Chocolate Cornets - March challenge on Eggless-baking

This months Eggless Baking challenge was Chocolate Cornets. I had tried bread baking only once and the yeast let me down so bad, that the buns tasted very weird :(. From then on, I was left with no courage to try baking with yeast. For this challenge, I was very apprehensive. I had bought two different brands of yeast from the supermarket, hoping atleast one will turn out good. I had a backup plan ready.
I carefully soaked the yeast in lukewarm water and mixed it with the dough. I did not make the chocolate custard while the dough was rising. I made the cornet molds from thick magazine paper coated with a layer of aluminum foil. Once I had ensured that the dough had risen and I could make balls to allow for a second rise, I made the cornets shape and then while they were rising for the second time, I made the custard.


I was so nervous by this time, that while making the custard, my little one was meddling with the sugar and sprinkled some over the kitchen top. I got jittery and took the sugar bowl away from her. I made a mental note to add sugar to the flour mix of the custard later. And if you have already guessed, I forgot to add sugar. So lo and behold! I made chocolate custard without any sugar :(. To add to that, I had used bitter dark chocolate in the custard. So on the whole, the custard tasted bitter. But since the cornets turned out well, I was very satisfied, despite this mishap :). The cornets got over in no time. My little girl took the custard apart and ate the plain cornets!.

So here goes the recipe.

 Original Recipe - Ingredients:

Brea Dough:

150g Bread Flour (5.29 oz) = 1.2 cups of bread flour
1 tbsp (Raw) Sugar
½ tsp Salt
½ tbsp Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder
1 tsp Instant Dry Yeast
1 tbsp Lukewarm Water
70ml Water (2.37 fl oz)
1 tbsp Beaten Egg
15g Butter (0.53 oz) = 1.5 tbsp 

Chocolate Custard:

2 Egg Yolks 

2½ tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Cake Flour
1 tbsp Corn Starch
1 tbsp Cocoa Powder
200ml Milk (6.76 fl oz)
10g Unsalted Butter (0.35 oz) = 1 tbsp
30g Chocolate (1.06 oz)

Bread Flour for dusting
1 tbsp Beaten Egg for glazing

Molds:
6 Cream Horn Molds (30x135mm/1.2x5.3 inch)
Or

Handmade Horn Molds:

6 sheets of Kraft Paper (125x125mm/4.9x4.9 inch)
6 sheets of Aluminum Foil (125×150mm/4.9x5.9 inch)

Egg Substitutions:

Bread Dough:

150g Bread Flour (5.29 oz) = 1.2 cups of bread flour (I used APF)
1 tbsp (Raw) Sugar
½ tsp Salt
½ tbsp Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder
1 tsp Instant Dry Yeast
1 tbsp Lukewarm Water
70ml Water (2.37 fl oz)
1 tbsp Oil <---- Substitute oil of the beaten egg
15g Butter (0.53 oz) = 1.5 tbsp

1. Pour the hot water (100 degrees F) into a glass. Add the dry yeast and 1/4 teaspoon sugar and mix them. Rest for 15 minutes.

2. Put the bread flour, salt,  sugar and mix well to combine. Add the yeast water and oil.

3. Using a dough hook with the hand-mixer or with a food processor, start making the dough for 30 seconds. 

4. Add the butter and continue kneading until the dough is silky smooth.

5. Put the dough in a container coated with a oil thinly. Turn the ball of dough over, so the top layer is coated with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hour in a warm place. 

6. The dough will double in size. Poke a hole in the dough. If the hole closes quickly the dough can rise some more. If the hole remains in place, then the dough has risen enough. ake the dough out of the bowl. Flatten the dough with the palm of your hand

7. With a knife, divide the dough into 8 pieces.

8. Shape the dough into smooth balls.

9. Keep covered in a damp kitchen towel.

10. Flatten the dough with the palm of your hand. Roll up the dough and extend the dough into 20cm with your hands. Thin the strip on one side.

11. Coil the dough around the cornet case coated with butter. Place the dough with point under on a parchment paper

12. Put the dough on a parchment paper. After about 40 minutes, the dough will become roughly 1.5 times.    

13. Coat the surface with a milk/cream. 

14. Bake the dough at 190 degrees for 9 or 10 minutes. 

15. Let the cornets cool for 3-4 minutes and remove them from the cornet cases.

16. Stuff the chocolate custard cream into the breads.

Between steps 5 and 6, you can make the chocolate custard.

Chocolate Custard:

4 tbsp Cream   < ---substitute the 2 egg yolks with heavy cream

2½ tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Cake Flour
1 tbsp Corn Starch
1 tbsp Cocoa Powder
200ml Milk (6.76 fl oz)
10g Unsalted Butter (0.35 oz) = 1 tbsp
30g Chocolate (1.06 oz)

Method:

In a small bowl, mix the cake four, corn start, cocoa powder and sugar. Add a little milk and make a thin paste. 

In a saucepan, heat the milk and cream. Slowly add the flour paste and keep stirring until the mixture thickens.

Once the mixture is thick, take the saucepan off the stove. While the custard is still hot, add the butter and chocolate. Stir them in and mix well. Transfer to another bowl.

Cover with a plastic wrap and let that bowl rest over ice cubes.

Assembling the cornets:

Fill the custard in a piping bag or a plastic cover, with the end cut in a small hole.

Pipe the custard deep into the cornet and fill up to the brim.                                                                   

Verdict: This is one delicious snack. I would love to have one in the evening and skip a roti at dinner time :). This goes to yeast spotting too.

Chocolate-chip scones

I am sure all of us have these cravings once in a while. Sometimes I just crave chocolate (chocolate chips) and sometimes chocolate-coffee combination. Sometimes I just have to eat some baked good with these ingredients. Wait for a sometime... Divert my attention... but No, it will not go away! I just have to eat it.. That is what happened one day. I was craving a baked good, but nothing as elaborate as a cake. But I wanted something soft and quick... so I decided to bake a scone!

Chocolate Chip Scones: Recipe Source joyofbaking.com

Ingredients: 

2 cups all purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1/2 cup milk or semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk

Method: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). I preheated to 190 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. (The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.)  Stir in the chocolate chunks (or chips) and dried cherries (if using). In a small measuring cup whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla extract and then add to the flour mixture. Stir just until the dough comes together (add more buttermilk or flour as necessary). Do not over mix the dough.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times. The original recipe states that we need to make wedges (triangles). But I patted the dough flat and cut out 2 inch round scones. Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes 10 scones. Cut each scone in half and smear some jam. Serve with tea.

Verdict: The scones were just perfect for a quick evening snack and satisfied my craving :) It does not take too much effort or time and is delicious.

Spinach Garlic Balls - Eggless

I made the Spinach-garlic balls a while back and it was relished so much, that I decided to try the eggless version.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Spinach - 1 bunch

Garlic paste -  1 tbsp
Powdered bread crumbs - 1 cup
Mashed potatoes - 3 small potatoes (equivalent to 1 large potato)

Aloo mash - 1/2 cup (I had to use this as I had run out of potatoes)

 

Processed Cheese - 2 tbsp, Melted
Butter - 2 tbsp, Melted

Spices:
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Kasuri Methi - 1 tsp (optional)
Amchoor (dry Mango powder) - 1 pinch (optional)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C (350 F).
Wash and clean the spinach leaves and chop into small pieces.
Boil and mash the potatoes. Add the aloo mash and make a paste.
In a large bowl, add the mashed potatoes and spices and whisk well. Add the melted butter, cheese and garlic paste and stir until combined.
Mix in the chopped spinach. Add the powdered bread crumbs and make a paste. The consistency should be such that you can make slightly firm, 1-inch balls of this paste.
Otherwise add in some more bread crumbs/aloo mash
Make small 1-inch balls of this paste and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

This recipe makes 16-18 such spinach-garlic balls.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Verdict:  The spinach-garlic balls make and excellent starter item for elaborate meals. It also makes a good tea-time snack. Once you have the spinach washed and chopped and aloo mash in hand, it is a breeze to make this.