Fresh strawberries, cherries, marshmallows and nuts, drenched in yummy rich Chocolate Kahlua Dipping Sauce - are you salivating yet?
I whipped up the best Chocolate Kahlua Sauce two weeks ago, with hardly a thought about how I did it. Chocolate chips nuked with some milk, then flavored with the liquor, nothing easier. Until I tried to repeat performance a week later, only to have the chocolate seize up, not only in one batch but in the second batch as well! I managed to soften the mess with additional liquids, but the sauce was grainy and dull, not the satiny smooth dip I'd envisioned. It's still in the fridge; maybe I'll roll it into balls and pretend I meant to make truffles.
So I pulled out all the cookbooks and scanned endless websites on chocolate, only to learn what I already knew: when chocolate is melting, the slightest drop of water or whiff of steam can make it "seize up." So why didn't that happen to the original sauce? Why do some recipes call for melting the chocolate with butter and cream, both of which contain water, while others insist on using only shortening or oil for melting? Why do some types of chocolate seize up while others melt like butter on a barbeque?
There's some sort of chemistry here that I'm missing. Suggestions are encouraged. Please.
Meanwhile, I've come up with a different Chocolate Kahlua Dipping Sauce that's pretty darn good. Because it has no sugar other than what's in the chocolate chips, it is a bitter-sweet sauce, designed for adult tasted before the liqueur even joins the mix. It starts out thin, then thickens as it cools. If left overnight in the refrigerator, you'll need to scoop it with a spoon. Why not put some in a nice jar along with some marshmallows, as a gift for that good friend who just lost those 10 lbs? (heh, heh.) Perfectly satisfying.
Recipe: Chocolate Kahlua Dipping Sauce
This is chocolate for adult tastes. To make a children's version, omit the liquor and stir a cup of miniature marshmallows into the hot milk mixture.
1 c. milk (almond or soy milk are fine.)
2 Tbs. butter or canola oil
2 Tbs. Kahlua or other liqueur
1 3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
dash of salt
Combine milk and butter or oil in a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Heat 1 -2 minutes, until steaming but not boiling. Stir in liqueur, chocolates and dash of salt until dissolved and sauce is smooth. Chill several hours.
Serve with fresh berries, cut-up fruit, marshmallows, large nuts or any other treat that can be dunked into chocolate.