Dried plum chocolate pavé
Chicago chef Gale Gand of Tru adds dried plums to her decadent chocolate desserts. Gand loves cooking with dried plums because these sweet, chewy nuggets of flavor add a delicious layer of fruitiness to her recipes.
Serves 8
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- No-stick cooking spray
- 1 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup (about 5 ounces) pitted dried plums
- 2 tablespoons Armagnac or Cognac (optional)
- Raspberry sauce (optional)
- Sweetened whipped cream (optional)
- Raspberries or sliced strawberries (optional)
- Mint sprigs (optional)
Directions
- Lightly coat 9 1/2 x 5 1/2-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Line bottom and sides with wax paper; set aside.
- In small saucepan, heat cream just to a boil.
- In food processor or blender, process hot cream, chocolate and dried plums until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Stir in Armagnac, if desired.
- Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or until firm.
- To serve, carefully unmold pavé onto cutting board and remove wax paper.
- Using a thin knife warmed in hot water, cut into 16 slices.
- On each serving plate, arrange two slices; garnish with raspberry sauce, whipped cream, berries and mint, if desired.
Raspberry Sauce
- Drain 1 package (10 ounces) thawed frozen raspberries in syrup, reserving syrup.
- In small saucepan, bring syrup, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon cornstarch to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Cool.
- Gently stir in reserved raspberries. (Makes 1 cup)
Recipe created by Gale Gand.
Nutritional information
- Calories: 415
- Cholesterol: 61 mg
- % of calories from fat: 69%
- Total fat: 32 g
- Sodium: 20 mg
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Potassium: 326 mg