Welcome back with White Chocolate Mud Cake

Hey everyone I'm back and I've missed you all. Judging from the new followers and page views regardless to my absence, I'll go out on a limb and say that you've missed me too! I wont go off on a tangent about why I haven't been here but Ill say that I've made many transitions and all for the better. So without any further adieu here is a great, simple celebratory cake to commemorate the occasion. This cake was made in my post hurricane sandy boredom. I also have a habit (good habit) of also finishing what I have on hand before opening new ingredients. There was so much white chocolate sitting in the refrigerator that needed to be used before it went bad. I also had chocolate Italian meringue buttercream already made in the freezer and time to spare. I like to try out new recipes so I searched the web for a white chocolate cake that didn't require too much work. Finally found a recipe named white chocolate mud cake, I had all the ingredients called for so it was perfect. The cake came together quickly, you can just mix everything in the same pot you melt the chocolate in. It takes a bit longer to bake than a regular cake at the lower temp. Its also a dense cake, speaking of dense...this cake possesses my favorite texture for cake. I know some people like light sponges but that is definitely not my thang! I love a buttery, dense(but not heavy), tight crumbed slice of cake with simple buttercream icing. I was never into really extravagant cakes as in my opinion nothing beats a really well made, simple, delicious cake. Another side note on this cake is that it can be flash cooled by sticking it in the freezer right after taking it out the oven (that's what I did), but it honestly taste so much better the next day which makes it a great make ahead dessert. Ok! Enough small talk...on to the recipe. Please note this recipe is in grams. It can be converted to ounces and possibly cups by using an online converter (just google grams to cups).

White Chocolate Mud Cake

makes (1) 9in Cake

300g white chocolate

200g butter

250g milk 

165g granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

60g or (2) large eggs 

100g self rising flour

150g all purpose flour

- Preheat oven to 320 degrees.

- Butter and flour a 9x3in circular cake pan. (or any cake pan that can accommodate the cake)

- Place chocolate, butter, sugar, and eggs in a pot on low to melt.

- While chocolate mix melts, place eggs an vanilla in separate bowl.

- Sift flours together in another bowl.

- When chocolate mix is fully melted, remove from heat, and allow to cool for 15 mins.

- After 15 mins whisk in eggs and vanilla.

- When eggs are incorporated add in flour mix in 3 parts.

- When mixture is smooth, pour into cake pan and place in the oven.

- Bake cake for 60-90mins or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

- Allow cake to fully cool before frosting. 

- For a similar frosting recipe please go HERE. Just replace the white chocolate with dark or semisweet chocolate.

I really hope that you all enjoy this recipe...also if you are on Instagram come follow me (yvettebakanal) for more food, garden, and KITTY pics.

Strawberry Dream Cups

This recipe here epitomizes summer time decadence. Its a vanilla infused blondie on the bottom with creamy strawberry mousse on top. You do have to turn on your oven to bake the blondie but it bakes so quick you'd hardly have time to feel the heat. The mousse whips up really quick in less than ten minutes!
I used strawberry preserves for the mousse but you can experiment with all different flavors of preserves. The blondie recipe is from Smitten Kitchen and the mousse is my own. This dessert is perfect for a summer evening. Try it out today and let me know how you liked it!

Strawberry Dream Cups

makes 6

Blondie

1 stick butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1 cup flour

- Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray ramekins with cooking spray.

- Mix melted butter and sugar with a whisk until combined.

- Whisk in egg, vanilla, and salt.

- Whisk in flour until no streaks of flour remain.

- Dive batter equally amongst ramekins.

- Bake @350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

- Remove from oven and cool completely.

Strawberry Mousse

8oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

4oz whipped topping, slightly softened

3 tsp strawberry preserves

pink food coloring, optional

- Mix cream cheese and sugar until combined.

- Add in whipped topping, mix until combined.

- Now add in preserves, mix until well blended.

- Finally add in food color if using.

- Spread mousse on top of blondies in ramekins equally.

- Top with fresh strawberries if desired.

- Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

- Dig in and enjoy.

** If using fresh strawberries, after you cut them place them on paper towels to absorb excess juices. After a few minutes you can proceed to place them on your dessert.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Brownie Pots

I know the weather is getting warmer so lighter desserts that are kinder to your waistline should be in order but sometimes you just want something decadent. I really love brownies...cheesecake...not so much on its own. However when I put the two together its a match made in dessert heaven.  For this dessert I had some stipulations I needed to follow though for no other reason than challenging myself:

- It needed to go in my ramekins

- It needed to use homemade dulce de leche

- Brownies had to be the base

- They needed to be made together, no cutting and assembling

So now that the challenge guidelines were set I could get to work. The dulce de leche was homemade and is soo easy to make...all you need is a baking pan, salt, and a can of condense milk...oh and your oven!  So I put my dulce de leche in the oven and went about getting the other things ready.  The brownies are ready in just a few minutes and only take one pot. The dulce de leche Cheesecake is also really easy to make as well. This is a great make ahead dessert  and ultra portable whether you make it in ramekins or bar form. I did both to see what I like more and the ramekins win...I mean anything in a ramekin automatically turns sophisticated right! The bars were really good but I wish I had doubled my dulce de leche recipe so i would of had enough to spread on top the bars. Everyone in my family enjoyed this dessert so I'm sure it ll become a staple in my home and maybe after you try it it'll become a staple in yours too. 

Dulce De Leche Cheesecake Brownie Pots

Dulce De Leche

- 14oz can condense milk

- pinch of sea salt

 **Double if you want enough to cover all the final product**

- Heat oven to 450 degrees

- pour condense milk into 8x8in pan (I used a glass Pyrex)

- Sprinkle milk with pinch of sea salt and cover pan with foil

- Place 8x8in pan in a larger pan that is deep enough to allow you to fill it with water that would come half way up the sides of the 8x8in pan. 

- After filling the larger pan with water place everything int he oven and bake the milk for 1-1.5 hours until milk reaches a dark brown color with a soft caramel consistency

- Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature.

Fudge Brownies

Adapted from Bakingbites.com

8tbsp unsalted butter

40z unsweetened chocolate

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

1/4tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

- Prepare ten ramekins (or 6 ramekins and a 8x8in pan) by spraying with cooking spray and set to the side.

- Melt chocolate and butter under medium heat. When fully melted turn off the heat and stir in sugar, vanilla, and salt.

- Let mixture cool for 3 minutes and then whisk in eggs one at a time. 

- Finish by whisking in flour.

- Pour brownie mixture into ramekins and pan and set to the side while you prepare cheesecake mixture.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

Adapted from Fine Cooking

- 12tbsp cream cheese, softened

- 6tbsp dulce de leche

- 2tbsp flour

-  pinch salt

- 1/2 cup + 1tbsp sugar

- 1/2 tbsp vanilla

- 2 eggs

- In mixer beat cream cheese, dulce de leche, flour, and salt for 5 minutes until fluffy.

- Add sugar and vanilla, continue to beat until smooth. 

- Add eggs one at a time and mix until just combined. 

- pour cheesecake mixture into ramekins (and pan if using) evenly.

- Place ramekins (and pan if using) on a baking sheet and place in a 325 degree oven.

- Bake for 40 minutes 

- Remove ramekins from oven and cool at room temp and then set in refrigerator overnight. 

- The following day top ramekins with remaining Dulce de Leche and serve.

Bars stacked high!

Chocolate Espresso Pot De Cremes

My sister is a chocolate pudding person like Jello and Snack Pack Chocolate pudding use to be the end all and be all of snacks for her up until last year...in recent time it seems as if shes grown tired of the readily available chocolatey stuff. In my attempt to revive her love for chocolate pudding, finally use my ramekins, and use some leftover egg yolks...I decided to try out Chocolate Espresso Pot De Cremes. I think the recipe is very easy and quick outside of the three hour chill time, but this is an simply elegant recipe that can make you receive oohs and aah's come dessert time. Ramekins will cost you about $2.00 or less for one but I must say that the colored ones you see in the photos are from target and cost $2.50 for four in the dollar section. The chocolate I used was Trader Joes Dark Chocolate Pound Plus bar that I had in the house, its very good chocolate but if you want it to be extraordinary try something like Valrhona or Barry Callebaut chocolate which may be available if high end supermarkets like Whole Foods and other specialty stores. I also want to say that the recipe does call for espresso but not everyones pallette takes kindly to the strong coffee flavor so if you have young children or non coffee lovers you may want to cut down to half a teaspoon or even a 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder. I am still waiting for my sister to give this a taste but so far one person thinks it has too much coffee in it and one person loves it, I had some even though I don't too much care for mousse like desserts but I think it was lovely. The dark chocolate and espresso compliment each other well and the smooth silky texture is something that no cup of store bought pudding will have!  I am hoping jasmine likes it..if not I will just continue to make and tweak it till its her taste. I also hope that you all decide to try this recipe as its soo good..top each with a lil whip cream and your ready to wow them!

