Brownies Chocolate Cake

150 g all-purpose flour
330 g sugar
4 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
170 g butter
3 fl oz boiling water
3 eggs
120 g chocolate chips (40-50% cocoa)
150 g chopped walnuts or pecan nuts

Frosting
75 g butter
220 g sweet or semisweet dark chocolate
2 tbs light corn syrup
2 tbs hot espresso or very strong coffee

Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C). Line a 13 x 9 in (33 x 23 cm) cake tin with grease proof or other non-stick paper and grease the tin.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. In a bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract. Add eggs, melted butter and hot water and mix until smooth. Add chocolate chips and nuts.

Bake at 350 degrees F until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 20-30 minutes.

Cool the cake. Glace with the chocolate frosting. For the frosting, mix butter, chopped chocolate, syrup and coffee and heat in a double boiler until melted. Stir until smooth and spread over the cake.

Chocolate and Corn Cookies

175 g sugar
50 g margarine
50 g fresh white butter
1 tbsp cocoa
1-1/2 tbsp drinking chocolate powder
150 g icing sugar
1 tbsp peanut butter jam
Cornflakes
Icing sugar (for dusting the cookies) - optional

Sieve icing sugar,cocoa,drinking chocolate powder together without any lumps, heat butter,margarine together in a pan with a reduced flame till it just melts. Remove from fire and mix sieved ingredients quickly and evenly till it becomes soft. Mix 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp milk in a pan.

Boil milk for a few minutes till the sugar dissolves and then remove from fire, set aside for 5 minutes to let the mixture cool. Dip in chocolate paste, add peanut butter jam and cornflakes. Shape properly with spoon and allow to dry on butter paper, dust with icing sugar.

Your Period Doesn't Make You Crave Chocolate

Half of American women experience chocolate cravings. Of those of who do, about half crave it right around "that" time of the month.

And while it's nice to have your menstrual cycle to blame when you find yourself noshing on half a package of chocolate chip cookies, researchers found that menstrual hormones aren't the culprit. They compared the cravings of pre- and post-menopausal women and didn't find any change. They did, however, find a higher prevalence of cravings among women who suffer from PMS.

Why? A chocolate expert says this has a lot to do with the psychology behind comfort foods. Chocolate is sociologically considered a comfort food, and people crave comfort foods when they feel terrible.

Chocolate Delight

200g sugar
75ml water
60 g cocoa powder
15 marie biscuit - broken into small pieces
100 g butter

Take a saucepan and add water, sugar and cocoa powder into it.Heat this mixture on moderate flame, stirring all the while till the sugar dissolves completely.

Continue heating till the cocoa mixture forms a coating at the back of the spoon or the ladle. Cool the mixture for 10 mins and add the rest butter to it and blend
well.

Add the broken marie biscuits and mix well and pour the mixture on a greased plate.
Leave the chocolate delight mixture sets well and serve.

Chocolate: It Won't Wake You Up

It's a common misconception that chocolate is packed with caffeine, says expert. In reality, the amount of caffeine in chocolate is miniscule compared to what's in your other daily pick-me-ups.

An ounce of dark chocolate contains about 20 milligrams of caffeine, while an ounce of milk chocolate contains about 5 milligrams--the same as an 8-ounce cup of decaf coffee. In comparison, a cup of coffee contains about 100 milligrams and a cup of tea contains about 50 milligrams of caffeine.

Chocolate Banana Terrine

5 small ripe bananas peeled and left whole
1 cup cream
500 g dark or milk chocolate chopped

Line a 1.5 l. loaf pan with cling film overlapping top of pan by a few cm. Place bananas in pan. Bring cream slowly to boil in a saucepan. Remove from stove. Add chocolate to cream and stir until melted and smooth. Pour over bananas.

Cool, then refrigerate until set- about two hours or overnight. Un-mold carefully using cling film to help left terrine out of mold. Remove cling film. Slice terrine and serve.

Do You Know that Chocolate Can Boost Your Workout?

Skip the expensive sports drinks and protein shakes. Research shows chocolate milk is just as effective a recovery aid.

A study published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism compared the effects of a recovery drink and chocolate milk on endurance athletes' ability to recover after a series of bike sprints followed by an endurance ride the next day.

They found that chocolate milk was just as effective at relieving muscle soreness after the sprints, and preparing the athletes to perform in the endurance test the next day. Better yet, everyone preferred the taste of chocolate milk.

Chocolate Natural Fixes for Low Energy

Chocolate contains Flavonoids Flavowhats? Flavonoids are a type of phytochemical, or plant chemical, that are found naturally in chocolate. Due to their unique chemical structures, flavonoids can exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cell-protective effects, says Giana Angelo, Ph.D., a research associate who specializes in micronutrient research at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Consuming foods rich in flavonoids has also been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease.

To reap the benefits, stick to dark chocolate. The average commercial dark chocolate contains about 60 percent cocao and has been found to contain 536 milligrams of flavonoids per 1.4-ounce serving. Research has shown that as few as 80 milligrams of flavonoids a day can lower blood pressure.

Chocolate Fudge With Nuts

1 cup butter, softened
8 cubes of pasteurized process cheese
5 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup milk powder
¼ cup coconut
¼ cup coarsely chopped cashewnuts
Various nuts

In a large saucepan over medium heat melt butter and cheese cubes together, stirring
frequently remove from heat. Sift together confectioners sugar and cocoa add to cheese, mixing well.

Stir in milk powder coconut and nuts. Turn into a flat pan, chill until firm and cut into squares and Serve.

Chocolate: It's Not All Bad for Your Teeth

How could a food that's long been touted as a cavity-causer actually have teeth-protecting properties? It turns out that theobromine, an organic molecule that occurs naturally in cocoa, can help strengthen tooth enamel, according to research from Tulane University.

In fact, it takes 142 times less cocao extract to have about twice the protective benefits of fluoride, according to the American Dental Association. Unfortunately, theobromine isn't too beneficial in chocolate bars, where the sugar and milk counteract the dental benefits. Enter Theodent, a fluoride-free mint toothpaste that packs a punch of theobromine ($10, theodent.com).

Chocolate Souffle

125 g pasteurized Butter
125 g chocolate, chopped
100 g almonds
4 eggs, separated
125 g caster sugar
icing sugar or chocolate powder for garnishing

Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave oven or in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally. Stir in the almonds.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar and stir in the chocolate mixture. Whisk egg whites until stiff and fold into mixture.

Spoon the mixture into 12 muffin pan hollows, up to the top. Bake for 15 mins. at 180 C. Set it aside to cool. Dust it with icing sugar (or chocolate powder).

Home-made Chocolate and Nuts Squares

Sugar
Milk powder
Cocoa powder
Butter
Nuts

Take equal quantities of sugar, milk powder and cocoa powder.

Sieve milk powder and cocoa powder together. Spread butter on a flat square plate and keep it aside. In a frying pan, add little water to sugar and heat until it melts. Add the mixture of milk powder and cocoa powder and mix well. Add a little amount of butter to the above for flavor.

Once the mixture blends well, remove from heat.,add nuts on the spread mixture, spread it on the butter coated plate. and let it cool for a while. Place it in the freezer until it becomes hard.