Chocolate Archives - Page 5 of 5

Tag: Chocolate

25
Jul
2013

Microwave Chocolate-Nutella Mug-Cake

categories: Baking, Cakes, Cupcakes & Muffins, Quick Fix

It was a conscious decision to stay-away from this dangerous mug-cake only because of its sheer convenience. I did not need a confirmation that I can make this cake whenever chocolate-cravings hit me.

As all our resolutions come to an end sooner or later, on a particularly depressing morning, I caved in! And it definitely lifted my spirits up instantly! Yaay for broken resolutions! I’m totally hooked to this one and will be definitely trying different versions! 😛

I know there are infinite versions of mug-cakes floating on the web since 2-3 years and I did check out many of them. But I had a few things in mind about how I wanted this cake to be so I ended up making my own version of this sinful dessert. For one wanted this cake to be eggless and a wee-bit healthier so that I don’t feel too much guilty about gobbling it up.

Another criteria was a perfectly soft, moist and fluffy cake. I can’t tolerate dry crumbs. But microwave especially has a tendency to snatch away moisture and make everything dry. So timing here is a key. Do not over-cook it. Check it after 1 minute + 10 seconds. If not done then cook for another 10 to 20 seconds.

It will take you more time to assemble all the ingredients than for it to actually cook! Perfect for unusual cravings or unexpected company! It would be ready in a jiffy! For it to look more posh, make it in a fancy tea-cups/Ramekins and serve it with ice-cream or whipped cream with fresh fruits. Add anything else you want in the batter like chopped nuts, dark/white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, dried fruits, M & Ms, sprinkles… Tini-tiny pieces of delicious surprise in every bite! Pure happiness!

Mouth-watering? Read on to find out how it’s done. Be warned ~ it’s addictive!

Microwave Chocolate-Nutella Mug-Cake

Serves: 1 | Prep time: 2 minutes | Cook Time: 1 to 1 1/2 minutes

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp powder sugar
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp Nutella
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
M & Ms for topping or 1 Tbsp dark chocolate chips

Directions:

In a medium-sized microwave-safe mug/ramekin add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk with fork until combined.
Add oil, milk, Nutella, vanilla extract and mix with a fork until no lumps remain in the batter.
Sprinkle top of batter with M & Ms or chocolate chips. Microwave on high for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Mine was done in 1 minute + 10 seconds so check at that mark and if it is not cooked through then let cook for another 10 to 20 seconds. Be careful as you don’t want a dry cake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

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28
Jun
2013

Skinny Devil’s Food Cake Mix Cookies – Funfetti Friday!

categories: Cookies, Quick Fix

Hey fellas, I have been ~~ranting~~ singing about my birthday from the beginning of this week but today is the real deal!

Happy 28th Birthday to Me! 🙂

And Happy Funfetti Friday to you all!

I didn’t want to bake a cake for my own birthday so instead I baked these cookies a day before to commemorate the celebration! I was feeling super lazy yet wanted a chocolate cookie and sprinkle on my birthday eve so decided to settle for these!

I kept them skinny by omitting butter with fat free yogurt. They were not crunchy but instead soft and moist but that is how I like my cookies so no complains! They almost tasted like fudgy brownies so bake them as brownies if you like and adjust the baking time accordingly.

It is a one-bowl treat so less dishes! The dough requires quite a bit of elbow grease to whip up so use sturdy spoon for mixing, preferably wooden spoon. The dough is quite sticky so put it in refrigerator for half an hour if you’re making cookies.

Use ice-cream scoop to form cookie balls and top them with sprinkles or M&Ms or candied cherries.. I used all 3 of them and loved how candied cherry tasted almost sinful with rich chocolate!

Skinny Devil Food Cake Mix cookies1 — Dough chilled in refrigerator for half an hour & then scooped on to cookie sheet

You must be able to palpate the haste in my writing as you are reading down the post but that is exactly how this was typed. In a hurry!

So let’s not waste more time and get to the recipe!

Skinny Devil’s food Cake Mix Cookies

Yields: Around 12 large cookies

Ingredients:

1 box (500 gm) chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Cake Mix)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup fat free vanilla yogurt
sprinkles, M&Ms or candies cherries for topping

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F/170 C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Mix all the ingredients in one large bowl and chill in refrigerator for half an hour.
Using ice-cream scoop, drop cookie balls on parchment paper. Decorate them with the topping of your choice.
Bake for 11-12 minutes or till sides have firmed up. the center will still be gooey but will firm up once cookies cool down. Do not over-bake. Let rest on cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring on a wire rack to cool completely.

*If using plain yogurt then add 1 tsp vanilla extract to the dough.

Enjoy!!

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18
Jun
2013

Fresh Mint and Chocolate Chunks Ice-cream

categories: Ice-creams, Summer

Hello beautiful people.. I hope you all enjoyed my yesterday’s ice-cream post!

But if you have not read my previous post then let me tell you that I am doing an ice-cream week on the blog and I am going to post super-easy ice-cream recipes which does not require the use of ice-cream maker! Week-long of deliciousness! Excited??!! I really am… Imagine 7 beautiful ice-cream treats for 7 days of the week! 7 gorgeous flavors! Yup.. I’ll be blogging continuously for 7 days! Anything for you guys! 🙂

So keeping up with this week’s ice-cream theme, I have got you a Fresh Mint and Chocolate Chunk Ice-cream… Sounds refreshing right? Feeling of cold running down your spine while having the first lick of this ice-cream is what you should expect and nothing less! That too made with fresh mint.. No mister, no mint extract involved here!

Mint and chocolate is a match made in heaven! This is one of my favorite ice-creams to have in summer… Love the splash of green it has! I know… Girls and colors!!! 😉

If you do not like green color, no worries, simply omit it as it is only for the visual effect! But I bet your kiddos or kids in you will love it!

Large chunks of chocolate really compliments cool mint, mellows down the flavor and yet packs a punch!

So you would be curious as in how did I manage to extract so much flavor from fresh mint without adding even a drop of mint extract? Actually it was very simple! I added mint leaves to the cream and let it sit in the refrigerator for around 4 hours. Kind of let the mint marinate the cream and after 4 hours you get the base for your ice-cream! Dang easy!

Whip this cream with a drop of green color and add as many chocolate chunks as you like to it, hide it in freezer for 4-5 hours and it’s ready to be devoured!

Just a 4-ingredient treat!

Fresh Mint and Chocolate Chunks Ice-cream

Yields: around 12-14 scoops

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh medium fat cream (40% fat)
2 large handfuls of mint leaves
3 Tbsp caster sugar
1 drop of green food color (optional)
1 cup dark chocolate chunks (I like lots of it, you can use less)
chocolate sprinkles and/or chocolate sauce, to garnish

Directions:

In a bowl, add mint leaves to the cream and place it in a refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Use sieve and strain the cream in another large bowl to separate mint leaves. Add sugar and food color to it and whip using a electric mixer till you get a light and fluffy mix. Fold in chocolate chunks and spoon the mix in airtight container. Freeze it for 4-5 hours and serve it as is or with chocolate sprinkles or chocolate sauce.

Tips:

*When serving leftovers, remove container from freezer about 15 minutes before serving to soften.

*Dip your ice-cream scoop in a warm water for scooping out the ice-cream easily.

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14
May
2013

Cadbury SHOTS topped Beetroot & Chocolate Cupcakes

categories: Cupcakes & Muffins

I love Cadbury SHOTS!

Their punchline is ‘A Glass and a Half Full of Joy‘ and that is exactly what I feel and more when I pop it in!

Eating them always gets me nostalgic about my college days. It was launched about the same time as I was finishing my internship and was my favorite thing to snack on around that time of my life. That was the most memorable time when we were free from all the tensions of patients, studies and exams, never thinking of what the future holds for us and just a happy, fashionable, giggling bunch of jobless interns who were always gossiping in cafeteria (Of course we used to work when we were not on breaks!!!). Those were the days!!! 🙂

Cadbury SHOTS is available in a small pack of two which is perrrfect to share with your bestie or your sweetheart! Costs only INR 2/- each! They consist of milk chocolate balls coated in a hard sugar outer layer. But I think they are only available in my part of the world and not elsewhere. How unfortunate! 🙁

So to reminisce about that awesome time of my life I decided to top my next cupcakes with these sweeties. I wanted the cupcakes to be chocolate. How boring! So I decided to give it a twist… of Beetroots! I mean I have baked chocolate cupcakes with zucchini before so decided to pretty much replace zucchini with beetroots and it worked like a charm. I tweaked my previous recipe a bit and added melted chocolate in this one instead of chocolate chips as I was topping these with SHOTS!

The cupcakes are rich in chocolate and beetroot’s flavor is quite earthy yet not overpowering. The insides are gooey and moist! And most important of all, it’s heeaallthyy! Come on, it has whole wheat flour, dark cocoa, dark chocolate and beetroot! 😉

So hop onto the reminiscence train! There are no stations in between.. Share with us that one important nostalgic moment from your college days. We would love to know!

Cadbury SHOTS topped Beetroot and chocolate Cupcakes

Servings: Makes 6 cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 small raw beetroot bulbs, peeled and grated (about 175 gm)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp Hershey’s dark cocoa powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
2 Tbsp butter, melted
75 gm 70-80% dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
9 Cadbury SHOTS packs, for topping

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375F/180C. Line 6-count muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
Sift all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the grated beetroot, egg and melted butter.
Add the melted chocolate and vanilla extract. Stir until just combined.
Spoon the batter among the prepared pans. Top each cupcake with 3 Cadbury SHOTS and bake for 21-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.

*Cadbury SHOTS has not sponsored me in anyway. All the praise written above is my personal expression of love for them!

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