Chocolate should be celebrated every day, but July 7 is the day dedicated to all things chocolate.
Chocolate lovers around the world are gearing up to celebrate the sweetest day of the year, and what better way to celebrate than to unleash the chocoholic in you and indulge in this much-loved sweet treat?
Everyone has their favourite flavour profile and preference, but there is no harm in tasting all the chocolate you can today.
So, as we honour this beloved treat on World Chocolate Day, let us take a look at these delectable dessert recipes that will make your entire celebration.
Chocolate Sphere by Kerry Kilpin
Ahead of this special, to honour this beloved indulgence, Steenberg Farm invites chocolate enthusiasts to visit Tryn and Bistro Sixteen82, where executive chef Kerry Kilpin and her team showcase their exquisite chocolate creations.
Kilpin’s undeniable love affair with chocolate is evident in the indulgent chocolate desserts that she expertly crafts. Her inspiration for these mouthwatering wonders stems from a genuine adoration for the sweet delight.
To give you a glimpse of Klipin’s profound affection for chocolate, when she was 16 years old, she returned to South Africa from a period in Switzerland carrying 15 kilograms of the glorious burgundy bars in her hand luggage.
This wholehearted enthusiasm fuels her creativity in the kitchen, resulting in irresistible desserts that captivate the senses.
Serves 4
Ingredients
Vanilla bean ice cream
100g panko bread crumbs
100g flour
2 eggs whisked
Strawberry salad
200g strawberries chopped
10g basil chiffonade
20g icing sugar
Chocolate sphere
Fondant mix
45g 70% chocolate melted
40g butter melted
1 egg
1 yolk
40g sugar
30g cake flour
Method
For the strawberry salad
Combine the strawberries, basil, and icing sugar.
Set aside and allow to macerate for a few minutes before serving.
For the chocolate sphere
Whisk eggs and sugar until light and creamy, add the chocolate and butter.
Fold in the flour. Pour into round moulds and freeze.
Once the sphere is frozen, coat it with flour, followed by egg, followed by bread crumbs. Repeat the process.
To serve: Deep fry the chocolate sphere in 180° C oil until golden.
Serve on the strawberry salad with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Chocolate Malva pudding by Ilse van der Merwe
Celebrate and cosy up to winter with an indulgent twist on two time-honoured South African classics, Roodeberg red wine and the treasured malva pudding.
Van der Merwe of, The Food Fox, says pairing the right flavours with a particular wine is all about balance.
“The slightly bitter sweetness of the chocolate in the richly textured malva pudding balances beautifully with the silky tannins, ripe plums, blueberries, crushed herbs, and hints of dark chocolate in the wine,” she says.
Ingredients
For the batter
125g cake flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
1 cup caster sugar
2 XL eggs
½ cup milk
1 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp white or brown vinegar
1 tbsp melted butter
For the sauce
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
½ cup sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
½ cup hot water
½ cup butter
A pinch of salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 180° C. Grease a medium size oven dish approximately 20cm x 20cm x 5cm with butter or non-stick spray.
Stir the flour, cocoa powder, bicarb, and sugar together in a bowl. In another bowl beat the eggs, then add the milk, jam, vinegar, and butter and beat well.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well-mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40 minutes at 180° C until well-risen and fully cooked.
While the pudding is baking, place all the ingredients for the sauce in a small pot and heat until just simmering, stirring often, ensuring that you melt all the sugar and butter.
When the pudding is done, remove it from the oven, prick it all over with a toothpick or sosatie stick, and slowly pour over the sauce. The pudding will eventually take up all the sauce.
Serve warm with some ice cream and a few fresh berries.
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