Over the past dozen or so years, I’ve decided that Thanksgiving dinner is kind of a pregame warm-up for Christmas dinner. Also, at 2Gourmaniacs we like to have a couple of dinner parties in between the two holidays. For one of these events, I made a chocolate dessert that a couple of 2GM dinner table veterans claimed was the best chocolate dessert that they ever had: one went as far as to claim it was the best dessert ever. So I’m adding Marquise au Chocolate to end this year’s Christmas dinner. You can too, just follow this easy recipe.
Ingredients:
For the Marquise:
12 oz best quality bittersweet chocolate
8 ½ oz unsalted butter
4 large egg, separated
4 large egg yolks
1 1/3 cups of confectioner’s sugar
1/3 cup of best quality unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup + 1 Tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted, lightly roasted pistachio nuts
For the Chocolate/Espresso Crème Anglaise:
4 large egg yolks
50 g sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
25 g fresh ground chocolate espresso beans
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
2 Tbsp Kahlua
Method:
For the Marquise:
Lightly spray a 12” x 4” x 3” pâté mold with cooking oil, and line the mold with plastic wrap.
In a double boiler over very hot water, just below simmer, melt the chocolate and the butter, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. When melted, remove from hot water and let it cool just a bit.
When the chocolate/butter mixture feels about body temperature, stir in the 8 egg yolks. In a sifter combine the confectioner’s sugar and the cocoa powder and sift into the chocolate mixture.
In a mixing bowl, whip the cream to the soft peak stage, and refrigerator. In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until the soft peak stage, and then beat in the granulated sugar. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Get the whipped cream from the refrigerator and fold it into the chocolate mixture. Pour it into the mold, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight or up to three days.
For the Chocolate/Espresso Crème Anglaise:
In a nonreactive sauce pan combine the egg yolks, sugar, and salt with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
In another small saucepan, heat the milk, ground chocolate espresso beans, and the vanilla bean to the boiling point. Off heat, and add several tablespoons to the egg mixture to temper it; stir with a whisk and add the remainder of the milk mixture.
Heat the combined mixture until it reaches a temperature between 170-180 degrees (use an instant-read thermometer). Constantly but gently, stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. When the mixture thickens enough to coat the spatula, turn off heat.
Remove the vanilla bean and reserve. Strain the sauce through a conical fine mesh strainer into a clean metal bowl. Take the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the sauce, then add the Kalhua. Cool either by placing the bowl in an ice bath, or refrigerate for several hours. (The taste will mature in the refrigerator overnight).
For the Pistachio Nuts:
It’s important to use unsalted pistachio nuts. Since they’re lightly roasted they’ll be easy to shell; use your fingernail to remove the skins. Reserve 18 of the best and the greenest nuts. Grind the rest in a spice grinder.
marquise ready to be unmolded
To unmold and plate:
Remove the pâté mold with the marquise from the refrigerator an hour or so before you’re ready to serve. Run a cake spatula around the interior of the mold and the plastic wrap. Then use the plastic wrap to pull the marquise out of the mold and onto a large flat plate.
On each serving plate, spoon a dollop of the crème anglaise. Alternatively, use a squeeze bottle to create designs on the plate with the crème anglaise. Run a thin knife under hot water and dry between cutting each chocolate slice. Carefully cut two thin slices and position them on the plate. Sprinkle with a dusting of the ground pistachio nuts and garnish with three whole pistachios (berries and mint optional).
RMA
