Incredibly Easy Chocolate Mousse

It's been about 1 1/2 years since I last ate chocolate mousse. Micki made it for me and it left a lasting impression. Mousse, unlike custard and pudding, requires no cook time and has a very silky, spongy texture. Depending on the type of chocolate you use, it can taste pretty rich. I used half semisweet and half bittersweet. Wowee.

I remember all of that, yet I've never bothered to make it myself. Forget about the simplicity of brownies, mousse is the easiest dessert of all time. As an added bonus, it requires no bake time and ingredients you most likely have on hand. Eggs, chocolate, extract, hot coffee. Got all of those?

Here's how to do it. In a blender (or a bowl with a whisk, like I used), pour hot coffee over the chips, blending (or whisking) until melted. All that blending cools the mixture down for the next step.

Whisk in the yolks and liqueur or extract into the chocolate mixture until thick.

Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Pour the chocolate over the whites and fold until blended.

Pour into serving dishes for a fancy presentation, or into one big serving bowl. Although you don't have to bake mousse, you do need to chill it for at least an hour prior to digging in. Good things come to those who wait.

To keep busy, I made orange-flavored pizzelles to dip into the mousse. Wow, that little maker gets hot; you'd have thought the oven was on!

And that, folks, is how you make mousse. If you're a guy, this should be your go-to dessert to impress family, friends, and dates. For everyone else, you'll still impress everyone with this dessert. I mean, I impressed myself.

Disclaimer: If you're young, pregnant, or elderly, you might want to steer clear of this dessert unless you use pasteurized eggs.

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Incredibly Easy Chocolate Mousse
Recipe from Chocolate On The Brain: Foolproof Recipes for Unrepentant Chocoholics by Kevin Mills and Nancy Mills

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients -

1 cup (6-ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup very hot coffee or 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 1/3 cup boiling water, plus an additional tablespoon or two if needed
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract or liqueur of choice
Whipped cream

Directions -

1. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and pour the hot coffee over them. Whisk until mixture is very smooth. If necessary, add the additional hot coffee to melt any remaining chips. Whisk again for another few seconds.


2. Separate the eggs, putting the whites into a large metal bowl with no traces of grease and the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture. Set the whites aside. Add the vanilla or liqueur to the chocolate mixture and whisk for 15 seconds, or until the mixture is thick and smooth.


3. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer just until they form stiff peaks. Do not overbeat.


4. Pour the chocolate mixture over the beaten egg whites and mix them gently with a rubber spatula, scooping up egg white from the bottom of the bowl and turning the spatula over repeatedly until no white is visible. Pour the mousse evenly among six small dishes or into one serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. Serve plain or with whipped cream. Store leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator.

gluten free chocolate-raspberry cake

This is my second recipe for the Lentil Contest. I wanted to test myself by creating all kinds of recipe with lentils, not just traditional types. One idea I had was to add a lentil puree to baked goods. Yes, I realize this may sound off-putting, but the lentils blend right in and are rendered tasteless, especially against the strong flavor of the chocolate. You simply end up with a healthier cake than other recipes.

Start by making a lentil puree. I chose decorticated red lentils, which are lentils with their outer skins removed. They are quicker to cook and have a more neutral flavor. I chose the red lentils because they cook into a yellow hue, making it easier to blend into baked goods without changing the color much. However, this is a chocolate cake, so feel free to use any lentil variety available (as long as it's not pardina).

You're looking for the lentils to be translucent. If the centers still looked colored, they aren't cooked through.

Finally, the lentils are pureed until smooth. The finished consistency will be that of a pumpkin puree.

I made this cake in the manner of a mousse cake. There is no leavening; rather, the cake gets its lift from the air beaten into the egg yolks, and the beaten egg whites that are folded in at the end. I used sweet rice flour for the binding, which is made from sticky rice. It has a high starch content that's good for thickening sauces and desserts. Sweet rice flour can be found in the Asian section of your grocery store. It can also be subbed out with all-purpose flour if you don't have a gluten allergy.

