They say that these Swedish chocolate balls, known as chokladbollar,
are the first thing a Swedish child learns to make, which makes a lot of sense.
They’re easy to do, there’s no baking required, and mixing the “dough” together
is just as fun as making mud-pies. What doesn’t make sense is that these aren’t
the first thing an American child learns to make. Maybe this video will help
change that.
It’s not like these are pure health food, but they sure are a
lot better than eating a candy bar when those hangry feelings flood over you in
the middle of the afternoon. The fat and whole grain in these keep you
satisfied much longer than you’d think, and the little pick-me-up from the
coffee, sugar, and cocoa doesn't hurt either.
I used quick-cooking oats in these, but I’ve also made them
with regular rolled oats, and they seemed to come out just fine. Of course,
some folks might have trouble eating raw oats, but that can be solved if you do
the optional pan-toasting step. Above and beyond making these easier to digest,
I like the very subtle toasty notes it provides. Either way, I really do hope
you teach your kids how to make these chokladbollars very soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 14-16 small Swedish Chocolate Balls:
1 1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats, very lightly toasted
1/2 cup white sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
pinch of kosher salt
pinch of cayenne
1/4 cup soft unsalted butter
1/4 cup room temp coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brewed coffee or espresso
finely shredded unsweetened coconut for rolling balls
Banana, walnut, and chocolate are always an amazing
combination of ingredients, no matter what the delivery system, but it really doesn’t
get any better than in this ganache-frosted cupcake. A close second would be a
chocolate-dipped frozen banana, rolled in walnuts, which is also a great treat,
although much more awkward to eat in public.
Just be sure to buy your bananas way ahead of time. Using
green bananas would be one of the few ways to mess this up, so I’d pick some up
at least a week ahead of time, and wait until they’re starting to turn black
before using them. For some extra flavor, a little banana liqueur wouldn’t be a
bad idea, but these were great as is.
I thought the dark chocolate ganache was a perfect frosting,
especially after trying them with a banana-based buttercream, which ended up
being way too sweet for such a decadent cupcake. Of course, you can skip the
frosting all together, and simply make a batch of the world’s best chocolate,
walnut, banana muffins. Either way, I really do hope you give these a try soon.
Enjoy!
Ingredients for 12 Chunky Monkey Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
12 banana chip for garnish, optional
- Bake at 350 F. for about 25 minutes.
For the Dark Chocolate Frosting:
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup very hot, but not boiling cream
- Pour cream over chips, wait a few minutes, and stir. Wait
until mixture is cool enough to be spreadable.
If you’ve never made a Yule Log because you thought it would
take a lot of time and effort, then you probably made the right decision, since
it does. But, if you haven’t tried this classic holiday dessert because you
thought it required advanced baking and pastry skill, then get ready to bûche,
since the techniques required are actually quite simple.
This classic holiday dessert is a showstopper, but it’s
often better looking, than it is tasting, which is not the case here,
thanks to a simple-to-make, rich chocolate sponge cake, and mocha buttercream
filling. Having said that, if you have a favorite frosting or filling,
literally anything you can spread will work here. As long as you can slice it
later, pretty much anything goes.
I forgot to add the vanilla extract, and I’ve made that
correction in the ingredients below, but above and beyond what you add to the
batter, you can also drizzle the baked sponge with many delicious, possibly
adult beverages. Coffee liqueur is a great choice, as is dark rum, Kirsch,
and Framboise, just to name a few. This practice probably started to cover up
dry, overcooked cake, which of course would never be a problem for us, but even
a perfectly cooked sponge can benefit if you’re so inclined.
As far as the decorations go, just a dusted and frosted Yule
log makes for a great presentation, but half the fun is creating a scene around
your log, and an image search should give you plenty of ideas. I may try to
sneak in a video for how to do the meringue mushrooms, but not sure exactly
when. Regardless of how you decorate it, or what you flavor it with, I really
do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for one Chocolate Yule Log (8 portions): NOTE: This was for a 13 X 18" sheet pan)
2 tablespoons melted butter for greasing pan
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 large room temperature eggs (do not use cold eggs)
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla - Bake at 400 F. for 8 to 10 minutes
For the filling: NOTE: I thought mine had too much buttercream, so I'd probably use 2/3 rd for this and save the rest for cupcakes)
1 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup room temp butter
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons coffee liquor, and or any other flavoring or
extract, or a splash of milk to achieve a light, fluffy buttercream
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
Ganache frosting:
1 cup hot heavy cream
8 ounces dark chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
These gorgeous cream puff "crack
buns” were inspired by the Great British Baking Show, which is not only my
favorite cooking show, but currently my favorite thing on television. Maybe
it's the accent, or because the contestants are all so nice, and actually try
to help each other. Or, it could be the fact that when the time is up, and they
try to work for a few more seconds, the hosts just politely scold them, instead
of immediate disqualification, which is what would happen on our much more uptight
American culinary competitions.
