Chocolate Cream Pie v2.0

"Cassie, you wanna make the dessert?" Of course I do! What would you like? "Oh, just make whatever you feel like making." They say that to me thinking they're doing me a favor. No, no, no... I love it when you tell me exactly what you want! I wish people would do it more often! So last week when my dad asked me for a chocolate cream pie, not too dark, kind milk chocolate-y, I jumped at the opportunity! Plus, it was an excuse for me to finally use the Dove solid milk chocolate bunny I've had since Easter.

The last time my dad requested a chocolate cream pie, I used a recipe from AllRecipes.com. It was alright, but you know me and my inability to settle on a recipe. This time I went for a surefire, failproof recipe from the ONLY source for perfect pie recipes, The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The recipe was unbelievably easy and quick. I made my favorite pie crust recipe to accompany the creamy chocolate filling and the cool whipped cream. (I know it's my dad's favorite pie crust too because his initial request wasn't for chocolate cream pie. It was for just plain pie crust that he could break into shards and dip into his Kozy Shack chocolate pudding!)

Rose didn't let me down. The pie was a hit, and my dad was completely satisfied. He's so funny! Everytime I make something we could potentially sell at our future bakery, he always calls out a prospective price. This one will be $34.95! ;DSome advice: When you cook the filling, make sure you let it thicken until it's almost as thick as you want it to be in your finished pie. It thickens as it cools, but it's not like Jell-O! It needs all the help it can get on the stove. And let it chill overnight. We cut into hours when it had been in the fridge for about 3 hours, and the filling was still a bit too soft. :)

PS: I didn't even notice until I started typing out the recipe, but there's a variation in the book for a milk chocolate version!! Lol! I included it here.

Chocolate Cream Pie (from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum)

1 9-inch pie crust, prebaked (half the recipe after the link)

Filling
2 large eggs
1/4 cup (24 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
3 tablespoons (28 g) cornstarch
3 cups milk, divided
2/3 cup (132 g) sugar
Pinch of salt
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet chocolate, grated or finely chopped (I used milk chocolate)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping (I made a double recipe of this)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoo n confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate curls or shavings for garnish, optional

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, cocoa, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup of the milk until smooth.
In a medium nonreactive saucepan, stir together the remaining 2 3/4 cups of milk, the sugar, and salt. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a full boil. Whisk 1/4 cup of this hot mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk the egg mixture into the milk mixture. Cook, continuing to whisk rapidly, being sure to go into the edges of the pan, until the mixture thickens and pools a little when dropped on the surface. (It thickens quickly, but let it cook until it's almost as thick as you want it to be in your finished pie.)
Remove it from the heat and whisk in the chocolate and butter. Continue whisking until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Using a rubber spatula, immediately press the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Allow it to cool to room temperature, or refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Pour the chocolate filling into the baked pie shell. It will fill the shell up to the top. Place a piece of greased plastic wrap on the surface and refrigerate the pie for at least 3 hours.
In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form. (Do not over beat; it will turn to butter!) Remove the plastic wrap from the pie and mound the topping over the chocolate filling.

VARIATION: For a less bittersweet, more milk chocolate filling, replace the milk with half-and-half, decrease the sugar to 1/2 cup (100 g), omit the cocoa, and increase the chocolate to 10 ounces (284 g).

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

My mom asked me to make dessert yesterday to eat after we had Dad's famous ribs for dinner. After Dad's ribs, the dessert has to be amazing or it won't be remembered! These bars were pretty sensational, if I may say so myself. They are very rich, so an 8x8 pan could easily make 16 small servings. But we are a gluttonous family, so I cut mine into 12 pieces. The crispy, crunchy oat crust/topping is a wonderful accompaniment to the soft, fudgy center. This recipe is definitely a keeper!OATMEAL FUDGE BARS (from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book)
MAKES 16 bars
Old-fashioned rolled oats may be substituted for the quick-cooking oats, although the bars will be more chewy.
CRUST AND TOPPING
1 cup (3 ounces) quick-cooking oats
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light brown sugar
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

FILLING
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed (1 3/4 ounces) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons instant espresso or instant coffee (if using granulated instant coffee, dissolve into 2 teaspoons hot water and stir into the chocolate mixture after the egg)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg

1. FOR THE CRUST AND TOPPING: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with a foil sling and grease the foil.
2. Whisk the oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of the oat mixture for the topping.
3. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust until light golden brown, about 8 minutes. Let the crust cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.
4. FOR THE FILLING: Whisk the flour, sugar, instant espresso, and salt together in a medium bowl. Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in the microwave, stirring often, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the egg until combined. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
5. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread the filling evenly over the cooled crust and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the reserved oat topping. Bake the bars until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached and the filling begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
6. Let the bars cool completely in the pan, set on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.

Brownie Roll-Out Cookies for Easter

Usually, I really dislike decorated sugar cookies. It takes soooooooo long to make them and only 10 seconds to devour them. So when I made some for Valentine's Day last month, I went ahead and cut out some Easter shapes and stuck them in the freezer. Yesterday, I baked them and decorated them in under 2 hours. Two thumbs up for planning ahead! It still only took 10 seconds to make them disappear, but at least the dog didn't eat them this time!
The cookie recipe can be found here on the Valentine's Day cookie post. The royal icing recipe is here from last year's Easter cookies, as well as more designs and a handy link to a decorating tutorial!

Brownie Roll-Out Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. (I rolled mine between two sheets of plastic wrap. It was buttery enough that it didn't need any flour to keep it from sticking.) Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed. (My cookies were 1/4-inch thick and they only needed 9 minutes in the oven.)

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Brownie Roll-Out Cookies for Valentine's Day

Do you follow me on twitter? If you don't, you should (twitter.com/hteac)! If you do, you saw my tweet earlier about my Valentine's Day cookies and my promise of an interesting story. "Interesting" isn't exactly the right word. "Heart-breaking" would be more appropriate (as well as ironic, seeing as how these are Valentine's Day cookies)! I spent somewhere around 4 hours making these beautiful cookies from start to finish yesterday. I took a few to work this morning, but I left the prettiest at home so I could get a good picture when I had time to blog. While I was at work I got a text from my mom. The text read, "I guess I don't need to tell you what happened to your cookies. WRINKLES happened to your cookies. Sorry." Wrinkles is our dog. HE ATE MY MOTHER FLIPPIN COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!! Sure, I left them on the table, covered in THREE SHEETS of plastic wrap. But he's a beagle, and his nose could smell the tiniest crumb a mile away! My text back to my mom read, "Kill him." :(

When I got home, there was a container on the stove that held the few cookies he apparently couldn't fit into his drooling, disgusting, gluttonous mouth. Some of them were worthy enough for a photo, but none of them were worthy of eating. Who knows if any of his slimy, dripping spit got onto any of them. They had to go in the trash. But I'll have you know, the uncontaminated cookies I ate yesterday were DELICIOUS! Thank you to Amanda for making them on her blog and giving me the idea! And big ups to Smitten Kitchen's mom for being the original holder of this recipe! ;)

See this post for Royal Icing recipe.
Brownie Roll-Out Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. (I rolled mine between two sheets of plastic wrap. It was buttery enough that it didn't need any flour to keep it from sticking.) Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed. (My cookies were 1/4-inch thick and they only needed 9 minutes in the oven.)

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

The Cake Slice presents: Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

I'm not even going to begin this entry like a broken record by apologizing for being so late. That doesn't even matter. What matters is how freakin awesome this cake is! The September edition of The Cake Slice brought us the Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake. It was our very last recipe from "Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes." We sure did go out with a bang! Did I already use the term "freakin awesome" to describe it? The chocolate cake layers were probably the moistest cake I've ever baked. The chocolate flavor was so dead on. It was perfect! The white chocolate mousse filling was a delightful compliment to the rich, dark chocolate frosting. This cake is completely sinful. If you can eat an entire slice, you deserve a medal of honor. I barely made it through half a slice, and I was so satisfied I saved the rest for later! This recipe is a definite keeper.
Oh, I do have one warning for you. Don't do the "wax-paper-strips-under-the-cake-to-keep-your-cake-plate-clean-while-you-frost" trick. I tried it, and when I went to pull the paper out, the cake was so moist it started to break off and pull apart! I smudged it all back together, but it wasn't pretty!

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake (from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes)
Makes a 9" triple layer cake - serves 16 to 20

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups hot, strongly brewed coffee
2 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar

1. Heat oven to 350F. Butter bottom and sides of 3 (9-inch) cake pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment or wax paper and butter the paper.
2. For batter, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside the dry ingredients.
3. Put chopped chocolate in heat-proof bowl. Bring milk to a simmer. Pour the hot coffee and milk over the chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the mocha liquid cool slightly.
4. In a mixer bowl, beat together the eggs, mayonnaise, and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in sugar. Add dry ingredients and coffee liquid alternately in 2 or 3 additions, beating until smooth. Divide batter among pans.
5. Bake 25-28 minutes, or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. (I also suggest doing the finger test. Lightly press the tops of the cakes to make sure they don't feel wet of spongy at all. These cakes are so moist, if they are even slightly underbaked, they might sink.) Let cakes cool in pans on wire racks 10-15 minutes. Unmold cakes. Peel off paper lining and cool completely, at least 1 hour.

White Chocolate Mousse
4 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg white
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Melt white chocolate with 1/4 cup cream in a double boiler or in a small metal bowl set over a pan of very hot water. Whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
2. When it has cooled, beat the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form. In another clean bowl, whip egg white with sugar until fairly stiff peaks form.
3. Fold the beaten egg white into white chocolate cream. Then fold in the whipped cream just until blended (do not overwhip or your icing will split). Refrigerate until ready to use, but do not make too far in advance.

