Baby it's getting cold
outside so what better time is there than now to spice things up a little?
Make
a Chilli Chocolate Cheesecake and turn the heat up in the kitchen.
Brought to you by Coles
Do you know that up until I made this Chilli Chocolate
Cheesecake, I had never actually tried chilli chocolate?
I know right!
Clearly I have been missing out on something pretty
special.
Chilli and chocolate is one of those combinations that
sounds so many kinds of wrong (well it did to me), but somehow it just works in
a strange and hard to believe it kind of way.
Think Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett, Brooke Shields and Michael Jackson or how about Courtney Love and Edward Norton? We all raised our eyebrows in an 'as if' gesture at the thought of them together, but for some bizarre reason the couplings worked... if only for a while.
The team at Coles
suggested I might like to road test the ChilliChocolate Crème Brule Recipe from Taste.com.
and I was keen as mustard to give it a whirl.
Chilli Chocolate Creme Brulees Recipe Here
And so attempt
it I did... but failed miserably.
Try as I might I could not stop the egg from curdling
in the chocolate and cream mixture.
I honestly have no idea what I was doing wrong - but
after stuffing up two batches and running out of ingredients, I headed to Coles
for some more supplies... and this time I settled on making a Chilli Chocolate
Cheesecake.
Having made cheesecake before, I was pretty confident
I wouldn't screw this one up and I am proud as punch to say - I didn't screw it
up at all.
When I told the kids I was making Chilli Chocolate
cheesecake, all they heard was chilli
chilli chilli and so commenced the moaning... only silenced by a little
white lie from me in the form of a ‘fingers
crossed’ promise that I would leave the chilli out when I made the recipe.
Of course I didn’t leave it out.
Because I am evil!
Joking! But honestly, whilst this cheesecake has a bit
of a kick it is by no means a mouth
burner and I am happy to say that the kids didn’t even notice that there was
chilli in it.
Apart from the fact that Chilli taste so darn good,
did you know that it contains up to seven times more vitamin C than an orange
has?
It is a great source of vitamins A and E, folic acid
and potassium and it aids digestion.
Yep, it boost the metabolism which is just what you
need if weight loss is your goal… alright maybe skip chocolate cheesecake part
if that is the case.
Among other health benefits, it is great at fighting
nasal congestion and can also help to relieve muscle, joint and nerve pain.
I’m telling you – it’s good stuff!
If you are game for a little bit of chilli experimentation;
here's a guide to who's who in the chilli family and the best way to use them.
Red Cayenne - Very versatile chilli which is amazing
with all types of cuisine but why not try with a dark chocolate mousse as
something different.
Green Cayenne - Great in Italian dishes, especially
good on pizzas
Birdseye - Great with Thai cuisine, adds spice to your
soups and stir fry dishes
Jalapeno - Great with hot salsa’s but also Mexican
foods such as tortillas, tacos, burritos etc
Habanero - Use with curried dishes to add extra spice,
Malaysian, Indian
Poblano - Typical mild Mexican chilli, works well as a
stuffed variety – good introduction to chilli skeptics
Bullhorn Chilli - A large red or green chilli
with a mild flavour, lends itself well as a replacement to raw
capsicum in salads and dips, also works well stuffed
Ball Chilies - Versatile mild chilli for use in modern
Australian cuisine, for the chilli novice
Ghost Chilli - Extreme chilli – only for the chilli
lover
Carolina Reaper - Extreme chilli – only for the chilli
lover
You can get all of these chillies at your local Coles store
and if chilli and chocolate is not quite your thing, here are my pick of some
of the chilli recipes from the Coles recipe site.
Tell me - are you a Chilli lover?
How hot can you handle?
