recipes
choco feast
Feels like there are way too many food “milestone” days. But hey, we ain’t complainin.
This week is #NationalChocolateWeek and we bring you some easy, chocolate recipes we’ve accidentally came up with from our kitchen – through travel, from amma and strangely, at work!
You wouldn’t want to have them all at one go, or would you?
mochaccino
barcelona-inspired
During our holiday in Barcelona, we went by Pans and Company, every morning to have that shot of espresso with whipped cream on top, best way to start a day. We now indulge in at home after a long day at work!
chocolate pudding
jaffna-inspired
The pure milk version is what you’d commonly find in Sri Lanka and other Spanish/Hispanic countries like Philippines (Leche Flan) and Peru (Crema Volteada). We don’t do sweet that much so we always add dark chocolate in it, because we love to indulge in richness. It’s traditionally steamed but amma finds that process tedious so we take her footsteps and bake it in a water bath, heh.
chocolate lava cake
everywhere?
Apparently a French chef invented this in New York (thanks Wiki!) I first learnt how to make this at a work social cooking Masterchef type event. I was surprised at how easy it is to make and tried it at home. It came out perfectly – only for amma to tell me, it’s essentially half-cooked cake, I mean, she ain’t wrong.
the stuff
2 tbsp cocoa powder or 1 tbsp cocoa and 1 tbsp coffee
2 tsp sugar
boiling water
dairy cream
We got our dairy cream at M&S!
the method
- In a glass add the cocoa powder (or cocoa + coffee alternative) and sugar.
- Add a bit of boiling water just to cover the powder.
- Stirrr it till they’re well mixed.
- Press on that dairy cream can as much as you like.
- INDULGE.
chocolate pudding
the stuff
6-8 eggs
1 tin condensed milk
equal portion whole milk
4-6 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
the method
- Pre-heat the oven at 180°C.
- Open the can of condensed milk and pour into into a blender / food processor.
- In the same can, fill it with milk. Stir it clean so you can get all that condensed milk that didn’t get through the first time.
- Pour in the milk.
- Crack open all them eggs.
- Sieve the cocoa powder in.
- Drizzle in that vanilla essence.
- BLENDDDD till its a smooth, chocolatey mixture.
- Boil a kettle of water.
- Place a baking tray into a larger baking tray.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the small baking tray.
- Carry the two trays together and put it in the oven.
- Pour the boiling water into the larger tray to create a water bath (remember not to spill into the chocolate mixture!).
- Bake for about 20-30 minutes, the inner tray would stop jiggling.
- Let it cool, leave it in the fridge and cut a slice the next day! Enjoy it with cream, coffee, berries, or on its own.
chocolate lava cake
the stuff
60g butter, cubed
40g chocolate, chopped
1 egg
1 egg yolk
15g flour
15g sugar
1 tsp salt
the method
- Butter or oil two ramekins and dust them with flour or cocoa powder.
- Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
- Crack the eggs and whisk until there are no lumps.
- Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan at low heat until melted and mix together to become this velvety, silky mixture.
- Pour that velvety, silky chocolate mix into the mixture of eggs and whisk again.
- Pour the mixture into the ramekins, fill them up to 3/4 height.
- Put this in the fridge over night or in the freezer for 15 minutes. THIS IS KEY FOR DAT LAVA.
- Pre-heat oven to 220°C.
- Pop the ramekins from the fridge to the oven for 10 minutes.
- Take them out, flip it over with some oven mittens.
- CUT RIGHT THROUGH AND DROOL AT THAT MELTING SILKY VELVETY CHOCOLATE.