A Recipe for Choco Lovers

Chocolate in many incarnations is always a lovable dish, like this Mousseline de Genepi with Chocolate Fondue recipe by Chef Marc Veyrat. This recipe is composed of two parts. The first part is the sabayon itself (referred to as mousseline). The sabayon is simply egg yolks mixed with a “30° syrup” – a syrup made from boiling equal amount of water and sugar or with 50:50 ratio for 30 seconds. To enhance the flavor and aroma add whipped cream and Génépi liqueur. Thus, the recipe is called “Mousseline de Génépi” or “Génépi liqueur sabayon.” The second part is the chocolate sauce. It’s made fully packed with chocolate flavor by using bitter chocolate and cocoa powder at the same time then sweetened with sugar.

Mousseline, Muslin in French, is a sauce or food like a mousse. It is prepared with whipped cream in it. Another way of preparing it is by puréeing or molding beaten egg whites instead, together with meat or seafood. It’s usually made with whipped cream and the ingredients used in a hollandaise sauce (mayonnaise). Mousseline is also used to describe pastries and cakes containing delicate mixtures with cream or butter. Many more online video recipes are available here.

Zabaione, an Italian term, also spelled as zabajone, or zabaglione, is called as sabayon in French. It is popular in different terms in other places. It is an Italian dessert made using egg yolks, sugar, and sweet wine (originally Moscato d'Asti in its old recipe). Presently Marsala wine is more widely used. Sometimes, whole eggs are also used for this. It actually is a custard, very light one because it is whipped to incorporate a large amount of air. Since the 1960’s, zabaglione is traditionally served with fresh figs. It is commonly served with fresh strawberries in a glass.

Ingredients

For the chocolate sauce:

2 cups water
0.33 lbs Caribbean chocolate
3.5 oz. cocoa powder
For the Mousseline de Genepi:
7 egg yolks
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
12.32 oz. (about 1 ½ cups) whipped cream
5 ½ tablespoons powdered sugar
6.4 oz. Genepi liqueur

1. Prepare the sabayon. Boil the water and sugar together for 30 seconds to make syrup. Heat up the egg yolks with this. Leave it to cool.

2. Melt some chocolate in a bain marie. Cut some plastic sheet or cooking film into rectangular strips twice the height of a circular mold and long enough to cover it. Shine it up with some cotton balls. Spread the chocolate sauce thinly on the plastic sheets. Roll one up and insert it till the bottom of a circular mold. Refrigerate.

3. Prepare the chocolate sauce. Heat up together chocolate with water and cocoa powder. Add sugar then mix together constantly stirring. Remove it from heat.

4. Take the sabayon then mix it. While mixing it, add the cream, Génépi, and sugar. Take the chocolate molds and fill each quickly with sabayon. Put them in the freezer.

5. Set the serving plates to a lukewarm temperature. While doing this, boil the chocolate sauce. When done, spread some chocolate sauce on the center of the plates.


6. Remove the sabayon filled chocolates from the freezer. Then remove the molds and the plastics. Set them on the plate then drizzle with some chocolate sauce on top. Serve immediately.

Apple Pineapple Muffins

In this simple but special recipe applesauce and crushed pineapple combine to make sweet and tangy muffins. You need pasty flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, ground cinnamon, egg whites, crushed pineapple, unsweetened applesauce, pure vanilla extract, tart apple, and milk to make a light textured yet moist and scrumptious apple pineapple muffins. All the ingredients should be at room temperature before you begin making the recipe.

You can’t just whip everything together and place it in the tin when it comes to making heavenly muffins and hope it bakes perfectly in both texture and taste. The order of combining the ingredients is crucial. They dry ingredients and the wet ingredients should be blended separately. Then fold them in together gradually. Do not over mix the batter as this will produce tough and dry muffins. The egg whites need to be beaten separately alone until it is frothy and soft peaks form. This is crucial for creating a light texture when the muffins bake in the oven. The egg whites should be folded in the rest of the moist ingredients, not mixed. Fold in the egg whites gently with the use of a spatula. More online cooking videos, baking including is available at the link.

Before you make the batter the unsweetened applesauce must be ready. Ready-made applesauce is often available in the grocery but it is also quite easy to do at home. To make a simple unsweetened applesauce all you need are apples and lemon juice. Peel, core and slice the apples into chunks and place them in a Dutch oven or slow cooker. Add half as much water in proportion to the apples. Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once the apples boil reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until tender for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat and strain. Puree the apples in a food processor or blender and add lemon juice. Then place the mixture in the pot and bring to a boil. Before using to make muffins allow the applesauce to come to room temperature or place in the jar for future use.

