Gü Chocolate Cookbook

Gü Chocolate Cookbook
Gü

Chocolate lovers everywhere can give in to happiness with Gü’s irresistible collection of decadently delightful and joyfully simple desserts, puds, cakes, savoury meals and nibbles.The Gü team will show you how easy it is to create delicious chocolaty goodies at home. They’ll divulge the secrets if a perfect chilli chocolate mousse, amazing brownies and cakes, tortes, chocolate tiramigüs, cheesecakes and many tips to glam up easy homemade puds.From teatime treats and desserts to savoury dishes and midnight feasts, the Gü Chocolate Cookbook includes many easy recipes – all with a gü-ey twist – plus basic tips, down-to-earth advice and cheeky shortcuts for steps you can prep ahead or ready-to-use ingredients.This mouth-watering varied cookbook offers 100 recipes and plenty of inspiring pictures for everything from milk chocolate truffles to a white chocolate and wasabi version, triple chocolate cookies and Viennese chocolate biscuits to baked white chocolate cheesecake with sweet chutney, Fred the chef’s irresistible chocolate tart, delicious Gülash with a pinch of chocolate to traditional mole.And for those whose chocolate cravings know no bounds, an extremist chapter will show you how to roast a chicken in a chocolate crust for a perfect result, treat you friends to a melting chocolate bomb or even make poppingly good chocolate bubble wrap.Recipes in the Gü Chocolate Cookbook include:Chocolate and pecan muffinsChocolate praline spreadChewy double chocolate cookiesChocolate éclairsJaffa cake lollipopsChocolate, marmalade, mango and pine nut tartViennese biscuitsRaspberry chocolate mousse potsMillionaire’s flapjacksWhite chocolate and coffee crème bruléeMelt in the middlePot au chocolateBoozy cherry chocolate clafoutisSticky chocolatey toffee pudWhite chocolate cheesecakeGü-lashEasy chocolate mousse cakeMelting chocolate bombe

GÜ Chocolate Cookbook

Welcome to the chocolatey world of Gü

Since Gü first entered the world in 2003, we’ve had a healthy obsession with all things chocolate. Our deliciously irresistible chocolate puds have become a firm favourite with dessert lovers worldwide and we’re always looking for ways to bring even more chocolatey pleasure to our fellow chocolate lovers.

Having made a bit of a name for ourselves in hitting the perfect chocolate spot every time, we started getting lots of requests for our recipes and tips, so we thought, why keep such a good thing a secret? Why not share the love? Couldn’t we help you, our fellow chocolate worshippers, to make your own decadent treats at home when you’ve got a bit more time than it takes to open a ramekin or unwrap a brownie?

So here it is – the first ever Gü chocolate cookbook, which our brilliant chefs have filled with some of our iconic Gü classics as well as lots of must-try new creations. From mousses to millefeuilles, sauces to savouries, crèpes to cakes, brownies to blinis, pancakes to profiteroles, fondants to fondues, tarts to toppings, churros to cheesecakes, ice creams to eclairs, even white chocolate parsnips and chocolate-crusted chickens. You name it, we’ve gone there in the name of ‘chocolate research’ (tough work …) and here in the next 200-ish pages are our favourite recipes all using this brilliantly versatile and delicious, humble hero of the store cupboard – chocolate.

We’re so excited to introduce you to the next generation of Gü chocolate decadence and trust you will delight in devouring them as much as we’ve revelled in creating them in the Gü kitchen.

We’d love to know what you think about our new ideas and hear any inspirations for future desserts, so do drop us a line at ilovegu@gupuds.com or show us your creations on www.facebook.com/GuUK.

Seek delight. Give it a go. Give in to Gü – you know you want to …

    The Gü team

Make the most of our recipes

Chocolate is one of the most irresistible of ingredients (well, we would say that, wouldn’t we?), whether it is dark, milk or white chocolate. But when it comes to the quality of chocolate, the best way to judge this at home is by the cocoa solids. The higher the proportion of cocoa solids (made from roasted and ground cocoa beans, sugar and cocoa butter), the more chocolatey the taste.

Before you set about making any of our recipes, read through the ingredients list to make sure you have our suggested chocolate stashed away in your kitchen. We think that for dark chocolate, it’s best to use a minimum of 50 % cocoa solids, but often 70 % is preferable. We always give you a recommended level of cocoa solid, but if, say, we suggest 50 % cocoa solids and you can only find a chocolate that contains 70 %, it would be best to reduce the quantity by 10–15 % or the end result will be too rich. Likewise, add 10–15 % if you are using 50 % cocoa solids rather than a recommended 70 %. For milk chocolate, the minimum cocoa solids should be 34 %.

White chocolate is a slightly different ingredient as it is made up of very little or no cocoa solids. However, a good white chocolate will have a maximum of 30 % cocoa butter. So check out those labels.

USEFUL ADVICE

With each of our recipes we have given you a step-by-step method to show you the best way to create our dishes. However, working on the basis that we like to leave no stone unturned, here is some background information for the skills and equipment that we have used so that you can stun your friends and family each and every time you produce a Gü pud, snack or nibble from these pages.

SOME GENERAL INFORMATION

To kick off, we recommend you read these points before you get stuck into cooking.

OVEN TEMPERATURE: An oven takes a good 10 minutes to heat up to an average 180 °C/Gas mark 4, so make sure you leave enough time for this to happen. There’s no point in putting your carefully prepared cake mixture in an oven that isn’t hot enough. For recipes like sponge cakes and soufflés, gently close the door on your creation and keep it closed as a sudden blast of air into the oven can affect how well they rise.

MEASURING SPOONS: When a recipe calls for a measure in a teaspoon or tablespoon, bear in mind that 1 teaspoon = 5ml and 1 tablespoon = 15ml (or 3 teaspoons).

INGREDIENTS

The freshest ingredients are always the best and for chocolate to keep at its best, store it in a dark and cool cupboard.

MILK: Always use whole milk. This is what we’ve used for all our testing purposes. Not only does it have the best flavour, but it also adds the necessary consistency. Semi-skimmed or – shock, horror! – fully skimmed milk, will result in a thinner mix so, for example, pastry won’t bind so easily and custard won’t be so rich. Cooking might be an art form, but it’s a science too and we want you to have only the best results.

BUTTER: When you are baking it is always best to use ingredients that are at room temperature as this helps them to bind together better. For butter, it is even more helpful if it has also been softened slightly. If you are cooking on a hot summer’s day, there’s every chance that your butter will be nicely softened already, but on a cooler day, you will have to help things along. The best way to do this is to put the butter in a microwave and heat it at a medium setting for 10–15 seconds at a time. Check the butter between each blast because it can very easily start melting rather than simply softening.

For the majority of our recipes, we suggest you use unsalted butter as we particularly like its rich, creamy taste. Of course, if you prefer to use the salted variety, that is your choice.

EGGS: As with all fresh ingredients, you will want to ensure that the eggs you use are as fresh as possible (with the exception of meringues) and are at room temperature.

All eggs in the recipes in this book are medium sized, unless stipulated otherwise.

WHIPPING CREAM VERSUS DOUBLE CREAM: Our head chef Fred prefers to use whipping cream over double cream because it is lighter and not as rich. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given its name, it whips well and yet is also good as a pouring cream. We like versatility. For all our recipes, we’ve specified our preference.

If you find it difficult to source whipping cream, you can make your own by mixing double and single cream two thirds to one third.

LEAF GELATINE: Yes, size does matter. Don’t be fooled by packets of leaves as their size and strength varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. For this reason, we’ve given a weight of gelatine (and approximate number of leaves) for each of our recipes that make use of this setting agent.

Never boil any mixture that contains gelatine because otherwise you risk losing its setting properties.

HOW TO MELT CHOCOLATE

You can either melt chocolate in the microwave (our chef Fred’s favoured method) or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (otherwise known as a bain marie). Whichever method you choose, first pop the chocolate pieces into a heatproof bowl. Make sure that they are broken or chopped into equally sized pieces to ensure an even melting.

