Nadiya Bakes (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Baking with Chocolate - full transcript

We all know life can be tough, but,
when I bake,

somehow it makes me feel that
little bit better.

A soothing slice of cake...

Double-layered deliciousness.

...the smell of freshly made bread...

...the comforting crunch of a biscuit
straight out of the oven.

Sometimes, when you want something
really sweet,

you want it to hit the spot.

For me, baking really is my happy
place.

And I want it to be yours, too.

Which is why I'm returning to my
first true love.



It's the little details that make it
look beautiful.

You're going to love it.

From easy, everyday treats...

Oh, gosh, that's good!

...to indulgent desserts to share...

Sometimes you've got to just throw
all the chocolate at it.

...there will be bakes for every
occasion.

Oh, my goodness!

Plus, I'll be showcasing some of the
bakers and pastry chefs

I most admire, from across the UK.

Once I've finished a cake, it's that
kid in the sweet shop moment.

I love that.

So, let's bake, eat and be happy!

This week, we're in chocolate heaven
with my dangerously delicious bakes.



I very rarely sing, but this brownie
makes me sing!

My magical caramel and chocolate
flan

is guaranteed to blow your mind.

That, my friends, is what baking
is all about.

Some super-tasty madeleines are
given

an extra chocolaty edge.

Just look at where the chocolate
just kind of coats those ridges.

Plus, my ever so moreish twist
on the classic cobbler.

Delicious, and everything that
you need -

all in one bowl.

First up, my massively indulgent
brownies -

perfect for that ultimate
chocolate fix.

Baking with chocolate is one of
life's great treats.

I have this saying,

money can't buy you happiness,
but brownies can.

Need I say more?

# And I get the sweetest
feeling... #

It doesn't get better than this -

a fudgy brownie base topped with
sweet dulce de leche

and rich orange cheesecake.

Three layers of deliciousness.

Surely it's our life's mission
to eat the best brownie?

That is literally all I do.

And this is the best brownie
you will ever make.

And I'm starting with that brownie
base -

250g of dark chocolate

and 250g of unsalted butter,

and turn the heat on really low,

like the lowest heat you can
get it.

Add 280g of brown sugar to
four eggs

and whiz until light and fluffy.

It's a lovely kind of light,
almost caramelly colour,

and it's tripled in size.

So now I'm going to add my
chocolate mixture.

I think chocolate is one of those
things,

it's like when you're in
a crowded room

and someone says,
"l don't like chocolate."

Often that comment is enough to stop
a whole conversation,

because I think most of us
really like chocolate,

but I can see why -

it makes you feel good.

Then, add 120g of plain flour.

We don't want any raising agents
in there.

If you want that lovely
dense brownie,

you don't add self-raising flour

because you get a lift
and it becomes cake.

We're not making cake.

I want to make my brownies taste
as chocolaty as possible.

And, for that, I have a secret
weapon -

instant coffee.

This brownie's not going to taste
like coffee,

but what coffee does,

it enhances the flavour
of the cocoa.

And you take your brownie
to a whole other place.

It's like a chocolate,
cocoa-flavoured explosion.

In goes 30g of cocoa powder...

Straight in.

...my cooled coffee...

...and a pinch of salt.

And then give that a quick stir.

My kids love brownies.

That's their favourite thing.

My daughter has a very special name.

She calls these brownies Turn Your
Frownie Upside Downie Brownie.

And, I mean, she's not wrong.

They do turn your frownies upside
down...

...nie.

I'm ramping up the cocoa content
with chocolate chips,

adding a teaspoon of flour for
a nifty little trick.

But, by adding the flour,
what they do is,

they cling on.

So what'll happens is,
when I mix it in,

they'll suspend themselves
throughout the brownie mix

without sinking right down
to the bottom.

Pop that chocolaty mix into
the oven.

Of course, you could stop here

and have a perfectly good brownie,

but I'm going all out on this baby!

Once chilled, it's time
for layer number two.

