Recipe Book: White chocolate mousse, oreo cookies and bitter chocolate mousse

This time we go on with something different but easy.... By following the below steps I am about to show you in pictures how you will easily make a white chocolate mousse with oreo cookies along with bitter mousse.

It's not difficult. You should pay attention only in the way you will handle both chocolate mixtures. You can make a nice dessert with two different ways that I am about to show you and then serve either in individual glasses or in a family bowl. You choose the way while I show you the recipe.

White chocolate mousse, oreo cookies and bitter chocolate mousse
Preparation time: 30' 
Waiting: 1h
Decoration: 10'
People to serve: 10

Ingredients: 
For the white chocolate mousse:
150 gr white chocolate of good quality
100 gr fresh cream liquid
200 gr fresh cream liquid beaten to a mixer until texture is the same as yogurt
250 gr mascarpone

1 pack of oreo cookies

For the bitter chocolate mousse: 
200 gr chocolate 55-57%
100 gr fresh milk
200 gr fresh cream liquid beaten to a mixer until texture is the same as yogurt

Stage 1: preparation of white chocolate mousse

Put in a casserole the fresh cream and heat until boiled.

In a metallic bowl where you placed your white chocolate cut into small chops (to easy melt), throw the cream and leave it for a while (this enables the chocolate to start be warmer and easily melt).

Then with your spatula start mixing gently the content until it becomes a slightly thick ganache.
With a hand mixer beat for 5 seconds the mascarpone to soften.

Add little by little the white chocolate mixture into the mascarpone and mix vigorously until homogenized.

Finally add the to the mixture little by little again spoons of the beaten fresh cream and mix softly until you produce at the end a delicate mousse.

Put in the fridge for 1 hour before using it.

Stage 2: preparation of bitter chocolate mousse

Put in a casserole the milk and heat until boiled.

In a metallic bowl where you placed your chocolate cut into small chops (to easy melt), throw the milk and leave it for a while (this enables the chocolate to start be warmer and easily melt).

Then with your spatula start mixing gently the content until it becomes a ganache (thick).

Finally add the to the mixture little by little spoons of the beaten fresh cream and mix softly until you produce at the end a delicate mousse. Put in the fridge for 1 hour before using it.

When you finished with both mousses you may cut to little pieces as you wish the oreo cookies. 

Before set up your desserts I am giving you an alternative concerning your plate: You may take off the fridge the white mousse and mix it with half the cookies so that you have a white chocolate oreo cookies mousse (this is in fact how I set up the family bowl in the picture), Otherwise you proceed as follows:

In order to have a balance in the quantity of mousses to use in every plate I mostly use icing bags (large ones for mousse or creams), different nozzles (fat ones depending on how I wish my plate look) and fill each one accordingly.

And then I put a part of white chocolate in the bottom, some oreos cut, placed in the middle and continue with the chocolate one. 

 

In case I mix the cookies with the white chocolate I input the white chocolate in the bottom and then directly the bitter choocolate on top, decorating with cookies all above. 

Tips:

• Good quality white chocolate: I personally faced many problems with white chocolate. I generally use Opalys by Valrhona, or white chocolate Callebaut or a german one that I used to find in a greek super market mentioning only "weisse schokolade". Unfortunately white chocolate is very delicate and many times I found difficult the whole processing of melting it and well mixing it with other textures or ingredients. So I would suggest to be always careful. When you wish to directly put in a "bain marie"and melt white chocolate, try to have medium to low temperatures not high or highest because your chocolate risks to be split into its ingredients. If sometimes, within the above 1st stage and while mixing fresh cream boiled with chocolate, some little choco chops are not well melted then put for around 15 seconds to microwave and then mix again both (before mixing mascarpone and the beaten cream).
• Instead of cookies I would suggest adding in your recipe raspberries, blueberries or cherries (depending on the season). The different result of flavors about white and dark chocolate may perfectly bond with a fruit not too sweet. 
• For a bitter result in the mousse I used the standard 55-57% chocolate. I believe it is well combined along with the "white" sweet taste. In case you wish to have a more bitter result I recommend you using chocolate with no more than 62% cocoa chocolate. In such case the quantity of milk from 100 should turn to 130 for this particular recipe. 

It's an easy delicious recipe, my kids love it and you may impress as well your friends at the end of a meal. The first time it might take a bit longer to finalize. The second time you will do it easier and shortly.

Waiting for your comments,

Love

Les Delices d'Eleni

Baking Lesson 2: Vanilla cake with chocolate ganache /VIDEO

Hello Friends!
How nice to end a meal with a juicy cake...! And even the next day enjoy with a cup of hot coffee...For all occasions, this chocolate delice will make you a splendid pastry chef for a night, not to mention that your friends will ask you more and more... and then you come back for more recipes!!! haha!

(I made this cake on the occasion of Valentine's day for my family and since then it is on our top list of favourite easy sweets... How about you?)

Ideal for cold days and weekend opportunities...Even offering it as present to friends.

Let's see on the video below how to prepare and bake the cake. Then we prepare the beautiful delicious ganache and decorate ...


