February 11 — Chocolate Time - Biology Professor Maria Florez

Chocolate pots of cream (adapted from The Zuni Café Cookbook, by Judy Rodgers)
· 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
· ¾ cup heavy cream
· ¾ cup whole milk
· 2 Tbsp. sugar
· 4 egg yolks
Preheat oven to 300° . Place a small bowl over, but not touching, simmering water. Place chopped chocolate and ½ cup cream in bowl, stirring occasionally until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, warm remaining ¼ cup cream, milk, and sugar. Stir just until sugar is dissolved. Remove saucepan from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks then slowly stir in warm milk mixture. Pour egg mixture through a strainer set over the melted chocolate/cream mixture. Stir to combine.

Divide the mixture among four 4- to 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Place cups at least one inch apart in a 9” x 13” x 2” baking dish. Place pan on oven rack and then add hot water to baking pan until it reaches about ½ inch beneath the lip of the cups.

Bake until the custard is just set at the edges but quite soft in the center (about 45 min). Because the eggs will continue to cook after you pull the custards from the oven, and because the chocolate will harden as it cools, begin checking for doneness after about 40 min. To check, lift one of the chocolate pots and tilt it; the center of the custard should bulge out slightly. Remove the pots from the oven; let cool. Cover each with foil or plastic wrap, making sure the covering doesn’t tough the top of the dessert, and refrigerate at least 2hr or up to 3 days. Texture is best just hours from the oven.


Tyler’s cracked earth cake (see http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chocolate-cracked-earth-flourless-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html)
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 stick unsalted butter
9 large eggs, separated
1tsp vanilla (added based on review comments)
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
2 cups heavy cream, cold (for whipped cream)
Confectioners' sugar (for dusting)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1 inch of simmering water until melted. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs - this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate - then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture. Add vanilla.
Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, approximately 40 minutes (depends on your oven and the pan you use). Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan. While the cake is cooking, whip the cream until it becomes light and fluffy.
Serve at room temperature dusted with confectioners' sugar and topped with whipped cream.


Chocolate & Walnut Purses (see http://www.puffpastry.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeID=23997&rc=183)
· One puff pastry sheet
· 6oz chopped semi-sweet chocolate
· ¼ cup chopped walnuts
If using frozen pastry then thaw the pastry sheet at room temperature for 30min. Refrigerated pastry should rest at room temperature for 5-10min before using. Preheat oven to 400° . Mix chopped chocolate and walnuts. Unfold pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Roll into a 12” square. Cut into 9 (4”) squares. Place about 2tbsp of the chocolate mixture in the middle of each square. Brush the edges of the square lightly with water. Fold corners of pastry to the center on top of filling and twist tightly to seal. Fan out corners.

Place 2” apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15min or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool on wire rack for 10min. Powder with confectioner’s sugar.