Roasted Cherry Chocolate Pie

The other day, I was browsing around Confections of a Foodie Bride (she has some AMAZING margarita and burger recipes...yum!), and I came across this recipe for a roasted cherry brownie sundae.  I love cherries, and they go brilliantly with chocolate, so this recipe got filed away in my mental recipe box.  Fast forward a few days.  It was a friend's birthday, and she loves chocolate.  I wanted to make her something decadent and chocolatey, but I also wanted it to be easy and quick to make, because we were celebrating her birthday on a Wednesday, so it would have to be made after work on Tuesday.  I decided on a chocolate pie, because pies are easy and delicious.  But chocolate pie seemed too plain.  And then I remembered the roasted cherry brownie sundaes.  And decided to stir the roasted cherries into my chocolate pie filling.  This, my friends, was a very good idea.  So good of an idea, in fact, that the pie was devoured in its entirety, before I had a chance to take a picture.

But really, the pie didn't look all that pretty anyways, because I dropped it as I was getting into my car.  Go me.  Thankfully, the lid stayed on, so all the contents stayed inside the pan.  It was just a little...shaken up.  Anyway, you should make this pie.  And try not to drop it.  And try not to eat it all in one sitting.  I dare you.

Roasted Cherry Chocolate Pie (adapted from Epicurious and Confections of a Foodie Bride)

• 1 lb. sweet cherries
• 1/2 c. port
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 2 Tbl. cocoa powder
• 2 1/4 c. milk
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 egg yolks
• 6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 chocolate graham cracker pie crust (store bought or homemade)
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 2 Tbl. powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

Remove the pits from the cherries, and cut them in half.  Combine them with the port in an oven-proof baking dish.  Roast at 425*F for 30-40 minutes, or until the cherries are soft and the port has reduced to about 1/4 c.  Remove from oven and drain the cherries, reserving the liquid.

Whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder in a saucepan.  Add the port and milk, whisking to combine.  Heat over medium heat until just steaming.

Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks until thoroughly combined.  Slowly whisk in about 1 c. of the steaming milk mixture, to temper the eggs.  Add the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens significantly.  Be careful not to boil it to avoid scrambled eggs.  Remove the pudding from the heat, and stir in the vanilla, cherries, and chocolate chips until chocolate chips are melted.  Pour into the chocolate graham cracker pie crust.  Note: if you use one of the store-bought ones, you will have some filling left over, since they're closer to 8" than 9".  If you make a 9" one at home, you will not have filling left over.  Let cool for about 5 minutes, and then press plastic wrap down onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight, until set.

Combine the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and almond extract, and whip until stiff peaks form.  Spread the whipped cream over the top of the pie.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Bourbon Bacon Blondies

There's a fantastic local BBQ joint near the Husband and me...it's owned by a guy who has been a chef at a lot of the top local restaurants.  He's a classically trained French chef, but he got tired of doing the fancy food, so he started a BBQ restaurant.  He brings all the same attention-to-detail that high-end cuisine requires to a very unfussy local hangout.  And it shows.  You can drive by this place at 2:00 on a Tuesday afternoon, and it's packed.  Because of his extensive culinary experience, the chef comes up with some interesting desserts, too!  We once had some bacon brownies there (delicious), and last time we were there, the Husband had a doughnut topped with peanut butter frosting, bacon, and a chocolate drizzle.  Now, I'm not big on either doughnuts or bacon, but it was an interesting combination.  Fast forward a few weeks, and when the Husband requested that I make peanut butter blondies, well, I knew how I was going to jazz them up!  These blondies were a huge hit--the perfect balance of salty and sweet!

Peanut Butter Bourbon Bacon Blondies (adapted from my mom's blondie recipe)

• 1/3 c. butter
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 Tbl. bourbon
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 oz. bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 6 oz. Reese's minis, chopped (or Reese's pieces)

Melt butter, and mix in brown sugar until well-combined.  Cool slightly, then stir in the bourbon, egg, and vanilla until thoroughly mixed.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then stir it into the wet ingredients until a few streaks of flour remain.  Lastly, add the bacon and Reese's, and stir gently until just mixed.  Spread into a greased 8x8 pan, and bake at 350*F for 25 minutes.  Enjoy!

Irish Car Bomb Cheesecake Brownies

My company has been going through some layoffs and instituting some new cost-cutting measures recently.  Part of it is that our monthly meeting is no longer catered.  Bummer!  But, I'm looking at the silver lining--I've been making goodies to bring to the meeting each month!  My thought is that it's my insurance against getting laid off--if my name comes up, there will be outcry at the thought of no longer having sweet treats at our meetings!  :)

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to make some boozy Irish Car Bomb cheesecake-swirled brownies!  I took a Guinness brownie recipe and added my own Bailey's cheesecake swirl--yum!  The Fiancé declared them the best brownies that he has ever had, and that's saying something!  They're REALLY fudge-y (bordering more on flourless chocolate cake than brownie), not super sweet (the Guinness adds a nice bitterness, and the salt balances out the sugar), and overall quite delicious!  So, if you're still celebrating St. Patrick's Day (I'm Irish, so I reserve the right to celebrate all week!), go ahead and make a pan of these brownies to cap off your dinner!

Irish Car Bomb Cheesecake Brownies (brownie base adapted from Bon Appetit, cheesecake swirl is a Blondie original)

• 1 bottle Guinness (or another stout)
• 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 c. butter
• 1 3/4 c. sugar, divided
• 5 eggs, divided
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. flour
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 Tbl. Bailey's (or other Irish Cream)

Boil the Guinness uncovered over medium heat until it is reduced to about 1/3-1/2 c., stirring occasionally.  This might take a while!  Remove from heat and let cool partially.

Melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave (try 30-second increments, stirring after each one).  Once smooth, beat in 1 1/2 c. sugar.  One at a time, beat in 4 of the eggs.  Mix in the vanilla extract and the salt--yes, it seems like a lot of salt, but it's the perfect amount, trust me!  Finally, mix in the flour until just combined.  Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13" pan.

Meanwhile, cream the cream cheese with remaining 1/4 c. sugar.  Beat in the remaining egg.  Mix in the Bailey's until thoroughly combined.  Dollop spoonfuls of the cheesecake batter over the top of the brownie batter--there's no science to this, and it does not have to be precise!  Run a butter knife through the mixture to swirl the two batters together--careful not to overdo it, or you will lose the marbled effect!  Bake for about 40-50 minutes at 350* F, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (or mostly clean, if you like your brownies slightly underbaked).

