Dark Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake

 
I woke up this morning with every intention of baking a wonderfully frilly and delicate strawberry layer cake with Chantilly cream. But I didn't. If there's one thing I'm good at it's talking myself out things. Ok...maybe with exception of talking myself out of things I really need of course (refer to this post).

"A layer cake, really? You know it'll turn out lopsided." ..."do you really want to wash all those dishes?" Curses! So instead, I talked myself into a simple fuss free recipe that incorporates chocolate and booze. Mmm booze.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was going to attempt to gift homemade hot pepper jelly for the holidays. The red and green would have been festive don't you think? After thinking about it for a while, I realized it probably wasn't a good idea to give my first attempt at a canned good. Because while most all food gifts rock people's socks off you know what would rock their socks off in a bad way? Botulism. Botulism is definitely not cool. So, until I make sure I thoroughly understand the sanitizing and canning process the homemade jellies will have to wait.

Instead, I decided to go with my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's the Jacques Torres cookie recipe that's been all around the internet, but I tweaked it to suit my tastes. This recipe is very forgiving. I've used all purpose flour instead of bread flour and I've also baked the cookies the same day instead of waiting 24 hours. Both turned out just as delicious.

I made these gift boxes (check out this video on how to make them) that fit 6 cookies perfectly. I think Martha Stewart would be proud of me.

I wish you a wonderful and food gifted filled holiday :)

Tiramisu Cake and Le Petit Brioche's first birthday!

I starting food blogging as a way of documenting the recipes I enjoyed making and eating. Along the way, I've developed friendships with many talented home bakers and cooks who share the same passion for food and food pornography photography. They've inspired me to try new dishes and be more creative with my own.

Thank you to my blog followers and friends who stop by to check out the new recipes. Your kind comments always make my day a little brighter.

In honor of this occasion, I made one of my favorite desserts in cake form. Tiramisu cake. Layers of sponge cake are soaked with a coffee-sugar syrup spiked with Kahlua then topped with mascarpone filling.

Heavenly!

The Baked Brownie

My weekend will consist of the following: attending two football games in two cities over two days. It's enough to make a girl re-evaluate her sanity. Luckily, I know of one thing that has the power to carry me through...chocolate. That's where these brownies come in to play.  Loaded with tons of chocolate and butter, these are definitely rich and fudgy. Make these now. You know you wanna :)

The Baked Brownie

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13-inch glass or light-colored baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.

3. Put the chocolate, butter and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.

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

5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it.

Let the brownies cool completely, then lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. 

Cut and share.

Homemade Thin Mint Cookies

Today, I went lingerie shopping. (Lingerie, skivies, unmentionables...which I am now mentioning). Control your heart rate, it's not as R rated as it sounds. I was on a mission and searching for a decent bra. A beige colored one with extra padding. False advertising? You bet! I found one at that store. You know the one that packs your skivies in pink striped colored bags with unnecessary pink tissue paper saturated with fragrance. It seems to grab the attention of all the males in the mall who think you may have something naughty in there to transform you into a VS Angel. Wouldn't that be nice?

You know what else would be nice? You and me baking and eating chocolate covered chocolate mint cookies. Will I be doing it in my comfy boring bra? Heck yes! Care for some cookies? This is why we're friends :)

Chocolate-Covered Chocolate-Mint Cookies

From Desserts by the Yard

 By Sherry Yard

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 tsp. peppermint oil
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate 

Place the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse a few times to combine the ingredients. Add the butter and pulse to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the egg yolks, peppermint oil, and vanilla and pulse until a dough forms on the blades of the food processor.

Remove the dough from the food processor and shape into a 2-inch-thick log. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Place racks in the middle and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick disks and arrange 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Switch the baking sheets from top to bottom and rotate from front to back and continue to bake for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the cookies are light brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on racks. Make sure to let the baking sheets cool between batches. Do not handle the cookies until they are cool, or they'll break; they're very delicate.

