Godiva Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream

Chocolate Cake:
4 bars (1.5 ounces each) Godiva Dark Chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

Raspberry Glaze:
2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 tablespoon water

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
2/3 cup heavy cream
5 bars (1.5 ounces each) Godiva Dark Chocolate, coarsely chopped

Finishing:
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon raspberry flavored liqueur

Garnish (optional):
1 pint fresh raspberries

Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter side and bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Place chocolate in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium (50% power) for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave 30 seconds more or until chocolate is softened. Stir until smooth and let cool.

Sift together flour and salt and set aside.

Beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar in mixing bowl until light and fluffy, using electric mixer at medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in melted chocolate.

Whip egg whites in another bowl until whites are opaque and begin to hold soft peaks, using electric mixer at medium speed. Gradually add remaining sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until firm peaks form.

Using a rubber spatula, stir about 1 cup of the beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then fold chocolate mixture into egg whites. Fold in flour in 3 additions. Spread mixture in prepared pan.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the cake begins to come away from the sides of the pan. Cool cake in pan on wire rack.

Invert cooled cake on a wire rack. Carefully remove the round of parchment from the bottom of the cake. Place cake, bottom-side-up, on a cardboard round, slightly smaller than the cake and place on a wire rack set over a baking pan. Dust off any excess crumbs from the cooled cake.

Make the raspberry glaze:
Combine raspberry jam and water in a small saucepan and heat to a low boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and let the glaze cool until tepid, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Using a pastry brush, apply the tepid glaze to the top and side of the cake. Allow the glaze to come to room temperature before frosting the cake.

Make the chocolate ganache frosting:
Heat cream in small saucepan until it comes to just under the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add chopped chocolate. Let stand for about 3 minutes to melt the chocolate. Gently whisk the ganache until it is well blended and smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

Pour ganache over the top of cake and use an offset metal cake spatula to spread the ganache evenly over the top and side of the cake, allowing any excess to drip off. If desired, pipe small dots of ganache around edge of cake.

Assembly:
Combine heavy cream, confectioners' sugar and raspberry liqueur in a large chilled bowl. Using a hand-held mixer set at medium speed, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until needed.

An hour or less before serving, spoon or decoratively pipe whipped cream on top of the cake. Refrigerate until serving time.

To serve, cut cake with a sharp thin-bladed knife, dipping the blade in hot water and wiping it dry after each slice. Garnish each serving with a few raspberries.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients

1 (18 ounce) package small chocolate chip cookies
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1 cup hot fudge topping
2 quarts vanilla ice cream
1 cup whipped cream
12 cherries


Directions

Crush half the cookies (about 20) to make crumbs. Combine crumbs with melted margarine and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan or pie plate. Stand remaining cookies around edge of pan. Spread 3/4 cup fudge topping over crust. Freeze 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, soften 1 quart of ice cream in microwave or on countertop. After crust has chilled, spread softened ice cream over fudge layer. Freeze 30 minutes.
Scoop remaining quart of ice cream into balls and arrange over spread ice cream layer. Freeze until firm, 4 hours or overnight. To serve, garnish with remainder of fudge topping, whipped cream and cherries.

Strawberry Cream Cake

Ingredients

Cake

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs (2 whole and 3 separated), room temperature
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 Tbsp water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Filling

2 pounds fresh strawberries (medium or large, about 2 quarts), washed, dried, and stemmed
4-6 Tbsp sugar

Pinch salt

Whipped Cream

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 cups heavy cream

Method

Bake the cake

1 Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour round 9 by 2-inch cake pan or 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, by hand, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and all but 3 Tbsp of the sugar in mixing bowl. Whisk in 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks (reserving whites), butter, water, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
2 Using a mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat remaining 3 egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 60 to 90 seconds. Stir one-third of whites into batter to lighten. Add the remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert cake onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard parchment. Invert cake again; cool completely, about 2 hours.
Strawberry filling

3 Cut in half 24 of best-looking berries and reserve. Slice or quarter remaining berries; toss with 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar (depending on sweetness of berries) in medium bowl and let sit 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The sugar will macerate the strawberries, making them soft, and generating liquid. Strain the juices from berries and reserve (you should have about 1/2 cup). Put the strawberries in a bowl and use a potato masher to mash them; set aside.
In small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer reserved juices until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour reduced syrup over macerated berries, add pinch of salt, and toss to combine. Set aside until cake is cooled.
Whipped cream
4 When cake has cooled, place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in slow, steady stream; when almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes more, scraping bowl as needed (you should have about 4 1/2 cups).
Assemble the cake


5 Using large serrated knife, slice cake into three even layers. Place bottom layer on cardboard round or cake plate and arrange ring of 12-20 strawberry halves, cut sides down and stem ends facing out, around perimeter of cake layer. Pour one half of puréed berry mixture (about 3/4 cup) in center, then spread to cover any exposed cake. Gently spread about one-third of whipped cream (about 1 1/2 cups) over berry layer, leaving 1/2-inch border from edge. Place middle cake layer on top and press down gently (whipped cream layer should become flush with cake edge). Repeat with 12-20 additional strawberry halves, remaining berry mixture, and half of remaining whipped cream; gently press last cake layer on top. Spread remaining whipped cream over top; decorate with remaining cut strawberries.
Serve immediately, or keep chilled. If the whipped cream warms to room temperature it will be harder to keep stable while cutting. Serves 8 to 10.

