10 Facts about Chocolate

Chocolate is one of the most popular and yummiest types of foods that will likely stay at the top of most peoples favorite food lists. Chocolate is something most of us have grown up enjoying, but very few of us have taken the time to learn the many facts that are associated with Chocolate. There are actually hundreds of facts that are associated with Chocolate and I have created a list of the ones that I find most interesting. If you want to know the nutritional values in the different types of chocolate, check out these chocolate nutrition facts. 

1. It is a known fact that chocolate has caffeine in it. But did you know that you would have to eat more then a dozen chocolate bars to get the same amount of caffeine from a cup of coffee? There are about 5 to 10 mg's of caffeine in one ounce of bitter chocolate, 5 mgs in milk chocolate, and 10mgs in a six-ounce cup of cocoa.

2. Chocolate is actually a valuable energy source. A single chocolate chip can provide enough energy for an adult human to walk 150 ft.

3. Chocolate has great health benefits. It helps with depression, high blood pressure, Tumors and Pre-menstrual syndromes.

4. Chocolate does not cause or aggravate acne, this is a myth.

5. One ounce of baking chocolate or cocoa contains 10% of the daily recommended intake of iron.

6. Chocolate can be deadly for dogs. Chocolate contains an ingredient called "Theobromine" which can be toxic to a dogs central nervous system and cardiac muscles.

7. People spend more than $7 billion dollars a year on chocolate.
8. The per capita consumption of chocolate indicates that each person consumes 12 pounds of chocolate each year.

9. Milk Chocolate is the most preferred type of chocolate, however dark chocolate is especially popular among men.

10. In Alfred Hitchcock's movie "Psycho" chocolate syrup was used to indicate blood in the famous shower scene.


http://www.infobarrel.com/10_Facts_about_Chocolate

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Posted in: UPDATE INFO

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

½ cup (110 g) butter, softened
1+¼ cup (275 g) sugar
2 eggs
1+¼ cup (140 g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (50 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, natural
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (1.8 dl) buttermilk

Ingredients for filling

¼ cup Kirschwasser (Kirsch/cherry brandy), optional
2 cans (14 oz or 400 g) cherry pie filling or pitted cherries
3 cups (7.2 dl) heavy whipping cream, chilled
¼ cup confectioners' sugar
Milk chocolate curls or shavings, for garnish
Maraschino cherries or sweet cherries, for garnish, optional

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
2. Line a 9 inch (23 cm) cake pan with greaseproof or other non-stick paper.
3. With an electric mixer, beat the softened butter with sugar until white and fluffy.
4. Add one egg at a time, mix well between each egg.
5. Add sifted flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract and buttermilk, and mix until the batter is smooth.
6. Transfer to a cake pan and bake at 350 degrees just until set in the middle, approximately 45-60 minutes. A wooden pick inserted in center should come out with just a few moist crumbs on it. Do not over-bake!
7. When cake is cool, use a long serrated knife to cut the cake horizontally into 3 equal layers. It is easier to cut if kept in a refrigerator for a few hours before cutting.

Filling

1. Drain cherry pie filling in a colander to remove most of the thickened juices.
2. Beat the whipping cream with confectioners' sugar until it thickens.
3. Using a vegetable peeler, shave chocolate; refrigerate until the cake is assembled.

Assembling

1. Sprinkle each layer of the cake with Kirschwasser.
2. Place one cake layer on a serving plate.
3. Spread about one fifth of the whipped cream on the layer, and strew half of the cherries on top of the whipped cream.
4. Add the second cake layer.
5. Spread one fifth of the whipped cream on the second layer and the remaining cherries on top.
6. Add the third cake layer.
7. Spread one fifth of the whipped cream on top and one fifth on the sides. Gently press chocolate curls on the sides and/or on top of the cake.

