Chocolate Almond Tart

I was trying to make a cake and while the cake was baking, I made the frosting. Unfortunately, the cake did not cook and so I had the frosting stored away in a box. I had to do something with it. I then tried to make cookies and that sparked this idea.

For tart filling :

1. 2 ounces cooking chocolate
2. 2 tablespoon rum
3. 5 to 6 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the tart (adapted from here): 

1. 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2. 1/8 cup sugar
3. 3/4 tablespoon brown sugar
4. 1/8 teaspoon salt
5. 1/8 tsp baking powder
6. 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
7. 1/8 tsp instant coffee powder
8. 1/8 cup maid
9. 1/4 cup cocoa powder
10. 1 egg yolk

Topping :

1. Chopped toasted almonds
2. Whole almonds - about 20

How to make it :

Tart filling : 

1. On 50% micro power, melt the chocolate minute by minute, mixing in between. Don't do it on high and ensure that the bowl is completely void of any water droplet or else the chocolate could seize.
2. Add in the butter and rum. Mix to form smooth mixture.

Tart :

1. Preheat oven at 200 degree C.
2. Mix together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, instant coffee powder and vanilla extract until well combined.
3. Mix in the egg yolk and beat well.
4. Add the flour and cocoa all at once. Mix well. A beater will be very helpful here to get the mixture evenly distributed.
5. Combine to form a smooth dough. 
6. Roll out the dough to a round shape bigger than the size of the tart pan.
7. Carefully place this over the tart pan. Push into the corners. Cut out extras. Using the rolling pin is helpful in getting the rolled out dough into the tart pan. Roll the dough over the rolling pin and then unroll over the tart pan.
8. Since there is not much baking powder, we can bake without the weight on the top.
9. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
10. Once out and cooled. Pour in tart filling.
11. Garnish with almonds. Serve chilled.

This reminded me of the chocolate rum balls that we used to get at Sugar Daddy in Ooty.

2

Eggless Chocolate Banana cup cakes with Pomegranate

I got home today, thinking about the enthusiasm of my friends who travel with me to work. They have immense energy and always manage to try something new after work. And I went, why could I not show more zeal. They were planning to make cup cakes and I said, why should I not do so too. So, I quickly found this recipe to use up the pomegranates that we'd bought during our grocery shopping and decided that it was what I was going to make. I made an eggless version using banana puree instead of the egg and I quartered all the ingredients as I did not want to make 24!!! I also had half a coconut with which I thought I would make bounty bars - this again inspired by the same friends. Posting that recipe soon.

Ingredients (for 6 cupcakes) : 

1. 1/4 + 1/8 cup flour
2. 1/4 cup cocoa powder
3. 1/8 tsp vanilla powder or essence
4. 1/8 tsp baking soda
5. 1/4 + 1/8 tsp baking powder
6. 1/8 tsp salt
7. 1/4 cup sugar
8. 1/4 cup milk
9. 1/8 cup oil
10. 1 medium banana - ripe
11. 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
12. 1/8 cup boiling hot water

How I made it :

1. Preheat oven to 190 degree C.
2. Blend the banana, milk and oil in a mixie jar and keep aside.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.
4. Add the salt and vanilla essence to the flour.
5. Add the sugar followed by the blended mixture of step 1.
6. Add boiling water. Mix well into smooth mixture.
7. Throw in the pomegranate seeds.
8. Line muffin tins with liners.
9. Pour in mixture upto 3/4th level
10. Bake at 190 degree C for 25 minutes.

These were amazing. The flavour of chocolate and banana with the bite of pomegranate here and there. Loved them and they were gone in hours.

0

Poached Pears with Walnut Chocolate Fudge and Creme Anglais

Yes Yes.. this is made multiple times on MasterChef. So basically my inspiration is from there. I did get firm pears while shopping for veggies this morning and after visiting http://thebarefootkitchenwitch.typepad.com/the_barefoot_kitchen_witc/2008/02/valentines-d-12.html and http://www.tarteletteblog.com/2010/10/recipe-gluten-free-spiced-poached-pears.html here's my version of the same.

Ingredients :
For Poached Pears:
4 pears - ensure that they are firm
Leftover kitsch from the canned peaches - you could just use water
Water to cover the pears completely
1 cinnamon bark
4 cloves
1 tbsp lemon juice
A handful of raisins

For chocolate walnut fudge (Adapted by recipe from Nestle Milkmaid):
1/2 tin milkmaid - I made an apple upside down cake with the other half
10g of chocolate - I used a piece of homemade ooty chocolate
1tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp cocoa powder
Chopped walnuts

For Creme Anglais (I look at this as a replacement to custard made from store brought powder):
2 egg yolks
1tbsp sugar
100ml milk
100ml fresh cream
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

How I made it :
Poached Pears 
1. Remove the peel of the pears. Place them in a tall pan. Cover with kitsch and water.
2, Add the cinnamon, cloves and lemon juice.
3. Bring to a boil and let it simmer away for about 30 minutes or so until the pears are cooked through. Poke with a toothpick to test. Always ensure that the pears are immersed in the water. You could keep turning them from time to time to ensure proper cooking on all sides.
4. When done remove the pears, drop in the raisins into the water/kitsch mixture and let the mixture continue to boil and reduce. Don't let it burn away. Do keep an eye on it.

Chocolate Walnut Fudge sauce :
4. Melt the butter and chocolate.
5. Add the cocoa powder. Cook for a minute or so.
6. Add the milkmaid and keep stirring till it thickens.Add the walnuts. Cool.


Creme Anglais :
7. Beat sugar and egg yolks till fluffy.
8. Warm milk and fresh cream along with vanilla essence till it is just up to come to a boil. Take off heat.
9. When the milk cream mixture is lukewarm, add it bit by bit ( mind you bit by bit) to the egg yolk mixture. Mixing continuously to avoid any lumps and curdling of eggs.
10. Put it back on stove on low heat. Continuously stir vigorously. Be very cautious at this step as the mixture could curdle with the cooking of the eggs. The very sign of a curdle, take off heat and place in an ice bowl. Blend it when cool and pass through strainer.It usually takes about 2 minutes or so for this to turn into custard - coats the back of the spoon and does not slide of completely.
Mine did begin to curdle but I had the ice bath ready.

Assembly:
Place the pear in a plate. Drizzle the walnut chocolate fudge sauce. You could thin it out by adding some warm milk. Ladle the creme anglais on the sides of the plate and then spoon some of the raisins along with the syrup too.
This tastes good chilled as well as warm.
We had it when it was warm. We've got more to have them when chilled. What I really liked was that this dessert is very light and not too sweet as with Indian desserts.

1