Compost Cookies

The ladies at my workplace always do a cookie and craft exchange every year around the holidays.  I always do my best for the craft part, but I'll be honest--it's not really my strong suit.  Last year, I attempted to crochet a rug out of t-shirt scraps...and it turned out shaped more like a table runner--too narrow to be a rug!  But, being the procrastinator that I am, I had waited until the last possible second to make it, so I had no time to re-do it.  This year, I got the brilliant idea to crochet a set of placemats from raffia, since many of the ladies wanted something that was more practical.  Again, I waited until the last minute, only to find out that raffia is a real pain to work with, and at about 8:45 pm on the night before the exchange, I realized that I had no hope of finishing the placemats in time (in fact, I only had about 2 rows of the first one done after working on it for 2 hours!).  After frantically checking my local craft store's hours, I gunned it to get there before they closed at 9 pm, picked up some chunky yarn, went home, got my biggest crochet hook, and cranked out a simple scarf in no time flat.  Thankfully, the recipient loved it.  Phew!

The cookie part of the exchange comes much more naturally to me!  I have a reputation for being a good cook and baker around the office, though, so I always do my best to bring my A game and to make sure I bake something slightly out of the norm.  This year, I included the molasses ginger cookies that I blogged previously (the darker cookie in the picture) along with these not-so-little gems.  These cookies are an addictive combination of salty and sweet, which is always a good thing!  And they're HUGE!  They're also very flexible--they're called compost cookies because you can use whatever mix-ins you have lying around the house!  You can use this recipe to finish up all those half-empty bags of baking ingredients and snack foods that clutter up your pantry (unless that's just me?).  I've included some ideas for mix-ins below, but the only limit is your imagination!  You'll want the mix-ins to be small enough that you can get a few per cookie, but big enough to get a contrast in texture between the different ones!  Do yourself a favor, though, and make these cookies!

Salty: potato chips, pretzels, salted roasted nuts, crackers, popcorn, cooked and crumbled bacon
Sweet: semi-sweet, milk, dark, or white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, graham crackers, cereal, toffee bits, cookies, candy, coconut
Neutral: oatmeal, unsalted nuts

Compost Cookies (adapted from Christina Tosi, as seen on The Amateur Gourmet)

• 1 c. butter
• 1 c. white sugar
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg plus 1 yolk
• 1 Tbl. corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. salt (yes, this seems like a lot, but it's right!)
• 2 c. salty mix-ins (I used potato chips and pretzels)
• 2 c. sweet mix-ins (I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and crushed graham crackers)

Thoroughly cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and yolk, corn syrup, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and then stir the sifted ingredients into the wet ingredients until mostly mixed.  Very gently, fold in the mix-ins.

Using a 4-oz (1/4 c.) ice cream scoop, scoop the dough out onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, or freeze.  To bake, make sure the dough balls are spaced at least 4 in. away from each other on parchment paper-lined baking sheets--these cookies spread!   Bake at 350* F for 15-18 minutes, or until edges are set.  Let cool on the baking sheet, and then taste test your new favorite cookie!

*Note: if you're not using mix-ins that will absorb a fair amount of moisture (oatmeal, graham cracker crumbs, pretzel crumbs), you may need to add an additional 1/4 c. of flour to the dough.

What's Baking?: Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

This month's What's Baking? challenge was to bake something using peppermint.  How wonderfully seasonal!  I had recently seen a Paula Deen show where she was making cookies and dipped them in white chocolate and then into crushed candy canes, but it was with butterscotch cookies or something of the sort, which didn't seem to me to go at all!  I did think it sounded like a great idea to do on chocolate cookies, however, so when this challenge rolled around, I knew what my plan was!

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies (adapted from Martha Stewart)

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 8 oz semisweet chocolate chips (roughly 1 c.), divided
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. all purpose flour
• 1/2 c. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• White chocolate or vanilla coating
• 1 box of candy canes, unwrapped and finely crushed

Melt the butter and 4 oz. of the chocolate chips in the microwave.  Beat in sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.  Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and stir into the chocolate mixture until mostly combined.  Stir in the remaining chocolate chips.  Chill batter overnight.

Scoop the batter out by tablespoonful (or 1 1/2-in cookie scoop) onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 325* F for 15 minutes, or until edges are set.  Let cool completely.

Melt the white chocolate coating in the microwave.  Dip each cookie partially in the white chocolate coating, and shake excess white chocolate off.  Immediately dip coated part of cookie in crushed candy cane.  Let set, and then enjoy!

Brownie Returns--Super Bowl Strawberries

So I hope I'm not looking too much like a one-trick pony with the strawberries I did last year and now strawberries again.  I was between these and football shaped devil dogs (whoopie pies for anyone not related to us), and the strawberries seemed like they offered some redeeming health value.

Without further ado, here are your instructions--

1. Dip strawberries in melted chocolate.  I prefer it to be a bit on the darker side, so I use half milk and half semisweet (because I didn't have any actual dark chocolate).  Go for whatever combination you like.  I'd suggest dipping in a deep, narrow-necked vessel to give you maximum coating time (it gets tricky towards the end if you have a shallow chocolate puddle).  My new trick is spearing the berries on a toothpick and then sticking them into styrofoam (that I've covered with foil just in case).  It doesn't really matter for these since they'll be decorated, but it's good for getting a smoother finish.  If you happen to overcrowd your styrofoam and can't insert a berry along the edge, stick a second toothpick in from the opposite side and give it a quick jab.  The toothpick will go into the styrofoam and you can pull the top one out--as long as the chocolate hasn't become tacky it will fill the hole right back in!

The speared strawberries

Resting on a tray that had been in the freezer

Decisions, decisions

2. Decide on your weapon of choice.   On the left, we have a microwaveable decorating bottle.  Convenient for melting, but the tip size isn't adjustable.  Mine worked fine for the lines, but not the laces--too thick a bead for my taste.  On the right, a FREEZER quality plastic bag.  Regular storage bags tend to split.  You'll go through two of them and end up spending the same amount of money with more frustration.  Or you could be classy and use a decorating bag and tip.  That would probably work best.

3. Pipe your first line--go as close to the top as you can.  You want to go a little more than half way around, since the strawberry might be viewed from the side.  It's easiest to start off the berry and finish off the berry.  Repeat with the smaller line 1/4 to 1/3 up from the bottom.

The straightness of my lines left something to be desired...

