Dark Chocolate And Almond Dream Recipes

Steps:

• Spread almonds in a large skillet; toast over medium heat until starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour almonds into a bowl.
• Melt chocolate in top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides to avoid scorching, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; pour in almonds and stir until evenly coated.
• Drop spoonfuls of chocolate-almond mixture onto a plate lined with waxed paper.
• Chill until set, about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Chop a ½ cup of the bleached almonds into pea-sized pieces and set aside. If you do not have bleached almonds, you can do this easily by pouring boiling water over the almonds and letting them sit for 5 minutes. Drain the water and pinch the almonds between your fingers to remove the skin. Preheat the oven at 400° F. Cut the chocolate into chunks, place in a bowl with the butter and melt together over simmering water. Set aside to cool. Line the bottom and sides of a 7 ½'' by 7 ½'' pan with baking paper. To make this job easier, slightly soak the paper in cold water, then squeeze it and line the pan, drying any excess water with a kitchen towel. Whip the sugar, eggs and vainilla extract at high speed until they are light and fluffy. Fold into the cooled chocolate mixture. Put the remaining ¼ cup almonds in a high speed food processor and reduce them to a powder. Sift the flour and the salt together and stir into the chocolate. Add the powdered almonds and mix them in thoroughly. Carefully add the chopped almonds and stir them carefully into the mixture. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake at 400° F for about 25 minutes or until the cake is completely set but still lightly soft. Let it cool completely. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Heat the heavy whipping cream together with the honey up to 185 ° F Then, remove from the heat source, add the chocolate and stir continuously until it is completely melted. Add the butter and mix thoroughly. Pour this glaze over the brownie cake and spread it evenly. As an alternative, you can use ¾ of the glaze to spread over the cake and reserve the other ¼ to decorate the squares using a pastry bag. Once the glaze is set, cut into squares of the desired size and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Make the pies: In a medium heatproof bowl, combine the unsweetened chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and butter. Fill a pot (relatively the same size as the bowl) about 1/3 full with water and place it over medium heat. When the water simmers, place the bowl of chocolate and butter over the simmering water and lower the heat. You want to melt the chocolate and butter gently together, stirring and scraping the sides (to avoid scorching).
• In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon zest. Set aside.
• Separately, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
• When the chocolate and butter is melted, remove the bowl from the heat; stir to assure it's completely mixed and transfer to another medium bowl. This will accelerate cooling. Allow the chocolate to cool a few minutes. Whisk in the egg mixture. Whisk in the flour mixture. Only whisk until blended, over-mixing can affect the texture of the pies.
• Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray (alternatively, use a piece of fitted parchment sprayed with nonstick spray). Drop the batter in large spoonfuls (keeping the shapes as round as possible) on the baking sheet. You are aiming for rounds that are about 2 inches in diameter. Take care to leave some room (about 2 inches) between each one to allow for spreading that will occur as they bake.
• Place the tray in the hot oven and bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Check the pies. Leave in the oven an additional minute or two if they seem under baked. The dough will lose some of its shiney-ness and no longer look wet but will still feel soft. Remove the tray from the oven and allow them to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before gingerly lifting them off the baking sheet and onto a flat surface.
• Make the filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to a simmer and add about 3/4 of the cup of the toasted almonds. Reserve the remaining almonds. Shut off the heat and allow the almonds to "steep" in the milk, for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain the milk and pour it back into the same pan, discarding the almonds from the milk.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together the sugar, flour, cornstarch and egg yolks until thick and smooth, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Pour some of the hot milk mixture over the eggs and whisk to blend. Pour the egg mixture back into the milk; turn on a low to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the almond extract. Continue to cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, stirring to make sure it doesn't cling to the bottom of the pan and burn, until very thick. Pour the cream into a clean bowl. Stir in the remaining almonds. Cover tightly with a layer of plastic so the cream doesn't form a skin. Allow to cool.
• Assemble: "Sandwich" some of the cream in between two of the chocolate rounds. Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired.

Steps:

• Butter a baking sheet or use a silicone baking mat (preferred).
• Bring about 1 inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan with a bowl fitted to sit just above the simmering water. Add the chocolate. When the chocolate is melted, remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the almonds. Spread on the baking sheet in a thin uniform layer. Let set for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with the salt. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Break the bark into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Store in a cool, dry place, stacked between layers of foil or parchment in an airtight container. The bark will keep, tightly sealed in your pantry, for up to a week.

Steps:

• Oven@ 350 degrees.
• Combine the cake ingredients and mix with a whisk.
• Pour into 2 round 8 or 9-inch cake pans which have been lined with greased aluminum foil or parchment paper.
• Bake for 28-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
• Let cool in pans for 10 minutes before turning out.
• Meanwhile combine the frosting ingredients and beat until fluffy with a hand-mixer.
• When cake layers are completely cool, frost the top part of the bottom layer.
• Place second layer over the frosted layer.
• Finish by frosting top layer and sides of cake.