Where romance is concerned, it's never too early to start thinking about food to go with it. Chocolate, as we all know, is the most traditional treat to give the one you love. | Plan a Great Dessert for Your Valentine By Wolfgang Puck, Tribune Media Services
Where romance is concerned, it's never too early to start thinking about food to go with it. That's why I'd like to give you a head start on your plans for a Valentine's Day treat. Chocolate, as we all know, is the most traditional treat to give the one you love. Most people begin and end their efforts, however, by buying a box of store-bought chocolates. This year, I suggest that you do something different: Make an amazing chocolate dessert for your Valentine. It's easy if you follow my recipe for Chocolate Souffle Bread Pudding. And nothing is likely to impress him or her more. Now, don't get anxious at the sight of that word "souffle." Yes, making most traditional souffle recipes can seem like risky business, rising and then sometimes falling in spite of your most diligent efforts. But the version I share with you here is a tried-and-true old Austrian recipe that's a hybrid between the usual airy souffle and a bread pudding. Unlike that latter home-style dessert, however, the bread in this recipe is soaked in cream and then processed along with butter, egg yolks, ground almonds, sugar, and melted chocolate until smoothly pureed. Folded together with the beaten egg whites, it gives the souffle more substance and stability. So, although the dessert rises a bit, it will also have the smooth, rich, satisfying texture of true comfort food. Isn't that a wonderful combination of sensations to share with your Valentine? With more than a week until the big day, you'll have plenty of time to get ready to make this dessert. The most important ingredients for successful results are the chocolate and the bread. Look for a really good-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate with a cocoa butter content of at least 70 percent. Reliable choices, available in gourmet shops and well-stocked supermarkets, include European brands such as Valrhona and Callebaut, as well as top American chocolates such as Scharffen Berger. There are also more and more boutique chocolate brands springing up everywhere, so keep an eye open for them when you shop and read labels to make sure you buy one with sufficient cocoa butter to guarantee the desired creamy results. As for the bread, look in good bakeries for a loaf rich in eggs and butter. French-style brioche is an excellent choice, coming close as yeast bread can to being cake while still being bread. Jewish-style challah bread also works very well. The quantities given in the recipe yield 6 individual servings of 1/2 cup each -- enough for the seconds many chocolate lovers will want, and one each extra to reheat gently, or even eat cold, for breakfast the next morning. And why not keep Valentine's Day going into February 15? CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE BREAD PUDDING Makes 6 servings, 1/2 cup each PUDDING: 4 slices egg bread such as challah or brioche, about 2-1/2 ounces total 6 tablespoons heavy organic cream 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces 1/4 cup plus 1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 3 large cage-free eggs, separated 6 tablespoons finely ground almonds 1/2 cup sugar CREME CHANTILLY: 1 cup heavy organic cream, well chilled 2 tablespoons sugar Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 6 individual souffle cups or ramekins, each 1/2 cup. For the pudding, put the bread in a mixing bowl and pour the 6 tablespoons cream over it. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Put 2 inches of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Put the chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl large enough to rest inside the rim of the saucepan without touching the water below. Set the bowl over the simmering water and melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Remove the bowl and set aside at room temperature to let the chocolate cool slightly. Meanwhile, put the butter in a food processor fitted with the stainless-steel blade. Process until the butter is creamed, looking light, fluffy, and pale in color. Add the egg yolks, almonds, 6 tablespoons sugar, the soaked bread, and the melted chocolate. Process until thoroughly combined and smooth, then transfer to a mixing bowl. In another bowl, using clean beaters on a hand-held electric mixer or a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks that droop slightly when the beaters are lifted out. On medium speed, gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar from the pudding ingredients and continue to beat until the egg whites look stiff and shiny. With a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites in 2 batches into the chocolate mixture until only a few streaks of white remain. Bring a teakettle of water to a boil. Spoon the mixture into the buttered ramekins. Place a clean kitchen towel in the bottom of a baking pan and place the filled ramekins on top of the towel, spaced evenly apart. Slide out a rack of the preheated oven and place the pan on the shelf. Carefully pour the boiling water into the pan to come half way up the sides of the ramekins. Loosely cover the ramekins with a sheet of buttered aluminum foil, placing it buttered side down. Carefully slide the oven rack back into the oven, close the oven, and bake until the puddings are set, about 45 to 50 minutes. While the puddings are baking, make the Creme Chantilly. Put the 1 cup cream and the 2 tablespoons sugar into a mixing bowl. With clean beaters, whip the cream and sugar until the mixture has thickened barely enough to be spoonable. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. To serve, carefully remove the puddings one by one from their water bath. Using a pot holder, carefully invert a pudding onto a serving plate to unmold it; or serve in its ramekin on a plate. Spoon some whipped cream on or around each pudding.
(c) 2009 WOLFGANG PUCK WORLDWIDE, INC. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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