4. Add the laces line.  By this time your white chocolate may have cooled, leaving you with slight bumps where the cooled chocolate clogs the tip.  You should reheat it so yours look better than mine.  I just soldiered on because I was tired.

They're even somewhat football-shaped!

5.  Add your laces--4 or 5 of them.  Do your top and bottom ones first, and then see if you think you can fit 3 more.  If so, do the middle first.  Here's your comparison shot--the left strawberry laces were done with the bottle (thicker lines) and the right ones were done with a plastic bag.


6.  GO NEW ENGLAND!

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cake

My friend Christina was recently talking about how birthdays aren't a big deal in her family. This made me sad, because we always celebrate birthdays in my family--the birthday person gets to choose his/her favorite meal to be cooked or the restaurant to go to and gets to pick a sweet birthday treat for dessert! I love doing this for my friends, although I usually stick to just the sweet treat. So when Christina's birthday rolled around, and she asked for a chocolate raspberry cake, I knew I wanted to make one that was over the top! Thankfully, Annie over at Annie's Eats had just the thing with her Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Layer Cake!


I made this cake over the course of three days, and I highly recommend breaking it up like that to make your life easier! I baked the cakes on day 1, then made the ganache, raspberry filling, and raspberry frosting and filled and frosted on day 2, and finally, made the chocolate glaze and decorated the cake on day 3. This worked pretty well for me, although day 2 was a little long. It was totally worth it in the long run, though, as the birthday girl LOVED the cake and said it was the best one she had ever had! Everyone was ooooh-ing and ahhhh-ing over the presentation, too--it looks very professional, but it's actually pretty simple! But enough preamble...on to the recipe!

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cake (very slightly adapted from Annie's Eats)

For the cake:

• 1 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbl. instant coffee granules
  
• 1 1/2 c. boiling water
• 3/4 c. sour cream
• 1 Tbl. vanilla extract
• 3 sticks (12 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 c. plus 2 Tbl. sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 3/4 c. plus 2 Tbl. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt

Combine cocoa powder and instant coffee in a small bowl. Whisk in the boiling water until smooth. Let cool slightly while you work on the rest of the batter, then whisk in sour cream. Resist the urge to lick the spoon (no, seriously...it's bitter despite looking like chocolatey goodness).

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture in three additions, alternating with the cocoa/sour cream mixture. Mix each addition until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly into three buttered and cocoa-powdered (won't leave your chocolate cake white like flour would) 9" round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cakes cool for 15 minutes in the pans, then remove them from the pans and transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Once cool, level the cakes using a serrated knife.

For the raspberry filling:

• 16 oz. frozen raspberries, thawed
• Up to 1 1/4 c. raspberry wine, as needed
  
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 3 Tbl. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Drain the raspberries, reserving the juice. Add raspberry wine (or raspberry liqueur or water) to the reserved juice until the total liquid is 1 1/4 c. If your thawed raspberries happened to leak bright red liquid all over your fridge, drink the leftover wine while cleaning it up.

Put the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, whisking to combine them. Transfer the raspberry liquid to the saucepan slowly, whisking it into the cornstarch so that it doesn't clump up. Heat over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from the heat, whisk in the lemon juice, and fold in the raspberries.

Cover and chill until you're ready to use it.

For the ganache filling:

• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
  
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 3 Tbl. unsalted butter, at room temperature

Combine chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between each one, until chips have melted. Whisk in the butter, 1 Tbl. at a time.

Transfer 1/2 c. ganache to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and another 1/2 c. to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip. Let all the ganache cool until thickened but still soft enough to spread and pipe.

For the raspberry frosting:

• 1 c. sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 21 Tbl. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 c. strained raspberry puree (just puree fresh raspberries and strain!)
  
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine sugar and egg whites in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar dissolves (it shouldn't feel grainy when you rub the egg whites between your fingers) or until egg whites reach 160 degrees F. Remove from heat, and whip egg whites until the mixture has cooled to room temperature and the egg whites have reached stiff peaks, about 8 minutes.

Add the butter, 2 Tbl. at a time, whisking until each addition is incorporated. If it looks curdled, just keep beating--it will come together! Once all the butter has been added and the frosting is thick and creamy, beat in the raspberry puree and vanilla extract.

For the chocolate glaze:

• 4 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 c. light corn syrup
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl--if you have a Pyrex measuring cup that is big enough, use that to save yourself an extra step! Microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring in between each one, until chocolate is melted. Stir in corn syrup and vanilla extract. Transfer to a pitcher or measuring cup with a spout.

To assemble:

Take one of your cooled, leveled cake layers, and put it on a cake board. Spread with approximately half of the chocolate ganache that's still in the bowl. Take the chocolate ganache in the plain-tipped piping bag, and pipe a border around the edge of the cake--this will help hold in the raspberry filling. Spread approximately half of the raspberry filling inside this ganache border.

Top with your second cooled, leveled cake layer. Repeat the process with the rest of the ganache and raspberry filling. Top with the third cake layer--put this one upside down so that the clean edges from the bottom of the pan are on top! This is a good point to refrigerate the cake to let the chocolate and raspberry fillings set up before frosting the cake.

Frost the entire cake with the raspberry buttercream, starting with the top and working the frosting down around the edges. Make the sides as smooth as possible! This is another great point to stop and refrigerate the cake to set the frosting before proceeding on to the next step.

Lastly, take the chocolate glaze, and pour it slowly over the top of the cake, making sure that it covers the entire top and just starts to drip down the sides. Refrigerate the cake for a while to let the glaze set.

Finally, take the ganache in the star-tipped piping bag, and pipe little swirls or rosettes around the top of the cake. Top each one with a fresh raspberry.

Pray to every god you can think of while transporting this cake that you've spent 3 days on to its destination. Glare at anyone who gets too close to the cake before the birthday girl has seen it in its pristine state. Revel in the delight in her eyes. Devour. :)

What's Baking: Chocolate Strawberry Tartlets

So, I'm horribly late on posting this, and I've been horribly neglecting my poor readers. I heartily apologize. I've been baking, I swear...I just haven't had time to photograph it or blog it. I'm making an exception for What's Baking?, though!


Our challenge for February was to bake with love and make something appropriate for Valentine's Day. I did indeed make this for myself and a special someone on Valentine's Day...and given the fact that I made up most of it as I went along, it turned out quite nicely. I was making a whole French-inspired menu, from boursin and chevre as appetizers, to the beef bourguignon, green beans almondine, and herbes de provence-roasted potatoes. Then I got stuck on dessert. Since dinner was so heavy, I wanted something relatively light...which meant fruit. And appropriate for Valentine's Day...which meant chocolate. Thus, the Chocolate Strawberry Tartlet was born! So I hope you enjoy them!


Chocolate Strawberry Tartlets (crust from Foodnetwork.com)

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. plus 3 Tbl. sugar, divided
  
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. cold butter, cut into pieces
• 1 egg, separated
• 2 Tbl. ice water
• 12 oz. good semisweet chocolate
• 2 c. heavy cream, divided
  
• 1 lb strawberries, hulled and quartered
• A few sprigs of fresh mint
• 3 Tbl. powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the flour, 3 Tbl. sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and 2 Tbl. of ice water, pulsing until the dough just comes together, adding more water as necessary. Form it into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Note: I cut the recipe more or less in 1/3, which yielded 4 mini tarts (maybe 3-in. in diameter). However, I screwed up and added the full egg yolk and the full amount of water, which resulted in a ridiculously hard, cookie-like crust. So don't do that. Please.

Roll out the dough to about 1/4-in. thick. Press into your favorite 9-in. tart pan or into several individual tart pans, making sure to get dough into all the corners of the fluted edges. Trim the top edges so that they look pretty. Refrigerate for another 15 minutes, or don't, if you happen to overlook that step of the directions.

Brush the tart shell with beaten egg white, and bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is a nice golden brown. Cool.

Meanwhile, microwave the chocolate and 1 c. heavy cream, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate is melted. Pour ganache into the cooled tart shell(s) to a depth of about 1/2-in. Chill until the ganache is set.

Also meanwhile, combine 1/2 c. sugar with 1/2 c. water and the sprig of mint in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until the simple syrup has a nice mint flavor to it. Toss the chopped strawberries with the mint syrup, then spoon the strawberries over top of the tart(s). Chill until it's time to serve.

Just before serving, combine 1 c. heavy cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Whip until stiff peaks form, then dollop a healthy blob on top of each serving. Enjoy!

Destination Post: Pumpkin Cheesecake-Swirled Brownies

Whoa, a post! Crazy, right? Ok, so life got a little hectic around Thanksgiving. And then I noticed holiday lbs creeping up. So, I've been trying not to bake so much at home, since baking inevitably means eating. So, I haven't had much to post. However, that hasn't stopped me from baking at school, for sure!

Just before Thanksgiving, the executive chef finally gave in to my begging and pleading and bought me a case of pumpkin puree. Now, this would have been much more convenient had he given in, you know, in October, so that I could have used it throughout the fall, but what can you do? One of the stipulations he gave me when he bought it was that he didn't want it sitting around forever, so I had to use it up by next year. Now, a case of pumpkin contains 6 #10-cans. For those of you who think 6 cans sounds like a pretty small number that should be easy to use up, let me explain something. You know those little cans of pumpkin that you buy in the store? They're 15 oz. Or 30 oz., if you get gutzy and go for the BIG can! Now, a #10 can contains 106 oz. of pumpkin puree. Yup. 106 oz. So, I've had pumpkin coming out my ears. And the kids have been getting a LOT of pumpkin-flavored treats. As I write this, I have finished off about 2 1/2 of the cans. So, the end isn't even in sight yet. Which all explains why, when the menu said that the kids were supposed to get brownies for dessert last Friday, they somehow mysteriously morphed into Pumpkin Cheesecake-Swirled Brownies. And they were all the better for it.


Pumpkin Cheesecake-Swirled Brownies (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• Your favorite brownie recipe (enough to make a 9x13" pan of brownies)
• 12 oz. cream cheese, softened
  
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
  
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbl. whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 c. canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Prepare your favorite brownie recipe (or cheat and use a boxed mix, like I did) according to directions, making sure you make enough for a 9x13" pan (If you don't have a favorite brownie recipe yet, I recommend this one, minus the Oreos). Pour batter into a greased 9x13" pan and set aside (don't bake it yet!).

Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, and cream the mixture together until fluffy and uniformly incorporated. Next, add the egg and egg yolk, one at a time, beating each one into the batter before adding the next (This step is important, seriously. It's a pain, but makes for a much smoother batter than if you add them all at once. Trust me, I know this one from experience!). Add the vanilla extract and whipping cream, and mix until incorporated. Next, add the cornstarch, and beat until incorporated.

In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt until thoroughly combined. Add this mixture to the rest of the cheesecake batter, and beat until fully incorporated.

Dollop the cheesecake batter over the raw brownie batter, and run a knife through it to swirl it together. Don't be tempted to swirl too much, or you'll lose the pretty marbled effect! Bake at 350 for ~30-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted about 1" from the edge comes out clean.

Oreo Brownies

It was time for another person's birthday treat. This particular young man requested brownies. As you've probably noticed, I HATE making standard, normal desserts. Like plain brownies. They obviously needed to be jazzed up somehow! Complicating this matter was the fact that I don't know this guy particularly well outside of the dance studio that we both dance at. So I wasn't sure of his tastes. I needed inspiration. I turned to one of my favorite blogs: Beantown Baker. And sure enough, I stumbled across a recipe for Oreo Brownies. Now, I already have an all-time favorite brownie base recipe, so I wasn't going to use the recipe she posted, but I gladly took inspiration from her post! And I'm glad I did! The birthday boy loved these! They were too sweet for my taste, but everyone else told me I was nuts when I expressed that opinion. So, by majority rule, these were awesome.


Oreo Brownies (adapted from David Lebovitz via Smells Like Home, with inspiration from Beantown Baker)

• 1 c. butter
• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 1/2 c. sugar (feel free to decrease this...as I said, they turned out REALLY sweet)
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  
• 1 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 package of Oreos, roughly chopped

Combine butter and chocolate chips in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate and butter are thoroughly melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla extract, then beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift together flour and salt, then mix this into the chocolate mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in the Oreos. Pour batter into a greased 9x13" pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted about an inch from the edge comes out clean.

Pumpkin Nanaimo Bars

So, you've probably noticed that my posting frequency has gone down. Substantially. Ironically enough, now that I actually have the funds to bake to my heart's content, I no longer have the time. Yup, that's right. I got a job. I'm now the resident baker at a private school in my town. The school previously did most of their baking from store-bought mixes, and they hired me to transition it more toward from-scratch baking! Sweet! The head chef also allows me a lot of freedom to try new recipes, so if there's something we need to make, he encourages me to bring in my own favorite recipe and to tweak it to fit my tastes! It's mostly breakfast baking--muffins, scones, eventually biscuits and quick breads--but there is some dessert baking, too. I made 500 pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for the kiddos last Friday!

