Chocolate

This recipe evolved quite by accident in the restaurant kitchen on a particularly harried day. The baker had put a pan of blond brownies in the oven, and in the rush had left them in too long. When I looked at them, and then at her, our faces fell—the brownies were burned. But we had to have that dessert. “Don’t worry,” I told her, “I’ll think of something.” I knew I had to act quickly to get the desserts to the table. So I cut the brownies into pieces and carefully trimmed off the burned edges. I crumbled up the good part, sprinkled it with sherry, covered it with chocolate pudding and topped it with fresh whipped cream—and our Chocolate Trifle was born. Today it is one of our most requested desserts. Hope y’all enjoy. Oh, by the way, you really don’t have to go to the trouble of burning the brownies!

Pasticcerie, pastry shops, also referred to as Catlisch (a name inherited from the Swiss), are a grand tradition in Palermo. The city was greatly influenced by the French and Swiss in their pastry-making. When I am in Sicily, cannoli and desserts made with citrus are my favorites. In Palermo, I always enjoy desserts and a great cup of espresso at my dear friend’s pastry place, Pepino Stancanpiana’s Catlisch. My Sicilian chef at Felidia, Fortunato Nicotra, makes an elegant version of this, Sicily’s favorite dolce, with deep-fried disks of cannoli pastry stacked high with layers of ricotta cream in between. I like to fry squares of pastry in a skillet—no deep-fryer needed—and build a crispy, creamy cannoli napoleon. In Sicily, cannoli filling is made with sheep’s-milk ricotta, which has a distinctive flavor that can’t be matched by ordinary processed ricotta. Fresh cow’s-milk ricotta, which is widely available now, is what I use. Be sure to drain it well, sweeten lightly, mix with chopped bitter chocolate, candied orange, and toasted almonds for real Sicilian cannoli and add a touch of Grand Marnier for additional flavor.

Sacher torte is known around the world as a specialty of Vienna (at the Hotel Sacher) but is commonly found in pastry shops and in home kitchens of Trieste. It is sure to delight the chocolate lovers in your household. It will keep well for a few days in a cookie tin without refrigeration, but for longer storing time do refrigerate. You can also bake and freeze the cake layers in advance. Defrost and assemble and glaze the torte before serving.

Every culture has its pancakes, and Istria has palacinke. Though they are no different from crespelle or crêpes, palacinke is the name I first learned for the delicious thin pancakes my mother would whip up for us for dinner. As a child, I loved them any way she served them, often with only a sprinkle of sugar or a bit of home-preserved fruits, like rose-hip jam, apricot marmalade, or prune butter. Sometimes palacinke were more elaborate: filled with ricotta and baked or layered like a cake with different fillings in between. But the most luxurious—and always our favorite—were palacinke spread with melted chocolate. That’s the version I share with you here, but I also encourage you to enjoy these homey treats any way you like. Today my mother still makes palacinke, but now it is her great-grandchildren who wait in line for the next one to come out of the pan so they can spread jam on top, roll them up, and devour them, still warm.

I wanted to include a dessert where chocolate was the main ingredient because, well, because people love it. This recipe was previously published in Rosa’s New Mexican Table by Roberto Santibañez and is one of my proudest creations. The tomatillo sauce may seem unusual, but trust me, you will be pleasantly surprised, and the smokiness of the chipotles gives an incredible depth to this scrumptious dessert. Boca negra cake got its name because, once you dig in, your mouth will be covered in luxurious chocolate. Be sure to use high-quality chocolate because it will make all the difference in the world. Serve it as is or with a bit of lightly sweetened whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or Natilla (page 163).

I developed this recipe several years ago. My training was mostly French, and I wanted to take one of the classic French desserts and give it a Mexican flavor. The different layers of textures and flavors come together beautifully and show off the cake’s sophistication when it is cut into beautiful rectangles. It takes quite a bit of time to make because there are many steps, but it can all be prepared in advance and will come together very nicely. It is well worth the effort. Note that you will need 4 baking sheets of the same size.

This is another cake that I developed when I worked at Rosa Mexicano, and it quickly became one of the most popular desserts. We used to serve it with caramelized bananas, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce, all on the side. I have since tweaked the recipe a bit, by adding some chocolate to the tres leches mixture itself, instead of having a separate sauce, and by layering the cake with whipped cream.

When I was a little girl, I would sneak downstairs with my cat Lider, while my sister and parents were asleep, and search the cupboard for the doily-lined tray that held these chocolate “sandwiches” decorated with an amusing chocolate scribble. I think these cookies were the first solid that my little brother ate. Garabatos are still baked in the home of a lovely woman named Elvira Bleyer. She extended her home kitchen, attached a storefront to it, and named it Délvis. The bakery has expanded and is now a franchise. These cookies are not part of the traditional Mexican repertoire, but they are part of my culinary memory growing up in Mexico City and are still served for dessert. This version was developed through a collection of recipes from friends and colleagues, but mostly from palatable memory.

It’s no secret that there is a playfulness in Mexican culture, and it is very apparent in the names and shapes of our sweet breads. One of the most amazing panaderías I’ve ever visited is Horno Los Ortiz in Morelia. The owners are some of the most creative people I’ve ever met. They spend months shaping dough into intricate figurines that will form a nativity scene like no other. Their signs, specially designed boxes, and skillfully adorned breads for the holidays are remarkable. Their artistry is still present in their daily bread, but on a much simpler and smaller scale. These little pig faces, made from flaky pastry and filled with delicious pastry cream, are similar to ones they were selling during one of my visits. They a very fun project indeed.

Just a hint of chocolate at the end of the party completes the evening—and these taste fabulous with the Bellinis. Run your hands under cold water (and dry well each time) while you’re rolling the truffles into balls to prevent the chocolate from melting in your hands (and ruining your manicure . . . ).

GINA My man is the quarterback of the house—and I love him for it! He may call the plays, but when he does, I execute the sweetness all over the field. The dark-brown sugar gives these cookies the toasty football color, and the coconut, toffee-candy bits, and pecans will keep him from getting sacked. Who wrote that play, Coach? Maybe you should put me in!

These cute shot glasses fit the bill perfectly. You can buy them in bulk at your local restaurant-supply store, or online for a discounted price. Get them engraved, or make labels with your wedding date, or write a note and tie it to the glass with a decorative ribbon. Serve these with small demitasse spoons—because guests will want every last bit of that rich chocolate. When you think about it, special occasions don’t come much bigger than this. So why not give them something to remember the occasion by?