Chocolate & Chilli Recipes with benefits!

I remember many years ago being happily surprised when I ate a dark chocolate filled with chilli jelly.  I can’t remember where it was but it must have been somewhere peculiar because it was before such interesting food was the norm.

I then experimented with the flavour combo myself, even occasionally in our restaurants, because we had great foodie customers who were gagging for a change from the old Black Forest Gateau situation.

Dark chilli chocky such as Lindt is good (they even have it in France you know!) when I’m not in the mood to cook for just myself, my real man being so very conservative, to put it politely. When I am in the mood here are some of the things I have made, sold and eaten.  I suggest you do the same with the possible exception of the sold bit!

Dark Chilli Chocolate Ganache

A ganache is a lovely thing and so easy!  Basically coarsely chop chocolate (in this case dark chili chocolate), pour over hot double cream and stir till smooth.  Depending on what you are going to do with the ganache, and there are several options, you need a higher or lower ratio of chocolate to cream ...

~  Ganache makes a lovely chocky sauce or drizzle for ice cream, pancakes etc., for best results use one part chocolate to two parts of double cream.

~  To make a thick pourable chocolate glaze for cakes then use equal amounts of chocolate and cream. If instead of pouring you chill the mixture it can be whipped to thick and used as filling for cakes, éclairs or as a simple Chocolate Chilli Mousse.

~  If you use twice as much chocolate as cream and chill to very cold you can roll it into balls, coat in chopped chocolate, cocoa, chopped nuts and so on et voila – truffles.

Dark Chocolate & Chilli Quesadilla

This was a lovely sudden lunch pudding - chocolate quesadilla recipe here. 

Chocolate and Cayenne Soufflé – serves 4

90g dark chocolate – coarsely chopped
60g sugar
3 tbsp lovely strong coffee
1 tbsp brandy
½ tsp cayenne
pinch of salt
3 egg yolks – lightly beaten together
4 egg whites
2 more tbsp sugar

~   Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 6.
~   Butter 4 ramekins and then dust with a little icing sugar.
~   In a small pan over low heat stir together the first 4 ingredients till melted and smooth.
~   Stir in the cayenne and salt.
~   Remove from the heat and allow to cool a couple of minutes then stir in the egg yolks.
~   Whisk the egg whites till they start forming peaks then add the sugar and continue whisking till stiff.
~   Fold the whites into the chocolate goo and divide between the ramekins
~   Bake for 10-12 minutes till risen and wobbly and serve immediately.

Pinterest friendly image - go on!

Hot Hot Chocolate

Chili spiked hot chocolate mixes are the norm now but until they were I used to add just a drop or two of non-garlicky hot sauce to the drink. Worked for me! Worked for Montezuma too, apparently, because he was known to fortify his pre-nookie hot chocolate 
with chillies and sometimes vanilla too, speaking of which ...

Chocolate and Chilli are both considered to be aphrodisiacs and I have written about them in my ebook ...

Food for Love

Eat  your Way to a Better Sex Life ~ Win/Win Situation