A raspberry treat worth revisiting

Reader Elise Meservy emailed in search of a recipe that ran in the R-J early this year. We don’t archive nonlocal stories, and you won’t find them online, but she had the approximate date and I dug through the stacks and found it. With fresh raspberries coming into season, I think it bears repeating.

WARM DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CAKES
WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

For the cakes:

¼ cup sugar, plus 8 teaspoons (divided use)

4½ ounces bittersweet chocolate (divided use)

2 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

For the sauce:

1½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries (if frozen, thaw and drain, reserving liquid)

1½ tablespoons sugar

Coat eight 1/3- or ¼-cup ramekins with cooking spray; sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar in each, swirl to coat bottom and sides and discard excess.

Finely chop 2½ ounces chocolate. Cut remaining chocolate into 16 pieces, roughly the same size.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a bare simmer. Set a medium stainless-steel bowl over it and add the finely chopped chocolate. Heat, stirring occasionally, until melted.

Meanwhile, in another medium bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of the sugar until they are thick and lemon-colored, about 4 minutes. Set the bowl aside and clean the beaters well. In a third medium bowl, use the electric mixer to beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar, a little at a time, and continue beating until the white hold stiff peaks. Set aside.

Remove melted chocolate from heat. Add yogurt and stir well. Add egg-yolk mixture and stir well. Add one third of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture, stirring well, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites until just combined with chocolate mixture. Divide among ramekins; cover and chill 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a blender, puree the raspberries with sugar. Strain through a mesh strainer, pressing the pulp with a spatula. Discard pulp and seeds and thin sauce with water (or use reserved liquid if using frozen berries) until a nice pouring consistency is reached.

Remove ramekins from refrigerator, tuck two pieces of cut chocolate into the center of each and bake in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until just springy when touched. Let cool for 5 minutes, then unmold, or serve in the ramekins. Serve drizzled with sauce.

Serves 8.

— Recipe adapted from Sara Moulton

FOUND ITEMS

For Bill Haes, who’s looking for chocolate breads, Sharon Davis recommended Bon Breads at Town Square, 6649 Las Vegas Blvd. South. ...

For Colleen Steffen, who’s looking for hard Monterey Jack cheese, Libby Casolari emailed that dry jack can be found at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Market. She added that she orders whole wheels from Vella Cheese in Sonoma, Calif. Visit vellacheese.com, or call
800-848-0505. ...

READER REQUESTS

Joan McMaken: Portuguese linguica sausage in any form, including links or patties;

Tom Fitzgerald: Planters (or another brand) Spanish red peanuts;

And Paula Watson: Riviera soups, which she used to get at 99 Cents Only.

Readers?

Submit information to Heidi Knapp Rinella, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070. You also can send faxes to 383-4676 or email her at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Include your first and last names and, if emailing, put “Taste of the Town” in the subject line. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.