Delicious Chocolate Rocks at Home

What you need is:

150 gm. Bitter Dark chocolate- roughly chopped
50 gm. Roasted almonds/cashews
½ tbsp. Orange essence
A Plastic spatula for tempering*
Butter paper
Some ice
Chocolate paper for wrapping

To begin, place the chocolate chunks in clean dry vessel, preferably a bowl and place this vessel in a pan with water (filled about 1/3rd with water). Do not cover the vessel. Heat this on a low flame. This is the double boiling technique used for melting of the chocolate. When about 1/3rd of the chocolate has melted and looks soggy shut the gas and remove the bowl from the water. Add the essence to it. Now the chocolate has to be cooled to room temperature. By room temperature we mean the temperature at which the chocolate would neither be cool nor hot. This is known as tempering* of the chocolate. For this, place the bowl on a vessel filled with some ice and stir it from left to right and right to left using a flat spatula. (Ordinarily, to make chocolates by filling them into moulds you do not need to place the vessel on ice. This is done only for making rocks.) Tempering is not only the ideal way to cool chocolates but it also makes the chocolate richer. You could dip your finger to check and see if it has cooled to be sure. When you feel that the chocolate has cooled to room temperature add the nuts to it. As soon as you realise that the chocolate is cooling down using your fingers place dollops of chocolate along with 1 or 2 nuts in each dollop on butter paper twirling your hand slightly so as to give it a nice shape. Go on doing this real fast and your rocks will be ready. Remember that each piece has to be bite sized and not too large to fit into your mouth.

This has to be done very soon or else the chocolate will cool down and harden and will have to be reheated. The art of making these beautiful rocks neatly will be mastered with practice. Therefore in the beginning one can try making only a few rocks using very little chocolate. Place this tray of rocks in the refrigerator for at least 15-20 minutes. Remove from fridge, separate from paper and wrap them into chocolate paper. Now you are ready with the beautiful, delicious almond rocks you always adored in chocolate shops.

Ms. Arwa Manasawala

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arwa_Manasawala

Three Simple Steps to Making the Perfect Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate is a drink that is known throughout the world as a drink that is wonderful. It has a rich taste, its warm and makes you feel great. Best of all the drink tastes amazing and will keep you feeling great for a long time after you have finished drinking it. People all over the world are now used to making the drink, but of course with any drink that is popular there are methods to make sure that you make the perfect cup every single time. There is nothing worse than sitting down after you have made what you thought was the perfect cup of hot chocolate only to realise that it tastes disgusting.

That is not something that you want to experience and of course if you do experience it then you may find that you will not try to make another cup again.

But rest assured, that after years of making this seemingly lovely drink have perfected the way that it should be made, and will reveal all today so that you too can join me and make the perfect cup of hot chocolate that both you and your friends can come to enjoy again and again and again.

The first step to making the perfect hot chocolate is to make sure that you have purchased the perfect and most tasteful hot chocolate available to you. I would recommend that you pick a brand that is known for producing high quality products. This may be a little more expensive but you need to understand that the quality of the chocolate must be outstanding if you want to be able to make best cup of hot chocolate. So go for the best brand, you will not regret it.

Next step is to make sure that you use four teaspoons of hot chocolate for each cup that you make. You want to make one cup at a time, and give each cup that you make your full attention. There is nothing worse than trying to make three cups at the same time, and all the three cups are of crap quality. So just focus on the one cup, and use four teaspoons of your high quality chocolate.

The third steps is to make sure that you boil milk and pour it over the hot chocolate nice and slowly. You really want the chocolate granules to melt and dissolve into the milk with ease. Do not rush this step. Once you have filled the cup to the top with milk let it stand for about 30 seconds and then mix with a teaspoon. Then voila you have your perfect cup of hot chocolate. Enjoy.

Leroy has been writing articles for nearly 3 years. Come visit his latest website over at Cosco Car Seats which helps people find the best Cosco Car Seat.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leroy_Nicholson

Auto Repair

Auto repair are very important for safety. Nowadays with advancement of internet, we can check out information about auto repair anytime at any place easily.

If you are living in Chicago that experiences the four seasons, there are different effects on your vehicle. In the summer, you may face problems such as insufficient cooling, uncontrollable airflow from vents and overheat engine. In the winter, you may experience problems with your temperature control systems and issues with defroster. However these problems can be solve easily if you know the right Chicago auto repair shops and mechanics. To know it, you can search reviews and recommendation on internet.

You also can gain more information about specific vehicle from experience users. As an example, if you want to know more about Toyota Camry on road, just search for Toyota Camry owner reviews online. In short time you will get the reviews straight from the vehicle owners.

In addition, you have to know about the check engine light (CEL). CEL is a warning indicator that determined a component or system in your emission control system is not working well. To deal with a Check Engine Light problem, you can look at the appropriate troubleshooting at repairpal website.