The two old ladies

Two very pretty old ladies
Mariana and Marina,
are sitting on the balcony:
Marina and Mariana.

They wear gowns of ribbons,
Mariana and Marina,
and braided hairstyles:
Marina and Mariana.

Drink chocolate, old ladies,
Mariana and Marina,
in porcelain cups:
Marina and Mariana.

One says: “What a beautiful evening,
isn’t it Marina? ”
The other says: “Just as the waves dance,
Mariana isn’t it? ”

“Yesterday I was little,”
Marina says.
Yesterday, we were children, ”
says Mariana.

And take to mouth the little cups,
Mariana and Marina,
the cups of porcelain:
Marina and Mariana.

Drink chocolate, old ladies,
Mariana and Marina,
in porcelain cups:
Marina and Mariana.

Cecilia Meireles

Viennese hot chocolate

For 4 people:

125 g chocolate 70%
500 ml mineral water
50 g powdered sugar
25 g cocoa powder

150 ml cream with about 35% fat
10 g powdered sugar
Cocoa for dusting

Chop the chocolate and put in a bowl.
Boil water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to light boil.
Add cocoa powder and bring to boil again, beating vigorously.
Pour over the chocolate slowly, stirring to mix and beat again.

Beat the cold cream, mixing the sugar, until firm.
Pour the chocolate into cups, put the cream on top and sprinkle with cocoa.
Serve immediately.

Source: Pierre Hermé

Chocolate and candied ginger cake

3 eggs
250 g sugar
120 ml sunflower oil
50 g cocoa
200 g wheat flour
8 g baking powder
150 g cream (35% fat)
200 ml milk
40 g candied ginger
80 g dark chocolate (70%), chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Grease and line with parchment paper a plum cake pan.
Remove the sugar coat from the ginger with hot water.
Chop the ginger. Set aside.
Beat the eggs with the sugar and the oil.
Fold in the flour sifted with the baking powder and the cocoa.
Add the cream and the milk and mix until smooth.
Combine with the chocolate and the ginger.
Pour the batter into the pan until half of the height.
Bake for 10 mintes.
Reduce oven temperature to 165ºC and bake for 1-1 1/2 hour.
(at 30 minutes make a lenghtwise cut on the top of the cake)
Remove from oven, unmold and let cool down on a wire rack.
The cake should be made the day before and kept in the refrigerator with film wrap.
Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

Serve with candied ginger dices.

Nota:Ginger can be substituted by candied lemon or orange.

dark chocolate “coulant”

Serves 10:

6 eggs
160 g icing sugar
225 g softened butter
40 g cornstarch
60 g wheat flour
225 g dark chocolate (70%), chopped

Grease and flour 10 small round pans (6 cms diameter).
Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler.
Beat the butter until creamy.
Add the sugar and mix until smooth.
Add the eggs while mixing.
Fold in the flour and the cornstarch and mix.
Pour the chocolate and combine well.
Pour the batter into the pans (about 100g each).
Freeze overnight.
Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Bake the cakes for 20 minutes directly from the freezer.
Unmold and serve immediatly.
Serve with an ice cream quenelle.

Note: varying the size of the pans and batter quantity changes the baking time. If necessary test with one cake and adjust baking time. The cake should have a thin crisp crust.

Coulant is the original name of these cakes, patented by Michel Bras, the famous french chef who created them.
On the original recipe these cakes are made from two separate components:
- a chocolate cake dough
- a ganache

The ganache should be frozen to be enveloped with the cake batter and then frozen again. This way the batter will be completely baked while the ganache will be molten.
Except for the original coulant, all the other cakes of the kind are made from one single batter with an half baked interior.

Some people also call these cakes petit gâteaux.

Pear and dark chocolate jam

1 kg pears
625 g sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1 orange
½ cinnammon stick
Zest of ½ orange
250 g dark chocolate, chopped

Cut the pears in thin slices.
Place the pears with the sugar, the juice, the cinnamon and the zest in a pan.
Bring to boil for 5 minutes and remove from heat.
Add the chocolate and combine well until smooth.
Let it cool down and refrigerate overnight covered with wrap film.
Bring to boil again removing the surface foam.
The mixture should cook over low heat for 40 minutes or until it reaches 105ºC.
To test whether the jam is ready, place a cold metal spoon in the mixture and tilt. The jam should form a single stream.
Quickly pour hot mixture into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1 cm headspace; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process jars in boiling-water bath 10 minutes.

This is my project…

Baileys and white chocolate truffles:

Makes 36 (12 g each):

60 g baileys
80 g cream
300 g white chocolate, chopped
50 g Cocoa

Place the chocolate in a bowl.
Bring the cream to boil with the baileys and pour over the chocolate stirring constantly.
The ganache must be smooth and shiny.
Cover the bowl with wrap film and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight).
Put the cocoa on a plate.
Make small balls with the truffle mixture and gently roll each truffle in the cocoa to coat.
Refrigerate for 1 hour at least before serving.

To make the house, I’ve used tempered dark chocolate sprinkled with powdered cocoa.