I don't know why I always do the same mistake by leaving the challenge to the last minute "sure I have more time, why hurry!" then life just makes it harder on that "particular" day. I also don't even think about how am I going to improvise and play with the recipe. I do it all on the same day and that's a lot of thinking and working!
This month's challenge was obvious. It is February, and what is February without that sweet thing called "chocolate". The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. They have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.
The cake is flourless, very rich, dense and chocolaty, really chocolaty! If you like that type of cakes then you definitely will love this one. The addition of berries balances the richness of the cake. I personally love to serve berries with this kind of cakes (chocolate and raspberries/strawberries is one of my favorite combo), or may be it's just an excuse to add these tiny little red fruits everywhere!
Chocolate Valentino
454 g (16oz) semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped.
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter.
5 large eggs separated.
Preparation
1.Preheat your oven to 375f. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter a 9 in pan and line it with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full.Bake for 25 to 30 min or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out slightly wet.
9. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
300 ml heavy cream.
300 ml low fat milk (I used 2%).
1 vanilla pod.
4 large egg yolks.
75 g granulated sugar.
Preparation
1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthwise. Scrape the seeds out of the pod. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla seeds and the pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
2. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)
For this particular presentation
After the cake cooled, I used a square cookie cutter and cut out pieces. I then tempered some chocolate and used a plastic template to make the impressions. I surrounded the cake with the chocolate squares, added some berries and topped everything with a scoop of ice cream.
Enjoy!
454 g (16oz) semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped.
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter.
5 large eggs separated.
Preparation
1.Preheat your oven to 375f. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter a 9 in pan and line it with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full.Bake for 25 to 30 min or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out slightly wet.
9. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
300 ml heavy cream.
300 ml low fat milk (I used 2%).
1 vanilla pod.
4 large egg yolks.
75 g granulated sugar.
Preparation
1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthwise. Scrape the seeds out of the pod. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla seeds and the pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
2. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)
For this particular presentation
After the cake cooled, I used a square cookie cutter and cut out pieces. I then tempered some chocolate and used a plastic template to make the impressions. I surrounded the cake with the chocolate squares, added some berries and topped everything with a scoop of ice cream.
Enjoy!
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