The Foodie's Food Trip

Chocolate Mousse Cake

I was craving for the chocolate mousse cake from Red Ribbon, a bakery in the Philippines. Since there's no Red Ribbon here, I decided to try and make one myself - another baking challenge for me.

I found one recipe from Annie's Eats, called a Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake which she got from Cook's Illustrated. The cake is made of three layers - bottom layer is chocolate mousse cake or a flourless chocolate cake, middle layer is made of chocolate mousse, and the top layer is made of white chocolate mousse.

Red Ribbon's version is ALMOST the same with a slight difference - bottom layer is a plain chocolate cake, middle layer is chocolate mousse, and top layer is whipped cream.

I followed Annie's Eats recipe, except for the top layer. To make it more of Red Ribbon's version, instead of making white chocolate mousse for the top layer I just removed the white chocolate and just used whipped cream with a bit of gelatin. So I can't really say that this is a triple chocolate mousse cake because the top layer isn't made of chocolate. :D Check out Annie's Eats to see the recipe with the white chocolate mousse.

Hubby liked it! I love it! He even added some chocolate chips on top to make it more like Red Ribbon's.

The recipe below calls for a 9 inch (or 10 inch) springform pan. But since there were only two of us that will eat the whole cake, I cut the recipe in half and used my 6inch springform pan.

Chocolate Mousse Cake
adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients

For the bottom layer

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces (plus extra for greasing the pan)
7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
¾ tsp. instant espresso powder
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
4 large eggs, separated
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

For the middle layer

2 tbsp. cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
5 tbsp. hot water
7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1½ cups heavy cream
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
Pinch of salt

For the top layer

¾ tsp. powdered gelatin
1 tbsp. water
1½ cups heavy cream

Direction

To make the bottom layer, butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 325˚ F. Combine the butter, chocolate, and espresso powder in a large heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Stir occasionally until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla and egg yolks. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and salt on medium speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Crumble half of the brown sugar into the mixing bowl with your fingers to remove any lumps. Beat until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Add the remaining brown sugar and continue to beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 1 minute more. Using a whisk, mix one-third of the beaten egg whites to the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites gently with a rubber spatula until no streaks remain. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
Bake until the cake has risen, is firm around the edges and the center has just set but is still soft (center of cake will spring back after pressing gently with finger), about 14-18 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely, at least 1 hour. Do not remove the cake from the pan. (If not making the second layer right away, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to proceed.)
To make the second layer, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water in a small bowl; set aside. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Once melted, remove from the heat and let cool slightly, 2-5 minutes.
In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream, sugar and salt on medium speed until the mixture begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 30-60 seconds. Whisk in the cocoa powder mixture until smooth. Using a whisk, mix one-third of the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whipped cream gently with a rubber spatula until no streaks remain. Pour the mousse into the springform pan over the cooled cake and tap gently on the counter 3 times to remove air bubbles. Gently smooth the top with a spatula. Wipe the inside edge of the pan to remove any drips. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes while preparing the top layer.
To make the top layer, sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a small bowl and let stand at least 5 minutes to soften. Bring ½ cup of the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat, add the gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved. Let stand about 1 minute. Cool to room temperature, about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the remaining 1 cup of cream at medium speed until it begins to thicken. Increase the speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 30-60 seconds. Using a whisk, mix one-third of the whipped cream to the gelatin mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whipped cream gently with a rubber spatula until no streaks remain. Spoon the cream into the pan over the middle layer. Smooth the top with an offset spatula. Return the cake to the refrigerator and chill until set, at least 2½ hours.

Notes:

The flourless cake will really shrink and collapse when it cools. It shrank so much that it pulled away from the sides. Next time I'll try making a normal chocolate cake for the bottom layer. From the picture below that the bottom layer's sides were already covered by the chocolate mousse layer, because there was too much space when I poured the chocolate mousse to the cake.
The bottom layer was too bitter for our taste. I think it was because I used 70% dark chocolate, and on top of that I added too much espresso powder. I used the Starbucks Via for this. Will adjust this next time.

Movie Date Turned Dinner Date

Hubby and I were suppose to go out to watch a movie after work. But laziness struck... for both of us! So we just went out for dinner instead.

We went to Canteen, a British restaurant in Canary Wharf. It's my first time there, hubby's second.

I don't know about their other branches but their branch in Canary Wharf is oh so spacious! And easily located near office buildings.

Hubby ordered Canteen 'Full English' Breakfast

and I ordered their roast for the day, Roast Lamb with mint sauce.

For dessert, we ordered scones with jam and clotted cream.

Just writing about all these food is making me hungry!

Olive Garden's Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto

I've never made risotto before but has been always intrigued at how & what it tastes like. I finally found a perfect recipe online, Olive Garden's Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto.

Cooking this requires time, patience and arm power! The risotto gets thick and a bit harder to mix that I had to ask hubby's help to mix it for me every now and then.

I made this when we had our friends over for lunch. Rich, creamy, and yummy! There were four of us (plus 1 toddler) sharing this, but there were still a lot left (around 1/4 of my serving dish).

Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto
from Olive Garden

Ingredients

8 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups Carnaroli or Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 lb fresh asparagus spears, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 ½ lbs large shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 oz butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chopped tomatoes
Fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced

Direction

In a large pot or saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer and leave on low heat until needed.
In a separate, large nonstick pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the onions and cook for approximately three minutes. Once the onions are translucent, add the rice, stir to coat thoroughly and cook for one minute. Next, add the white wine and stir until completely absorbed.
Slowly add ½ cup of broth to the risotto and stir until completely absorbed. Repeat this step until 4 cups of broth have been added.
Continue to stir the risotto frequently to avoid sticking.
While the risotto is cooking, add the asparagus and shrimp to the remaining broth and cook for approximately two minutes or until the shrimp are pink in color.
When finished, remove the asparagus and shrimp from the broth and add them to the pot with risotto.
Continue to add ½ cup of broth at a time until desired creaminess is reached.
Once the broth is absorbed, add butter, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with chopped tomatoes and parsley to complete.

