[1] A chocolate hamburger, made with pandoro.

[2] Pandoro is ubiquitous during the holiday season, but you can find it year-round. If you can’t, substitute pound cake in this recipe.

[3] There are numerous other uses for pandoro (all photos courtesy Bauli).

May is National Hamburger Month, and Chef Luca Manfè’s Chocolate Pandoro Burger encourages burger lovers to extend their love to dessert.

Chef Luca developed this recipe for Bauli, producers of pandoro and panettone.

The chocolate hamburger, with pastry cream as the mayo and raspberry sauce as ketchup, is enveloped by a pandoro bun.
 
 
RECIPE: CHOCOLATE HAMBURGER

Ingredients For 4 Servings
 
For The Burger

 
For The Bun

 
For The Pastry Cream

 
For The Raspberry Sauce

1. MAKE the chocolate burgers. Place the butter on the counter to soften completely. Melt the chocolate in a water bath.

2. USE a stand mixer to bring the eggs to a volume with the sugar. When the chocolate cools completely, add it to the whipped eggs with the crushed biscotti and butter. Mix all together and put in the fridge for 20-30 minutes or until the mixture is easy to shape.

3. ROLL the cooled mixture like a log, in a piece of parchment paper. You should get two logs, 2 inches log. Place back in the fridge and let cool.

4. MAKE the pastry cream. In a saucepan, combine milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and salt. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a simmer.

5. WHISK together in a bowl the egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot-milk mixture into the egg-yolk mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until it has been incorporated. Pour mixture back into saucepan, and cook about 2 minutes over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens.

6. REMOVE and discard the vanilla bean. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter, and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the butter melts and the mixture cools.

7. COVER with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours (it can be stored for up to 2 days). Just before using, beat on low speed until smooth, or whisk it by hand.

8. MAKE the raspberry sauce. Combine the raspberries, sugar, lemon juice and salt in a small saucepan set over low heat. Cook until the berries release their juices and just start to break down, about 5 minutes.

9. USE a rubber spatula to press the berries through a fine-mesh sieve; discard the solids. Return the strained juice to the saucepan, stir in cornstarch, and cook until mixture comes to a boil. Let cool. Store, refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.

10. CUT the bun slices. Use a 2-1/2″ ring or cookie cutter to cut pandoro circles. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter In a pan melt and toast the slices of Pandoro on both sides. Assemble and serve immediately: bun half, burger, raspberry sauce, pastry cream and bun top.