This Souffle is better without flour, because the chocolate has enough body to hold the egg whites. More than any other souffle, the chocolate souffle should not be overcooked but slightly wet in the center. Serve hot right out of the oven with the sauce or let it cool, unmold and serve in wedges like a cake with or without a sauce.
Hot chocolate holds on the stove for an hour or longer, and can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days.
It's one of few restaurant desserts that can be made at home with foolproof results, even if you're not a star baker.
These simple truffles feature a hint of Crème de Cassis liqueur, to pick up the berry flavor in late bottled vintage Port wine. Make sure to finely chop the chocolate before you begin, or it may not completely melt when whisked with the cream. If there are lumps in your truffle mixture, set it over a slightly larger bowl of hot (not boiling) water and stir until melted.
Ingredients
These tiny, soft, intensely chocolate cookies are packed with pine nuts, while a little grappa gives them a welcome bite. Called Fava of the Dead in Rome, they mark All Souls night. The dark, almost black color gives these innocent little coins a threatening edge. In the Rome of the Caesars, people believed fava beans held the souls of the dead.
This cool dessert is silky-sweet ricotta flavored with espresso coffee and spices. The cheese is packed into a pie dish, chilled, and then unmolded onto a cake plate. Serve it the way they do at the hill-country trattoria on the Tuscan-Romagna border called Croce Daniele—cut into wedges and streaked with a warm espresso chocolate sauce.
The chocolate dessert of the nineties, these little cakes are baked to a crisp outside and a warm, melting center that acts as sauce. The recipe makes eight servings, and one key to success is leaving the batter to stand overnight. Then the cakes must be baked just long enough to hold a shape while the center remains soft. Don't worry if they overbake and set firm; they are still the very best of chocolate puddings.
Two kinds of chocolate, dark cocoa, intense vanilla and coffee, and a crunch of almond turn a fine chocolate cake into an opulent one.