CHOCOLATE RECIPES FOR LOVERS

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE CAKES


Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 ounces small pieces milk chocolate
4 ounces butter
2 each eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons flour

Preparation:

Melt the chocolate and the butter together in the microwave, stirring in short intervals. Blend the eggs and sugar together thoroughly and add the flour. Pour into 4 oz. molds that have been sprayed with Pam and dusted with flour. Bake for 10-15 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 450 degrees. Cool slightly and decant to paper to cool.

BOURBON STREET CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE
 Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 cup light corn syrup
3 eggs
1/3 cup of butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 dash vanilla
1 pinch salt
2 cups pecans, broken
1 pie shell., uncooked
5 ounces of milk chocolate

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the corn syrup, eggs and melted butter and whisk briskly. Add the brown sugar and mix well. Add the vanilla, salt and pecans. Incorporate. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and drop in the chocolate pieces. Wrap the edge of the pie with foil to help keep the crust from over browning and drying out. Place the pie on a small sheet pan and put it into the hot oven for about one hour, until the center is set and the pie is golden brown.

Best served at room temperature or warmed slightly in the microwave oven. And a little French Vanilla Ice Cream on the side won't kill you any faster!

MAUSSE AU CHOCOLAT 

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

8 squares (1-ounce size) semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 eggs, separated
2 extra egg yolks
1/3 cup coffee concentrate
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) sweet butter, softened
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
Melt the chocolate over hot, but not boiling, water or place in a very low oven (180-degree).

Preparation:

Mix the sugar with 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile, place the 4 egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar syrup, beating constantly. Continue beating for 5 to 6 minutes at high speed, or until the mixture is thick and creamy. Add the coffee concentrate, Grand Marnier, and softened butter and beat tboroughly. Stir in the melted chocolate.

Beat the egg whites with a rotary or electric beater until stiff and shiny. As soon as they are ready, add to the chocolate mixture and beat in with a wire whisk. Finally, fold in the whipped cream. Pour into a large serving bowl and refrigerate until serving time.

You can, if you like, garnish the top with cocoa, whipped cream, or chocolate curls. You may also omit the egg whites and add 1 more cup of heavy cream to the recipe.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TORT

Serves 10-12
Yields one 9 inch cake

So, this is my "death by chocolate" contribution to the world of cooking - a loving send-off to life itself and a heck of a way to go at that! A little slice is all you need. I love serving this with some very slightly sweetened blackberry coulis or sauce to help balance some of the richness.

Ingredients:

5 ounces (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted sweet butter
10 ounces (1-1/4 cups) bitter-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon instant espresso or 2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
8 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Garnish: Cocoa, powdered sugar and a coulis made from slightly sweetened, puréed and strained fresh or IQF blackberries, if desired.

Preparation:

Over low heat, warm butter until just melted but not hot. Add chocolate and espresso powder or rum and whisk until melted. Cool slightly. In a separate bowl, beat yolks and half the sugar until light in color. Add warm chocolate mixture and whisk together.

With a mixer preferably, separately whip egg whites with a pinch of salt, orange zest and add remaining sugar gradually just until firm peaks are formed. Stir in one quarter of whipped whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it. Carefully fold in remaining whites.

Very lightly oil or butter a 9-inch spring form pan and place a circle of parchment or waxed paper on bottom. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool and refrigerate if not serving same day. Note that cake will have a "cracked" top surface, which is part of its charm!

To serve: Slice in small wedge and dust alternately with good unsweetened cocoa and powdered sugar and a tablespoon or two of blackberry coulis on plate.

CREAMY DREAMY CHOCOLATE/VANILLA TRUFFLES
 Ingredients:

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Preparation:

In a heavy saucepan, place cream and vanilla beans over medium heat, until the cream bubbles around the edge. Remove from heat and allow to steep for several hours or overnight. Reheat again till the cream bubbles around the edge, remove from heat, remove vanilla beans and pour into a measuring cup. You will want no more than 1/3 cup cream.

Pour cream into a bowl, add butter and finely chopped chocolate, submerging the chocolate completely with a wooden spoon.

Scrape seeds from vanilla beans into the chocolate mixture. Slowly stir mixture with a rubber spatula until it is completely blended and smooth.

Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour, or until a spoon of chocolate ganache mixture holds its shape.

Using a pastry bag or a melon baller dipped in cornstarch, make truffle balls and place onto a baking sheet. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until completely firm.

Roll each chocolate truffle between the palms of your hands, then roll in cocoa. Place in decorative candy cups and serve, or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for several weeks. Makes about 30 truffles.