a cup of tea

If we drink coffee to get us up and moving, we drink tea to wind us down. So it should come as no surprise that there are health benefits in the consumption of tea. Many scientists agree that tea; both black and green contain important antioxidants and contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

But did you also know that tea like wine can be paired with foods to enhance your baking, cooking, and your dining. And this recipe is proof that tea and cake definitely go together. I came across this recipe in my ever expanding file of “things to make” and decided it was time to get baking.

The recipe, a dense chocolate cake that has an infusion of earl grey tea could be served easily for brunch, afternoon tea, or for dessert.

Produced in Sri Lanka, China and India, Earl Grey is traditionally scented with bergamot oil, which gives it an orange-citrus flavor. And when paired with rich dark chocolate it can’t be beat.

Enjoy!

Shannon

Chocolate-Earl Grey Cake
Adapted  from a recipe in Real Simple Magazine 2007

6 Earl Grey tea bags or 2 Tbsp. loose Earl Grey
1 cup water
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ cup crème fraîche
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Heat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-cup fluted tube pan with cooking spray. Brew the tea in the water 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the tea bag or strain the leaves and set the brewed tea aside. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together, set aside. Using a mixer, beat the butter, eggs, and granulated sugar until fluffy. Blend in the chocolate. Beat in the flour mixture, crème fraîche and brewed tea. Pour into pan and bake 50 minutes, or up to an hour, until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs attached. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then turn out of pan and cool.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Makes 10 servings

double decadence

Knowing my daughter was going to be home from college this past weekend and also knowing that she is pretty over the top regarding anything chocolate, especially dark chocolate. I decided to make a rich dark chocolate ice cream that has, not only one, but two types of dark chocolate.

The lush, luxurious texture of this dense chocolaty ice cream has a hint of Frangelico liquor as well as some roasted hazelnuts that provide a wonderful crunch.

Serve a couple scoops of this chocolate decadence drizzled with extra-melted chocolate and top with a maraschino cherry, if you like.

Enjoy!

Shannon

p.s.

She went back to school today...the ice cream container is empty.

Double Decadence
Serves 10

9 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp. vanilla paste
2 Tbsp. Frangelico
8 ounces good quality dark chocolate, melted
2 Tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa, sieved
2 ½ cup whipping cream
8 ounces crème fraîche or sour cream
1 cup roasted hazelnuts, skins removed, coarsely chopped
Maraschino cherries (optional)

Whisk yolks, sugar, vanilla seeds and Frangelico in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until mixture is tripled in volume, thick and pale and holds a ribbon (4-5 minutes).

Remove bowl from heat and continue whisking until cooled (2-3 minutes). Add chocolate and cocoa and mix to combine.

In another bowl whisk together cream and crème fraîche until blended. Add to the chocolate mixture. Pour into a container, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker for approximately 20 minutes, it will still be quite soft. Add the chopped hazelnuts right at the end, just until mixed through. Then transfer to an airtight container and put in the freezer to firm up.

for the love of chocolate

Imagine the best tart crust you can-buttery, flaky, and just a little sweet-and now imagine that it’s chocolate through and through. This crust is made the way a classic French tart shell is made: The butter is worked into the dry ingredients, the mixture is then moistened with egg yolk and water, and the dough is given a fraisage – the French term for a good working under the heel of your hand-to bring it all together.

When I hear that term I always think about the last massage I had at the spa….

Anyway, back to the dough. This crust has a full, fabulous flavor of chocolate that can be used to make the extravagantly rich Chocolate Truffle Tartlets, or to fill with pastry cream or crème fraîche and top with fruits. Or to create a grown-up ice cream pie, fill with superior ice cream and drizzle with a bittersweet chocolate sauce.

Is it time for dessert?

Enjoy!
Shannon


Chocolate Dough
Recipe by David Ogonowski
Makes enough for six 5-inch tartlets or one 10-inch tart

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 stick (4 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 Tbsp. ice water

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, put the flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt in the work bowl and pulse just to blend. Add the butter and pulse 8 to 10 times, until the pieces are about the size of small peas. With the machine running, add the yolk and ice water and process, in bursts, just until crumbly-don’t overwork it. Turn it out onto the work surface and, working with small portions, smear the dough across the surface with the heel of your hand.