It's probably all of the above, plus
the fact I always get so many wonderful ideas for videos, with these Choux au Crackelin
being a prime example. Like I said in the video, these would be great filled
with all kinds of things, but it's hard to beat vanilla bean pastry cream. I'm
pretty proud of the recipe we posted a few years ago, and while I enjoy it
straight, traditionally it would have some whipped cream folded in to lighten
the mixture.
Speaking of favorite things, Boston
cream pie is one of my all-time favorite desserts, and this was basically an
individually portioned, probably superior version of that. The only thing that
would have made this experience any more enjoyable would have been getting that
coveted Paul Hollywood handshake. Maybe one day. In the meantime, I really do
hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 6 to 8 Crack Buns:
For the “crack” crust:
3 tablespoons soft butter
1/4 light brown sugar (1 1/2 ounces)
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour (47
grams)
pinch salt
For the choux pastry:
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
pinch salt
1/2 cup flour
2 large room temperature eggs
melted dark chocolate, optional
- Put into 450 F. oven, reduce to 350 F., and bake for 30-40
minutes or until browned and fully puffed.
I’ve always found it amusing that macaroons, which are one
of the easiest cookies ever, has the same name, give or take an “o,” as the
famously difficult macaron.
Even though they have the same origin, which the
Italian word maccarone (also where we get macaroni), they couldn’t be more
different in texture, as well as the skill they require.
Since we did (and totally nailed) the hard one, I figured I
should do the easy one, especially since I just got back from vacation, and
something simple seemed like a really good idea. Speaking of easy, using sweetened
condensed milk streamlines the operation, and produces a very nice texture, but if
you can’t find it, there are many macaroon recipes that use white, or powdered sugar,
so don’t let that slow you down.
Regarding the chocolate dip, you can just melt, and use any
kind you like, but for that extra professional touch, I suggest tempering the
chocolate before you dip.There are many
complicated demos online, which involve heating and cooling the chocolates
using very specific temperatures, and they work great, but I generally don’t
have the patience.
Instead, I use a shortcut method that involves chopping up
some dark chocolate into the size of peas, melting 75% of it, and then stirring
in the other 25%, until it melts. That should get you pretty close, and at the
very least you’ll have a firmer, snappier texture than if you just melted all
the chocolate at once, and started dipping. Either way, I hope you give these
easy coconut macaroons a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 24 Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons:
I know chocolate granola sort of sounds like candy, but introducing
cocoa into the mix not only makes it delicious, it also actually makes it
better for you! Possibly. No one is really sure. The point is this really
tastes great, and would make a wonderful treat for the chocolate lover, mother
or otherwise, in your life.
I showed amazing restraint not adding anything more that
oatmeal and almonds, since I really think that’s the best plan for the
chocolate base, but I would have no problem with you accessorizing this as you see
fit. Coconut flakes are an obvious choice, as are other usual suspects like
dried fruit, any and all nuts, and assorted seeds.
If you want a stickier granola, that will more easily clump
together, you can up the brown sugar and maple syrup a bit, as I used the bare
minimum in this recipe, but I think it’s plenty sweet enough, especially if
you’re a fan of dark chocolate.
Speaking of chocolate, I used Guittard’s Cocoa Rouge, a
Dutch-process cocoa, which has a lower acidity than regular cocoa, and works
perfectly flavor-wise. However, I’ve heard that type of cocoa doesn’t retain as
much of the nutritional value, due to the way it’s processed. The good news is,
any high-quality cocoa will work here.
By the way, I was only half-kidding about making this for
someone, and then keeping it all for yourself, so best play it safe, and make a
double, or triple batch. No matter how much you make, or what you add in, I
really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Makes about 3 1/2 cups of Chocolate Granola:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt)
pinch of cayenne
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (Dutch-processed if possible)
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup chopped almonds
- Mix, and bake at 250 F. for about an hour, or until as
crunchy/chewy as you like.
