January/February 2006

Chocolate Romance: The Way to a Woman's Heart

BY HEATHER T. SHAW

 

Gentlemen! If you don’t know by now that the way to a woman’s heart is through the judicious doling out of chocolate throughout the year, your causes may be lost. But for those of you aware that most women’s eyes (and hearts and mouths) brighten at the sight of chocolate, here is some advice for Valentine’s Day:

If you give her chocolate, that doesn’t mean you can get away without also handing her a bouquet of roses, some sexy lingerie and a beautiful card, chosen especially for her. Nor does it mean you can stay home that evening, watch TV and dine on frozen macaroni and cheese. It simply means that from this Valentine’s Day until the next, you will have her undying devotion.

Oh, we pretend that the flowers, the lingerie, the card all mean as much as the sweet treats, but secretly every woman wants her own, carefully selected box of chocolates—or a gooey chocolate dessert made just for her.

So if you want to really thrill her, try one or all of these three easy-to-follow recipes. Believe me, you’ll be glad you made the effort.


Warm Chocolate Sauce Pudding

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a small baking dish or 6-8 ramekins.

For the pudding:

• Melt 2 Tablespoons butter and 1 square of baking chocolate.

• Add ½ cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla and ¾ cup white sugar.

• Mix together 1 cup flour, ½ teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons baking powder. Add this to the chocolate mixture and set aside.

For the sauce:

• In a saucepan, mix together ½ cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar and 2 teaspoons good quality cocoa.

• Add 1 ½ cups water and bring to a boil.

• Pour the sauce into the casserole or divide among the ramekins.

Spoon the pudding mixture, which will look like cake mix, on top of the sauce. This will look strange, but don’t worry. Bake for 34-40 minutes. The top layer will be a soft cake and the bottom layer will be a chocolatey gooey sauce. Serve warm, with whipped cream or ice cream. Serve in bed, sprinkled with a little bit of cocoa powder. (Not on you—on top of the whipped cream!)


Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Granted, this recipe will spoil the fresh, minty breath one prefers on Valentine’s Day, but your loved one’s whoops of joy will make up for that.

These look like the fancy chocolates you’d select individually and pay a fortune for at a candy shop, especially if you put them in candy cups—which look like miniature muffin cups—purchased from your local craft or cooking supply store. Present them on a plate or tray or in a recycled chocolate box from the days when you thought it was enough to buy stale candy at the pharmacy. But if there are any leftover, be sure to store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

1 stick butter
2 cups chunky peanut butter
1 lb. powdered sugar
3 cups rice crispies
1 bag chocolate chips (get the good ones)
2 oz. paraffin wax (found near the canning jars at the grocery store)
Waxed paper

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter. Do not brown. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Add sugar and mix well. Add rice crispies.

Shape into 1-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet.

Melt paraffin over double boiler on medium-low heat. Watch it carefully as it is flammable. Add chocolate to the paraffin and let it melt thoroughly.

Place waxed paper nearby. Dip peanut butter balls into chocolate, using two forks, covering completely with chocolate before placing on waxed paper to set.


Rocky Road Chocolate Fruit Cups

You will need a candy thermometer, available at most grocery stores and cooking supply shops, and 40 foil or paper candy cups.

Melt: 26 oz. coarsely chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted and thermometer measures 115 degrees F. Remove from water.

Add 2 teaspoons grated orange peel, mixing well. Add ¾ cup walnut halves, ¾ cup dried tart cherries or dried cranberries and 3 Tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger, available cheaply at Trader Joe’s. Combine thoroughly. Add 4 cups of miniature marshmallows, stirring gently to blend.

Spray candy cups lightly with cooking spray. Drop mixture, 2 Tablespoons. at a time, into candy cups and place on a cookie sheet. Chill about one hour, until firm.

Note: You can make this candy up to two weeks ahead of time and refrigerate in an airtight container. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.


Heather T. Shaw is food editor of New Southerner. She has a master of fine arts in writing from Spalding University and a penchant for chocolate-covered marzipan.

 

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