Wine Down Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! In light of the upcoming romantic holiday, I wanted to share a few healthy chocolate dessert recipes you can make for that special someone. And what pairs better with dessert than wine?  Nothing. Below are a few dessert recipes plus wine pairings to make your Valentine's Days extra sweet this year. Try these recipes tonight or next week and impress friends or your significant other!


Wine and Chocolate:
Since chocolates have different flavors (some bitter, acidic, or fruity) look for wines that match: fruity, intense wines like Zinfandels or rich red blends. Carbernet Sauvignon works has a sharp hint of tannin that can taste harsh and astringent when you pair it with chocolate, (especially if the chocolate is quite sweet).  Merlot, on the other hand, tends to have softer, rounder tannins under its cocoa and mocha layers; offering a better partner to chocolate.

Tips for pairing:
• The chocolate shouldn't be sweeter than the wine
• The darker the chocolate, the more likely it will be to taste good with red wine (partly because chocolate with a higher percentage of cacao has less sugar).
• The darker chocolates, with deep-roasted flavors, pair well with wines with dark, toasty notes themselves.
• Port-style and sweet late-harvest reds tend to be the best matches for chocolate desserts



Fallen Chocolate Cake with Cherry Red Wine Sauce

*Suggested Wine Pairing:  
Ruby Port Wine

• When it comes to rich, decadent chocolate desserts—don’t try to pair them with a table wine.  Instead, pour a sweet dessert wine. Ruby port, which is sweet and full of berry flavors but is also firm and powerful, is a classic match for chocolate.

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup kosher red wine
• 1 pound frozen pitted unsweetened cherries

Cake:

• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 large egg whites

Preparation

1. To prepare sauce, combine the first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 2 cups (about 30 minutes). Chill.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. To prepare cake, place pistachios in a food processor; process until finely ground. Sprinkle ground pistachios over bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray.
4. Combine 1 cup sugar and water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate and salt, stirring until chocolate melts. Add cocoa, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in extracts.
5. Beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-fourth of egg white mixture into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out nearly clean. Cool to room temperature; run a knife around outside edge. Serve with sauce.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 262  Fat: 6.6g  Saturated fat: 2.3g   Protein: 5.5g    Carbohydrate: 46.2g   

Vanilla Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Mulled Wine Sauce
*Suggested Wine Pairing:

Ingredients 

• 1 cup cabernet sauvignon or other dry red wine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 sachet Mulling Spice Blend
• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa
• 1/2 cup light-colored corn syrup
• 1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped

Preparation

1. 1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes. Discard sachet. Add cocoa and corn syrup, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Simmer 2 minutes; remove from heat. Add chocolate, stirring until chocolate melts. Cool to  room temperature.
2. Serve over 1/2 cup lowfat vanilla ice cream   

Nutritional Information

(*Does not include ice cream)

Amount per serving: 2 tablespoons

• Calories: 80       Fat: 1.1g     Saturated fat: 0.6g       Protein: 0.7g    Carbohydrate: 16.8g       

Chocolate-Frangelico Fondue
*Suggested Wine Pairing:
 Champagne or Sparkling Wine

• Italian sparkling wine is lightly sweet with appealing raspberry fruit notes, and goes great with chocolate of all types. Plus, what pairs better with strawberries than champagne?

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons Frangelico (hazelnut-flavored liqueur)
• 4 cups (1-inch) cubed angel food cake
• 2 cups quartered small strawberries

Preparation

1. 1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan; cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until smooth, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar and syrup. Cook 10 minutes or until mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Stir in liqueur. Pour into a fondue pot. Keep warm over low flame. Serve with cake and strawberries.

Nutritional Information

Yield: Serves 8

Serving size: 1/2 cup cake, 1/4 cup strawberries, and about 3 1/2 tablespoons fondue

• Calories: 319      Fat: 9.4g        Saturated fat: 5.8g    Protein: 3.9g   Carbohydrate: 57.5g

 

Bourbon-Caramel Truffles

*Suggested Wine Pairing:
Zinfandel or Syrah

• For dark, bittersweet chocolate, pair with a rich, darker wine.  Milk chocolate pairs better with lighter wines like Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc. Tip: the wine should be at least as sweet, if not a touch sweeter, than the chocolate you are serving it with

Ingredients

 

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons evaporated whole milk
• 1 tablespoon golden cane syrup (such as Lyle's Golden Syrup)
• Dash of salt
• 1 tablespoon bourbon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 3/4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

Preparation

1. 1. Combine brown sugar, milk, cane syrup, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Stir in bourbon and vanilla extract. Add chocolates; let stand 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Pour into a shallow dish; cover and chill 4 hours. Heat a tablespoon measure with hot water; pat dry. Scoop chocolate mixture with spoon; dip in cocoa. Roll into balls. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving: 1 truffle

• Calories: 60   Fat: 2.7g       Saturated fat: 1.6g        Protein: 0.8g         Carbohydrate: 8g