Sour Cream Chocolate Icing
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 stick unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup half-and-half, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

Melt chocolate with butter and corn syrup in a double boiler over barely simmering water or in a heavy pan over very low heat. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth. Whisk in half-and-half and sour cream. Use while soft. (If icing is runny, let it cool completely to room temperature.)

To Assemble the Cake:
1. Place one cake layer flat-side up on cake stand. Cover top with half the white chocolate mousse, leaving 1/4 -inch margin around edge. Repeat with second layer.
2. Set third layer on top and pour half the sour cream chocolate over the filled cake. Spread all over the sides and top. Don’t worry if cake shows through. The first frosting is to seal in the crumbs which is why professionals call it a "crumb coat". Refrigerate cake uncovered for at least 30 minutes to allow the icing to set. Cover the rest of the icing with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature.
3. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining icing, which should have the consistency of mayonnaise. If the icing becomes too soft, chill briefly. If icing becomes too stiff, microwave on high 2 or 3 seconds to soften, and then stir to mix well. Use an offset palatte knife or the back of a spoon to swirl the frosting decoratively around the cake. Keep cake refrigerated.

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread... (think Twix!)

UPDATE: I got the good recipe from my cousin! It's actually from a book I gave her for her birthday this year! Thanks to Fran for typing the recipe up for me!

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread
Makes 12

1/2 cup butter, plus extra for greasing
Generous 1 cup all purpose flour
Generous 1/4 cup superfine sugar

Filling and topping
3/4 cup butter
Generous 1/2 cup superfine sugar
3 tbsp dark corn syrup
14 oz/400 g canned sweetened condensed milk
7 oz/200 g semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 9-inch/23-cm square, shallow cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Place the butter, flour, and sugar in a food processor and process until it starts to bind together. Press into the prepared pan and level the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and condensed milk in a heavy-bottom saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring until very thick. Pour over the shortbread and let chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir until melted. Let cool slightly, then spread over the caramel. Let chill In the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until set. Cut the shortbreat into 12 pieces and serve.

When I got home from work yesterday I was so excited to start baking for "wing night." I wanted to make one of my Grandma's recipes, and I chose her Jelly Roll recipe. I was planning on tweaking it a bit by flavoring the cake with coconut and making a pineapple cream filling instead of using jelly. I attempted to translate my Grandma's handwriting and finally came up with what looked like a perfectly delicious cake batter. I poured it into the pan, watched it bake slowly at a temperature that I had to assume because it wasn't specified in the recipe, then I removed it from the oven to cool. On my way from the oven to my cooling rack..... SPLAT!!?!!? There it went... straight onto the floor... face down, of course!Thankfully, my brain is pretty good at knowing what is and isn't worth getting upset over, and this was definitely not worth it. I picked up the pieces, tossed them into the trash, thought briefly about a few negative words, then headed straight for one of my new cookbooks to choose a new recipe! I used the last of my white sugar in the jelly roll cake, so my options were narrowed down to brown sugar recipes. I chose a recipe for "Toffee Squares" in Better Homes and Gardens^® The Ultimate Cookie Book, but between you and me, I don't recognize any toffee in this recipe. I changed the name to Chocolate Caramel Shortbread! I hoped it would be similar to something my cousin made a few months ago. She let me have some of the leftovers, and it truly tasted like a homemade Twix candy bar! Crunchy shortbread on the bottom, chewy gooey caramel in the center, and chocolate on top. Mine, however, were not like a Twix at all. Well, maybe a factory reject Twix. The recipe called for baking the cookie layer WAY too long before the caramel went on. And it called for too much vanilla in the caramel, which created a very distracting flavor. If I made these again (I won't! I'll be getting my cousins recipe) I'd reduce the first baking time to 15 minutes. I'd also reduce the vanilla to only 1 teaspoon.

I'll try to get the recipe my cousin used and post it here for anyone who wants to try it! Until then, here's the sorry version I made...

Toffee Squares (from Better Homes and Gardens^® The Ultimate Cookie Book)
Prep: 25 min. Bake: 33 min. Chill: 30 min. Oven: 350° F
Makes: about 36 squares

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (1 1/4 cups)
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips or pieces (2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside.
For crust, in a large mixing bowl beat the 3/4 cup butter and the brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in the egg yolk. Stir in the flour and salt until well mixed. Using flour hands, press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake about 20 minutes or until light brown (I'd probably only bake for 15 mins next time). Cool in pan on a wire rack while preparing the filling.
For filling, in a medium saucepan heat and stir the sweetened condensed milk and the 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until bubbly. Cook and stir for 5 minutes more. (Mixture will thicken and become smooth.) Stir in the vanilla. Spread over the crust. Bake 12 to 15 minutes more or until top is golden brown.
Sprinkle evenly with chocolate pieces. Bake for 1 to 2 minutes more or until chocolate pieces are shiny and melted. Remove from oven; set on a wire rack. Using a flexible spatula, immediately spread the chocolate evenly over baked layers. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. Cut into squares. Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Almond Joy Ice Cream

While Stephanie was here I showed her how to make homemade ice cream. I let her pick the flavor, but I suggested that we choose something to use up the coconut milk we had leftover from the Piña Colada Cake. Since she LOVES all things chocolate, we both decided to make Almond Joy ice cream. We started with a recipe for coconut ice cream in Williams-Sonoma's Frozen Desserts. To that we added a bit of dark cocoa powder; 3 tablespoons was the perfect amount to deliver a perfect chocolate punch without taking away from the coconut flavor. We mixed cream of coconut with flaked coconut to make that sticky coconut filling you find in an Almond Joy. Then I found some cocoa-roasted almonds in my mom's secret snack drawer. She always hides the good stuff! When the ice cream was complete, it tasted just like an Almond Joy! It wasn't too sweet or too rich, which is a complaint I have with most homemade ice cream recipes. The chocolate flavor was just right, and the random dollops of coconut filling and chopped almonds were perfect! This recipe is a total keeper. Thanks, Stephanie, for helping me make AND eat this ice cream! <33333Almond Joy Ice Cream (based very loosely on the Coconut Ice Cream recipe in Williams-Sonoma’s Frozen Desserts)
Makes about 1 quart

1 ½ cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup whole milk
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
1 ¼ cups sweetened or unsweetened flaked dried coconut, divided
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
3 tablespoons cream of coconut
¼ teaspoon coconut extract
pinch of salt
½ cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped

In a small saucepan, whisk together 1 cup of heavy cream, whole milk, coconut milk, sugar, and cocoa powder. Stir in ½ cup of dried coconut and vanilla. Warm over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves and small bubbles form around the edges, 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean saucepan to remove all the flaked coconut. Press on the coconut to extract as much liquid as possible.

Warm the coconut-milk mixture over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream until blended. Whisk ¼ of the coconut-milk mixture into the yolks. Then whisk the yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining coconut-milk mixture. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 4-5 minutes.

Pour the hot custard into a bowl and cool completely in an ice bath, 30-45 minutes. Once the custard has cooled to room temperature, remove it from the ice bath. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a “skin” from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. While mixture is churning, stir together the remaining ¾ cup dried coconut, cream of coconut, coconut extract, and a pinch of salt. Refrigerate until the ice cream is finished churning. When the ice cream reaches the consistency of thick whipped cream, pour it out of the ice cream maker and into a shallow pan. Dollop the coconut mixture over the top and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Without stirring, transfer the ice cream into a plastic freezer container. Cover tightly and freeze for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.

POM Wonderful Chocolate Cupcakes

I know what you're thinking... "Ummm where are the cupcakes? All I see is this freakin bundt!" Well, SORRY! I made the cupcakes, but THEY ALL GOT EATEN! The wing-nighters went buck wild on 'em! I don't know if they were just curious about the pomegranate, or maybe they just really love all things chocolate, or maybe the cupcakes were just that good! I didn't stand a chance telling them to back off while I took 20 pictures just to pick 1 or 2 blogworthy shots. But I did snap a few quick photos of the small bundt cake I made with the leftover batter. My dad's description of the cake was given after a few beers, so I can't quote him word for word (or else I'd have to change my blog rating to "adult content" if you get what I'm saying!). Let's just say he felt very strongly that these cupcakes would fly off the bakery shelves if I ever got a place of my own! Lol ;D

I made these cupcakes because a few months ago I was contacted by POM Wonderful asking if I'd be interested in some pomegranate juice in exchange for saying a few things about it on my blog. I was already a long time fan of pomegranates and their juice, so of course I said yeah! I've had 8 little bottles of POM sitting in my fridge ever since then, just waiting to get put into one of their suggested recipes. So this week when you guys chose pomegranate cupcakes as the poll winner, I was super happy! I used POM's recipe for chocolate cupcakes. The cake itself was a little gummy because of all the water in the recipe, but none of the wing-nighters noticed. At first, the frosting was looking more like a glaze... that is until I bad-mouthed it into becoming spreadable. It only took a few minutes in the fridge and some "Come on, stupid frosting, whip!" pep talks, and that frosting became just as spreadable as it was edible! Then I melted it back down and poured it over the bundt cake. Yeah, I like to do things backwards. Ya wanna fight about it? Anyway, the pomegranate flavor was indistinguishable in the cake itself, but there was a distinct sour, slightly btiter aftertaste to the frosting. I think the POM was really there to accent the flavor of the chocolate. Overall I'd say this recipe is a 8.5, but all the wing-nighters gave it a 10!!
POM Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting (Click here for printable recipe)
Makes 24 cupcakes
Juice from 2-3 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates, or 1 cup POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water, heated to boiling
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar (not wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon vanilla

Pomegranate Chocolate Frosting
Juice from 1 large POM Wonderful Pomegranate,* or 1/2 cup POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
6 tablespoons butter
1 6-oz. package chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
12 tablespoons whole milk (You definitely don't need this)

1. Preheat oven to 350F with rack in the center.
2. Place a paper baking cup in each of 24 regular sized muffin cups.
3. Whisk together the dry ingredients to combine well.
4. In a large measuring cup, combine pomegranate juice and boiling water.
5. Add oil, vinegar and vanilla to the pomegranate juice mixture.
6. Add to the flour mixture all at once and whisk to combine (batter will be lumpy).
7. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups (about half full).
8. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and free of crumbs (Mine were done around 16-18 minutes).
9. Let cool. Frost with pomegranate chocolate frosting and decorate with arils.

Frosting:
1. In a saucepan, bring pomegranate juice and butter to a boil.
2. Remove from heat; blend in chocolate chips.
3. Stir in vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat until frosting is of spreading consistency. If frosting is too stiff, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk to thin. (Mine never got thick. I stuck it in the fridge for 5 minutes, and then whipped the heck out of it until it lightened in color and became spreadable.)
(For the glaze, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with about 2 capfuls of POM. It should be thick. Drizzle it on top with a whisk or put it into a ziploc bag and cut the corner to use it as a piping bag.)

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Earlier today, I was checking my e-mail and noticed this fun looking recipe from my aunt. It's a recipe for making chocolate cake in the microwave. I'm a big fan of those Betty Crocker Warm Delights microwaveable cakes when I gotta have chocolate cake in 1 minute or less! This recipe looked pretty interesting, and I knew it was be a fun video topic! That's about all it was... I'll let you watch the video to see what I mean. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Thanks to your success stories, I tried it again with a few changes. I used self-rising flour and regular cocoa. I mixed it in a bowl first and poured it into the mug. I definitely recommend using the dark cocoa. Regular cocoa just doesn't have enough flavor. Also, unless you have a weak or old microwave, you don't need to cook it for 3 minutes. This time I only cooked mine for about 2 minutes. And let it cool! I know you want to eat it warm, but the texture changes drastically when it's cooled down! When it's hot, I gave it a 5 out of 10. When it cooled down I'd move that up to a 6.5 out of 10! Not much... but hey! It's a freakin microwaved cake! ;P

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake (courtesy of The Internet by Al Gore... haha see what I did there?)
4 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbsp milk
3 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp chocolate chips (optional)
Splash of vanilla
1 large coffee mug (microwaveable)

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil. Mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract. Mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug. Don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little and tip out onto a plate, if desired.
Eat! (This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous.)

CI's "Classic Brownies" for HTEAC's 2nd Birthday!

UPDATE: Two days later, these brownies are quite delicious after they've dried out a bit! ;)

Happy 2nd birthday, HTEAC! My, how you've grown! It seems like only yesterday I was typing ".blogspot.com" after your name. Now you've established yourself on the almighty interweb and changed your last name to ".net!" No matter what, you'll always be my little baby blog!

As always, I really want to say thank you to every pair of eyes that has ever graced my pages, as well as every set of fingers that have typed a comment. Thank you to all of you who don't click "Spam" when you get my e-mail updates in your inbox. Thank you to all of you who send pictures showing what a great job you did recreating the recipes you've seen here! Thank you to the many of you who have actually sent me things by mail, just out of the kindness of your hearts (PS: Maela, I'm going to pick up your package from the post office on Monday!)! And most importantly, thanks to everyone who puts up with my mindlessness when I forget things, like including the amount of flour in the Whoopie Pie recipe! I wouldn't maintain this blog if it wasn't for all of my readers, so give yourselves a hug and then make these brownies!

By now, my most faithful readers probably know that I'm not the biggest chocoholic in the world. Don't get me wrong, chocolate is A-OK in my book. But given the choice between chocolate or vanilla, 8 times out of 10 I'm gonna pick vanilla! On that note, I'm going to tell you why I don't absolutely love these Cook's Illustrated brownies. First of all, I didn't really discover until today that I prefer cake brownies over fudge brownies... meaning I prefer them more on the fluffy side with just a hint of chewy fudginess. These "Classic Brownies" are definitely for fudge-lovers! They're made with cake flour, so that pretty much ditches any hope that they'll be chewy. They are extremely dense and fudgy when baked according to CI's instructions. My inspiration to make these brownies came from Smitten Kitchen, and she mentions that if they're baked longer, they'll be cakey. I'm not going to take that chance. My next brownie venture will be with a recipe that specifically caters to the chewy characteristic of my ideal brownie. And I'll also be looking for a recipe with a little less sugar, because these were almost tooth-achingly sweet.

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my dear blog!

Classic Brownies (from Cook’s Illustrated)

1 cup (4 ounces) pecans or walnuts, chopped medium (optional)
1¼ cups (5 ounces) cake flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking powder
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into six 1-inch pieces
2¼ cups (15¾ ounces) sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhand pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and, if using extra-wide foil, fold lengthwise to 12-inch width; fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. If using nuts, spread nuts evenly on rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; set aside.
4. Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost-simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. (Alternatively, in microwave, heat butter and chocolate in large microwave-safe bowl on high for 45 seconds, then stir and heat for 30 seconds more. Stir again, and, if necessary, repeat in 15-second increments; do not let chocolate burn.) When chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs on at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth and homogeneous.
5. Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatula, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle toasted nuts (if using) evenly over batter and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan by lifting foil overhang. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares and serve. (Store leftovers in airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days, or, ahem, in the freezer until your resistance gets the better of you.)

[printable recipe coming soon]

Four-Star Chocolate Bread Pudding!

What!? I just happened to make Dorie's Four-Star Chocolate Bread Pudding at the same time as the TWDers, and I didn't even know it!? AWESOME! I've always wanted to join Tuesdays with Dorie, but somehow I always manage to fill up my week with other baking obligations. Oh well, this week I can pretend I'm one of them! ;)

Remember the Kugelhopf I just posted... seriously... you have to remember... it was literally minutes ago! Anyway, I mentioned turning the leftovers into bread pudding. Well, here she is! After a few days of nibbling off of the Kugelhopf, I had approximately half of it leftover. I knew I wanted to make bread pudding out of it, because I'd never had bread pudding before. I made it a few times at the bakery I used to worked at, but theirs smelled (and looked) like puke. I was hesitant to make bread pudding at home, but I had a feeling I could do a better job at making it look appetizing! Maybe, I was wrong, because mine came out looking a little like dog food (or Egg Fu Yung, you decide). But it definitely tasted good! You could still taste the wonderful yeasty flavor of the Kugelhopf, but now it was accompanied by the fantastic, creamy flavor of chocolate! At first I wasn't sure if I'd like the raisin/chocolate combo, but it was nice. The raisins added a nice burst of flavor every now and then. The only thing I'd change about it is to follow Dorie's optional instructions for baking it in a 7-x-11-inch pan to make it deeper. Other than that, this Egg Fu Yung *ahem* bread pudding is a keeper!

Four-Star Chocolate Bread Pudding (from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)
MAKES 12 SERVINGS

“I like to use a pan large enough to create a pudding that's only about an inch high… If you'd like a deeper pudding, you can make the pudding in a 7-x-ll-inch baking pan or in something deeper, like a soufflé mold. Alternatively, you can make individual puddings--depending on the size of the cups you use, you'll need 8 to 10. Of course, with any change of pan, you'll have to change the baking time, which is not difficult since, as you'll see, it is easy to tell when the pudding is properly baked.”

SERVING: You could serve this pudding warm, but it is better at cool room temperature or even chilled--it also cuts better when it is cold. Serve the pudding simply with a dusting of confectioners' sugar or less simply with vanilla (or rum or Grand Marnier or brandy) Crème Anglaise, chocolate sauce, or whipped cream or crème fraîche.

STORING: Covered, the bread pudding will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. (Sike, I bet it can last for a week!)

12 ounces bread (brioche, challah or white (or Kugelhopf)), preferably stale
1/2 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cherries (optional) (Since there were raisins alredy in my Kugelhopf, I just sprinkled a few extra raisins on top of the pudding before baking.)
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used semi-sweet chips)

Getting ready: Have a 9-x-13-inch baking pan at hand (a Pyrex pan is perfect here), as well as a roasting pan big enough to hold the baking pan and hot water. Line the roasting pan with a double thickness of paper towels.
Cut the bread into I-inch cubes. If the bread is stale, put it and the raisins or cherries, if you are using them, into the baking pan. If it is not stale, spread it out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat and bake in a 350 degree F oven to "stale" it for 10 minutes, then toss into the pan (with the fruit).
Bring the milk and cream just to a boil.
Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Still whisking, slowly drizzle in about one quarter of the hot milk mixture--this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they don't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the rest of the hot milk. Add the chocolate and whisk it in gently until it is melted and the custard is smooth. Rap the bowl against the counter to pop any bubbles that might have formed, then pour the custard over the bread and press the bread gently with the back of a spoon to help cover it with liquid. Leave the pan on the counter, giving the bread the back-of-the-spoon treatment now and then, for 30 minutes.

Getting ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Slide the pan setup into the oven and very carefully pour enough hat water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the pudding pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the pudding is evenly puffed, the top is dull and dry and a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer the baking pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

Whoopie Pies for Dad!

Remember those pumpkin whoopie pies I made last year? Well, my dad does! He hasn't stopped talking about whoopie pies since then. He mentions them to me at least a few times each month. I guess I'm a terrible daughter, because it's taken me this long to make them for him again! But never fear... these chocolate whoopie pies were worth the wait! The filling recipe needs a little work, but the cookies themselves are fantastic! I can definitely see these as a regular item at my future bakery! Now, if I could only figure out why they call them "pies"...

Sorry, I've been getting really bad at skipping the step-by step photos. I promise I'll bring them back soon!!

Whoopie Pies (from Recipe Hall of Fame Dessert Cookbook)
#30 scoop makes 24 cookies (12 pies)

COOKIE:
1/2 cup salad oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa (I used 1/4 cup regular + 1/4 cup dark)
1 cup milk (I added 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee)
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix ingredients in order and beat until well mixed. Drop on ungreased cookie sheet from a tablespoon. Bake for 7-10 minutes in a 375 oven or until done (Most of mine were done at 6 minutes). Spread filling between 2 cookies (I used a piping bag with a #32 tip).

