AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Go on, make my day! (Recipe: Double Chocolate Cookies) DATE: 11/12/2009 01:54:00 PM ----- BODY:

(Don’t forget about the chocolate giveaway. Leave a comment before midnight, Tuesday, November 17th)

It’s so easy to brighten someone’s day. A friendly smile. Stopping to give tourists directions, or take their picture for them. Donating ‘gently worn’ clothes to the Salvation Army. Or baking cookies.

Lydia Walshin founded Drop In & Decorate in 2002 to bring people together to bake, decorate and donate cookies to shelters, food pantries, and nonprofit agencies meeting the basic human needs of people in their own communities. And so far, with this simple gesture, she has brightened the lives of close to 10,000 people with her cookies.

The number 10,000 is how many cookies she’s baked and donated. But truthfully, she’s made the day of many others – each of us who have participated in the venture of decorating the cookies. Each year around the holidays and again at Mother’s day, Lydia rallies dozens of friends and neighbors to decorate cookies in log-cabin house in the back woods of Rhode Island. I’ve joined her for the last three years. And though I’m artistically challenged when it comes to icing, I always have fun at her party.

The idea has spun off, and now folks all around the country are hosting their own Drop In & Decorate parties… and donating them to organizations in their own community.

If you’d like to host your own Drop In & Decorate® event, Pillsbury and Wilton would like to help. And maybe you’ll be the one to give away the 10,000th cookie.

Pillsbury has donated 50 VIP coupons, worth $3.00 each, off any Pillsbury product -- including sugar cookie mix, icing and flour -- to be distributed, first come, first served, while supply lasts, to anyone who plans to host a Drop In & Decorate event (max. 5 coupons per person). And we'll include a Comfort Grip cookie cutter, donated by Wilton, while our supply lasts.

Write to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com for more info on how to get your free coupons and cookie cutters.

And if you plan to go to Lydia’s event this year, I look forward to seeing you there!
___________________

All this talk of cookies and chocolate got me into a baking mood.

Though they may not be the best choice for Drop In and Decorate, these chocolate brownie cookies are great for sharing and will definitely brighten someone’s day.

No adaptation... I made this recipe to the letter. I recommend you do the same.

From: The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon brewed espresso or dark coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, briefly whip the eggs to break them up. Add the sugar, espresso, and vanilla and beat on high speed for 15 minutes, until thick.

4. While the eggs are whipping, place the butter in the top of a double boiler, or in a small metal bowl suspended over a pot of simmering (not boiling) water, and scatter the extra-bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate on top. Heat until the butter and chocolate melt. Remove the boiler top from over the water and stir the chocolate and butter until smooth.

5. Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until partially combined (there should still be some streaks). Add the flour mixture to the batter and carefully fold it in. Fold in the chocolate chips. If the batter is very runny, let it rest until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

6. Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until puffed and cracked, 8 to 9 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before removing from the baking sheets.

Labels: chocolate, cookies

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) DATE:11/12/2009 04:43:00 PM Thanks so much for helping to spread the word about Drop In & Decorate. I love that you live close enough to come and decorate in my kitchen every year. But, you know, you could sneak in a few of these gorgeous chocolate cookies, just enough for you and me, and maybe nobody would notice....! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lucia DATE:11/12/2009 08:12:00 PM I'm with Lydia: chocolate cookies would keep decorators "fueled". I always look forward to seeing you at Drop In!!!! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

noble pig DATE:11/13/2009 01:06:00 PM It's a great cause and cookies...yeah! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types DATE:11/14/2009 08:53:00 AM The only reason these wouldn't work for Drop in & Decorate is because they'd be eaten before anyone could think about decorating! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Fair Trade (and CHOCOLATE GIVEAWAY) DATE: 11/10/2009 12:26:00 AM ----- BODY:

If life were fair, everything would cost more.

Regularly, books and movies report on the commercial agricultural industry’s dependence on corn, and government subsidies are revealed to keep food prices artificially low. While we still pay for the high cost of food, we do so in taxes, and not at the supermarket.

Small-scale farmers, who do not receive these subsidies, must charge more for their food to earn even a modest wage. While sustainable farming can be less expensive in the long-run, it’s a costly path. I try to support the local farmers, even if it costs more, because I know that I’m helping to preserve our food-systems and keep more money in my community.

In second- and third- world countries, from where we get most of our coffee and chocolate, farmers make even less. The path from field to table is long, and provides little (if any) support for the farmer. They make pennies a day – most of the profits go to the middlemen in this supply chain.

Equal Exchange, a national leader in fair-trade, created a new path for small farmers to get their products to market. They do this by partnering with small-scale farmer coops. Through this process, we can be closer to the source of our food and the farmers see a greater portion of the profits – enabling them to better support their own community.

Fair Trade includes:
• Direct purchasing from those who are poorly served by conventional markets, specifically small farmers and their co-operatives.
• Agreed upon commodity floor prices that provide for a dignified livelihood.
• A promise by importers to make affordable credit available to the farmer co-operatives.
• A worldwide network of non-profit certifying organizations.

Equal Exchange chocolates continue to win awards for its quality and taste. The Panama bar was a finalist in the New York City Chocolate Show in October. And one of their Peruvian cocoa producer partners won a quality competition!

And now for the giveaway…
The Deadline has passed. Chocolate Winners: Judit U-M and Grace, Congratulations! You were randomly selected to win the chocolate sampler boxes from Equal Exchange. Please email your mailing address to julia [at] growcookeat [dot] com. And thanks to all for your great comments and supporting fair trade!

Just in time for your holiday baking, Equal Exchange wants you to taste the difference. They are offering a gift box of either chocolate sampler box (6 different 3.5 oz. bars) or sweet and spicy chocolate sampler to 2 lucky readers of Grow. Cook. Eat.

To enter the drawing, please leave a comment here telling us something you can do to support fair trade. Also, please include your email address, so that we can be in touch with you if you win. While anyone can support fair trade, you must be a US or Canadian resident to win this drawing. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, November 18th.

Labels: chocolate, give-away, soapbox

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

T. Carter DATE:11/10/2009 06:16:00 AM Buying at farmers markets and from on-farm stands ... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Erin @ Big Girl Eats DATE:11/10/2009 07:20:00 AM I just found your blog through the Perfect Pantry. Great posts! I love Equal Exchange as well.

I try to purchase fair trade and organic coffees so that I'm supporting small farms and roasters. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Calvins Mom DATE:11/10/2009 07:44:00 AM For all Chocolate does to support me and my moods, the least I can do is to purchase it, and coffee, fair trade. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Eric DATE:11/10/2009 09:04:00 AM Ask your favorite coffee shop and/or breakfast joint to carry fair-trade coffee and tea! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

SCF DATE:11/10/2009 10:40:00 AM i love equal exchange! to support fair trade i try to buy fair trade items when i can (for example, at ten thousand villages, a great store! and they sell equal exchange!) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Laura DATE:11/10/2009 10:24:00 PM I try to shop as locally as I can and support companies that use sustainable and fair trade practicess ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Elaine DATE:11/11/2009 02:53:00 AM I force myself to eat Equal Exchange chocolate whenever I can. I also live in a small Victorian town on the Puget Sound where nearby there are many local farms that offer both vegetable and meat CSAs, as well as produce cheeses from goat and sheep milk. I shop at our local farmers' market when it is open and am a member of the local Food Co-op. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Judit U-M DATE:11/11/2009 12:21:00 PM I have a share of a local, certified organic CSA farm, purchase other groceries at a family owned and operated small store that carries fair trade coffee and chocolates (and has the best selection in town). Also, since I work a lot in Peru, I eat fresh cocoa sold at the farmers' markets there, can't get much closer to the source than that. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:11/11/2009 09:11:00 PM I'd like to know about Equal Exchange. I know that the Fair Trade organization that certifies coffee has so much overhead and is so wasteful that they significantly increase the price of the products with only a tiny fraction of that going to the poor farmers.

There's got to be a more efficient way to do fair trade.

A note to American farmers: We already have enough quantity of food in this country. If you want to increase your business, the only way is to go after quality. If it costs more to grow, but you can charge more for it, then it's less food but more total business.

