Chocolate Eclairs - 10th April 2011

Ingredients - Choux Pastry

• 1 cup (250ml/ 8 fl oz) Water
• 100g (3 1/2 oz) butter, chopped
• 3/4 cup (120g/ 4 1/2 oz) Plain Flour
• 5 eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius 

2. Place water and butter in a saucepan over high heat and cook until butter is melted and the mixture starts to simmer. (It's better to add water gradually as melting the butter).

3. Add the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.

4. Cook, stirring over low heat until mixture leaves the side of the pan.
5. Remove from heat and place in bowl of electric mixer.

6. Add eggs gradually, beating on high speed until well combined. (Mixture will be quite hot so beat fast first to get some of heat out, will create steam, but adding eggs bit at a time on very high [kitchen aid on 10, top speed] doesn't cook the eggs).
7. Spoon mixture into a piping bag with a 12mm (1/2 inch) plain nozzle. Pipe 8cm (3inch) lengths of mixture onto baking trays lined with non stick baking paper.

8. Bake for 20-25mins or until puffed up and golden.

9. Cool on wire racks.

Ingredients - Chocolate Creme Patissiere

• 2 cups (500ml/ 16 fl oz) Milk
• 200g (7 oz) Chopped dark chocolate
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla paste
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup (75g/ 2 3/4 oz) Caster (superfine) Sugar
• 1/3 (50g/ 1 3/4 oz) Cornflour (cornstarch)

Method

1. Place milk, chocolate and vanilla in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

2. Bring to the boil.

3. Whisk together egg yolk and sugar until thick and pale.

 4. Slowly pour in the hot milk, whisking continuously.

5. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan over medium-high heat and simmer rapidly while whisking continuously for 5mins or until thick.

Put Together the Eclairs

• Cut the eclairs into halves.
• Pipe the chocolate creme patissiere onto one side of each chocolate eclair halve.
• Drizzle the top of the chocolate eclairs with melted chocolate and serve.

Chocolate Macaroons - April 10th 2011

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 125g ground almonds/ almond meal (approx 1 cup)
• 125g icing sugar (approx 3/4 cup)
• 25g cocoa (approx 1/4 cup)
• 125g caster sugar

Method

1. Pulse almond meal, icing sugar and cocoa in food processor to a fine powder
2. Sift mixture into large bowl
3. Place egg whites and half of caster sugar into mixer and beat on low/ medium 
4. After 2mins increase speed and gradually add the rest of the sugar until dissolved
5. Gently fold almond mixture into egg whites until smooth and glossy and lava like consistency
6. Fill piping bag with mixture and pipe into rounds from centre onto lined baking trays
7. Tap the trays on bench to get rid of any air bubbles
8. Leave to sit on bench to form skin for 30mins, mixture should spread out into smooth and glossy consistency
9. Bake at 160 degrees celcius for 12-14mins (more like 20-25mins) or until glossy and firm to touch
10. Cool slightly before removing and piping filling

Ganache Filling Recipe

• Add dark chocolate and some cream to bain marie and melt together until smooth (approx 2 parts chocolate to 1 part cream)
• Allow to cool on bench and then use to fill macaroon shells together
• Place a small dollop of ganache into centre of macaroon and place macaroon shells together and twist to spread ganache evenly

Pumpkin Risotto* - 9th of April 2011

Ingredients

• 1 cup arborio rice
• Half a pumpkin, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• Garlic Cloves, crushed
• Thyme (dried or fresh)
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock (Gluten Free Vegetable stock)
• Grated parmesan
• Parsley, chopped

Method

1. Heat stock and keep warm

2. Fry onions with garlic on low heat

1. 3. Add rice and finely chopped rosemary and stir 'til rice is opaque

1. 4. Add wine and stir until absorbed

5. Add a ladleful of stock, wait 'til absorbed and continue adding until all stock is absorbed (approx 20mins)

6. Meanwhile, dice up pumpkin and fry in pan with some garlic, and sprigs of rosemary and thyme, put in oven to continue to cook

7. Add pumpkin to risotto once all stock has absorbed and stir through

8. Add lemon juice

9. Turn off heat and add parmesan and stir through 'til melted and stir in the parsley 

10. Serve with extra parmesan and a garnish of parsley

Tzatziki - 2nd of April 2011

Ingredients

• 2 x 175g tubs natural no-fat yoghurt
• 2 Lebanese cucumbers, deseeded, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 lemon, rind finely grated, juiced
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Handful of mint, chopped

Method

1. Combine yoghurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon rind, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, lemon pepper, mint and salt in a bowl. Cover. Refrigerate until required.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/7953/tzatziki
   
   
   
   

Hummus - 2nd of April

Ingredients

• 600g canned chickpeas, drained, rinsed
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 100ml olive oil
• 2 tbs tahini paste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Juice of 1 lemon 

Method

1. Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse until combined
2. Add some water and pulse again
3. Serve with bread

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/5103/hummus

Raspberry Spiked Chocolate Brownie - 2nd of April 2011

Raspberry Spiked Chocolate Brownie

from Donna Hay's Chocolate, Simple Essentials 

Ingredients

• 200g (7 oz) Dark Chocolate, chopped
• 250g (8 oz) Butter
• 1 3/4 Cups (250g/ 7 1/4 oz) Brown Sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 1 1/3 Cups (200g/ 7 oz) Plain Flour
• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/3 Cup (40g/ 1 1/2 oz) Cocoa Powder, Sifted
• 1 1/2 Cups Raspberries, fresh or frozen

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius

2. Melt chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth

3. Place in a bowl the sugar and eggs

4. Sift over flour, baking powder and cocoa and mix to combine

(or mix through the raspberries)

5. Pour mixture into 23cm (9 inch) greased and lined (baking paper) cake tin

6. Top the mixture with raspberries (If using frozen raspberries, there is no need to defrost them)

7. Bake for 45mins or until set (Brownies should be very fudgy in the middle)

8. Slice and dust with icing sugar to serve