Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (49 page)

Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted, then uncover and stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove from the hot water and set aside to cool slightly.

In the small bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat well. Add the egg yolks one or two at a time, beating until thoroughly incorporated after each addition. Beat well for a minute or so. On low speed add the chocolate and beat only until smooth. Remove it from the mixer and set aside.

Mix the rum, kirsch, or framboise with the water.

Now, pick up a whole strip of ladyfingers. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the liquor-water over the flat side of the strip. Place it on the serving platter flat side down. Brush another strip of ladyfingers and place it end to end with the first, forming a row of twelve. Then brush the tops lightly with the liquor-water.

Use a long, narrow metal spatula to spread a layer of the chocolate over the ladyfingers; it should be about ⅛ inch thick. Continue brushing both sides of the ladyfingers lightly and placing them directly over the first row, with chocolate sandwiched between. There will be four layers of ladyfingers, and enough chocolate left to coat the top and sides. Don’t make the ladyfingers too wet, but if you run out of the liquor-water, prepare a bit more. Spread the chocolate smoothly all over, and make the surface as smooth and even as you can.

That’s it. It does look like a brick.

However if you have trouble spreading the outside smoothly enough, or if you just can’t resist the temptation, decorate it any way you want: chocolate curls; grated chocolate; chopped, unsalted, green pistachio nuts; or toasted sliced almonds. Fauchon in Paris makes a dessert that looks like this and they cover the whole thing, top and sides, with uneven pieces of Chocolate Slabs (see page 263) overlapping each other. They do not attempt to form straight or even edges where the sides meet the top. Or if you love to use a pastry bag, spread the chocolate thinner in order to have some left over and use the leftover chocolate in a pastry bag fitted with a star tube to decorate to your heart’s content.

Refrigerate for about 4 hours or longer.

OPTIONAL
:
This is generally served as is, but it is wonderful with fruit and cream. If you wish, serve it with fresh strawberries or raspberries that have been marinated in a bit of rum, kirsch, or framboise. Or with brandied cherries. Or stewed pears. And whipped cream.

NOTE:
To freeze, chill until firm, then wrap airtight. Thaw, wrapped, for an hour or longer in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Regal

12
P
ORTIONS

The ultimate chocolate extravaganza! WARNING: This should be served only to avowed chocolate lovers, preferably in small portions after a light luncheon or dinner. This looks like a cake and cuts like a cake, but there any similarity ends. Call it what you will, but it is simply wonderful and wonderfully simple. And easy and foolproof to make. It tastes somewhat like a rich pot de crème, only more so.

It may be made a day or two before serving. But before you start, you will need a 9-inch spring-form pan; it can be deep or shallow, but the sides and the bottom of the pan must fit securely or the mixture, which is thin, might run out. (If you doubt your pan, place it on a square of aluminum foil and bring the sides of the foil securely up around the outside of the pan. Unless the pan is really bad, probably very little will run out anyhow.)

1 pound semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces

1 cup milk

Pinch of salt

¾ pound (3 sticks) sweet butter, at room temperature (it must be soft, but don’t melt it or cream it first) and cut into pieces

6 or 7 egg yolks (6 from eggs graded extra-large or jumbo; 7 from smaller eggs)

Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a round of baking-pan liner paper or wax paper to fit the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan. Butter the sides (not the bottom) of the pan and one side of the round of paper. Place the paper in the pan, buttered side up.

Place the chocolate, milk, and salt in the top of a large double boiler over hot water on moderate heat, or in a heavy 1½- to 2-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and sides, until the chocolate is completely melted—don’t worry if the mixture isn’t smooth.

Transfer to the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat on low speed only until smooth. Then let stand for 4 or 5 minutes to cool slightly.

On low speed alternately add pieces of the butter and the egg yolks, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until incorporated after each addition. Do not beat on high speed and do not beat any more than necessary—the mixture should not lighten in color.

When it is smooth, pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 minutes, no longer. It will still be soft and shiny and will not look done. Remove it from the oven!

Let stand until it reaches room temperature. Then refrigerate for a few hours until completely firm. It may be kept refrigerated for a day or two if you wish.

With a small, sharp knife cut around the sides to release—press the blade firmly against the pan in
order not to cut into the dessert. Remove the sides of the spring form. Cover the dessert with a flat cake plate and invert. Remove the bottom of the pan. (If it doesn’t lift off, insert a narrow metal spatula or a table knife between the paper and the pan and gently and carefully work it around to release the pan.) Peel off the paper lining. The Chocolate Regal will be 1 inch high.

Now cover it generously with the following whipped cream, or refrigerate it and whipped-cream it later on.

REGAL WHIPPED CREAM

2 tablespoons cold water

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup honey

Place the cold water in a small heatproof cup. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let stand for 5 minutes. Then place the cup in a small pan of shallow hot water over low heat to melt the gelatin.

Meanwhile, in the small bowl of the electric mixer (the bowl and beaters should be chilled) whip about 1¾ cups (reserve about ¼ cup) of the cream and the vanilla. While beating, gradually add the honey and scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula—the honey might settle to the bottom. Whip only until the cream has increased in volume and thickened, but not until it is firm enough to hold a shape.

When the gelatin is dissolved, remove the cup from the hot water. Stir the reserved ¼ cup of cream into the gelatin and immediately, while beating, add it all at once to the partially whipped cream. Continue to beat until the cream holds a shape and is stiff enough to spread. But remember that it is always more delicious if it is a bit soft and creamy instead of stiff.

The cream may be put on simply and smoothly in a thick layer, or it may be swirled with a rubber spatula or the back of a large spoon. Or spread only a thin coating to cover the dessert, then use a pastry bag fitted with a star tube and, using the remaining cream, form either a lattice design on the top or decorate with rosettes or swirls.

OPTIONAL:
A bit of shaved chocolate may be sprinkled over the top. Or a few chopped, unsalted green pistachio nuts. But there is something regal about keeping the decoration at a minimum.

Brandied black bing cherries go well with dense chocolate desserts. They may be served with this, placing a spoonful of them alongside each portion. Use the bought ones or prepare your own as follows: A day or two before using, drain a can of plain pitted black bing cherries. Add 2 tablespoons of Cognac and 2 tablespoons of kirsch. Let stand, covered, stirring occasionally—they may either be refrigerated or at room temperature.

Gelatin Desserts

CHOCOLATE BAVARIAN

COLD CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ

MOLDED CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

CHOCOLATE BREEZE

CHOCOLATE CHARLOTTE

CHOCOLATE PRUNE WHIP

HARLEQUIN

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

Gelatin mixtures are best if they have only as much gelatin as necessary to help them hold their shape. More than that makes them stiff and tough. And they are best when they have chilled only long enough to set the gelatin. After that they become heavy. As soon as they become firm, they should be covered airtight to prevent evaporation. They should be unmolded enough ahead of time so you aren’t rushed, but no sooner than that.

Chocolate Bavarian

6 P
ORTIONS

This is a classic French Crème Bavaroise au Chocolat. If you attend a class at the Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Paris, you might make it just this way. It is a creamy gelatin mixture, traditionally made in a mold and turned out before serving. It is best to make this early in the day for that night, but if it is well-covered in the mold it may stand overnight. This recipe may be doubled for a larger mold.

1 cup milk

2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

¼ cup cold water

4 egg yolks

½ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons dry instant coffee

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons dark rum

1 cup heavy cream

You will need a 5- to 6-cup thin metal mold. It is best to use a very light-weight tin mold—the heavier the mold, the slower and more difficult it is to unmold. It may be a plain shape or it may have a design.

Place the milk in a small saucepan, uncovered, over moderate heat to warm slowly (it burns over high heat).

Meanwhile, place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler, covered, over hot water on moderate heat. Heat only until the chocolate is melted, then uncover, remove from the hot water and set aside to cool.

Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a small custard cup and let stand.

Place the egg yolks in the top of a large double boiler off the heat. Add the sugar and beat with a hand-held electric mixer or stir briskly with a small wire whisk for a minute or two until the mixture lightens a bit in color and is smooth and creamy.

When a slightly wrinkled skin forms on top of the milk, add the milk gradually, very little at a time at first, to the egg-yolk mixture, beating or whisking as you add to keep the mixture smooth.

Pour hot (not boiling) water into the bottom of the double boiler and put the top, with the custard mixture, over it. Add the dry instant coffee and stir to dissolve. Cook, scraping the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula, for about 8 minutes until the mixture thickens enough to coat a metal spoon (a candy thermometer will register about 175 degrees).

Remove the top of the double boiler, add the softened gelatin, and stir to dissolve. Then add the melted chocolate and stir to mix. Stir in the salt, vanilla, and rum. The chocolate will have a slightly speckled appearance. Beat briskly with an egg beater or an electric mixer until very smooth.

Set the chocolate mixture aside for a moment. Whip the heavy cream only until it holds a semi-firm shape—not until it is stiff. (If it is stiff it will make the Bavarian heavy.)

Now, put some ice and water in a large mixing bowl. Place the saucepan with the chocolate mixture
into the ice water and scrape the bottom and sides constantly with a rubber spatula until the mixture is completely cool and starts to thicken slightly to the consistency of a heavy cream sauce. (It is best if the chocolate mixture and the whipped cream are the same consistency.) Remove the pot from the ice water, if necessary beat again briskly with an egg beater or electric mixer until very smooth, and then quickly and carefully fold the chocolate all at once into the whipped cream. Fold only until thoroughly blended. If necessary, pour back and forth gently from one bowl to another to insure thorough blending.