Irish Cream Bundt Cake

Ingredients

1 cup chopped pecans
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur


Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over bottom of pan.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Mix in eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup oil and 3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur. Beat for 5 minutes at high speed. Pour batter over nuts in pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto the serving dish. Prick top and sides of cake. Spoon glaze over top and brush onto sides of cake. Allow to absorb glaze repeat until all glaze is used up.
To make the glaze: In a saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Irish cream.

Thai Mango Sticky Sweet Rice Dessert

Prep Time : 8min

Cook Time : 25min

Course : Dessert

Special : Cooking for Two

Type of Prep : Simmer

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 2-4

1 cup Thai Sweet Rice (also called "sticky rice", available at Asian markets and grocery stores)

1 3/4 cups water

1 ripe mango, cut into bite-size pieces (look for mangos that are fragrant and easily bruised), or 1 pkg frozen mango

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. brown sugar (for a natural sweetener substitute maple syrup)

1 can good-quality coconut milk

1/4 tsp. + pinch of salt

2 tsp. coconut flavoring

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. cornstarch or arrowroot powder dissolved in 2 Tbsp. water

PREPARATION:

1.Soak the sweet rice in 1 cup water for 20 minutes, or up to 1 hour.

2.When done soaking, add 3/4 cup (more) water plus 1/4 can coconut milk, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. coconut flavoring, and 1 Tbsp. brown sugar. Stir this into the rice, lifting any rice grains that have stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Gradually bring to a gentle boil, then partially cover with a lid (leaving some room for steam to escape). Turn the heat down to medium-low (#2.5 to 3 on the dial).

Allow to cook for 10-20 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed by the rice. Remove the pot from the heat, place the lid on tight, and leave to "steam" cook for 5-10 minutes. The heat within the rice pot will finish cooking the rice.

Make sauce and serve the dessert right away, or store the rice (covered) in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.

To make the sauce, warm the rest of the can of coconut milk together with 1/4 cup sugar, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp. coconut flavoring and 1 tsp. vanilla flavoring over medium heat (5 minutes).

Add cornstarch or arrowroot powder (dissolved in the water) to the sauce and stir to thicken it slightly. As it thickens, turn down heat to low. When thickened, remove from heat (this should only take a couple of minutes). Tip: Try not to over-cook the sauce, or you will lose that wonderful coconut flavor.

Before serving, taste-test the sauce for sweetness, adding more sugar if desired. If too sweet for your taste, add a little more coconut milk.

There are 2 ways to serve this dessert:

Place scoops of the sticky rice in bowls (Note that sticky rice can be served cold, warm, or at room temperature, as desired). Ladle a generous amount of warm coconut sauce over the rice (creating an “island” of sticky rice). Add slices/pieces of ripe fresh mango. (If using frozen mango, be sure to give it enough time to thaw before serving.)

For "saucier" rice: Add rice (portion out 1 scoop per person) directly to the sauce pot and stir over low heat, gently breaking apart the larger lumps, but leaving smaller lumps/chunks). Now add the mango pieces and gently stir until everything is warmed through. Portion out into serving bowls, making sure everyone has equal amounts of rice, mango, and sauce. Enjoy!

Seppie imbottite - Squid Stuffed with Shellfish and Bread

Ingredients for Squid Stuffed with Shellfish and Bread

6 large squid

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb 2 oz raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 eggs

1 tablespoon freshly grated pecorino cheese

1 lb 2 oz stale good-quality bread such as ciabatta or pane casereccio, crusts removed

1 fresh red chili, seeded and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 3/4 lb ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

generous handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped, to serve

How to make Squid Stuffed with Shellfish and Bread

Clean the squid well, removing the eyes, ink sacs, and beaks (see page 16) so that you are left with a long tube.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy frying pan over medium heat and sauté the shrimp for 5 - 8 minutes, depending on size, until they turn pink and opaque. Remove from the pan, chop into small pieces and set aside in a bowl.

Soak the bread in a little water, then gently squeeze out any excess liquid.

Whisk the eggs with the pecorino and bread. Season with salt and black pepper, and add to the shrimp.

Mix the filling well and use it to stuff the squid. Tie up the open ends with butcher's string or cotton thread.

Heat the remaining oil in a large heavy pan over medium heat and sweat the garlic with the chili for a few minutes until soft and starting to caramelize.

Add the squid and quickly sauté until golden brown, then add the tomatoes, cover the pan, and leave for 20 minutes to cook through, stirring occasionally.

Remove the squid from the pan, snip off the string, and set aside. Quickly push the tomato sauce through a sieve to ensure it is smooth.

Serve the stuffed squid hot, cut into slices, accompanied by the tomato sauce and a good sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Fried Brie with Hot Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Ingredients


2 eggs, beaten
50 g flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
150 g Brie
50 g breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil for deep frying
250 g cranberry sauce
Salt and pepper


Preparation:

Place the flour, breadcrumbs and eggs in 3 small bowls. Dredge the Brie in the flour then dip it in the egg. Then dip it into the breadcrumbs. Repeat the coatings of egg and breadcrumbs until you have a thick coating. Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or saucepan to 180 degrees C. Fry the Brie for 3 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove the Brie with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Warm the cranberry sauce in a small pan over a medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the warm cranberry sauce on to a serving platter and put the Brie on top.


Brie with cranberry sauce is a traditional starter and with this recipe, you can make it from start to finish in just a few minutes.
Serves 2