Chocolate Indulgence Cake with White Chocolate Sauce and Candied Pecans #ChocolateforJoan

Chocolate Indulgence Cake with White Chocolate Sauce and Candied Pecans #ChocolateforJoan

I make an effort to try to avoid clichés, but every now and then you realize that life is short and people need to make the most out of each day.

When I started this website more than three years ago, I didn't anticipate that I would form real life friendships with other food bloggers I met through social media, however over time that is exactly what occurred. So couple of weeks ago when I learned that my friend Joan of Chocolate Chocolate and More passed away in her sleep, I felt a strong sense of loss.

I had seen Joan online for years and I was fortunate enough to meet her a handful of times in the last year. The only picture I have of the two of us was taken the first time we met when she was in town for IFBC in 2014, however. I had just moved into the area less than a month before and was unable to attend the conference considering I hadn't completely unpacked everything but I was able to sneak over to the host hotel to meet some friends for a few hours for lunch on the Friday before official conference activities began. We instantly connected. I remember at one point that afternoon, nature was calling so I asked her to watch my phone while I was in the men's room. She teased that there might be additional pictures in my phone's gallery when I returned that Mrs. Stuntman might find questionable. I returned a couple of days later on Sunday afternoon. I was only able to see her in passing but she was thoughtful enough to leave me a gift bag of some of the items she collected during the weekend.

(From left to right: Bobbi of Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen, me, Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Kiss My Smoke, Joan)

The second time I met Joan in person was at the Food and Wine Conference this past summer. She was invited to speak because more than two million people have 'Liked' the Chocolate Chocolate and More Facebook page. To put that in perspective, Joan has more Facebook 'Likes' than Giada De Laurentiis, Bobby Flay and Alton Brown combined. My memories of Joan on that trip are surrounded by my lunch at Shubee's Coastal Grill and Bar because she was one of the ladies who I was lucky enough to join on that occasion. Something as mundane as transportation to the restaurant stood out because Joan was kind enough to give me a ride in her son's new car, where I returned the favor of teasing her by suggesting she baptize the vehicle by giving the car in front of us a love tap.

The last time I met Joan in person was a couple of months ago at IFBC. Unfortunately, we only met in passing because we mostly attended different sessions and I couldn't attend many of the after hour social gatherings because I opted for my own bed over a hotel room which meant I was driving and couldn't enjoy any cocktails.

Each time I met her, I found her to be incredibly kind, thoughtful and sincere.

Inspiration Behind the Dish

For this dessert, I used Joan's website name for inspiration. The dish had to contain at least three components, two of which had to contain chocolate. The Flavor Bible didn't yield any surprises with items such as nuts, cream, mint and sugar pairing well with both chocolate and white chocolate. Berries were also common between the two but I decided to omit them from the dish because they are not in season.

Dish Details

I'd imagine you could find this dish on any restaurant dessert menu. For it, I paired adaptations of a chocolate cake found on foodnetwork.com with a sauce found on epicurious and the pecans on food.com.

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 2 1/4-ounce package pecan halves
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (approximately 6 ounces) white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Mint leaves for garnish

Method

1. Complete the mise en place. Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Coat four ramekins with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Candy the pecans. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the pecans and toss to coat. Add the brown sugar and salt and stir until caramelized. Transfer the pecans to wax paper in a single layer to cool and set aside.

3. Prepare the sauce. Place the white chocolate chips in a heat safe bowl, then slowly bring the whipping cream to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once a boil has been reached, pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk to combine and melt the chocolate.

4. Bake the cake and finish the dish. Set up a double boiler by filling a medium saucepan with enough water so that the water level is just shy of a heatproof bowl placed over the saucepan. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Place the heatproof bowl over the simmering water and add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and stir until melted. Add the butter and sugar and stir until melted then whisk in the two eggs until well combined. Add in the flour and stir until just combined but do not overmix. Remove the chocolate from the heat, then spoon an equal portion of the batter into each of the prepared ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet, then place into the oven for ten to twelve minutes. To present, invert a ramekin onto a warmed plate, spoon some sauce around the cake, then garnish with the pecans and mint leaves.

Final Thoughts

Mrs. Stuntman enjoyed the dish, however she thought the cake was a little rich. She did ask for more pecans.

Since Joan's passing, there have been a number of tributes that have been published but I wanted to highlight a Go Fund Me page to support the three teenage children that have survived her. Please contribute to it if you can.

Other loving tributes include:

• Friday Coffee Talk Time by Eat Picks
• A Tribute to Joan of Chocolate, Chocolate and More! by YumGoggle
• Peanut Butter Chocolate No Bake Cookies by It's Yummi
• Chocolate Mint Greek Yogurt Dip {Easy, Healthy} by Lauren Kelly Nutrition
• Chocolate Pretzel Bread Pudding by Wine and Glue
• 8 Incredible Chocolate Desserts by Crazy for Crust
• Easy Brownie Pie by Love From The Oven
• 7 Nirvana-Inducing Chocolate Recipes by Noble Pig
• 10 Chocolate Recipes Perfect for Fall by Frugal Foodie Mama
• Graham Cracker Toffee Bark by Crunchy Creamy Sweet
• Top 10 Chocolate Recipes by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars by TidyMom
• Lunch Lady Brownies by Barefeet in the Kitchen
• Kahlua and Cream Fudge by Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
• Easy Blender Kahlua and Cream Chocolate Mousse by Pineapple And Coconut
• 12 Cookies & Bars Made With Chocolate by Simply Southern Baking
• 30 Amazing Chocolate Recipes by Spend with Pennies
• Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate Recipes by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Low Carb Brownie Truffle Pie by All Day I Dream About Food
• Remembering a Friend {Boozy Chocolate Milkshake Recipe} by Dine & Dish
• A Chocolate Tribute for Joan (90+ Chocolate Recipes) by Simply Southern Baking

Joan does have contributors, so her blog in addition to her social media pages remain active so please be sure to catch her on Facebook, G+, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

Rest in peace, my friend. You're genuinely missed.

November 11, 2015 update:

Robin of Simply Southern Baking saw this and shared a few of her pictures that were taken at Shubee's. Thanks, Robin!

(From left to right: Lisa of Jersey Girl Cooks, Robin, Melissa of Serendipity and Spice, Marlene of Nosh My Way, Joan, Wendy of The Weekend Gourmet, KC of Chat 'n Dish, me, Faith of An Edible Mosaic and Healthy Sweet Eats)

Basil and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with Lemon Curd

Basil and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with Lemon Curd

Once again, I must thank you for your patience this month. If I can be candid for a moment, I'm finding it difficult to organize my daily schedule because after I prepare dinner, eat and then wash the dishes, I'm exhausted. Regardless, since I published my last composed dessert, I caved and purchased an ice cream maker. I've made a point in the past that I've been able to do so without one when I published a gelato, a sorbet and an ice cream but (especially with the roasted figs dessert) I'm finding that I'm happiest when ice cream is one component of a dish.

If you don't own one and would like to, I recommend checking out the about.com article before purchasing one. I chose a pre-freeze bowl option because hand-churning a manual type might seem fun for the first couple of times, I knew I'd tire of it eventually and the addition of ice and rock salt is too cumbersome for me. The electric freezer machines were, for the most part, too expensive.

Once the machine was delivered, I consulted The Flavor Bible which noted basil and lemon complementing chocolate. While I could understand theoretically the acidity of the lemon contrasting the sweetness of the chocolate, the addition of the basil intrigued me. It also triggered a memory I have of a basil gelato I ate at Yoshi's in San Francisco several years ago while Mrs. Stuntman and I celebrated our anniversary. I was skeptical at first of an herb in a dessert application. I was only familiar with in a savory setting but left that evening convinced. It then occurred to me that mint is an herb commonly used in desserts but I wanted to explore the idea further.

The Challenge

Interesting flavor profiles.

The Source

For the ice cream custard, I adapted the recipe from epicurious and the lemon curd from the Wall Street Journal.

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped plus more for garnish
1 pinch kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 2 cups white sugar, divided
4 large plus 10 egg yolks, divided
3 whole eggs
1 cup and 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup heavy cream, divided
Juice from 4 lemons
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method

1. Prepare the ice cream custard: Combine the milk, 1/4 cup sugar, basil and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring along the way. Once it reaches a boil, remove it from the heat and let the basil steep for 30 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a blender (reserving the saucepan) and blend until the basil is ground finely.

While the basil steeps, beat 4 of the yolks and 1/4 cup sugar in a separate bowl with an electric mixer until thick and pale. Add the milk to the egg yolks in a steady stream and beat to combine. Pour mixture back into the reserved saucepan and cook over medium heat continually stirring with a wooden spoon until the temperature reaches 175° Fahrenheit on an instant read thermometer. (Do not let the mixture boil!)

Strain the mixture into a metal bowl, add 1/2 cup heavy cream and then follow the directions on your ice cream maker, adding the chocolate chips during the last few minutes of churning.

2. Prepare the curd: Combine the remaining 10 egg yolks, 3 whole eggs, remaining 2 cups sugar and the lemon juice in a mixing bowl.

Heat cream until it just begins to simmer in a medium saucepan, then pour into the egg yolk mixture in a steady stream while whisking. Then pour it back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat until thickened and darkened in color, approximately 5 minutes.

Pour the mixture into a metal bowl, stir to cool and cover with a plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 or more hours to set. To plate, spoon the curd onto a chilled plate and top with a scoop or two of ice cream.

Successful?

If I were to prepare this ice cream again, I might use a chocolate swirl because the basil and the lemon were definitely the dominant flavors, however the flavors were still well balanced.

In other news, Mrs. Stuntman took me, her father (visiting from overseas) and our daughter to Napa Valley last weekend. I don't do restaurant reviews but I thought I might note my experiences.

Friday night we ate at The Royal Oak at the Silverado Resort where I had a filet mignon with a roast shallot and smoked sea salt compound butter.

Saturday we had a 4-course lunch while on a tour on the Napa Valley Wine Train.

The appetizer course of shrimp, flavored cheddar, and grapes.

For the second course, I ate the bay shrimp and pumpkin soup.

The entreé course was a pan seared ahi tuna with a saffron tomato broth and grilled bread.

Finally, I had the vanilla bean crème brûlée with a blueberry garnish.

Sunday, we went into Yountville to the legendary Bouchon Bakery. Among the items we purchased were some macarons and a fig tart.

Presenting: English Toffee Bark

English Toffee Bark

No, I haven't forgotten you.

I regret dedicating this month to desserts, not because I don't want to feature them, but because I didn't plan very well. Don't worry, I recently added to my arsenal of kitchen gadgets and will have more for you next week. After all, this really isn't a composed dessert; just a type of candy.

Like some other dishes I've published here, this appeared on my first website. It accompanied my coffee liqueur gift I publish last Christmas and I even had a small side project a couple of years ago selling some. I'm considering doing so again this year, so I'll only give you the ingredient list of white granulated sugar, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, kosher salt, water, semi-sweet chocolate and almonds.

I was also able to find the picture I took in the autumn of 2010 and wanted to improve it.