Homemade Chocolate Spread

Homemade Chocolate Spread

Do your children say they don’t like sweets yet wade through a bottle of Nutella like 1 bottle a week?  I find that too expensive so I was happy when I saw this Homemade Chocolate Spread at Julie's place. This I had to make.

The girls gave me mixed reaction the elder one did not mind it the younger one did not like it so did not eat it much. But if she runs true to her form then she will finish the bottle as we reach the bottom of the jar!!

I used dark chocolate but you can use semi-sweet chocolate too.

Homemade Chocolate Spread

Recipe Source:Erivum Puliyum

Homemade Chocolate Spread

Ingredients:

• 1 cups almonds 2 cups
• 1 tblspn oil 
• 200 grms chocolate, chopped fine

Method:
Make Almond Butter:

• Put the almonds in a chutney jar of the blender.
• Grind until smooth, the jar will be hot stop the mixer and let it cool.
• Scrape the sides of the jar and run the blender/grinder more till the almonds give out oil and starts to come together.
• When you can no longer blend it add the oil as required little by little.
• Blend again until you get a smooth finish. This is Almond butter.

Let’s now make the chocolate spread:

• In a double boiler melt the chocolate or melt in a microwave glassware by running the MW in spurts of 30 seconds till the chocolate melts.
• Stir till all the chocolate is melted and is smooth.
• Remove from heat if using the double boiler method and add the almond butter to this melted chocolate.
• Stir the mixture completely to incorporate well and to get a creamy smooth finish.
• Your chocolate spread is ready to serve with breads.
• Cool down completely before storing in bottles. 

Homemade Chocolate Spread

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

 

Chocolate and Nut Fudge

Chocolate and Nut Fudge

Chocolate and nuts and condensed milk this is an amazing combination. My younger one who does not want milk because she claims Mamma adds nuts in them( grinds and adds nuts mind you , as if I have the time to do that)  went gaga over this slices.

Chocolate Almond Cake Baking Partners

As a part of the Baking Partners we were to make a Christmas cake and when I saw the recipes my heart sank.

Don’t get me wrong there was nothing wrong with the recipes it’s my ability to make them that I questioned. I questioned myself how did I think I am capable of making anything here.

Somehow the cake senses that I am comfortable baking and it gives me trouble. Either it sinks or it burns or spills.

So when I saw the cakes here I was tense and I questioned my sanity. Well let me tell you that the family does not know about all the stress I go through when I am baking. Then it will be a full stop for my baking with an exclamation mark. For then I get one of my anxiety attacks and start coughing and get breathless etc. in short everything an asthmatic patient goes through.

I choose what I thought was easier of the two.

Also I have never tried writing with icing. In fact I realize now that the syringe kind of icing tube is of no use. So please ignore the mess that I have made with the writing part. As you can see the kid had no problems in fact she was pleased as punch. O I did complain that she did not eat the cake apparently she did and she likes it. In fact I am happy she has asked me make it again.

Reine de Saba avec Glaçage au Chocolat: Chocolate Almond Cake

We love chocolate, coffee and cakes so this amazing recipe by Julia Child is a treat for us all. Today is the first day when we Baking Partners are posting our first venture and being Julia Child's birthday  Swati has chosen this beautiful recipe. Thanks Swati!

If truth be told before I started blogging my world revolved around Sanjeev Kapoor and Tarla Dalal’s recipes. Then I discovered new amazing chefs like Anjum Anand, Nigella Lawson to name a few.

 But there is no end to learning. When I first heard the name Julia Child I was not too curious but about the same time Swati sent this amazing recipe for baking partners I googled for Julia Child.

 The write-up on her is totally impressive and the video that I saw and I was sold.

Almond Meal & Banana Muffins~ Eggless Baking

I have in an effort to get rid of my lethargy joined new groups where I will be challenged to push my limits and try new recipes.

One of them happens to be Eggless baking by Gayatri.   This is my first time here and I am already behind schedule. Sorry Gayatri!  Will try to toe the line next time... mind you will try... : D! 

We are to try out banana muffins this time. There are 3 issues in my place one the kids should not know there are bananas in the muffins two there has to be chocolate in it and three has to be healthy read no maida or all purpose flour in it.

Well in an effort to experiment I surfed the web and found a delicious recipe here. To be honest I have not checked out the whole fare here but that I plan to rectify shortly.

Mocha Mousse Cake

This is one dish that I enjoyed making.

 Why? My daughters helped me, one of the few rare times when they came in willingly and helped me happily. This was my best Valentine gift from them both. Thanks Kiddos! I love you “gais” (in case you want to misunderstand I am talking about the cow)J.

This one is a Tarla Dalal recipe something that I had bookmarked long long ago. Need I say more?

Bridal Shower for Nithya : Walnut Almond Frappe

There are very few moments as cherished, as beautiful as the day you embark the new journey of life. Holding someone's hand, with dreams in heart and sparkle in the eyes. The day she started dreaming for, even before she knew its’ meaning. The day she has visualized so many times, that by now every detail is clearly itched in her mind. Yes the day a girl becomes a bride, is like no other.

Very soon one of our friends, a great blogger and a gifted photographer, is going to live her dream. And since I'm sure you read the header before reading this, you all know who am I talking about...Yes Nithya of 4thsensecooking is getting married this November.

Thanks to the world of connectivity, distances have become a lesser shortcoming. Though nothing can reclaim the joy of celebration in person. Yet in absence of actually being with her during her most joyous period..here we are all, united, to wish her all the best. So today we are throwing this virtual bridal shower for Nithya to express our happiness and celebrate with her.

