Hot Chocolate Pudding

A hot chocolate pudding makes an especially welcome dessert on a chilly day - its chocolatey richness is a perfect comfort food. This recipe's simplicity is great; it's so simple, and yet so decadent.

INGREDIENTS:
250 grams plain chocolate, with at least 70% cocoa solids, cut into small chunks
250 grams unsalted butter, diced, plus extra for greasing
6 large eggs
5 large egg yolks
125 grams caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
75 grams plain flour

PREPARATION:
Grease 8 individual ramekins (or one large ovenproof dish) with butter and dust with caster sugar. Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the base of the bowl. Leave until melted. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer on full speed, whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar together for about 6 minutes, until they have at least tripled in volume. Sift the flour into a bowl and slowly pour on the melted chocolate and butter mixture, whisking constantly until a thin paste has formed. Fold this into the whisked egg mixture very carefully but quickly, as the chocolate will start to set. Pour into the prepared dishes and bake in an oven preheated to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4, until risen and firm on the outside but soft in the center. A large dish will take about 30 minutes to cook, the individual ramekins about 13 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or pureed berries.

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Bittersweet Chocolate Fondue

Almost anything tastes better dipped in chocolate. Use your imagination and offer cubes of your favorite cake and sliced fruit for dipping. Marshmellows, fresh strawberries, dried fruit, shortbread or Oreo cookies... the combinations are endless!

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup whipping cream
5 tablespoons water
12 oz bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

PREPARATION:
Bring cream and 2 tablespoons water to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in remaining 3 tablespoons water (or substitute with 3 tablespoons liqueur of choice; see variations listed below). Transfer to fondue pot and keep warm over fondue burner. If fondue becomes too thick at any time, mix in more water by tablespoonfuls as needed.

Servings: Makes 2 cups chocolate fondue for dipping

White Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries

If you can't find fresh strawberries in your local supermarket, frozen strawberries may be used in this recipes; substitute two (10-ounce) cans frozen strawberries for the 2 cups fresh strawberries.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups fresh strawberries, stems removed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp. kirsch (clear cherry brandy) or framboise (raspberry liqueur)
6 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup milk, warmed
1 cup heavy cream
2 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

PREPARATION:
In a food processor, combine 1 1/2 cups of strawberries with the sugar. Puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Add the kirsch and stir to mix. Cut the remaining 1/2 cup strawberries lengthwise into thin slices and stir into the puree. Set aside.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water; do not allow the bowl to touch the water. Heat the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until it is melted and smooth. Gradually add the warm milk to the chocolate, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan of water and let the mixture cool until it is almost at room temperature.

Beat the cream just until soft peaks form. In another bowl beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold half of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold the remaining whites, whipped cream and vanilla into the chocolate mixture just until combined and no white drifts remain. Do not overmix. (At this point, you may cover and refrigerate the mousse for up to 1 day).

To serve, spoon about half of the mousse into 6 parfait glasses, half filling each glass. Top with the strawberry sauce, again using about half and dividing it equally. Repeat with the remaining mousse and strawberry sauce.

Serves 6.

Banana Rum Cream Pie

The rum and gelatin give this pie a richer taste and satisfying firmness. Vanilla wafer biscuits can be used in place of butter cookies if desired. Garnish pie with fresh banana slices.

INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ cups finely ground butter cookies
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

7 ripe bananas, divided
3/4 cup whole milk
8 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups heavy cream

PREPARATION:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°(F). Butter the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. In a small bowl, combine the ground butter cookies and melted butter. Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned; set aside to cool.

Cut 5 of the bananas into 1-inch pieces and combine with the milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Puree this banana mixture until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl and stir the white chocolate into the mixture until completely melted; set aside to cool.

Place the dark rum in a small microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over and let stand for 5 minutes to soften. Microwave the gelatin mixture on HIGH for 7 seconds until melted. Let stand 2 minutes. Stir ½ cup of the banana mixture into the gelatin. Fold the banana gelatin mixture into the remainder of the banana puree and set aside.

Whip the cream until stiff peaks start to form. Stir 1/4 of the cream into the banana filling to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whipped cream in three additions. The filling may have a slightly grainy appearance. Cut the remaining bananas into 1/4-inch pieces. Place the banana slices evenly over the bottom of the crust. Spoon the filling into the cooled crust and refrigerate for 5 hours or overnight until set.

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Creme de Menthe Cheesecake

This fantastic looking cheesecake has a minty taste that adds a refreshing touch.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup chocolate cookie crushed
1/4 cup unsalted butter melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 eggs
3 tbsp Creme de Menthe liqueur
2 oz. chopped chocolate thin mints (Optional)
1/2 tsp all purpose flour (if using chocolate mints)

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Blend cookie crumbs and butter in medium bowl. Press mixture over bottom of springform pan. Bake crust until lightly browned at edges, about 8 minutes. Cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

In an electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Slowly mix in sugar and beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy (1 to 2 minutes). Continue beating, adding eggs 1 at a time, until well mixed - do not over beat. Stir in liqueur by hand. In a small bowl, mix the chopped chocolate mints with the flour. Gently fold in chopped mints into cream cheese mixture. Pour filling onto crust. Bake cake until edges are set and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 45 mins - 1 hr. Cool completely in pan on rack. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

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Mocha Truffles

This truffle recipe has a subtle mocha flavour. It's very good and you will feel guilty after just eating two of them, so you know they're good truffles! These quantities will make around 30 - 40 truffles.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 lb. dark chocolate
1/2 lb. milk chocolate
3 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons espresso powder
1/4 cup Kahlúa

About 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (to coat hands for rolling)
3 lb. dark chocolate (for dipping)

PREPARATION:
Chop the dark and milk chocolate into small pieces and melt in a double boiler of hot water. Do not boil the water — melt the chocolate slowly. Take your time to avoid overheating the chocolate. Stir the chocolate occasionally to help with melting.

While the chocolate is melting, heat the cream over medium heat, stirring frequently until the cream boils. Add the espresso powder and mix thoroughly. Let the cream mixture cool just a bit from boiling before adding it to the thoroughly melted chocolate. Keep stirring until the cream has disappeared into the chocolate. Wipe the bottom of the double boiler with a towel to remove water and pour ganache into a bowl to cool.

Once the ganache is cool, spoon into a plastic bag (preferably with sharp corners), snip one corner off, and pipe the filling into small mounds. Coat your palms with cocoa powder and roll mounds until round. Melt the 3 lbs of dark chocolate slowly. You can dip the rolled centers by hand or using dipping tools. Dip the truffle centers in chocolate and then quickly transfer them to a cookie sheet lines with wax paper.

Decorate with melted white or milk chocolate.


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Fruit Sautéed with Ginger, Honey and Rum

This tangy, sweet delight is very quick to make and absolutely delightful to eat. You can use almost any fruit with this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
1 Mango
1 Pear
1 cup Seedless Grapes
1/2 Papaya
4 Dried Apricots
1 Lime
1 Vanilla Bean, Seeds Scraped (or 1 tsp. extract)
4 tbsp. Honey
2 tbsp. Butter
3 inches Fresh Ginger
Dark Rum (optional)

PREPARATION:
1. Mix the small vanilla seeds (cut bean in half lengthwise, and scrape out seeds with the tip of a knife) with the honey.
2. Peel and cut mango, papaya, and pear. Cut lime (with skin on) into very thin slices. Peel and slice ginger into thin sticks.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add all fruits and ginger. Cook for about 5 minutes on a high flame. Then, lower flame, and add the vanilla honey. Stir delicately. Flambé with rum if desired. Serve right away with sorbet or ice-cream.


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