This is a very good chocolate cake recipe that is healthy and you won't have to hear that same old advice from your doctor as to why shouldn’t you eat chocolate cake!
Ingredients to make a chocolate cake:
1 cup soy milk
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 egg whites (large), at room temperature
Preparation on how to make a chocolate cake:
1. Heat up oven to 350 degrees. Spread out two 9-inch round cake pans or one 9x13x2-inch pan with vegetable oil cooking spray and sprinkle with whole-wheat flour.
2.Heat the soymilk in a medium size saucepan until its hardly boiled. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa until thickened and almost smooth (some tiny lumps will remain). Let stand 2 to 3 minutes to cool slightly. Whisk in the applesauce and vanilla extract.
3.Mix the flour, 1-1/4 cups of the raw sugar, the baking powder, soda, and sea salt in a large bowl.
4.Beat the egg whites in a medium size bowl with an electric mixer until thick and foamy. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup of raw sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form when the beaters are lifted.
5.Pour the cocoa mixture over the whole-wheat flour. Stir just until blended.
6.With a rubber spatula, gently stir about a quarter of the egg whites into the whole-wheat flour mixture. Fold in the remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Pour into the prepared pan or pans.
7.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely. Garnish with your favorite fresh fruit.
VANILLA FROSTING
2 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2-teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4-cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
1.In a bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating, adding the honey and vanilla.
2.Gradually add the nonfat dry milk powder, beating constantly, until the frosting is a good spreading consistency.
It's not so hard to make a chocolate cake! Enjoy!
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Dark, White and Milk Chocolate - Just What is the Difference?
What creates the difference between dark, white and milk chocolates? Is it the color, or perhaps the flavor? Or is it just the history and the background behind each? Nutritional values, maybe? Or how about the ingredients of each? The making process? How about all of the above?
We all know that there are three different types of chocolates. What we don't really understand are the differences between these, which cause each to be taken as an individual substance! For example, did you know that white chocolate isn't really considered to be chocolate? Many true chocolate aficionados might put white chocolate in a separate class -
The first and most characteristic that differentiates dark from white from milk chocolate is the distinct color of each! While dark chocolate is a deep, rich brown due to the high amounts of cocoa in its composition, milk chocolate is a lighter shade of brown, showing the presence of milk. White chocolate on the other hand, is completely white since it has no part of the cocoa liquor that's present in the other two. This is also the reason as to why white chocolate doesn't conform to the standards of chocolate
Another major difference between dark, white and milk chocolates is the history behind each. Chocolate was drunk as a spicy beverage about 2000 years ago, when no one had heard of mixing it with milk! When the cocoa press was first invented in 1828, solid eating chocolate was created. Thus dark chocolate was born. Later, in the year 1875, Daniel Peters created the first milk chocolate White chocolate came much later, after World War I, when it was introduced by the Swiss! Dark chocolate becomes more bitter as the amount of cocoa liquor in it increases.
In terms of taste, dark chocolate is the bitterest, followed by milk chocolate which is usually semi-sweet in response to the lower quantity of cocoa liquor used, as well as the added sweetness of milk and sugar. White chocolate is completely sweet, since it has no cocoa liquor. Cocoa contains theobromine, a healthy substance that is extremely bitter in nature. This explains why dark chocolate is more of an acquired taste than a first love!
The other difference between these three types of chocolate is in the ingredients each contains. Dark chocolate is very simple, containing cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and sugar, whereas milk chocolate has a smaller portion of cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, milk and sugar. White chocolate on the other hand, is more of a flavored candy containing cocoa butter, lecithin, sugar, milk solids and other flavorings.
As has been recently discovered, cocoa powder has many nutritional benefits, due to the flavonoids and polyphenols it contains, which are said to be antioxidants and relieve heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes type II, and prevent a score of other diseases. Cocoa also contains epitachin, a flavonoid which widens the heart and blood vessels, leading to reduced heart risks. Since dark chocolate has the highest amount of cocoa present, it follows that dark chocolate has greater nutritional benefits compared to milk and white chocolate Milk chocolate also contains cocoa, but the goodness of it is generally wiped out by the other saturated fats contained within! White chocolate having no cocoa content, has no nutritional benefits at all.
