Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Monday, Jul 6 2009

I made a cake to celebrate my birthday, (I know, how lame!) but I don’t even have a picture to prove it! I know I’ve been so bad about getting pictures of the things I bake but I have an excuse this time! My excuse is that my family ate up the whole cake before I could snap a photo. 

But it was a chocolate cake with rich peanut butter frosting, and a creamy chocolate ganache on top. Then I piled on crushed up Reese’s and decorated with chocolate covered peanuts and called it done! Oh yeah, it was three layers, baked in three 8-inch cake pans.

My family all seemed to like it, and I thought it was okay, but definitely not worthy of my birthday celebration. Fortunately, I’ve got another cake coming for this Friday, and we have strawberry cupcakes and Drumsticks just waiting to be eaten! And my mom and I are doing our third annual mother-daughter shopping spree where we go to Cheesecake Factory, get our nails painted, get Frappuccinos, and buy basically whatever I want so I’m satisfied for today!
Here’s the recipe for the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, and if I make it again soon, I’ll be sure to take a picture before anyone gets to it! And here’s a picture of what the cake looked a lot like, only mine had lots of Reese’s on top! Picture from flickr.

Chocolate Cake:

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1 1/2 tsps baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup almond oil

2 1/2 tsps vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. 

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs milk and oil all at once and beat with an electric mixer on medium for 2 minutes.  Add vanilla and boiling water and beat again on medium for 3-4 minutes, or until the batter seems lighter in texture.  The batter will be very thin.  Pour into prepared pans and baked for 30-35 minutes, depending on your oven. 

Once fully cooked, remove cakes from oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Use a knife to gently loosen the edges, and invert each cake onto a cooling rack. (the cakes should come out of the pan fairly easily.) 

Cover with a damp kitchen towel while it continues cooling, and you make the icing. 

Peanut Butter Icing

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, (one like Jif, where the oil does not seperate)

5 cups powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter on high until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and continue beating for another minute or two.  Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, beating on medium-low speed.  Once all the sugar is added, crank up the speed to medium and let beat for 3-4 minutes, until loose, light, and deliciously fluffy.

Now get ready to frost your cake!

TO FROST:

Place one cake layer on a large plate sitting upside down, this gives you area to frost the sides. Place about a cup of frosting on top and spread evenly over cake. Repeat with the next layer.  Place the last layer on top and frost the tops and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Chill this for about a half hour, while you clean up and make the glaze. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 tbsp smooth peanut butter

2 tbsp light corn syrup

1/2 c half and half

5 chopped up Reese’s Cups (since they come in a pack of two, you can eat one for yourself!)

Optional (chocolate covered peanuts.)

In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, combie the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup.  Cook, stirring often, until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. 

Remove from heat and whisk in the half and half. Let cool for about two minutes while you get the cake out of the fridge.

Pour the glaze in the center of the cake and spread evenly around the full cake.  Throw on the top all the Reese’s and optional chocolate covered peanuts. Place in fridge until needed, removing about an hour and a half before being eaten. ENJOY!!!

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Insanely rich hot fudge sauce Tuesday, Jun 2 2009

Holy Cow. I just have to say that because I ate a hot fudge sundae at 3 :15 and my mouth still has that sickeningly sweet taste to it!  I honestly don’t think I’ve had such a rich dessert since New years, when I ate basically the whole house, including a whole pound of chocolate chili, and the most chocolate fondue you’ve ever seen someone eat. 

Anyways, I made this hot fudge sauce as soon as I got home, using a simple recipe I found on the internet. It’s low fat too, because I had to find a recipe that didn’t consist of heavy cream (we didn’t have any!). Well this fits the bill, and it’s the most ridiculously sweet, heavenly homemade hot fudge sauce I’ve had in a long time. 

I also couldn’t wait to pour the hot fudge over my ice cream, so I poured about a fourth of the recipe on top of the ice cream literally just after the sauce stopped boiling.  It melted the ice cream so fast and I had to rush to put a spoonful of marshmallow fluff on top. This recipe’s really good though, and I highly recommend you try it for your next hot fudge needs!

