Chocolate whipped cream is a real treat for the holidays, easy to make and keeps very well in the frig…Break 4 oz of Lindt Bittersweet Chocolate into small pieces in a heat proof bowl.  Heat 1 cup heavy cream with 1 to 2 Tb sugar, just to a boil.  Immediately pour over chocolate and stir to melt.  Cover and refrigerate 4 hours just until cold but still liquid.  Whip until soft peaks form.  Warning:  if you allow to chill until solid, it becomes the melt-in-your mouth chocolate truffle of your dreams!  In this case, simply scoop out small, delicate balls of the ganache and roll in finely chopped nuts or cocoa powder, place in tiny candy papercups and pretend like you meant to make them all along!  Or reheat briefly just to melt the ganache into a liquid and leave it at room temperature to cool thoroughly.  Then whip until soft peaks form.

To make enough chocolate whipped cream frosting for a layer cake:

Heat 2 cups heavy cream just to scalding (tiny bubbles begin to form around the perimeter of the saucepan).  Place one 12 oz bag of semisweet chocolate pieces in a mixing bowl.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and stir to melt.  Allow to sit at room temperature until thoroughly cooled, stirring every now and then to prevent a skin from forming on the top.  Whip on medium speed until soft peaks form.  The frosting will continue to stiffen as you work with it to frost the cake layers.  This cake will need to be refrigerated, and the frosting will stiffen further when cold.  Allow to sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving, to warm the cake.