Variations

1. You may substitute the cherry pie filling with cherry jam. In that case spread first the jam on the cake layers, then whipped cream on top.
2. You may use three cake tins intead of one. In that case the baking time must be shortened.
3. If cake flour is used, the cake comes out much fluffier (suggested by Andrea, February 2009).             http://www.cacaoweb.net/blackforestcake.html     

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Posted in: RECIPES

Chocolate Citrus Tart

from : http://www.cacaoweb.net/chocolate-citrus-tart.html
Ingredients for the tart dough (for 2 tarts)

½ cup (110 g) butter, softened

½ cup (100 g) sugar 2 cups (230 g) all-purpose flour

1 egg

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

Ingredients for the citrus filling

2 cups (440 g) granulated sugar

4 large eggs

½ cup (1.2 dl) orange juice

¼ cup (0.6 dl) lemon juice

Grated peel of 2 oranges

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Ingredients for the chocolate frosting

½ cup (1.2 dl) heavy cream or whipping cream

7 oz (200 g) semisweet chocolate (40-50% cocoa)

Method

1. Line the bottom of a springform pan of 9 inches (23 cm) diameter with greaseproof or other non-stick paper and grease the sides of the pan.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar. Add flour and cocoa powder, and finally the egg. Reserve in the fridge for a few hours or more.
3. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
4. Using your fingers, pat down half of the tart dough into the bottom of the springform pan (not the sides); keep the rest frozen until next time.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes.
6. For the filling, mix sugar and egg for 2-3 minutes with an electric mixer.
7. Add lemon juice, orange juice, grated orange peel, flour and baking powder, and mix well.
8. Transfer to the springform and bake at 250 deg F for about 30 to 40 minutes. A wooden pick inserted in center should come out clean.
9. Using a knife, loosen carefully the cake from the sides of the springform pan. Let the tart cool to room temperature in the pan.
10. For the chocolate frosting, heat the cream almost to a boil, add chopped chocolate, and stir until smooth. Let it cool until it thickens.
11. Spread the chocolate frosting evenly on top and sides of the tart.

Variations

1. Instead of lemon, you may use 2 limes and grated lime peel, and reduce the amount of orange peel accordingly.

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Posted in: RECIPES

CHOCOLATE MONGGO

A taste of traditionMonggo chocolate is produced in Indonesia and prepared with the utmost respect for the tradition of the great master chocolatiers. The high quality and authentic taste of Monggo chocolate with its premium cocoa and pure cocoa butter makes it the first choice in taste
Monggo chocolate is made from a fine selection of Javanese and Sumatran cocoa beans. All the Monggo products are 100% natural and most of the packagings are made of recycled paper.
All products are made of dark chocolate (100% cocoa butter) with no added preservatives. Each flavour is a creation of our own Belgian chocolatier in our ‘maison de production' in Yogyakarta, Indonesia .
This adventure begins in Yogya in 2001 when a Belgian man, 35 years of age, arrives in Indonesia without a plan in mind. Disappointed by the lack of quality chocolate in the shops of the world's 3rd largest producer of cocoa, the Belgian decides to take matters into his own hands and endeavors to make some specialties of his low-land country using limited resources.
The first chocolate truffles to be given to his Indonesian friends caused their eyes to light up with pleasure. You have to make more they said! So off he went on his old pink vespa which he had transformed into a vending stall. Every Sunday morning he sold them at the Gajah Mada University market and outside the Kota Baru church. More for pleasure and for discovering the reactions of people rather than for making money, these interesting moments shaped the man's career and made him the first chocolatier of Yogyakarta.

To turn the dream into reality, he still needed to combine his good energy with adequate capital. The first initiative to create a store was not a great success and the project was soon abandoned. But it was a step towards the creation of the company Anugerah Mulia in 2005. This small, dynamic team of chocolate lovers created their first products under the name of Cacaomania; boxes of pralines targeted at young adults. The name was finally abandoned because it was too general - we needed a product that would fill a niche in the market before tackling a larger project.

from : http://chocolatemonggo.com/

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JUST THE WAY YOU ARE

Oh her eyes, her eyes
Make the stars look like they're not shining
Her hair, her hair
Falls perfectly without her trying
She's so beautiful
And I tell her every day
Yeah I know, I know
When I compliment her
She wont believe me
And its so, its so
Sad to think she don't see what I see
But every time she asks me do I look okay
I say
When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you're amazing
lyricsalls.blogspot.com
Just the way you are
Her nails, her nails
I could kiss them all day if she'd let me
Her laugh, her laugh
She hates but I think its so sexy
She's so beautiful
And I tell her every day
Oh you know, you know, you know
Id never ask you to change
If perfect is what you're searching for
Then just stay the same
So don't even bother asking
If you look okay
You know I say
When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you're amazing
Just the way you are
The way you are
The way you are
Girl you're amazing
Just the way you are
When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you're amazing
Just the way you are

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Posted in: SWEET SONG