Hot fudge

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1 tbsp cornstarch

about a 1/4 tsp salt

1 cup evaporated milk

Combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in evaporated milk, and continue whisking for about 4-5 minutes, until sauce thickens. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

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KAF Brownies Sunday, May 31 2009

Wow, I haven’t been posting much lately, I’ve been so busy!  But anyways, here’s another brownie recipe I tried. I forgot to take a picture, but just imagine super thick, dense fudge brownies and there you have it!!! I took these to school, and everyone loved them! Definitely a crowd pleaser, although not nearly as good as the “Baked Brownie” recipe. Those are by far my favorite!

Anyways, here’s the recipe, from King Arthur Flour, it’s got their guarantee and everything.
And, here’s kind of what they looked like, but this is not my picture. Picture courtesy of KatelynDekker on flickr.

King Arthur Flour Brownies:

1 c unsalted butter

2 1/4 c sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/2 Dutch-processed cocoa

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips (I did about half and half)

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 13×9 in pan.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave for about two minutes, until completely melted.  Stir in the sugar, and microwave again for another minute and a half. This insures a shiny top crust on the brownies.

While the sugar and butter are melting, crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl, and beat together with the cocoa, salt, baking powder and vanilla till smooth.  Add the butter/sugar mixture, and stir until smooth.

Add the flour, and stir just until combined.  Now let the mix sit for about 15-20 minutes to cool before adding the chocolate chips.  If you don’t have time for this, go ahead and mix in the chips, they will melt, but still deliver a rich chocolate flavor.

Once the chips have been added, pour into your greased 13×9 and bake for 25-30 minutes.  I did mine for 25, because I like ‘em real hot and fudgy!

*Tip, if you plan on bringing these brownies somewhere, you definitely need to wait at least an hour and a half to two hours before cutting. I couldn’t wait that long, so mine made quite a mess! Enjoy!

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Brownie Mission: #One, the Baked Brownie Saturday, Apr 25 2009

My new mission is brownies. I need brownies. I really need them to survive. 

Therefore, I’m trying to find the best brownie recipes, ones that will satisfy any intense chocolate craving.

First on the list is the very famous Baked brownie recipe. Did you know this was Oprah’s Favorite Brownie!!! That’s what compelled me to try it, and boy was she right, these brownies are phenomenal!!!! They’re seriously drop dead amazing. I couldn’t believe myself how good these were, so they’re definitely a keeper. I’m just going to experiment around to see if I can figure out a lower fat version of these. 

Anyways, I love them. I Love these brownies they are sooo good!

So if you want a really wicked good brownie, here’s your recipe. You gotta try these!

Sorry this recipe does not do these justice, I had to hurry up and snap a picture before it was too late!

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp plus 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder*

11 ounces dark chocolate* see note

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 1/2 c granulated sugar

1/2 c firmly packed light brown sugar

5 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a 13×9 inch glass pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and cocoa powder.

Put the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is completely melted and smooth. Turn off heat, but keep the bowl on top of the double boiler and whisk in the sugars. Once completely combined, remove from pan. The mixture should be at room temp. 

Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage, or the brownies will be cakey!

Sprinkle in flour mixture and with a rubber spatula, fold into the chocolate until just barely incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking time. Do not overbake these babies, and check at 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies should come out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it.

Dig in!!!!!

*Note, because chocolate is the shining star in brownies, I highly recommend using high quality chocolate and cocoa for these. I used Ghiradellhi unsweetened cocoa powder for the cocoa, and almost a full bag of Ghiradellhi 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate chips. This worked out fabulous, I’ll probably even try a higher cocoa percentage next time !

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Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt Tarte Saturday, Apr 18 2009

For those of you who read Saveur magazine, you know all to well the recipe I am posting today. It was this month’s front cover recipe complete with a fab picture of the decadently rich tarte. 