Chocolate Nutella Bread Pudding

I think I'm addicted to Nutella... all I can think of making are desserts with Nutella! And... here's another one: Chocolate Nutella Bread Pudding.

I've never made bread and butter pudding before, so this is my first time. A normal bread and butter pudding will have sliced stale bread soaked in cream, milk and eggs. To add flavor to that, some would any or all of the following: raisins or currants, cinnamon & other spices, a bit of brandy (or any other alcohol), and of course the sugar. So where's the butter? You spread the butter on the bread before putting them in the pan, then pour the custard all over the bread.

A chocolate twist to the traditional bread and butter pudding would be Delia Smith's chocolate bread and butter pudding - the custard is mixed with melted chocolate, Nigella Lawson's chocolate chip bread pudding - chocolate chips were scattered all over the sliced bread, and Ainsley Harriott's Chocolate croissant bread and butter pudding - the custard is mixed with chocolate and hazelnut spread.

As you all know, hubby and I are chocolate lovers, so that's what I did and combined all of their recipes: I adapted Delia Smith's recipe by using her steps and technique in making her chocolate bread pudding; I adapted Nigella Lawson's recipe by adding chocolate chips to the bread pudding; I adapted Ainsley Harriott's recipe by using chocolate and hazelnut spread (a.k.a. Nutella).

Ingredients

Yes, I know... the vanilla's missing

For the Custard Mixture

150 ml whole milk
150 ml double cream
1 t vanilla
2 egg yolks
2 T sugar
3-4 T Nutella

For the Pudding

50-100 g chocolate chips
4 slices of stale bread
50 g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

To serve (optional)

icing sugar, for sprinkling
double cream, for drizzling

Directions

For the custard, place the milk, cream, Nutella and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to a scalding point, then take off the heat.
In a bowl mix the egg yolks and sugar together. Gradually add the cream mixture, whisking continuously.
For the pudding, remove the sides of the bread. Cut each slice of bread into 4 triangles. Spread some butter on both sides of each bread. Grease an ovenproof dish with butter. Arrange the buttered bread in the dish. Sprinkle some chocolate chips over the bread, then pour over the custard mixture.
Cover the dish with cling film and let it soak for an hour at room temperature. Put in the refrigerator and leave overnight (Delia Smith's suggestion is 24-48 hrs).
Preheat oven to 170C. Remove the cling film from the dish and bake for 30 minutes or until set.
Sprinkle some icing sugar over the bread pudding. Serve with a drizzle of double cream.

Notes

In Delia Smith's recipe, soak period should be 24-48 hours. I only soaked mine for 2-3 hours. :)
Before pouring the custard mixture, make sure it's cool enough so that the chocolate chips won't melt. Because that's what happened to me. You can see from the picture below that some of the chips are already melting and losing their form.
My pan is too deep and when I first covered it with cling film, the bread's floating above the custard. Plus some parts of the bread were not soaked in the custard (see photo above). So, in step 4, place something over the pudding before covering it with cling film so that the bread will not float and the custard mixture will be absorbed by the bread. In my case, I placed a plastic container.
I didn't sprinkle icing sugar over the bread pudding. Instead, I added a teaspoon or so of sugar in the double cream before drizzling it over my sliced bread pudding.

Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou)

I miss eating Singapore Chili Crab whenever I think of this

This is my third attempt at using yeast (fourth attempt is my previous post). When I made these, I can say that my kneading skills improved. I really kneaded the dough well, although I think I still did something wrong. Why, you say? The dough was still a bit sticky, and I really had a hard time rolling it because it keeps on sticking on my worktop.

Not only that... after steaming, they came out a bit yellowish! They're supposed to be white! Ghost white! Nevertheless, it still tastes like mantou, so it's okay. :) I will surely try this again, using the new yeast I bought.

Chinese Steamed Buns (Mantou)
from Almost Bourdain

Ingredients

5 g instant dried yeast
250 ml water
500 g all purpose flour
25 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions

Dissolve dried yeast in water in a small bowl.
Mix all ingredients in the bowl of electric mixer. With the dough hook attached with low speed, knead the dough until it's smooth, around 10 minutes.
Let the dough rest for 5 minutes and lay it on a slightly floured surface.
Roll out the dough to a 70 cm x 15 cm rectangle.
Fold the dough into thirds - fold the dough into the center to make a square.
Roll it out again to a 45 cm x 25 cm rectangle.
Brush the surface with water with a pastry brush.
Roll out the dough tightly from the longer edge to form a log.
Use a bread knife to slice the log into 8 pieces.
Cut 8 square pieces of baking paper, slightly larger than the bun.
Lay the buns on the square baking papers.
Spread the buns on the steamer and pour some cold water in the bottom of the steamer. Cover the steamer, and let them rise for 20 minutes. (If you don't have a multi-layer steamer and you can't fit all the buns in your single layer steamer, cover the rest of buns in a slightly damp tea towel for them to rise.)
After the final rise, turn on the steamer and steam the buns for 20 minutes (15 minutes with preheated steamer) until it's puffed and cooked.
Serve immediately or deep-fry them. You can freeze the leftover once they are completely cold. You can keep them in the freezer for 3 months. You can reheat them by steaming them for 2-3 minutes after removing them from the freezer.