of because I don't think things through in my excitement. The party my thoughts are having in my head drown out the voice of reason meekly trying to make some sense. 

Chocolate Mousse with Brandied Cherries

It's Fat Tuesday! Now, I LOVE southern food but, all I'd had running through my mind the last week or so was - Chocolate. I've never really craved chocolate before but, I get these sudden pangs of desire so strong that I have to do something to satiate them.

Growing up, all I'd ever want were strawberries or something pink. Be it an ice cream sundae, cake, jam, just about anything that could have strawberries in it. And as I got into my 20s, that slowly changed and I found love for anything sweet! I'm still not a very big fan of chocolate ice cream and will most probably pick that last if I had a choice of ice creams. Actually, that holds true for just about any dessert, I'd probably pick the chocolate dessert last, unless I was in one of my current chocolate-lovin' moods. 

I know I probably have made a million people go, 'what is wrong with this person?' but, hey, someone's gotta give a lot of love to the other desserts out there, too, right? Well, I think so :)

Last week, though, I had to hunt my chocolate desserts down since nothing else would satisfy. So, I made chocolate mousse. And I wanted something more with that, so I threw in some brandied cherries and nearly died with how rich and decadent that whole thing was. I couldn't get enough! The mousse tastes terrific with fresh strawberries too, because that's how I ate them after the brandied cherries were happily in my tummy. It tasted just like chocolate-covered strawberries. Oh. so. divine!

Chocolate Mousse with Brandied Cherries (adapted from Alton Brown's recipe on Food Network)
Ingredients and instructions:

For the mousse:

• 1 3/4 cups whipping cream
• 6 ounces quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks cut up
• 3 ounces espresso or strong coffee
• 1 tablespoon dark rum
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon flavorless, granulated gelatin

For the cherries:

• 1 tin of dark cherries
• 6 tablespoons of brandy or cognac

Prepare the cherries first. Empty out the cherries alone in a bowl with a couple of teaspoons of the juice as well (you can save the remaining juice for another dish or drink it all up, like I did). 

Add the brandy or cognac and mix well. Make sure all the cherries are immersed in the brandy. Cover and put it away in the fridge to soak while you prepare the mousse.

For the mousse: Chill 1 1/2 cups whipping cream in refrigerator. Chill metal mixing bowl and mixer beaters in freezer.

In top of a double boiler, combine chocolate chips, coffee, rum and butter. Melt over barely simmering water, stirring constantly. Remove from heat while a couple of chunks are still visible. Cool, stirring occasionally to just above body temperature.

Pour remaining 1/4 cup whipping cream into a metal measuring cup and sprinkle in the gelatin. Allow gelatin to "bloom" for 10 minutes. Then carefully heat by swirling the measuring cup over a low gas flame or candle. Do not boil or gelatin will be damaged. Stir mixture into the cooled chocolate and set aside.

In the chilled mixing bowl, beat cream to medium peaks. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whipped cream in two doses. There may be streaks of whipped cream in the chocolate and that is fine. Do not over work the mousse.

When you're ready to serve, spoon a few of the brandied cherries and a little liquid in a bowl or martini glass. Spoon some of the luscious mousse on top and chill for at least 1 hour. 

(If mousses are to be refrigerated overnight, chill for one hour and then cover each with plastic wrap)

Rocky Mountain Brownie Cups with a hint of Kahlua

Oh yes! This is not just a rocky road, but a rocky mountain filled with bounteous chocolatey madness. You'll get a hint of Kahlua but, you won't be thinking of that when you dive into a triple chocolate wave.

I was on a chocolate high after eating one but, I couldn't get enough of it. I gobbled one as soon as it was out of the oven and inhaled another after taking photos. Hey, I can't let the poor brownie I cut into for pictures just rot away, can I?

These tasted even more delicious after a baking disaster. I was down in the dumps after a failed experiment with cupcakes. Cupcakes! I know. Who can go wrong with cupcakes? I was heartbroken that the very love of my life had let me down. Truth is, I was the one that screwed up. I tried playing around with flavors and it bit me in the rear end.

Lessons learned: 1) never EVER make frosting with ricotta cheese (I don't know what possessed me) 2) never try to right the mistake of using ricotta, with your aspirations of mixing unique flavors a la Cupcake Wars and 3) when all else fails, MAKE BROWNIES! What's even better? Make them like cupcakes if you're in love with cupcakes.

Bon Appetit!

Rocky Mountain Brownie Cups (adapted from Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies)
(Note: I made only a quarter of the original quantity in Ina's recipe and got 12 brownie cupcakes - regular sized not the mini ones)

Ingredients and instructions:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 4 ounces plus 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Kahlua
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• A handful of pecans (I went easy on the quantity since I don't like a lot of nuts in my cakes/brownies)

For the topping:

• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup broken pretzel pieces
• 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place cupcake liners in your cupcake pan.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat - mine got a bit fluffy because I mixed mine with an excited hand) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature. 

