Bittersweet Chocolate Cones Filled With White Choc Food

CHOCOLATE-GINGER MOUSSE CONES

Steps:

• For the mousse: Place a medium bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl on low power for 3 minutes. Let cool slightly. Pour the cream into the chilled bowl and whip until it holds stiff peaks. Fold one-third of the cream into the chocolate. Fold half of the remaining cream into the chocolate and then fold in the rest of the cream. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the cones: Preheat a pizzelle iron.
• Whisk together the flour, sugar, butter, milk, ginger, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, salt, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth. Coat the pizzelle iron with the cooking spray, then close to continue heating.
• When the iron is hot, spoon about 1 tablespoon of the batter onto each pizzelle well. Slowly close and let cook until golden, 50 seconds to 1 minute. Immediately roll one of the cookies around a wooden cone mold, slide it off, and transfer to a rack to cool completely. Leave the other cookie(s) on the iron while you work with the first one--they will firm up if you take them off the heat. Continue cooking and rolling in this way with the remaining batter.
• Just before serving, fill a large resealable plastic bag with the mousse and snip off one corner. Dividing evenly, pipe the mousse into the cones. Serve immediately.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch springform pan.
• Place a large heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl. Put the butter and chocolate in the bowl, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate melts. Take the bowl off the heat and set aside.
• First, whisk the sugar into the chocolate mixture, then whisk in the eggs, coffee, and salt, whisking until the mixture is combined and smooth. Sprinkle on the flour and fold it in with a rubber spatula until it's incorporated.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place it on a sheet pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (see Cook's Note), until the top puffs up and cracks and the cake doesn't wobble when you jiggle the pan. (A toothpick will not come out clean.) Remove from the oven and cool completely on a baking rack. The cake will deflate as it cools. Run a small knife around the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Cut the cake in wedges and serve warm or at room temperature with sweetened whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or crème fraîche.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 to 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or re-usable baking sheets (silpats).
• Whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars with a hand held electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and then the vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir in the chopped chocolate.
• To form the cookies, scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough and roll by hand into balls. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten the dough slightly with your fingertips. Bake until light brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. (If baking 2 sheets at a time, rotate the pans halfway through baking.) Transfer cookies to a rack to cool. Lightly dust the cookies with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TART

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap a sheet of foil over bottom of springform pan (in case of leaks). Lightly butter side of pan.
• Stir together ground wafers and butter in a bowl until combined, then pat mixture evenly onto bottom of pan and 1 1/2 inches up side. Bake until crust is slightly puffed, about 10 minutes, then cool completely in pan on a rack, about 15 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Make filling while crust cools:
• Melt chocolate and butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth, then remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.
• Whisk together eggs, cream, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until combined well.
• Assemble and bake tart:
• Pour filling into cooled crust and rap pan once on counter to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake until filling 1 inch from edge is set and slightly puffed but center trembles slightly when pan is gently shaken, 20 to 25 minutes. (Center will continue to set as it cools.)
• Cool tart completely in pan on a rack, about 2 hours. Chill, uncovered, until center is firm, about 4 hours. Remove side of pan and sprinkle with cocoa to serve.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Place the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a small heatproof bowl set in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir frequently and gently (to prevent air bubbles) with a spatula or wooden spoon until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Remove the glaze from the water and set aside to finish melting, stirring once or twice until the glaze is perfectly smooth.
• Or, melt in a microwave on Medium (50%) power for about 2 minutes. Stir gently until completely smooth; do not whisk or beat. Taste and consider adding the salt. To use for crumb coating a cake before glazing it, let cool, without stirring, to a soft frosting consistency. To use as glaze, reheat gently in a pan of hot water (or let cool if just made) to 90°F (for optimal shine) before pouring. (The glaze can be kept, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks; or freeze it in a sealed container for up to 6 months. Soften or defrost in a pan of hot water or in the microwave.)