Chef Warren Laine-Naida's 30 year gastronomic journey has taken him from the west coast of Canada, the Rocky Mountains, south western Ontario and, since 1993, Europe. He studied at the Stratford Chef School, has appeared on radio and television, has contributed to cook books and in 2009 published "Art in Chocolate". His menus and chocolate creations, both edible and non-edible display pieces, have tantalised guests around the globe.
Are you interested in commissioning a unique edible menu? Having an event catered? A decorative chocolate sculpture? Or in attending a chocolate workshop? Please contact us! Chocolate sculptures created for you are guaranteed one of a kind.
Sauerkraut and Apple Chocolate Cake
You do not taste the sauerkraut, so it is perfect for slipping into everyone's diet! :o)
Sauerkraut Cake. Don't be scared now! This is a real Hausfrau or Hausmann chocolate cake. It is a solid, simple, easy to make cake.
150 gram butter / vegetable oil
250 grams sugar
2 eggs
Packet vanilla sugar
300 grams flour
100 grams cocoa
Packet baking powder
Blend together or put in your Thermomix:
100 ml milk
50 grams coconut flakes
100 grams apple mouse. You can also rough cut fresh apple and add to the cake for texture, should you have no apple mousse.
150 grams plain sauerkraut, or canned sauerkraut with apple. I soak the sauerkraut in water for an hour beforehand and then drain fully.
Garnish selection:
Chocolate Ganache. (see Red beet Cake for the Ganache recipe below)
1 Apple sliced. Caramelise in butter and white sugar.
Package of coconut flakes.
White chocolate chopped to taste.
You can also just garnish this with powdered sugar.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cream the butter and sugar.
Add eggs. Add vanilla. Whip to a smooth, whiteness, circa 2 minutes.
Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder.
Add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk.
Stir in sauerkraut apple puree.
Pour into a round baking dish.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a chopstick comes out clean.
Cool. Slice. Garnish. Enjoy!
Red Beet Chocolate Cake
This recipe uses roasted beet puree to create an incredibly moist texture and a deep, earthy richness that pairs perfectly with dark chocolate. Hey - you can not taste the beets. Don't be scared now!
1 cup red beets (roasted, cooled, and blended or just grate them into the cake for added texture - I add a splash of balsamic cream, oranges, and red currant jelly for an extra kick!)
2 large eggs
2 cups flour - one cup white, one cup whole wheat
1 cup white sugar - or brown sugar if you have it will make the cake moister
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil - or butter (butter makes the cake slightly drier but less oily)
2 tsp vanilla extract - or vanilla sugar
Ganache:
6 oz semi-sweet dark chocolate (chopped)
3/4 cup whipping cream
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper or grease it to ensure a clean release.
Whisk together the flour, cane sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
You can puree the beets in the blender, or use your Thermomix - how much you puree depends on your taste. Chunky is also good!
In a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs and stir in the beet mixture, milk, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir gently until the flour is just incorporated. Do not overmix nor "beat" the batter!
Transfer the batter into the pan. Bake for 50–55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let the cake rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Bring the whipping cream to a boil in a small pot, and add the chopped dark chocolate. Mix gently until glossy and smooth.
Let the ganache sit for about 3o minutes. Then it is spreadable. Alternatively, pour it over the cake.
After the ganache is firm enough to your liking, slice, decorate with grated orange zest, a spoonful of red currant jelly and a few grains of sea salt, serve, and enjoy!
Just one of the recipes from "The University Club" novels
Dark Chocolate Truffles with Bacon
sprig of fresh rosemary
150 grams dark couverture
100 grams sugar
100 ml white wine
250 ml whipping cream
50 grams rendered bacon fat (this replaces butter and adds a lovely salty, bacon flavour)
1 tablespoon balsamic cream
bring sugar, sprig of rosemary and wine to light boil.
add room temperature cream and return to light boil.
add grated chocolate, and reduce slightly.
remove from heat, remove rosemary, stir in balsamic vinegar and bacon fat.
let cool, and spoon into balls.
toss in cocoa, sprinkle with gold leaf, or eat them naked.
Easy to make, silky white chocolate parfait layered with a delicate cheese blend and a spicy finish.
White Chocolate & Cheese Parfait
1/2 fresh papaya
1/2 fresh mango
1 fresh red chili pepper
1 fresh lime
300 grams soft goats cheese (chevre)
100 grams white chocolate
500 ml cream
Whip room temperature goats cheese until creamy.
Finely grate white chocolate. Whip the cream.
Gently fold all ingredients together.
Spoon mixture into 6 glasses and cool.
Cut papaya and mango into very fine pieces.
Cut the red chili pepper into very fine slices.
Mix together with the juice of the lime.
Serve spoonful on top of each parfait.
