Mug Fondant

Mug Fondant filled with four kinds of chocolate. Photo by Equalizer

As winter becomes colder by the day, we tend to consume everything that is warm and soothing. I usually prefer warm liquids, may it be soups, coffee or hot chocolate. What if I create something that gives me that feel of warm liquids along with dessert texture? I thought, why not have a fondant baked in a mug? so that it gives me the feel of holding hot chocolate but with the added benefit of having it as a dessert. Usually fondants are very similar with a single kind of chocolate center, so I decided to have 4 different kinds to make it more appealing. The mixture of Dark, Milk and White chocolate along with a dollop of nutella chocolate makes this fondant out of this world.

Cake Ingredients

• 1 package chocolate cake mix
• 1 cup chocolate sauce (below)
  
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped mixed chocolates

Sauce Ingredients

• 2 package large galaxy bars
• 2 package white chocolate (lindt or cadbury's)
• 2 package dark chocolate
• 2 tbs Nutella
• 1 tbs maple syrup
• 250ml thick cream

Method

Mix all together and melt over low fire until sauce is mixed well and consistent.

Method for Fondant:

Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius. Mix the cake mixture well. Add 1 tbs of cake mixture in the bottom of the mug. Add 2 tbs of the chocolate sauce. Top with another 2 tbs of the cake mixture. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Spice Art

Spice Cresent by Equalizer

Spices are very interesting for many reasons. Old empires were built on spice trade in the past. New empires are being built through its use. It provides markets with the most vibrant colors and most aromatic smells. It blows life into food that is otherwise dull and bland. In many cases spices have strong medicinal properties as well.

To celebrate these rich precious spices, I decided to make a peice of art using spices. To be honest, it wasn't a decision that I made. I realized that the mess I left behind after working with spices in the kitchen had some artisitic beauty to it, and it all made sense. What I saw was something that Jackson Pollock would have done if he hadn't tragically die. Its a chaotic mess with meaning and purpose.

In order to make a little bit sense out of this, lets disect this by the kinds of spices used:

• Ancho Chili: A mild dried Poblano chili from Mexico.
• Pasilla Negro: A Mexican purple black chili with an herby berry tones.
• Aji Amarillo: A yellowish mild chili from Peru.
• New Mexico Chili: A mild chile from New Mexico, USA
• Black Pepper: The best quality comes from Tellicherry, India.
• White Pepper: Similar to the black pepper, but is left to ripen fully before its picked.
• Dark Brown Sugar: This is my favorite as the heavy amounts of mollasses gives it a deep toffee flavor.
• Garlic Powder: Its white as flour, but gives a mild garlic flavor without all the peeling.
• Onion Powder: Very difficult to find as the variety of onion used gives it its unique flavor.
• Hickory Powder: Hickory is a type of wood used to give a BBQ an amazing smoky kick.
• Maple Powder: Gives that amazing maple syrup flavor without the mess of a syrup. This is a highly concentrated formula that requires 300 trees to produce a cup of this powder.
• Saffron: The stigma of a crocus flower. 120,000 flowers are needed to produce one kilogram of saffron. The word is derived from the Latin word of Saffranum, from Arabic Asfar (yellow).