This one takes a bit of prior work to have it ready in time for your after-meal enjoyment. It is, however, relatively easy and can be dressed up or plain - your time, choice, and creativity!
Cool Chocolate Dessert
1/3 cup hot water
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
dash of salt
Combine the hot water, cocoa, and vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside for now.
Microwave the chocolate until completely melted. Let cook for ten minutes. You can also melt them over a double boiler if you don't have access to a microwave.
Whip the cream, sugar, and salt with a mixer until soft peaks form. Stir the cocoa mixture into the melted chocolate. With a hand whisk, fold the combined chocolate mixture into the whipped cream.
Now comes the fun! Do you want to turn it into a pie? Just spread it into a baked pie crust and refrigerate until firm. No time for a pie crust? Layer the chocolate cream into pretty glasses alternating with whipped cream, cookie crumbs, canned cherries, etc. and top with a garnish of whipped cream. A drizzle of bottled caramel sauce wouldn't be bad, either. It is hard to go wrong with anything chocolate and it is easy to create a great dessert with this as your base.
Whipped Cream (this recipe lasts for a few days without breaking down)
1-2 cups of heavy whipping cream (depends on how many you are serving and whether you are layering the dessert, too.)
1/4 cup sour cream (not low fat!)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Whip together the cream to form peaks, whip in the extracts, and there you have it!
Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Friday, July 1, 2011
Chocolate Pots de Creme
Okay, besides peanut butter, chocolate ranks very high in my diet-breaker of choice. Just ran across this one in my search for something special to make this weekend and am definitely going to have it cooling in my refrigerator very soon.
3/4 cup milk
6 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces
2 eggs
2 tablespoons strong coffee
1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur or extract
In a small pan, slowly heat the milk but do not boil. In a blender, combine chocolate,eggs, coffee, and liqueur. Blend until very smooth. Add hot milk and blend until well combined.
Pour mixture into six small serving cups and chill for about four hours before serving. To present your creation, some whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa powder would not go amiss. My crew would also demand a cherry. A touch of cinnamon adds another flare to the dessert as would a few scrapes of freshly grated orange zest.
Although I haven't tried it yet, I'd think the recipe would double quite easily for a crowd.
3/4 cup milk
6 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces
2 eggs
2 tablespoons strong coffee
1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur or extract
In a small pan, slowly heat the milk but do not boil. In a blender, combine chocolate,eggs, coffee, and liqueur. Blend until very smooth. Add hot milk and blend until well combined.
Pour mixture into six small serving cups and chill for about four hours before serving. To present your creation, some whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa powder would not go amiss. My crew would also demand a cherry. A touch of cinnamon adds another flare to the dessert as would a few scrapes of freshly grated orange zest.
Although I haven't tried it yet, I'd think the recipe would double quite easily for a crowd.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Just desserts . . .
The family wanted dessert the other evening as opposed to needing something sweet. I decided a small treat was in order.
Chocolate pudding was the number one choice but I discovered a four-serving package cost a dollar or more when not on sale. Anyone with more than the acceptable 2/1 children knows that four servings of anything tempting doesn’t go far in the family circle. I took some time to go through a few cookbooks and found that making pudding (without the help of the handy cardboard box!), wasn't all that difficult or time consuming. From beginning to spooning it into individual dishes, took me all of ten minutes. The ingredients for eight servings may have come to the cost of a dollar but it was still twice the product offered on the quickie shelf variety. I got out my favorite, medium-sized pot and placed the following in it:
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
4 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
I used a wire whisk and thoroughly combined the dry ingredients. I blended in four egg yolks and one cup of milk, mixing it until smooth. Then I gradually stirred in three more cups of milk. Keeping a constant eye on and spoon in the mixture, I brought it to a boil. I kept on stirring until it thickened. At that point, the pot was removed from the heat, four tablespoons of butter and two teaspoons of vanilla were beaten into the pudding. Spoon into dessert dishes, refrigerate and there you have homemade pudding at half the cost. And I imagine that the ingredients are already on your shelf.
In ten minutes, you can master chocolate pudding. Give yourself another five and you can turn it into pie filling, too. Reduce the milk by one-half cup, proceed as above and pour the finished product into the baked or crumb pie crust of your choice.
I was thinking about going into details about what to do with the leftover pudding after dinner but there wasn’t any! And I don’t believe you will have to worry about that either.
Chocolate pudding was the number one choice but I discovered a four-serving package cost a dollar or more when not on sale. Anyone with more than the acceptable 2/1 children knows that four servings of anything tempting doesn’t go far in the family circle. I took some time to go through a few cookbooks and found that making pudding (without the help of the handy cardboard box!), wasn't all that difficult or time consuming. From beginning to spooning it into individual dishes, took me all of ten minutes. The ingredients for eight servings may have come to the cost of a dollar but it was still twice the product offered on the quickie shelf variety. I got out my favorite, medium-sized pot and placed the following in it:
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
4 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
I used a wire whisk and thoroughly combined the dry ingredients. I blended in four egg yolks and one cup of milk, mixing it until smooth. Then I gradually stirred in three more cups of milk. Keeping a constant eye on and spoon in the mixture, I brought it to a boil. I kept on stirring until it thickened. At that point, the pot was removed from the heat, four tablespoons of butter and two teaspoons of vanilla were beaten into the pudding. Spoon into dessert dishes, refrigerate and there you have homemade pudding at half the cost. And I imagine that the ingredients are already on your shelf.
In ten minutes, you can master chocolate pudding. Give yourself another five and you can turn it into pie filling, too. Reduce the milk by one-half cup, proceed as above and pour the finished product into the baked or crumb pie crust of your choice.
I was thinking about going into details about what to do with the leftover pudding after dinner but there wasn’t any! And I don’t believe you will have to worry about that either.
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