Chocolate-Ricotta Icebox Cake – Heather Pace

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

•9-inch round springform pan

•Non-stick cooking spray

•Waxed paper

•14 ounces semisweet chocolate (do not use chips)

•2 containers (15 ounces each) part-skim ricotta cheese, room temperature (I bought a 32 ounce size container and eyeballed 30 ounces.)

•3/4 cup heavy cream

•1 package (9 ounces) chocolate wafers (about 44 cookies)

 

 

WHAT TO DO

1)      Prepare pan: Remove sides from the spring form pan.  Place sheet of waxed paper over bottom, leaving an overhang; lock sides onto bottom, firmly securing paper.  Spray inside of pan with cooking spray; line sides with a strip of waxed paper 28 inches long and 4 inches wide.

 

2)      Make chocolate-ricotta mixture: Break 12 ounces of chocolate into pieces.  Place in a heatproof medium bowl set over, not in, a pan of simmering water.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until chocolate has melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

 

3)      In a food processor, (I used a combination of a hand mixer and a whisk because I don’t have a food processor) blend ricotta until very smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl.  Add warm chocolate; blend until smooth.  In a large bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold in chocolate-ricotta mixture.

 

4)      Assemble cake: Arrange half the cookies in an overlapping pattern to cover the bottom of the pan.  Spoon half the chocolate-ricotta mixture on top of cookies; smooth top.  Cover with remaining cookies; top with remaining chocolate-ricotta mixture, and smooth top.  Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.

 

5)      Before serving, release sides of pan and remove waxed paper from sides.  Using bottom piece of waxed paper, pull cake onto a platter; with a metal spatula, lift cake and remove waxed paper.  Using a vegetable peeler, shave remaining 2 ounces chocolate over top of cake.  With a knife dipped in hot water, cut cake into 10 slices (wipe off knife, and dip in hot water after each slice).

Easy Oreo Truffles – Ky Stucki

1 pkg. (1 lb., 2 oz.) OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

CRUSH 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter.

DIP balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

Flourless Chocolate Cake – Janae Shearer

6 T. unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

6 eggs whites

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Butter 9-inch spring form pan.  Place butter and chocolate chips in a large bowl, microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time until melted.  Cool slightly.  Whisk yolks into chocolate.  In another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks.  Gradually add sugar, beat until stiff and glossy.  Whisk  1/4 of whites into chocolate mixture, gently fold mixture into remaining whites, pour into pan.  Bake at 275 degrees until cake pulls away from sides of pan and is just set in the center.  About 45-50 min.  Cool completely on wire rack.  Serve dusted with powdered sugar.