Chocolate Tortes for Easter or Passover Tortino di Cioccolato

originally posted for Easter, 2011

There's just something about individual desserts that make people hop around.   Think how big cupcakes have been.  How big donuts are were.  Cronuts... Creme brulee, ice cream sundaes, cookies.  Whatever's for one seems to be "in."  Or fun.  If you have an invite for Easter or Passover ( try -ahead- using ground almonds instead of bread crumbs to avoid leavened bread) and just have to bring dessert-lucky you-, you might want to try this little ditty I made from MY BREAD by Jim Lahey.  This is the book with the wonderful No-Knead bread recipe made famous by Mark Bittman in the NYT.  In fact, we visited that recipe right here in the blog not long ago.

Remember this?

I adore any light end to a big meal that is chocolatey without being chocolatey.  Tortino di Cioccolato (practice saying this so you sound great) is, without doubt,  bowl-scraping scrumptious and I gilded the lily by added a bit of Haagen Daz (5 ingredient) Vanilla Ice cream (not too much) and a squiggle of hot fudge (not too much again.)  You could, instead, add a tiny dump of whipped cream or creme fraiche.

Hot Cross Buns -- One a Penny, Two a Penny...

 It is a tradition amongst many Christian bakers to produce a batch of Hot Cross Buns (Click to sing the nursery rhyme!) for Good Friday.  And, if not, we stop at the local bakery and see if THEY made any.  These barely sweet firm rolls, served on a day when no meat is eaten,  are hearty tea treats of the first order--complete with a light buttery hum that is almost topped by the spice notes.  The pretty "X" snipped into the top (and often emphasized with a bit of icing painted into the grooves) lets the world--and you, too-- know what kind of bread this is.  An "X"  on bread can also be assumed to keep evil away.

Boiled Eggs on English Muffins with Asparagus and Cheese Sauce

One of my favorite spring breakfasts is so terribly simple, that it appears I've never blogged it.  I see the photos on my Pinterest board and on fb, but when I checked the blogs--no eggs on muffins!  So here it is:  a meal perfect for Easter when you have lots of boiled eggs to use up, but also perfect any other time or for any meal, come to think of it.   If you have a plethora of eggs, as does my friend Cathy (we're trading my granola for her backyard eggs this week), this is a fine use for them.  My own kids had this every Easter for years.  Well, I served it anyway.  Whether or not they ate it is beside the point!

Won't make cheese sauce?  Grated cheese will work admirably and is even better if you slip the eggs under the broiler tooty sweetie to melt the cheese.   No asparagus?  It's quite delicious without it. (I provide a link to a tasty cheese sauce recipe, but also include my easy one down below.)

I feel a tish odd writing this out as a recipe, but I'm doing it anyway.  Here's how:


boiled eggs on english muffins with asparagus and cheese sauce
  serves 2

• 4 eggs boiled, cooled, peeled, and sliced
• 2 whole-wheat English muffins, split, toasted, and buttered
• 4 stalks asparagus, trimmed, chopped, and cooked briefly in the microwave (1 min on full power)-- optional
• 1/2 cup cheese sauce  (or grated cheese)*
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

To assemble:  place warm, buttered muffins on plates and top with eggs.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Gently lay asparagus pieces on top of the eggs and drizzle cheese sauce (or sprinkle with grated cheese) and again dust with salt and pepper.  (If you've used grated cheese, you might want to put the egg "sandwiches" together on a broiler-safe baking sheet and place them under the broiler for a minute or so, plating afterward.)

*Easy Cheese Sauce:  In a small, heavy saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter.  Whisk in 1 tablespoon flour until smooth.  Add a pinch each:  kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, cayenne, and dry mustard or nutmeg.  Let cook two minutes, stirring, and then whisk in 1 cup barely warm milk.  Bring to a simmer, stirring, and cook until sauce begins to thicken.  Stir in 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  (If you like thicker sauce, you can whisk together a little more flour in a 1/4 cup of flour and stir it in before adding the cheese... or  just begin with double butter and flour to start with.   The traditional flavorings here are onion and nutmeg.  If you'd like to use onion, mince a teaspoon and cook it in the butter before adding the flour and making the roux.)

Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce

Tomato-Carrot Soup for Easter or Passover--A Light and Easy First Course

Up next in the blog is a simple, yet incredibly tasty soup I made out of on-hand ingredients to preface a meal of steak with oven-browned potatoes accented with burnt onions and roasted asparagus. If your meal is easy and nearly instant, as was this, or is a holiday meal elsewhere,  what a good time to make a first-course soup. Get ready for, “Oh, you made SOUP?!” 

Tiny Chocolate Tortes for Easter or Passover Dessert--Tortino di Cioccolato

Folding in the egg whites could be a new skill.

There's just something about individual desserts that make people hop around.   Think how big cupcakes have been.  How big donuts are now.  Creme brulee, ice cream sundaes, cookies.  Whatever's for one seems to be "in."  Or fun.  If you have an invite for Easter or Passover ( try -ahead- using ground almonds instead of bread crumbs to avoid leavened bread) and just have to bring dessert-lucky you-, you might want to try this little ditty I made from MY BREAD by Jim Lahey.  This is the book with the wonderful No-Knead bread recipe made famous by Mark Bittman in the NYT.  In fact, we visited that recipe right here in the blog not long ago.

Remember this?

I adore any light end to a big meal that is chocolatey without being chocolatey.  Tortino di Cioccolato (practice saying this so you sound great) is, without doubt,  bowl-scraping scrumptious and I gilded the lily by added a bit of Haagen Daz (5 ingredient) Vanilla Ice cream (not too much) and a squiggle of hot fudge (not too much again.)  You could, instead, add a tiny dump of whipped cream or creme fraiche.
Even a dab of sour cream and a few tiny berries.  Just don't lose the simplicity of taste in this dessert. 

Or Chocolate Torte  (Recipe by Jim Lahey with Alyce's twists.)
I literally took a page out of Mr. Lahey's book.

• 1 stick or 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold is ok)
• 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped coarsely (I used a 4oz bar of Ghirarddelli**)
• 1 cup plus 1 T (this is divided in use; careful)
• 4 eggs, separated (make sure they're at room temp)
• 1/4 c fine dry (plain, unseasoned) breadcrumbs (homemade if possible-start a day ahead*)
• Pinch of table salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. In a small saucepan over low heat (or in a bowl in the microwave), melt the butter.  Combine the chocolate with 2/3 cup plus 1 T of the sugar (you'll use the rest beating egg whites) in a medium bowl, add the hot melted butter, and stir a few times.  Let sit for 3 or 4 minutes to melt the chocolate, then stir until smooth.  (My chocolate would not melt; I had to put my pot on the stove and let it melt over low heat.  If you chop the chocolate finer, I think Mr Lahey's method might work. )
3. Put the egg yolks in a large bowl and slowly whisk in the chocolate mixture until thoroughly combined.  Mix in the bread crumbs very thoroughly.
4. Put the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a medium bowl if you're using a hand mixer.  Whip at medium speed until the whites are foamy, then reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add in the REMAINING 1/3 CUP OF SUGAR.  Raise the speed to medium and continue whipping until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks (if they become too clumpy or dry, they're overwhipped; dump them and start over with new egg whites.)  Use a rubber spatula or whisk to fold a large scoop of the meringue into the chocolate mixture until incorporated (this will lighten it up), then gently fold in the remaining meringue.
5. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. (Or lightly butter oven safe coffee cups, custard cups, bowls or ramekins--these will take longer to bake.) Fill each cup approximately 3/4 full.  Bake the tortini for about 10 minutes until they are puffed up and just set in the middle.  Remove from the oven and cool completely on a rack.  The tortini will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for three days.
6. If you use baking dishes, it may take 20 - 30 minutes.  Also, these are full of uncooked egg whites.  I like to make sure they're done in case I am serving the young, the old or those with impaired immune systems.  

Serve with a bit of whipped cream, ice cream, (nondairy whipped topping or nondiary sour cream if you're eating meat at Passover), hot fudge or berries.   Makes 12 small, 8 very generous servings -- or you can bake it all in a pan, though Mr. Lahey says it doesn't cut well.  

**You can choose Valrhona ( I like this French chocolate; I was out of it.) or even American Baker's Semi-Sweet --don't use chocolate chips unless you're desperate.) 

These are underdone and runny inside.

I liked them with this great crust on top and tender inside. Use a small spoon!

Have fun baking for an occasion and taking care of yourself (and others),
Alyce