Ingredients

3 cups pastry flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 egg whites (room temperature)1 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tart apple (cored, peeled, and diced)
½ cup milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. With nonstick spray coat a muffin tin or line the cups with paper.

2. Stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon in a bowl. In an electric mixer bowl, whip the egg whites on medium speed, until frothy. Whip on high until soft peaks form.

3. Stir together the pineapple, applesauce, vanilla, apple, and milk in another large bowl. Fold in the egg whites. To the pineapple mixture add about a third of the flour mixture, then fold the ingredients together. Keep adding the flour mixture a third at a time, folding it in gently, until all the ingredients are just combined.

4. Pour the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup about 2/3 full. On a baking sheet place the muffin tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and for 5 minutes cool in the muffin tin. Then turn out the muffins onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Heavenly Taste of Fudge

Before 1886, the origin and history of fudge is unclear, but Fudge is thought to be an American invention. Most believe the first batch was a result of an accidental “fudged” batch of caramels, hence the name “fudge”.

In 1886, fudge was sold at a local Baltimore grocery store for 40 cents a pound. This is the first known sale of fudge. A letter, found in the archives of Vasser College, written by Emelyn Battersby Hartridge reveals that Emelyn wrote that her schoolmate's cousin made fudge in 1886 in Baltimore and sold it for 40 cents a pound. More chef recipes are available in just a push of a button.

In 1888, Miss Hartridge asked for the fudge recipe, and made 30 pounds of fudge for the Vassar Senior Auction. The recipe was very popular at the school from that point forward. Fudge became a new confection after word spread to other women's colleges of the tasty delight. Later, Smith and Wellesley schools each developed their own recipe for fudge.

Ingredients

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon salted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
18 ounces chocolate (buy the best chocolate you can find — this should be a pure chocolate see note below)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment or foil and set aside.

2. Heat sweetened condensed milk, butter and salt on medium low in a 2-quart sauce pan.

3. In a separate container, pre-melt the chocolate in the microwave until it is totally melted and stirred – no lumps. Be careful to not overheat the chocolate in the microwave -- use 30-second intervals and stir at every break. When the sweetened condensed milk is warm and has loosened up, pour all of the chocolate into the sauce pan with the milk. Stir with a wooden spoon. The mixture will be thick as the chocolate incorporates and then it will get glossy. When your mixture turns glossy, add vanilla and stir quickly. Remove from heat and pour IMMEDIATELY into the prepared pan. Cool for several hours in the refrigerator before cutting into small squares. Fudge is best kept in an airtight container and eaten within 4-5 days.

4. This recipe can be doubled and put in a 9- by 13-inch pan.

5. A note about chocolate: Buy a high-quality chocolate at a retailer like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. Chocolate chips or the chocolate sold for dipping fruit are not good choices as they have stabilizers in them which makes for a stiffer fudge.

A Tiramisu Special

Perhaps one of the most popular Italian desserts loved all around the world, Tiramisu is a coffee-flavored sponge cake with mascarpone cheese and ladyfingers. In this recipe by renowned chef Renato Piccolotto, tiramisu is prepared as a cupcake with a chocolate gondola served in a pool of custard cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce. This is the gourmet tiramisu served at the legendary Hotel Cipriani, known as Cipriani Tiramisu. You can make this at home and serve it to family and friends, paired with coffee, tea or cognac for a wonderful way to end the evening or a lunch meeting.

One of the special ingredients you need to make a rich and decadent tiramisu is the Italian cheese known as mascarpone. This is a type of cream cheese that is made of 60 to 75% milk fat. It is a very rich cheese, yet light and airy at the same time, typically sold in small containers in the chilled section of the grocery. Italian mascarpone produces an ethereal and luxurious tiramisu while the American version of cream cheese will produce a denser and heavier tiramisu.

If possible, use the Italian version of ladyfingers, known as Savoiardi. Ladyfingers are a type of sponge biscuits or sponge cookies that are sweet, light and oval in shape. They are also known as sponge fingers, Savoy biscuits, Naples biscuits, Boudoir biscuits, or biscuits à la cuillère. These crisp but spongy and delicate biscuits are soaked in the freshly brewed coffee, preferably espresso, and layered with the rest of the tiramisu. If you can get Italian coffee brands that are high quality and rich in flavor, the better. Some popular Italian brands include Cello, Kimbo, Mauro, and Lavazza. More video recipes like this are available in the link.

