Chocolate-Dipped Vanilla Marshmallows for the Birthday Boy

Versions of chocolate-dipped marshmallows have been popping up all over the place, peaking around Valentine's Day. I don't know why I waited for so long to try my own version, but Mateo's fourth birthday was the perfect excuse to give them a go.

We used square-cut homemade marshmallows from this basic recipe, although you can make the pops with store-bought 'mallows as Amy has done. You could also cut them into shapes, like these beautiful hearts from Brenda.


So the method is simple: melt chocolate ( I used 85% cacao for a bitter contrast to the sweet marshmallow) and dip skewered marshmallows about halfway into the chocolate.

Stand skewers upright in water glasses to dry, or jab them into a cardboard box as I did in the photo above.

Once the chocolate has partially set (it will lose its glossy sheen), but before it is dry, add the sprinkles. This is a fun job for kids! Mateo decorated all his own marshmallow pops.


And that's it! I made these the day before the party and didn't bother to store them in an airtight container. They were fine left at room temperature until the party...and after? Well there wasn't even one remaining, so I can't tell you how long they keep.

Enjoy! For more party-planning tips and Mateo's 'Doodle Cake' check out my recap of the party on Simple Bites.

Chocolate ganache for the feeble minded

Cupcakes have been on the agenda quite a few times over the past few months. An engagement party, a birthday celebration, a welcome home fête, and a few other special occasions have all required chocolate cupcakes.

Of course they have.

As circumstance would have it, I'm nearly always getting started on decorating the cupcakes at about ten in the evening. Sure I've managed to get them baked off in the afternoon with two eager boys as helpers, but dressing up the cupcakes sometimes requires all helping hands to be tucked into bed.

So there I find myself, bleary eyed, measuring cream and weighing chocolate in the kitchen when my mushy brain should probably be vegging out with a Netflix pick. (Side note: have really enjoyed Whip It, Date Night, and Starter for 10 recently)

Fortunately, I've got the perfect recipe for chocolate ganache that can be made with half a brain.

It hails from Gourmet Today (love it, love it, and oh look, it's on a crazy sale right now) and it is sublime - and simple enough to be successfully executed under extreme fatigue.

I've got the recipe memorized by now; isn't it about time I shared?

Rich Chocolate Ganache Frosting

• 1 pound semisweet chocolate (cacao content no higher than 60%), chopped roughly
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

1. Whisk together cream, sugar and corn syrup in a medium, heavy bottomed pot.
2. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a gentle boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
3. Remove pot from heat and whisk in chocolate, a handful at a time, until fully melted and incorporated.
4. Add butter cubes, whisking until melted and ganache is smooth.
5. With a soup spoon, drizzle over cupcakes and tap the bottom of the cupcake gently on the counter so the ganache spreads evenly. Garnish as desired.
6. Let stand until ganache is set. Serve at room temperature or wrap and chill for up to three days.

Note: You can also let ganache cool until it stiffens, and then layer between cakes. Depending on type of chocolate used, it maybe necessary to chill frosting to reach a spreadable consistency.

Browned Butter Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Home from an intense blogging conference and what am I doing? Baking.

Right now it is the best way to sort through all the info crammed into my head on topics such as viral marketing, blogging curation, and advanced monetization, to name but a few.

There's also the song from the surprise flashmob that I performed in at the conference close; can't get it out of my head. Baking seems like the best thing to do at this point. At least it can help me avoid unpacking for a few more hours.

I mentioned these cookies in my holiday cookie swap recap, and promised the recipe sometime. It was a 'bake-the-best-cookie-of-your-life' swap and I made these, so that should tell you a lot about how good they are.

Browned Butter Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I'm not going to get into the whole 'Best Chocolate Chip Cookie' debate, although I do think mine can compete with the best of them. Browned butter gives that extra nutty flavor, extra vanilla because I can, and three types of chocolate goes into the batter just to be sure they're deluxe. Enjoy!

Adapted from Alton Brown's chocolate chip cookie recipe.

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup, or half a pound)
  
• 2 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chunks
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chunks (I use Scharffen Berger 62% cacao semisweet chocolate baking chunks)
  

Melt the butter in a small heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Cook slowly until browned, about five minutes. Set aside and cool.

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

Pour the melted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugars and beat on medium speed until creamy.

Add the egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.

Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined.

Stir in all of the chocolate chips and chunks and try to resist eating all of the dough.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for a minimum of twelve hours, and ideally 36 hours.

To bake. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a sturdy spoon, scoop approximately 1 tablespoon of dough from the bowl and roll into a ball. Place onto parchment-lined baking sheets, about 12 cookies per sheet.

Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes and rotating the baking sheet for even browning.

Cool completely on wire racks.and store in an airtight container.

Inspiration for a sweet table

Remember my fall list? Well, it's been keeping me pretty busy. Tonight, as we roasted cinnamon marshmallows over the open fire, and the flaming maple leaves fell all around us, I contemplated taking a little hiatus from this space. You know, since fall is such a busy time and all.

But then I realized that we'd be heading into Christmas once I returned, and after Christmas is Blissdom (yes, I'm going) and then in February is that engagement party I'm throwing and Mateo's birthday and, and...

It's always a 'busy time', so I'm just going to keep posting here and there when I have a few minutes and keeping you up to date with the goodness leaving my kitchen.

Speaking of which, have you seen the Chilled Pumpkin Cheesecake? Just in time for our Thanksgiving? Yep. Don't miss it, nor the new vlog that I had a ton of fun making. (just ignore the pantyhose comment, OK?)


On to the food! In this case, the sweets. I had the opportunity to bake up a storm for a baby shower for one of my most favorite people ever, Angela. She makes up half of the Tim Chin Photography dynamic duo (check out our last family photo shoot with them) and she's about eight months pregnant with Tiny Tim, as I like to call him.


I had to go a bit nuts with the food. Ange is such a stylish girl...and loves food almost as much as I do! Here are some of the sweets that the guests feasted on:


Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting. You've seen the cake before, now meet the mini-cupcake.


Chai-Scented Creme Brulé, because creme brulé is Ange's favorite dessert ever. I infused the cream with a little of Philippe de Vienne's Chai Spice Blend, and it was just enough to give the dessert a hint of something special.


Quebec Pear and Candied Ginger Individual Crisps, served warm with Cinnamon Whipped Cream.


Prosecco-Lime Gelée with Seasonal Fruits, inspired by this post on Desserts for Breakfast. Refreshing, elegant, and low-fat, if you're concerned about that.


Chocolate Pecan Puddle Cookies are a must at any event, as are Orange Sandwich Cookies with Chocolate Caramel Ganache.

S'mores! Traditional graham crackers, cinnamon marshmallows (blue for 'boy') and dark chocolate squares. (I used Lindt). I torched these á la minute for the girls.


Close up of the sandwich cookies. I used Jamie's Chewy Lemon Cookies, which were fantastic because they can be mixed up, rolled into logs and frozen in advance. I used orange instead of lemon and it paired well with the dark chocolate.
For the filling I prepared Robin's Dark Chocolate Caramel Sauce, and let it firm up before filling. These cookies were pretty, bite-size and perfect for a baby shower, however they had to be refrigerated right up until serving. Not a warm weather cookie!

There were also mini Lemon Poppy-Seed Cupcakes, and these Nutella Brownies. And that was about enough.

Congratulations again to the mother-to-be. I'll bet the little guy was kicking up a storm after this sugar rush! Way to get him hooked on crême brulé early...

D is for Danger (Nutella Brownies)

Every so often a recipe comes along that requires immediate attention, as in, drop everything that you are doing and make me instantly.

When these Nutella Fudge Brownies popped into my Google Reader from Savory Sweet Life's RSS feed, I knew I wouldn't hold out for long. Requiring just four ingredients -four!- and all of them pantry staples around here (well, the hazelnuts I keep in my freezer), it was pretty much impossible to say "no" to these brownies.

And why would you want to, anyway? They are dense and delicious, addictive in the best of ways, and simple enough to bake with kids --or at eleven pm in a sleepy stupor.

The recipe is small, making just twelve mini brownie bites, but I think that was planned. These brownies are dangerous with a capital D and half a dozen can easily disappear like that.


So here's the story: the lovely Alice of the sensational Savory Sweet Life blog, has the recipe for these Nutella Fudge Brownies. You're going to have to head over there to get it, and I'm doing you a favour in sending you there because her photos are stunning. If you are ho-humming looking at mine, Alice's shots will have you lunging for the ingredients before the post is read through to the end.

Head here for the Nutella Fudge Brownie recipe.

While you're at it, why not enter Alice's giveaway to win a copy of Abby Dodge’s Desserts 4 Today cookbook? Abby Dodge is the creator of the Nutella brownie recipe and her new cookbook includes over a hundred more simple dessert recipes like it.

Alice's giveaway runs until Sunday, August 29th.

Head here to enter the Desserts 4 Today giveaway.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Two major life events are rapidly approaching and there's nothing I can do to change their course. So, I've been baking instead.

This first, and most imminent, event is my 32nd birthday (tomorrow) and I'm trying to drum up some excitement over it. Sure, I'm looking forward to a girl's night out to see Eat, Pray, Love followed by stuffing ourselves with pizza margherita's, but the birthday -that number- not so fun!

The second event takes place a week from Monday when Noah will start kindergarten. There's a whole lot of emotions welling up over that big day that I won't even get into!

In an attempt to compose my mixed sentiments over these two events, I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Baking and cooking is clearly therapeutic for me, and 'recipe testing' can sometimes be code for 'working through some stuff'.


One of the many projects on my plate this week was to perfect my zucchini bread recipe. Several pounds of zucchini and eight various loaves later, I narrowed my favorite down to two, one of them featured here today and the other, or 'The Best Zucchini Bread Ever', will be has been posted Monday on Simple Bites.

Both recipes are actually fantastic; however, I know I have a bevy of chocolate lovers over here, so that may have influenced my decision to feature a chocolate zucchini bread here.


This dark and deadly loaf is "...too good to be healthy" as one of my 'tasters' remarked. But with the inclusion of whole-wheat flour and plenty of zucchini, it's a lot better for you than a slice of cake.

This, in fact, will probably be my birthday cake, it's that great. Double chocolate? It's allll good.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Adapted from Joy of Baking

• 1/2 c. cake flour
• 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c. canola oil
• 1 cup organic turbinado sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c. shredded, raw zucchini
• 3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in the center of the oven. Grease, or spray with nonstick vegetable spray, a 9x5x3″ loaf pan. Set aside.

Grate the zucchini using a medium sized grater. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until well blended – about 2 minutes. Fold in the grated zucchini. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55-65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely.

Yields one large loaf.

Chocolate Pecan Puddle Cookies

More often than not, it's a recipe from Julie that ends up bookmarked in my elite Firefox folder titled "Foods to make ASAP".

It's not just any recipe that I tuck away in there, it has to be something that looks and sounds jaw-droppingly delicious - and come from a reliable source. There are currently only five recipes in the 'Make ASAP' folder; these shrimp are one of them, as is this vanilla bean dulce de leche. They are both slotted for testing very soon.

Julie's Chocolate Walnut Puddle Cookies have been there since the day she posted the recipe back during Olympic fever and I've made them several, *ahem*, many times. While most recipes are made once and then moved over for the next, this puddle cookie recipe just stayed.

I guess more than a few times this spring have I felt the need to make these cookies As Soon As Possible. They are that good.


I so enjoy the reaction when I bring them here or there, or serve them up to guests, that I have almost been hesitant to share the recipe, and thus the glory. But so many of you have asked for the recipe, that I can't keep it a secret any longer!

Here it is, courtesy of Julie, who is, in a way, my cookie mentor, whether she knows it or not. It seems every decent cookie I make these days comes from her little corner, starting with this one, where I first discovered her blog, to me working my way through her cookie cookbook. Yes, that's right, her best-selling cookie cookbook. (psst, get yours now!)



I make my puddle cookies with pecans, which are well on their way to being my favorite nut and I always have around. I imagine the hazelnut version would be pretty spectacular, too.

Chocolate Pecan Puddle Cookies
adapted from 101 Cookbooks, via Dinner with Julie

3 cups pecans (or hazelnuts or walnuts)
4 cups icing sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
4 large egg whites
1 Tbsp. good vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.

Toast your pecans, cool them and roughly chop them.

In a large bowl, stir together the icing sugar, cocoa and salt. Add the nuts, then stir in the egg whites and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and drop the batter in small mounds (about 1 tablespoon each) spacing them well away from each other.

Bake for 9-11 minutes – they will spread, puff, crack on top, get glossy and then turn matte. Slide the cookies on the parchment off the sheet onto a cooling rack and let them cool.

Makes three dozen 2-inch cookies.

Dark Chocolate Caramel Sauce

Click photo to enlarge; do not lick the screen.

It never fails to happen that I entertain guests and forget to serve a dish. Be it a topping, a salad, a finale - something often gets left out.

I probably jinxed myself, when on the day of Mateo's birthday (and the receiving of 40 - yes, FORTY- guests into our home), I said to Danny.

"Remind me to serve the ice cream with the cake. Let's not forget the ice cream."

Yeah, I probably don't have to tell you that the birthday cake was enjoyed sans ice cream. Of course I forgot it in the general mayhem of things and there was enough sweets so the ice cream wasn't missed.

It wasn't until about eleven at night, when we were watching the Olympic closing ceremonies and relaxing with some wine dregs, that we looked at each other and said

"The ice cream!"

Not that there is anything wrong with leftover ice cream, it's just that I had bought So. Much. of it.


Fortunately, I was receiving guests three more times that week (it's kind of an open door around here) and figured I could use up the ice cream that way.

Still, I can't serve just ice cream to guests; that kind of makes me squirm. It's an accompaniment to a dessert, but I didn't have time to make one. I needed a topping.

A quick poll of my Tweeps put me in touch with this recipe faster than you can say 'Sundae'. Robin from Hippo Flambe sent me her caramel chocolate sauce, advising me to 'forget hot fudge sauce' and try her recipe instead.


I'm glad I did, because it's pretty sweeeet. I ate so much of it with a spoon, it's a wonder there was any left for our banana splits that night. It leaves regular chocolate sauce way behind with it's multi-levels of flavor from caramelized sugar and a touch of salt.

You must try this sauce - for ice cream, waffles, crepes, or just drizzled over poached pears.

Head over to Robin's site Hippo Flambe to get the Joy of Cooking recipe for Dark Chocolate Caramel Sauce.

You'll be glad you did, ice cream or no ice cream.

May Showers & Wedding Cake

Ever feel like you are living under the Big Top and your life is a three ring circus? Uh-huh. Last Saturday was Project Wedding Cake day and we could have charged admission to the circus that was our home in the morning--all we needed was a trapeze artist or two. We had the rest of the show: clowns (the boys of course), monkeys (yep, boys again), elephant (me after all the cake scraps I ate), gravity-defying acts (4 tiers of cake) and so on.

It wasn't lively only because I had a wedding cake to pull together on a standard rowdy Saturday morning, but the fact that we were all attending the wedding too; that added a challenging element. (Wait, who's idea it was to bring the kids anyway?) So of course that meant there were babies to bathe, tiny shirts and pants to iron, and many bags to be packed with activities, sippy cups and the appropriate stuffed animal.
Do NOT ask me how Brangelina do it--I only have two and it's work. Oh right, they have like 6 nannies.

All day I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never did and the four of us plus four cakes made it to the ceremony and reception without incident. Oh, did I mention that it was pouring rain? Like the kind of intense downpour that hits the ground so hard it splashes up under your dress.Yeah, not nice.


I assembled the cake from the bottom up at the reception hall and decorated it with simple purple ribbon and fresh daisies. The bride's colors were purple and yellow and we worked together to incorporated them into the cakes design. She also had picked a cute Precious Moment's cake topper which suited her to a tee, and I think both the bride and groom were happy with the final result.

Later on that evening, as he busily snapped photos of the cake cutting, the wedding photographer asked me how I felt about my creation and the fact that it was about to be destroyed, ie: consumed. I assured him that unlike some wedding cakes, mine focused first on taste and second on appearances, meaning that it's ideal destiny was to be consumed down to the last crumb, not just to sit pretty. I would be ten times more upset if it was only for show and never got eaten and enjoyed!


That said, here's the lowdown on what went into the cake with recipes at the bottom. Hope you weren't expecting a DIY wedding cake tutorial, because frankly I am not the patissiere for the job! This is my sixth wedding cake over the last 10 years, not a very good ratio. I should probably decide soon if I'm serious about this wedding cake calling or not.

Alright, there was both One-Bowl Chocolate Cake and Yellow Butter Cake in the cake layers, with the exception of the second layer, which was double chocolate. After all, chocolate is a more popular flavor and I wanted extra. Cakes were filled with Chocolate Frosting and covered with Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Rolled fondant covered the cakes for the final touch.


Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions about making these recipes in large quantities.

Recipes:

Yellow Butter Cake
Chocolate Frosting
Swiss Meringue Buttercream

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

From Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two round 9-inch cake pans or one 9x13 pan; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla; mix batter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to ensure batter is well mixed.
Divide batter evenly among pans. (If I have any extra batter I like to make a few mini cupcakes.) Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed.
Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
Frost as desired.

