2. Using a soup spoon, portion out 12 even balls, each half the size of a Ping-Pong ball. Roll each one between the palms of your hands to shape and smooth it into a round sphere.
3. Put the ground milk crumbs in a medium bowl. With latex gloves on, put 2 tablespoons of the white chocolate in the palm of your hand and roll each ball between your palms, coating it in a thin layer of melted chocolate; add more chocolate as needed.
4. Put 3 or 4 chocolate-covered balls at a time into the bowl of milk crumbs. Immediately toss them with the crumbs to coat, before the chocolate shell sets and no longer acts as a glue (if this happens, just coat the ball in another thin layer of melted chocolate).
5. Refrigerate for at least 5 minutes to fully set the chocolate shells before eating or storing. In an airtight container, the truffles will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge.
brownie pie
MAKES 1 (10-INCH) PIE; SERVES 8 TO 10
¾ recipe Graham Crust
[255 g (1½ cups)]
125 g 72% chocolate
[4½ ounces]
85 g butter
[6 tablespoons]
2 eggs
150 g sugar
[¾ cup]
40 g flour
[¼ cup]
25 g cocoa powder, preferably Valrhona
[3 tablespoons]
2 g kosher salt
[½ teaspoon]
110 g heavy cream
[½ cup]
You can decorate the pie with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar. To plate this pie with a VIP look, use a spoon or an offset spatula to smear a little Fudge Sauce in a circle toward the center of the pie and garnish a small outer circle with Chocolate Crumbs.
Warm the graham crust slightly in the microwave to make it easy to mold.
1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Dump 210 g (1¼ cups) graham crust into a 10-inch pie tin and set the remaining 45 g (¼ cup) to the side. With your fingers and the palms of your hands, press the crust firmly into the pie tin, covering the bottom and sides of the pan completely. Wrapped in plastic, the crust can be refrigerated or frozen for up to 2 weeks.
3. Combine the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and gently melt them together on low for 30 to 50 seconds. Use a heatproof spatula to stir them together, working until the mixture is glossy and smooth.
4. Combine the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip together on high for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy and pale yellow and has reached the ribbon state. (Detach your whisk, dunk it into the whipped eggs, and wave it back and forth like a pendulum: the mixture should form a thickened, silky ribbon that falls and then disappears into the batter.) If the mixture does not form ribbons, continue whipping on high as needed.
5. Replace the whisk with the paddle attachment. Dump the chocolate mixture into the eggs and briefly mix together on low, then increase the speed to medium and paddle the mixture for 1 minute, or until it is brown and completely homogenous. If there are any dark streaks of chocolate, paddle for a few seconds longer, or as needed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
6. Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and paddle on low speed for 45 to 60 seconds. There should be no clumps of dry ingredients. If there are any lumps, mix for an additional 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
7. Stream in the heavy cream on low speed, mixing for 30 to 45 seconds, just until the batter has loosened up a little and the white streaks of cream are fully mixed in. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
8. Detach the paddle and remove the bowl from the mixer. Gently fold in the 45 g (¼ cup) graham crust with a spatula. (These crumbs will add little bursts of flavor and texture into the pie filling.)
9. Grab a sheet pan and put your pie tin of graham crust on it. With a spatula, scrape the brownie batter into the graham shell. Bake for 25 minutes. The pie should puff slightly on the sides and develop a sugary crust on top. If the brownie pie is still liquid in the center and has not formed a crust, bake it for an additional 5 minutes or so.
10. Cool the pie on a rack. (You can speed up the cooling process by carefully transferring the pie to the fridge or freezer directly out of the oven if you’re in a hurry.) Wrapped in plastic, the pie will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
grasshopper pie
MAKES 1 (10-INCH) PIE; SERVES 8 TO 10
Our grasshopper pie is like a brownie pie that got drunk on crème de menthe.
1 recipe Brownie Pie, prepared through step 8
1 recipe Mint Cheesecake Filling
20 g mini chocolate chips
[2 tablespoons]
25 g mini marshmallows
[½ cup]
1 recipe Mint Glaze, warm
You’ll need less than a full recipe of brownie pie filling. Save the excess brownie batter that won’t squeeze into the pie and bake it in cupcake molds!
1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grab a sheet pan and put your pie tin of graham crust on it. Pour the mint cheesecake filling into the shell. Pour the brownie batter on top of it. Use the tip of a knife to swirl the batter and mint filling, teasing up streaks of the mint filling so they show through the brownie batter.
3. Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips into a small ring in the center of the pie, leaving the bull’s-eye center empty. Sprinkle the mini marshmallows into a ring around the ring of chocolate chips.
4. Bake the pie for 25 minutes. It should puff slightly on the edges but still be jiggly in the center. The mini chocolate chips will look as if they are beginning to melt, and the mini marshmallows should be evenly tanned. Leave the pie in the oven for an additional 3 to 4 minutes if this is not the case.
5. Cool the pie completely before finishing it. (You can speed up the cooling process by carefully transferring the pie to the fridge or freezer directly out of the oven if you’re in a hurry.)
6. Now the pie needs to be Jackson-Pollocked with mint glaze. Make sure your glaze is still warm to the touch. Dunk the tines of a fork into the warm glaze, then dangle the fork about 1 inch above the bull’s-eye center of the pie.
7. Transfer the pie to the fridge so the mint glaze firms up before serving—which will happen as soon as it’s cold, about 15 minutes. Wrapped in plastic, the pie will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
mint cheesecake filling
MAKES ENOUGH FOR 1 GRASSHOPPER PIE
We tried, tried, tried to make this work with our liquid cheesecake—one of our mother recipes and one of my favorite things to eat and cook with—but the finished pie just wasn’t right. So we came up with this work-around.
This filling is very deep in flavor and sweetness, only meant to be layered in a gooey brownie pie. Do not attempt to snack on it or use it in another recipe.
60 g white chocolate
[2 ounces]
20 g grapeseed oil
[2 tablespoons]
75 g cream cheese
[2½ ounces]
20 g confectioners’ sugar
[2 tablespoons]
2 g peppermint extract
[½ teaspoon]
1 g kosher salt
[¼ teaspoon]
2 drops green food coloring
1. Combine the white chocolate and oil in a microwave-safe dish and gently melt the mixture on low for 30 to 50 seconds. Use a heatproof spatula to stir the chocolate and oil together, working until the mixture is glossy and smooth.
2. Combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and stir together on medium-low speed for 2 to 3 minutes to blend. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. On low speed, slowly stream in the white chocolate mixture. Mix for 1 to 2 minutes, until it is fully incorporated into the cream cheese. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the peppermint extract, salt, and food coloring and paddle the mixture for 1 to
2 minutes, or just until it is smooth and leprechaun green. (You may need to scrape the bowl down once midmixing.) No point in making ahead—you don’t have any use for it otherwise and it will make it trickier to swirl in later.
mint glaze
MAKES ENOUGH FOR 1 GRASSHOPPER PIE
Make this glaze just before using it—it needs to be warm so that you can properly make a mess of the top of a pie with it.
30 g white chocolate
[1 ounce]
6 g grapeseed oil
[2 teaspoons]
0.5 g peppermint extract
[scant ⅛ teaspoon]
1 drop green food coloring
1. Combine the white chocolate and oil in a microwave-safe dish and melt the chocolate on low for 20 to 30 seconds. Use a heatproof spatula to stir the oil and chocolate together, working until the mixture is glossy and smooth.
2. Stir in the peppermint extract and food coloring.
white peach sorbet
graham puree, milk crumbs
SERVES 4
This was one of the first spring desserts we made for Ko. It is simple but somehow hits home in just the right way.
1 recipe Graham Ganache (recipe follows)
1 recipe White Peach Sorbet (recipe follows)
½ recipe Milk Crumb
Use the back of a spoon to schmear a quarter of the graham ganache into each of 4 bowls. Make quenelles or scoops of sorbet and set 1 in the center of each schmeared bowl. Sprinkle the milk crumbs over and around the sorbet. Serve at once.
graham ganache
MAKES ABOUT 150 G (⅓ CUP)
½ recipe Graham Crust
85 g milk
[⅓ cup]
2 g kosher salt
[½ teaspoon]
Combine the graham crust, milk, and salt in a blender and puree on medium speed until smooth and homogenous—it will take 1 to 3 minutes (depending on the awesomeness of your blender). If the mixture does not catch on your blender blade, turn it off, take a small teaspoon, and scrape down the sides of the canister, remembering to scrape under the blade, then try again. Use the ganache right away, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
white peach sorbet
MAKES ABOUT 450 G (1 PINT)
400 g ripe white peaches
[about 5]
1 gelatin sheet
100 g glucose
[¼ cup]
2 g kosher salt
[½ teaspoon]
0.5 g citric acid
[⅛ teaspoon]
Powdered gelatin can be substituted for the sheet gelatin: use ½ teaspoon. In a pinch, substitute 35 g (2 tablespoons) corn syrup for the glucose.
With all things fresh and seasonal, it’s always important to taste, taste, taste. Make the sorbet base to your liking with more glucose, salt, or citric acid.
Instead of a whisk, use a hand blender to mix the sorbet base.
1. Cut the peaches in half and pit them. Plop them into a blender and puree until smooth and homogenous, 1 to 3 minutes. Pass the puree through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Use a ladle or spoon to press on the dregs of the puree to extract as much juice as possible; you should only be discarding a few spoonfuls worth of solids.
2. Bloom the gelatin.
3. Warm a little bit of the peach puree and whisk in the gelatin to dissolve. Whisk in the remaining peach puree, the glucose, salt, and citric acid until everything is fully dissolved and incorporated.
4. Pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The sorbet is best spun just before serving or using, but it will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
My mother is a hot fudge fanatic. An insane, uncritical fanatic. Because of her, I think of fudge sauce as (1) Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, which was a fixture at our house, or (2) what they use at McDonald’s, where my stepdad regularly takes my mom on $1.50 sundae dates.
It was a no-brainer that we’d need a fudge sauce for Milk Bar. But I didn’t learn how to make trashy American fudge sauce at the French Culinary Institute, and I didn’t want to have to decode the chemist’s secrets behind Hershey’s Syrup, or the more lavish Chocolate Shell (which was too fancy for our house), in order to put chocolate sauce on my ice cream cones.
So I threw myself into it. I wanted the sauce fudgy and I wanted it shiny. We frosted my favorite chocolate cake at culinary school with a ridiculously shiny chocolate glaze, and for some reason, that shininess always wooed me.
I started mixing chocolate and cocoa powder, sugar, and heavy cream—just like they teach you in school. I added salt to taste, and then I began to add glucose—liquid sugar, liquid shine. Whisk, whisk. Not shiny enough. More glucose. Whisk. Not thick enough, not shiny enough. More glucose. Taste. Never shiny enough, never quite the right thickness or body. Marian rolled her eyes.
After you taste something too many times in a row, you get tunnel vision and can’t judge it fairly. I stopped after I had added more glucose than heavy cream and could no longer really taste the sauce.
The next day, Marian and I—sure we had a couple of diligent days of testing ahead of us to nail it—went to taste the sauce. Then we looked at each other over our morning coffees and knew we had it.
The recipe has never changed; there are clearly no real secret ingredients in it. But somehow this recipe became the secret ingredient itself. It is so damn good that we throw it into almost everything chocolate-based to give it a bump of chocolatiness that seems otherwise impossible to achieve. We fold it into cake batters, schmear it on plates for composed desserts, and buzz it into ice cream bases. And we pour it over sundaes for family meal.
fudge sauce
MAKES ABOUT 150 G (½ CUP), OR ENOUGH FOR 4 OR MORE SUNDAES
30 g 72% chocolate, chopped
[1 ounce]
18 g cocoa powder, preferably Valrhona
[2 tablespoons]
0.5 g kosher salt
[⅛ teaspoon]
100 g glucose
[¼ cup]
25 g sugar
[2 tablespoons]
55 g heavy cream
[¼ cup]
In a pinch, substitute 35 g (2 tablespoons) corn syrup for the glucose.
Elsewhere in this book: Fudge sauce is used for a fancier presentation of the Brownie Pie.
1. Combine the chocolate, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Combine the glucose, sugar, and heavy cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir intermittently while bringing to a boil over high heat. The moment it boils, pour it into the bowl holding the chocolate. Let sit for 1 full minute.
3. Slowly, slowly begin to whisk the mixture. Then continue, increasing the vigor of your whisking every 30 seconds, until the mixture is glossy and silky-smooth. This will take 2 to 4 minutes, depending on your speed and strength. You can use the sauce at this point or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks; do not freeze.
hot fudge sauce
Our fudge sauce tastes just as good hot as it does cold. Simply warm it in the microwave on low in 30-second increments for 2 minutes. Stir the sauce between blasts. It tastes really good drizzled over Cereal Milk Ice Cream. Or any ice cream, for that matter. My mother approves.
malt fudge sauce
MAKES ABOUT 450 G (1¾ CUPS), OR ENOUGH FOR 12 OR MORE SUNDAES
I wasn’t raised on malt as a flavor, but as we expanded our little kitchen staff, Leslie Behrens opened us up to a world of malt. After many attempts at this sauce, we found the secret to a deep, dark underlying malt flavor is a splash of molasses—not enough to taste molasses, but enough to give a deep, dark depth beyond chocolate alone.
60 g 72% chocolate, chopped
[2 ounces]
80 g Ovaltine, malt flavor
[1 cup]
5 g molasses
[1 teaspoon]
1 g kosher salt
[¼ teaspoon]
200 g glucose
&n
bsp; [½ cup]
50 g sugar
[¼ cup]
110 g heavy cream
[½ cup]
Substitute any dark cane syrup for the molasses.
In a pinch, substitute 35 g (2 tablespoons) corn syrup for the glucose.
Follow the recipe for the fudge sauce, substituting the Ovaltine for the cocoa powder and adding the molasses along with it.
earl grey fudge sauce
MAKES ABOUT 250 G (¼ CUP), OR ENOUGH FOR 4 OR MORE SUNDAES
This is our high-brow fudge sauce for the Earl Grey lovers out there (Mama Meehan, we’re looking at you).
40 g water
[3 tablespoons]
1 Earl Grey tea bag
30 g 72% chocolate, chopped
[1 ounce]
18 g cocoa powder, preferably Valrhona
[2 tablespoons]
0.5 g kosher salt
Momofuku Milk Bar Page 13