Melt and temper the bittersweet chocolate. Keep the chocolate warm while you dip the cookies. Place a sheet pan upside down on your work surface, next to the melted chocolate. Cover with parchment paper. Dip the cookies one by one in the chocolate, using a fork to turn them over and then lift them out of the chocolate. It helps to tilt the bowl forward by leaning it on a folded kitchen towel.

Set the dipped cookies on the parchment, beginning at the far end so you don't drip chocolate on other cookies when you set them down. 

 Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

I like to store mine in my belly.

Super Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today, I packed up 4 years worth of stuff into 5 moving boxes. It's the end of the school year you see. Usually, I'd pack light (a few speech pathology books and some communication books I could work on over the summer), and wave a little goodbye to my work buddies knowing I would see them again in a couple months. But some won't be back in the Fall. One of them is me.
While everyone was celebrating surviving the school year, for me it was bittersweet. I'll be leaving the place that I've known since becoming a speech pathologist and starting brand new, not in one, but two schools of my own.

One thing you should know about me is that I'm no good at the mushy stuff. I'm awful at it. I'm equally as awful at saying goodbye. I get emotional, the waterworks start and I get the ugly cries. You know when your facial features contort and fluids spew from the eyes and nose simultaneously? Yeah. Not pretty. I managed to do that only 3 times today.



I came home this afternoon in need of some comforting. Two things immediately came to mind. One...The Peanuts cartoons. I don't know why, but watching them dance gives me the giggles.

Two...Chocolate chip cookies. It uses a combination of all purpose flour and bread flour making the cookies slightly crispy and chewy. These cookies soothe the soul and feel like a good hug. The genuine kind of hug that says, "Hey, you're family."

Dark chocolate cupcakes with ganache

Now that you know how to make ganache let's do something extreme. You've heard of OD (over dose) and after a good steak you may OB (over beef). I have three words for you friends. Chocolate on chocolate. Is there such a thing as OC (over chocolate?) No, I didn't think so. I knew we'd be good friends :)

Let's have the pictures do all the talking (recipe to follow). You will need a shot or two of milk after this.

Ganache it

Hello again. What's with the glazed look? Oh. In need of a chocolate fix are you? Well, I have just the thing. Ganache.

Let's talk about ganache. Mini lesson (quiz to follow. kidding). Ready?

Ganache pronounced /gah NAHSH/ is a glaze or filling for cakes and pastries. It's made from a combination of chocolate and heavy cream melted slowly together. When used warm, ganache is poured over cakes or cookies to form a smooth glossy coating. If chilled, it can be formed into chocolate truffles.

For a good and reliable recipe, I turned to my home girl, Ina Garten. She never lets me down.

Ganache: nocoupons

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces good semisweet chocolate
  
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Heat the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Easy peasy, right? Commence ganaching (is that a word?) berries, cupcakes, marshmallows, bananas, ice cream, and pound cake. Make a few truffles while you're at it. Me? I'll be saving it for my next recipe...

Chocolate and Pate Croissants

I put the leftover croissant dough in the refrigerator instead of the freezer last night and it ended up proofing a bit. I wasn't sure whether it was too late to put it in the freezer so I went ahead and baked the rest of it this morning. I looked in the pantry to see what deliciousness I could stuff into the them. Chocolate? Check! Reno liver spread? YES please! Chocolate and liver mixed together? Um. No. I was giggling at the title of this post because it sure does read that way. I wouldn't recommend mixing the two flavors unless you're in an adventurous mood or just plain nutty. Other flavors good for stuffing are ham and cheese, almond paste, and corn beef and potatoes.

These are really easy. First, roll out the dough into a rectangle and cut 3 inch wide strips of dough. Then put a spoonful or pate or chocolate chips at the top of each strip and roll the dough into a coil. Make sure the seam side is down otherwise it will puff and unravel in the oven. Brush the tops with egg wash and let rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let them cool before eating. This will give the butter enough time to set. I know it's tempting, but leave it alone! You want it to set to achieve that flaky shattering shards effect of the dough upon first bite. Drooling yet ;)