Videos : Dark Chocolate Good For Health

GIFTaway Monay Contest Time!

This week we will be giving " Making Fine Chocolates: Flavour-infused Chocolates, Truffles and Confections" from Andrew Garrison Shotts.

How to enter:

Send your best recipe of chocolate chip cookies with an image not small than 400*300 to contest@trchoc.designbar.com.my.

You have until 31 July, 2010 to enter.

Recipe : Butterscotch and Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes

Makes about 36 cupcakes

3 cups of flour
2 cups of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of cocoa powder
1 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup of buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cup of Earl Grey tea
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and have all ingredients at room temperature. Also have your cupcake liners and pans ready.2. Using your stand mixer, is the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa on low speed.

3. Add in the oil and buttermilk, mix on medium speed until well combined.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low.

5. Finally, add the tea (I used two teabags and steeped it quite a bit) and vanilla extract until well combined. Evenly divide your batter into the liners and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.

Recipe from A Baked Creation, image from A Baked Creation

Videos : A milk chocolate love story

Video from Jay and Leah

Health : A chocolate a day

A chocolate a day can help reduce cholesterol levels in patients suffering from diabetes and heart disease, according to a new research.

The research based on the review of eight studies has revealed that patients with either of the two diseases, who ate a small piece of chocolate every day saw a fall in their bad cholesterol level, reports express.co.uk.

The findings also showed eating chocolate in moderation can be good for the heart and the blood circulation as cocoa, a key ingredient of chocolate, contains high levels of antioxidants which help mop up free radicals and prevent them from damaging cells.

Dark chocolate that contains high levels of cocoa is thought to be best among the lot because it provides antioxidants in a small portion, which is more effective.

The research has been conducted by Rutai Hui of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing.

“Future research should concentrate on higher-quality and more rigorous trials with longer follow-ups to resolve the uncertainty. Then we can really eat chocolate without feeling guilty,” said Hui.

Adapted from : Diabetes News

Tips : Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wish to made some cookies at home but don't know how? Here are some tips for you :

#1 : Use the absolute freshest, highest quality ingredients.

Make sure you handle them properly from the time you bring them home with you to the time you enjoy eating your chocolate chip cookies.

#2 : Experiment.

You can try minichips, maxichips, chocolate chunks, or pieces of candy (like M&Ms or Hershey's Kisses). Plus, play around with different types of chocolate bars chopped up for your cookies.

#3 : Enjoy a chocolate tasting event before deciding what chocolate to put in your chocolate chip cookies.

Buy different qualities of chocolate, and different types of chocolate: milk chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, semisweet chocolate and white chocolate. Also, get some chocolate candy bars for the session.

Number the different kinds and brands, and make the tasting as anonymous as possible (so you don't let preconceived ideas get in the way).

Enjoy the tasting experience. Smell the chocolate, taste it, let it slowly melt in your mouth. Savor each one. Drink some water or milk between each taste.

Consider each sample in terms of texture, smoothness (or graininess), sweetness, creaminess, and lack of waxiness.

Rank each one -- make a list of your favorites. You may be surprised at what you like best!

Hint: Also consider combining a couple for different effects. Your chocolate chip cookies will have greater variety and texture if you combine different types of chocolate.

Note: this is a fun way to spend time with some close friends or family members.

#4 : Use unsalted butter in your recipes when using butter

-- it gives a smoother taste. Salt was used as a preservative before refrigeration -- it's no longer needed in your cookies (unless you prefer the taste of some salt).

#5 : Sugar is used to sweeten the cookie dough, as well as to make it more tender.

Most chocolate chip cookie recipes use white granulated sugar. However, brown sugar (either light or dark) produces a different taste many people truly love.

Corn syrup is another option -- it makes for chewier cookies.

Honey is yet another option, producing softer and moister cookies. You can also substitute honey by using about 3/4 the amount of honey as sugar (e.g., 3/4 cup honey is equivalent to 1 cup of sugar).

#6 : Use fresh eggs in your chocolate chip cookie recipes

-- either white or brown are fine. Eggs help make your cookies more tender, moist, and light. Using fresh eggs lets you add more air into the mixture, which produces these excellent results.

Adding additional egg yolk will make the cookies more cake-like.

#7 : The type of cookie sheet or baking pan can affect the texture of your cookies.

Shiny pans help prevent burning and/or browning too quickly. Also, if the metal is too thin, your cookies will burn more easily.

To ensure good circulation, make sure there are 3 or 4 inches of clearing all around your cookie sheets when they are in the oven.

Also, do you grease the pan or use parchment paper? There are lots of differing opinions. We prefer to use parchment paper, no grease, on shiny and heavy cookie sheets.

#8 : Unfortunately, chocolate chip cookies are easy to burn, so you have to be careful.

Make sure you use an oven thermometer. And always set your timer right away -- and for the shortest time suggested by the recipe.

#9 : When you remove the baking sheets from the oven, let them set for a minute or two before you put them on the racks to cool.

If you're using parchment, just slide it off onto the rack. Otherwise, carefully move the cookies using a wide spatula that holds a whole cookie.

Always make sure the pans are cool before you bake another batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Adapted from : Extreme Chocolate, image from Babble

Recipe : Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 10-12 cookies

1 cup flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

4 oz/100g/1 stick butter

½ cup sugar

1/3rd cup light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup chocolate chip

1. Sieve the flour, salt and baking soda together. Keep aside.
2. In a bowl, beat the butter for about a minute. Then add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes until well blended and creamy. Beat in the vanilla.
3. Add in the egg.
4. Reducing the mixer speed to the lowest setting, add in the flour a little at a time, until evenly incorporated.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips. Reserve a handful for later. Refrigerate the cookie dough for half an hour.
6. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or on a Silpat, spoon rounded tablespoonfuls of the cookie dough.
7. Bake them in a preheated oven at 375°F/190°C for 10-12 minutes.
8. Then a good idea would also be to turn the sheet the other way round so that the cookies will bake evenly.
9. Let cool on a cooling rack. Have them with a tall glass of milk.

Adapted from: Purple Foodie, image from : Purple Foodie

What's the Secret?

We will be launching a new secret flavour soon.

So what flavour you think is it?