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Add the Kahlua and mix gently. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into your cupcake moulds.

Bake for 12-15 minutes (bake for 20 minutes if you're using a sheet pan like regular brownies), then rap the cupcake tray against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. You know it's done if a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! 

Once your brownie cupcakes are out of the oven, change the setting to broil, preferably at low. 

Mix together your topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over all the cupcakes. Put it back in the oven for a minute or two till the marshmallows turn light brown. Watch it carefully because the marshmallows burn in a second. Mine nearly did in less than a minute when I set the broiler at high.

Chocolate Peppermint French Macarons

I've been meaning to make these macarons for a while now and was doing my research on the best recipe to follow. Lots of people raved about David Lebovitz and how great his macaron-making skills are. I also gathered how tricky macaron making is and that the glorious 'feet' of the macaron are extremely elusive. It takes a lot of precision technique to get those 'feet'.

For the uninitiated (I certainly was before my adventure), a macaron's 'foot' is the bubbly layer just below the bulbous top. I read many stories of how people had failed batch after batch with flat macarons and I wondered how hard it could be. I learnt my lesson when I got the near-perfect batch only on my third attempt. I still don't think they're perfect because I didn't get a great dome but, I at least got the ever-elusive 'feet'!

I made a few changes to David Lebovitz's recipe because I felt a few things were off (following his recipe to the T made the macarons extremely sweet - that's what I thought even though my tolerance for sweetness is very high), but I got the basics from him.

I also found this amazing tutorial on Youtube by someone called Chefnini, on how to fold the batter which made a world of difference to the success of my third batch.

Hope these help if you decide to try your hand at macarons. And if you're a veteran at them, I hope you think I did them justice. Either way, Bon Appetit!

Chocolate Macarons (adapted from David Lebovitz)

Ingredients and instructions

• 4/5 cup powdered sugar (basically just a little less than a cup)
• 1/2 cup powdered almonds (you can either get store-bought almond powder or make your own powder with blanched, well-dried almonds, which is what I did)
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 325 deg F (160 deg C).

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready. Since I had neither, I used regular aluminum baking sheet to bake and a ziploc bag with the tip cut to pipe the icing. It worked like a charm, no harm done. Sometimes you can't substitute ingredients or equipment but this is tested, so don't sweat it.

Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor. This also smooths down any lumpy almond pieces if any.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer or an electric beater, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, gradually add (extremely important to add gradually because your macaron will go flat if you just dump all the sugar in one go) in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in about 5-6 batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).

Pipe the batter on your prepared baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.

Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons - you can omit this if you want because I didn't really see any visible difference. Let the macarons stand for at least 20-30 minutes so the top of the macarons dry a bit, essential to always get the 'feet' at the bottom. Bake them for 10 minutes, then turn the oven heat down to 300 deg F (or 140 deg C) and continue baking for 3-5 minutes. Let cool completely, then remove from baking sheet.

Peppermint Buttercream Frosting (adapted from ABC's Good Morning America)

Ingredients and instructions

• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), at room temperature
• 1/2 cup peppermint candy (about 7 peppermint sticks), finely crushed
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the peppermint candy, confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon peppermint extract.

Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting lightens and is fluffy, 1 minute more. Blend up to 1 tablespoon milk if the frosting seems to be stiff.

Frost the bottom of a macaron and fuse another to it. Let them sit for a couple of hours so the flavors fuse together. 

Almond Cherry Souffle with Warm Chocolate Sauce

The past couple of weeks have been extremely quiet in Beetle's Kitchen. I've been down with different kinds of the flu, plaguing me one after the other. So, for a little over two weeks, my taste buds abandoned me and even the sight of the kitchen made me want to throw up. It of course goes without saying that I haven't been inspired to try anything new and hence, there hasn't been anything worthy of sharing here. 


But, a couple of days back I was watching an episode of The Next Ironchef - Superchefs and a couple of the chefs made souffles with the ingredients given to them. The guru himself, and my favorite, Jeffrey Zacharian Geoffrey Zakarian (I'm ashamed to have gotten his name wrong earlier :S), blew the judges off their seats with his finesse and perfect technique in the kitchen generally and also his perfect souffle. He'd made a blueberry souffle with a sauce whose name I've forgotten. As with any Food Network cooking show, I thought I'd check the website to see if any of the chefs recipes were online. Believe it or not, every chef, cook, ironchef has recipes on the site except, you guessed it, Jeffrey. His dishes really are his best kept secrets.


I decided to hunt for souffle recipes on other sites and wanted something that would use cherries. I had a bag of them and thought I'd try them in a recipe instead of wolfing them down fresh. That's when I came across this german site with a recipe for Almond Cherry Souffle. Bingo! That was it. I made a couple of changes to the original recipe and the result was delightful! I'd forgotten what a lovely combination cherries and almond essence made. The warm chocolate sauce is absolutely to die for. I licked the leftover chocolate sauce clean.


