Behind the baker /-/ Salted Quadruple Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think it may be time to introduce a bit of background to the girl behind the moon blush baker. I have refrained from doing this mainly because I am shy person but I guess after blogging for over 6 months; you guy deserve to know how I begun baking.



While do make out that my life that my life has always circled around food if you talked to me a few years ago I was very different person. I would tell you that you are dreaming if you ever said I would consider baking to be my hobby let alone start a food blog for fun.

 

This is something you be very surprised to hear but a few years ago I hated food. Yes you read it correctly I HATED FOOD, I HATED DESSERTS and most of all I HATED COOKING. Making meals was one of those things I did because my parents were both very busy and I was at home to help them.

Also being a young teenage girl I admit I felt pressure to become skinny; I am actually quite ashamed that I fell under this influence but I guess I cannot change history. I got in to running, I was running maybe an hour to hour and half 6 days a week including strength training. Now you would think this is pretty normal but compared to what I was eating it paled in comparison.



My breakfast was black coffee slices of burnt toast with a slice of plastic cheese (you know the ones that come in the single slices). No pan cakes or waffles in my house.



Lunch, if I got it that is, was a water, coke, or coffee. I may have packet of roughly chopped left over veg or crackers but I avoided lunch like the plague.



Dinner once again while it may be my main meal of the day was watered down soups and whatever I picked off the plates at home. A majority of the time I spent it out of the house with my boyfriend at the time and going out to late night parties with my friends. So my life summed up in a few words was party, study, run and sleep.



The eventual result of this was I became very ill, for a significant amount of time too. I will not go to the nitty gritty details but it did result in me having to cut my hair short (I used to have long hair all the way to my bottom at one point) and changing my life completely.

Now you are wondering how this relates to food. Well one of the cooks, the only cook, who inspired me to get into baking, was Nigella Lawson. Not only did her writing captivate me but it also made me discover that I did like to cook. Sometimes I wish I could tell her how much her writing has changed my perspective of food, and saved me during a time when I was very low.




This recipe was one of the first things I cooked after getting her book, Nigella express. It was a recipe for very humble triple chocolate cookies. While they may look like an ordinary chocolate cookie, the amount of chocolate packed into these little bad boys turned me into a chocolate addict. Of course after a few years of learning and changing the recipe I have come up with a cookie that is dark, soft set and very chewy. No I do not mean soft set as in under baked; soft set in the middle but cooked and crisp on the outside. I did use mini baking chips here, so for all you food snobs; up yours! Nothing wrong with store bought chocolate chips.



While I do not proclaim that these are best cookies, they certainly are for me. Not only because they taste good but they remind me of how far I have come since my first bake.



Have you been inspired by a cook or someone in your life to discover cooking? Or where you late bloomer like me? I would love you know your baking story!




Salted Quadruple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 25 ish 6cm diameter cookies.

200g dark chocolate, finely chopped

125g butter

50g dutched cocoa, shifted

3g fine salt

150g brown sugar

1 scraped vanilla pod

2 egg yolks, cold

1tbsp cream, cold

170g plain flour

30g corn flour

2tsp baking soda 

1/2tsp baking powder

300g mini chocolate chips (use milk and dark here in whatever ratio you want)



200g dark chocolate, melted

Flaky sea salt



DAY BEFORE

In a small sauce pan melt butter, chocolate and cocoa together.

Once melted transfer to fridge and allow to hard over night.



ON BAKING DAY

Preheat oven 180C, Line two trays with baking paper

In a large bowl cream the chocolate butter mix from the day before and sugar, till very fluffy and light brown about 7 minutes on kitchen aid.

Add vanilla, salt, egg yolks and cream. Then beat till fluffy

Mix in your flour, baking powder, baking soda and corn flour. You do not need to be gentle or anything. Just keep mixing it combined.

Add your choice of mini chips and mix in again. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for half hour.

Using teaspoon shape dough into ball and place on tray. Allow room for spreading about 3cm. Bake for 9-12 minutes then remove from oven. Allow them to continue to cook and cool on tray.

Once cool Melt down 200g dark chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes then drizzle over chocolate. Allow to set before serving.