Quick Party Dessert {"Say Cheese to Chocolate"}

“Anything is good if it's made of chocolate.” 

― Jo Brand

 #Quick post- As promised to a reader to give her this recipe ( or rather no recipe just an idea).

If you have a bunch of kids invited in your party then I guess the first thing will strike up in your mind is to make something out of Chocolate. Even I have seen, give the kids anything they dislike - for example some fruits, they will surely gobble it up if you present it with chocolate. Why only the kids, adults turns on to a kid when it comes to Chocolate. Like as Dave Barry said: “Your hand and your mouth agreed many years ago that, as far as chocolate is concerned, there is no need to involve your brain”, no wonder chocolate drifts with the same penchant without considering any age. So today I am sharing a perfect chocolaty dessert which is not only a party winner or perfectly pairs a satisfying meal,, it is made in  no time and needs a very less time for preperation. Lets move on to the recipe:

Ingredients:

{This is time I have not given any measurement, it is too easy to make and needs just the way like. Please check the Notes #2 for more variations.}

Left over Chocolate Ganache (See Note #1)

Cheese-lings (See Note #3)

Grated Chocolate  

Chocolate syrup/sauce  

Method:

1. It is too easy to make. Take some small serving glass/container (Transparent preferable) and assemble all the ingredients in layers, like put a layer of ganache, then a layer of cheese-lings. You can repeat this twice and on the top just drizzle some Chocolate syrup/sauce and some grated chocolate. Your dish is ready.

Notes:

1. You must be knowing how to make Ganache. If not then check Here and Here. I have mentioned left over Ganache as I made out of it. You can always make fresh one. Just make sure to give it a rest for a couple of hours in the refrigerator before serving it.

2. It can be made under many more variations. 

i] You can use dry fruits or chopped fresh fruits. 

ii] To make it a little boozy, soak some dry fruits in rum overnight and then strain the fruits and add in it. 

iii] Some chunks of chocolate biscuit or Oreo pairs well too. 

iv] You can add layer of Ice cream, fresh fruits and some nuts and top with ganache and chocolate syrup with some choco chips.

There are so many options to make it drool-worthy, just go wild with your creativity and imagination.

3.  If you are giving a layer of cheese- lings, then make sure to arrange it just before serving. Otherwise the cheese-lings will become soggy and the ganache will toss off totally the crispy and crunchiness of the cheese-lings.

Christmas delicacy: Chocolate Bavarian cast Blueberry topped Cheese Cake

I am totally slogging with my blogging career. Career Passion I must say that once used give me the solace in life. I am not getting my mojo back to sit and go through this thoughtful  process where I can pour down my heart out and share the experiences of my life with my readers. It is very hard to get back in  a creative world after a long  gap or break. Everyday I try to take out some time out for my blog, but the hectic schedule of life  makes my brain and mind totally idle to run the intellectual  thought process to work. Anyways after a long time I came for a vacation to a serene place where the chilling  winter  season is kissing the nature all around me. I am sitting under the warm sunlight and roasting my body to get all the warmth to make the chilling cold sooth out the limbs. Lovely colourful vibrant flowers are full bloomed all around me and singing a song of romance that I missed for so many years. The romance with nature that was once my young hood fascination and puff, without whom I used to see my future totally doomed and dead. But life keeps on moving and I am still alive and quite happy with the city life, may be because I hardly get time to think about myself, some time out from the hectic lifestyle. 

Anyways let us not spoil this festive season mood with this mundane talks. Let us cheer to welcome Santa, wish all Merry Christmas and a prosperous Happy New year. At the same time I am also celebrating my 200th posts. And what is the better way to welcome it with some delicious and scrumptious heavenly delicacy!! Enjoy  the  Chocolate Bavarian cast Blueberry topped Cheese Cake which is no doubt  going to be a winner above all dishes.

Ingrdients

Cheese Cake

Cream Cheese: 1 packet (I used Philadelphia -room temperature )

Egg: 2 (room temperature )

Powdered Sugar: 1 cup

Vanilla Essence: 1 tsp

Oreo Biscuit:  Crushed 1 cup

Butter: 1tbsp (Melted)

Blue Berry preserve: 1 cup

Bavarian Cream:

Milk- 1/4 cup

Chocolate: 1 cup

Heavy Cream: 1 cup (Amul cream will also do the tetra pack one)

Gelatin: 1tbsp

Egg yolk- 2

Bottom loose Cake tins/ Spring foam pans:

5" - 1

6" - 1

 Method:

 1. Beat the cream cheese until its soft. Add sugar beat nicely.

2. Add the egg one at time. Blend nicely. Add Vanilla essence.
3. Pre heat the oven at 160 degree Celsius.
4. Mix the oreo and butter nicely and then line on the 5" loose bottomed cake tin. Bake for 3-4 minutes.
5. Pour the mixture in the oreo crust and bake for 30-40 mnts at 150 degree C or till a tooth pick pricked in the cake comes out clean.
6. Take it out and leave it to cool down.
7. Pour the Blue Berry preserve on the top. Put in the refrigerator for at list 1-2 hours.
8. Slowly take the cake out from the cake tin and  put it very carefully in the 6 " pan.

Chocolate Bavarian Cream:

1. Add gelatin to the milk and set aside.
2. Heat the cream and melt the chocolate in it. Remove from the heat and whisk the egg yolks in it until it blends in a smooth texture. Put it again on heat and keep on whisking continuously so that the egg should not curdled up or leaves any lumps. Cook it for 3-4 mnts then remove from the heat.
3. Add the gelatin in the mixture whisk it and then pour it on the top of the cheese cake.  Refrigerate overnight for better result. Then cut and serve and enjoy the festive season.

Wish you all Merry Christmas and a prosperous Happy New year...

This is off to the KFB Christmas Spl Event:

Chocolate Mousse in Chocolate Shell

I am falling in love with my late night chocolate cravings. Because of this craving I always come up with something creative that I have never made in my life. Ah not talking about the mousse, that I have made several times but a couple of days before what I made, I am talking about that - the Chocolate Mousse in Chocolate Shell. If someone says Chocolate making is one of the easiest jobs, I might partially support it. But when it comes to perfection and texture it is one of the toughest job I must say. And look matters a lot, as that gives us the first impression and then of course the taste. My mousse recipe differs from the other mousse recipes. I am always a lazy person mainly when it comes to cooking. My target always is to spend the less time in the kitchen. So this recipe is always one of the shortcut versions to get your mousse ready without wasting much time….:P OK!!! Lets move to the recipe then….

Ingredients:
(Yeilds 3 ramekins size)

For the shell-

Dark chocolate - 3/4 cup ( Grated, more or less)

White Chocolate- 1/4 cup

For  the Mousse-

Amul cream- 200 gm (Tetra Pack)

Eggs - 2

Milk Chocolate - 1 cup (Grated)

Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tspn (Sweet orange also works great)

Powdered Sugar - Optional

Method:

Make the Shells:

1. Take three dome shaped small bowl, smaller than a soup bowl, same like a dessert bowl.
2. Melt the white chocolate and pour it in a piping bag. Made some designs as per your choice. Put it in the freezer for few minutes.
3. Melt the Dark chocolate. Divide it in to three portion. Cool it down a bit. Then take one bowl pour the chocolate in the bowl and immediately with circular motion spread the chocolate all over the body of the bowl. It will tend to get hard immediately as the bowl will be cold. You can use your fingers too to spread the chocolate. Use the same procedure for the other two too. Chill it until the Mousse gets ready.

Make the Mousse:

1. Take a double boiler. Take the container in which you will make the mousse.
2. Add the eggs one by one and then beat it nice and fluffy. I used a normal hand beater. Add the cream then.
3. Melt the Chocolate in a separated container.
4. Heat the egg and cream mixture on a double boiler and continuously keep on stirring. When the cream will get hot add the melted chocolate. Never stop stirring, otherwise the eggs will form  lumpy in any time.
5. Add the essence and cook until the mixture gets thicken.
6. Take it off the heat and cool it.
7. Now take out the bowls from the fridge on which you have moulded the shell. Before demoulding put them in the freezer for a couple of minutes. Then with a very slow tap demould them. And again put them in the bowl.
8. Pour the mousse on each shell/bowl. Chilll and then before serving demould them (Place the serving dish on the top then flip it) and serve them with a fruit top or some chocolate sauce. For best result, chill it over night to set.

