Here's the Dish

Two for Tonight

By Charlotte on February 9, 2011 3:15 PM

Candlelight, wine, dessert for two prepared with a hearty helping of love. Ahhh!  

 

There's no surer recipe for romance than serving your special someone one of these sweet treats for two from Chef Jacques Haeringer, author of Two for Tonight: Pure Romance from L'Auberge Chez Francois. As Chef Jacques says, "Love Begins in the Kitchen."

WARM CHOCOLATE TART

The combination of chocolate and love is a double whammy. Chocolate contains caffeine-like substances which excite the system as well as the taste buds.

 

The Pie Crust

(Makes a 6- to 7-inch crust)

• 1¼ cups unbleached flour
• ¼ cup evaporated cane juice (whole dried sugar cane sap with more nutrients than sugar) or sugar
• Pinch of sea salt
• 2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 whole egg

With a food processor:

Place all ingredients into the food processor. With the steel blade in place, process for 10-15 seconds until the dough comes together in a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

 

Kneading by hand:

Place the sifted flour, evaporated cane juice and salt in a mixing bowl. Thoroughly mix the contents.

 

Turn out the dry ingredients and mound in the center of your work surface. Make a well in the flour and place the slightly softened butter, cut in pieces, in the center. Using your fingertips, blend the butter into the flour until the dough is crumbly.  Add the egg, lightly beaten, and the vanilla extract.

 

Knead only long enough to completely mix the ingredients.

 

Form the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Take out ½ hour before rolling.

 

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to approximately 1/8-inch thickness. Roll dough around the rolling pin and transfer to the pie shell. Line the pie shell, pressing in the dough evenly. It is not necessary to prick the bottom of the pie with a fork before baking.

 

Bake in a 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until light brown. Allow to cool before filling.

 

The Tart

• 1, 6- to 7-inch baked Sweet Pie Crust
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup milk
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 whole eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Combine the heavy cream and milk in a heavy saucepan.

 

Place over high heat and bring contents to a boil. Remove from heat, add the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.

 

Beat the 2 eggs in a bowl. Slowly pour the warm chocolate and cream mixture in the bowl, whisking constantly.

 

Pour the contents into the Sweet Pie Crust and bake in preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes until the custard is set. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the custard. The custard is ready if toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and serve warm with ice cream, if desired.

 

Variation: Garnish with a few fresh raspberries, a great combination.

 

Chef Jacques' preparing the Warm Chocolate Tart:

 

 

 

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE

The Aztecs believed in the potency of chocolate, celebrating the cocoa harvest with orgies. The Aztec ruler Montezuma had a harem of several hundred and reportedly drank 50 cups of chocolate daily. Talk about a love drug.

 

The Chocolate Cream

• 2½ ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons orange liqueur (optional)

The Cake

• 3 large eggs
• 4 teaspoons evaporated cane juice or sugar
• 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 1½ tablespoons butter
• 7 teaspoons almond flour
• 4 teaspoons cream of rice
• 2 ring molds, 3 inches in diameter and 1½ inches high
• 2, 3-inch x 10-inch parchment paper collars
• Butter

To prepare the Chocolate Cream:

Pour the cream in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and add the 2½ ounces of chocolate broken into small pieces. Stir constantly with a spoon until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in the orange liqueur. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours until the mixture is firm.

 

To prepare the cake:

Separate the eggs, making certain that the whites are free of any yolk. Whip the yolks and 2 teaspoons of evaporated cane juice in a small glass or stainless steel bowl until the mixture whitens and forms a ribbon, about 1 minute. Fold in the remaining ingredients with a rubber spatula. Set aside.

 

Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt in a separate bowl. Beat at low speed; then gradually increase speed while adding the remaining evaporated cane juice. Stop whipping when the whites form soft peaks. Be careful not to over whip.

 

Gently fold the whites into the yolk mixture with a rubber spatula. Pipe the mixture halfway up into the prepared ring molds. With a medium ice cream scoop, form 2 balls of the thickened chocolate cream and place one in each half-filled cylinder. Pipe the remaining mixture into the prepared ring molds, filling them up. Freeze a minimum of 6 hours. (Best done the day before and frozen overnight.)

 

To serve:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 

Place the frozen cakes in a small baking pan.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

 

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

 

With the aid of a spatula, transfer each cake to a serving plate.

 

Carefully run the blade of a small paring knife around the inside of the metal mold. Carefully lift off the mold with the parchment paper collar. Garnish with crème fraîche or ice cream and serve immediately.

 

 

FRUIT CRUMBLE

The only blue fruit, blueberries, contains a host of minerals such as iron and magnesium and is rich in Vitamins A and C. A crumble is a British dessert in which raw fruits are topped with a crumbly pastry mixture and baked. It also makes a yummy breakfast in bed!

 

The Fruit

• 8 ounces mixed berries: raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries
• 1 - 2 tablespoons honey

The Topping

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons almond or hazelnut flour
• 2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice or sugar

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

To prepare the fruit:

Remove any stems, clean the fruit and place in the bottom of a shallow oven-proof dish 6- to 8-inches in diameter. Depending on the ripeness of the fruit, drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey over it.

 

To prepare the topping:

Cut the butter into small dices and allow to soften slightly. Place the flour, almond flour and evaporated cane juice in a mixing bowl. Add the butter using the tips of your fingers. Mix to obtain a coarse meal.

 

To assemble:

Cover the fruit with the course meal and place in pre-heated oven; bake until the crumble browns, approximately 12 minutes.

 

Serve warm with crème fraiche or ice cream.

 

Recipes are from Two for Tonight: Pure Romance from L'Auberge Chez Francois by Jacques E. Haeringer. (Bartleby Press; $26.95 Hardcover; ISBN 0-910155-43-7)

 

As Chef de Cuisine at Washington DC's celebrated L'Auberge Chef François, Chef Jacques is one of America's most respected and innovative culinary personalities. Continuing in his father's footsteps, Jacques specializes in reinterpreting Alsatian and French cuisine for American palates. He is the author of both Two for Tonight, a collection of recipes that inspire romance through food and togetherness, and the Chez François Cookbook, a compendium of classic Alsatian cuisine featuring some of the restaurant's most popular recipes.

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