You can make Hannibal’s Sanguinaccio Dolce without blood for a surprisingly easy, elegant chocolate dessert.
Heeeeeeey, it’s October! That means 31 days of pumpkins, pumpkin spice lattes , and spooky things!! Do you have any plans for Halloween yet? I’m not totally sure what I’ll be doing on the 31st, but I do know what I’m doing to celebrate on the blog…
Last month the blog theme was Quick and Easy Recipes . This month, in honor of Halloween, I thought I’d do something a little less practical and a little more fun: Creepy Recipes From Fiction!
I picked a few of my favorite spooky/scary foods inspired by television shows and movies to post every Monday this month and I’m su-ooooooo-oooooooo-ooper (not sorry) excited to share them.
First off, Sanguinaccio Dolce Senza Sangue (Sanguinaccio Dolce Without Blood) from Hannibal .
For those keeping score, this is the second Hannibal recipe on the blog. Last time, I made Lomo Saltado , and if you want to see me lose it a little over how much/why I loved this show, you can read aaaaaaall about it in that post.
Sanguinaccio Dolce is a dessert that appears in the show’s 3rd season. It’s a fantastically rich dark chocolate pudding traditionally made with pigs blood. Hannibal makes it with cow’s blood, though he confesses to his colleague, Dr. Chilton, that the last time they ate it together, it was made with blood from a different sort of animal…
NBC viaTumblr
This Sanguinaccio Dolce recipe does not use pig, cow, or any other kind of blood because I wanted to make it a little more accessible and because it can be a challenge to get your hands on fresh pig’s blood.
I asked around at all of my usual stores, and no one carried it. In fact, when my butcher went in to ask his boss if they could get me any, his boss thought it was so funny, I could hear him laughing through two closed doors, which I think Hannibal would agree with me… RUDE! 😉
Anyway, this is a wonderful dessert and very easy to make. Despite the fancy Italian name, you don’t need any fancy ingredients, just some milk, flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and good-quality chocolate. They simmer together until you get a luscious deep dark chocolate pudding.
Sanguinaccio Dolce is pure chocolate indulgence, so dark and rich you’ll probably just want to drift off into a chocolate coma afterwards. It feels completely sinful, making it a perfect Halloween dessert.
Serve it in a bowl with lady fingers for dipping or recreate Hannibal’s plate for an elegant presentation in a hollowed out orange half with fresh berries.
More Nerdy Recipes
- Game of Thrones Frey Pie
- American Gods Beef Pasties
- The Good Place Maple Butter Scones
Sanguinaccio Dolce Recipe Tips and Notes
- This pudding is delicious warm and at room temperature, but as it cools, the surface may begin to look dull. Don’t worry. Just give it a good stir right before serving to return its luster.
- DO NOT skip sifting where the recipe calls for it. If there are lumps in your cocoa powder, there will be lumps in your pudding and you will not be able to get rid of them!
- If you can get your hands on some fresh pigs blood, you might like to try the version with sangue !
- Some stores don’t carry Lady Fingers. You can purchase them on Amazon * (make tiramisu with the leftovers!) or use any mild, hard cookie/biscuit you’d like.
- If you want to serve your Sanguinaccio Dolce like Hannibal, the easiest way to hollow out an orange is to cut it in half and run a spoon between the fruit and the pith. Keep working all the way down until you can pop most of the fruit out and use your spoon to scrape out the last bit at the bottom.
- Finally, Fannibals, did you know Janice Poon, the food stylist on Hannibal has a Hannibal cookbook coming out at the end of October? It’s called Feeding Hannibal: A Connoisseur’s Cookbook * and I cannot wait to check it out!
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 cup milk (any percentage, preferably whole)
- ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 42 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 100 g) granulated sugar
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 22 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1/3 cup ( 2 oz) chopped good-quality chocolate at least 70%
- ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium pot combine milk and your cinnamon stick. Heat over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes until just before simmering. Remove from heat and discard cinnamon stick.
- In a medium bowl, sift together cocoa powder, sugar, and flour.
- Slowly whisk in hot milk, doing your best not to allow lumps to form. Mix well and return mixture to the pot.
- Whisk constantly over medium-low heat until mixture begins to bubble and thicken, 4 to 8 minutes.
- Whisk in chocolate until smooth. Remove from heat, and mix in vanilla.
- Cool slightly before serving.
Sanguinaccio Dolce Without Blood Adapted From Scatti di Gusto
You can make these Small-batch Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats in just a few minutes for a simple, fun fall dessert.
Fall is officially here!! The leaves are starting to change, evenings are cooling down, and while it’s not sweater weather here yet, I’ve already spent waaaaay too many hours sweater shopping online (#1 on my wishlist? A perfect slouchy sweater with elbow patches–I NEED IT).
Anyway, fall is the season of pumpkin spice, and yes, I’ve already made a few pumpkin spice recipes this season, my Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe (!!!) and Pumpkin Donuts With Maple Glaze (my fav forever and ever), but you’re about to get one more, Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats!
Why Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies? Because it’s fall, and as a food blogger, I am contractually obligated to add pumpkin spice to all things this time of year. And because rice krispies, while delicious just the way they are, always make me want to dress them up a bit.
And they do look so cute all dressed up with pumpkin, pumpkin spice, and white chocolate. Plus, this is just a recipe for small-batch pumpkin spice rice krispies, so they are quick to make and you won’t overindulge.
This recipe will make four servings, which I think is the perfect number of servings, two for you, two for someone you like (or two for the you of tomorrow). It also uses real pumpkin puree, but just a tablespoon, so it’s perfect if you are down to the bottom of a can of puree and need to get rid of the stuff!
As I’ve covered before, pumpkin puree has a ton of moisture in it, which can cause the rice krispies to become soggy. So I used the same technique that I used for my Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies , of squeezing out some of the puree’s moisture between two paper towels. It’s super easy and takes care of the sogginess problem!
I am completely in love these treats and they are just the sort of easy-to-throw-together dessert that can really pick up a boring evening. Give them a try!
More Pumpkin Desserts
- Mini Pumpkin Pie
- Small Pumpkin Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Donuts With Cream Cheese Glaze
This recipe only uses a tiny fraction of a can of pumpkin puree. Check out my post What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree for some ideas on what to do with the all the leftovers.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 15 g) pumpkin puree
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1 oz) butter
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ▢ Pinch of nutmeg
- ▢ Pinch of ground cloves
- ▢ Pinch of ginger
- ▢ 2 cups mini marshmallows or 20 regular-sized marshmallows, divided
- ▢ 1 1/2 cup Rice Krispies
White Chocolate Drizzle
- ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons milk
- ▢ 3 tablespoons finely chopped white chocolate good-quality chips are fine
Instructions
Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies
- Lightly grease a small dish (I used a 6-inch round Pyrex dish) or sheet of parchment paper.
- Drop pumpkin puree onto a couple layers of paper towels. Fold the towel over and squeeze out the moisture. Scrape the the puree onto a dry part of the towel and repeat once or twice more, until most of the moisture has been removed and you can pick up the puree with your fingers.
- In a medium pan, combine prepared puree, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and ginger. Heat over medium heat until butter is melted and whisk until mostly combined. Add 1 1/2 cup of the marshmallows and use a heat-proof rubber spatula to stir until mostly melted and combined.
- Remove from heat and stir in Rice Krispies and remaining 1/2 cup of marshmallows. Stir just until everything is well-mixed (some of the marshmallows will not completely melt). Transfer to your greased dish or drop onto lightly greased parchment paper. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
White Chocolate Drizzle
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat milk for 10 to 20 seconds until steaming. Add chopped white chocolate and stir until melted. Drizzle over the rice krispies treats with a spoon or transfer to a disposable plastic bag and snip off one of the corners to “pipe” your chocolate. Allow another 10 minutes of cooling time before eating.
- Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.
Notes
Adapted From Life Sprinkled With Glitter
These cute and delicious Mini Pumpkin Eclairs are topped with chocolate glaze and filled with rich pumpkin pastry cream.
You might remember that a few weeks ago I made these super cute Jigglypuff Pink Cream Puffs and had way too much fun making pâte à choux.
Pâte à choux is the base for a ton of French pastries, so while I was testing the cream puff recipe, I couldn’t help but fantasize over all the other delicious things I could do with this dough. And thus, today’s recipe was born, Mini Pumpkin Eclairs.
Tell me they’re not adorable! You can eat them in about three perfect bites and they taste just as good as they look. That perfect puffy choux pastry is filled with a killer pumpkin pastry cream and then they are dipped in my very favorite chocolate glaze (also seen on my Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes ), which instantly adds about a million delicious points to any recipe.
I couldn’t have these sitting around my kitchen, so I shared them around with family and everyone loved them, especially the pumpkin take on pastry cream. The pumpkin pastry cream is rich, but not too sweet and made with pumpkin puree and all the usual pumpkin spices.
This is totally a recipe I would make just for kicks on a rainy day, but it’s also a fun one to make if you have a friend or two coming over, because when was the last time someone served you a homemade eclair? How fancy and together do you look when you can hand them one of these? And they’re not even just plain old eclairs. They are PUMPKIN eclairs.
Like hey, I just made a fancy fall-themed French pastry from scratch. What did you do today? …On second thought, maybe don’t make pumpkin eclairs to play psychological games with your friends. That’s probably a great way to lose them all.
Save them for your competitive siblings. Siblings have to love you. 😉
This is the same pâte à choux recipe I used for my cream puffs, so I’m including the same tips from that recipe. If you’ve never made pâte à choux before, read them over before you begin. I think you will find them helpful!
More Perfect Fall Recipes
- Baked Pumpkin Donuts With Maple Frosting
- The Most Amazing Dutch Apple Pie
- Small Apple Cinnamon Cake
- Small-batch Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
Pumpkin Eclairs Recipe Tips
- This pâte à choux recipe is simple and easy, but it’s not necessarily forgiving. Make sure to follow the instructions as written and measure your flour correctly, preferably with a scale. If you don’t have a scale, use the spoon and sweep method . (Use a scoop to drop flour into your measuring cup and then the flat side of a butter knife to sweep off the excess. This way your flour won’t become compressed and you won’t end up with too much.)
- You will also need a couple tools. Both the pâte à choux and pastry cream need to be piped. The former works best using a 5/8-inch plain tip *, but you get away with using a large plastic bag with the corner snipped off. For the pastry cream, you need a piping bag with about a 1/8-inch plain tip *. Filling the cream puffs requires you to make a small hole in the bottom and pipe cream in. Without a sturdy tip, filling them is going to be difficult.
- The final thing you need is a fine mesh strainer. While making the custard for the pastry cream, sometimes bits of egg get overcooked and running the cream through the strainer will make sure that you don’t get solid eggy bits in your pastry cream. They are super cheap on Amazon *, but you can also find them in the baking aisle in most grocery stores.
Have some leftover pumpkin puree after making this recipe? Check out my post What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree for some ideas on what to do with the rest of the can.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Pastry Cream
- ▢ 1 cup milk any percentage, preferably whole
- ▢ 3 large egg yolks
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 61 g) pumpkin puree
- ▢ 1/3 cup ( 66 g) granulated sugar
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 15 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 14 g) cornstarch
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ▢ Pinch ground nutmeg
- ▢ Pinch ground cloves
- ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pate a Choux
- ▢ 1/2 cup water
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 2 oz) unsalted butter diced
- ▢ 1 teaspoon sugar
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 60 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 2 large eggs
Egg Wash
- ▢ 1 large egg
- ▢ 1 tablespoon water
Chocolate Glaze*
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2 oz) unsalted butter
- ▢ 2 tablespoons milk
- ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup
- ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/3 cup ( 2 oz) chopped semisweet chocolate chips are fine
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120 g) powdered sugar sifted
Instructions
Pumpkin Pastry Cream
- In a medium saucepan, heat milk until milk begins to steam but is not boiling. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, pumpkin puree, sugar, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. SLOWLY drizzle in hot milk, whisking constantly so you don’t scramble your eggs.
- Continue whisking and pouring until all of the liquid is incorporated. You can speed up the pouring as you go and the temperature of your eggs is brought up.
- Transfer mixture back to your saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. Continue to cook until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 3 to 6 minutes. It’s ready when it is the consistency of a thick pudding. Whisk vigorously until smooth, remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
- Place your strainer over a medium bowl and strain pastry cream, using your whisk to push the mixture through.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming and place in the refrigerator to chill completely, at least an hour.
Pate a Choux
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Have your flour measured out and ready to go. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as the butter is melted and the mixture reaches a boil, stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Stir until flour is incorporated and the mixture pulls away from the sides and forms a thin film over the bottom of the pan.
- Transfer dough to a large bowl and allow to cool for about 4 minutes, until no longer hot to the touch. Add one egg and use your wooden spoon to work the egg into the dough until completely mixed. It will seem slow going at first, but it will come together. Repeat with the second egg.
- Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch tip. Pipe 10 to 11 3-inch lines, at least 2 inches apart. Once finished, use a little water on your fingertip to pat down any tips that are sticking up from piping so you have smooth tops (otherwise the tips sticking up will burn).
- In a small bowl whisk together egg and water and brush gently over the pate a choux.
- Bake for 28 minutes. Do not open the oven. At 28 minutes, check the eclairs. They should be lightly browned. If not, cook for an additional 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before filling.
Filling the Eclairs
- Use a chop stick or small, sharp knife to poke 2 small holes in the bottom of each eclair. Transfer your cooled pastry cream to a piping bag fitted with a 1/8-inch round tip (if the cream has firmed up too much in the fridge, you can whisk it for about 30 seconds until it is smooth and the right consistency for piping.
- Fill each of the eclairs with a generous amount of pastry cream.
Glaze
- In a small saucepan, combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla. Whisk over medium heat until butter is melted. Add chocolate and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and add the sifted powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth.
- Transfer glaze to a small bowl wide enough for dipping and immediately dip filled eclairs. Allow glaze to set for 5 minutes before eating.
Notes
Pate a choux Adapted From Martha Stewart Pumpkin Pastry Cream Adapted From About Chocolate Glaze Adapted From Handle The Heat
Sanguinaccio Dolce Senza Sangue
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk (any percentage, preferably whole)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 cup ( 42 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup ( 100 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons ( 22 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup ( 2 oz) chopped good-quality chocolate at least 70%
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium pot combine milk and your cinnamon stick. Heat over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes until just before simmering. Remove from heat and discard cinnamon stick.
- In a medium bowl, sift together cocoa powder, sugar, and flour.
- Slowly whisk in hot milk, doing your best not to allow lumps to form. Mix well and return mixture to the pot.
- Whisk constantly over medium-low heat until mixture begins to bubble and thicken, 4 to 8 minutes.
- Whisk in chocolate until smooth. Remove from heat, and mix in vanilla.
- Cool slightly before serving.