Note:

1. This mousse will taste like more dense and creamy. If you want the airy and fluffy taste then please add whipped cream with it.
2. Mousse in mainly gets folded with the whipped cream and egg white. But I am a bit skeptical in using raw eggs. So I make it in this way.
3. I didn't use any sugar here. As my family's taste bud is towards the lesser sweeter side. So one can  always add sugar to adjust the sweetness.

Dulce De Leche & Dulce De Leche Brownie with Amrita Gill

A Building may not be formed if you don't have the strong pillars to withstand the roof. Amrita Gill is one of such strong pillars of our Kolkata Food Bloggers group on whom you can blindly trust and give responsibilities. I may have created the group. But without the members of Kolkata Food Bloggers there would be no existence of the group. And every week through this ongoing event "Know your Kolkata Food Blogger Friend", we will keep on introducing each member of Kolkata Food Bloggers group. First let me tell you it is Amrita's idea and concept only to start this event. She is too energetic, vibrant and always ready with lot of innovative and creative ideas just like she posts her awesome recipes on her blog Sweet 'n' Savoury. Oh, make me correct, its not solely her blog. It is their blog. The sweetest couple- Amrita and Vishal of our group, who complement each other at every phase of life, have given the birth of this blog. Apart from having the cutest little 2 years old little princess they are very fondly bonded with the blog too. Amrita who is mainly head over heel in love with baking, proudly takes

care of the Sweet part, on the other hand Vishal, who is the lover of seafood, minds the Savoury part. Amrita has made baking so easy for us with are awesome recipes and within a very small phase she proved herself one of the competent Daring bakers too. The best part of her recipes is, the measurements always lead you to make a dish in very small amount. So after making a dish from her blog you will never feel guilty of gulping up the walloping portions for three /four days. The couple, with the sweetest smiles, is totally devoted to the foodie world and passionately enjoy the group of like minded people too. By profession a physiotherapist, Amrita has chosen to stay at home for the time being to take care of her little princess. She is not a good friend of mine but a very matured and honest lady who has the courage to fight for the truth and a treasure of the Kolkata Food Bloggers group. Intelligent and lovely here I have presented Amrita and now would like to share her two dishes Dulce De Leche & Dulce De Leche Brownie (Click to see her recipe)that my family and I literally enjoyed which I made after her given recipes.

Dulche de Leche 

 (Amrita has adapted the recipe from David Lebovitz)

Ingredients : 

 Condensed milk ( Milkmaid)- 1 can (Amrita has used 1/2 can)

Method:

1. I made it in OTG. So I pre-heated the oven for 10 mnts at 220 degree C.

2. Pour condensed milk in an ovenproof glass dish. Make sure it should stardy enough stand the heat for apprx 2hrs.

3. Place this within a baking tray add hot water till it reaches halfway up the sides of the glass dish. Cover the glass dish with an aluminium foil

4. Put it in the oven very carefully so that you should not spill water in side the oven. Bake for 2 hours. (See Note)

5. Keep on checking the water level in between and keep adding hot water as per requirement. Make sure the glass tray should always been half covered in water.

6. Check the condensed milk if it has become thick and changed the colour to brownish.

7. Remove from the oven and let it cool.

8. Once cooled down, store it in an air tight container and refrigerate. It can stay for  2/3 weeks .

NOTE:

1. If you are making the Dulce de Leche out of 1 can it will take more than 2hrs. Make sure don't bake at a stretch in your oven for this long 2hrs. At every hour give the oven break for 8-10mnts. 

