Website Announcement - Finally...!

This is it! I've been working on this new website on and off for ages, and I am so excited to present it, finally! After 6 years (!) of inconsistent posts, I have finally decided to dedicate a regular chunk of my time to this project, on a website with a cleaner, more cohesive design and enough space for photos. Eventually, this blog will no longer be updated, with all of its posts available on the new site.

For all future posts, please visit the new home of It's on Fire!!! at www.turnthefiredown.com.

To celebrate the launch of this project, I would like to leave you all with what is basically a ganache, or maybe, if you feel fancy and/or pretentious, pots de creme*.

Alarmingly Rich Chocolate Dessert
Makes around 4 cups, or enough for all your friends to camp at your place for a week

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
9 oz. 72% or other dark chocolate, chopped**
1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

Directions

1. If you are using the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into a medium saucepan now. Add the pod, cream and milk. If not, just add the cream and milk. Heat until nearly steaming. You will see little bubbles, but the dairy should not boil, or even simmer.

2. Take the pan off the fire. If you added the vanilla bean pod, now is a good time to remove it. Add all of the chocolate, stirring gently. If you are using the vanilla extract, now is a good time to add it. Gently stir with a rubber spatula until all the chocolate is melted.

3. Once the mixture is smooth, pour it into various containers, like ramekins, bowls, or in my case, a nice glass container with tightly closing lid. Allow to cool thoroughly, around 6 hours, then keep covered (lid, plastic wrap, foil, etc.) in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. They are excellent topped with some unsweetened whipped cream, or as the filling of a pie. Enjoy!


* For the full pretension, please pronounce with a strong French, preferably Parisian, accent! This only applies if you are personally not Parisian, or French, and particularly so if you are a monolingual, English-speaking hipster from the United States. Bonus points if you obsess over properly made espresso.

** Full disclosure, this is exactly half of a 500g bar from Trader Joe's. I'm personally obsessed with their chocolate because it's excellent quality for a decent price. I'm not affiliated with them, nor am I important enough to be. I just really like their chocolate :)