Hello, World.

Welcome, first-time blog readers of Ruffle-icious.

It’s been a long time since I last blogged, which is good, I suppose seeing as I was a truly godawful blogger back in 2008/9. It almost makes me glad that the great firewall of China blocked my last blog. Almost.

But that’s behind us now, so I say it’s time to kick this new blog off to a great new start! You see, my darlings: today I am bringing you…

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Chocolate Cream Cups!

Obviously, I didn’t make them into cups seeing as we didn’t have any spares in the service apartment we stayed in in Singapore. We didn’t have an oven either. Or a food processor. Or an automatic mixer, so everything I made, I made by hand. I spent many a tortuous time bent over the counter slaving over a bowl, stirring and whisking things into oblivion, but it was so worth it.

You see, what you see in the picture above is the most creamy, decadent and amazingly simple chocolate dessert ever. It has the most irresistable melt-in-your-mouth texture. When you put it in your mouth, the chocolate explodes on your tongue like a chocolate tsunami (if you see one, i’m in). Remember how in primary school biology, you mapped out the parts of the tongue that taste salty, sweet, sour, bitter and sour? Well, throw all that useless information into your brain bin because all you need to know is that all parts of the tongue taste chocolate.

Making this dessert is actually super super easy! You don’t really need any equipment and the ingredients are all pantry basics. I made this in a foreign country so you have no excuse not to make this. Right. Now. I have to apologise in advance for the quality of the photos. I took them with my left hand with my phone while cooking with the right, so they’re pretty dismal, but hang in there with me because these photos can’t show how mindblowingly awesome this dessert is.

First, you take a saucepan and gently heat some whipping cream until little bubbles form at the sides, not quite boiling it. Set this aside for now.

In a large bowl, whisk two eggs until frothy, then spoon 2 tbsp of cold espresso and 2 tbsp (or more; that stuff is good) of Kahlua. Whisk the mixture until it’s combined.

Pour in 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips (or broken pieces of chocolate) and just kind of give it a stir until it’s nicely coated with the coffee/Kahlua/egg mixture.

Next, pour the hot cream into the eggy chocolate mixture.

Using a sturdy whisk, whisk (duh) the mixture. Keep whisking…and whisking…and whisking until your arm falls off. Just kidding. I still have two arms (one is prosthetic (; )

The chocolate should melt because of the temperature of the cream. If it doesn’t, stick the delicious concoction into the microwave for 20 seconds, then whisk some more! Basically, let it come to a lovely silky smooth texture. If you’re like me, stop halfway through whisking for a coffee break and cookie. Ho hum. And then whisk some more! By this time, the room has been filled by the smell of melted chocolate and brownies in the oven. It’s enough to make anyone’s stomach grumble, okay?

Hang in there! You’re almost done! When you’ve got it to a smooth consistency, just pour it into a large, flat dish or into separate little jelly moulds/cups. The recipe says this makes 6 espresso cups of dessert but that is a big fat lie. You’ll see what I mean in a moment.

Ugh. Doesn’t that just look sickeningly delicious?? Feel free to lick the bowl and spoon after you pour this chocolatey concotion in. In fact, I recommend you to lick the bowl and spoon. I promise not to tell anyone. You can blame it on me 😀 Look how much it makes though! It took 2 whole days for 4 people to eat this!

The best part about this dessert is that you don’t even have to bake it which is great if you don’t have an oven or are deathly afraid of ovens in case you leave them on or they spontaneously combust or if you leave an oven mitt in one and it bursts into flames, burning your kitchen and house into a mess of ashes and burned cream…

Ahem, yes. Where was I? Right. Just cover and chill the dish or whatever mould you chose into the fridge for at least 2 hours. It serves at least 6 and can be stored (covered) for up to 3 days.

I warn you – you have to be prepared to fight tooth and nail with a spoon against enemies (also known as family) who will try to take this dessert away from you. I’ll share my battle tactics with you. The only solution to this problem is to TAKE THE BOWL AND RUN! Then dig a spoon into it and let it melt on your tongue. I take no responsibility for any seizures or uncontrollable rolling around on the floor in chocolatagasms.

Chocolate Cream Cups

From 500 Chocolate Delights by Lauren Floodgate

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups whipping cream
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces (I used chocolate chips to save myself the effort)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp cold strong black coffee
• 2 tbsp Kahlua

Method:

1. Put the cream into a saucepan and gently heat until almost boiling.
2. Whisk together eggs, coffee and Kahlua. Add broken pieces of chocolate and stir until well coated with mixture.
3. Pour the hot cream over the eggy-chocolate mixture and whisk until your arm falls off and everything is silky smooth and creamy. Blitz the mixture in the microwave for 20 seconds if the chocolate isn’t quite melting.
4. Divide mixture into 6 espresso cups or pour into a large, flat dish. Refrigerate (covered) for at least 2 hours.
5. Serves at least 6, can be stored for up to 3 days in the refrigerate.

EDIT:

Alternatively, you could use the method provided in the book which is much easier, but requires a food processor/blender.

1. Scald the cream.
2. Put everything else in a food processor and blend.
3. Pour the hot cream into the food processor and blend again until smooth.
4. Refridgerate, following the instructions above.