Chocolate By Ghirardelli by Jason Licker

(This article appeared in the Summer 2020 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)

Sponsored by: Ghirardelli

This recipe embodies everything you want in a chocolate dessert. A rich and creamy chocolate cream with a soft, moist chocolate cake and an addition of addictive cocoa crumble makes this an explosion of pure Ghirardelli chocolate harmony. This dessert is almost like the ultimate chocolate candy bar with all of its dynamic textures. To round out this simple, yet decadent dessert, Ghirardelli’s salted caramel sauce gives it that salty accent to really bring out the chocolate flavor of both Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate & Cocoa Sweet Ground Powder and their Ghirardelli Queen Dark Chocolate Wafers. After all, is there really ever enough chocolate?

Yield: 6 servings

Special Equipment

• Silikomart Tourbillon”28″ Silicone Mold (28mL) – 6 forms
• Tourbillon “9” Silicone Mold (9mL) – 15 forms
• 1 standard size loaf pan
  

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Dark Chocolate Cream

• 115 g heavy cream
• 1 g salt
• 3 g gelatin (sliver grade) softened in ice water, excess water squeezed out
• 100 g Ghirardelli Queen Dark Chocolate Wafers

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the cream and salt to a boil. Add the bloomed gelatin and stir until dissolved. Pour the hot mixture over chocolate and blend with an immersion blender or whisk until you have achieved a uniform mixture. Pour the chocolate cream into the large and small molds and freeze overnight.
2. Remove the cream from the molds and reserve in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.
   

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Chocolate Cake

• 73 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 120 g brown sugar
• 88 g whole eggs
• 2 g vanilla extract
• 91 g all-purpose flour
• 2 g salt
• 5 g baking soda
• 91 g milk
• 65 g Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate & Cocoa Sweet Ground Powder
• 91 g mayonnaise

1. Beat the butter and brown sugar in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment for 5 minutes until the mixture is creamy.
2. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until blended. Alternately add the wet and dry ingredients and mix well until you have a uniform mixture. Scrape the batter into a parchment paper lined loaf pan and bake at 375˚F until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25-35 minutes.
3. Cool the cake completely.
   

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Chocolate Crumble:

• 70 g unsalted butter
• 50 g brown sugar
• 75 g all-purpose flour
• 37.5 g Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate & Cocoa Sweet Ground Powder
• 1 g salt

1. Mix everything together until crumbly and scatter onto a half sheet pan. Bake at 350˚F, tossing the crumble with a silicone spatula halfway through baking, until fully and crispy, 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.
2. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
   

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Chocolate Sauce

• 60 g heavy cream
• 70 g water
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 50 g Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate & Cocoa Sweet Ground Powder
• 25 g Ghirardelli Unsweetened Chocolate 100% Cacao Baking Bar, chopped

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the cream, water, sugar and cocoa powder to a boil.
2. Pour the hot liquid over the unsweetened chocolate in a small bowl and blend well with an immersion blender.
3. Strain the sauce with a fine sieve into a medium-sized bowl. Set aside to cool.

Refer to assembly.

Assembly

• Ghirardelli Sea Salt Caramel Sauce
• Raspberry powder

1. Randomly drizzle some chocolate and sea salt caramel sauce on a plate.
2. Arrange 1 of the large frozen 2 of the small frozen chocolate creams on the plate, as in the photo. The cream will defrost quite fast, so it is ok to keep it frozen. Alternately place chunks of the chocolate cake and some of the Chocolate Crumble around the cream. Sprinkle the raspberry powder on randomly on the dessert.