The Versatile Chocolate ...Nougat?

Nougat's not really something you would think of making at home... or even ever really think of... The word Nougat makes me think of a 3 Musketeers candy bar, but I never think of it otherwise! And then an experiment in the kitchen produced just that - Nougat.

I am a Chocoholic. My drug of choice is caffeine. I'm not interested in ruining my body with drugs and chemicals, even though I loved Brazilian and Swiss cigarettes during my high school foreign exchange stint, but caffeine? Completely different story! I would trade real food for for chocolate, coffee, and tea if I was asked to choose. It wouldn't be a very long life, but I would die high and happy and jittery =)

So, you can imagine my dismay when I discovered that chocolate, coffee, and tea repulsed me the first 5 months of this pregnancy. I hated them all. Especially chocolate. And then in the past few weeks I started to like it again, little by little. And now I can't get enough. Apparently, my son in my womb feels the same way, and does a great big happy dance every time I feed him anything chocolate =)

A few days ago I was trying to make a chocolate mousse, and it went a bit awry. At first it was fluffy and creamy, but after refrigeration it ended up a bit harder and drier. It was still creamy, it just wasn't a mousse. But this has turned out to be one of the best things I've eaten in a long time, and it goes with everything! After a couple of days in the fridge it got a bit drier and drier, so I decided to heat it up and see what happened -- it turned out to be the best hot fudge sauce ever! My husband stuffed chocolate tamales with my chocolate nougat. And, I have my sneaking suspicions it would be the most glorious filling in a cake or topping on brownies... Hmmm... Now I want to make both just to try it out!!

WHAT YOU NEED:

8 oz Mascarpone

4 oz Cream Cheese

8 oz Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

1 1/2 bags (15 oz) Ghirardelli 60% Dark Chocolate Chips

HOW TO:

Let mascarpone, cream cheese, and heavy whipping cream warm to room temperature, about 20-30 minutes. Beat together in a mixing bowl. Mix in sugar.

Heat chocolate chips in bain-marie until well melted. Pour over cream/cheese mixture, and beat together immediately.

If you aren't going to use it right away, store in an air-tight container. 

IDEAS:

Form into balls or squares directly after making, refrigerate, and cover with melted chocolate to make candies. YUM!

Dip strawberries!!

Heat up later and pour over ice cream, brownies, or both, as a fudge sauce.

Use as a frosting or layer between cakes.

And if you're like me, you probably want to fill your bathtub and roll around in it. 

Leave me a comment and let me know how any of these ideas turn out for you ...except the bathtub one. I was just joking. That you can keep to yourself, thanks =)