This is the batter after the lentil puree has been added. It looks exactly like a lentil-less cake, and tastes just like it, too. Only with this version you get more fiber, protein, and iron. Aren't lentils great?

Once the egg whites are folded in and the batter poured into the prepared pan, smashed raspberries are swirled on top. After the cake is baked, the center will still be quite soft. This type of cake isn't baked thoroughly so that the center stays fudgy. This requires a rest time of at least 2 hours. It's a good cake to make ahead of time. You could probably even refrigerate the cake once cooled to room temperature, too.

I admit that I had a little trouble with this cake. The first time I made it, it was delicious taste-wise, but I didn't adjust cooking temperature to account for the density the lentils would add, and it didn't quite set enough. So, to get it right, I made it again, this time lowering the oven temperature and cooking it a little longer. I also let the cake set for a few hours, which helped the cake hold up, making it easier to slice. Practice makes perfect, and it also means more cake!

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Gluten Free Chocolate-Raspberry Cake
Recipe by Christina Provo

Ingredients -

1 cup USA dry decorticated lentils
1 stick butter, melted
12 ounces chocolate chips, melted
6 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweet rice powder
1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8-inch spring form pan and dust with cocoa powder. In a medium size pot, add lentils and 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 12-20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree until smooth. Measure out 2/3 cup lentil puree, reserving remaining puree for another use.


2. To prepare the raspberries, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon water; smash with a fork until smooth. Set aside. If still frozen, microwave raspberries in a bowl with 1 teaspoon of water for 15 seconds. Add the sugar and mash.


3. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; set aside. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick on medium high speed, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually pour in sugar, espresso powder, and salt and beat for another minute. To the egg yolks, add melted butter, melted chocolate, lentil puree, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Fold in rice flour, mixing just until combined. Stir in 1/3 of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Gently fold in remaining egg whites, just until blended. Some streaks may remain.


4. Pour into prepared pan. Dollop top of cake with mashed raspberries; swirl with a butter knife. Place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Sides will be set but center will jiggle a little. A skewer inserted in the center will have moist crumbs. Let cool before slicing. Serve with whipped cream and additional raspberries.

chocolate biscuit cake

In light of recent events, you may have thought news of the Royal Wedding was over. Not true, guys! Although I'm not here to discuss the wedding, I am here to talk about my favorite part of all events -- the food. The groom's cake for this wedding was called a "chocolate biscuit cake". It really wasn't a cake at all, but a ganache mixed with McVitie's digestive biscuits. At the end of the day, it's a candy bar.

It was my mom's idea to make it because I was a bit put off by the cake when I first heard of it. I'm glad we made it because it truly is a delicious dessert.

First ingredient is good chocolate. You can use your favorite. Chocolate chips take a little longer to melt, but are good to use, too. Since you need about 11 ounces of chocolate, it's more economical to purchase one bag instead of 3 bars of chocolate.

Almonds get chopped and toasted, giving the cake some crunch. The animal crackers get soft after a day so you can add more almonds if you want.

Melted chocolate and butter get whisked into eggs beaten with sugar. The eggs give the chocolate a different texture, more fudgy and soft, than just cream will. If you're worried about salmonella, add a teaspoon of lemon juice. The heat from the chocolate might not be enough to cook the eggs.

Once the chocolate is blended in, the mixture begins to get stiff. We added heavy cream and a few tablespoons of the orange juice used to soak the raisins and to lighten the chocolate.

Here are the raisins. In the background, you can see the animal crackers being mixed into the chocolate. McVities weren't available, though I know I saw them once. I like the animal crackers in place of graham crackers, which get soggy really quickly.

After everything is mixed together, it gets smoothed into a springform pan, greased and lined with parchment paper. This was refrigerated a few hours, though you could also make it a day ahead of time so it chills overnight.

I highly suggest this cake. Although it's not a cake in the true sense of the word, as someone might point out to you, everyone will like it anyway. The cake isn't as heavy as you might think, and the orange gives the chocolate fruity undertones. Now that I've made this, the idea of a layered chocolate biscuit cake covered with ganache icing seems incredible!

