It's been a while since I last post anything on this blog. I thought I might start it again, this time not with more reviews for restaurants or food establishments but rather a very simple recipe for all the lazy cooks out there (including moi!).
This one is an easy one, you're basically just placing raw ingredients together. It's a sauce that we usually make when we're too lazy to season grilled fish. We usually use grilled ocean trout or salmon and this compliments it really well.
Ingredients
1 tomato, diced small
1/4 Spanish onion, diced small
1 small lemon wedge
1 tbsp of sweet soy sauce (you can add or lessen it according to taste)
serves: 1
Method
1. Combine tomato and Spanish onion in a bowl, squeeze lemon add sweet soy sauce.
2. Mix!
And yes, it is that easy. I would recommend mixing with non-reactive utensil like wooden spoon or even plastic ones. You can leave it for a bit so the ingredients pickle nicely (due to the acidic lemon). For a spicy bite, just add some cut up chillies and you're good to go.
Serve with your grilled salmon or ocean trout and enjoy!
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Thursday, May 24, 2012
To Do List
Hello all! (Not that anyone really reads this blog anyway)
It has been a while and there are still quite a number of places I have yet to review. This includes Saké, Jones the Grocer, and Duke Bistro, which are still on my list to write something of (I think I don't have pictures from Jones the Grocer, but I'll ransack my photo archive later).
This serves more as my reminder more than anything, so please ignore this post. But yes, I shall eventually get there before I start to forget the taste from these places.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Balla
Another unexpected dining adventure, this time a friend and I found ourselves inside The Star in search of food and we stumbled our way through the limited amount of choices and walked into Balla. The following is how Balla described itself, "Balla is a modern interpretation of the classic Osteria Milanese, with a menu built around the heart of traditional Italian cuisine" and it truly was. Being a beginner when it comes to classic Milanese cuisines we quizzed our waiters as we go through the menu, and she was kind enough to explain especially the list of Salumi choices available, all 9 of them. So, thank you.
Well, enough with the excessive ramblings, let's get on with the food! After some (really long) considerations we decided as starters a plate of Pancetta served with Sea Salt coated Grissini and a dish of Raw Tuna with Lemon and Crispy Toast (I forgot what the exact name was because it was a special for that night). And as mains I ordered the Gnocchi di Patate con Salsa d'Anatra (potato gnocchi with duck ragù), which is technically not a main but a small dish but I still wanted it anyway, and my friend ordered the Petta d'Anatra, Polenta Grusera e Broccolini (pan-fried duck breast, polenta and broccolini).
For a start, the pancetta was lovely, fatty and tasted so good wrapped around the grissini, the raw tuna meanwhile was quite normal and was a little bland and unexciting. On the other hand, this view was perhaps due to my own palette that has been accustomed to Japanese sashimi, which often involves clean taste of raw fish; Balla's dish was different because of the chopped up raw tuna with the lemony spices but it just felt like there was a missing surprising factor to it, which was disappointing given how great it sounded when the waiter described it to us.
But either way, moving on the main, THAT was a lot more exciting. The potato gnocchi was gorgeously soft and chewy; I normally encounter the chewy kind but this was of a completely different level where it melts in your mouth, truly a surprise. The duck ragù was a little salty for my taste but it was really REALLY lovely and rustic and I don't know how Italian countryside food is like but I'm imagining it's very close to this awesome tasting ragù.
Meanwhile, the pan-fried duck was fantastic. The skin crisp, the meat that has been cooked to medium was tender and the taste was really divine; teaming it up with the polenta was a great choice as the polenta doesn't give much of a taste but the duck... I can just eat that without touching anything else and be satisfied. Having said this, I might've given the dishes too high a praise but for someone who hasn't been exposed to much Italian food besides Spaghetti Bolognese and Carbonara I enjoyed the other side of Italian dishes immensely. Mind you, the prices are a little steep so just be mindful of that fact but for a small glimpse of rustic Italy I think it's well worth the price. (Unless I can find an alternative. ;)
Post Script:
On another note, one thing that I found quite unsettling is how modern restaurants in, especially, The Star have very similar interior designs and atmosphere; moody, low lighting, intimate, modern and brown. It seems like the only ways they are able to compete with each other are through their food and reputation, which is a shame because I would love to see one or two take a stand and be different in terms of interior design charms. But again, that's just a personal grudge against cookie cutting, hardly negligible when you don't even take it into account, again, what matters is the food.
Oh, and one more thing, if you decide to go here do come at an earlier hour when the restaurant is not buzzing with patrons. The waiters tend to be a lot more attentive, chatty and less stressed out then. I'm pretty sure if we have arrived at a later hour our waiter wouldn't have gone through that long list of Salumi and still walked away with a smile. ;)
And also, they give you complimentary bread basket in the beginning as well (a selection of ciabatta, sourdough and focaccia) with a really fragrant olive oil to dip into. Ridiculously good olive oil. I want it. By the way, apologies for the really horrendous photos of the dishes. I should take photography lessons next time. *bows out*
Well, enough with the excessive ramblings, let's get on with the food! After some (really long) considerations we decided as starters a plate of Pancetta served with Sea Salt coated Grissini and a dish of Raw Tuna with Lemon and Crispy Toast (I forgot what the exact name was because it was a special for that night). And as mains I ordered the Gnocchi di Patate con Salsa d'Anatra (potato gnocchi with duck ragù), which is technically not a main but a small dish but I still wanted it anyway, and my friend ordered the Petta d'Anatra, Polenta Grusera e Broccolini (pan-fried duck breast, polenta and broccolini).
For a start, the pancetta was lovely, fatty and tasted so good wrapped around the grissini, the raw tuna meanwhile was quite normal and was a little bland and unexciting. On the other hand, this view was perhaps due to my own palette that has been accustomed to Japanese sashimi, which often involves clean taste of raw fish; Balla's dish was different because of the chopped up raw tuna with the lemony spices but it just felt like there was a missing surprising factor to it, which was disappointing given how great it sounded when the waiter described it to us.
But either way, moving on the main, THAT was a lot more exciting. The potato gnocchi was gorgeously soft and chewy; I normally encounter the chewy kind but this was of a completely different level where it melts in your mouth, truly a surprise. The duck ragù was a little salty for my taste but it was really REALLY lovely and rustic and I don't know how Italian countryside food is like but I'm imagining it's very close to this awesome tasting ragù.
Meanwhile, the pan-fried duck was fantastic. The skin crisp, the meat that has been cooked to medium was tender and the taste was really divine; teaming it up with the polenta was a great choice as the polenta doesn't give much of a taste but the duck... I can just eat that without touching anything else and be satisfied. Having said this, I might've given the dishes too high a praise but for someone who hasn't been exposed to much Italian food besides Spaghetti Bolognese and Carbonara I enjoyed the other side of Italian dishes immensely. Mind you, the prices are a little steep so just be mindful of that fact but for a small glimpse of rustic Italy I think it's well worth the price. (Unless I can find an alternative. ;)
Raw Tuna with Crispy Bread (top left);
Pancetta with Sea Salt Coated Grissini (middle right);
Olive Oil dip for bread
Pancetta with Sea Salt Coated Grissini (middle right);
Olive Oil dip for bread
Gnocchi di Patate con Salsa d'Anatra (potato gnocchi with duck ragù)
Petta d'Anatra, Polenta Grusera e Broccolini (pan-fried duck breast, polenta and broccolini)
Post Script:
On another note, one thing that I found quite unsettling is how modern restaurants in, especially, The Star have very similar interior designs and atmosphere; moody, low lighting, intimate, modern and brown. It seems like the only ways they are able to compete with each other are through their food and reputation, which is a shame because I would love to see one or two take a stand and be different in terms of interior design charms. But again, that's just a personal grudge against cookie cutting, hardly negligible when you don't even take it into account, again, what matters is the food.
Oh, and one more thing, if you decide to go here do come at an earlier hour when the restaurant is not buzzing with patrons. The waiters tend to be a lot more attentive, chatty and less stressed out then. I'm pretty sure if we have arrived at a later hour our waiter wouldn't have gone through that long list of Salumi and still walked away with a smile. ;)
And also, they give you complimentary bread basket in the beginning as well (a selection of ciabatta, sourdough and focaccia) with a really fragrant olive oil to dip into. Ridiculously good olive oil. I want it. By the way, apologies for the really horrendous photos of the dishes. I should take photography lessons next time. *bows out*
Saturday, April 21, 2012
District Dining Sydney
District Dining was an unexpected detour from my friend's original plan for our Saturday catch-up. She realised a couple of days prior that she has a Groupon voucher to dine two set courses for the price of one. And since this place has been on my list ever since I noticed it at Taste of Sydney I thought why not.
