Deliciously Chocolatey Cakes & Bakes E-Book

Victoria Glass

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 167

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Over 100 chocolate baking recipes for cookies, cakes and bakes that are guaranteed to hit all the right notes of nostalgia and deliciousness! Deliciously Chocolatey Cakes & Bakes features ideas that cater for all chocolate cake lovers, with child-friendly recipes that use exciting ingredients like popping candy and homemade marshmallows, afternoon offerings for ladies who lunch, cakes to impress a love interest and recipes for the ultimate birthday cake. Clear step-by-step instructions make even the most complicated recipes feel achievable at home and there are guides on how to present your chocolate cakes and bakes as the ultimate eye candy. From biscuits, cookies and small bakes to larger cakes, pastries, desserts and puddings, Victoria charts the delicious range of some of our much-loved classics with a chocolatey twist. Smaller bakes such as Orange and Choc Chip Madeleines and Chocolate and Mint Teacakes feature alongside indisputable classics such as Chocolate Mud Cake, Torta Caprese and Caramelized White Chocolate Cheesecake. Also included are recipes for delicate and decadent petit fours, such as Chocolate and Whiskey Truffles, Chocolate Marshmallows and White Chocolate and Champagne Nougat. Whatever the occasion, chocolate cakes never go out of fashion!

Leseprobe

Deliciously

CHOCOLATEY

CAKES & BAKES

Deliciously

CHOCOLATEY

CAKES & BAKES

100 INDULGENT RECIPES FOR WHEN YOU NEED A TREAT

Victoria Glass

Dedication

For Lesley, my wonderful mum.

Designer Maria Lee-Warren

Editor Stephanie Milner

Production Manager Gordana Simakovic

Creative Director Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Prop Stylists Liz Belton and Linda Pullin

Food Stylist Mitzie Wilson

Indexer Hilary Bird

First published in 2015.

This updated edition published

in 2024 by Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields,

London WC1R 4BW

and

341 E 116th Street

New York, NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © Victoria Glass 2015, 2024. Design and photographs © Ryland Peters & Small 2015, 2024

Cover illustrations by Natali Mias/Adobe Stock

ISBN: 978-1-78879-583-8

E-ISBN: 978-1-78879-624-8

Printed and bound in China

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. US Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

Notes

• Both British (Metric) and American (Imperial plus US cups) are included in these recipes for your convenience, however it is important to work with one set of measurements and not alternate between the two within a recipe.

• All spoon measurements are level unless otherwise specified.

• Eggs are medium (UK) or large (US), unless specified as large, in which case use US extra-large. Uncooked or partially cooked eggs should not be served to the elderly, young children, pregnant women, or anyone with a compromised immune system.

• Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperatures. If using a fan-assisted oven, adjust temperatures according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

• All cake ingredients should be fresh and used at room temperature unless otherwise specified. Take any refrigerated ingredients, such as butter and eggs out of the cold at least 1 hour before you bake.

• Whenever butter is called for within these recipes, unsalted butter should be used unless otherwise specified.

• When a recipe calls for the grated zest of citrus fruit, buy unwaxed fruit and wash well before using. If you can only find treated fruit, scrub well in warm soapy water before using.

• When a recipe calls for full-fat cream cheese, it should be white, creamy smooth and have at least 24 per cent fat content, such as Kraft Philadelphia.

• When a recipe calls for clingfilm/plastic wrap, you can substitute for compostable baking paper, beeswax wraps, or silicone stretch lids.

contents

introduction

biscuits and cookies

small cakes and bakes

large cakes

pastries

desserts

petits fours

index

acknowledgments

introduction

There’s just something about chocolate. Theobroma, the Latin for cocoa, doesn’t mean ‘food of the gods’ for nothing. Sensuous and soothing, chocolate is unique as the only edible substance that melts in the mouth at body temperature. This creates a kind of alchemy on eating. Our senses are literally flooded with a pleasure so intoxicating that the phrase, ‘death by chocolate’ has become an aspiration on menus, rather than a threat.

The story of chocolate begins 5,500 years ago. Archaeologists have discovered traces of cacao in ceramic artefacts found at Mayo-Chinchipe Marañón ceremonial sites. This suggests that chocolate played an important spiritual role in ancient Amazonian civilisations, even before the rich chocolate cultures of the Mayans further north, and later the Aztecs. Cocoa plantations were established in ancient Mesoamerica as early as 600 AD, but chocolate wasn’t introduced to Europe until the 16th Century. The Spanish explorer, Hernán Cortés, brought cacao to the Spanish court in 1519 after conquering Mexico. The Aztec emperor, Montezuma, himself had offered Cortés a cup of spiced chocolate – a great honour indeed, considering the Aztec people valued cacao so highly they used it as currency. The Spanish were so determined to keep chocolate for themselves (especially once they’d added sugar), that it would take another 100 years for the rest of Europe to discover it.

