chocolate truffles & pretzel bark.

Source:http://wellthatsawkward.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/chocolate-truffles-pretzel-bark/

I’ve spent the past couple of days making some holiday treats for my friends, since I’m pretty much too poor to buy presents this year and homemade is better anyway.

Although if any of my friends don’t like chocolate, they’re pretty much not getting anything.

Chocolate Truffles

2.5 pkgs (20 squares) Baker’s semi-sweet baking chocolate1 pkg cream cheese, softenedsprinkles, chopped nuts, etc. for decorating

Allow cream cheese to soften to room temperature, then beat with a mixer until creamy.  Melt 8 squares chocolate in saucepan (don’t forget to stir so it doesn’t burn!)  Stir chocolate into cream cheese mixture and mix until well blended.  Refrigerate until firm.

Spoon out by teaspoon and roll into 1 to 1.5 inch balls and place on wax paper lined cookie sheet.

Melt remaining chocolate (12 squares – don’t forget to stir!).  Use a fork to dip into the chocolate, making sure to coat completely; twirl to drip excess chocolate, then place back onto cookie sheet.  (If the cream cheese balls start to soften up too much, just pop them back into the refrigerator for a few minutes – but decorate the dipped ones first!)

Decorate truffles with sprinkles, chopped nuts (I used hazelnuts), or whatever else you can think of — get creative!  Then keep them refrigerated until serving (or gifting!)

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bark

After dipping my truffles, I had some melted chocolate left over, and of course I didn’t want to just waste all that tasty dark chocolatey goodness.  So I put it back on the stovetop, added a few tablespoons of peanut butter and mixed in crushed pretzels, then spread it out onto waxed paper and stuck it in the refrigerator for about half an hour to harden into pretzel bark.

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Today's Special: Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Semi Freddo

Source::http://mammyskitchen.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/christmas-cookalong-part-one-dark-chocolate-and-hazelnut-semi-freddo/?tpref=foodpress

Well the first Friday of December has been and gone and that means only one thing – the Irish Foodies monthly cookalong.  This month’s theme was of course Christmas (well how could it be anything else?) and rather than cook an elaborate dinner, I decided to do a dessert and a bit of baking instead.

So the first recipe I decided on for the cookalong was Dark Chocolate & Hazelnut Semi Freddo from Rachel Allen’s Home Cooking book.  Although (technically) its not actually cooking, this is one of the desserts I made last year to follow Christmas dinner.  Instead of freezing in a loaf tin as suggested, I lined a pudding bowl to give it a more Christmassy shape.

I was lucky to get the picture above as about 5 seconds after it was taken, child#2 somehow managed to knock the plate off the table sending it crashing to the floor!

Dark Chocolate & Hazelnut Semi Freddo

What you need:

3 eggs, separated

150g caster sugar

500ml cream

100g dark chocolate finely chopped

100g chopped hazelnuts

What you do:

Line the base of a loaf tin with parchment or cling film, leaving the excess hanging out over the edges.Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale and fluffy.In a second bowl, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks.Finally, in another (spotlessly clean) bowl, whisk the egg whites (with a clean whisk) until they form firm peaks.Gently fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture then carefully fold in the egg whites.Sprinkle a third of the chopped chocolate & hazelnuts evenly into the base of the prepared tin.  Pour half of the semifreddo mixture over the chocolate, followed by the next third of the chocolate.  Finally, pour over the remaining semifreddo and top with the remaining chocolate. Cover with the excess hanging parchment or cling film and freeze for at least 6 hours until solid.Once it is set, carefully remove the semifreddo from the tin by turning upside down onto a plate and remove the parchment/clingfilm and cut into slices.

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