Chocolate Guiness Cake

For our annual St. Patrick's Day dinner at my parents' house I wanted to make a fun dessert, as it's been a while since I got my bake on. I ran across this cake on one of the food blogs I follow through Google Reader. It was very dense and rather moist. However, while you could smell the beer while it baked, you couldn't taste it at all, which was a bit disappointing. Also, the blog where I found the recipe indicated that she had trouble with cutting into the cake and finding that parts of the cake didn't mix well (as if there were clumps of dry ingredients). So the recipe I followed called for sifting the flour and using superfine sugar, in hopes of solving the problem. Alas, it didn't work. Not that anyone else noticed, but as an overly self-critical chef, I did. The icing was very good with the cake.

Looks-wise I was very pleased with the cake, as frosting just the top truly makes it look like a pint of Ireland's finest.

Chocolate Guiness Cake

Source: Annie's Eats, originally by Nigella Lawson

1 cup Guinness beer

10 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 cups superfine sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

8 oz. cream cheese (no need to soften)

5 Tbsp butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the sides of a 9-inch round springform pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a small saucepan, combine the Guinness and butter. Heat over medium heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until well combined. Add the Guinness mixture to the bowl and mix until incorporated. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of the mixer and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, remove the sides of the pan.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream on medium-high speed. Add the powdered sugar to the bowl in batches, beating on low until just combined and then on high speed until desired consistency is reached. For a stiffer icing, add more powdered sugar. Frost cooled cake as desired.

Sweet & Salty Frito Candy

I saw this on the linked blog a few months back and thought it looked interesting and delicious - Frito's and chocolate? Not your usual pairing. It's a super easy recipe to make and is a real treat. I can't think of anything appropriate to compare it to - it's not quite like peanut brittle, not quite like toffee. I'll probably add a touch more Frito's and a bit less pretzels next time I make it, as I enjoyed the Frito bites the most. Also, I may reduce the amount of filler ingredients - the pretzels, Fritos, pb cups - a bit because I didn't feel there was quite enough of the butter/brown sugar mixture to go around. Overall, this was a successful and unusual treat!

Sweet Salty Frito Candy

Source: Beantown Baker

2 cups pretzels

1 cup Fritos

8 mini peanut butter cups

1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Optional: Chopped peanuts for the top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 13×9 inch pan with parchment paper or no-stick foil. Crush pretzels. You can use a food processor to chop, or just throw them in a ziploc bag and crush with your hands or a meat tenderizer. Add Fritos to processor/bag and break them up with pretzels. Dump into pan. Chop peanut butter cups into quarters and throw them in the mix. Place butter in a non-stick saucepan and melt over medium heat. When butter is melted, stir in brown sugar. Bring mixture to a full boil and boil for one minute, stirring once or twice. Pour over Frito mixture and bake for 8 minutes.Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over hot candy. Return to oven for 1 minute to soften chips. Spread softened chocolate chips over bars. Add chopped nuts if you would like to.Cool at room temperature until you feel the pan is cool enough to be transferred to your refrigerator, then transfer to refrigerator to set the chocolate. When chocolate is set, lift from pan and break the candy up as you would almond toffee. You can eat it cold or let it come back down to room temp.

Peanut Butter Tart

My mom has a subscription to Martha Stewart Living, and when I'd be in town visiting (back when I lived in Chicago), I'd spend time browsing each issue's recipes. I finally got around to making a recipe that I pulled from the magazine back in 2001. It's a recipe that was never far from my mind; however, I never had a tart pan with a removable bottom, which is what you use to make the tart (though you could probably also use a spring form pan).

I made this peanut butter tart for Christmas and it was delicious. Definitely something I'd make again, though next time I'll make a few changes: I'll let the ganache cool longer so that it doesn't spread when I add the peanut butter filling, and I'll try to think of a way to make my graham cracker crust a little less crumbly. Neither of these issues took away from how delicious and easy the tart was to make, however.

My tart isn't as pretty as Martha's (no surprise there), so take a look at the link to see why I've always wanted to make it!

Special thanks to my sister-in-law, Shawn, for taking the photos when I forgot to bring my camera.

Peanut Butter Tart

Source: Martha Stewart Living, October 2001

Crust:
10 (4 3/4-by-2 1/2-inch) graham crackers, broken into pieces

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Ganache:
3 oz best-quality milk chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream

Peanut Butter Filling:
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup cream cheese (4 ounces)
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

Place graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until fine crumbs are formed. Add butter. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Place crumbs in a tart pan with a removable bottom (I think mine is 11"). Press crumbs up the sides of the pan to form the edge of the tart and then evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place in the refrigerator while making the filling.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Finely chop chocolate, and place in a medium bowl. Place 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Pour over chopped chocolate, and set aside for five minutes to yield chocolate ganache. Whisk to combine. Set in ice bath until ganache is cool, whisking constantly. Once cool, remove from ice bath, and whisk until ganache is just thick enough to hold its shape; do not overbeat. Spread in the bottom of the prepared crust, and return to the refrigerator until set.

Combine peanut butter, cream cheese, and sweetened condensed milk in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Whip cream to soft peaks. Add whipped cream to peanut butter mixture; whisk to combine.

Spoon mixture into prepared crust; return to the refrigerator for two hours or overnight. Remove tart from refrigerator, and transfer to a serving platter 10 minutes before serving. Add whipped cream and chocolate shavings as desired.

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

Not gonna lie. These were freaking unbelieveable. One of the best desserts I've ever made. Certainly the best chocolate cake-based recipe I've ever made. The cake was light and fluffy. The frosting was phenomenal - not too sweet but sweet enough. Not the easiest to eat if you want to stay neat (cake crumbs and coconut flakes will fall about) but who cares? You won't, once you take a bite.

I had wanted to make Ina's coconut cupcakes but wanted to make something chocolate. I found this recipe that I had long ago printed from Epicurious and decided to use Ina's frosting. Delicious. While I plan on trying her coconut cupcakes, I can't wait to make these again. One aspect of these that I particularly enjoyed is that they incorporate actual almonds, not almond extract, to get the nutty flavor. Not a fan of the extract, love the actual nut.

If you like Almond Joy, you'll like these. Even if you don't, so long as you aren't adverse to coconut, you'll like them. Yum.

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes
Source: Epicurious.com
Yield: 30 cupcakes

3/4 cup blanched almonds (or rounded 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds)
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 cups sweetened shredded coconut (from two 14-ounce bags) [I used less than this, due to not needing as much to coat the frosting.]
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 (13 1/2-oz) can unsweetened coconut milk, stirred
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Frosting
Source: Ina Garten, FoodNetwork.com

1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
1 1/2 lbs confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In food processor, process almonds and 1/2 cup sugar until finely ground. Add 2 loosely packed cups shredded coconut and pulse twice to chop slightly. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and whisk in flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Melt chocolate in microwave, being careful not to burn. Stir until smooth and set aside.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and remaining 1 cup sugar at high speed until fluffy, about five minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add melted chocolate and beat at moderate speed until incorporated. Add 1/2 of flour mixture and mix at low speed until nearly smooth. Add coconut milk and vanilla and mix at low speed until blended. Add remaining flour mixture and mix at low speed until smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups (paper cups), filling to about 2/3 full. Bake until tester inserted in center of 1 cake comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Cool in pans on racks.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Pour remaining shredded coconut into 9-inch-square baking dish. Spread frosting on cakes and invert each into coconut to coat frosting liberally. Garnish with Jordan almonds, if desired.

Hershey Bar Haystacks

Here is another winner courtesy of Aimee's Adventures. I swear, that girl has so many unique, delicious recipes that are Weight Watchers compatible, it's ridiculous. These haystacks... you wouldn't even know they are "diet." They are freaking unbelieveable. Michael even pronounced last night that they are better than a similar recipe his mom makes using those fried Chinese noodles. If you're a fan of the chocolate-peanut butter combination, which - who isn't - you'll enjoy these.

But not only are these amazing tasting, they are so quick and easy to make, which makes them even more marvelous. AND, you can't feel too terrible when you eat the whole batch in one sitting because they are diet! Though, I guess if you actually are on a diet, you should feel bad about that, but we're veering off course here.

The only change I'd make to the recipe is to double the recipe (at least). If there are two of you eating these, you'll be out inside of five minutes otherwise, then you'll have to wait another 40 minutes or so for more.

Please make these. They are completely super.

Hershey Bar Haystacks

Source: Aimee's Adventures

Serves: 6

1 Cup Fiber One cereal

1 (1.5 oz.) Hershey's milk chocolate bar

1 Tbsp reduced fat peanut butter, smooth or chunky [I use smooth.]

Melt bar and peanut butter in microwave until smooth at 30-second intervals. Be careful not to burn. Stir to mix chocolate and peanut butter. Add cereal and gently toss till coated. Drop onto parchment paper making 6 pieces. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens (about 30 minutes).

Per Serving: 71 Calories; 4g Fat; 5g Dietary Fiber = 1 WW point

Chocolate-Covered Tuxedo & Wedding Dress Strawberries

I'm not one to use streamers and tissue paper decorations to decorate for a shower, but I still wanted to do something festive for last weekend's bridal shower. One of my dessert ideas didn't pan out (cheesecake lollipops in the wedding colors were a disaster), so chocolate covered strawberry brides and grooms were it.

These were surprisingly easy to make, though next time I'll do a few things differently: I'll thin out the chocolate and candy melts with a little more shortening so the chocolate has a smoother finish (would also help with the details, like buttons & bow ties), and I'll use the smallest decorating tip I have to apply the details, rather than just a zip lock bag with a hole snipped in one corner (worked fine but not as well as I had hoped).

Another thing: I took the advice of the blogger whose tutorials I followed and bought long stemmed strawberries even though they weren't cheap. Not only will all strawberries be roughly the same size - nice for displaying them - but the long stem is a bonus when dipping the berries in the chocolate.

I think with practice I can make these look professional. (Take a look at what I tried to copy in the source link below, and you'll not only be amazed - works of art! - but see what I mean.) I have a long way to go, but I was generally pleased with how they turned out (the brides could use some work, though). They were a big hit!

Chocolate-Covered Tuxedo and Wedding Dress Strawberries

Source: MySweetandSaucy.com

Yield: 40 strawberries

2 boxes long stemmed strawberries

Bag semi-sweet chocolate chips, or chocolate bark, cut

Bag white chocolate chips, or chocolate bark, cut

Bag Wilton pink candy melts (optional)

Crisco

Wash strawberries and thoroughly dry them. When you're ready to use each kind of chocolate/candy melt, melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between heatings, until smooth. Add shortening until it's melted and incorporated into chocolate; add enough to make chocolate thinner than normal chocolate consistency (sorry that isn't a better description).

To make the tuxes, dip half of strawberries (from very top to bottom) into white chocolate; put on parchment-covered cookie sheet let air dry or chill in the refridgerator until hard. Remove from fridge and dip in semi-sweet chocolate to form a "v" on the white chocolate, and coat the remainder of the strawberry. When forming the "v," be sure to dip at the same angle each time you dip. Also, to get clean lines, make sure the bowl of chocolate has a smooth surface. Make sure and let the excess amount of chocolate fall off of the strawberry into the bowl so that you don’t get a big pool around the bottom once it dries. At this point you'll either have to re-melt your semi-sweet chocolate or start with a new batch. Put chocolate into a ziplock bag or piping bag with a small decorating tip. If using a bag only, cut off a small part of the tip of the bag, so that your chocolate doesn’t flow out too easily and then pipe three small dots up the strawberry and pipe two sideways triangles to form a bow tie. Let dry.

To make the wedding dresses, dip the entire strawberry in white chocolate. Put on parchment-covered cooking sheet and let air dry or chill in the refridgerator until hard. Put melted white chocolate or pink candy melts into a ziplock bag or piping bag witha small decorating tip. If using a bag only, cut off a small part of the tip fo the bag, so that your chocolate doesn't flow too easily. Pipe 5 dots along the top of the "dress" to act as a pearl necklace. To make the dress effect you need to pipe lines of white chocolate at an angle on one side of the strawberry and then the other. Let dry.

Fiber One Crunchy Fudge Cookies

Michael loves Fiber One cereal and is often trying to make me eat it. I do not enjoy it, as it is not Captain Crunch. However, he left the box out on the counter last Friday and I noticed this recipe. I know from doing Weight Watchers in the past that the more fiber a recipe has, the lower the points, so these were immediately appealing to me. Plus, I had all of the ingredients. What I enjoy most about these cookies, besides how quick and easy they are to make and the low point value (one point per cookie!!) is how cinnamonny they taste. Next time I'll probably crush the cereal a bit before adding it to the mix, as these are a little too crunchy for me (every time I bite into one I expect it to be semi-chewy, since they look like they are, but then there's the cereal). However, they're good dipped in milk, and if you're dieting and looking for a chocolate fix, this is a great recipe.

Fiber One Crunchy Fudge Cookies

Source: Fiber One Cereal Box

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen cookies (my batch yielded 2 1/2 dozen)

1 box (1 lb 2.3 oz) fudge brownie mix

2 cups Fiber One cereal

1/3 cup water

1 egg

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I subbed apple sauce)

2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp mini semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Line cookie sheet with parchment. In large bowl, mix all ingredients with spoon. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls two inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake 10 - 12 minutes until set. Cool two minutes, remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container. Can store baked cookies for up to two months in freezer in tightly wrapped.

Per cookie: 70 calories, 1g fat, 2g fiber - 1 WW point

Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons

Last night I decided to make macaroons for my mom, who is going out of town for her annual two-week voyage to Michigan with friends (and my dad, for week one). She loves her some macaroons. (So do I). She's been kind enough these last several months to watch Chloe one day a week while I'm at work, which she loves doing, but I don't thank her enough for helping us save a little dough.

Anywho, I've seen a few macaroons on some cooking blogs I frequent lately and they looked easy enough, so I went for it. But first I had to decide whether I was going to go with a recipe that used sweetened condensed milk (which I LOVE), or none. I was a little wary, not gonna lie, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and go with a non SCM recipe. First I thought I'd go with Chocolate and Zucchini's recipe, not only because the author is French (I'm a Francophile) but also because she calls hers "Rochers a la Noix de Coco." Fancy! Ooh la la! But I ended up using a recipe by Baking Blonde. I've been drooling over her blog for months and have made her unbelievable Double Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies with great success (will have to make again to gorge on, er, blog about). I did make a few changes - I was crunched for time so did not chop my coconut in the food processor, I doubled the recipe, and I used almond meal instead of flour. Delicious.

Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons

Source: Baking Blonde

4 large egg whites

1/2 tsp almond extract

2/3 cup sugar

4 tbsp almond meal (Trader Joe's)

1/2 tsp salt (I just did a couple of big shakes)

4 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tbsp canola oil

Bring eggs to room temperature by letting them sit on the counter for about an hour before separating (this will make it easier to separate). Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Place the egg whites in a medium bowl and starting at low speed, beat the egg whites until they begin to foam. As the foam continues to build, you can turn the speed to medium and then high. Beat until the foam forms stiff, glossy peaks. Add the almond extract as desired. Add the sugar, flour and salt and continue to beat until incorporated. Fold in the coconut just untili combined. Cover bowl tightly and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325. Spoon the batter onto the pan in rounded mounds. The batter should be of a consistency that a spoonful will stand as a mound 3/4-inch high on the pan.Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the cookies begin to turn a light brown color. Immediately remove the cookies and allow to cool on wire racks.

Melt the chocolate and oil in the microwave for one-minute intervals, stirring between heating, until melted. Dip macaroons in chocolate, put back on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and chill in the refridgerator until chocolate is set. Store in a cool, dry place.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Cupcakes

In my continued attempts to find a cupcake that I adore to serve at a bridal shower I'm hosting in September, I made Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cupcakes after reading several glowing reviews about the recipe. Admittedly, chocolate cake is not my favorite kind of cake, and I thought these were just ok. Just not that rich or substantial. Maybe I overmixed the batter, but upon taking them out of the oven, they deflated a bit. Good thing I made the glorious chocolate frosting that you see below.

Oh, the frosting. Normally I'm not much of a frosting girl, but I could have eaten the bowl (almost did) and would gladly refridgerate the cupcakes, remove the cake from the frosting, and eat the frosting by itself like fudge (might have done this).

Now, if you are used to making frosting, this recipe is nothing new. But I'm a novice in this area, as I've always just bought the jar of pre-made stuff. Plus, I'm trying to teach myself how to decorate cakes and cupcakes with help from Wilton booklets and YouTube demonstrations. So, it's possible that the pretty swirls make the frosting taste that much more delicious. Anyway, this'll be my go-to chocolate buttercream from now on. Just need to find the "Perfectly Chocolate" cake on which it can rest.

Source: Allrecipes

Yields: 24 cupcakes

2 cups white sugar (I used 1 c white and 1 c light brown)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used natural apple sauce)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c boiling water (I used hot coffee, per the reviews on Allrecipes)

Heat oven to 350. Put cupcake liners in two muffin pans. Stir together sugar through salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil (apple sauce) and vanilla. Beat on medium speed two minutes. Stir in boiling water (coffee) - batter will be thin. Pour batter into liners. Bake 22-24 minutes until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Rich Chocolate Frosting

Source: Based on this recipe from Allrecipes

1 cup butter, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup baking cocoa

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency.