Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (62 page)

Rum Mocha Chocolate Sauce

2⅓ CUPS

This is marvelous!

¼ pound (1 stick) butter

1 cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup strained unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons dark rum

1 cup heavy cream

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dry instant coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium-size heavy saucepan over low heat melt the butter. Add the sugar, cocoa, rum, heavy cream, and salt. Stir over moderate heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Add the instant coffee and stir to dissolve. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

This may be served hot, warm, at room temperature, or cold. It may be kept warm or reheated over hot water. If may be refrigerated for weeks. It’s wonderful over ice cream—it does not harden.

Michael Guérard’s French Chocolate Sauce

S
CANT 2
C
UPS OF
S
AUCE

Paula Wolfert, who has written delicious cookbooks on Mediterranean and Moroccan food, gave this recipe to me as one of her favorites when I told her I was writing this book. It is quick and easy, dark and delicious. Serve it hot over ice cream. Monsieur Guérard serves it with honey ice cream. It will keep in the refrigerator for two or three weeks.

¾ cup strained unsweetened cocoa powder (Use Dutch-process cocoa for the right flavor—I use Droste’s.)

¾ cup granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

1 cup cold water

2 tablespoons sweet butter

In a 6-cup saucepan stir the cocoa, sugar, and salt to mix. Add the water and stir until smooth (a small wire whisk will blend them quickly). Place over moderate heat and stir with a rubber or wooden spatula until the mixture comes to a low boil. Let it simmer for 3 minutes. Add the butter, stir until melted, and simmer again for 3 minutes more.

Serve immediately or set aside and reheat.

Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator.

Basic Chocolate Sauce (with 8 variations)

2
C
UPS

This will not harden over cold ice cream—it will remain saucy. It may be kept for many weeks in the refrigerator.

4 ounces (4 squares) unsweetened chocolate

1 cup granulated sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

½ pint (1 cup) light cream

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Chop the chocolate coarsely and place it over the lowest possible heat in a heavy saucepan with about a 4- to 6-cup capacity. (Remember that chocolate burns easily. If you don’t have a really heavy pan, do this step in a double boiler, in which case the chocolate does not have to be chopped.) Stir frequently until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the sugar, salt, butter, and then gradually add the cream, stirring until smooth. (If you have used a double boiler, remove the bottom now and place the top over direct heat.)

Increase the heat slightly to low-medium and stir constantly for 4 or 5 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Do not boil.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Serve this either warm or at room temperature—it may be kept warm in the top of a double boiler over hot water. If it is too stiff at room temperature, either warm it slightly or stir in a bit of cream, milk, coffee, or water. To reheat after refrigerating, stir it in the top of a double boiler over hot water.

Variations Using Basic Chocolate Sauce

LIQUOR

Add a spoon or two or more of any liquor or liqueur to the finished sauce. Rum, Cognac, and whiskey are the most common additions. Bourbon is good. Grand Marnier is good. Crème
de menthe or crème de cacao or crème d’almond are all good. Amaretto is sensational with chocolate. Whichever you choose, add it slowly, tasting often.

MARMALADE

Melt about ¼ to ½ cup of orange marmalade. Add it to the sauce and, if you like, add a dash of Grand Marnier or Curacao.

MINT

Along with the vanilla add a few drops of peppermint extract. Add very little at a time, taste it often and carefully, and make it as minty as you like.

CARAMEL

Use semisweet chocolate instead of unsweetened, and firmly packed dark or light brown sugar instead of granulated.

NUT

Add about⅓ cup of coarsely cut or broken walnuts or pecans, or whole unblanched almonds. Or add toasted whole blanched or unblanched almonds. (To toast the almonds, place them in a small, shallow tin in the middle of a 350-degree oven. Shake the pan occasionally until the nuts are lightly toasted, about 10 minutes.)

MOCHA

Add 1 to 2 teaspoons dry powdered instant coffee or espresso while stirring the hot sauce.

EXTRA-BITTERSWEET

This is strong, dense, thick, and
really
bittersweet. Use only ½ cup of sugar instead of 1 cup. (That will reduce the yield to ⅓ cups.) Since this is so dense, it should be served in small quantities.

BLACK FOREST SAUCE

Chocolate, cherries, and kirsch are a magnificent combination. Use any kind of canned or frozen pitted cherries, well drained. Or use fresh ones if you have a cherry pitter. Add the cherries and add kirsch, to your taste, to the basic sauce.

Chocolate Decorations

GRATED CHOCOLATE

CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS

CHOCOLATE SLABS

CHOCOLATE LEAVES

CHOCOLATE CURLS

CHOCOLATE CONES

CHOCOLATE CIGARETTES

All of the following decorations may be made well ahead of time. They should be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer. They should be brought to room temperature before they are unwrapped or uncovered. Otherwise, they sweat when the air hits them and moisture forms on them. They should be cold when you place them on a dessert, and should be handled as little as possible to avoid fingermarks.

If they are made with real chocolate that has not been tempered, they will discolor after several hours at room temperature. They will not discolor in the freezer or the refrigerator. Therefore, if you use real chocolate, refrigerate the decorated dessert until serving time.

Compound chocolate (see page 5) will not discolor.

