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Last Updated: Feb 18th, 2008 - 14:39:01 |
Homemade Chocolate Making Sessions: Tips and Recipes
Chocolate is ‘the most’ favorite ingredient used in making delectable desserts, ice-creams, soufflés, custards and all types of sweet dishes all over the world, and also one of the most popular gift items.
It's also a great favorite among lovers, possibly because it is effective as an aphrodisiac – which is just a long word to describe something that makes you feel like making love!
Wouldn't it be great if you could stir up some delicious chocolate recipes and pamper the sweet taste buds of your family in your own little kitchen?
Keep in mind a few guiding tips while you go about your homemade chocolate making sessions to prepare some great tasting chocolate recipes and candies!
. For making homemade chocolate candies get hold of FDA approved food-grade plastic candy moulds.
. Sugar is an important and most basic ingredient in all chocolate recipes especially while making chocolate candies. You must make sure that you use a new packet of sugar that while making chocolates at home that is without any trace of flour, salt or other kitchen ingredients.
. Try and use unsalted butter for your chocolate recipes. The salt content in salted butter is difficult to ascertain and this can eventually spoil the taste of your chocolate dish.
. While making chocolates particularly candies at home you will be essentially requiring a candy thermometer to keep a check on the temperature of the chocolate mixture as mentioned in the recipe while cooking perfect chocolate candies. So either you can clamp the thermometer to the side of the cooking pan or dip it into the cooking chocolate syrup occasionally to check the right temperature. Make sure that the bulb of the thermometer does not touch the sides of the pan.
. If you live at higher altitudes then you must make some modifications in your chocolate recipes. For every 500feet above sea level you’ve got to decrease your chocolate cooking temperature by 1 degree.
. If a chocolate recipe calls for butter never substitute it with margarine. This enhances your cooking time substantially as water content of margarine is higher than butter.
. You can add one tablespoon of shortening or coconut butter per cup of chocolate chips, when melting chocolate for dipping or coating. This will help the chocolate adhere uniformly and provide a shinier finish.
Well the checklist of homemade chocolate making tips is endless. As they put it ‘practice makes one perfect’ so you can surely improvise after each chocolate making session to make tastier and yummier chocolates at home more often!
Here are a couple of recipes that would allow you to do exactly that.
Here's how you can make a perfectly yummy French Silk Pie without too much effort within the comforts of your own kitchen at home.
Ingredients:
1 Baked 10" pie shell
1lb Butter (substitutes not allowed) – must be softened to room temperature before use.
2 cups Granulated sugar
4 Eggs
4 Squares of bitter chocolate – must be melted and cooled to room temperature before use.
1 teaspoonful of Vanilla
Method:
Cream the butter for 20 minutes. Add the sugar, and then cream for 20 more minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat the mixture for 5 minutes after each addition. Add the melted and cooled chocolate, and again beat for 5 minutes. Add the vanilla, beat for 5 minutes.
Now pour the whole thing into the baked pie shell. Keep it in the refrigerator's chill tray all night for the filling to firm up and flavors to emerge and mellow.
If you want to, you can top the whole thing with unsweetened whipped cream and chocolate curls, just before serving. The amounts mentioned above will yield enough for six servings. Enjoy the applause as your friends and family are bowled over by your chocolate making skill!
Here's another popular little chocolate recipe that you can try out at home.
Chocolate covered coffee treat
Get yourself some top-quality, preferably organic, coffee beans. If they aren't already roasted, put them in the microwave and keep them there for about 15 minutes, at 400° Fahrenheit.
Now to make the chocolate paste you can use commercially available thick double chocolate, or you can make your own at home. So you'll need to roast cocoa berries, peel and mash them in a mortar till it's become a smooth paste. The rest depends on what kind of chocolate you want for covering your espresso beans. Some people prefer milk chocolate; in which case, you need to add milk to the dark and oily cocoa paste and also add sugar to taste. Boil the liquid till most of the moisture has evaporated, leaving the smooth, light brown texture of milk chocolate. Adding other flavors is not recommended for this recipe, because it destroys pure coffee-and-chocolate aroma of the final product.
Put the coffee beans on a baking sheet covered with wax paper, and pour the molten chocolate over it. Ensure that the beans are laid out in a single layer, and not too far apart from each other. They should be fully covered all over with the chocolate. After the beans have cooled down somewhat, put the whole sheet in a freezer.
That's it! When they're frozen, break out a piece and pop it into your mouth. You'll be surprised at the ease with which you were able to cook up this marvelous little chocolate dessert item.
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