Colonial Williamsburg’s Garden Tour and Tasting series gives you an inside look at how our chefs use the produce from our vegetable and herb gardens to create delicious recipes of both the sweet and savory kind.
I’m going to start this one by stating how much I love chocolate. Whenever I look at a dessert menu, my eyes are immediately drawn to the word “chocolate.” What chocolate items are available? My first choice in ice cream flavor is always chocolate followed by anything else that has chocolate in it. I also love coffee-flavored ice cream, and as I learned from Chef Anthony Frank in the latest Taste Studio event, Spring into Chocolate, the coffee bean and cacao bean are sisters.
As part of the Garden Tour and Tasting series, the event began at the Taste Studio, where I took a look at the spread of deliciousness before settling in my seat. I knew this was going to be a great one. You can’t go wrong with chocolate, after all! Chef Anthony greeted everyone and let us know we’d be starting the event with a quick walk to the garden behind King’s Arms Tavern to learn about some of the plants the chefs have been growing. This season, they are experimenting with different types of lettuces, onions, and herbs among other things. Chef Anthony was going to be using two herbs from the garden in the session. Chocolate and herbs? Oh, yeah! Just wait until you find out how he combined the two. And you can make these yourself at home, the recipes are all included at the end of this post.
Did you know it’s only ice cream if it has egg yolks and cream in it? Otherwise it’s just ice milk. This recipe starts off with combining egg yolks, vanilla, and sugar in a bowl while cream is heating in a pot. Once that cream simmers, it’s tempered into the yolk-sugar mixture and put back on the heat. You must constantly stir this and keep an eye on it until it’s thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. After all of the other ingredients are added and the mixture has cooled, you place it in an ice cream machine until it’s done. Then, you scoop it on a thyme shortbread cookie and devour it. After tasting this incredible creation, I found I liked ice milk more than ice cream, only because of the texture and richness. The ice cream was delicious, though! The best part? Those thyme shortbread cookies that were out of this world. I could have inhaled an entire box of them if given the option.
Next, Chef Anthony whipped up a chocolate mousse. And I mean whipped up. Lots of elbow grease goes into making the mousse, which begins by whisking egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a metal bowl and adding the mixture to warm cream (just as we did with the chocolate ice cream base). Once the custard is ready, the mixture is strained and added to melted chocolate on a double boiler. Get your whisk ready to do some work, because while the chocolate mixture cools, it’s time to make your own whipped cream. Fold the two together and voila! Chocolate mousse.
This was was also delicious, because it combines two loves of mine—chocolate and whipped cream. And it was served with an incredible lavender tea cookie that was equally delicious.
I love American Heritage Chocolate! It’s dark with just enough spice to take it over the top and combining it with some fruit in a tart shell is out of this world. This one might have been my favorite of the three, aside from the thyme shortbread cookies. In fact, if this crust had been made of those cookies, I may have fainted!
American Heritage Chocolate is available online or in our stores.
- 1 1/2 cup half & half
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces dark chocolate (Colonial Williamsburg uses 58% to 68% dark chocolate)
- salt to taste
- Combine the half & half and cream in a pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it simmers
- Place egg yolks, vanilla, and sugar in a mixing bowl and temper the hot liquid into the mixture slowly
- Put the tempered mixture back into the sauce pot over low heat, continually stirring until it thickens to coat the back of the spoon, about 6 - 7 minutes or until it reaches 160 degrees
- Pour custard over the chocolate. Stir until blended.
- Taste and add salt if needed
- Place the mixing bowl on an ice bath to cool
- Place in refrigerator for 24 hours
- Put in ice cream machine and let it work
- Put in freezer for two hours
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped (or any other herb)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup pastry flour
- 1 cup bread flour
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Using an electric tabletop mixer with paddle attachment, slowly cream the powdered sugar, butter, and thyme
- Add the egg yolk and continue to paddle, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides
- Add the two flours; starch; and vanilla, and continue to slowly paddle until fully incorporated
- Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1/4 to 1/2 inch depending on preference. Cut into desired shape and place on a greased baking sheet
- Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 13 minutes until light and set-only the bottom should color. Do not worry if the cookies seem loose when they come out, they will firm up as they cool
- 2 cups heavy cream (divided)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 7 ounces milk chocolate
- 4 egg yolks
- Heat 3/4 cup of the heavy cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot
- Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well
- Add hot cream in a slow stream to the mixture, whisking until combined
- Transfer mixture to a saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly until it registers 160 degrees on a thermometer
- Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water
- Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth and then cool
- As mixture cools, beat the remaining 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream in a bowl until it just holds stiff peaks
- Whisk 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate custard to lighten
- Fold in remaining cream gently but thoroughly
- Scoop mousse into 8 6-ounce glasses and chill covered for at least 6 hours
- Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 1 tablespoon lavender buds, chopped
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- Cream the powered sugar, butter, and chopped lavender buds until the mixture is light and fluffy
- Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix to combine
- Sift the flour and cornstarch and add to the mixture, stirring enough to combine. Do not overwork the dough
- Roll and cut into desired shapes
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 13 minutes
- For the tart dough:
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- For the ganache:
- 9 ounces American Heritage chocolate
- 7 ounces couverture chocolate (may need to purchase at a specialty store or online)
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons Creme de Cocoa
- 1 pint raspberries (or berry of choice)
- In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy
- Slowly add egg and cream, scraping sides and mixing until smooth
- Separately, combine and sift dry ingredients
- Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until just combined
- Scrape dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a disc. Wrap tightly and allow to chill for at least one hour
- On a floured surface, roll to approximately 1/8 of an inch in a 13-inch circle and press into a 10-inch fluted tart pan
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool
- Place chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a medium bowl
- In a small sauce pan, heat cream to a scald
- Pour hot cream over chocolate mixture and allow to sit for a few minutes
- Gently stir the mixture until it comes together. It should be shiny and smooth
- Stir in the Creme de Cocoa until smooth
- Place the raspberries into the crust
- Pour the ganache over the raspberries and refrigerate until the filling is set
- Using a hot knife, cut into 12 slices and serve
I hope you have a chance to try all of these recipes and let us know which one is your favorite! There are lots of other cooking demonstrations in the Garden Tour and Tasting series coming up. Make sure to bookmark this page to purchase tickets and add them to your calendar. Hope to see you there!
verdil says
I do not agree
http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2016/09/20/bake-for-good-2/
- Versie
Terri Brown says
Could you use dark chocolate in the mousse or would that not work?
Thanks!
Barb Vath says
This all sounds wonderful, thank you. I’m having guests soon and plan to treat them to these! Thank you again.
Melissa DeMarchi says
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Cookies sounds terrific. Can I make them with gluten-free flour?
Ms. Harlow, we were finally able to catch up with Chef Anthony who replied “Yes, you can make these cookies with gluten-free flour.” Thank you for writing!
These recipes look amazing but are they at all based on 18th century receipts?
Dear, Ruth
No ma’am. These are all 21st-century recipes designed by the chefs at the Williamsburg Lodge. However, one of the ingredients in the Raspberry Torte is American Heritage Chocolate. AHC is made by MARS. The makers partnered with us and created a chocolate based off a recipe from 1750 so it uses ingredients that would have been available in the 18th century. We sell American Heritage Chocolate in many of our stores and online. Here’s a link: http://bit.ly/24oZID1
Jess