A few weeks ago my mom and I were shopping at Whole Foods and saw the Saveur magazine while in the checkout line. The moment she saw the cover picture, she said “Ok, we’re buying this!” No joke, this just shows how obsessed my mom and I are about caramel and chocolate, (especially when that includes nuts or salt in the mix!!!) So we got home that night and she says to me, “Olivia, you have to make me this tarte. You have to make it!” And the next day, what do you know, we run back to the store, get the ingredients, and I made that chocolate tarte. 

Now, was it worth the $4 we spent to buy the magazine, along with the cost of ingredients, (Organic Dutch Cocoa Powder at $7 a container!)? Well the answer is…sorta.  See, I’m more of a turtle or hot chocolate kinda girl when it comes to this flavor combination, and I’ve never been to big on tartes. Needless to say, I liked it okay, but it’s not something I’d go out of my way to make again. My mom said it was good, but I don’t think she loved it too much because half the tarte sat in our fridge for a week before we ate the rest. (Which is an incredibly long time in my house). 

I’ve written way to much for this post, and everyone reading this post is probably bored out of their minds of my writing right now and want to get on with the recipe. So, I’d give this recipe maybe a 6 or 7 out of ten, and if you do happen to try it, or if you already have, let me know, I’d love to know your input on it. 

Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt Tarte

Crust:
1 1⁄2 cups flour
1⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp. dutch-process unsweetened 
   cocoa powder
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

Caramel:
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt

6 tbsp. water

6 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. whole milk Greek Yogurt(or crème fraîche)

Chocolate Ganache:

1⁄2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Sea salt for garnish

For the Crust:

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, cocoa powder and salt in medium bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in egg yolks and vanilla until well combined, then add dry ingredients. Transfer dough to a 9″ tarte pan (one with a removable bottom) and press dough evenly into bottom and sides of pan. Refrigerate about 30 minutes, and then bake in oven for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before using.

For the Caramel:

In the meantime, in a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt and water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until it reaches 365. (Be very, very careful, I messed this up the first time and had to start all over from scratch. I am warning you to check this at about 360, and I would take it off then. I have learned what a fine line there is between caramelized and burnt!)

Remove immediately from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and yogurt (or crème fraîche). The mixture will bubble, but will soon smooth out. Pour caramel into slightly cooled tart and refrigerate for an hour.

For the Ganache: 

While the rest of the tarte is cooling, bring the cream to a boil in a 1 qt. saucepan over medium heat. Pour in chocolate and let stand for one minute. Slowly, stir with a rubber spatula until smooth. Pour the ganache evenly over slightly refrigerated tarte, and let refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. Sprinkle with sea salt, and serve sligthly chilled.

(I only waited about twenty minutes after pouring on the chocolate ganache to cut a few slices, so really it’s however long you’d like to wait. Being the impatient person I am, I had to dive right in!)

Enjoy!

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Leftover peeps? Wednesday, Apr 15 2009

Check out the Washington Posts Peep diorama contestants. Some of these are very cute, and I for one am inspired to take on a peep project of my own next year! My favorite is the Little Miss Peep, modeled after Little Miss Sunshine.

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Healthy Chocolate Mousse Tuesday, Apr 14 2009

Now this is one interesting recipe, let me just start with that! I was randomly searching the web one day when I came across the words “diet by chocolate mousse” and for some reason, that compelled me to click that link. Thank goodness I did, because I found a really neat recipe. 

It’s “chocolate” mousse in its’ strangest form; avocado, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, agave nectar, and a little cocoa to spruce it up.  This recipe took literally five minutes to make, however the ingredients aren’t necessarily pantry staples, so you may need to plan accordingly.

Recipe thanks to Renee Loux, who apparently dreamed this up in her sleep.

Healthy Chocolate Mousse

1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 cup high-quality cocoa powder *See note

Combine all ingredients except cocoa powder in food processor. Once blended, add in cocoa powder. Voila! You have successfully created healthy chocolate mousse! Enjoy!

*Note, I strongly recommend Green and Blacks organic cocoa powder, which is a bit on the pricey side but should prove well worth it. If not Ghiradellhi unsweetened cocoa powder is always good as well.

