Chocolate decadence - Valentine's Day

I’ve never really been the hearts and flowers type, and I'm not all that into Valentine's Day [due mainly to that ghastly boyfriend who dumped me on 13 February many years ago, but then expected to get back together on the 15th! Um, NO!] 

However, I do love the occasional excuse to have a decadent dessert - and what better excuse than Valentine’s Day. 

This is really easy to make and the cake part of the recipe can be made a few days - or even weeks - earlier and kept in the fridge or freezer. I actually think it tastes even better 2-3 days after it’s been made. The best bit about the cake is it’s versatility - it’s perfect for morning tea, a quick after-school treat, or as a dessert for a dinner party. Oh, and it’s also gluten free.

And if it looks familiar, it's virtually the same recipe as the one for my gluten free chocolate cherry cake [nothing like recycling!], but tarted up for Valentines Day. If you're into that sort of thing.

What you need:
250g dark chocolate,broken into pieces (I prefer dark chocolate that has 70% cocoa solids)
250g almond meal
200g caster sugar
150g butter, softened
6 eggs (ideally 59g - if they are smaller use 7 eggs)
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp boiling water
Cream to serve
Raspberries (fresh or frozen) to serve
Icing sugar* (to serve)

What you do:

1. Turn the oven on to 180c.
2. Line the baking tray with baking paper
3. Place the chocolate pieces in the food processor and whizz until they resemble big crumbs of chocolate (if you don’t have a food processor, place the chocolate in a freezer or zip lock bag and seal, place the bag between 2 tea-towels and bash with a rolling pin or a meat mallet until its crushed). Set aside.
4. Place the sugar, butter, eggs, cocoa and baking powder into the mixing bowl and mix with the electric beaters or a wooden spoon until smooth. Mix in the coffee mixture.
5. Add the chocolate and almond meal and mix well - it might be easier to mix this with the wooden spoon.
6. Pour the cake mix into the baking tray, smooth it over with a knife.
7. Bake on the middle tray of the oven for 30-45 minutes (check it at 30 minutes - you want the centre to be soft to touch but not too gooey).

Leave to cool in the baking tray for 15 minutes then move it to cook on the wire rack.

To assemble dessert
Once the cake is cool, remove it from the wire rack and place it on a flat surface. Cut out heart shaped pieces with the cookie cutter and carefully transfer 1 heart to each plate. You should get 6 hearts out of a cake this size. 

This cake is best served at room temperature or slightly warmed. Serve with raspberries and cream. Dust with icing sugar.

WARNING! This cake is very rich and is easily enough to share. It IS Valentine’s Day after all!
* if you are serving this to someone who requires gluten free, make sure you get pure icing sugar, NOT icing mixture

What to do with leftover cake
All those leftover bits of cake (around the heart cut-outs) are great for dessert or snacks. Serve warmed with ice-cream or cream or thick yogurt. Or just eat them on their own! The cake should keep for 3 months in an airtight container in the freezer or a week in the fridge.

In my thermomix: gluten free chocolate cherry cake

Those who know me well know that I often rave about my thermomix. It was a 40th birthday pressie fairly recently (well, maybe not that recently...) and while I don't use it as much as many owners, I can't imagine my kitchen without it. 

My favourite recipe in the basic cookbook that comes with it is easily the Torta Caprese or flourless almond cake. I've made it countless times and it has always been a huge hit. Most people are shocked when they realise it's gluten free as it is ridiculously moist and bursting with flavour. It's also incredibly simple, quick to prepare, and could easily be made by those of you unfortunate enough not to have a thermi. I've made it as is in the book, as well as adding orange zest, various liquors, and extra whole almonds to give it a different texture. 

I mixed it up again when I made it on the weekend as I was very kindly given a massive box of beautiful cherries by Cherry Growers Australia and Brisbane Produce Markets. I am a bit surprised that I had some left for baking, as cherries are amongst my favourite fruits, but even I can't eat 2kg of them on my own. Although I tried hard!

What you need

250g dark chocolate, chopped (I always use a good quality 70% chocolate)

250g almonds

200g sugar (I use raw and blitz it a bit, but you could use castor too)

150g butter at room temperature

6 eggs (59g)

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp cocoa

300g cherries, pitted and cut in half (this allows for a few to be eaten) 

What you do 

• Preheat oven to 180c
• Grease a 20-22cm tin and line with baking paper
• Pop the chocolate into the thermi bowl and chop for 5-10 seconds on speed 8. Set aside in a separate bowl
• Put the almonds into the thermi bowl and chop for about 10 seconds on speed 6. Add to the bowl with the chocolate
• Place remaining ingredients into the thermi bowl and mix for 20 seconds on speed 7
• Add chocolate and almonds and mix for about 30 seconds on speed 6 until it has all come together
• Pour half the mixture into the prepared tin, sprinkle half the cherries on top
• Pour over the other half of the mixture and top with the remaining cherries 
• Bake for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. Check at the hour mark. You want it to be not fully cooked, so it has a lovely fudgy centre.
• Once cooked, cool in the tin, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours. Try not to be tempted to cut it before it is completely cool. 
• Serve with more fresh cherries, cream or ice-cream

If you don't have a thermomix, you can easily make it using another type of mixer. Either hand grate the chocolate, or blitz it in a food processor, buy almond meal, use caster sugar and mix the rest as per the order in the directions above. 

