Chocolate Mirror Glaze without using a Thermometer

This chocolate mirror glaze without using a thermometer is breathtaking. It has a mirror finish and doesn't dull when refrigerated like some other mirror glazes do. Most mirror glazes require a thermometer to get to the right temperature before pouring onto your buttercream iced cake but I've adapted this recipe in the Tefal Cuisine Companion to be at the right temperature and the perfect pouring consistency so it doesn't melt your buttercream and leaves your cake with a perfect mirror finish. I've used a chocolate buttercream to ice the top and sides of my cake before pouring on the chocolate mirror glaze.

Note: Prepare your favourite cake and ice with chocolate buttercream 1/2 cm thick and refrigerate 2-3 hours before pouring mirror glaze over the top and sides of cake.
Note: Buttercream has to be very smooth before pouring mirror glaze.
Note: It is important to use a good quality dark chocolate. I use Cadbury Dark Chocolate Melts.
Note: Have all ingredients weighed and ready before starting the recipe. This is important so you don't lose any heat in the bowl by stopping to weigh ingredients.

15 gms Powdered Gelatine
80 gms Water
100 gms Water extra
200 gms Caster Sugar
200 gms Glucose Syrup
200 gms Cadbury Dark Chocolate Melts
150 gms Condensed Milk

Bloom gelatine in 80 gms water. To bloom gelatine add water to small bowl and start stirring the water vigorously with a fork, whilst stirring vigorously add the gelatine quickly and keep stirring for a further 10 seconds. There should be no lumps of undissolved gelatine. Leave to bloom.

Insert Mixing Blade. Stopper out.
Add 100 gms water, caster sugar and glucose.
Sp3:70deg:5mins scraping bowl with spatula after 2 minutes.
Sp3:100deg:1min.
Tear bloomed gelatine into about 8 pieces and add to bowl.
Sp3:1min or until dissolved.
Add dark chocolate melts and condensed milk.
Sp3:3mins.
Insert stopper.
Sp8:30sec.
Remove stopper.
Sp1:1 hour 10 mins
Remove blade and stir mirror glaze gently with spatula until smooth.
Support smoothed buttercreamed cake on upturned steamer bowl or upturned cake tin placed in baking dish. Pour glaze over cake through a fine wire mesh sieve (this will remove any bubbles)  making sure the top and sides are covered.  Do not use anything  to smooth the cake. Leave to drip for 10 minutes then use a spatula to remove any drips from the bottom of cake and place cake on serving plate and refrigerate. 

Chocolate Peppermint Custard Tart

Chocolate and peppermint are one of my favourite combinations. The delicious filling in this tart is smooth and creamy and is so easy to make in the Tefal Cuisine Companion. I've used the Mini Bowl to crush the biscuits (Pulse biscuits until finely crushed) and I melted the butter in the microwave.

Note: To dissolve gelatine in boiling water . Start stirring boiling water vigorously with a fork in a small bowl, keep stirring whilst adding gelatine powder and continue stirring for 10 seconds or until gelatine has dissolved. If there are any tiny lumps you will need to strain through a fine mesh sieve when adding to mixture in the Cuisine Companion bowl.

250 gms biscuits (Granita, Chocolate Ripple, Marie etc.) crushed
140 gms unsalted butter melted
2 eggs
375 gms milk
300 gms thickened cream
105 gms caster sugar
40 gms cornflour
200 gms cooking chocolate broken into individual squares (I used 45% cocoa chocolate)
10 gms gelatine powder
40 gms boiling water
1 & 1/4 teaspoons peppermint essence or to taste
Combine crushed biscuits and melted butter. Press into base and sides of a loose bottomed tart tin.
Refrigerate whilst making filling.
Insert Whisk. Stopper in.
Add eggs, milk, cream, caster sugar and cornflour.
Sp7:1min30sec.
Stopper out.
Add chocolate squares
Dessert:12mins or until mixture thickens. Scrape  bowl with spatula as required, meanwhile prepare  gelatine whilst chocolate mixture is cooking.
Dissolve gelatine in boiling water and set aside (see notes above)
When chocolate mixture has thickened strain gelatine into CC bowl and add peppermint essence.
Sp4:1min.
Pour into prepared crust and refrigerate 3 hours.
Decorate as desired.

