Photo by Ron Manville

Chocolate Hot - and - Cold

From Desserts by the Yard by Sherry Yard,  Houghton Mifflin (2007)

Serves 8

This extraordinary, decadent dessert is incredibly easy to make. Chocolate-raspberry ganache is poured over a pastry base set into individual ring molds. Just before serving, I pop the desserts out of the ring molds, sprinkle them with sugar, caramelize the tops, then heat them very briefly in a 350°F oven. The insides remain cold, but the outsides are warm and oozy. You’ll need eight 3-x-1⁄2-inch ring molds, which you can buy at kitchen supply stores.

• 8 3-inch rounds 1/4-inch-thick Pâte Sucrée (from 1 recipe; see below), prebaked
• 3 pints raspberries
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus 6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons for caramelizing
• 1/2 cup strained raspberry puree (from 1 pint of the raspberries above)
• 1 tablespoon Chambord 

1. Prepare the bases. Arrange eight 3-inch ring molds on a baking sheet and line the molds with the pâte sucrée. Top each with 4 or 5 of the raspberries.

2. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Combine the cream and the 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour over the chocolate. Tap the bowl against your work surface to settle the chocolate into the cream and allow to sit for 1 minute. Using a whisk, stir the mixture until the chocolate has melted and the ganache is smooth. Stir in the raspberry puree and the Chambord.

3. Pour the chocolate-raspberry ganache into the lined ring molds, filling the molds right to the top. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill until firm, 4 hours to overnight. 

4. Shortly before serving, place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

5. Remove the desserts from the refrigerator and remove from the molds. You can do this by running a knife around the inside or by heating the outside with a kitchen torch and lifting off the rings. Caramelize the tops: Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over the top of each dessert, and using a propane or butane kitchen torch according to the manufacturer’s directions, set its flame to medium and just melt the sugar, being careful not to burn the chocolate. Add another teaspoon sugar and melt it using the torch, again being careful not to burn the chocolate. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon sugar and caramelize with the torch. 

6. Place the desserts on a 12-x-17-inch half sheet pan and place in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until the outsides are hot and beginning to melt. Remove from the oven, set on plates, garnish with the remaining raspberries, and serve immediately.

Pâte Sucrée

From Desserts by the Yard by Sherry Yard,  Houghton Mifflin (2007)

Sweet Pastry

MAKES TWO 9 - OR 10 - INCH PIE CRUSTS OR SIXTEEN 3 - INCH TARTLET SHELLS

Confectioners’ sugar makes this dough melt-in-your-mouth tender.

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, chilled
• 2 cold large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons very cold heavy cream
  

1. TO MIX WITH A STAND MIXER: Combine the flour and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Add the cold butter and beat on medium-low speed until the pieces of butter are barely visible, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and beat on medium-low speed just until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Turn the machine down to low and stream in the heavy cream. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle. Continue to beat on low speed for 1 minute.

TO MIX BY HAND: Sift together the flour and confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl. Add the cold butter and incorporate into the flour by taking up handfuls of the butter and flour mixture and rubbing briskly between the palms of your hands until the butter is barely visible. Using a fork, beat together the egg yolks and cream in a small bowl and add to the flour mixture. Mix together with the fork until the dough just comes together.

2. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 2 equal pieces. Place each one on a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a disk about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

3. Place one piece of dough at a time in a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Work the dough on medium-low speed just until pliable. If you don’t have a stand mixer, soften the dough by pounding it with a rolling pin on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out each piece with a rolling pin on a lightly floured work surface to a 12-inch-wide, 1/4-inch-thick circle. Place between pieces of parchment paper, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. Alternatively, line lightly sprayed pie or tart pans with the dough and wrap tightly. (The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.) 

4. TO BLIND - BAKE (PREBAKE): Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray two 9- or 10-inch pie or tart pans with pan spray and line with the dough.

5. Prick the bottom of the pastry shell a few times with a fork. Line the pastry with parchment paper or large coffee filters. Fill the lined shell to the rim with dried beans, uncooked rice, or pie weights and gently press the “faux filling” into the corners. Bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, carefully remove the weights using a dry measure and transfer them to a container. Gently pull up on the liner. If it sticks, return the covered pastry shell to the oven for another 3 minutes, or until you can easily lift off the liner. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the pastry is a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack. 

Variations

FOR INDIVIDUAL SHELLS: Use lightly sprayed 3-inch ring molds set on a lightly sprayed, perfectly flat baking sheet, or use lightly sprayed 3-inch tartlet pans. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 1/8-inch thickness. Cut 4-inch circles. The dough should be cold enough for the edges to stand up without flopping over (chill if necessary), but not brittle. To ease into the molds, take a circle, set it over the mold, then with your thumb and forefinger, pinch in the east and west edges, then the north and south edges, so that the circle will slip inside the edges of the mold. Gently ease into the bottom of the ring, making sure the bottom of the circle is flush against the bottom edge of the ring rather than curving up the sides.

TO BLIND - BAKE (PREBAKE): For tartlets, it is not necessary to use pie weights when you prebake. Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until deep golden brown.

FOR DISKS: Cut 3- or 4-inch circles, depending on the desired size. Place the disks on parchment-paper-lined baking sheets and bake at 350°F for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. 

About Desserts by the Yard

Spago's pastry chef to the stars and author of the James Beard Award-winning Secrets of Baking shares the recipes that propelled her to the top of her profession. Night after night at Spago in Beverly Hills, Sherry Yard dazzles the powerful, rich, and famous with incredible desserts. Her marvelous confections have won over patrons from Madonna to Frank Sinatra. Now the country’s premier pastry chef reveals the recipes that have made her a star in her own right and won her two coveted James Beard Awards. Desserts by the Yard begins with inspirations from Yard's childhood, such as My Favorite White Birthday Cake with Chocolate and Butter Fudge Frosting, and culminates in the spectacular creations she makes every year for the Academy Awards.

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