Chocoholic alert. There's so much chocolaty goodness going on in this article, why you might just internally combust from sheer glee. Here are seven great ways to get in touch with your chocolate DNA- or as I like to say it Daybreak, Noontime and Afterdark. Anytime is a good time for a bit of chocolate so how about giving yourself a bit of self-love from Dawn till Dusk Cacao-style?
Breakfast: Chocolate Studded Buttermilk Pancakes
Most important meal of the day but you want to start slow on that cocoa mojo. Nothing beats fluffy pancakes first thing in the morning. For a bit of zing can we suggest you munch it with a squirt of lemon and sugar instead of the typical syrup.
Genesis: Originally we wanted to make it with chocolate buttons so it's more lush to bite into. Unfortunately the buttons turned out too heavy and when it melted, the moment we lifted the pancake it stuck on the pan- this means you’ll get holey pancakes- not good. So we used chocolate chips- less surface and just as tasty.
Recess: Soft Vanilla Biscuits with Dark Chocolate Ganache
Recess! How wonderful it is to open your lunchbox and find nestled inside little biscuits oozing with dark chocolate center. We like our biscuit part simple- almost like a flattened cupcake then squirted inside, a generous, rich dark chocolate filling.
Genesis: Alright, we confess we wanted to make a whoopie pie. But sadly it turned out a little wonky. Firstly we needed a a tray that didn't bend in the oven. Then the batter was too runny resulting in a rather flattened erm... whoopie. In the end we decided to embrace the biscuit it became. It was still delicious and warm, a love-child of a cake and a biscuit. (biscake!) We still prefer cupcakes with lashing of chocolate buttercream on top though.
Snack: Milk Chocolate Nut Bars
As a snack or gift, bars are easy to make and easier to eat. This is a fab way to make use of extra nuts or raisins in your cupboard. Grab a tray, scatter your nuts, then pour on a sugary chocolate syrup. Let it cool, break it into piece and chomp away.
Genesis: Originally we wanted to make a brittle but discovered that the density of chocolates means we can’t get the thinness of a brittle. Plus the tray was too small- we over estimated the quantity (yeah we were greedy) hence it became a bar. No matter, it's still good and you can just use normal cooking chocolate so it’s a cheap treat.
"Let the chocolate madness begin!"
Lunch: Chocolate Satay
Cocoa makes a great marinade. It adds a little bitter-sweetness to meat and somehow gives a lift to spices. For lunch we need something savoury and what better than satay that gets cosy with this glorious powder, spiced up and grilled? The Mayans would dig it!
Genesis: First we marinated the meat with dark chocolate powder thinking the bitterness can make a usually sweet satay interesting. But is does not do it any favours. Eventhough we can taste the cocoa, it seemed pointless. So then we made a savoury chocolate ganache instead. We marinated the meat in this and grilled it, but again it seemed negligible so we ended up dipping the satay in the ganache after grilling. Wallah! The flavours exploded- so a great serving suggestion is to do this satay celup way or fondue- have your satay grilled and then dip in the ganache before munching away. Make sure you keep the ganache warm by keeping a candle under it during lunch.
Tea: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Milk Tart
Teatime is here and it’s time for a bit of sweetness on your plate again. Peanut butter and chocolate are best buddies. So we devised a cunning tart-shell, filled it with lovely chocolate and peanut butter. The result: a lovely, light tart with sudden bursts of nutty saltiness. Delish!
Genesis: We thought- let’s not forget the humble chocolate milk. Instead of making a usual milkshake, we made an egg custard. Then we dotted peanut butter and dark chocolate. We also tried it big but discovered a small version is better. It tastes more like a crumble and you definitely can get both peanut butter and dark chocolate in each bite.
Dinner: Chocolate Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce
It’s dinner and we like something a little jazzier. Make a simple chocolate pasta (this is just normal pasta shot through with cocoa) then top it off with this heavenly spicy tomato sauce. Ooo lala!
Genesis: We got this idea from some Top Chefs we took out for dinner. Take a basic pasta and add cocoa powder. However all this does is give it a chocolate colour with not so much taste. So we used a drinking chocolate powder since it’s sweeter. Too much cocoa will make it too bitter. But since we made the sauce spicy, in the end it seemed not to matter. For fun we used marjoram instead of basil and this gave our pasta a really exciting flavour.
Supper: Hot White Chocolate with Coffee Syrup
At the end of the night, nothing gets you all sleepy than a nice hot chocolate. We made it with white chocolate and to cut through the sweetness we put in a shot of coffee syrup. Afraid it might keep you awake? Stir in a cinnamon stick instead.
Genesis: We imagined a lovely cup of pure white goodness. Only problem is that it can get rather sweet. Hence the trick is to use a thick coffee syrup. You need to drink this hot else it’ll get a tad cloying.
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