The chocolate fever..

Again...I inspired by a film. This time is “It's Complicated!” Meryl Steep got in the kitchen one more time. This time she got me longing for Chocolate Cake. Recently I have been playing around ...trying to create hot chocolate something in the direction of a marvelous chocolate chaud I drank at Jean-Paul Hevin locates in the basement of Department Store Isetan in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It was so incredible that I some time get this luscious chocolate taste in my mouth. I have been researching and reading about Chocolate and how to make a good cup of hot chocolate not hot cacao . I remade and experimented many recipes. After I went through couple bars of dark chocolate (70-85%) and almost a box of fine cacao powder. One Evening my batch turn into something like velvet creamy chocolate sauce. I added a little hot water and a shot of spiced rum, served in a small espresso cup. It was i rich and creamy that I enjoyed it by sipping. I did not use any cream just little bit of lactose free milk.  My system does not tolerate well with dairy product. So I am very conscious about it and substitutes with other ingredients if I can.

After I watched the film I determined to bake a very chocolate cake with very chocolate topping or frosting. I wanted to add a fresh flavor to my very chocolate cake using basic cake recipe. Orange … yes I am a fan of citrus fruit! I don’t want to be complicate(d) so I borrowed orange cake recipe I posted last December just added almost 3 generous tablespoons of fine cacao powder to flour.

While the cake was baking I prepared the sauce. I added Cointreau to match up the orange flavor in the cake.

Maxie’s Cointreau Chocolate sauce recipe

Ingredients

50 gram Dark Chocolate bar 70-85% of pure chocolate, break into small pieces – I used 85%

¾  cup of Milk or Cream – I use lactose free milk

½ cup of Raw Sugar

¼ cup of fine cacao powder

1 ½ table spoon of unsalted butter

¼ cup of Cointreau

1 tablespoon of light vegetable – to add the shine

Instruction

1. In a small sauce pan over low heat melt broken Chocolate pieces with Milk. Stir well until it blends
2. Add sugar and Cacao powder. Mix until smooth. Add little more milk if the paste is too thick
3. Add Butter and Vegetable Oil. Mix well
4. Taste and check consistence and flavor. Add more sugar if you like more sweet. Take off the heat.
5. Add Cointreau and Mix well. If you want to get rid of alcohol add this over the heat and stir well to evaporate alcohol.

Finishing the cake

1. Cut the cake horizontal with long sharp knife in half
2. Pour about 1/3 of sauce over the bottom half
3. Assemble back the cake with the other half. Try to match it.
   
4. Pour the rest of the sauce on top. Spread the sauce evenly but let it drips down on the side. Let it cool before serving

This cake is very rich and very chocolate with a fine fresh tang to it.It was a really yummy!
Here is a nice book about Chocolate