Chocolate dessert?
All,
My dear sister, a chocolate lover, is coming to visit me, a non-chocolate lover. I have a few great chocolate dessert recipes that I make for friends who are fans, but most are cakes, and I often have bad luck with cakes if I get nervous (to be honest, I get so worried that I am undercooking them, I end up overcooking them and they get dry. I know. I know). I really want this to be special, because it's the first time she's visited me in three years!
Does anyone have any really killer chocolate recipes - maybe some tried and true cakes, or really anything that you think stands out? I'm also interested in things that incorporate chocolate but aren't ALL chocolate, so that both of us are happy.
I apologize for being so vague. I'm just at a loss! Thanks!
katecm
Aug 30, 2007 07:49AM
It may seem odd (or even silly), but my mother and my sister and I used to make chocolate covered marshmallows when we were little. We would buy a bag of large marshmallows, my mother would melt down some chocolate in a suacepan, dip the marshmallows in the chocolate, then let us put our favorite sprinkles on them from a variety of options. We then put them in the fridge for about a half hour so the chocolate turned into a nice shell.
Amazinly simple, but a great treat *and* decorative.
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What about a cheesecake with a chocolate sauce?
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Nigella's chocolate pots are easy and killer, and even non-chocoholics like her chocolate cloud cake (a flourless chocolate cake that sinks and you fill the top with whipped cream).
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I agree, a chocolate pot de creme is so easy and no one will know it took you 5 minutes to make it. Here's an easy one from Rachael Ray that I've made many times. To dress it up, you might add orange rind to the chocolate, and also some fresh whipped cream to top.
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/19879/
www.piealamona.blogspot.com
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Choc o pots are amazing!!!
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The most reliably moist, dark and delicious chocloate cake recipe I know--which is no fail and loved by all--is that from Hershey's cocoa. It includes a cup of hot water. This is not the pudding cake recipe, but one which you make in two round cake pans. You can find it on their website.
Frost it with freshly whipped cream and use strawberries between the layers and everyone will be happy!
p.s. I gave this recipe to a non-chowish friend who is not much of a cook, but would attend parties with a from-scratch chocolate cake dry as sawdust--and even she made this well!
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This hot fudge pudding cake is really easy--it's one my kids make all the time. The fudgey sauce on top makes it super moist and it's fun to have all the gooey chocolate on it. Use a good quality cocoa, though, not Hersheys. You can make it mocha by using hot coffee instead of the water:
http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recip...
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I am also a non-chocolate lover in a sea of chocoholics. My old fall back is a Mexican chocolate mousse I whip up with dark chocolate, cream and some ancho and chipotle chilis. It's super easy and very different. Otherwise chocolate pots de cr me, as previously mentioned, are equally easy and satisfying.
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For not-all-chocolate options: Bread pudding with chocolate chunks. Serve it warm, so the chunks are all melted. Similarly, make turnovers using phyllo for the pastry and a filling of bananas and chocolate.
Or mix up some chocolate fondue - super-easy, and you can always enjoy the dippables without actually dipping.
I like chocolate pot-de-creme, but those are completely chocolate through and through. And I have sympathy for your position. Personally, I love chocolate, but I prefer my desserts to offer some contrast - vanilla ice cream with fudge sauce will beat out chocolate ice cream any day.
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Nanaimo Bars and/or Seven Layer Dessert Bars
Vanilla or Grand Marnier Souffles with Chocolate Sauce
Chocolate dipped strawberries
Chocolate Fondue w/ non chocolate dippers
Biscotti dipped in chocolate
Trifle
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I agree with the chocolate pots as a quick and easy recipe.
A flour-less chocolate torte is very good if you have the basic pastry skills.
My most asked for cake is nicknamed "Chocolate Devastation". I make a double batch of brownies and pour in 9" cake rounds. These are then split when cooled and filled with a dark chocolate ganache and raspberry filling. Assemble and ice with chocolate buttercream and garnish with shaved bitter chocolate. Its not low calorie, but chocoholics will be satiated.
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