Chocolate University Online Blog
In the summer, it’s too hot to heat up the kitchen by turning on the oven and baking. I like to make non-baked desserts that are cool, refreshing and of course, chocolate.
Here is one recipe that is perfect and uses ingredients that I already have on hand…
Chocolate Cream Pie
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1/3 cup milk
2 tbs. sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup whipping cream
1 baked pie crust
Beat together cream cheese and sugar; set aside. Heat chocolate and milk over low heat, stirring until melted; remove from heat.
In a separate bowl, whip cream until soft mounds hold their shape. (You can substitute a cup of whipped topping for the whipping cream if you prefer.)
Beat in cream cheese mixture only until blended. Beat in chocolate mixture just until color is uniform. Turn into 9-inch baked pie shell (graham cracker, pastry, or crème de menthe). Chill at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with shaved chocolate if desired. |
I prefer to make a graham cracker crust because I keep lots of graham crackers around in the summer for making s’mores.
I like to garnish with mini chocolate chips.
Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: chocolate dessert, chocolate pie
 Chocolate and balsamic vinegar doesn’t sound like it would make a good couple, but I recently had a reason to try it. My sister gave me a bottle of Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar by Oro di Oliva for my birthday.
This unique vinegar makes an outstanding marinade for chicken or pork or pour it over fresh berries. On the Oro di Oliva label, it is suggested I drizzle it on ice cream – strange, but I’ll try it!
Tasting the chocolate balsamic vinegar straight, I detect a rich but basic chocolate flavor mixed with lots complex balsamic flavors. I am surprised by how well all these flavors work together.
Of course, the true test is making something and feeding it to the family. And the result?
I got compliments galore with this recipe!
Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar Truffles
8.5 ounces of your favorite dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup cream
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup cocoa powder, to coat truffles
(Instead of regular balsamic vinegar, I used the Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar by Oro di Oliva.)
Directions
In a small sauce pan, heat the cream over low heat until hot but not boiling. Put chopped chocolate into a small bowl, and pour hot cream over the chocolate. Let sit two minutes. Stir until chocolate is smooth and melted. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.
Cool the chocolate in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until firm but can still be easily formed into balls. It is critical to get the firmness correct and it will depend on the temperature of your refrigerator. Recheck every 15 to 30 minutes.
Place cocoa powder in a small shallow dish, like a pie dish. Use a teaspoon to scoop chocolate from bowl. Use your fingertips to shape into balls. Your body temperature will melt the chocolate and make it a little sticky, but do the best you can.
Roll the truffles around in the cocoa powder to coat, and set the chocolate balls on wax paper on a baking sheet. Serve the truffles right away or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. |
Categories: chocolate recipes, chocolate review
Tags: chocolate truffles, dark chocolate, flavors
As an ingredient in food, chocolate has become very popular because it is viewed as a healthy additive to recipes.
In addition to being rich in antioxidants, chocolate and cocoa powder add great flavor to both savory and sweet dishes. It also adds a deep dark color to some foods and since we eat with our eyes, it makes food look delicious.
I know it can be difficult to envision chocolate as part of a savory meal and not only in a sweet dessert, but it really adds a new twist to ordinary meals.
Adding chocolate and chili powder to tomato sauce makes a great topping over chicken.
Check this out!
Chicken in Chocolate Sauce
4 chicken breasts
1/4 c. oil
1 lg. green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 oz. sq. baking chocolate
1/4 tsp. pepper
Brown chicken lightly in oil. Remove chicken. Saute pepper, onion and garlic in the oil until onion becomes translucent. Add tomato sauce and salt and pepper. Add chili powder and chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add chicken, and simmer on low heat until chicken is very tender. Serve over rice or noodles. |
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: food pairings
 Back in 1909 Walter Baker & Co., Ltd. published a little book called Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes By Miss Parloa and Home Made Candy Recipes By Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill.
The staff here at Chocolate University Online have created a special 100th anniversary edition of this book and released it in a PDF download format.
In addition to the original text and 138 recipes, the book contains an all new introduction by CUO staff. We also took each of the pictures and moved them to the same page as their corresponding recipes. It’s much more convenient to see the picture right there rather than looking at various photo pages to get an idea of the finished product.
Furthermore, we added a great new alphabetical index. Now if you know the name of the recipe you’ll be able to find it quickly. That makes the book much friendlier than the original which, quite uselessly, listed all recipes in page number order.
The new version is for sale and immediate download at our Chocolate Store page. Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate recipes, fun chocolate facts, shameless self promotion
Tags: chocolate cake, chocolate candy, chocolate dessert, chocolate history, hot chocolate, nostalgia
I recently took a cruise to the eastern Caribbean with Royal Caribbean International. Although I loved the sun, fun, and sea, what I really enjoyed were some of the most memorable desserts I have ever been eaten.
 One those desserts that will forever stand out for me was the Molten Chocolate Cake.
Wow…
Yum…
Sorry for the pause. I might have lost consciousness just now thinking about it.
Molten chocolate cake is a popular and luxurious dessert. It is a combination of flourless chocolate and soufflé.
Sometimes it is called Chocolate Lava Cake (or even Molten Chocolate Lava Cake).
There is some dispute as to the inventor of the molten chocolate cake. On the one hand, a U.S chef takes credit by exclaiming that he accidentally took a chocolate sponge cake out of the oven before it was done. On the other, a French chef argues that such a dessert already existed in France.
In my opinion, it does not matter who invented it. The most important thing is that it was invented!
Butter, eggs, sugar, and chocolate are the four main ingredients of a molten chocolate cake. Typically, the eggs are whisked together with sugar to form a dense, thick paste while the butter and chocolate are melted together. There is a lighter version that separates the egg whites so they can be whipped into a foam to create more lift when baked.
Have you ever heard the saying: “A little too much chocolate is just about right?” After eating a Molten Chocolate Cake, you’ll know what that means.
I should have purchased the recipe book from Royal Caribbean so that I could make their actual version. But, alas, I did not. Here’s another version that I hope you enjoy…
Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
6 oz. Semi Sweet Chocolate
6 oz. Butter, sliced (at room temperature)
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Flour
Melt the chocolate over a double-boiler or slowly in a microwave oven. Stir in the butter until melted. Beat the eggs with the sugar until fully mixed and the color lightens. Stir the melted chocolate mix into the egg mix. Stir in the flour.
Preheat the over to 350°F. Pour the batter into 4 buttered ramekins. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove ramekins from ovre and tip upside down onto dessert plates. Serve while still warm. |
Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: chocolate cake, chocolate dessert
A few days ago Bryn mentioned a cheesecake and Pinot Grigio pairing.
 What she failed to mention is that it was I who suggested the Pinot Grigio as a potential pairing with the cheesecake.
Having tasted several of the wines earlier in the evening, I knew upon the first taste of the cheesecake that we would have a winning combination. Since the last of the Pinot was already in my glass I had to take it over to Bryn and tell her to taste the combination.
Somehow that experience developed into a crazy article about cheesecake and the Olympics. Hmm. Maybe the holiday stress is started to get to her. 
Anyway, I thought this might be a good opportunity to share the recipe for the cheesecake. After all, I am the cheesecake master in our house!
Chocolate Marble Cheesecake
1 package of basic brownie mix (8 or 10 ounces)
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
Lightly grease the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Prepare the brownie mix as recommended on the package. Then spread the batter into the springform pan. Bake for only 15 minutes at 350°F even if the package says you need more time.
While the brownie bottom is baking, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Then add one egg at a time, blending well after each. Pour the cheese batter over the baked brownie layer.
Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring often until smooth. Using a spoon glop the the chocolate into 5 or 6 areas on the surface of the cream cheese layer. Now use a knife to cut through the batter to obtain a swirled effect.
Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes until center is firm but still jiggles. Immediately loosen the cheesecake from the rim of the pan. Cool before completely removing rim.
Cut a slice for yourself and enjoy! |
And, if you want to try something great, open a bottle of Pinot Grigio and sip along while you eat.
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: cheesecake, chocolate dessert, wine
A couple days ago my children had a “snow day” off of school. There was a good, old fashioned, Midwestern winter storm and school was cancelled. We found our selves homebound and looking for something fun to do.
Days like this usually drive us to the kitchen where we bake our favorites; cookies or chocolate cake. Sadly, I did not have all the ingredients on hand for cookies or cake. (Mental note: keep the shelves stocked with these items!)
My daughter really wanted something sweet so we looked in every cupboard and took inventory of what we had. Then we put on our thinking caps!
Of the various odds and ends that we discovered in the house here are the items we concluded were compatible: ½ bag of white baking chips, ½ bag of mini pretzels, and a partial container of colorful decorating sprinkles. Time for some dipping!
I melted the baking chips in the microwave very carefully because white confectionery can burn easily. I started with 30 seconds on high, stirred, and returned for a couple more 30 second bursts followed by stirring until completely melted.
White baking chips do not contain cocoa butter so I did not have to temper it. But, as soon as we started dipping, we realized that the melted goo was too thick to properly coat the pretzels. Now what?
Well, since these were not “white chocolate” chips, but rather a confectionery chip, they were made of a vegetable oil other not cocoa butter. Therefore I could add a teaspoon of canola oil and have no worries about incompatibility between oils. (I would never risk thinning out a cocoa butter based coating using cooking oil. That would spell disaster so you should avoid that thought as well.)
After thinning the confectionery with the canola oil, we resumed dipping. As each was completed, we put them on a sheet of wax paper. While the coating was still liquid we added sprinkles and then allowed 10 minutes for the coating to cool and harden.
Ah, they looked picture perfect and tasted supreme. It was so nice to have an easy, fun, and delicious afternoon with a loved one. Here’s to more snow days!
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: confectionery, white chocolate
As a child, my favorite cake was Devil’s Food. I asked my mom, many times, to make this cake for my birthday.
Why is the cake called Devil’s Food?
Folk lore says that a group of Pilgrims that lived next door to a Chocolate House in Amsterdam in the late 1600’s, witnessed chocolate house patrons cavorting and making merry while they consumed chocolate. The Pilgrims were convinced that chocolate was made from the devil. They named chocolate “Devil’s Food.” Later on, when dark chocolate cake gained in popularity, it was named Devil’s Food Cake for its sinfully delicious nature.
Devil’s food cake is moist, airy, and rich. It is multi-layered and covered in lots of thick chocolate frosting. Yum!
There are different variations of Devil’s Food cake such as Red Velvet, Red Devil, Waldorf Astoria Cake, and $100 Dollar Cake.
Red velvet cake has a more pronounced red color because the high concentration of baking soda caused a reddening of the cocoa powder when baked. Today, red food coloring is sometimes used.
Feeling a craving for Devil’s Food cake? Here is a good recipe:
Devil’s Food Cake
Cake Mixture
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 pound butter, softened
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
3 egg whites, stiffly beaten
Cream sugars and butter. Add melted chocolate. Set aside. Beat egg yolks together, and then blend in water and vanilla extract. Gradually add yolk mixture to the chocolate mixture and beat until fluffy. Mix together flour, salt and baking soda. Add flour mixture and milk to the main batter. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into batter.
Pour into two greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350°F about 30-35 minutes or until cakes spring back when touched lightly. Turn out onto cooling rack. When completely cooled, frost.
Frosting
10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup water or cream
¾ cup butter
To frost the cake, spread a good-sized layer of the frosting over the top of one layer. Top with the second cake layer. Then spread the top and sides with the remaining frosting. |
By the way, there is a National Devil’s Food Cake Day! It is May 19.
If you enjoy baking cakes here’s a chocolate cake recipe book that might interest you. It is published by Frances Moore of Painless Cooking.
By the way, the Devil’s Food Cake recipe above is not from this book.
For access to Frances time-proven recipes visit the Chocolate Cakes Recipes page.
Categories: chocolate recipes, fun chocolate facts
Tags: chocolate cake, chocolate dessert, folk lore
Here’s one of my favorite chocolate dessert recipes. Bryn is making it today for the independence day party.
Semi-Sweet Ganache Torte
15 chocolate graham crackers
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter (not margarine), melted
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup fat-free half & half
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pint your favorite berries (raspberries wonderful, frozen are OK)
Blend graham crackers and sugar in a blender. Pulse for 2 minutes. Blend in 1/4 cup of the melted butter. Press mixture into tart pan. Freeze for 20 minutes. Then turn out crust onto a plate.
In a separate bowl combine chips and the remaining 1/4 cup butter. In a saucepan, add the cinnamon to the half & half. Bring to a boil. Then pour the half & half over the chips and butter. Let stand 1 minute then stir. Pour onto the graham cracker crust.
Cover with berries. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. Enjoy!
This recipe comes from the forthcoming Chocolate University Online recipe book. Sign up for the free ebook in the form to the right and we’ll let you know when the recipe book is available.
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: chocolate dessert
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