Chocolate University Online Blog
Chocolate pudding makes a great Summer-time dessert. Well, it makes a great dessert any time of the year, but I like pudding in the Summer because it is served chilled and it’s kind of a light dessert. Eating it in the Summer just feels right.
A box of instant chocolate pudding is good, regular (non-instant) is better, and a pudding that is hooched up a bit is even better.
Here’s a chocolate pudding recipe that starts with a box for convenience, adds more chocolate for enhanced chocolate impact, and includes Amaretto liqueur for a nice almond flavor. The whipping cream on top is a nice touch which you can enhance further by topping with a fruit or more chocolate.
Amaretto Chocolate Pudding
• 1 chocolate pudding mix, 3.4 ounce box (not instant)
• 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk
• 7 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
• 1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
Pour dry chocolate pudding mix into heavy medium saucepan. Add chopped semi-sweet chocolate. Gradually mix in milk and 6 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur. Stir pudding over medium heat until chocolate melts and pudding comes to boil and thickens. Divide pudding equally among four 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.
Whip cream, sugar, and remaining 1 tablespoon Amaretto in small bowl until stiff peaks form. Top chilled puddings with large dollop of the whipped cream mixture. Garnish with raspberries and chocolate curls, if desired. |
Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: Amaretto liqueur, chocolate dessert, pudding, raspberries, semi-sweet chocolate
I love baking brownies on a cold, blustery day like today. I love smelling the chocolate cooking in the oven; the way the brownies steam when I cut them in the pan; and the way the vanilla ice cream melts after I drop a scoop on the top. Ah!
The complete experience should be shared with a loved one.
Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies
• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam
In heatproof bowl set over hot (not boiling) water, melt semi-sweet chocolate with unsweetened chocolate. Remove from heat; stir until smooth. Let cool to lukewarm.
In large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/3 cup of the sugar until smooth. Beat in 1 of the eggs and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla until well combined. Set aside.
In separate large bowl, beat butter with remaining sugar until smooth. Beat in remaining eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in remaining vanilla, then chocolate, mixing well. Mix in flour and salt just until combined.
Lightly grease a 13×9-inch cake pan.
Reserve 1 cup of the chocolate batter. Spread remaining chocolate batter in pan. Spread with cream cheese mixture. Spoon reserved chocolate batter in dollops over top. Spoon jam in smaller dollops among chocolate dollops. With knife, zigzag through layers for marble effect.
Bake in 350° oven for 35 minutes or until tester inserted 2 inches from center comes out slightly moist. Let cool on rack. Cut into squares while slightly warm. |
Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: brownies, cheesecake, chocolate dessert, cream cheese, raspberries
I love the combination of dark chocolate and raspberry, but I am a bit snobbish about it. A girl’s gotta have standards, right?
 While there are many wonderful Ghirardelli chocolates to love, I’m afraid I am not a fan of the Dark & Raspberry.
Overall, the bar is too sweet and the chocolate falls flat. The package tells me that the real fruit filling is surrounded by intense dark chocolate, but the reality is nothing stands out flavor-wise.
On the positive side, I do like the texture of the raspberry filling, and both the filling and the chocolate are compatible – meaning they don’t clash or leave a nasty aftertaste. At least there’s that!
I can sum up my experience with this particular formulation as boring. And one thing chocolate should never be, is boring!
Can I hear an AMEN?
Categories: chocolate review
Tags: dark chocolate, Ghirardelli, raspberries
One of my favorite chocolate and wine pairings is merlot with a dark chocolate-covered raspberry cream.
Merlot, a red grape originating in France’s Bordeaux region, naturally produces tastes that are rich and round, loaded with raspberry and other red berry flavors, sometimes with hints of chocolate and sometimes vanilla.
Merlot is often overshadowed by a similar wine, the more popular cabernet sauvignon. The two share some similarities, but there differences, too. A merlot pairs very well with certain fruit creams and dark chocolates because it is typically softer and fruitier in both aroma and flavor than a cabernet.
Recently I enjoyed a Sonoma Vineyards 2007 Merlot. I paired it with a dark chocolate raspberry cream from a local chocolates shop that I adore. This wine was velvety smooth with mocha, raspberry, and cranberry notes coming through at the start and finishing with mocha and vanilla.
While I considered this a successful match up, the vanilla and oak flavors from the wine brought out some bitterness in the chocolate. Over the years, I have paired different merlot wines with chocolate raspberry creams and try to avoid wines that are aged in oak for this very reason.
Categories: chocolate pairings
Tags: dark chocolate, merlot, raspberries, wine
Instead of the usual birthday cake, I made something different this year for my husband’s birthday treat. The only thing I did was change out the strawberry topping for raspberry – his preferred fruit.
Turned out to be a big hit. Maybe I started a new tradition???
Enjoy this awesome recipe!
Strawberry (or Raspberry!) Chocolate Shortcake
• 1 pint strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced
or 1/2 pint raspberries, rinsed
• 1 cup sugar (reserve ¼ cup for fruit topping)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits and chilled
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup heavy cream or whipped cream
• Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
• Bottled hot fudge sauce (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°. Place strawberries or raspberries in medium size bowl. Gently stir in 1/4 cup sugar; toss to coat. Let stand 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, prepare chocolate shortcake: Combine flour, cocoa powder, remaining sugar, the baking powder and salt in large bowl. With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissor fashion, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Slowly add milk and vanilla, toss with fork, until mixture just come together. Add more milk one tablespoon at a time to into dough. Put dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead lightly about 10 times. Pat or roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut out with 4-inch round fluted cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Reroll the scraps and cut out more short cakes. Bake in 425° oven for 12 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove shortcakes to wire rack to cool completely.
Cut each shortcake in half horizontally. Place bottom halves on plates. Spoon some juice from strawberry or raspberry mixture over bottoms. Spoon strawberry or raspberry mixture on each bottom half, reserving a few berries for garnish. Spoon about 1/2 cup whipped cream over each. Cover with top half. Garnish with fruit and mint. Drizzle with fudge sauce if desired. Cut in half for two servings. |
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: chocolate cake, chocolate dessert, raspberries
Try this taste sensation over ice cream to elevate the experience of your taste buds. Your ice cream will taste better than your usual ice cream.
Keep a bag of frozen raspberries on hand for an all year ‘round treat…
Ultimate Raspberry Chocolate Sauce
• 12 ounces frozen raspberries (individually quick-frozen), defrosted
• 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
Puree the raspberries in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, then pass them through a fine strainer. Or pass them through a food mill. Set aside.
In a medium-size heavy saucepan, whisk together the cocoa and heavy cream. Add the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and raspberries and stir until well blended. Place the pan over medium heat and slowly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Once it reaches a boil, let it continue to boil slowly for 8 minutes without stirring. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the sauce into a container.
Let it cool for 15 minutes if serving hot, or cover and refrigerate until needed. It will last for at least 1 month. The sauce may be reheated slowly. Makes 2½ cups. |
Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate recipes
Tags: chocolate sauce, ice cream, raspberries
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