Choco Cornets

My older son was intrigued because of some anime cartoon show that featured this pastry. So I went on to search for a recipe, and got one from a Japanese site, which luckily has an English translation. I modified the dough by looking at the ingredients and finding a similar one from breadworld.

Ingredients & Instructions:

Dough --

Place in bread machine the liquid ingredients at room temp.
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (that's 95 ml) of water
2 large eggs
3 tbsp butter

Add the dry ingredients.
3/4 tsp salt
2-1/4 cup bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp BM yeast

Run on dough cycle.
Transfer to lightly floured surface. Flatten with palm of your hand and divide in two (sprinkle flour as needed for easier handling). Fold the ends of each so that you make 2 layers and create a square. Fold each lengthwise, then cut into 6 portions each (so you have a total of 12 pieces).
Starting at the middle going outwards with your hands and the surface well greased, roll with your palms to make into ropes.
Wrap around the greased cornets (I found it easier to do if I let the rope stay on the table and start wrapping by rolling the horn mold along the rope).
Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Let rise about 20 minutes (or 10 in warmed oven)
Brush with egg wash*.
Bake at 400 °F for 10 minutes.
Remove from molds and place on cooling rack. Cool completely (maybe 10 mins or more).
Pipe custard into the cooled cornets.

*Egg Wash --

1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp sugar

Chocolate Custard Cream --

Whip together --
2 tbsp sugar divided
2 egg yolks
Sift together --
3 tbsp Cake flour
2 tbsp + 1 tsp Cocoa powder
Heat up until steamy –
¾ cup milk
4 tbsp sugar
Add some of this to yolk mixture and blend well,
Pour the yolk-milk mix to hot milk mixture.
Continue cooking on low until creamy thick.
Add –
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
½ tsp chocolate syrup
2 oz (1 square) Baker’s bittersweet baking chocolate

Cool and beat with ½ pkg (4 oz) of softened cream cheese.

Place in Ziploc bag and cool completely until cornets are ready.

Chocolate Oat Cookies

I got this recipe (original name Double Chocolate Oat Cookies) from a booklet sampling of favorite brand recipes. However, when I made this the first time, I found it too soft/gooey, although very good. So the second time I made it, I used the one on the internet, but that gave me very tough and dry cookies. So this time, I resorted back to the first one I used, but I doubled the amount of oats (which makes it healthier, doesn't it? Ok, ok, at least I have less guilt with this choco-laden recipe), and I got the consistency and taste that I expected.

Kids and hubby love these cookies, and so do I.

Ingredients:
2 cups swemisweet chocolate chips, divided in two
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all purpose-flour
1-1/2 cup Quaker Oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

Instructions:
Heat oven to 375° F. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in small saucepan; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
Stir in melted chocolate, egg, and vanilla.
Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix this with the liquid ingredients.
Stir ini remaining chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto parchment sheet placed on cookie sheets (I used a cookie scoop).
Bake 8-10 minutes or just until set (Do not overbake. Centers should look soft.)
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Store tightly covered.

The Ultimate Brownie from Scratch

Yesterday my kids came home from school, and the first thing my older son wanted to do was bake this recipe. (He had that recipe open on my laptop since yesterday.) I was busy putting away Christmas decors and gave him my permission.

After eating stir-fried beef for supper, we tasted what he baked. Hubby quipped it was just like the brownies he used to have as a kid -- baked from scratch and tasted same.

Me: "So you like this?"

Hubby: "Oh yeah! It's good!"

Me: "Oh, and I have often avoided baking brownies from scratch because I felt that you preferred the boxed brownie mixes because that was what you were used to."

Hubby: "I got to use the mixes after I was out of my parents' house. When we were kids, they never bought boxed mixes because they could not afford them."

Me: "So, is this a keeper?"

Hubby: "Definitely!"

So I told my older son, "You are now the official brownie baker in this household."

Recipe from about.com --

Ingredients:

8- 1 ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (He actually used white chocolate chips)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.
Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat; set aside. In a mixer, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at high speed for 10 minutes**. Blend in chocolate mixture, flour and salt until just mixed. Stir in the nuts. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. (Don't overbake.) Cool and frost if desired, but that is not necessary.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

After my first ever successful (as in not flat!) chocolate cookie chip recipe, I looked for another recipe to try to see if I would get another satisfactory result. And I did, with these cookies that have both semi-sweet and white chocolate chips. Recipe courtesy of Bev who posted it on recipezaar. I edited the procedure because it was quite confusing, and changed dark brown to light brown because that was what I had on hand and it turned out great anyway.