I don’t remember much about the movie, Amadeus, which isn’t
surprising, since I don’t remember that much about the early eighties in
general, but I do recall the famous “Nipples of Venus” scene. At the time, I
wondered if that was actually a real thing, or just something made up for the
movie, but since there was no Internet yet, I never found out.
Fast forward thirty-plus years later, and inspired by a viewer’s
request, I finally learned that these were in fact real, and very delicious,
thanks in part to star of the show, chestnuts. While not a common ingredient,
chestnuts aren’t that hard to find, and worth the effort, since they work really well in this.
If you must, another nut like almond, or hazelnut, should
work about the same, especially when you consider your guest, or guests, will
be fairly distracted by the eye-opening appearance. Speaking of Netflix and
chill, you could show Amadeus after dinner, with these served as a sexy snack during the
viewing. From there, you’re on your own. Regardless of whether you serve these
on Valentine’s Day or not, I still really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 24 Nipples of Venus:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1/3 cup white sugar
6 ounces dark chocolate
14 ounces whole chestnuts
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup brandy
*8 ounces white chocolate, chopped, divided
1/3 cup powdered sugar
enough milk to make a very thick paste
1 or 2 drops red food coloring
*This is more white chocolate than you need for coating, but that's how this stuff works. Just eat the rest.
I’ll admit to being
pretty underwhelmed the first time I had a chocolate croissant, or “pain au chocolat,”
as I’d mispronounce it; but eventually I realized the relatively sparse amount
of chocolate wasn’t any kind of stinginess, but rather the true secret behind
this amazing pastry.
Properly done, this
should ride that line between sweet pastry and a savory bread, so don’t overdo
it with the chocolate chunks; otherwise you’ll lose that beautiful balance. Other
than that, not much can go wrong. Just be sure to bake them until nicely
browned, and let them cool before enjoying.
While this will work
with that dough in the tube, I’d like to think you’d make a batch of your own
dough using our recently posted croissant recipe. Don’t worry, it only seems
like a lot of work. Either way, I really do hope you give these chocolate croissants
a try soon. Enjoy!
In addition to sharing an easy, and beautiful edible holiday
gift idea, I wanted to make this chocolate bark so I could test a simplified
technique for tempering chocolate without a thermometer. It sounded too good to
be true, but worked fairly well, which is the problem. Is fairly good, okay?
Properly
tempered chocolate will snap when broken, and retain that gorgeous glossy
sheen. Poorly tempered chocolate is sort of dull grey, and the texture is soft,
and waxy. This was somewhere in the middle.
Using this method, you will get close to properly tempered
chocolate, and you might get lucky, and actually end up with perfectly tempered
chocolate, but in hindsight, since using a thermometer isn’t really hard, and
the extra steps required not that strenuous, I’ll probably just do it the right
way next time.
In fact, I may do a future chocolate truffle video as an
excuse to show you the “professional” method, but in the meantime, check out this great article I found on Allrecipes, as well as this video from Monarch Media that does a good job of explaining the steps. There
are also hundreds of other videos online that take you through the procedure.
Regardless of which method you go with, quick and imprecise, or deliberate and
exact, I stand by my assertion that this would make a great holiday gift. I
hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
With everybody’s favorite made-up holiday right around the
corner, I thought I would finally post a chocolate soufflé. I’m not sure what
took so long, other than the fact that soufflés have never been my favorite
delivery system for chocolate.
Sure, they’re visually impressive, which is key for a
special occasion dessert, but the chocolate does get a bit diluted by all those
air bubbles. Also, I’ve always been much more of a cold, or room-temp chocolate
dessert guy, and never gone nuts for things like lava cakes, and baked
puddings.
Having said that, I’m sure I’m in the minority, and you and
your special someone will enjoy these just fine. I developed this recipe for
two, since that makes a lot of sense, but it should scale up without issue. If
you want to add some type of liquor to this, you can add it to the milk and
flour mixture after you turn off the heat.
Rum works beautiful, as does coffee, orange, or raspberry
liqueur.Above and beyond that, if you
really want to impress your date, you could also whip up a sauce to serve along
side. I’m thinking either a berry puree, or maybe a coffee crème anglaise would
pair perfectly. Either way, sauced or not, I really hope you give this a try
soon, and it gets you lots of compliments. Enjoy!
Chocolate soufflé for two 5-oz ramekins): melted butter and sugar to prep ramekins
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon cold milk
pinch salt
pinch cayenne
2 ounces dark chocolate (I like something around 70%)
1 large egg yolk
2 large egg whites
pinch cream of tartar (you can use a few drops of lemon
juice or vinegar instead)
And by dream, I mean nightmare. I don’t test recipes. There
is nothing in my contract that requires me to only post successful videos, and
as you longtime viewers know, I do enjoy sharing the occasional flop, but this
new and improved, vanilla bean pastry cream was not a one-take affair.
I’ve wanted to update our old crème patisserie recipe for a
while, and long story short, I became obsessed, and ended up suffering through seven non-perfect versions before I was finally satisfied. The key to a great pastry cream is using the
minimum of starch. You need enough so the cream holds a shape, but not so much it
interferes with the flavor.
I found flour-based pastry creams easy to work with, but
they have more of a pasty mouthfeel that gets in the way of the vanilla. That’s
why this version is all corn starch, which we need less of to do the same job. Just
be careful not to keep cooking it once it has thickened, otherwise you may
compromise its thickening powers.
With the holidays, and their associated fancy desserts,
right around the corner, what better time to work on your pastry cream game? So
whether it’s for Napoleons, pies, tarts, or cakes, I really hope you give this
a try soon. Enjoy!
Makes about 3 cups:
1 large whole egg
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon fine table salt)
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, seeded, plus pure vanilla extract if needed Tip: Save the scraped pods, and stick them in your sugar container for lovely, vanilla-scented sugar!
So, you didn’t exactly get your Christmas shopping done
early this year. In fact, it’s Christmas Eve, and you haven’t started yet. Well,
you’re in luck, because there’s such a thing as this homemade instant hot chocolate
mix. We really shouldn’t be rewarding you for procrastinating, but that’s
exactly what we are doing here.
Not only is this stuff way better tasting, and contains no “how
do you pronounce that?” ingredients, but it also takes just seconds to make,
and you may already have everything you need in the pantry. Just make sure one
of those things is a very high quality cocoa powder.
I’m linking to the same exact Dutch-processed “cocoa rouge" that I used here, so that you can get all the particulars, and hopefully find
something very similar. The better the cocoa, the better the hot chocolate. Or
is it hot cocoa? Either way.
By the way, this will be the last video of the year, and we’ll be taking
a little break until the New Year. Whether it includes homemade hot chocolate or not, I
want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! And, as
always, enjoy!
I know, everybody says that, but I really mean it. These
are, these have to be, the best chocolate chip cookies, ever. Crispy around the
edges, chewy and chocolaty in the middle, and thin, oh so thin.
The only way someone doesn’t love these, is if they prefer
thick cookies instead, which, in that case, makes their opinion invalid, since
they’re obviously crazy. Besides, you know you can just press two thin cookies
together to get a thick one. Right?
My “secret” formula has been adapted from Alton Brown’s
famous, “The Thin” recipe, and is fairly foolproof. The only real variable is
the baking time, since we all scoop slightly different amounts. Mine took about
12 minutes, but if you make yours a little bigger, or smaller, that time will
change.
And yes, of course you can add nuts to yours! I’m a walnut
guy from way back, but decided to go sans nuts for this video.Speaking of nuts, you’re nuts if you don’t
try this very simple, and amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 32 Chocolate Chip Cookies (depending
on size):
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt (or 3/4 teaspoon of fine table
salt)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks (1 cup) very soft unsalted *butter (be sure the butter is room temp, and very, very soft!) *I used a high-quality European-style butter, and recommend you do the same. Cheaper butters will have more water content, which can affect the fat ratio, and thickness of your cookie.
This “flourless” chocolate cake was all the rage in the
1980’s, and looking back, it all makes sense. As I vaguely remember, the decade
celebrated decadent overindulgence, and this dessert is that, and more. By
modern standards, this cake is ridiculously rich. In fact, some of you may find
it too intense, but most true chocolate fiends will be in heaven.
This was invented by chef Narsai David, in Berkeley,
California, and while close to the original, I bumped up the ingredient amounts
a bit, so we can use a standard 9-inch pan. Also, he doesn’t use cayenne. By the way, if
you don’t use the same chocolate I did (milk, white, etc.), I can’t tell
you what will happen, because I don’t know.
I dusted the buttered pan with flour, because that’s how Mr.
David does it, but my sources in the pastry world tell me that cocoa may be a
better choice, since it won’t leave a light film. Doesn’t bother me, but I have
to write something for these posts.
Be careful not to overcook this. It goes for a relatively
short time in a hot oven, so while mine took about 14 minutes, you should start
checking around 13. The top will be just barely set, with a jiggle below the
surface. If it’s really soupy, then leave it another minute and check again.
This is best served very cold. It’s easier to cut, and I
enjoy the texture more than at room temp. As I mentioned, stay tuned for the raspberry sauce video, which I’ll post on Friday. That will give you plenty of
time to practice both for Valentine’s Day. I hope you give this a try
soon.Enjoy!
Ingredients for one 9-inch cake pan (this is extremely rich
cake, so you can easily get 12 to 16 servings):
18 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (62% cacao)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon flour
5 large eggs, room temp, or slightly warm for best results
* Bake at 425 F. for probably 12-15 minutes depending on the
oven, until just barely set, with a jiggle below the surface. The cake will
firm up as it cools.
TIP: If you want to remove your cake from the pan for presentation, just set it in a pan of hot water for a minute, and it will pop right out.
In addition to being an incredible tasting dessert, Tiramisu
also offers the perfect segue when you’re trying to steer the Valentine’s
dinner conversation towards spicier subjects. Please feel free to embellish the
following history to further enhance the version your sweetheart hears.
Tiramisu was invented in an Italian brothel, where it was a
popular snack with customers looking for a little restorative treat after
certain strenuous activities. Tiramisu actually means “pick-me-up,” which of
course makes it the best culinary double entendre in history.
Besides the great story, it really is the perfect romantic
occasion dessert. This heady, mood-elevating concoction is a rich and deeply
satisfying, yet remarkably light in texture. I know someone will ask, so yes
you can use regular cream cheese, but mascarpone is far superior, and it is
Valentine’s Day after all.
As far as the booze goes, I used Marsala, but it also works
beautifully with amoretti, rum, brandy, or even Bailey’s. The other key liquid in this is
the espresso, and I highly recommend that’s what you use. Regular coffee
doesn’t have the same punch. You can use instant, but the last time I checked
there was literally a café on every corner of every city.
I did these as two, rather large individual portions, but
this could be easily stretched into four cups, or layered in a square baking
dish, as is more traditional. Don’t over-think it; no matter what you use,
it’s basically three layers of mascarpone mixture around two layers of
coffee-dipped ladyfingers.
They say you can tell how good your Valentine's dessert was, by whether or not you end up also having to cook breakfast. Which reminds me, if you make this, be sure to not use up the last of the eggs. I really hope you give this tiramisu a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 large or 4 small portions:
1/2 cup espresso with 2 tbsp Marsala wine for dipping
cookies
10 or 12 ladyfinger cookies, broken in half if making cups
I’m calling this “miracle fudge” for several reasons. First
of all, the odds of me seeing a vegan fudge link on Twitter, and actually
clicking on it, are roughly zero. That alone makes this video miraculous, but
that cocoa, maple syrup, and coconut oil can combine to create something so
pleasurable and fudge-like, also makes it worthy of the title.
Michele actually discovered the link on Twitter, and called
my attention to it since she recognized the Tweeter as my friend, Stephanie
Stiavetti aka @sstiavetti. Nothing against Ms. Stiavetti, but this still
usually wouldn’t have been enough to tempt me, except that I heard mention of
coconut oil.
This was significant because another friend, Ariyele Ressler,
posted something called a "The Triple Luxe" on her YouTube channel
(pictured here), which featured this fascinating fat. I was captivated by her delicious looking creation, and the coconut oil's butter-like properties, and told myself that I needed pick some up for
experimentation.
Anyway, as a result of this perfect storm of social media
synchronicity, I decided to check out her recipe, and it rocked. I did a bunch
of tests, and even though you’re forfeiting some health benefits, I
found the refined coconut oil worked better than the raw, extra-virgin style,
if you want something closer to real chocolate fudge. The other key is to keep these in the freezer. They work at room temp, but the texture is much better cold.
The extra-virgin oil has a very pronounced coconut flavor,
and seemed to not provide quite as firm a bite. Of course, I expect you to
experiment and report back. As advertised, I think this would make a fun, and
unique edible gift for the foodies on your holiday gift list. I hope you give
this fudge recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
Bonus Holiday Gift Idea:
Not only does Stephanie have
great taste in vegan fudge recipes, she also writes cookbooks! I just received
a copy of Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese, which she co-authored with Garrett
McCord, and it’s very well done. It’s getting rave reviews on Amazon, so if
you’re still in shopping mode, go check it out.
Ingredients for about 2 dozen squares of Miracle Fudge:
