Chocolate Superstorm Globs

Updated by Blue Heron Kitchen

It’s hurricane season! Make these and have a batch in your freezer for this year’s Superstorm! They’ll last longer than ice cream, the nuts will supply you with protein and the chocolate, with much needed endorphins. You might want to double the recipe because you’ll wind up scarfing a batch down when you see your next LIPA/Con Ed/whatever your power company is bill. We’re paying the piper because we’ve missed the power boat. (Raise your hand if since “Sandy” you now own a solar powered, hand crank radio, an external charger, a better quality, more efficient lighting source … something.) But chocolate counts as alternative power source (do we get tax credit?),

Use excellent quality chocolate. It matters. Use any of these chocolates, and you’ll make any chocolate lover forever yours: Scharffenberger unsweetened chocolate, Valhrona semi-sweet, Guittard chips, Jacques Torres’ dark chocolate discs, chopped.

I have used both nuts, but you can stick to one. Always toast and cool your nuts before you bake. Toast them at 350º F. for about 6-8 minutes, until you can just smell them. Watch them carefully. If they burn, they’re toast. You can play around and try a combination of chopped chocolate, different nuts (the original recipe had walnuts and pecans) and even some dried fruit – try some dried cherries!

These globs freeze very well (until the lights go out). You can bake and freeze them between sheets of parchment or waxed paper (I love waxed paper) in plastic containers, tins or freezer bags. (For anyone with half a chocolate kupf, these are better frozen.)

peace, love and power up (or down),

jane

Ingredients:

5 oz. semisweet chocolate (Scharffenberger or another good quality chocolate)

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate (same as above)

4 oz. 83%, European style butter, at room temperature (Plugra brand is a good one)

¾ c. all-purpose, unbleached flour (King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill are good brands)

1 tsp. baking powder (I use Rumford)

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 eggs, size large, at room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I use Baldwin’s Vanilla)

1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ c. semisweet chocolate ‘chips’ (pre-chipped or chopped by you)

1/3 c. toasted and skinned hazelnuts, chopped

1/3 c. chopped almonds (first, toasted and cooled)

Procedure:

Here is where the mis en place brings you great satisfaction.

Carefully measure out all of the ingredients for this recipe. You’ll just dump one thing in after another and this recipe will feel like you’re on one of those shows on the TV Food Network.

1.  Put the semi and unsweetened chocolates and butter in a stainless bowl, large enough to accommodate them and set it atop a barely simmering pot of hot water. Take care that NO steam or hot water meets the chocolate/butter mixture. Stir and melt. Remove and set aside to COOL. It is critical that you allow for the chocolate and butter mixture to cool sufficiently or else you will wind up cooking your eggs.

2.  Preheat oven to 325º F. and line 3 baking sheets or ½ size sheet pans or jellyroll pans with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper (you should get some), grease the sheets with melted butter. Set aside.

3.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4.  Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, vanilla and coffee powder until blended.

5.  Add granulated sugar and blend until thick. 1-2 minutes.

6.  Add the cooled , melted chocolate/butter mixture and blend another minute or two. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. (If you have a silicone beater blade, this won’t be necessary!)

7.  Add the flour mixture, mixing on low speed, until just incorporated. No more than that. Fold in the chocolate ‘chips’ and nuts by hand or with the mixer, on low speed.

8.  Drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls (I use a small measured scoop), leaving a couple of inches between, onto the prepared sheets.

9. Bake, rotating the sheets,  between the racks, turning them too, about 10-13 minutes, until they rise slightly and form a thin crust. Immediately remove the cookies from the sheets (you can leave them on the parchment) and cool on a rack.       

Yield: 24-36 cookies                      

Suvir's Chocolate Nut Brittle

Suvir's Chocolate Nut Brittle

Adapted by Blue Heron Kitchen

This inexpensive nut grinder is perfect for the nuts on top of the brittle.
(You can buy it on Amazon.)

