It’s not always easy to create a chocolate treat without using milk, but leave it to Alton Brown to find a way! The flickr user who took the picture above decorated hers with crushed cookies, melted chocolate and chocolate-covered espresso beans. Yum!

Alton’s Moo-Free Chocolate Pie

2 cups chocolate chips,
1/3 cup coffee liqueur
1 block silken tofu
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1 prepared chocolate wafer crust

Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Melt the chocolate and coffee liqueur in the bowl. Stir in vanilla.

Combine the tofu, chocolate mixture, and honey in the blender jar. Liquefy until smooth.

Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the filling is set.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

Yesterday was National Chocolate Fudge Day, and oddly enough I came in a day late last month with Nutty Fudge Day too!

Below is another recipe from Alton Brown. Alton rarely lets me down and this is one of only two fudge recipes that have worked for me and comes out consistently good every time I make it.

Chocolate Fudge

2 3/4 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped, roasted nuts, optional

Grease an 8 by 8-inch pan with butter. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, chocolate, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter, half-and-half, and corn syrup. Over medium heat, stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and boil for 3 minutes.

Remove the cover and attach a candy thermometer to the pot. Cook until the thermometer reads 234 degrees F. Remove from the heat and add the remaining butter. Do not stir. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes or until it drops to 130 degrees F. Add vanilla and nuts, if desired, and mix until well-blended and the shiny texture becomes matte. Pour into the prepared pan.

Let sit in cool dry area until firm. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

I saw Alton Brown make the banana ice cream base for this on Good Eats last week and since I had bananas already in the freezer (being saved for banana bread) I decided to give it a shot (the banana bread cane wait for another day!). I like that it doesn’t use eggs but still turns out nice and creamy!

This is a plan ahead recipe – the bananas need to be frozen at least overnight, and the finished ice cream needs to go in the freezer for at least three hours before serving.

I’m not big on bananas necessarily – I like them fresh or in bread, but I don’t care much for processed or banana-flavored stuff. This ice cream is amazing though, and with a little chocolate syrup my kids says it tastes exactly like a banana split!

Banana Ice Cream with Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

6 (approximately 2 1/4 pounds) ripe bananas
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 vanilla bean, scraped (or use a teaspoon or so of vanilla extract)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, chilled
1/4 cup chopped chocolate chips, chilled

Place bananas in freezer and freeze overnight. Remove bananas from freezer and allow to thaw for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Peel bananas (they’ll be mushy!) and place in food processor along with the lemon juice and process for 10 to 15 seconds. Add corn syrup and vanilla bean seeds and turn processor on. Slowly pour in the heavy cream. Process until smooth.

Chill mixture in refrigerator until it reaches 40 degrees. Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions (I find it easier to work with if the ice cream maker is turned on before pouring the ice cream mixture in, otherwise it could seize up on you). During the last two minutes or so of processing add the walnuts and chocolate chips.

Place mixture in an airtight container and freeze for 3 to 6 hours before serving.

…..

It gets really hard in the freezer so let it sit out on the counter for about ten minutes before you attempt to scoop.

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

I made some of Alton Brown’s chocolate waffles on Saturday for the kids. I’m not sure what I did wrong but the batter ended up way too runny and the first waffle I tried squeezed right out of the iron. I added some more flour which thickened it up to where it looked like his batter on his waffle episode (which had been on the day or so before). They cooked up fine after that but it bugs me that I may have messed up somewhere – I even weighed everything out like he says to!

They weren’t very chocolatey, either. In fact, the only parts that tasted like more than a regular waffles were the chocolate chips, though it was better with some syrup. Alton has never failed me before so I may give them one more shot, and if it ends up the same way I’ll stick with my regular plain waffles with chocolate chips!

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

Brownies, like many other great inventions, are said to have been the mistake of a careless cook who forgot to put baking powder into a chocolate cake recipe. She ended up with what we now call brownies, and thank heavens she didn’t just toss the pan out without trying them first!

I was watching Food Network last night and caught Alton Brown doing an episode on cocoa, which included him to making the brownies below. I’ve made these before (but didn’t get pictures of them) and they’re delicious!

Cocoa Brownies

Soft butter, for greasing the pan
Flour, for dusting the buttered pan
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, sifted
8 ounces melted butter
11/4 cups cocoa, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it’s done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it’s mostly cool.

Post from: Chocolate Bytes