Archive for July 24, 2009
Friday Feast: Chocolate Slice
I love chocolate slice. I first made it grade 8 home economics, and it’s been a win ever since.
Items of Note:
I find that because ovens vary, the same recipe can turn out soft, or hard, or in between depending upon the oven you’re cooking it in. I tend to just check on it a lot (unless I know the oven well) and when it feels good to me then I’ll pull it out. It will seem too soft when it first comes out but it firms up as it cools. You’ll probably stuff it up the first time, but even if it’s too hard or soft it still tastes great and the next time you’ll know what not to do… and then you’ll have perfect chocolate slice! It’s also really easy to make.
By the way, you want to use desiccated coconut, not the moist, sweetened shredded kind that’s most commonly used in America. It’s too big and too sweet – just not right. You can usually find desiccated coconut in health food stores over there. In Australia, desiccated is the one most people use anyway, so just pick it up from anywhere.
Chocolate Slice
Chocolate Slice
Ingredients:
190 grams margarine (I haven’t tried it with nuttelex but it shouldn’t make a difference)
1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 tabs cocoa
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Melt butter/margarine on the stove or in the microwave.
3. Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Pour margarine into the dry mixture and mix well.
5. Press mixture into a slab tin/tray.
6. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.
7. Ice with chocolate icing while still warm. Sprinkle with dessicated coconut or mini m&m’s.
8. Slice while warm and somewhat soft, remove from tray when cool and harder.
If you want to know how to make the icing, here’s a basic recipe. You might need slightly less or more icing sugar or milk, but just experiment until you get the consistency you want. It’s roughly right. Keep in mind that this icing will taste rich, but it’s the perfect chocolate slice icing.
Icing
Ingredients
2 cups icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
1 1/2 tabs cocoa
1 to 2 tabs soy milk
Method:
1. Mix icing sugar, cocoa and milk in a bowl until smooth and sticky.
2. Spread carefully over chocolate slice while it’s still in the pan, before slicing, but while it’s still warm.
Reduce: Reliance on Transport
Lately I’ve been making a point of leaving work by about 5pm (sound normal? not for me) so that I can walk from work to the city (Brisbane CBD), where I catch another bus home. I really like it!
Normally I have been catching a bus, or occasionally taking the train, into the city. Since they’ve closed down my original bus stop due to road work though, I’ve been increasingly irritated by the need to schlep ages down the street in the wrong direction just to get to the bus. The only thing that made it worthwhile was that at the time I normally leave, it’s too dark for me to feel comfortable walking, and the traffic has thinned out enough that it’s much quicker. Last week though, I had an early mark and the traffic was so bad and it was still light, so I thought – hey, you haven’t walked into the city for ages, why not do it?’ So I did.
It was really pleasant; a nice time for me to stop multi-tasking and just think. It’s good exercise, and I liked watching the sun set over the river. So this week I’ve walked every day except today. I like it much better than my frenzied morning dash to the bus, I don’t hurry, it’s just nice and relaxed (although I do walk fast, I can’t help it). I like that the footpaths are typically quite wide and not crowded where I’m walking, so I don’t get pedestrian rage (kinda like road rage for walkers). I like that even just in the week I’ve been walking, I’ve started noticing the sun is setting slightly later as time goes by – the season is turning back to spring… eventually.
I’m very much enjoying trying different routes and discovering little quirks about this awesome place I’ve lived in for ten years. I love that this city never runs out of new things to see and explore. Yesterday when I was walking, I was looking at all the viewing nooks as I crossed the William Jolly bridge (another new route). I was also noting all the different kinds of manholes (yeah, weird, but I’ve been editing some work on manholes lately and it was actually kind of interesting to see what I’ve been reading about).
The William Jolly, or Grey St, Bridge. (Yoinked from stephenk1977's flickr photostream, full credit to him).
I like that it’s one less fuel-driven trip I’m taking. Even though it’s public transport, which I totally support, even reducing my use of that (and subsequently increasing my use of footpaths) is a good thing, I think. Tomorrow I’m going to try going along the boardwalk past North Quay.
Today I had to work late and I found myself ticked off that I didn’t get my daily walk. Looking out the window into the growing dark and seeing the silhouettes of trees, and then having to turn back to my laptop, was fairly frustrating.
I think I’ll keep it up.
Note:
Access stephenk1977′s flickr photostream here.
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