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Monday, March 14, 2011

S'more Chocolate Pots

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I have a confession to make; I'm a little obsessed with s'mores. You should count yourself lucky that I've managed to hold out for over a year since my S'mores Cheesecake. There have been so many times when I've been brainstorming dessert ideas and have wanted to s'more it up a little. There's something about the combination of textures and varying levels of sweetness when you put melted chocolate, biscuit and toasted marshmallow together. Or maybe it's just because my inner pyromaniac wants me to get the blowtorch out more often ;)
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If I was being really honest, allowing myself to handle a dangerous piece of equipment like a blowtorch is a really bad idea. I am one of the most uncoordinated people I know. When I was younger I would fall out of bed all the time, walk into corners, open doors onto my head, fall up stairs, trip on smooth surfaces, and manage to cut myself on any sharp pointy thing available. The first time I visited A's house, I took 2 steps into his garden and tripped down the steps and scraped my knee. When I was holidaying in Thailand we were wading in a shallow bay and I managed to find the ONLY rock in the entire area covered in sharp oyster shells and step backwards onto it without looking. It has gotten better over time, or at least I thought it had until last week. Apparently using a blunt knife to get an avocado seed out when you're half asleep is a very bad idea. Knives tend to slip and go all the way through fingers. Yes, all the way through. Ow.
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The only thing that really has bugged me about my recent bout of uncoordination is that it's stopped me from baking, since getting flour all around the cut seemed like a bad idea. But A was a smart cookie and bought me some gloves so that I could whip up this dessert that I've been thinking about all week. I finally gave in to my cravings and came up with these S'more Chocolate Pots. Rich, creamy dark chocolate pot de cremes minus the booze to make them kid-friendly, topped with a cloud of homemade marshmallow fluff which was torched to give it a lovely toasty outside. And some biscuits for dipping into it of course!
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Originally I had planned to make my own Graham crackers, but I decided to keep things simple and bought some digestives instead. I hardly ever feel like making desserts that take more than one day of preparation. But imagine how cute your own homemade Graham cracker spoons/soldiers would be with this! This dessert isn't the same without the biscuit part, it helps to mellow the intensity of the sweetness. Make sure you have lots of extra biscuits handy to serve with these!
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To be honest the tea cups I used in the photos were way too big for such a rich, decadent dessert, and I was left with a lot of leftover marshmallow icing, which I plan to spoon over these cups once I make it through the top layer. If I was to do this for a party, I would probably do tiny individual portions of chocolate in shot glasses, with the homemade graham cracker spoons. Seriously, how freaking adorable would that be? This rich dessert made slightly bitter thanks to the dark chocolate and hint of coffee is the perfect match for the light, sweet marshmallow fluff. And please make the fluff yourself, it tastes so much better than the supermarket stuff.
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S'more Chocolate Pots
(adapted from this Gourmet Traveller recipe, and this Martha Stewart recipe, serves 6-10 people depending on the size of your serving cups)
200g dark chocolate (64.5% cocoa solids), melted
300ml pouring cream, whisked to soft peaks
2 tbsp freshly brewed coffee
3 egg yolks
55 gm (1/4 cup)caster sugar

For the marshmallow fluff:
3 egg whites
165g (3/4 cup) sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp pure vanilla essence

To serve: Graham crackers/digestive biscuits, or you could try making your own, cut into shapes or crumbled over the top

Heat chocolate, cream and coffee in a heatproof bowl placed over gently boiling water, stirring occasionally, until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a separate heatproof bowl placed over simmering water for 5 minutes or until thick and pale. Combine chocolate and egg yolk mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on high for 5 minutes or until mixture is thick and cool. Pour into serving cups and chill in the fridge for at least two hours or until set.
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Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk with an electric mixer, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Spoon/pipe a generous amount over the tops of chocolate pots. Use a blowtorch or the grill of your oven to toast the top of the icing. Serve with biscuits.
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I am a little irked with this set of photos, but I'm going to blame the disappearing light which made me rush around and my finger injury making it hard to hold the camera steady rather than my crappy photography skills! P.S. Don't be like me and be so impatient that you can't wait til the chocolate pots are set before sticking your spoon in. Also, just a warning that the blog might be a little bit quiet for the next few weeks as I'll have little time to bake, which fills me with guilt. And I'm feeling super guilty about the fact that I haven't replied everyones comments in FOREVER. But as per usual if anyone has any direct questions I'll do my best to reply them as soon as possible. You guys always cheer me up with your sweet comments!
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41 comments:

  1. ooh burn it baby yeahhhh! lols take care of yourself steph! and next time get the avo in a tube hehe

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  2. There once was a fairy called S'more,
    Whose beauty was legend and lore.
    But she tried playing with fire
    And incited much ire,
    And was turned into a delicious sweet made and cherished by dessert-fanatics around the world.

    NB: blunt knives are the worst sort

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  3. I want all of that in my belly right now - come to mumma <3 Your photography is always so delicious Steph! Hearts.

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  4. I do the same thing! I always want to make S'more this, S'more that. I'm glad I'm not the only one!

    Love the photos on this post and - of course - the dessert!

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  5. oh wow - these look and sound amazing. Bookmarking for first given opportunity !

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  6. That rich dark chocolate makes me want to grab a spoon and mush it all around. Delicious!

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  7. Decadent! And ouchies, I hope you heal soon.

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  8. Oh, Steph!! You poor thing. Glad you're ok though :) Graham cracker spoons would be so freaking adorable! This is really not helping with the diet!

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  9. Don't worry, you're not the only klutz around here! But ouch to the avocado injury! Hope it heals quickly - I reckon a couple of these s'mores will make everything better soon!

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  10. I happen to like this set of photos. They make me want to take a spoonful even though I don't have much feelings for s'mores. Chocolate though, is my middle name. Hope you won't be quiet for too long!

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  11. Cute! Hope your finger heals up soon! Loving the heart shaped cookies :)

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  12. Klutzes of the world unite! Shaun has always said that he wanted to wrap me up with bubble wrap to stop me from hurting myself. Take care of yourself and stay away from avocados! Or rather blunt knives.

    Omg I love these! Such a cute and different way to serve a chocolate pot. Yay for more blowtorching!

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  13. Nursing a delicious sugar headache now thanks to you Steph! :P

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  14. I can understand why you like smores. They're yummy and they look fantastic! Smore up as much stuff as you want; you are good at it!

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  15. Homemade marshmallow fluff = delicious fun. Setting it on fire = delicious pyro fun!

    You say the teacups were too big but if they were even bigger, you could just dive in face first...just saying :)

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  16. Looks like such a delicious dessert!
    Your mugs are really lovely!

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  17. My mouth is definitely watering.

    http://mandycrandell.blogspot.com/

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  18. First of all, stunning photos. Second of all OMG... these look delectable!

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  19. There is nothing I love more than S'mores! You should definitely post more S'more recipes;) I wouldn't mind! Can't wait to try these! Beautiful pictures!

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  20. Ohhhh my! These look silly delicious! I'm going to have to try these babies out... asap!

    Great blog; happy I found you!

    Mary xx
    Delightful Bitefuls

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  21. Dear Steph,

    You are a genius.

    Love from Lisa

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  22. GENIUS..thats what you are. Incredible...is what these look like.

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  23. What I wouldn't give for one of these decadent little pots right now!

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  24. I think I'll become obsessed too - these pots are to die for! I love anything marshmallow, and your pots are adorable, too!

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  25. Haha, I've always been good at tripping over and running into corners! Thank goodness no major injuries...yet =p

    Hope your hand heals soon so you can get your baking fix and we can drool over the results!

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  26. It looks very beautiful with the haart shaped cookie and the baked marshmellow!
    Lovely cups!

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  27. A deconstructed S'more, re-imagined into a teacup! I have to disagree about your comment on the size of the cups and the photos, the cups look very delicate and the photos awesome as usual. I love the black lace doily too! :D

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  28. your photography is absolutely beautiful. I wish I had an ounce of your talent :) And these chocolate pots look so yummy! Thanks for sharing.

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  29. I've done my senior first aid, and I also did just over a year of an MBBS many years ago, so I feel fully qualified in saying that gorgeously constructed s'more desserts are exactly what you should be eating to mend cut fingers.

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  30. Oh man this looks fantastic! Definitely bookmarking this one!

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  31. These photos are so beautiful!

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  32. these are so adorable!
    i love smores anything, too! congrats on using a blowtorch lol... i wouldn't trust myself with one!
    if i were you, i'd just eat that leftover marshmallow icing.. it looks ttassstty!!

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  33. Sheesh! I made s'mores cupcakes once and declared them the best thing ever. I think I have been proved wrong. I will definitely be trying this recipe sometime soon - especially as the weather cools.

    And irked with the photos? You're crazy.

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  34. where did you get your tiny spoons? they're adorable!

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  35. sara - Thank you! I got the spoons from an Asian 2 dollar shop, the smaller ones actually came with these ugly matching cups and I bought them just to get the spoons!

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  36. Finally a reason to use my cream of tartar:)

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  37. Hi, can you let me know where you got the cute black doily (sp?)

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  38. Anonymous - I bought it online at Urban Outfitters, not sure if they still sell it

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  39. this blog effin rocks! i am hooked! Thanks for sharing and the pix are beautiful! :D

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  40. I just made these and they were crazy good

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  41. they look so yummy! I think my chocoholic boyfriend is in for a treat next week :-)

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