Bon Appetit Desserts (142 page)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine cream, honey, brandy, and salt in medium saucepan. Stir over high heat until mixture comes to boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted. Whisk in vanilla. Let stand until cool but still pourable, about 1 hour.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Before serving, stir over low heat until just liquid but not warm.

Raspberry-Fig Sauce

Dried figs and frozen raspberries make this a dessert sauce for all seasons.
Makes about 2 cups

5 ounces dried Calimyrna figs, stemmed, quartered (about 1 cup)

1 cup water

3 tablespoons honey

½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1 12-ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed

¼ cup sugar

Combine figs, 1 cup water, honey, and vanilla bean in heavy small saucepan. Stir over low heat until honey dissolves. Increase heat to medium and simmer until figs are tender and liquid is reduced to thick syrup, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Add raspberries and sugar and simmer until thickened to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Cool.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Mint Truffle Ice-Cream Terrine with Mint and Chocolate Sauces

The chocolate, peppermint, and cream mixture here does double duty: First, it’s rolled into truffles, which become mint chocolate polka dots when pressed into the vanilla ice cream terrine. The remaining chocolate mixture is then melted into a decadent sauce that’s drizzled around the terrine, along with a mint sauce, before serving.
12 servings

1½ cups heavy whipping cream

16 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

2 teaspoons pure peppermint extract

Natural unsweetened cocoa powder

2½ pints vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

¾ cup sugar

⅓ cup water

2 cups (loosely packed) fresh mint leaves

TRUFFLES AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE
: Bring cream to simmer in heavy large saucepan; remove from heat. Add chocolate; let stand 1 minute. Whisk until mixture is smooth. Whisk in peppermint extract. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours, or chill overnight.

Line baking sheet with foil. Drop scant 1 tablespoon chocolate mixture for each of 16 truffles onto prepared sheet. Dust hands with cocoa; roll chocolate mounds into rounds. Cover and freeze truffles. Cover and chill remaining chocolate mixture for sauce.

DO AHEAD
:
Truffles and sauce can be made 2 days ahead. Keep truffles frozen; keep chocolate mixture chilled.

Line 8½×4½×2½-inch metal loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving generous overhang. Spread ⅓ of ice cream (about 1⅔ cups) over bottom of prepared pan. Press 8 truffles in random pattern (and spaced apart) into ice-cream layer. Spread ½ of remaining ice cream over. Press remaining 8 truffles in random pattern (and spaced apart) into second ice-cream layer. Spread remaining ice cream over. Cover terrine with plastic wrap overhang. Freeze at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.

MINT SAUCE
: Bring sugar and ½ cup water to boil in small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour syrup into blender; cool 10 minutes. Add mint leaves to syrup and puree until smooth. Transfer sauce to bowl; cool.

DO AHEAD
:
Mint sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Whisk to blend before using.

Stir remaining chocolate mixture over low heat until warm. Transfer to pitcher. Turn ice cream terrine out onto platter; peel off plastic. Cut terrine crosswise into slices; arrange on plates. Drizzle chocolate sauce and mint sauce around slices.

Rocky Road Sundae Pie

Ice-cream pies are ideal for summer entertaining: There’s little or no baking required, they’re easy to prepare, they can be made well in advance, and they’re guaranteed crowd-pleasers. In this pie, rocky road ice cream is deconstructed into its essential elements: chocolate, marshmallow, vanilla, and nuts. It all starts with a chocolate crust, which is topped with purchased chocolate ice cream, dotted with a rich milk chocolate fudge sauce, drizzled with melted marshmallow cream, and sprinkled with toasted walnut pieces.
12 servings

⅔ cup heavy whipping cream

8 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), chopped

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups mini marshmallows (about 7½ ounces)

⅓ cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 quarts chocolate ice cream, slightly softened, divided

Chocolate Crumb Crust (see recipe)

1 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped, divided

FUDGE SAUCE
: Bring cream just to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; let stand 1 minute. Whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Let stand at room temperature until sauce cools and thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

MARSHMALLOW SAUCE
: Combine marshmallows and cream in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until marshmallows melt and sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove bowl from over water; stir in vanilla. Let stand until slightly cooled but still pourable, about 10 minutes.

PIE
: Spread 1 quart ice cream evenly in prepared crust. Drop half of fudge sauce by tablespoonfuls over ice cream, spacing drops apart. Sprinkle half of walnuts over sauce. Drizzle half of marshmallow sauce over walnuts. Freeze until sauces are set, about 10 minutes. Spread second quart of ice cream evenly over. Drop remaining fudge sauce by tablespoonfuls over ice cream. Drizzle remaining marshmallow sauce over, allowing some fudge sauce to show through. Sprinkle with remaining walnuts. Freeze until pie is firm, about 4 hours.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be prepared 5 days ahead. Cover tightly with foil. Keep frozen.

Let pie soften slightly at room temperature, about 10 minutes. Cut around pan sides to loosen pie. Remove pan sides. Cut pie into wedges and serve.

Chocolate Crumb Crust

This two-ingredient crust couldn’t be easier—or more delicious. Try it as the base for an ice-cream pie of your own invention, using your favorite flavors of ice cream and a chocolate or caramel sauce on the side.
Makes one 9-inch crust

1 9-ounce package chocolate wafer cookies, crushed to crumbs

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2¾-inch high sides. Mix crumbs and melted butter in medium bowl until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake crust 10 minutes. Cool crust completely on rack.

Chocolate-Peppermint Crunch Ice-Cream Pie

Feel free to experiment with the ice cream in this pie. Almost any flavor of purchased ice cream—strawberry, coffee, dulce de leche—would be delicious. Note to busy cooks: The chocolate crunch topping will keep for a week in the freezer. The pie must freeze overnight, so begin preparing it a day ahead.
10 to 12 servings

6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped