Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (56 page)

When I measure a little basket of strawberries from the market I find that it measures almost 1 quart in volume, although frequently food stores and recipes refer to that amount as 1 pint. Actually, it should weigh 1 pound. For serving about 10 or 12 portions, use 5 baskets; or, if you measure them, almost 3 quarts—or 3 pounds. (But since the dessert is frozen and may be kept for some time in the freezer, if you plan to serve only part of it, use 1 basket of berries for 4 portions of mousse—and 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 of kirsch.)

3 baskets of fresh strawberries

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 tablespoons kirsch

Wash the berries quickly—don’t let them soak. Wash either in and out of a bowl of cold water, or under cold running water. Remove the hulls and spread the strawberries out on paper towels to drain and dry. Then, on a large flat plate, crush them coarsely with a large fork (they should not be fine or mushy); or slice them. Place the berries in a bowl, add the sugar and kirsch, and let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, for about an hour.

Then cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Pass the strawberries separately or spoon a generous amount over each portion. (Or, to serve it as they do at the Palace, spoon some of the berries and their sauce into the bottoms of individual dessert cups and spoon the mousse over them.)

Toblerone Milk Chocolate Mousse

4
P
ORTIONS

In order to have the very special flavor of this chocolate, this recipe must be made with Toblerone, a triangular Swiss bar of sweet milk chocolate with chopped almonds and honey nougat. It comes in 3-ounce or 14-ounce bars and is generally available at fine-food stores and some candy shops. The mousse will be a light chocolate in color and creamy-firm. It is prepared in individual portions and must be made at least a few hours before serving, but it can be made a few days ahead. This recipe makes 4 portions but can easily be multiplied.

7 ounces Toblerone milk chocolate, broken into small pieces

6 tablespoons boiling water

½ cup heavy cream

2 egg whites

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Optional: additional Toblerone for shaving over the top

Place the chocolate and boiling water in a small, heavy saucepan over the lowest heat. Stir occasionally with a small wire whisk until the chocolate is melted. (You will see little bits of almonds and melting nougat.) Do not overheat the chocolate. As soon as it is melted remove it from the heat and set aside until completely cool.

In a small bowl whip the cream until it holds a definite shape and set it aside.

In the small bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the salt until they hold a soft shape. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture holds a firm shape but is not stiff or dry.

Meanwhile, chill the chocolate briefly, either in the freezer, stirring occasionally, or over ice and water, stirring constantly. The chocolate should be cold enough to thicken very slightly but do not let it start to harden.

In a medium-size mixing bowl fold the chocolate, beaten egg whites, and whipped cream together only until incorporated.

Pour the mousse into four individual dessert bowls or wine glasses.

Cover and freeze for at least a few hours or for a few days.

This does not need whipped cream on top. But you may sprinkle the top with little curls of Toblerone milk chocolate made by shaving it with a vegetable peeler.

Pontchartrain Mile-High Ice Cream Pie

8
TO 10
P
ORTIONS

This is from a friend, Mr. Lysle Aschaffenburg, creator and owner of the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans, which has one of the most famous dining rooms (the Caribbean Room) in a city of famous dining rooms.

It is one of the most startling, dramatic, and impressive pies I have ever seen. Your guests will swoon.

Most of it can and should be made way ahead of time; the rest, which does not take long, should be done early in the day for that night (or, possibly, the night before—see Note). It is related to a Baked Alaska, but read on. It has a baked pie shell which is filled with ice cream (that is the ahead-of-time part), and it is covered with a FOUR-inch topping of meringue which is baked to a golden honey color. Now, delightfully, instead of rushing it to the table, the whole thing goes into the freezer. On top of all that, it is served with a marvelous thick, dark chocolate sauce.

Plan it for an occasion—Thanksgiving, Christmas, a graduation, an anniversary—something special. The pie serves 8 to 10, but you can make two or more if you have room in the freezer—and a lot of egg whites.

Save (freeze) leftover egg whites from other recipes for this one.

PIE CRUST

Prepare a baked pie shell in a 9-inch ovenproof glass pie plate (see page 176) and cool it completely.

FILLING

3 pints chocolate ice cream

Use a good-quality commercial ice cream. Homemade ice cream (mine) might freeze too firm for comfortable serving, and you would not know it (because it is covered with meringue) until you served it.

Actually, this is quite flexible. I use 3 pints of chocolate ice cream—you could use 4. Or you could use more than one flavor, and place them in layers in the pie shell; the Pontchartrain uses peppermint, vanilla, and chocolate. Or coffee and chocolate are delicious.

Spread the ice cream in the pie shell, mounding it in the middle if you use more, and freeze it very well. It must be frozen solid. If you do this part way ahead of time, and it is good if you do, cover airtight and let stand in the freezer. (It is helpful if you turn the freezer temperature to coldest for a while before proceeding with the meringue.)

PONTCHARTRAIN MERINGUE

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cups egg whites (about 10 or 12 whites, depending on their size; they may be whites that have been left over from other recipes, frozen, and then thawed)

1½ teaspoons lemon juice

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Make room in the freezer—the pie will be at least 5 inches high. And set the freezer control to coldest.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer add the salt to the egg whites and beat at high speed until they are foamy. Add the lemon juice and beat only until the whites barely hold a soft shape. Reduce the speed to moderate and beat, adding the sugar about 1 tablespoon at a time, pausing for 10 or 15 seconds between additions. (It should take about 5 or 6 minutes of beating from the time you begin until all the sugar is added.) Now increase the speed to high again, add the vanilla, and beat for 4 or 5 minutes longer—the meringue should really be quite stiff. Remove from the mixer.

Take the frozen pie from the freezer, and, if you have a cake-decorating turntable or a lazy Susan, place it on it.

Work quickly now! Transfer this enormous amount of meringue you have made onto the top of the ice cream any quick way. Then, with a rubber or long, narrow metal spatula, quickly shape it—it should be so stiff that you actually have to force it—to cover the top of the ice cream and touch the pastry all around the sides. Then with a long, narrow metal spatula form it into a dome. Still working quickly (you do not want the ice cream to melt), flatten the top, forming a smooth, flat plateau about 6 inches in diameter, smooth the sides (they will taper in toward the top and will stand 4 inches above the top of the pie plate), and IMMEDIATELY place the pie in the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes—the meringue will turn a luscious smooth, golden honey color—and then immediately place the pie in the freezer.

Freeze for 2 to 8 hours or more. It must be frozen long enough rechill the ice cream, which may have softened during baking; the time required will depend on how cold your freezer is. But the dessert may be frozen longer without hurting the meringue (see Note following Pontchartrain Chocolate Sauce recipe below).

PONTCHARTRAIN CHOCOLATE SAUCE

2
C
UPS

This super sauce can be used for any other dessert.

¾ cup heavy cream

½ cup granulated sugar

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken up

2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

Place the cream in a 6- to 8-cup heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Stir occasionally until it barely begins to simmer. Add the sugar and stir over heat until completely dissolved. Reduce the heat to low; add the chocolates and stir until melted. When melted, stir briskly with a small wire whisk until perfectly smooth. It will be very thick.

The sauce should be warm but not hot when it is served.

If you make it ahead of time, cover it—let it cool covered. Then reheat slowly, stirring occasionally, over low heat.

If before serving it seems to be too thick (although it should be thick), gradually stir in some additional cream or water.

TO SERVE:
Place the pie plate on a folded napkin on a flat dessert platter.

Use a rather long, sharp, heavy knife to cut portions, and serve them on large dessert plates. Pour or spoon a few spoonfuls of the sauce over each portion.

NOTE:
After about 6 to 8 hours the meringue starts to evaporate and shrink, and therefore becomes less airy. But the process is slow. It is best to serve the pie within about 6 to 8 hours after the meringue is baked; however, if it must stand longer—even overnight—the pie will still taste good and the meringue will still look sensationally high (but if you measure it with a ruler after it has stood overnight you will see a difference).

Mississippi Mud Pie

8
TO 10
P
ORTIONS

We had this popular pie at the Chart House, a restaurant in Aspen, Colorado. It consisted of an unbaked crumb crust made of chocolate sandwich cookies (the kind with a white filling—such as Oreos or Hydrox), a thick filling of coffee ice cream, and a thin chocolate glaze topping. In Aspen it was served with a generous amount of bourbon-flavored whipped cream and toasted, sliced almonds.

It is best to make the crust a day before filling it or at least several hours before; the pie should be completed at least a day before serving, or it may be frozen for days. Or longer.

CRUST

7½ ounces (21 cookie sandwiches) chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos or Hydrox)

2 ounces (½ stick) sweet butter, melted

To prevent the crust from sticking to the plate when the pie is served, line the plate with aluminum foil as follows: Place a 12-inch square of foil into a 9-inch ovenproof glass pie plate—press the foil firmly into place by pressing against it with a folded towel or a pot holder; fold the edges of the foil tightly out over the rim of the plate. Set aside.

Break the cookies into pieces and place them in a food processor or a blender and process or blend until the crumbs are fine—you should have a scant 1¾ cups of crumbs.