Progressive Nut Grinder

Here's my story:

I was a partner at Maurice Pastry, a wholesale bakery in the South Bronx; and we made great 'craque' around the Christmas holidays. Jeff Yoskowitz and Greg Golden were my two talented partners. After leaving the bakery, (I teach music now), I always made either our bakery's 'craque' or Rose Levy Berenbaum's Chocolate Brittle from her Christmas Cookie Book around Hanukah/Christmas. Craque is a no brainer gift.

My friend, Suvir Saran, a gifted chef, restaurateur, co-author of three cookbooks, foodie celebrity just published his third cookbook, Masala Farm. It’s a unique and personal cookbook; and, as you read and savor his anecdotes and recipes, you feel like you’re visiting his home at the farm, upstate New York. 

Suvir mentors and inspires many of us. Despite that he's ‘famous’, travels often, lectures, teaches, judges, appears on TV, owns and operates a fine restaurant, dévi, in New York City, entertains extensively, he always takes time out to write and speak with me and (many others), offering advice, jokes, encouragement and praise. And he’s always open and curious to learn from ‘us’ too. 

Thank you, Suvir Saran, for inspiring me, for your passion, dedication, humor and attention to every creature who crosses your path – from the (precious) blue heron and sweet goats on your farm to (just) us who adore food, cooking, humor and sharing the bounty and joys with the ones we love. 

Suvir's my own "Babu"; and I'm a lucky Heron. 

This recipe for Chocolate Nut Brittle is unlike anything I've ever tasted because of the spices that are infused in both the chocolate and nuts. My combination of nuts was a choice. You can use all peanuts, all almonds, or all any nut you love. (I’m not sure I would use all pistachios, but if you love pistachios, why not?!). I used Kerrygold butter, which Suvir recommended. It’s very pricey, but very gold and lovely. This is a gift, my friends – don’t go all Ebenezer on this.

And the chocolate? I used Scharffenberger and threw in some Jacques Torres baking discs (to achieve the Brooklyn quotient).

Grinding your own spices makes a difference. Go to one of those Home Goods stores or Bed Bath and Beyond or Amazon.com and get yourself a $15 coffee grinder and use it just for spices. Grind your own cardamom pods, your own allspice, your own cloves… everything. Buy more whole spices (they stay fresh longer).

This is a gift of memory. People will taste it and their eyes will roll high into their heads and their response will undoubtedly include a groan of pleasure. It's worth the effort and you can freeze any leftovers (if there are any leftovers) for several months.

To my readers, I highly recommend you have a look at and purchase this new and wonderful cookbook, Masala Farm.

Have a happy and healthy 2012. May the Year of the Dragon bring us all another year of good health, peace, happiness, lots of dinner parties and the re-election of Barack.

peace and love,

jane

Suvir’s Chocolate Nut Brittle

Adapted by Blue Heron Kitchen

For The Chocolate:

11 oz/310 g. chocolate (60%-70% cacao), finely chopped

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground mace

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

Scant 1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Scant 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper [Blue Heron Kitchen: yes! … but it’s optional]

For the Brittle:

2 lb./910 g. excellent quality [Blue Heron Kitchen: Kerrygold, as recommended by Suvir.] salted butter, cut into chunks, plus 1 additional tablespoon of butter at room temperature

4 1/2 c./620 g. chopped and toasted nuts [Blue Heron Kitchen: about 250 grams unsalted, roasted excellent quality peanuts, 250 grams slivered almonds; and the remaining, unsalted pistachios]

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

3 c./600 g. granulated sugar

1/3 c./80 ml. water

2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

For the chocolate: Place chocolate and its associated spices in a medium bowl. Bring a small amount of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan and reduce the heat. Place bowl over the barely simmering water and melt, stirring frequently, making sure that no steam enters the chocolate. Turn off heat and move to a 'back burner'.

To make brittle: First, prepare the pan by taking that additional tablespoon of butter. Grease the pan and lay an oversized sheet of parchment paper over the pan, pressing it down to coat it with the butter. Then turn it over so the buttered side is up. set aside.

Place 3 cups of the toasted/chopped nuts in a bowl and mix with the spices. The other 1 1/2 cups, you can chop a little finer. They'll be the topping.

Melt the 2 lb./910 g. salted butter (Kerrygold is recommended, but any good quality butter will do - just be sure it's fresh.) in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in sugar, water, corn syrup and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to ensure that the sugar is entirely melted. Once the mixture comes to a boil, stop stirring and start waiting. Using a pastry brush, dab the sides of the pot with water if you see sugar crystallizing. Stir or swirl the pan from time to time ensure even cooking and to disable burning. Continue to cook the caramel until it is a very deep brown, 25 to 30 minutes. If the caramel rises up to the top of the pan, reduce the heat. When it reaches 300º F./150º c., it's ready. (You can remove the caramel slightly before it reaches temperature because it continues to cook - caramel takes on a life of its own, so stand tall, concentrate, don’t leave the pot and take charge.)

Remove from heat and stirring constantly, to stop cooking, add the spiced nuts. Don't wait - pour this mixture into the prepare sheet pan.

Now wait for about 5 minutes. If the chocolate mixture isn't as liquid as before, briefly re-heat it over the hot water.

Now pour the chocolate over the brittle and using an offset spatula, spread evenly.

Sprinkle remaining nuts over the chocolate.

Let set overnight or cover with plastic wrap, for at least three hours in the fridge.

Break brittle into irregular pieces and serve on a platter or in a candy dish (Remember those?! My Grandmas had so many of them!). Store in an airtight container.

Give as gifts in decorative tins or in simple cellophane bags tied with bakery string or with a ribbon.

Can be frozen up to three months in airtight container or in a freezer bag.

Chocolate "Gold Coast" Globs

After a foot of snow blanketed Colorado last week, shutting down businesses and schools and with the arrival of snow and sleet, accented by a few cracks of thunder in New York City today, I suggest: Soyez prêtes! ('Be prepared!'). 


In kitchenese: mis en place (pronounced: meeze ehn plahsuh) 


So, when it comes to the baking of these fantastic globs that fall somewhere between a brownie a cookie and a "chunky", the situation is that everything you're going to need is pre-measured and ready, like you had an imaginary apprentice doing all the dirty work while you were in make-up getting ready for the shoot.* 

*You can't tell me that you never forgot something like the sugar or,say, doubled the butter and not everything else (as I just did - I'm serious).


Stay warm and dry. Eat a little chocolate. And wherever you go, "soyez prêtes"! 

Chocolate “Gold Coast” Globs

Adapted from Judy Rosenberg’s Baking book by Blue Heron Kitchen

Here’s another great recipe that I’ve added a couple of my own twists to that originates from Judy Rosenberg’s All-Butter (etc.) Baking Book. I’ve learned from her publicist that she’s about to come out with a new book soon. I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

It is CRITICAL that you allow for the chocolate and butter mixture to cool sufficiently or else you will wind up cooking your eggs.

Use excellent quality chocolate. It matters. I use Scharffen berger unsweetened chocolate and Jacques Torres’ dark chocolate discs, chopped, for my ‘chocolate chips’. These links are suggestions. You can purchase Scharffen berger chocolate in better stores, such as Fairway Markets and Jacques Torres has his own stores in NYC - in DUMBO, Chelsea Market and other locations too. Look for these products and discover your own chocolate treasures in your own necks of woods. Or go online and order through Amazon.

I have used both walnuts and pecans, but you can stick to one. If you love one and hate the other, knock yourself out. Today, I burned my walnuts, so my cookies had only pecans and they were pretty great.

Always toast and cool your nuts before you bake. Toast them at 350º F. for about 6-8 minutes, until you can just smell them. Watch them carefully. If they burn, they’re toast. You can play around and try a combination of chopped chocolate, nuts and even some dried fruit.

The globs freeze very well. So, if you’re starting to panic about Thanksgiving, you can bake these now and freeze them between sheets of parchment or wax paper (I love wax paper) in plastic containers, tins or freezer bags. (For anyone with a chocolate kupf, they’re stupid good frozen.)

Ingredients:

5 oz. semisweet chocolate (Scharffen berger or another good quality chocolate)

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate (same as above)

4 oz. 83%, European style butter, at room temperature (Plugra brand is a good one)

¾ c. all-purpose, unbleached flour (King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill are fine examples)

1 tsp. baking powder (I use Rumford - sans aluminum!)

½ - ¾ tsp. kosher salt (depending on how much salt you want with your chocolate)

2 eggs, size large, at room temperature

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I use Baldwin’s vanilla – always)

1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ c. semisweet chocolate ‘chips’ (or chopped excellent quality, such as Jacques Torres discs)

1/3 c. chopped pecans (first, toasted and cooled)

1/3 c. chopped walnuts (first, toasted and cooled)

Procedure:

Here is where the mis en place brings you great satisfaction.

Carefully measure out all of the ingredients for this recipe.

You’ll just dump one thing in after another and this recipe will feel like you ripped off the box top of like, a box of Ghiradelli Ultimate Fudge Brownies.

1.                     Put the semi and unsweetened chocolates and butter in a stainless bowl, large enough to accommodate them; and set it atop a barely simmering pot of hot water. Take care that NO steam or hot water gets jiggy with the chocolate/butter mixture. Stir and melt. Remove to COOL.

2          Preheat oven to 325º F. and line 3 baking sheets or ½ size sheet pans or jelly roll pans with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper (you should get some), grease the sheets with melted butter or brush them lightly with vegetable oil. Set aside.

3.         In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4.         Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, vanilla and coffee powder until blended.

5.         Add granulated sugar and blend until thick. 1-2 minutes.

6.         Add the cooled , melted chocolate/butter mixture and blend another minute or two. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. (If you have a silicone beater blade, this won’t be necessary!)

7.         Add the flour mixture, mixing on low speed, until just incorporated. No more than that, please. Fold in the chocolate ‘chips’ and nuts by hand or with the mixer, on low speed.

8.         Drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls (I use a small measured scoop), leaving a couple of inches between, onto the prepared sheets.

9. Bake, rotating the sheets,  between the racks, turning them too, about 10-13 minutes, until they rise slightly and form a thin crust. Immediately remove the cookies from the sheets (you can leave them on the parchment) and cool on a rack.       

Yield: 24-36 cookies, depending on how globular you go                 

Cream Cheese and Chocolate Marble Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Chocolate Marble Cream Cheese Pound Cake

"Plain" in a tube pan

Lately, life is like a One Note Samba:
SNOW


I can't not smile watching this, so I had to share it with you. Watch it all. (It's easier than baking the cake.)


Truth: The wheel (and the pound cake) was invented... but - -
I tweaked (improved) it and added a chocolate marble variation.


There are several things you should know before you make this pound cake. The first is that it must be made the day before you intend to eat it. It morphs into a different product overnight, so you have to be patient and not claw into it right away. Also, I was happy to know that my dear friend, who also made this cake, had the same experience as I did, where there was a little 'seepage' from the bottom when it first went into the oven. I think this is because of the large quantity of eggs in the batter. In this 'new and improved' recipe, the addition of a small amount of whole wheat pastry flour may help to hold up the batter some.  But, do this: Put the tube pan on a sheet pan or bake it in a bundt pan or in a couple of loaf pans. (One solution was to open the windows to stop the fire alarm and later, to self-clean the oven.) 


Something else you should know is that this cake is almost too good. It has a fine but firm texture and can stand up to any berry or scoop of your favorite ice cream. It can be sliced and toasted and buttered and jammed, or you can enjoy it plain. It will become your basic pound cake from here on in. Promise.

This recipe yields one ginourmous cake that feeds at least 10 people. I use Philadelphia Brand cream cheese and either 83% European style butter, such as "Plugra", or, if you don't have access to this product, my fave American butter is "Land O Lakes". Make sure your butter isn't salted and it's FRESH. Here's the benchmark: If you take a little bit with your finger and taste it and it tastes like the fridge, so will your cake.


I added some whole wheat pastry flour. It's a small amount, and it supports the structure, adds a slight nutty flavor without the pound cake masquerading as a 'healthy choice, loaded with b vitamins and fiber'. If you're looking for a healthier baked good, try my Tabula Rasa Bran Muffins.


I use Baldwin's pure vanilla extract (exclusively). It makes a huge difference. My other 'secret' flavor is King Arthur Flour's Fiori di Sicilia. You don't have to buy the 4 oz. bottle (image at left), but if you do, it will last - you keep it in the fridge. It's a magical combination of vanilla and citrus extracts that lifts and enhances the flavor of any butter or nut-based product. You can find another link to this truly distinctive extract in my recipe for Rhubarb Muffins. Or, you can go directly to King Arthur Flour and order it from them. Sign up with them, and when they offer 'free shipping', that's when you should load up on stuff.

I like Bob's Red Mill for my whole wheat pastry flour. You can buy their wonderful milled products online, directly, (click on the link above), through Amazon (on left), or at better markets. In New York Fairway Markets carries a huge selection of Bob's Red Mill stuff. You I can get lost in the Bob's aisle at Fairway.


For chocolate - well, that's a whole other story. You can go as high end as you want. For this recipe, I went 'middle'. I used 60% Jacques House Selection discs. Jacques Torres' baking chocolate is very reasonably priced and great to have around. 72% dark chocolate disks are $9.50 for the lb., mail order, and they're great for baking.  

These products are all relatively easy to find, and worth hunting down. 

Cream Cheese or

Chocolate Marble Cream Cheese

Pound Cake

adapted from Staff Meals from Chanterelle by Waltuck and Phillips

by Blue Heron Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 package (8 oz.) Philadelphia brand cream cheese, room temperature

12 oz. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, European style preferred, room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 eggs, size large, at room temperature

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. Fiori di Sicilia extract (optional, but recommended)

2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour  

1 tsp. kosher salt
8 oz. dark chocolate, melted and cooled (if making chocolate marble)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350º F. and lightly butter a 10-inch tube pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Truc: melt butter and use a pastry brush to butter pans. make sure the brush you use is only used for pastry. if you use it for barbecue sauce, your cake will taste like baby back ribs.

Measure flours and salt into a small bowl, whisk together and set aside.

Place the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of your Kitchen Aid or electric mixer, or using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until smooth.

Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, 5 minutes with a hand held mixer, less with a Kitchen Aid.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. (With the fabulous silicone Beater Blade, you won't need to do this. See my post My Kitchen Aid Does the Tighten Up.) Add the vanilla and fiori di sicilia (if using) then the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.

You can do this: mix until almost all incorporated and complete the mixing by folding the rest in BY HAND. Less mixing makes for less gluten makes for a more tender crumb. (This isn't bread, sweetheart.)  

If you're making the chocolate marble pound cake, melt and cool the chocolate. This is one of the only good reasons to own a microwave oven (but stand back when you turn it on.) Remove 1 1/2 cups of the batter and in a separate bowl (the one you melted the chocolate in would be a good choice - just be sure it's large enough!), mix together, the cooled,melted chocolate and the batter.


For "plain" Cream Cheese Pound Cake: Pour the batter in the prepared pan and even out the top. Bake until golden brown on a rack in the middle of the oven, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours. (You can use prepared loaf pans or the paper loaf pans .. these don't need to be buttered - just plop the batter in them, put them on a cookie sheet and bake. They're great for 'giving'. Bake time will be less - watch them like a hawk dove.)


For Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake: If you're making one large cake or several small ones in loaf pans or paper loaf pans, the procedure is pretty much the same: First, spread the white batter on the bottom. Plop tablespoons or teaspoons of chocolate batter, depending on the size of the loaf, about an inch apart. Cover the chocolate batter with more white batter and spread white batter carefully over the chocolate batter. With a dinner knife, cut down into the loaf or tube pan and lift up the batter, doing this several times through the batter, but being careful to not fully mix the two batters together. You can make a nice Fiorentini pattern for fun!

When cake tester comes out clean (anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, depending on size of cake and your oven), place on a cake rack (if you've baked this on a cookie sheet, remove it from the sheet) and cool. If you've baked this in a tube pan or in a loaf pan, remove and cool completely. When completely cooled, wrap well and leave overnight.


This cake needs to 'rest' overnight. Trust me, it will taste much better 'tomorrow'. 


It freezes extremely well. You can keep it in the fridge too. 


If you live in New York, it will bring you some relief from snow grief.


Stay warm. 
Happy Valentine's Day.


peace and love,
jane