Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (53 page)

CHOCOLATE ICING

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, ground or finely chopped; or ½ cup semisweet morsels, left whole

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 tablespoon water or prepared coffee

Place all the ingredients in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the hot water and stir briskly until completely smooth. If you have used morsels, the mixture will be thick enough to spread immediately. Other chocolates may be a bit too thin. If it is thin, let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
to thicken but only very slightly—you want it thin enough to flow and form a smooth, thin layer.

Now, to coat the dessert with a thin layer of the chocolate, pour it slowly and gradually in a spiral starting at the top to completely cover the dessert. (If the top is flat, in order not to have the icing thicker there pour icing over that section, then use a small metal spatula to spread it a bit thinner. Continue pouring to cover the sides.) When necessary, use a small metal spatula to spread the icing over any small areas that are not covered. Don’t worry about excess icing that runs down on the plate—that will be removed later; and don’t worry about an uneven edge on the bottom—it will be covered with whipped cream.

Refrigerate for at least one hour or more until the icing is firm enough to be cut. Then with a small, sharp knife carefully cut the chocolate around the bottom of the mold. With the small metal spatula remove excess chocolate that has run onto the plate. Wipe around the sides with a paper towel to clean and dry the plate. Refrigerate.

WHIPPED CREAM DECORATION

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the above ingredients in a small bowl and beat just until the cream holds a shape.

Fit a small pastry bag with a medium-size (#4) star-shaped tube. Fold down a cuff on the outside of the bag and place the bag upright in a glass or jar. Transfer the cream to the bag. Unfold the cuff and close the top of the bag. Press out small rosettes of the cream touching one another all around the base of the dessert, concealing any uneven edges on the chocolate.

Refrigerate, and then
freeze for ½ to 1 hour
before serving. It should not freeze any longer—just put it in the freezer right before you sit down to dinner.

Freezer Desserts

4-STAR FRENCH CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

GLACÉ AU CHOCOLAT

DORIS DUKE’S BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE ICE MILK

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE SHERBET (water ice)

MOCHA CHOCOLATE PARFAIT

FROZEN CHOCOLATE MARQUISE WITH MOCHA CREAM

FROZEN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

MOUSSE BRILLAT-SAVARIN

TOBLERONE MILK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

PONTCHARTRAIN MILE-HIGH ICE CREAM PIE

MISSISSIPPI MUD PIE

FROZEN CHOCOLATE PIE

ICE CREAM EN ROBE

CHOCOLATE CHIP-COGNAC-COFFEE ICE CREAM

TO SOFTEN ICE CREAM

Freezer temperatures vary. (Zero degrees Fahrenheit is considered correct.)

Howard Johnson’s has two freezers for ice cream—one for storage, which is set at 10 degrees below zero, and one they serve from (they call it the dipping box), which is set for 8 to 12 degrees above zero. At that temperature their ice cream stays firm but soft enough to serve easily.

Some of these frozen desserts may be a little too firm if they are served directly from the freezer. Check them ahead of time; if they are too firm transfer them to the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes (the time will depend on the temperature of your refrigerator and the size of the container of the dessert).

Although a frozen dessert that is too firm to serve may stand at room temperature to soften, it is better if it stands in the refrigerator. At room temperature it might melt on the outside and still be too hard inside. In the refrigerator the dessert will soften more uniformly, although it may take longer.

It is better to let your guests wait than to serve a frozen dessert that is too hard.

If ice cream has been frozen too firm, either wait for it to soften or, better yet, cut it into small pieces and process it (about two cupfuls at a time) in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, stopping the machine frequently and, with a wooden spatula, pushing the ice cream down. Or in a blender (about 1 cup at a time), stopping the machine frequently and pushing the ice cream down. (If you do a small amount at a time, return each batch to the freezer immediately.) Or soften it in the large bowl of an electric mixer (the bowl and beaters should be chilled); in the mixer you can do it all at once. Process, blend, or mix only to the consistency of soft-frozen ice cream. Serve immediately or return to the freezer, where it should remain soft-frozen for an hour or two.

4-Star French Chocolate Ice Cream

A
BOUT 3 1/2
Q
UARTS

This is luxuriously and extravagantly smooth/ creamy/rich. It is French ice cream times ten. It must be made in an ice-cream churn. If you have never made real ice cream in a churn, you are in for an exciting good time and a delicious treat. If you don’t have a churn, beg, borrow, buy, or steal one to make this great ice cream. You will need a 4-quart churn to make the full recipe, but it may be divided to make half (see Notes). (It is no more work to make the full amount; if you have a large enough churn, make it all—you will be glad you did.)

Like all homemade ice creams, this is at its best a few hours after it is made, or just as soon as it becomes firm. It will keep well for a few weeks but it doesn’t keep as long as commercial ice cream; no preservatives in this.

7 cups heavy cream

12 ounces semisweet chocolate (see Notes)

2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup water

Pinch of salt

6 yolks (from eggs graded large, extra-large, or jumbo)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place 2 cups of the cream (reserve 5 cups) in a 6- to 8-cup heavy saucepan. Add both chocolates, place over low heat, and stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted.

Remove from the heat and beat briefly with a wire whisk, an electric mixer, or an egg beater until smooth. Set aside.

Place the sugar and water in a very small saucepan over moderate heat. Stir with a wooden spatula until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup becomes clear and comes to a boil. Wash down the sides with a brush dipped in cold water to remove any undissolved granules. Increase the heat to high and let boil without stirring for 5 minutes—a candy thermometer should reach 230 degrees.

Meanwhile, in the small bowl of an electric mixer add the salt to the yolks and beat for about a minute.

When the syrup is ready add it gradually—in a thin stream—to the yolks, beating at high speed. Then continue to beat for several minutes until the mixture is pale and thick and forms a ribbon when the beaters are raised.

Transfer the mixture to the large bowl of the electric mixer. On low speed add the warm chocolate cream and beat only until mixed, scraping the bowl frequently with a rubber spatula.

Add the vanilla and on low speed add the reserved 5 cups of cold heavy cream, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as you add the cream to keep the mixture smooth.

You may pour the mixture into a churn now and freeze it, or refrigerate it for several hours or overnight (it will become very thick) before freezing. Carefully follow the freezing directions for your churn. Because this is so rich you should use a little less ice cream salt than usual for your churn or the ice cream will harden too quickly; it is best if it hardens slowly.

Check the ice cream before serving; if it is too firm, place it in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes or longer if necessary. Or, better yet, process, blend, or mix it (after doing each many times I think I prefer to mix in the electric mixer) as described in To Soften Ice Cream (see page 221). To serve, scoop or spoon into chilled dessert cups or bowls.

NOTES
:
1. For the semisweet chocolate I have used Maillard’s Eagle Sweet, Tobler Tradition, and Lindt Excellence. Each one is delicious, but Lindt Excellence has a flavor that I especially love. You can use any semisweet. If you use a bar chocolate, break it up; if you use 1-ounce squares, they may be chopped coarsely or left whole.

2. If you divide the recipe to make only half, the syrup will be too shallow to test with a thermometer—just time it; this smaller amount will need only 3 minutes of boiling. And for this smaller amount of ice cream, it will not be necessary to transfer the mixture to a larger bowl—it can all be mixed in the small bowl of the electric mixer.

VARIATIONS
:
This is perfect as it is; however, it lends itself to many variations. For a mocha flavor, add instant coffee to the hot cream. For a liquor flavor, add rum, bourbon, Cognac, Amaretto, Grand Marnier, Tia Maria, Kahlua, crème de menthe, etc., to the cooled mixture before churning it, Or add nuts to the churned ice cream when you remove the dasher; stir them in thoroughly. (Toasted whole unblanched almonds are delicious.) Ground toasted blanched hazelnuts may be added before or after it is churned. To make Rum-Raisin Chocolate Ice Cream, place about 1 cup of raisins in a jar with a tight cover, add about ½ cup dark rum, cover and let stand for a few days, turning the jar occasionally to keep all the raisins wet, or marinate in a closed plastic bag. Stir raisins and any unabsorbed rum into the ice cream after churning. Or do the same thing with chopped dates, using rum or brandy. For Chocolate-Chip Chocolate Ice Cream, finely chop (do not grind or grate) about 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate and stir it into the ice cream after it is churned. If you feel really exotic, use a liquor and nuts and chopped chocolate. Etcetera.

Glacé au Chocolat

1 S
CANT
Q
UART

This is a French chocolate ice cream—extraordinarily and outrageously smooth, rich chocolate. It is prepared without an ice-cream churn and is not stirred during the freezing—it will need several hours to freeze, then it can be served right away or kept frozen for days.

The flavor of this cream depends completely on your choice of chocolate, as there is no other flavoring. The recipe may be doubled.

6 ounces semisweet chocolate

1½ cups heavy cream

3 egg yolks

⅓ cup water

¼ cup granulated sugar

Chop the chocolate into rather small pieces and set aside.

In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip the cream only until it holds a soft shape—not until it is stiff—and let stand at room temperature. (It should not be too cold when it is folded into the chocolate.)

In the small bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg yolks until they are light lemon-colored.

Meanwhile, stir the water and sugar together in a 4- to 6-cup saucepan over high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil. Boil without stirring for 3 minutes (no longer or too much water will evaporate).

Add the chopped chocolate to the sugar syrup, remove from the heat, and stir until the chocolate is melted. It will be very thick.

Now, gradually, on low speed, add the hot chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and beat until very
smooth. It will be thick. Remove from the mixer and stir occasionally until cooled to room temperature.

If the whipped cream has separated a little, stir or beat it a bit with a wire whisk only to make it smooth but not long enough to thicken it any more.

With a rubber spatula stir a large spoonful of the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate. One at a time stir in two or three more spoonfuls until the chocolate is smooth and about the same consistency as the whipped cream. Then add the chocolate to the remaining cream and fold together. If necessary, pour gently from one bowl to another to insure thorough blending.

Pour the mixture into an ice-cube tray or an 8- or 9-inch metal loaf pan (or any covered container), cover tightly with aluminum foil, and freeze for a few hours until firm.

Serve like any ice cream, but this is richer so make the portions small.