CHOCOLATE SHORTCAKES
with Armagnac Prunes
About the Recipe
For most of us, November kicks off the holiday season. From mid-month through New Year’s Day, most of us find ourselves entertaining more than at any other time of year. There are endless ways to say “Festive”—especially when it comes to dessert-- and one of my favorites is little shortcakes, individually portioned for each guest, lavishly layered with thick cream, ice cream, fruit or all of the above. We all know the strawberry iteration classic, but why stop there? Good berries are seasonal, but luckily there many other filling options. And there’s plenty of playing around to be done with the cake part of the equation as well.
A liquor-laced chocolate-torte batter bakes well in a muffin tin for shortcake-size portions. Filled with Armagnac-steeped prunes and tangy vanilla crème fraîche and topped with a scattering of toasted almonds, you have an indulgent, boozy, very grown-up elegant-but-easy dessert. And it’s ideal for entertaining as all the elements are make-ahead, leaving nothing left to do last-minute but assemble and serve.
(And, just in case you are pressed for time, you can substitute best quality ice cream for the prunes and crème fraiche. I like coffee, vanilla, rum raisin, caramel or even chocolate for those of you who for whom too much chocolate is never enough. In that case, you can even offer warm chocolate or fudge sauce on the side.
Chocolate Shortcakes with Armagnac Prunes
Begin making the Armagnac prunes 48 hours before serving to allow time for soaking. And, while you’re at it, make extra, as these delicious, boozy prunes will keep in the refrigerator for a year or more. They’re great to pull out last-minute and serve with a pitcher of heavy cream to pour over.
Serves 12
Ingredients
For the Prunes:
40 large pitted prunes
2 cups Armagnac
Brandy or cognac
1½ cups sugar
1 vanilla bean
For the Shortcakes:
40 large pitted prunes
1 cup blanched almonds
½ cup sifted cake flour
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus some for buttering the pan
9 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 eggs, yolks whites separated
¾ cup sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
⅓ cup Armagnac
½ cup hot water
1 large pinch of salt
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups crème fraîche
To serve: Halve each cake and warm slightly in oven if desired. Place bottom half of each cake on a dessert plate. Top with macerated prunes and soaking juices and a dollop of vanilla crème fraîche. Scatter reserved toasted almonds over tops of cakes. Top with remaining cake halves.
Method
For the Prunes:
Place prunes, Armagnac, brandy or cognac, and sugar in a large, non-reactive bowl.
Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape the seeds into bowl and drop in bean. Stir until sugar dissolves.
Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at least 24 hours at room temperature.
After 24 hours, transfer contents of bowl to a large, non-reactive saucepan, set over high heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to simmer until prunes are soft and a few just begin to fall apart, 6-7 minutes.
Cool and then refrigerate at least 24 hours and up to a year.
For the Shortcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread almonds out on a baking sheet and toast in oven until lightly colored, 5-10 minutes. Let cool then pulverize half the toasted almonds with a mortar and pestle or in a food processor. Very coarsely chop remaining almonds and set aside.
Mix sifted cake flour and pulverized almonds in a small bowl until well combined.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook until butter is lightly browned.
Remove from heat, stir in chocolate, until melted.
Set aside to cool to lukewarm.
Use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick and sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes.
Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅓ cup Armagnac and ½ cup hot water.
Add tepid chocolate mixture and beat until well-blended. Add flour-almond mixture and beat only until just combined.
In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to whisk 4 room-temperature egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until egg whites hold soft peaks but are not stiff.
Stir a quarter of the whites into cake batter and then fold batter into remaining egg whites.
Generously grease a 12-cup muffin tin with softened butter.
Divide batter among buttered muffin tin cups. Rap pan once on countertop to level cake batter and eliminate air bubbles.
Bake on middle rack of oven until cakes puff, edges are firm but centers are still a bit creamy, and small cracks appear on top, 15-20 minutes.
Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack.
Let cakes cool in tin 10 minutes, then invert onto wire rack, using a small knife to loosen if sticking to pan. Let cool to room temperature.
In a small bowl, mix crème fraîche with remaining vanilla extract.
TIP: If you must wait longer than 15 minutes before serving, you can certainly serve the biscuits at room temperature. However, they’re better warm. Simply pop them into a 350°F oven and reheat for about 5 minutes. The biscuits can be baked up to 6 hours before serving.