The difference between regular dining and set-course menu is that some of the options from the regular menu are not offered within the list of dishes you can choose from; and also you get a glass of either riesling or cabernet (I honestly wasn't paying attention at the wines offered) for each person. But I didn't want any alcohol so I asked if I could change this to flat white, I think normally you can't but our waiter was kind enough to, so thanks for that! Anyway, moving on to the food, below were the options offered as part of the set-course menu:
-ENTREE-
The difference between regular dining and set-course menu is that some of the options from the regular menu are not offered within the list of dishes you can choose from; and also you get a glass of either riesling or cabernet (I honestly wasn't paying attention at the wines offered) for each person. But I didn't want any alcohol so I asked if I could change this to flat white, I think normally you can't but our waiter was kind enough to, so thanks for that! Anyway, moving on to the food, below were the options offered as part of the set-course menu:
-ENTREE-
Kingfish, Wasabi Snow, Soy Tapioca, Radish
Black Pepper Tofu, Chilli, Ginger, Broccoli
Chicken Liver Parfait, Port Jelly, Toast, Red Grapes
-MAINS-
Cous Cous Stew, Root Vegetables, Honey, Labne
Suzuki Mulloway, Vadouvan, Cauliflower, Coriander
Spiced 12-hour Lamb Shoulder, Pumpkin, Raisin, Brik Pastry, Feta
-DESSERT-
White Chocolate Cheesecake, Passionfruit Sorbet
Blueberry Eton Mess, Blueberry Sorbet
Bread and Butter Pudding, Prune, Cinnamon & Apple Crumble Ice Cream
For entree I ordered the Kingfish and my friend ordered the Chicken Liver Parfait. The Kingfish was a little too salty for my liking and also maybe a little too overcooked? (I'm still a newbie when it comes to commenting on food so forgive me for the uncertainty) The saltiness definitely wasn't helped by the huge amount of fish roes chunked on the bottom of the dish. Luckily the wasabi snow neutralises the saltiness of the fish and roes. The soy tapioca (orange balls) were pleasant and reminds me a lot of the hawker snacks such as deep fried fish balls but gourmet style. Either way, the entree wasn't to my liking but I think it's more of a personal preference than anything else.
As for the Chicken Liver Parfait, it was definitely an acquired taste. It tasted divine, if only it wasn't as sweet. It was undoubtedly surprising for me because my friend put huge dollops of the liver parfait on her toast and she seemed to enjoy it immensely so I thought it must've tasted really great but I beg to differ on that. I was overly glad I didn't put too much on mine.
So then, to share between the both of us we ordered the Crispy Quail Eggs with Tarragon Mayonnaise. The quail eggs were interesting but at the same time the dish wasn't too exciting, it was good but has no distinctive flavour or texture to remember it by. Verdict: the entrees were not to my liking.
For mains we both ordered the Suzuki Mulloway, and this was divine. The skin was crispy and the fish meat melted beautifully. It was fresh and a delight to eat through.
Now we're onto the most important part of the set menu: Dessert! I ordered the Bread and Butter Pudding whilst my friend ordered the Blueberry Eton Mess. Short to say, the next time I visit District Dining I will have to order the Eton Mess all to myself. Don't get me wrong, the Bread and Butter Pudding was actually great as well except I forgot I can't handle too much of dense and heavy desserts. Although I only had a spoonful of the Eton Mess it's more than enough to entice me to try it again the next time I come back (whenever that would be!).
The other thing that I would like to try (and sadly it wasn't offered as part of the set menu) was the Peanut Butter Parfait, Chocolate Cookie Crumble, Banana; just from the ingredients listed alone I am already salivating.
Overall, we were stuffed to the brim, had a satisfying dining experience and despite some dislike that I have with some of the dishes I'm definitely coming back to try other dishes District Dining has to offer.
