Sarah Bernhardts Recipes

Steps:

• Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease and flour it.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large bowl, whisk the egg white until foamy; add the sugar, and beat until mixture holds soft peaks.
• Fold in the pulverized almonds, cornstarch, and almond extract.
• Spoon into 12 mounds evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet, allowing plenty of space between them.
• Bake until top is dry and cakes are a creamy color, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from sheet and cool on rack.
• Melt 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips in a small bowl over hot water.
• Melt the butter in another pan.
• Whip the egg with the lemon rind, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Mix the COOLED chocolate and butter together and add the egg mixture.
• When this has thickened, spread it over the base of the cakes, allowing the mixture to set.
• Melt the remaining chocolate and pour over the firm chocolate layer.
• Decorate each cake with an almond.
• Makes 12 cakes.
• The Great Scandinavian Baking Book...-- Beatrice Ojakangas.

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together coconut, sugar, egg white and vanilla until combined.
• Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared pans. Bake 7 minutes or until bottoms are lightly golden.
• Allow to cool on baking sheets. Place 8 ounces of the chocolate in a mixing bowl and chop so that the mixture forms small chunks.
• In a small saucepan, heat cream with the butter just until the butter melts and bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.
• Stir in rum. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm. Place 1 teaspoon of chocolate mixture on top of each cookie.
• Smooth to form a dome shape. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.
• Line cooled baking sheets with waxed paper. In the top of a double boiler over hot water, melt the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate with the shortening. Allow to cool for 3 minutes. Set cookie on a fork and spoon the melted chocolate over the cookie until completely coated. Place on waxed paper.
• Refrigerate until chocolate sets, about 2 hours.

Steps:

• Make filling: In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Combine the sugar and the water in a small saucepan, and simmer until clear, about 5 minutes. Place egg yolks in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water, and whisk until warm to the touch, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer bowl to the mixer stand fitted with the whisk attachment; with machine on medium, beat in hot sugar syrup. Raise speed to high, and continue beating until cool and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium; gradually beat in chocolate until fully combined, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Refrigerate until firm and cold, about 1 hour (or up to 1 week).
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat (such as Silpat).
• Make cookies: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat almond paste and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add egg white, almond extract, and salt, and beat to combine.
• Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch tip (such as Ateco #12). Pipe 1-inch cookies onto prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between cookies. Bake until firm and golden around edges, about 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. (Cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week.)
• Place cookies flat side down on a cooling rack. Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch tip (such as Ateco #11), and pipe a peaked mound on top of each cookie. Transfer to freezer until very firm, about 1 hour.
• Make coating: In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Stir in the shortening. Cool until barely warm.
• Remove cookies from freezer. Working quickly so the filling doesn't melt, use a chocolate fork to hold cookie above bowl of chocolate, and spoon melted chocolate over cookie. Place, filling side up, on cooling rack set over a baking sheet. Cookies can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 4 days.