Fred is a big fan of melting chocolate in the microwave because you are not creating unnecessary heat in your kitchen and the worst enemy of chocolate is humidity. Put the bowl of chocolate in the microwave and heat it in short blasts of 30–40 seconds on a low power setting to avoid scorching or burning the chocolate. Stir the chocolate between each bout of heat. If the bowl you are using becomes too hot for you to handle after it has been microwaved, it is also too hot for your chocolate, so pour it into a cool bowl.

While you can buy a pair of pans that have been specifically designed to nestle together as a bain marie, you can also easily make your own. Choose a heatproof bowl that just sits over a saucepan, but not too far into the pan. Heat some water in the pan to a gentle simmer, then turn off the heat and place the bowl of chocolate over the top. Stir it occasionally as it melts until the chocolate is smooth.

♦ GÜ TIP Make sure that the bowl and any other equipment you are using are completely dry. If any water comes into contact with chocolate as it is melting, it becomes unworkable as it turns grainy and rough in texture.

♦ GÜ TIP Likewise, if chocolate becomes hot when you are melting it, it can become very thick and lumpy. Try whisking in a knob of butter (although this won’t help when tempering).

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CURLS

One of the easiest ways to make chocolate curls at home is to use a chocolate bar that has been left at room temperature. Take a metal pastry cutter and scrape it lengthways along the bottom – the flat side – of the bar. This will give you generous large curls to scatter over your chocolate creations.

♦ GÜ TIP Milk and white chocolates are easier to use for curls because there is more fat in the chocolate.

HOW TO BUTTER AND LINE A CAKE TIN

Before lining a cake tin with baking parchment, butter the tin. Be generous with the butter, ensuring that you push it well into any corners (keep hold of your butter wrappers for this, or use pieces of kitchen paper) and up the sides, especially if you are using a fluted tin. For a round, shallow cake tin, you only need to line the base using the bottom of the tin as a template for cutting out the baking parchment. For a deeper cake tin, you may want to line the side as well. Cut a strip of the parchment slightly longer than the circumference of the tin and a few centimetres higher. Fold over one of the longer edges and snip regularly along it. Put this strip into the cake tin first, with the snipped edge running across the base. Cover with the piece of parchment cut out for the base.

If you are lining a loaf tin, cut out a rectangle that is long and wide enough to fit up the sides of the tin. Stand the tin in the centre of the rectangle and draw around the base with a pencil. Then remove the tin and cut into each pencilled corner just once from each side. When you place the paper in the loaf tin and push it down to the base, you will then have four overlapping sections, one at each corner. With a bit of coaxing, they will lie flat around each corner.

BAKING BLIND

In the basic Chocolate Sweetcrust Pastry recipe we explain how to bake a pastry case blind. This means that the pastry needs to be baked completely before the filling is added to prevent it from become soggy. The pastry case is lined with baking parchment and baking beans, which prevents the pastry from rising up when in the oven. After it has been baked for the recommended length of time, remove the parchment and beans from the case and return the pastry to the oven until the base is cooked through.

♦ GÜ TIP You can buy ceramic baking beans, but they are expensive and usually only sold in small quantities. A good alternative is to use dried beans or pulses instead (keep them just for this as they will be inedible, even after the first time you have used them), or you could fill the paper-lined base with a pile of coins. Not only are the coins good and heavy, but they also heat up quickly and speed up the cooking process.

COOKING A CUSTARD

We have given you several custard recipes in this book and for some of our puds a custard forms the basis of the mixture. A custard is a creamy sweet sauce that has been thickened with egg yolks. For the thickening process to happen, the eggs need to be gently heated and stirred continuously. ‘Gentle’ is the key word here because if you cook the eggs in the sauce too quickly they become thick at the bottom of the pan. Instead of getting a custard, you could end up with a lumpy scrambled mess.

If you think your custard is about to curdle, promptly pour it through a sieve into a bowl and place it in a larger bowl filled with ice to cool it down quickly. Hopefully, this will save the day.