All the kids and the big boy (and me!) loved these cookies.

22 min | 10 min prep

36 Cookies
Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions:

Place oven rack at the center. Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.
Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together; Set Aside.
Cream the sugars, butter, shortening, eggs and vanilla together using handheld mixer.
Mix in Flour Mixture into Creamed mixture just until blended.
Then Stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop out and drop onto parchment paper on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. For into pyramids for thicker cookies.
Bake on center rack of oven 12-14 mins, until lightly browned and edges are set.
Remove from oven; wait about 2 minutes to firm up; transfer to wire rack to cool.

Note: You can reuse the parchment paper after you have removed the baked cookies.

Blue Ridge Mountain Chocolate Chip Cookies

A confession I have to make: I had always been afraid to bake chocolate chip cookies...until I tried this recipe.

Now why was I afraid? Well, I had always used the Nestle Toll House Cookie recipe at the label of the chocolate chips, and my stand mixer, then my cookies would always be flat. If I use the Choc-Oat Chip cookie recipe, they might not be that flat...but they are still too flat for me.

This is the first time I tried a recipe off recipezaar for a cookie. And this is the first chocolate chip cookie recipe that removed my anxiety over baking cookies.

I also realized that I should stick to creaming the butter within 30 minutes of being in room temp, and to only use hand mixer instead of the stand mixer.

Then maybe I will try again Nestle Toll House recipe...we will see if those were indeed the factors that make my cookies flat.

In the meantime, my kids are happy with these, and I am gonna have them in my recipe collection here in my kusina.


Blue Ridge Mountains Chocolate Chip Cookies


30 min | 10 min prep

2 -3 dozen

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups bleached all purpose flour (see note below)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli brand)
Note: The recipe initially calls for 2 1/2 cups flour, but with the added note if you want them more softer and rounder cookie to add 1/4 cup flour. I add the 1/4 cup making it 2 3/4 cups total.
Cream shortening, butter, sugars, then eggs and vanilla and almond extracts.
Blend dry ingredients and add to mixture.
Stir in Chocolate chips.
Drop by large tablespoons (I use cookie scoop) onto ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 2-inches room in between to allow cookies to spread. I press down lightly with a measuring cup to bake more uniform cookies).
Bake at 375° for 10 minutes until lightly brown.
Makes 2-3 dozen cookies depending on size.

Ube & Yema Ensaymada (aka Pan de Pastel), and Chocolate Ensaymada

Bobong gave me the idea to try using yema as filling for the supersoft ensaymada. So I made a whole batch of ensaymada into ube ensaymada and yema ensaymada. Bobong said the yema-filled ensaymada is called pan de pastel in Camiguin and looks like pan de coco. I just don't know if it is also topped with butter, sugar and cheese, but I did it anyway.

I have no recipe really to share for these. Just use the supersoft ensaymada dough, have yema and ube fillings ready, and see the slideshow below. Work with everything cold already so handling the dough and fillings will be easier. The results of yema-filled ensaymada was so good, thanks to Bobong! Ube, needless to say, is as good as ever for ensaymada.

I had extra dough to make 6 pieces, which I filled with chocolate chips, both milk choco and white choco. I shaped the dough as if they were hopiang baboy. Without toppings, I let my husband have a taste of it (I baked them in my Nu Wave and turned out perfect). Husband liked them so much! My sons did too!

Ingredients:
supersoft ensaymada dough
yema
ube haleya
chocolate chips (milk and white)
topping (butter and sugar to taste, creamed; grated cheese)

Instructions:

Prepare the dough day before. Prepare yema and ube day/s before. Work when these are completely cold.
Grease pan.
Place dough on surface generously sprinkled with flour.
Cut dough into pieces about 2 ounces each (up to you, really). Flatten with the heel of your palm.
Place filling at the center. Gather the edges and seal.
Place on greased pan seam side down. Flatten a bit (or you can leave them rounded like balls). (If you are going to bake right away, you may opt to use muffin pans or brioche molds.)
Optional: Freeze covered with cling wrap for 3 hours at least, then transfer to bags (this is for those who want a good stock of these but want them freshly baked, a little at a time, like I want them.)
Let rise in warm, draft-free environment until double in size.
Bake in 350 deg F oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown (please use aluminum pan to avoid overbrowning of bottom). [I baked mine (few pieces at a time) in Nu Wave for 10 minutes without the need to preheat.]
Let cool completely and place in plastic bags if you are not going to eat right away.
Otherwise, cream butter and sugar. Apply to ensaymadas. Top with grated cheese (not necessary for chocolate, but it is up to you if you want to play with flavors).

