To make Chocolate Cream (Pennsylvania Housewife p156-157) Recipe (See Bibliography)
Original Recipe
Take four ounces of chocolate, more or less, according as you would have your dish in bigness, grate it and boil it in a pint of cream, then mill it very well with a chocolate stick; take the yolks of two eggs and beat them very well, leaving out the strain, put to them three or four spoonfuls of cream, mix them all together, set it on the fire, and keep stirring it till it thicken, but do not let it boil; you must sweeten it to your taste, and keep stirring it till it be cold, so put it into your glasses or china dishes, which you please. Elizabeth Moxon, 1769, p.116
Notes
It takes about 2 hours of constant stirring, etc., to produce this dish. The cook considers it more than worth the time and effort.
You may wish to use half heavy whipping cream and half light cream in this dish.
The chocolate must be grated as fine as possible. You may also chop it finely in a trencher with a rocking knife.
The "chocolate stick" is a special tool that can be purchased at gourmet kitchen shops. It has a cut or carved circular piece attached to the bottom of a handle about 9 inches long. It is used to froth chocolate by rolling the handle back and forth between the palms of the hands to agitate the chocolate. It is called a chocolate mill today.
Ingredients
1/4 pound bitter chocolate, in bar or chunk
3 cups cream (see not above)
2 eggs
sugar to taste
Equipment
grater & bowl OR trencher & rocking knife
small bowl
well tinned copper saucepan & trivet
10 to shrub glasses OR small china dishes
wooden spoon
measuring cup
chocolate mill (see note above)
Procedure
After chocolate has been reduced to fine bits, put it into the saucepan with 2 cups of cream; stir well.
Set over gentle heat and stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil; be sure it doesn't scorch.
Remove saucepan from heat; mill thoroughly and carefully with chocolate mill, and let cool.
Stir mixture fairly frequently so it stays smooth and cools evenly.
While it is cooling, separate eggs; discard whites (or use them in a separate dish), and put yolks into bowl. Add 3 or 4 spoonfuls of cream and mix well.
When the chocolate mixture is only slightly warmer than room temperature, mix in the yolks and cream. If chocolate mixture is too hot, it will curdle the yolks which will make the cream lumpy.
Return saucepan to trivet and heat, stirring constantly until it is as thick as you wish. Remove saucepan from heat and add sugar, a spoonful at a time, until it is as sweet as you like it, while continuing to stir.
Continue stirring until mixture has cooled to room temperature.
Divide mixture among glasses or china dishes; it is extremely rich, so keep servings small.
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