So, while I am really excited to have this job and am really enjoying it, the fact that I work 75 hours a week between my two jobs is kind of cutting into my baking time. Phooey. I promise not to abandon you completely, though, faithful readers (all ten of you). And thus, I bring you this recipe. A fall twist on a traditional Canadian dessert. And boy, were they good! I mean, pumpkin and chocolate? Trust me, people...you WANT to make these. They're rich, though, so cut them small (we're talking 36-pieces-out-of-an-8x8-pan rich).


Pumpkin Nanaimo Bars (adapted from The Eclectic Cook)

• 1 c. plus 2 Tbl. butter, softened, divided
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 5 Tbl. cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 c. finely chopped almonds
• 1 c. unsweetened coconut
• 3 Tbl. heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tbl. instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1/4-1/2 c. pumpkin puree
• 1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine 1/2 c. butter, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder in small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until the sugar is melted and the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and slowly drizzle into the beaten egg, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs, almonds, and coconut. Press the mixture into the bottom of a well-greased 8x8- or 9x9-in baking pan. Let cool while you prepare the next layer.

Beat 1/2 c. butter until smooth. Beat in whipping cream, vanilla pudding mix, powdered sugar, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice until well-mixed and smooth. Feel free to adjust the amounts of pumpkin, powdered sugar, and pumpkin pie spice to your own taste. Spread this layer evenly over the cooled crust. Chill in the fridge until firm, while you prepare the third layer.

Melt chocolate chips and butter together (I prefer the microwave, but feel free to use a double boiler). Pour this over the top of the middle layer, and spread it so that it evenly covers the middle layer. Chill in the fridge until firm. Remove from fridge about a half hour before cutting so that the top chocolate layer can soften up a little (making it less likely to crack while cutting it). Devour.

Outrageous Mile-High Reese's Cake

This should be on the website This Is Why You're Fat. It should also be on your plate. See, when my friend requested a Reese's cake for her birthday, I thought about the ones I'd seen other bloggers make--chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Good, sure, but not really very Reese's-like. I mean, the peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio is way off. I started thinking about how to remedy this. And then it hit me. Have you seen the Cheesecake Factory's Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake? It's layers of cheesecake alternating with layers of red velvet cake. Do you see where this is going, now?


A peanut butter cheesecake, sandwiched between layers of chocolate cake, all iced in peanut butter frosting, and topped with chocolate ganache. Oh yes. I went there. It has the right chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio, and it's chocolate outside, just like a Reese's. This, my friends, is the Outrageous Mile-High Reese's Cake, and it is not for the faint of heart. I apologize for the messy pictures, but it's hard to get food staged nicely at a party with lots of hungry people clamoring for cake! :)

Outrageous Mile-High Reese's Cake

Chocolate Cake (my grandmother's recipe)

• 3/4 c. unsalted butter
• 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• Heaping 2 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 c. flour
• 2/3 c. cocoa powder
• Heaping 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 c. boiling water
• Heaping 2 tsp. baking soda

Melt chocolate and butter together in a large bowl. Stir in sugar, then stir in eggs, one at a time, until well-combined. Meanwhile, sift together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Add sifted ingredients to chocolate mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Stir until just combined. Add the baking soda to the boiling water OVER THE BOWL, pour the mixture into the batter, and stir it in.

Pour the batter into a greased 10-in. springform pan, and bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 4 (8-oz) packages of cream cheese
• 1 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 3 Tbl. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 5 Tbl. half-and-half

Beat cream cheese and peanut butter together until smooth and creamy. Beat in sugar, flour, and vanilla. Add eggs, and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in half-and-half.

Pour the batter into a 10-in. springform pan, and bake at 375 degrees F for 40-50 minutes, or until edges are set but the very middle still jiggles slightly. Cool completely, then refrigerate until you're ready to assemble the cake.

Peanut Butter Frosting (from Ina Garten)

• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 2 c. peanut butter
• 10 Tbl. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 c. heavy cream

Cream together butter and peanut butter. Stir in vanilla extract and salt. Add powdered sugar and heavy cream, alternating between the two, and stir until smooth and creamy.

Chocolate Ganache (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 9 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1 Tbl. Kahlua

Heat the cream just until it bubbles. Pour over chocolate, and let it stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Add Kahlua, and stir until incorporated. Let cool until thickened but still pourable.


To assemble:

Level out the chocolate cake, and slice it horizontally into two equal layers. Place one layer on a 10-in. cake round. Spread the top of the layer with a thin layer of the peanut butter frosting. Top with the cheesecake. Frost the top of the cheesecake with a thin layer of the peanut butter frosting. Top with the second layer of chocolate cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the peanut butter frosting. The nice part is that the frosting doesn't have to be perfect, since it will get covered in chocolate ganache! Transfer the cake to a cooling rack placed over a jellyroll pan lined with waxed paper. Pour chocolate ganache over the top of the cake, until it spills over onto the sides. Spread it evenly over the sides of the cake so that the whole thing is covered in ganache. You can save any ganache that drips onto the waxed paper and reuse it. If desired, decorate the cake with Reese's cups. Refrigerate until serving.

Lego Cake!

Remember my piano cake? Well, I've made another foray into shaped cakes. This one was for my friend's son's 5th birthday. He apparently really likes Legos (and really, who can blame him? I used to love those things!), so his party was Lego-themed. Naturally, he needed a Lego-shaped cake. I followed this tutorial from Betty Crocker, and it worked out very well! I used my grandmother's chocolate cake recipe (ever-so-slightly adapted) and a basic American buttercream frosting. I also tried out my Americolor gel food colorings for the first time, and they worked great to get bright, vibrant colors for the frosting!

My Grandmother's Chocolate Cake (slightly adapted)

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. boiling water
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Stir to combine, then mix in the sugar. Next, beat in the two eggs. Separately, sift together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Add this to the chocolate mixture, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Finally, add the baking soda to the boiling water OVER THE BOWL (mixture will foam up), and stir it in just until combined.