Decadent molten chocolate puddings infused with a subtle anise flavor and a warm, gooey center!
Dark Chocolate Puddings with Anis
whole anis seeds - a teaspoon of
300 gram dark chocolate
250 gram butter
1 espresso coffee / strong
300 gram sugar
6 eggs
150 gram walnuts
200 gram flour
if you have a nut allergy then leave out the nuts, as they supply interesting texture but without you can simply enjoy the chocolate on its own ...
crush anis, add to espresso.
melt chocolate and butter, let cool.
whip eggs and sugar together until fluffy.
sieve in flour, add nuts to chocolate and butter.
pour into 6 small oven proof ramekins.
bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius.
serve warm with creme fraiche or ... orange sorbet?
** BE CAREFUL - THE PUDDING SHOULD BE RUNNY INSIDE - THIS MAY BE V HOT WHEN YOU BITE IN **
Delicate, crisp tuiles shaped into tubes and filled with a fragrant basil-infused chocolate ganache.
Basil Ganache filled Tuiles
Tuile dough
250 gram white sugar100 gram melted butter
150 gram flour
2 eggs
let dough rest for 10-15 minutes
spread dough on heated baking sheet, spread out a good sized circle.
bake for 4-8 minutes until golden brown 180 C or 350 F oven
slide up with a spatula and wrap on handle of wooden spoon.
slide off when cool.
should be used soon! humidity in air makes them soft.
Chocolate filling
200 gram dark chocolate100 ml creme fraiche
24 fresh basil leaves
Melt chocolate, add creme fraiche and basil leaves.
Leave to infuse at room temperature and sieve ganache leaving behind basil leaves.
Do not refrigerate.
Fill the tuiles with ganache, when cool, from each end.
Cooking and Lifestyle / Essen und Genuss
Watch three cooking videos as Kerstin and I whip up an easy lunch on my YouTube Channel!The apple is pleasure. Food is culture. Food is togetherness. Food is mindfulness. Lightness - and joy! That's how Kerstin Kleber and I started in our first video, and now we're continuing!
This time we talked less and finally cooked together, and it was a wonderful afternoon!
A vegetarian lunch - light and delicious, quick to prepare and easy to make. A cutting board, a knife, a blender and off we go.
What are we making?
- Fresh salad
- Whole wheat spaghetti with two different homemade pestos
- White chocolate and goat cheese parfait
We enjoyed two different white wines (dry and off-dry) with this - a Chardonnay with our appetizer and main course, followed by a Riesling with our dessert.
Want to see the recipes? Watch the three videos, in German, on my YouTube Channel!
You Need to Bake this in October to be Ripened for Christmas BUT you can bake it the day before Christmas and it's still so yummy!
Christmas Fruitcake
Fun fact: The German Stollen, also a type of fruitcake, is actually classified as a bread. Its form is meant to remind us of the swaddled baby Jesus, the powdered sugar covering the loaf the swaddling clothes.
500 grams raisins
250 grams candied orange peel
250 grams candied cherries
250 grams chopped dried dates or apricots
500 grams walnuts and almonds mixed
Mix this together with gingerbread spices, and 400 ml mix of dark rum and whiskey, or bourbon. Let sit for one week, well covered, until the fruit has absorbed the liquid.
375 grams flour
375 grams butter
375 brown sugar
6 eggs
Makes a large, 9 inch cake.
Grease the cake pan, line it with baking paper, this stops the edges from baking or overcooking.
150 C oven NO FAN.
Place a pan of boiling water at the bottom of the oven. This will keep the oven moist and help avoid drying out the cake. Make sure this container is kept topped up with water should it evaporate.
Cream butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs.
Sift the flour into this mixture bit by bit.
Add the fruit and nut mixture.
Place the cake batter into the pan.
Cover with a round of baking paper.
Bake for 2.5 to 3 hours.
We spread the cake's surface with orange or apricot jam and then cover it with rolled out marzipan.
Over this goes a layer of royal icing. When the icing is dry, we dust it with powdered sugar and decorate with some figures.
What to Do with the Extra Fruit and Nuts? Make Chocolates!
I always lay down too much of the fruit and nuts. Leftovers go well in mince tarts and pies. Still, there was leftover fruit! So I made chocolates. I have a nice flat of Valrhona dark chocolate rounds which I received from Kiki's Pralinenwelt, so I decided to put them to good use.
Step 1: Puree the fruit and nuts very fine.
Step 2: Carefully fill the chocolate rounds. I used a piping bag made from baking paper.
Step 3: Seal and garnish with white chocolate.
Step 4: These rounds roll! So I filled a plate with cocoa, and set them in the cocoa ready for the party.
What do you do with your leftover Christmas Cake fruit and nuts? Or, are you a much more careful baker than I am?
