Sweets for the sweet: chiefly chocolate!

IN THE KITCHEN by Faith Bahadurian:  Recipes for your sweetie (or yourself) on Valentine’s Day: a sophisticated take on pound cake (using vodka-based Vermeer Dutch Chocolate Cream Liqueur), chocolate mousse made with Grand Marnier and a special meringue recipe from Scharffen Berger.

   Several years ago when I wrote my annual holiday letter recapping my past year (ho-hum), I also wrote a fantasy version on the reverse side, in which I’d won the lottery and was traveling the world, had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and in which scientists had discovered that chocolate cured disease.
   Now, was I ahead of the curve or what? Since then, we’ve heard about medical research showing that chocolate releases small amounts of feel-good serotonin and endorphins into the bloodstream, and that its flavonoids have antioxidant properties and an effect similar to low-dose aspirin.

"An

Photo by Faith Bahadurian
An array of temptation from Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Treats at the New York Chocolate Show.


   How can I get in on those studies?
   But then, we knew chocolate was good for us all along, didn’t we? The only excuse I need is that I really like it and enjoy eating it, albeit sometimes to excess. I’m an admitted chocoholic, and became more so after a visit to the New York Chocolate Show earlier this winter. A full day spent sampling the finest American and European chocolates elevated my friends and me to a state of nirvana — or was it the endorphins?
   One of the first things to catch my eye was the intricate antique chocolate molds at Boissier Chocolatier’s table. (They also had lovely pastel fruit-flavored handmade marshmallows that really did melt in my mouth.)
   Next we moved on to Sharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, the only chocolate company founded in America in the last 50 years. I love their crunchy Nibby Bar, with pieces of cacao bean, and at the show bought up several "limited edition" Porcelana bars, their fifth anniversary blend of rare Venezuelan criollo and Ghanian cacaos. At 75 percent cacao, this bar was very bittersweet but with a surprisingly fruity flavor.
   At Mazet Confiseur we sampled chocolate coated and dusted candied nuts in beautiful packaging, and then got hooked on sublime French chocolates from Philippe Bouvier Chocolatier in flavors like sel Guerande, hibiscus, Darjeeling tea and rose. These chocolates, my favorite of the day, must be sold fresh, and are not yet available in the United States. Many of the French chocolatiers were at the show hoping to find an American importer.
   In addition to the nearly 50 chocolate makers at the show, there were things that go with chocolate, such as port and liqueurs, which are good things to have in your pantry for cooking, if not drinking.
   The vodka-based Vermeer Dutch Chocolate Cream Liqueur I tried that day is lovely baked up into a sophisticated take on pound cake. Chocolate and orange is a marriage made in heaven, so I’m also including a recipe for Chocolate Mousse made with Grand Marnier. And for something lighter, try this special meringue recipe from Scharffen Berger for your sweetie (or yourself) on Valentine’s day.
VERMEER CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE
Cake ingredients:
   3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
   1 cup bleached all-purpose flour
   ¼ teaspoon baking soda
   ¼ teaspoon baking powder
   ¼ teaspoon salt
   8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
   1 cup sugar
   2 eggs
   1 teaspoon vanilla
   ½ cup sour cream
   1/8 cup Vermeer Chocolate Liqueur
For the Glaze:
   1 cup confectioner’s sugar
   3 tablespoons Vermeer Chocolate Liqueur
   Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
   1. Use the bottom of an 8.5×4.5×2.5 inch metal loaf pan to trace and cut out a rectangle of wax paper. Butter the loaf pan and insert the wax paper at bottom of pan. Butter the wax paper.
   2. Melt broken up chocolate squares in a small heatproof bowl over hot (but not simmering) water. Stir occasionally as chocolate melts. Remove bowl from heat and set aside.
   3. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
   4. Beat in the cooled chocolate, then the eggs — one at a time — and the vanilla. Stir in half the flour mixture. Then stir in the sour cream. Then stir in remaining flour mixture.
   5. Quickly stir in the Vermeer liqueur. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan, peel wax paper from bottom and cool completely.
Glaze:
   Sift confectioner’s sugar into a bowl. Using electric mixer beat in Vermeer. Mix until smooth and thin (about 2 minutes). Drizzle glaze over top of the cooled cake, smoothing with knife when necessary and allowing glaze to drip down the sides of the cake.
GRAND MARNIER CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
www.grandmarnier.com
   Makes 5 to 6 servings. Since this recipe calls for uncooked egg whites, use eggs from a source you trust.
   5 ounces semisweet dark chocolate
   2½ ounces butter (about 5 tablespoons)
   1 egg yolk
   3 egg whites
   1 ounce Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge liqueur
   Melt the chocolate in a saucepan. Take the pan off the heat; mix the butter and then the egg yolk into melted chocolate. Whip the egg whites. Slowly fold in the Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge liqueur, then the whipped egg whites. Refrigerate before serving.
MERINGUE AND CHOCOLATE KISSES
Adapted by Scharffen Berger Chocolate from "Baked From the Heart," Ten Speed Press
   Makes 24 meringues.
   3 large egg whites, room temperature
   1 cup super-fine sugar
   ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
   2½ teaspoons cherry syrup (Torani works well)
   2 drops red food coloring (optional)
   6 ounces Scharffen Berger 70% bittersweet chocolate
   1 tablespoon vegetable oil
   1. Heat oven to 275 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat egg whites electric mixer on medium speed just until broken up, about 1 minute. Gradually beat in the sugar and cream of tartar while slowly increasing mixing speed. Add 2 teaspoons of the cherry syrup and red food coloring (if using) and beat on high speed just until stiff peaks form. The egg whites should be stiff and glossy, but not dry.
   2. Drop egg whites by generous teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet. With a spoon, shape egg whites into 1½-inch mounds, making a depression in the center of each. Bake meringues 15 minutes. Without removing them from the oven, turn oven off and prop door open slightly.
   3. Let the meringues sit in the oven until completely dry, about 30 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
   4. In the meantime, make chocolate filling. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and oil over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove the pan from heat; let mixture cool to room temperature, and stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon cherry syrup. Spoon filling into the depressions in the meringues. Transfer meringues to wire racks and let sit until filling is set.
The New York Chocolate Show on the Web: www.chocolateshow.com