Dark and delirious, all things chocolate

I must confess, as a lover of chocolate, I’ve tried some pretty nasty stuff — all in the name of the dark elixir. For some chocolate lovers, the darker, the better. For others creamy is king. For still others a nut or fruit of some sort has to be involved. I’ve had chocolate that has had chile pepper, ginger, rosemary and thyme added. I’ve had it whipped, melted, 80 percent dark, so light it was almost invisible, made into a chewy hot drink and poured over roast pork. I’m not saying that I’ve liked every chocolate I’ve eaten, indeed some were quite nasty, but I’ve tried them none-the-less.

Here are a few chocolate creations you may like. They range from simple to not-so simple, but all are a bit of heaven if you love the dark and delirious; or if you get delirious when eating the dark.

Chocolate butter

1 pound soft butter

4 tablespoons high quality powdered chocolate

3 teaspoons honey

Mix all ingredients vigorously with a whisk until creamy and smooth. To die for on toasted nutty type breads.

Chocolate Spice cake

1/2 cup soft butter

1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1 1/4 cup good quality dark powdered cooking cocoa

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup yogurt

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons of the following spice mixture: equal parts ground nutmeg, ground gloves, ground ginger, ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Mix butter, sugar, and cocoa in a mixer until light and very well-blended. Add eggs, both at once, and mix only until incorporated well. Add milk, yogurt, flower, spices, soda and salt all at once and mix until all in well-blended — perhaps a shy two minutes. Do not over mix.

Pour into a well-buttered and floured 8-by-10-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate pesto

1 ounce fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup melted high quality semi-sweet cooking chocolate

1/4 cup olive oil

Blend all ingredients for a few seconds in a food processor. Let stand approximately one hour before serving. This is fabulous over vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate

Pastry Dough

3 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

3/4 cup good quality cocoa powder for baking

3/4 cup organic sugar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups cold butter

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons ice water

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add butter with a pastry blender or large fork until butter is in pea-sized balls. Make an indentation in the center of your mixture and add eggs (slightly beaten) and ice water. Mix dough only until the mixture begins to pull together and form a ball. Do not knead. Use as you would a standard pastry dough.