Kingfish, Wasabi Snow, Soy Tapioca, Radish
(Top) Crispy Quail Eggs, Tarragon Mayonnaise
(Below) Chicken Liver Parfait, Port Jelly, Toast, Red Grapes
Suzuki Mulloway, Vadouvan, Cauliflower, Coriander
Bread and Butter Pudding, Prune, Cinnamon & Apple Crumble Ice Cream
Blueberry Eton Mess, Blueberry Sorbet
Monday, April 2, 2012
Lunch at Flying Fish Restaurant
Flying Fish Restaurant in Pyrmont has a great location with a fantastic view towards the Harbour, that is only if you're lucky to be seated anywhere near a window with such a view. I think I should stop expecting great things just from seeing pictures of fantastic food and great sights blogged by prominent food bloggers. Obviously, that expectations do not meet the dreadful reality.
I can definitely understand the whole hype in terms of food, the Seared Yellow Fin Tuna with Ruby Grapefruit, Sweet Crackling Pork and Black Pepper Caramel was divine. I wished I had this as a main instead of an entree. And as a main I ordered their Cone Bay Barramundi, Chorizo, Black Garlic, Pearl Barley with Lemon Juice dish, which probably wasn't as special as the entree that I ordered. But the crispy skin and the really soft fish meat were such beautiful contrast that I was just marvelling at such differing texture. As a side dish a few of us shared a plate of hand cut chips with chilli salt that has been widely renowned, and I can definitely attest to this. The chips were lovely soft and fluffy though the outside was not crunchy it was absolutely wonderful to bite into.
Excellent, excellent food. I would definitely recommend this place to everyone.
Excellent, excellent food. I would definitely recommend this place to everyone.
Alas, one thing lingered, the excellently exquisite food cannot match the smile-less service that we get from our waiters. I'm not entirely sure whether it was because of the day that we were there (a Sunday) or because the weather wasn't that great but their faces were sombre and almost feels like they'd rather be somewhere else than serving us lunch or our table. As horrible as that may sound we eventually got one of our waiters to smile just because we made a joke at the end of our lunch. Our effort obviously, not theirs.
(UPDATE: After talking with other people attending the lunch we seem to come to an agreement that it might be because it was Sunday and the weather wasn't that great that have slightly contributed to the tired and moody expressions)
(UPDATE: It appears my experience is not an isolated incident, they obviously do the worst service on a Sunday: http://twitter.com/paulredfern/status/221853307919011840)
On the other hand, thank you to the Chef for providing all different options for transporting our leftover cake home. There was at one point a possibility of taking a plastic container that they needed back (which meant one of us had to come back to the venue to return it), a little extreme but I really appreciated the effort. (It was quite funny now that I think about it)
(UPDATE: After talking with other people attending the lunch we seem to come to an agreement that it might be because it was Sunday and the weather wasn't that great that have slightly contributed to the tired and moody expressions)
(UPDATE: It appears my experience is not an isolated incident, they obviously do the worst service on a Sunday: http://twitter.com/paulredfern/status/221853307919011840)
On the other hand, thank you to the Chef for providing all different options for transporting our leftover cake home. There was at one point a possibility of taking a plastic container that they needed back (which meant one of us had to come back to the venue to return it), a little extreme but I really appreciated the effort. (It was quite funny now that I think about it)
And not to mention, the prices of the food might be overpriced but I still don't mind spending that much but a surcharge for the credit cards is a little too much! Absolutely unnecessary in my opinion, given how much we have spent at the time. And also for a very prominent place they really need to train their waiters better at attending their clients, I know a smile may be tiring (trust me, after working 6 years at a newsagency smiling once or twice will not make your cheeks hurt) but it makes a hell of an impression on your customers.
One more thing that I wanted to mention was that for a party of 9 our table was unusually small. It might be great to be close and intimate to our friends but it becomes such a challenge to navigate your limbs when eating and sharing and constantly placing overlarge plates all over the table. I think better seating considerations are needed.
Otherwise, a fantastic culinary experience! I'm definitely coming back here to try more on what they have to offer (a little pricey but well worth the dough).
