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Chocolate Recipes You Need To Make Right This Second

Chocoholics, This Is Not A Drill. Feast Your Eyes On These Mouthwatering Chocolate Recipes
donna hay

This is for the chocolate addicts.

For the people who choose a double choc brownie with triple choc ice cream in bed over a night out with your friends. For the people who would choose hot chocolate over coffee any day of the year. For the people who get way too excited when they see Lindt on special at the supermarkets (because good chocolate that's cheap is just that much more delicious).

To help you induce the biggest, most delightful chocolate coma you’ve ever experienced, here are four dangerously good chocolate recipes from the latest autumn issue of donna hay magazine. Get your slacks out. It's time.

1. Chocolate S’more Cookie Sandwiches

If you haven’t yet tried the biscuit-y, marshmallow goodness that are S’mores, prepare to have your socks knocked off.

This take on the classic S’more -- a sandwich made of graham crackers, melted chocolate and gooey marshmallows -- combines thick chocolate biscuits with gently toasted, oozing marshmallows and glossy dark chocolate.

Makes 12.

INGREDIENTS

  • 100g dark chocolate, chopped
  • 40g unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup (135g) brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ²⁄³ cup (100g) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
  • ¼ cup (25g) Dutch cocoa, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted
  • 100g malt biscuits, crushed
  • 24 white marshmallows
  • 50g dark chocolate, plus extra, melted

METHOD

  1. Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a saucepan of just simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
  2. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 1–2 minutes or until well combined. Add the egg, vanilla and cooled chocolate and beat to combine. Add the flour, cocoa and baking powder and beat until combined. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes or until firm.
  3. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the crushed biscuits in a bowl. Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into 24 balls and roll in the biscuit to coat. Place on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room to spread. Cook for eight minutes or until the surfaces crack and the edges are crispy (the centre of the cookies will still be soft). Allow to cool completely on the trays.
  4. Top half of the cookies with two marshmallows each. Spread the remaining cookies with the extra melted chocolate and sandwich together. Using a kitchen blowtorch, lightly toast the outside of each marshmallow to caramelise.

2. Chocolate-Dipped Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

If this doesn’t bring back memories of sitting around the camp fire toasting marshmallows with a stick that took 20 minutes to find and burning your fingers on molten marshmallow, we don’t know what will.

This recipe is perfect to make on a rainy day. To create these soft, pillowy beauties, you get to make your own fresh marshmallows and dip them into dark chocolate and crushed malt biscuits. It’s an irresistible mouth party you’ll never want to leave.

Makes 35.

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup (125ml) warm water
  • 2 tablespoons gelatine powder
  • 1½ cups (330g) caster (superfine) sugar
  • ²⁄³ cup (230g) liquid glucose*
  • ½ cup (125ml) water, extra
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
  • 200g dark chocolate
  • 130g malt biscuits, finely crushed

METHOD

  1. Place the warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle over the gelatine and stir to combine. Set aside. Place the sugar, glucose and extra water in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Add a sugar (candy) thermometer and cook, without stirring, for approximately 5–7 minutes or until the temperature reaches 115°C (239°F) on the thermometer.
  2. With the mixer on high speed, gradually pour the hot syrup in a thin, steady stream into the gelatine mixture. Add the vanilla seeds and beat for 3–4 minutes or until thick and fluffy. Working quickly, spoon the mixture into a lightly greased 20cm x 30cm baking tin lined with lightly greased, non-stick baking paper. Using a greased spatula, smooth the top and cover with lightly greased non-stick baking paper. Refrigerate for 1–2 hours or until set. Cut into 4cm squares**.
  3. Place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of just simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly for 5–10 minutes.
  4. Place the biscuit in a separate small bowl. Dip the marshmallow squares halfway into the chocolate, shaking off any excess, and dip into the biscuit to coat the chocolate. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until the chocolate has set.

* Liquid glucose is available from the baking aisle of most supermarkets.

** To slice the marshmallow, dust a sharp knife with cornflour (cornstarch) before slicing to stop the marshmallow sticking to the knife.

3. Chocolate S’more Ice Cream

If you want something easy, quick but still downright delicious, this chocolate S’more ice cream is calling your name.

All you need to do is combine store-bought vanilla ice cream with chocolate ganache, melted marshmallows and crushed bikkies. Is anyone else thinking how amazing this would go with the S’more cookies?

Makes 1.3 litres.

INGREDIENTS

  • 100g dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup (60ml) single (pouring) cream
  • 2 cups (180g) white marshmallows
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 2 litres store-bought vanilla ice cream
  • 100g malt biscuits, finely crushed

METHOD

  1. Place a 1.3-litre-capacity metal loaf tin in the freezer until ready to use. Place the chocolate in a small bowl. Place the cream in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to just before boiling point. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to cool.
  2. While the ganache is cooling, place the marshmallows and milk in a medium saucepan over low heat and stir until melted. Scoop the ice-cream into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on low speed for 1 minute or until softened. Working quickly, add the marshmallow mixture, chocolate ganache and biscuit to the ice-cream, and gently fold to combine. Spoon into the prepared chilled tin and freeze for 3–4 hours or until set.

Tip: The ice cream will keep in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to two days.

4. Chocolate Stout Doughnuts with Chipotle Stout Praline

Chocolate, beer and coffee. Three separately awesome things that, as it happens, when combined, create a sweet flavour explosion.

Not yet convinced? We’ll paint a picture for you: dark, rich chocolate doughnuts covered in a honey chocolate glaze and topped with coffee and chilli praline crumbs, all the while a hint of stout beer balances out the sweetness.

Makes six.

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup (125ml) stout beer
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
  • 2¼ cups (335g) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
  • ¼ cup (25g) Dutch cocoa
  • ¹⁄³ cup (75g) caster (superfine) sugar
  • 2 teaspoons dried yeast
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 50g chopped unsalted butter, softened
  • ¼ cup (60ml) double (thick) cream
  • chipotle stout praline
  • 1 cup (220g) coffee sugar*
  • 2 tablespoons stout beer
  • 3 dried chipotle chillies**, finely chopped
  • chocolate glaze
  • 30g unsalted butter, chopped
  • ¼ cup (90g) honey
  • 120g dark chocolate, finely chopped

METHOD

  1. Heat the stout and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat until just warm. Place the flour, cocoa, sugar and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the warm stout mixture and egg yolks and beat until just combined. Add the butter and cream and beat for 6–8 minutes or until a smooth dough forms. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean damp tea towel and set aside in a warm place for one hour or until doubled in size.
  2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1½cm thick. Using a 8½cm round cookie cutter, cut six rounds from the dough. Place the rounds on a large baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room to spread. Using a 4cm round cutter, cut the inside of each round and remove. Set aside for 30 minutes or until risen.
  3. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). To make the chipotle stout praline, place the coffee sugar, stout and chillies in a bowl and mix to just combine. Spread the sugar mixture on a large baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Cook for 20 minutes or until melted and dark golden. Set aside to cool. Once cool, break into small crumbs.
  4. While the praline is cooking, cook the doughnuts for 8–10 minutes or until golden and puffed. Allow to cool completely.
  5. To make the glaze, place the butter, honey and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes or until melted and smooth. Dip the top halves of the doughnuts into the glaze and sprinkle half with the crumbled praline to serve.

* Coffee sugar has a large sugar granule and makes the perfect crunchy sweet topping on desserts. Find it in the baking aisle of supermarkets.

** Chipotle chillies are smoke-dried jalapeño peppers commonly used in Mexican cooking. Find them at spice shops and specialty grocery stores.

Recipes from the autumn issue of donna hay magazine.

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