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chocolate biscuit cake
Inspired from this recipe and this recipe

ingredients -

11.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces digestive biscuits or animal crackers, broken into almond size pieces
zest of 1 orange
1/2 chopped almonds, toasted
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (reserve soaking liquid)

directions -

1. Melt chocolate in a mixing bowl placed over a saucepan of gently simmering water. In another saucepan (or microwave-safe bowl) melt butter.


2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the eggs, sugar, and heavy cream until mixed well. Add melted butter and chocolate. Add orange zest, raisins, 3 tablespoons reserved soaking liquid, and nuts to the chocolate mixture. Gradually fold in the crushed biscuits (or graham crackers), until biscuits are evenly distributed throughout the chocolate.


3. In a greased 8-inch springform pan lined with parchment paper, spread the chocolate mixture and smooth out evenly. Cover entire pan with plastic wrap.


4. Refrigerate for 5-8 hours, or overnight. Cut into thin slices.

POM Wonderful Molten Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramelized POM Ganache

In honor of Valentine's Day, POM Wonderful is hosting a cupcake contest. Since February is American Heart Month, POM Wonderful is donating $1 per entry to the American Heart Association.

The key is to come up with a tasty cupcake recipe featuring a POM Wonderful product, and my entry is a rich and delectable POM Wonderful Molten Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramelized POM Ganache. The POM juice accents the batter and the ganache, giving the chocolate a lightly tart and fruity undertones. It's pretty intense.

There are three awesome prizes being given away, and I'd love to be able to snag one of them. To help, simply click the POM badge on the sidebar. You'll be taken to my recipe on the POM contest site where you can hit the Facebook "Like" button to vote. You could also share the link on your Facebook and ask your friends and relations to vote, too! Voting begins today, February 14th, and runs through February 28th. Voting opens 11:00 a.m. PST, today.

First, I prepared the caramelized ganache. This makes up the gooey center of the cupcakes as well as being the finishing touch, a dollop of whipped ganache on top. Decadent, to state the obvious. I began by heating up whipping cream with POM juice. In a separate skillet I caramelized some sugar until a deep golden color was achieved. After that was ready, I poured some of the heated whipping cream-POM mixture in, whisking vigorously to make a caramel sauce. Off the heat, I added the rest and stirred until combined. You then pour the caramel sauce over the chocolate, let stand for a minute, then whisk until all the chocolate is melted and a smooth consistency resulted. Portion the ganache and refrigerate some to harden, letting the rest cool to room temperature.

The batter for the cakes comes together quickly, as the recipe works like a brownie. The butter is melted with the chocolate, eggs, POM juice, vanilla extract, and confectioners' sugar is stirred in, then finally the flour. I let the batter sit at room temperature for about an hour.

Before baking the cupcakes, I rolled out tablespoonfuls of ganache to prepare the for the center. The batter is divided between well-greased muffin tin cups, then a ball of ganache gets placed on top. Don't press all the way down, just slightly. A quick 13 minutes in the oven is all that's necessary for the cupcakes to cook. You don't have to worry about overbaking these since the ganache softens from the heat to achieve the gooey center. Very simple.

After cooling for a few minutes in the tins, the cupcakes are carefully removed and set on plates. Dollop with the remaining ganache, which has been whipped, and the cakes are dusted with confectioners' sugar to finish.

Thanks for your support in voting! I really appreciate it.

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Print this recipe

POM Wonderful Molten Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramelized POM Ganache
Recipe adapted from McCormick Gourmet

Makes 14-16 cupcakes

ingredients -

1 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces whipping cream
2/3 plus 2 tablespoons cup POM Wonderful juice
12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons POM Wonderful Juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse sea salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

directions -

1. Place chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate in a large bowl. Heat whipping cream and 2/3 cup POM juice to a simmer in a small pot. Keep warm. In a large skillet over medium heat, sprinkle sugar evenly over surface. Allow sugar to melt and caramelize, 7-10 minutes. Stir sugar only when most of the sugar begins to caramelize. Standing back from skillet, pour 1/2 cup heated whipping cream mixture into caramel, whisking vigorously. Stir in remaining whipping cream mixture and continue stirring until combined. If there are any lumps, discard.


2. Pour over chocolate and let stand for a minute. Whisk until chocolate is melted and a smooth, dark ganache is achieved. Measure out 1 1/4 cup ganache and place in a shallow dish. Chill until solid. Let remaining ganache cool to room temperature. Add 2 tablespoons POM juice and whip with an electric mixer until lightened in color, 3-4 minutes. Set aside.


3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 16 standard muffin cups well. In a large, microwavable bowl, melt butter and chocolate on high for 1-2 minutes, until butter melts. Stir until chocolate melts.


4. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs to break up yolks. Stir in POM juice and vanilla. Add to chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Whisk in confectioners' sugar and sea salt. Stir in flour just until combined. Let batter sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.


5. Meanwhile, portion chilled ganache into 1 tablespoon-sized balls. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Place a ganache ball on top and press in lightly. Bake for 13 minutes. Sides of cupcake should feel firm when pressed. Cool in tins for 7 minutes. Using an offset spatula, carefully remove cupcakes from tin and place on a cooling rack.


6. To serve, place a cupcake on a plate. Dollop with 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons whipped ganache. Lightly dust with confectioners' sugar. Enjoy!

Notes -

Ganache can be made a day ahead of time. Divide portions, then cover and refrigerate. Heat ganache for topping in a metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water just until ganache melts enough to whisk easily. Let cool, then whip.

Batter can be portioned into muffin tins and refrigerated overnight, covered. Remove from fridge and let sit for 30 minutes while oven heats to room temperature. Top with ganache balls and bake. It may need an additional 2-3 minutes.

chocolate butter cookies

I'm on somewhat of a role for Valentine themed baking. I'm usually lucky if I get just one up the day before. What are you guys baking for Valentine's Day?

These chocolate butter cookies come from America's Test Kitchen. What makes them different is the method of preparation, mostly blooming the cocoa powder with butter and instant espresso powder. This brings out the depth of flavor from the cocoa, which the espresso powder boosts. You then proceed by mixing the remaining butter with the sugar, salt (which I increased by 1/4 teaspoon) and chilled cocoa mixture. As the recipe only has egg yolks, the cookies are a bit denser than a typical butter cookies, especially since there is no leavening. The texture is mealy, almost like a shortbread-brownie hybrid.

The dough is really a dream to work with. I rolled it out between two sheets of wax paper (lightly dusting the bottom and top with confectioners' sugar), then freezing until firm before cutting shapes out. This helps make transferring shapes to the baking sheet easier and also keeps the form of the cookies while its being baked. Scraps are then rerolled and the process is repeated. I did separate the dough in half before refrigerating. (If you refrigerated the dough overnight, let stand at room temperature until somewhat softened but still firm.)

Part of the reason I hesitate to make decorated cookies is because they're time intensive. Most of it is that I hate eating such a beautifully designed piece of work.

In this case, I simply dipped the tops of the cookies in royal icing (the best kind of icing for decorating sugar cookies, in my opinion) and sprinkled with sanding sugar after 3 minutes. I waited so that the sugar wouldn't seep into the icing, but would stand out more once it had dried a little.

You can also use a small offset spatula to spread the icing on top, as I did with these cookies. The royal icing dries into a thin, crisp candy-like shell, and the sugar provides a nice crunch. The contrast between the topping and the cookie balances nicely, and the cocoa in the cookie keeps the icing from being overly sweet.

I highly suggest trying this recipe out, even if you've had trouble with rolled cookies in the past. You'll be glad you did and you'll end up with dozens of tasty cookies!

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chocolate butter cookies
Recipe from Cooks Illustrated

ingredients -

20 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to cool room temperature (about 65 degrees)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Your favorite icing or frosting
Various sugars or sprinkles, for decorating

Directions -

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375°. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and espresso powder; stir until mixture forms smooth paste. Set aside to cool, 15 to 20 minutes.


2. In a large bowl, mix remaining 16 tablespoons butter, sugar, salt, and cooled cocoa mixture on high speed with a electric mixer until well combined and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping sides of mixing bowl once or twice with rubber spatula. Add yolks and vanilla and mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl. With mixer running on low, add flour in three additions, waiting until each addition is incorporated before adding next and scraping bowl after each addition. Continue to mix until dough forms cohesive ball, about 5 seconds. Turn dough onto counter; divide in half and press into a square. Wrap each square in plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is firm yet malleable, 45 to 60 minutes.


3. Roll out 1 dough disk between 2 large sheets wax paper (sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, or parchment paper) to even thickness of 3/16 inch. Chill in freezer until firm. Peel wax paper from one side of dough and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutter(s); place shapes on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps and chill.


4. Bake until cookies show slight resistance to touch, 9 to 12 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking time; if cookies begin to darken on edges, they have overbaked. Cool for 5 minutes, then, using spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack; cool completely. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with remaining dough disks and scraps, rerolling scraps. Decorate as desired.

Makes about 4 dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies.

Ramekin Product Reviews and Moltenless Chocolate Cakes

A while back I told you all I'd be doing a product review courtesy of Wayfair. All the products have arrived and I've finally gotten my act together to use them. The three products I'm reviewing are Revol Grand Classique 10.5 ounce ramekins, which can be purchased individually, and Silicone Solutions pinch bowls, four to a set.

I had debated over the size of ramekin to get, knowing most souffles and desserts are baked in smaller, 6 ounce ramekins, but this way I can make individual dinners and the presentation will be cute. Both sets of ramekins are porcelain. The first picture of the Gordon Ramsay ramekins are fully glazed and lightweight. They can be used in the in the freezer and fridge, but can't be subjected to extreme temperature change. That means if I made frozen mini pot pies they'd have to sit outside of the freezer a little bit to adjust to the temperature. These are made by Royal Doulton for Gordon Ramsay, originating in England.

The second picture, of the French Revol ramekins are just slightly bigger than the Gordon Ramsay's. They're porcelain too, but the bottoms aren't glazed. Even though the sides seem thicker, these were actually a little lighter than the others. As far as I know, the same rules apply to these as the others. There was only one set of ramekins on the site that said their ramekins could go straight from freezer to oven, but they were small.

Click through to read the recipe.

The pinch bowls really came in handy to place ingredients in. Each bowl has a 1/2 cup capacity. I found that powdery ingredients didn't do so well in the silicone bowls since it tend to cling to the sides of the bowl, whereas wet or other dry, non powdery ingredients were fine.

For the first test I made "moltenless" chocolate cakes. This is a molten chocolate cake intended to have a soft, runny center when broken into, but was unintentionally fully baked.

The batter for these cakes consisted of melted butter and chocolate, cabernet sauvignon, a trio of spices consisting of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, along with eggs, egg yolks, and sugar. Really simple for a last minute dessert.

I noticed the recipe didn't call for salt, so I added a bit of coarse salt to the cakes and sprinkled more on top. It needed more, so I would use at least 1/4 teaspoon in the batter next time.

Since I doubled the recipe and each ramekin was filled a little more than the recipe said, I increased the cooking time to 17 minutes. If I had taken them out then, the cakes would probably have been molteny. But I got scared and cooked them a few minutes longer. Fail.

The cakes still had slightly fudgy and moist centers, though, and the texture was a lighter than a brownie. It definitely needed more salt to enhance the sweetness. Also, I didn't use any of the gourmet spices the recipe said to use. I'm also not sure how much the wine helps the recipe, especially for being part of the title, though possibly it enhances the overall flavor. You could probably substitute it for something else if you didn't have any wine.

They popped out nicely from the greased ramekins. Clean up was a breeze. I simply filled with a bit hot water and wiped out with a non-abrasive scrubber (use the ones intended for nonstick pans). So far I'm happy with my purchases, and probably will continue to be happy. The Ramsay ramekins have a very sleek design and are pretty. The Revols are nice, too, with a more traditional style, though more pricey. Pinch bowls are quickly becoming more and more useful the more I bake and cook with them.

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McCormick Gourmet Collection Molten Spiced Chocolate Cabernet Cakes
From McCormick Gourmet

Ingredients -

4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon Cabernet Sauvignon, or other red wine
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
6 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)

directions -

1. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on high for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in wine, vanilla, and sugar until well blended. Stir in eggs and yolk. Stir in flour and spices. Pour batter evenly into 4 (6-ounce) buttered custard cups or souffle dishes. Place on baking sheet.


2. Bake in preheated 425°F oven 13 to 15 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute. Carefully loosen edges with knife. Invert onto serving plates. Sprinkle with additional confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

easy chocolate cake

Chocolate cake.

I could just stop talking now because, really, by now does a chocolate cake need an explanation? But I did use a different recipe, so I'll talk about that. I've been hearing about the Hershey's chocolate cake, which isn't so dissimilar to the wacky chocolate cake I sometimes make. You mix the dry ingredients with the wet, pour into prepared pans, bake, and you get a very moist, chocolaty cake. Can it get any simpler?

The recipe I used, though, from a search on Photograzing (I forgot to bookmark the post) was Ina Garten's chocolate cake recipe. It was a bit different from the Hershey's cake with buttermilk and hot coffee instead of just boiling water, but otherwise mostly the same. What I don't understand about Ina Garten is her tendency to bake with extra large eggs. I'm not sure if this emits a feeling of cooking on the farm or if she has stock in the egg industry, it makes no sense. I used large eggs.

My thoughts on the cake was that it was indeed quick. However, I feel like these cakes lack a sturdiness when removing from the pan, transferring to the platter to ice, slicing to make more layers, etc. I might decrease the amount of hot coffee I use next time, and I don't think it'll affect the cake much.

For the frosting I chose a slightly different flour frosting. This time, the pudding was thickened with cornstarch instead of flour. I melted chocolate chips with the milk to make chocolate buttercream, along with a teaspoon of instant coffee. Unfortunately, the buttercream remained at a heightened state of curdle even after beating the butter in. Even after beating on high for a few minutes. The stuff just didn't want to combine, and I'm not sure if this was because of the chocolate or the instant coffee. I should have cross-referenced between a different chocolate buttercream recipe. Anyway, it finally became workable after beating in a bit more than a cup of confectioners' sugar and some cocoa powder. Oh well. Everyone liked the texture of the buttercream, as it was very smooth and airy. It paired extremely well with the moistness of the cake and a glass of milk.

S'mores Bars

Do you know the scene in The Sandlot where Smalls is heading over to the clubhouse to be told the drastically revised edition of the story of THE BEAST by Squints, and after he explains how his mom made him do dishes before heading over (the same parents who don't even attend the block party on the 4th of July???) to hang with his new friends, Ham asks him if he wants s'mores, and Scotty, in his innocence, verbally wonders how he can have some more of something he's never had before? (If that's not a lesson in keeping your thoughts to yourself, I don't know what is. Forget not knowing who Babe Ruth is, but where did he live that he never heard of a s'more!) For me, I don't have any fond memories of summertime evenings spent near a bonfire roasting marshmallows to assemble s'mores, getting my daily dose of carcinogen in, but it reminds me of The Sandlot. EVERY TIME.

If you want to skip the carcinogen, and frankly I feel that's the only flavor missing in this recipe, and want a less messy and make ahead-able s'more, I highly suggest these cookie bars. The dough is used as the base as well as the crumbly topping, and what's great is that the dough is made with crushed graham cracker crumbs. Once the base is partially baked, it gets a sprinkling of chocolate chips (I used those over the Hershey bars, marshmallows, and the remaining cookie dough that gets crumbled on top.

What you get is a gooey and rich s'mores bar that you'll be able to take anywhere (very transportable), and can be eaten at any time. Like, say, breakfast. Or any time you need to take a break, because s'mores remind you of good times.

Recipe after jump

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S'mores Cookie Bars
Recipe from Hersheys.com

Yield - 16 bars

Ingredients -

1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55 oz. each) (or enough chocolate chips to cover bottom layer)
3 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions -

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla and beat well.


2. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough in prepared pan and bake 15 minutes.


3. Arrange unwrapped chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit. Sprinkle with marshmallows, then scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned.


4. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

peanut butter swirl brownies

I interrupt this stream of lentils to give you something chocolate. And peanut butter.

A while back I made these brownies, a Martha Stewart recipe, because I liked the way the peanut butter swirls sounded. Not just peanut butter, but a sort of thinned out frosting consisting of a bit of butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla extract. The topping was delicious, and I was anticipating a fudgy brownie with a salt peanutty swirl. Unfortunately, the brownie came out cakey, most likely due to the baking powder in the recipe. It wasn't the experience I had hoped for, so I slowly erased it from my mind, one bite of brownie at a time, followed by a guzzle of cold milk.

On Tuesday it was raining and somewhat chilly all day, which obviously was perfect baking weather. That day, I thought again of the peanut butter swirl brownie, and I decided to make them the next day, but with a few tweaks. I found the recipe on another blog, and she felt the same way about the cakey outcome as I did. She made a secondary version, replacing some of the regular sugar with brown sugar, so I followed suit. I also added a tablespoon of espresso powder to the flour, nixed the baking powder, doubled the salt, and added 2 ounces more chocolate. I was going for broke in the form of ultimate fudginess.

To the peanut butter layer, I thinned it out a bit with some milk, though it was still a little difficult to swirl, so I'd probably use a little more next time. In the version she made, she used natural peanut butter. Good to know it works if that's all you have, so don't fret -- you can still make brownies!

Brownies are so quick, much quicker than cookies to whip up, and make the perfect last minute dessert. If you're rushed for time, make these brownies and get ready to be praised.

Recipe after the jump.

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peanut butter swirl brownies
Recipe adapted from MarthaStewart.com

Makes 16 brownies

for the batter ~

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 ounces good-quality semisweet or dark chocolate chips
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

for the swirl ~

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons whole milk

directions ~

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-1/2 or 10-inch square baking pan and line with foil, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Grease lining (not overhang).


2. Make batter: Put butter and chocolate in a medium sized pot over medium low heat; stir until melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk together flour, espresso powder, and salt in a bowl.


3. Whisk sugars into chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.


4. Make filling: Stir together butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt, vanilla, and milk in a bowl until smooth.


5. Pour batter into prepared pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Drop dollops of peanut butter filling on top of batter, spacing about 1 inch apart. Gently swirl peanut butter filling into batter with a butter knife, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through layers.


6. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Very perfect served with whipped cream.

dorie greenspan's chocolate peanut butter torte, and a happy birthday to dad!

Along with Memorial Day, we also celebrated my dad's birthday this weekend. In the past, he's requested a peanut butter chocolate cake, so I decided to make more of a summer cake that wasn't really a cake by making this torte, that I first saw in Dorie Greenspan's baking cookbook. I think the very first time I saw it (like a year ago) I decided it was going to be his next birthday cake.

This torte features a peanut butter mousse that includes cream cheese and peanut butter, and is lightened by heavy whipping cream, whipped to peak perfection. There is also a "crunch" mixture that is blended in, consisting of chopped peanuts, mini chocolate chips, a bit of sugar, and is spiced lightly with a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg (I left out the nutmeg) and a little bit of espresso powder. All of this is blended and poured into an Oreo cookie crust, then chilled and later topped with chocolate ganache and sprinkled with more chopped peanuts.

So my mom asked if this was like a cheesecake. I suppose you might say it's like an unbaked cheesecake, minus the egg and flour, but the texture was much lighter and not as dense. Still quite rich, though, so I wouldn't be going for a slice of this torte before bed. In fact, it probably would make a good actual cheesecake since it isn't as dense, which is why I don't care for cheesecake at all. (I go to the Cheesecake Factory for their chopped salads and sweetened green mint iced tea.)