Pour the batter into a greased 9x13" pan (I also lined the bottom with parchment paper, just to ensure that there wouldn't be stickage!), and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Buttercream (from Martha Stewart)

• 2 sticks butter, softened
  
• 6 c. powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. milk
• Gel food coloring

Beat the butter for a few minutes, until nice and creamy. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, alternating with the vanilla and milk, until the desired consistency is achieved. You may need more milk or more powdered sugar. Next, divide the frosting equally into three separate bowls. Take one of those bowls, and transfer half of the frosting from it to a new bowl. You should now have four bowls, two of which contain twice as much frosting as the other two. Add food coloring of your choice to each bowl, and stir to combine.


To assemble cake:

• 1 9x13" cake
• 1 batch of Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Buttercream
• 1 bag jumbo marshmallows
  

Remove cooled cake from the pan and freeze for an hour. Put it on a clean surface with the long side facing you. Cut it width-wise into three equal rectangles--each should be about 9" x 4". Take one of these rectangles, and cut it in half width-wise, so you have two equal squares. You should now have two rectangles and two squares (do the frosting proportions make sense, now?). The squares will be 4-peg pieces, and the rectangles will be 8-peg pieces.

Frost a thin crumb-coat onto each piece, using a different color for each piece of cake (use the colors you have more of for the rectangular pieces and the colors you have less of for the square pieces). Return the cake pieces to the freezer for another hour to set the crumb coat.

Put the final layer of frosting onto each of the pieces, smoothing it out as much as possible, and reserving a little frosting of each color. Now would be the time to arrange your pieces on a cake board, stacking them (or not) however you like.

Take the bag of jumbo marshmallows, and snip a few in half so that they will be shorter. Spear one on a fork. Using your reserved frosting, frost the top and sides. Carefully transfer it to the cake piece of the same color, and fix up the frosting, if need be. Remember, you need four for the square pieces and eight for the rectangular pieces (assuming they are all unstacked--this will need to be modified if you are stacking pieces). Repeat until you have put sufficient pegs on all the cake pieces. Then, present it to a 5-year-old boy, and make his day! :)

S'mores Brownies

A while back, I made s'mores brownies for a family reunion, but I only mentioned it in passing because I a) followed the source recipe exactly, and b) wasn't completely 100% satisfied with how they turned out (sorry, Melissa!). But they had enough potential to be worth revisiting the idea. I knew there would be a lot of kids in attendance at my parish's annual picnic, and since the s'mores brownies had been a big hit with the kids at the family reunion, they seemed like a logical choice. For the record, this latest batch was both kid- and adult-approved! And I now have a new favorite brownie recipe. Yum!


S'mores Brownies (brownie base from David Lebovitz via Smells Like Home)

• 1/2 box graham crackers, thoroughly crushed
  
• 3 sticks butter, divided
  
• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 1/2 c. sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 bag mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put one stick of butter in a 9x13" pan, and put it in the oven to melt while the oven preheats. Meanwhile, pulverize the graham crackers in a food processor or with a rolling pin and elbow grease. Add the graham cracker crumbs to the melted butter in the pan, and stir until all crumbs are moistened. Press crumbs evenly over pan to form a crust. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until mostly firm. Cool.

Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 sticks butter and semisweet chocolate in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Zap in 30 second-intervals on high power until chocolate and butter are melted. Stir in granulated sugar, then stir in eggs--one at a time--and vanilla. Stir in flour just until mixed in.

Spread batter over the graham cracker crust, and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, or until mostly done (toothpick inserted 1" from edge should have moist crumbs on it). Scatter mini marshmallows over top, and bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until marshmallows are puffed and starting to brown on top. If they don't brown up nicely, you can turn on the broiler, but watch them closely--they only take a minute or less to brown up that way!

These were fantastic, and I cannot stop raving about this brownie recipe! It's chewy and fudge-y and rich and decadent! In short, everything I love in a brownie. And it beats the pants off Duncan Hines!

Ganache is Good Nosh

Ganache is a pretty awesome combination of chocolate and cream.  And with those ingredients in the right proportions, it's pretty hard to go wrong.  Here are three (semi-)recent recipes:


Chocolate Truffles
Full credit to Alton Brown on this one

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine (I used dark chocolate)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Heat the corn syrup and cream (microwave, stove, your choice) until small bubbles appear.  Pour over chopped chocolate & butter and walk away.  Don't stir.  Come back 5 minutes later, and stir just until the mixture comes together.

Now the fun part--add the booze of your choice...Alton says 1/4 cup for the whole recipe; I'm pretty sure I used closer to 1/3, as I divided the ganache into 4 flavors (banana, mint, raspberry, and Irish cream.  Irish cream and banana were my favorites!).  Stir until it incorporates, and then chill as long as possible.

Banana ganache in a white chocolate heart

Here's where I take a detour from Alton.  You've got a ridiculously delicious (and alcoholic) chocolate ganache, and I think hand dipping truffles is a pain in the butt--you need to coat them several times to get any sort of a shell, and you get it all over your hands, so more goes in your mouth than in the truffle (I mean....).  My solution?  Make shells, fill with ganache, and you have truffle-esque creations with much less headache.  If you're really lazy, you can fill two shells and stick them together, as opposed to pouring on a chocolate lid.

Side note: I also made mango truffles, signified by the "M," as we had an overripe mango to use.  I pureed it, processed it with about half a box of cream cheese, and added a few dashes of cinnamon. This went into chocolate shells.  Mmmm mmmm good, sort of like a tropical cannoli cream.

Four Tiers of Chocolate Bliss
Partly family recipe, part Wayne Glissen's Baking, and part inspiration

-Your favorite chocolate cake, prepared in tiers (or not)

-Chocolate ganache (1 pound of finely chopped chocolate (I used dark), 1 cup of scalded (heat until small bubbles) cream.  Mix as before.

-Super-stable & workable chocolate buttercream (healthy folks, run away)

Combine 2 sticks softened butter with 1/2 cup shortening (this amount won't affect the taste but will stabilize the frosting like no other).  Beat with electric mixer until soft.  Add 3 3/4 cup (1 pound) powdered sugar.  Beat in EITHER 1 pasteurized egg white (if your grocery miraculously has them) or 1/8 c. egg beaters.  Melt 3 oz. chocolate and cool to room temp.  Beat into frosting, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Layer cake with ganache, being careful to not spread ganache past edge of next tier.  Frost with chocolate buttercream.  Pipe rosettes/decorations as desired.  I added in sugar pearls (100% edible).


Macarons!
Full credit to Joe Pastry's most excellent blog

So, what do you do if you still have leftover ganache?  This was my conundrum yesterday evening.  I had about a cup of ganache, and a surplus bag of almonds.  And, of course, Joe Pastry's blog.  So I made macarons, NOT to be confused with macaroons.

