Especially loved by children, this versatile ingredient can be used in many Easy Chocolate Recipes including hot and cold desserts, cakes, cookies and confectionery. Chocolate must be one of the most popular flavorings in cooking today. Here you will find tempting easy chocolate recipes for gateaux, cakes, and cookies for family teas and special celebrations. A delicious selection of desserts covers every occasion-including family meals, dinner parties, and, of course, children's parties. The simply prepared attractive candies make ideal gifts at Christmas.
The Origin of Chocolate
Chocolate is produced from the cocoa bean, which grows in pods on cocoa trees. These originated in the Amazon forests of South America. The local Aztecs treated the Cocoa Bean with great respect using it to make a bitter drink, called 'Chocolatl', a great delicacy at festivities. The Spaniards were responsible for introducing this chocolate drink to Europe in the 17th Century, but it remained an expensive luxury for many years. It was not until the beginning of the 19th century that chocolate was produced in a solid form for eating.
Nowadays, the chocolate produced in many countries comes from cocoa beans grown in West Africa as well as South America. It takes an entire year's crop from one cocoa tree to produce about 500g/1lb of refined cocoa powder. This partly explains why cocoa is quite expensive. The manufacture of cocoa powder entails a lengthy refining process. The cocoa beans are roasted, ground and sieved, and a large proportion of the cocoa butter is extracted, to produce the strongly- flavored cocoa powder used extensively in easy chocolate recipes and drinks. The process for making eating chocolate are slightly different. Extract cocoa butter and sugar are added to refined cocoa to give dark (semi-sweet) chocolate. For milk chocolate, fresh milk is added at the same time. The ingredients are pummeled together until smooth.
Cooking with Cocoa and Chocolate
Cocoa is the most economical chocolate flavor for cooking, but it must be evenly blended into the mixture. It should either be sifted with other dry ingredients, or blended with a little boiling water to form a smooth paste before adding to the easy chocolate recipes. Chocolate is normally melted before it is combined with other ingredients. Plain (semi-sweet) eating chocolate provides the best flavor. Less expensive 'cooking chocolate' and chocolate-flavored chips are also obtainable. These have a cocoa base to which vegetable fats are added; technically they are not 'real' chocolate. Generally these products are easier to use in cooking for they melt more easily than eating chocolate but their flavor is inferior.
Melting Chocolate:
Chocolate should be broken into small pieces, then melted in a double boiler, or a heatproof bowl over a small pan of hot, not boiling water. The water must be kept below simmering to prevent steam from coming into contact with the chocolate. If this happens, or if water is added to the chocolate, or the chocolate is overheated, it will immediately solidify to form a stiff mass. Sometimes this can be rectified by adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening, but this is best avoided.
Chocolate Decorations
Chocolate can be melted and used to prepare a variety of attractive and easy to make decorations, such as triangles, rounds,curls and leaves, for adding a professional finish to gateaux and desserts.
Making Chocolate Shapes:
Draw out your chosen design, eg. holly leaves, on a piece of paper and place under a sheet of parchment (wax) paper. Place the melted chocolate in a paper piping bag without a nozzle and, just before starting to pipe, snip off a small piece from the point of the bag. The chocolate will run freely with a little pressure. Carefully pipe onto wax paper following the outline of the shapes. Fill the centers as necessary.
Leave until hardened then carefully remove from the paper. Alternatively spread the melted chocolate onto a piece of wax paper and smooth flat with a palette knife. Leave until set but not hard, and cut out shapes, using pastry cutters, or a sharp knife. Allow to harden completely before removing from the paper.
Chocolate Rose Leaves:
Wash and dry the leaves. Using a fine paint brush, coat the underside of each leaf with melted chocolate. Place the leaves on a plate and chill int the refrigerator until set. When hard, peel the leaf away from the chocolate and use as required.
Making Chocolate Caraque:
It is important to use good quality plain (semi-sweet) chocolate for making Caraque. Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate onto a marble or formica surface using a palette knife. Leave until set but not hard. Hold a sharp knife at a 45 degree angle to the chocolate to shave off long curls. Move carefully as these curls are fragile and break easily.
Making small chocolate curls:
It is possible to make curls with a vegetable peeler on some softer varieties of chocolate without having to melt it. Using a vegetable peeler, scrape along the surface of a block of chocolate to shave off curls.
I hope you enjoy making these Easy Chocolate Recipes as much as I have. And I hope that you will share your favorite chocolate recipes with the other Get Your Kids Cooking Visitors.