June 25, 2011

In Mes Confitures, Christine Ferber calls this concoction Raspberries and Chocolate. She does not categorize it.

Truth be told, if it’s sauce, it’s a little thick. If it’s jam, it’s a little thin. You wonder if you should be disappointed.

Nothing could be further from reality. There is nothing disappointing about this bit of heaven in a jar.

Spoon a teaspoon into your lowfat yogurt to feel decadent. Warm it and pour over vanilla ice cream to BE decadent. Make a tea sandwich with date nut bread, goat cheese and this raspberry chocolate concoction. Fill thumbprint cookies. Swirl through French Vanilla ice cream. Make a fregolatta.

Get the very best organically farmed raspberries. Buy from people you know. They should be picked when the weather is dry. If picked wet, they will get white mold very quickly. Buy your raspberries the day you plan to use them. Pick them over for stems and other debris but do not wash them. You will wash away their essence, according to Mme. Ferber. If you must store the berries, spread them out on a paper towel lined dinner plate and store them uncovered in your refrigerator.

Use very bittersweet chocolate. I like the 72% bittersweet bar from Trader Joes. It’s reasonably priced and melts really well.

PS If you don’t have a food mill, the texture of the final product will not be as smooth, but it will still be delicious. On the other hand, a food mill is a great tool for the kitchen – for soups, tomato sauce, apple sauce, jellies. It’s one of my most used devices.

 

[print_this]

Raspberry and Chocolate
recipe from Mes Confitures with a few adjustments from me
Makes 5-6 half pints

3 pints fresh raspberries
3 c sugar
Juice of one lemon
9 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

In a large heavy pan or preserving pan, heat the raspberries and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.

Run the raspberry mixture through a food mill’s smallest disc, to rid the sauce of the seeds. Some will remain. C’est la vie.

Put the strained mixture back into the preserving pan, add the lemon, and heat it to just below boiling.

Add the chopped chocolate and stir well until the chocolate is melted. If you can, allow the mixture to sit for an hour or two or six.

Bring the mixture back up to a boil. Boil hard for five minutes. Do not stop stirring.

Turn off the heat, wait two or three minutes, and see if the surface wrinkles when pushed gently. If it’s not ready, turn the heat back on and test again after two minutes of a hard boil and another two minutes of resting. Continue to heat and rest and test until you get a soft set and it passes the wrinkle test.

Ladle into sterilized jars, place lids and rings, and process for ten minutes in a boiling water bath.

[/print_this]

72 Responses to “chocolate raspberry whatever”

  1. Gail

    This won’t last long enough for me to worry about ladling into sterilized jars and ultimately killing people.
    NOTHING is as delicious as chocolate and raspberry!

    Reply
  2. Janis

    Ohmygod! I now know what I am going to do with some of the Scharffenberger chocolate that I won. Do you think other fruits would work too?

    Reply
    • Cathy

      I’ve been wondering that myself. I think blackberries and other berries would work. Not sure about stone fruits. The berries have some body, and help the jam set up.

      Reply
      • Lisa

        Cathy, I hope you tried the other berries….specifically blackberry. I just made the recipe using Scharffenberger unsweetened dark chocolate and Godiva White Chocolate liquor and blackberries….can we say heavenly! My next recipe will include cherries….can’t wait!

        Reply
    • M L

      I tried it with strawberries but they didn’t measure up to the raspberries!

      Reply
    • Cathy

      Gail you would love using this confection for a spread between two cookies.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        Oops. that comment goes above.
        Chris – Make it! Make it! You’ll love it!

        Reply
  3. Elyse

    This would be my husband’s definition of Nirvana. I see a batch in my very near future! Good for earning wife-points

    Reply
  4. Vivian

    This looks wonderful! I love Christine Ferber, and have both Mes Confitures and Mes Tartes. They are among my favorite cookbooks. I tend to put aside older books to play with new ones, but this is one I consider to be timeless. Thank you for this lovely reminder of a great book.

    Reply
  5. Erin

    Looking for a new recipe to can for Christmas gifting – I think I found it! Thanks so much for sharing, Cathy – this sounds amazing!

    Reply
  6. LiztheChef

    Let’s not pretend here – there will be no gift-giving of this from my kitchen…This is too good to give away. Greedily yours, Liz

    Reply
  7. Barbara | Creative Culinary

    That’s it? THAT easy? You have simply combined the two flavors I love most together and there is no baking required? I love you. And so will my holiday gift recipients; this has now become the much sought after Holy Grail; the trinity I was looking for. Bacon jam, savory apple butter and chocolate raspberry sauce. They will love you too.

    Reply
    • Cathy

      Kat, Thanks for pointing this out. I’ve adjusted the recipe now – the lemon is added after the raspberries are put through the food mill.

      Reply
  8. wendy

    I will be in and out of town for the next week or two – seriously hope the raspberries hold out so that I can make this! Might even squeeze it in tomorrow with the blueberry jam!

    Reply
  9. Kimmy

    Are you serious? I mean… that’s it? I have a ton of strawberries, maybe I should attempt this with them. I’m now dreaming of simply eating this with a spoon. 🙂

    Reply
    • ecoteri

      Yes, Strawberries and chocolate are what was passing through my mind, the strawberries are over a month late here, I hope they are still booming after I get back from a holiday. But I have a friend with raspberries….

      Reply
  10. Angela Watts

    I’m not seeing much of this making it to a jar either…raspberries are one of my faves and after the jam I made last year got rave reviews I am going to have to try this to top last year.

    Reply
  11. lynn

    This sounds utterly delicious. We are going olallieberry picking today, and if there are any berries left after my marathon o’berry-jam-making-session, I would love to give this a try. I had not heard of the book it came from — will have to go check that out, too. Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a winner!

    Reply
    • Cathy

      Every time I think of the PNW and the olallieberries and marionberries and huckleberries – Oh I just want to MOVE there for the berries!

      Reply
  12. Brooke - in Oregon

    Oh MY GOSH! I now have to make this as soon as I can get my hands on some Raspberries. Again I say OH MY GOSH!

    Reply
  13. Julia

    Beautiful. It’s obvious that this preserve could cause some serious envy. Like right now. You mentioned between cookies. How about a filling for a cake? Someone might have said it already…

    Reply
    • Cathy

      I used it this weekend in a trifle w/angel food cake and raspberries and blueberries. Oh, and booze. 🙂

      Reply
    • Cathy

      I think either one will work. The more fragrant the berry, the better the end result.

      Reply
  14. Kristina R

    You are my hero for posting this recipe! I had been hoarding a small jar of this very type of spread and just ran out last month. Speaking from experience, this is a-freaking-mazing on a fresh baked scone. With raspberry-pallooza* fast approaching, I am adding a double batch of this to my list.

    *fill in the blank-palooza is what my husband refers to the flurry of canning, freezing and other concocting that comes with each set of fruits or veggies ripening. strawberry-pallooza just finished yesterday. 🙂

    Reply
  15. Mary H

    I love this recipe and have made it with both raspberries and with my white alpine strawberries. I gave a jar to my neighbor and she cursed me–she ate half the jar in one day…
    I really like that cookbook too…

    Reply
    • Cathy

      Hi Mary, I love that cookbook and have made many of the combinations. The white strawberry sounds exquisite

      Reply
  16. Helen

    Making some as I type! House smells fantastic….mmmm Thanks for sharing this!

    Reply
  17. Portland K

    Thanks for your additional instructions–the book assumes more competence than some of us have in “checking set”. Though I have the feeling that it wouldn’t matter too much to anyone lucky enough to get a jar of this.

    I’ve made her strawberry jam — kind of a challenge figuring out what local varieties might be close to what she calls for but the method is fabulous. Am anxiously waiting apricots so I can try the apricot/almond/pistachio recipe.

    Reply
    • Cathy

      The whole book is inspirational and completely frustrating! I’ve tried most of the recipes, and now just use the flavor combinations when I put together my own ratios. For several of her recipes, I’ve started using Pomona Pectin and far less sugar.

      I have apricots ripening on my counter right now!!! for that apricot almond pistachio. It’s a wonderful conserve.

      Reply
  18. Barbara @ Three Girl Pile-up

    Just made a test batch of this, and the only problem is leaving enough of it to make it into jars for canning. I used slightly less sugar and ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips, since it’s what I had on hand.

    Do you think it would work with sour cherries?

    Reply
  19. cincypstrychf

    I just finished my first batch tonight and all I can say is OMG, it’s incredible! Will be making more soon since I have enough raspberries in the fridge for another batch. Can’t wait to make a batch of french vanilla ice cream from scratch for this. Can probably use frozen raspberries in the wintertime when fresh isn’t available. I found frozen organic raspberries at Trader Joe’s when I was in getting the chocolate. The chocolate is so good and really inexpensive for 72% bittersweet. Thanks for the recipe. It will make great Christmas presents this year for my friends and family.

    Reply
    • Anissa

      OK, so I made this last night and I had a blast but I have some questions (since it was my first canning project). It actually only yielded half of the amount, and I think it’s because I strained it too much. I’m guessing that the volume of raspberries was lower compared to the chocolate (even though it’s SUPER smooth which is nice).

      My question is, is this going to affect the safety of it when canned? I’m brand spanking new to canning, and I read a lot about how the balance has to be just right, which is why you shouldn’t experiment. Is having a higher proportion of chocolate to raspberry going to impact safety/longevity of the canned product?

      Thanks for the expert advice!!!

      Reply
  20. Gail

    This sounds awesome!

    How long will this last in jars? (assuming they don’t get emptied by me)

    – Gail

    Reply
  21. melissa

    Do you think this could be just as good with strawberries. I’m thinking chocolate covered strawberries jam or cherries cordial jam. Yummo.

    Reply
    • Cathy

      Hi Melissa, One of the beauties of this preserve is the smooth texture. The berries are run through a food mill so there is no hint of the seed (wellll — some always slip through.) I’m not sure you could achieve that smooth texture with the strawberries, but it’s worth a try. I am SWOONING over the idea of cherries cordial jam, but the lack of natural pectin in the cherries would mean it would be more sauce than jam. Also, see above note about food mill and texture – totally lost with cherries, I would guess. Anyway, give it a try and let me know, ok? And I’m going to start thinking about that cordial and cherries and chocolate and jam. Cheers, Cathy

      Reply
  22. jwlucasnc

    This is something my husband would love. Will try to make a secret batch this week while he’s traveling for a father’s day surprise.

    Reply
  23. jwlucasnc

    If I don’t find nice fresh berries, and would frozen work? I seem to get stuck with overly ripe berries lately that turn moldy before I can enjoy them.

    Reply
    • Cathy

      I always make this within hours of returning from the farmers market. Berries are hard to hold, but my favorite fruit farmer taught me to place a paper or cloth towel on a plate, then place the berries in one layer. They’ll last five days that way. Don’t wash them or get them wet. Otherwise, yes, I’m sure frozen berries would work.

      Reply
  24. Simple Mama

    Wow. This is just delicious. I cooked it a bit longer so it was thicker. The 5 year old can’t wait for a PB&J made with this chocolate raspberry jam. Let’s be honest. I won’t be sharing. (Well…maybe with the 5 year old…but that’s about it.)

    Reply
  25. ellen

    Curious if I have to can these or if I can store it in the fridge and if so for how long.

    Reply
  26. Beth

    I’m hoping someone can help me out… I made this today and it has wonderful flavor, but it is super sticky and not a jam consistency. It’s almost like tootsie rolls or something. Once it cools down, you actually can chew it. I’m pretty competent at jams and canning, but this was my first attempt with using chocolate. I followed the directions and cooked it for the times listed. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I did to turn it into chocolate raspberry tootsie rolls? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Cathy

      I can’t imagine how this happened, except that it cooked too long. I’m so sorry you’ve had this issue. I’m assuming you used very dark, bittersweet chocolate?

      Reply
      • Beth

        I did use dark chocolate. It didn’t melt as smoothly as I thought it would, though, so I’m wondering if it was the type of chocolate I used. I’m going to try it again tomorrow with a different brand!

        Reply
  27. Karen

    I will be making this tomorrow. I have a large raspberry patch in my back yard, picked and froze about 5 gallons this summer. I have milled and strained the berries today, purchased 100% Ghirardelli cacao bars yesterday. I am so excited to make and give this for Christmas presents. Can you tell me what the temp should be for it to be set? You said it should wrinkle on the top? Just want to be sure I do this right! Thank you.
    Karen

    Reply
  28. Nadia

    Hi this sounds delicious. I am wondering if this would freeze okay? Thank you.

    Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1.  Weekly Gluten-Free Roundup – June 26, 2011 « Celiac Kitchen Witch
  2.  Time to can. « Three Girl Pile-Up
  3.  Grain-Free Thumbprint Cookies | Healthy Green Kitchen
  4.  Chocolate Blackberry Preserves by The Redhead Baker

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.