Desserts and desire

Feb 14 special: Recipes that build a little anticipation and express a lot of love

Valentine's Day is all about focus, bringing an intimate attention to every little thing: the card, the flowers, the gazes, the meal. Individual desserts are made for such moments.

Slices of pie, slabs of cake - they're all delicious, but suggest a crowd.

When it comes to romance, a singular serving of sweetness says: "I made this just for you."

Cue the swoon.

We've got two voluptuously singular desserts in mind: chocolate souffles and cream puffs.

If you're looking for drama, consider the souffles, which transform a deeply devilish chocolate flavor into an almost ethereal spoonful of heaven. The key to success is patience and a gentle touch in their assembly. The fact that the preparation can be accomplished a few hours ahead of time is a gift.

All that's left for you to do is disappear to pop them in the oven, build a little anticipation, then reappear with a clear expression of love.

Cream puffs are a little more playful, made from a classic dough called pate a choux. Choux is a French word for cabbage, which is what the puffs resemble. Too chatty? There's a way to put a stop to the talk - one of them involves eating cream puffs.

This dessert also is made ahead of time and takes to a wide variety of fillings. This is where you show you've been paying attention to personal details. Split and fill them with a favorite flavor of ice cream or custard, or just go simple and luxurious with sweetened whipped cream and a spill of fresh fruit. In either case, your sweetheart gets a dessert all to themselves.

And, need we add, you do, too.

Chocolate souffles

One serves two.

Quality chocolate is important; look for bittersweet in the 70 percent cacao range. The recipe is for two 8-ounce servings, but you also can make four smaller servings with 4-ounce baking dishes. Check smaller souffles after 16 minutes. Extra souffles will fall, but still are delicious, chilled, the next day.

Ingredients

1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, for molds

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, for molds

2 ounces quality bittersweet chocolate, melted (cup if using chips or discs)

teaspoon vanilla

Optional add-ins (choose one):

A teaspoon cinnamon or a teaspoon of espresso powder or 1 tablespoon rum (or other liqueur)

2 eggs, room temperature, separated

Directions

Pinch of salt\teaspoon cream of tartar\cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 177 C.

Using your fingers, thoroughly coat two (6- to 8-ounce) baking dishes (ramekins, coffee mugs, anything deep and straight-sided) with butter. Pour 1 tablespoon sugar into 1 dish, then cover with plastic wrap. Shake gently to generously coat all surfaces. Pour remaining sugar into second dish and repeat, adding more sugar if necessary.

Melt the chocolate in a medium metal bowl set over a small pot of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Stir in vanilla and, if desired, an optional flavoring (cinnamon, espresso powder, rum or liqueur). Keep warm.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until the whites hold soft peaks when the beaters are turned off and lifted. Continue to beat on high while gradually adding 1 tablespoon of sugar until the whites hold stiff peaks and look glossy. Set aside.

In a small bowl, with the same beaters, beat together the egg yolks and cup sugar on high speed until light-colored, thick and almost like frosting. This may take up to 5 minutes. With a spatula, gently fold egg mixture into the melted chocolate until few streaks remain (but a few are OK).

Stir a big dollop of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites with a spatula, lifting from the bottom and folding over the top until combined.

Divide batter evenly between the prepared dishes. You can bake them immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and hold in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours. When ready to bake, place the dishes on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for 18 minutes for a creamy center, 20 minutes for a firmer souffle. Serve immediately with whipped cream, ice cream or custard sauce and garnish with fresh berries.

Cream puffs

Makes eight large puffs, more if smaller. The filling is for four puffs - two each for a romantic dessert. You can also fill puffs with your favorite flavor of ice cream or custard. Once completely cooled, extra cream puffs may be frozen in freezer bags for up to a month.

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 cup water

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

Teaspoon salt, teaspoon granulated sugar, teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour (preferably bread flour but all-purpose will work)

Filling:

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

A cup of fresh raspberries

Powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 232 C.

Warm eggs in a bowl of hot water.

Combine one cup water, butter, salt and granulated sugar, and bring to a full boil. Remove from heat, add vanilla, then add flour, stirring with a wooden spoon to form a ball.

Return the pan to medium heat and continue stirring, pressing the dough and gathering it up into a ball so as to better absorb the eggs. Stir constantly, not letting the dough scorch.

Place dough in bowl of stand mixer and set aside.

In small bowl, lightly beat three of the warmed eggs. Separate the fourth, placing the white in a small dish and beating lightly. Save or discard the yolk.

With the mixer on low, add the three beaten whole eggs in three increments, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more. Increase mixer speed to medium until eggs are thoroughly incorporated. Stop mixer and test the dough by placing a spoonful on a plate; it should be supple enough to hold its shape, but not "pasty".

On a baking sheet, place large spoonfuls of dough at least 5 cm apart. You should end up with about 8 dollops for large puffs.

Using a plant spritzer (a clean one), lightly spray each puff once with water. This will keep them moist longer so they'll puff as much as possible before firming up.

Place baking sheet on bottom rack. Reduce oven temperature to 216 C. Bake 25 minutes. Do not open the oven door, or the puffs may collapse. Then remove pan from oven and pierce each puff with a small knife to allow any steam to escape and to help the puffs bake dry. Reduce heat to 177 C and bake for 15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

To make the filling: Just before serving, whip cream with 1 tablespoon powdered sugar until it holds a soft peak. Reserving a few whole raspberries for garnish, lightly crush the rest with a fork, then fold into the whipped cream. Cut puffs in half horizontally with a serrated knife, fill bottom half with cream and replace top. Sift with powdered sugar and garnish with remaining raspberries.

Star Tribune

(China Daily USA 02/08/2017 page10)