Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Chocolate Swirled

Chocolate Swirled Cannoli Cake


Cannoli in a cake form? If you have ever had fresh cannoli you will know why this cake intrigued me. I have had good cannoli and I have had great cannoli! Just thinking about the great cannoli has my mouth-watering. Did you know that grocery store bakeries now carry ready-made cannoli shells? Need a fancy dessert to make in mintues….cannoli is the way to go! Simply make the frosting as listed below and place in a ziplock bag, snip a corner and pipe into premade cannoli shells.

The author of this cookbook is famous for taking store ingredients and turning them into new and different taste sensations. Did you know that 90% of home cooks when baking a cake use a mix? So it is genius that she takes those same mixes but with some simple additions can turn a cake into a show stopper. How about a homemade wedding cake? Her first book almost 10 years ago was a smashing hit. Taking a box mix and just adding some love to it will yield amazing results! Remember the Oreo Cupcakes I made? This was from her cupcake cookbook. Fun cookbook to try to expand your cake making skills. Think about finding a signature cake for each member of your family to celebrate those special milestones!
The Ruling: You must wait for the cake to cool before frosting it…..I didn’t. You also need to use mini chips….we had regular chips. I loved the cake. But what I loved the most was the frosting. Give me a couple of spoonfuls of that and I am a happy girl!
Chocolate Swirled Cannoli Cake
Ingredients:
  • Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pans
  • Flour, for dusting the pans
  • 1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow or vanilla cake mix
  • 1¼ cups milk
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
  • ½ cup (3 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
 For the frosting
  • 1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
  • ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, or more to taste, sifted
  • 1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup (3 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
 For the garnish (optional)
  • Dusting of ground cinnamon
  • Dusting of unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Candied orange zest
  • 
 Directions:
  1. Make the cake: Place a rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly mist two 9-inch round cake pans with vegetable oil spray, then dust them with flour.  Shake out the excess flour and set the pans aside.
  2. Place the cake mix, milk, oil, eggs and almond extract in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients come together, 30 seconds.  Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the batter is smooth and thickened, 1½ minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bowl again if needed.  The batter should look smooth and thick.
  3. Measure out 1 cup of cake batter and place it in a small bowl.  Stir in the ½ cup of chocolate chips and cocoa powder.  Divide the remaining cake batter evenly between the 2 prepared cake pans, smoothing the tops with the rubber spatula.   Drop the chocolate cake batter by teaspoonfuls over the batter in both pans.  Using a dinner knife, swirl the chocolate batter through the plain batter to marble it.  Take care not to scrape the bottom of the pans.  Place the pans in the oven side by side.
  4. Bake the cake layers until the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a finger, 28 to 32 minutes.  Transfer the cake pans to wire racks and let the cake layers cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, make the frosting: Place the ricotta cheese, confectioners’ sugar, whipped topping, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until just combined, 15 seconds.  Taste for sweetness, adding more confectioners’ sugar if necessary.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the ½ cup of chocolate chips.  Refrigerate the frosting until it is time to assemble the cake.
  6. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each cake layer and give the pans a good shake to loosen the cakes.  Invert each layer onto a wire rack, then invert it again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up.  Let the layers cool completely, 15 minutes longer.
  7. To assemble the cake, transfer one layer, right side up, to a cake plate.  Spread the top with some of the frosting.  Place the second layer, right side up on top of the first and generously frost the top.  Working with smooth, clean strokes, spread the remaining frosting over the side of the cake.  Garnish the cake with a sprinkling of cinnamon or cocoa powder or with the candied orange zest.

 

Chocolate French Silk Cake

Oreo and Chocolate French Silk Cake

Oreo and Chocolate French Silk Pie Cake ~ It’s a cake, it’s a pie  . . . it’s both. This is a low fat Chocolate French Silk Pie sculpted into a cake and layered with an Oreo whip cream layer.
Oreo and Chocolate Silk French Pie Cake
Oreo and Chocolate Silk French Cake
If you are familiar with a traditional French Silk Pie, then I’m sure you are reading this with one eye brow raised. French Silk Pies are, well pies, not cakes. But they are also usually made with 16 tablespoons of butter and this Oreo and Chocolate French Silk Cake is made with 4 tablespoons. How’s that for low fat?
I know I’m taking a lot of liberties here with a classic, but let’s call it a personal riff. I’ve replaced the chocolate and butter with chocolate and milk in a pudding form. Not necessarily for a lower calorie count, but hey, it can’t hurt with bikini season in a month or two.

