Bens Chocolate Recipes

BEN'S CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Ben's Chocolate Ice Cream is about as rich as they come. The pinch of salt helps to bring out the chocolate flavor. Melt the unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling water. Gradually whisk in the milk and heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Add the cream, vanilla and salt and whisk to blend. Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and blend. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 to 3 hours, depending on your refrigerator. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions. Makes 1 generous quart. VARIATION: Chocolate Almond- Add 1 cup roasted whole almonds (salted or unsalted) after the ice cream stiffens, about 2 minutes before it is done, then continue to freeze until the ice cream is ready.

CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Prep the pans: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fold a large sheet of parchment paper in half; put a 10-inch-round cake pan on top. Trace the cake pan, then cut out the circle to make two rounds of parchment. Spray two 10-inch cake pans with cooking spray; fit a parchment round into each. Spray the pans again, then dust with flour and tap out the excess.
• Make the batter: Pour the coffee into a liquid measuring cup or bowl; whisk in the cocoa powder. Put the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer; mix with the paddle attachment on low speed, 1 minute. Add the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla and 2 cups water; beat on medium speed, 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low; beat in the coffee-cocoa mixture in a slow stream until combined. The batter will be thin.
• Bake the cakes: Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool in the pans on a rack, 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely. Place each cake on a 10-inch cardboard cake circle (this helps stabilize the layers as you move them around), wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Make the ganache: Pulverize the bittersweet chocolate in a large food processor. Bring the cream just to a boil. With the motor running, pour the hot cream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and set in a bowl of ice water. Chill, stirring often, until the ganache is cool but not stiff, about 20 minutes.
• Make the bark: Microwave the white chocolate in 15-second intervals until two-thirds melted; stir to fully melt. Scrape into a zip-top bag and seal. Put a plastic sheet protector on each of 2 baking sheets. Snip a corner of the bag; pipe thin lines of white chocolate over the sheets.
• Refrigerate the baking sheets until the white chocolate is set, about 10 minutes, then repeat the process with the milk chocolate, piping thin lines over the white chocolate. Refrigerate until the milk chocolate is set.
• Melt the bittersweet chocolate in the same way, then spread over the white and milk chocolate lines using an offset spatula. Refrigerate until hard, about 30 minutes.
• Peel the sheet protectors off the chocolate and break the chocolate sheets into shards of various sizes.
• Slice the layers: Put one cake on a cake turntable. Position a long serrated knife against the side of the cake, about halfway down. Slowly rotate the turntable so the knife slices the cake in half horizontally. Don't move the knife much-let the rotation of the turntable do the work. Repeat with the other cake to make 4 layers; transfer each to a cardboard circle. (If you don't have a turntable, carefully slice the cakes in half on a cutting board.)
• Frost the cake: Transfer half of the ganache to a bowl and whisk until light brown and fluffy. Place one cake layer (still on a cardboard circle) on the turntable; spoon one-third of the whipped ganache on top. Rotate the turntable to smooth the ganache with a long spatula (or just assemble and frost on a cake plate). Repeat to sandwich all 4 cake layers with whipped ganache. Spread all but about 1/2 cup of the unwhipped ganache over the top and sides of the cake.
• Decorate the cake: Press the chocolate bark against the sides of the cake, using small dollops of the remaining ganache to help the pieces stick, if necessary.

BEN'S CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over hot, not boiling water.
• Gradually whisk in the milk and heat, stirring constantly, until smooth.
• Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light a fluffly, 1-2 minutes.
• Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more.
• Add the cream, vanilla, and salt and whisk to blend.
• Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and blend.
• Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 to 3 hours, depending upon your refrigerator.
• Transfer the mixture to you ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.
• Note: I don't believe that it's necessary to follow the directions for making the base particularly carefully.
• I heated the cream to almost-boiling and then poured over the chopped chocolate- much easier than the double boiler.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED COFFEE BEANS

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip coffee beans in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set, 10-15 minutes. If desired, roll in cocoa. Store in an airtight container.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED COFFEE BEANS

Steps:

• Place 1/2 of the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on low until almost melted, about 1 minute; do not allow chocolate to burn. Remove from the microwave, stir to melt any remaining pieces, and let cool slightly.
• Drop a small handful of coffee beans into the chocolate and drench until completely covered. Fish out with a fork and drop onto waxed paper, making sure beans are separated. Repeat with remaining beans. Let cool until chocolate is solid, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt remaining chocolate in the microwave; do not allow to burn. Stir once and cool slightly, about 2 minutes. Drop a small amount of chocolate-covered coffee beans into the melted chocolate at a time, until completely covered with a second coating. Place on a new sheet of waxed paper and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.