Fruit goes with it.
Nuts go with it.
Even chiles go with it.
Heck, just about everything pairs well with it!
Of course I am speaking about C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E.
Chocolate-Cherry Parfaits with Mascarpone Cream (recipe inspired from Cooking Light)
Ingredients:
⅓ cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
2 ½ cups fat-free milk
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate chips
½ cup mascarpone cheese
½ cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. rose water (optional)
red food coloring (optional)
½ cup frozen cherries, thawed
course finishing sugar (optional)
Directions:
- Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl stirring well.
- Combine ½ cup milk and egg yolks in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk
- Heat remaining 2 cups milk in a medium saucepan until tiny bubbles form (do not let boil).
- Slowly stir egg mixture into sugar mixture.
- Gradually add half hot milk to egg/sugar mixture constantly stirring with a whisk.
- Add this hot milk/egg/sugar mixture to the rest of the hot milk in pan. Bring to a boil.
- Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly with whisk (learn from my impatience- this step is important to get pudding to set up). Remove from heat.
- Add vanilla and chocolate, stir until chocolate melts.
- Spoon pudding into individual containers, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
- To make Mascarpone Cream: In a medium bowl, blend together the mascarpone, cream, sugar, rose water (optional) and food coloring (optional) until soft peaks form.
- To bring it all together: spoon cream over chilled chocolate puddings, top with thawed cherries and sprinkle with decorative sugar (optional).