Chocolate Banana Pancakes and Signs of Hope.

Dear Noah.

I'm confused. I've had you pegged as a picky eater for some time now, but it seems like lately you're toying with the idea of becoming a foodie.

What is up? Is this a ploy to give me false hope or are you really tuning over a new leaf?

Tonight at dinner, you devoured two shrimp and avocado summer rolls like a seasoned eater (peanut sauce included) and not at all like the finicky three-year-old of the past. Sure, you suspiciously inspected the mango and cilantro inside, but they didn't seem to deter you and you asked for thirds--a request that made my heart beat a little faster, I have to admit.

Now that I think about it, you've been slowly evolving in the food department; I'm remembering that entire chef's salad you ate recently. Salad!

"Look, Mom, I'm just like Benjamin Bunny!"

you said, as a bowl full of lettuce disappeared down the hatch.

Oh, and don't think that we haven't noticed that you are calling us "Mom" and 'Dad" now, instead of mommy and daddy. Humph.

Yes, I know, you're getting to be a big boy now. You can count to a hundred, write your name and do simple math, so have you also decided not to be picky anymore and eat your dinners like a man?

I've always told you, life can't be all-pancakes-all-the-time, but just in case this recent progress doesn't last, I'll keep this recipe handy.

Love Mom(my)
xoxoxo


Chocolate Banana Pancakes with Nutella and Fresh Banana Slices

1 cup sour cream or yogourt
1 ripe banana
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk or buttermilk
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 Tablespoons coconut (optional)
2 Tablespoons wheat germ
1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine sour cream, banana and vanilla in a large bowl and pulverize with a hand blender until smooth. Add milk and blend some more. Crack in the eggs, add a pinch of salt and mix thoroughly.

In another bowl, sift together flours, cocoa, and baking soda. With a wooden spoon, stir in coconut and wheat germ, if desired, then add entire dry mixture to the sour cream wet mixture. Fold gently together. Pour in melted butter and mix just to combine.

Heat a cast iron pan and grease with vegetable oil. Ladle a few tablespoons of batter onto the pan to make several small, round pancakes. Add a slice of banana in the middle if you like, but be sure to dab more batter on top so they don't stick to the pan when you flip the pancakes. Cook on even medium heat until bubbles start to form. Flip pancakes and continue cooking.

Remove from pan and layer with Nutella and fresh banana slices. Serve!

Everyone's Friend:Yellow Butter Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

(Thank you to those who wrote and sent their love over the past few days. I am working through some personal stuff right now, but please don't mistake my tone in this post for flippancy--humour is simply my way of working through things.)

* * *

Believe me when I say I really wanted to come back with a healthy, non-dessert recipe, but the truth is I've been living off of these cupcakes for days.

You know what else is the truth? After a few days away from keyboard, I start to miss blogging--and I especially start to miss all of you. That's why I'm back already; I couldn't stay away.


I got through the busy weekend pretty well, thanks to a lot, and I mean a lot, of Cadbury mini eggs. Well, it wasn't all smooth sailing, there was that minor mishap on Easter Sunday morning when we were getting ready for church. In my ever-present battle against Noah's dry skin, I grabbed what I though was his moisturizer and liberally-yes, even hastily-applied it all over his arms, torso and face...only to discover seconds later that it was my moisturizer with a hint of sunless tanner.
What ensued afterward was an encounter with a washcloth so thorough, it left us both more than a little hot under the collar.
That stuff streaks like nobody's business.

OK, so it's a little late to be bringing you Easter treats, but you must look past the mini eggs and focus on The Perfect Cupcake: Yellow Butter Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting. This one is Martha Stewart all the way and there is simply no need to mess with it. She's serious when she says it's a crowd-pleaser; it's a combination so classic and homey that no one can resist. I've certainly demonstrated that I can't.


The duo also makes one heck of a layer cake. I'm giving directions for both cake and cupcakes. Both recipes are from The Martha Stewart Baking Handbook, one of my favorite baking cookbooks. (Psst! If you don't own it yet, you can purchase it via the Amazon link on my sidebar. Yay!)

So there's some pretty cool stuff coming up on Under the High Chair that you'll just have to see to believe. Yep, more super cool giveaways, a pancake the tastes like pumpkin pie, and...An Announcement. Ohhh.