Another scenario where the differences between these three types of chocolate are stark is the consumption and popularity of each! Dark chocolate is normally a favorite with diabetic chocoholics, because of the low sugar content it contains. Milk chocolate on the other hand, is very popular with the masses. If you're creating a gift basket without knowing your recipients taste, you're in the right if you include a majority of milk chocolate goodies! White chocolates, on the other hand, tend to be a love at first taste choice. You either like them or you don't!
There are obviously major differences between the three types of chocolate However, each of them is a sumptuous decadent delight in its own way! When you're thinking of chocolate you're obviously not going through the differences between them. What you are thinking of is that moment when they melt in your mouth, and everything is all right with the world! So today go ahead and enjoy that delicious piece of chocolate after all you now know a little bit more about what you are eating!
We all know that there are three different types of chocolates. What we don't really understand are the differences between these, which cause each to be taken as an individual substance! For example, did you know that white chocolate isn't really considered to be chocolate? Many true chocolate aficionados might put white chocolate in a separate class -
The first and most characteristic that differentiates dark from white from milk chocolate is the distinct color of each! While dark chocolate is a deep, rich brown due to the high amounts of cocoa in its composition, milk chocolate is a lighter shade of brown, showing the presence of milk. White chocolate on the other hand, is completely white since it has no part of the cocoa liquor that's present in the other two. This is also the reason as to why white chocolate doesn't conform to the standards of chocolate
Another major difference between dark, white and milk chocolates is the history behind each. Chocolate was drunk as a spicy beverage about 2000 years ago, when no one had heard of mixing it with milk! When the cocoa press was first invented in 1828, solid eating chocolate was created. Thus dark chocolate was born. Later, in the year 1875, Daniel Peters created the first milk chocolate White chocolate came much later, after World War I, when it was introduced by the Swiss! Dark chocolate becomes more bitter as the amount of cocoa liquor in it increases.
In terms of taste, dark chocolate is the bitterest, followed by milk chocolate which is usually semi-sweet in response to the lower quantity of cocoa liquor used, as well as the added sweetness of milk and sugar. White chocolate is completely sweet, since it has no cocoa liquor. Cocoa contains theobromine, a healthy substance that is extremely bitter in nature. This explains why dark chocolate is more of an acquired taste than a first love!
The other difference between these three types of chocolate is in the ingredients each contains. Dark chocolate is very simple, containing cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and sugar, whereas milk chocolate has a smaller portion of cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, milk and sugar. White chocolate on the other hand, is more of a flavored candy containing cocoa butter, lecithin, sugar, milk solids and other flavorings.
As has been recently discovered, cocoa powder has many nutritional benefits, due to the flavonoids and polyphenols it contains, which are said to be antioxidants and relieve heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes type II, and prevent a score of other diseases. Cocoa also contains epitachin, a flavonoid which widens the heart and blood vessels, leading to reduced heart risks. Since dark chocolate has the highest amount of cocoa present, it follows that dark chocolate has greater nutritional benefits compared to milk and white chocolate Milk chocolate also contains cocoa, but the goodness of it is generally wiped out by the other saturated fats contained within! White chocolate having no cocoa content, has no nutritional benefits at all.
Another scenario where the differences between these three types of chocolate are stark is the consumption and popularity of each! Dark chocolate is normally a favorite with diabetic chocoholics, because of the low sugar content it contains. Milk chocolate on the other hand, is very popular with the masses. If you're creating a gift basket without knowing your recipients taste, you're in the right if you include a majority of milk chocolate goodies! White chocolates, on the other hand, tend to be a love at first taste choice. You either like them or you don't!
There are obviously major differences between the three types of chocolate However, each of them is a sumptuous decadent delight in its own way! When you're thinking of chocolate you're obviously not going through the differences between them. What you are thinking of is that moment when they melt in your mouth, and everything is all right with the world! So today go ahead and enjoy that delicious piece of chocolate after all you now know a little bit more about what you are eating!
