Archive for the 'chocolate' Category


Chocolate Caramel Slice 26

chocolate caramel slice

Growing up, I was really blessed to be fed homecooked fresh Vietnamese food every night made by my mum. The usual meals would include rice vermicelli with satay pork and peanuts, rice paper rolls with prawns and hoisin dipping sauce, chicken congee with crunchy fried crullers, heady and fragrant beef pho and desserts would always feature coconut cream in some form. I didn’t really appreciate this when I was younger, always whining and complaining about eating the same thing every night, “Rice with caramelised pork again?!” and I constantly looked forward playing at my non-Vietnamese friends’ homes as it would guarantee a rice free, fish sauce free, soy sauce free, noodle free, non-Asian meal. ‘Meat and two veg’ was really appealing to me back then!

I especially loved eating at my friend Sarah’s house as her mum was a terrific baker and would always have some kind of cake or slice to be enjoyed for afternoon tea. My absolute favourite treat by Sarah’s mum was the quintessentially Australian chocolate caramel slice – a shortbread base sometimes flavoured with coconut, topped with a rich, fudgy caramel layer and finished with a slick of chocolate, just in case you didn’t think it was sweet enough. I would make this slice often as a child with my own mum who would always claim it was far too sweet for her own tastes, but would happily let me indulge in my sugar fix.

As an adult now, I can reflect on my childhood and I love that I grew up on Vietnamese food. Now I’m always wanting to learn how to recreate my mum’s traditional dishes and finding out what all of mum’s secret ingredients are. It’s a part of my heritage that I want to retain and will pass down onto my own children one day. It’s nice to know that I will not only teach my future kids how to make the best nuoc mam or pho bo, but I will also get to show them how to make the Australian favourites I also grew up on.

Chocolate Caramel Slice (aka Millionaire’s Shortbread)

Base

85g butter, melted

2/3 cup self raising flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup dessicated coconut

Caramel Layer

400g (1 can) condensed milk

2 gloriously big tablespoons of golden syrup

1 tablespoon of butter

Chocolate Layer

125g best quality dark chocolate (you can use milk chocolate, but I find it way too sweet)

  1. Line a 20 centimetre (8 inch) square tin with non-stick baking paper, being sure to leave excess paper overhanging to be able to lift the finished slice when baked. Preheat oven to 180C.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine all base ingredients and press into prepared tin and bake for 15 minutes or until risen and golden brown. Allow to cool.
  3. In a small saucepan, combine the caramel layer ingredients and cook over medium heat for around 10 minutes or until a light golden brown colour. Don’t forget to constantly stir with a whisk or spatula as you cook, or else it will get lumpy.
  4. Pour the caramel filling over cooked base and return to oven. Bake until the caramel layer is just set – this should take 10 – 15 minutes or so. When done, remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
  5. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave and spread evenly over cooled slice. Once chocolate is set, cut into squares using a hot knife.

Banana Chocolate Bread 14

Banana Choc Bread

Thirty things that make me smile…

A perfectly baked sponge cake with jam and cream.

Photographing in natural light.

Reminiscing about my first kiss.

Soulful music.

Eating anything wrapped in pastry.

Laughter and uncontrollable giggles.

Receiving a compliment from a stranger.

Birthday and festive season celebrations with family.

Deep and meaningful conversation with close friends.

The kind of love that makes your heart ache when you’re not with them.

Ice-cream in summer anytime of the year.

Kindness. Gentleness. Understanding. Patience.

That look on someone’s face when they open up their gifts.

Farmers’ markets and fresh, seasonal produce.

Shopping until my feet hurt and so much money is spent.

Cupcakes with frosting and sprinkles.

Making new friends.

Flicking through design magazines for inspiration.

A coffee made from ground beans, perfectly steamed milk and served at the right temperature. Then drinking another one.

Fruit smoothies with honey.

Being loved for who I am.

Spending hours and hours in a bookshop, trying to find the right book to take home.

Turning the mobile/laptop off and being disconnected.

Being appreciated and acknowledged.

Log fires, hot chocolate and marshmallows in winter.

Watermelon, floral dresses, flip-flops, last minute BBQs and trips to the beach in summer.

Finding that perfect dress/top/skirt/jeans/shoes that actually fit for a bargain price.

The sense of accomplishment when something difficult has finally been completed.

Reading a book from beginning to end in one sitting.

Thick slices of banana chocolate bread, still warm from the oven…

Banana Chocolate Bread

250g plain flour

2.5 teaspoons baking powder

big pinch of salt

125g dark or milk chocolate, finely chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup caster sugar

2 large eggs

4 large, ripe bananas, mashed (don’t add anymore bananas – it will be too stodgy).

  1. Preheat oven to 200C. Grease and line a loaf tin and set aside.
  2. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir through the chocolate.
  3. In a larger bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and banana.
  4. Gently combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and be careful not to overmix.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  6. Cool on a wire rack, but eat it warm. It tastes good toasted the next day too :)

Double Chocolate Cookies 18

cookies

One of my most favourite goodies to bake and eat are cookies. They are always so simple to prepare, the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea or coffee and I never feel guilty when I eat more than a few (as opposed to eating a huge chunk of cake or pie).

Four reasons why I love to make cookies:

  • Cookies are so versatile and can be made with a myriad of flavours. They can be spicy with ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg or rich with chocolate, coffee or vanilla.  They can be chunky with nuts, dried fruit, oats or chocolate. Sweet fillings such as caramel or jam can be used to sandwich them together, making them even more yummy!
  • They are the simplest things to bake and with the average cooking time of around twelve minutes, you always get to eat a few while you wait for the other batches to cook.
  • If they are roll out cookies, you can make them in any shape you like. It’s a great excuse to collect as many cookie-cutters as you can and fun edible shapes are perfect for kids.
  • There is less washing up, as I never have to wash the trays as I use baking paper I just toss into the bin after I’m done. Huzzah!

Roll your sleeves up and try your hand at these delicious chocolate cocoa cookies.  They are so easy to make and even easier to eat. They especially go down very well with a tall glass of ice cold milk. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Cookies

Recipe from ‘Simply Bill’ by Bill Granger.

250g unsalted butter, softened

350g brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 ½ cups (310g) plain flour

½ cup (60g) cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

350g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Beat together the butter and saugr until light and creamy. Add the vanilla and eggs and stir together well. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate.
  3. Place large spoonfuls of the mixture on paper-lined baking trays, leaving room for spreading.
  4. Cook in batches for 15 minutes, until the bases are cooked. Cool on trays.

Makes around 40.

Little Mandarin, Almond and Chocolate Cakes 15

Regular readers would have noticed that the frequency of my baking and blogging has dwindled down to either once a month or even more. I used to bake up a storm, trying several recipes a week and posting at least once a week. I have just been so lazy in the winter months, uninspired and really low on the creativity front. There’s just something about winter, the depressing weather and dreariness of it all which manages to somehow zap my energy levels and eagerness to be as inventive and creative as I can be.

Now that spring has arrived, bringing with it warmer weather and more sunlight during the day, I seem to be happier, re-energised and re-inspired in all almost each key facet in my life: relationships, health/fitness, work and of course my photography and baking.

Also, starting this week, my blog will be updated more regularly, with hopefully more creative recipes, photographs and posts. I also have the intention of changing the layout of my blog too, with a new colour scheme and banner, but this won’t be implemented until the new year I think. I’ve played around with a few ideas in my head, but I need to work out all the geeky stuff first (i.e. moving from Wordpress.com to Wordpress.org and getting my own host), then I can work on the creative.

So, with all that out of the way, my first spring-inspired recipe is the one I am going to share with you today: little mandarin, almond and chocolate cakes. Such a mouthful to say for a tiny cake, but they are so delicious, you wouldn’t care what they are called. The best thing about this recipe too, is that you make it all in the food processor without too many additional bowls, spoons and utensils to wash!

These cakes are so deliciously moist, with the perfect balance of sweet and fruity (the mandarin), nutty and fragrant (the almond) and a small hit of chocolate without overpowering the other flavours. It is also the perfect recipe for those who are gluten intolerant and cannot digest gluten. It can be made into little cakes for afternoon tea as I have done, or made in a big tin, served in slices with double cream and mandarin segments on the side for a fancy, but easy dessert.

Little Mandarin, Almond and Chocolate Cakes

Adapted from Claudia Roden’s recipe for Orange and Almond Cake.

4 medium mandarins (honey murcotts are ideal)

6 eggs

250g almond meal (if you blitz whole almonds yourself, you get a wonderful pebbly texture in the cake)

250g caster sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

150g dark chocolate, finely chopped

50g slivered almonds

icing sugar, to dust

  1. In a saucepan, cover the mandarins with water and bring to the boil. Cook for about 45 minutes or until they are soft (they will most likely split). Allow to cool until you can handle them with your fingers.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease 2 x 8 mini loaf tins and set aside.
  3. Chop up the mandarins and remove the seeds. Place the mandarins in a food processor along with the eggs, sugar and almond meal. Whizz until combined.
  4. Stir through the chocolate and divide the cake batter into the prepared tins. Sprinkle over the slivered almonds and bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
  5. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Makes 16.

* This post is dedicated to my boyfriend Z who always pushes me to be the best I can be. Thank you always for your encouragement and support.

Chocolate Marshmallows 32

I have a great memory. I remember lots of random facts (I’m good at trivia), can recite a song’s lyrics word for word after only listening to it a few times and I can sit and quote movies/television for hours (Scrubs, The Wedding Singer and Love, Actually are favourites). Also, I never, ever forget a birthday, but I managed to let the first birthday of this very blog slip my mind last month!

Butter Sugar Flour was created on July 8, 2007 and a whole year, plus a bit more, has already passed. This blog has been a very welcome addition to my life as it’s allowed me to to be more creative in the recipes I try and it has sparked a love of photography that I never expected. Through the blog I’ve managed to make ‘meet’ fellow bloggers (a shoutout to Matt, Ellie and Joy!) and although I can get lazy with posting sometimes, I really do love working on this blog and reading everyone’s comments makes me happy :)

So happy first birthday and a special hip, hip, hip hooray for Butter Sugar Flour and with 150, 000+ hits and counting, here’s to another year of yummy recipes and ’sweet’ times!

Chocolate Marshmallows

To celebrate the blog’s first birthday, I wanted to make something special, but different, and I thought chocolate marshmallows would be perfect. I’ve never made marshmallows before and I think it’s great fun to try something new. They are incredibly easy to make, especially if you have a stand mixer and a sugar thermometer.

Recipe adapted from the classic marshmallow recipe by Thomas Keller.

20g powdered gelatine

330g (2 cups) sugar

100ml glucose syrup/corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

icing sugar and Dutch-processed cocoa powder, to dust

  1. In a 20cm square cake tin, liberally dust the surface with icing sugar. Set aside.
  2. Place the gelatin in a bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment ready, add 80ml of water and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
  3. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, syrup and 80ml of water. Place over medium heat and stir until dissolved. Boil until the sugar syrup reaches 121 degrees Celsius or the hardball stage (drop a teaspoon full of the syrup in a small bowl and you have reached hardball stage when you it sets quickly into a ball and only compresses with firm pressure, but stays sticky).
  4. With the stand mixer on low speed, in a slow, steady stream, pour the syrup into the gelatin mix. Mix until dissolved. Increase the speed to high and beat for 8 minutes or until thick and fluffy. Do not overbeat or they will be tough. Sift in the cocoa powder and mix for a few seconds.
  5. Spread the marshmallow mix into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Set aside for at least 5 hours or overnight.
  6. Using a lightly greased knife, cut the marshmallows into squares and roll in a mix of icing sugar and cocoa powder to coat.