I'll give you a hint: what do you get when you combine a Pregnancy, a Pen and a Publisher?
Find out soon and don't bother to try and drag it out of me, my own mother doesn't even know!


Yellow Butter Cake

Makes two 9-inch cake layers or 24 cupcakes

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. FOR CUPCAKES: Line two standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.

Into a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition. Divide batter between the prepared pans, and smooth with an offset spatula.
For Cupcakes: divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups so that each is about two thirds full.

Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. (20 min. for cupcakes) Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto the rack; peel off the parchment. Reinvert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.
Frost with Dark Chocolate Frosting



Chocolate Frosting

Frosts one 9-inch layer cake or 24 cupcakes, generously.

24 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
Pinch of salt

Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water. Turn off heat; stir occasionally until chocolate has melted completely, about 15 minutes. Set bowl on countertop, and let chocolate cool to room temperature, 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine cocoa powder and boiling water in a small bowl; stir until cocoa is dissolved.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add melted chocolate; beat on low speed until combined, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in cocoa mixture.

To frost a layer cake: Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level; brush off crumbs. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the first layer on the cake plate, and spread top with 3/4 cup of frosting. Place the second layer on top, bottom side up, and spread top with 3/4 cup of frosting; repeat process with the third layer. Place the remaining layer on top of the third layer, bottom-side up; insert a dowel into the center of cakes if necessary. Spread entire cake with remaining frosting.

Chocolate Nemesis With Raspberries For Your Valentine

This recipe was first published on August 17, 2007.

OK, so I know I said this cake was my favorite chocolate cake, but I need to clarify that it's my preferred everyday chocolate cake and today's recipe is my favorite special occasion chocolate cake. It is OK to have more than one favorite, right? I mean, you can have a favorite pair of heels and a favorite pair of flats, but they're both shoes.

So I was scanning my archives for something Valentine's related (since we've been way too sick around here to bake or do anything at all) and this post popped out at me; with its chocolate and raspberries, flowers and pretty heart shape, it has got love written all over it. Goodness knows what I was originally making this in the middle of August for, but I'm sure I had my reasons. Oh right, pregnancy cravings can do weird things to you.

This decadent chocolate cake from the River Cafe Cookbook is well worth a re-run. It's incredibly moist, thanks to being baked in a water bath, and amazingly enough, calls for only four ingredients. However, it is essential to use the very best chocolate possible. Don't even think of icing it, you need only to dress it up with a few fresh berries or sliced fruit.

You can make it in one large round tin, as per the recipe, or divide it up into individual heart-shaped molds as I did.

Chocolate Nemesis

Serves 10-12

675g (1.1/2 lbs) bitter-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
10 whole eggs
575 g sugar
450g unsalted butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a 12x2 inch cake pan with greaseproof paper, than grease and flour it.

Beat the eggs with a third of the sugar until the volume quadruples-this will take at least 10 minutes in an electric mixer.

Heat the remaining sugar in a small pan with 250 ml (8 fl oz) water until the sugar has completely dissolved to a syrup.

Place the chocolate and butter in the hot syrup and stir to combine until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Add warm chocolate mixture to the eggs and continue to beat, more gently, until completely combined- about 20 seconds, no more.

Pour into the cake tin and place in bain-marie of hot water. It is essential for the cake to cook evenly that the water comes up to the rim of the tin. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until set. Leave to cool in the tin before turning out.

When you are ready to serve the cake, loosen around the edges of the pan with a hot knife. Place the pan on a hot stove burner for 45 seconds or so to warm the bottom. Place a plate on top and invert the pan. Tap bottom gently with the butt of a knife and the cake should drop. Remove pan, peel back parchment, and voila!

Serve with a few fresh berries.

Coping With Chocolate-Glazed Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Say your cat is deathly ill and you rush it to the vet. Several days, a surgery, and many procedures later, you find out that the bill is going to be to the tune of $1000 dollars. Oh, and it's coming out of your savings for that trip to Italy in 2010.
Do you...

A. Smile, hand over your AMEX and remind yourself that pets are people too. Italy can wait. Like its wine, it only gets better with age.

B. Grind your teeth, curse all things furry under the sun (vets included), but pay the bill anyway.

C. Resort to childish tactics: crying, swearing, arguing, flirting, etc..., and hope that they will lower the bill. (They don't.)

D. Sign the credit card slip, walk out the door, straight into a drug store and fill a basket with chocolate. (Thank goodness it's Valentine's soon and the place is stocked!)

