Chocolate frosting or sauce

One of the most viewed recipes on the blog is my chocolate tray bake and for quite some time I have been meaning to share a chocolate frosting that I now use when serving the cake. I use the same recipe to make a chocolate sauce that I sometimes serve with the meringue tops that I also posted today. When making the sauce I add a bit more water (you can use the sauce on ice cream as well). Just make sure you prepare the frosting/sauce about one hour before serving.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING OR SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, preferable organic/fair-trade
• 1½ tablespoons organic raw cane sugar
• 2½ tablespoons agave nectar
• 3-3½ tablespoons water (4½-5 tbsp = about 75 ml if making chocolate sauce)
• a small piece organic dark chocolate or milk chocolate (about 20 g)
• optional: pinch of sea salt, fine

METHOD

1. Put all the ingredients into a small pan or saucepan
2. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring gently. Then remove from heat
3. Pour the chocolate frosting/sauce into a bowl and let it sit for about one hour before serving

home-made vanilla sugar

Someone emailed me and asked how I make my own vanilla sugar. It's very simple. Here is my version:

HOME-MADE VANILLA SUGAR

INGREDIENTS

• organic raw cane sugar
• 1 vanilla pod

METHOD

1. Split the vanilla pod lengthwise with a sharp knife and scrape the seeds out with the knife tip
2. In a glass jar with a lid, put organic raw cane sugar, all the seeds from the vanilla pod, and the split pod itself. You don't have to use all the seeds if you don't want too, in fact you don't need to use any. But I like my version with all the seeds
3. Store in a closed jar, occasionally replacing the vanilla pod/seeds

chocolate hazelnut spread (or ice cream sauce)

We always have a jar of organic chocolate hazelnut spread for the children in the kitchen (no, I never buy Nutella, never!) but I also like making my own. My current food processor doesn't make it as smooth as I want it to be but it tastes really good. The children helped me put this recipe together, they were the ones who said put more cocoa or make it a bit sweeter. We spread it not only on bread or crackers, we also love the home-made version on ice cream – it's dangerously good!

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD

INGREDIENTS

• 100 g hazelnuts, toasted
• 2 tablespoons raw cane sugar (or 1 tbsp and 3 tbsp agave)
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar, organic
• 2½ tablespoons cocoa powder, organic
• 3½-4 tablespoons coconut oil (if solid place the jar in a bowl of hot water before use)

METHOD

1. First you have to toast the hazelnuts in an oven or on a frying pan and then remove the skin. I usually use a non-stick frying pan and it takes about 10 minutes until the skin starts to loosen. I stir the nuts occasionally on the pan and I allow them to cool on a plate before I peel of the skin with my fingers. You can also shake them in a wire sieve to help loosen the skin. If toasting the nuts in an oven: Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Place the hazelnuts into a baking tray, put them in the hot oven and set a timer to 4-5 minutes (yes, use a timer, you don't want to forget them in the oven!). Allow them to cool before peeling of the skin or shake them in a wire sieve. Whether using a frying pan or an oven, make sure you don't burn the nuts
2. Place the cooled down and skinless nuts in a food processor and blend as well as you can. Depending on how good your food processor is, you might occasionally want to stop the blender, scrape the sides of the bowl and continue blending
3. Add the rest of the ingredients (start with 3½ tablespoons of coconut oil) and blend well in the food processor. If you are using the version with 3 tablespoons agave and 1 raw cane sugar then start with 3 tablespoons coconut oil
4. Keep the spread in the fridge but let it stand for about 15 minutes before serving because the coconut oil makes it solid. If using the spread as an ice cream sauce you can serve it straight from fridge

chocolate tray bake

I have to be honest, choosing the first recipe for kitchen & aroma was a thinker (first impression, you know). There are simply too many recipes to choose from. When discussing this with my foodie friend, CafeSigrun, we agreed that it had to be something simple and definitely have the word chocolate in it. So, we agreed on my chocolate tray bake. It's simple and it's easy to prepare, and the most important thing: it's delicious! The photo of the frosting may also be familiar to some as it has been on the Facebook and Twitter profiles. I like making my own recipes and sometimes, as with this one, the first try is a hit. My daughter Maria asked me so kindly to make a chocolate cake with no almonds, nuts, or dates (common ingredients in healthy cake recipes) and it seems as if I delivered 100%. I hope you like it as much as we and our friends do. The recipe contains no butter and there is only one tablespoon of coconut oil in the base. The cake is rather small but in my opinion chocolate tray bakes are very filling; I at least can never eat much of them.

CHOCOLATE TRAY BAKE, BASE

INGREDIENTS

• 100 g raw cane sugar (½ cup)
• 1 large egg, free-range or organic
• 1½ tablespoons pure maple syrup or agave syrup
• optional: 1 tablespoon coffee, hot or cold (I use a rather strong brew)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (from a health food store)
• 1 tablespoons coconut oil (if solid, place the jar in a bowl of hot water before use)
• 130 g spelt flour (1 cup)
• 3-3½ tablespoons cocoa powder, organic/fair-trade
• 2 teaspoon baking powder, gluten free (1 tsp if using regular)
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 5 tablespoons (75 ml) plain or Greek yoghurt
• 4-5 tablespoons (60-75 ml) lukewarm water
• desiccated coconut for decoration

METHOD

1. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, egg, agave syrup, coffee, vanilla essence and coconut oil thoroughly with a whisk, and then add the yoghurt
2. In a medium bowl, sift the spelt flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, and pour into the wet mixture. Mix the water in, one tablespoon at a time. Do not stir, just use the spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients in until there is no flour remaining at the bottom
3. Line a 25 cm/10 in square baking tray with baking parchment, pour the batter into it and use a spatula to even it out (the height of the baking tray should be about 5 cm/2 in)
4. Place in the oven and allow to bake for 24-28 minutes at 170-175°C/325°C/gas mark 3. Make the frosting while the cake is in the oven
5. Allow to cool in the baking tray on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before adding the frosting, then sprinkle with desiccated coconut

…

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

This is an easy to make chocolate frosting that I especially put together for my chocolate tray bake. I recommend preparing the frosting while the tray bake is in the oven.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons fine raw cane sugar
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons coffee, hot or cold
• 1-2 tablespoons water
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or organic vanilla sugar
• 2½ teaspoons agave syrup or pure maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon coconut oil
• pinch of fine sea salt

METHOD

1. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa and sugar with a spoon
2. Add the vanilla essence, coffee and water and stir gently
3. Add the agave syrup and coconut oil, then the salt to taste. The texture of the frosting should be smooth and spreadable
4. Allow the frosting to remain in the bowl at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before covering the cake