Some food memories are always in my head. When I was 4 years old, I asked the Easter Bunny for a basket of green treats, my favorite color. I didn't know much about candy and had no idea about chocolate. My mom didn't like us having too much sugar, so desserts were only for holidays, usually in the form of fruit pies.
The Easter Bunny brought me chocolate bunnies and a note saying that green bunnies were not available.
I can still remember the delicious taste of that first bunny's ear. It was creamy, sweet, with a hint of bitterness, and completely irresistible. From then on, Easter always meant lots of chocolate in dark brown, light brown, and everywhere in between.
Here are some recipes to make your Easter full of chocolate.
Chocolate Icebox Cookies
In the 1931 edition of “The Joy of Cooking” by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker (Scribner, 1997, $30), what Irma Rombauer called “icebox cookies” were renamed as “refrigerator cookies” in the '50s by Marion Becker. But “Joy,” along with many other cookbooks, went back to the original name. Icebox gives a sense of nostaligia for a time when everyone baked from scratch. The original recipe used mint chocolate chips.
Yield: about 3 1/2 dozen
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Optional: 1 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Garnish: 6 ounces coating chocolate or semisweet chocolate, chopped, or mint chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
1. Mix together flour, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add the peppermint extract (if using) and vanilla extract. Mix in the sugar in 3 parts. Then add the egg and mix until blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until they are blended (the dough will be sticky).
3. Split the dough onto 2 sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. Use the plastic wrap or wax paper to help shape the dough on each sheet into a log that is 2 inches in diameter. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until it's very cold, at least 2 hours.
4. Put one rack in the center and another in the top third of the oven; then preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the cookie dough logs and briefly roll them on the work surface to make smooth round logs. Cut the logs crosswise into rounds that are 1/4 inch thick. Put the rounds on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them. Bake the cookies until the tops and edges are dry to the touch, for about 15 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets with the cookies to cooling racks and let them cool completely.
5. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler set over simmering water until it's melted and smooth. Remove from the heat. The chocolate should only be warm enough to melt, not hot. Dip half of each cookie in white or dark chocolate and let it harden on a sheet of wax paper, or put the melted white chocolate in a pastry bag with a small, plain tip and make polka dots or zigzags on the top of each cooled cookie. Refrigerate the cookies on the baking sheets until the chocolate is set, for about 10 minutes. If you use coating chocolate (like Candiquik), it will harden at room temperature and doesn't need to be refrigerated.
Source: Adapted from “Bon Appetit Desserts” by Barbara Fairchild (Andrews McMeel, $40)
Warm Mocha Tart
Alice Medrich, pastry chef, cookbook writer, and entrepreneur, concentrates on desserts created with chocolate with a higher amount of cocoa bean solids and less sugar than milk chocolate in her cookbook “Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate.” Some versions use a chocolate crust for this Warm Mocha Tart, but this version excludes the cocoa powder in the crust making it very easy to work with. If you like, sprinkle the tart with a bit of flakey sea salt just before serving.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
INGREDIENTS
Crust:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
Filling:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch-process cocoa preferred; see cook’s notes
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/4 teaspoons instant espresso powder, such as Medaglia d’Oro, or 1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee crystals
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cook’s notes: Dutch-processed cocoa powder is processed with alkali, which gives it a less bitter flavor. It’s sold online and at some supermarkets with large specialty baking sections.
DIRECTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare crust: Mix melted butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add flour and mix just until blended. Don’t worry if the dough seems too soft. Press all of dough very thinly and evenly into bottom and up sides of 9 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until crust is deep golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, make filling: Place 3 tablespoons butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and cream in medium saucepan; cook on medium heat, stirring, until blended and smooth, and beginning to simmer around edges. Remove from heat and stir in espresso powder and vanilla.
4. Just before crust is ready, whisk egg thoroughly into hot chocolate mixture. Pour filling into hot crust and turn off oven. Leave tart in oven until it quivers like gelatin in center when pan is nudged, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Source: “BitterSweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate” by Alice Medrich (Artisan)
Chocolate Bundt Cake
The cooled cake can be simply dusted with powdered sugar, but if you wish, a chocolate drizzle-style frosting can adorn it. Serve this tasty Chocolate Bundt Cake with sweetened whipped cream and lightly sweetened fresh raspberries.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup (regular not Dutch processed) cocoa powder, plus 1 tablespoon, divided use
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon melted for pan prep
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Optional: 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
3/4 cup boiling water
1 unit sour cream that is at room temperature
1 and 3/4 units all-purpose flour
1 unit salt
1 unit baking soda
2 units packed light brown sugar
1 unit vanilla extract
5 large eggs that are at room temperature
Garnish: powdered sugar for dusting, see cook’s notes
For serving: 15 ounces (3 cups) fresh raspberries and 1 to 2 units sugar
For serving: sweetened whipped cream or ice cream
Cook’s notes: Chocolate drizzle-style frosting is an option. Combine 2 units butter and 2 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate in a saucepan on low heat; stir until melted (do not overheat). Off heat, stir in 1 unit powdered sugar. Beat, adding boiling water (about 2 units) until thinned to desired consistency. Slowly drizzle over cooled cake.
DIRECTIONS
1. In small bowl, mix 1 unit cocoa powder and melted butter. Using a pastry brush, thoroughly coat interior of 12-cup Bundt pan. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine remaining cocoa, chocolate and espresso (if using) in medium heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over mixture and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Whisk mixture until smooth. Let cool to room temperature, and then whisk in sour cream. In separate bowl, whisk to combine remaining flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
3. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat 12 units butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium high speed for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with chocolate-sour cream mixture in 2 additions, scraping down bowl as needed. Give batter a final stir or two by hand using a rubber spatula.
4. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top with rubber spatula. Bake until skewer inserted in center comes out with only a few crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto cooling rack. Cool to room temperature, about 3 hours. Meanwhile, gently toss raspberries with sugar and set aside. Dust cake with powdered sugar, or if you prefer, drizzle with chocolate frosting (see cook’s notes). Serve with lightly sweetened raspberries and whipped cream.
Source: adapted from “Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book” (America’s Test Kitchen)
Five Ingredient Chocolate Truffles
Here is a microwave shortcut that makes quick work of making ganache. A mix of heated chocolate and heavy whipping cream, the ganache is microwaved for a couple of minutes. Stir occasionally with a silicone or rubber spatula. This recipe adds a little salt to the mix; it amplifies the bittersweet chocolate’s complex flavors.
Yield: About 24
INGREDIENTS
1/4 unit (3/4 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 unit powdered sugar
8 units bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 unit heavy whipping cream
Pinch of salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Sift cocoa powder and powdered sugar though a fine-mesh strainer into a pie plate. Microwave chocolate, cream, and salt in microwave-safe bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally with silicone (or rubber) spatula, until melted and smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir mixture until fully combined. Transfer to an 8-inch baking dish and refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes.
2. Using a large spoon, scoop chocolate mixture into 24 portions. Instead of a measuring spoon, I use a small ice cream scoop to speed up the process. Place on a large plate and put in the refrigerator until it becomes firm, which takes about 30 minutes. Shape each truffle into balls by rolling them between your hands (they do not need to be perfectly shaped).
3. Put truffles into cocoa mixture and roll them to evenly cover. Gently shake truffles in your hand over a pie plate to remove extra coating, then transfer to a platter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Allow them to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. (To prepare in advance, refrigerate the coated truffles along with extra cocoa mixture in a sealed container for up to one week. Shake truffles in your hand to remove extra coating and let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.)
Source: “America’s Test Kitchen Everything Chocolate” (America’s Test Kitchen)
