Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Dark. Rich. Intense. I'm not talking about the newest hunk in Hollywood but this delicious cake.

I made this cake for my mom's birthday. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted all she said was chocolate.



I asked her this same question last year and she gave me the same answer. Last year's birthday cake was a Chocolate Velvet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.




This recipe came from America's Test Kitchen. I had to make a couple of changes because I live in Podunkville, USA. I could not find any bittersweet chocolate anywhere so I had to use semi sweet. There was no espresso powder anywhere to be found in the local area so I had to use regular instant coffee. It did not matter. It was still wonderful. Everyone loved it.

It is a lot of steps but don't let it scare you. If you bake regularly, you'll find the steps simple. It only looks hard but really it is not.






Serves 12 to 16. Published November 1, 2009. From Cook's Illustrated.

Ingredients

Bottom Layer
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter , cut into 6 pieces, plus extra for greasing pan
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine (see note)
3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs , separated
Pinch table salt
1/3 cup packed (about 2 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar , crumbled with fingers to remove lumps

Middle Layer

2 tablespoons cocoa powder , preferably Dutch-processed
5 tablespoons hot water
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine (see note)
1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon table salt

Top Layer

3/4 teaspoon powdered gelatin
1 tablespoon water
6 ounces white chocolate chips (see note)
1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
Shaved chocolate or cocoa powder for serving, optional (see note)

Instructions



1. FOR THE BOTTOM LAYER: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter bottom and sides of 91/2-inch springform pan. Melt butter, chocolate, and espresso powder in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and cool mixture slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in vanilla and egg yolks; set aside.

2. In stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites and salt at medium speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Add half of brown sugar and beat until combined, about 15 seconds. Add remaining brown sugar and beat at high speed until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, about 1 minute longer, scraping down sides halfway through. Using whisk, fold one-third of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Carefully transfer batter to prepared springform pan, gently smoothing top with offset spatula.


3. Bake until cake has risen, is firm around edges, and center has just set but is still soft (center of cake will spring back after pressing gently with finger), 13 to 18 minutes. Transfer cake to wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. (Cake will collapse as it cools.) Do not remove cake from pan.


4. FOR THE MIDDLE LAYER: Combine cocoa powder and hot water in small bowl; set aside. Melt chocolate in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly, 2 to 5 minutes.


5. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip cream, granulated sugar, and salt at medium speed until mixture begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, 15 to 60 seconds.


6. Whisk cocoa powder mixture into melted chocolate until smooth. Using whisk, fold one-third of whipped cream into chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Spoon mousse into springform pan over cooled cake and gently tap pan on counter 3 times to remove any large air bubbles; gently smooth top with offset spatula. Wipe inside edge of pan with damp cloth to remove any drips. Refrigerate cake at least 15 minutes while preparing top layer.


7. FOR THE TOP LAYER: In small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand at least 5 minutes. Place white chocolate in medium bowl. Bring ½ cup cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; add gelatin mixture and stir until fully dissolved. Pour cream mixture over white chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes (mixture will thicken slightly).


8. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip remaining cup cream at medium speed until it begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, 15 to 60 seconds. Using whisk, fold one-third of whipped cream into white chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold remaining whipped cream into white chocolate mixture until no white streaks remain. Spoon white chocolate mousse into pan over middle layer. Smooth top with offset spatula. Return cake to refrigerator and chill until set, at least 2½ hours.


9. TO SERVE: If using, garnish top of cake with chocolate curls or dust with cocoa. Run thin knife between cake and side of springform pan; remove side of pan. Run cleaned knife along outside of cake to smooth sides. Cut into slices and serve.

O-R-E-O! Cake

Dark chocolate with cream filling, oreos are one of the favorite cookies. What if you made a giant "oreo" out of cake? Here is what happens when you try it.



It looks a little like is double stuffed because the weight of the top layer started squishing out the filling.

