Now that the new year is here, many of us are resolving to eat healthier, exercise more, lose weight and yadayadayada. This is to be applauded. But that doesn’t mean eschewing all of our vices. Chocolate, for example. Of course, there’s all this research about dark chocolate having a good effect on the heart and boosting the immune system, but let’s be real. You want something chocolaty and decadent because it is delicious. Even with all of your resolutions, you can indulge this taste occasionally. Then, filled and fortified, you can go forth to pilates class.

Make a New Year’s resolution to bake this chocolate-hazelnut creme brulee, a creamy, luscious confection that will inspire guests to sing your praises. Photo credit: Photograph by Deborah Jones for “Cooking From the Hip” by Cat Cora, with Ann Krueger Spivack (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)

If you’re lucky, the holidays reminded you of what fun it is to gather with family and friends. If you’re not up to throwing a full-scale dinner party, have folks over for dessert (read: “something chocolate.”)

These two luscious desserts come from a truly home-cook-friendly book, “Cooking From the Hip” by Food Network star Cat Cora (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). Cora’s style of cooking, as the title describes, is relaxed, but the results are spectacular. Her take on the classic restaurant-y dessert, creme brulee made with Italian gianduja (“john-DOO-ya”) chocolate, is deep and rich and incredibly satisfying. For a more everyday (but still luscious) treat, her Chocolate-Brownie Cupcakes hit the spot. For both, it is important to go out of your way to buy good chocolate. If you can’t find gianduja (a combination of dark chocolate and hazelnuts) at a specialty store, Cora suggests two sources: A.G. Ferrari Foods (www.agferrari.com) and Scharffen Berger Chocolates (www.scharffenberger.com).

Whatever you do, give yourself license to enjoy. The pilates class will still be waiting — along with the yadayadayada.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT CREME BRULEE

6 large egg yolks

5 tablespoons sugar, plus 1/4 cup for the topping

2-1/2 cups heavy cream

1 vanilla bean

8 ounces gianduja chocolate, coarsely chopped

Cook’s note: Cooking-supply stores sell brulee torches, but you can also use the less expensive small torches sold in hardware stores. Torching will give you that hard, crisp crust that you find in restaurant versions of creme brulee. Alternatively, place a rack right under your broiler’s heat source and preheat. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and broil for 4 minutes. Turn the baking sheet 180 F and broil for another 4 minutes, or until the sugar begins to brown. Watch carefully so the sugar does not burn.

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Place eight 6-ounce ramekins in a shallow baking or roasting pan.

In a large bowl, beat the yolks and the 5 tablespoons sugar with a hand mixer until the mixture is thick and light in color, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.

Pour the cream into a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and, using the tip of a paring knife, scrape the seeds into the cream. Drop in the whole bean. Heat over medium heat until cream begins to simmer slightly.

When the cream has just begun to simmer, remove the bean and discard it. Take the cream off the heat and add the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate and then whisk until smooth. Drizzle about 1/4 cup of the chocolate mixture slowly into the egg-yolk mixture, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, and cook over low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly until it thickens slightly.

Pour the custard into the ramekins, filling each about two-thirds full. (At this point, they can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.) Place the baking pan with the ramekins into the oven and, using a small pitcher or measuring cup with a spout, pour enough hot water into the baking pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (35 to 45 minutes if the custard was refrigerated) or until the custard is almost firm and jiggles just slightly when the ramekins are moved. Leaving the baking pan in the oven and using a wide metal spatula in one hand and an oven mitt on the other, gently lift the ramekins out of the hot water, one at a time. Cool to room temperature for 30 minutes. Refrigerate 2 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to serve, sprinkle 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar evenly over each custard and, using a small acetylene torch (see Cook’s note), carefully heat and melt the sugar to caramelize it. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings

Recipe from “Cooking From the Hip” by Cat Cora, with Ann Krueger Spivack (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)

CHOCOLATE-BROWNIE CUPCAKES

For the cupcakes:

2-1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1-1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting:

2 large egg whites

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Line a standard (1/3-cup) muffin pan with 12 paper cupcake liners.

Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over (not in) simmering water. Stir every minute or so until melted, then remove from the heat and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt onto a piece of wax paper; set aside.

Place the butter and the sugar in a large bowl and, using a hand mixer, thoroughly cream together until light and fluffy. Crack the eggs one at a time into a small bowl, beat lightly, then gradually add to the sugar mixture, beating well after each addition. Add the cooled chocolate and blend thoroughly. Add the sifted ingredients a little at a time, beating at medium speed after each addition. After adding the last of the flour mixture, beat until smooth. Stir in the nuts and vanilla.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Make the frosting: Bring 2 inches of water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler (or saucepan into which you can fit a heatproof bowl so it will sit over, not in, the water). In the top of the double boiler, off the heat, combine all ingredients except the vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer set on low for 1 minute. Place the bowl over (not in) the simmering water, and beat constantly with the mixer set on medium-high for 7 minutes, or until the frosting stands in stiff peaks and has tripled in volume. Lift the bowl off the water and beat on high vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes, until the frosting is cooled and thick and glossy. Beat in the vanilla.

Frost the cupcakes and serve.

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Recipe from “Cooking From the Hip” by Cat Cora, with Ann Krueger Spivack (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)

 

Marialisa Calta is the author of “Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family” (Perigee, 2005). For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com.