A recent study showed that cows that are penned up produce twice as much milk as cows let out to pasture, but since they cost 3 times as much to keep, they are less profitable. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Rodney North DATE:11/12/2009 12:44:00 PM Hi, This is Rodney, one of the worker-owners of Equal Exchange.

First, thank you all for the kind words about our small enterprise, about our chocolate, and about Fair Trade.

Second, for “Anonymous”: The fees we pay for Fair Trade certification amount to less than 1% of our costs, and therefore represent much less than 1% of the final retail price. Conversely, the higher prices we pay for all the Fair Trade coffee, cocoa, sugar, etc we import does indeed represent a significant boost to the income of the farmers and of the farmers’ co-ops. And it all goes either to the farmers themselves or to their co-operative (owned and governed by the farmers)

Something that most people don’t realize is that farmer co-operatives are a key piece of the Fair Trade picture. A single small farmer with, say, 5 acres of coffee or bananas in Central America could never become an exporter, or even get organic certified by themselves. Conversely there’s no way Equal Exchange could coordinate trade with thousands of individual farmers.

Farmer co-ops are the solution to both problems + they enable the farmers to collectively take on more of the steps of the value chain, and to get involved in the more profitable activities, like processing and exporting. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Reeni DATE:11/12/2009 07:46:00 PM I put up a link to your giveaway on my giveaway post. I look for companies that use fair-trade ingredients like chocolate to make their products. It will usually say so on the label. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

annalene DATE:11/12/2009 11:18:00 PM To support fair trade buy fair trade products. I buy fair trade chocolates for myself and for gifts. I have never tried Equal Exchange chocolate before but I would love to give them a try. Sounds like a great gift for the holidays.

-annalene
email address is visible in blogger profile ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:11/13/2009 12:52:00 AM picking at local farms and buying at farmers markets ....

jacquieastemoborski@comcast.net ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:11/13/2009 03:58:00 PM i think mutual on both sides should know their rights!

gokchecoskun@gmail.com ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Teresa DATE:11/14/2009 09:08:00 AM We have a year-round CSA from Enterprise Farm, which we talk up by inviting people over to share our cooking and by blogging about!

(teresa [underscore] elsey [at] fastmail [dot] fm) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

grace DATE:11/15/2009 12:11:00 PM good for you for bringing attention to the importance of fair trade! i only buy fair trade coffee, and i've started going that way for chocolate too. whether i deserve to or not, i always feel proud when i make those purchases. :) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:11/15/2009 05:22:00 PM One way I support fair trade is via coffee. Only those with the stamp make it into my cup! And that goes for coffee from cafes as well. Great question.

Cheers,

*Heather* ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Piper DATE:11/17/2009 04:22:00 PM In addition to buying things from a farmer's market, I've been going around to different organizations at my college to try and get them to switch their T-shirt supplier to be Fair Trade!

skp15@cwru.edu ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

inourhandsisplacedapower DATE:11/17/2009 09:31:00 PM My union boycotts Coca-Cola and WalMarth ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

J DATE:11/18/2009 10:23:00 AM Is it too late? I'm buying fair trade coffee instead of the regular stuff! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Thank you! DATE: 11/11/2008 07:18:00 AM ----- BODY:

Psychgrad at Equal Opportunity Kitchen gave me my first blogging award! This is quite an honor for two reasons:

1. As you know, I just started blogging a few months ago. I've enjoyed the practice of writing on a regular basis and forcing myself to try new recipes and think about food in a different way. It's flattering to know that others are enjoying my blog as well!

2. The award comes from Psychgrad, quite an accomplished food-blogger. She and her mother co-write their "living cookbook with colour commentary." I started reading their blog soon after I started my own. I've enjoyed reading about their culinary adventures, especially their perspecitve on Jewish holidays and food. I'm always inspired by their recipes, and they help get me out of my own cooking rut.

If you were in Cambridge, I would make you a thank you present:

Cappuccino Brownies with Cinnamon and Chocolate Glaze

8 oz. semi sweet chocolate
6 oz. soft butter
2 tbs. instant espresso, dissolved in 1 tbs. boiling water
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs.
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt.

1. Melt chocolate and butter together. Mix in espresso, vanilla and sugar.

2. Beat in eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated.

3. Mix in flour and salt.

4. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes in a 9” x 13” pan.