Orange Custard Tarts

I've used my Shortbread recipe (I've used half of the pastry and frozen the rest) to make the pastry cases for these amazing orange custard tarts. This custard is so easy to make in the Tefal Cuisine Companion and always turns out silky smooth and delicious. You can omit the orange zest and add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract for a delicious custard to serve with any dessert or to simply enjoy on its own. My Shortbread recipe can be found by typing shortbread in the search function on this blog. I've used a DLine 12 hole fruit mince pie tray but a muffin tray can also be used.

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Pastry Cases

Make Shortbread and refrigerate for 1\2 hour. Grease mince pie or muffin tray. Preheat oven 160 deg.

Roll shortbread pastry on generously floured board or silicone sheet and cut pastry circles to fit muffin or mince pie tray. You may need to use a metal spatula to slide under pastry circles to remove from board or silicone sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until pastry cases are just turning light golden brown. Use the back of a spoon to push down the puffed up bases. Leave in tin 5 mins before removing cases to cool on wire rack.

Orange Custard 

3 Egg Yolks
180 gms Milk
100 gms Thickened Cream
25 gms Plain Flour
95 gms Caster Sugar
Zest of 1 Orange

Insert Whisk. Stopper in.
Add all ingredients in order listed
Sp7:1min 30sec, scraping bowl and around blade with spatula after 1 minute.
Stopper out.
Select Dessert:4 to 5mins or until thickened.

Fill cooled pastry cases and leave to cool. Decorate with chocolate triangles or curls if desired.

Chicken and Champignon Vol au Vents

Filled vol au vent cases are a perfect quick after work meal. I often make my filling and freeze individual serves in zip lock bags ready to thaw and fill vol au vent cases and bake fresh when needed. The Tefal Cuisine Companion steams the chicken and prepares the bechamel sauce to perfection effortlessly.

Note: You will need to reserve 350 gms of stock after steaming the chicken breasts.

Note: I always add herbs and spices especially sweet paprika to filling and sprinkle fresh herbs over after baking. I find the filling can be a bit bland without the herbs and spices but that is just my personal taste.

8 Vol au Vent Cases
600 gms skinless chicken breast cut into thirds
1 tablespoon olive oil
Red Capsicum 2 tablespoon diced
Green Capsicum 2 tablespoon diced
375 gms milk
350 gms reserved stock
85 gms plain flour
135 gms butter diced
1 tin champignons drained well and sliced
1 tablespoon white wine optional
Hungarian Sweet Paprika to taste (I used 1 teaspoon)
Herbs e.g. Thyme, Tarragon.
Seasoning to taste
Add 700 mls water with one vegetable or chicken stock cube or 1 tablespoon stock paste added to water in CC bowl. No Blade. Stopper Maxi.
Add chicken to internal steam  basket
Select Steam P1:20-25 mins or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove chicken and reserve 350 gms stock. Wipe out CC with paper towelling.
Dice chicken and set aside.
Insert Mixing Blade. Stopper out.
Add olive oil
Add diced red and green capsicum
Slow Cook P1:5mins scraping bowl as necessary. Leave capsicum in CC bowl and insert Whisk. Stopper in.
Add milk, 350 gms reserved stock and flour
Sp7:1min 30sec
Remove Stopper
Add butter
Sp4:90deg:12mins
Remove whisk
Stir through champignons, white wine, diced chicken, paprika, herbs and seasoning to taste.
Refrigerate until cold before filling vol au vents cases and baking at 160 deg for 20 mins or until filling has heated through. Sprinkle with fresh herbs to serve.

Carrot and Pineapple Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Carrot and pineapple cake with cream cheese icing is one of the classics of all time. It mixes in seconds in the Tefal Cuisine Companion and if you have the shredder/slicer attachment grating the carrots is a breeze. I also use the mini bowl to crush the canned pineapple slices.

Note: I prefer to use drained and paper towel dried canned pineapple slices crushed in the mini bowl instead of canned crushed pineapple which I find hard to drain.

Note: you can add some chopped walnuts or pecans to cake mixture if desired.

Carrot Cake

Grease and line the bottom of a loaf tin with baking paper. Grease baking paper.

Preheat oven 160 deg.

200 gms pineapple slices drained and paper towel dried or 200 gms well drained crushed pineapple.

3 eggs

205 gms Vegetable Oil (I used Canola)

270 gms Self Raising Flour

165 gms Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or to taste

235 gms Carrots grated (about 2 large carrots)

If using pineapple slices, place in mini bowl and pulse until crushed.

Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper in.

Add all ingredients in order listed above.

Sp6:15sec scraping bowl with spatula after 10sec.

Remove blade and stir through with spatula.

Bake for 1 hour 30 mins or until dark golden and done when tested. Baking time will depend on the size of your loaf tin, start checking after 1 hour 15 mins.

Leave in tin for 5 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Cream Cheese Icing

120 gms Cream Cheese chilled

60 gms Butter chilled

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste

350 gms Icing Sugar mixture

Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper in.

Add all ingredients in order listed.

Sp10: until Icing is smooth and creamy. Scraping bowl with spatula as required.

Icing may form a ball at first but will become smooth after a few seconds.

Apple Slice

Apple slice is one of my all time favourite slices. Soft pastry with a delicious apple filling that can be served warm with cream or custard for dessert or cold for morning or afternoon tea. The Tefal Cuisine Companion effortlessly makes both the pastry and apple filling. I've used Royal Gala apples which were sweet and I only added 1 teaspoon of sugar to the filling, you can use any variety of apple and adjust the sugar to taste. Apple filling can be made in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.

Note: Weight of apples is before peeling and coring.
Note: My lamington tray base measurement is 26cm x 16cm.

Line lamington baking tray with baking paper extending the paper over the long sides to help with removal of cooked slice.

Make apple filling first or a day before because it has to be chilled before baking.

Pastry

140 gms Self Raising flour

140 gms Plain Flour

100 gms Caster Sugar 

100 gms Unsalted Butter chilled and diced

1 egg lightly whisked with fork

1 tablespoon Water (if needed to combine pastry)

Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper in.

Add self raising flour, plain flour, caster sugar and diced butter to bowl.

Sp12: until mixture resembles breadcrumbs 

Stopper out.

Add whisked egg

Sp10:2 mins or until mixture starts forming a ball. You may need to add 1 tablespoon of water after 2 mins to help the mixture combine.

Wrap pastry in cling wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Divide chilled pastry in half. Using your hands gently pat out one half of pastry to line the base of a  lamington tray that is lined with a sheet of baking paper extending over the long sides.

Cover a small chopping board or plate with baking paper and gently pat out the remaining half of pastry to the same size as your lamington tray.

Refrigerate 30 minutes before use.

Apple Filling

1 kilogram Royal Gala Apples,  peeled, cored and each apple chopped into 8 pieces

1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon or to taste

1 teaspoon Caster Sugar or to taste

Insert Ultrablade. Stopper out.

Add apples, caster sugar and cinnamon 

Pulse for 10 seconds, scraping down bowl with spatula after 5 seconds.

You will have some large chunks of apple but leaving the Ultrablade in whilst cooking will continue to chop the apples.

Sp3:100deg:15mins

Taste apple filling after 10 minutes and add more sugar and cinnamon if required

Pulse apple filling if required for a few seconds to get an even consistency. I prefer my filling to have small chunks of apple in it rather than smooth.

Assembly 

Spread cooled apple filling over pastry in lamington tray. Cover apple filling with remaining pastry by upending the pastry over the filling and gently peeling the baking papers off using an egg slice or spatula between the paper and pastry. Score pastry with knife into slices .

Bake 170 deg 10-15 minutes or until top is golden. Serve immediately or cool in tin 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.