The Chimera

 

(me and this thing had words when it came time to plate)

AKA the Spinal Tap. Because it's cranked up to 11. Let's just jump right in with a layer-by-layer breakdown, starting form the ground up:

Layer 1: Chocolate chip cookie crust
Layer 2: Chocolate cheesecake
Layer 3: Chocolate ganache
Layer 4: Chocolate mousse

Garnished with chocolate shavings.

Truthfully, this thing is ridiculous. It's all of my favorite desserts crammed into one dish. It's too much chocolate. Who needs this much chocolate? I think I saw a tear in my husband's eye when he tasted this.

I'm not going to tell you that this is an easy or practical dessert (although the cheesecake layer is no bake). It's definitely a special occasion treat, and you're essentially making four different desserts. But if you pull it off, I swear people will build golden shrines in your honor.

The Chimera
(Serves a lot)

First, you're going to need a deep dish pie plate. This won't work in a wimpy everyday pie plate. It weighs as much as my firstborn as it is.

For the cookie crust:
3 c chocolate chip cookie crumbs (you can buy the cookies, but if you're going to do this, you might as well go all out and make some)
3 Tbsp butter (melted)

For the chocolate cheesecake:
2 1/2 packages of cream cheese (softened)
2/3 c sugar
1 c heavy whipping cream (whipped)
1 c cocoa powder

For the ganache:
2/3 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c heavy cream

For the mousse:
Slightly more than 2/3 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 c water (divided)
3 eggs yolks
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 c heavy whipping cream (whipped

Make the cookie crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (f). Mix the cookie crumbs and melted butter well. Press into the bottom and sides of the pie plate and bake 5 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

Make the chocolate cheesecake:
Beat cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa powder until light and smooth. Fold in the whipped cream. Pour over the cooled cookie crust and smooth it out (you want a level base for the next layer).

Make the ganache:
Put the chocolate chips in a bowl and set aside. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once it boils, remove immediately and pour over chocolate chips. Stir until blended well and smooth. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then pour over cheesecake layer. At this point, you'll need to keep the pie/monstrosity in the fridge when it's not being assembled.

Make the mousse:
Heat the chocolate, butter, and 1/4 cup of water in a double boiler until everything is melted and smooth. allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes. While that's cooling, whisk egg yolks, 1/4 cup of water, and sugar briskly over low heat for about a minute and a half, until the mixture reaches about 165 degrees. Whisk it in to the chocolate mixture and set in the fridge to cool for about 10 minutes (you want ti to be roughly room temperature). Carefully fold in the whipped cream, then pour over the ganache layer of the dessert, smoothing it out.

You can reserve some of the mousse (as I did) to pipe some decorations around the edges. You can also dust the top with cocoa powder or confectioner's sugar, or shave chocolate on top. You can also top with fresh berries. There's a lot you can do with this.

Let it set in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.

As large and absurd as this dessert is, it does not last long. Eat it while you can.

No-Bake Key Lime Cheesecake

So I'm a bit of a liar. This isn't exactly, completely no-bake. The crust is baked for 6 minutes. However, you could skip baking it if you want. I bake it only because I like a bit of crunch to it to contrast the creaminess of everything else, and because it holds up a little better (meaning it doesn't crumble away the second you stick a fork in it).

This takes about 30 minutes to make, but looks like it took a lot longer. I love that .

So some of you may be wondering why I put juice into the crust. It's because adding more than 1/2 c of juice to the filling throws off the ratio, making it too runny. However, you really want that extra juice for flavor (a good key lime pie is a tangy one). So I decided I'd compensate what I had to leave out of the filling by adding it to the crust. That in turn meant I had to use less butter than I normally would have (6 Tbsp). In the end, it all worked out perfectly.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, I imagine I'll be making this a lot more.


No-Bake Key Lime Cheesecake
(Makes 1 9" cheesecake)

For the crust:
1 c finely ground graham crackers (about 1 package. A food processor makes this simple)
4 Tbsp melted butter (1/2 stick)
2 Tbsp key lime or lime juice

For the filling:
12oz cream cheese (about a package and a half, softened)
1/2 c key lime or lime juice
1/2 c heavy whipping cream (whipped)
1/3 c white sugar (I actually used slightly less, so as not to negate the tanginess of the lime)
Lime wedges (optional, for garnish)

For the whipped cream:
1 c heavy whipping cream
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract


Make the crust: Preheat your oven to 350. Mix the graham crumbs and sugar, then slowly add the butter and juice (again, a food processor is great for this, but a whisk works just as well). Dump the mix into the middle of a standard pie plate (or pie tin, just not deep dish, unless you change the ingredient amounts accordingly). Make sure to get the crust as far up the sides as you can. Bakes for 6 minutes. Cool completely.

Make the filling: First, whip the cream (put the cream into a smaller mixing bowl and beat it on medium speed until it's stiff. Be careful not to over-beat, or it will break down). Set the bowl aside. In a larger mixing bowl beat the cream cheese, sugar, and lime juice until smooth and creamy. Carefully fold in the whipped cream.

Make the whipped cream topping: Beat the cream on medium until it's almost stiff. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue until stiff.

Put it all together:  Spoon the filling into the cooled pie crust and spread it out evenly. Use a pastry bag (or a Ziploc with a small snip of corner cut off) to pipe whipped cream on in the design of your choice. Put the pie in the freezer for 30 minutes (to do a quick-set), then cover with foil or a pie lid and put it in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Garnish with the lime wedges if you want (just do it after the freezer stage).

Airy Chocolate Mousse Pie

Alright, so the word "airy" is in the title. However, you should not take this to mean that this little charmer of a dessert is easy on the thighs. I can attest that it is not.

It's airy because most of the components are whipped into a delicate, delicious frenzy. I love that this looks like you labored over it most of the day, infusing every morsel with love. When in fact you threw it together quickly because, well, it's damn good.

The filling here is a rich chocolate mousse over a chocolate chip cookie crust, topped with freshly-whipped cream. Sounds like a pain, right?

Well, it's not, but you don't have to tell anyone else that.

For the crust, I used chocolate chip cookies I had made the previous day (yes, I actually have cookie leftovers because I make several dozen at a time). You could use store-bought cookies, or even substitute a graham cracker crust.


Airy Deep-Dish Chocolate Mousse Pie
(8-10 servings)

For the crust:
12 chocolate chip cookies
4 Tbsp butter (melted)

Use a food processor to turn your cookies into coarse crumbs (you could do fine crumbs, but I like to keep them coarse for the texture). Slowly add the melted butter until it's fully incorporated. Press this mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a deep-dish pie plate.


For the mousse:
3/4 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp butter  (not margarine)

3 egg yolks

2 Tbsp sugar

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

In a small bowl, whip the cream and set aside.

Heat the chocolate, butter, and half of the water in a double boiler until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes.

While it's cooling, whisk the egg yolks, the other half of the water, and the sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat for about 2 minutes, until it reaches 165 degrees. Take off of the heat and whisk in the chocolate mixture.

Allow it to cool to room temperature and then fold in the whipped cream with a large rubber spatula.

For the whipped cream:
1 c heavy whipping cream
Scant 1/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Using a whisk, or the whisk attachment on an electric mixer, whip the cream until it's nearly stiff. Add the sugar and vanilla and then continue whipping until stiff.

Put it all together:
Spread the mousse over the pie crust and top with whipped cream.

Finishing touches (optional): sift cocoa powder over the top (which I did), add chocolate shavings, and ring with fresh berries. Actually, there's a ton of options here.