Chocolate Amatller Barcelona Centenario
Alphonse Mucha
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La Belle Cuisine - More Chocolate Treats

   Fine Cuisine with Art Infusion

"To cook is to create. And to create well...is an act of integrity, and faith."

Chocolate and Orange Cups

"There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE."
Linda Grayson, "The Pickwick Papers"

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Oranges
Johann Wilhelm Weinmann
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Oranges & Painted Bird
Muench, Charles
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"I'd give up chocolate, but I'm no quitter!"
~ Unknown

Chocolate and Orange Cups
Guimas - Rio de Janeiro
Chocolatier August/September1994

Brazil nut-orange cups:
1/2 cup Brazil nuts (about 2 1/2 ounces)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
3 large egg whites
Chocolate orange pudding:
3 cups half-and-half
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons unsweetened, nonalkalized cocoa powder
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to the soft mound stage

Orange zests:
2 oranges
2 cups water, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grenadine syrup

Orange sauce:
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons Triple Sec

Garnish:
Orange segments

Make the Brazil nut-orange cups:
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the Brazil nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a large kitchen towel and spread out the nuts to cool, discarding the paper skins.
2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade, combine the peeled nuts and the sugar. Process for 30 to 45 seconds until finely ground. Add the flour and process for 30 seconds to combine. Add the melted butter and orange zest and process for 20 to 30 seconds. Add the egg whites and process for 20 to 30 seconds, until blended.
3. Because you must work quickly to prevent the cups from cooling and getting hard before you have molded them, bake only two cups at a time.  Have 2 or more 6-ounce custard cups ready to use as molds. Spoon two tablespoons of batter for each cup on each half of the baking sheet. Using the back of the spoon, spread the batter for each cup into a thin 6-inch circle. Be careful not to leave any bare spots or there will be holes in the cups.
4. Bake the cookies for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cookies are evenly golden and the edges are slightly browned. Remove the sheet from the oven. Using a metal spatula, loosen the edges of one of the cookies and lift it off the baking sheet. Quickly press the cookie into one of the custard cups to form the cup shape. Immediately repeat the shaping process with the second cookie. Cool the cookies completely, and then gently lift them out of the molds.
5. Repeat the above process with the remaining batter, making two cups at a time.  Store the cups in an airtight container at room temperature as soon as they are completely cool.

Make the chocolate orange pudding:
6. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the half-and-half, cornstarch, and cocoa powder until smooth.  Whisk in the eggs and the yolks until blended.
7. In a heavy, medium, noncorrosive saucepan, combine the remaining half-and-half, sugar, salt and orange zest. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles form around the side of the pan. Gradually whisk one cup of the hot half-and-half mixture into the cornstarch/egg mixture until blended. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan. Continue cooking over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture starts to form bubbles. Continue stirring and allow the mixture to boil for 2 minutes.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and gently stir in the chopped chocolate
until smooth. Strain the pudding through a sieve into a bowl. Stir in the
vanilla extract. Cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate until well chilled, about 3 hours.

Make the candied orange zests:
9. With a vegetable peeler, remove only the outer orange part of the rind.  Reserve the oranges for the segments. Stack 2 or 3 of the strips together and using a large knife, cut into thin julienne strips 1/16-inch wide. Place the julienne strips in a small noncorrosive saucepan with 1 3/4 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour off the water and rinse the julienned zests with fresh water. Add the sugar, grenadine and the remaining 1/4 cup water to the pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the zests and syrup to a small bowl and allow to cool.

Segment the orange:
10. Take the dezested oranges and using a paring knife, remove the white pith by holding the fruit in one hand and cutting down to the flesh and rotating the orange to make a continuous strip. Over a medium bowl, remove each segment by cutting with the paring knife right down to the core, as close to the membrane as possible. Let the segments drop onto a plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Make the orange sauce:
11. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Set aside. In a medium noncorrosive saucepan, combine the orange juice and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the dissolved cornstarch. Return to the heat and bring to a boil. Cook for 30 seconds until clear. Strain the sauce into a small bowl set in a larger bowl filled with ice water. Stir occasionally to cool. Stir in the Triple Sec. Refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Assemble the cups:
12. Whisk the pudding until smooth. Gently fold in the whipped cream.
Using a spoon, place 2/3 of a cup of chocolate pudding into 12 of the
cookie cups.  Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the orange sauce onto 6 dessert plates. Arrange 4 orange segments on the sauce and garnish with the
grenadine orange zests. Place 2 of the filled cookie cups on the plate at
the last moment before serving.