BEST DESSERT REVIVAL
Chocolate-Mint Ice Box Cake with Mint Chip Ice Cream

Deborah Snyder, Executive Pastry Chef
The Lever House Restaurant
390 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022
(212) 888-2700
www.leverhouse.com

About Deborah Snyder
Though Deborah started out at New York University Film School, she always loved being in the kitchen. After graduation, she immediately switched gears to pursue a career in cooking. Deborah attended The Institute of Culinary Education, then went on to work with some of the city’s pastry greats, including Nicole Plue at Eleven Madison Park and Bill Telepan at Judson Grill. She first teamed up with Dan Silverman at Union Square Café where she was the restaurant’s executive pastry chef. The next stop for this culinary pair? New York City’s famed Lever House. Deborah has been the restaurant’s executive pastry chef since its opening in 2003.

RECIPE
Chocolate-Mint Ice Box Cake with Mint Chip Ice Cream
Makes one 8-inch cake or several individual desserts

Chocolate Cookie Crust

3 ounces of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2-3 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until very light and well combined. Add dry ingredients and mix just to combine. Spoon the dough in teaspoon sized chunks onto a Silpat-lined baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until the dough starts to set. Remove from the oven and using a clean, dry dishcloth, crumble the mixture together to make crumbs. Return the crumbs to the oven, and continue to bake and crumble every 6 to 7 minutes, until dry. Allow to cool and pulse in a food processor or crush with a rolling pin to make fine crumbs. Reserve 1/2 cup of the crumbs. Take the remainder and combine with just enough melted butter to dampen and hold the crumbs loosely together. Press the cookie crust into the bottom and sides of a springform pan or the bottom of individual round molds. Bake the crust for about 8 minutes, just until set and dry. Allow to cool.

Note: Alternatively, you can use purchased chocolate wafer cookies and grind them in the food processor to make the crust. Use one 9-ounce box of cookies combined with about 2 to 3 tablespoons of melted butter.

Mint Chip Ice Cream

2 1/2 cups of whole milk
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split
3/4 ounces of fresh peppermint
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of egg yolks
1 tablespoon of crème de menthe
1/2 tablespoon of peppermint extract
3/4 cup of chopped bittersweet chocolate

In a pot, combine milk, heavy cream, vanilla bean, and fresh peppermint. Bring to a boil and allow to steep for one hour off the heat. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Strain milk mixture and return to a boil. Pour a small amount of the milk mixture into the yolks/sugar and whisk well. Add yolk mixture back to the pot and cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do not allow the base to boil. When the mixture has thickened sufficiently, strain through a fine meshed strainer, and chill completely in an ice bath. When cool, add the crème de menthe and peppermint extract. Churn ice cream. Fold chopped bittersweet chocolate into the ice cream and spread in a thin, even layer over the bottom of the chocolate crumb crust. You will probably only need about 2/3 of the ice cream.

Fudge Sauce

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of water
2 1/2 ounces of high quality cocoa powder
8 ounces of light corn syrup
11 1/2 ounces of sugar
8 ounces of extra bitter chocolate, chopped fine
8 ounces of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of salt

In a pot, combine water, cocoa powder, corn syrup, and sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan and whisk well to combine. Add chocolate and butter and stir. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes until the mixture has thickened. Test for consistency on a cold plate. It should hold its position and not run freely. Cool the sauce over an ice bath. Add the salt and vanilla when the sauce has completely cooled.

Assembly
Pour a thin layer of the fudge sauce over the set ice cream in the cake/individual molds. Reserve the remainder for garnishing the dessert. Sprinkle the reserved 1/2 cup of chocolate crumbs over the fudge. Chill again in the freezer.

Chocolate Sorbet

2 cups of sugar
2 1/2 cups of water
2 cups of whole milk
90 grams of high quality cocoa powder
300 grams of extra bitter chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Place the sugar, water, milk, and cocoa in a heavy bottomed pot and whisk well to incorporate. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until the starch in the cocoa has completely cooked out and the mixture has thickened slightly. Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a large bowl. Strain the cocoa mixture through a fine meshed sieve and pour the hot liquid into the bowl of chocolate. Whisk to completely melt and mix in the chocolate. Cool sorbet base completely over an ice bath. Stir in vanilla extract when cooled. Churn sorbet then allow to set fully for several hours before using.

Assembly
Spread chocolate sorbet over the fudge in the cake or individual molds. Return to freezer and chill for at least an hour and up to two days, covered.

Meringue

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 egg whites

Mix the sugar and whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and stir well to combine. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and continue to whisk the meringue until hot to the touch and all the sugar granules have dissolved (about 140ºF). Return bowl to the mixer and using a whisk attachment, whip whites to a very stiff, creamy meringue.

Assembly for Serving
Remove the cake from the freezer. Unmold the cake or individual molds and place on a serving platter or plate. Allow the cake to come to a sliceable temperature before serving. Place the meringue in a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe meringue in a decorative swirl on top of the cake or individual desserts. Just before serving, use a kitchen torch to brown the meringue. Serve with warmed hot fudge sauce.