UPDATE 6-15-09: You may want to use the dulce de leche as filling to make the pan de pastel. If you review Bobong's pan de pastel photos in the photo gallery, it is pretty much like pan de coco with dulce de leche filling. As shown on the photo on the right, I put the dulce de leche in a ziploc and piped out about a tbsp onto a dough piece, then proceeded to wrap it like how I wrap pan de coco. You may then enjoy plainly or with topping.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Roulade

Chocolate-hazelnut roulade was what I had in mind when I learned of the previous LaPiS theme Swirl n Twirl. I had been wanting to bake it since I saw the photo in Hannaford's fresh magazine. While I loved the consistency of the cake (basically a sponge cake) and the taste of the hazelnut filling, I was not too pleased with the mocha whipped cream icing. So even if I will post here the same recipe (I modified the filling), I do not recommend the icing. I probably would settle for the chocolate icing that I have been using in my favorite cake to prepare for birthdays.

Another thing that I would change in the way I prepared this is to beat the cream cheese only after 30 minutes of it in room temp. The way I made it, I soaked the pack in hot water, then got it out and let sit for more than 30 minutes in room temp. It made the filling a tad runny, and I think that was the reason why the roulade looks "collapsed". Or maybe I should have chilled the filling a bit before spreading on the cake. Oh well, lessons learned...

Ingredients:
Cake
5 Tbs cake flour
2 Tbs Cornstarch
2/3 cup Dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted, divided into two 1/3 cup
1/8 tsp Cinnamon, ground
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
4 ea Large eggs, separated
3/4 cup Sugar, divided
1 tsp Vanilla extract

Hazelnut Cream Filling
1/2 cup Hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped
8-oz cream cheese
2 cups Confectioners or powdered sugar, sifted
3 Tbs Hazelnut liqueur (I found Kahlua brand)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mocha Whipped Cream
3 Tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder, plus
1 cup Heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp Instant powdered coffee dissolved in 1 tsp Hot water

Instructions:
1. Position a rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 10 x 15-inch jelly roll pan with vegetable spray or solid shortening. Line pan with baking parchment, and then spray or grease parchment. Dust parchment with flour and tap out excess flour.
2. Sift together flour, cornstarch, 1/3 cup of the cocoa, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In large bowl of an electric mixer, whip 4 egg whites until foamy (reserve yolks). Gradually add ½ cup of the sugar while whipping to peaks that are stiff but not dry. Scrape whites into another bowl, set them aside (don't worry, they won't deflate), and return unwashed bowl and beater to mixer.
4. In same bowl, whip yolks, vanilla, and remaining ¼ cup sugar together until thick and very pale in color (3 to 5 minutes or more, depending upon type of mixer used). By hand with a rubber spatula, fold about one-third of whipped whites into yolks to lighten them. Sprinkle on and gently fold in about one-quarter of flour-cocoa mixture; fold gently to maintain batter volume. Alternately fold in remaining dry mixture and whipped whites until batter is fairly even in color; don't worry if there are a few streaks of white.
5. Scoop batter onto prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or just until top is springy to the touch and a cake tester in center comes out clean. Don't over bake or cake will dry out too much to roll without cracking. While cake bakes, set a dish towel flat on counter and sift on remaining 1/3 cup cocoa, making a rectangle about 10 by 15 inches. (Note: After use, shake out towel over sink and wash in cold water - cocoa won't stain towel.)
6. As soon as cake is baked, invert it over sifted cocoa on towel. Lift off pan and peel off parchment. With a serrated knife, slice off a scant 1/8-inch strip around all crisp cake edges so that it will roll easily. Fold one short end of the towel over a short end of the cake, and roll them together. Set aside, seam down, on wire rack until cake is cold, about 1 hour.
7. Make the filling. Start by toasting the hazelnuts. Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in 325 degrees F oven until fragrant and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.
8. In large bowl of an electric mixer set on medium-high, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until completely smooth. Add liqueur and vanilla and blend. Taste and adjust sugar or liqueur if needed. Finely chop nuts and stir in.
9. When cake is completely cold, unroll it and spread evenly with hazelnut cream filling. Re-roll cake and place seam side down on a plate. Dust surface with confectioners' sugar, or prepare a Buche de Noel.
10. Make the Mocha Whipped Cream. Sift together cocoa and confectioners' sugar. In a medium bowl, combine cream and dissolved coffee (mix coffee granules in hot water). Use an electric mixer to whip cream. As soft peaks begin to appear, gradually add sugar cocoa mixture. Whip until peaks become a little firmer, but be careful not to over beat - about 3 minutes. Gently spread mocha whipped cream over prepared roulade. Run fork tines in cream along length of log. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. May be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated. Just before serving, sift on a faint dusting of cocoa.

