Chocolate Soup

While in Denver on business several years ago, I was treated to a meal at the historic Brown Palace Hotel. The highlight was one of their famous desserts, Chocolate Soup. Thicker than hot chocolate, thinner than chocolate mousse, this was heaven in a bowl. It had a slight hint of citrus so of course I had to ask the chef the ingredients; Heavy cream, four kinds of chocolate and a splash of orange liqueur. In the recipe below I substitute orange juice and after several versions, the one below is a near match and serves 6. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS 
1. The ratio of chocolate bars does not have to be exact. You can even substitute your favorite flavors or go heavier on one kind over another. For the white chocolate, I like to use Hershey's Cookies and Cream bars as the tiny cookie pieces remain in the soup to give it a nice crunch.
2. You can accompany the dessert with any fresh fruit but strawberries pair nicely. Whipped cream with chocolate shavings work well too.

INGREDIENTS
3.5 oz Dark Chocolate Bar
3.5 oz Orange Chocolate Bar
3.5 oz White Chocolate Bar
3.5 oz Milk Chocolate Bar
2 cups Heavy Cream
½ cup Orange Juice

DIRECTIONS
1. Break up chocolate bars and place in a bowl.
2. Scald heavy cream over medium heat.
3. Remove from heat and add chocolate pieces, stirring until well combined.

















4. Slowly add orange juice.
5. Serve immediately or chill in individual serving bowls overnight.

  

Orange Peel Sorbet

This is one of the easiest yet most satisfying desserts that can also be used as a palette cleanser preceding a main course.The recipe combines a simple syrup with freshly squeezed oranges and orange peel. The recipe below yields 6 large servings or about 18 smaller servings. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS
1. For an even richer sorbet, substitute the extra water with additional orange juice.
2. If you don't have time to juice fresh oranges, you can use store bought orange juice. The taste is not quite as fresh but it is still wonderful.
3. This can be made several days in advance and frozen. Just make sure you thaw it out slightly before serving or it will be too hard.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Juice from 5 oranges
Rind from one orange

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water until sugar is fully dissolved.
2. Bring to a boil without stirring, let boil for one minute, then remove from heat.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the juice of 5 large oranges with the orange peel from one orange.
4. Stir in the syrup mixture.

















5. Add enough water to bring total liquid to 4 1/2 cups.

















6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Pour into ice-cream maker and follow directions until sorbet reaches desired consistency.

Citrus Confit

A "Confit" is derived from an ancient method of preserving meat by salting and cooking and then storing it in its own fat which acts as a preservative. That method is followed using fruit and sugar in this recipe which comes from my "Chocolates and Confections" book by Peter Greweling. I grew up loving these treats and used to get them from time to time from Boehms Candy shop in Issaquah, WA. I tried making them once before but the recipe didn't work so thankfully this one did and they came out just as I had remembered them; slightly chewy, strong citrus flavor, sweet and nicely balanced with the chocolate covering. I took the recipe below and julienned the quarters which yielded over 100 pieces, and then dipped them in tempered chocolate. My one mistake was mixing lemon and orange quarters together in the syrup mixture. The lemons took on the orange color so in the future I'll do either oranges or lemons in a batch. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
5 Oranges, Lemons or Grapefruits
3 Cups Sugar
2 Cups light Corn Syrup
2 Cups Water

DIRECTIONS
1. Quarter the fruits and peel the skins off the interior. Reserve the interiors for another use.































2. Put the skins in a 4 quart saucepan and cover them with cold water.
3. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, and drain. Repeat this step two more times, using fresh water each time.































4. Combine the sugar, corn syrup and water in the now empty 4 quart saucepan and bring to a simmer.
5. Add the blanched citrus peels, cover and return to a simmer.
















6. Simmer the skins gently for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature in the syrup.
8. Store refrigerated in the syrup in a sealed container for up to 4 weeks.

Orange Peel Truffles

These confections are named after the fungus of the same name which is one of the rarest and most expensive foods in the world. Truffles are round and somewhat misshapen and since they come from in the earth, they are initially covered in dirt. A traditional chocolate truffle is coated in cocoa powder to resemble that look. This chocolate truffle recipe combines the wonderful flavors of semi-sweet chocolate ganache with orange peel infused cream, surrounded by a dark chocolate shell and topped with a candied orange peel. The recipe below yielded almost 4 dozen bite-size truffles. Enjoy!

HELPS

1. I like using a non-stick bakeware liner for these and many other recipes. Super versatile, they're also easy to clean. Silpat is a great brand but there are also other less expensive brands out there.

2. Good candy dipping tools are preferred but not essential. If you don't have any you can use a fork.

INGREDIENTS
2 Oranges
¾ cup heavy cream
12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
Dark couveture chocolate, for dipping
Candied orange peel for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS
1. Line baking sheet with wax paper.
2. Using a peeler or citrus stripper, remove the rind of one of the oranges.
















3. Zest the other orange using a microplaner then set aside.
















4. Place orange rind and cream in medium saucepan over medium heat until it just before scalding, then remove from the heat and cover for 30 minutes.
















5. Place the chocolate chips in a metal bowl.
6. Place the cream back on the stove for a few minutes to heat, then carefully remove the orange rind.
7. Pour cream into the metal bowl and let sit without stirring for a few minutes.
8. Starting in the middle, gently stir in a circular motion until the cream and chocolate are incorporated.
















9. Stir in the orange zest.
10. Cover bowl and place in fridge to firm for 2 hours.
11. When firm enough to shape, spoon ½ tsp of ganache into your hand then roll into a ball and place on your nonstick liner.































12. Repeat for the remainder of the ganache, then place tray in freezer for 2 hours.
13. Melt dark couveture (candy dipping) chocolate over a double broiler, then remove from heat































14. Carefully drop the truffles into the dark chocolate and roll to coat, then gently place back on the liner.
15. Before the dark chocolate hardens, place a small piece of candied orange peel on the wet chocolate.
















16. Repeat for remaining truffles then place back in the fridge for one hour.