We Should Cocoa ~ The January 2012 Round Up

IMPORTANT UPDATE:  

Please ensure you are using the correct email address to send us your entries for the round up each month.  There have been a number of late additions this month where emails were sent but were not in the inbox for the round up, the only thing I can think of is that maybe a different email address is being used as i would certainly include the posts that have been identified to us through the emails.  

weshouldcocoa@yahoo.co.uk

Is it just me or has this month seemed ultra long??  Roll on February please!  The end is in sight at least, and the round up for WSC is all the evidence I need.  We've had some really great entries for this month's challenge which was to be healthy with a chocolate twist.  Feast your eyes below ... calorie free!

First off the mark was C from Cake, Crumbs and Cooking with her version of Dan Lepard's "The Alchemists Chocolate Cake".

How good does this Mocha Swirl Bundt Cake look??  Many thanks to Suelle from Mainly Baking for adding this beauty to our collection.

Jo from Comfort Bites has entered our mad chocolate world for the first time this month.  These Chocolate Fruit and Nut Crisp Bars look far too scrummy to be healthy ;0)

Janine from Cake Of The Week has shared Healthy Brownies for this month's challenge.  I'm so pleased to find out there is a healthy version of these sweet treats.

Healthy Chocolate Mousse is like music to my ears!  Thanks Jac (and Janice!) for this glorious offering.

Cookbooks Galore has made this very lovely looking Chocolate and Hazelnut Teabread.  Yum ;0)

Jean from Baking In Franglais wasn't too sure how healthy these Beetroot and Chocolate Muffins are.  Frankly anything chocolate bake with a veg in it counts as healthy in my book!  And with chocolate coming from a bean in the first place I reckon this bake would count as two of your five a day (nobody burst my bubble!!)

The very talented Kate from What Kate Baked has had my mouth watering at the idea of chocolate fondue.  Kate's version is Mini Chocolate Orange Fondue Pots.

Actually, this one had my mouth watering too!  Baked French Toast has got to be the most brill way I know to have Chocolate from breakfast!  Thanks to Hannah from Corner Cottage Bakery.

Next to join in on the fun was Phil from As Strong As Soup with a fantastic twist on the classic Eton Mess, Pear and Chocolate Winter Mess.

Jean-Christophe Novelli could be considered 'tasty' for most of us but Helen from Fuss Free Flavours took it one step further by adding Chocolate Pot's too!!  Sigh ...

Olive Oil, Rosemary, Chocolate Cake and Peanut Butter Cookies anyone?  They both look mighty fine to me, I'd have to have a taste of both before I could make my final choice of course!

The post from Susan at A Little Bit Of Heaven On A Plate made me smile.  Not sure there are many of us who haven't walked a mile on those shoe's Susan so don't be too harsh on yourself.  And no matter what, when Chocolate Soufflés turn into Chocolate Craters at least they still taste good ;0) 

Peppermint Tea Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting is the creation from Cake Fairy Blog this month.  To be honest, you had me at Chocolate Cream Cheese, but that dainty little love heart decoration has totally sealed the deal!!

Green Gourmet Giraffe had got to be one of my all time favourite blogs so I was chuffed to bits when Johanna took part in the challenge this month and submitted this totally glorious looking Blueberry Chocolate Cake.  Swoon!

This Chocolate Beetroot Fudge Cake is the first bake Caroline from Caroline Makes ... has ever entered a blogging challenge.  Caroline, this cake is superb!!!  Please enter more blogging events ;0)

An entry all the way from Estonia!!!  WSC is going global folks.  Pretty sure this Banana Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate would be the equal of catnip for my Husband!  Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us Mariam.

Before now black beans have pretty much been relegated to the savoury side of my kitchen.  Not any more thanks to Hungry Hinny and these intriguing sounding Black Bean Brownies.

I am loving Life Of A Cupcake Baker's take on this month's challenge.  Healthy = small.  I totally understand this concept, not great at applying it but I can still appreciate it, especially when it is in the form of these Strawberry Cake Truffles.

Mel from Sharky Oven Gloves has a wonderful post to go along with her offering this month of Honey, Lemon and Chocolate Muffins.  Be sure to check it out.

Tart To Heart brings us another healthy brownie, this time in the shape of Fudgy Flourless Brownies.  Oh how the very idea of these brownies make my mouth water!  Be sure to read the post and find out what the extra special ingredient in these brownies is.

I almost made something very similar to this next entry from Half A Pot Of Cream.  Chocolate Chip Muesli Bars were the must have lunch box item when I was in grade 5 and 6, and I've never grown out of them ;0)

My partner in crime, Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog,  made some wonderfully flavourful Chai Seed Muffins this month.  

Dan Lepard makes another appearance in this month's challenge with thanks to How To Cook Good Food and these Chocolate Chip and Buttermilk Oatcakes ... these maybe vying for my muesli bar affections!

Brownieville Girl has made a late arrival with this very tasty looking Light and Random Chocolate Cake.  Is it still 'light' if I go back for seconds???

And lets not forget (although no where near as good as the other muffin offerings today!), my very own entry for Healthy Oaty and Fruity Chocolate Muffins.

Phew!  When I set the challenge for this month I never dreamt there would be so many different 'healthy' ways to include chocolate into your diet almost guilt free ;0)

Don't forget to head over to Choclette's blog on the 1st of Feb to find out what the February challenge holds for us all and a massive thank you to you all for taking part and sending your emails in to us to help make the round up a little bit easier to compile ... one itsy bitsy little request though?  Could you please make sure you include a photo with your email, it just helps speed things up a wee bit at the end of the month.  Cheers.

PS - We have a late addition to the round up!  Here is The More Than Occasional Baker's Chocolate and Mocha Cake - would you look at the size of those strawberries!

And another late addition - sorry for missing you off the original round up Miss Cake Baker, for some reason your email wasn't in the inbox!  Not to worry, you're Chocolate Cake With A Twist is now in its rightful place, and what a beauty of a cake it is too ;0)

PPS - Another addition, this one is from Dom over at Belleau Kitchen with this decadent sounding Banana, Walnut and White Chocolate Loaf.

PPS - This one went into the Spam Folder (which I didn't even know existed!) so humblest apologies to Ren.  Ren, from Fabulicious Food made this stunning looking Vegan Chocolate Cake, loving how dark that sponge is!

On a final note for this post - 4 publications of the one post is enough to melt even the most patient person's sanity - we will be reviewing a new way for the submissions from March onwards which should hopefully make things a lot easier on all of us.

Strop over now ;0)

We Should Cocoa ~ My 'Go To' Muffins

Have no fear, there will be plenty more post Christmas food posts on their way shortly!  In the meantime I thought I had better share my bake for this month's We Should Cocoa ... which was set by me, to be health conscious ... think I am going to start picking easier challenges!  I struggled with this one.  To be fair there are already a couple of 'healthy' recipes on this blog using chocolate ... this White Chocolate and Strawberry Mousse or maybe even this Chocolate Biscuit Slice ... so long as 'healthy' means you are sticking to your WW points!!

This month I thought I should maybe broaden my horizon's a little, but alas, inspiration did not strike in any form.  So yesterday morning I decided to tweak my 'Go To Muffin' recipe, which I originally got from the Australian Sanitarium website at least 8 years ago.  I was surprised to find the recipe still hanging around in cyberspace so if you would like to see the original recipe, its for Apple Muesli Muffins, they are delish!  So I figure if the recipe is from Sanitarium and it has oats in it and dried fruit then its bound to be healthy ... right?  Here is what I came up with (as the recipe is Australian so it is in cup measurements, sorry!)

'Healthy' Oaty and Fruity Chocolate Muffins
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup plain flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 peeled and finely chopped apples, whatever you have in the fruit bowl is fine
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 cup milk chocolate drops
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup oil
1 cup skimmed milk

Preheat the oven to 190C and line a muffin tray with paper baking cases.

Place oats,flour, baking powder, caster sugar, chopped apples, sultanas and chocolate in a large bowl and ensure the flour coats the fruit and chocolate, this helps prevent everything sinking to the bottom while baking. In a large jug mix the egg, oil and milk.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix gently until everything is only just mixed.  (It will look a bit like a dogs dinner but perseverance is key)!  Spoon into the paper baking cases.  Bake for 30 mins or until the muffins are golden and springy to the touch.

Makes 12
Adapted from Sanitarium

The plan was these would be our 'lunch time treat' for the week.  The reality is there are only enough left to see us through to Wednesday now.  When I moved into my first flat (and my second flat!!) in Edinburgh all those years ago I used to make the Apple Muesli variety every Sunday.  I would freeze them in bags of two and take them to work throughout the week for my breakfast.  That was until my flatmates cottoned on to how yummy they were too, and then I would have to make 2 batches every Sunday!  Seems the chocolate version is just as addictive ;0)

With A Little Help From My Friend's

WARNING:  This is a Christmas recipe.  Yep ... here we are, on the sixteenth day of January, and I thought I had better make a start on sharing some of the millions (is that an exaggeration?) of Christmas goodies that managed to make their way out of the Chocolate Teapot kitchen this year ... I mean last year ... you know what I mean!

