Chocolate Pots de Creme

Here is a Martha Stewart recipe that is a favorite of mine.My husband & I fight over these whenever I make them.Love them!
Ingredients:
1-1/4c. of half & half
3 oz.bittersweet chocolate,chopped
1/4 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
pinch of salt
1 tbsp.Frangelico(optional)
fresh whipped cream
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.Bring a kettle of water to a boil,and set aside.
   In a small saucepan,heat half & half until it simmers.Remove from heat and add chocolate and sugar.Let stand 5 minutes.
   In another bowl,stir together yolks,vanilla,cocoa,salt & Frangelico.
With a fork,stir the chocolate/sugar mixture together.Gradually add to the yolk mixture.Pour through a fine sieve into a measuring cup.
   Place 4  (4oz.) ramekins into a shallow roasting pan and pour in the water from the kettle until it reaches halfway up the side of the ramekins.Place(carefully) into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.Remove from the oven,and cool slightly.
   Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.Serve with whipped cream on top.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Rich.Decadent.To be enjoyed in small slices,but definitely to be enjoyed.This dessert makes a great impression on guests and is basically an easy cake to make.
Ingredients:
9 oz. bittersweet chocolate,chopped
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
3 eggs and 1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1-1/2 sticks of butter

  In a small saucepan,bring the sugar & water to a boil.Place the chocolate in a large bowl.Once the sugar mixture has come to a boil,slowly & carefully(very hot),pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.Add the vanilla & salt.While mixture is still hot,add the butter a tbsp. at a time,and whisk until smooth.Add the eggs & yolk.Mixture should be silky smooth.If for some reason you have chunks of butter that will not melt,place the bowl over a small saucepan filled with 2 inches of simmering water,and continue to whisk until smooth.
   Pour mixture into a greased 8 inch cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for  1 hour.Remove from the over and let cool another hour.
**This cake will develop a very thin crust on top.
**Again,in a pinch,use semisweet chocolate chips.

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Cute Valentine's for the Classroom

Okay..a little corny,but very cute!This is a very clever yet inexpensive way to surprise your child's classmates.Here is a closeup:

  This is another great idea from Family Fun Magazine!

      Okay,so here is a sampling of what my son will be going to school with for his friends tomorrow.Go ahead,admit it...you wish you were in his class.So do I! Happy Valentine's Day!
**I purchased the plastic shovels at http://www.giantpartystore.com/

Mini Chocolate Cheesecake Hearts

Luscious.....enough said.
Crust:
1/2 c. oreo cookie crumbs
1-1/2 tbsp.sugar
pinch of salt
2 tbsp. unsalted butter,melted
heart-shaped cheesecake pan,lightly greased

Mix all of the ingredients together.Divide evenly among the heart openings in your pan.Push down firmly,and bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees.Remove from oven and set aside while making the filling.

As you can see above,the pan has removable bottoms which make it easy to unmold the cheesecakes after they are done.
   Filling:ALL FILLING INGREDIENTS SHOULD BE ROOM TEMPERATURE
6 oz. of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
8 oz. cream cheese(the bar,not whipped)
1/2c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla

  Cream together the cream cheese and sugar.Add the eggs,vanilla & sour cream.Set aside.In a double boiler,melt the chocolate.Slowly add the chocolate to the cream cheese mixture.Evenly distribute the filling among the openings in your pan.Bake for approximately 20 minutes until mixture is set(you can move the pans lightly,and the mixture may jiggle a bit,but will not be wet in appearance.)Remove from the oven and let cool.Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before unmolding the cakes.
***I try to use the best quality chocolate in all of my recipes,but I can tell you that semisweet chocolate chips work great in this one.

 

Try This!

Try this!Using the peanut butter cookie recipe from my Peanut Butter Kisses,place a chocolate Dove heart in the center for Valentine's Day!

Valentine Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Can you say YUM?These are basically cookie ice-cream sandwiches,and are they delicious!Remember the Puppy Pops we made the other day?Well,here we are using the same two doughs,vanilla & chocolate,to make this treat.To find the recipe for the dough,just check the blog recipe archives for Puppy Pops.After you have the dough made,the rest is easy!You will need:
Basic Vanilla Cookie Dough
Chocolate Cookie Dough
Vanilla ice-cream(or your favorite flavor,softened,not melted)
heart-shaped cookie cutters
mini chocolate chips

  Roll out the cookie dough on a lightly floured surface,and cut out into heart shapes.Keep in mind,you will need a top & bottom for each sandwich,so that is 2 hearts per treat.I have used two different doughs,and differently sized cookie cutters.I also have decided to mix things up a bit.First,I cut out two hearts from the vanilla dough,and two hearts from the chocolate dough.I then cut out a smaller heart from one of the large vanilla hearts,and one from the large chocolate heart.I place the small chocolate heart into the large
vanilla cookie,and place the small vanilla heart into the large chocolate cookie.
   Bake at 350 degrees for about 7-9 minutes or until the edges look slightly brown.Remove from the oven and let cool.
   Take the large heart that is only one flavor ,turn it over,and spoon enough ice-cream on to almost reach the edges.This is the bottom half.If you put too much on,it will all just fall out of the sandwich when you put it together.Then place one of the multi flavored cookies on top.Gently place some chocolate chips around the side and eat right away,or freeze until ready to use.Enjoy!
***Keep in mind that you can use one flavor of cookie dough for this recipe.
***If you use vanilla dough,you can use a bit of food coloring to tint the dough if desired.