Use the freshest organic eggs that you can find since the eggs in this recipe will be prepared and served raw. You can also mix the eggs in a bain-marie or over a water bath or double-boiler to heat it a little without scrambling it.

Ingredients

8.8 oz. mascarpone (an Italian triple-cream cheese)
3 eggs (separated)
5 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons Italian Marsala wine
12 long sugared cookies (lady fingers)
¾ cup strong coffee
1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
1 small cup molten chocolate for garnishing

1. Separate egg yolks from whites. Add sugar to the yolks. Beat the yolks and sugar with a hand mixer smooth and creamy. Add the mascarpone and stir gently. Flavor with Italian Marsala wine. Mix until you get a smooth cream with an even consistency.

2. Clean the whisk or hand mixer and beat the egg whites until it becomes a foamy mousse with nice stiff peaks, fold them in to the yolk mixture.

3. Dip the ladyfingers or Savoiardi biscuit in the coffee and place on the chocolate cup. Cover with the mascarpone mixture, sprinkle with powdered cocoa. Place chocolate gondola on top.

4. Spread Italian custard cream on a plate. Make decorative patterns with chocolate sauce on the custard. Place the tiramisu in the center and serve.

Heavenly Taste of Banana Ice Cream

1. To make your own banana ice cream at home it only takes about ten minutes. You can make a delicious homemade ice cream with just a few simple ingredients that can be found in most pantries and kitchens, namely whipped cream, bananas, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Treat yourself, family and guests to a unique and lovely dessert with your own version of banana ice cream. This recipe does not require for you to use an ice cream maker. It may not be as smooth and fine as commercial varieties, but it is still completely flavorful and luscious. To make sure it freezes as smoothly as possible pass the ingredients through a fine sieve.
   

   
   

   Stirring the mixture after it has frozen for an hour and doing it a couple of times during the process of freezing is one trick to make the ice cream smoother and creamier. This way the sugar crystals that form which can make the ice cream grainy will dissolve. When making ice cream it is also important to whip the cream before adding it to the mixture. It should be as light and as fluffy as possible. To whip the cream until it foams and becomes puffy use a hand mixer or electric blender. This will help create a light and creamy ice cream. If you need help in video recipes you can just click on the link.

   
   

   Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for best results. It is best to use a citrus juicer to get the most juice out of a lemon. Using electric juicers are also ideal and can extract the juice efficiently. To release its flavor and loosen the juices roll the lemon using your palm over the top of the counter a few times before squeezing. While it is at room temperature it is best to juice the lemons rather than when it is chilled or has just came out of the refrigerator. To increase its temperature and extract more juice from it you can warm it up for 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave.

   Ingredients 

   1 cup fresh whipped cream

   4 peeled and mashed bananas

   1 1/3 tablespoons lemon juice

   1 cup white sugar

   A few grains salt

   1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

   2. Pass the above mixture through a sieve. Then freeze it in a freezer-proof, covered container.
2. 
   

Amish Recipe: Apple Pancake

 Amish cooking is based on old-fashioned home cooked meals made from wholesome and natural ingredients. In this recipe for Amish pancakes, delicious juicy apples are added to the batter to make a moist yet fluffy and flavorful breakfast that is also nutritious. The best apples to use for cooking are subtly tart and sweet and hold their shape well and won’t turn into mush. Some of the best apples to use for making pancakes include Gala, Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Jonagold, Pippin, Northern Spy, Braeburn, Gravenstein, Winesap, York Imperial, Cortland, and Rhode Island Greening. To keep in line with the Amish principles and culture, use local and organic ingredients if possible. Can't cook without any demonstration? Well you're in luck cause best cooking videos for this recipe is here.

When mixing the batter, combine the flour and other dry ingredients with the wet ingredients just enough so that everything is moist and there are no dry spots visible. There should be a few lumps left and the batter should not be smooth and pasty. Over mixing the batter will result in tough and chewy pancakes instead of light, fluffy and airy. Use a large whisk to allow more air to be whipped into the batter for beautifully puffy pancakes.

Before cooking the pancakes, make sure that the griddle or skillet is hot. To test whether the pan is ready or not, sprinkle a few drops of water on the surface and if they dance around then this is a good indication that the griddle is ready and you can place the batter in the pan. It should take about two to three minutes to heat the pan. Add the fat when the pan is hot to make sire it does not burn. Cook a fourth of a third of a cup of batter at a time, which is a good size for making nice round pancakes.