This was the dessert I took for Easter dinner. We had many fruit desserts (lemon pie, key lime pie, carrot cake) so I thought we needed something chocolate. It was a big hit because everyone loves oreos and everyone loves chocolate.

I used my favorite devil's food cake recipe I found at Food Network. It's rich, dark, and delicious.

The filling is

8 oz brick of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz cool whip, thawed
12 oreos, crushed

Put the filling between the two layers so it resembles an oreo. I made a ganache (cream and chocolate) to pour over the cake just to dress it up a bit.

It was delicious and a fun cake. Everyone kept saying, that cake looks like an oreo.

Orange Chocolate Bundt cake

I needed to bake a cake for Sunday dinner dessert, but I could not figure out just what I wanted to bake. I went searching around my favorite blogs and I found a recipe for this orange chocolate bundt cake on Joy the Baker's site. I love her blog and her recipes. Not to mention, she takes the most beautiful pictures. If you get a chance check it out.

Here is the cake in one of my favorite Nordic Ware pans. I think I've mentioned here before my love for Nordic Ware. Everyone kept asking me where the chocolate was when I said it was an orange chocolate cake.




They were surprised when I cut into the cake and they saw the chocolate ring. It was moist and delicious. The perfect cake for a warm spring Sunday dinner.




You can find the recipe on Joy's blog.

Happy Valetine's Day! (Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake )

Valetine's Day screams chocolate. It helps that I consider chocolate a major food group. Add caramel and nuts, oh my!

In October, the Tuesdays With Dorie (TWD) group made the Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie which was picked by Tammy at Wee Treats. From the day I saw all the pictures of everyone's creations, I knew I wanted to make this. I was waiting for the right occasion and I though what is better than Valentine's Day.

Instead of making it in a spring form pan, I decide to make it heart shaped. I have several heart shaped pans (remember, I love Nordic Ware) and I try to put them to good use on Valentine's day. I doubled the recipe and it made a bit more batter than I needed. I think one and a half of the batter would be enough to fill the heart shaped pan. The extra batter was used in a smaller heart bundt pan and I froze it for one day when we need an extra treat but I don't have time to bake.

for the cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coffee extract
1 tbsp espresso

for the topping:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp light corn syrup
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup salted peanuts

butter a 8 inch springform pan. line bottom of pan with parchment paper. butter and cocoa powder over the parchment. put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

to make the cake:

sift the flour, baking soda and salt together.

melt chocolate and butter together using a double boiler. stir occasionally. take off heat just before all the chocolate is melted. whisk again.

in a large bowl beat the eggs and sugars together until well blended. add in the corn syrup, followed by the vanilla, espresso and coffee extract.

slowly add in the melted butter and chocolate. gently fold in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated.

you will have a thick, smooth, shiny batter. pour the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan a bit to even out the batter.

bake the cake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out almost clean. transfer the pan to a rack and cool he cake for 15 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the pan and remove the sides of the pan.

during baking the cake probably will have puffed to the top of the pan don't be concerned if tit sinks a little or it if develops a crater in the center.

cool the cake to room temperature.
when the cake is completely cool, invert it, remove the base of the pan and peel off the paper. wash and dry the springform pan, and return the cake to it right side up. refasten the sides around the cake.

20 minutes before serving make the topping:
put the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, stir just to combine the ingredients and then put the pan over medium-high heat.

heat, without stirring, until the caramel turns deep amber, 5-10 minutes.

lower the heat a bit and, standing back from the saucepan add the cream and butter. when the spatters are less vehement, stir to calm down the caramel and dissolve any lumps.

stir in the peanuts, and pour the caramel and peanuts into a 1-quart pyrex measuring cup or heat proof bowl.

spoon the peanuts on top of the cake. then spoon the caramel on top of those. you will have extra caramel leftover to use on something else - like ice cream! you'll have a layer about ¼ inch high. allow the topping to set to room temperature.

to serve, run a blunt knife between the caramel and the pan and simply remove the sides of the springform. if this isn't the case, hit the sides with some hot air from a hairdryer or wrap the sides in a towel moistened with hot water.

