Chocolate recipes
Fudge brownies
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Makes 24 brownies
Recipe by Ginger Elizabeth Hahn of Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates in Sacramento.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound bulk chocolate
1 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch casserole pan and set aside. Melt bulk chocolate and butter over a double boiler on low heat.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, or by hand, mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix for 1-2 minutes until a little frothy. Add the melted chocolate and butter, and mix to combine.
Add the sifted flour and salt, and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into prepared casserole pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, cool overnight before cutting.
Per brownie: 335 cal.; 3 g pro.; 46 g carb.; 16 g fat (10 sat., 5 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 71 mg chol.; 66 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 35 g sugar; 43 percent calories from fat.
Double-dark chocolate soufflés
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Serves 8
Recipe from “Chocolate Obsession” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35, 192 pages) by Michael Recchiuti and Fran Gage.
INGREDIENTS
For the molds:
4 teaspoons (approximately) unsalted butter, very soft
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons granulated cane sugar
1 1/2 ounces 70 percent chocolate, grated
For the soufflés:
2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
3 cups water
2 Tahitian vanilla beans, split horizontally
3 ounces 70 percent chocolate, grated
4 extra-large egg whites, room temperature
Pinch of kosher salt
3/4 cup granulated cane sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
For the molds: Coat the bottoms and sides of eight 5-ounce individual soufflé molds with the butter. Mix the sugar and chocolate together in a bowl. Divide the mixture evenly among the molds. Then tilt and rotate the molds to coat the bottoms and sides fully and evenly. Refrigerate while preparing the soufflé base.
For the soufflés:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the cocoa powder into a bowl.
Put water in a medium saucepan. Scrape the vanilla seeds from the beans into the pan, then add the beans. Bring water to a boil over medium heat, then remove from heat. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let steep for 5 minutes. Take out beans and bring water back to a simmer over medium heat.
Whisk about half the cocoa powder into the water. After it is absorbed, whisk in the rest of the cocoa powder. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the base is the consistency of mayonnaise, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Put the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment. Beat on medium speed until they start to froth, then add about one-third of the sugar. When the whites are opaque and start to increase in volume, add another one-third of the sugar. When they start to become stiff, increase the speed to high and add rest of the sugar. Beat until the whites start to lose their shine but still look wet. They will hang in medium-stiff peaks when the whip is lifted from the bowl.
Transfer the cocoa base to a large bowl. Fold about one-third of the whites into the base with a rubber spatula. Fold in the rest of the whites, just until no white streaks remain.
Distribute the mixture evenly among the prepared molds, filling them level with the top. Put the molds on a sheet pan.
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven until the soufflés rise about 1 inch above the rim of the molds and have a crust on top, about 20 minutes. They will be wobbly.
Serve immediately.
Per serving: 241 cal.; 7 g pro.; 45 g carb.; 9 g fat (6 sat., 2 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 5 mg chol.; 67 mg sod.; 8 g fiber; 21 g sugar; 28 percent calories from fat.
Hazelnut, pumpkin seed and pistachio dark chocolate bark
Prep time: 40 minutes
Cook time: 18 minutes
Makes 24 pieces
Recipe from “Chocolate Obsession” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35, 192 pages) by Michael Recchiuti and Fran Gage
Note: The prep time does not include the 1-hour set time after bark is cut.
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) whole hazelnuts
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shelled pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup (1 3/4 ounces) shelled green pistachios
1 1/2 cups (14 ounces) tempered 61 percent to 70 percent chocolate
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (a specialty salt) in fine grains
INSTRUCTIONS
Roasting and caramelizing the nuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottoms of 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Spread the hazelnuts on 1 prepared pan. Mix the pumpkin seeds and pistachios together, and spread them on the second prepared pan.
Roast hazelnuts until the skin starts to darken and shrivel, about 8 minutes. Roast the pumpkin seeds and pistachios until lightly toasted, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove the nuts and seeds from the oven. As soon as the hazelnuts are cool enough to handle, rub them in batches in a kitchen towel to remove the skins. Not every bit will come off.
Roughly chop all of them and mix together in a bowl.
Making the bark: Line the bottom of an 8-by-12-inch sheet pan with parchment paper. Pour the tempered chocolate into the prepared pan. Spread evenly with a small offset spatula. Tap the pan on a work surface to even the top. Sprinkle the roasted nuts and seeds and the fleur de sel over the chocolate. Tap the pan again to settle the toppings into the chocolate.
When the chocolate loses its sheen and starts to set, after about 15 minutes, cut the bark with a sharp knife into 2-inch squares. Leave the bark at room temperature until it is completely set, about 1 hour, then separate the pieces. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, not the refrigerator.
Per piece: 80 cal.; 1 g pro.; 8 g carb.; 5 g fat (2 sat., 2 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 0 mg chol.; 52 mg sod.; 0 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 56 percent calories from fat.
Maya coconut hot chocolate
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Serves 1
Recipe by Ginger Elizabeth Hahn.
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup hot chocolate mix, available at Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates
Pinch of allspice
Dark rum to taste (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine milk, coconut milk and hot chocolate mix in a pot. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat while whisking to keep chocolate from burning. Remove from heat and stir in allspice. Cool slightly and serve.
Optional: Cool the drink and thin out with milk to desired consistency. Add rum and pour over ice to serve.
Per serving using whole milk: 261 cal.; 4 g pro.; 29 g carb.; 15 g fat (12 sat., 2 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 10 mg chol.; 139 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 25 g sugar; 51 percent calories from fat.
Chocolate ganache
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Makes 1¼ cups to use for frosting or dipping strawberries
Recipe by Jim Snook of Snook’s Candies in Folsom.
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup heavy cream
8 ounces dark or milk premium chocolate, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Bring cream to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chunks. Cool to desired thickness. May freeze for future use. Reheat gradually in microwave, stirring often. If adding liquor such as Kahlua, reduce cream and replace with liquor.
Per tablespoon: 73 cal.; 1 g pro.; 7 g carb.; 5 g fat (3 sat., 2 monounsat., 0 polyunsat.); 4 mg chol.; 2 mg sod.; 0 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 59 percent calories from fat.