MINI CHOCOLATE BURGERS

It was a dreadful car ride. I had that feeling- the kind where you know there is doom at the end of the journey. But it had to be done. If not now, it would be too late.

So there I was standing outside the place. I stepped inside- my feet almost ready to run away. But, like I said, it had to be done. So I was there, waiting…waiting with knots in my stomach.

He called me in. He was dressed in white like an angel- but I knew he had the tools of the devil hidden away. He made me lie down. Asked me my name. Did a litle small talk – yeah! like that would ease my nerves!

Then it started. That blinding, in-your-face light. That dreadful noise- the noise that send shivers down your spine. Oh! how I hate that drill and oh! how I hate these dentist visits!

***Update***
Voting at Kitchen Corners is now open! Please go vote for these if you like the recipe!

Well I have not blogged for a while. It’s not that I haven’t been cooking. On the contrary, I have been cooking a lot. But, because of the much hated dentist visits (the very long sittings there and the trauma that goes with them), and cooking for the party my parents had at their house, I have been too busy to blog.

Now, for the above mentioned party I had made “chocolate fondant cake”. It was a disaster. It was nothing like what Raymond Blanc described them to be- and I ended up with mini chocolate cakelets, which I paired with a chocolate sauce and a scoop of ice cream topped with nuts- and thankfully everybody loved it- phew! Saved!

I had some chocolate sauce left from the “chocolate fondant” episode. I was going through my daily serving of tastespotting and saw a burger and the idea of chocolate burger came in my mind. (This is inspite of my dentist repeatedly telling me to stay away from chocolate- I can’t help it, dear dentist, I try but chocolate and I share a bond that just can’t end like that).

I thought for a while and thought cookie would be a perfect idea to sandwich a chocolate ganache to look like a burger.

I thought of entering this for KC April Cook off- the theme – crazy chocolate creations. To make the cookie “bun” completely chocolatey, I used white chocolate- not as chips or chunks but completely melted in the cookie dough batter. So, for the “bun”, I decided to use wheat flour and replaced the oil, milk and sugar (that generally goes in a cookie dough batter) with white chocolate- well isn’t that what white chocolate is made of ! (White chocolate is primarily cocoa butter, sugar, milk and vanilla) Of course I was a little worried about the ratio of the three ingredients in the chocolate compared to what  generally comprises a cookie dough batter and it might change the result of the desired cookie. But they turned out great. I used cinnamon but feel fennel seeds powder or cardamom powder would go better with the white chocolate.

For the “burger” I used the chocolate sauce, that had been kept in the fridge (it solidified a bit in the fridge and was more like a refrigerated ganache). And on top, to replicate sesame seeds, I used some finely chopped cashew.

MINI CHOCOLATE BURGERS

makes about 7 melt-in-your-mouth-chocolatey bite sized “burgers”

Ingredients

• 100 gms whole wheat flour
• 200 gms white chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon/fennel seed powder/ cardamom powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt
• 2-3 tsp water mixed with a pinch of espresso powder (to give the cookie top a browned look)
• 2-3 cashew pieces, finely chopped (for the mock “sesame”)

for chocolate sauce: (or use your ganache recipe)

• 45 ml full-fat milk
• 65g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions

1. Melt chocolate in a double broiler. Once completely melted, remove and let cool slightly.
2. Mix dry ingredients together. Add to chocolate and mix until combined. (Do not stir too much, as that would activate the gluten and result in tough cookies.)
3. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Prepare the sauce by heating the milk to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate. Let sit for a minute. Stir to make a shiny, smooth sauce. Refrigerate.
5. Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
6. Make small balls with the dough and flatten slightly. Place on the baking sheet. (Though I did not do it, but I would suggest to make a thinner cookie for the bottom of the “bun” and a  slightly fat/thick one, for the top)
7. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
8. Brush the tops and little of the sides with the espresso water (I did not have a brush so I had to spoon my espresso water- as a result the espresso water dripped from the sides messing up the perfect “bun” look). Top half of the cookies with the cashew pieces, and bake for another 5-8 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let cool.
10. Once cool, invert the cookies that have no cashew pieces on top (they will make the bottom of the “bun”). Slather some chocolate ganache or the refrigerated chocolate sauce in between. Add the top “bun”. (You could add a slice of “cheese” by making some white chocolate ganache).
    
11. Look at them in delight and eat!