I just love Retro Ads with Recipes. Here's one from Hershey's with an especially delicious recipe for Fudge Truffle Cheesecake. Let me know what you think when you make this. I love it!
Friday, January 15, 2021
Thursday, January 14, 2021
ICELANDIC COCOA SOUP aka Kakósúpa: National Soup Month

Icelandic Cocoa Soup, Kakósúpa, although it uses potato or cornstarch, is not all that thick. Nevertheless, it has a different texture and taste from regular drinking cocoa. Give it a try. The savory Cocoa Black Bean Soup definitely has a different flavor with the addition of the cocoa.
According to the website Gestgjafinn, Sweet Dessert Soups are common in Iceland and Northern Europe. This unusual dessert soup often surprises visitors to Iceland, who will not encounter it at restaurants but may be served it in private homes.
Icelandic Cocoa Soup
Ingredients
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups water
3 cups milk
1 tablespoon potato starch or 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Pinch of Salt
Directions:
Mix cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon in a saucepan.
Add water gradually and stir until smooth.
Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add milk, reheat to boiling point and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Mix potato starch or cornstarch with a little cold water, stir into soup, and remove from heat.
Salt to taste and serve.
Serve with crushed zwiebacks.
For a fancier version, use 3 ounces dark chocolate (55-75% cacao) instead of cocoa powder and serve soup with whipped cream instead of zwiebacks.
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Gluten Free Day!
Today is National Gluten Free Day! So many of the readers of this blog are gluten-free, so I thought I'd post two of my favorite Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies recipes. Do you have a favorite? Post a link below.
The first recipe for Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies is from King Arthur Flour. This is my favorite. I definitely want vanilla in my chocolate chip cookies! If you're not following King Arthur Flour on Twitter or Facebook, it's time. I get their emails, too. Their photos are enticing but even more, their products and recipes are fantastic! Just a heads up, I usually bake with unsalted butter, especially when I'm adding salt to the recipe, so I've designated that in both the following recipes. The original recipes didn't.
1. Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp gluten-free vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 1/3 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts, optional
Directions
Beat butter, sugars, vanilla and salt till fluffy.
Beat in eggs one at a time, being sure to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl midway through to make sure everything is well combined.
Whisk together flour or flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda.
Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture, then blend in chocolate chips and nuts. Again, scrape bottom and sides of bowl to be sure everything is well blended.
Cover bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour, or for up to 2 days.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a couple of baking sheets, or line with parchment.
Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. Leave space betweencookies so they can spread.
Bake cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheets for 5 minutes, to set, before transferring to racks to cool completely. Or allow to cool right on baking sheets.
This second Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe is from Rachael Ray. It's quick and easy. As I've said before, you can never have enough recipes for Chocolate Chip Cookies, especially Gluten-Free. Try both recipes and see what you think!
2. Rachael Ray's Easy Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 egg
2 1/4 cups of gluten-free baking flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup of crushed pecans
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
Grease baking sheet.
In medium sized bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and stir until blended.
Slowly add gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop teaspoon sized cookies onto prepared baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for about 8 minutes or until slightly brown and not wet.
Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before taking them off sheet.
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
CHOCOLATE MARZIPAN COOKIES: National Marzipan Day!

What exactly is marzipan?
Marzipan is an elastic paste made with almonds and powdered sugar. It's like an edible dough, and you can make shapes with it, and, of course, enrobe it in chocolate.
History of Marzipan from Serious Eats:
The invention of marzipan is usually attributed to Lübeck, Germany.
Legend has it that during a 15th century famine when flour for making
bread became scarce, the senate of Lübeck ordered bakers to create a
replacement. Using eggs, sugar, and stores of almonds, the clever bakers
came up with marzipan. But cities like Venice, Florence, Konigsberg and
more all lay claim to inventing marzipan and put forth similar stories
with different dates, making it hard to determine where the sweet
actually came from.
Although the origin of marzipan is fuzzy, it has
clearly been embraced by many different cultures and is enjoyed
worldwide. Marzipan is a traditional food to eat on weddings and
religious feast days in Italy, Greece, and Cyprus.
In Latin America, a popular marzipan-like treat which replaces the almonds with peanuts is called "mazapan."
