Amazing Chocolate Dessert Recipes

Dec. 25, 2003 -- If you're a fan of chocolate desserts, you'll fall in love with Sherry Yard's latest creations. Yard, the executive pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago at Beverly Hills, shared some of her most amazing chocolate dessert recipes with "Good Morning America."

The following collection of Yard's recipes come from her new book, The Secrets of Baking. The recipe book is packed with everything from chocolate ganache to fudge fondue.

Check out a selected bunch of her recipes below. They include Master Ganache, Campton Place Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Whipped Cream, Fudge Fondue, Chocolate Short Dough and Truffles.

All recipes are excerpted from Secrets of Baking: Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts by Sherry Yard © 2003, Houghton Mifflin Co.

Master Ganache

This is Yard's recipe for a basic ganache. You can use it for truffles, tarts, fillings … and other sweet treats. Follow the same technique when adjusting therecipe for firm and soft ganache. An alternative food processor method is provided below.

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Candy thermometer
• Food processor (optional)

Traditional method:

1. Using a serrated knife, finely chop the chocolate into 1/4-inch pieces. Big chunks will not melt. Yard prefers using a serratedknife for chopping chocolate. She says it's safer because the blade doesn't slip off the hard surface of the chocolate. And she finds it is easier to get small chunks with the serrated knife.

2. Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Boiling means the cream will actually rise up in the pan and threaten to boil over.

3. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chopped chocolate. Tap the bowl on the counter to settle the chocolate into the cream, then let it sit for 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula, slowly stir in a circular motion, starting from the center of the bowl and workingout to the sides. Be careful not to add too much air to the ganache. Stir until all the chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. It may look done after 1 minute of stirring, but keep going to be sure it's emulsified.