Berry Chocolate Fruit Decadence Recipes

CHOCOLATE DECADENCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan and line bottom with a round of wax paper. Butter paper and dust pan with flour, knocking out excess.
• Make batter:
• Melt chocolate and butter in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, whisking until smooth.
• Cool slightly.
• Beat together eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until pale yellow, thick, and a ribbon forms when beaters are lifted, about 4 minutes with a standing mixer or 8 minutes with a handheld. Fold one fourth of egg mixture into chocolate mixture to lighten, then gently fold in remaining egg mixture.
• Pour batter into cake pan and rap pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Put cake pan in a hot water bath and place in middle of oven. Bake 45 minutes (top will be set, but a tester will not come out clean).
• Remove cake from water bath and cool completely in pan on a rack. Run a thin knife around edge of cake and chill, covered, at least 4 hours and up to 12.
• Make sauce:
• Purée raspberries with sugar in a food processor or blender, then force through a fine sieve into a bowl. Chill until ready to serve.
• Remove cake from pan:
• Put cake pan directly on a burner at very low heat. Move pan around on burner to warm bottom, about 30 seconds, then shake pan to loosen cake. Invert cake onto a rack. Remove wax paper and invert cake onto a serving plate.
• Bring cake to room temperature. Serve with sauce and whipped cream.

BERRY-CHOCOLATE FRUIT DECADENCE

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix yogurt, chocolate syrup and coconut. Fold in whipped topping.
• In each of 8 dessert or parfait dishes, arrange layer of 1 cup of the strawberries. Top with half of the yogurt mixture. Repeat layers. Serve immediately.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TORTE

Steps:

• Get your equipment ready (see tips below). Break the chocolate in small pieces into a large heatproof bowl. Spoon in the syrup and pour in about a quarter of the cream. Stand the bowl over (not in) a pan of hot water over the lowest possible heat and leave until the chocolate has melted, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir to combine. Leave until barely warm - dip your little finger in to check.
• Get your cake tin ready. Do this while you are waiting for the chocolate to melt and cool so you're not hanging around. Cut open the plastic folder along the bottom, then cut out a disc to fit in the bottom of the tin and 3 strips to line the sides. (See step 2).
• Pour the rest of the cream into a very large bowl and tip in the coffee and cinnamon. Whip with a balloon whisk until the cream looks like step 3. When you shake the bowl the cream should wobble like a thick milkshake, and when you dribble some cream from the whisk, the trail it leaves in the cream below should disappear in 1-2 seconds.
• Fold the two together. Pour the cooled chocolate into the bowl containing the cream. With the largest metal spoon you've got, fold the cream and chocolate together in a figure-of-eight motion. Don't be nervous - keep going until they are evenly and smoothly mixed and the mixture has a soft, pillowy, downy texture - you will see and feel it thicken as you fold.
• Set the torte. Pour the chocolatey cream into the tin and level the surface with the back of the spoon. Put the tin in the fridge and leave to firm up. This can happen in under an hour, but you may need to leave it longer, depending on the coldness of your fridge (you can leave it overnight if this is more convenient).
• Unmould and serve. Unclip and remove the side of the tin, then remove the pieces of plastic around the sides. Invert a serving plate over the torte and turn the torte upside down on to it. Lift off the tin base and peel away the plastic. Dust all over with cocoa (including the plate if you wish to be fashionable) and serve in thin slices.

WARM CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH MIXED BERRY COULIS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter and flour 4 (4-ounce) ramekins. Combine chocolate and butter in a double boiler and melt. Stir in cocoa powder. In a bowl beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add sugar. Beat whites until stiff and glossy, but not dry. Whisk 1/4 of egg white mixture into chocolate, to temper. Fold in remaining whites. Fill ramekins 2/3 full and bake until top is slightly firm but still soft in the very center, about 6 to 8 minutes.
• Combine raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan and heat until fruit is softened. Remove from heat and puree in food processor until smooth. Strain through a sieve and stir in liqueur or orange juice. Chill.
• Yield: 4 servings

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH MIXED BERRY AND CREAM CHEESE FILLING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
• You will need 2 cake pans, each 8 inches in diameter. Cut out 2 parchment paper circles that will fit inside the cake pans. Place the parchment papers inside and using some melted butter, butter each pan well.
• In the bowl of your mixer, add the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using the paddle attachment mix everything until well combined on low speed. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. With the mixer still on low speed, slowly add the coffee and continue mixing until everything is well combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula and mix as needed. Pour the batter into the 2 prepared pans, equally.
• Bake the cake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until baked enough. Do the toothpick test, insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean, it's done. Let the cake cool in the pans for about 30 minutes then turn them out onto a cooling rack or a cutting board and cool completely.
• Add the mixed berries to a medium size sauce pan. To it add the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. The mixed berries that were in the bag I used, were raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. Cook this over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Make sure you continue to stir, otherwise it might stick to the bottom. It will take between 5 to 10 minutes for the mixture to thicken until it's done.
• In a small sauce pan add the heavy cream, chocolate chips and instant coffee together and cook it over a double boiler over boiling water until smooth and warm. You will need to stir occasionally, this won't take long to make, under 5 minutes. Let cool completely, refrigerate if needed.
• To make the cream cheese and whipped cream topping, you'll need heavy cream, confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract and cream cheese. Start by placing the heavy cream in the bowl of your mixer and mix until the cream has thickened and it forms soft peaks. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until the cream cheese is fully incorporated in the whipped cream. The cream cheese should be at room temperature so that it mixes easier. The mixture should be thick enough so that it's spreadable.
• To assemble the cake, cut each cake into 3 pieces or 2 pieces, first cutting off the top part of the cake, so that the cake is even on the top. On a plate, add the first cake piece, then add a layer of fruit filling, another cake piece, cream cheese filling, cake piece, fruit filling, cake piece, cream cheese filling, cake.
• Refrigerate the cake for a couple hours so that it sets. After a couple hours cut out the uneven parts from sides of the cake with a sharp knife. Using a cake spatula, spread the ganache evenly over the top and side of the cake. Top with sliced strawberries.

CHOCOLATE BERRY CUPS

Steps:

• Put chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and melt it by heating it in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until chocolate is smooth and melted.
• Stir pecans into the melted chocolate
• Line a 12 cup mini muffin pan with aluminum liners
• Fill each cup with the melted chocolate
• Top each chocolate-filled cup with berries, pressing them into the chocolate so they are partly submerged
• With a spoon, drizzle any remaining chocolate over the berries
• Refrigerate 15 minutes or until chocolate is firm
• Store the chocolates in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days