Chocolate Mousse

Watching a chef work with molecular gastronomy is a bit like watching a mad scientist at work. You see unheard of ingredients and never before seen techniques come together to create food that has textures and flavours, beyond anything you can imagine. It challenges and defies all conventional ideas and norms that one has come to accept when it comes to food. While there is a scientific rationale behind it all, to the lay person it is a bit like magic!

 

 

It is not only about creating new textures and new flavours, it is also about achieving a conventional result with an unconventional technique. So, while I believe molecular gastronomy is best left to the professionals, I couldn't resist giving this chocolate mousse recipe a shot. This recipe was invented by a French physical chemist, Herve This, also known as the 'Father of Molecular Gastronomy'. It turns on its head everything you know about making chocolate mousse as well as about working with chocolate and yet, results in the creamiest, silkiest and chocolatiest chocolate mousse you've ever had!!

 

 

The first rule when you work with chocolate is that it should never come in contact with water. This recipe breaks that rule irreverently by having only two ingredients, water and chocolate. The two are melted together and the resultant mixture is transferred to an ice bath. It is then whisked and as air is introduced into this mixture, it emulsifies like a mayonnaise and achieves the desired mousse like consistency. And you are done!!

 

It seems strange but that is all that there is to it! No cream, no yolks, no butter, no sugar.. just chocolate and water!! And yet, like I said, this mousse is creamy, satiny and luscious. You won't believe it, until you try it for yourself!! In fact, Monsieur This is said to have remarked, "I invented it — but it was so easy, I'm embarrassed!"

 

Just keep two things in mind. Use the best chocolate that you can lay yours hands on because that's what you will taste. There is nothing behind which the chocolate can hide itself. And secondly, be very precise with your measurements. If you want to introduce a liqueur, subtract the same amount of water as the amount of liqueur you are going to use and then introduce the liqueur.

 

This is a very intense, chocolate dessert and a small amount goes a long way! And since I didn't have the requisite serving ramekins, I dug into my shot glass collection. An unconventional dessert deservedly demands an unconventional showcase!!

 

 

As the original mad scientist, Einstein once said, "make things as simple as possible, not simpler"! This chocolate mousse is testament to the spirit of that statement.

 

Watermelon Mint Ice Lollies

Admit it.. you read the words "ice-lollies" and were instantly transported back to your childhood. It would have been summer, either after school or the holidays would have begun... With your meagre pocket money, you and your motley crew of friends would have bought these brightly coloured ice lollies and then, licked and slurped your way to summer-time bliss!!

Your lips would turn the exact shade of the lollies and every time, despite your best efforts, a tell-tale stain would appear on the front of your clothes!! And you still surmised, in all innocence, that your all-knowing mother had 'special powers' because, in spite of ensuring utmost secrecy, she always seemed to know when you'd had one!!!

We are right in the middle of summer and with ice-creams, sorbets, fro-yos, ice-lollies and granitas all doing the rounds on blogosphere, it was only a matter of time before I got into the act. Caroline from the utterly fabulous blog,  The Patterned Plate, had me on ice-lollies with this beautiful post of hers. It was her words, more than anything, that got me thinking about ice-lollies and their link to our childhood!!

Wanting to go all natural, I pondered over my flavour combinations. I wanted to go for something summery, fresh and vibrant. Watermelon seemed an appropriate choice. .. and its bright red colour the deal-clincher. Mint seemed a natural pairing for the season and the fruit in question. But, honestly, play around with this recipe in any way you want. Use a fruit of your choice.. be it summer berries or mango, add water or yoghurt and if adventurous, spike it with alcohol for an adults-only version!!!

The lollies, when unmoulded, were delightful, to say the least. The taste of the watermelon is heightened with the addition of mint. The mint lends this subtle, refreshing accent to the lollies that is much-appreciated in the summer.

Like I said earlier, play around with this recipe any way you want because the experience as you lick and slurp these lollies, is as enjoyable as it was when you were a child. Except, for one thing, with these natural ice lollies, your lips don't turn colour!!

Venetian Carrot Cake

I have been overwhelmed and touched with the messages of support and encouragement I have received over the past week!! The blog has put me in touch with friends whom I had lost touch with over the years despite the irony of all of us having each other on Facebook. And that's why this post is for one of my oldest and dearest friends - Deblina! She applauded the idea of the blog when I first floated it, thought of its name and when I had all but given up on it, prodded me along gently. Along with school friend, Mariam, she writes a blog - 'Made in Umami' - a definitive guide to Mumbai's (and post-marriage, London's) food landscape.

When I saw the recipe for this Venetian carrot cake, it just had her name written all over it. Carrot cake is her absolute favourite (she even served it at her wedding!). Its Venetian version, an ode to her plans for a honeymoon in Venice! Coincidence?? I'd say Serendipity!!

The recipe is from Nigella Lawson's latest offering, 'Nigella Kitchen'. I must confess, it was Nigella's cooking show that somewhere convinced me to enter the kitchen and try my hand. She made it look all so easy. Yes, the purists might frown at her techniques and she does overdo the cream and butter at times. But then, she also does cut everything from chicken to herbs with a pair of scissors!! She describes this cake as an earlier version to its American counterpart, made by Venetian Jews in their original ghettos.

The recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free. Before you rejoice, remember the flour is replaced by almond-meal and that makes the cake a bit on the richer side. The good news, however, is that a small wedge of it will satisfy you! And for those of you who hate their veggies, you don't taste the carrots but they do provide an added texture and a natural sweetness and moistness.

After baking, the cake turns a lovely, golden orangey - brown on the outside while the inside maintains a paleness owing to the almond meal. This is a lovely, moist and slightly crumbly cake which can be shared among a large group. The plumped-up raisins and the hint of that  zesty lemon (in taste and aroma) are the side acts that almost overshadow the main players! Try this cake while the carrots are in season and before their fresh, pinkish hue is bleached to an unappetising pale orange by the Indian summer!!

Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Muffins

I thought I begin the year with something simple and fresh, much in line with my resolutions for the year to start afresh on many counts whilst keeping it simple all the same! These muffins seemed perfect for the sentiment in mind. The recipe is adapted from the wonderful Popina Book of Baking. If one loves to bake with fresh, seasonal ingredients, then this is your book. The muffins feature enticingly on the back cover complete with the juices from the strawberries overflowing from the muffin cases and you just know you have to make them!!

I find muffins one of the simplest things to bake. All you need is 2 bowls..measure out the ingredients in both the bowls and then mix the two..spoon them into the muffin cases and 25 minutes later..a smile on your face!! It is really that simple!

If anything, do keep in mind, you don't want to over mix the batter or else you will land up with dense, tough muffins.

You'll really enjoy these muffins, after all, nothing with dark chocolate can ever taste bad but the strawberries, slightly tart, cut through the sweetness. In India, January is strawberry season and they've hit the market with a vengeance. It's a refreshing, seasonal twist to the plain chocolate chip muffins.

And if i forgot to mention it earlier, the recipe has vegetable oil and demerara sugar instead of butter and white sugar...well..u know.. doing my bit towards everyone's most popular New Year resolution of "eating healthy"!!