Bottega - Michael Chiarello [86]
Center a slice of cake on each dessert plate. On one side, spoon 1 or 2 poached figs; on the other side dollop some mascarpone crème and top the crème with a sprinkling of frosted almonds. Drizzle the reduced poaching liquid over the figs.
CHEF’S NOTE: Whenever we scrape the seeds from a vanilla bean, we save the empty bean pod. Submerge the pods in your sugar bin to infuse your morning coffee with a hint of vanilla flavor. Then, when you need an empty pod for a recipe like this one, just pull it from the sugar.
Where’s That Prize Money Going?
Competing on Top Chef Masters was a blast, but an even bigger pleasure is talking to Maria Criscione Stel, Clinic Ole’s development director, about how the prize money helps the clinic.
“Because of the recent California budget cuts and the elimination of some health programs, the funds from donations such as your prize money let us continue operating even in this tough economy,” Maria says. “Clinic Ole provided nearly 68,000 patient visits last year, and that number keeps growing.”
More than 50 percent of the folks who come to Clinic Ole work in wineries, vineyards, and restaurant kitchens, but Maria has seen the demographics change as middle-class families have lost medical insurance coverage and have come to rely on health-care providers at Clinic Ole.
Maria says, “There were 4,100 jobs lost in Napa County last year, and only 100 of those were farming jobs. Because Clinic Ole doesn’t turn people away when they have no insurance, we see more people coming to us for affordable health care. In the past six months alone, we’ve seen 2,500 new patients. Without funds like the Top Chef money, grants, and other donations,” Maria says, “we’d be in big trouble.” From immunizations to diabetes education, the clinic makes a big difference for people sometimes shut out of the traditional health-care system.
Molten Chocolate Cakes with Hazelnut Crème Anglaise
SERVES 8 TO 12
Just about every single restaurant in the United States had a molten chocolate cake on its dessert menu throughout the 1990s. The last thing I wanted at Bottega was another molten cake. But the first thing most customers want for dessert is warm chocolate, and who am I to say no? So we figured out how to add a little drama to this much-loved classic. We cook these in ring molds lined with parchment and remove the paper at the table. We pour on the anglaise so it looks like lava cascading down a volcano, and then we finish with chunks of hazelnut croccante around the plate. At home, you can bake the cakes in ring molds or ovenproof coffee cups. If you want a simpler option to the croccante, try toasting 4 table-spoons of cacao nibs in your oven for a few minutes and use those instead.
I like the double-nut flavor here: almond with the cake and hazelnut with the anglaise. You have two options for making the cake. The first is to use almond flour, which makes a smoother batter and finer cake. If you want to make this the old-school Italian way, in place of the almond flour, toast and grind your own almonds. Either way, this is a great chocolate cake.
The chocolate tartufi that are baked into the cake’s center can be made ahead and kept frozen for up to 2 months, so molten cake is always just a few steps away. This nut anglaise method works with any nut, so you can infuse the cream with the flavors you like.
Wine Pairing: Marsala
HAZELNUT CRÈME ANGLAISE
1½ cups (6 ounces) hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and chopped (see Chef’s Note)
1½ cups heavy cream
1½ cups whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
Pinch of kosher salt
CHOCOLATE TARTUFI
1¼ cups heavy cream
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (58 to 66 percent