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Jenn

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

I made these cupcakes for the first time this weekend for a dear friend who happens to be gluten free. I searched high and low on the Internet and found this recipe. It was a great find. My gluten free friend said they were the best cupcakes she has ever had! I also find them pretty awesome too. They are very rich and chocolaty with dark chocolate flavor.

The first time I made them I used a traditional buttercream icing. They tasted nice, but I had a new icing recipe I wanted to try this morning and MAN. The icing is amazing. Where did I find the recipe, you ask? (Or maybe you didn't, but I'm gonna tell ya anyway..)

A few months ago, Ina Garten happened to be at my local William Sonoma and I waited in line patiently for autograph. After 2 hours in line, I started to make a few friends. Those of you who know me well know I'm a terrible introvert, so most of those 2 hours was in silence ;) The woman behind me was a recent transplant to the DFW area and she was also a former pastry chef. As we talked about recipes, she offered up her white chocolate cream cheese icing. She emailed it to me later that day and it has been snugly hidden in my email inbox ever since. Until today...when I released it and it will NEVER be hidden again!

I think the icing is amazing on the cupcakes. I also think it would be wonderful on carrot cake. But that is for another day....

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcake link:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Flourless-Chocolate-Cupcakes/
(The website isn't the prettiest, but the cupcakes are worth it.)

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

2 Ounces white chocolate
8 Ounces cream cheese, softened
½ Cup unsalted butter
1 Tsp Vanilla extract
4 Cups confectioners sugar
2 Tbs heavy cream


Melt the white chocolate, stir until smooth and cool to room temperature.
Beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in the white chocolate and vanilla. Gradually beat in the confectioners sugar until fluffy.
Mix in heavy cream to adjust consistency.


The cupcake recipe makes about 9 cupcakes, so to have a decent amount I doubled it this time and the icing makes enough for 18 cupcakes.

And on the 8th Day there was Chocolate Cake

So those of you who know me well know I love to cook. I love to dirty every dish in the house, have people over, and spend the few hours after they leave cleaning the kitchen. I know, it's weird. But it is the way I am. And who am I to fight genetics?

I've been on a mission of late. In an effort to use the Internet to my advantage, I have been hunting for the "perfect" chocolate cake recipe. You know, the one that uses normal ingredients (meaning ones I usually have on hand.) I needed a replacement, you see. I have a great chocolate cake recipe--one that uses instant pudding and cake mix. Not all horrible, but I've developed a need to know exactly what is in my food these days. Another way I am just weird. And high maintenance. Just accept it, friends.

Boy have I found it. A Bundt cake recipe that was pretty straight forward, just the right amount of chocolate, and REALLY pretty. It practically fell out of the bundt pan when I turned it over. Now those of you who don't bake often may not been too impressed by this tidbit. I, on the other hand, yelled to my friend A (who was on hand watching me bake said cake) "if this thing is ANY good I'm totally making it again." And it was. Oh so good.

Where did I find this glorious concoction, you ask?

I found the website of http://www.joythebaker.com/ recently when I was needing a substitution for cake flour. I needed a tiny bit of flour and only had regular, all purpose flour and Joy's little hint here www.joythebaker.com/blog/2010/11/how-to-do-things/ saved the day. After following her advice (with great success, I might add) I thought she might know a thing or two. I pulled up a chair, relaxed, and looked through the tons of recipes. And then I saw it. The chocolate gooey goodness below. So try it out. You might just find your new favorite chocolate cake.


For the Cake:
1 and 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon brewed coffee
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
2 and 1/4 cups sugar
1 and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 and 1/4 cups plus 1 Tablespoon buttermilk
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoon canola oil
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 cups, plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted

For Glaze:
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 cup brewed coffee, cooled

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan and set aside (I used baker's joy on this bad boy and it worked great)

To make the cake batter: Put brewed coffee and cocoa powder in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat and let come to room temperature.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, mix together sugar, salt, baking soda, eggs, and egg yolk on low speed for about a minute. Add the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract and mix on low again for another minute. Add the flour (make sure you sift it!) and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the cooled cocoa mixture and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. The batter will be very thin (and crazy good. If you are a batter kind of person...) Throw batter into Bundt, put in oven, and cook for 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean. My oven, which usually cooks true to form, had this cake done in one hour on the nose.

To make the icing:
Chop the chocolate into pieces (I so did not do this) and melt butter in the microwave (I also didn't do this.) I threw it all in a double boiler and melted the chocolate, then added the butter until it melted and both were well mixed together. Sift in half powdered sugar, whisk until fully incorporated. Add sour cream and whisk in to combine. Sift in rest of powdered sugar and mix until smooth. The glaze should be thick and shiny. Lastly add the cooled coffee and whisk to create the finishing touch.

Pour the glaze over the Bundt cake, covering it completely. Leave at room temperature until ready to serve.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make a Bundt cake. Am I the only one who can't think of Bundt without picturing that woman from My Big Fat Greek Wedding putting a flower in the middle to "fix" it?

So I guess that's it for tonight, people. Try the cake. Trust Joythebaker. She seems like a wise chick.

In my next post, I'll show you pictures of the joyous goodies I got in the mail this week...

Fresh Lemon Mousse

I made this many a weekend ago---and just found the pictures on my camera today so we'll see how much I remember!

My parents were in town visiting and I wanted to make something special. My parents loved it and I really liked it but those baby girls were not big fans. I mean, dessert without chocolate? Just seems wrong. It was fairly easy though, and for a "not chocolate" dessert it was pretty tasty!
I would make again just as the directions instructed.

As you can see, I have me some pretty shiny new countertops. In my next post I'll actually try to highlight them a little bit. Cesar did a fantastic job--I have a great kitchen now and I can't wait to cook a little bit more often in it!!

Parmesan Thyme Crackers

Last weekend, I made the Parmesan Thyme Crackers as a side for Jennifer’s Cookbook dinner (beef sandwiches, lemon soufflé, and potato leek soup).  The crackers were thick and had the consistency of a sand tart cookie.  The recipe says to eat them at room temperature, and I wholeheartedly agree. I tried one cracker a few minutes out of the oven, and they tasted much better after waiting about 20 minutes or so.  I didn’t like the crackers much, but everyone seemed to love them!

Pan Roasted Root Vegetables

 

Last night, I made the Pan Roasted Root Vegetables as a side for dinner. This recipe was very exciting for me because it contained FOUR vegetables that I had never eaten -- parsnips, turnips, brussel sprouts, and celery root -- all from a girl who feels like she knows her way around the produce department...apparently not. When I started making the dish, which calls for both celery and celery root, I realized I had only bought celery, even after researching the difference. So I add a few extra pieces of all of the other veggies and promised myself to pick up celery root for next time.

Side Note: The thyme in the dish smelled amazing! I really should cook with fresh herbs more often!

When it was all finished and I had stolen a few tastes while it was hot and fresh, I decided that I loved the parsnips and brussel sprouts and didn't like the turnips.  My husband concurred. We will definitely make this recipe again! 

Homemade Granola Bars

I was planning my child's 2nd birthday party and decided to do a brunch. Weird, maybe....but I like breakfast! and I'm the mommy! I wasn't crazy about too many of the breakfast options - or had already tried what I was interested in. But the homemade granola bars looked good and I thought they would be worth a try and could be served for breakfast. From the recipe standpoint, it was easy to follow, worked like it was supposed to, and tasted quite good. The bars were tender but still held together well. I didn't have dates and apricots but I had some dried mango. That worked quite well, and my girls enjoyed the flavor. My 2 y.o. couldn't keep her hands off the dried mango when she was 'helping' me make these. This recipe could be tried with lots of different dried fruits. I also think it could be 'leaner'. Perhaps I would try applesauce instead of the butter? I may try some different variations in the future. But it certainly was nice to know exactly what was in a granola bar that I was serving to my kids!

Baked Chocolate Pudding

 

Sunday, I made my second recipe from our cookbook, the baked chocolate pudding.  Though I love to bake, I have to admit that most of my recipes are cake doctor-type of recipes.  I use a box then jazz it up.  So I was excited and a little nervous to get into a from-scrach recipe from Ina's cookbook.

I followed the recipe very closely.  I spent a few extra bucks to get a cocoa powder, and I splurged on real vanilla beans.  I am now remembering how much I enjoy baking from scratch. I found it very relaxing and cathartic to make a delicious dessert without Betty Crocker's help.

I lugged down my Kitchenaid mixer from the top shelf and got to work making the recipe. As I shut the door of the oven and took a breath to admire my handiwork, I realized that my kitchen was a mess, covered with dribbles of chocolate-y batter and a fine layer of cocoa powder.

An hour later, a beautiful puffy dessert emerged from the oven with a crispy thin crust that appeared almost as a delicate wrapping paper with a delicious gift inside. When I returned 30 minutes later to check on its progress of coming to room temperature, I found the crust had fallen and cracked.  I was relieved to see that Ina's crust had cracked too. Yet another reason why I like cookbooks with pictures. Visual confirmation is important to me.

I covered and refrigerated my sweet gift of chocolate-y goodness overnight then pulled it back out Monday afternoon for a few hours before I carted it off to Bible Study with me Monday night. I made sure to take Ina's advice and bought some vanilla bean ice cream to accompany my baked pudding.

When it was time to serve the dessert, the large-group speaking part had already begun, so we couldn't discuss anything about the dessert.  I did my very best to scoop out pretty servings of the pudding into bowls, but I have to say, it looked horrible!  It looked like an ooey gooey mess...not in a good way at all.

So we listened to our speaker for a couple minutes, no one sure if they should venture into my foul-looking creation that I call Baked Pudding. (Note to self and others: Don't use this name.  Make up something different.  People have horrible thoughts of what this might be when you use that name.) Finally, one of my group members took a bite, and a look of sheer delight covered her face.  She couldn't share her thoughts since we were supposed to be listening to our speaker, but I knew from her face that my creation was good, very good!  

Soon, others began tasting their own servings and seem to be melting into puddles right in their seats.  The ice cream (which had melted slightly while waiting for us to eat) contrasted perfectly with the rich, chocolate flavor of the dessert.  I tried eating a few bites alone, and it was just too much.

I loved this pudding, but I don't think I will make it again soon.  I feel like I have re-opened a closet full of from-scratch recipes that has been closed for years.  There are too many recipes to try to waste precious time making this one again.  But if it's your birthday, and you have heard legends of the baked pudding (or, insert new name here), I will gladly make it just for you. 

I am so excited that we finally got our Cook Through the Book started!  I feel like I am expanding my cooking and baking horizons each time I make a recipe.  Now I'm off to work on my Julia Child accent.  Bon appetit!

Niman Ranch Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Well....first off....I did not order Niman Ranch beef. There are great places that sell highest quality grass-fed beef right here in the great state of Texas. One of them is Burgundy Pasture Beef. I order all of my beef from them at burgundypasturebeef.com. It is exceptionally tasty and 'clean'! I thawed some of the ground chuck for this recipe.
The meat was easy to mix with the other ingredients and came together as patties nicely. My husband did the grilling. He just grilled burgers as he always does and not particularly the way that she wrote in the recipe. I cooked the onions as he got the burgers done.
The only alteration I made in the caramelized onion recipe was to substitute marsala wine vinegar for sherry wine vinegar. The only sherry wine vinegar I could find was $12 a bottle. And I just wasn't going there. I've never seen another recipe that called for it and it was very difficult to find. It was an easy 'no'!
The onions took at least 15 minutes more than the recipe called for. If I were to do it again, and I think I will, then I would cook them at a bit higher heat and just watch them closely. I did like the step that let them sweat in the beginning. This seemed to work well.
When the pieces were complete, I assembled the burgers just as instructed. And they. were. fabulous. I mean, I'm a meat, bread, and ketchup kind of girl. So burgers on an english muffin with mayo and the meat with dijon in it....that was a stretch for me. But I loved them. My husband loved them. My children loved them.
I wish that this were the end of my post....but no....after my sweet, 4 year old ate nearly an entire $4.50 per pound hamburger....saying 'oh, its yummy'....she then agreed to try some onions....she swallowed them....and then proceeded to puke her entire dinner up all over the middle of the table as the rest of us were sitting there. Chewed up burger mixed with milk...let me tell you....its not appetizing. But after a full scale clean-up and a settling of the kiddo....my husband and I both returned to the table to polish off the rest of our meals. They were that good, people.

Easy Sticky Buns

Wow! Can you believe that there is actually a time when there is too much butter? This recipe is it. I made it exactly as it was written except that I only put raisins in half (and actually liked the half without raisins better). It was somewhat messy to make and took me 30 minutes to put together, probably because I had a 3 year old helping me. While baking, lots of melted butter and sugar dripped out of the muffin tins, so the parchment paper that the instructions called for was definitely needed (and then I managed to spill the melted butter when trying to throw away the parchment.) Cook it for the whole time! I took it out early thinking it looked done, but the pastry was not finished cooking all the way, so I put it back in. When finally done, I could not invert the pan onto the parchment as it called for but scooped the sticky buns out with a large spoon and added the leftover pecans that remained in the pan. When I bit in, I tasted too much butter and not enough cinnamon. I don't think I'd make this except for a special occasion, and I would probably cut the butter in half and use more cinnamon. (To add what my 7 year old had to say - "It was too plain. I want icing on mine.")