Baked chocolate & cherry custards

These chocolate custards are a little bit of decadence. As much as I love to look after my health, I do love my chocolate, especially anything that makes a star from dark dark chocolate. 

So, I compromise by making these little ramekins that probably hold 100ml at the most.

These custards are dense and creamy, and you only need a little pot to satisfy. I like to include cherries, they make very good friends with dark chocolate. I used cherries in juice, rather than fresh ones, but really just because I happened to have them in the cupboard.

Serve with double cream or even sour cream.

Baking them really makes for a very straightforward dessert. Just make sure you add the boiling water to ensure an even distribution of heat through the custards.

Ingredients:

125g dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup single cream
2 eggs plus 2 extra yolks
90g brown sugar
1/2 cup cherries (raspberries would also work well)


Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees.
Place the dark chocolate, milk and cream in a saucepan over a low heat until evenly melted. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
Place the eggs, extra yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Then slowly add the hot chocolate mixture and continue to whisk.
Divide the cherries between the 6 ramekins and pour in the chocolate mixture.
Place the ramekins in a baking dish and pour in some hot water that reaches half way up the ramekins.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until just set. If you are using larger ramekins it may take slightly longer.

PS - thank you to my mum for this beautiful Indian tablecloth which was a Christmas present. So beautiful.

White rocky road

Something that is bound to put smiles on faces.  This is one of the extras I prepared for my little girl's second birthday. It didn't last too long.

Rocky road isn't really cooking or baking - just melt some chocolate in a double boiler and make sure all the ingredients are evenly coated. Lots of fun to do with kids, the only hard part is limiting their sugar intake a little bit. My sister loves to add raspberries (the lolly variety) and snakes - they look great.

 I'm not the biggest fan of white chocolate, but I decided on this occasion that it made the rocky road look a little more festive. Plus it doesn't hide the ingredients in the same way as milk and dark chocolate, they really seem to pop out of the white.
The ingredient that really makes this is the turkish delight. I love the rose variety on its own, but this makes it super special. The sour dried cherries are a bit hard to find in the shops, I managed to track some down at my local health food shop. I love adding them to muesli too.

My white rocky road (adapted from Not Quite Nigella)

Ingredients:

500g white chocolate (can substitute for milk or dark)
175g honey coated macadamias (regular unsalted macadamias will also work fine)
1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
250g Turkish Delight cut into smaller pieces depending on size
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup dried (sour) cherries

Method:

Line a square baking tin with baking paper (roughly 20cm x 20cm).
Break up the white chocolate into squares and place in a double boiler (to make a double boiler, heat a pan of water with roughly 2cm water and place a heat-proof bowl over the top). Melt & stir until you achieve a consistent and pour-able chocolate.
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix through the melted chocolate. Push into the baking tin and allow to cool slightly before placing in a fridge for a couple of hours.
Cut into small chunks to serve