And what could be a better way to celebrate than with food, the subject, the emotion that binds us all...So we decided to cook it up, literally and that too Nithya's own dishes from her own blog - 4thsensecooking. Hope she likes the recreation of her own favouite dishes and gets a taste of it through the world wide wide.

Cheers...This is for you Nithya and for all those visiting this virtual bridal shower!!

 Frappe is a relatively new drink for me first saw it in the blog world now regularly in KFC etc.

I want my kids to get the health benefits of nuts but they are nuts outside! Hardly have any so smuggle them in that’s the only option.  So what better than a Frappe, Coffee frappe they are told and fed walnuts and almonds.

These pictures I have taken in the night without the night mode on. So please excuse the pictures but enjoy the Frappe.

Ingredients:

3 Walnuts

10 almonds

2 1/2 tsp Instant coffee powder  

½ cup filter coffee extract

5 scoops Vanilla ice cream - 2 scoops

4 cups Milk  

2 tsp sugar

 Method:

1.     Grind the walnuts, almonds, coffee and sugar in the mixer and grind fine.

2.     In a tall container mix all the ingredients and beat till smooth creamy and frothy.

3.     Serve chilled with a scoop of ice cream!!

Delicious!!

Nithya wish you a long and happy married life!! All the very best!!


Come and check out the rest of the Party Hosts! Enjoy the treat!

   Anamika - Taste Junction 

Krithi - Krithi's Kitchen

Priya Mitharwal -  Mharo Rajasthan Recipes

Priya Mahadeven - Priyas Now Serving 

Priya Suresh - Priya easy n tasty recipes

Priya Sreeram - Bon Appetit

Radhika - Tickling Palates

Radhika Vasanth - Food for 7 stages of life  

Revathy - Kaarasaaram 

Sanjeeta - Different Strokes

Vardhini - Zesty Palette

Archana

Chocolate Almond Cashew Nut Biscotti~A Sweet Punch Black and White Wednesday

Today is the 7^th of September, my sister’s birthday & another Sweet Punch!

 This Biscotti is to wish her a Very Happy Birthday!! So sorry Chetana you do not eat eggs, but that’s very good for me I get to eat a lot more Biscotti!!

Oats Chikki/Granola

Oats Chikki/granola

I had some muesli about which I had plans to convert to granola but postponing. As a result it started racing fast to it expiry date and now being on leave, I decided to do something to stem the rot.

The firs thing I did was heated it lightly in a kadhai to give it some crispness. Then I let it cool.

Meanwhile I got out my hoard of dry fruits after stealthy glance all around to see if anyone is watching me. Grab a few almonds; pistachios it does not matter how many will count later.

 At a leisurely pace I got out my cashew nuts, walnuts , raisins, groundnuts warmed them up too just to get rid of the raw  nutty ( I like the smell but I need to get rid of the moisture from them after storing them in the fridge).

In  Goa we get different kinds of cashew nuts right from the big ones whole, the ones split into two  or which is broken bits tukda kaju, to  the smallest bit Kani ,that can be directly used in Kheers no need to make smaller pieces . I generally buy this and use it for grinding into curries as they are cheapest and cost efficient.

Since I do not have good honey and was reluctant to use sugar I used chikki jaggery that is beckoning me everyday to do something different out of it.

These measure are by no means standard you can adjust as per taste, needs and budget.

To sum up I used:

Muesli  or rolled oats (about 500 grams)

 20 almonds,

15 pistachios

About cup full of Kaju kani

¼ cup raisins  

½ cup of groundnuts.

½ cup of roasted til/sesame seeds

I used 215 grms of this jaggery cut into small bits

½ cup of homemade ghee

Method:

1.       As I have already said warm everything right from the muesli to the nuts.

2.       When they cool down coarse grind.

3.       At this point of time I started wondering about the quantity of the ground mixture I had so I weighed it. It measured 750 grms I used   580 grams should have used only 500.

4.       In a thick kadhai add the ghee and jaggery.

5.       The jaggery will melt and start boiling. Test it to see if it has reached the hard ball stage. (A drop of jaggery in cold water should form a hard rock when pressed).

6.       Add the muesli 500 grams only or as much as much as needed to form 1 lump and mix and stir fast. Transfer to the kitchen platform and roll out to the ½ inch thick roti.  Cut when cool to desires size and shapes.

7.       Store in an airtight container.

I made the mistake of adding too much of muesli and so my granola/chikki  would not set.  So to rectify matters I transferred it to a tray and baked it at 230°C for 10minutes.

Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups plain flour (260 grams)
150 gms sugar
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
150 gms almonds

Method:
Roast the whole almonds (blanched or otherwise) & let them cool.
Preheat oven at 300 F (150 degree C)
Mix all the dry ingredients (excluding almonds) with an electric mixer (or a hand mixer) or sieve them together a couple of times.
Mix eggs with the extracts & beat a little.
Slowly add the egg mixture to the flour & continue mixing with an electric mixer (or a hand mixer) When the dough forms add the roasted almonds.
On a lightly floured surface form a log of the mixture & then place it on a baking tray.
Bake for 30-40 mins in the oven.
After taking out let it cool for 10 mins & then cut it with a sharp knife into thin slices.
Bake the slices on one side for 10 mins again then turn on the other side for baking another 10 mins.
Cool & Store. (Lasts for a good few days in an airtight container.)

I have this recipe shared by one of the members of this forum.

The only changes I have made is that since I did not have almond extract I used vanilla essence.

Also I could not knead the dough as the recipe needed as my dough was a sticky mess I just transferred it to the baking tray I had greased and lined with flour.

I will post the pictures when I next make it as Akanksha has finished the last slice.