So, I've got 450g of
dulce de leche,

which is like salted caramel.

It's evaporated milk that's
boiled for so long.

I mean, this is how good it is.
Just watch.

Anything that comes out
this slow is good.

Look at it go.

For a bit of crunch, I'm adding
200g of toasted hazelnuts.

In my book, a brownie
isn't a brownie without nuts.

That's going to be our second layer.

If this isn't exciting you,

then you are dead inside.

Then back into the freezer
for half an hour

before I start on my final layer -

cheesecake!

To make the ultimate brownie,

I wanted to put everything
that I really like.

I love chocolate,

I love dulce de leche,

and I love cheesecake.

So I put them all together.
And did they work?

Yes, they did.

I've got 300g of cream cheese.

To that, I'm adding two eggs,

100g of caster sugar,

the zest of an orange...

I want to make this really zesty
and fresh,

and I want it to be a complete
contrast from the chocolate

and the dulce de leche.

...almond extract and a tablespoon
of flour.

I think I have made enough brownie
blocks

to build a whole house.

A decent-sized house -

three- bed, two- bathroom,

shed, maybe.

THAT many brownies.

So, I'm going to pour our very last
layer on top.

That goes back in the oven
for 30 minutes.

Then into the fridge to cool
overnight.

You could cheat and get it out
earlier.

But I promise you, this is one
brownie that's worth the wait.

OK, OK, OK.

# I know you want to look inside

# And you want to see this brownie

# That we worked so hard to make. #

I very rarely sing, but this brownie
makes me sing!

I just want to pick it up
and go...

For my final flourish -

a dusting of cocoa.

OK.

My heart races a little bit
just before I cut something.

We've got a dark chocolate
chip-filled brownie.

Then we've got dulce de leche
and roasted hazelnut.

And then we've got orange
cheesecake.

And, just to finish it off,
we've got some cocoa.

There you have it -

the brownie to end all brownies.

I mean, if you're going to have a
brownie,

make it the ultimate one.

Sweetest feeling

Sweetest feeling

Money can't buy you happiness.

But brownies can.

There are some clays
when only chocolate will help.

And, for those times, I'm taking
a homely American dessert

and adding a generous dose of cocoa.

If anyone in my house needs
cheering up,

I like to bake them a pudding,

and this chocolaty take on a classic
is my simple but delicious way

to say I love you.

My comforting cobbler is a
heavenly mix

of stewed fruit topped
with chocolate

and coconut sponge cobbles.

I'm starting by roughly chopping
some fresh peaches and plums.

The cobbler is basically
the American cousin

of a crumble.

You've got that lovely kind of
gently stewed fruit underneath,

and it's the top
that makes the cobbles.

If we were going to pick one day
where we have a pudding,

it's usually on a Friday.

That's our special day,
usually because school's out,

it's the weekend,

and that's the day when everybody
goes to the mosque, on a Friday.

That's the day where I make
a lovely, great big pudding

that we stick in the middle.

And, to me, a pudding is the kind
of thing

that needs a bit of custard or
a bit of ice cream.

You get your spoon in,
and you go,

and it's hot and it's delicious.

I'm going to pop
my fruit straight in there.

Sprinkle over 50g
of caster sugar.

Here's a tip to make the most of
all those lovely juices

that will come out of the fruit
when they're baked.

By adding cornflour,
what happens is,

that cornflour traps that juice,

and what you get is a lovely,
thick, delicious fruit juice

underneath that isn't just watery.

So I'm going to add two tablespoons
of that.

All over.

Squidge that all in.

Then add 125g of blueberries...

...and a handful
of fresh mint leaves.

Right now, you can smell how fresh
this is.

But we want to make it even fresher
than it already is.

We're going to add the zest
of a lemon.

Making my chocolate cobbles
is really easy.

I'm using 150g of soft butter
and 150g of sugar.

Then I'm going to quickly just bring
the two together.

Add three eggs...

...150g of self-raising flour...

