Classic Walnut Brownies with Ganache & Chocochips | Celebration Season is in bloom

I am truly not a dessert lover but its ironical that i always enjoy making them in my kitchen. I think its the feel of dessert making which makes me create a new one every time in my house. Desserts need to be prepared with extra love and care. They ought to be. The aromas and the goodness of sweets. Aaaah! So alluring!!! 

Chocolates are an all time favorite. No age bar pls! One must never wreck a sublime chocolate experience by feeling guilty and once in a while a sinful indulgence is permissible. Helps you de-stress! ;) 

Today, i bring to you to a much awaited post. Its everyone's choice and love for all. You guessed it right, bang on! Classic Walnut Brownies...those extra gooey beauties with perfect chewiness are soo decadent. Absolutely IRRESISTIBLE!

Well, it was a day before Christmas when i happened to meet a friend over a cup of coffee at Cafe Coffee Day. As always, a coffee has to be accompanied with a cake! So we called for those beautiful looking brownies showcased at the billing counter. They looked absolutely DIVINE! One bite and i was hooked onto them. I decided the next post for my blog. 

These gorgeous fudgy bites are loaded with walnuts and dark chocolate. Warm it up before serving and unravel the real happiness. When everything appear dull & boring, lighten up your day with these sinful brownies and you will know how being in Food Heaven feels like.

The recipe make 9 brownie squares of 2 inch each.

Ingredients:-

For the brownies

115 gm White butter

50 gm Unsweetened cocoa powder

3 Whole eggs

220 gms Brown Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla essence

40 gms All purpose flour (Maida)

75 gms Chopped Walnuts

Unflavored Oil for greasing the pan

For Ganache Topping 

70 gm Dark Chocolate

5 gms White butter

40 gm Heavy Cream

For Garnish

2 tbsp Choco chips

50 gms White chocolate

Steps to follow:-

For Brownie

1. Line an 8 x 8 inch square pan with parchment paper all around the sides & bottom of the pan.

2. Grease the pan with little bit oil

3. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

4. Melt the butter in a pan or microwave and stir in the cocoa powder.

NOTE: Mix well to avoid lumps

5. In a mixing bowl beat eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until light and frothy.

6. Further add the cocoa-butter mix and give a final blend.

7. Sift the flour into the mixture and fold in gently.

8. Add the chopped walnuts and transfer the brownie mix to the greased tin.

NOTE: The brownie batter will be very thick and you will need a spatula to spread it well in the tin. Smoothen out the surface with the help of spatula to ensure its at the same level everywhere.

9. Bake in the center of the oven shelf for 30 mins and check with a tooth pick for the doneness.

10. Do not overbake and once done remove from the oven and cool the tin before cutting into pieces.

For Ganache 

1. In a double broiler, melt the ingredients 'For Ganache' and ensure the mixture is lump free.

2. Let it cool for sometime.

Final Assembly of the Walnut Brownie

1. Spoon out ganache and spread it evenly on the brownies and let it cool down further so that it hardens a bit.

2. Spread the choco chips on the ganache

3. Melt the white chocolate in microwave and whisk it till lump free.

4. Allow it to cool for few more minutes and then fill it in an icing pen and swirl it on the top

Warm the brownies a bit for few seconds in a microwave before serving and enjoy the chocoliciousness. Absolute death by chocolate indeed!!

Chocolate Mousse Cake...a No Bake Delight!

I am a happy shappy kinda girl. In-fact who doesn't like to be happy...We all do, isn't it? Yet there are times of Lows and Highs!! But have we ever bothered what is Happiness?? To be truly happy one needs to understand that everything is good within one's own life. Happiness is not an emotion or a phenomenon, its an attitude.

Happiness cannot be result oriented or event driven. Every day is a new day as it has new experiences to share and new learnings to teach. There is one quote which i read some years back and ever since then, its a favorite of mine and aptly states my attitude towards life.

"I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition." - Martha Washington

At any time of the day if you feel stressed or bogged down by the pressure around, give a big jolt to yourself and remind, that happiness is utmost and does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us. And If the jolt does not help, then i have a much better way to turn the agonies to pleasure. 

So Feeling low, upset or stressed??!!?? Then its time for some homemade happiness..some luscious chocolate quick desserts, coz stressed spelled backwards is desserts. 

Life is like making tea! Boil your ego, Evaporate your worries, Dilute your sorrows, Filter your mistakes & Get Taste of Happiness. So don't brood over your troubles anymore. Instead transform them into an opportunity to create some delectable delights in your kitchen and drool over the flavors and rejoice! 

One bite of this instant quick drool-some chocolicious mousse will help you forget the rest!!! The flavors will make you crave for this homemade happiness whenever you feel the urge for something chocolaty. 

No wonder, i make this often at my place as an excuse to assuage my mood swings. ;)

Ingredients:-

60 gm Hide and Seek biscuits (or any chocolate cookies)
15 gm unsalted butter, melted
60 gm dark chocolate (Brand used: Mordes)
20 gm milk chocolate (Brand used: Mordes)
1 egg white
1/4 tsp Vinegar
120 ml heavy cream
1 tbsp Old Monk rum (Optional)
2 Ferrero Rocher Chocolates

Steps to follow:-

1. Crush Hide & Seek biscuits in a bowl and add melted butter to it.
2. Rub the biscuits and butter well till the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
3. Take small glasses and spoon this mixture in a glass up to 1/4 inch height.
4. Press lightly with fingers and ensure that the mixture is at the same level.
5. Transfer the glasses to the refrigerator and let it set uptil 30 mins to 1 hour.
6. In a pan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Turn off the gas.

NOTE: While boiling the heavy cream, you have to constantly whisk to avoid cream getting stuck at the bottom of the pan and getting burnt.

7. In a bowl add dark and milk chocolate and pour in the boiled heavy cream.
8. Whisk vigorously and let chocolate melt completely. The mixture should be lump free.
9. Meanwhile, beat one egg white in a bowl using a hand or stand mixer and pour in vinegar drop-wise intermittently.
10. Beat the egg white till soft peaks are formed.

NOTE: It is best to begin at a slow speed and gradually move up to high when beating egg whites. When your egg whites get fluffy...STOP! If you over-beat them, they will liquefy again. Use beaten egg whites right away. Do not let them sit.  

11. Add rum to the chocolate cream mixture and give it good swirl.
12. Gently fold in the whipped egg white (soft meringue) to the chocolate mixture in batches of two.

NOTE: At this stage you have to lightly fold in the meringue in to the chocolate mixture. The mixture should be lump free. DO NOT whisk or mix with a spoon here else the air in egg whites will fizzle out. Use spatula for folding in.

13. Take out the glasses from the refrigerator and pour in the mousse till 3/4th of the glass.
14. Refrigerate it for 3-4 hours till the mousse sets.
15. Cut the Ferrero Rocher chocolates into two halves and once the mousse has set, garnish it with the chocolate.

Variation:-
1. To make a richer mousse, you could add crushed Ferrero Rochers to the mousse before pouring in the glasses.
2. You can garnish with chocolate shavings once the mousse is set. Use a vegetable Y peeler (resembles a safety razor) and scrape thin shavings from a block of chocolate. The chocolate should be at room-temperature, but not in a melted state.

Choco Chip Cookies...A Timeless Bliss!

Today's post is a recognition of my efforts. Yes, at time i do indulge in self-appreciation. Such a confidence booster it is! Try it, you will feel good about yourself. Self motivation is necessary for moving on ahead.

When i travel down the memory lane of my past, something that i would never find myself connected with was 'FOOD'. Shocked?!? Yes, thats true!! I am amazed as well when i compare my past with today. A drift altogether. I sincerely dont recall any time which dates back to my childhood, where i have spent my time in the kitchen with mom, helping her or showing interests in household or kitchen errands. Although, the joy of savoring a delightful meal with good flavors even then was as important as it is today.

I still remember very clearly that when i used to visit home during my vacations (while i was doing my grads), mum always often used to get angry, worrying for me not having any interest in household stuff and cooking especially. Till my post graduation, she had been brooding over my lack of involvement in Kitchen, especially when my counterparts in our  locality and in my family had taken up those responsibilities from their moms, voluntarily. My love story with food and kitchen started late but not very late. Thankfully it happened before i got hitched. Else imagine,what tough time i would have given to my dear husband!

Well, I have traveled places after my schooling. A few places journeyed for further studies and some while i was working. Well, the trip has been joyful and full of learning. Fortunately, cupid struck me at this point! Its so aptly said, things that are destined to occur will happen come what may! My passion for food & culinary arts was evolving and growing and I solely give credit to my stay at different cities where i got the opportunity to cook by myself (simply to survive initially) and got to learn variety of regional stuff.

I started with basic home food and Rotis being my fear always! It were of all other shapes but round. Did not know that my mom in law, would teach me how to roll them. And now i have mastered them so much, that my MIL cant stop praising me for those thin, round delicate piece of rolled bread. Aah! Sense of victory. My next step was to attempts meat. Tried it too and accomplished! Next in queue was baking which was a fear too, two years back, a result of feedback from people whose experiments with cakes & bakes had been a disastor.Baking is tricky!! It requires precision, accuracy and most of LOVE! Believe me it does. My self learning, determination and aspiration to move ahead got me over my baking jitters as well. Now i bake a cake quite often at home. I bake when i am happy, i bake when i am stressed. It my true true love. 

So home cooking done, meaty experiments done, cake baking perfected. So whats new! My research on world cuisines is on and shall continue coz thats vast and varied. A bit more of baking (is what y heart says..always), i know, i know, coz i  have a special sweet corner for baking & for the baked delicacies..such dainty beauties they appear to me!! They all seem to be so loveable. 

So my todays post is my next step on baking. Today's delight is everybody's all time favorite. From a kid to an elderly person. All have loved it always and continue to have them in whichever form or shape they like, based on their personal preferences. Its none other than our all time favorites 'Cookies' or Biscuits as we term them here in India. Had never baked cookies ever ever before and honestly was taken aback when i realised that its the easiest thing to make!! My experiments with Cake have given me a difficult time at times. But my Choco Chip Cookie, a vintage pleasure was a success in one go! 

Choco chip cookie is a simple, easy, super duper quick and a classic indulgence which is a MUST MUST if you ever plan to bake cookies for the first time. A bit of tender, fudgy chewiness but an edge of crisp bite explains my idea Choco Chip Cookie.

Ingredients:-

(Makes around 20-25)

150 grams unsalted butter (at room temperature)
125 grams brown sugar
100 grams caster sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 egg (cold - straight from the refrigerator)
1 egg yolk (cold - straight from the refrigerator) 
300 grams flour (Maida - Well sifted through a seive)
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
326 grams packet chocolate morsels or chip

Steps to follow:-

1. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Do Not grease the paper

2. Put the brown and white sugars into a bowl and add the butter over them and beat together with a hand beater or stand mixer.
3. Add in the vanilla, the cold egg and cold egg yolk to the beaten sugar - butter mixture until its light and creamy.
4. Slowly mix in the flour and soda to the mixture and blend  lightly to just ensure all has been mixed well.
5. Then fold in the chocolate chips. DO NOT beat with the hand mixer at this stage.
6. Wrap the dough in a cling foil and refrigerate for and hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 170°C
8.  Whenever you plan to bake the cookie, get the dough out of the refrigerator and scoop out the cookie dough with the help of an ice cream scoop or drop and equal size of cookie using your hand.
9. Drop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet and ensure each small cookie dough is  3inches apart as while baking the cookie would spread out. 

NOTE: You will need to make the cookies in batches hence keep the bowl of cookie dough in the fridge between batches.

10. Bake for 15–17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Choco Crunch Meringue Cookies

By now, i am sure enough is known about the association of my Happiness with the idea of baking. Perhaps, the greatest joy of baking a sweet or savory, is the idea of getting floury, sticky and wholly involved. 

Today, was one of those days, when i wanted to cook (out of sheer Happiness as always), but had no fixed idea of what, and had no actual meal to prepare to justify fiddling about in the kitchen. It was then that i convinced myself that there were some quick easy cookies that needed to be made. What a Joy!!!!! Cookies are mostly free form kind, you either spoon them onto a tray or roll them into balls between your hands to shape them but then what i invented was a complete an experiment.

I had a lot of unused stuff stocked in my refrigerator waiting to be consumed. Half a dozen eggs, few oranges and a handful of almonds.. How would i make cookie out of it?? What would that taste like??!!?? Cookie baking with a list of restricted ingredients seemed distant, but then if one's thinking cap is on, then an archaic practice of cookie baking can also be modernized. 

Cookie baking has to be, however innocently, one of the great culinary scams: it implies effort, it implies domestic prowess, but believe me, this delight from my kitchen is a heartthrob of all and an incredibly easy one. 

Ingredients:-

Choco Crunch Meringue Cookies

    3 oz eggs whites (about 3 large eggs)

    3/4 cup granulated sugar

    2 tablespoon powdered sugar

    1 teaspoon vanilla

    1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

    226 gms chocolate, melted and cooled

Orange Drizzle

    1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

    2 Tbsp honey

    2 cloves

    ½ inch cinnamon stick

Almond Praline

    30 gms castor sugar

    30 gms almond unskinned

Steps to Follow:-

Orange Drizzle

Combine the honey and orange juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Throw in cloves and cinnamon. Turn the gas on a low flame and let the mixture simmer until half the quantity. Let it cool when the quantity has been reduced to as desired.

Almond Praline

Heat a pan. Add sugar and almond and allow the sugar to melt. Keep the flame low. Do not stir the mixture. Instead you may swirl to ensure the sugar melts uniformly. Cook caramel, until deep golden. Cool the praline on a parchment paper until hard, about 15 minutes. Chop praline or you may blitz to a rough textured powder.

Choco Crunch Meringue Cookies

1. Heat oven to 275 degrees F. Line bake sheet with parchment. 

2. Place egg whites in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk and whip until soft peaks hold. Gradually add in both sugars and then vanilla and vinegar. 

4. Increase speed and whip until mixture is free of sugar grit when rubbed between two fingers and the meringue holds stiff and glossy peaks. 

5. Once all the ingredients have been incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue whisking until the meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks. 

6. Once the meringue is stiff, drizzle a some cooled chocolate (from the 1st step) on top of the meringue – DO NOT MIX IN.

7. Unmixed chocolate drizzle is what gives the meringues their interesting swirls. 

8. Use a 3-tablespoon sized cookie dough scoop to portion out a meringue onto the prepared baking tin. 

9. Continue drizzling chocolate over the meringues before scooping until all the meringue batter is used. 

10. Bake meringue for about 40-50 minutes or meringue easily peels away from parchment paper. Cool on a wire rack. 

11. Plate the meringue cookies on a platter and drizzle some orange syrup topped with some nutty praline.

Suffering from sweet cravings but running short of time or in a hurry?? Then this recipe of new-aged cookie, as i term it to be, can be made to augment a tub of good, bought ice cream to ridiculously great effect. And to everyone's surprise this sweet treat is easier than making any dessert you could think of.