Oreo and Chocolate Silk Pie Cake Bakers Royale Oreo and Chocolate French Silk Cake
Actually, I lightened up the whole pie turned cake for textural reasons, especially since the Oreo layer is Cool Whip. Yes, I could have made my own whipped cream and I do many times, but for this I wanted Cool Whip. There’s just something about Cool whip that reminds me of being a kid.
In fact I wanted the whole nostalgic feeling of having a kid dessert-chocolate pudding and Cool Whip, but dressed in adult sophistication. If you know me or if you’re a regular reader, you know I didn’t grow up with many desserts. A dessert like this one was something that was either a once-in-awhile treat or something I enjoyed at a friend’s home.
So of course now it seems that I’m trying to right that wrong my parents inflicted on my sweet tooth.   And this cake did some serious make-up!
A few notes:
  • If you prefer, this can just as easily be made in a 9inch pie pan. If you would like to make it as it appears in the picture, I used a 3×6 springform pan because I wanted a tall cake like appearance.
  • This can be fully assembled the one day ahead of time.
  • For a step-by-step picture tutorial to making the homemade chocolate pudding portion click here.
  • I assembled mine and then actually froze it overnight and moved it to the refrigerator 2 hours prior to serving for a firmer texture. This gave the Oreo and Chocolate French Silk Pie Cake an almost ice cream cake like texture.

Oreo and Chocolate French Silk Pie Cake

Makes one 3×6 cake or 9in pie pan
Oreo Crust
  • 24 Oreo cookies, crushed
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions:
  1. Place Oreos in a food processor or blender and pulse until cookies are finely crumbed. Alternatively, place Oreos in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Set aside 1/3 cup for the Oreo Cool Whip layer. Mix remaining portion with the melted butter and then firmly press crumbs into place to create a crust. Bake crust at 350 degrees F for 7-10 minutes.
Chocolate Pudding
*For a step-by-step picture tutorial click here.
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 cups cold whole milk
  • 3/4 cups dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
 Instructions:
  1. Combine cornstarch, sugar, salt and milk in a blender or food processor and pulse until well blended. Alternatively, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigorously. Transfer mixture to a heat proof bowl and place over (not on) simmering water for approximately 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pudding is ready when mixture coats the back of the spoon.  Add chocolate stir to combine. Add vanilla and stir to combine.
Oreo Layer
  • 2 ¼ cup Cool Whip
  • 1/3 cup crushed Oreos
Instructions:
  1. Place Cool Whip and crushed Oreos in a bowl and mix to combine.
Assembly
  1.  Pour chocolate pudding over the Oreo crust. Pour Oreo Cool Whip layer on top of the chocolate pudding. Finish cake to decorating preference. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

 

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Chocolate, Dipped Peeps on a Stick

Chocolate-Dipped Peeps on a Stick

chocolate dipped peeps on a stick 2 Chocolate Dipped Peeps on a Stick

It’s that time of year where fluffy marshmallow bunnies and chicks covered in brightly-colored sugar are everywhere. It’s almost like an invasion: Attack of the Peeps.
So, we dipped the little wabbits in a bit of dark chocolate and had instantly made our very own chocolate-marshmallow treats. Add a stick and the kids will think they won the jackpot.


peeps pops 200x300 Chocolate Dipped Peeps on a Stick 

Chocolate-Dipped Peeps on a Stick
12 Bunny-Shaped Peeps
6 ounces melting chocolate
12 paper sticks
sprinkles, if desired

Cut Peeps apart and freeze. This will make the chocolate-dipping easier. In a double boiler over low heat, melt the chocolate until smooth. Take frozen Peeps from freezer and insert sticks at least halfway up the body. Dip into melted chocolate. Allow to drip and then place on parchment and sprinkle with colored sprinkles, if desired. Eat once set.
Makes 12 Peeps pops.

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake in a Mug 

 

You must be familiar with ‘chocolate-cake-in-a-mug’ having already been featured in umpteen blogs and sites. It is delicious and comes together quickly which is great!. After having baked brownies over the weekend I didn’t need any more cakes, but then India won the Cricket World Cup. It’s not everyday that this happens and you will agree that calls for celebration, right? If you have been following this blog or know me personally, you also know I am an ardent fan of cricket. I have been on cloud nine ever since Saturday when India won the World Cup after a long gap of 28 years. I don't even remember the 1983 world cup, when we last won the cup. It was considered a miracle of sorts at that time, and people even today fondly remember and narrate how Kapil Dev (then captain of the Indian team) and his army brought home the cup. Surely I need to celebrate this win.

Chocolate cake in a mug

The match played on Saturday was tough. The Sri Lankan team has seasoned players and is great on the field. The Indian cricket captain, Dhoni, and his team fought hard to win this game. And the victory was sweet.
We needed this break.

Chocolate cake in a mug
In India, cricket is more famous today than even our national game of hockey. Cricket players like Sachin are sometimes referred by people and papers as gods, even if exaggerated it shows how much the game and players are revered. An article in New York Times says cricket in India has the same effect like monsoon rains permeating into the soil. Therefore, it is no secret nor surprise that all Indians wherever they are, celebrated India's win, and I'm no exception. I had every reason to celebrate and having some more brownies left over a small, but deliciously sweet reason to celebrate this victory.

Chocolate cake in a mug

So here is chocolate goodness for TEAM INDIA ! Oh! How my heart swells with pride :)


Chocolate cake in a mug

A special thanks to all my friends on Facebook. I want to especially share this virtual treat with you for watching the match and sharing the emotions via FB.

Happy Ugadi!

Ingredients:

All purpose flour- 5 Tbsp
Granulated sugar- 5 Tbsp
Cocoa- 2 Tbsp
Salt- a pinch
Baking powder- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp
Egg- 1 large
Milk- 4 Tbsp
Vegetable oil- 4 Tbsp
Pure vanilla extract- a dash
2 microwave-safe coffee mugs

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a coffee mug to make the cake.
2. Beat the eggs slightly in a small mixing bowl and add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well with a fork.
3. Add in the dry mixture and mix well.
4. Pour out half of the batter into each coffee mug.
5. Microwave the coffee mugs,one at a time, half- filled with the batter, on high, for a minute. If it does not get done in a minute, keep for another 20-30 seconds. Do not overcook, you might end up with a dry cake. (I kept it for 1 minute and 20seconds)
6. Let it cool and dig in.
7. It will be wonderful if you can top with vanilla ice cream

Notes:

1.The baking powder makes it less dense and more soft when compared to the original recipe.(thanks for the idea "not quite Nigellla" !)
2.The top of the cake looks a bit gooey when you take it out from the microwave after a minute. But it will be done already and do not over cook.
3.If you living in a place which is at sea level you could add a little more baking powder.
4.The cake rises up while cooking, but when you take it out it comes down. So a tall mug/microwave safe utensil is recommended.
5.The original recipe calls for 4 Tbsp each of flour and sugar and 3 Tbsp each of oil and milk. When I made it I added the above amount by mistake and it turned out to be better than the original .(later I tried once with the original measurements too !)

Warm Chocolate Cakes

Warm Chocolate Cakes with Toasted Marshmallow Meringue

Wow, that sounds complicated, doesn't it?  Actually, this rich dessert isn't that hard to make.  If you've never made marshmallow meringue before, you are in for a real treat. It's easy, insanely delicious and a has a real "wow" factor.  
I've made these cakes many times and they are supposed to be served unmolded, upside down on a plate. Because they are so gooey on the inside, sometimes they fall apart a bit after unmolding.  I just quit messing with that step and I just serve them now in the ramekins, but you can certainly unmold them if you want. If you don't unmold them, you can pipe the marshmallow right on top, which I prefer. 
The recipe for the chocolate cakes requires some egg yolks and because you will have leftover egg whites the marshmallow is the perfect way to use them up.  