Yellow Fin Tuna
Cone Bay Barramundi
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Taste of Sydney 2012
This probably seems like an antithesis to what this blog is dedicated to but I just feel like it's the most appropriate platform to post my gastronomical experience at Taste of Sydney 2012. And for the most part this is most probably going to be for my own personal purpose, as a reminder of the list of things that I ate at the festival (unfortunately no photos for some and am too lazy to post the others, I might try to do this later) but here are the list of (awesome) food that I managed to try:
At the Otto Ristorante stand, we managed to get our hands on Barbarossa Ravioli (ravioli of sliced pickled beetroot with goats curd, pistachio & horseradish), Ragu di Pollo Affumicato (pasta with lightly smoked lilydale chicken, carrot puree and parmesan), Meringa con Crème al Frutto della Passione (meringue filled with passionfruit curd, honeydew, rock and watermelon).
After our visit to Otto Ristorante we made a stop at Longrain and someone ordered the Crisp Pork Belly, Pickled Daikon and Chilli Jam in a Sweet Roll. It looked scrumptious, I was tempted to get one myself. But alas, I had to restrain myself from spending too much.
Then off we go to Agapé Organic Restaurant and Bar where we each had our own meal consisted of Slow Roasted Berkshire Pork Scotch Fillet, Rosemary, Fennel, Apple, Sage, Polenta & Salsa Verde; whilst I had their Icon Dish, which was the Gundooee Wagyu Sirloin, Slow Braised Brisket (which was the loveliest brisket, it melted in my mouth so nicely and complemented by the Royal Black Quinoa & Truffle Butter), Honey Roasted Carrots.
I think someone wandered off to Quarter Twenty One and ordered the Fried Hawkesbury School Prawns, Prosciutto and Rouille, which was probably why we didn't see her for a while.
Even after such a gastronomically filing degustation we managed to make our way to Flying Fish (after sampling a few drinks here and there, with a slight detour towards a cupcake stand called The Sweetest Thing which had the cutest looking cupcakes!).
At Flying Fish we ordered their three widely offered dishes (sans the Icon Dish, I'm afraid our pocket wasn't able to fork out that much money) which was the Prawns with Okra Sambal, Seared Petuna Ocean Trout with Ginger, Chilli, Shallot Sauce served with Carrot Sambal & Basmati Rice and ended with Laveria – Fresh Coconut & Palm Treacle Pancake with Cardamom ice-cream (fantastic ice-cream, I have to say!).
If that might seem a lot, I really have to admit, it was A LOT. And somehow after all those meals we crawled our way back to The Sweetest Thing to grab some cupcakes home (at least I did) and shared a bowl of Duccio (in Five Dock) Gelato's Fig Gelato and Mango Gelato (I prefered the Mango one, the fig was an acquired taste).
And thus end our degustation adventure through Taste of Sydney for this year. I'm definitely looking forward to next year if it is going to be as good (or better) than this year!
Oh, but the best part of the day was when a friend of ours was comically basking in the sun at Duccio's stand (turning her front away from us in the shade and towards the sun) when Manu Feildel walks by and winked at her and managed to exchange a hello. I didn't get to see him doing it but it was evident from the profuse giggling and wide smile from her face it was the highlight of her day.
Oh dearie, the post is already long as is, and on that note, I shall bid adieu. *tips tophat*
At the Otto Ristorante stand, we managed to get our hands on Barbarossa Ravioli (ravioli of sliced pickled beetroot with goats curd, pistachio & horseradish), Ragu di Pollo Affumicato (pasta with lightly smoked lilydale chicken, carrot puree and parmesan), Meringa con Crème al Frutto della Passione (meringue filled with passionfruit curd, honeydew, rock and watermelon).
After our visit to Otto Ristorante we made a stop at Longrain and someone ordered the Crisp Pork Belly, Pickled Daikon and Chilli Jam in a Sweet Roll. It looked scrumptious, I was tempted to get one myself. But alas, I had to restrain myself from spending too much.
Then off we go to Agapé Organic Restaurant and Bar where we each had our own meal consisted of Slow Roasted Berkshire Pork Scotch Fillet, Rosemary, Fennel, Apple, Sage, Polenta & Salsa Verde; whilst I had their Icon Dish, which was the Gundooee Wagyu Sirloin, Slow Braised Brisket (which was the loveliest brisket, it melted in my mouth so nicely and complemented by the Royal Black Quinoa & Truffle Butter), Honey Roasted Carrots.
I think someone wandered off to Quarter Twenty One and ordered the Fried Hawkesbury School Prawns, Prosciutto and Rouille, which was probably why we didn't see her for a while.
