Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Dark Chocolate Mousse
February 12, 2019 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things | 9 CommentsTags: chocolate, holiday, mousse
Dark Chocolate Mousse…so fancy, I decided it was worthy of the good silver. Definitely Valentine’s Day dessert-worthy, too, if you are into rich, creamy, velvety, chocolatey deliciousness. If you are not, I guess come back next week…when I’m making buttery, smoky, heart-shaped chocolate cookies…haha.
Let’s get down to business here. I could tell that Dorie’s (originally Pierre Hermé’s) recipe would have a large yield– the 1 3/4 cup of cream alone tipped me off– so I decided to make just a quarter of the original. (And, btw, I still got 4 reasonable servings, when I thought I’d only get two.) In order to downsize though, I had to modify just a bit. The recipe calls for folding together melted chocolate and whipped cream, which I did as written, along with eggs and yolks that are whipped fluffy with a boiling sugar syrup. I know from past experience that trying to make a pâte à bombe like this out of just a yolk or two and a small amount of sugar can go very wrong. Instead, I decided to get the volume into my single yolk and half an egg by whipping it with the sugar over a water bath, sabayon-style. While I was at it, I added a splash of cognac, you know, because it’s French.
My little switcheroo seemed to work just fine. After I chilled my mousse, I was able to scoop it nicely into my little silver coupes. Dorie says the mousse also makes a nice cake or cream puff filling, but whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles seemed to be a more expeditious way for this chocoholic to enjoy it.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll. Happy Valentine’s Day, loves!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Chocolate-Coconut Tart
January 8, 2019 at 11:13 pm | Posted in BCM, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 7 CommentsTags: baking, chocolate, tarts
Our first BCM bake of 2019 and it’s a good one! This Chocolate-Coconut Tart has one of my very favorite flavor combos, with coconut pastry cream hiding under a shiny dark chocolate ganache, all inside a sweet tart crust. I’m glad that cutting back on sweets was not one of my new year’s resolutions, or I guess we are saying “intentions” now, because I do intend to enjoy every bite of these babies. I did decide to responsibly keep myself from going overboard by scaling back the recipe to make a few small tartlets instead of a large format tart.
This recipe has a few components, but I spaced them out over a couple of days to make things manageable. I actually had some of Dorie’s Sweet Tart Dough in the freezer and I used that to line my shells. I made the pastry cream (I used all toasted coconut and coconut sugar to boost that flavor) and I stashed it in the fridge, along with my lined tart shells, overnight. The next day, I baked and filled the shells, then made the ganache and topped them off. Easy peasy to make and to eat. It tastes like a fancy Mounds bar. Why did it take us so long to make this?
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Chocolate-Raspberry Thumbprints
August 21, 2018 at 8:10 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, chocolate, cookies
Sometimes I’m kind of “eh” on fruit and chocolate combinations, but I’ll admit that these Chocolate-Raspberry Thumbprints are good little cookies. The chocolate dough is Dorie’s “Do-Almost-Anything” dough and rolled into balls, it makes a nice, soft thumbprint cookie. I filled my prints with a not-to-sweet jam from Sqirl that I bought at a local cheese shop. I was pleased not to have any jam overflow and it set up nicely once the cookies were baked and cooked. I gave them the little drizzle of chocolate for some extra pizzaz. I’m pretty sure everyone I’ll give them to will be happy that I shared.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Cold Chocolate Crémeux, Wine-Poached Cherries and Lots of Crumbs
August 14, 2018 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, cookies & bars, groups, jams & preserves, other sweet, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 10 CommentsTags: baking, chocolate, custard, fruit
If Cold Chocolate Crémeux, Wine-Poached Cherries and Lots of Crumbs sounds pretty cheffy, that’s because it’s inspired by a dessert Dorie had a bistro in Paris. A crémeux is essentially a custard that’s thickened with gelatin. It’s not hard to make and sets up dense and rich, especially when it also has a lot of good dark chocolate blended in! The crumbs are cocoa-flavored streusel bits, and wine-poached cherries are just what they sound like…I used an Aussie shiraz in my poaching liquid. Serve this dessert in a cute little bowl…you’ll have a combination of textures and sweetness levels.
Like most desserts with multiple components, it helps when you can get some of them out of the way ahead of time. The cherries can be poached well in advance and kept jarred in the fridge. The cocoa crumbs, too, but I’d keep them in the freezer for longer-term storage. Any extra cherries and crumbs you may find yourself with will be good toppings for an ice cream sundae later…just sayin’.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Salted Chocolate-Caramel Bars
March 21, 2017 at 5:05 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 14 CommentsTags: baking, bars, chocolate, cookies
If the name of these bars doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about them, then the photos should. These Salted-Chocolate Caramel Bars are basically all that is good and gooey in this world in one cookie. With a cocoa shortbread base, a layer of thick, salty chocolate-caramel sauce and toasted pecans on top, they are almost candy. If you’re in danger of eating too many, at least you’ll have no problem finding friends to share them with.