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Making Chocolate Covered Strawberries at Home!
People live very fast paced life today. Everyone is busy with their respective goals and jobs. To keep healthy you need to cultivate good habits. Exercise should be a part of daily routine. A person who does not have sufficient time for exercise during the weekdays must try to make up during the weekends.
Eating healthy food is important for keeping fit. Various kinds of diet programs are followed by people and stress is laid on healthy eating. Avoiding high calorie food and junk food all the time makes you crave for unhealthy food. What to do in this type of situation? Well, the answer lies in balancing your diet with different types of food items.
Eating fruits and vegetables helps a lot in maintaining our health. There are loads of delicious fruits like apples, orange, pear, melon, litchi, and strawberry which can be included in the daily diet. Similarly eating fresh vegetables regularly helps a lot in keeping healthy. Managing the diet with a judicious mix of fruits, vegetables and high fiber foods go a long way in keeping a person fit.
It is better to make your daily food interesting by varying it to make it appealing and tasty. You can make chocolate covered strawberries at home using simple ingredients. It is very easy to make them. You need to have the white chocolate, normal dark chocolate and some strawberries with their stems intact. Melt both the chocolates in separate bowls by placing them in hot water. You can melt them in a microwave oven too. Ensure that the syrup is smooth by mixing it well. Dip the strawberries in the syrup by holding it from the stem, shake to remove excess syrup and put it on a parchment paper to dry. Repeat this process with all the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate syrup and apply a little of it to the chocolate dipped strawberries.
There are various other methods of making chocolate covered strawberries. You can make it bi-color with equal portions of white and brown chocolate or make it totally white. There are many options available and you can make it according to your liking. Covering the strawberries with chocolate makes them tastier and they get used up pretty soon. If you do not wish to make them at home, then you can buy then readymade from the many stores which stock them.
Chocolate covered strawberries make an excellent gift which can be given to all. This is a suitable gift for all from kids to the elderly. They can also be included in wine baskets. Many wine baskets contain gourmet chocolates. If you wish to make an unique basket for your friends or relatives, you can select suitable brands of wine and put these chocolate dipped strawberries with them. Your friends will truly love and relish them.
This type of strawberries can be used even at small gatherings at your place or during festivals when the extended family gets together. You can serve them during your kid's birthday party too and all your little guests will savor them. This can serve as a healthy snack between meals and you can rest assured that your kids are eating healthy fruits.
You cannot go wrong with chocolate covered strawberries because chocoloate is generally loved by everyone. You can also pair your strawberries with wine gift baskets, as unique gifts for the upcoming holiday season. GiftbasketSearch.net and TheBasketSpot.com provides beautiful and visually appealing gifts, that your everyone loves.
Eating healthy food is important for keeping fit. Various kinds of diet programs are followed by people and stress is laid on healthy eating. Avoiding high calorie food and junk food all the time makes you crave for unhealthy food. What to do in this type of situation? Well, the answer lies in balancing your diet with different types of food items.
Eating fruits and vegetables helps a lot in maintaining our health. There are loads of delicious fruits like apples, orange, pear, melon, litchi, and strawberry which can be included in the daily diet. Similarly eating fresh vegetables regularly helps a lot in keeping healthy. Managing the diet with a judicious mix of fruits, vegetables and high fiber foods go a long way in keeping a person fit.
It is better to make your daily food interesting by varying it to make it appealing and tasty. You can make chocolate covered strawberries at home using simple ingredients. It is very easy to make them. You need to have the white chocolate, normal dark chocolate and some strawberries with their stems intact. Melt both the chocolates in separate bowls by placing them in hot water. You can melt them in a microwave oven too. Ensure that the syrup is smooth by mixing it well. Dip the strawberries in the syrup by holding it from the stem, shake to remove excess syrup and put it on a parchment paper to dry. Repeat this process with all the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate syrup and apply a little of it to the chocolate dipped strawberries.
