I served up this rich chocolate soup at my Intimate Chocolate Affair party. This recipe is taken from the book by Maricel Presilla, called “The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural & Natural History of Cacao with Recipes”. The soup is silky, full of flavor and extremely rich.
The recipe is adapted by Mary Cech, the pastry chef who teaches at the Napa Valley branch of the Culinary Institute of America. Slightly modified version of Mary Cech’s version of the recipe, she calls for fresh bananas instead of caramelized and serves with honey-cocoa wafers. According to the recipe, the recipes makes 4 servings in standard sized bowls. I used little sipping cups as a starter appetizer and can serve 8-10 people.
CHOCOLATE-COCONUT SOUP
The text in red are my notes.
- 4 ounces Guittard chocolate ( I used 72% cacao Coucher du Soleil, Mary calls for 70% cacao Onyx), finely chopped.
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons coconut syrup (such as Monin or Torani)
- 2/3 cup sweet dessert wine, such as Beaumes-de-Venise, vin santo, or sweet sherry. (I used Il Santo Baroncini)
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Caramelized Bananas
- 1 banana
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
To make the soup, combine the chocolate and coconut milk in the top of a double boiler over simmering water and stir until the chocolate is melted. Add the coconut syrup, wine, butter, and sugar. Stir until the butter and sugar are smoothly dissolved.
To serve, instead of ladling into 4 bowls as Mary suggests, I used little sipping cups and served this as an appetizer. I find that the soup is extremely rich and having an entire bowl would be overwhelming.
To make the caramelized bananas, slice bananas into coins. In a small bowl, add sugar and bananas and coat well.
Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray and heat over medium high. Add the banana mixture.
Cook the bananas until light golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the bananas (if you smell them browning or see color in the pan, flip them right away).
Gently flip the bananas over to brown. This will take about 1 minutes.
Add soup to a cup and add bananas. Serve immediately.
