Campfire Delight : Best. Cake. Ever.

In going through chocolate cake recipes this weekend for inspiration, I came across this recipe for a Campfire Delight cake.  It is a a six layer chocolate cake with toasted marshmallow filling and malted chocolate frosting.  It looked so delicious, I just had to make it.  Luckily, I had a family bbq to attend and thus had an immediate reason to bake it!  

I only made four layers as I only have two cake pans and was a bit intimidated by the idea of stacking six layers.  Regardless, this cake was phenomenal, delicious, sinful, delightful.  I am amazed at the willpower I have shown this evening by not devouring a very large slice.

Campfire Delight Cake

(recipe by Sweetapolita)

Rich and Dark Chocolate Cake

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup Cacao Barry Extra Brute Cocoa Powder (or similar premium brand)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup strong black coffee, cooled
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare two 9" cake pans with butter and flour or parchment paper. In bowl of electric mixer, sift all dry ingredients. Add all remaning ingredients to bowl with the dry ingredients and with paddle attachment on mixer, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed (you may need the plastic splashguard that comes with mixer) and pour into prepared pans. Batter will be liquidy. 

 

Bake for 20 minutes and rotate pans in oven. Cakes are done when toothpick or skewer comes clean--approximately 35 minutes. Try not to overbake. Cool on wire racks for 20 minutes then gently invert onto racks until completely cool.

Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

• 16 large white marshmallows
• 1 cup icing sugar (confectioners' or powdered)
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 8 oz of Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Cream (or Marshmallow Fluff)

Place marshmallows on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place on lower rack of oven, and broil marshmallows until nice and brown. Be sure to keep an eye on them--they burn very, very quickly. 

Combine butter and icing sugar in electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, on low until blended (about 1 minute). Add vanilla and mix on high for about 3 minutes. 

Add marshmallow cream and toasted marshmallows, and mix on lowest setting for about 1 minute.

Malted Belgium Chocolate Frosting

• 2 cups butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups icing sugar (confectioners' or powdered)
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup Ovaltine Classic
•  8 oz Callebaut (or other premium brand) bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the icing sugar and butter and beat on low speed for about 1 minute. Add vanilla and malt powder, and beat on low until well combined. Add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes). Add whipping cream and beat on med-high speed for another minute. Best used right away.

Assembly:

Level the tops of each cake, then split into two layers with a knife or cake leveler.  Pipe a border of the chocolate frosting around the top edge of your bottom layer, creating a dam to hold in the filling.  Spread a nice, thick layer of marshmallow frosting across the top of the cake.  Carefully place the second layer on top.  Pipe another chocolate frosting dam, then spread a nice thick layer of chocolate frosting.  Carefully place the next cake layer on top and do as you did with the first layer (marshmallow frosting).  Place the final cake layer on top and then ice with the chocolate frosting.  Garnish with mini marshmallows and chocolate chunks, if you please.

Enjoy! 

Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling and Caramel Icing

This past weekend, I made a cake for a co-worker's husband's birthday.  (Interesting, her husband is also distantly related to hubby.)  This cake was somewhat of a practice run as she's asked me to make a cake for his coworker's birthday as well.  I cobbled together a few different recipes.  I wasn't able to taste the cake, but my coworker said it was delicious!

 Best-Ever Chocolate Cake 

(Better Homes and Gardens, Our Best Recipes, pg 280)

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves or raspberry jam (for filling)
• 1 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted (for drizzle) 

Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Lightly grease bottoms of three 8" round cake pans, two 9" round pans, or two 8x8" square pans.  Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper.  Grease and lightly flour waxed paper and sides of pans.  Set pans aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes or until well mixed.  Scrape side of bowl; continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total).  Beat in vanilla.  

Alternately add flour mixture and milk to beaten mixture, beating on low speed just until combined after each addition.  Beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more.  Spread evenly into the prepared pans. 

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes for round cake pans, 35 to 40 minutes for square pans, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.  Cool cake layers in pan for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans.  Peel off waxed paper.  Cool completely on wire racks. 

Caramel Frosting

(recipe found here)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in salt and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, until sugar dissolves.  Stir in milk and return to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  Cool to lukewarm, about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Once lukewarm, transfer to a stand mixer.  Sift powdered sugar over it, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Assembly:

Using a bread knife or cake leveler, level the tops of each cake.  Pipe a border of caramel frosting around the top edge of one cake, creating a border or dam.  Spread a thin layer of frosting on top, within the dam, then spread the raspberry preserves on top.  Carefully place the second cake on top of the first.  Frost the cake and garnish with raspberries and drizzle with melted chocolate.

German Chocolate Cake

Yesterday, my coworker's son graduated from college.  She threw a great little party and requested a German Chocolate cake for the occasion.  Now, at that point I'd never had German chocolate cake, much less made one, but I do have my evertrue Better Homes and Garden cookbook which has yet to steer me wrong.

Kitchen Lesson No. 1:  Always carefully and completely read a recipe before you begin.  You never want to get to the end of your baking adventure and realize that the recipe only calls for frosting the top of the cake layers and not the side when you had anticipated total icing.  That leaves you scrambling for a solution.  That being said, it did lead me to do something I hadn't originally planned but which worked great!  After doing some googling, I saw a few cakes that had the coconut frosting on the top with chocolate on the sides.  It looked classy and delicious and I'm very happy with the end result.  

German Chocolate Cake
(BH&G New Cookbook, pg 166)
 
Chocolate Cake

• 1 4-oz package sweet baking chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

• 1 egg
• 1 5-oz can evaporated milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/3  cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Chocolate Frosting

• 8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1  cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup cornstarch

For the cake:

In a small saucepan, combine chocolate and milk.  Cook adn stir  over low heat until melted; set aside to cool.  

Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, grease the bottom of two 8x8" square pans or 9" round cake pans.  Line the bottoms with wax paper; then, grease and lightly flour the pans.  Alternatively, you can just grease a 13x9 inch baking pan.  Set the pans aside.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add the sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed after each addition until well combined (about 3 minutes).  Scrape the sides of the bowl; continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes more.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total).  Beat in vanilla.  Alternately add flour and chocolate mixtures to the butter mixture, beating on low speed after each additional just until combined.  beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more.  Spread batter evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes for the 8" pans,  30 to 35 minutes for the 9" pans, or 40 to 45 minutes for the 13x9" pan, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for  10 minutes.  Remove cake layers from pans.  Peel off waxed paper.  Cool thoroughly on racks.  Or place 13x9 cake in pan on wire rack and cool completely.

For the Coconut-Pecan Filling:

In a medium saucepan, slightly beat the egg.  Stir in the evaporated milk, sugar, and butter.  Cook and stir over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until thickened and bubbly.  Remove from heat; stir in coconut flakes and pecans.  Cover and cool thoroughly before using.  

For the Chocolate Frosting:

Combine chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a medium bowl.  Heat cream until just boiling.  Remove from heat and pour over chocolate.  Let stand for one minute, then stir.  Let sit til room temperature.  Sift cornstarch over frosting, a tablespoon at a time, and mix in until you get a thick enough consistency to frost with.  (When I made this frosting, it wasn't thick enough to stay on the cake (it dripped a bit), so I added cornstarch as a quick fix to get it thick enough.) Classy, I know.

Assembly:

Set the first cake layer on cake plate/round/whatever you desire.  Pipe a 1/4 inch thick border of chocolate frosting around the very edge; this will act as a dam to keep your coconut filling from oozing out the sides.  Spread half of the coconut filling within your chocolate border.  Set the next cake layer on top.  Again, pipe a chocolate frosting border along the edge of the cake.  Spread the other half of the coconut filling on top, trying to get it as level as possible.  Pipe a decorative border on top of the coconut filling dam.  Frost the sides of the cake.   

Slice and enjoy! 

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies

My dad has been working a lot lately, and my sister and I, finally deciding it had been absolutely too long since we had seen him, told him he had the choice of either taking us to Cracker Barrel or barbecuing for us this weekend.  Lucky for us, Dad offered to BBQ (his is the best!).  We decided on a day and time kind of late, so I decided I'd just make cookies for dessert.  Rummaging through my tub of chocolate chips, etc, I came across an unopened bag of Reese's peanut butter chips.  Score!!  I flipped the bag over and saw a recipe for chewy, chocolately cookies and thought "double score!" as I'd been thinking of making chocolate cookies.  Everyone loved the cookies, especially hubby.

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies
(from the back of the Reese's Peanut Butter Chips bag)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 10-oz bag peanut butter chips 

Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined.   Gradually mix in flour until well combined.

Drop rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet (I always lay  down parchment paper).  Bake 8-9 minutes.  Do not overbake!  Cool slightly, then remove to a cooling rack.

Brownies

Man, what a week!  Monday was super busy at work and on top of that, my computer was shut down by a virus (kind thanks to the girl who downloaded all that crap on my computer before me).  By the end of the day, I realized I just really needed brownie, and really, we all did.  So I went home, whipped up a batch, and brought them to work the next day.  Good thing I did, because every day this week has been crazy and those little squares of decadent chocolate heaven really help a girl through the afternoon.  My apologies for not having a picture, but I got them finished right before bed time and have left them at work.  But I trust you all know what a brownie looks like: square, brown, crispy flaky top. 

Brownies
(original recipe here) 

• 9 oz bittersweet chocolate (I didn't have enough so I used 6 oz bittersweet, 3 oz semi-sweet)
• 1 cup butter, cut into chunks
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 325F.  Line a baking dish with foil and grease generously.  

In a double boiler (or a heat safe bowl over a large pot) melt the chocolate and butter just until melted.  Don't let it go too long or it will separate and get funky.  whisk in the sugar.  It will be grainy and that is okay.  

Remove from the heat and whisk in eggs one at a time.  Whisk in vanilla extract.


Finally, whisk in flour and salt until just combined.   Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-22 minutes.  (Mine took 35 minutes, but I also used a smaller pan to get thicker brownies.)


Enjoy!

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

This weekend was jam-packed with in-laws.  Yesterday we went to hubby's cousin's wedding, and today we had an early pseudo-Thanksgiving dinner at his aunt's house (I say pseudo because we had steak and lobster instead of turkey.. that's my kind of Thanksgiving!). His aunt, knowing about this blog and my dreams of baking, asked that I bring dessert. I knew immediately I'd bring the pumpkin spice cookies because they're like crack, but also wanted to bring something a bit more impressive.  I've been wanting to try my hand at a chocolate cheesecake lately as I've only made the plain kind before and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity.  I found this recipe at least a year ago over at The Smitten Kitchen (which is great).  It sounded tasty and I was also super-amused by the teddy graham massacre.   Other than the caramel part, the recipe is easy-peasy.  More importantly, it is delicious! I think I have a few more admirers in my life now.  

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake
(original recipe here)

Crumb Crust

• 1 1/2 cups finely ground cookies,  such as chocolate wafers or teddy grahams 
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
  

Cheesecake

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla 

 In a medium bowl, stir together dry crumb ingredients (cookie crumbs, sugar, and salt).  Using a fork, mix in the melted butter until all of the ingredients are moistened.  Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1" up the sides of  a buttered 9" springform pan.  Place in the freezer until ready to fill.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a small, heavy saucepan, cook the sugar over moderately low heat, stirring slowly until the sugar has melted and is golden.  Continue to cook the caramel, swirling the pan instead of stirring, until it is a deep golden brown.  Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream.  There will be lots of steam and the caramel will harden.  Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until the caramel has softened and dissolved.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until smooth.  Stir in the sour cream.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy, then beat in the chocolate mixture on low speed.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is fully incorporated.  Scrape down the bowl between additions.

Put the springform pan in a shallow baking pan.  Pour the filling into the crust and bake (in the baking pan to catch drips) in the middle of the oven for 55 minutes, or until the cake is set 3 inches from the edge and the center is slightly wobbly. (This took maybe 70 minutes for me.)

Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen and cool completely on a rack.  Chill the cake, loosely covered, for at least 6 hours.  Remove the side of the pan and transfer to a plate.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

A few notes:  Hubby and I feel the chocolate overwhelmed the caramel, so next time I might use a mixture of bittersweet and semisweet chocolates or just use less chocolate in general.  Also, the cookie crumb crust is very crumbly. 

Chocolate Ice Cream

We had my mother- and sister-in-law over for dinner last night, and I decided to make two desserts; first I made the pavlova again, then I also made chocolate ice cream, thinking my sister-in-law might not like the pavlova.  I grabbed a bunch of chocolate ice cream recipes off TasteSpotting, and amusingly, all of the recipes were from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop. I guess it was in the stars that I try this recipe, huh?

This is a rich recipe and not for the faint-hearted. It's definitely a dark chocolate, so remember that. Serve it with some sweetness.. or raspberries. It was SO GOOD with raspberries.  I also mixed in some white chocolate chips to add some light sweetness to complement the heavy chocolate tones. 

Chocolate Ice Cream

(The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz)

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170°F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.)

Chocolate Strawberry Pavlova

When making ice cream, I need 6 egg yolks, leaving 6 egg whites all alone. As luck would have it, many recipes call for 6 lonely egg whites. One such recipe is Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova. I've come across pavlova recipes often and was always a tad intimidated by them. They're simple and delicious, both light and rich (at least this one was).

Now, the entire time this was baking (a full hour), I kept getting questions as to what exactly I was making. "A pav.. what?" .. "how about instead of telling me the name, you tell me what it is" .. and other such things. So my lovelies, this is what I learned on Wikipedia. The pavlova originated in either Australia or New Zealand in the 20s in honor of ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is a baked meringue, mainly served with a cream and fruit.



Chocolate Strawberry Pavlova
(Nigella Lawson, Forever Summer, "Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova", 189)
6 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 1/4 cup heavy cream
1 pint raspberries or cored and halved strawberries
2-3 tbsp coarsely grated bittersweet chocolate (I omitted this)

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat the egg whites until satiny (as opposed to foamy) peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar 1 spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny. Sprinkle the cocoa, vinegar, and chopped chocolate over the egg whites. Gently fold everything in until the cocoa is thoroughly distributed.

Mound the meringue onto the baking sheet, creating a fat circle approximately 9 inches wide. Smooth the sides and tops. Place in the oven and *immediately* reduce the oven temperature to 300F. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the edges and sides look crisp and the top is dry. Nigella notes that "when you prod the center you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers." Well, I must have prodded too forcefully because I just smashed a finger-sized hole in the top of mine.

Turn off the oven and leave the door ajar, letting the meringue cool completely in the oven.

When ready to serve it, invert it or slide it onto a nice big plate (or disposable pizza tin if you don't have a plate big enough...) Whisk the cream until it is thick and pile it atop the meringue. Scatter with raspberries or strawberries (though strawberries don't really scatter). Grate the chocolate atop the raspberries, if you so desire. I did not as strawberries don't usually have the tartness raspberries contain.

Samoa Bars

A fun fact: the name of your girl scout cookies depends on where you live. While living in Cedar Rapids, I had a moment of panic when I ordered some GS cookies, thinking they no longer made my absolute favorites (Tagalongs). Turns out that in Iowa (and other places) Tagalongs are called Peanut Butter Patties (boring), Samoas are called Caramel Delights, and Trefoils are just called Shortbread. It's odd; I've heard it's because there are two manufactoring places and they label the cookies differently, but I'm not sure how much I believe that. What's funniest is the boxes are identical, except the cookie name.

So what I present to you today are Samoa (or Caramel Delight) bars. I made these largely for my sister who loves Somoas and who didn't order any this year. She loved them, especially when refrigerated. My dad loved the increased proportions, the bars having more cookie than the actual cookies do. I love the simple fact that these are bars; my child had a definite absence of bars so I find them so delightful now. Weird, I know, but don't let that deter you from trying this recipe out. Even if you don't really like coconut (like me), you'll be surprised by how little that matters with these. The caramel accompanying the coconut makes it all okay.


Samoas Bars
(original recipe)

Cookie Base

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

Topping

• 3 cups shredded coconut (either sweetened or unsnweetened)
• 12 oz good-quality chewy caramels (I used Werthers)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp milk
• 10 oz dark or semisweet dipping chocolate

Start with the cookie base. Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease or line with parchment paper a 9x13 baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. On low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until the mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. Pour the dough into prepared pan and press it into an even layer.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until base is set and the edges are lightly browned. Cool completely before topping.

For the topping: First, we'll need to toast the coconute. Preheat oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then evenly spread the coconut on it. Toast for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until the coconut is golden. Cool on the baking sheet, stirring occasionally.

Unwrap the caramels and place them in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute or so to help the caramel melt while also incorporating the milk into it. When fully melted and smooth, fold in the toasted coconut.

Using a spoon or spatula, dollop the topping across the cookie base, then smooth it into an even layer. Let it cool completely.

Once cooled, cut into 30 bars. (A pizza cutter is handy for this.)

Melt the dipping chocolate into a bowl by heating in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and then place it on a clean sheet of parchement paper. Transfer the remaining chocolate into a piping or ziplock bag and drizzle the bars to finish.


Now, the original recipe just says any dark or semisweet chocolate will do, but I had the problem of my chocolate never setting. That made transportation really difficult and also made a mess. My sister suggested the dipping chocolate and she is absolutely right. Next time, I'll use dipping chocolate.

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

A couple weeks ago, my sister texted me that she was craving something sweet. A few days later, she came over for dinner, still with that craving. Texting back and forth (like we always do) before she came over, I discovered she likes chocolate cake and decided to make her a chocolate angel food cake. Partly because I simply love angel food cake. Partly because angel food cake is one of the healthier cakes out there. Mostly because I love angel food cake.

After preparing the batter, I didn't expect it to be all that chocolatey; I anticipated a hint of chocolate. Oh, but I was so deliciously incorrect. Especially for being an angel food cake, this has a robust chocolatiness perfectly complemented by the sweetness and stickiness of angel food. SO. FREAKIN'. DELICIOUS. The cake did not lost long. I sent my sister home with a chunk of it, which she then ate the next morning for breakfast. But then again, I had some for breakfast that morning too.


I served this cake with homemade whipped cream and sliced strawberries, because what goes together better than chocolate, strawberries, and cream?

Chocolate Angel Food Cake
(Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, pg 182)

• 1 1/2 cups egg whites (10-12 large eggs)
• 1 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 cup sifted flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coca powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar

In a large bowl, allow the egg whites to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, sift together powdered sugar, flour, and cocoa three times; set aside.

Place baking rack in lowest position in the oven. Preheat to 350F.

Add cream of tartar and vanilla to egg whiles. Beat (with electric mixer) on medium until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar 2 tbsps at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.

Sift 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and fold in gently. (You may need to transfer to a larger bowl.) Repeat, folding in the remaining flour mixture by fourths.

Pour into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan. Gently cut through the batter with a butter knife or small spatule to remove any large air pockets.

Bake on the lowest rack for 40-45 mintues, or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Immediately invert the cake; cool thoroughly in the inverted pan. Using a small spatula or knife (a clean one!), loosen the sides of the cake from the pan; remove it from the pan.


To make whipped cream, simply beat heavy cream in a bowl until it thickens and stiffens. If you'd like it sweetened, add powdered sugar to taste. You may also add cocoa powder or vanilla extract or any other flavorings you'd like.

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

I spent my first year in college living on burritos and salads; the cafeteria is awful. Horrible. Gross. I feel sorry for students who live on campus all four years. The cafeteria screwed up most foods... except cookies. Their cookies were decent. One particular type was actually delicious. They had cranberry and white chocolate chips and were amazing. Recently, hubby and I went to a lecture on campus where they were serving refreshments, including those cookies. Hubby was quite the fan as well. So I decided I'd try to make them myself.

I scanned a few cookie recipes and found they're all very similar for what I want. I just sort of winged it from there..


Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

• 3/4 cup flour, room temp
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix into wet mixture.

Stir in cranberries and chips. Drop rounded tablespoons on cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes, until edges start to brown (slightly).

Double Chocolate Brownies

The other day, my supervisor and I had a discussion about brownies. We talk about food and share recipes often, and she's the one who introduced me to Nigella Lawson. So, it surprised me a bit that we were both talking fondly of boxed brownie mixes. But, in my short 22 years of life, I have yet to have a brownie so delicious as the Hershey's brownies. So, I've started yet another food quest for brownies better than those.

I have a few brownie recipes bookmarked, and thought I'd start with something simple which I was guaranteed to have all the ingredients in my pantry. So, this recipe won out. I believe it's a Martha Stewart recipe. The brownies are very chocolately without being overwhelming. They're dense and cakey. While not being the classic fudgey, gooey brownies, these would be absolutely amazing cut up into little cubes and mixed with vanilla ice cream. I wish I had some vanilla ice cream.


Double Chocolate Brownies

• 6 tbsp butter, coarsely chopped
• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used 4 oz semisweet, 2 oz bittersweet)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish. The recipe calls for you to butter the pan, line it with parchment paper, then butter the parchment paper. I skipped the paper and just sprayed the dish with a cooking spray. *

Melt together the butter, chocolate, and cocoa powder. You can choose to do this over a double-boiler or in the microwave. I always opt for the microwave. If microwaving, just heat it up in 30 second increments, stirring after each session. Let cook slightly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Using a mixer if you have one, beat together sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. This will take approximately 4 minutes. Add the chocolate and mix until combined. Lower the speed and beat in the flour mixture.

Pour mixture into prepped pan and spread evenly. Bake approximately 35 minutes. Cool completely.

* A note on prepping the pan: The purpose of the parchment paper is to allow for easy removal of the brownies from the pan. This comes in handy if you'd like to cut up the brownies before serving them. it makes for easier and nicer squares. But I'm bringing these brownies to work, so keeping them in the pan is handy in a couple of ways. First off, my pan has a lid, which makes transportation very easy. Also, everyone's going to make a different size brownie, so I like to let them cut whatever size they want. If I were having a party, I'd go for the easy removal method.

Fudge Drops

Oh. My. Goodness. These cookies are uh-maze-zing! AMAZING! And of course, this recipe made the fewest batches. Sadness for me. But oh so good in my tummy. They were tasty tasty like brownie heaven.

This recipe comes from the King Arthur flour site, so sshhh don't tell them I didn't use their flour. It just wasn't what I had around the house. I made the recipe plain - no chocolate chips or chunks or ganache - and they were amazing, but any of those additions would work well.


Fudge Drops
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
3 tbsp butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp espresso powder (I omitted this)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (6 oz) chocolate chips, optional (I opted out)

In a double boiler, or in the microwave, gently melt together the chocolate and butter. To avoid heating the chocolate too much and possibly burning it, the best method is to heat till the butter is melted and the chocolate has partially melted, then remove from the heat. Stir till all the chocolate melts.

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs till they're thoroughly combined. Add the hot melted chocolate, then stir in the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, if you're using them. Refrigerate the batter-like dough for 1 hour, to make it easier to handle.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets, three if you have them.

Drop the cookie dough by tablespoonfuls (about the size of a small ping pong ball) onto the prepared baking sheets. A tablespoon cookie scoop makes this task extremely simple. Leave about 2" between the dough balls, as they'll spread as they bake.

Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their tops are shiny and cracked. They won't crack until the very end, so keep a close eye on them; when they're cracked all the way across the top surface, they're just about done. The point is, you want these baked all the way through, but just barely; additional baking will make them crisp rather than chewy. Remove the cookies from the oven, and top each with a kiss-shaped chocolate, a nonpareil, or a bittersweet chocolate wafer, if desired. Wait 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool.

Peanut Butter Pixies

After my successful fudge experience, I wanted to try peanut butter fudge. It was my favorite fudge variety as a kid. I happily came across this recipe for Two Toned Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge. My friends, after sampling it, excitedly chattered about my making peanut butter pixies, which they had all had in school. I think Peanut Butter Pixie is a fun name, so I'm sticking with it.

These were a bit too creamy and soft to really be fudgy, but they are quite tasty; a great blend of peanut butter and chocolate. Definitely something I will make again.. and again.. and again.. until the end of my sugar-soaked life. (Have I mentioned yet how much sugar I've had in the past week???)


Peanut Butter Pixies

• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 small jar (7 0z) marshmallow cream
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

First - as with all fudge - line an 8x8 pan with foil. Now, my 8x8 was occupied at the time with some tasty gingerbread, so I used a slightly differently sized pan (10x7 maybe) which resulted in thinner fudge.

Place peanut butter chips in a heat-safe medium-large bowl. In a separate yet similar bowl, place the chocolate chips.

In a heavy sauce pan, combine sugar, marshmallow cream, evaporated milk, and butter. Cook over medium heat, STIRRING CONSTANTLY, until it boils. Boil for 5 minutes (continue that stirring!). Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the vanilla.

This is where I deviated from the recipe. It says to "Working safely, but quickly, stir one-half of the hot mixture into peanut butter chips and the other half into the chocolate chips. Stir the peanut butter mixture until fully melted and quickly pour into prepared pan" then to do the same with the chocolate chips. I was worried about having equal amounts in both chocolate and peanut butter, as well as the mixture cooling before I could get it all done. So instead, I called in hubby and had him assist. I alternately ladled a ladleful of hot mixture into the separate chip-filled bowls. Then hubby and I each stirred one bowl until our chips had melted. He poured his peanut butter mixture, then I poured mine on top. This worked well.

Let cool to room temp. Cut into squares.

Fudge Success

Hello all,
I come bringing wonderful news!! I've made tasty fudge!! My wonderful aunt, reading about my fudge failures, told me her mom's recipe. I tried it and voila!


Preeettty smooth chocolately fudge! And it's from the recipe on the back label of the marshmallow creme jar. Delicious. It's very similar to the other fudge recipes I've tried, except at the end, marshmallow fluff is added. Boy, does it make a difference! A happy, delicious, wonderful, ego-restoring difference.

Fantasy Fudge

• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 5 oz (2/3 cup) evaporated milk
• 12 squares (12 oz) baker's semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 7-oz jar marshmallow creme
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with foil; set aside.

In a large, heavy saucepan, bring sugar, butter, and evaporated milk to a boil over medium heat. STIR CONSTANTLY. Boil for 4 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 234F (I went by the temperature, which was much longer than 4 minutes). STIR CONSTANTLY. Once 234F has been reached, remove from heat.

Add chocolate and marshmallow creme; stir until thoroughly melted and incorporated. Add vanilla and nuts (if you chose to use them). Stir well.

Immediately pour the fudge into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Let stand at room temp for 4 hours, until completely cooled. Cut into delicious squares of fudgy goodness. Store in an air-tight container.

ENJOY FUDGY DELICIOUS.

Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

So I found this recipe for cupcakes that taste "exactly" like the Ferrero Rocher candies. I have yearned and yearned to try this recipe, but could not find hazelnut extract in any local stores and just couldn't stomach the cost of shipping some here. But a recent trip to the New Pioneer Co-op in Coralville contained a delightful surprise. At the last moment, already standing in the checkout line, I noticed a small baking section. "Hold on a sec" I told my dear hubby and excitedly beelined to the bestest section of any store. Lo and behold, what do I triumphantly return to the checkout line with? Why yes, it was a bottle of hazelnut extract. Woohoo!! So I finally got to try the recipe... once I had the time and cash for the other ingredients.


So here they are. I tried one of my overbaked leftover cupcakes (you know, when you have enough batter you can't just throw it away, so you use the remainder to make 4 little cupcakes.. and then promptly forget about them while you mix up a ganache? Oh, you don't do that?..Silly me) So I'm bringing these to work tonight, I'll update once I know how the masses feel.

And I won't be immediately posting up the recipe here. I've got about 6 hours til I've got to get up for work and I really need to get some sleep after this crazy week I've had.

Chocolate Loaf Cake

I am in love, and the object of my adoration is Nigella Lawson. At first, hearing about her in the blogosphere, I scoffed. Who is ever that great? She is. I take back my scoffing. The hearthbread was amazing and this chocolate cake was glorious. It's the Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake (page 166) from How to Be a Domestic Goddess. Mmm domestic goddesshood, here I come!!


Chocolate Loaf Cake:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
  
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp boiling water

Preheat oven to 375F. Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack. Grease a loaf pan, then line it with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Fold in the chocolate; do not overmix.

Whisk together the flour and baking soda. Alternate adding the flour and water by the spoonful. This will take quite a bit of stirring. The batter should be smooth and liquidy.

Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325F and cook for an additional 15 minutes. It'll still be a bit damp, so toothpick or skewer won't help.

Place on a rack and let it cool completely. Nigella says letting it sit for a day or so improves the flavor. The cake will sink a bit in the middle.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Due to the flooding in town, my work is currently operating out of a college in town. We are no longer within walking distance of places for lunch, so the company has been trying to provide at least some sort of food (usually chips). I decided I'd help out a bit and bring in some food. I made another loaf of the Honey Vanilla Challah and these delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies from Karen at Do Better. In my experience, people usually appreciate free food, especially homemade baked goods, but the response to these cookies was amazing. So many people stopped me to tell me how delicious they are (even the head networking guy!). Hubby's friend said they were the best cookies she's ever had. Cool deal right?


The recipe makes A LOT of cookies, somewhere around 6 dozen. My little hand mixer had quite a difficult time in the final mixing stage, so I had to switch to good ol' hand powered stirring.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:
4 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
6 cups flour (the original recipe is half white and half wheat, but I only have all purpose)
1 bag chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate, original recipe calls for semi-sweet)
1 bag white chocolate chips (I used vanilla chips)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream the butter and sugars together. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together salt, baking soda, and flour. Gradually mix into wet ingredients. Stir in chips.
Using cookie scoop (or whatever method you prefer) drop onto cookie sheets. Bake for approximately 11 minutes, until just slightly golden.

These cookies remain nice and soft instead of hardening up like some cookies. That's an important cookie feature for me.

Oh, and by the way, these cookies have hubby's seal of approval. He's not big into baked goods, so if he really likes something, it must be good, right?

Smores Bars

I wasn't aware at the time, but S'mores day happened recently. Thus, there have been quite a few smores recipes on TasteSpotting. After having a dream about baking smores brownies, I decided I just had to make something. I choose this S'more Cookie Bars from Baking Bites. Honestly, I chose them because of the gooey quality of the marshmallow and chocolate, plus the ration of graham to marshmallow to chocolate seemed best.


S'more Cookie Bars

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 king-sized chocolate bars - Hershey
• 1 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined. It will be kind of clumpy.

Divide dough in two. Press one half into the bottom of the pan. Place the chocolate bars side by side on top of the dough. They should fit just about perfectly in the pan. Spread the marshmallow fluff across the top of the chocolate. This will be difficult. I didn't bother measuring out the fluff, I just used most of the jar. Really, can you have too much marshmallowy goodness?

Place the remaining dough over the top of the marshmallow. It works best if you flatten squares of the dough and lay it over the top, like tiles.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool completely before cutting.


This is amazing. The chocolate stays gooey, so it's really like eating a smore. So goooood. And now the solution to smores cravings when there are no fires nearby!

Failure, Meatloaf, and Perfect Chocolate Cake

I'm feeling lazy; it's been a long day with lots of cooking. Two thirds of my attempts were scrumptious.. the third, not so much. BUT I did buy my first vanilla bean today; I shall hopefully use it tomorrow. I've decided not to retype any of the recipes as I followed them exactly.

So I was super excited to make these garlic rolls; I love garlic and I love bread so HELLO awesome recipe to try right? Well, mine DID not look like the photo. I knew something was up when my dough did not rise at all during the set rising time. But, I soldiered on and continued.. They didn't rise at all during the baking. I talked to my mom, and she said she's never seen a recipe that didn't call for dissolving the yeast in liquid before adding it to everything else (disregarding bread machines). Also, there could have been a slight issue with the conversions.. but oh well. Perhaps I'll tweak the recipe and try again. However, mine were edible (though hard) and really didn't taste phenomenally garlicky. I'll tweak that as well. Good idea though. These are my sad results; most of the rolls fell apart, having never joined spheres... Sadness..


Okay. So, I was raised with the whole "meatloaf is disgusting and a horrible idea" mantra. My mom NEVER made meatloaf that I can remember. I avoided it at school... I just never ate it until about a year ago. I was curious and hubby likes it. It really wasn't that bad, though nothing I think I would ever write home about. There are much more fun things to make than a loaf of meat. BUT then I came across this meatloaf recipe. It's turkey (I've discovered I really enjoy cooking with turkey!) I might not have double-glazed it, but that's just me being picky about sauces. Pretty tasty; like it says with the original recipe, this can turn a lover to a hater. (Of course, I served it with mashed potatoes and peas...which should be mixed together!)


Now the fun part of the evening came when my friend let me know she was craving warm, chocolate cake. Me, being the crazy that I am, immediately offered to make her one. And who in their right mind would turn away fresh, warm, homemade chocolate cake, especially when craving it? It took awhile to narrow down the recipe choices. I had two that I flitted between for awhile, but one mandated being served warm. Since she didn't get off work til 1 am, I figured I should go with the second cake. It's someone's grandma's Hershey Chocolate Cake. It's a lighter, cakier cake than some chocolate cakes can be, but the icing on top makes it super-sweet and chocolatey. The recipe calls for pouring the hot icing over the hot cake, which resulted in sizzling bubbles around the edges. See?


Anyway. This cake is like crack. I'm going to have to bring it to work tomorrow so I don't eat it all myself and gain 500 pounds in a night. So simple and so good.


Also, I had the tastiest hot cross bun today from Panera. I always imagined hot cross buns had raisins in them.. These did not; instead they had candied oranges and strawberries. AMAZING. I have never had strawberries baked into anything. The bun itself was sweet and slightly cinnamony. I actually pulled off the little cross of icing; it really didn't need it. So good though. I'll have to somehow make these myself. People will think I am a goddess.