Chef Paul’s Chocolate Mousse

Whip one quart of Cream with 1/4 cup raw sugar.  Set aside in a chilled, clean bowl

Whip 12 egg whites with a pinch of Cream of Tarter. Set aside in another chilled, clean bowl

Melt 10 one ounce Bakers Semi-Sweet Chocolate Squares in a double boiler being careful not to burn them or get them in contact with water. (dice them first)

Put 4 egg yolks in a large stainless bowl and mix them

Add the melted chocolate in a thin stream while stirring all the time

Add 1 Teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract or Kahlua

Fold in the Egg Whites

Fold in the Whipped Cream

Using a Piping Bag, fill champagne glasses with the mixture

Refrigerate and serve within 4 hours, topped with fresh shaving of dark chocolate

Recipe can work just as well with Bakers White Chocolate.

Ingredients:

12 local eggs (eggs are not cooked, so you must know where these eggs came from)

10 oz Semisweet, Bittersweet, or White Bakers Chocolate

1 qt whipping cream (ideally it would be organic manufactures cream with a 40% fat content)

¼ cup raw sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or Kahlua

Equipment:

3 Stainless Steel bowls, 2 medium & 1 large

Mixer for the Heavy Cream and Egg Whites

2 Spatulas (unless you are really fast at cleaning – then you only need one)

1 Pastry bag with a star tip (optional, I guess although it is much prettier with this tool)

12 pretty glasses, say champagne or wine glasses although some of us primitives just fill up bowls!

Chef Paul’s Truffles

Chocolate Truffles are a dessert made to approximate the richness and intensity of Truffle Mushrooms.  Truffle mushrooms are one of the true delicacies in Continental Cuisine.  Fundamentally, they are a chocolate Sauce that is solid at room temperature with a ratio of 2/1 chocolate to heavy cream.

3 Tablespoons unsalted Butter                       

(chop the chocolate into thin slices and combine with the butter in a medium sized bowl.  Warm the chocolate and butter in the medium bowl over a large sauce pan filled half way with warm water on medium heat, until melted) 

Note: You could use a double boiler, but a medium sized stainless steel bowl set on top of a large pot ½ filled with water makes a much better tool for melting chocolate or really anything else you might use a double boiler for because the bowl is much less constrained than the upper portion of your typical double boiler.

½  Cup Heavy Cream

1 Tablespoon light Corn Syrup

(combine in a saucepan and sear, ie; bring to a simmer and them remove from heat)

add:

¼ cup Courvoisier VSOP (yes you can use Brandy)

Pour over the Chocolate/Butter mixture.  Mix with a rubber spatula until well combined.  Transfer to a medium sized ceramic or glass bowl.  Let sit for at least a couple of hours.

Using a melon baller or soup spoon, create ½ diameter balls and roll them in cocoa, or coconut, or nuts, or ground pretzels, or whatever makes your heart sing.

Bring to a party and impress !

Note, it is good to procure small chocolate confection liners to place the Chocolate Truffles in.  I can usually find them in larger department stores.  Also, be careful with the truffles in warm areas unless you have a hankering for Chocolate Soup !!

PS:  Since Truffles are simple from an ingredient standpoint, you can maximize quality by getting the best chocolate and cream you can secure.  I usually recommend Bakers Brand Chocolate, because it always works and it is quite accessible.  However, you can use other chocolates you really like, you just have to be quite careful not to burn or over-cook the chocolate.