Almond Cookies and chocolate ganache

Almond Cookies and chocolate ganache

Ingredients
Butter (softened) 150gm
Castor sugar 115gm
Egg yolk 1number
Almond essence 2.5ml
Ground almonds 115gm
Plain flour 175gm

Method
Cream butter and sugar
Mix egg then mix flour and almond powder
Roll it in forms of smooth dough
Roll into a sausage shape about 30cm/12inches long
Rest in the chiller for 1Ž2 an hour. Make balls.
Bake @ 160C for 20 minutes

TIPS
· Use only the freshest ingredients.
· Large eggs are the standard eggs used.
·Try not to use substitute fats. If the recipe calls for butter, use butter.
· Make sure you measure your ingredients properly.
· Keep the dough chilled in between baking batches of cookies.
· Cool your cookie sheets by running tepid water over the back of them.


CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Ingredients
Fresh cream 1 cup
Chocolate 1 cup

method
Bring the cream to a boil, then remove from the heat at once and pour over a bowl of chopped chocolate.Let it stand, covered, for a moment to soften the chocolate, then whisk until smooth. For best results, let it cool overnight at room temperature.Chocolate ganache can be poured as a coating, chilled and made into truffles, whipped into a delightfully light frosting or filling or just mixed into white frosting or whipped cream for instant chocolate flavor.

TIPS
Proper consistency, do not add too much cream .Dont add the cream before the chocolate boils , it should be steamy but not boiling .After adding the chocolate keep stearing until smooth.If ganache is too warm let it cool slightly before pouring it onto a cake.

hot chocolate with whipped cream recipe

hot chocolate with whipped cream
(by lal majid)

Ingredients
chocolate 4ozlow fat milk 2 cups cocoa 2tbsp
superfine sugar 4tbsp
heavy cream well chilled 2/3 cup 

Method
Grate the chocolate. Heat the milk, cocoa and sugar in a pan. Remove from heat add the grated chocolate and whisk the mixture at high speed for at least 2 minutes. Beat the cream to firm peaks. When the hot chocolate is very foamy serve it immediately in large mugs topped with 2 tablespoons of the whipped cream. Sprinkle a little bit of cocoa over it.

TIPS

Always use the best quality chocolate that you can afford. Stay away from powder and syrup. Although these can be used if you are desperate, you will definitely get better results if you use the 'real stuff'. Milk, dark or white chocolate.
Use approximately 30g of chocolate per person, with an equal amount of cream.Be patient when melting your chocolate. Do this slowly over low-medium heat using a double boiler. Make sure you don't burn the chocolate. Avoid using microwave to melt your chocolate, this causes the chocolate to melt at different rates and you are more likely to burn your chocolate using this method. Add the cream once the chocolate is completely melted.
Add equal quantities of milk and water to the chocolate-cream mix and warm to a suitable temperature without boiling.