2. I highly suggest to start with a small quantity as Amrita did.

3. There is a pressure cooker version too. You may check for the recipe HERE.

(Amrita has adapted from David Lebovitz. She halved the original recipe and reduced the quantity of butter, chocolate and eggs. And I followed exactly hers)

Ingredients :

                            Unsalted Butter - 50 gm (I used Amul Butter)

      Dark chocolate (chopped )- 50 gm

Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp

 Egg - 1

Icing Sugar - 1/2 cup

Flour - 1/2 cup

Dulche de leche, - ¼ cup (room temperature)

Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp

Milk – 1-2 tbspn (Optional- See Note)

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 170 degree C for 10 mnts. (I baked in OTG)

2. Grease a loaf pan (I used 6X3). 

3, Melt butter in a pan or microwave not more than  15 secs. If it is already in the room temperature then just melt it in to liquid but don't heat it much.(apprx for 5-7 secs)

4. Add the chopped chocolate pieces and stir well till all the pieces have melted. (If the chocolate are not melted then you can melt them in a double boiler or in micro-oven just more few second. Don't over heat).

5. Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.

6. Add egg and stir in the sugar, vanilla and the flour. (When you add the egg be sure that the chocolate mixture is not hot. If it is hot then just keep the container on a water filled tray for few mnts to cool it down.)

7. Mix well so that all the ingredients get incorporated well. If you feel that the batter has become too sticky and thick then add milk. Otherwise don't use the milk.

8. Pour half the batter in the prepared tin. 

9. Take a spoonful of Dulche De Leche  and pour like drops all over the batter.

10. Take a knife and slowly just by inserting a bit in the Dulce De Leche drop move in a swirl to give the latte art effect.

11. Spread the remaining brownie batter over.

12. Drop the remaining Dulche De Leche and use a knife to swirl it in the same manner you did for the first layer.

13. Bake for 20-25 mints or till the center feels just slightly firm. 

14. Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Slice, serve and enjoy.

Note:

1. The use of Milk is optional. But I will suggest to give it handy as if the batter by any chance gets too thick you can use it.

2. When you are baking this brownie pls keep on checking in between. Over baking may turn the brownie too hard.

Last time I am the one who got featured in the "Know your Kolkata Bloggers Friend". I am so glad to see the bunch of posts gloried by trying one of my recipes and writing about me such sweet words. If you you want to see what recipes my friends has tried and written about me then pls visit the following links:

Archita

Amrita

Poorna

Indrani

Jayati

Antara

Sarani

Sanoli

Sayantani

Cherry Apricot Choco Ice Cream Fudge

Everyday we face so many types of incidents and many keep a deep insight in our heart. We share and we start to value on it with a hope may be a little effort can help to change the world. Today I would like to share one incident that I had already shared in my Facebook status. Those who are connected with me had already read this. Now I would liked to share with my readers who have not read it yet…

The other day  on the way to my daughter's school, my driver drew my attention to a biker who was carrying his son of 5-6 yrs old on his back sit. The boy was peacefully sleeping, resting his head on his Father's (guessed) back without holding anything or he was tied up to anything. Just at the glance my heart jumped with some uncanny fear and I told my driver to slow down the car by the biker. I shouted to the man informing that his son was sleeping. The man patted his son with one hand and asked:

"Ki re ghumochhish??? (Are you sleeping??)"

And without stopping he sped away to his destination. After that I didn't know why my heart kept on pounding and all those unwanted fears started to rule over my mind. 

I was really trying to console my mind that everything was fine or would be fine. But could not stop blaming the man, who himself was wearing a helmet but carrying his son without any safety belts, helmets or any kind of protection. Every day we read so many tragic incidents about the bikers till why not people get aware of this???? And we keep on blaming others.

Blaming other is easy, but once you blame yourself life will become easier for you and easier for others too.....

Now let me come to my today's preparation. I bought fruit again with a mind set of using them in my baking or in the desserts. After the huge success of Cherry Dark Egg Less Cake  my confidence level increased another level and this time I bought a pack of Apricot. Honestly speaking I have only tasted this fruit in chocolates. Never in my dreams I have thought of bringing them home and eat or use in some dish. But now I want more fruit in my kitchen either for baking or preparing desserts or something less.  Dry Apricot is very famous and hugely found in India. But the raw fruit I found first time in Kolkata. May be it had missed my eyes as I was a rare visitor of the fruit section where now I love to spend more time exploring the range of fruits available in the market. To read more about Apricot you can visit HERE. Apricot is a very nutritious fruit which helps to protect the heart and eyes, as well as provide the disease-fighting effects of fiber. It also helps to prevent constipation and digestive conditions.