Hot Fudge Chocolate Pudding Cake

I had been studying for my NRP certification on Friday, but I so badly wanted to be able to make something to enter in this week's LaPiS theme: MELTed bliss. I had been teasing my kids with the photo of this delectable and easy to bake chocolate dessert, but I told them they would have to wait because I needed to study for my certification. My stepd offered to bake it the other night, but it was too late (at 10 pm) and I told her she could make it the next day (yesterday). She started measuring, but got confused with the instruction (I asked her to take note of "divided" measurements for white sugar and cocoa), so she gave up. My older son volunteered then. And this was his product. I am two chapters away from finishing the DVD "textbook" and I thought I could use a break by blogging about it.

I am so proud of him!

Taken from my Hershey's Classic Recipes cookbook, the recipe can be found online.

Ingredients:

* 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa, divided
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
* 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1-1/4 cups hot water
* Whipped topping

Instructions:

Slideshow below is not a step-by-step series since my son was the one whipping it up while I was studying...I took the photos when it was done.


1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth.

2. Pour batter into ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top; do not stir.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes. Serve in dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Makes about 8 servings.

Black & White Brownie Cupcakes

I had a box of Ghirardelli brownie mix in the pantry for quite sometime now.

From Black & White Brownie Cupcakes

I bought it because it was on sale. I was thinking last night of what to have for dessert to accompany a New England Boiled Dinner in which I used a pork shoulder for meat. So I was looking at the instructions for this mix and the photo of a variation caught my attention. I thought I'd follow that instead, and I added red wine just 'cause I had two opened red wine bottles that I must consume as fast as I can. My husband got excited and had to lick the dough even as I was placing it in muffin cups. As supper was served, I had a plate of this ready on the table and everyone was looking longingly for them. Nobody was disappointed. It was soooo good!

From Black & White Brownie Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 box Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
(optional) 1 tbsp cabernet sauvignon (red wine)
2 eggs
1 cup (8-oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 deg F. In a medium bowl, stir together brownie mix, water, oil and 1 egg until moistened (about 40 strokes). Line muffin tin with paper cups and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Using electric mixer, mix cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg and vanilla on medium speed for 1 minutes or until smooth. For each cupcake, place rounded tablespoon of cream cheese mixture on top of batter. Bake 28-32 minutes. Makes 16 cupcakes.

Easy Spiced Cabernet Chocolate Molten Cakes

This is not a repeat post. It is an another recipe for

From Molten Spiced Chocolate Cabernet Cakes

a molten lava cake. Shortly after I made the kraftfoods' version, I saw this in a McCormick ad in bon appetit magazine, and I was intrigued because of the addition of red wine - cabernet sauvignon. I have always been fascinated with the flavors of foods cooked/baked with wine, so I tried this one out. It was good, too, but lacking immediate comparison between the two recipes, I could not really tell if it was better. But since now I have a whole bottle of red wine to use, I probably will make this more often, aside from using the red wine in beef recipes.

Ingredients:
4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon Cabernet Sauvignon or other red wine
1 teaspoon McCormick® 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

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter 4 (6-ounce) custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place on baking sheet.

2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 minute or until butter is melted. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in wine, vanilla and confectioners' sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and yolk. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour batter evenly into prepared custard cups.

3. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute. Carefully loosen edges with small knife. Invert cakes onto serving plates. Sprinkle with additional confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.

Make Ahead: The chocolate mixture can be prepared up to 10 hours ahead of time. Pour the batter into prepared custard cups; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
Type rest of the post here

Classic Boston Cream Pie

No, it was not a "Boston" fever for me (having just recently prepared Boston baked beans).

From Boston Cream Pie

It just so happened that I was looking at different chocolate recipes from a Hershey's book to prepare for celebrating Nov 8th. I was planning to make a Florida citrus cake that my co-worker recently brought to work and that I loved, but I asked hubby first.

Me: Honey, would you be interested in a lemon-type cake that I can prepare for our anniversary?
Him: Nah...I am not fond of lemon cakes. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting would be good, though.
Me: Or maybe you would prefer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting?...
Him: That would be even better.

Well, thinking that he was probably referring to the boxed yellow cake and Duncan chocolate frosting when he mentioned that that was what he would like, I was not really looking forward to preparing something from the box when it was a special occasion. Although we plan to go out of town this coming week for a major celebration (no kids!!!), I did want to prepare something special (as in, from scratch) on the day itself.

So I was browsing through the photos in that Hershey's book and this Classic Boston Cream Pie caught my attention. It did look close enough to a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but it has something else that I LOVE: custard. However, my husband is not a fan of custard like my leche flan (though he likes the custard in eclair, and had been hinting for years that he would love to have those). So, on the day before our anniversary...

Me: Honey, would you be interested in Boston Cream Pie?
Him: Sure. My grandmother used to make those.

Ok, I got the go signal, although his response somewhat appeared lukewarm to me (it might have been because he was tired. He and the boys had been splitting and piling wood, while I cleaned out the upright freezer in preparation for our fresh meat supplies for the coming year).

When it was finally done and served, hubby's face was priceless. He even closed his eyes to savor his slice. Mmmmm...

My boys, needless to say, loved it. Older boy said, "Ma, are we having Christmas or Thanksgiving here? You should make this and show off, errr, ah, let them taste this." Younger son said, "Yeah, Ma, this is really good! Mmmm!!!"

Cake:
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour one 9-inch round baking pan.

2. Beat shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt; add alternately with milk to shortening mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes our clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely.

4. Prepare RICH FILLING. Using long serrated knife, cut cake horizontally into two even layers. Place 1 layer on serving plate, cut side up; spread filling over layer. Top with remaining layer, cut side down. Prepare DARK COCOA GLAZE. Pour glaze over top of cake, allowing glaze to drizzle down sides. Refrigerate several hours or until cold. Cover; refrigerate leftover dessert. 8 to 10 servings.

RICH FILLING
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/2 cups milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir together sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan; gradually add milk and egg yolks, stirring until blended. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cover; refrigerate several hours until cold.

DARK COCOA GLAZE
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat water and butter in small saucepan over medium heat until mixture begins to boil; remove from heat. Immediately stir in cocoa. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating with whisk until smooth; cool slightly. About 3/4 cup glaze.

Best-Ever Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake

Since having worked as an RN, I have become increasingly reliant on mixes, but I did not particularly like the generic taste of boxed cake mixes. I want my birthday cakes to still have a special taste to it that makes it like I had a special touch. Well, Kraft Foods' food & family magazine I referred to in an earlier post has several wonderful recipes that combine a lot of those mixes and ready-to-use kitchen helpers (like the frozen whipped cream), and the outcome is usually so out of this world! This chocolate cake is now my signature birthday cake for the chocoholics in our family (especially my husband). Rich, but not overly rich, with the right moistness that makes us savor every bite and want more. This cake is gone quickly.
Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
4 eggs
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1 tub (8 oz.) frozen COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
2 Tbsp. PLANTERS Sliced Almonds

Procedure:

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round baking pans. Chop 2 of the chocolate squares; set aside. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil and water in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 min. Stir in chopped chocolate. Spoon into prepared pans.

BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 min. Loosen cakes from sides of pans. Invert onto racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.

PLACE frozen whipped topping and remaining 6 chocolate squares in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1-1/2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth, stirring after 1 min. Let stand 15 min. to thicken. Place one cake layer on serving plate; top with one-fourth of the chocolate mixture and second cake layer. Spread top and side with remaining chocolate mixture. Garnish with almonds. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

See the kraftfoods recipe webpage here.

