24 February 2009

Nipples of Venus



For Valentine's Day, hubby and I decided to stay in and eat something a little naughty!  It was all inspired by NoRecipes' Dinner and a Movie Event.  This month's movie was Chocolat.  Hubby and I hadn't seen this movie since it first came out and I had forgotten just how good it was.  Juliette Binoche plays Vianne, a woman who moves to a small French town in 1959 to open up a chocolaterie at the beginning of Lent.  She befriends the townspeople, some of who struggle pitting their Lenten willpower, against their desires of the flesh through their temptation by chocolate.  In the movie, Vianne makes Nipples of Venus and tries to tempt the very stoic and well restrained Comte de Reynaud with them.  

I have had the cookbook My French Kitchen written by Joanne Harris (the author of Chocolat) for over a year now and had yet to make Nipples of Venus.  What better reason to make them for a viewing of Chocolat? (and a little naughty fun!).  I do not confess to be a chocolatier and my Nipples of Venus did not turn out as firm as they are supposed to (okay, so maybe they are aged Nipples of Venus?) but they were still extremely rich and wonderful and decadent (Venus aged well) and a fun dessert.  Give them a try!

Nipples of Venus adapted from My French Kitchen by Joanne Harris

Ingredients:

8 oz. bittersweet (above 70 % cacao) chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
3 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (above 70% cacao) chocolate, chopped
2 oz. white chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1.  Melt the 8 oz. of chopped bittersweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler over gently simmering water.   
2.  Heat the heavy cream in a separate saucepan until nearly boiling (but not).  Add the heavy cream to the melted chocolate and mix until evenly blended.  Leave to cool for 2 hours.
3.  When cooled, use an electric mixer to beat the mixture until it becomes stiff and holds it's shape.
4.  Line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper or use non-stick cookie sheets.  Put the chocolate mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch plain tip.  Pipe nipple shapes (about Hershey kiss size) onto the parchment paper or non-stick cookie sheet.  Refrigerate to chill and set (at least 20 minutes)
5.  Melt the 3 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler over gently simmering water.  Drizzle chocolate over the nipples.
6.  Melt the 2 oz. white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over gently simmering water.  Drizzle the white chocolate over the nipples.

(The official way to make this dish, which I couldn't quite do because my Nipples of Venus were too soft, is to take the Nipples, dip them in the chocolate, let that set up, then dip just the very tip in the white chocolate to look like nipples.  My way was still tasty, if not quite as naughty!)









25 comments:

Anonymous said...

The title of this post made me have to come and see what you were talking about! hahahaha!

I think the cookies turned out beautifully, and how wonderful that you watched "Chocolat". I love that movie...and now I have to go and rent it to watch again:-)

Meg said...

I bet these are yummy! What an interesting name for these treats!

I need to watch that movie again!

Chef E said...

Looks good! We were also watching the sequel to Get Shorty, and nibbling on one of my molten brownie cakes too...chocolate is a good snuggle movie with those treats!

tavolini said...

Looks good to me, and the title made me giggle :)

Anonymous said...

What a fun idea!

Bob said...

Heh, nice. :)

Wandering Coyote said...

I'm impressed! I've never heard of Nipples of Venus, though I have seen Chocolat (it was a while ago) and these look wonderful!

Varsha Vipins said...

.title dragged me here..:D

pigpigscorner said...

I was taken here by the title...lol. What a fun way to celebrate valentine's.

Anonymous said...

Aged or not, they sure look good :)

Donna-FFW said...

These look like delectable little bites of bliss!! Cute name too!

Angie Tee said...

Oooh! Sounds KINKY!

Reeni said...

That is one of my all-time favorite movies and I have that cookbook too!! These look delicious!!

Nicole said...

They look pretty and delicious to me! Happy Mardi Gras!

Nate @ House of Annie said...

Putting them in the fridge might make them hard. Is it cold in here? ;-)

The Duo Dishes said...

What a happy Vday treat. How could we not remember those from the movie? Guess that means rewatching Chocolat!

Robin said...

I loved that movie. I especially loved how she could pick the right chocolate for everyone but never pleases Johnny Depp. Or did she fianlly please him with the hot chocolate? It was a while since I have seen it. The nipples are great and it is funny to say nipples!

Tangled Noodle said...

[Giggle] [blush] [giggle again] Years of Catholic schooling has forever rendered me incapable of saying 'nipple', out loud or in my mind, without turning pink. These treats (tReats) look wonderful!

Elin Chia said...

:))) the title of your post makes me come over and investigate...haha looks yummy :)

Nurit "1 family. friendly. food." said...

what a great idea!

appropriated.muffin said...

those look very naughty indeed!! i can't wait to try them out... i'm guessing that they're kind of chocolate truffle-like? mmmmmm chocolate.

Anonymous said...

You crack me up! I giggled as I read this post :)

Abigail (aka Mamatouille) said...

I loved that movie, too, and what a cool idea to make nipples for Valentines!

They have a rice mochi (rice paste) treat over here in Japan that is white with red dots on the top - same idea - different country. :) They're pretty tasty.

gaga said...

Haha, what a cute name. They look delicious.

Susan @ SGCC said...

What a fun idea! Your "Nipples of Venus" look very decadent and delicious! Thanks so much for sharing it with us. I can't wait to see what you come up with next month!

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