Raspberry Chocolate Puff Food

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Toss together chocolate chips, baking chips and pecans. On a lightly floured surface, roll each pastry sheet into a 12-in. square; cut each sheet into quarters, making four 6-in. squares. , Place squares on ungreased baking sheets; top each with about 1/3 cup chocolate mixture. Lightly brush edges of pastry with water; bring together all corners, pinching seams to seal., Bake until golden brown, 18-20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly. Puree frozen raspberries with 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a food processor. Strain to remove seeds., To serve, dust pastries with confectioners' sugar. Serve with raspberry sauce and, if desired, fresh berries and additional chips.

RASPBERRY PAIN AU CHOCOLAT (RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Unfold the puff pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface. Cut each one into thirds along the fold lines. Roll each strip of dough out to about 16 inches long, and cut strips into thirds.
• Spread some of the hazelnut spread onto one half of each rectangle to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Spread about 1/2 teaspoon of the raspberry jam over the hazelnut spread. Brush the edges with egg, and fold over the other side to enclose the filling. Press the edges firmly to seal. Repeat with the remaining rectangles. Use a sharp knife to cut 5 slits across the top of each pastry, and place them on baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool on racks. Dust with confectioners' sugar when cooled if desired.

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE PUFF

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the chips and pecans.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll each pastry sheet into a 12-in. square.
• Cut in half lengthwise and widthwise, making eight 6-in. squares.
• Spoon the chip mixture in the center of each square.
• Pull all corners together below the tips of the corners, forming a pouch.
• fold the corner tips down.
• Place on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake at 425° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove to a wire rack to cool.
• In a food processor or blender, puree raspberries and confectioners' sugar.
• Strain and discard seeds.
• Spoon raspberry sauce onto dessert plates; top with pastry pouches.
• If desired, garnish with raspberries and chips; dust with confectioners' sugar.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TURNOVERS

Steps:

• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.
• Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, then brush off excess flour from both sides. Cut into 16 squares.
• Whisk together egg and a pinch of salt. Place 1/2 teaspoon jam and 1 teaspoon chocolate in center of each square, then brush edges of squares with some of beaten egg. Fold each square in half to form a triangle, pressing edges to seal. Brush tops of pastries with some of remaining egg and transfer to a lined baking sheet. Chill on sheet while making 16 more pastries in same manner, transferring to second baking sheet.
• Bake pastries, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Cool on sheets on racks 5 minutes. Serve warm.

CHOCOLATE-GLAZED RASPBERRY CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Make 1 recipe large Pastry Puffs. Use a toothpick or skewer to make a 1/4-inch-wide hole in bottom of each puff. In a medium bowl, whip 1 cup heavy cream to firm peaks; fold in raspberry jam and brandy (if using). Transfer mixture to a large zip-top bag and snip a 1/4-inch opening in one corner. Place cut corner of bag in hole in puff and squeeze to fill puff with cream mixture. Place filled puffs, hole side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. (Refrigerate while you make the glaze.)
• In a medium heatproof bowl, combine chocolate and corn syrup. In a small saucepan, bring remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream just to a boil. Immediately pour over chocolate and let sit 2 minutes. Stir until mixture is smooth. Dip top half of each puff into chocolate glaze (or pour on top) and place, glaze side up, on baking sheet. Refrigerate, uncovered, 30 minutes (or up to 2 hours).

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY BAGS WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine raspberries and one cup powdered sugar in container of an electric blender; process until smooth, stopping once to scape down the sides.
• Pour raspberry mixture through a large wire mesh strainer into a bowl, discarding seeds; chill.
• Roll each pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch square; cut each sheet of pastry into 4 squares.
• Combine raspberry flavored chocolate morsels, white chocolate morsels and chopped pecans; place evenly in middle of each pastry square. Reserve some morsel mixture for garnish, if desired. Pull up sides of pastry to enclose morsel mixture; twist ends just above morsels, pinching to seal at "neck" and spreading open top edges of pastry to fan out. (The packages will look like little gift bags that are twisted near the top.) Place filled bags on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 20 minutes, covering loosely with aluminum foil after 10 minutes to prevent excess browning.
• Spoon raspberry sauce evenly onto dessert plates; set aside. Sprinkle baked pastries with remaining 1/4 cup powdered sugar and place a pastry bag in the center of each dessert place on the sauce. Sprinkle reserved morsel mixture over sauce. Serve immediately.
• Note: Pastry bags can be assembled up to 4 hours before cooking; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Commercial raspberry sauce can be substituted for the raspberry sauce. For puff pastry sheets, Pepperidge Farm is recommended.

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine the egg, milk, oil, orange juice and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in raspberries and chocolate chips. , Fill paper-lined muffin cups or cups coated with cooking spray two-thirds full. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

RASPBERRY-CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350°F Lightly grease (or line with cupcake papers) a 12-cup square or standard muffin pan; or lightly grease a silicone muffin pan.
• Prepare the crumb topping by mixing the ingredients together until very moist and crumbly. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the melted margarine, milk, and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips. Add the dry mixture to the liquid and stir until combined.
• Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Push three small or two large raspberries down into the top of the batter; they don't need to be covered by batter. Sprinkle with the crumb topping, using a slightly heaped tablespoon for each muffin.
• Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are golden brown and feel set when you touch them in the middle. Remove them from the oven, and let them stand for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

CREAM PUFFS WITH RASPBERRY CRAQUELIN AND WHIPPED CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Steps:

• For the chocolate mousse: Whip the cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Set aside.
• Whisk together the whole egg, egg yolks, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tablespoon water in a medium heatproof bowl until combined. Set the bowl over a medium saucepan of gently simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water). Whisk constantly until the mixture is pale, hot to the touch and has almost doubled in volume, 4 to 6 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally with a silicone spatula, if necessary. Remove from the heat and continue whisking until cooled, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
• Put the chocolate in another medium heatproof bowl and set over the saucepan of gently simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water). Stir occasionally with a silicone spatula until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and gently stir for about 3 minutes to cool slightly.
• Whisk the egg mixture into the melted chocolate in 3 additions until combined. (The mixture may get very thick.) It's important that the chocolate mixture is not warm or it may seize up when combined with the whipped cream. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture in 3 additions with a rubber spatula until it is fully incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled through, about 1 hour and up to overnight.
• For the raspberry craquelin: Pulse the brown sugar and freeze-dried raspberries together in a food processor until finely chopped and bright pink. Add the butter and a pinch of salt and pulse until blended and smooth. Add the flour, then continue to pulse until moist. Pulse in the vanilla until combined. The mixture should be crumbly but hold together when pinched. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of parchment and form into a disk. Top with another sheet of parchment and roll the dough between the 2 sheets until about 1/8 inch thick (see Cook's Note). Freeze until chilled through, about 30 minutes, then stamp out 40 rounds with a 1 1/2-inch cutter. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until ready to assemble.
• For the cream puffs: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
• Combine 1 cup water with the butter, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture boils, immediately add all the flour at once and stir with a wooden spoon until it is fully incorporated and smooth, about 1 minute. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 30 seconds more.
• Scrape the mixture into a large bowl. Add 1 of the eggs at a time and mix with an electric mixer on medium speed after each addition until completely incorporated and the dough is thick and smooth.
• Transfer the dough to a pastry bag with a medium round tip. Pipe 40 circular mounds of dough (about 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 inch tall), about 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Dip your finger in water and dab each mound to smooth the top. Top each with a round of raspberry craquelin.
• Bake until the bottoms of the puffs are lightly golden brown and the craquelin spreads and crackles over each puff, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, 20 to 25 minutes (see Cook's Note). Let the puffs cool completely on the baking sheets.
• Whip the chilled chocolate mousse with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, lightened and pipeable. Transfer to a pastry bag with a medium star tip.
• Assemble the cream puffs: Cut each puff in half horizontally with a sharp serrated knife. Pipe the mousse onto the bottom halves, then sandwich with the top halves and serve.
• Cook's Note: When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)
• Make sure to roll the craquelin into a thin layer, about 1/8-inch thick. Any thicker and the craquelin won't melt and crack over the puffs like a traditional craquelin.
• Do not overbake the craquelin, or the color will change from a beautiful merlot color to brown.