Szechuan Chocolate Truffles

Add chilli and szechuan pepper to Côte d'Or Noir de Noir.

See eclectic recipes for details.

Ingredients

400g Noir de Noir (or other quality dark chocolate)

200ml heavy (40%) cream

40g unsalted butter

2 dried pasilla chile peppers

2 teaspoons szechuan pepper

cocoa powder

Chocolate and butter should be warm but not melting. Break the chocolate into a warmed mixing bowl.

Toast chiles and pepper briefly in a hot oven. Crumble the now crisp chiles, and put them, with the szechuan pepper into the cream. Bring the cream slowly to the boil.

Strain the hot cream through a sieve, onto the chocolate. Let it stand a few minutes, so the chocolate melts, then stir to mix chocolate and cream. Add the butter a bit at a time, stirring to incorporate. Let the mixture cool until it begins to set.

Warm gently over hot water until you can beat the mixture to a smooth paste. Let it cool.

Once it is set enough to work, form into bite-size truffles, using two teaspoons (or otherwise). Roll the truffles in cocoa and keep in a cool place.

Healthy food

Food (and drink) that tastes good and does you good

Diets containing two percent, six percent, or nine percent walnuts, when given to old rats, were found to reverse several parameters of brain ageing, as well as age-related motor and cognitive deficits, says James Joseph, PhD, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University in Boston.

Researchers at the University of California, at Davis tested a variety of wines to determine which types have the highest concentrations of flavonoids. Their results concluded that the flavonoid favorite is Cabernet Sauvignon, followed closely by Petit Syrah and Pinot Noir.
Scientists believe that flavonoids, reduce the risk of coronary heart disease reducing production of bad (LDL) cholesterol, boosting good (HDL) cholesterol, and reducing blood clotting.

Doctors often prescribe daily aspirin usage for its cardioprotective effects. However, a percentage of the population is unable to take aspirin as required and chocolate therapy is a pleasant and beneficial alternative. The polyphenols in cocoa can also lower LDL levels.

To maximize the health benefits, you should crush garlic at room temperature and allow it to sit for about 15 minutes. That triggers an enzyme reaction that boosts the healthy compounds in garlic.

dark chocolate, chilli, onion, ...

Twinstar cake

recommendation

Birthday Cake for Max (20)

Sue Pedley sp.iced
Cambridge, Hamilton,
New Zealand
info@cambridgecakes.co.nz
www.cambridgecakes.co.nz
+647 823 5499

Delicious moist chocolate mocha cake.

Decorated with sp.iced’s unique ribbons and wires.

Max and his CTC mates were well-impressed by the Twinstar rendition, and by the innards of the cake. They were slightly worried their instructors might think it too alcoholic for pre-flight consumption ...

Thank you, Sue!

Sue says,

Also, you might be interested to know that the sending of the diamond twin star aeroplane pictures, has had the US military visiting my web site. Do you think they want a cake or is this what Mr. Bush calls homeland security?

Chocolate Soufflé with Crème Anglaise

Eclectic Recipes has details for Crème Anglaise, and variations such as Crème Pâtissière and Crème Saint Honoré.

Ingredients

5 eggs

2 heaped dessertspoons potato starch

1 7/8 cups milk

sugar

4 oz dark chocolate

espresso coffee, dark rum, orange liqueur, or other flavouring

Butter inside of soufflé dish liberally, and dust with cocoa powder. Heat oven to 350°F 180°C.

Separate five eggs: whites in a large copper bowl, ready for beating; three yolks in one small bowl, two (which will be used for the crème anglaise) in another. If you don't have a copper bowl, use a glass or ceramic one, but add a pinch of salt to the eggwhites.

Measure one 8-ounce cup of whole milk. In a saucepan, mix two heaped dessertspoons of potato starch with one level dessertspoon of sugar and a little of the milk, to form a paste; then gradually mix in the rest of the milk, taking care to leave no lumps. Cook gently, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens; continue cooking, and stirring one minute more.

Melt four ounces of dark chocolate, stir in a small shot of espresso coffee (or a small shot of orange liqueur, or other flavouring). Beat the three yolks and then gradually mix in the chocolate. Mix this chocolate mixture into the thickened milk.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Mix one fourth of the eggwhites into chocolate mixture, to loosen it. Scrape chocolate mix into remaining eggwhites. Fold whites and chocolate together, quickly and gently. Transfer mixture to prepared soufflé dish, tap sharply against worktop, to settle, and place in oven.

Bake 30 minutes; dust quickly with powdered (icing) sugar from a sieve; turn oven up to 390°F 200°C, bake ten minutes more. Meanwhile, prepare the crème Anglaise.

Crème Anglaise Beat a couple of teaspoons of sugar with the two remaining egg yolks. Scald a scant cup (7 oz) of whole milk. Gradually add the hot milk to the yolks, beating all the while. Heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens—you can do this over a low flame, over a bain-marie, or, five seconds at a time, stirring in between, in a microwave. The custard should reach 160°F 70°C, no more.