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Hot Cross Buns pic Tuesday, Apr 14 2009

This pic doesn’t quite give mercy to the Hot Cross buns, because like I mentioned in an earlier post I was having some trouble with the camera. All the icing and powdered sugar basically seeped into the buns, so now it’s like sweet, stale pieces of spiced bread. hahah, appetizing I know!!! I’m making bread pudding with the remains so I’ll post that tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s my one sad little picture.

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Hot Cross Buns Saturday, Apr 11 2009

Sticky Buns, CinnaBuns, and Hot Cross Buns, don’t those all sound good to you?  That’s why yesterday I had such a difficult time picking out what to make.  Since it was Good Friday, I chose to make the hot cross buns, in honor of…Good Friday!

Hot Cross Buns are something that have never even crossed my mind to bake before.  The origins say they are traditionally served on Good Friday, and my favorite part of the story is that there is superstition that these buns, when baked on Good Friday,never become moldy.  So in the past people would save one bun as a good luck charm until next year’s buns were made.

I enjoyed these rolls, and so did the family. They come as quite a shock the first bite, because they look like they should be sweet and really are not!  I added much more icing and a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top to oomph up the sweetness, and now they’re even better!  Still, next time I’m debating between these babes and the cinnamon rolls, I’ll pick the latter.

My recipe was courtesy of the Joy of Baking website, which I absolutely adore her pictures, words, and recipes. So go on and check that link out, but here’s my recipe as I did it, with a few minor changes. 

*note, picture on it’s way, I’m having a bit difficulties with the camera!

Hot Cross Buns

3/4 c milk

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 tsp granulated sugar

3 1/2 c allpurpose flour

1/4 c light brown sugar (if you’re wanting a more sweet roll, I’d ump this up to at least 1/2 c)

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp mace

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c unsalted butter, at room temp

2 large eggs 

3/4 c raisins (you can add more or less depending on taste)

Egg wash

1 tbsp milk

1 egg

Glaze

1 1/2 c confectioners sugar

2-3 tbsp cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

In a small saucepan heat the milk until lukewarm, about 100-110 degrees. Add the yeast an 1/2 tsp sugar and stir to combine. Set aside for ten minutes, or until the yeast is foamy. 

In the meantime, in the a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, spices and salt. Once the yeast is ready add this to the flour mixture and beat to combine.  Add each egg, beating well after each addition. Turn the mixer on low and add the butter.  Knead for 6-7 minutes with dough attachment or by hand on a lightly floured surface. Gradually knead in the raisins or other dried fruit, if you please.

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning once so the top is lighty greased.  Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise in a draft-free environment until doubled in size. About 1 1//2 hours. 

Once doubled in size, punch the dough down, and shape in 16 equal rolls.  Place on a lined baking sheet with enough room so they have plenty of room to double in size again. (I used a jellyroll pan or cookie sheet, and placed twelve on that pan which worked fine. Then I baked the last four rolls seperately.)  Cover again and let rise in draft-free spot until almost doubled in size (about an hour).

Preheat oven to 400. Brush the tops with the beaten egg was and with a sharp, greased knife, draw a cross in the tops of each bun. Bake for 14-15 minutes, and let cool for about five minutes before placing on glaze. 

Now this is my way-  I brushed on four heavy coats of the glaze and topped them all off with a dusting of powdered sugar. If you’d like to make these the most traditional way, place the glaze in a ziplock baggy, and pipe out a cross ontop the crosses you already formed with a knife. Enjoy everybody!!!!

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Pics of Specialty Cake Tuesday, Apr 7 2009

Well here are the pics I could scrounge off the family from the cake I made last week. The one I called my somewhat specialty.  I apologize for the picture quality, they were taken off a phone, and believe me by the time I finished that cake the last thing I was thinking about was taking a picture of it!

I also apologize for lack of posts, (and lack of posts with pictures.) I’ve got plenty of recipes to be posting though, so I’ll try and get some up this week. Also, Easter’s coming up so I’ll definitely have some yummy Easter recipes to give a whack at. Here are the pictures…

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