Warm Chocolate Cakes with Toasted Marshmallow Meringue
for a printable recipe, click here
cake adapted from Jean-Georges Vongerichte
makes at least 8 cakes -  the recipe can be easily halved
1 cup butter, plus more to butter the molds
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
8 teaspoons flour
unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Set a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (You just need a couple of inches of water - do not let the bowl touch the water). Add the butter and chocolate and heat them gently together until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Remove from the heat and whisk until chocolate is smooth.
While that's heating, beat together the eggs, yolks, and sugar with a whisk or electric beater until light and thick, several minutes.
Pour in the egg mixture into the chocolate/butter mixture and then quickly beat in the flour, just until combined.
Butter and lightly dust with some of the cocoa powder eight 4-ounce molds, custard cups, or ramekins.  Divide the batter among the molds. (At this point you can refrigerate the desserts until you are ready to eat, for up to several hours; bring them back to room temperature before baking.)
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake the molds on a tray for 10 minutes; the center will still be quite soft, but the sides will be set.   Remove from oven.  Set the oven to "broil".
Pipe the Marshmallow Meringue on the top of each cake.  (If you don't have a pastry bag and tip, just use a gallon size zip lock with a corner cut off). Return to oven and broil just until tops are toasted - watch carefully so they don't burn.
Optional: Skip the marshmallow and invert each mold onto a plate and let sit for about 10 seconds. Unmold by lifting up one corner of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate. Serve immediately.
Marshmallow Meringue
(You will need a cooking thermometer for this recipe)
Note: this recipe contains raw eggs 

4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
a large pinch of cream of tartar

 

Chocolate Hersey

Hershey has more than just chocolate

 

The ninth hole of the Links Course at Hershey Country Club
The ninth hole of the Links Course at Hershey Country Club


THE HOTEL HERSHEY


• 717-533-2171
• The Hershey Golf Collection Package, which includes unlimited golf on all four courses, starts at $432 per night for singles, $588 for double occupancy.
Such is the changed perspective brought on by the presence of wife and child. I’d been to The Hotel Hershey seven years ago as a bachelor. Golf (strong), Chocolate Fondue Wrap treatment in the Chocolate Spa (decadent), afternoon nap (ditto), dinner at the Circular Dining Room (luxe; jackets required); (strong) drinks by the fire in the Iberian Lounge. Flying solo here was A-OK. With a family, however, Hershey is really tough to beat.
So, the summit: As families are wont to do, we scrambled out the door to the Hersheypark amusement park, leaving our room disheveled. The park was a revelation. Dominating the view from the hotel on high, the place looks huge; once there, it’s bigger. I can only imagine what all those wild rides, all those bells and whistles, all those people looked like through the eyes of my 3-year-old son, Ike, though their saucer-like wonder from atop the Ferris wheel gave a good hint. (His analysis of Storm Runner, which launches riders from 0 to 72 mph in about two seconds, was clear-headed enough: “That’s so crazy.”)
We returned to a room that, never mind spotless, featured a diorama-like scene of Ike’s three favorite stuffed animals arranged in a circle on the pillows at the head of the bed, as if engaged in a powwow, and as charming as a Macy’s Christmas window display. Bravo, whoever you are, and indicative of a wonderfully friendly service attitude across the board.
The Hersheypark Ferris wheel lights up the evening sky.
The Hotel Hershey launched “the Grand Expansion” in 2009, a $67 million building campaign that, among other initiatives, transformed the front entrance as well as created a multi-pool swimming complex and a new American restaurant, Harvest. That timing might seem unfortunate but is apropos: Milton Hershey broke ground on his grand hotel in 1932, in the middle of the Great Depression, and he proudly never laid off a worker during that dark economic era. The hotel is handsome and traditional; Hershey Country Club’s two courses, the West and East, also follow that pattern.
The former, built in 1930, hosted the 1940 PGA Championship (won by Byron Nelson) and an LPGA event, the Lady Keystone Open, for almost two decades. Whatever one’s feelings about “signature holes,” the West undoubtedly has one hole that will remain in the mind’s eye when the rest have faded. The fifth hole is a 176-yard par 3 whose green is the front lawn of High Point Mansion, Milton Hershey’s stately limestone estate. That I chose this moment to hit my only well-struck iron of the day perhaps shows that great holes can inspire.
Much of the rest of the front nine is as narrow as a Twizzlers twist, with rough as tough as one, too.
Two consecutive narrow little par 4s, Nos. 3 and 4, are especially capable of yielding big numbers. The back nine lets out the waist a bit, making for a retro-feeling loop that retains sufficient modern-day relevance.
George Fazio designed the East course, opened in 1969, and it also has two nines with distinct personalities. The front features one uphill approach shot after another – not a side to engender candy metaphors. It’s both rugged and oddball. The inward half proves more varied and graceful. Taken together, it was a tough test for Nationwide Tour pros when the Reese’s Cup Classic came to town (1997-2004), and it’s solid enough to keep the country club members engaged with just enough of a fun quotient to fulfill its resort function well.
The West Course's fifth green doubles as the front lawn for the High Point Mansion.
Two other offerings round out the foursome now known as the Hershey Golf Collection: Hershey Links and Spring Creek. The former was known as Wren Dale when this Hurdzan-Fry layout opened in 2003. A dairy farm in its previous incarnation, the bucolic and picturesque Hershey Links looks more like a links than it plays, as at least a third of the holes sport forced carries over ponds, creeks and wetlands. Sadly, torrential rains meant a cart-tour loop on this trip. Even from behind the wheel, the course’s character is apparent: It’s full of personality (and has enough length, and teeth, to have hosted last year’s NCAA Division III Championship). From the water to multi-tiered greens to pot bunkers to runoff areas, there is a lot to absorb and challenge; its differences from either the West or East made it a wise addition to the resort’s golf offerings. Plus, dinner at its excellent Highlands Grill trumped that at the more heralded “farm-to-fork” Harvest.
One of the most fun rounds imaginable took place at nine-hole Spring Creek, known as “the Juvenile Golf Club” when it debuted in 1932 as the first U.S. course made for players under 18. To witness my son’s first time on a course, armed with plastic clubs save a cut-down putter from his Pop-Pop, was priceless. Six-putting from 2 feet away and cheering when the ball plopped into the cup? We should all have such fun. (Oddly, given Spring Creek’s family-centric nature, the only lapse in service came here: Riding mowers on top of us for the first three holes – in midafternoon.)
If the golf portion of Hershey is good, it’s everything else that makes it special. Everything that you wouldn’t do, that is, as a single.
The aforementioned theme park is a blast, at least midweek in the late offseason, when it’s a breeze to get around. (Truthfully, many of the thrill-packed rides look so spectacular – borderline insane – that they surely merit long lines.) At the other end of the spectrum is the Kaymer-esque calm of the Hotel Hershey’s stunning, and kid-friendly, 23-acre Hershey Gardens. This being “the Great American Chocolate Town,” a visit to Hershey’s Chocolate World is requisite, especially when accompanied by a spouse with a sweet tooth. From a Chocolate Making Tour Ride (think diorama-laden “edu-tainment” Disney World rides) to making one’s own chocolate bar (both a hoot and a great keepsake – the custom-labeled tin, anyway, as the “Ikelicious” chocolate bar was gone quick), it’s a fun place to spend a couple of hours.
Fun is the operative word, from golf and chocolate to offerings that, save the family’s presence, I’d have overlooked, such as the bocce, croquet and tennis courts. Perhaps the most surprising thing about “The Sweetest Place on Earth” is the man who built the town, Milton Hershey, whose remarkable biography can be examined at the Hershey Story museum. The man went bust three times before making his first fortune, then risked it all again, before becoming one of the country’s greatest and most underappreciated philanthropists, with a focus on orphans and the underprivileged.
They made a movie about Hershey’s old pro, Ben Hogan. Perhaps the resort’s founder should be next.

 

Chocolate, Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Years ago, while vacationing in Las Vegas, I discovered Vosges chocolates. Unable to afford most of their truffles at the time, I bought the more affordable Mo’s Bacon Bar and fell in love with the milky chocolate and salty bits of bacon.
dsc 0130 1 Bite Of Minnesota: Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
(credit: Cafe Cyan)
I thought they would be spectacular in Almond Butter Chocolate Chip cookies from Clean Eating magazine, so I decided to try it out.
dsc 0121 1 Bite Of Minnesota: Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
(credit: Cafe Cyan)
Peanut butter works just as well as almond butter in this recipe, so no need for a special trip to the store if you don’t have almond butter. These cookies are a flour-free, protein packed treat, perfect post-workout. Plus, the bacon chocolate adds a salty sweet surprise.
dsc 0123 1 Bite Of Minnesota: Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
(credit: Cafe Cyan)
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Clean Eating
Makes 24 cookies
1 cup unsalted almond butter or natural peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 oz Mo’s Dark Bacon Bar, broken into small pieces
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, stir together almond butter, sugar, egg, baking soda and sea salt until blended. Stir in chocolate.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 15 more minutes.