...and 30g of cocoa powder.

So, we're going to add the cocoa
straight in.

OK, so what we're looking for is
an unctuous, thick,

chocolaty, delicious batter.

Look at that - yummy, chocolaty
cake batter,

the kind that will be stolen
by a child, no doubt,

at some point.

But we're not finished!

Last to go in is 50g each of
desiccated coconut

and chocolate chips.

Yeah! Go on!

And then give that a quick mix
around.

To make the perfect cobbles, here's
a handy little hint.

I like to use an ice cream scoop,

and get some scoops in there.

Let's make some cobbles!

And then just pop them on.

As the fruit bakes and stews
down and softens,

the chocolaty cobbles on top will
start to bake,

and some of them willjoin together.
Others, they won't.

You kind of can't control it.

It'll do what it wants to do.

There you go.

And it's ready to go in the oven.

# There's nothing like this

# There's nothing... #

Oh, yes! Look at that!

Look at that. Look at that.

See what I mean about the cobbles?

Look at them. You plonk them on and
they kind of go where they want.

On top of the fruit.

To perfect my glorious ode to
chocolate and fruit,

I'm drizzling over melted
milk chocolate.

Sometimes you've got to just throw
all the chocolate at it.

0h, yes!

Molten chocolate paired with
soft summer fruits.

My take on the cobbler is the
ultimate feel-good pud.

Oh, go on. Maybe just a little
bit more.

Delicious soft fruit -
lovely, zesty and tangy.

And then the cobbler.

You can see crispy in parts and
still gooey in other bits.

So this is the best thing
about puddings -

they're warm, they're delicious and
everything that you need,

all in one bowl.

Mm-hm!

I love baking with chocolate.

But, across the country,

there are lucky, lucky people who
get to work with it

every day of their lives.

In Bedfordshire, master chocolatier
Aneesh Popat shares my passion

for the sweet stuff,

winning awards for innovation and
producing

some of the most heavenly chocolates
you can lay your hands on.

Chocolate is just brilliant
to work with. In every way.

It smells amazing.

The viscosity and the way it moves.

It's not just a food.

It's an art.

And there's a science to it as well.

And it's everybody's favourite
ingredient.

Aneesh's creations have been snapped
up by royalty,

luxury hotels and Michelin-starred
restaurants alike.

I'm going to be making my favourite
recipe,

which is a chocolate tart

filled with chocolate ganache and
lots and lots

of chocolate decorations.

I'm using 50% milk chocolate and
50% dark chocolate in the recipe,

and the reason I use both is you get
that nice deep cocoa flavours

that the dark chocolate brings,

but then you still get that lovely,
creamy milky chocolate we all love.

Aneesh has an unconventional
approach

to making his signature ganache.

We're actually making a water-based
ganache.

There's no cream or butter
in this part,

and that is because we want
a really light

and delicate chocolate ganache.

Water's the perfect ingredient
because it's flavourless.

You just get all the notes that
the cocoa and the chocolate

has to offer, whereas,
cream and butter,

the heavy fats mask your palate.

The water ganache is pure.

You're getting half the calories
and a quarter of the fat

because, you know, water is free of
all those things.

I love working with chocolate.

As they say, if the answer's
chocolate,

who cares what the question is?

# Happiness in liquid form

# I'm drinking it down

# ljust wanna drown... #

Chocolate is always a feature,

and it's always been a part
of my life, really.

I always had a sweet tooth.

Growing up, in my teenage,

there was a lot of sciencey
chefs on the scene,

and that really interested me.

I had a maths background,

and to see molecular recipes
and smoke pouring out

and bubbling, and all these
different things in chemistry,

but in food, really ticked my box.

This is a process called tempering,

and what we're doing is, we're
getting the chocolate

to be in the right crystal
structure.

If you're chocolate's not tempered
properly

then it won't set.

So, by swishing it around the table,
we're cooling it down,

but we're also agitating
the cocoa butter, which

creates the right crystal structure.

This is what making
chocolate's all about.

Once his ganache has set, Aneesh's
tart is topped with berries

and ready for his finishing touches.

So, this is my favourite bit now,
which is melting the disc

into the fruits.

And I've got a heat gun for that.

That's perfect.

I'm going to now take the shards
and start building the 3D effect.

Yeah, that's looking perfect.

Aneesh's tart is quite possibly the
most stunning chocolate creation

I've ever seen,

and I'd be proud to have that as
a centrepiece on my table.

Let's be honest,

chocolate doesn't have to be just
for dessert.

It's something we can crave
at any time of the day.

If your go-to chocolate fix
is a biscuit,

then I've got the perfect recipe to
change things up.

My dark treacle and star anise
madeleines are perfect

for a sweet treat.

And, to satisfy your cravings,

they've been dunked in rich
dark chocolate.

These are my mum's absolute
favourite,

and we used to buy them from the
Asian supermarket

and they would have a little
orange tag that said 89p,

which I didn't think was that bad.

I think they had a hint of lemon,

and that's why I think my mum
liked them.

Because there was something very
plain about that flavour.

And she just...

And she doesn't like chocolate.

I know.

These bite-sized bakes are not only
easy,

they're delicious, too!

I'm starting with two eggs and
100g of soft brown sugar.

Now we're going to add our treacle.

I LOVE this Stuff!

Not only does it add sweetness,

but there's this smokiness
to treacle

that you can't get with
anything else.

One tablespoon goes in,

and, for a subtle aniseedy flavour,

a quarter of a teaspoon of ground
star anise.

Star anise is one of my favourite
spices because it can be used

in all sorts of things.

You can use it in curries,
you can use it in tea,

you can use it in madeleines.

Star anise and dark chocolate...

Straight in.

Whiz until light and fluffy.

OK, we're there.

Nearly.

Now, I'm adding 100g of plain
flour,

a teaspoon of baking powder...

...and 100g of melted
unsalted butter.

Quick whiz.

That's it. Right.

When greasing your madeleine tin,

be sure to get the butter into all
the little dips

so that the cakes pop out easily

and keep their dainty scalloped
edges.

A quick dusting of flour,

then it's in with the batter.

And then you want to be sort of
half a centimetre shy of the top,

cos, remember, it's going to bake,
it's going to puff up,

so you don't want them to overflow.

These are going to look so pretty,
and the best part -

they only take ten minutes to bake.

This is a chocolate episode,

and you're wondering
and you're asking,

"So where's the chocolate?"

We are finally at some chocolate.

Once my madeleines are out
and cooled,

I want to give them a little dip.

And, to ensure it melts slowly,

I'm using a water bath.

Nobody wants burnt chocolate.

Ooh! Look at that!

Oh, look, look, look, look, look!

That's that distinct hump.
I remember that.

I can still see them in the packet,
when my mum used to buy them.

It was those. It was, like, I didn't
even know what they were called.

It was just the cakes with
the humps.

OK...

So, we'll just...

Look at this!

Look at that lovely scalloped edge!

It's worth buying the tray
just for that.

I'm going to take a madeleine...

...and then, just on the wonk,
I'm going to dip it

into the chocolate.

Look at it!

Just pop it down.

And then do the next one.

Just look at that!

Look at where the chocolate just
kind of coats those ridges.

Can you see? I can see it.

Look at that.

The dark chocolate,
treacle and star anise

take these elegant little cakes
to a whole new level.

A great little pick-me-up
for any time of day.

Perfect little madeleine bites

with dark chocolate and treacle
and star anise.

This beats a chocolate biscuit
any day.

Now, go on. Get lost, you lot.

Leave me with my madeleine.

The madeleines definitely provide
a quick cocoa hit,

but I've saved my most indulgent
chocolate recipe until last.

If you're a serious chocoholic,

then you'll go crazy
for this recipe.

It's pure, unadulterated
chocolaty bliss.

