Chocolate Chips:  75 gms

Butter: 150 gms

Dark Chocolate:  56 gms

Cocoa Powder: 30 gms

Sugar: 150 gms

Eggs: 2 nos

Artic Vodka: 1 ½ tsp

Cream Cheese: 50 gms

All purpose Flour: 50 gms

Method:

1.       Melt the butter and chocolate over a double boiler.

2.       Beat the above mixture with cocoa, sugar until incorporated.

3.       Beat in the eggs and vodka for another 30 seconds. The mixture should look thick and glossy.

4.       Beat in the room temperature cream cheese until small bits remain.

5.       Add the flour.

6.       Fold the chocolate chips.

7.       Be careful you don’t over mix the batter.

8.       Add the batter to cup cake molds.

9.       Bake for 12-15 mins 160 degree. When the cupcake springs back it’s done.

10.   The batter will rise and puff in the middle but will sink on cooling.

Frosting:

White Chocolate: 250 gms

Cream cheese Soft: 300 gms

Soft Butter: 80 gms

Strawberry Puree: 40 gms

Vodka: 2 tbsp

Method:

1.       Heat the chocolate in microwaveable bowl.

2.       In a processor add cream cheese butter, puree and vodka. Pulse twice and mix. Scrape the sides with a spatula.

3.       Add the slightly cool down white chocolate to this mixture with a spatula and fold the mix.

4.       Let it cool and pipe on the Cupcakes you made above.

5.       Garnish the cupcakes with edible flowers or fresh strawberries.

Chocolate Crepes (yield: 32)

• 4 eggs
• 100 g sugar
• 480 g milk
• 145 g flour
• 2 T cocoa
• ¼ t salt
• 30 g butter, melted
• 2 T vanilla essence

METHOD:

1. Whisk eggs ,sugar and milk
2. Sift the flour , cocoa and salt
3. Add the dry to the liquid mix
4. Then slowly add the melted butter and vanilla essence
5. Chill at least one hour or overnight.
6. Strain before using.
7. Cook over med heat, 2 min on first side and 30 sec on second side.
8. These can be layered and frozen or stored in the refrigerator.
9. Wrap well in plastic.
10. Or serve hot with a nice strawberry mint sauce.

Strawberry Mint Sauce

• Cut ¼ of a flat of strawberries into quarters; mix with 2-3 cups of sugar; let sit overnight in fridge.
• Strain the juice; leave the strawberries for jam.
• Put the juice into a shallow saucepan; add some sugar and 1-2 vanilla beans. Boil.
• Add a handful of mint leaves and let steep until strong mint flavour :15 – 20 min; strain; cool.

My mother got some amazing strawberries today. Supposedly they were from Chandigarh.

I was looking around for something different I could do and I came across a website dedicated to strawberry. Fascinating:

 

http://www.strawberries.com/

 

Work was busy and reading things online that I just had a bowl of plain strawberries and I enjoyed them a lot!

 

Ps: On that note I made a big strawberry chocolate cake for my friend’s son’s second birthday party.