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

From Molten Lava Cake

Everyone in our family loves chocolate cakes. I have been seeing photos of this cake in the King Arthur Flour catalog that I always get. They sell the mix and the silicone cups to bake these with. They look so good, but I did not want the extra expense of a shipping charge. One time I was intrigued by the Betty Crocker chocolate molten lava cake mix, which I tried. Something in what I did went wrong, and I did not get the desired result. In any case, it was disheartening, and I never tried that mix again...

Then I saw a recipe in Kraft's Food and Family (free) magazine, and at the time I had all the ingredients on hand. I decided to give it a try and made 6...we were hooked!!! The recipe is good for 4 cups, so if you want to make more, adjust the proportions accordingly.

The recipe can be found here along with a how-to video. If you want to receive such magazines for free, just sign up in their webpage.

To make sure I will not lose this recipe, I have included the recipe here, as adjusted accordingly:


Ingredients:

6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
3/4 cup (1-1/2 stick) butter
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
9 Tbsp. flour
3/4 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Procedure:

PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Butter four 3/4-cup custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place on baking sheet.

MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Blend in eggs and egg yolks with wire whisk. Stir in flour. Divide batter among prepared custard cups.

BAKE 13 to 14 min. or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 min. Carefully run small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Serve immediately, topped with whipped topping.

UPDATE: This chocolate molten lava cake was tried and posted about by Zee, complete with her rave review and a beautiful photo.

Menu for Supper of 10/10/08

Usually after working straight for 3 nights (which usually means quick-fix or TV dinners) and sleeping most of my first day off, I get into a cooking fever the following day. Our supper that day (10/10/08) was a whole-day affair for me. Hubby, starved after working 10 hours that day, said it was supper worth working for...("And what work will you do for me, Honey?"...He gave me a naughty smile...)

We had Beef Pares with an Apple Twist, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Brocolli, French Bread


and Molten Lava Cake



Recipes to follow...

Chocolate Frosted Brownies

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Chocolate Crepes

This recipe was from the recipe book "Chocolate: Cooking with the world's best ingredient" by McFadden and France. The original recipe was for crepes, souffle and pineapple syrup, but since I only wanted to re-serve the leftover chocolate pudding as previously posted, I made only the crepes and used the pudding as filling. I made use of apple jam (given by a friend) instead of the pineapple syrup as topping.

I first coveted making crepes when I saw thess's posts on crepe and fresh lumpia. I knew then that I had to have one. So I ordered one from Villaware sometime in May.

Hubby liked it so much that he had three ("Thanks for introducing me to something new. I have heard of crepes before but just had them today for the first time.") Sweet ba? Me kwento behind that over-expression of appreciation but I am not sure if I should post about it...

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

PROCEDURE:
Sift the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt and cinnamon into a bowl. Stir, then make a well in the center. In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk and vanilla. Gradually add to the well in the flour mixture, whisking in flour from the side of the bowl to form a smooth batter. Stir in half the melted butter and pour into a pitcher. Let stand for one hour.

Heat a the crepe pan. Of course, I used my VillaWare crepe maker which I recently bought. (I have not had luck with trying to make egg roll wrapper with it, though. I need to find the right batter recipe that will work with it.) Using this, I just had to dip the gadget into the batter that I placed on the plastic pan that came with it for 2-3 seconds then let stand and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Peeling it off was so easy.

While I cooked the crepes I asked my older son to spread the chocolate pudding on half of each crepe then fold twice to make triangular crepes. The apple jam topping was optional, as is the jam flavor (you may use pineapple, strawberry, blueberry, etc.).

MS's Chocolate Pudding

This recipe was emailed to me by my hubby's favorite aunt. She said being the chocoholic that he was, my hubby would surely love this.

and she was right...I made enough to fill about 8 ramekins, and hubby finished his. So did my older son. My younger son and I finished only half of what was in our cups. I liked it, but not too crazy about it. But what's important is that all of us ate (unlike when I do prepare some Filipino desserts, almost always, hubby would not even try...). I had leftover which could fill about 4 more ramekins, but I served it sandwiched in chocolate crepes...(next post).

Martha Stewart's Chocolate Pudding

Sift together the dry ingredients:
12 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

In saucepan whisk together dry ingredients.