Although not a cake, my dad said he enjoyed it a lot. No, this won't replace a real chocolate and peanut butter cake, but I'd say that it was a nice change of pace dessert, especially during the recent bout of heat we've been having. This was also good frozen as well as chilled.

My only mods were to assemble the torte in an 8-inch springform pan, and I used 1/2 cup less heavy whipping cream in the filling along with only 8 ounces of cream cheese. I felt that 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream in the ganach made it too runny, so you might try just 1/3 cup, and don't decrease the chocolate.

Recipe here

carrot-almond-chocolate shortbread

Carrot shortbread. Yeah, that's right. I won't take all the credit for this idea, though, as it originated from a conversation about carrot cake with chocolate icing, which led to baby carrots dipped in chocolate frosting. Which sounds disgusting, but I have this idea that originated from someone else a long time ago about carrots tasting a bit like raw coconut, the sweetness and the crunch.

Before I begin, I grated these carrots normally, then ran them over with a knife to get the strands more finely chopped. I'm not sure how else to finely grate carrots unless you spend two hours doing so, or use some blade in a food processor, though this was easier.

At first I was thinking of creating a regular carrot cake type recipe, although that idea never appealed to me because I figured it would end up tasting a bit like a pumpkin cookie. I also wanted to come up with something a bit more unique, and since I've been on somewhat of a shortbread cookie roll, I stuck with that theme.

My to requirements for these cookies was to include carrots and chocolate chips. Next up was adding a few different ingredients to make it different than a regular cookie. Maybe ground ginger and toasted almonds processed to a floury powder aren't quite unique, so I added orange. Because clearly adding the flavor of orange to recipes is something I don't often do.

The dough came out with buttery, with a special sweetness from the carrots and subtle flavors from the ground almonds, ginger, and orange. At first I wasn't sure about the taste paired with chocolate, but it wasn't disgusting. I figured if the cookies came out like crap, some wild creature outside would thank me.

As per usual, I divided the dough in half, rolled into a log, and refrigerated overnight. The day I baked it I sprinkled sanding sugar on a platter and rolled the log in it to coat the outside before slicing. I love doing this because it's pretty and adds more flavor to the cookie.

Throughout this process I wasn't really sure what exactly to expect. However, it came out much better than I initially expected (everything I make is, by default, delicious). It had the sandy shortbread texture with a smoothness in flavor that almost tastes like a mascaropone cheese in a way, but it's probably just the combination of sweetness from the carrots and the flavor of the ground almonds. The orange comes through to brighten the taste of the cookie, though the ginger remains mostly undetectable. There is just enough chocolate to enhance without overpowering. While the texture was sandy, these were soft cookies instead of being crisp like many shortbread.


This was probably the best cookie I've had in 2010, and if you want to experience the best cookie to-date of 2010, follow the recipe and make your own.

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carrot-almond-chocolate shortbread
Recipe by Christina Provo

ingredients ~

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
grated rind of 1 orange
1 cup finely grated carrot
1 egg, room temperature
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup toasted almonds slivers, ground to a fine powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mini semisweet chocolate chips
sanding sugar, or granulated sugar

directions ~

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ground almonds, and ginger; set aside.


2. Beat butter with confectioners' sugar in large bowl for 2 minutes. Add salt, vanilla, and orange rind and beat until combined. next, add grated carrots and beat for another minute. Beat in egg until combined. Blend in half of flour mixture. Using a sturdy spatula or a wooden spoon, stir in remaining flour until a few traces of flour remain. mix in chocolate chips just until combined.


3. Divide dough in half and roll each portion into a 1 1/2 inch wide log on a sheet of plastic wrap. refrigerate until firm, or overnight.


4. Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place extra sugar on a platter. Roll one log at a time in the sugar to coat the outside. Slice into 1/4 inch slices and place 1/2 inch apart on prepared sheet. Bake for 13 minutes; cookies will be firm to the touch and bottoms will be golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest on sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.