Chocolate Festival of Belize Chocolate Cooking Competition

The following two recipes were entered into the chocolate cooking competition as part of the Taste of Toledo celebrations on Front Street in Punta Gorda on the Saturday of this year's Chocolate Festival. We are pleased to reproduce them below for our readers with thanks to Katarina Polonio and Jill Burgess Young.

Sweet Category

Dark Temptation Cake by Katarina Polonio

Ingredients

  • Pre-baked brownies for center
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups of flour
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
  • 1 cup hot dark coffee

Method

1. Heat oven 350F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or a 13"x9" baking pan.

2. Stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on a medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in hot coffee. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes for round pans and 35-40 for the 13"x9"pan or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pans.
Cool completely
Then frost with your favorite frosting and garnish with cocoa nibs and chocolate bar chunks.
The brownies that are baked into the center of the cake...
1 box of Hershey's brownie mix
Mixed as said on the box
Baked in a rectangle pan.
Cut into 1 inch square bites.
Roll the baked square bites into a ball by using your hands.
Wedge a chocolate bar chunk into the brownie bite. Then place them into the greased and floured pan before pouring in the cake mix.

Savoury Category

Chocolate Chili by Jill Burgess Young

Ingredients
  • 2 medium onions
  • coconut oil
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1 head of garlic
  • 3 quarts water
  • � cup chili powder
  • � cup of cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • Ground chili pepper from PG Market
  • 1/8 cup of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2-3 cups of black beans, boiled and pureed
  • 3 small cans tomato paste
  • � to 5/8 cup grated cacao beans
  • Plantain (optional)

1. Saut� the onions in a tablespoon of coconut oil and soften them. Add chopped tomatoes and chopped garlic, saut�. Add the water, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, big pinch of ground chili pepper, sugar and salt.

2. Simmer then add the black bean puree, tomato paste and grated cacao and stir until well mixed. Simmer slowly until it thickens.

Note: Although it is nice and thickens it up a little, the tomato paste is optional and I sometimes omit it because it gives me heartburn! Highly recommend the beans pureed or whole and squished a bit, not only to thicken it but to add protein. The plantain is a texture substitute, not a protein substitute. The plantain will thicken the chili after simmering a few minutes.

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