Measure the liquid ingredients:
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
12 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate (I use chocolate bits)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a bowl combine 2 1/2 cups cream with 2 1/2 cups milk and vanilla. Whisk 1 cup cream mixture into dry ingredients until completely dissolved. Whisk in remaining cream mixture until smooth.

Place sucepan over medium heat. Cook, whisking contantly until mixture comes to a boil and thickens - (8 to 10 minutes)

Add chocolate and cook on low, whisking until chocolate is melted, (about one minute).

Remove from heat and whisk in butter until melted.

Using a ladle, pour pudding into about 10 dessert cups.

Whip one cup of heavy cream and serve with pudding.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

This is my second attempt at making this cake which is so loved by my husband and my kids.

My first one was not as artistic as this one though. The recipe was shared by stel, and can be found here.

The only revision I made was the addition of Piroulle (sp?) . I placed them along on the inner side of the heart-shaped pan after the base was baked and some mousse was poured so I would have some form of "glue" to stick the Piroulles in. I cut them first to the level of the pan before sticking them into the cake base. Once in place, I then poured the rest of the mousse and followed the rest of the directions. Instead of chocolate shavings only, I added Lindt chocolate truffles. The Piroulles (sp?) were good for munching alone, but used for this purpose, it becomes chewy, so that it serves mainly a decorative purpose.

I thank stel for this recipe!

Chocolate Indulgence Cake

For husband's birthday, I ordered this mix from King Arthur Flour. I realized almost too late that I needed heavy cream to make the choco frosting, so that I had to ask hubby to go to town to get one. Small though it may be, it was sooo rich. Each had only a little piece and that was enough. Hubby brought some leftover to dinner at work the next day.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Recipe courtesy of babyrambutan.

Served this for wedding anniversary (obvious ba?)


Ingredients:

8 oz. semisweet chocolate (I used Trader Joe's
Bittersweet, the hunky block fr.Belgium)
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate (Baker's)
1 cup (2 sticks)unsalted butter
5 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup rum (Bacardi, the goldy one)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup + 1 tsp. sugar
1 & 3/4 cups heavy (whipping) cream, chilled
1 oz. dark chocolate for shaving.

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the bottom of a
9-in. springform pan with a parchment or waxed paper
circle.
2. Melt both choc.s and the butter in the top of a
double boiler placed over simmering water.
3.Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large mixing
bowl and allow it to cool to room temp.
4. Add the egg yolks, rum and vanilla to the
chocolate mixture and whisk briskly until blended, 5
seconds.
5. Beat the egg whites in a medium size mixing bowl
with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until
frothy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add 1/3 cup
sugar and continue beating just until the peaks are
stiff but not dry, about 1 minute more.
6. Add one third of the egg whites to the chocolate
mixture and whisk gently to lighten this batter.
Add the rest of the egg whites and whisk until
blended.
7. To form the cake base, spread one third of the
chocolate mixture evenly in the prepared pan with a
rubber spatula. Refrigerate the rest immediately.
8. Bake the base until it rises and then drops,
18-20 minutes. Cool it in the pan in the
refrigerator, 15 minutes.
9. Meanwhile whip 1 cup of the cream until stiff in
a medium-size mixing bowl with an electric mixer on
medium high speed. Fold the cream into the
remaining chocolate mixture using a rubber spatula.
10. Scoop the chocolate mixture on the cooled base
and smooth the surface with a spatula. Stretch a
piece of plastic wrap over the top of the pan and
place the cake in the freezer overnight.
11. The next morning run a frosting spatula (or thin
knife) and remove the side.
12. Place a large plate upside down on the top of
the cake and flip the cake onto the plate. Remove
the bottom of the pan and the paper. Then flip the
cake right side up onto a second large plate.
13. Beat the remaining 3/4 cup of cream with 1 tsp
sugar in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on
medium-high speed unti stiff peaks are formed.
14. Spread half the whipped cream gently over the
top of the mousse cake.*
15. Place the remaining whipped cream in a pastry
bag fitted with a decorative tip. Pipe rosettes of
whipped cream around the top edge of the cake.
16. Shave the dark chocolate over the top of the cake and refrigerate it for 8
hours.
17. Remove the cake from the refrigerator 1 hour
before serving.