Joe's recipe, with my edits based on convenience:
-4 ounces blanched almonds
-7 ounces powdered sugar
-3 egg whites (you're supposed to age them; I didn't--this was a last-minute baking decision so I didn't have the time)
-1.75 ounces granulated sugar

Pulverize the almonds in a food processor.  If you do them alone they get granulated, but if you process them with the powdered sugar they become a very fine powder.

Whip the egg whites (with any desired coloring) to soft peaks, add the granulated sugar and whip to stiff peaks.  Stir in the almond-sugar powder, then fold until you see the mixture start to become looser.  Drop a test dollop onto parchment--it should settle down into a smooth (but not liquefied) coin.  If it's too thick (peaks remain), stir a bit more.  Plop or pipe equal-sized drops onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment.  Let them sit on the sheet for 30ish minutes, until they've formed a bit of a skin.  This is a positive attribute; trust me.

After they've rested for 30 min, bake at 300 degrees for 12 minutes, and delight in the gorgeous little feet that your macarons have developed.

Let cool, remove from sheet, and fill with any manner of anything spreadable...especially ganache.

Here's the cake again, just because I'm rather proud of my first-ever tiered cake!

Strawberry Forest Cake

I was highly delinquent in making a cake for my friend Erin's birthday (it was in June!) due to a lot of major life changes happening around then, so when she asked for a Black Forest Cake, but made with strawberries instead of cherries, I knew I had to go all-out. Incidentally, I had previously made a cake similar to this (but with chocolate almond whipped cream), but that was before I started blogging. So now, I get to actually blog the recipe! I have dubbed it Strawberry Forest Cake. I did, however, learn a very important lesson: leveling cake layers is NOT optional. This cake makes very thin layers (I might 1.5x the recipe next time), so I didn't want to lose what precious little cake I had by leveling it. So when I drove across town to my friend's apartment to deliver said cake, the layers shifted EVERYWHERE. And, of course, I didn't get a "before" picture. Just trust me on the fact that this cake tasted better than it looked.


Strawberry Forest Cake (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 2 1/8 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 c. white sugar, divided
  
• 3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. canola oil
• 2 Tbl. vanilla extract, divided
  
• 1 c. strawberry liqueur, divided
• 16 oz. frozen strawberries
• 16 oz. fresh strawberries
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• 4 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 to 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Combine flour, 2 c. white sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, milk, oil, and 1 Tbl. vanilla extract just until blended. Grease two 9-in. cake pans and "flour" using cocoa powder. Divide batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for ~30 min at 350 degrees (check earlier if your oven runs hot!). Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

While the cake is baking, make the strawberry filling. Wash and quarter the fresh strawberries. Put them in a large saucepan with 1/2 c. white sugar (add a little more or a little less depending on how sweet your strawberries are) and frozen strawberries. Whisk cornstarch together with 1/2 c. strawberry liqueur until smooth, then add to the pan with strawberries and stir to combine everything. Heat to boiling, and boil a couple minutes, or until filling thickens. Remove from heat, and cool completely.

Whip the cream until it starts to thicken, then add powdered sugar and vanilla to taste (I used closer to 4 tsp. vanilla because I LOVE vanilla). Continue beating until the cream holds stiff peaks.

To assemble cake:
Level the cake layers, then split each in two. Take one of the (flat) bottom layers, and put it cut-side up on serving plate (hint: put waxed paper under the very edges of the cake so that it keeps the serving plate clean). Brush generously with 2 Tbl. strawberry liqueur. Spread with a layer of whipped cream, then top with 1/4 of the strawberry filling. Top with the next layer of cake. Brush with liqueur, then top with whipped cream and strawberry filling. Repeat once more (you should now have 3 layers completed). Take the last bottom layer and put it, cut side down, on top of the cake. Brush with 2 Tbl. liqueur. Frost the sides of the cake with remaining whipped cream, and pipe a "fence" of rosettes around the top of the cake using the whipped cream (it doesn't pipe well, but that's ok). Top the cake with the last 1/4 of the strawberry filling.


Enjoy! Like I said, it tasted better than it looked!

Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bites

When I told one friend the name of these delectable little morsels, her response was "You just said too many of my favorite words in the name...now I have to try one!" And I must say, it's a good thing these are mini and bite-sized (and therefor theoretically have built-in portion control), because they are rich and oh-so-tasty! But they're very easy to make (I made them on a whim, and I already had all the ingredients on hand!). They do take some time, since there are three separate layers, and each one needs to cool and set, but the hands-on time is not too bad.

Using part whole wheat in the crust gives them a nice nutty taste...it almost reminded me of graham crackers. The original recipe calls for baking these in a 9x13 and cutting into squares, but that's a real pain because caramel squishes out all over, so I adapted these to be in self-contained shortbread crust cups. I think next time, the crust could use a splash of vanilla, and the caramel could use a hefty splash of bourbon!

Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bites (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 1 1/3 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 c. butter
• 3/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 3 Tbl. light corn syrup
• 3/4 c. sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/4 c. milk chocolate chips

Cream together 1 1/3 c. butter and white sugar. Add splash of vanilla if desired. Mix in the flours until dough forms (it may be crumbly). Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then press into the bottom and up the sides of a mini muffin pan. Bake 20 min at 350 degrees F. Put in freezer to cool while you make the caramel.

In a large saucepan, combine 3/4 c. butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When it starts to boil, stop stirring, and let it boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat vigorously with the wooden spoon for 3 minutes.

Remove shortbread crusts from the freezer (they should be cool by now). Spoon some caramel into each crust, filling it nearly to the top. Refrigerate for a half hour or so, until caramel begins to firm up.

Melt chocolate in the microwave. Spoon or pipe a little over the top of each shortbread cup so that it covers and seals in the caramel. Refrigerate again until chocolate is firm. Enjoy! I got about 44 out of this recipe.

Piano Cake!

Ok, so this may be the coolest thing I have ever made. Seriously. I mean, I hope to top it someday, but I am really pleased with how this turned out! A friend of mine is a piano teacher, and his birthday was yesterday, so I made him a piano cake! It was a banana chocolate chip cake (yum!) frosted with chocolate frosting, then carved into the shape of a piano.


So here are the relevant recipes and instructions...

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 c. whole wheat flour
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 Tbl. baking soda
• 4 large bananas, mashed
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. butter, melted
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sift together the flours, sugar, and baking soda in one bowl. In another, combine bananas, eggs, vanilla, melted butter, and milk. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones, mixing just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased and floured 9x13" pan. Bake 35 min at 350 degrees F, or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.



Yummmm...look at all those chocolate chips! It would be excellent with some chopped walnuts added in, too.

Chocolate Frosting (adapted from Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting)

• 1/2 c. butter
• 2/3 c. cocoa powder
• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. instant coffee powder
• 4-6 Tbl. milk

Let butter soften to room temperature. Stir until soft and creamy, then stir in cocoa powder. Add a pinch of salt if your butter is unsalted. Stir in instant coffee and vanilla extract. Add powdered sugar about a cup at a time and milk about a tablespoon at a time, stirring until smooth. Add extra milk as needed to obtain a spreadable consistency.

To Assemble Piano Cake (idea taken from Betty Crocker)

Carve the cake into the shape of a grand piano. Carve a piano bench out of the larger scrap.


Frost cake.


Use white chocolate and dark chocolate rectangles to make keys for the keyboard. I also used white chocolate and black gel icing to make sheet music (it's propped up with a couple little pieces of dark chocolate). Enjoy!

No such thing as too much CHOCOLATE

Random side note--if you haven't seen Wordle yet, go entertain yourself. I ran our blog through it and lo and behold, CHOCOLATE came up in lovely big letters. It's about to get bigger.

Recently I was hosting a ladies' luncheon and did a bit of baking (there was cooking, too, but that's boring and doesn't involve chocolate).

On the menu:

• Homemade Eatable Presentation of Fruit (that doesn't infringe on copyright, right?)
• Pecan Tassies
• Lemon Tassies
• Blackberry Mousse in Chocolate Cups
• Raspberry Mousse in Chocolate Cups
• Chocolate Strawberries

I definitely forgot to photograph the tassies, so those will have to wait for another time. I really like the lemon filling, though (a bit like a curd), so that may feature in an upcoming recipe.

Without further ado:

"Fruit Basket"
1 whole fresh pineapple
1 honeydew
1 cantaloupe
Strawberries
Red grapes
Blackberries
Mango
Chocolate strawberries (see next)
Wooden skewers
Cabbage/lettuce

*all of these can be substituted; these just keep well & won't turn color

Pineapple flowers: On firm surface (like a cutting board, if you use those silly things), slice off the top & bottom, so you're left with a (spiny) cylinder of roughly even diameter. With a long, serrated knife, slice off the outside of the pineapple in long thin sections (1.5 inches in width is about right). Next, with a paring knife, cut out triangles where you want the spaces between the petals to be. You can round these out later. Eat the delicious fresh pineapple scraps! Now, the detail work--go back in and cut the curve for the petals, and smooth out the spacing for the petals. Slice the extruded-flower-shape into 1 inch pieces & set aside.

Potentially you could do this with a metal cookie cutter of the right size and sharpness--let me know if you try it! I think that's what the official maker of such fruit baskets does.

Using a melon baller, scoop out balls of cantaloupe and honeydew. Use only the greenest part of the honeydew; throw the rest in a fruit salad or something. Save the 6-8 best cantaloupe balls (depending on your # of flower slices) for the flowers.

Thread fruit onto skewers, starting with red (strawberry) and ending with purple (blackberry) so that the purple is closest to the pointy end. Thread pineapple flowers onto skewers (starting with melon ball), and push slightly past the edge. Make skewers of grapes, if desired. Carefully skewer chocolate strawberries (if your coating is thick, chocolate can crack).

Cut cabbage/lettuce to fit basket, and insert skewers. Voila!

Chocolate Strawberries (Tuxedo style)
These look adorable, and are actually pretty simple to make. I'm hoping to record a video at some point so I can show the technique, because that's actually the only tricky part. The ones at right were used as favors at the party.

You'll need
-Small to medium uniform shaped strawberries, leaves on, washed & fully dried (Imperative: no water droplets!!)
-Dark chocolate (Use milk if you prefer)
-White chocolate


A note about chocolate--you can do this with chocolate chips or other low-end chocolate, & they'll turn out fine. If you want that "shiny" finish, use couveteure, the melting wafers, or high quality chocolate. I buy the wafers in bulk and they work just fine.

Place a foil- or parchment-covered baking sheet in the freezer. Melt white chocolate in the method of your choice--I use a double boiler except when using wafers. You want some depth to whatever container it ends up in.

Remove sheet from freezer. Grasping a strawberry by the leaves (gathered up so they're touching the stem), dip into white chocolate just short of touching your fingers. Twist as you pull up from the chocolate, then lay immediately onto sheet. As you'll see, the chocolate sets almost instantly from the cold, eliminating the bare spot common on the back of dipped berries. Finish your strawberries, and chill for at least 1 hour. Prepare an additional foil-covered cookie sheet in the freezer.

Melt dark/milk chocolate. Grasping dipped strawberry by the leaves, dip the right side in the chocolate, then the left. Because strawberries widen at the top, this creates a natural triangle for the "shirt." Be sure to cover the back as well. Transfer to cold sheet & chill at least 20 min.

Using a squirt bottle (Wilton makes mini ones you can get for $2/2-pack) or paper cone (the official way), add details--buttons or bowtie, swirls, or other decorations. If you want to do traditional dipped strawberries, just start with your base chocolate & add details after dipping.


Chocolate Cups & Berry Mousse
Mousse is a very general term, so don't knock me because this doesn't contain gelatin or other complicated things. I like my desserts simple but elegant.

Chocolate cups:
Melt chocolate of your choice (I use dark wafers) and let cool until slightly thick. Coat the inside of FOIL MINI MUFFIN CUPS with the cooled chocolate, and invert over a chilled, foil-lined baking sheet. Return to fridge or freezer to chill, then peel foil from cups. If you're really good, you might even be able to reuse them. You can also buy molds for doing this kind of thing...or you could use mini muffin liners.

Berry Mousse
1 cup of frozen berries
1 Tbl sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt
1 cup of heavy cream

Heat berries with sugar, lemon, and salt until simmering. Continue to cook on low heat until berries completely reduce and mixture begins to gel. Press through sieve (if you don't want seeds) and cool.

While mixture cools, whip cream to heavy peaks, and then a slight bit more (adding the liquid will smooth it out). Fold cooled berry mixture into cream until completely incorporated.

Pipe or spoon into chocolate shells, & chill until ready to serve (mousse shouldn't be made more than 1 day ahead). I garnished the blackberry ones with a berry (and used a different pastry tip to differentiate).