In Mexico, pine nuts and pistachios are other substitutes for almonds
in marzipan. You can find marzipan in the Middle East, too, usually
flavored with orange-flower water. In Germany and throughout much of
northern Europe it is considered good luck to receive a marzipan pig on
Christmas or New Year's Day. The Spanish and Portuguese are big
consumers of marzipan too. But perhaps the form of marzipan that
Americans are most familiar with are the cute little miniature fruit shapes that pop up all over.
Whatever the origins, there is nothing quite like chocolate and marzipan! So for today's holiday here's an easy and original recipe for Chocolate Marzipan Cookies from Santa Barbara Chocolate Company.
CHOCOLATE MARZIPAN COOKIES
Ingredients
1 cup of almonds, peeled
1 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 cup Rainforest Bulk Cocoa Powder
1 egg or 2 tbsp honey - egg is used in the traditional marzipan recipe (but use honey if you don't want to use raw eggs)
Chocolate sprinkles
Directions
Chop peeled almonds and put them in blender or food processor.
Blend until you get almond flour texture. Be careful to blend really well to avoid big chunks.
In saucepan add almond flour, Cocoa Powder, and powdered sugar, mix together.
Incorporate egg in middle and place over low heat.
Stir continuously until all ingredients are combined.
Keep stirring for 5 minutes and then take off heat.
Place in refrigerator and let chill for 15 minutes before decorating. This way the marzipan is going to hold its shape.
When chilled, roll dough into a tube shape. Pull off pieces and make into balls.
Cover balls with chocolate sprinkles to decorate.
Place on baking sheet and slightly press down with back of spoon.
Let set in refrigerator for 5 minutes more and serve.
Monday, January 11, 2021
Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie: National Milk Day!
So to celebrate National Milk Day, here's a very simple recipe that includes a cup of milk: Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie. It's a great combination of healthy foods to give you a boost in the morning or mid afternoon!
CHOCOLATE BANANA PEANUT BUTTER SMOOTHIE
1 cup Milk
1 ripe Banana (or frozen banana)
1 cup Ice
2 Tbsp Vanilla Greek Style Yogurt
3 Tbsp Chocolate Syrup
2 Tbsp Creamy Peanut Butter
In a blender, combine milk, banana, yogurt, ice, chocolate syrup, peanut butter, and blend until smooth.
Pour into glass and drink.
Sunday, January 10, 2021
BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE: National Bittersweet Chocolate Day
Since
I review, eat, and bake chocolate, the word bittersweet isn't really part of
my lexicon. Although I have purchased chocolate that is labeled bittersweet, I buy chocolate based on its
origins, fair-trade, and amount of cacao. Bittersweet is just too vague a term
for me. Nevertheless today is Bittersweet Chocolate Day, so I'm celebrating!
According to Wikipedia, Bittersweet chocolate
is chocolate liquor (unsweetened chocolate not liqueur) to which some
sugar (typically a third), more cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes
lecithin has been added. It has less sugar and more liquor than
semisweet chocolate, but the two are interchangeable in baking.
Bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are sometimes referred to as
'couverture' (chocolate that contains at least 32 percent cocoa butter);
many brands (the ones I like)
print on the package the percentage of cocoa (as chocolate liquor and
added cocoa butter) contained. The rule is that the higher the
percentage of cocoa, the less sweet the chocolate will be. The American
FDA classifies chocolate as either "bittersweet" or "semisweet" that
contain at least 35% cacao (either cacao solids or butter from the cacao
beans).
So using this definition, almost any of my recipes will work since I use mostly very dark chocolate.
Here's a recipe for Bittersweet Chocolate Bundt Cake
adapted from Nestle Toll House's Chocolate Pound Cake recipe. It's easy
and delicious. If you use Unsweetened Chocolate
Baking Bars, be sure and add more sugar to the recipe.
I don't usually make a glaze, but I've included the recipe in case you'd like to. Sometimes I sprinkle this cake with powdered sugar, as in the photo. This cake goes well with ice cream or whipped cream, too!
BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp Instant Coffee Granules (something you'll only use for this)*
8 ounces dark chocolate (75%-85%), chopped, divided (save 2 oz for glaze if you're making it)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp Madagascar vanilla
3 large eggs
CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
FOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 10-inch Bundt pan.
COMBINE flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl. Bring water
and coffee granules to boil in small saucepan; remove from heat. Add 6
ounces chocolate; stir until smooth.
BEAT sugar, butter, and
vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat on high
speed for 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture alternately with chocolate
mixture. Pour into prepared Bundt pan.
BAKE for 50 to 60 minutes
or until long wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan
on wire rack for 30 minutes. Invert onto wire rack to cool completely.
Place on plate.
Optional: Drizzle with Chocolate Glaze or Sprinkle with Powdered Sugar
** Sometimes I pour the glaze over the bundt cake while it's still a bit warm. That way, the cake absorbs the glaze, and it's extra chocolatey delicious!
FOR CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
Melt remaining 2 ounces of chocolate with butter in small, saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar alternately with water. Stir in vanilla extract. Drizzle over cake.
Saturday, January 9, 2021
CHOCOLATE APRICOT CREAM CAKES: National Apricot Day
Friday, January 8, 2021
TOFFEE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES: National English Toffee Day

Here's a great recipe that combines my love of Peanut Butter Cookies with English Toffee. I have a toffee hammer (well, I have three of them) for breaking up toffee. Clearly this is something I like to do! The small hammers used to come with the toffee tins. Very cool. As always, use the very best peanut butter and toffee.
Toffee Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 cup sweet butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
10 ounces Toffee Bits
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Whip butter with peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugars until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In another bowl, sift together dry dry ingredients, then mix into batter. Fold in Toffee bits.
Scoop cookies onto ungreased baking sheet.
Lightly flatten each cookie with fork or back of hand.
Bake for 10 minutes for chewy cookie or 13 minutes for crunchy one.
These cookies will fast become favorites!
Thursday, January 7, 2021
ENGLISH TOFFEE TRUFFLES: National English Toffee Day

English Toffee Truffles
Ingredients
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 Tbsp whipping cream
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
5 small English Toffee-flavored candy bars, crushed (i.e. Heath Bars or Chopped Toffee)
Directions
Heat chocolate and butter in saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until melted. Remove from heat; stir in cream. Let cool 5 minutes. Stir in pecans.
Cover and chill 2 hours or until mixture is firm.
Shape chocolate mixture into 1" balls; roll in crushed toffee candy.
Store truffles in refrigerator up to one week.
Tips: Crush toffee bars easily by sealing them in a heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bag, crush with a rolling pin. Use a 1 1/4" metal scoop to shape into truffles. It streamlines the process.
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD FINGERS: National Shortbread Day!
CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD FINGERS
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups plus two Tbsp all-purpose flour
4-1/2 Tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened (this is really key.. butter should be room temperature)
1 cup superfine sugar (ok, I have this on hand, but if you don't, put granulated sugar in the blender. Be sure and measure again)
Granulated sugar (for sprinkling)
Directions
Preheat oven to 325F.
Butter 12 x 8 inch pan. Line with parchment paper.
In bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda until combined.
Place butter and superfine sugar in mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy – three to four minutes (use the paddle attachment). Scrape down sides of bowl and add flour mixture. Beat on medium until just combined.
Spread dough in pan, using spatula or your fingers to even out the surface. Freeze dough until firm – approximately 15 minutes. Prick dough all over with tines of a fork, and place in oven. Bake 20 (to 30) minutes. Dough should be just firm to the touch.
Place pan on wire rack to cool. While still hot, cut dough into strips, and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Dough should cool completely in pan.
For a twist: Sprinkle sea salt on top instead of sugar--or a mixture of both.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM: Milk, Dark, & White for National Whipped Cream Day!
Today is National Whipped Cream Day. I've posted many recipes that call for whipped cream including chocolate whipped cream for National Cream Puff Day. Today I have three recipes for Chocolate Whipped Cream -- milk, dark, and white.
Chocolate Whipped Cream is terrific to add to desserts, fill cream puffs, and even add to your coffee. There are so many creative uses. Whipped Cream is easy to make, and it's delicious. You can use it as an icing or filling. You can use it with just about anything you would use regular whipped cream for, including Chocolate Strawberry Short Cake!
The first recipe for Milk Chocolate Whipped Cream is from Martha Stewart. Martha uses chocolate whipped cream for the filling of chocolate sandwich cookies. Fabulous! I love these Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Chocolate Whipped Cream, and you can use any chocolate cookie recipe!
The second Chocolate Whipped Cream Recipe uses a lot more chocolate, and it's dark chocolate. Which chocolate you choose depends on what you like and what you have.
The third Chocolate Whipped Cream is from the Queen of Chocolate, Alice Medrich. It's for White Chocolate Whipped Cream. Of course, Medrich has great recipes for Dark and Milk chocolate, too, so check out her recipes online and in her many cookbooks.
The Retro Advertisement is for Reddi-Wip! Don't use a can if you have the ingredients and time to make your own. It's so much better!
![]() |
Photo: Martha Stewart |
1. CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM
(from Martha Stewart)
Ingredients
4 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups heavy cream
3 Tbsp sugar
Directions
Place chocolate in medium bowl; set aside.
Heat sugar and 1 cup cream in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar has dissolved.
Pour cream mixture over chocolate; stir until chocolate has melted. Let cool.
Transfer chocolate mixture to electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Add remaining cup heavy cream and beat on medium speed until thick and fluffy.
How easy is that?
2. DARK CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM (from Sherry Yard)
I really love this recipe from Sherry Yard for Chocolate Whipped Cream. It's definitely more of a rich whipped ganache, but then isn't that what it's all about? Sherry Yard was the executive pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Beverly Hills and shared this recipe on Cookin' with Good Morning America (December 25, 2003). It's also in in her book Secrets of Baking: Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts.
Ingredients
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 cups heavy cream
1 Tbsp sugar
Directions
Using serrated knife, finely chop the chocolate into 1/4 inch pieces and place in medium heatproof bowl.
Bring cream and sugar to boil in small saucepan over medium heat. Immediately pour hot cream over chopped chocolate. Tap bowl on counter to settle chocolate into cream, then let sit for 1 minute.
Using rubber spatula, slowly stir in circular motion, starting from center of bowl and working out to sides. Stir until all chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes.
Pour ganache into medium container, cover, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. It should be consistency of peanut butter.
Once ganache has chilled, transfer to large bowl. Using balloon whisk, whip ganache by hand until it just reaches soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Be sure to lift whisk out of cream with each pass to bring in as much air as possible. Do not overwhip. Don't worry if cream doesn't seem firm enough. It will have consistency of mustard but will solidify more after it sets in the refrigerator. You can also use a hand mixer.
Use this cream immediately to fill pastries, tarts, and cakes. After dessert is filled, refrigerate for about 1 hour to set the Chocolate Whipped Cream.
3. White Chocolate Whipped Cream from Alice Medrich
Ingredients
4 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp water
A pinch or two of salt (optional)
Directions
Put chocolate in medium bowl.
Bring cream and water to simmer in saucepan and pour over chocolate. Let stand for 30 seconds, then stir well.
Let stand for 15 minutes to finish melting chocolate, then stir again until every last bit of chocolate is melted into cream. Let cool. Taste and add salt, if desired.
Cover and refrigerate for at least several hours, or until completely chilled.
To serve, whip the cream with electric mixer until it holds a shape.
Use immediately or refrigerate until needed.
And, as always, your final product will only be as good as your ingredients. Use the best. Here's one of my favorite whipping creams!
Monday, January 4, 2021
COOKIES AND CREAM MICKEY CUPCAKES: The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook
The cookbook is organized by park — from Disneyland to Epcot, Hollywood Studios to Disney’s Animal Kingdom — and showcases recipes for some of the amazing foods you can find from Main Street USA to Galaxy’s Edge. With The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook, you can explore every delicious nook and cranny the parks have to offer, all without leaving the comfort of your own home.
And, since this is a Chocolate blog, here's one of my favorites from the cookbook:
Cookies and Cream Mickey Cupcakes
Main Street, U.S.A., Disneyland
Candy Palace on Main Street, U.S.A., was renovated in 2012 and given a very sweet interior. Many of the features are meant to look edible, such as the chandelier that seems to be dripping ice cream, and the exit sign shaped as a wrapped candy. And among its actually edible creations are delectable, supersweet Cookies and Cream Mickey Cupcakes. Topped with the iconic mouse ears, these popular treats are easy to whip up and sure to please.
YIELDS 24 CUPCAKES
For Cupcakes
3 tablespoons salted butter, softened1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3⁄4 cup cocoa powder
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1. To make Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two standard muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and sugar. Using the flat beater attachment, cream together well. Add eggs and vanilla. While mixer is running, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt; continue mixing until well combined. Add milk slowly.
3. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins, filling cups just above halfway.
4. Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely, about 1 hour, before frosting.
For Frosting
1⁄2 cup salted butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons heavy cream
10 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
48 mini chocolate sandwich cookies, whole
1. To make Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter, confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, and heavy cream. Using the flat beater attachment, whip until light and fluffy. Add crushed cookies and mix until combined.
2. Scoop frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Swirl a generous amount of frosting on each cupcake, creating a pointed mound. Stand a mini sandwich cookie upright on either side of pointed mount to create Mickey Mouse ears.
MIX IT UP
Frosting swirls are adorable, but if you prefer less frosting on your cupcakes, you can just use a knife to spread a thinner layer of frosting on top of the cupcakes—enough to push in the mouse ears.
***
Excerpted from The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook by Ashley Craft. Copyright @2020 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Photography by Harper Point Photography. Used with permission of the publisher, Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
Sunday, January 3, 2021
How Bean to Baked Goods at Real Chocolate Shops Inspired The Bean to Bar Mysteries: Guest post by Amber Royer
AMBER ROYER:
My Bean to Bar Mysteries series is my newest foray into the realm of all things chocolate. Ever since I did the chocolate cookbook (my first chocolate-related project), I have made it a point to visit chocolate shops/factories whenever I travel (oh, pre-COVID travel, how I miss you!) so that I can Instagram my favorite flavors and wrappers. As a result, Felicity’s shop is basically a combination of some of the coolest aspects of different shops I’ve seen – from the bean to baked good aspect, to the artistic labels that tell her story, to the coffee and dirty horchata station to keep visitors in the shop.
I acknowledge that in some ways this may be unrealistic. For instance, I have her just starting out, but she’s already visited origin to purchase beans for one of the chocolates she’s working on. But I gave her the funds to do so because I wanted to be able to write about the most interesting aspects of craft chocolate. After all, it is those kind of visits – in person or virtual -- that allow craft chocolate makers to sell you a story, of the farm the beans came from, of the care that went into turning those beans into something special.
But once you’ve bought that special chocolate, how can you show it off? Consider baking with it.
Although most baking recipes call for blended-origin
chocolate, so that you don’t have to take into account a particular chocolate’s
flavors to get the “chocolaty” notes people expect, you can intentionally use
the specific flavor notes of single-origin chocolate to either reinforce or
contrast other flavor notes in a dish.
This is why a chocolate with a lot of tannins, which often comes across
as citrus, goes well with lemon or bergamot flavors. Chocolate with bright, fruity notes can often
be paired with – or even take the place of – raisins or cherries.
If you’re going for contrast, pair a fruity chocolate in a crust for a more savory cheesecake base. A bitter chocolate layer can be the foil for a super-sweet filling.
And look for unexpected ways to be playful. A tip I picked up from one maker that also has a café: chocolate with smoky notes go great in anything s’mores-inspired.
In Grand Openings Can Be Murder, Felicity’s assistant Carmen makes baked goods from Felicity’s chocolate. One of the things she makes is chocolate-chunk pan dulce – in this case Besos (the word is Spanish for kisses), also known as yo-yos, because that’s what they look like. There are a number of variations on what they’re sandwiched together with, and how they’re coated.
Here’s a snippet of the scene from the book, showing how Carmen makes hers:
Logan takes a mini chocolate-chunk beso off the plate that had been under the glass cloche. “If Carmen’s innocent, then Monaco’s our main suspect. Unless you think it was Paul.”
“I’m not sure it was either of them. . . .”
I pick up one of the besos too and bite into it. Besos are a traditional Mexican sweet bread, made from a raised dough baked as two half spheres. Carmen had added chunks of my fruity Sierra Nevada chocolate to the mix, and joined the pieces with home-made strawberry jam and rolled the whole thing in fine coconut that had been infused with lavender. Traditional, yet elevated.
NOTES: If you’re up for making your own jam, you can infuse it with vanilla bean, which Carmen would have done for added depth of flavor. If you plan well in advance, you can make proper lavender infused sugar by layering lavender and sugar in a jar and shaking it once a day for about a month, then sifting out the flowers. What I’m detailing below is a quick version that grinds the flowers into the sugar.
Single Origin Chocolate Chunk Mini Besos
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons butter1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, plus one additional yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup water
1 cup chocolate chunks
1 tablespoon food grade lavender flowers
1 tablespoon caster sugar, plus 2 additional tablespoons
1 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup strawberry jam
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, yeast and baking powder. Set aside.
Place the softened butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, and cream the mixture until it becomes fluffy. Add the eggs and the vanilla, then mix until well combined Add the flour mixture, the water, and the vanilla extract. Mix on low for 1 minute, to combine and then increase the speed to medium. Continue mixing until the dough takes on a soft, smooth texture (about 10-20 minutes). Add the chocolate chunks and work them into the mixture using your hands or a spoon.
Using a 2-ounce baking scoop or the palm of your hand, place half spheres of dough roughly 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the spheres are browned (about 15-20 minutes). Cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle, combine the lavender flowers and the tablespoon of caster sugar. Grind until you achieve a fine powder, then put the powder through a fine-mesh strainer. Re-grind any remaining solids. Discard anything that won’t go through the strainer. Place the lavender sugar in a medium bowl, add the remining caster sugar and the coconut flour and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Spread about 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam on the flat side of one cooled beso half. Place another half, flat side against the filling to create a sandwich with the jam in the middle. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to stick better.
Using your fingers, coat the cooled beso halves with the room-temperature butter. Roll into coconut sugar mixture, then tap off the excess coconut.
***
Saturday, January 2, 2021
CHOCOLATE CREAM PUFFS: National Cream Puff Day
A Cream Puff is just a baked puffed shell of choux pastry. In spite of the Betty Crocker Vintage Ads from the 1950s for Cream Puff mixes displayed below, they're really simple to make from scratch. Following is an easy basic recipe for Cream Puffs and Chocolate Cream, as well as a recipe for non-traditional Chocolate Cream Puffs.
CREAM PUFFS
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour (some people use bread flour and that will really give these a different taste and texture, give it a try)
4 eggs
Directions
Preheat Oven to 425.
In large pot, bring water and butter to rolling boil.
Stir in flour and salt until mixture forms a ball. Transfer dough to large mixing bowl.
Using wooden spoon or mixer, beat in eggs one at time, mixing well after each.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
When the shells are cool, split and fill.
How easy is that!
Chocolate Cream Filling
Ingredients 14 ounces dark chocolate (65-85% cacao), finely chopped | |
2 cups heavy cream | |
1/4 cup sugar Directions |
Pour cream into bowl. Using electric mixer set on high speed, beat until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form, about 20 seconds.
Pour all of melted chocolate into whipped cream quickly, continue to mix on high speed until evenly combined, about 1 minute.
Place chocolate cream in clean pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe into bottoms of cooled cream puffs. Replace tops on filled bottoms and serve immediately. Alternatively, spoon cream onto bottoms being careful not to put too much. Of course, it looks pretty when it's piped!
Or you can make Chocolate Cream Puffs. The following recipe adds cocoa to a traditional cream puff (choux) recipe. Stuff with sweetened whipped cream. You don't need to add the sugar in the cream puff recipe, but I find the chocolate cream puffs taste a little better since there's no sugar in the cocoa. Of course, you could try this recipe with sweetened cocoa. Let me know what you think if you do that.
CHOCOLATE CREAM PUFFS
Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp cocoa
2 Tbsp sugar
4 eggs
Directions
Preheat Oven to 400.
Combine flour, cocoa, and sugar in small bowl.
In heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring water, butter, and salt to a boil.
Stir in flour, cocoa, sugar mixture, until smooth ball forms. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth and shiny.
Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls (golf ball size), 3 inches apart onto greased (or parchment lined) baking sheets.
Bake (in middle of oven) at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until set and browned.
Remove to wire racks. Let cool before splitting.
Cool puffs completely before filling with Whipped Cream, Ice Cream, or whatever!
Friday, January 1, 2021
CHOCOLATE RESOLUTION CAKE: New Year's Day
Have you made your New Year's Resolutions? This Retro advertisement from 1952 begins, "Here's a resolution you can make from this minute on..." This Ad is 70 years old.. but the recipe, if not the Dexo, is still fun and easy. This Chocolate Clock Cake is perfect to celebrate the New Year- and the new decade!
Dexo was a brand of hydrogenated vegetable shortening similar to Crisco: "Blendable, dependable and thrifty."
CHOCOLATE RESOLUTION CAKE