French Classics Made Easy (63 page)

P
RALINE
I
CE
C
REAM

[GLACE PRALINÉE]

Add 1 tablespoon Praline Paste (
page 356
) to each cup of base. Use praline ice cream for a marvelous
Poires Belle Hélène
(poached pears with ice cream and chocolate sauce).

R
UM
-R
AISIN
I
CE
C
REAM

[GLACE AU RHUM ET AUX RAISINS SECS]

No commercial rum raisin ice cream can ever match the homemade variety. Soak the raisins for 2 or more hours in your favorite rum. Add ¼ cup rum-soaked raisins to each cup of base used. It is tempting to add more of the liquid, but the alcohol acts as an antifreeze and makes the ice cream more difficult to freeze. If you add just the raisins, the ice cream will be delicious but soft.

A
RMAGNAC
-P
RUNE
I
CE
C
REAM

[GLACE AUX PRUNE AUX À L’ARMAGNAC]

Use Armagnac-Soaked Prunes (
page 298
) for this delicious ice cream. For each cup of base, use 2 to 3 finely chopped or puréed prunes. As with the Rum-Raisin (at left), do not add extra liquid.

M
AKING
I
CE
C
REAM THE
N
EW
O
LD
-F
ASHIONED
W
AY

For those without an ice-cream machine, try this easy method for ice cream made with a food processor. It stands up surprisingly well to the machine-made.

Place the ice-cream base in a bowl or other container and place in the freezer until frozen. (If you taste it, you will notice that large ice crystals have formed, making it crunchy.) Place the frozen base in a processor and process until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the smooth mixture back into the cold container from which it came and place in the freezer for another 2 to 3 hours, until frozen. The ice cream may still have a few tiny ice crystals, but not enough to keep you from enjoying it and proudly serving it to guests.

I generally reserve ice cream making for special flavors, since for the more ordinary flavors—such as vanilla, chocolate, and coffee—I find many commercial brands quite acceptable.

CHOCOLATE MARQUISE

[MARQUISE AU CHOCOLAT]

My version of this classic dessert is simply a chocolate mousse that is frozen in a ladyfinger-lined mold. When unmolded, it is sliced and served with a crème anglaise. The classic version—which I first tasted many years ago at Lasserre, then the top restaurant in Paris—is made with a chocolate buttercream and is refrigerated, not frozen. My marquise is a lot lighter and easier to digest after a big meal.

This make-ahead dessert may look complicated but it is actually quite easy to make. Bake your ladyfingers one day (or use store-bought) and complete the dessert the next. It can be made several days in advance.

I designed this dessert for a 5-cup French loaf pan, which is longer and narrower than ours, but you can use any 5-cup loaf pan.

SERVES 6 TO 8

1½ recipes Ladyfingers (
page 259
) or about 30 store-bought ladyfingers

Chocolate Mousse (
page 275
)

Whipped cream and/or candied violets, for decoration

Crème Anglaise (
page 346
), chilled

1.
Line the bottom of a 5-cup loaf pan with waxed paper. Trim the ladyfingers at one end and on each side to fit tightly together and flush against the bottom of the pan. With cut ends down, line the sides of the loaf pan with the ladyfingers.

2.
Pour the chocolate mousse into the lined loaf pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours to set, and then freeze. (If frozen immediately, the mousse will contract.)

3.
Before serving, trim the ladyfingers off at the level of the chocolate and unmold the marquise onto a rectangular platter, peel off the waxed paper, and decorate the top with whipped cream and/or candied violets. Freeze until ready to use.

4.
To serve: Cut ½-inch slices, place in the center of a dessert plate, and surround with the chilled crème anglaise.

VARIATION

C
HOCOLATE
M
ARQUISE WITH
B
ERRIES

[MARQUISE AU CHOCOLAT CARDINALE]

Fill the ladyfinger-lined mold halfway with the mousse mixture, then add a layer of raspberries or whole small strawberries and cover them with the remaining mousse. In addition to the crème anglaise, serve with a Raspberry Coulis (
page 345
).

M
ELTING
C
HOCOLATE

If chocolate is melted alone, at a temperature that is too high, two things can happen. The first and most damaging effect is that the chocolate can scorch, dry out, and stiffen. The second, which is noticeable only when using the chocolate for coating, is that the cocoa butter comes out of suspension or separates, causing the chocolate to be streaky and grayish and to lose its gloss.

Theoretically, chocolate should be melted at a temperature below 120°F to keep it from drying out, and below 90°F to prevent the separation of the cocoa butter from occurring. In practice, I have melted chocolate at much higher temperatures without damaging effects. Following either of the two methods given here for melting will prevent the chocolate from scorching, and if you stir it well while it is cooling for coating, any cocoa butter that may have separated will be mixed back into suspension. If you make lots of chocolate candy, a stricter control of melting and the maintenance of temperature may be advisable, but for the recipes in this book it is not necessary.

What
is
necessary, however, is making sure that no moisture mixes with the chocolate when you melt it. Chocolate
can
be melted with liquids—water, milk, or cream—to makes sauces and icing. But the liquids have to be in the right proportion to the chocolate: at least 1 tablespoon liquid per ounce of chocolate. A smaller amount of liquid—a mere drop or two—that falls into a pan or bowl of melted chocolate will cause it to stiffen and make it useless for coating. The following methods keep this from happening.

IN THE MICROWAVE:
Melt cut-up chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second bursts, stirring after each burst. It’s important to stir because with the microwave method, the chocolate keeps its shape. The only way to know if it’s melted is to stir it.

IN A WATER BATH OR DOUBLE BOILER:
Heat water to a depth of 1 inch in an 8- to 10-inch skillet until it comes to a simmer. Turn off the heat and place a saucepan, with the chocolate in it, in the hot water. Stir occasionally until melted, about 5 minutes. If you are using a double boiler, the chocolate should also be melted off the heat, over hot, not simmering, water.

IN A WARM OVEN:
When I’m not in a rush, I use the gentle heat of an oven lightbulb to melt chocolate. The advantage to this method is that it does not involve any tending and the chocolate cannot be scorched. Place the chocolate in a saucepan and place the pan in your oven with the light on. In about 20 minutes the chocolate should be melted and ready to use. If your oven light does not generate enough heat, turn the oven to “warm,” or whatever the lowest setting is. You can leave the chocolate in the oven for several hours with no ill effect to the chocolate.

C
HOOSING A
C
OOKING
C
HOCOLATE

The process of making chocolate is in some ways similar to the process of making coffee. Both cocoa and coffee beans are roasted and then blended to produce a desired flavor, and with each, manufacturers develop a variety of flavors. The quality of the chocolate varies, depending on its percentage of cocoa butter and the amount of time spent refining it.

When choosing a cooking chocolate, I look for one that tastes good, is smooth on my tongue as it melts, leaves a good aftertaste, and is neither too sweet nor too bitter. (A further consideration when the chocolate is to be used for candy making is to find one that is both dark and shiny.)

In general, Americans prefer eating milk chocolate to the dark, semisweet, or bittersweet varieties. Cooks, on the other hand, prefer dark chocolate. The terms “semisweet” and “bittersweet” are often synonymous, and the actual sweetness varies among manufacturers. If a company produces both, its bittersweet will be less sweet than its semisweet chocolate. On the other hand, you may find a bittersweet chocolate made by one company that is sweeter than a semisweet made by another. The only true test is in the tasting.

Many chocolate manufacturers now designate the percentage of cacao. I prefer chocolate in the 65% to 75% range. You can also buy quality chocolate in bulk at candy stores and specialty food shops. This can often save you money, and offers you a variety of flavors to choose from.

GANACHE TRUFFLES

[TRUFFES AU CHOCOLAT À LA CRÈME]

Chocolate formed to resemble truffles, as they emerge from the earth covered with “dirt,” have been a Christmas specialty in French candy shops for decades. Their worldwide popularity has spawned truffle shops and candy companies specializing only in truffles—although many of the confections carrying this name hardly resemble their namesake. It now seems that anything round and chocolate is called a truffle.

The original chocolate truffles were made of a sturdy, fudge-like mixture, concocted of chocolate, butter, and egg yolks,
that can be formed by hand and stand at room temperature without melting. But the contemporary chocolate truffle is made with a combination of chocolate and fresh cream (called ganache) and must be handled carefully and refrigerated, for it melts at room temperature.

Because they melt easily when handled, the soft, creamy chocolates, when formed into balls, are dipped in chocolate to lightly coat and protect them. They are then rolled in cocoa powder, which tastes much better than the soil it represents. Biting into a finished chocolate truffle provides a wonderful combination of sensations. Bitter cocoa covers a thin layer of crunchy bittersweet chocolate, which surrounds a creamy, meltingly soft chocolate center. Only those with incredible willpower can refuse a second one.

Trying to make the truffles in one day can be difficult and frustrating, but doing a little work over a two- to three-day period makes truffle-making easy and enjoyable.

In addition to the Grand Marnier flavoring used in the following recipe, truffles can be flavored with Coffee Essence (
page 358
), rum, Cognac, or mint extract. If you enjoy the flavor of praline, try mixing ¼ to ½ cup (50g to 100g) of Praline Paste (
page 356
) with the ganache for a delicious combination.

MAKES 80 TO 90 PIECES (2 POUNDS)

TRUFFLE MIXTURE

12 ounces (340g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

1 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other liqueur

CHOCOLATE COVERING

1 pound (450g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

2 ounces (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1.
Make the truffle mixture: In a saucepan, heat the chocolate and heavy cream over low heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is melted.

2.
Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Stir in the Grand Marnier. Place the mixture in the refrigerator until it is firm, a minimum of 2 hours.

3.
Cover a baking sheet with a piece of waxed paper. Using two spoons, scoop out and drop mounds of ½ to 1 teaspoonful, depending on the size you wish to make, onto the paper. Refrigerate overnight.

4.
When cold, loosen the mounds from the paper and use your fingers to make them as round as you can, if not already so. Refrigerate until ready to coat.

5.
Make the chocolate covering: In an ovenproof saucepan, melt the chocolate in a very low oven (see “Melting Chocolate,”
page 294
).

6.
When the chocolate has melted, stir it well from time to time as it cools to body temperature. (This is determined when you notice no difference in temperature when you touch the chocolate with the knuckle of your smallest finger.)

7.
Sift the cocoa powder evenly onto a chilled jelly-roll pan or plate.

8.
Remove the truffles from the refrigerator and drop two at a time into the coating chocolate. Using two forks, turn the truffles, coating them well with chocolate. Lift a truffle with one fork, tapping that fork with the other to knock off excess chocolate, then drop the coated truffle onto the pan containing the cocoa powder. Using a spoon, quickly roll and coat with the powder, then push it to the side.