Mocha Meringues 16

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I love stashing things in my freezer, but I’d hate to clean it out because I don’t really know what’s hiding in there half the time. I know there is a huge bag of blackened over-ripe bananas I keep on hand for cakes and muffins (20 in total, eek!), odds and ends of pastry, around five half-empty bags of berries and a roll or two of cookie dough ready to be sliced up and baked. I also have little plastic bags of egg whites hidden in every corner, because when I make ice-cream, custard or anything that uses a heap of egg yolks, I always save the egg whites and stash them in the freezer for another time. I seem to accumulate the egg whites at a much faster rate than I can use!

To use them up, I usually make simple white or brown sugar meringues and fill them with fresh fruit and softly whipped cream, but today I felt like something different, so a batch of mocha meringues was whipped up. The little meringue puffs are flavoured with coffee and cocoa, then sandwiched together with a smear of melted dark chocolate. Yum!

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Mocha Meringues

(adapted from a recipe in delicious. magazine, February 2008)

3 large egg whites

180g caster sugar

1 teaspoon cornflour

½ teaspoon white vinegar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 teaspoons ground coffee

80g dark chocolate

  1. Preheat the oven to 130°C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. While continuously whisking, add the sugar one tablespoon at a time until stiff and satiny shiny. Whisk in the vanilla, cornflour, white vinegar, cocoa powder and two teaspoons of the coffee until combined.
  3. Using a piping bag and a 1cm plain nozzle, pipe 60 small blobs onto the prepared trays around 2.5cm in diameter and 4cm apart.
  4. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn the oven off and with the door slightly ajar, allow the meringues to cool completely.
  5. Melt the chocolate and the remaining coffee in a bowl set over saucepan of simmering water. Allow to cool, then use to sandwich the meringue bases together.

Makes 30 and will keep for 2 days in an airtight container.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate Ganache 16

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In five hours, yesterday afternoon, I managed to whip up four cakes: hummingbird cake with cream cheese icing, orange poppyseed syrup cake, peach raspberry almond yoghurt cake and a chocolate buttermilk cake with chocolate ganache. I made them for the christening celebration of my friend Chloe’s beautiful daughter Alyssa today.

The party actually finished a few hours ago and all of the cakes were a hit. Not surprisingly, the first one demolished was the chocolate buttermilk cake :)

Try it yourself, share it with your friends and family and you’ll see why it’s such a crowd pleaser.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

250g butter

300g caster sugar

3 eggs

275g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

75g Dutch-processed cocoa powder

250ml buttermilk

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 25 centimetre ring tin with oil spray.
  2. Cream the butter and the sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, beating well within additions.
  3. Add the sifted ingredients (cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, flour). Mix in the buttermilk until just combined.
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for approximately 40 minutes or when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool on wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache

250ml thickened cream

200g good quality dark chocolate, chopped

25g unsalted butter

  1. Place all ingredients in a heatproof bowl (metal, glass or ceramic).
  2. Balance the bowl on top of a saucepan which is a third full of simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir the ingredients until the chocolate has melted and becomes smooth and shiny.
  3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

You can use the ganache while it’s still rather warm and runny and pour it over your cake, or you can leave it to thicken and spread it on your cake.

Alyssa is just so darn cute that I just had to post a photo of her! Just gorgeous :)

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Note: The original photo of the cake I used was terrible, so I have replaced it with another one :)

Spiced Chocolate Mousse with Almond Praline 8

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My boyfriend has promised me a nice dinner tonight, so in return, I will be taking care of dessert. I’m feeling so lazy today and don’t really feel like making anything fancy, so I think an easy spiced chocolate mousse would be perfect.

This dessert is a bit like love really… it’s spicy, it’s sweet and you always end up wanting more :)

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Spiced Chocolate Mousse with Almond Praline

You can use any kind of unsalted nut for the praline: macadamias, hazelnuts, cashews. I used flaked almonds as they were in my pantry at the time.