The Apricots I bought, were very tart. I decided to first use them raw rather than baking them.  So the other day I made this divine dessert which melts in mouth and leaves a tart sweetness of the Apricot, Cherry, Chocolate and the Ice Cream. In every bite you will have the tart bite amalgamated with the sweetness.  Now let us have a look to the recipe.

Ingredients:

A Rectangle loaf pan (Size: 6" X 3")

For the Chocolate Layer:

Chocolate- 3/4 cup (Grated)

Whole fat Cream- 1/2 cup (or you can use 3 scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream)

Cherry- 8-10 seeded and sliced

For the Ice Cream layer:

Vanilla Ice Cream-3 scoops

Apricot- 2 seeded and sliced

Method:

1. Put the chocolate in a dry microwave safe bowl. Microwave it for 10secs. Then stir. If the chocolate is not melted then again microwave for 5secs. Microwave and stir alternatively till the chocolate is melted.
2. Add the Ice Cream in it, Mix them nicely and melt for 10 secs more. Make sure the Ice Cream and the Chocolate should blend together nicely.
3. Add the sliced cherries, mix with it and make two separate portions and reserve.
4. Take the 3 scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream. Microwave it for 10secs. Add the Apricots. Mix well.
5. Now take a rectangle loaf pan (Size: 6" X 3"). Take aluminum foil and line in the pan very cautiously and slowly so that there should not me much folds or wrinkles in the foil. The best way is first make the pan upside down then cover the foil and take the impression of the pan. The foil it self will look like the same shape of the pan. Then take the pan and fit the foil in it.
6. Now take the first half of the Chocolate and layer it evenly. Freeze it for 30 mnts.
7. Then pour the Ice Cream layer on the first layer. Freeze it for an hour.
8. Then again take out the pan and pour the remaining chocolate layer on the second layer.
9. Freeze over night and then enjoy the Apricot Cherry Choco Ice Cream Fudge in slices.

Note:

If the weather is too hot then keep the remaining portions  (Which you will use later) of the chocolate and Ice Cream in the refrigerator. Just take them out 10-15 mnts before you will do the next layer.

Cherry Dark Chocolate Egg less Cake

“Your hand and your mouth agreed many years ago that, as far as chocolate is concerned, there is no need to involve your brain.” 
― Dave Barry

Every day I used to stare at the fresh fruit cakes made by my fellow food bloggers, drooled over those and bookmarked the recipes. But I have never gathered that much courage to bake one in fear to discard them. Using fresh fruits in baking was a very rare entry in my kitchen and a challenging job for me too. And I was also not that much confident to make some with a scary heart if I had to trash it as none of the family members ever had shown any decent interest in it. Whenever I asked my Man or my daughter if they would like to have some delicious desserts with fresh fruits they totally hooted out. But that didn't put me down. My utmost passion to experiment the fresh fruits in cooking made me to try secretly a Mango Pie. When I served them, with raising eye brows and faces with disapproval, they tasted it. No need to say they did like the Mango Pie.  I got little bit enthusiastic to use more fresh fruits in my cooking. Then I made Mango Yoghurt/ Aam Doi and Apple Yoghurt. To my surprise this time also they devoured it without any protest. More confident I am now getting more prone towards using fresh fruits in my baking.  Please don't laugh at me, once I prepared Apple Chicken too just to feed my daughter apple who was then a rigid apple hater. 

I have a very bad addiction of getting the impulse of craving for chocolates or chocolate cakes in the wrong hours. This is the reason that whenever I am in my parents’ house, my dad buys creamy chocolate cakes and stores them in the fridge. I often get caught red handed stealing cakes and guttling it surrendering completely to the pleasure of the chocolaty world in the middle of the night sitting on the kitchen platform swinging happily my legs. This time also when my Cherry Dark Chocolate Egg Less Cake was born, I was in intense labour in craving for some chocolate cake. And I got totally relieved and satiated after smacking my creation. Cherry these time was my saviour, who paired heavenly with my creamy icing chocolate cake and gave me the divine satisfaction and the taste that was still osculating my lips, my heart. Now I am off to the recipe:

Ingredients:

Cake pan I used: 5" round

For the Cake:

Flour: 3/4 cup

Baking Soda: less than 1/2 Tspn

Baking Powder: 1 Tspn

Cocoa Powder- 2 Tbspns heaped

Fresh Cherry- 8-10 seeded and cut in halves. (You can use less or more)

Condense Milk: 1/2 tin (room temperature)

Butter- 2 Tbspns heaped (room temperature)

Soda Water - 1/4 cup or less  (room temperature)

For the Icing-

Amul cream- 1 pack (200 gms)

Garted dark Chocolate: 1  & 1/2 cups

For the decoration:

Cherries: As much you need.

Method:

Prepare the Icing first:

1. Warm the cream in a double boiler and melt the chocolate in it. Mix well.
2. After it cools down refrigerate for and hour.

Prepare the cake:

1. Shift all the dry ingredients 3-4 times (Flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder).
2. Mix the condense milk and the butter nicely.
3. Pre heat the oven to 200 C degree.
4. Add the Flour , 3/4 of the 1/4 cup soda water and the cherries to the butter mixture and fold all together nicely.
5. The mixture will be little bit flowing when you drop the mixture from the spatula or spoon. If you need to add the remaining milk then mix it.
6. Grease a pan and dust with flour.
7. Put the cake mixture and bake for 25-30 mnts at 170 C degree. Check pricking a tooth pick coming out clean. It needed bake for 5mnts more.
8. Take it out of the oven and let it completely cool.
9. Teke out the cake form the pan slowly. Now cut the cake to get three layers. Evenly spread the icing in each layer and keep on stacking.
10. You can cover the whole cake nicely with the remaining icing and make simple designs. Or do the rosettes I have done here. Decorate with the cherries and refrigerate for an hour or so to set the cake and enjoy. 

 Note:

1. To know how to make Rosettes Priya of Cook like Priya has shared us her very useful post Here  and for a youtube video visit Here.

2. The cake will stay for 3-4 days in the fridge. 

3. If you want to add eggs then you can add 2 eggs and increase the butter to 200gm.

Chocolate Yoghurt

Its lil K's demand that I have to bake something special for her every day. After a tough bargaining it came down to once a week. My relieved soul did two summersaults secretly, controlling utmost the jovial reaction hidden from the lil one's eyes. So here begins a baker’s journey with the Baking Project of 48 weeks (thank God, 4 weeks have already been passed).

 The first week’s baking project is the most easiest and delicious one that the joint effort bring forth. Lil K is very much fond of yoghurt. And when the fusion is with chocolate then no one is going to say NO. I was in a bit doubt how it will taste like. Because whenever I have tasted the Chocolate Yoghurt here in the normal sweet shops it does not melt my heart at all. Therefore the entire recipe just came up quite challenging for me. But I am not lying a bit, it tasted awesome. The heavenly taste enriched more on next day after overnight refrigeration. The gooey tangy chocolaty taste cannot be explained in words unless and until you taste it by yourself. Do make it at your home and let me know how you liked it. The recipe goes here: 

Ingredients:

Dark Chocolate (grated)- 1 cup

Thick curd - 1 cup (I used Amul's Masti doi)

Condensed Milk - 1 tin (400g pack)

Chocolate rice - for garnishing (Optional)

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven in to 140 degree C.

2. Beat the curd in a smooth paste so that no lump can be seen.

3. Add  the condensed milk and blend together nicely.

4. Melt the chocolate and add with curd mixture. (Note: Before you add chocolate warm the curd mixture in the Micro oven for a minute. Otherwise the chocolate will get lumped immediately ). Beat altogether nicely till it gets a smooth texture.

5. Take ramekins or an oven proof bowl. Pour the mixture in it and bake it for 15 -25mnts.  Pls keep on checking pricking a toothpick until it comes out smooth.

6. Take out from the oven and cool it. Then refrigerate for an hour and serve with garnished Chocolate rice.