Amish Apple Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs (separated)

1 cup grated peeled apple

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a smaller bowl, stir together the milk, egg yolks, and butter. A little at a time, add to the flour mixture, beating until smooth. Add apple and stir. Fold in the egg whites.

3. Pour ½ cup of batter onto a preheated, greased griddle. Cook until bubbly, then turn and cook the opposite side until golden.

Aloha the Cake Said

With this lovely aloha cake recipe bring a taste of the tropical islands to your table. Aloha Cake is so simple and easy to do and is designed for the super busy lifestyle. It is moist and crunchy at the same time. Onto the greased baking pan you basically dump the ingredients layering them evenly and then bake them in the oven until nice and golden brown. This delicious recipe consists of cherry pie filling, crushed pineapple, box cake mix, grated coconuts, chopped walnuts, and softened butter. To make this recipe you can use either white or yellow box cake mix.

When layering them onto the baking pan the order of the ingredients is crucial. This method of baking a cake is also known as dump cake while others consider it as a version of cobbler. This quick and easy dessert recipe yields delicious results kids can’t get enough of. The use of box cakemix and canned or bottle fruits is what makes this recipe so convenient. You literally dump the ingredients with all these pre-prepared, and then they are ready for baking. In making this recipe for aloha cake there is no elaborate preparation involved. You can whip it up any time of the day even on busy weekdays for an almost instant fun treat for the whole family. If you found this recipe helpful and wanting more well there are tons of online recipes videos here.

Evenly distributing the ingredients as you layer them is the crucial thing about making this aloha cake. Be careful as to not dump the whole box when pouring the box cake mix right over the fruit entirely. Pour the contents out gently so that it is evenly spread out all throughout the pan. Slice the butter and spread them out on top. Every space must be coated with the rich taste and flavor. It should have a lovely top crust that is luscious and buttery once it is baked with sumptuous layers of sweet fruit.

Ingredients

1 can cherry pie filling

1 can pineapple, canned, crushed - undrained

1 box cake mix - white or yellow

1 1/4 cup grated coconut

4/5 cup finely chopped walnuts

2/5 cup soft butter

1. Directly add the ingredients In a greased baking pan in the order listed above. Do not stir.
2. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 50-55 minutes. Or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Apple Strudel on th Rise

Apples are best as apple pie, but the German traditional dessert, the strudel, is also a perfect recipe using apples. With its thin and crisp crust, the apple strudel has an apple filling which takes the apples to a different level. Unlike the apple pie, which must be sliced before serving, the apple strudel is handier to eat because of its shape. Make this delicious treat especially during apple picking season.

When making the apple strudel, make sure to create good pastry dough with which to wrap the apple filling. The unleavened dough should be rolled into thin and elastic sheets. The rest of the ingredients of the apple strudel offer simplicity: the apples themselves mixed with bread crumbs and dried grapes (or raisins). It is then flavored with cinnamon, butter, and sugar. Just the combination of apples and cinnamon are enough to make you want more of this pastry.

Apple Strudel

Ingredients

Dough:                                               Pepper Garnishing:

½ lb. flour                                            6 apples

1 spoon oil                                           1.8 oz. molten butter

1/2 spoon vinegar                               1/3 lb. sugar

1/3 lb. sugar                                        2/3 oz. cinnamon

1 egg                                                   1.8 oz. dry grapes      

1 cup lukewarm water                        1.8 oz. breadcrumbs

Salt                                                      0.35 oz. milk

1. Make the pastry dough. In a bowl, mix the flour and salt and gradually add the water and the oil. Add the vinegar and egg and blend until you get supple dough. Knead for about five minutes until it is not sticky. Form into a ball and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow dough rest for 2 hours in an ambient temperature.

2. Meanwhile, make the apple filling. Peel the apples and dice into pieces about ½ inch in size. Place the diced apple, cinnamon, 3.5 oz. sugar, and dry grapes in a large bowl. Allow to macerate for about 1 hour.

3. After two hours, spread the dough as thin as possible (about 1/10 inch). Spread the molten butter, then the macerated apples (except the milk) over the thinly spread dough. Add the breadcrumbs. Further garnish with the macerated apples.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll together the pastry with apple filling to create a cylinder of about 2 inches in height. Use a brush to glaze the top with milk. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes.