Chocolate Valentino with Caramel Ice Cream

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

I've recently joined an online baking community called the Daring Bakers. About 70% of the food blogs i browse through are members of the Daring Bakers so I thought I'd join and see what all the fuss is about. Basically it's a community where bloggers/bakers get together every month and bake from the same recipe. You've got a whole month to prepare the assignment and there's also a forum where the bloggers can exchange tips and thoughts, guiding you step by step down the road of success. How could i say no to that, of course I was in! I finally have a forum to belong in... and can now leave JLo and his daily 3-hour NASIOC stare in peace. Lucky him =) .

My first Daring Bakers' challenge was a flourless chocolate cake (Chocolate Valentino) that contain only three ingredients, THREE! I was amazed at the final result, didn't know eggs could hold up so well. Still had some problems though; my cake was still wet and wobbly when the thermometer read 60C and had to bake an extra 10 minutes. The cake didn't set until it reached 85C. Hmm, dunno what happened there... i'll blame it on the crappy oven again, mehhh. Anyhoooo I'm not really a chocolate person so this cake wasn't for me. But for the die-hard chocolate lovers out there, this is definitely your slice of dense, fudgy heaven.

As for my first ice cream-making experience... I came to realize that ice-cream is just nothing but a big tub of FAT. I guess I've been in denial my whole life thinking ice-cream is just frozen milk... but when there's 3 cups of 10-30% cream sitting in front of you, you know you'll never enjoy a carefree, spirit-lifting scoop ever again. AHHHhhhh!!! I'm sticking to sorbets/yogurt from now on. =( But if you set the ass-doubling issue aside, being able to make your own ice-cream with a texture similar to the ones store-bought is gonna make you one happy person. Can't wait to experiment on more flavors, eeek!

Chocolate Valentino (Flourless Chocolate Cake)
a Daring Bakers' Challenge
INGREDIENTS:

• 16 ounces (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
  (use milk chocolate for a sweeter cake)
  
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
  
• 5 large eggs, separated

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often [picture 1, 2, 3].
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling, butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment [picture 4].
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls [picture 5].
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry) [picture 6].
   
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together [picture 7].
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate[picture 8].
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter [picture 9].
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C [picture 10].
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C [picture 11] (my thermometer read 85C when done). If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold [picture 12].

NOTE:

• This recipe comes together very quickly with a hand mixer.
• This is a very decadent cake that will sink a little as it cools but will still hold its shape.
• The top forms a light crust, kind of like a brownie.
• The cake will taste exactly like the chocolate you use, so use your favorite!
  

Flourless Chocolate Cake: Chocolate Valentino

Caramel Ice Cream (without a machine)
a Daring Bakers' Challenge and serving ice cream
INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups (473 ml) of half and half (or 10-18% fat cream)
  
• 1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream (30% fat cream)
  
• 2/3 - 1 cup sugar
  
• Dash of salt
  
• 1 (12 grams) tablespoon of vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the sugar in a saucepan and set over low heat until it melts and turns honey-brown (DON'T BURN IT!). Remove from heat [picture 1, 2].
2. Slowly and carefully, add the 10-18% cream to caramelized sugar [picture 3]. Be careful- the mixture will splatter and the sugar will turn hard. Don't worry!
3. Stir mixture over low heat until it becomes smooth again [picture 4].
4. Mix in the heavy cream and stir until well mixed and smooth [picture 5].
5. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool [picture 6].
6. Once cool, chill mixture in the fridge for at least 1 hour [picture 7].
7. Place the chilled ice cream mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes [picture 8].
8. Beat ice cream mixture with an electric mixer until smooth (you can use a fork instead of an electric mixer, but the ice cream will be less smooth and creamy) [picture 9].
9. Place ice cream in the freezer for 40 minutes- then beat with an electric mixer [picture 10].
10. Repeat "40 minute freeze-then-beat cycle" 3 times. This should total 2 1/2 hours of freezing.
11. You can choose to either beat your ice cream mixture every 40 minutes until frozen or let your ice cream mixture freeze on its own. Either method works fine. The more you beat it, the softer it will be. Total freezing time can take anywhere between 3-5 hours.

Caramel Ice Cream (without a machine)