Chocolate Whipped Cream

A single line that assumes the cook already knows what a flavored cream is. The gaps are worth filling in.

• "Flavored" means sweetened and scentedThe period shorthand assumes sugar and a flavoring stirred into the cream before whipping. For a pint, roughly 2 to 3 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla works; rum, brandy, strong coffee or almond extract are plausible alternatives, though the recipe specifies none.
• A pint is 2 cupsThat doubles to about 4 cups whipped, enough to serve four to six as a dessert on its own or to top a larger number of fruit cups.
• Cream that will whipLook for heavy cream, which runs at 36 percent fat or more; cream labelled only "whipping cream" may be lower. Ultra-pasteurized cream whips but takes longer and holds less air; if the label offers a choice, take the plain pasteurized.
• Cold is the whole techniqueChill the bowl, the beaters and the cream. Warm cream is slow to take air and passes from grainy to broken much sooner, and this dish has nothing else to hide behind.
• Stop at stiff, not stifferThe mound needs to stand, so beat until the peaks hold, but the last twenty seconds are where cream breaks. Finish the final few strokes by hand with a whisk if you are using a machine.
• Grating the chocolateA firm dark or semisweet bar against the coarse side of a box grater gives the shaggy covering intended here. Chill the bar first so it shreds rather than smears, and grate directly over the mound.
• Assemble lateWhipped cream eventually slumps and weeps as it stands. Shape and cover it shortly before it goes to the table, or stabilize the cream if it must wait.