My chocolate caramel flan is
a magical mix

of decadent chocolate sponge,

topped with luxuriously light
creme caramel.

Trust me, you're going to
love this.

If unicorns baked cakes,

this is what they would be baking,
because it is magic.

It really is.

We start off with a bundt tin,

and there's a layer of caramel.

Then we add a deliciously rich
chocolate layer cake.

Then we add a vanilla custard
recipe on top.

And then it does this magical thing
where the custard somehow sinks

into the cake,

or under the cake batter,

and sits between the caramel
and the cake.

You're going to ask me,
"How does that happen?"

I'm going to tell you I haven't got
a clue.

All I know, it's magic.
It's real magic.

And it all begins with
chocolate cake.

I'm using 150g of
unsalted butter

and 190g of soft brown sugar.

And give that a quick mix.

Add a tablespoon of vanilla extract
and an egg.

Pop that straight in.

Now for my dry ingredients -

200g of plain flour,

one teaspoon each of baking powder
and bicarbonate of soda,

and 30g of cocoa.

So this is where we're going to get
that lovely chocolaty flavour.

And then, to enhance that chocolate
flavour,

I'm going to add three tablespoons
of instant espresso powder.

That stuff.

And then give that a really good
mix.

To the wet ingredients,
add the flour and cocoa mix...

...230ml of milk.

And whisk.

OK, so, that is the chocolate
cake batter done.

Next, my indulgent layer
of creme caramel.

Into a food processor goes
600ml of evaporated milk

and a whole can of condensed milk.

I love this stuff!

It's so good!

It's so sweet!

This is definitely
an occasional treat.

Add four eggs, a tablespoon
of vanilla bean paste,

and whiz to make
an instant velvety custard.

So, I've got my bundt tin
that's been greased and floured,

and I'm going to pop that
straight in.

The reason for the tea towel
is to stop my bundt tin

from moving around.

We're going to fill this tray with
boiling water

and then gently bake our cake in a
water bath.

First layer into my tin is my
shop-bought salted caramel.

We want an even layer
of that caramel.

Spoon the cake batter on top.

And now for our custard layer.

0K!

So, I'm just going to use the back
of a spoon,

and that willjust kind of
distribute the weight

all over.

If I just go in one point,

the chocolate cake batter and the
custard would just mix.

I want a really even layer
of that custard on top.

This really is the coolest cake
you will ever make.

That goes into the oven, where we
add boiling water

and just watch as the magic happens.

As it bakes, the custard sinks
to the bottom,

where it cooks gently in
its own little jacuzzi.

And the cake that's now at the top
bakes like a normal cake.

Check that out!

There it is!

And I know you're thinking,

"Hey, lady,
it's just chocolate cake.

"Where's the custard gone?"

OK, OK, OK, OK.

Plate on top.

Flip it over, all in one go.

Ready? Steady? Go!
CAKE TAPS AGAINST PLATE

Oh! Did you hear that?

It went ga-donk.

Did you hear that? OK.

Look at it, look at it, look at it!

Look at it, look at it, look at it!

Look at that!

My heart is racing.

Watch this.

That, my friends, is what baking is
all about.

Chocolate cake, creme caramel
and salted caramel.

I mean, what's not to love about
this incredible

cake-pudding combo?

# Because you're my desire

# And I'm your delight. #

Chocolate and magic work really well
together.

That's good!

Guys, come on. Who wants some cake?

You know you want some chocolate
caramel flan, right?

Make sure it's two metres.

Woo!

It is...
That is really good, actually.

Pops is dipping a little bit.

I think you're dipping a little bit.

Come on, Pops, let's give you
some cake.

Next time, my best-ever bakes to
enjoy with others...

That is the ultimate tear-and-share.

"From my heavenly take on
a classic...

This is the fastest pudding you are
ever going to make.

...to my crowd-pleasing mango and
cornflake cranachan.

Everybody gets their own little pot
of deliciousness.