food for friends – Page 2

This is a savoury dish that will get conversations (and your tastebuds) going….. Serves 6 people.

500ml bread flour
190ml cocoa powder
5 eggs
2,5ml salt

For the filling:
250ml ricotta cheese
80g dark/bitter chocolate, finely chopped
a pinch of salt

100g butter
20 sage leaves

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt together onto a clean work surface.
Make a well in the centre and put in the eggs.
Mix the eggs with your fingers and gradually draw in the flour and cocoa mixture to form a soft, but not sticky, dough.
Add more flour or egg, if needed, to get the right consistency.
Knead for 10 minutes until you have a smooth and elastic dough.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave in the fridge to chill for one hour.

Mix the ricotta, chopped chocolate and a pinch of salt with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Roll the pasta through a pasta machine.
Lay one sheet of pasta flat and form walnut-sized balls with the ricotta mixture. Place the ricotta balls onto the sheet of pasta.
Wet the area around the ricotta-balls with water and lay a second sheet of pasta on top.
Press down and around the ricotta balls so that the top sheet of pasta sticks.
Cut individual ravioli shapes with a round cutter and cook them for three minutes in simmering water.
Keep warm while making the sage-butter.

Add the butter to a small saucepan and place it on a high heat.
Allow the butter to melt and then to caramelise – regulate the heat: you want the butter to turn brown and become nutty without burning.
Add the sage leaves once the butter has browned and immediately turn off the heat. Be careful the butter will spatter as you add the sage.

Arrange the cooked ravioli on plates and spoon the butter and sage over.
Serve with a crusty bread.

These cakes are like little jewels of chocolate and orange that explode in your mouth. This is an easy dessert when you are entertaining friends and want to impress.

Orange syrup:
200ml sugar
200ml water
zest from one orange

For the cake:
320g De Villiers Chocolate: orange and vanilla, 70% dark or any other dark chocolate
250g butter, cubed
300g brown sugar
5 eggs
100g cake flour
100g self-raising flour
30ml orange liqueur or brandy

For the orange syrup:
Strip the zest from the orange with a vegetable peeler.
Put the strip of zest flat onto a chopping board and slice into needle-wide strips with a sharp knife. Cut all of the zest into these needle strips. Put aside.
Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan and place on a high heat.
Stir the mixture until all the sugar has dissolved. DO NOT stir again.
Add the zest-needles to the mixture and bring the mixture to a boil, FOR ONE MINUTE.
Take the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.

For the cake:
Preheat your oven to 160℃.
Grease 12 small baking moulds or a 12-hole standard muffin tin.
Chop the chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Stir every now and then until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is completely smooth.
Remove from the heat and put aside.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Turn the mixer down to a medium speed and add the eggs one at a time, waiting for each to be incorporated.
Turn the mixer to its lowest speed and add the slightly cooled chocolate, liqueur and flour.
Scoop the batter into the prepared mould and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the cakes from the oven.
Cut the cakes flush with the moulds you baked them in while still very warm. This will leave you with a flat surface to stand the cakes once you plate them.
Spoon about 20ml of the cold syrup onto the cut-side of the warm cakes.
Remove each cake from the mould (stand them up – the way you will serve them) and spoon the rest of the orange syrup over.
Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Tag: food for friends

Ricotta-filled Chocolate Ravioli

Chocolate Orange Syrup Cakes