Double Chocolate Fingers with Irish Cream

this recipe was created for a post-exam, rest 'n' relax dinner at unilodge with friends. it's an idea that sparked off from edmond's desire to use his bailey's (irish cream liqueur) for dessert and my suggestion of making tiramisu. we used 2 types of chocolate( actually, we used 3 different blocks of choc)..hence the name double chocolate.

this is really one of the easiest recipes to try, so have fun!

ingredients:
sponge fingers
dark chocolate ( i used lindt 70% and some other hunter valley brand.)
chocolate with nuts ( i used cadbury choc..i think the flavour was nutbreak)
irish cream (baileys)

1. melt the dark chocolate in a bain marie. then coat one side of the sponge fingers and leave it till chocolate hardens
2. soak the sponge fingers in irish cream ( the hardened chocolate layer helps retain the shape of the sponge fingers after soaking in all the irish cream). how long to soak and how much irish cream depends on your preference, but i'd not add too much till i becomes "overkill".
3. finally, melt the other chocolate with nuts and coat the other side of the sponge fingers. leave to dry and it's ready to eat!

tip: if the sponge biscuit/fingers are too huge, or if you need to serve a lot of guests, i suggest breaking them into halves.

a chef's mentality

they say "journeys end when lovers meet". i say journeys begin when flavours meet!

i love cooking, and even more so, baking. there's just so much excitement and curiosity involved - right from the start when you decide on what you are going to cook, till the end when you ask others if your if your food taste good. well, the first person anyone should ask regarding their food, really, should be themselves.

and sometimes i wonder why i will choose to be the cook instead of being the waiter ( not that i wait on the food to arrive, but to serve others their meal - the front of house). of course, i would love to do both, so that i can get first-hand response of how the food went. to serve my friends from start to end. nonetheless, if i had to choose, i'd choose the former. i think it's just that bit of me that's willing to give my best even if it means to be in the background. why one would one do that? what if another person did nothing and claims all credit? while it will sadden me deeply if that person is my friend, i feel that i derive more joy in knowing that i am able to make someone's day better, to put a smile on their faces.

i'm happy when i know that you are happy.

that's how my heart works i guess. even if it means that i have to go through stress or hardship, or a really bad day, i'd still press on and maybe pretend so that others don't have to worry. perhaps cooking is like a way to escape from it all, like keeping my troubles within the kitchen doors, and only serving the best at the dining table. the realm of food and flavours, i believe, is largely results-driven. more often than not, you will not know the true process involved in cooking up a storm; you will more likely only have to decide if you truly had a satisfying meal. what a chef serves is like his signature, it's near impossible to copy 100% from another chef. if you're observant, you'll pick out the minute details that's been carefully added to make a meal great - the true gastronomical experience!

get involved in the process, and you'll love the flavours even more.

"although it's possible to love eating without being able to cook, i don't believe you can ever really cook unless you love eating." - Nigella Lawson, taken from her book 'How to Eat: The Principles of Good Food'

cooking with chocolate and coffee

thanks eli, huda, phoebe, sengbeng, net, adrian, ailin n felix for the wonderful 21st birthday present. there were a lot of requests in it but still, i really appreciated it.