Black Forest Soup

Black Forest Soup

It is a relatively quiet day here in Killington. Some unexpected summer rain showers are blanketing the area. With the heat of last week, however, a little bit of rain is a good thing. But the quiet is allowing me to catch up on a little housekeeping.

Last weekend at our wine dinner, we served a special concoction we called "Black Forest Soup". It is a combination of a chilled Chocolate and black cherry soups. We have had several requests for the recipe... so here goes:

Black Forest Soup - A dessert
This is a combination of a Chilled Chocolate Soup and a Chilled Cherry Soup. Portioned to serve 8

Chocolate Soup - Makes about 16 oz
Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups Whole Milk
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
4 OZ Bittersweet Chocolate, Grated
1 Egg Yoke
1/3 cup Sugar
1/2 TSP Vanilla
1 OZ Creme de Cocoa

1. Using a double boiler, scald 1 cups of milk. Set aside
2. Over low heat, melt Chocolate with 1/2 cup of milk. To this mixture, add in the scalded milk, blending until mixed well.
3. Beat the egg yoke, sugar, and vanilla together until frothy and lemon colored. Add in the warm chocolate mixture, beating gently to mix completely. Return chocolate mixture to low heat.
4. Add in the Creme de Cocoa and Heavy Cream. Blend together over low heat until surface forms a foam, but do not boil. Set aside and chill until service.

Cherry Soup - Makes about 8 oz
Ingredients
1/2 lb. of cherries
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1/4 stick of cinnamon
1/4 lemon peel cut into strips
2 OZ Kirshwasser of Cherry Liquor

1. Wash and de-stem cherries. Remove pits and set aside.
2. Combine cherries, sugar and water. Heat to boiling point. Remove cherries. Set aside.
3. Crush the cherry pits with a nut cracker, mortar and pestle, or in a blender. Add them with the cinnamon stick and the lemon peel to the boiling liquid. Let boil for 5 minutes.
4. Put cherries in blender. Add liquor and puree. Return mixture to boiling liquid and simmer for 2 minutes to cook off alcohol.
5. Using a fine cheese cloth or a chinois, strain the mixture to remove solid matter and cool.

Serving preparation.
Just before serving, check consistency of each soup.
1. If the Chocolate soup requires thinning, place in a blender and add heavy cream. Stir until reaching desired consistency. The chocolate soup should have a consistency such that when you dip a spoon into it, the soup adheres in a solid film on the spoon.
2. If the Cherry soup requires thinning, stir in a small amount of water to reach desired consistency; If the Cherry soup requires thickening, reheat. Mix in a small amount of corn starch and water. Add to the warm cherry soup to thicken as desired. Re-chill.
3. Into a 3 oz shot glass, put in 1 oz of Cherry soup (use a squeeze bottle, or measuring cup with pouring spout to get soup into center of glass without coating the sides)
4. Float 2 oz of Chocolate Soup on top of the Cherry Soup by gently pouring down the side of the glass.
5. Garnish as desired. (We served this with a chocolate dipped cherry and a handmade chocolate truffle.)

Service note: if you do not want to float the two soups together (it makes a good presentation but it does take some patience), just before serving blend both soups together and serve as one. Also, if you find yourself with extra soup and you have an ice cream maker at home, you can use this soup to form the base of a dynamite chocolate-cherry ice cream!