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Warm Chocolate Cake with Molten Center Instead of the typically sweet rasberry sauce, try this blueberry-strawberry sauce. It is a beautiful color, and a great combination of flavors. Serve the cake warm. Ingredients for Sauce: 1 basket of strawberries 1 basket of blueberries 1 cup of water 1/4 cup of sugar 1 star anise 1/2 vanilla bean scrapings In food processor mix strawberries, blueberries, water, well. 2 MINUTES Put in saucepan with sugar, anise, and bean and cook on low. 5 min. or so. Remove star anise and bean. CHOCOLATE CAKE FONDANT: 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate 5 ounces butter 4 ounces granulated sugar 4 whole eggs 1 ounce all purpose flour, sifted In bain marie, over hot water, put butter, chocolate, and sugar. Simmer, not a boil. Rub butter in little individual dishes, then flour lightly. Coffee cups can be used. Make sure there is NO excess flour in cups. Oven temp. is 400 degrees. Put on baking sheet. Mixing: Mix when ingredients start melting. It's o.k. if all the butter is not melted. Take off stove. Add eggs one by one when it's not too hot, and break the egg yolk so it blends well. Add flour little by little so there are no lumps with a sifter spoon. Take cup and tap on table to settle the cake batter. And pour 3/4 of the way. Bake for 8 min. at 400 degrees. Keywords: Easy, Chocolate, Dessert ( RG745 )

I'm looking for ideas on good beverages and/or snacks to serve (at a chocolate tasting party) as palate cleansers. Are there any particular things that would pair up nicely? Should snacks even be served? Are there any foods or drinks I should stay away from? So far, my thoughts have been wine and perhaps sparkling water or sparkling fruit beverages. Thank you for any and all help.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies These are delicious, but be aware, they need to be eaten the same day they are made. Not nearly as good after a day or two. I'm sorry to say I'm not certain of the source. The recipe was given to me by a friend quite some time ago. 1 lb Semi-sweet choc. chips ½ stick butter 1 ¾ c. brown sugar 4 large eggs ½ c. flour 1 teas. Baking powder 1 tblsp. Vanilla 7 oz Heath bits Melt choc. chips and butter. Cool mixture to lukewarm. Beat sugar and eggs until thick, about 5 minutes. Mix in chocolate mixture. Mix in vanilla. Mix in baking powder and flour. Mix in heath bits. Chill batter until firm, about 45 minutes. Heat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with waxed paper. Place batter by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Bake for 15 minutes, until tops are dry and cracked but cookies are still soft to touch. Cool on sheets. (Makes about 4 doz. cookies.) Keywords: Dessert, Chocolate, Cookie ( RG740 )

Chocolate Toffee Cookies These are delicious, but be aware, they need to be eaten the same day they are made. Not nearly as good after a day or two. I'm sorry to say I'm not certain of the source. The recipe was given to me by a friend quite some time ago. 1 lb Semi-sweet choc. chips ½ stick butter 1 ¾ c. brown sugar 4 large eggs ½ c. flour 1 teas. Baking powder 1 tblsp. Vanilla 7 oz Heath bits Melt choc. chips and butter. Cool mixture to lukewarm. Beat sugar and eggs until thick, about 5 minutes. Mix in chocolate mixture. Mix in vanilla. Mix in baking powder and flour. Mix in heath bits. Chill batter until firm, about 45 minutes. Heat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with waxed paper. Place batter by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Bake for 15 minutes, until tops are dry and cracked but cookies are still soft to touch. Cool on sheets. (Makes about 4 doz. cookies.) Keywords: Dessert, Chocolate, Cookie ( RG740 )

I am looking to purchase a tempering machine. Something small to do up to 10 lbs. What do you recommend? What is the ACMC like and any suggestions on where to buy in Toronto area to save on shipping or other places are welcome too. Is $950 Canadian a good price? Thanks Rookie - Mary

I'm looking for ideas for a chocolate desert! I'd like something that is quick but still tasty and MUST be more'ish seen anything on line??

CHOCOLATE MILK SHAKE 2 oz Chocolate Syrup 5 oz Milk or Light Cream or whatever 3 #24 Scoops (about 1/2 pint) of a good quality Chocolate Ice Cream (use coffee for a mocha shake or vanilla for black and white) Method 1. The colder everything is, the better, so consider prechilling your mixing container. 2. Add the ingredients to the mixing container in the order shown. 3. Mix at a lower speed to start. Then increase the speeds. My blender has three speeds. Mixing takes about three minutes for silky smooth maybe a little longer. 4. Serve immediately. Makes a 16 oz shake. Keywords: Non-Alcoholic Beverage, eGCI ( RG700 )

Milk Chocolate Martini 3/4 oz Stolichnaya Vanil 3/4 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur 1/4 oz Vodka 1/4 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream Splash of Crème de Banana/Banana Liqueur Splash of Chambord Combine in an ice filled shaker; shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Keywords: Cocktail, eGCI ( RG655 )

Chocolate Éclair Martini 1-1/2 oz Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka 1/2 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur 1/2 oz Verpoorten Advocaat Egg Liqueur Combine in an ice filled shaker; shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Keywords: Cocktail, eGCI ( RG638 )

Chocolate Chip Cookie Martini 1-1/2 fl oz Grey Goose 3/4 fl oz Just Desserts Chocolate Chip Cookie Cream Liqueur Combine in an ice filled shaker; shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Keywords: Cocktail, eGCI ( RG637 )

I'm making truffles for a wholesale customer who will be distributing them to their guests on a daily basis. I've been working on my recipes for quite a while, and have some good recipes for a number of flavors. Since the customer base is pretty varied, I'm not adding any alcohol to the ganache centers. The customer is pleased, but has asked me to expand my flavors to a few that they suggested. I've been working on a mint center with a white chocolate ganache and am infusing the cream with fresh mint leaves. No matter how much mint I add, the mint taste is not pronounced enough. I've also infused the mint leaves in the cream for up to 6 hours before adding the cream to the chocolate, without pleasing results. I've also been playing around with a fresh ginger ganache and am interested in lemongrass and other natural flavorings. Since I don't know if the customer will be pleased with the end result, I'd rather not buy the flavored compounds (I've used the mint flavor compound in a previous job) to enhance the flavor until I get a better result using the fresh ingredients. Do you have some advice for using natural herbs and spices to flavor ganache without using extracts, alcohol, or compounds?

Big, Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies 1-1/3 c butter (room temp) 1-1/2 c brown sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 3-1/4 c flour 1-1/2 tsp salt 1-1/2 tsp soda 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 c chopped pecans -- toast them with some melted butter first Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in eggs until well mixed, but don't beat in too much air. Add vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together. Add them to sugar mixture and stir. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by generous 1/3 cups onto baking sheet (I use Silpat) and bake at 350 for 12-16 minutes depending on your oven. ( RG612 )

Im trying to find coverture chocolate on the West Coast (OR, WA, CA) or somewhere online. Can anyone help me? Thanks!

I can't get past the bitterness of it to even attempt to enjoy the flavor. I keep trying it (in hopes that I'll find some I may like (has worked with many other foods I thought I dind't like)), but no luck so far. Anyone else?

So-Good-You-Wanna-Marry-'Em Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 c vegetable shortening (do not use butter flavored) 3/4 c light brown sugar, firmly packed 3/4 c granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp hot water 1 tsp vanilla 1-1/2 c all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp table salt 2 c quick oats 1 pkg chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate chips) In a large bowl, cream together: shortening brown sugar granulated sugar eggs Add: hot water vanilla In a separate bowl sift together, then add: flour soda salt Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet and bake at 400º for 6 - 8 minutes. Remove from oven when edges begin to turn golden, they should be slightly gooey in the center. Cool and enjoy! Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Chocolate, Snack, Cookie, American ( RG599 )

Unfortunately Espai Sucre was closed, but I did manage to get to, taste, buy and bring back chocolate from Oriol Balaguer's Estudi Xocolada and Cacao Sampaka. Estudi Xocolada is an artisanal producer of exquisitely fine chocolate in a number of varieties. Unlike the other places, it does not serve its chocolate products on site, but we did have an interesting discussion with the pastry chef (not Oriol Balaguer), who offered us samples of chocolates with pop rocks inside. This was some of the most incredible and fun chocolate I have ever eaten. The chocolate was dramy pure dark chocolate, but the pop rocks gave an incredible mouth sensation to go along with the flavor of the chocolate. We bought chocolates and a dessert book (in English) by Balaguer. Cacao Sampaka is located off the Ramblas Catalunya and has a small cafe in adition to the retail Chocolate shop. They have an incredible array of flavors and styles. I sampled the black truffle, which was amazing. I'll report back as I sample some of the others we came home with.

Oh, how I love bacon, and one day on a whim I decided to try some chocolate at the same time as some hot bacon off the pan and was instantly transported. So I am wondering if it would be possible to incorporate the rich bacony taste into a chocolate cake. Use bacon grease in a chocolate butter cake? Or actual bits of bacon perhaps? I'm imagining a down-home rich Southern chocolate-bacon cake with a mocha frosting. I just don't know how to pull it off. I'm (obviously) an amateur baker- my husband thinks this idea is insane......

Coffee Chocolate Chip Blondies (with Kahlua) Everybody goes crazy for these. Some people don't want to have these thinking they prefer a brownie but, one taste and their hooked. This is a variation of something that's in one of the Silver Palate cookbooks. These are great to make ahead of time. Before cutting into bars, wrap the whole thing well in plastic and foil and freeze. Thaw, still wrapped and then cut. 3/4 c unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) 1 lb dark brown sugar (light is OK too) 3/4 tsp instant espresso 1 T hot water 4 eggs 2 T vanilla extract 2 c unbleached all purpose flour (plus more for dusting the pan) 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 c chopped pecans 1 c semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips 2 T Kahlua or other coffee liquer Heat butter and brown sugar together in a medium size sauce pan over medium low heat until the butter melts. Dissolve the espresso in the hot water and stir into the butter/sugar mixture. Let cool to room temperature or, to speed up the cooling, put the mixture into the mixer and work with the paddle attachment. Preheat the oven to 350. Butter an 11 x 8 inch pan, line with parchment, butter the parchment, and dust the entire pan lightly with flour. (Okay, I'm a bit compulsive about things not sticking.) When the butter mixture has cooled, beat in the eggs one at a time and the vanilla, stopping to scrape down the sides when necessary. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and stir into the butter mixture. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips just to combine. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 40-50 minutes, until lightly browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Do not overbake. Immediately after removing the blondies from the oven, brush the Kahlua all over the top using a pastry brush. This will sizzle and give a lovely flavor to the blondies and a beautiful sheen to the top. I allow these to cool completely in the pan before turning the whole thing out and cutting them. These make 24 good size bars or more smaller ones. If you don't like pecans, you can substitute walnuts or some other kind of nut. Or, you can leave them out altogether but, if you do, I suggest adding additional chocolate chips to compensate Keywords: Dessert, Chocolate, Brownies/Bars ( RG591 )

I inherited this on the job. Chef wants me to use it up in my mini pastry's this week-BUT I only make pastries they keep in their freezer 'ready to eat'. I can do palmiers and spreading a ganche between two. But I really should get more creative....unforunately my mind isn't co-operating with me. Any creative ideas for using up chocolate puff pastry dough in a ready to eat stored in the freezer mini pastry? Also any baking tips using this....same temp and handling as reg. puff pastry?

Chocolate Torte Very decandent For the Torte 10 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 3/4 c unsalted butter, cut up 5 large egg yolks 1/4 c plus 2 T sugar 1 T dark rum or espresso 1 tsp vanilla extract pinch of salt 3 large egg whites For the Glaze 1/2 c butter 8 oz bittersweet chocolate 2 T light corn syrup Oven to 300. Grease bottom of an 8 inch round cake pan and line with parchment, grease paper and sides, dust with cocoa powder. Combine chocolate and the 3/4 cup butter and melt over low heat, stir until well blended. In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, dark rum, vanilla and salt until pale and thick. Gradually pour in the chocolate mixture until well blended. In another bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add the rest of the sugar slowly, and beat until medium stiff peaks form. Put half the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture and fold. Fold the rest in until no streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake the torte until it puffs lightly and the centre comes out moist but not liquid. Takes about 30-35 minutes. Run a small knife around edge to loosen cake. Let cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto plate and peel off parchment paper. Let cool completely, then chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Glaze the cake with the chocolate glaze and chill again until firm, at least two hours. Use a hot knife to slice cake. Glaze melt butter and chocolate over low heat, whisk until blended. Remove from heat and whisk in the corn syrup until smooth and glossy. Set cake on wire rack over cookie sheet or wax paper and pour the glaze over the cake. Keywords: Dessert, Chocolate ( RG588 )

I have recently started a chocolate business and one of the things that is puzzling me most is chopping chocolate. I am having a hard time keeping up. I sometimes spend a couple of hours on chopping the 11 lb. blocks of chocolate (a bunch of them) by hand a week- knife and/or chipper. Besides the time it takes, it's really wearing on my wrists. I have seen the chocolate cutter from Chocovision, but does this cut the chocolate into small pieces? Are there any other pieces of equipment out there that would work that I don't know about? Thanks for any input!

