Chocolate Truffles (Basic)
8 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons liqueur such as Cognac or Grand Marnier or plain vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
Place chocolate in a bowl. Bring cream to a boil in a small, heavy saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes; gently stir until smooth. Add liqueur and stir to combine. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.
Sift cocoa into a bowl. Using a measuring spoon, scoop up 1 teaspoon of chocolate, and quickly roll into a ball about 3/4 inch across. Drop into cocoa; roll each truffle in cocoa to coat. Chill until firm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials
-Melt your chocolate and plop a blob in a mold, use a small paintbrush to coat the mold - this is the outside of your cherry.
-Put the mold in the fridge for THREE MINUTES - no more! If you chill for too long, the mold cracks and then you have leaks.
-The inside is just fondant powder mixed with maraschino cherry juice till sort of between semi-thick and runny;
-Plop a chery in (store cherries are usually too big...can usually get smaller ones at candy store)
-Then you plop more chocolate on top and brush to seal the edges so you dont have leaks.
-Chill for until solid, and they pop out of the mold. if they don't pop or fall out, you need to chill a bit longer.
-Let them sit about a week before giving them away or eating them.
White Chocolate-Coffee Truffles
3/4 c Whipping cream
1 tb of Instant espresso or coffee powder
14 oz of white choc., (finely chopped)
2 tb of Kahlua
Dipping chocolate:
1 lb of White chocolate, very finely chopped
2 ts of Vegetable oil
3 tb of Choc.-covered coffee beans, (finely chopped)
Making the truffles: In a medium sized saucepan, bring the espresso powder and cream to a boil. pour the chocolate over and whisk until melted. Then whisk in the Kahlua. Refrigerate until chilled & firm. With a tablespoon, place pieces of the choc. onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate to firm; roll into balls and refrigerate again for around 30 min.
Preparing the dipping chocolate: In the top of a double boiler set over hot water, place the choc. and oil. stir until melting point. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat and stir until the chocolate has completely melted. Then continue to stir until the choc. has cooled & reaches a temp. of 90 deg. F.
Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with aluminum foil. Dip each candy center into the melted chocolate, shaking off the excess and place on baking sheet. When you have dipped a row of candies, top each with a little of the chocolate- covered coffee bean. Before each dipping, stir the chocolate vigorously with your fingers. If the centers become too soft, chill for about 30 minutes. Let the candies sit for around 2 hrs. before storing in the refrigerator. If the centers start to come through the bottoms of the chocolates, as often happens with soft mixtures, dip the bottoms again in melted & cooled chocolate
Fondant
158 mL (2/3 cup) light corn syrup
2.5 mL (1/2 tsp) salt
907 g (2 lbs) powdered sugar
5 mL (1 tsp) extract-any flavor
158 mL (2/3 cup) soft butter
Put butter in bowl, add corn syrup, salt and extract; stir. Slowly add powdered sugar ,stirring each time sugar is added. Knead until smooth and dip into chocolate quickly, making sure not to melt fondant
Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse
***Start this recipe six hours to one day ahead. ***
1/2 cup whole milk
2 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons sugar
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
Whipped cream
Chocolate shavings (optional)
Whisk milk, egg yolks, and 2 tablespoons sugar in heavy small saucepan to blend. Place over medium-low heat and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat spoon, about 7 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat. Immediately add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Transfer mixture to medium bowl; cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Beat egg whites and salt in large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into cooled chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Divide mousse among 6 goblets or transfer to serving bowl. Refrigerate until cold and set, at least 6 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.) Top mousse with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, if desired.
Bon Appétit
May 2001
Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse in Phyllo with Raspberry Sauce
2 phyllo sheets, thawed if frozen
For sauce:
a 10-ounce package frozen raspberries in light syrup
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon eau-de-vie-de framboise or raspberry liqueur
For mousse:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 large egg
3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
1 tablespoon eau-de-vie-de framboise or raspberry liqueur
1/4 cup well-chilled heavy cream
For serving:
3 tablespoons well-chilled heavy cream
confectioners' sugar
unsweetened cocoa powder
Preheat oven to 350°F. On a work surface, stack phyllo sheets and cut out three 6-inch squares (6 total), discarding scraps. Stack phyllo squares between 2 sheets of wax paper and cover with a kitchen towel. Line each of two 1/2-cup muffin tins with 1 phyllo square, pressing gently into bottom, with edges overhanging top of tin. Repeat with remaining squares in same 2 tins, overlapping corners in different directions, but do not reposition phyllo once in tin (it may tear). Bake phyllo shells in middle of oven until edges are golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully transfer phyllo shells to a rack and cool completely. Phyllo shells may be made 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
Make sauce:
In a saucepan, simmer raspberries and granulated sugar, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes and stir in eau-de-vie or liqueur. In a blender, purée mixture until smooth and strain through a sieve into a heatproof bowl. Chill sauce, covered, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
Make mousse:
In a small saucepan whisk together granulated sugar and cornstarch and add water and egg, whisking until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat, whisking and simmer, whisking vigorously, 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate and eau-de-vie or liqueur, stirring until chocolate is melted. Transfer mixture to a metal bowl set in a bowl of ice and cold water and beat until cold and lightened in color. In a bowl, beat cream until it just holds stiff peaks and fold into chocolate mixture gently, but thoroughly. Chill mousse, covered, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
To serve:
In a bowl, whisk cream until it just begins to thicken. Pour some raspberry sauce onto 2 dessert plates and dot with thickened cream. Pull point of a skewer or wooden pick through cream to form hearts. With a sieve, dust phyllo shells with confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder. Arrange phyllo shells on top of sauce and spoon about 1/3 cup mousse into each shell (do not overfill).
Gourmet
February 1995
Chocolate soufflés
10 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
Large pinch of salt
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Butter and flour ten 3/4-cup ramekins. Melt chocolate and butter in medium bowl set over pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Remove bowl from over water and cool chocolate mixture to lukewarm.
Using electric mixer at high speed, beat sugar, eggs, yolks, and salt in large bowl until batter falls in heavy ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 6 minutes. Sift flour over mixture and fold in. Gradually fold in lukewarm chocolate mixture. Divide mixture among prepared ramekins. (Can be prepared ahead. Cover soufflés individually with plastic and refrigerate up to 1 day or freeze up to 1 week.)
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place ramekins on baking sheet; bake soufflés until puffed and beginning to crack on top (centers will still be soft), about 18 minutes (19 minutes if frozen), and serve.
Hint from Brigid: Add known (ediable) aprodesiac herbs in small amounts to make your chocolates special. See the herbal grimoire section for hints.
Chocolate Hazelnut Pots de Crème
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cup whipping cream
6 egg, yolks
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp hazelnut or almond liqueur
dash vanilla
1 tbsp chopped toasted hazelnut
Preheat oven to 325ºF (160ºC). Place chocolate in heatproof bowl. In saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) of the cream just to boil; pour over chocolate and stir until melted. In separate bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar; whisk in one-third of the chocolate mixture. Stir in remaining chocolate mixture, hazelnut liqueur and vanilla. Pour into six 6-ounce (175 mL) custard cups or ramekins; place in 13- x 9-inch (3.5 L) metal cake pan. Pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake in center of oven until set around edge but still slightly jiggly in center, about 20 minutes. Remove cups from pan; let cool on rack to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.) In bowl, whip remaining cream. With piping bag or spoon, pipe onto center of each serving. Garnish with hazelnuts.
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