Chocolate Espresso Pot De Cremes

epicurious.com

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Active Time: 30 min

Total Time: 5 1/2 hr (includes chilling)

6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup whole milk

½ tsp instant-espresso powder*

6 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons sugar

Special equipment: 8 (4- to 5-oz) ramekins or pot de crème cups

Garnish: bittersweet chocolate curls (see cooks' note, below)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 300°F.

Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream, milk, espresso powder (to taste), and a pinch of salt just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until espresso powder is dissolved, then pour over chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in another bowl, then add warm chocolate mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-quart glass measure and cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Line bottom of a baking pan (large enough to hold ramekins) with a folded kitchen towel and arrange ramekins on towel. Poke several holes in a large sheet of foil with a skewer. Divide custard among ramekins, then bake custards in a hot water bath , pan covered tightly with foil, until custards are set around edges but still slightly wobbly in centers, 30 to 35 minutes.

Transfer ramekins to a rack to cool completely, uncovered, about 1 hour. (Custards will set as they cool.) Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Mocha Caramel Brownies

When you have tons of leftover ingredients from past baking experiments what do you do? Do you throw it away or choose to turn it into something new....I definitely choose the latter. I had some caramel sauce leftover from christmas and chocolate leftover from valentines day. I decided that the easiest thing would be to make some brownies and swirl the caramel in...nothing innovative just simply yummy goodness. I used my favorite brownie recipe and added 1tbsp of espresso powder and swirled in my homemade salted caramel. For this recipe you can simply use store bought caramel sauce but if you want the recipe I used just email me.

Mocha Caramel Brownies

8tbsp unsalted butter

5oz semi sweet chocolate

1 tbsp espresso powder

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup caramel sauce

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper foil

- Melt chocolate and butter in large sauce pot ove low heat.

- When chocolate and butter is melted, add sugar and espresso powder to the same sauce pot and whisk until combined.

-Whisk in eggs one at a time followed by vanilla and salt

- Finally whisk in flour until mixture is smooth and uniform

- Pour brownies into prepared pan and then add dollops of caramel sauce on top of different sections of the pan.

- Use a butter knife to swirl the caramel throughout the brownie mixture.

- When your finished swirling put your brownies in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

- Prepare a sheet pan with ice an leave to the side.

- When brownies are finished sit the pan on top of an ice bath and allow to cool and then cut as desired.

Almond Tartlets

I am not one for surprises....I mean really I don't like surprises. I'm a girl that will read the spoiler for a movie and still watch it, but the surprise with this unexpected recipe invention was definitely a welcomed one. It all started by me having some extra frangipane in the fridge from some almond danish I made. I really wanted to make a large almond tart in the scalloped pan but a lack of funds to buy the pan sent that dream up in smoke. So I tried to figure out what else I could do to utilize the almond-y goodness in the fridge without breaking the bank to buy new equipment. I wouldn't dare use a regular bar pan because I wasn't sure if I could achieve perfect edges in that way so I settled on using my muffin pan since I though the smaller individual size would be easier to control. Now to start the actual recipe. What crust to use??? Flaky pie dough, pate brisee, mealy dough?? I settled on flaky and decided it was small enough that I wouldn't have to blind bake it. Last night I mixed up my flaky pie dough and put it the fridge to rest overnight. In the morning I got straight to work but rolling it out and and cutting into little circles. I had lost my circular cookie cutter so I had to use a drinking glass but it worked just fine.  So I shaped the pieces of pie dough into their spaces and filled with 1/2 tsp of peach preserves but you could use whatever your heart desires.

Then I filled then with 1 tbsp of frangipane and topped with spiced almonds.

After 25 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees this is what I got.

 

I think these pictures speak for themselves, and the recipe definitely is not hard to do. So if you want to give it a try here's the recipe. Enjoy

Flaky Pastry

4 cups pastry flour

1 1/2 cups unslted butter

1/2 cup ice cold water

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

- Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

- Cut butter into tsp sized pieces then cut into flour mixture with a pastry blender until it resembles pea size pieces.

- Mix in cold water gently until just absorbed. DO NOT OVERWORK!

 - Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Frangipane

10 oz Almond paste

3/4 cup butter

1/4 cup brandy or amaretto

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp all purpose flour

1 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp almond extract

1 egg

- Cream butter and sugar together. 

 - Add in egg, beat for 30 seconds

 - And in remaining ingredients and beat until creamy.

** The frangipane makes too much for this exact recipe but it can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. I used mine around 2 weeks later and it was still great.