Actually, if you don't have a thermomix, just go and get one. Or at least start saving!

What's your favourite ingredient to add to a chocolate cake recipe?

Disclaimer: The cherries (and a fabulous easy to re-use box and bag) were gifted to me by Cherry Growers Australia and Brisbane Produce Markets. Thank you. 

Chunky oatey choc-orange biscuits

These are one of my favourite bikkies and sooo easy and quick to make. And they are sort of healthy too. At least, that's what I tell myself. Dark chocolate is good for you. Right? And I love how the orange zest adds a bit of zing.

What you need:

• 150g unsalted Lurpak* butter
• 100g brown sugar
• 50g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 150g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 130g rolled oats
• 70g oat bran
• 200g block of dark chocolate (I like the 70% cocoa)
• zest of 1 orange

What you do:

• Turn the oven onto 180c to preheat
• Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper
• Break the chocolate into chunks and set aside {this is my favourite step as I normally give it a couple of big thwacks with a heavy-duty rolling pin - great if you are irritated with anyone...}
• Place the butter and sugars into a large-ish mixing bowl and beat until creamy {using an electric mixer if you have one, or a wooden spoon if you want to give those arm muscles a good workout}
• Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined into the butter/sugar
• Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and add the oats, oat bran,chocolate chunks and orange zest {I usually zest the orange over the bowl rather than prepping it earlier}
• Stir until it's well combined {I normally roll up my sleeves and mix with my hands as it's too thick for most electric mixers}
• Shape the mix into walnut sized balls and place on the lined baking tray and squish them a bit with a fork {sorry - no photo of the squishy balls - forgot...}

Pre-squish. 

• Bake them for about 15 minutes or until a light golden colour
• Once cooked, leave them on the tray to cool for a few minutes before popping them onto a wire rack to completely cool

These should last about 4-5 days in an air-tight container. Assuming no hungry kids, hubbys or girlfriends find them first. And eat them all. As once happened to me. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! 

What are your favourite bikkies? 

* DISCLAIMER: I'm a Friend of Lurpak, but I've loved their butter for a long time. Especially on toast with Vegemite. Check out The Lurpak Challenge - entries close soon!

Little chocolate delights

It's been ages since I blogged and I have so many things to talk about!

Not least is the dreaded 12 week body transformation challenge that I'm undertaking with Michelle Bridges - and what seems like half of Australia. It's a GREAT program, but I'm really struggling with the food side as I have realised I eat out SOOOO much! Plus it's hard for a foodie to sacrifice delicious food. Having said all that, I'm sloooowly losing weight. So yay me!

While I've never had a big sweet tooth, I do love a bit of chocolate most days - particularly around 3pm when I'm starting to fade.

These little chocolate delights are perfect for that fixing that sweet need. And they are SO simple. And under 60 calories each (which is VERY important when you're trying to eat only 1200 calories a day).

So, how do you make these I hear you ask. Easy-peasy.

200g dark chocolate - I use 70% either Lindt or Club
60g chopped pecans (about 1/2 cup)
60 g craisins

Line a baking tray with Glad Bake or some other silicone paper.

Melt the dark chocolate (I do it in the microwave, but you could also use a double boiler). Mix in the chopped pecans and craisins and stir well.

Drop teaspoon sized amounts of the mix onto the silicone paper. Place tray in the fridge to set (takes about 30 minutes).

Makes 30. Try not to eat them all at once :)

You can easily substitute other nuts for the pecans, or chopped up dried apricot/peaches/dates for the craisins.

What's your favourite way of eating chocolate - when you just need a little treat?

Welcome to Chocolate, Cheese and Chips

After many months of talking about starting a food blog, I finally have! I must say the biggest challenge was finding a name for it - as many of my friends are aware! I was out for a walk the other day and had a bit of a lightbulb moment - why not name it after 3 of my favourite foods! So, here we are:

Chocolate - goes without saying really. I'm definitely a quality over quantity girl, and 1-2 squares of great tasting - and great quality - chocolate is enough to satisfy even the biggest of chocolate cravings. For many years my favourite has been dark Lindt chocolate (especially the Orange Intense) and the peppermint Lindor balls. Mmmm. However, after visiting San Francisco and Ghiradelli again in 2008, Lindt face stiff competition - especially from the Ghiradelli raspberry and the Ghiradelli peanut butter. I'll be stocking up the next time I go!

Cheese - a few years ago cheese took over from chocolate as my #1 favourite food. Family legend has it that one of the first solid foods I ate was blue cheese - and it's been a bit of a staple ever since! The stinkier the better. My whole family are into cheese and there were (and still are) at least 3-4 varieties in the fridge at any one time. Sadly, cheese is not great for the waistline, so my consumption has been radically reduced in recent years! Family get togethers always, always include a cheese platter. With a bottle of red or 3.

Chips - yep, I'm a chip lover. From hot and salty chips eaten at the beach to the packet of potato chips (Kettle of course - but no relation!) eaten in front of the telly. For years I have been threatening to write a book on the best hot chips in the world - not sure how I'd get funding, but I do believe it would be a public service.

Rest assured however, dear reader, this blog will not only contain posts about Chocolate, Cheese and Chips. It will include recipes I try (and experiement with), new ingredients (well, new to me - not necessarily new to you), reviews of books, gadgets, foods and the odd eating establishment, and all my other adventures in food.

I'd love to hear what you think - feel free to comment or email.