My advice is to keep the bars in the fridge. The caramel layer gets a little schlumpy when they are left to sit for too long. They’re also delicious cold, if you can’t wait for them to come up to room temp.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. It was also Dorie’s #cookiesandkindness selection for the month of March, so you can find the bar recipe on her site, too. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Black-and-White Marbled Madeleines
March 14, 2017 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, cookies & bars, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 11 CommentsTags: baking, cake, chocolate
Over the last nine years, I’ve made many Dorie versions of the little shell-shaped cakes called madeleines. Appearance-wise, these Black-and-White Marbled Madeleines were probably not my best effort. I could tell I would have a little more batter than I needed, but overfilled the molds a bit anyway because: a) I was too lazy to clean the pan and do a second bake-off, and b) I’m too cheap to ever throw out batter. So my edges weren’t the sharpest. I didn’t get the signature madeleine bump this time either…I probably should have rested the batter for several hours instead of just one. Also my marbling technique wasn’t great. But hey– at least I know what my problems were! Taste and texture-wise, they were great. The vanilla-chocolate combo is a classic, obviously, and the little bit of citrus zest (I used bergamot instead of lime) made them extra flavorful. They were soft and spongy fresh out the oven…I don’t know how well they hold up because they didn’t last! I wouldn’t hesitate to give these a go again and be a bit more of a perfectionist when baking them the second time around.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Sunday in Paris Chocolate Cake
February 14, 2017 at 5:22 pm | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 10 CommentsTags: baking, cake, chocolate
Hello my loves. How about a little chocolate for Valentine’s Day? Maybe with some peanuts thrown in, too? If that sounds good to you, then this Sunday in Paris Chocolate Cake will be right up your alley. This recipe is in the “Fancy Cakes” section of the book, but it isn’t an intimidating one. The batter is pretty straightforward, with some peanut butter and chopped nuts in the mix. And the decoration is simple, too…ganache with a sprinkling of extra nuts and chocolate. I debated making mini cakes or a larger loaf, as the recipe will work either way. I decided to go for dainty little ones and used a silicon financier mold for baking, but a mini muffin tim would be a fine substitute. Watch the baking time if you do small cakes…they don’t take long in the oven.
This sort of reminds me of a cakey brownie. While I could easily eat one of these on it’s own, a scoop of vanilla ice cream makes it even better. You can fiddle with the topping, too. Last night, I took two plain (no ganache topping) cakes, accompanied by the obligatory scoops of ice cream, and drizzled them with warm salted caramel sauce and then scattered peanuts over top. Super good!
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Chocolate Truffles
December 13, 2016 at 8:12 pm | Posted in BCM, candy, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 10 CommentsTags: candy, chocolate, holiday
My mom used to make her own Chocolate Truffles every year and bring them with us to Christmas dinner at Grandma’s house. They were delicious…soft, creamy and rich…and boozy with Cognac, too. Not so child-friendly, but it was a once-a-year treat, so we’ll cut her some slack. Also, it was the ’80s, so no one cared. Why my mother has stopped making these, I am not sure, but I wanted to recreate them myself with this recipe. I added in a glug of Cognac to the ganache and rolled the truffles in cocoa powder, just like she did.
At the restaurant where I work, I’m the chocolatier (it always embarrasses me to say that, btw). I make primarily molded chocolates and piped decorations but I’ve learned to work with chocolatey stuff pretty quickly. I even manage to keep my jacket and apron mostly clean these days (the bowl that I work from is often another story). If you have “hot hands” you may find the truffle rolling process frustrating and super messy. Using a little cookie scoop can help to preshape them before rolling them in your hands. Food-safe gloves help with the mess, too.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Esquimaux Pops for Grown-Ups
August 9, 2016 at 5:20 pm | Posted in BCM, groups, ice creams & frozen, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 13 CommentsTags: chocolate, ice cream
Hot summer days call for cold treats, everyone knows that. Esquimaux Pops for Grown-Ups are frozen chocolate mousse on a stick, with booze (I used Cassis) and chopped chocolate bits added for more fun. No ice cream maker– but several bowls!– required. I had my suspicions about these freezing too hard, actually, but they were perfectly airy and delicious. A “make again” for sure.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
TWD BCM Rewind: Cocoa Crunch Meringue Sandwiches
May 31, 2016 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 14 CommentsTags: baking, chocolate, cookies
These Cocoa Crunch Meringue Sandwiches the group made last month are light and crisp, but rich with chocolate. The cocoa meringue cookies are made in much the same way as French macarons (they even contain nuts), but instead of being left with a little chew in the center, they are baked long and low and all the way, till they are like crunchy chocolate air. Ganache, possibly my favorite form of chocolate, finishes these cookies off. Dorie says to eat the sandwiches chilled, and they’re great that way.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan (it’s also here). Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
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