Dear eGullet, The things I'm willing to do for you sometimes... its astonishing, and perhaps a bit pathetic. A few years ago I would have walked right by something like Z-Carb without a second thought. Damn you eGullet! This is really a case of being willing to "take one for the team", I think. Part of this is intellectual curiousity, part the fact that I'm currently on a diet (but NOT a low-carb diet), and part a sickness brought on by one too many nights sitting in front of my computer debating the high and low points of Marshmallow Peeps with Fat Guy. I just have an irresistible urge to try things, and if they are good rave, and if they aren't... snark. We've spoken at length about Splenda on the boards, and its frequent use in soda, and lo and behold today--while shopping for breath mints in my local Seven Dash Eleven I stumble upon: and So Splenda has made its way to fake chocolate now. The names, and the packaging, are somewhat discouraging. There's a big potential market with Splenda to market it to people who are simply trying to cut down on sugar, without pressing all of those buttons that the hard-core Adkins crowd relies on. The point is... Splenda is the first artificial sweetener with a fighting chance of drawing in mainstream "eaters", because chemically its the most similar to "real" sugar. When its pigeonholed as some kind of Adkins specialty thing... it means that they can charge more for it, but they sacrifice mass appeal. In total, I bought four bars--two of each brand. "At Last" features the scrumtuous sounding "Chocolate Truffle" and "Chocolate Almond", and Z-Carb the lovely "Gourmet Milk Chocolate Bar with Almonds" and "Gourmet Milk Chocolate Bar with Peanut Butter". I'm willing to risk tossing my cookies with one of these a day. How bad can it be?

Watermelon Ice Cream with Chocolate "Seeds" Serves 12 as Dessert. Recipe was inspired by Joyce White's recipe for Watermelon Ice Cream from her book, Brown Sugar: Soul Food Desserts from Family and Friends, then further developed on this thread. 4 c Watermelon puree 1 c Sugar 1 T Corn Syrup 1/8 tsp Salt 1/3 c Passoa Passion Fruit liquor (or sub in another liquor, like Chambord, or port) 1 tsp Vanilla extract 2 c Light Cream 2 oz Dark Chocolate, shaved Place 2 cups watermelon puree, sugar, corn syrup and salt into saucepan, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, add liquor & vanilla, and then mix into remaining (raw) watermelon puree. Chill thoroughly. Add cream and allow to sit in fridge for several hours or over night to chill & allow flavors to meld. Freeze in an ice cream maker until of soft consistency. Spoon into an airtight container, adding a sprinkling of chocolate to each spoonful as you go. Allow to harden in the freezer for several hours before serving. Yields about 1.5 quarts ice cream. Keywords: Dessert, Intermediate, Fruit, Snack, Ice Cream, Chocolate, American, Ice Cream Maker ( RG566 )

I am working on expanding my cake "look" decor and am going to do a cake wrapped in white chocolate plastic. I've read Flo Braker and Nick Malgeiri on the subject and feel well informed. What I didn't find anywhere is just how far in advance I can cover a cake and how it should be stored after covering. Is it the same as fondant (a couple of days at room temperature)? I'm not worried about the cake itself, but I have read reference to chocolate plastic hardening. I'm going to take this to a bridal shower on Sunday and would love a head start. Also, I'm planning on tinting the plastic itself--nothing to know there, I assume. I'm planning on a thin crumb coat for the cake. This stuff is really like fondant, but chocolate. Is that right?

Chocolate Chip Cookies ala Blue Smoke This is the chocolate chip cookie recipe developed by Jennifer Giblin, the pastry chef at Blue Smoke restaurant in New York. I liked the cookies so much I asked for the recipe, and she was good enough to share. 1 lb Unsalted Butter (Plugra brand is best) 1 c Brown Sugar 1 c White Sugar 1 T Corn Syrup 4 Eggs 1 T Vanilla Extract 4 c Flour 1 T Salt 2 tsp Baking Soda 3 c Good Quality Dark Chocolate Chips Cream together the butter, sugars, and corn syrup until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract gradually. Sieve together all of the dry ingredients and add all at once. Mix until well blended. Add chocolate chips and incorporate throughout. Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown (about 12 minutes depending on size). Keywords: Dessert, Snack, Vegetarian, Cookie, Easy, American, Chocolate, Stand Mixer ( RG549 )