One can not decide – whether because of beer or chocolate, the choice is Belgium to be the capital of united Europe .Both are the business card of this small European country with a rich history. Rich in all kinds of events – both sad and cheerful.
Geographically and culturally, Belgium is at the crossroads of Europe and over the past 2000 years has witnessed steady tides of various races and cultures. In Belgium, Celtic, Roman and German cultures were fused, and later influenced by France, the Netherlands, Spain and Austria. Belgium’s first known inhabitants are the Belgians. And something interesting for us Bulgarians – there is also a lion in the Belgian coat-of-arms, and under it there is a motto of the state “Unity makes strength”.
But go back to beer … Belgian beer is unique in taste and is available in just 330 ml bottles. And that’s not accidental – the alcoholic content of beer is usually 8-9%, that is 2 times higher than the Bulgarian, Czech or German ones. The lightest Belgian beer brands have at least 7% alcohol, and in the “heavy” they exceed 10%. The beer has a rich, thick malt taste, it has to be swallowed slowly and a little, with more meat … In Belgium you can also buy a sweet beer with a taste of strawberries or raspberries (only 3% alcohol), which tastes more like sparkling compote but is pleasing to drink.
It is also worth trying the Belgian cheeses. Surprisingly delicious are local tomatoes, unlike the poorly known “neighbors” of the Netherlands. As in other countries of Western and Northern Europe, coffee is not at the necessary height and will disappoint its true connoisseurs – the more expensive than the Bulgarian one, the more it is diluted by it. But if the Belgians are not among the greatest connoisseurs of the warm brown beverage, they are among the best culinary on the Old Continent.
Belgian cuisine is influenced to a large extent by French and, to a lesser extent, by Dutch cuisine. Typically, Belgian dishes feature large portions and excellent nutritional qualities. It is widely believed that typical of it is German portion sizes and French finesse and quality. Belgian cooks are most likely to rely on game and game birds, meat and pates. Fish and fish products are also widely used, with the mussels being an undeniable favorite. They are prepared in any way. Fried potatoes are considered by the Belgians to be a personal discovery and raised on a culinary pedestal. They also have a fried potato museum. The traditional Belgian breakfast consists of bread, butter, jam, cheese, patties, cooked eggs and tea or coffee. Lunch is the main meal during the day and dinner is light.
Typical of Belgian cuisine is the combination of salty and sweet or sweet and sour in one dish. In order to obtain such taste, fruit or honey with vinegar is added to the meat or fish. Tradition is to eat pork with apples, kambala with grapes, rabbit with dried prunes, duck with oranges and sour cherries, and the pheasant with cranberry. In the winter seasons in Belgium eat the dried fruits. Legendary in this tradition are dried pears with bacon from Limburg. When it comes to vegetables, the tastes of all Belgians are united – they love not only to consume them, but also to grow them. Starting from all kinds of celery and onions, alabash, go through all variants of cabbage, beans and peas, winter radishes and sorrel to tomatoes, asparagus, chicory, parsnips, carrots, alfalfa sprouts and a wide variety of mushrooms.
When we talk about the most famous Belgian dessert we mean wafers. In Belgium, the waffle recipe is known in two major versions: Waffles from Liège and Brussels Waffles. The first are round and hard biscuits that contain pieces of caramelized sugar or as sugar beads, while Brussels waffles look like roasted pancakes, and in their recipe there are yeasts. Sometimes beer instead of yeast. And if in Belgium this delicacy is known from the 18th century, the rest of the world learns about it after the world fair in 1958. Belgian sweet wafers liked the taste of both Europeans and Americans. Americans modernize the recipe by replacing yeast with a baking powder. But in Belgium the original recipe for this dessert remains unchanged to this day.
There was no such thing as Belgium and the cake was not chocolate. 🙂 Moreover, my loved ones are fans of chocolate cakes (only I am not) and have long been waiting for a country to do something entirely to their taste. My choice came to “Triple chocolate mousse cake”. Being chocolate will be a triple chocolate. 🙂
Here are the necessary products:
About cake:
280 grams of Belgian semi-sweet chocolate
4 Big Eggs
1/3 tea cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
vanilla
100 grams of butter at room temperature
For dark chocolate mousse:
280 grams of Belgian semi-sweet chocolate
1 1/2 tea cups of cream
1 teaspoon of gelatin
2 tablespoons of cold water
For the white chocolate mousse:
200 grams of Belgian white chocolate
1 1/2 tea cups of cream
1 tablespoon of cold water
1 teaspoon of gelatin
Steps of preparation:
About cake:
Heat the oven to 180 ° C. Prepare a 20 cm diameter tray with bottom baking paper. The cake should be baked in a water bath so that the edges do not dry (wrap the tray in two layers of aluminum foil and place it in a larger pot with 2-3 cm of hot water). Melt 280 grams of high-quality semi-sweet chocolate on a water bath. Beat the egg white sin a large bowl with about a third of the sugar at low speed. Gradually increase the speed and beat until the mixture starts to look fluffy, then add the remaining sugar, salt and vanilla. Continue to beat until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture starts to look brilliant. Mix the softened butter and melted chocolate until it becomes homogeneous, then add the yolks. Add half of the egg whites mixture to the chocolate mix and stir gently with the spatula from the bottom up. Add the rest of the egg whites mixture and gently mix to achieve homogeneity. Pour the dough into the prepared tray and bake for 26-28 minutes (until the toothpick placed in the center does not come out clean). When removing the cake from the oven, first let it cool to room temperature and then leave it in the refrigerator for 1 hour (the chilled cake will sink slightly and reduce its volume). Remove it from the refrigerator and run a knife around the edge of the tray, unlock the ring, remove it and place the cake in a dish. Then put the ring again to assemble the cake.
Chocolate mousse:
In a small pot, dissolve a teaspoon of unflavored gelatin in 2 tablespoons of chilled water. Heat 1/2 cup of cream to boil and pour it onto the chopped chocolate, stir gently until the chocolate melts completely and the mixture becomes smooth. Heat the gelatine until it melts and then mix it with melted chocolate. Beat the remaining 1 cup of cream until soft tops form. The chocolate mixture should not have lumps and the temperature should be around 30 degrees Celsius in order not to melt whipped cream. Add about half the whipped cream to the chocolate and stir lightly upwards until everything combines, then add the rest of the cream. Spread the mousse on top of the cooled cake and smooth it with a spatula. Put the cake back into the refrigerator.
White mousse:
Repeat the instructions for making the chocolate mousse. Be careful with white chocolate not to overheat it because it becomes unusable. When the white mousse is ready, spread it on the chocolate mousse and leave the cake in the refrigerator for at least 4-5 hours.
Before serving, run with a thin knife around the rim of the ring and carefully remove it. You can decorate the cake with a little melted chocolate, fruit and mint or use another suitable decoration. And you can leave the cake without any decoration. It will be beautiful again. 🙂
This is from Belgium. The cake is not easy to prepare, but the taste is worth the effort. And the happy faces of your loved ones you make for it are invaluable. As you say – if you just want to feed someone, you are preparing a sandwich, but preparing a dessert is like putting on high heels, make a hair, make a makeup – it is difficult , but it is an expression of attention and special attitude.
Next destination – Belize.
