As we were entertaining at the weekend - and having just watched a lot of very fit people running the start of a very long race (see yesterday's blog) - we had to have a decadent dessert.
We don't often have desserts - yoghurt, fruit, "bread and it". But guests are an excellent excuse, and this is one of the best desserts ever, particularly if you love dark/bitter chocolate - this is rather different from most particularly because of the cardamom.
It came from a magazine, if I remember rightly I furtively tore out the page in the dentist's waiting room. Furtive because the magazine belonged to the surgery, not furtive because it is so bad for teeth.
One of the best bad things I ever did, its wonderful, pretty easy to make, and freezes well too (if there is ever any left.....). Here is the recipe:
Bitter chocolate, coffee and cardamom truffle cake.
Serves 8-10.
340g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
400 ml milk
30g green cardamom pods
6g instant coffee
2 tbsp. caster sugar
800ml double cream
65g blanched almonds, roasted (if you like), roughly chopped.
Have ready a 20cm. cake tin lined with clingfilm or greaseproof paper/baking parchment.
Reduce the milk with the crushed cardamom pods by a third, till its a dark creamy yellow, then strain.
(I usually let it go too far and then have to add a bit of milk to make up the quantity again).
Break up the chocolate, melt in a bain-marie (I use the microwave, which is fine).
Add the coffee to the hot milk and some sugar to cancel out the bitterness. (this is very much to taste - I only use about 1 tbsp not 2 - depends on the bitterness of the coffee/chocolate).
Whip the cream till it just begins to thicken (over-whipping the cream spoils the texture).
Gently fold in the melted chocolate and milk/coffee mixtures. (Don't combine the chocolate and coffee mixtures first). You can now taste and add a bit more sugar if needed.
Cover the base of the tin with the almonds, spoon the mixture in and chill for about an hour till firm and set (or take out of the mould and then sprinkle with almonds).
Good with cream, yoghurt, creme fraiche - or just by its lovely self.
I Could Have Been A ...
1 year ago
22 comments:
I can recommend this cake whole, artery clogged heartedly!
Congratulations on a successful magazine-page heist! I once asked a receptionist at a doctor's office if I could borrow a magazine - she looked totally shocked and told me "Just take it like everyone else does!"
Oops, I think I clicked the wrong things on the "who am I" options.
Good on you for taking the magazine recipe!! I've got this recipe and couldn't believe how good it tasted. It's the cardamons that do it, add an excellent flavour, really unusual. Yes, everybody make this!!
There's a similar recipe which uses chocolate and cardamon which is basically a bread and butter pudding made with chocolate croissants and the milk mixture is made in the same way as this cake. How much of a heart attack is that?
I enjoyed reading your last blog entry too - what were those rhinos doing? Looked a bit dodgy to me.
well the rhinos kept moving, so it was hard to see what they were up to!
oh lettie. You allow anon stuff and you get junk mail! Is nothing sacred!
Chocolate Truffle Cake recipe from the Dentist's! Ahhhh!
Sounds really yummy!
oh poo tit bum. I shall delete it right away!
very intriguing. is this the sort of thing that gets topped with chips and called a "butty"?
cheers,
The Porkchop Express
Wow Lettuce - what an amazing recipe! It combines three of my favorite tastes - chocolate, coffee and almonds. It's not often that you get these three things together.
Jasmine knows how much I love those three things and made me a chocolate/coffee/almond bar for Christmas!
I can't wait to try this out.
~(:o})=
thanks for visiting my site.
Recipe= yummy. Maybe when I give up my current obsession of body size, I'll float away on a donut (chocolate, chocolate glaze) down a lazy chocolate and almond river.
I enjoyed the Barbie link you left for me. Isn't it completely crazy that a healthy chunky woman is offensive, but a dying anorexic is NOT?!
I can't really eat desserts but it does sound yummy. Well, I could eat desserts if I cut out the wine but . . .
So tired after a busy day (and a bit of worrying!). Headhunting was not tempting - lots more money but admin stuff and London based and I wouldn't give up this job anyway. I don't work for the money. Well, I do but you know what I mean.
You've made lots of new friends I see.
Will be more lively tomorrow. I need an early night!
yes, Le Chat, blogslutting still!
Thanks for that link Letty and thanks for the recipe, it's a toss up between that and lemon curd cake for friday evening...
Every time I try blogslutting I just come across freaks! haha
~(:o})=
Make both Tat, chocolate and lemon are also v.v. good together!!!
Uuuuummmmmm, I'm very pleased I strayed over here. I shall try that. It sounds exactly my sort of thing. So much for the diet though.
The plant is a Fritillaria (imprerialis rubra) I'm sure you know it. Tess has no idea about gardening - it can't have just appeared, she must have planted it last year and forgotten. It looks a bit like a colleague of ours actually - who has ginger hair but she always ties it up in a sort of topknot usually with a green hairy scarf.
Now I will go and see if I have all the ingredients, and then I mut go out as it is a splendid day.
I will blog again soon. I am children sitting for Tess and Ruth at the weekend so perhaps then. Wish me luck!
k, i'm gonna send you my address and you gonna send me some cake.
So she poisons my cat, starves my fish and now she is going to sit on my children. Let's hope she doesn't make and eat your cake first!!
How was your meeting?
No, you are quite right. I saw it too. I think it just appears in the evening.
What? Pixie having a chat? Oh, a chat! Yes, mine does that...but has a chien.
Blogslutting? *lol*
You have me in stitches, even though I am not reall sure what it all means. Visiting other blogs?
Thank you so much for the recipe!
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