Power Truffles

Ever since I have returned to Singapore, I have been spoilt rotten by Mum's cooking and all the cheap eats (not to mention huge variety) out there. So it seems that getting down and dirty in the kitchen has become somewhat of a rare occasion for me.



And the heat. Nom de dieu, it has been stinking hot over here for the past few days. The walk back after lunch must be the only time I feel that happy to be back at work. You can imagine that sweating it out in the kitchen doesn't exactly appeal to me right now, especially where baking is involved. You must surely feel for me when you think about all the excess heat from the oven seeping out when you are already half-cooked in a 30-degree something kitchen. On the upside, you get to fully steam out your pores here. Free facial anyone?



But I suppose I will make my brother's birthday an exception :) (That's for all the years of crap he had to put up with the terror of 3 older sisters in the family!) My bro is an ENORME chocolate lover. The way he whacks chocolate down will put all self-professed chocoholics to shame. I reckon what every Cadbury or Meiji chocolate-maker-wannabe needs to sustain their business is to find one customer like that and you're set for life.



With that in mind, I thought, what better gift is there than some hand-made bittersweet truffles to really ratch up the intensity of chocolate? I was quite excited too as I haven't made these before. I got my hands on the simplest chocolate ganache recipe I could find, ran back to the shop like a madwoman twice because I forgot the cream and got down to work. After trying to shape the balls and watching each ball die slowly with the heat, I decided to skip the coating altogether and go with a soft dusting of cocoa powder.



I still feel like cracking up at my parents' bewildered faces when I dashed past them into my brother's room at the stroke of midnight with a truffle loaded in a little bowl. And in true Singaporean-ness, he popped it in his mouth and said "Damn gao (intense). Power."

Yay for Power Truffles. *chuckle* Happy Birthday little bro! *hugs*

Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles
200g bittersweet chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), chopped
1 1/4 cup cream
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Heat the cream up in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Take it off the heat and let cool.

Melt the chopped chocolate chunks in a bain marie. Add in the cooled cream and mix. Alternatively, you can heat the cream up and pour it straight onto the chocolate chunks slowly. Mix until smooth.

Firm up the chocolate ganache in the fridge for around 2-3 hours. Using the help of 2teaspoons (I found this much more effective than using my hands), shape the chocolate ganache into balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Lightly dust with the unsweetened cocoa powder and let chill in the fridge.

Adapted from Epicurious

Red, red wine

Christmas has indeed arrived early.

The good people at Cocoa Farm have kindly sent me a box of their beautiful, wholly-organic wine chocolates to sample. The package arrived in the form of 8 individually wrapped samples of 36%-cocoa chocolate studded with petite, shiraz-infused raisins. For once, I thought I’ll try to do these little babies justice and educate myself a little on chocolate appreciation.

Chocolate appreciation is quite a lot like wine-tasting. Needless to say, the chocolate needs to be at room temperature. I have always preferred my chocolate that way (or even a little on the slightly melted side) to a cold, rock-hard piece straight out from the fridge. Now if you are one of those who enjoy stashing your chocolate in the frigo, you’re seriously missing out on a lot of the subtler nuances that your chocolate bar can bring. The heat brings out the aromatic intensity and flavour of the chocolate which can be further released by taking a bit of chocolate and rubbing it between your fingers. The most apparent aromas that came out were those of rosy red cherries and a slight almond fragrance. Mmm.

Taste-wise, I tried it two-ways: one source recommends that you do not chew the chocolate at all and suck it using the roof of your mouth while the second method, which I found more effective, suggested chewing it to maximize the chocolate spread on your tongue and then letting it melt away into a rich, luscious paste. Velvety and milky, the chocolate was perfumed with light floral and juicy berry tones, reminding me of scented jasmine tea, cherries and ripe, ripe strawberries. Sublime. The slight tartness in the raisins cut through the sweetness of the chocolate, something which I was pleasantly surprised by and very much enjoyed. There was also a very slight hint of spiciness which frenchie and I detected too. What? You didn’t think I’ll share my chocolate?



All in all, I would say this is a very pleasant after-dinner chocolate which I suspect might even get on famously with a bit of dry red wine. Although I personally love strong, dark and slightly bitter varieties, this is a nice change which presents a lovely medley of flavours that do not overpower each other so much as complement each other, and can be appreciated by both wine and non-wine lovers alike. Chin!

Back!

Yes yes I know. You'll be forgiven to think that I've disappeared from the face of the earth given the frequency of my postings. But well, it is kind of hard to fit in blog posts especially when you're out about been travelling and having such a wonderful time. I've never felt this pampered in my life. My babe flew me down to Victoria for my birthday and the memories of cruising down the Great Ocean Drive and lunching on the most delicious grilled fish and thick-cut chips in the tranquil town of Port Fairy still sends tingles down my spine. Did I mention I had a heli ride too? :)



I was also flown down to Singapore by my besties for our dear, dear Viv's wedding. Weddings make me all soppy. I felt a huge lump in my throat when I was about to see her in her gown but had to muster all my strength to stop - hey, it was only 6 in the morning and I couldn't start that early, right? Sighz. Events like these just make me think of how lucky I am to have such close friends and how much I miss everyone back home.



And oooh yes, I went to the fish spa!!! It's the latest craze in Singapore where the fishes do the dirty work of grazing on your dead skin. Yeah I know, bleah. But your feet do feel quite smooth after that. Hee.



Well, I'm back in Sydney and starting to settle in after the mad rush of events including a research exhibition shortly after my trip home. And I am dying to share a little gem with you that I've discovered in the most unexpected of places. Saturday saw me at the Mind Body & Spirit Expo with a couple of my fave singa-dutchies. Hoping to gain some spiritual insight from the expo, I emerged from the fair thoroughly delighted with bags of Mayan Xocolat chocs and cosmetics instead.



I've come across the Mayan Xocolat brand before at the Aroma Fest but did not get to try then because of the long queue. There was a much shorter line this time at the MB&S Expo. Initially intrigued by the coffee, I was equally enthralled with the selection of chocolates on offer. There were xocolat-coated coffee beans, a most delicious orange peel xocolat (both featured in the photo), sesame xocolat and xocolat-coated crystallized ginger. The drinking chocolate is also dark, smooth and soothing and can be made into a rich chocolate paste using less water. The xocolats all have a tinge of chilli in them which leaves a pleasant buzz on your tongue. And the best part? Mayan Xocolat deals with the Guatemalan coffee/cocoa growers so that the profits go to them directly. Hopefully this will be a step towards helping growers like these out of poverty. Hey, quality foods for a good cause? I'm definitely in! :) And oh, I got a bag of caramelish-molasses too.

You can find out more about them at www.mayancoffee.com.au. They have a cafe at Danks Street, Waterloo. The banquet menus look interesting - I'll definitely be dropping by to have a look!