Before you watch this video make sure that you have the following material and quantities to prepare our cake:

Ingredients
For the cake

• 225 gr butter
• 4 large eggs
• 450 gr sugar
• 240 gr buttermilk
• 375 gr red flour (self-rising flour)
• 2 gr vanilla extract
• Chocolate chips (optional)

For the chocolate ganache:

• 200 gr Chocolate 55-57%
• 150 gr Creme fraiche (or creme fleurette)

For decoration (optional proposals)

• perls
• fruits (rapsberries, strawberries, cherries..)
• Sirops with flavors and colours

Preparation time for cake:10'
Cooking time for cake: 45'-60'
Preparation for ganache: 10'
(waiting time up to 2h approx)

You will need your tools below:

or 

(bain marie) 

A few tips mostly said in video but here shortly:

• Make sure that all ingredients to be mixed for cake are in room temperature.
• In some countries (like here in France) it is possibly difficult to find buttermilk (lait de beurre). You may replace the quantity by using 190g of concentrated milk and 50g of fresh cream (ideally thick, if not liquid). Buttermilk is best for our recipe but alternatives exist.
• You can use this cake as a base of flavors. Instead of vanilla extract you could use, coffee extract, hazelnut extract, almond extract, caramel, choc chips of any colour. You can add raisins, almonds and hazelnuts, nuts as well.
• I would recommend this cake as a base of a simple sweet to prepare and decorated as shown. In case you wish to decorate with sugar paste or in case you want to create layers internally it would be preferable to cut layers the next day. 
• This cake, prior decoration, is well preserved in a freezing for at least 3 months. Before you use it keep in room temperature for at least 1 hour.
• Temperatures in the over differ from one oven to the other. It is sure that temperature should not exceed the 180 degrees but you could bake it in 160 degrees as well (Celsius). Temperatures indicated for baking a cake in resistances.
• At home, I generally bake my cakes in silicone dishes. Possibly when you use cake silicones, baking time could be adjusted to 10-15 minutes more than the real time said. They are very flexible and easy to use since they facilicate washing afterwards.
• Chocolate ganache is truly my friend and I use it a lot in various ways. Make always sure that quality of chocolate is good because flavor is definitely super! Simple ganache recipes have chocolate with 57% maximum cocoa so I would recommend you to use chocolate with percentages from 53-57% for a result similar to what you have seen. You can find easily in the super market. In this video I have used belgium chocolate of 57%.
• In case you don't have tools nor spatulas to cover your cake you can try with a big and large knife to cover the ganache. Further to this in commerce (in super markets as well) you will find various products of sugar decorations. You may find your own ideas and decorate as you wish!

Your contribution to my page and your response is always important. Thank you for watching this first video (possibly I have to work on my speech, stressed always the first time! haha). If you liked thank you for sharing with friends. Preparing more videos with techniques and recipes is my pleasure to share with you! 

Love,

Les Delices d' Eleni

Learning Center 1: Chocolate demons PART 1

Chocolate and dreams. Dreaming of chocolate. Chocolate of my dreams.... 

For women, chocolate is more than a good friend. In my country we say that chocolate can replace a guy. Is it? Well, all I can tell for sure is that with or without a companion, every house normally bares in a closet even a simple chocolate. It's not a coincidence for all joys in our life we always include chocolate and as dessert at the end of a meal. When you study, when you have exams, chocolate many times is a way to keep mind in shape. In moderate always quantity.

I remember as a little girl that chocolate existed at home, in a closet. Later on, chocolates were hidden in the house (wonder why?). But I was always discovering the little places...When I grew up I realized that chocolate was not only a tasteful product in the market but a definite companion while executing recipes in the kitchen. A product that needed to be treated with tenderness and love... Well, like the woman. So I figured out that chocolate and women are bond to a cycle.

I guess it will be very easy for you to find out on internet different articles and stories describing the history of chocolate. Basically in this learning center I wish to present you my personal experience mostly while using chocolate and analyse the quality.

In the first chapter of chocolate we will see:

• Types of chocolate and their use.
• Ways of using chocolate

Types of chocolate

I think all of you go to the super market. So you know that chocolates are found in specific shelves along with other related products. You noticed that either in their front letters or in the behind written ingredients it is always mentioned a percentage in cocoa. Indeed this percentage is the actual percentage of cocoa existing in the chocolate you see which defines the taste, the result and the quantity as well to be used in a recipe. 

It's true a low percentage of cocoa makes a sweeter taste, while using high percentage in cocoa chocolate makes our sweet bitterer. You can easily understand as well from the color of the chocolate. Bitterer = darker, sweater = bright brown (milk chocolate). And there is the white chocolate as well which is very sweet.

