Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Chocolate Belgian Waffle Recipe

The waffle is a cake-like breakfast bread made out of batter. The batter is usually a mixture of sugar, oil, flour, eggs and milk poured into a iron that has designs in it and no, we are not talking about the average flat iron that we use on clothes. The iron used in baking waffles generally has a honeycomb like design in it and can be bought in numerous shapes. Some are heart-shaped, cone-shaped or even shaped like a cloud. The common waffle iron has the distinctive crisscross pattern. The pattern is the result of the elevated divisions on the iron.

There are a large number of types of waffles. There are the light, crisp waffles; the waffles that are like apple pie that smells and tastes like the real apple pie; cinnamon waffles; the light and softy chocolate chip and butter milk waffles that are so fluffy and light; the cornmeal waffles that has a light and crunchy texture; the gingerbread waffles poured with a chocolate sauce; the crispy maple walnut waffle that has a full maple flavor within but the outer part is super crispy and of course who can forget the famous Belgian waffle. Most if not all of this are best served topped with butter, syrup or even fruits like raspberries or strawberries. And due to the insistent demand for Belgian waffles, below is a recipe of a chocolate Belgian waffle.

Ingredients:

For the Topping:

18 Ounces of dark chocolate, chopped up
1 Cup of heavy cream
12 Tablespoons of butter (unsalted) cut into cubes
1/2 Cup of corn syrup (light)
2 pinches of salt
4 Teaspoons of vanilla

Direction:

Throw in all the ingredients except for vanilla. Then mix everything in. Place over boiling water on a low heat; whip until melted and soft. Remove from high temperature and boiling water; beat with vanilla in a whisking manner. Place in a ceramic bowl them microwave at moderate power for a minute. Then fold the ingredients very well until very smooth. Then microwave for twenty minutes then stir well until the topping is silky soft. Chill for a moment. If you are not going to use it immediately, store it in the refrigerator. It is best served when warm.

For the waffles:

4 squares or 4 ounces of dark chocolate, chopped up
4 squares or 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, chopped up
4/6 cups of heavy cream
4 pieces of large eggs (Large, at room temperature)
6/8 cups plus 4 tablespoons of milk
4 cups of cake flour
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons of sugar
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 pinch of salt

Direction:
In a little heatproof bowl, mix chopped chocolates with heavy cream. Put over boiling water on a low heat. Whip until almost thawed out. Remove from high temperature and boiling water. Beat until soft. Then cool by stirring the batter occasionally until room temperature.

In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg yolks and milk until well-mixed. Set aside. Sift the sugar, cake flour, salt and baking powder into a medium-sized bowl. When the chocolate mixture is at room temperature, add now the dry ingredients together with the egg yolk and milk mixture. Fold until blended, should a few lumps appear just ignore.

Preheat the waffle maker. While the waffle maker heats, you may start cleaning a small bowl with a clean beater, beat the egg whites on high speed to stiffen the peaks. Tenderly fold into the batter until there the white streaks disappears.

Then follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cooking waffles because waffle makers vary from the amount of batter you are going to put on the divisions.

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Wednesday, July 25, 2007

White Chocolate Pretzels

1 pkg. long pretzel rods
1 pkg. almond bark, or vanilla candy coating
Decorations, such as red and green sprinkles, holiday M&Ms or crushed up candy canes

Place the candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl. Make sure you do not get any water in the bowl. Any water at all will cause the candy coating not to melt properly and separate.

Microwave the candy coating for 1 min., then stir and microwave an additional min., until it is completely melted and smooth.

Stick a pretzel rod into the chocolate, and with a spoon, cover about 3/4 of the pretzel with chocolate. Let the excess drip back into the bowl.

Sprinkle the chocolate with either red and green colored sprinkles, crushed up peppermints, or stick red and green M&Ms to the chocolate.

Place the decorated pretzel on a piece of waxed paper or aluminum foil, and let it dry completely, about 1 hr. Gently pull the pretzels off the paper.

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Babe Ruth Bars Recipes

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white corn syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
6 cups cornflakes cereal
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanuts

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the peanut butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and white sugar.
Cook stirring occasionally until smooth.
Remove from heat and quickly mix in the cornflakes, chocolate chips and peanuts until evenly coated.

2. Press the entire mixture gently into a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Caramel Apples w/ Chocolate

Makes 8 apples
1 piece of Styrofoam
1 apples
8 ice cream sticks
12 packages (14 oz each) creamy caramels
2 tbs. water
3/4 cup pistachios, chopped
8 foil cupcake liners
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
Place Styrofoam on a flat surface.

Lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
Remove stems from apples.
Insert wooden stick into stem of each apple.
Place caramels in saucepan.
Add the water, heat stirring until caramels are melted.
Working quickly with one apple at a time, and keeping caramel over low heat, dip the apple into the caramel, turning to coat the apple, remove the apple from the caramel and gently shake.
Pat pistachios onto top of apple, place on prepared sheet.
Refrigerate until caramel is cool.
Heat chocolate in top of double boiler, until melted.
Drizzle chocolate over apples.
Press apples sticks into Styrofoam.
Refrigerate until the chocolate hardens.
Remove from Styrofoam to foil cupcake liners

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Cognac Truffles

Ingredients:
3 1 oz square of unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 c confectioners' sugar
1/3 c butter
3 egg yolks (I use the whites to make macaroons or meringue cookies)
1 tsp vanilla or 2 TBSP of cognac

Instructions:
Melt chocolate. Combine sugar and butter in bowl. Cream together. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time. Stir in melted chocolate and flavoring. Chill mixture. Break off pieces and form into balls. Roll in coating.
Air-dry 1 hour. Store in air-tight container in very cool place. Makes
about fifty truffles.

Suggested coatings: ground almonds or other nuts, cocoa, more melted chocolate, confectioners' sugar, coconut, chocolate or colored
jimmies.

Note that this uses raw egg yolks. I find a melon baller to be very
handy in forming the truffles.

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