This first recipe is a blog steal from Green Gourmet Giraffe.  Thanks Johanna, this one is being added to our 'Holiday Handbook' and will be made for many Christmases to come.  This year (did it again!) last year, these little beauties made it into the Girl's Christmas Hampers, along with some hand painted wine glasses ... I hasten to add that the hand painting was not done by myself!  I can honestly say that if it hadn't been for the girl's then the Christmas tree wouldn't have had an outing, nor would there have been a Gingerbread House for 2011 (it is still standing by the way).  We had arranged some time ago to have a 'present swap' at my place.  I'm sure you can imagine how an afternoon tea with cocktails ended up, especially when the balloon modelling crackers made an appearance!

They didn't seriously think I wasn't going to post the photo's ... did they?

White Chocolate Caramel Fudge
125g unsalted butter
280g brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
395g can condensed milk
180g white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Line a small baking tin (28 x 18 x 3cm) with baking paper.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Add the brown sugar, golden syrup and condensed milk.  Bring to the boil over a medium heat.  Reduce to a low heat and cook for 10 mins, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until smooth.  When you add the chocolate the fudge will set quickly.  Pour into the prepared tin immediately and spread it as evenly as you can with the back of a spoon.

Cool to room temp for at least 30 mins.  Once set, cut into small pieces with a clean hot knife and keep in the fridge,

Makes 60 small pieces
Stolen from Green Gourmet Giraffe with much gratitude!

"Anything Goes" Rocky Road Brownies

I made these brownies for a New Year family gathering we had last night. Unfortunately we were a couple of members down when Hubby's nephew, who plays semi professional rugby, had his jaw broken in two places after a particularly bad tackle during a match yesterday afternoon.  Ouch!  I've promised to purée a few of these brownies for him so he doesn't miss out!

"Anything Goes" Rocky Road Brownies
melted butter, to grease (I used fry lite spray)
300g good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped (I used a mixture of dark and milk chocolate)
160g butter, chopped
155g caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly whisked
190g plain flour
60g pink and white marshmallows, cut in half (I used mini multi coloured ones)
80g whole, unsalted peanuts (I used unsalted mixed nuts left over from Christmas)

Preheat the oven to 180C.  Brush a 16 x 26cm (base measurement) non stick slice pan with melted butter to lightly grease.  Line the base and 2 opposite sides with non stick baking paper, allowing it to overhang.

Combine the chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat and stir with a metal spoon for 5 mins or until the chocolate melts.  Add the sugar and cook, stirring, for 5 mins or until the sugar dissolves.

Remove from the hear and set aside for 5 mins to cool.  Stir in the egg and flour until combined.  Stir in the marshmallows and peanuts until combined.  Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out slightly sticky.  Remove from oven and set aside in the pan for 3 hours to cool and set.  Cut into squares.

Makes 18 Squares
Taste.com Website

* This brownie can be made up to 1 week ahead.  Store them in an airtight container out of direct sunlight.

As you can see, I've made a couple of alterations to the original recipe so I thought it would also be appropriate to change the name of them to "Anything Goes"!  Baking these for the recommended 20 mins produced very fudgy brownies ... some may call them 'raw' (heathens!) so bake them a little longer if you like your brownies a bit more cake like.  They set up nicely when placed in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up.

We Should Cocoa ... Running a little behind ... Festive Apple Pies ~ Chocolate Teapot Style

For obvious reason's I never quite got around to posting my recipe for November's We Should Cocoa challenge, which was to use apples along with chocolate.  I knew at the time of setting this challenge that it isn't a pairing not to everyone's taste, if it helps anyone at all then rest assured that I struggled with this one too!  Right before my mother in law was taken into hospital though I had a light bulb moment, which involved incorporating a recipe from the Hairy Bikers book I had just won, thanks to Kate from the wonderful blog What Kate Baked and a reworking of my Buttery Apple and Hazelnut Mincemeat from last year (or 2 years ago as it is now!!)

And this is what I ended up with ...

OK for a first attempt, although I had planned on fine tuning them a wee bit to perfect the recipe before Christmas landed on us all.  Guess what?  Perfection will need to wait till this Christmas ;0)

Buttery Apple and Pecan Mincemeat
100ml frangelico
1 large bramley apple (about 300g), grated (although next time I think I'll use a fine dice instead)
100g butter
200g raisins
150g sultanas
150g currants
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (maybe only 1/4 tsp next time?)
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
175g caster sugar
80 - 100g toasted pecans

Put the frangelico into a medium pan.  Add the apple, butter, dried fruits, cinnamon and the seeds from the vanilla pod, along with the pod itself, and cook over a low heat, stirring frequently, for 30 - 45 mins or until the apple has broken down, the dried fruits have plumped up and all the liquid has evaporated.  Leave to cool, then mix in the sugar and toasted pecans.