Even after such a gastronomically filing degustation we managed to make our way to Flying Fish (after sampling a few drinks here and there, with a slight detour towards a cupcake stand called The Sweetest Thing which had the cutest looking cupcakes!).
At Flying Fish we ordered their three widely offered dishes (sans the Icon Dish, I'm afraid our pocket wasn't able to fork out that much money) which was the Prawns with Okra Sambal, Seared Petuna Ocean Trout with Ginger, Chilli, Shallot Sauce served with Carrot Sambal & Basmati Rice and ended with Laveria – Fresh Coconut & Palm Treacle Pancake with Cardamom ice-cream (fantastic ice-cream, I have to say!).
If that might seem a lot, I really have to admit, it was A LOT. And somehow after all those meals we crawled our way back to The Sweetest Thing to grab some cupcakes home (at least I did) and shared a bowl of Duccio (in Five Dock) Gelato's Fig Gelato and Mango Gelato (I prefered the Mango one, the fig was an acquired taste).
And thus end our degustation adventure through Taste of Sydney for this year. I'm definitely looking forward to next year if it is going to be as good (or better) than this year!
Oh, but the best part of the day was when a friend of ours was comically basking in the sun at Duccio's stand (turning her front away from us in the shade and towards the sun) when Manu Feildel walks by and winked at her and managed to exchange a hello. I didn't get to see him doing it but it was evident from the profuse giggling and wide smile from her face it was the highlight of her day.
Oh dearie, the post is already long as is, and on that note, I shall bid adieu. *tips tophat*
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Aria's Chocolate Tart
Actually I didn't plan to make Matt Moran's chocolate tart version from Masterchef. Initially I planned to just do a chocolate tart, having made the pastry dough already but nothing to fill it in. Anyway, long story short the baking was rather impromptu so I had to scour last minute for the shops after finding out that our supply of dark chocolate and cream are low; not to mention after spending a good half of the day trying to find our tart tray to no avail I had to use three mini tart trays (and finding another one after the second baking session) and do four baking sessions instead. Which gave me a pretty good working time to put the Chocolate Glacage on the ones that have cooled down.
To tell you the truth the bake is not a complete 'success' since I used my cousin's pastry recipe of using the one-two-four rule for making the dough, which didn't give enough shine because she forgot to tell me before she went to class to add egg yolks to the recipe. *shakes fist* Not to mention a number of the pastry is rolled out a little too thick and some a little too thin. But otherwise the chocolate filling tasted oh-so-good. It wasn't overwhelmingly chocolatey because I used 70% cocoa blocks instead so it tasted bitter sweet, which is just the way I like it.
Anyway, excuse the ramblings. Without further ado here is the recipe.
There were other recipes for other parts of the Masterchef presentation, which can be found at the MasterChef website.
Ingredients
Basic Pastry
50ml water
100g butter, diced
200g flour
pinch of salt
NB. Perhaps it would be good to add egg yolk in the recipe as well but I suggest using MasterChef's Chocolate Pastry recipe instead. It looks that damn good. And for the pastry don't worry if you have leftovers of the dough you can always use if for something later.
Chocolate tart mixture
210g dark chocolate, chopped
60g jivar chocolate, chopped
60g butter, diced
315ml cream
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
Chocolate Sauce
60g cocoa
200ml water
120g caster sugar (I only use about two-third of the sugar because we don't particularly like it too sweet and it was still sweet)
25g butter, diced
Chocolate Glacage (Chocolate Glaze)
300g dark chocolate, chopped
240ml cream
300ml chocolate sauce
NB. I only used half of the recipe and we still have leftovers of the Chocolate Glacage enough to use for thirteen mini tarts.
Method
Basic Pastry
1. Rub flour and butter together until it makes a crumbly texture.
2. Add water and pinch of salt. Work the dough quickly so they don't end up into a rubbery texture, which you do not want to have as a tart base.
3. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and rest in fridge for 30 minutes. Or if there are leftovers you can just leave it in the fridge for when you want to use it next.
4. Line mini tart trays. Roll the dough accordingly, place in trays, stab holes at the bottom of the base and weigh them with rice on baking papers. When placing the dough I suggest not to cut the edges off and leave a little bit of excess until after you blind bake. This will prevent the tart base from shrinking and leave more room for more chocolate filling.