(adapted from a recipe found in Gourmet Traveller, by Matt McConnell, executive chef of Bar Lourinhã in Melbourne)

250g dark chocolate (minimum 60% cocoa solids)

4 eggs, at room temperature and separated

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon chilli powder

¼ teaspoon allspice

300ml thickened cream, lightly whipped

Almond praline

100g flaked almonds, lightly toasted

100g caster sugar

  1. Melt the chocolate and allow to cool slightly. Whisk in the egg yolks and add the spices.
  2. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mix. Place in the fridge whilst you prepare your egg whites.
  3. Whip the eggs whites until they reach soft peaks and gently fold them into the chocolate cream mixture. Divide the mousse into bowls/cups/whatever and place in the fridge to chill.
  4. Lightly grease a baking tray with oil or non-stick baking paper. Pour the toasted almonds on top and set aside.
  5. Place the sugar and two tablespoons of water into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to high and allow the toffee to boil and colour. Do not stir the toffee, just swirl the pan if need be. Once the toffee has reached a dark golden brown colour, carefully pour over the almonds and mix it around with a metal spoon. Allow to cool and set.
  6. To assemble, roughly chop the praline and sprinkle over the mousse. Serve immediately.

Makes quite a lot, but it should be able to serve 4-6 people. Just depends on how greedy you are with the portions :)

Lamingtons for Australia Day 15

lamingtons.jpg

To celebrate Australia Day yesterday, I spent all day at the beach in Williamstown just chilling out with a few friends. We had a couple of beers, enjoyed some munchies and it was quite relaxing. It was beautifully warm day, but unfortunately, the weather was very Melbourne and erratic as ever, with sunshine one minute, then pouring rain the next and Mother Nature was kind enough to repeat this behaviour a few times during the day. Sigh… still, our spirits weren’t dampened and the little portable radio we brought along provided musical relief as it blasted out funky tunes from Triple J’s Hottest 100, with Muse’s ‘Knights of Cydonia’ taking out top spot for 2007.

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To take to the beach, I decided to make something quintessentially Australian: the humble lamington. It is basically a cube of sponge cake, sometimes split in two and sandwiched together with a thin smear of jam, dipped in chocolate icing and then finished off with a tumble in dessicated coconut.

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Lamingtons

I’ve decided to add my own little twist by simply toasting the coconut beforehand. It adds a really nice depth of flavour and a touch of colour too.

(base recipe by one of my favourite foodies, Bill Granger, in his book ‘Every Day’)

Sponge Cake

6 large eggs, at room temperature (recipe will not work if they are straight from the fridge)

150g caster sugar

200g self-raising flour, sifted

30g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

60ml hot water

Chocolate icing

500g icing sugar, sifted

200g dark chocolate, chopped

15g unsalted butter

150ml milk

375g shredded coconut (you can use dessicated coconut if that’s all you have)

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line with non-stick baking paper an 18 x 28cm (7 x 11 inch) tin with baking paper.
  2. Spread out the coconut onto a baking tray and lightly toast until just golden tinged. Allow to cool and set aside.
  3. For the cake, beat the eggs for about 5-10 minutes until they are light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is thick, all the sugar has dissolved and it has tripled in volume. Sift in the flour and gently fold in using a metal spoon. Add the butter and hot water and combine. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for around 30 minutes or until light golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.
  4. For the icing, place the chocolate, icing sugar, butter and milk in a heatproof bowl and place over a pot of simmering water. Constantly stir until melted.
  5. Once cool, cut the sponge into however many squares you like. I managed to get 20.
  6. The easiest way to ice the sponge cake squares is to set everything up before you begin. Have your cake ready on the left, your big bowl of cooled chocolate icing in the middle, a tray of toasted coconut beside that, and a wire rack for your completed beauties. I find it easiest to coat the cake with the icing using my hands instead of using the usual method of two forks. With your left hand, dip the cake cubes into the icing, place it onto the tray of coconut and then using your right hand, toss in the coconut until covered. Place on a wire rack to set.

