Ganache

Serves 10 CAKE Butter or margarine (for the pan) 1 cup water 3/4 cup sugar 9 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, cut up 18 ounces high-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped 6 eggs 1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Butter the parchment. Wrap three layers of heavy-duty foil around the outside of pan; bring the foil up to the rim. Bring a tea kettle of water to a boil.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen This is one variation of the truffle recipe developed by the MIT Lab for Chocolate Science. GANACHE 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 chai tea bags 2 cups white chocolate chips 1. Set up a double boiler with 2 to 3 inches of water in the bottom pot. Pour the cream in the top pot, and heat until it begins...

Makes 3 to 4 dozen This is one variation of the truffle recipe developed by the MIT Lab for Chocolate Science. GANACHE 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 chai tea bags 2 cups white chocolate chips 1. Set up a double boiler with 2 to 3 inches of water in the bottom pot. Pour the cream in the top pot, and heat until it begins...

Serves 10 CAKE Butter or margarine (for the pan) 1 cup water 3/4 cup sugar 9 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, cut up 18 ounces high-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped 6 eggs 1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Butter the parchment. Wrap three layers of heavy-duty foil around the outside of pan; bring the foil up to the rim. Bring a tea kettle of water to a boil.

"Kosher by Design Entertains" author Susie Fishbein makes this dense cake with semisweet chocolate, covered with chocolate ganache and a chocolate glaze. It's sprinkled with edible glitter (www.beryls.safeshopper.com). Serves 12. FOR THE CAKE Solid vegetable shortening (for the pan) 24 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut up 3/4 cup (1½ sticks) margarine 6 eggs, separated 2 tablespoons sugar 2 ...

KENT, Conn. -- If life is like a box of chocolates, as Forrest Gump's mother famously observed, then heaven must be like a box of chocolates from Belgique. Even the shop -- a bright yellow former carriage house at the junction of Routes 7 and 341 in this northwest Connecticut village -- looks as if it should be tied up with a satin bow. Pierre Gilissen , a Belgian chef, pâtissier , and chocolatier, cooked for the Dutch embassy in Washington before he and his wife, Susan, opened Belgique here in 2000.

Making Artisan Chocolates , By Andrew Garrison Shotts, Quarry Press, 176 pp., $24.99 Lust for chocolate, in all its forms, inevitably attains a fever pitch by Valentine's Day. But the buzz around artisan chocolate, with its exotic flavors and air of exclusivity, has been growing for at least a decade. Which February did you first notice that chocolate packaging was making the shift from red foil to satin black? When did you first realize that embossed sentiments and bows were giving way to a cryptic statistic: "55 percent cacao" or, a little more...

South Boston may be in the throes of gentrification, but some things never change. It's an annual rite of spring, more reliable than the first robin at the bird feeder: When Sullivan's at Castle Island starts serving its "trifecta" of hot dog, fries, and an ice cream cone, it's time for all South Boston to return to Southie's shore. Opening day last month proved too blustery for the otherwise obligatory stroll around Pleasure Bay, but neighborhood residents descended on the food bar like seagulls on a french fry. Two hardy souls in the parking lot were donning wet...

Failing to find a decent whoopie pie “that actually tasted like chocolate,’’ Alan Mons, and his wife, Julie Ganong, both in financial services at the time, decided to perfect their own version. They also wanted to avoid a dry whoopie pie, something all too common. So the couple blended three types of chocolate to create their cakes. Each week, Mons and Ganong make between 3,000 and 4,000 whoopie pies ($1.68 each or $20.16 for a baker’s dozen) to sell at Chococoa, their charmingly small shop in Newburyport, which opened two years ago. They offer chocolate cake with...

Makes 30 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces 3/4 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons bourbon 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed or natural cocoa powder 1. In a bowl, place the chopped chocolate....

Making Artisan Chocolates , By Andrew Garrison Shotts, Quarry Press, 176 pp., $24.99 Lust for chocolate, in all its forms, inevitably attains a fever pitch by Valentine's Day. But the buzz around artisan chocolate, with its exotic flavors and air of exclusivity, has been growing for at least a decade. Which February did you first notice that chocolate packaging was making the shift from red foil to satin black? When did you first realize that embossed sentiments and bows were giving way to a cryptic statistic: "55 percent cacao" or, a little more pricily, "72 percent cacao"?

KENT, Conn. -- If life is like a box of chocolates, as Forrest Gump's mother famously observed, then heaven must be like a box of chocolates from Belgique. Even the shop -- a bright yellow former carriage house at the junction of Routes 7 and 341 in this northwest Connecticut village -- looks as if it should be tied up with a satin bow. Pierre Gilissen , a Belgian chef, pâtissier , and chocolatier, cooked for the Dutch embassy in Washington before he and his wife, Susan, opened Belgique here in 2000.

"Kosher by Design Entertains" author Susie Fishbein makes this dense cake with semisweet chocolate, covered with chocolate ganache and a chocolate glaze. It's sprinkled with edible glitter (www.beryls.safeshopper.com). Serves 12. FOR THE CAKE Solid vegetable shortening (for the pan) 24 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut up 3/4 cup (1½ sticks) margarine 6 eggs, separated 2 ...

Old-fashioned doughnuts have their place, ditto glazed and jelly. But sometimes you crave a doughnut that does not look like what is on the racks at Dunkin’ Donuts. Savvy pastry chefs around town are turning the lowly staple into a gourmet experience, with or without the hole. Swissbäkers For the best doughnuts north of Boston, you must speak German. The Berliners ($1.75) from this all-natural European bakery are a healthier alternative to beignets. Made with bread dough and filled with chocolate ganache or preserves such as raspberry apricot, blueberry, and apple, they do not weigh you down.

Makes about 32 The thin, crisp, waffle-like cookies, which measure about 4 1/2-inches across, can be eaten plain, dusted with confectioners' sugar, or sandwiched with jam, chocolate ganache, nutella, or even ice cream. While the pizzelle are still warm they can be wrapped around a rod to form a tube shape and filled like cannoli. Other options for flavorings include almond extract, liqueur, citrus rind, or spices such as cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. You need a pizzelle iron to make these (a modern electric one will do)