FILLING:
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup margarine (or butter), softened
1 cup Crisco (reduce to 1/2 cup)
1 cup sugar (replace with 2 cups confectioners’ sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cook milk and cornstarch together. This will be very thick. Cool completely. Cream together the margarine, Crisco, and sugar. Add vanilla and salt. Add cooled, cooked mixture and beat with electric mixer on high speed for at least 5 minutes. Will be very creamy. (These instructions are kinda vague. Here’s what I did. Bring the milk and cornstarch to a simmer over medium heat. As soon as it begins to thicken, turn the heat off and stir for another minute. It should become thick like glue. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature (do not refrigerate). I changed a few things about the next part. First, I used butter instead of margarine and reduced the amount of Crisco because, well, I just don’t like Crisco. Second, I would change the sugar next time to confectioners’ sugar because the regular sugar was just too grainy and not nearly sweet enough. Other than that, the directions for the last steps are pretty straightforward. PS: This recipe makes a GINORMOUS amount of filling. I only used about 1/2 of it!)

Milk Chocolate Malt Ball Cupcakes

Those "Baked" boys have done it again! Of course I'm referring to Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, authors of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. This is the second recipe I've tried from this awesome book, and it's just as fabulous as the first one! If you don't remember, I made their Red Hot Velvet Cake in cupcake form a few months ago, and it became my new favorite red velvet recipe! I don't know how often I'll need a go-to recipe for Malt Ball Cake, but this one is definitely it! The cake itself is so soft, it nearly falls apart in your hands. Some of the cupcake wrappers were even coming loose from the cake! Now, usually I'd see that as a bad thing. But since these cupcakes are so freakin good, WHO CARES IF THE WRAPPER IS FALLING OFF?? It's just giving you a head start! ;D Let's talk about this frosting. At first I was nervous, because I've never had good results when ganache is involved in the frosting recipe. And I did have to do things a little differently than the book said in order to get my frosting to a good constistency. But once it was there, it was heaven! My dad says it's so light, you almost don't feel it when you're biting into the cupcake! And it's so chocolatey! You don't even need to scroll to the bottom of this post to know that these cupcakes get a 5 out of 5 all the way across the board!

PS: In case you didn't notice, these cupcakes came in dead last in the poll. The whole time I was making them, I was in fear of being drug (dragged? drug?) out in the street and stoned by you guys for breaking my own poll rules. I hope you trust me that they were WAY worth the rule-breaking! ;) Don't worry though, you'll see the actual winning cupcakes sometime soon. I pinky promise!



Oh I guess you wanna know how I made those little Easter egg nests on top, don't you?? There's really no recipe, but I can give you the general idea. I toasted about 1/2 cup shredded coconut and let it cool. Then I melted umm... maybe 1 cup of guittard dark chocolate apeels? Maybe more? I'm not entirely sure, it was just the last I had and I didn't measure. Then carefully stir the toasted coconut into the chocolate, making sure not to break it up too badly. Spoon it onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Press a few malt ball eggs into the "nests." Pop the sheet into the freezer for a few minutes to harden the chocolate. And TADA! Do whatever you want with them! :D

MILK CHOCOLATE MALT BALL CAKE (halved from Baked; original quantities in gray yield 3 8-inch cake layers or approximately 32 cupcakes)
Makes 16 cupcakes
“You can find Carnation brand malted milk powder in most local grocery stores, or you can substitute malt Ovaltine.”

FOR THE MALT CAKE LAYERS
1 cup + 2 tablespoons cake flour (2 1/4 cups)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt (3/4 teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon)
1/2 cup malted milk powder (1 cup)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (1/2 cup)
1 cup sugar (2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (1 tablespoon)
1 cup ice cold water (2 cups)
2 egg whites (4)

FOR THE MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (8 ounces)
4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped (8 ounces)
3/4 cup heavy cream (1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (2 tablespoons)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups [3 sticks])

MAKE THE MALT CAKE LAYERS (or cupcakes!)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour. (For cupcakes, line your muffin pans with paper liners, duh silly!)
Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together into a large bowl. whisk in the malted milk powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the ice water, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes (or 18-20 minutes for cupcakes), rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.

MAKE THE MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Place both chocolates in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil, then remove from the heat and immediately pour the mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Starting in the center of the bowl and working your way out to the edges, whisk the chocolate mixture until completely smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
With the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, on medium speed gradually add the butter pieces and mix until thoroughly incorporated. The frosting should be completely smooth and have a silky look.

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
Refrigerate the frosting for a few minutes (but no more), until it can hold its shape. (Here’s a helpful tip from yours truly: Chill the frosting until it feels cool to the touch, about 10 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high until the frosting lightens in color, about 10-20 seconds. This is makes the frosting a lot easier to spread than the way they suggest making it!) Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Trim the top to create a flat surface and evenly spread about 1 1/4 cups of the frosting on top. Top with the next layer, trim and frost the top, then add the third layer and trim. Crumb coat the cake and put the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the frosting. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting. Garnish the cake with the malted milk balls and refrigerate again for 15 minutes.

This cake will keep beautifully in a cake saver at room temperature (cool and humidity free) for up to 3 days. If your room is not cool, place the cake in a cake saver and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.

Chocolate Banana Ice Cream

I wish I knew what it was that made certain things jump out of people's blogs and say "Make me! Make me now!" I'm not a big fan of chocolate ice cream. To use a Josh-style metaphor, if I was at a Chocolate Ice Cream concert, I might be tapping my toes, but I wouldn't be on my feet screaming. Yet when I saw the chocolate ice cream that Erin from Dinner & Dessert posted a few days ago, for some reason I knew I was gonna make it. I even left her a comment saying I thought it would be good with some frozen bananas mixed in. And what did I do?? 2 days later I made the ice cream and mixed in some frozen chopped up bananas. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy!

Now, since I've already noted my bias about chocolate ice cream, I give this recipe a 3 out of 5, but let me explain why. It's not that it wasn't delicious. It was extremely good, and the pieces of banana added a refreshing taste, as well as an excuse to think you're eating "healthy." However, it was waayy too rich. I usually limit myself to one scoop of ice cream in a coffee cup (it looks bigger in a little cup, so I think I'm getting more). But I could barely finish my serving before I was feeling sick. I can't tell if it's just too sweet or too creamy. I compared this recipe to my favorite coffee ice cream. The dairy dontent is the same, but the sugar content is much higher in the chocolate ice cream. I might make it again and just reduce the amount of sugar. I also noticed that this ice cream froze hard as a rock, and the coffee ice cream stayed somewhat soft when frozen. I guess it's because the chocolate hardens... duh. But don't let my opinion discourage you from making it. If you can handle super rich, super chocolatey ice cream, then this is for you!

I'm really unhappy with these pictures. I planned on using the daylight, but when I took the ice cream out to soften so I could scoop it, I forgot about it and left it out for almost 2 hours! When it finally got hard enough to scoop again, the sun was on it's way down. I'll probably replace these pictures with better ones tomorrow. Until then, bear with me!


Chocolate Ice Cream (from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz)
Makes about 1 quart

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar (If I made it again, I'd reduce this to 2/3 cup)
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 bananas, diced and frozen (optional)

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 yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk unto the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. 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 (You want to get it nice and cold. Chilling it overnight would be best, but I chilled mine for about 4 hours), 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 out).

IronCupcake_008: "Beer & Peanuts" Cupcakes

Iron Cupcake:Earth_008
Theme: Nuts & Seeds
My 2nd entry: Beer & Peanuts Cupcakes
Voting begins: Sunday, March 29 at 8 pm Central @ http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ and will be open through Friday, April 3 at 12 noon Central.


Wow, is this last minute or what!? The deadline is 12 central, which is 1pm eastern... Let's see if I click "Publish Post" before time runs out! The inspiration for these cupcakes came from a recipe in Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. I didn't use her recipe, but ever since I saw "Beer and Peanuts Cupcakes" in her book, I've wanted to make my own variation of the idea. My cupcakes are chocolate beer cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. I used Nigella Lawson's recipe for Chocolate Guinness Cake. I'm not sure exactly how it's written in her book, because when I googled the recipe it was a little different on every blog I looked at. This is the one I found on the Borders bookstore website. It's supposedly an exerpt from the book, so I bet it's right. I halved the recipe and got 14 cupcakes. For the frosting, I made up a recipe off the cuff, but I wish I'd gone back and used the recipe from Bake & Destroy that I love so much. Overall, I'm fairly pleased with these cupcakes. They are extremely moist (verging on gummy because of all the liquid in the recipe). They aren't incredibly chocolatey, but that's okay because I wasn't focusing on the chocolate anyway. I wish the beer flavor was a little more prominent. I blame myself for that, though. We didn't have any Guinness on hand so I used the darkest beer we had, wish was an Irish Red. Not dark enough for this recipe I guess. Here they are, my second Iron Cupcake entry for this month!

Chocolate Beer Cupcakes (adapted from Nigella Lawson's "Chocolate Guinness Cake")
(I halved this and got 14 cupcakes)

1 cup Guinness (or any dark beer)
¾ cup sour cream
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups superfine sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and butter and line a 9 inch springform pan (or put 14 paper liners in a muffin pan). Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter – in spoons or slices – and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and baking soda.

Pour the cake batter into the lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour (14-16 minutes for cupcakes). Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

Peanut Butter Frosting (my own recipe)

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Blend butter and peanut butter until smooth. Sift in confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed. Add milk and increase speed to high. Beat for 1 minute.


Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 3

Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
A Bunnycake Easter Plushie by DOGBONEART
A whimsical piece by CAKEASAURUS
A pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
Also, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in a collection of all new printed cupcake liners, 200 in all.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers