Valentine’s day is around the corner so we invited pastry chef, restaurateur and author Gale Gand to teach us ways to upgrade our dessert.

Here are the recipes she shared. Watch the video above for more.

Chocolate Lava Cakes

4 ramekins, 6-8 ounces each

Butter and flour cooking spray like Baker’s Joy (for greasing ramekins)

6 oz good quality semi-sweet chocolate, chips or bars (I use Ghirardelli)
½ cup unsalted butter

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 425F. 

Spray the ramekins with nonstick cooking spray and place on a sheet tray. This ensures the cakes will come out easily. Or spray half of a 12-count muffin pan. If baking in a muffin tin, the recipe will yield 6 cakes. (I recommend ramekins, they’re much easier to get out after baking.)

Place butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, then 10 seconds after that if needed, until melted.

In a medium size bowl (with a pour spout if you have one) whisk the flour, powdered sugar and salt together. In another bowl whisk the eggs and yolks together.  Add the eggs to the melted chocolate mixture and mix, then add that to the flour mixture. Stir together with a rubber spatula until it just comes together. Pour or spoon into ramekins. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until they are matte on top and starting to buckle some. For muffin tin, cakes only take 8-10 minutes. Allow cakes to cool for 1 minute, then flip onto a plate. Garnish with Brown Sugar Whipped Cream and Strawberries in Syrup. (see below)

Brown Sugar Whipped Cream

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tablespoon brown sugar (light or dark)

In a mixer fit with the whisk attachment, add the cream and brown sugar. Mix on medium-high until soft peaks form and the whisk draws lines through the cream.

Strawberries in Syrup

4-6 strawberries, washed and cut up (Japanese roll cut-I’ll show you)

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 mint leaves, julienned

Place the cut up strawberries and sugar in a bowl and toss to coat. Add the mint and toss more. Juices will come out of the berries to make a syrup.

Chocolate Bark

1 pound semi sweet chocolate

Dried rose petals

Dried strawberry pieces

Pistachios

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread the melted tempered chocolate to be a thin sheet. Quickly dot with rose petals, dries strawberry pieces, and pistachios before the chocolate sets. Let set and break into pieces.

To temper chocolate, melt 12 ounces of chopped semi sweet chocolate in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between in one direction till it reaches 114 - 118 degrees Fahrenheit (For Milk it’s 108 - 113, for white it’s 105 - 110) Add 2 ounces chopped tempered chocolate to seed it and stir till it reaches 88 - 89 degrees Fahrenheit (for milk and white it’s 85 – 86).  If it’s still over 89 degrees add up to 2 ounces more of chopped tempered chocolate.

Baked Alaska

Serves 2-4

1 batch yellow cake from a mix or see below, baked in round pans or a sheet pan

2 pint of ice cream, different flavors and different colors (we’ll use half of each)

Cut the cake layer in half so you have 2 thin disks of cake. Cut out a round base the size you want the dessert to be. Place it on a platter (heat proof if you’re going to bake it to brown it).  Cut the ice cream pints in half cross ways. Remove the cardboard wrapper and stack the 2 pucks on the cake base. Cut the remaining disk of cake into triangles then cover or wrap the ice cream with the cake so it’s completed covered. Use your hands to press the cake onto the ice cream, making a tight dome. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer while you make the meringue.

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For the meringue:

½ cup egg whites

½ cup sugar

In a mixer with a whisk attachment whip the egg white till soft peaks. Add the sugar gradually and whip on high till stiff and glossy.

Using a cake spatula cover the cake with whipped meringue then pipe, using a star tip, decorative swirls on it. Toast or brown the meringue with a blow torch, or place in the freezer till ready to serve, heat your oven to 500 degrees and bake briefly till lightly browned and serve immediately or keep the in the freezer till ready to serve. To serve, cut the dessert into wedges.