Chilling the Dough: Gather the dough together and shape it into a rough square. Pat it down to compress it slightly, and wrap it in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Storing: The dough can remain in the refrigerator for 3 days, or it can be wrapped airtight and frozen for a month. Thaw the dough, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator before rolling it out.

over the top

Intensely, unmistakably, and irresistibly chocolaty. That I believe is the descriptor for these Chocolate Truffle Tartlets. These tartlets would be a welcome addition to any Thanksgiving dessert buffet, especially for those of us that believe chocolate is always in season and should have its own place on the food pyramid.

The chocolate pastry shell is a cross between a cookie crust and buttery, flaky pie dough, and the filling is a creamy bittersweet chocolate truffle concoction given crunch with cubes of milk chocolate, white chocolate and crackly biscotti. The tartlet (the name seems too small to contain the excitement this little package has to offer) is very sophisticated, elegant, and totally over the top.

So why not make a batch of these little beauties for the holidays. Even if you don’t serve them with the Thanksgiving festivities, they freeze very well and would be a great dessert to pull out in a pinch when those “unexpected” guests stop by.

Enjoy!
Shannon

Chocolate Truffle Tartlets
recipe by David Ogonowski

1 recipe Chocolate Dough, well chilled

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup sugar
2 oz. white chocolate, cut into small dice
2 oz. milk chocolate, cut into small dice
4 biscotti, homemade or store-bought (you can use amaretti di Saronno), chopped

Line a jelly-roll pan with parchment paper and keep at hand. Remove the bottoms from six 4 ½-inch fluted tartlet pans (or use pans with permanent bottoms and just plan to pop the tartlet out once they’re filled, baked, and cooled); spray the pans with vegetable oil or brush with melted butter.

Cut the dough into 6 even pieces. Working with one piece at a time, shape the dough into a rough circle, then tamp it down with a rolling pin. Flour the work surface and the top of the dough and roll it into a circle about ¼- inch thick. As you roll, lift the dough with the help of a dough scraper to keep it from sticking. If the dough breaks (as it sometimes does), press it back together and keep going-it will be fine once it’s baked. Fit the dough into a tartlet ring, pressing it into the fluted edges and cutting the top level with the edges of the pan. Again, patch as you go. Use a pastry brush to dust off any excess flour and place the lined tartlet ring on the prepared baking pan.

Chilling the Crusts: When all of the shells are rolled out, chill them for at least 20 minutes.

Baking the Crusts: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Prick the bottoms of the crusts all over with the tines of a fork and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the crusts are dry, blistery, and firm. Transfer the baking pan to a rack so that the crusts can cool while you make the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

Making the Filling: Bring an inch of water to the simmer in a saucepan. Put the butter and bittersweet chocolate in a large metal bowl and place the bowl over the saucepan-don’t let the metal bowl touch the water. Allow the chocolate and butter to melt slowly, stirring from time to time, as you work on the rest of the filling. Remove the chocolate from the heat when it is melted and allow it to cool until it is just slightly warmer than room temperature.

Put the yolks and vanilla extract in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large mixing bowl. Using the whisk or a hand-held mixer, start beating the yolks at medium speed and them, when they are broken up, reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat the yolks and sugar until the yolks thicken and form a slowly dissolving ribbon when the beater is lifted.

Spoon about one third of the yolks onto the cooled chocolate mixture and fold them in with a rubber spatula. Don’t worry about being too thorough. Pour the chocolate into the beaten yolks and gently fold the two mixtures together until they are almost completely blended. Add the cubed chocolates and biscotti, folding to incorporate the chunky pieces.

Baking the Tartlets: Using an ice cream scoop or ¼ cup measure, divide the filling evenly among the cooled shells. Smooth the filling with a small offset spatula, working it into the nooks and crannies as you circle the tops of the tarts. Bake the tarts for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops look dry and the filling is just set. Remove to a rack to cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

Storing: Best the day they’re made, these are still terrific after they’ve been refrigerated—they lose their textual finesse, but the taste is still very much there. For longer keeping, wrap the tartlets airtight and freeze them for up to a month. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature.

special delivery

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, my hubby and I took a day trip up the coast to see my daughter at college. One reason for the visit was to bring some encouragement. The other reason, at my daughter’s specific request, was to bring chocolate, in the form of these outrageously dense, gooey, sinfully delicious brownies.

Now the actual label for these illustrious brownies by Rick Katz is “Best-Ever Brownies”. Now this might sound a little prideful. There are many tasty brownie recipes out there, but I must say, these are pretty darn awesome. For me, it is all about the chocolate. In this recipe, the brand of chocolate is not specified…but my chocolate of choice in baking is Valrona.
Now those who are passionate about brownies argue in defense of their favorite type, cakey or fudgey. If you’re a cakey fan, go on to another recipe. These are the epitome of soft, dark, baked-just-until-barely-set brownies. Their creamy texture makes them seem wildly luxurious and very much a treat to be meted out in small servings.
The mixing method is a bit unorthodox for a brownie. Half of an egg-sugar mixture is stirred into the melted chocolate and butter, while the other half is whipped until it thickens and doubles in volume. The lightened eggs are folded into the chocolate with a delicate touch, as are the dry ingredients…tricks that enhance the brownies’ lovely texture.

Enjoy!
Shannon


Best-Ever Brownies
by Rick Katz

1 ¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°.
Sift the flour and salt together and set aside.
Melt the butter and chocolate together in the top of a double boiler over, not touching, simmering water. Add 1 cup of the sugar to the mixture and stir for half a minute, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the mixture into a large bowl.
Put the remaining 1 cup sugar and the eggs into the bowl of a mixer with the whisk attachment and beat until just combined. Little by little, pour half of the sugar and eggs into the chocolate mixture, stirring gently but constantly with a rubber spatula so that the eggs don’t set from the heat.
Whip the remaining sugar and eggs until they are thick, pale and doubled in volume, about 3 minutes. Using the rubber spatula, delicately fold the whipped eggs into the chocolate mixture. When the eggs are almost completely incorporated, gently fold in the dry ingredients.

Baking the brownies
Pour and scrape the batter into an unbuttered 9 inch square pan. Bake the brownies for 25 to 28 minutes, during which time they will rise a little and the top will turn dark and dry. Cut into the center at about the 23-minute mark to see how the brownies are progressing: They’ll be perfect if they’re just barely set and still pretty gooey. They’re still awfully good on the other side of set, so don’t worry if you miss the moment on your first try. Cool the brownies in the pan on a rack. Cut into 1 ½ by 3-inch bars to serve.

Storing
The brownies will keep, covered, for 2 to 3 days at room temperature and can be frozen for up to a month. Thaw still wrapped, at room temperature. These never freeze solid, so you might want to think about using them as a mix-in for ice cream.

makes 18 brownies

size matters

Call it a Napoleon complex or maybe just an excuse to eat a really large cookie, but super-size cookies seem to be a 21st century rage, and I am all for it! Setting aside the "wow" factor on these six-inch behemoths, there is plenty of justification for sitting down with a large glass of milk and savoring one.

Made from nothing more than flour, eggs, sugar, leavening agents, salt and chocolate, the cookie seems idiot-proof. After all, it's simple enough that an eighth-grader can make it, right?

Not necessarily.

If it was just a matter of a recipe than there would be many a baker who would be out of business. It's what goes into the making of the cookie that makes the difference. Like the omelet, which many believe to be the true test of a chef, the humble chocolate chip cookie is the baker's crucible.

Besides the ingredients that go into the cookie, one common thread among the top baker's is that they let the dough rest in the refrigerator. What they are doing is ingenious. They are allowing the dough and other ingredients to fully soak up the liquid-in this case the eggs-in order to get a drier and firmer dough, which bakes to a better consistency. A long hydration time is important because the eggs, unlike say, water are gelatinous and slow moving. The result is that the cookies brown more evenly and the flavor deepens with more bass notes of caramel and hints of toffee.

The second insight has to do with the size. The larger size allows for three distinct textures; the crunchy outside, the soft gooey center and the magical space in between where the two textures and all the flavors mix.

Of course what would a chocolate chip cookie be without the wallop of good chocolate? My chocolate of choice is Valrhona Equatorial 55%. These "Les Fèves" or discs are flat and melt superbly. By using this chocolate you achieve something that melts beautifully. Break apart one of these cookies and a curious thing happens, inside aren't chunks of chocolate, but rather a thin dark stratum, the result of which is layers of chocolate and cookie in every bite.

Although it doesn't seem possible to take this Cookie to the next level, leave it to Dorie Greenspan the author of "Paris Sweets" to do so. She suggests that salt, specifically Fleur de sel (sea salt) in the dough and also sprinkled on top adds a dimension that can lift even a common cookie to glory.

I agree.

The recipe below is an adaptation of a Jacques Torres recipe. I think it is a hands down winner.

Do you doubt it? Well, there's only one way to find out.

Enjoy!

Shannon




Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. Fleur de sel or kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling on top
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
12 ounces Valrhona fèves, oval shaped chocolate pieces (found at Whole Foods)
Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
Scoop 6- 3 1/2 ounces mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with the Fleur de sel and bake until golden brown but still soft, 10 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.