You can probably guess my coping strategy. Yep, "D" lots of chocolate. M & M's (the big bag), Lindt Extra Thins, Nestle chocolate eggs, you name it, I bought it.

Note that all of the numbers above include paying the inflated veterinary bill. Somehow there are no other options. Grrr. Don't get me wrong, we're happy to have our Cassis home again, but had we been a little better informed of certain common complications that can occur in neutered male cats, we may have saved ourselves the stress and money*.

Anyhow, that is the very short version of how I found myself looking for ways to use up lots of chocolate. Having just mixed up a batch of our family favorite chewy oatmeal-raisin cookies with Noah, and watching him top them with M&M's, I decided to melt a some of my Lindt Extra Thins on top as the cookies were cooling on the rack. The results were rather delicious:

The 70% cacao sliver of chocolate melted in the oatmeal cookie's warm hug and created the most tantalizing and perfectly square glaze on the round cookie. The few left on the cooling rack that did not get devoured hardened nicely again, which helped for stacking and storing.


It's fun to watch them melt...Now if you'll excuse me, I've got lots of chocolate to eat.

Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Glaze

makes 3 dozen large
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut
3 cups oatmeal (not quick or instant)
1 cup raisins
36 Lindt thins, 70% Cacao

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Combine and add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in coconut, oatmeal and raisins and stir just to combine.

Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes until edges start to brown slightly. Tops will still be slightly raw. (I like to under-bake my oatmeal cookies so they are chewy as opposed to crispy.)

Let cool on pan for a minute or so and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Place a Lindt Thin on the top of each cookie and watch them melt.

Allow cookies to cool completely and wait for the chocolate to harden before transferring cookies to a tin.

* * *

*UPDATE: Attention cat owners! For a detailed look at what happened to Cassis the Cat and, more importantly, how to easily prevent it from happening to your cat, visit my sisters' blog My Mini Zoo. Miranda is well schooled in this area and gives a complete rundown on what every cat owner should know --and what vets don't necessarily want you to know. Seriously, don't go through what we did; educate yourself now!

Cassis sleeping in our bathroom sink. What a wack!

A Change for the Better: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Sour-Cream Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ganache: if you think that's a mouthful, you should taste this cake.

I like dependability in a recipe. I like knowing the outcome is going to be exactly as good as it was the last time. Although my culinary training helps me deal with most curveballs thrown my way, I don't like surprises when I am in the kitchen.
For years I've had a chocolate cake recipe as trusty as an old friend. You've seen it in the form of wedding cakes, mini cupcakes and baby shower cakes. It's an adaptable one-bowl chocolate cake, easy to prepare and always comes out moist and delicious.
However, as reliable as that cake may be, it's a tad boring, and today I'm tossing out the recipe because I've fallen in love with something new.


Yep, my old standby chocolate cake has been usurped by this irresistible Sour-Cream Chocolate Cake. This cake proves that change can be good, even great! First spotted over at Smitten Kitchen, it was love at first sight and all I needed was an excuse for that first bite. Fortunately I didn't have to wait too long for a birthday to come up and a gang of us demolished this cake in a matter of minutes. I didn't even get a photo of a slice. Guess I'm going to have to make it again soon to get one, because it's a gorgeous layer cake.


OK, so peanut butter lovers out there--watch out! This cake will knock your socks off.
Here's how it comes together: Three ultra-tender, very dark rounds of sour-cream chocolate cake are layered with a sweet and salty cream cheese/peanut butter frosting. The towering masterpiece is covered with more of this decadent frosting, then smoothed and chilled. Meanwhile, dark chocolate and more peanut butter is melted into a rich ganache, which is then drizzled, nay, slathered, over the top of the layer cake. How does that sound?


As Deb puts it, this cake is intense. A small slice is sufficient and although the recipe says it serves 12 -16, I pleased about 24 people with it.
For another occasion I turned this recipe into cupcakes and they were great. (pictured below) I dipped a few in the glaze, but mostly just decorated them with the peanut butter frosting. In cupcake form, these treats pack quite the wallop and if you are trying to diet before the holidays, watch out as they could become your latest vice!

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
recipe from: Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes
inspired by: Smitten Kitchen (thank you, thank you!)

Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16-generously.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanut brittle (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (These cakes are very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes)


4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
Once the cake is fully frosted, chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze.
5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving. Decorate the top with chopped peanut brittle if desired

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.