5. Blind bake in a 180°C oven for 10 minutes. After blind baking trim excess tart edges.
Chocolate Tart Mixture
1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. I didn't know what Jivar chocolate was so I ended up using 200g Nestle 70% Cocoa Chocolate block with the remaining 70g using Nestle Dark Chocolate Melts.
3. Place cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
4. Pour cream over chocolate in bowl and stir until smooth, stir in eggs. And drool at the sight.
5. Pour chocolate mixture into tart shells and bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature then ice with chocolate glacage. Place in fridge for about another 20-30 minutes to allow chocolate glacage firm.
Chocolate Sauce
1. Combine cocoa, water and sugar in a saucepan and stir over heat until sugar dissolves, bring to the boil. Stir in butter, strain through a sieve placed over a bowl.
Chocolate Glacage (Chocolate Glaze)
1. Place chocolate in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Place cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
3. Pour cream over chocolate in bowl and stir until smooth, stir in chocolate sauce.
4. Dip finger and lick. Chocolatey squee of delight ensues.
After everything's done and over with, dig in!
To tell you the truth the bake is not a complete 'success' since I used my cousin's pastry recipe of using the one-two-four rule for making the dough, which didn't give enough shine because she forgot to tell me before she went to class to add egg yolks to the recipe. *shakes fist* Not to mention a number of the pastry is rolled out a little too thick and some a little too thin. But otherwise the chocolate filling tasted oh-so-good. It wasn't overwhelmingly chocolatey because I used 70% cocoa blocks instead so it tasted bitter sweet, which is just the way I like it.
Anyway, excuse the ramblings. Without further ado here is the recipe.
There were other recipes for other parts of the Masterchef presentation, which can be found at the MasterChef website.
Ingredients
Basic Pastry
50ml water
100g butter, diced
200g flour
pinch of salt
NB. Perhaps it would be good to add egg yolk in the recipe as well but I suggest using MasterChef's Chocolate Pastry recipe instead. It looks that damn good. And for the pastry don't worry if you have leftovers of the dough you can always use if for something later.
Chocolate tart mixture
210g dark chocolate, chopped
60g jivar chocolate, chopped
60g butter, diced
315ml cream
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
Chocolate Sauce
60g cocoa
200ml water
120g caster sugar (I only use about two-third of the sugar because we don't particularly like it too sweet and it was still sweet)
25g butter, diced
Chocolate Glacage (Chocolate Glaze)
300g dark chocolate, chopped
240ml cream
300ml chocolate sauce
NB. I only used half of the recipe and we still have leftovers of the Chocolate Glacage enough to use for thirteen mini tarts.
Method
Basic Pastry
1. Rub flour and butter together until it makes a crumbly texture.
2. Add water and pinch of salt. Work the dough quickly so they don't end up into a rubbery texture, which you do not want to have as a tart base.
3. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and rest in fridge for 30 minutes. Or if there are leftovers you can just leave it in the fridge for when you want to use it next.
4. Line mini tart trays. Roll the dough accordingly, place in trays, stab holes at the bottom of the base and weigh them with rice on baking papers. When placing the dough I suggest not to cut the edges off and leave a little bit of excess until after you blind bake. This will prevent the tart base from shrinking and leave more room for more chocolate filling.
5. Blind bake in a 180°C oven for 10 minutes. After blind baking trim excess tart edges.
Chocolate Tart Mixture
1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. I didn't know what Jivar chocolate was so I ended up using 200g Nestle 70% Cocoa Chocolate block with the remaining 70g using Nestle Dark Chocolate Melts.
3. Place cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
4. Pour cream over chocolate in bowl and stir until smooth, stir in eggs. And drool at the sight.
5. Pour chocolate mixture into tart shells and bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature then ice with chocolate glacage. Place in fridge for about another 20-30 minutes to allow chocolate glacage firm.
Chocolate Sauce
1. Combine cocoa, water and sugar in a saucepan and stir over heat until sugar dissolves, bring to the boil. Stir in butter, strain through a sieve placed over a bowl.
Chocolate Glacage (Chocolate Glaze)
1. Place chocolate in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Place cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
3. Pour cream over chocolate in bowl and stir until smooth, stir in chocolate sauce.
4. Dip finger and lick. Chocolatey squee of delight ensues.
After everything's done and over with, dig in!
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