Now for something completely different.
Are
You A Chocoholic?
Are you addicted?
Does the mere mention have
your mouth watering?
Can you not get through the
day without your fix?
If you answered yes to these questions it sounds like you're a
chocoholic. I have to confess I am a big chocolate fan myself. The world feels
a much nicer place after eating a portion of this delicious confection.
Chocolate is the ultimate comfort food. The taste of chocolate
makes you feel better, and after a bad day what could be better than coming
home to some chocolate treats, but even if your day has not been bad, you
sometimes get those chocolate cravings that can not be ignored.
I have the perfect chocolate recipes to lift your mood and
remove those chocolate cravings, even if you're a chocoholic. They are
quick and easy to make.
Before you rush to get your aprons out (or not) I would like to
begin with a few chocolate facts.
Assorted chocolates -Image
courtesy of myfreedigitalphotos.com
Chocolate Trivia
- Chocolate is obtained from the beans of the
cocoa plant theobroma cacao.
- Chocolate has positive mood-enhancing
effects after consumption, as it contains the chemicals phenethylamine and theobromine. It also increases the levels of
the neurotransmitter serotonin, high
levels of serotonin also have a positive effect on your mood.
- The chemical Theobromine found in chocolate
is toxic to some animals. Particularly dogs and cats.
- 40% of the world's chocolate is
consumed in Europe and Switzerland is the country that consumes the
most.
- According to a study in Sweden of
33,000 women, who ate chocolate or increased the amount they consumed,
lowered their risk of a stroke. It is thought that if the study had been
carried out with men they would have had similar results.
- Dark chocolate is more beneficial as it
contains more cocoa and less fat. However, eating more chocolate than
recommended decreases the health benefits because of the high levels of
sugar and fat
So the old adage of everything
in moderation applies.
Chocolate by Petr
Kratochvil-public domain pictures.net
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
The first chocolate recipe is a favourite.
I have had the recipe book for these chocolate chip cookies for
a long time (I will not reveal
how long though). I adapted the recipe to make it into double
chocolate chip cookies, if you want to make a softer cookie use the
castor/brown sugar combination.
Servings: 18 small cookies or 9 large
Time: 1 hour or less
Ingredients
·
4 oz / 100 g Butter
·
7 oz / 100 g Castor sugar (superfine
sugar)
·
(or 4
oz/100g Castor sugar & 3 oz / 75 g Brown
sugar)
·
2 small/medium Eggs
·
½ teaspoon Vanilla essence
·
5 oz / 140 g Flour
·
1 oz / 28 g Cocoa Powder
·
½ teaspoon Salt
·
½ teaspoon Bicarbonate
of soda
·
4 oz / 50 g Chocolate chips
Double chocolate chip
cookies picture/direction pictures are my own.
Directions
Heat oven to 350ºF / Gas 4 / 180ºC
1. Cream the butter and sugars together with a mixer or wooden
spoon, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg and vanilla essence.
3. Stir in sifted flour, cocoa powder and the bicarbonate of soda,
followed by the chocolate chips.
4. Drop teaspoonfuls of the
mixture onto a greased baking sheet/s. Bake the cookies for 10 - 15 minutes or
until they look golden brown. When the cookies have cooled slightly remove them
from the baking sheet/s and transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Use 2
teaspoons of the mixture if you would like larger cookies. Tip: Leave enough
space on the baking sheet for the cookies
to spread during baking.
Chocolate History
The Cocoa Bean
The cocoa plant was discovered over 4000 years ago in the rain
forests of South America. The Mayan civilisation was the first to consume
cocoa beans they ground the beans and made them into a bitter, spicy drink; the
spice was provided by adding chilli. This drink was called Xocoatl. Cocoa beans were offered by Mayan priests as a gift to the gods
and the xocoatl drink was served during ceremonies and sacrifices.
The Aztecs also highly revered the cocoa plant. The
cocoa bean was reserved for the rich and nobility and was used as currency. It
was also ground and made into a drink.
Chocolate; as it was now known arrived in Spain in 1528. It was
presented to the King of Spain by Hernán Cortez. Cortez had a cocoa plantation in Mexico; he
came upon the idea of adding sugar to the bitter chocolate beverage to make it more
palatable. It became a fashionable drink for the nobility of Spain.
Image - Mayan civilisation
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Chocolate was
kept a secret from the rest of the world for nearly 100 years.
In 1615 Ann of Austria, the daughter of King
Philip III of Spain; introduced the chocolate drink to her husband King Louis
XIII of France. It became popular with the French court and eventually with the
rest of France.
The popularity of the chocolate drink spread to the rest of
Europe. The first Chocolate House opened in London in 1657. It became a popular
place for meeting and socialising.
As the price of cocoa came down it became more affordable to the
masses.
Image: Champurrado via Wikimedia Commons
Helping communities and stopping slavery
Chocolate slaves were the main workers on cocoa plantations in
the past, but the situation hasn't changed much over the years.
The working conditions are harsh and the use of child slaves is
rife. The introduction of Fair Trade chocolate has made conditions much
better for the cocoa plantation workers and their communities.
Cocoa bean purchasers pay an above-market price for the beans
and the extra money is given back to the community. The use of child labour is
forbidden.
Many companies use fair trade chocolate, you can find them here
Image
- swedish fair trade label[Public domain], via Wikimedia
Commons
Chocolate Brownies
Chocolate brownie image my own
Chocolate brownies are another popular chocolate treat.
These are not quite so naughty, because some of the fat has been
replaced by the addition of apple sauce.
This recipe is courtesy of Weight Watchers, so it can't be that
bad for your waistline.
Servings: 10 - 12
Time: 1 hour or less
Ingredients
·
2¾ oz / 75 g Self Raising Flour
·
1¾ oz / 50 g Cocoa Powder
·
¼ teaspoon Salt
·
1 Egg
·
2 Egg whites
·
6 oz / 175 g Castor sugar (superfine
sugar)
·
2 tablespoons / 30ml Sunflower
oil
·
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
·
1 oz / 30 g Chopped Walnuts
·
6 tablespoons of unsweetened Apple sauce.
Directions
- Heat the oven to 350º F / Gas 4 / 180º C
- Combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt
and sift into a bowl.
- Beat together the eggs, castor sugar,
sunflower oil, unsweetened apple sauce and vanilla essence.
- Combine the mixture with flour & cocoa
powder.
- Whisk the egg whites until they reach the
soft peak stage.
- Gently fold the egg whites into the brownie
mixture; the folding will incorporate air into the mixture which will help
the brownies to raise.
- Add the chopped walnuts.
- Transfer the brownie mixture to an 8-inch
square cake tin (pan), which has been lined at the bottom with greased
baking parchment.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer
inserted into the middle, comes out clean.
- Cool slightly then cut into 10 - 12 pieces
and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Chocolate fudge image :By Aldude999 (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
This simple sweet treat recipe needs no cooking, so there
would be no problem letting small children help you make this fudge.
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
·
8 oz / 225 g Dark
chocolate
·
4 oz / 125 g Butter
·
8 tablespoons Evaporated milk
·
1lb / 450 g Icing sugar
Directions
1. Melt the chocolate and
butter in a bowl over a pan of hot water.
2. Add the evaporated milk
and give the chocolate mixture a good stir.
3. Sift the icing sugar and
add to the chocolate mixture, stir well.
4. Transfer into a greased
shallow baking tin.
5. When set cut into squares.
