Recipes, Ideas & Musings Charles' Chocolate Blog

Brownies remain a classic for chocolate lovers; what’s not to love about a dessert that’s almost all chocolate? Walnuts are often used in brownies, but I prefer toasted pecans, which have a much more distinct and fragrant flavor, and a nuttier texture. I love to serve these fudgy brownies with vanilla ice cream or milk.

Ingredients:

3 cups pecan pieces, lightly toasted
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (either E. Guittard 72% or El Rey 71% is recommended)
10 ounces unsalted butter
5 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp. real vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place pecan pieces on a baking sheet. Toast for 10-12 minutes until lightly toasted.

Butter and lightly flour a 9×12″ aluminum baking pan.

In a double boiler over low heat, melt chocolate and butter together. Gently stir as chocolate and butter melt. Remove from heat.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla.

Add egg mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine until well mixed.

Toss toasted pecans in the flour and gently fold into the chocolate mixture

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

Let cool before cutting. While serving immediately is recommended, brownies may be kept in an airtight container for up to seven days.

Chuck Siegel, 2006

Making a good bittersweet truffle is very easy if you understand just a few basic rules. First, your truffles will only be as good as the chocolate that you choose, so please use the best chocolate possible for great results. Second, make sure that you eat (or share) your truffles soon after making them. Truffles have a very short shelf life, and are best eaten fresh. The delicate texture and flavor balance of these creamy bittersweet chocolate truffles coated with unsweetened cocoa powder are wonderfully complemented by fresh fruit and champagne.

Ingredients:

For the Graham Crackers:
1 lb. bittersweet chocolate (I recommend either E. Guittard 72% or El Rey 71%), finely chopped.
1 cup organic heavy cream or whipping cream (try to find cream that is not “Ultra-Pasteurized)
1 whole vanilla bean
8 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a gentle boil. Remove from heat.

Split the vanilla bean open and scrape out the vanilla seed into the cream and let steep for 10 minutes.

Bring the cream back to a gentle boil over medium heat.

Pour the cream over the finely chopped chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes.

Whisk the chocolate and cream mixture together until very smooth. This is referred to as ganache, a mixture of chocolate and cream.

Refrigerate in an airtight container, for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Using a small melon baller or a small teaspoon, scoop small balls of ganache into your hand and roll until somewhat smooth and round. These should be approximately 1” in diameter.

Place cocoa powder in a shallow bowl or pan. Roll the truffles in cocoa powder to coat.

Truffles may be stored for up to two weeks at a cool room temperature(55-65 degrees) in an airtight container. Do not refrigerate or freeze; this damages the texture of the creamy ganache.

I started my first chocolate company, Attivo Confections in 1987. Many products that are now fairly common in the world of gourmet confections were first created at Attivo. This includes the first gourmet S’more in 1989, featuring an organic graham cracker covered with a slab of bittersweet chocolate and a square of homemade marshmallow.

Ingredients:

For the Graham Crackers:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons honey
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup graham flour
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Marshmallows:
3 envelopes of Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Chocolate: These are best with a very high quality bittersweet chocolate such as Scharffen Berger, E. Guittard or Valrhona.

Instructions:

Make the Graham Crackers

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cream the butter, sugars, and honey in a mixer on medium speed until soft and fluffy. Sift together the flours, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon, and put into the mixing bowl. Mix on slow speed until just combined. Using your fingers, press the dough together until it forms a ball.

Flour a clean/dry surface with graham flour and roll out the dough to 12″ x 12-inch square and then cut into nine 4-inch squares. Prick the squares with a fork and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake the dough until the top is golden brown, slightly blistered, and dry-looking, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let cool on a rack.

Make the Marshmallows

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture. Scrape into a 9 x 9-inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly. (Note: Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper). After pouring marshmallow mixture into the pan, take another piece of plastic wrap and press mixture into the pan.

Let mixture sit for a few hours. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners’ sugar and cut into nine 3″ square pieces with kitchen scissors or a very sharp knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners’ sugar.

Assemble

Top each graham cracker with a 3-inch square of bittersweet chocolate and a 3-inch square of marshmallow (melted chocolate makes a great “glue” for this. Place assembled S’mores on a baking sheet and place under a broiler (in the middle of the oven, not at the top where they will burn quickly). Watch them very closely and remove once the marshmallow is well browned. Serve.

Makes 9 servings.