A Conscious Feast by Nicole Aloni

This was one of several desserts I prepared for Passover (more of those recipes to come this week). But I would also serve this to wrap up any meal in style— from Thursday night meatloaf, to a Saturday evening rack of lamb. Essentially, this is an intensely chocolate snowcone mellowed with smooth Godiva chocolate liqueur. Decadent!

Chocolate Granita is also a winner when I want to prepare a treat for my many gluten-free pals.

EASE OF PREPARATION: Pretty simple

Makes 4 servings

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, like the fair trade, organic product from Dagoba
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons Godiva chocolate liqueur
• 1/2 cup barely sweetened whipped cream

1. Heat the first three ingredients in a saucepan until simmering and the sugar is melted. Remove from the heat and stir in all of the ingredients except the whipped cream. Cool.
2. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch by 8-inch metal baking pan.
3. Freeze the mixture until icy around the edges, about 45 minutes. Use a fork to rake the frozen edges toward the center. Repeat the raking several times, until frozen through, about 2 hours total.
4. Cover and keep frozen. Note: The granita can be made to this point up to 2 days before serving.

TO SERVE:

• Pour the granita into a martini glass, a frosted parfait glass, or a small dish. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream.