Alternate post title: HOW I RUINED MY STOVE MAKING MARQUISE AU CHOCOLAT W/ KAHLUA CRÈME ANGLAIS. More on that later.
This is the first February baking challenge from Tuesdays with Dorie and it is the perfect seductive, chocolate dessert to serve your Valentine! This recipe is a basic, frozen Chocolate Mousse, that can be dressed up any way you choose. Whipped cream, chocolate curls, fresh fruit, orange peel, liqueur…basically anything you think complements chocolate! I chose to make a Kahlua Crème Anglaise and to add some raspberries, as it was one of Dorie’s suggestions for this recipe from her latest cookbook, Baking Chez Moi. The Kahlua was my call!
This recipe begins with a lot of chopped chocolate, melted with creamy butter, over a Bain-Marie–how French!
I stirred until the chocolate was smooth and glossy, then folded in the egg yolk mixture.
I love the trippy swirl!
The last step is folding in whipped cream, which creates a lovely, thick batter.
Once it is combined the batter is transferred into a loaf pan lined with cling wrap. As usual, I did not have the patience to keep trying to smooth the cling wrap in the pan. I told myself the batter would smooth and flatten it. I carefully tried to smooth the top, but as you can see in the picture below, it looks like a monkey tried to smooth it! I’m really trying to improve my skills, but I often give up too easily, thinking the task impossible. Eh, I’ll cover the top with cream and berries!
The loaf pan was tightly wrapped and set in the freezer. Four hours later, it was time to unmold the Marquise. It was stubborn and did not want to come out. I put a casserole dish with warm water on my stovetop (all counter space was taken) and set the loaf pan inside to loosen things up. It worked!
Here is a pic of the bottom of my wrinkly loaf, due to my poor cling wrap smoothing skills!
RIP MY STOVE
I didn’t realize it at the time, but as I was trying to loosen the mold on my stove, I must have sloshed some water over the side of the casserole pan into the lower right gas burner. This would prove fatal to my stove when I was at minute four of continuously whisking my Crème Anglais for 7-10 minutes, in a warm pan, on the aforementioned burner.
I was whisking away, when suddenly, the flame on my burner flared and WHOOSHED and the lights in the kitchen went out. My husband flipped the breaker and the lights returned, but two of the knobs on the stove started spewing black smoke as the wiring sizzled. The burners were clicking and I was sure there would be a glass explosion. I yelled for my husband, who crawled under the smoking stove and turned off the gas. On the bright side, I now have a nice, new stove. Clean, no scratches and burners that heat evenly.
I stood off to the side continuing to whisk the Crème Anglais. The stove was dead and the house reeked of burning wire, but I was able to save the crème! I continued to whisk it in the cooling pan, on the still hot burner, but it wasn’t thickening. Okay, so don’t tell The French, but I finished heating it in the microwave! Mon Dieu! Blasphème! I heated it for 20 seconds then stirred. I repeated this a number of times until I had a thick, pourable, delicious sauce!
The chilled Crème Anglais was so good I wanted to eat it with a spoon. So I did…just a few spoonfuls! I’m glad I did because the flavor of the rather bold crème was totally overpowered by the rich chocolate of the cake. Even though I poured quite a bit onto the cake, the flavor was just swallowed up by the chocolate. The crème was better paired with the raspberries.
The finished product. Anyone who eats this rich and decadent dessert will instantly fall in love with you! Or love you more than they already do!
Bravo for finishing this recipe despite your kitchen problems!! You are very brave! What a story! Looks great sliced with berries!
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Thanks! At least I get a new stove now 🙂
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You are very determind a burning stove does not stop you from cooking. Very brave! My DH also ate my Créme Anglaise with a spoon.
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Yikes! Thanks to quick thinking there was no fire! Your marquise looks wonderful—and I love the idea of Kahlua cream, but maybe not for this dessert 🙂
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Isn’t this the perfect Valentine dessert. Yours looks lovely. I like the berries
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Fun to read about everyone’s adventures each week. Always something unexpected! I didn’t have any trouble getting mine out, it just slid right out, but then I was making a small tiny loaf so maybe that’s why. Yours looks wonderful.
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Wow-what an adventure making this one! So impressed that you finished and it looks lovely.
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I love that you didn’t give up on your Crème Anglais even though the stove had come to a smoking end. What a great way to get a new stove! (I fear my treat is going to look like yours when I remove it from the pan because I didn’t smooth out my cling wrap either.)
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Sorry about your stove…but a new stove sounds like a pretty good deal! I think your Marquise looks beautiful, and I’m sure delicious! I love how your served it with the cocoa and raspberries…just the way I served mine! Great minds!! Happy Tuesday!
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You saved the crème anglais! Go, you! I love the addition of the kahlua and dusting with cocoa powder is great too!
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Kudos for saving the creme anglaise. Your marquise looks great and must have been delicious with all of those fresh berries.
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My first thought was, I love the dusting of coca powder you put on top, it makes it so inviting. Next, I love the idea of kahula cream anglais. I made cream anglais but failed to realize it takes longer to set up so I switched and used whipped cream for our dessert that evening. Such a great story about your cream anglais making!
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Kahula cream anglaise sounds sooo good!
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oh my gosh–that sounds so scary, but I love that you just carried on with the anglaise! hope you are enjoying your new stove.
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