Grated Chocolate

Use any kind of semisweet chocolate, and grate it against a coarse grater, in a small Mouli rotary grater, or with a swivel-bladed vegetable peeler. Work over paper, then use a spoon to sprinkle the chocolate over the dessert. To transfer the chocolate to a jar for storage, lift the paper and funnel the chocolate into the jar.

Chocolate Shavings

Chocolate shavings are made with a swivel-blade vegetable peeler. They will vary in size and shape depending on the chocolate you use; compound chocolate (see page 5) will be softer and will form larger shavings than a dry or brittle chocolate. And a thick piece of chocolate will make larger and more dramatic shavings than a thin one. Candy stores often sell chunks of chocolate by the pound, and this chocolate frequently has a better quality for shaving than many other chocolates do. Milk chocolate is soft and flexible and will not crack when it is shaved (although some may actually be so soft that shavings will not curl—pieces will wave and bend more than curl). White chocolate generally behaves quite well for shavings, and may look most attractive (sometimes startling) on a dark chocolate dessert.

If the room is cold and the chocolate is too brittle, sometimes it is possible to soften the chocolate slightly by holding it firmly for a minute or so between the palms of your hands; the heat of your hands will warm the surface of the chocolate and soften it a bit. It may be necessary to repeat warming it in your hands constantly while working with it.

The pressure you put on the vegetable peeler will also affect the results.

Work over wax paper. Try different chocolates, different amounts of pressure. Hold the chocolate in your left hand; as you move the vegetable peeler toward yourself, press it very firmly against a side (either the wide or narrow side) of the chocolate.

If you are not going to use the shavings right away, slide a cookie sheet under the paper and transfer to the freezer or refrigerator until firm. Then gently lift the paper and funnel the shavings into a container. Store them indefinitely in the refrigerator or the freezer.

When you are ready to use the shavings, gently transfer them with a large spoon to the top of a dessert, or pour them carefully right from the container onto the dessert.

Chocolate Slabs

Coarsely chop or break up 2 ounces of any semi-sweet chocolate. Place it 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 the top of the double boiler.

Tear off a piece of wax paper about 12 inches square. Pour the chocolate out onto the paper. With a long, narrow metal spatula spread the chocolate into a thin layer about 10 inches square. Work quickly before the chocolate starts to harden. Do not worry about making it perfectly smooth and do not fuss with the edges, but do try to keep them as thick as the rest.

Slide a cookie sheet under the paper and place in the freezer, or in the refrigerator.

When the chocolate is firm quickly peel the paper away from the chocolate. Handling as little as possible, break the chocolate into large, irregular pieces.

Store the slabs in a box in the refrigerator.

TO USE
:
Handle as little as possible. Place the slabs upright in whipped cream on top of pies or other desserts. They will be different shapes, different sizes, and will look dramatic.

Refrigerate the dessert until serving time. These crisp slabs will soften and fold over on themselves if they are left standing on a dessert in a room that is very warm.

Chocolate Leaves

You will need fresh green leaves, preferably gardenia, ivy, or rose leaves. Although I have used much larger leaves with great success. Try to select leaves that are firm rather than soft (if the leaf is too thin and delicate, it will tear while you are working with it). And especially select leaves that have markedly raised veins on the underside of the leaf.

Separate the leaves, but keep enough stem on each leaf to hold it with (⅛ inch is enough if that is all there is). Wash and dry thoroughly, patting both sides of each leaf with a towel.

You can use any kind of chocolate, real or compound (see page 5). Leaves made with real chocolate will have to be refrigerated or they will discolor after a while. I usually use 1-ounce squares of Baker’s Semisweet, and I store the leaves in the refrigerator. The amount of chocolate to use depends on the number of leaves you want, but a few ounces should be enough for a moderate number of leaves.

Coarsely chop the chocolate and place it in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on low heat. Cover until the chocolate is partially melted, then uncover and stir until it is completely melted and smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler.

Hold a leaf upside down in your left hand. With a small, narrow metal spatula or with a pastry brush spread a thin and even layer of the chocolate over the underside (the veined side) of the leaf. Be careful not to let the chocolate run onto the front of the leaf; with a fingertip, wipe the edges of the front to make sure there is no chocolate there. Place the leaf, chocolate side up, on a small plate in the freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes only until the chocolate is completely set and firm. Then, gently and carefully, peel away the green leaf, starting at the stem end and handling the chocolate leaf as little as possible. Immediately put the chocolate leaf on a small tray. (If the chocolate in the pot begins to harden while you are working with it, replace it over warm water.)

If the green leaf has not been torn it may be reused.

Continue to make as many leaves as you want. Store in a covered box in the refrigerator or the freezer.

Use these leaves to top any dessert, either standing them on an angle or placing them flat on whipped cream, cake icing, or ice cream. Although I make these only with dark semisweet chocolate, I have friends who use a variety of chocolates: dark semisweet chocolate, lighter milk chocolate, and white chocolate. (They usually lay the different colored leaves overlapping each other in a circular design around the top of a cake, or stand them upright around the sides of a cake.)

Chocolate Curls

You can make these curls with any semisweet chocolate: I have used many and they all worked equally well. But if you use real chocolate, it is best to use the curls only for refrigerated desserts. If the curls stand at room temperature for more than a few hours they discolor, although they keep indefinitely in the refrigerator or the freezer.