Question: Do you ever accept the challenge of obtaining a recipe from a restaurant in another country? Is so, the Sabayon au Chocolat at Le Grand Vefour in Paris is divine. — Alice Bellany, Bloomington, Minn.
Answer: Le Grand Vefour, originally a 1760s tavern-style eatery known as the Cafe de Chartres, is the luxury restaurant in the Galerie de Beaujolais. The restored Parisian jewel of a restaurant boasts a splendid view of the Palais Royal's rose garden. At dusk, the shopping galleries, lampposts and hanging lanterns illuminate the gardens. Securing a seat in the miniscule 16-table restaurant requires planning months in advance, but sublime cuisine is the reward for the diligent few.
Chocoholics adore soothing, sweet and sensual Sabayon au Chocolat. The short list of ingredients, composed of kitchen staples, combines to showcase dense, deep dark chocolate at its best.
SABAYON AU CHOCOLAT
8 ounces best quality dark chocolate
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 large egg yolks, room temperature
1/2 cup strongly brewed coffee or almond flavored liqueur (optional: 1/2 cup water and 1 teaspoon almond extract)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In the top of a double boiler, over hot, not simmering, water, melt the chocolate, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove the double boiler from the heat, leaving the top of the double boiler set over the hot water in order to keep the melted chocolate warm.
Pour cream in large bowl of mixer fitted with wire whip attachment and beat to form soft peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use. Place egg yolks in large bowl of mixer fitted with wire whip attachment and beat at medium-high speed 4-6 minutes, or until pale yellow.
Combine coffee (or water/almond extract mixture) and sugar in medium saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high and bring mixture to boil. Boil 2 minutes. With mixer speed on medium, pour a slow, steady stream of hot coffee mixture down side of bowl into egg yolks. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat 5-8 minutes, or until mixture forms a thick ribbon when wire whip is lifted. Beat in vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low, add warm melted chocolate and beat until incorporated and well blended.
Whisk or fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. In two more additions, fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Spoon chocolate sabayon into demitasse size serving cups — china or chocolate — and refrigerate until ready to serve. Yields about 4 cups sabayon.