National Brandied Fruit Day: Chocolate Cake with Brandied Fruit

Today is National Brandied Fruit Day and adding brandied fruit to chocolate cake is easy and delicious. This recipe was adapted from a recipe for Passover Chocolate Cake with Brandied Fruit from Canadian Living. This is also a great cake to serve during the Christmas holidays or just about any time. It's not your grandmother's Fruit Cake! I've changed some of the ingredients--I never use margarine. No time to bake? Have a glass of Brandy with some fruit and chocolate! Or take some Brandied Fruit and pour over chocolate ice cream.

Storing fruits in brandy is a simple way to preserve the harvest season without the hassle of canning. To make your own brandied fruit, all you need is ripened fruit, sugar, and brandy (the higher the quality, the better). Wash the fruit, peel off any skin, and slice if necessary. Fill half a container with brandy and add the fruit. For each cup of fruit you add, stir in 1/6 cup of sugar. Make sure all the fruit is submerged in the mixture, cover the container, and store it in a dark place. You can continue to add fruit at any time. Brandied fruit will be cured after a couple of months. Better get going if you want to make this for the holidays.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH BRANDIED FRUIT

Ingredients
1 cup finely chopped pitted prunes
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup Brandy
7 oz dark chocolate (65-85% cacao), chopped
1 cup sweet butter
1-1/2 cups finely ground almonds
pinch of salt
4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Glaze:
4 oz dark chocolate (65-85% cacao), chopped
1/4 cup sweet butter
2 tbsp Brandy

Garnish:
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preparation
Grease and line bottom and side of 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper; set aside.
In saucepan, bring prunes, raisins and brandy to boil over medium heat; reduce heat and simmer, stirring, until brandy is absorbed, 3 minutes. Let cool.
In heatproof bowl over saucepan of simmering water, melt chocolate and butter. Let cool slightly.
In small bowl, whisk almonds with salt; set aside.
In large bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until pale and thickened. Beat in chocolate mixture. Fold in almond mixture then prune mixture.
In large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold half into batter; fold in remaining whites. Scrape into prepared pan. Bake in center of 375°F  oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until puffed and cake tester inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it.
Let cool in pan on rack. Remove pan ring; invert onto rack. Remove paper and let cool completely.

Glaze: Meanwhile, in saucepan over simmering water, melt chocolate with butter. Remove from heat; stir in brandy. Let cool for about 10 minutes or until thick enough to spread. Spread all over cake.

Garnish: Press almonds onto side. Refrigerate until glaze is set, about 1 hour.
Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Chocolate Macaroons: Passover

The San Francisco Chronicle's Food section did a Taste Test of 5 different store-bought Chocolate Macaroons for Passover. None of them made the grade. Conclusion: it's better to make your own!

Here's a simple but great recipe for Chocolate Macaroons. These will take less than an hour. What a great treat to take to the Passover seder. This recipe is adapted from Epicurious.com, a recipe from Bev Heinecke of San Anselmo, CA. You can use chocolate chips, but I always have high quality chocolate around, so you might want to take a few good bars and break them up.

These macaroons are not the usual gooey coconut macaroon you might be expecting, but they're fabulous. More like a brownie/meringue. Oxymoron? They are kosher for Passover.

CHOCOLATE MACAROONS

Ingredients
1 1/3 (8 ounces) cups dark (70%) chocolate, broken up into small pieces, divided
2 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sweetened fresh flaked coconut

Preparation
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1 cup chocolate  in microwave-safe bowl; microwave on low setting at 10-second intervals until chocolate is melted, stirring occasionally (or melt in a double boiler). Cool just to room temperature.

Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, then vanilla, beating until whites are thick and glossy. Fold in melted chocolate and coconut, then remaining 1/3 cup chocolate (broken into small pieces the size of mini-chips).

Drop batter by heaping teaspoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.
Bake cookies 10 minutes. Reverse sheets. Bake until tops are dry and cracked and tester inserted into centers comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 10 minutes longer.
Cool cookies on sheets on racks.
Store airtight at room temperature up to 2 days.

Passover Chocolate Walnut Flourless Cake

Today is the final day of my Passover Chocolate Recipes. Be sure and check out this year's recipes: Chocolate Flourless Cake, Chocolate Almond Matzo Brittle, Chocolate Truffle Pie with Macaroon Crust, Key Lime Pie with Macaroon Crust This Passover Chocolate Walnut Flourless Cake is delicious and gluten-free. I love the texture. I've mentioned before that many food product companies and food associations have great recipes on their websites. This recipe is adapted from Kraft recipes.

CHOCOLATE WALNUT FLOURLESS CAKE

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. matzo meal or matzo cake meal, for dusting
8 ounces semi-sweet dark chocolate, divided into 7 and 1 oz* (see optional directions below)
6 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar, divided
3/4 cup butter (or margarine), softened
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 cup fresh walnut pieces, finely ground (whirl in blender)

Optional: 1/4 cup apricot jam  (I have tried it with orange marmalade)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease and dust side of 9-inch springform pan with matzo meal.
Melt 7 oz. of the chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water; set aside.
Beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until thick and lemon colored.
Add butter (or margarine); beat until light and fluffy.
Add melted chocolate, orange zest and walnuts; mix well.

BEAT egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently stir into chocolate mixture. Pour into prepared pan.

BAKE 35 to 40 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on wire rack 10 min. Run small knife or spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; remove rim of pan.
Gently loosen cake from bottom of pan with spatula; place cake on wire rack.
Cool completely.

Optional topping: (I don't do this because I like it the way it is and this makes it too sweet for me, but you might want to try it. If you want to top it with something less sweet, I have used thick cut Scottish orange marmalade with peel. This  works well since it is tart and adds texture)

Microwave jam in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 10 sec. Spread over top of cake.
Melt remaining 1 oz. chocolate; drizzle over cake. Let stand until chocolate is firm.

Photo: Kraft (with the topping)

Chocolate Truffle Pie with Macaroon Crust: Passover or Any Time

A surprising number of "regular" recipes are perfect for Passover. I'll bet if you go through your recipes, you'll find some gems that will work! Yesterday I posted a recipe for a Key Lime Pie with a Chocolate Macaroon Crust. Well, a Macaroon Pie Crust goes great with Chocolate filling! You can use an almond pie crust that you've used in lots of other recipes.

Here's an easy Kosher for Passover Chocolate Truffle Pie with Macaroon Crust. As I mentioned yesterday, you can make your own crust or buy a Manischewitz Macaroon Pie Crust (either plain or chocolate). You might want to make your own chocolate macaroon pie crust. Either use chocolate macaroons and prepare as in yesterday's recipe or try the following recipe. You can make this pie anytime. It's not just for Passover. Be ecumenical and take it to Easter Dinner. You won't have to take anything home except your pie plate!

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE PIE WITH MACAROON CRUST 
This recipe is adapted from allrecipes.com

Crust
2 cups chopped pecans
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup sweet butter, melted
1/2 cup miniature dark chocolate chocolate chips

Filling
1-1/3 cups dark chocolate, broken
1/2 cup sweet butter, at room temperature
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract

1/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup dark chocolate, 65-75% cacao, fair trade.. (Earth Day is coming up)
1 tablespoon amaretto

Directions
Pie Shell
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
2. In medium bowl, mix together pecans, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and miniature chocolate chips. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Filling
3. In metal bowl over simmering water (or in a double boiler), combine 1-1/3 cups dark chocolate and 1/2 cup sweet butter, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4. In separate bowl, beat egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar until thick and pale using electric mixer, at least 3 minutes. Stir into the melted chocolate and set back over the pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour into cooled crust and smooth the top.
5. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan. When warm, stir in the remaining chocolate until melted. Remove from heat and stir in amaretto. Pour over truffle filling. Refrigerate for several hours to set before serving. Be sure and take out of refrigerator for 1/2 hour before serving.