Chocolate Chip And Almond Biscotti Maida Heatter Recipes

MAIDA HEATTER'S 86-PROOF CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Adjust rack one-third up from bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and dust the inside of a 9-inch bundt pan (called a minibundt pan), or any other fancy tube pan with a 10-cup capacity, with fine dry breadcrumbs. Invert the pan over a piece of paper and tap lightly to shake out excess crumbs. Set aside.
• Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on low heat. Cover and cook only until melted; then remove the top of the double boiler and set it aside, uncovered, to cool slightly. (You can also melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, just keep a close eye on it.)
• Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
• In a two-cup measuring cup dissolve the coffee in a little boiling water. Add cold water to the 1 1/2 cup line. Add the bourbon. Set aside.
• Cream the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat to mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Add the chocolate and beat until smooth.
• Then, on low speed, alternately add the sifted dry ingredients in three additions with the liquids in two additions, adding the liquids very gradually to avoid splashing and scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Be sure to beat until smooth after each addition, especially after the last. It will be a thin mixture.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Rotate the pan a bit briskly, first in one direction, then in the other, to level the top. In a minibundt pan the batter will almost reach the top of the pan, but it will not run over and you will have a beautifully high cake.
• Bake for one hour and 10 to 15 minutes. Test by inserting a cake tester in the middle of the cake and bake only until the tester comes out clean and dry.
• Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then cover with a rack and invert. Remove the pan, sprinkle the cake with a little optional bourbon, and leave the cake upside down on a rack to cool. Before serving, if you wish, sprinkle the top with confectioners' sugar through a fine strainer.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND BISCOTTI

Steps:

• In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Mix together eggs, egg whites and vanilla extract. Gradually add egg mixture to flour mixture blending on low. Toss almonds with chocolate chips then add to flour mixture and blend just until combined.
• On a well floured surface roll dough into 2 logs, 2 inches in diameter. Place on a greased sheet pan and brush with beaten egg. Bake at 350 degrees until light golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. Allow logs to cool 15 minutes then cut into slices on the bias. Place slices on a greased sheet pan and bake in a 350 degree oven until toasted, about 15-20 minutes. Cool. Store in an airtight container.

CHOCOLATE CHIP ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and almonds. , Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 9-11 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool.

MAIDA HEATTER'S CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TORTE

Steps:

• Set a rack in the center of the oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch glass pie plate. Dust it with bread crumbs or cocoa powder. Set aside.
• Place the chopped chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over water over low heat. Bring it to a low simmer. Meanwhile, in a cup or small bowl, dissolve the coffee in the 1/4 cup boiling water and pour it over the chocolate. Cover and cook over low heat, whisking occasionally, until the chocolate is almost melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until smooth. Let cool slightly. (Alternatively, place chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water and pour it over the chocolate. Cover with a plate or kitchen towel and let stand for 5 minutes. Vigorously whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. If there are still bits of unmelted chocolate, microwave in 15-second bursts, whisking between, until smooth and fully melted.)
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the yolks at high speed until they are pale, thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue to beat at high speed for 5 minutes more until very thick. Reduce speed to low, and add the vanilla and cooled chocolate, scraping the sides of the mixing bowl as necessary. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Wash the whisk attachment and mixing bowl.
• In the mixing bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff but not dry. Gradually, in two or three small additions, gently fold half the egg whites into the chocolate, then fold the chocolate mixture into the remaining whites just until no whites show. Handling as little as possible, gently reserve about 4 cups of the mousse in a separate medium bowl; cover and refrigerate.
• Transfer the rest of the mousse into the pie plate; it will barely reach the top. Gently level and bake for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat, then leave it in the oven for 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. (The mousse will rise during baking and then, while cooling, it will sink in the middle, leaving a high rim.) Wash the mixing bowl and whisk attachment and place in the refrigerator or freezer to chill.
• When the baked mousse is completely cool, remove reserved mousse from refrigerator. Handling as little as possible, transfer the chilled mousse to the center of the baked mousse. Mound it slightly higher in the center, but be careful to handle as little as possible or it will lose the air beaten into it. Refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours.
• Make the whipped cream: In the chilled mixing bowl with the chilled whisk attachment, whip the cream, confectioners' sugar and vanilla on high speed until it holds a defined shape. Spread over the unbaked part of the mousse, excluding the rim; refrigerate. (Another way of applying the whipped cream: Use a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tube and pipe a lattice pattern over the top of the pie and a border around the edge.) Coarsely grate some semisweet chocolate over the top before serving, if desired. The torte is best eaten the day it's made, but it's not bad the next day.

BISCOTTI CIOCCOLATO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the almonds in a shallow pan for about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and adjust the oven to 300 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or with aluminum foil, shiny side up, and set aside.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and espresso or coffee powder. Set aside.
• On a cutting surface, with a heavy knife, shred the chocolate fine. Place the shredded chocolate in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade. Add about a half-cup of the sifted dry ingredients and process for 20 to 30 seconds, until the chocolate is very fine.
• In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs, vanilla and almond extract, if using, just to mix. On low speed, add the processed chocolate mixture, the remaining sifted dry ingredients and the sugar. Beat to mix. It will be a stiff mixture.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the almonds.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Form it into a mound. Cut it in half. Flour each half, and with your hands, form them into sausage shapes about 12 inches long. Place each sausage shape diagonally on a lined cookie sheet. Straighten the shapes and brush off any excess flour.
• Bake two sheets at a time for 50 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking to insure even baking.
• Remove the sheets from the oven. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
• Then transfer the baked strips to a cutting board. With a serrated bread knife, carefully cut the strips on a sharp angle into cookies about a half-inch wide. (At this stage the cookies are fragile.)
• Carefully place the cookies, on the cut side, on the cookie sheets and bake again at 300 degrees for about 40 minutes, turning them upside down after 15 or 20 minutes, until the cookies are completely dry and crisp.
• Turn off the heat, open the oven door and let them cool in the oven. tore them in airtight containers.