The only regret I have is not taking any pictures of the souffle fresh from the oven. They had risen like beauties and had fallen by the time I finally got some pictures of them. So please excuse the fallen souffle pictures. They still tasted heavenly! Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:

• Butter for preparing ramekins
• 1 1/2 cups pitted fresh cherries
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 5 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 recipe warm chocolate sauce (recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 6 8-ounce ramekins, place on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Combine cherries, lemon juice and almond extract in a blender and puree until very smooth and almost fluffy. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large, clean, metal bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until very soft peaks form. Continue to beat while slowly adding sugar in a steady stream. Beat until peaks are stiff but not dry. Use a rubber spatula to beat one-third of egg whites into cherry puree. Gently fold puree into remaining egg whites. Divide this mixture among ramekins and smooth the tops. Bake just until well-risen and beginning to brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

Serve the souffles immediately. Top with chocolate sauce, if desired.

Warm Chocolate Sauce:

Heat 2 or 3 inches of water in a small saucepan to a low simmer. Combine 5 ounces coarsely chopped German milk chocolate with 3 tablespoons butter and 1/4 cup heavy cream in a heatproof bowl that fits over saucepan — bowl should not touch water. Stir until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and stir well until smooth; serve immediately. (Sauce may be reheated by setting it over simmering water as in preparation.)

Please excuse the dents on the souffle, made by a clumsy baker :)

Molten Chocolate Cakes

Hola! I have finally finished designing my new blog. Going by how many design changes my other blog, Nuts & Sprinkles, went through in the course of a few months, I'm sure I'll be tweaking and changing things around here as we go.

So, welcome to anyone who's reading this. If you're coming from my other blog, I'm glad that you're here and I hope you'll continue following me here too. If this is the first time you've visited any of my blogs, here's a hearty welcome and I hope you'll stay beyond the first visit so we can swap stories/ideas.

This blog will chronicle my food adventures - the good, the bad and the ugly. Since I had already put up some recipes on my other blog, I moved most of them here so I have a record of all my recipes in one place. Feel free to run through any one of them.

For my first recipe on this blog, I decided to try my hand at molten chocolate cakes from my Betty Crocker book of cupcakes. They turned out quite yummmm! I may have over-baked them a tad because the walls of the cake were a bit thick. I have a feeling the baking tray I placed my cups on may have been the reason. The recipe calls for a cookie sheet with sides but, mine were just the normal cookie sheets. I'll try taking them out a bit early next time. Hope that works. Anyway, for now, I hope you enjoy this recipe. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:

• Unsweetened baking cocoa
• 6 oz semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 whole eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 deg F. Grease bottoms and sides of 6 custard cups with shortening; dust with cocoa. In a saucepan, melt chocolate nad butter over low heat, stirring frequently. Cool slightly.

In large bowl, beat whole eggs and egg yolks with whisk or egg beater until well blended. Beat in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Beat in melted chocolate mixture and flour. Divide batter evenly among custard cups. Place cups on cookie sheets with sides.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until sides are set and centers are still soft (tops will be puffed and cracked).

Let cakes stand in cups 3 minutes. Run small knife or metal spatula along sides of cakes to loosen. Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over each cup; turn plate and cup over. Remove cup.

You can decorate whichever way chocolate cake speaks to you and add your own garnish. I topped my lava cakes with Cool Whip and sliced almonds. Yum!

Chocolate Icebox Pie

(Archived from Nuts & Sprinkles)

I saw this recipe on a lovely food blog I follow, One Perfect Bite, and just had to try it out. I was inviting friends over and was looking for a dessert to make. When I saw this, I knew this was the one. I want to say it was like love at first sight, but that would be too cheesy.

It was extremely easy to make and it has already become quite the hit with the hubbs too. The friends loved it! The only note I would make to myself would be crushing the wafers more fine because now it was nearly like lightly crushed cereal. But, if that's something you like, don't crush your wafers too much. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1-1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs 
• 1/4 cup butter, softened 

For the filling:

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin 
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided 
• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee 
• 1/4 cup water 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided 
• Toasted sliced almonds 

To make crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch pie pan. Combine wafer crumbs and butter in a small bowl. Press onto bottom and up sides of pie plate. Bake until lightly browned, about5 to 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

To make filling: Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small saucepan. Let it stand for 1 minute to soften. Cook and stir over low heat until gelatin is dissolved. Add 1/2 cup sugar, coffee, water and salt. Cook and stir until sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in melted chocolate and vanilla. Transfer to a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Beat 1 cup cream in a small bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold cream into chocolate mixture. Spread evenly into crust. Chill for at least 4 hours to set. Overnight is best.

To prepare topping: When ready to serve, beat remaining 1 cup cream in a small bowl until it begins to thicken. Add 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Pipe or spread over top of pie. Garnish with almonds. Refrigerate leftovers.