Frozen Chocolate Pie

Frozen Chocolate Pie
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 236.

(Note: This recipe calls for uncooked eggs)

A very simple and delicious recipe for chocolate lovers. I have not attempted Maida's pie shell recipe yet so I used a bought frozen one for this recipe. I do plan to tackle her recipe soon (although it is scary looking!). I must confess that I have grown accustomed to Ina Garten's recipe which is very easy and good.

1 9-inch baked and cooled pie shell
2 oz. (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate
4 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/4 lb. (1 stick) sweet butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Optional: 1 TBS. rum, Cognac, or strong prepared coffee
3/4 cup strained confectioners sugar
4 eggs (graded extra-large or jumbo)

Place both chocolates in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Melt the chocolate and set aside to cool.

Cream the butter until it is soft. Add the vanilla, optional rum, Cognac or coffee and the confectioners sugar and beat until soft and creamy.

Add the cooled melted chocolate.

Add the eggs one at a time. Mix well, scraping the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. After the last egg has been added, beat for 1 minute more.

Pour the mixture into the pie shell.

Spread it to make an even layer and place it in the freezer. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Remove from the freezer, wrap in plastic wrap and return to the freezer for 4 hours or more. Before serving, let it stand at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes.

Topping

1/2 oz. semisweet or milk chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
Scant 1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 TBS. strained confectioners sugar

Make shaved chocolate curls (they can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator or freezer). Working over wax paper, with a vegetable peeler scrape the side of the chocolate, forming curls.

The whipped cream may be made just before serving or a few hours before. (If it has to stand, refrigerate it; it will separate slightly and should be stirred with a wire whisk just before using.)

Place the cream, vanilla and sugar in a chilled small bowl. With chilled beaters, whip until the cream is stiff enough to hold a shape.

Immediately before serving spread the cream over the top of the pie and, with a large spoon, sprinkle the chocolate curls over the top.

Use a sharp, heavy knife and serve in small portions.

Toni's Pound Cake

Toni's Pound Cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 157.

If you are wondering if I have abandoned this blog, fear not! I've just been busy with gardening and other matters. I knew I would slow down during the spring and summer months because I'm so busy with gardening but once it gets hot and sticky, I'll probably be back in the kitchen. 

I made this pound cake last weekend and ran it by Michael who says pound cake is one of his favorite desserts. This one passed with flying colors. We served it with strawberries and blueberries that has been flavored with Splenda and Grand Mariner.

The recipe is named after Maida Heatter's late daughter, who said this was her favorite.

Rind of 2 lemons, grated fine
3 TBS lemon juice
1 lb (4 sticks) butter
1 TBS vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp mace
10 eggs
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour 


Adjust rack one-third from the bottom of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10x4 inch tube pan, line the bottom with paper cut to fit, butter the paper, and dust it all lightly with fine dry bread crumbs.

Grate the rind of 2 lemons. Mix the rind with the lemon juice and set aside.

In large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter to soften it a bit.

Add vanilla.

Gradually add the sugar and mace. Beat at moderately high speed for two to three minutes, scraping the bowl as needed to keep ingredients well mixed.

Add eggs, two at a time, beating until thoroughly incorporated after each addition.

On lowest speed, gradually add the flour, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until smooth. Remove from the mixer and stir in the lemon rind and juice.

Turn the batter into prepared pan. Turn pan briskly back and forth to level the top.

Cover the top of the pan with a piece of aluminum foil large enough to fold down loosely over the sides of the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes. Open oven door just enough to reach in and remove the foil. Continue baking for additional 1 1/4 hours. (Total baking time is 1 3/4 hours)* Cake is done when tester comes out dry.


Cool in pan on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Cover with a rack and invert. Remove pan and paper. Cover with a rack and carefully invert again to finish cooling right side up.


(My notes: As usual, the cake didn't take as much time to bake in my oven. It was done about 12 minutes sooner than the recipe required. So, know your oven! It came out of the pan beautifully. If you like your cake very tart (Michael does), just add a few more tablespoons of lemon juice. I actually added about 5 tablespoons and the lemon flavor was still rather subtle.)

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 136.

Soft, chewy and delicious! I liked these macaroons better than the Bittersweet Chocolate Macaroons that I made previously. For me, macaroons are supposed to have coconut in them! These are addictive and won't stay around long. 

4 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 egg whites, room temperature
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
7 oz. (2 2/3 cups) shredded coconut 

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two 12 x 15 inch cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

Break up the chocolates and place them in the top of a double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. When the chocolate has melted, set aside and cool to room temperature.

Beat the egg whites with the salt until they hold a firm peak when the beaters are raised.

On low speed add the sugar 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, pausing 10 seconds between additions. Add the vanilla.

Increase the speed to high and beat for about 5 minutes more until the meringue is very stiff.

Reduce the speed to low and add the cooled chocolate, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until mixed.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and, with a rubber or wooden spatula, fold in the coconut.

Use a rounded teaspoon of the mixture for each cookie. Place the mounds 1 inch apart on the foil, forming 15 cookies on each sheet.

Bake for about 16 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once to insure even baking. When the macaroons are done they should feel dry on the outside but must remain soft in the centers. Transfer to a rack to cool with a metal spatula. Raise the racks as high as you can (I used two stacked on top of the other) because they need plenty of room for air to circulate underneath, or steam forms on the bottom and keeps the bottoms of the cookies from being as dry as they should be.

They may be stored airtight or only loosely covered. If they feel too soft/moist when they have cooled, let them dry out by storing them so the air can get to them.

Variations:

Chocolate-Nut Coconut Macaroons: Use abot 1/2 to 3/4 cup pecans, cut into medium-size pieces, and fold them in along with the coconut.

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate Chips: Use about 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels and fold them in along with the coconut.

Joan's Frozen Lemon Mousse

Joan's Frozen Lemon Mousse
Source: Maida Heatter's Pies & Tarts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997), pg. 246 and Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts (Knopf, 1982), pg. 447.

This delicious dessert is easy but it helps to have everything you need ready in advance. You will need your mixer bowl 3 separate times. The bowls and beaters should be chilled for whipping the heavy cream and I usually chill my bowl for the egg whites as well. The recipe calls for the crust to be pressed up the sides of the pan which, as you can see in the photos, I forgot to do. This caused the base of the crust to be very thick. 

One of Michael's all-time favorite desserts is a simple frozen pie made with frozen lemonade mixed with whipped cream in a graham cracker crust. This dessert reminded me of that one but perhaps not as tart. You will need to make it a day ahead or you can make it up to 2 weeks in advance.

(In case you are wondering who Joan is, she is Joan Borinstein, a friend of M.H.)

Crust
1 12 oz. box vanilla wafers
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Butter the sides only of an 8 x 3 inch springform pan. 

Place vanilla wafers in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade

Pulse the wafers into fine crumbs. Melt the butter and add it to the crumbs; mix thoroughly until completely blended

Use about 1/4 of the mixture at a time and press firmly on the bottom and sides of the pan. (I did not do this correctly, see my intro notes above)

Filling

4 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (grate the rinds before squeezing)

Finely grated rind of 3 or 4 lemons

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Beat the egg yolks until they are pale.

Add 1/4 cup of the sugar (reserving the remaining 3/4 cup). Beat at high speed for a minute or two.

On low speed, gradually add the lemon juice, scraping the bowl and beating only until smooth.

Stir in the grated lemon rind

In a clean bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the salt until they hold a soft shape.Reduce the speed to moderate and gradually add the reserved 3/4 cup of sugar, adding only 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time. Increase the speed to high again and continue to beat until the whites and sugar become thick and marshmallow-like. Do not beat until stiff. Set aside.


In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip the heavy cream until it holds a firm shape but not until it is stiff. (It helps to have lots of mixing bowls to make this!)

In several small additions fold the yolks into the whites. Then, in several additions, fold the yolks and whites into the whipped cream.

Pour into the crumb-lined pan.

Smooth the top. Freeze for a few hours until firm. Then cover airtight with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Freeze overnight or up to 2 weeks.

Devilish Cake

Devilish Cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 69.

Ah, Devils Food Cake! I love it. In appearance, the cake is so thin that it reminded me of a torte. I suppose if you'd like thicker layers, you could use 8" pans but the recipe calls for 9" so that is what I used.  The cake is dense in texture and the icing is delicious. For me, this doesn't beat the Country Fair cake but it comes close!

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process)
3/4 cup boiling water
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sour cream 
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 


Adjust rack to center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round layer cake pans. Dust them with flour and tap out excess and set aside.

In a bowl, mix the cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Set aside

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter for 3 minutes. Add vanilla, salt, sugar and beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In another small bowl, stir the baking soda into the sour cream.

On low speed add the flour to the butter mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream in two additions, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until smooth after each addition.

Add the cocoa and beat until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans, tap them slightly to get the air bubbles out and rotate slightly to level the tops.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the layers barely begin to come away from the sides of the pan (this only took 20 minutes in my oven).  Cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Cover each layer with a rack and invert, remove pans, cover with another rack and invert again, leaving the layers right side up on the racks to cool. Place four strips of wax paper around the outer edges of a cake plate. Place one layer upside down on the plate. You are now ready to ice the cake.

CHOCOLATE ICING
4 ounces (squares) unsweetened chocolate
2 TBS butter
1/2 cup minus 1 TBS milk
1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Place chocolate in a double broiler over hot water on moderate heat. Add the butter, milk, and sugar, and stir until the butter is melted. Cook, stirring for 3 minutes.

Beat the egg in a small bowl only to mix. Very gradually stir a few spoonfuls at a time of the hot chocolate mixture into the egg. Stir constantly until you have added about one-third of the chocolate. Then stir the egg into the remaining hot chocolate. Add the vanilla and salt.



Transfer the mixture to a small bowl that will sit in a larger bowl filled halfway with ice and water.  Beat at high speed, scraping the bowl constantly with a rubber spatula for 1-2 minutes until mixture thickens slightly, do not let it harden.

Pour about one-third of the icing over the bottom layer and spread it smoothly. It will be a very thin layer.

Cover with the second layer of cake, placing it right side up so that both bottoms will meet in the center. Pour the remaining icing over the top, spreading it over the top and sides.


Remove the wax paper strips but slowly pulling each one toward a narrow end.