There are various other methods of making chocolate covered strawberries. You can make it bi-color with equal portions of white and brown chocolate or make it totally white. There are many options available and you can make it according to your liking. Covering the strawberries with chocolate makes them tastier and they get used up pretty soon. If you do not wish to make them at home, then you can buy then readymade from the many stores which stock them.
Chocolate covered strawberries make an excellent gift which can be given to all. This is a suitable gift for all from kids to the elderly. They can also be included in wine baskets. Many wine baskets contain gourmet chocolates. If you wish to make an unique basket for your friends or relatives, you can select suitable brands of wine and put these chocolate dipped strawberries with them. Your friends will truly love and relish them.
This type of strawberries can be used even at small gatherings at your place or during festivals when the extended family gets together. You can serve them during your kid's birthday party too and all your little guests will savor them. This can serve as a healthy snack between meals and you can rest assured that your kids are eating healthy fruits.
You cannot go wrong with chocolate covered strawberries because chocoloate is generally loved by everyone. You can also pair your strawberries with wine gift baskets, as unique gifts for the upcoming holiday season. GiftbasketSearch.net and TheBasketSpot.com provides beautiful and visually appealing gifts, that your everyone loves.
Saturday, 2 May 2009
The Essence of Chocolate Covered Strawberries in Desserts
The pairing of chocolate and strawberry is a delicious one. But after filling up on "plain old" dipped strawberries, and heck that alone can take a lifetime as I have plenty of experience, you can nonetheless choose to expand your palette and cooking repertoire by incorporating the essence and flavor of chocolate covered strawberries in different and exciting ways.
The first obvious idea is to top sliced strawberries on a decadent chocolate cake. You can look online for lots of recipes for a cake should your personal book library not suffice. Or there's always great subscriptions to nice magazines like Food and Wine or Cooking Light that offer good dessert reads. Don't forget about the magazines more suited to desserts and pastry too!
But for a strawberry-topped cake, this gives the cake lovers more of the moistness and volume to fill up for their dessert appetites and still provides a bit of the fruit accent. And as a red garnish on top of a very dark cake, it adds a bit of wow factor and dimension.
You can strengthen, spice, and stiffen up your strawberry chocolate partnerships by mixing in a little liquor. Some recipes infuse Grand Marnier in a small dose to reduce with the berries and give that richness without really having a significant amount of alcohol in the final product. This will give you the cognac brandy flavor with orange hints along with the strawberry and chocolate. I think this is a delightful combination myself. The liquor burns off in the cooking process somewhat, leaving the flavor and experience without the buzz. This is a flavor profile that adds layers to your food enjoyment experience.
A strawberry mousse cake is a welcome option too. This will provide a greater strawberry percentage as most recipes call for several cups of strawberries placed around a cake's perimeter.. And you're still getting about 12 ounces to a full pound of chocolate folded in to the whipped cream to create the mousse. You can always go with a straight strawberry cake as well. Of course you'd be missing out on the chocolate entirely, and I say where is the fun in that? But you can simply flip the order by having a cake or pie filled with the strawberries and go with a small plunk of chocolate mousse, a squirt of chocolate syrup, or even some melted chocolate from the stove drizzled gently over the strawberry dessert. Is your mouth watering yet? It's a tempting set of things to make.
And that is what desserts and cooking in totality is really all about. Adding up layer upon layer of flavor in subtle ways. The eater can consciously or subconsciously realize a superb symphony of flavor. Yet they have a challenge describing what exactly all the ingredients are in the dish. It's the undercurrent and hint and sophistication of extra touches that leaves the person wanting more. This is a learned skill that takes some dedication and a little more time, but it's worth it. And it's not that hard to develop a great set of skills and trust in the kitchen with your own abilities. And who wouldn't want to make five or ten variations using these fantastic chocolate and strawberry ingredients to discover what works best. Tell you what, time to head over to the kitchen and brush up on my technique right now.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: T. Allan Roll is a foodie at heart. He loves sharing stories of good food in all forms, lively imbibing and great culinary conversations. His love of Chocolate Covered Strawberries has inspired him in the kitchen to experiment with lots of great desserts to capture the flavors of happiness.
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