My Chocolate Fantasy

Rick Sarouk asked:


Death By Chocolate, Chocolate Truffle Loaf with Berry Coulis is easy to make but will elicit comments like, “Are you trying to kill me or what?” I’ll share this favorite recipe with you only if you promise not to yell at me.

Some die by the sword, some of a broken heart. The French call the moment of supreme pleasure “le petit mort” — the little death.

I prefer my death in stages, served up in a nice portion of artery-clogging cocoa-flavored fat, garnished with even more butterfat, sugar, and fruit. This is the kind of dessert you eat the day before you decide to go on an abstemious diet.

Be warned. If you make this dessert, people will eat it, but they’ll abuse you first. I’ve given up on bringing it to parties. Each time I do, I get grief.

“Carol, you made THAT? Why’d you go and do that for?”

“No one’s forcing you to eat it,” I reply.

“Whadaya, crazy? Of course I’m eating it. Curse you,” they add, while inhaling the stuff.

This is a variation on an old recipe given me by my friend Erika. I have no idea of its origin. Concoct at your own risk:

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE

2 cups heavy cream

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 8 oz. package semi-sweet baking chocolate

1 8 oz. package unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup margarine (or butter, if you’re a glutton for punishment)

1/4 cup confectioner’s suger

1 tspn. vanilla

Cocoa powder to garnish

BERRY COULIS

1 10-oz. package frozen fruit (I prefer raspberries; cherries and strawberries work well too)

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup of your favorite hootch (optional but it’s considered a criminal offense in 40 states and most countries to leave it out)

For the Death:

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap; sprinkle some cocoa powder in the bottom, and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, blend 1/2 cup cream with the egg yolks.

Stir chocolate, corn syrup, and margerine over medium heat in a 3-quart saucepan until melted. Add egg and cream mixture. Stirring constantly, cook 3 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Warning: don’t let this mixture get too hot or the eggs cook, and you get something resembling chocolate scrambled eggs — not a bad thing, but not what you want.

Now: beat remaining cream, sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. Fold into the cooled-down chocolate glop until no streaks remain. Pour into the loaf pan. Chill. I mean it, chill; it’s not done yet, so calm down. Lick the spoon for now. As for the dessert, it must stay in the fridge overnight or in the freezer for 3 hours to harden. Upturn, remove plastic wrap, sprinkle with more cocoa powder. Serve in 1/2-inch thick slices with Berry Coulis and (optional) unsweetened whipped cream on the side. Serves 12, if you’re sharing.

Preparing the Berry Coulis:

Thaw fruit. In a blender, puree 1/2 the fruit and strain if desired. Over very low flame, add corn syrup, remaining fruit, and booze (I’ve used plain brandy, Grand Marnier, wine; up to you) until flavors nicely meld. Spoon a little coulis onto dessert plates before putting Death slice on top, then drizzle more on top, warm or cold.

visit www.Cooks4Life.com for more information and secret recipes.

Shana Shane asked:


In today’s world, it seems that almost any topic is open for debate. While I was gathering facts for this article, I was quite surprised to find some of the issues I thought were settled are actually still being openly discussed.

You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about chocolate. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.

CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM Recipe

For about two quarts and a half of cream use a pint and a half of

milk, a quart of thin cream, two cupfuls of sugar, two ounces of

Walter Baker & Co.’s Premium No. 1 Chocolate, two eggs, and

two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour.

Put the milk on to boil in a double-boiler. Put the flour and one cupful of the sugar

in a bowl; add the eggs, and beat the mixture until light.

Stir this into the boiling milk, and cook for twenty minutes, stirring often.

Scrape the chocolate, and put it in a small saucepan. Add four tablespoonfuls of

sugar (which should be taken from the second cupful) and two tablespoonfuls of

hot water. Stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy. Add this to the cooking mixture.

When the preparation has cooked for twenty minutes, take it from the fire and add

the remainder of the sugar and the cream, which should be gradually beaten into the

hot mixture. Set away to cool, and when cold, freeze.

Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.