Spoon into cool, sterilised jars, press a waxed disc firmly onto the surface of the mixture and seal.  Refrigerate and use within 1 month.

Makes enough for 24 - 36 mince festive pies (depending on generosity of filling!)

To make these into festive pie's I used the chocolate pastry recipe from the Hairy Bikers 'Perfect Pies' book;

Chocolate Shortcrust
250g plain flour (plus extra for rolling)
175g cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 tbsp sifted icing sugar
2 tbsp sifted cocoa powder
1 large beaten egg

Measure out your ingredients and put in a bowl.  Cut the cold butter into small pieces or cubes and add them to the flour.  Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Now add the egg, break it into a small bowl first if you want to.  Add the liquid with one hand while stirring with a round bladed knife until the dough comes together and the sides of the bowl are clean.

Form the dough into a flattened ball and chill.

Makes enough dough for at least 24 festive pies.
Hairy Bikers - Perfect Pies

From memory I cheated with the dough and made it in the food processor.  Rubbing butter into flour has never been my strong suit!

Once the dough had spent some time in the fridge (30 mins or so) I then rolled it out between 2 sheets of clingfilm, the Bikers advise to blind bake this dough but I figure I never blind bake pastry for mince pies so I wouldn't need to for these either so I didn't bother.  I then used a cutter slightly larger than the cups in my mince pie tin ... you guys know how to do this, let's not suck eggs!  Then a generous tsp of the mincemeat was added, along with a crumble topping (see below) before baking in a preheat 190C/fan 170C oven for approx 25 mins (check them after 15 though!)

Crumble Topping
50g plain flour
30g butter, at room temp
25g demerara sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
25g lightly toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sugar and the cinnamon and work it a little more between your fingers until the mixture forms little nuggets.  Stir in the hazelnuts.

Spoon 1 heaped tsp of crumble mix over each pie, then bake.  Carefully remove to a rack.  Leave for 3-4 mins, dust with icing sugar and serve warm or cold.

Makes enough crumble for 24 festive pies
Delicious, Dec 10

So there we have it, my entry for the November challenge.  Better late then never!!  And they tasted OK, Hubby thinks I overcooked them slightly, Sis In Law thinks they are perfect and I think they weren't too bad for a first go.  They all disappeared anyway ;0)

A Hogmanay Feast ... and some Panda's too!

So how did you spend your New Year's eve?  I'll give you a hint how I spent mine;

Yang Guang

Oh yeah!!  Falling head over heels for the newest additions to the Edinburgh Zoo.

Tian Tian (Sweetie)

The best bit though was when Yang Guang decided to blonk himself down in his paddling pool and have a wee bath.  You have to watch the video below and see him kicking his little paws in the water.  Oh my goodness he is soooo cute!!

For some reason the zoo wouldn't let him come home with me though ... something about being ear marked to help save the species from extinction ... or something like that ;0)

You may be wondering what on earth the Panda's have to do with today's Hogmanay meal.  Well ... truth is, I was so preoccupied with them that I never managed to make it to the shops in time to get some odds and ends to make the wonderful meal I had planned.  Oopsie.

Maggi Shake In The Bag to the rescue, along with some leftover duck fat from Christmas for the roasties, a packet of dried wild mushrooms soaked in water then cooked off with a diced shallot, some chicken stock and Madeira wine (is that how its spelt??) with tomato paste and the yummiest meal of the year was somehow produced.  Phew!

Dessert, although planned for, is something that can also be made from surplus supplies at this time of year.  Yum ... although I did have to go for a run this afternoon to try and burn some of the calories off!  If I was a panda I wouldn't have to worry about my calorie intake!

Lemon Creams with Raspberries
400ml milk
Zest of 2 lemons
3 free range egg yolks
1 free range egg
150g caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
150g fresh raspberries
Icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 170C/fan 150C.  Warm the milk and lemon zest together in a small saucepan until nearly boiling, then remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks, egg, sugar, cornflour and vanilla essence in a large bowl and gradually whisk in the hot milk.  Divide the mixture between 4-6 individual ramekins, arrange the raspberries on top and place the ramekins in a roasting tin.

Pour boiling water into the tin so it comes about half way up the ramekins then carefully transfer the tin to the oven.  Bake for 35-40 mins or until the filling is set.

When cool, chill the lemon creams in the fridge for at least two hours then dust the surface with icing sugar just before serving.

Serves 4-6
Cook Veg Mag - Jan 12

Can I sneak in just a couple more Panda piccies?

Sweetie

Yang Guang