Chocolate as we know it today has a lot to thank Dutch chemist, Coenraad Johannes van Houten, for. He invented a method of alkalizing cocoa, still known as Dutch processing, to make it milder and less bitter. Coenraad was continuing the work of his father, Casparus Johannes van Houten, who invented a process of extracting the cocoa butter and powder from roasted beans in 1828. Once Casparus’ patent ran out, the English company, J.S. Fry & Sons went on to produce the first modern chocolate bar in 1847. Switzerland’s Daniel Peter added powdered milk to create the first milk chocolate in the mid 1870s, while Rodolphe Lindt took chocolate’s development even further when he introduced conching in 1879; a manufacturing technique which results in a smoother, blended product.

There are few who can resist the allure of chocolate. It has inspired the work of novelists, artists, musicians and even parfumiers. Although there’s no definitive evidence that chocolate has any magical aphrodisiac effects, Montezuma was said to guzzle huge quantities of cocoa to fuel his amorous assignations, and it remains the edible go-to in romantic gift giving today. Chocolate’s association with love, romance and seduction are as deeply rooted in modern culture as in Ancient Mesopotamia. Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be the same without roses and chocolates. Not that it’s a competition, but high-quality chocolate contains over 400 distinct aromas, while a rose only contains fourteen. Just saying...

When I was a child, there were few pleasures greater than gnawing the top off an Easter egg. Once the effort had paid off and I’d cracked the shell, I would push and pull at the fractured top with my index finger until shards broke off and fell inside. The chocolate pieces would rattle like loose change in a piggy bank before I upturned the whole egg to shake them out into my wide-open jaws. Heaven. I have passed this small joy on to my own children, who will doubtless pass it on to theirs and it’s this connection with celebration that makes chocolate so nostalgic. It is a constant in the moments which mark our histories and our traditions. It is a soothing balm for grazed knees and a suggestive offering to those we desire. From chocolate coins in Christmas stockings to a single chocolate on a hotel pillow, our relationship with chocolate begins young and lasts a lifetime.

Chocolate can be intensely dark and complex, or milk-rich and nursery sweet. The recipes in this book are designed to cover all your bases: from school bake sales to elaborate confections fit for a feast day. Most importantly, I hope they give you pleasure – what’s the point of chocolate after all, if not for that.

biscuits and cookies

Dodgers, biscotti, shortbread and more, all with a chocolate twist

choco dodgers

These crumbly chocolate shortbread sandwiches, generously filled with chocolate ganache, make a sophisticated alternative to the jam-filled variety.

250 g/2 sticks soft butter

125 g/⅔ cup caster/granulated sugar

225 g/1¾ cups plain/all-purpose flour

100 g/¾ cup rice flour

50 g/scant ½ cup cocoa powder

a pinch of salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

icing/confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

Chocolate ganache

100 g/3½ oz. dark/bittersweet chocolate (60–70% cocoa solids), chopped

100 ml/scant ½ cup single/light cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon light muscovado/brown sugar

White chocolate ganache variation

150 g/5 oz. white chocolate, chopped

75 ml/⅓ cup double/heavy cream

a 6-cm/2½-in. scalloped edged round cookie cutter

a 2.5-cm/1-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter

1–2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment

a disposable piping/pastry bag

Makes about 15

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift in the flours and cocoa powder, and mix together with the salt and vanilla until just combined. Do not overwork the dough or your dodgers will be tough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm/plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

In the meantime, make the chocolate (or white chocolate, see below) ganache. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Put the cream, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan set over a gentle heat and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Increase the heat slightly and allow the cream to just come to the boil. Take it off the heat and leave to stand for 1 minute. Pour the cream over the chocolate and mix with a rubber spatula until it is fully combined and you have a smooth, glossy ganache. Set at room temperature for about an hour, or until thickened but still spreadable. Spoon the ganache into a piping/pastry bag and set aside.

Roll out the dough to thickness of 5 mm/¼ in. and cut out 30 rounds. Cut out a heart from the centre of half of the cookies and arrange on the prepared baking sheets. Bring any scraps together, re-roll and cut out as many cookies as possible from the dough. Chill in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Snip the end off the piping/pastry bag and squeeze a generous blob of ganache onto the whole biscuits. Gently press the biscuits with hearts cut out on top to create sandwiches. Dust with icing/confectioners’ sugar if you wish.

White chocolate ganache

To make a white chocolate ganache, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until just boiling and leave to cool for about 30 seconds before pouring over the chocolate. Stir with a spatula until all the chocolate has melted and leave to cool completely. Once cold, transfer the ganache to the fridge for a few hours, or until set but not rock hard – it needs to be soft enough to pipe.

chocolate crinkles

These American chocolate cookies are chewy, fudgy and, best of all, quick and easy to make.

40 g/⅓ cup cocoa powder

135 g/⅔ cup caster/granulated sugar

40 ml/3 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

100 g/¾ cup plain/all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

25 g/3½ tablespoons icing/confectioners’ sugar

a baking sheet lined with baking parchment

Makes about 12

Sift the cocoa into a mixing bowl, add the sugar and oil and whisk together. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Sift in the flour and baking powder and add the salt, and whisk again until just combined. Cover the bowl with a plate and chill for at least 4 hours or for up to 2 days.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.

Sift the icing/confectioners’ sugar into a wide bowl. Scoop a heaped teaspoon of dough out of the bowl and roll it with your hands into a golf-ball sized round, then roll it in the sugar to coat. Repeat with the remaining dough. Work quickly as the dough is very sticky. It might be helpful to roll in batches and to wash your hands in between if they become too sticky.

Arrange them on the prepared baking sheet, spaced well apart to allow for spreading. Bake in the preheated oven for 10–12 minutes and leave to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before eating.

chocolate and vanilla pinwheels

There’s no need to choose between vanilla and chocolate with my pinwheels. These fun spiral cookies combine the best of both worlds.

Vanilla dough

125 g/1 stick soft butter

65 g/⅓ cup caster/granulated sugar

135 g/1 cup plus 1 tablespoon plain/all-purpose flour 50 g/scant ½ cup rice flour

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ beaten egg

Chocolate dough

125 g/1 stick soft butter

65 g/⅓ cup caster/granulated sugar

115 g/1 scant cup plain/all-purpose flour

50 g/scant ½ cup rice flour

25 g/3½ tablespoons cocoa powder

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ beaten egg

a little milk, for brushing

1–2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment

Makes 30

To make the vanilla dough, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift in the flours and salt, and mix together with the vanilla and egg until just combined. Do not overwork the dough or your pinwheels will be tough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm/plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or until firm enough to roll.

To make the chocolate dough, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift in the flours, cocoa and salt, and mix together with the vanilla and egg until just combined. Do not overwork the dough or your pinwheels will be tough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm/plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or until firm enough to roll.

Roll both doughs into rectangles with a thickness of 3 mm/⅛ in., each about 18 x 30 cm/7 x 12 in. in size. Brush the chocolate rectangle with a little milk and place the vanilla rectangle on top. Gently roll again to ensure the two doughs stick together. Trim away the edges of the rectangles and roll up the dough tightly like a swiss roll/jellyroll, starting from the long edge. Carefully wrap the dough roulade in clingfilm/plastic wrap and pop in the fridge for at least an hour, or until very firm.

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3.

Unwrap the dough and use a serrated bread knife to slice it into 1-cm/⅜-in. thick cookies. If the biscuits are no longer perfectly round after slicing, carefully reshape them with your hands. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared baking sheets, spaced well apart to allow for spreading. Brush with a little milk and bake in the preheated oven for 18–20 minutes, or until firm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before eating.

bourbons and tim tams

One of Britain’s most popular treats, these chocolate biscuits are sandwiched together with chocolate buttercream. Australian Tim Tams have the addition of malt and are coated in a layer of melted chocolate.

115 g/1 scant cup plain/all-purpose flour

30 g/¼ cup cocoa powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of/baking soda

a pinch of salt

65 g/5 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

50 g/¼ cup light muscovado/brown sugar

2 tablespoons golden/light corn syrup

1–2 tablespoons milk

Chocolate buttercream

50 g/3 tablespoons soft butter

75 g/½ cup icing/confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

a splash of milk, if needed

Tim Tam top-up (optional)

20 g/3 tablespoons malted milk powder

200 g/6½ oz. milk/semisweet chocolate, finely chopped and melted

2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment

Makes 15

Put the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of/baking soda and salt in a food processor and blitz to combine. Add the butter, sugar and golden/light corn syrup and pulse until the mixture starts coming together. Add the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the mixture forms a dough. Scoop the dough out onto a sheet of clingfilm/plastic wrap, wrap it up and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Unwrap the dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a large rectangle about 3-mm/⅛-in. thick. Trim the edges before cutting 30 rectangles (each about 5 x 3 cm/2 x 1¼ in.). Arrange the biscuits on the prepared baking sheets and pop them in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.

Use a skewer to prick 8–10 holes (2 rows of 4 or 5) in the biscuits and bake in the preheated oven for 18–20 minutes, or until the biscuits are firm and dry. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the chocolate buttercream, simply whisk the butter until soft and fluffy, sift in half of the icing/confectioners’ sugar and whisk again. Sift in the remaining icing/confectioners’ sugar and cocoa and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and a splash of milk to slacken the mixture slightly if needed.

Spread half of the cooled biscuits with a heaped teaspoon of filling before sandwiching them with the remaining biscuits.

Tim Tams

For a Tim Tam variation, add 10 g/1½ tablespoons of malted milk powder to the dough mixture and follow the instructions for baking above. Add the remaining malted milk powder to the chocolate buttercream and sandwich the biscuits together as above. Flash freeze them for 10 minutes to make coating them in melted chocolate easier. Dip the sandwiches in the chocolate until fully coated, tap off the excess and place on a sheet of baking parchment to set.

chocolate macarons

These dainty French confections with a raspberry or espresso filling spell pure elegance and all your friends and family will hail you as a genius for making them yourself.

130 g/1 generous cup ground almonds

170 g/1½ cups icing/confectioners’ sugar

50 g/scant ½ cup cocoa powder

150 g/⅔ cup egg whites (roughly equivalent to 5 egg whites)

a pinch of salt

120 g/scant ⅔ cup caster/superfine sugar

Raspberry and white chocolate ganache

100 ml/scant ½ cup raspberry purée

150 g/5 oz. white chocolate, chopped

25 g/2 tablespoons butter

Espresso buttercream

100 g/6½ tablespoons soft butter

150 g/1⅓ cups icing/confectioners’ sugar

1–2 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water

2–3 piping/pastry bags fitted with a 1-cm/⅜-in. plain nozzle/tip

1–2 heavy baking sheets lined with baking parchment

Makes 20

First make the raspberry and white chocolate ganache. Heat the raspberry purée until just boiling, leave to cool for about 30 seconds, then pour over the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Stir until the chocolate and butter have melted and cool completely. Spoon the ganache into one of the piping/pastry bags and chill in the fridge for 6–8 hours, or until set. The ganache will fill 20 macarons or you can make espresso buttercream instead. Whisk the butter until soft and sift in half of the icing/confectioners’ sugar. Whisk again before sifting in the remaining half. Add the espresso and whisk well until light and fluffy. Spoon the buttercream into one of the piping/pastry bags and set aside.

To make the macaron shells, put the ground almonds in a food processor and blitz until incredibly fine. Don’t leave the motor running for too long though, or the almonds will become oily. Once blitzed, add the icing/confectioners’ sugar and cocoa and pulse until fully combined and lump free. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve/strainer two or three times. In a large and spotlessly clean bowl, use a handheld electric whisk to whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Gradually, a tablespoon at a time, add the caster/superfine sugar, whisking between each addition. You should be left with a shiny and very stiff meringue. Fold the blitzed ingredients into the meringue until fully combined. Continue mixing until the mixture has a soft, dropping consistency. Spoon the mixture into another piping/pastry bag and, with the nozzle/tip pointed straight down, carefully pipe 40 rounds about 3.5 cm/1⅜ in. in diameter, spaced well apart to allow for spreading. Lift and drop the sheets on a hard surface three times to expel any air bubbles. Set aside for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4. For best results, turn off the fan – if you can’t, reduce the temperature to 160°C (325°F) Gas 3.

Bake the macaron shells in the preheated oven for 16–18 minutes, or until dry and glossy with raised feet. Open the oven door briefly 3 times during cooking, to release any steam. Slide the macaron shells off the baking sheets onto wire cooling racks. Leave to cool completely before carefully peeling the macaron shells off the paper. The shells should lift off the paper easily.

Sandwich two macaron shells together with a generous blob of ganache or espresso buttercream. Once filled, consume within 2–3 days – they are best eaten the day after they are made.

billionaire’s shortbread

Millionaire’s shortbread is thought to date back to nineteenth-century Scotland, but I’ve brought it into the twenty-first century by making it even richer. This traybake goes up a financial bracket with chocolate shortbread and a shimmer of edible gold.

200 g/6½ oz. dark/bittersweet chocolate (60–70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces

edible gold lustre, to decorate (optional)

Chocolate shortbread

75 g/⅓ cup caster/granulated sugar

150 g/1 stick plus 2 tablespoons soft butter

125 g/1 cup plain/all-purpose flour

75 g/⅔ cup rice flour

25 g/3½ tablespoons cocoa powder

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Salted caramel

125 g/1 stick butter

75 g/⅓ cup light muscovado/brown sugar

25 g/1½ tablespoons golden/light corn syrup