Tag Archives: Dessert

Home-made Chocolate

My fondest memories of going to my granny’s house in Pune have been of the time when she would be be making this chocolate and the resulting sweet aroma that would fill up the entire house. Her sari would smell of the cocoa and cream for an entire day and I would go and hug her several times just to feel the scent of that warm chocolate.

This one here, is her original recipe, true to the last bit and believe it or not, has just 4 simplest ingredients. None of the fancy-shmancy oven or olive oil or that baking soda blah blah.. Just some fresh white cream, milk powder , cocoa powder and sugar. And cooking it in a pan on the stove top. Easy and chocolaty. Need i say more??

chocs stacked

Serves : A group of people

Continue reading →

Chocolate dipped strawberries n bananas

This is one of the fastest desserts I have ever seen or made. Plus a perfect make-ahead-of-time snack..

IMG_5758

And all that is required is a slab of chocolate (I use Morde – about Rs. 125 per half kg), and some fresh fruits. I prefer strawberries and bananas for the sheer color variation it brings to the plate and off course the big chunks it can be cut into.

So, the first and the only step is to melt the chocolate. The double boiler way. Take a big vessel and fill it with water and put chocolate slab in another vessel. Then keep the chocolate slab vessel over the water filled one and heat the water.  Continuously monitor and stir the chocolate. The chocolate melts within a couple of minutes, take it off the heat, or else it starts to burn pretty quickly.

See a quick video here : How to Melt Chocolate in Double Boiler

The other method, the super fast but tricky one,  is to microwave the chocolate slab in a bowl in bursts of 10 seconds, and stirring it between two bursts. This way it gets done in 40-50 seconds. However, if not stirred well, the chocolate burns, leaving a not-so-good burnt smell to the chocolate. But if done with caution, microwave is the best way!

Once the chocolate is melted, the fun part begins.

Line a plate with a butter paper or any greaseproof baking sheet, or even a slight layer of cream/malai just so that the chocolate does not stick to the dish.

Wash the strawberries and cut the leaves, and dice the bananas into 2-3 inch pieces.

Dip the strawberries and bananas in the molten chocolate and place it on the plate.

Freeze for 10 mins, while the chocolate hardens, and it is ready to be served or eaten!

IMG_5754

R

Caution:

Chocolate is an oil based product and as such it does not combine well with water. When melted chocolate contacts water, it will seize (solidify rapidly). It takes very little water to cause this so great care must be taken not to contaminate the chocolate with water. All equipment must be totally dry before use.