Good chocolate usually contains nothing more than chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter and sugar, lecithin (an emulsifier), and vanilla. From his book, Marcel Desaulniers emphasise using real chocolate is essential because some chocolate manufacturers also market chocolate-flavoured products. He said: I always take a second look at the label of ingredients when purchasing chocolate. Be sure that you are not purchasing an item with fat additives such as palm kernel oil, or extenders such as soy flour.
If you purchase real chocolate, manufactured by companies such as Nestlé you cannot go wrong with the recipes in this book. After extensive testing and 12 years of hugely successful chocolate dessert sales at the Trellis, I can unequivocally state that the chocolate I mentioned above will produce spectacular desserts.
Dark Chocolate By Cadbury
I am happy enough to use this
dark chocolate in my cooking as it has 43% of cocoa solids.
I do use chocolate from Nestlé too. It is readily available in the supermarket and other shops.
Storing Chocolate
According to the experts, the optimum storage condition for chocolate is a well-ventilated area, free of foreign odours. The temperature should range between 65 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit (18-25 degrees C) with 50% relative humidity (in short, keep it dry and cold).
Contrary to what many experts suggest, I have stored well-wrapped chocolate in both the refrigerator and the freezer with no apparent deterioration in quality. My best advice on this subject is to purchase enough chocolate for short-term needs. No sense buying chocolate will not be used within a few weeks. However, if you do plan on purchasing chocolate for long-term storage, I suggest keeping it in the freezer. Allow the frozen chocolate to come to room temperature before using it in a recipe.
Types of Chocolate (used in the Trellis)
Unsweetened chocolate is hardened, pure, chocolate liquor (also known as bitter or baking chocolate). Chocolate liquor contains about 45% cocoa solids and 50% cocoa butter.
Plain chocolate is chocolate liquor that contains varying amounts of sugar, vanilla, and emulsifiers. (Bittersweet chocolate is similar to plain chocolate). Plain chocolate contains a minimum of 35 per cent chocolate liquor, although the highest-quality bittersweet usually contains more.
 |
| good quality white chocolate |
will contain appreciable amounts of cocoa butter, as well as sugar, milk, and vanillin.
Cocoa is a highly concentrated powder produced by hydraulically pressing finely ground unsweetened chocolate. This manufacturing process removes most of the cocoa butter form the chocolate. Cocoa is relatively low in fat compared to chocolate, and it delivers an intensely rich flavour.
Chocolate chips must have a high-fat content about 27 to 30 per cent if they are to retain their shape during baking. Look for chips that have cocoa butter listed as the fat additive rather than palm oil. If you are purchasing chips to eat in hand or to add to ice cream, choose a chip with no added fat.
(From the book: DEATH BY CHOCOLATE-by Marcel Desaulniers)
From My Baking
 |
| Mini chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and fresh raspberry topping served with black coffee. |
In My Kitchen
I always use good quality cocoa and chocolate for my baking, because I believe it is the way to go to get better results.
When baking ginger fluff sponge cakes and other chocolate cakes, I always use the cocoa powder by Cadbury. If the recipe says 'use dark chocolates', then I use dark chocolate block by Nestlé or the dark chocolate by Cadbury. I don't use any compound chocolates.
Milo Cake and Victoria Chocolate Sponge cakes consist of Coco powder.
 |
| Milo cake is ready to bake. |
 |
| chocolate Victoria sponge cake |
 |
| Victoria chocolate sponge cake with coffee buttercream topping |
Chocolate Ganache
White chocolate ganache for mini cakes topping
White chocolate ganache makes an excellent topping (recipe in an older post). I think to close off this topic, I will give you chocolate ganache recipe by Marcel Desaulniers. He said, the method for preparing ganache is simple and virtually guaranteed to produce a smooth and silky icing or filling.
Semisweet Chocolate Ganache
Yields 470 ml
240 ml double cream
28 g unsalted butter
28 g caster sugar
340 g plain chocolate, broken into small pieces.
Heat the double cream, butter, and sugar in a 21/2 l saucepan over medium-high heat.
When hot, stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Place the chocolate in a stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Allow cooling to room temperature.
The Death By Chocolate Book taught me well, it is one of my reference books for my cooking.
Enjoy Using Chocolates and Happy Baking Chocolate Cakes to you all!
Until Next Post
Thanks For Stopping By
Susy
No comments:
Post a Comment