5. Remove brownies from pan and let cool. Spread cream cheese frosting on top, and let cool in the refrigerator.

6. Pour chocolate glaze ontop of frosting. Let set. Cut into bite sizes pieces.

These freeze well so you can eat just a few at a time and save the rest for later.

Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese
6 tbs. soft butter
1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix everything together

Chocolate Glaze

6 oz. semi sweet chocolate
2 tbs. butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tbs. instant espresso dissolved in 1 tbs. boiling water

1. Melt everything together in the top of a double boiler.

Labels: awards, baking, chocolate, recipes

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

PG DATE:11/11/2008 09:08:00 AM I just calculated it...it would take me about 5 hours to drive to Cambridge - not including any border delays. :)

Delicious-looking brownies...5 hour car ride....hmmm. I guess I'll have to enjoy them visually this time. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:11/11/2008 09:31:00 AM Psychgrad, HA! You're talking to the wrong gal about this one... I drove 18 hours round-trip to get my lamb. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:11/11/2008 08:45:00 PM Love the look of those brownies -- I'm a sucker for most anything that combines chocolate and coffee. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:11/12/2008 08:54:00 PM Lydia, It really is a winning combination! And the cinnamon adds the perfect j'ne sais quoi. Maybe you'll need to accept the brownies on behalf of Psychgrad? ----- -------- AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Challah Revisited: Babka DATE: 11/10/2008 10:39:00 AM ----- BODY:

My first few attempts at challah were surprisingly easy and successful. The recipe yields two loaves. And while I could easily eat both before they go stale, I decided to experiment with the dough. Babka seemed the natural successor to challah… the sweet, yeasty dough with chocolate swirls in the middle. Martha Stewart has a recipe that uses butter and milk. I made it once and for such a complicated recipe it was disappointing. Zabaar’s makes the best babka I’ve eaten and it’s dairy free. It seems like a logical step that challah enriched with eggs and oil would be as suitable substitute for sweet dough enriched with butter and milk.

I switched out the recipe for the dough, but otherwise used Martha’s technique.

I blended bittersweet chocolate with butter, sugar and flour. I rolled out the dough to ½ inch thick rectangle and sprinkled the chocolate mix on top. I rolled up the dough like a jelly-roll and folded it until it fit into a loaf pan.

I sprinkled the dough with a streusel topping of flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon.

Voila! Babka!

Labels: chocolate, culinary experimentations

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Melissa DATE:11/10/2008 06:59:00 PM NICE JOB! Seriously, that looks flawless. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

PG DATE:11/11/2008 09:09:00 AM Oh yum. Now THIS is a jelly roll shape that I could handle (and not screw up). Starred! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:11/14/2008 10:14:00 PM Melissa, Thanks! I don't think of myself as a baker, so I was quite pleased.

Psychgrad, I'm glad you're ready to try jelly rolls again! :) ----- -------- AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Bouche de Noel DATE: 10/13/2008 08:14:00 AM ----- BODY:

My friend Leslie is teaching a class on Bûche de Noël - the classic French Christmas Treat. In preparation, she wanted to do a trial run to test the timing of the class, and also to get pictures for the class posting.

We all know, I’m not a good baker and more a salt-head, than a sweet tooth. Nonetheless, I have a secret dream of being a star, cake decorator. I even bought a cake turn-table for when the urge strikes. Probably once a year, I make a few pounds of butter cream, a couple of cakes and decorate to my heart’s content. They look like pouffy wedding dresses reminiscent of the 1980’s (read: overdone and not particularly fashionable), and I never eat them, but it’s fun. That being said, I couldn’t miss an opportunity to watch and learn, so I offered to take pictures (just for her, I SWEAR!)

According to Wikipedia:

One popular story behind the creation of this dessert is that Napoleon I of France issued a proclamation requiring households in Paris to keep their chimneys closed during the winter, based on the notion that cold air caused medical problems. This prevented Parisians from being able to use their fireplaces, and, thus, prevented them from engaging in many of the traditions surrounding and involving the hearth in French Christmas tradition. French bakers, according to the theory, invented this dessert as a symbolic replacement around which the family could gather for story-telling and other holiday merriment.

The cake, which ultimately looks like a tree log with mushrooms, can be made with either a vanilla or chocolate sponge cake and filled with chocolate or vanilla buttercream. The cake is lighter than traditional genoise which makes it easy to roll. This cake batter is so light that it can only be used as a sheet-cake and can’t stand up to a layer cake. The mushrooms are made with Italian Meringue.

Before you can even think about assembling the cake, you must assemble all the parts: cake, filling, icing/glaze. For the garnish: rosemary sprigs to look like pine needle covered in ice and meringue mushrooms. The special equipment is limited to a piping bag with a round tip, a “decorating triangle” (used to texturize the icing to look like bark) and a good icing spatula.

For the Cake and the other components:

Cake
6 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
12 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Whip the egg yolks with sugar until they are thick and pale. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites sugar to stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the yolks. Sift the cocoa powder and flour onto to the egg mixture and gently fold to combine. Bake on a sheet tray for 15 minutes at 400F.

The filling is less persnickety. You can use a traditional buttercream or a modified version of simply beaten butter with white chocolate. The filling can also be used to glaze the outside of the cake or you can use a chocolate ganache:

Ganache
1/2 cup whipping cream
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon rum or other favorite liquor

Heat heavy cream over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Continue to stir until chocolate dissolves.

For the mushrooms, make a French meringue.
½ cup egg whites
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar.

Dissolve sugar in egg whites over a pot of simmering water, whisking constantly, and heat until 110F degrees. Remove from heat and then whip until stiff peaks. To make the mushrooms pipe out mounds to be the caps, and pipe up 1” stems. Bake at 200F for 45 minutes and the 175 for another 30 minutes to dehydrate. When they are dried, you can brush the bottom of the mushroom caps with melted chocolate. Using a small paring knife, cut a little indentation into the base of the mushroom cap. Use chocolate or icing to glue the stem into the cap.

To make pine needles, dip rosemary sprigs in beaten egg whites, then roll in granulated sugar.

Assembly
Ice the sheet cake. Roll it lengthwise, and roll the seam to the bottom. Slice the cake, 1/3 portion, on a bias to create two pieces – on that is twice as long as the other. Put the longer piece on a serving platter. Take the smaller piece, and align the angled side along the longer piece. This should give you the basic shape of a log. Ice the whole cake to cover the seam, but leave the ends un-iced to show off the roll. Run the decorating triangle along the outside to texturize.

Garnish with mushrooms and pine needles.

To register for Leslie’s class, visit: www.helenrennie.com

Labels: baking, chocolate, desserts, recipes

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

PG DATE:10/13/2008 01:53:00 PM Here it is! The post I've been waiting for. Looks beautiful. Your pictures make it look easy. Maybe our problem was rolling it before cooling - or the type of cake. At some point, I'm going to try jelly rolls again and I'll come back to this post. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:10/14/2008 06:27:00 AM PG - Sorry to make you wait so long! I think the real secret is in the cake recipe you use... minimal amount of flour and a goodly amount of sugar. I'll be curious to hear about your next attempt! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

judith_deecee DATE:10/15/2008 09:24:00 AM Julia, this is beautiful--Leslie must be very devoted. judith_deecee ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) DATE:10/15/2008 10:24:00 PM Great step-by-step photos. I'm not a baker either, but I'm still glad to know how to make this, in case the urge strikes. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Helen DATE:10/19/2008 09:37:00 PM Hi Julie,

I was just browsing through your delicious blog and found this post. Your step by step pictures are wonderful. I am sure the students in the class will find them helpful.

Cheers,
-Helen ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:10/20/2008 06:58:00 AM Judith_deecee, Indeed she is.

Lydia, It was indeed a long process, so I was glad to capture all of the steps (though, I could have posted a few more)

Helen, I'm sure the students will have a great experience! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:10/21/2008 05:58:00 PM That is an inspiration - I will definitely have a go! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:11/09/2008 06:20:00 PM Being French, I always make at least one Buche de Noel every year: one for us, small ones to send them to in-law family members instead of cookies, and sometimes to pot-lucks. My favorite version uses very little cream, lots of dark chocolate and chestnut puree. You can add Marrons Glaces bits to make them a little more exuberant.

They are fun to make. Not difficult at all and always look so good. Always a hit at Pot Lucks (even more than my Upside Down Pineapple Cake).

I also like the version with ice-creams...

Thank you for the well illustrated article which demystifies Buche de Noel, Julia.

Sylvie
http://www.LaughingDuckGardens.com/ldblog.php ----- -------- AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Baking for Non-Bakers DATE: 7/09/2008 11:59:00 AM ----- BODY:

Culinarians and Business-People are divided into two categories: cooks and bakers. Cooks are free-form and whimsical in their approach – a little of this, a pinch of that. Precision is not necessary, and often balked at. Bakers, on the other hand, are very structured. Recipes must be followed precisely to get the desired result. An extra pinch of salt could ruin a dessert, whereas with a savory dish, it could further enhance.

I am a cook! The exclamation point comes as a result of the only time I was fired from a job: as a pastry chef. Despite this setback, throughout my career, I’ve needed to make desserts – when at Chez Henri and the pastry chef was on vacation, the task fell on me. Or as a private chef, I always made my own desserts. I’ve learned to get by, and by home-cook standards, I’m pretty good. By professional standards, well… I’m a cook not a baker.

I have a few desserts that always impress. Their simple preparations don’t require the same level of precision as many other desserts. Surprisingly, one of my favorites comes courtesy of Thomas Keller. To be sure, he is not known for his simplicity. Each dish, each dessert, has several different components. The trick, for me, has been to determine where the line of diminishing returns is. Thomas Keller, of French Laundry fame, dolls up the French classic, “Ile Flottante” by filling them with chocolate mousse. Ile Flottant, or floating islands in English, are poached meringues “swimming in a sea” of crème anglaise. . He elevates it further by serving them with chocolate tuiles, mint oil and a chocolate shaving salad seasoned with sea salt. I opt against the tuiles and the chocolate salad.
Instead of mint oil, I sprinkle freshly julienned mint for both the color contrast and flavor. I take my own liberties by adding Tahitian vanilla to the meringue which gives the dessert an expansive, yet melt-in-your-mouth feeling, almost like cotton candy.

Floating Islands Filled with Chocolate Mousse
5 egg whites (save yolks for crème anglaise)
1 cup sugar
½ Tahitian Vanilla Bean

3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cup half-n-half
½ Tahitian vanilla bean

3 ounces dark chocolate, melted
¾ cup heavy cream

Berries and Mint for Garnish

Make meringue: Combine egg whites and 1 cup sugar in a mixing bowl.

Set over simmering water and whisk until sugar dissolves and the mixture is about 110 degrees (slightly warmer than body temperature). Remove from heat and whisk with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside ½ cup.

Brush 6 ramekins with oil.

Fill each ramekin with the remaining meringue. Put in a baking pan with high sides. Fill the baking pan with water to come up half way on the ramekins. Cover with foil.

Bake meringues for 30 minutes at 300F.

Remove ramekins from water bath, and let set in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the crème anglaise:

Heat half-n-half over medium heat with the vanilla bean. Whisk the egg yolk and the sugar. When small bubbles form around the edges of the pot, slowly drizzle the half-n-half into the yolks while whisking vigorously. Return the entire mix to the pot and continue cooking over medium heat, while stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat instantly and let cool.

Make the chocolate mousse: Whip the cream until stiff peaks with an electric mixer. One third at a time, fold the cream into the chocolate. When completely combined, fold the reserved meringue into the chocolate mix.

Hollow out the inside of the cooked meringues with a spoon, making sure to keep the exterior intact. Fill the cavity with the chocolate mousse. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve, invert the floating islands onto a plate. Spoon crème anglaise around. Garnish with mint and berries.

Labels: chocolate, desserts, recipes

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) DATE:7/09/2008 06:26:00 PM I am definitely a cook, not a baker. In fact, I joke that I have measuring cups and spoons in my kitchen just for show! I often agonize about dessert, and default to fruit and cheese. This looks like something I might have the courage to try. Maybe. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:7/10/2008 11:18:00 AM Good luck, Lydia. This is a particularly nice summer dessert because it's so light. Let me know how yours turns out. ----- --------