Chocolate treats add sweetness to Valentine's Day
Imagine a homemade Valentine's gift brimming with chocolate — each morsel made with loving attention. Sweet indulgences made with affection. What better way to say, “Be My Valentine”?
Years ago, I asked Carole Bloom, a cookbook author, teacher and chocolate authority, about chocolate's allure. She told me it contains a chemical that creates the same chemistry in the brain as when people are in love, a feeling of euphoria.
We all might benefit from some chocolate-induced cranial jubilation. Also factor is the ghost of Christmas past may have stacked up holiday bills yet to be reckoned with. An expensive gift might well be out of the question. A scrumptious chocolate treat sounds like the ticket.
Chocolate pots de crème remain a favorite at our house. These indulgent little “pots of cream” are traditionally made in little cups with lids designed for the custards; with the lids intact, the pots de crème cups sit in a hot water bath inside the oven. The lids prevent splashes from spoiling the luscious contents. But if you don't have the little lidded cups, try a user-friendly approach thought up by the chefs at America's Test Kitchen: Cook the chocolate custard on the stovetop, then pour it into individual 5-ounce cups or ramekins. Easy.
Or if you prefer, try a chocolate éclair cake, a revised, from-scratch version of an old-fashioned icebox cake. A 9-by-13-inch baking pan is lined with graham crackers, then half of a pudding-and-whipped cream mixture is spooned on top. Another layer of graham crackers is added, then a second layer of the pudding mixture.
A final layer of graham crackers is topped with a chocolate glaze made with semisweet chocolate chips, light corn syrup and heavy cream. Oh boy — it tastes downright decadent. A nostalgic spoonful of lusciousness.
Chef Michael Owens, director of food services at Bracken's Kitchen, creates moon pie cookies — buttery, marshmallow fluffstyle filling sandwiched between dark chocolate cakelike discs.
Recipes
Michael Owens' Moon Pies
Yield: About 9-11 sandwich cookies
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (1stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1cup evaporated milk 1teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Filling:
1/2 cup (1stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup marshmallow crème Cook's notes: If desired, add 1/2 cup peanut butter to the filling.
DIRECTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350degrees. Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.
2. In large bowl of electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed using the paddle attachment; beat until light in color, scraping down sides with a rubber spatula (or silicone spatula) as needed. Add egg, evaporated milk and the vanilla slowly to incorporate; beat on medium speed and scrape the bowl as needed.
3. Sift together flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. With a pastry bag fitted with a medium-size plain piping tip, pipe the batter into circles the size of a silver dollar on prepared baking sheet. Bake until the cookies feel set or firm to the touch, about 12-14 minutes. Let cool to room temperature on wire rack. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
4. In large bowl of electric mixer, use paddle attachment to cream together the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy and no lumps of butter are present. Add marshmallow crème and mix to blend. Put filling in pastry bag with a large, plain tip.
5. Match the cookies together by size. Make sure
they are as consistent as possible in diameter. Pipe the filling on the flat side of one cookie. Take the other cookie and sandwich them together. Repeat this until all the cookies are filled. Store cookies, airtight, in refrigerator.
Chocolate Eclair Cake Yield: 15 servings
INGREDIENTS
11/4 cups (83/4 ounces) sugar
6tablespoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon salt
5 cups whole milk 4tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4pieces 5teaspoons vanilla extract 11/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons water
23/4 cups heavy cream, chilled, divided use 14ounces graham crackers 1cup (6ounces) semisweet
chocolate chips 5tablespoons light corn syrup
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in large saucepan. Whisk milk into sugar mixture until smooth, and bring to boil over medium-high heat, scraping bottom of pan with heatproof rubber spatula. Immediately reduce heat to medium-low and cook, continuing to scrape bottom, until thickened and large bubbles appear on surface, 4-6minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla.
Transfer pudding to large bowl and place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding. Refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours.
2. Sprinkle gelatin over water in bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves,
15-30seconds. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip 2cups cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1-3 minutes. Add gelatin mixture and whip until stiff peaks form, about 1minute. 3. Whisk one-third of whipped cream into chilled pudding, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream, 1scoop at a time, until combined. Cover bottom of 13-by-9-inch baking dish with a layer of graham crackers, breaking crackers as necessary to line bottom of pan. Top with half of pudding-whipped cream mixture (about 51/2 cups) and another layer of graham crackers. Repeat with remaining pudding-whipped cream mixture and remaining graham crackers to cover top.
4. Combine chocolate chips, corn syrup and remaining
3/4 cup cream in bowl and microwave at 50% power, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 1-2minutes. Let glaze cool completely, about 10 minutes. Spread glaze evenly over graham crackers and refrigerate cake for at least 6 hours or up to 2days before serving.
SOURCE: “AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN EVERYTHING CHOCOLATE” (AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN, $35)
Chocolate Pots de Crème
In the second step of this recipe for pots de crème, use an instant-read thermometer to judge when the custard has reached the proper temperature. Or, to judge the thickness, dip a wooden spoon into it and run your finger across the back of the spoon.
The custard is ready when it coats the spoon and a line drawn with your finger maintains neat edges.
8 servings
Yield:
INGREDIENTS
10 ounces bittersweet
chocolate, finely chopped 5 large egg yolks 5tablespoons (21/4 ounces) sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
11/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup half-and-half 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder mixed with 1 tablespoon water
For serving: sweetened whipped cream, optional cocoa powder for dusting, optional chocolate shavings for sprinkling.
DIRECTIONS
1. Place chocolate in medium heatproof bowl; set a finemesh strainer over bowl and set aside.
2. Whisk egg yolks, sugar and salt in medium bowl until combined, then whisk in heavy cream and halfand-half. Transfer mixture to medium saucepan. Cook mixture over medium low heat, stirring constantly and scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon, until thickened and silky and registers 175-180degrees, 8-12 minutes. (Do not let custard overcook or simmer.) 3. Immediately pour custard through strainer over chocolate. Let mixture stand about 5minutes. Whisk gently until smooth, then whisk in vanilla and dissolved espresso. Divide mixture evenly among 5-ounce ramekins (8 in all). Gently tap ramekins against counter to remove any air bubbles. 4. Cool pots de crème to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled at least 4hours or up to 3days. Before serving, let pots de crème stand at room temperature for 20-30minutes. 5. Dollop each pot de crème with about 2 tablespoons of whipped cream, and if desired, dust with cocoa powder and/or chocolate shavings. Serve.