Indicative types that you may find easily in commerce:

• Chocolate with 55-57% cocoa: Ideal for majority of recipes. Most of the recipes you find on internet or in books, without indicating exact type of chocolate, are based in this one. Ideal as well for amateurs, because it is easily melted and while mixed does not need special techniques to combine with other ingredients. I personally use this one for my cakes, my chocolate creme patissiere and for preparations of different chocolate toppings. Ideal for ice cream and frozen desserts, parfait au chocolat and ganache to cover my sweets.
• Chocolate 62 or 64% : My favourite chocolate to use. This one resulting a bitterer taste shows character and gives this personal touch to your sweets. I basically use this one for my little chocolates in Christmas, for my profiteroles (greek or french way), for bitter chocolate tarts and and for dark ganache. Not to mention my fondants and souffles!
• Chocolate 70 or 72%: If you love bitter chocolate this one will be your ideal friend. The darker a chocolate becomes, more attention is required to combine with other ingredients. You should always follow the rules in dosology while preparing ganache or bitter mousse. It's a delicate chocolate. In one of our next lessons you will see a way to use and in which recipes. Incredible taste in little chocolates and mixing as well with fruit flavors and almonds (don't miss our lessons for little chocolates). My favourite is the bitter chocolate dessert. Also chocolate covered meringues.
• Chocolate 44% : milk chocolate. Beautiful, tasty, kids love it but needs to be used in moderate way so that you always have a balanced result. You may use it to cover a cake, in tarts, cremeux, and in combined sweets along with nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pralines and coffee... 
• White chocolate: Kids love it as well but pay always attention while melting. Be sure that your bain mari is not extremely hot because it will not ease you at all. Most preferable the white ganache, the while chocolate mousse, the cappuccino sweet and my speciality: "white chocolate mousse with oreo cookies and bitter chocolate topping".

Apart from them you may find as well: 

80% chocolate a really bitter delice

Chocolate with strawberry taste(incredible but sweet)
Choc chips, bitter, milk or white

Chocolate with caramel

Gianduia: the new fashion and passion in pastry, really delicious, sweet and ideal for mousse, tarts, cremeux and many others.

And then you have cocoa! A 100% cocoa to spread your tiramisu, to use in your cakes, to spread in many decorations and make beautiful designs.

Later on we will find out the greatest chocolates worldwide and their products.

Most of the chocolate companies produce as well other types of products, chocolate based, for pastry chefs. Such products are mostly for decorations and for mixing different types of chocolates and creams. Let's see all these companies later on (Valrhona, Callebaut...)

Thanks to its taste chocolate is mostly related to pastry. Millions of recipes exist with different types of chocolates, based on creams, mousses, tarts, little treats, candies, cakes, cupcakes, cookies, desserts. I am leaving in the country of chocolate desserts. Souffles, eclairs, macarons, gateaux au chocolat, charlottes, croquants and craquants, profiteroles...

A major technique which is used is the chocolate ganache preparation. Various ways of preparing a ganache. Various flavors to perform to a ganache as well. Ganache au chocolat: used for sweets coverage, for filling layer cakes, desserts, for coverage as well prior fully covering cakes with sugar paste...

And then you have modelling chocolate. A chocolate based product used for decorations. A talented head and with some deco tools in your kitchen, you take a "play doh" type paste and you make beautiful and edible creations for your sweets to make them fancy.

Chocolate as I said is a delicate sweet angel or devil. I adore working with chocolate and while making little miracles you will realize as well that inspiration, a little knowledge of techniques and a lot of practice will bring you to a world full of beautiful ideas and decorations not to mention unbelievable flavours.

In our next chapter we will find out some of the most known chocolate pastry world chefs worldwide, famous chocolates and products. We will see as well soon in an explanatory video the different types of ganache so that you can make as well at home,

Love,
Les Delices d'Eleni

It's Halloween fellas!

Well it was Halloween and it passed through... it left... until next year!
American/Emglish as it is, probably for many people around the world it could be  considered as a legendary custom, but I would definitely say that it is a pure inspiration for artists,,, An opportunity to work along with projects, I should dare say "splatters", based on horror movies, legends, tales and witches.
Unfortunately this year I couldn't prepare anything really impressive, because Halloween was during the period I was moving out from Greece and moving in to France... So... I guess the only thing I can present you dearly is.. my spider muffin!

But at this particular moment I wish to present you my colleagues from Greece and Cyprus who make everyday miracles with sugar paste. And this time they made it for Halloween. Thanks to our chief commander and great teacher Samantha Potter (from Cakes by Samantha) and this year's run project for Halloween they created this beautiful scary, horror atmosphere for us to join. 

Some of them are my friends and I am really proud I have seen a different aspect of their job.

The reason for keeping this project a definite success is that people who participate are using their specific artistic skills in the sugar decoration, in a way that show their talent and emphasize on their "chef d'oeuvre". Congatulations to all and I hope next year I can contribute as well!  

Watch it on Sugar art/ Halloween Project 2014 . 

Incredible art created by: 

Georgia Ambelakiotou

Cupcake the Right Shape

Alexis Thomos

Lenka Kutsu

Georgia Theodorou

Aleka Tzintzifa

Mania Mistiloglou

Mairy's Dreamy Creations

Glykodimiourgies

Mikri Kouzina

Sophia Voulme

Candyland

Sweetartstories

Despoina Louzioti

Okeik

Aggeliki Manta

Gus Athanassiadis

and of course Cakes by Samantha with family!

(Awaiting to see Christmas creations...)

Love,

Les Delices d'Eleni