Miscellaneous Chocolate

What a way for hubby to spend his vacation

practicing social-distancing, moving heavy appliances, and watching rain fall from the sky.

So to make the week special there have been plenty of home cooked meals, and treats, plenty of chocolate treats.

The brownies are an old standby.

The recipe is in the sidebar.  Unfortunately, this week there seems to be a definite shortage of eggs at the grocery store, so that creativity and egg free recipes are a bit more necessary.

Enter, black bottom canolli pie.

Black Bottom Canolli Pie

Ingredients:

One prepared chocolate crumb crust, store-bought works fine.  (If you make your own, you may need to increase the amount of filling, because store bought crusts tend to come in smaller pans.)

1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix

  (finished mix normally uses 2 cups milk)

1/4 cup Dutch Processed Cocoa

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 pound container Ricotta cheese

  (divided between bottom & top layers, see below)

1/2 cup whipping cream

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice

zest of 1 fresh lemon, chopped very finely

a few handfuls of mini-chocolate chips or shaved dark chocolate for garnish

Bottom Layer:

1 package instant chocolate pudding mix

1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa

   (Callebaut can be purchased in bulk online,

   Hersheys is a bit too alkalized for my liking - to each his own.)

 Sift dry ingredients and mix together before whisking in

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

 When fairly thick add approx.

1/2 cup ricotta cheese from a 1pound (16 oz) container

 Whisk until smooth and spread evenly over bottom of crust, chill.

Top Layer:

1/2 Cup heavy whipping cream, whisked until soft peaks form

3/4 Cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Allspice

Sift dry ingredients & mix to eliminate lumps before adding to the whipped cream.  Whisk further until stiff peaks form.

Zest of 1 lemon, chopped very finely

Fold in the lemon zest and the remaining Ricotta Cheese from the 1# container and stir till smooth.

Put on top of bottom layer and sprinkle with mini-chocolate chips or shaved dark chocolate.

Chill for a few hours before serving.  Top layer is fairly soft.  If a less fluffy consistency is desired, reduce the amount of whipping cream &/or add unflavored gelatin to maintain body.