My 100th post!! Let's celebrate with a Chocolate Overload!

One Hundred Posts! Wow. Who knew? When I started my blog it was a way to keep track of things I'd made and to share recipes with a few friends. I don't have a following, and that is ok, this blog is still very much for my friends and me. I do wish more friends and family would leave comments just so I know you're still out there, but I still appreciate you taking the time to view the blog.



This cake is the one I made for my mom's birthday. She is such a chocoholic, this was the perfect cake for her. It is a Chocolate Velvet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting decorated with dark and white chocolate curls and pirouette cookies. It is rich, chocolaty, and DELICIOUS.




The recipes for the cake and frosting both came from MYRecipes

Chocolate Velvet cake layers

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (16-ounce) package light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preparation
Melt semisweet chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH for 30-second intervals until melted (about 1 1/2 minutes total time). Stir until smooth.

Beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer, beating about 5 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to chocolate mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Gradually add 1 cup hot water in a slow, steady stream, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in vanilla. Spoon cake batter evenly into 3 greased and floured 8-inch round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.


White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:


Ingredients

* 3 cups white chocolate morsels
* 3 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
* 3/4 cup butter, softened
* 7 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Microwave white chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 3 minutes; stir until smooth.

2. Combine cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add melted chocolate, beating well. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Beat at medium speed until mixture reaches desired spreading consistency.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

This weekend was Bible School at our church. I signed up to make cookies. The next question was then, what kind of cookies would go over well with the kids? Of course chocolate chip was the first to come to mind, but since I didn't know what everyone else was making, I figured there would some chocolate chip cookies made by someone else. (And there was) My next favorite cookie is peanut butter so those would be it. Of course I had to figure out a way to make plain old peanut butter cookies more fun. Thanks to a bag of hershey kisses, I knew peanut butter blossoms would be it.

Here is the recipe I used, it was on the back of a bag of unwrapped hershey kisses. Boy I'm glad I didn't have to unwrap all those kisses. I made a double batch of these cookies and they were almost all eaten. The kids and the adults seemed to love them.


Peanut Butter KISSed Peanut Blossoms
Ingredients:

* 48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates filled with Peanut Butter
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* Granulated sugar



Instructions:

1. Remove wrappers from peanut butter filled chocolates; place in freezer overnight.

2. Heat oven to 375°F. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 48 balls (about 1-inch each). Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 3 to 4 minutes. Press frozen peanut butter filled chocolate piece into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove cookies from sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. 48 cookies.

Chocolate Velvet Cake with Butter Pecan Frosting

Yes it is as delicious as it sounds. It makes a great ending to a meal or heck around here, it could be the actual meal itself. This is my go to cake when I have to make something for a church dinner or holiday meal. Everyone loves it, plus it's a simple recipe. The recipe came from Southern Living, December 2003. I've been making it since I first got the recipe and it's still a family favorite.




Sadly I don't have a picture of the cake sliced because this one had to go to a church function.

For the layers:
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (16-ounce) package light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preparation
Melt semisweet chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH for 30-second intervals until melted (about 1 1/2 minutes total time). Stir until smooth.

Beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer, beating about 5 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to chocolate mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Gradually add 1 cup hot water in a slow, steady stream, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in vanilla. Spoon cake batter evenly into 3 greased and floured 8-inch round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.

For the frosting:

Ingredients

2 cups chopped pecans
1/4 cup cup butter, melted
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 (16-ounce) packages powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preparation
Stir together chopped pecans and 1/4 cup melted butter. Spread in an even layer in a 13- x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until pecans are toasted. Remove from oven, and let cool.

Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in pecans and vanilla.

Is anything better than gooey chocolate brownies?

I'm not sure there is, especially if you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a big glass of milk. I love gooey brownies where some people prefer a more cake like brownie. This recipe makes a gooey brownie if you make sure not to over cook them.

Brownies:

1 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
6 T melted butter
3/4 cup self rising flour
3 T cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nut (pecans or walnuts)

Sift sugar, flour and cocoa together. Add eggs, butter, vanilla and mix with a spoon. Add chopped nuts. Pour into a greased 8x8 inch pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

I always double the recipe because really, an 8x8 pan is never enough. If you double it, bake in a 9x13 and adjust your cooking time. But remember, don't over cook it because they are wonderful when gooey.

Simple and Delicious: Banana Split Pie

Banana splits scream summer. This is another quick and easy recipe. For a crowd it is easier to make this pie than to have a banana split bar. It is much less mess and the addition of the graham cracker crust gives it another texture banana splits don't usually have.

Step 1: Pour chocolate sauce (I used hot fudge) in the bottom of a graham cracker crust and freeze.



Step 2: Slice bananas and sprinkle with lemon juice so they don't turn brown. Add bananas over chocolate sauce.


Step 3: Top with pineapple sauce and maple walnuts.



Step 4: Add ice cream. I used a 5 quart container of chocvanstraw (neopolitan) ice cream. I allowed the ice cream to get a bit soft, took it out of the container and sliced it off. It was just the right size to cover the toppings.



Step 5: Top with whipped topping and freeze.




Step 6: When you are ready to serve, allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Slice and serve. You can add more chocolate sauce, walnuts, and maraschino cherries if you'd like. Caramel sauce would also be delicious.

This recipe idea came from the July/August 2008 Simple and Delicious magazine.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Is there anything better? No I didn't think so. Plus since it's fruit, it has health benefits. Right? I think we should eat them daily. I'm going to try to do just that until strawberry season ends. It is always good to have goals.

They are so simple to make, yet everyone is always so impressed with them. Maybe we shouldn't mention how simple they are to everyone else.

Ingredients:
strawberries
melted chocolate

I'm not going to give you directions. If you can't figure it out you really should not be in the kitchen anyway.

Don't they look delicious?

No Bake Cookies

These are one of my favorite childhood cookies. They have so many different names. I've heard them called Carolina Delights (I'm a tarheel, it's to be expected we would name them for ourselves), No Bake Cookies, Boiled Cookies, etc. If you were taking them some where or serving them to guests, we called them Carolina Delights. If you were making them for a snack at home, they are boiled cookies.

I usually called them Boiled Cookies because that is how they are made. I made them for friends when we lived in New Jersey and told them they were Boiled Cookies. They had a big laugh and I could not figure out why. Keep in mind, I have a very southern accent so they thought I was saying "Bull Cookies".

I guess considering what they look like, Bull Cookies work.



You decide what you want to call them, other than delicious.

Ingredients:
2 Cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1 stick butter
1 pinch salt
3 cups oatmeal (quick cooking)

Mix sugar, cocoa, milk and butter together in a pot. Melt on medium. Heat until it comes to a full boil. Boil for 1 minute without stirring. Remove from heat. Add vanilla, salt, peanut butter and oatmeal. Stir well. Drop on wax paper. Let cool. Eat.

I love having my oven back

I went 6 months with a broken oven. All I could use for that time was my cook top. No baking at all. I was going through withdrawals. I'm still trying to catch up from not baking during that time. Today I got a good start.

First there is the Five Minute Artisan Bread
It was so good, I ordered the book. Not to mention we ate half the loaf. I only used half of the dough. I can't wait to see how the next batch bakes up.

Because it was such a nice day, it was time for grilling. Grilled chicken marinated in Scott's Barbeque Sauce and potato salad. I guess I'm skipping spring and going right for summer meals.


Earlier in the day, I'd made a chocolate sheet cake. It's a simple recipe I remember my mama making when I was younger. It's so rich and so so good.