It’s a well-known fact that the road to many people’s hearts is paved with chocolate.
Chocolate is the acknowledged gift of choice for Valentine’s Day, so you can’t go wrong by serving a decadent chocolatey dessert to your significant other on Feb. 14. Be sure to purchase a really good quality chocolate with a cacao content of around 60 per cent. With any recipe the finished result will only be as good as the raw materials.
Don’t think you’re limited to buying chocolate stocked in the baking aisle. You can buy any premium chocolate bar from the candy section that has the recommended cacao percentage. Similarly, choose premium quality brands of cocoa and chocolate chips to ensure the best results.
Outrageous Brownies
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
2⁄3 cup butter, melted (divided use)
½ cup boiling water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
1+1⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda.
Stir in one-third cup of the melted butter until mixture is smooth. Stir in the boiling water until mixture is smooth and thick, then stir in the sugar, eggs and the remaining one-third cup of melted butter, then the vanilla and salt, stirring just until smooth.
Add the flour and chocolate chips all at once; stir just until incorporated. Scrape batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or just until the edges start to pull away from the pan (it’s better to underbake these a bit rather than bake them too long). Cool completely in the pan, then cut into squares. Makes 12 large squares.
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
Crust:
24 Oreo cookies, finely crushed
¼ cup butter, melted
Filling:
Four 250-gram packages of cream cheese, room temperature (use the full fat version as this is supposed to be a decadent dessert)
1+1⁄3 cups icing sugar
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
4 large eggs, room temperature
10 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
Chocolate ganache Topping:
¾ cup whipping cream
6 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 350º F; grease a nine-inch springform pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the crushed Oreo cookies and the melted butter; stir until cookie crumbs are evenly moistened.
Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the greased pan; bake for five minutes, then remove from oven and cool on a wire rack while preparing filling.
To make filling, melt the 10 ounces of chopped chocolate (either over simmering water or in the microwave); let cool. With a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth and creamy, then beat in cocoa powder. Add the eggs one at a time on low speed; do not overbeat. Add the melted chocolate on low speed and mix just until combined.
Pour mixture over the baked crust and smooth the top; bake until centre is set and the top looks dry, about one hour to one hour and 10 minutes.
Cool the cake on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully run a thin-bladed knife around the outside of the cake (but don’t remove sides of springform pan). Place the cake in the refrigerator and leave for eight hours, or preferably overnight.
On the day of serving, prepare the topping: in a medium saucepan stir together the whipping cream, chocolate and sugar over low heat, stirring until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth (this requires fairly vigorous stirring).
Let mixture cool until it has thickened significantly, then pour it over the top of the cake and refrigerate cake again until topping has set. Again run a thin-bladed knife around the outside of the cake, then remove springform pan sides. Makes eight to 12 servings.
Easiest Chocolate Fondue
If you don’t want to spend hours making a dessert, this couldn’t be quicker.
1½ cups coarsely chopped dark chocolate
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Strawberries, fresh pineapple chunks, crystallized ginger chunks and marshmallows for dipping
Short bamboo skewers
Combine chocolate and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat; stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Pour into a small fondue pot or a serving bowl.
Arrange items to be dipped on a serving plate along with a supply of skewers for spearing. Makes six servings.
Angela Shellard is a self-described foodie. She has done informal catering for various functions. Contact: [email protected].
