CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
A rich but not cloying chocolate mousse

Ingredients (Serves 12-20)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp grated lemon peel (optional)

13 oz semisweet chocolate

3 oz unsweetened chocolate

2 whole eggs

4 eggs, separated

16 oz whipping cream

powdered (confectioner's) sugar

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Cut flour and butter together. With a fork mix in egg yolk, vanilla, and lemon peel. Press onto the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan, and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 deg. F, or until it just begins to turn slightly golden.
2. Melt all the chocolate in a double boiler.
3. Whip the whipping cream with 2-3 Tbsp of powdered sugar (the stiffer you whip it, the stiffer the mousse will be).
4. Beat the eggs whites with 2-3 Tbsp powdered sugar.
5. Remove the top pan of the double boiler (with the melted chocolate) from the bottom pan and let it cool a bit. ("Cool" means it's only cool enough so that when you add the eggs in the next step, they don't cook. You still need to be able to stir it.)
6. Add the whole eggs to the chocolate, one at a time, and mix well.
7. Then add the egg yolks one at a time and mix well.
8. Mix some of the whipping cream (enough to lighten the chocolate) into the chocolate.
9. Alternately fold in the whipping cream and the egg whites into the chocolate.
10. Pour into the crust.
11. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.

Ingredients (40 pieces)

3/4 cup margarine

3/4 cup cocoa

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter cream frosting

1. Melt the margarine and mix with the cocoa.
2. In a small bowl, mix flour and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Then add sugar, vanilla, and beat well.
4. Add flour and margarine mixture to this and blend thoroughly.
5. Heat skillet to medium low. Drop small clumps (1 Tbsp) and cook like pancakes: about 1 1/2 minutes on one side, 1/2 minute on the other, then turn over again and remove after a few seconds.
6. Freeze. When relatively hard, coat one side with buttercream frosting.

One side of the pancakes may burn. It doesn't particularly affect the taste, and if you frost this side, no one will even know.

It's not necessary to cook the pancakes completely; if the middle looks somewhat gooey, don't fret: it will soon harden.

Ingredients (Makes 1 cheesecake)

24 oz cream cheese, broken into pieces

4 eggs, separated

2 Tbsp vanilla extract (do not use artificial vanilla)

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup brown sugar, or to taste

1 lb chocolate chips

1 lb graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter, melted.

1. Preheat the oven to 325 deg. F.
2. Prepare the batter: place the egg yolks in a food processor for 5 seconds, then add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add the brown sugar and vanilla and process for several minutes, or until the batter is very smooth. Add the sour cream, then beat the eggwhites and fold into the cheese mixture. Set aside.
3. Prepare the crust: soften butter and combine with graham cracker crumbs. Mix until fully blended, e.g. they will form a ball when squeezed in your hand or by a spoon. Pat the crust into the sides and bottom of a springform pan about 9 inches in diameter.
4. Spread a generous layer of chips on the bottom of the pan, and then pour the batter into the pan. Add another generous layer of chips to the top of the cake.
5. Place the filled pan into the preheated oven. Baking time will vary from about 30 minutes to 2 hours. Cooking time depends on whether you want a soft, gooey "New York" style cheesecake (shorter) to a fluffy "souffle"-like cheesecake (longer). The longer you cook it, the fluffier it gets.
6. When the cake starts to rise like a souffle, start checking to see if it is done. It will just about double in volume, and should not flow over the sides of the pan. If the cake shimmers like Jello when shaken, it is done. Alternatively, if a knife inserted comes out clean, the cake is overcooked: the knife should be very lightly coated with batter.