Chocolate
October 20, 2015
Triple C Energy Balls
Bikini and shorts season is on the horizon and I am probably not the only one that is a bit self conscious about what has stored up during winter! Lately, I've inserted a few health-kick foods into our diet at home because as much as I love snacking on chips whenever I'm famished, - justifying it with an equalising workout - I know that's not going to help with getting into fighting shape for the summer.
I've been meaning to give these protein balls or energy balls a go for awhile now, and managed to try some at a Boost kiosk right before we boarded our flight to Hawaii. They were simply delicious and I needed to replicate them at home stat!
These chocolate, coconut, & chia seed balls, that I like to call Triple C Energy Balls, hits the spot when you're kinda hungry and low on energy but want a snack without the guilt trip afterwards. There's no sugar, no flour, no eggs, no dairy, none of the traditional baking stuff, which I find odd ...but pretty oddly refreshing!
Jase loves them and I've made them half a dozen times since tinkering around with a few recipes. There's no baking here, you just need a small food processor for blitzing. They should be made in 15 minutes!
Click after the jump for the recipe!
June 25, 2015
A Dark Chocolate Tart made by JLP
Today's post is brought to you by JLP aka Jason loves pretty aka Jase baked a dark chocolate tart. Follow the link to see which recipe he used for this deliciously more-ish dessert :)
April 02, 2014
Chocolate Lava Cakes with Salted Caramel Goo
In the past, I would always over bake Lava cakes, resulting in a mini chocolate cake that was moist, but with no lovely surprise lava flow. By inserting a salted caramel centre however, you can be sure that the centre will remain gooey and silky, while the liquid cake mixture bakes around it, forming the perfect moist cake casing.
There's not too many ingredients in this recipe and the prep isn't too hard. But have a watchful eye over the baking time and you will have the most perfect chocolatey caramel dessert!
November 06, 2013
Almond Roca Bark
I would always run to nag Dad to buy me sweets if Mum didn't let me have any. I distinctly remember a time when I was around 5, he went out to get the paper from a local Dairy store and I ran out to jump in the car. He treated me to a Cadbury Flake, but because it was such a large bar of chocolate, I couldn't eat it in time before we got home. So we hid behind the garage, and Dad stood next to me while I tried to eat it as fast as I could (I was and still am, the slowest eater you will know). In the end I couldn't finish it in time before Mum would question where we went, so half a Cadbury flake ended up in a bucket next to the garage.
For the lollies and sweets that I were allowed under 'Mum's rule', Almond Roca was always one of my favourites. It conjours up Christmas memories, that beautiful pink and crimson tin, the little oblong shaped matte gold wonders were my absolute FAVE. No wonder I have an obsession with anything caramel and butterscotch.
After attempting several recipes that I found online, and failing at getting the right butterscotch, nutty crunch, I finally meshed up some good measurements for a version of my own that is easy to remember and quick to make.
Almond Roca Bark Recipe
Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Cooling time: 1 hr in the fridge, or just leave overnight
Ingredients
- 250gm Salted Butter [or 1 Cup]
- 250gm Caster (Superfine) Sugar [or 1 Cup]
- 150gm Dry Roasted Almonds, chopped
- 50ml water
- 30ml light corn syrup (or you can substitute with glucose syrup, but add a tablespoon extra water)
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 100gm Dark Chocolate (preferrably 66% cocoa), chopped into small pieces
- Toasted Shredded Coconut for sprinkling (optional) - shredded coconut can simply be done by placing a handful in a frying pan over a low heat for around 3-5 minutes until toasty brown.
- Medium saucepan
- Candy thermometer
- Lined Baking tray / Lined Baking dish (I used a 12"x8" baking tin, but you can use whatever flat metal surface you like, up to you how thin or thick you would like it! Obviously a smaller tin would make a thicker chunk and would take a longer cooling period)
- Small Spatula
Steps
- Place the butter in a medium saucepan over a low heat until fully melted. Once melted, mix through the sugar, water and corn syrup
- Clip on your candy thermometer and turn the heat up high, until the mixture starts boiling (whisk the mixture if need be, but you should be able to leave it) and have half of the chopped almonds and measured Baking soda on standby.
- Turn the heat down a little (to prevent the mixture boiling over), and let the mixture boil away until your candy thermometer reaches 300 deg. Fahrenheit (or 150 deg. Celsius, or the 'hard crack' stage as indicated by the Candy Thermometer). This is roughly around 10 minutes on the clock, so set your timer if you need to.
- Place the other half of the chopped almonds at the bottom of the lined tray.
- Once the mixture bubbles to the final 300 deg. Fahrenheit point on the thermometer, it should be a beautiful amber colour. Take the saucepan off the heat once you've reached the right temperature or 10 minutes is up, and whisk through the chopped almonds and baking soda.
- Swiftly lay out the almond butterscotch liquid mixture onto the almond lined baking tray and spread out evenly with a small spatula.
- Sprinkle over the chopped chocolate, wait a few minutes for these to melt then spread out evenly with your spatula
- Sprinkle over the toasted coconut and place in fridge for an hour or until hardened. Break up with a large knife and munch!
Just a word of warning though, you may want to munch on the whole block!
Enjoy!
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