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Easy as that! :)

Gianduja Gelato with Rippled Chocolate Sauce 2

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I’ve already discussed my cookbook addiction before, but I’ll tell you how it all started and why I am a cookbook fiend. I’ve always had an obsession with food as a kid, always wanting to learn about different cuisines and foods from around the world. I was an only child for 11 years and was often alone with no-one to play with, so I turned to books for company and became an extremely avid reader. Coupled with my interest in food, I would borrow massive piles of cookbooks from my local library each week and pore over them as soon as I brought them home. My parents thought I was a strange kid, but relieved I wasn’t outside eating bugs or something…

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At last count, I currently have 75 foodie books on my shelf! I know 75 doesn’t sound like many, but for the average 21-year old, that is just a tad more than a few. I also have a huge collection of Donna Hay, delicious and Gourmet Traveller magazines. I love perusing them, trying recipes, admiring the photography and simply reading and learning about food (I sound like such a geek) :)

My most recent purchase has been David Lebovitz’s ‘The Perfect Scoop’. This book is chock-a-block with recipes and tips for making all sorts of ice-creams, gelati and sorbets. I attempted my first recipe today using a recent Christmas gift from Z: an ice-cream maker attachment for my Kenwood mixer! I made Lebovitz’s recipe for gianduja gelato and decided to ripple a simple chocolate sauce throughout. Keiko from one of my favourite blogs, Nordljus, also made this gelato a few months ago and it turned out great!

Gianduja is a blend of chocolate and hazelnuts formed into a paste and the combination of the two in this gelato is perfect. I didn’t think I would obtain such a pronounced hazelnut flavour, but I did and am very pleased indeed! I’ve made quite a few ice-cream recipes and this gelato is one of the best. It is hazelnutty, sweet and and has just the right amount of chocolate. Try it for yourself and you’ll see why I ate half a litre on my own! :)

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Gianduja Gelato

(recipe by David Lebovitz in ‘The Perfect Scoop’)

1.5 cups (185g) hazelnuts

1 cup (250ml) milk

2 cups (500ml) cream

¾ cup (150g) caster sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

5 egg yolks

115g milk chocolate, chopped

splash of vanilla extract

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. On a baking tray, spread the hazelnuts in one layer and bake the nuts for around 10 minutes. The nuts are ready when they are light golden brown throughout.
  2. Finely chop the nuts in a processor or blender and set aside.
  3. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, one cup (250ml) of the cream, sugar and salt until warm. Add the hazelnuts, cover and allow to steep for at least one hour (at this point, it’s best to prepare the chocolate ripple sauce below).
  4. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium saucepan. Heat the remaining cream in another small saucepan until it just comes to the boil. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has melted and the mixture and shiny and smooth.
  5. Strain the hazelnut infused milk mixture into another medium saucepan (I used a sieve and muslin and re-used the saucepan used to heat the cream, saves washing!). Be sure to squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Discard the nuts.
  6. In yet another freaking medium saucepan, whisk the egg yolks. Heat the hazelnut infused milk until warm and add to the egg yolks. Place this mixture over medium heat and constantly stir until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon (this should take no longer than 5 minutes).
  7. Once thickened, add this custard and vanilla to the chocolate mixture and allow to cool in an ice bath (I fill my sink up with cold water and add ice).
  8. Chill the mixture in the fridge, then churn in your ice-cream maker for 20 minutes or until thick. Makes approximately one litre.

Chocolate Ripple Sauce

75g dark chocolate

1 tablespoon golden syrup

15g unsalted butter

60ml (¼ cup) cream

  1. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate, golden syrup and butter. Add the cream and whisk until smooth. Set aside and allow to cool.

Rippling

When the ice-cream has finished churning and is lovely and thick, transfer it into a shallow plastic container. Drop big spoonfuls of the chocolate sauce onto the gelato and use a blunt knife to ripple throughout. Cover and place in the freezer until firm.

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