Tuesdays with Dorie Post Number 19: Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes

Eat more chocolate! Save a pumpkin! Thankfully, this week's recipe Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes was chosen by Clara of IHeartFood4Thought and is a recipe that has no pumpkin! Imagine the horror that we pumpkins feel each year as millions of us are consumed in pies, cakes, bread and other seasonal travesties.

What a wonderful fall treat. Seasonal cupcake paper, festive orange sprinkles....please...enjoy a chocolate cupcake this fall. Pumpkins everywhere thank you for your understanding during this difficult time of the year.

Homemade Oreos

Oh my goodness! This was not the recipe for me to find! The cookie is crunchy and chocolate-ey, the frosting is sweet and vanilla-ey! Dip them in milk and pure heaven!

The recipe comes from Smitten Kingdom and is wonderful! I cut the recipe in half, subbing egg white for the full egg in the cookie dough. Butterbur and Juniper were very interested in the cookie process, especially the icing. I'm not sharing these either!

Tuesdays with Dorie Post Number 16: Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Greetings, I am C-3PO, human cyborg relations. I am afraid I am not much of a story teller, but I have been summoned from the far corners of the galaxy to share with you the tale of a Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake and how it came to be.
The cake was born of chocolate and butter and flour, and its creator referred to the great book of culinary reference: Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Truly, Dorie Greenspan is a Master Jedi of baking. The recipe was chosen by Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy, and has been created by the many Jedi apprentice bakers of the Tuesdays with Dorie clan.

Creating a chocolate cake worthy of space travel is no easy task. In order to achieve light speed, a cake must be small and aerodynamic, and so the cakes were made miniature by way of muffin pans. Nurtured by the warmth of the oven, the cakes grew to gargantuan size, and when they came from the oven, they had baked onto the top of the pan. And so the chocolate cakes separated, the saucer sections destined for space travel without the burden of the bulky cargo bottoms.

Those who enjoy chocolate must have room for cargo, so the separation was not destined to last.
And so the delightful but ominous caramel sauce was harvested. Caramel sauce hails from the seventh moon of Napecuas, and must be collected when it is deep and amber in color. The trip to Napecuas is treacherous as the Empire is ever watchful of caramel traders. The caramel was not quite ready to be collected, and turned to a thick crusty glaze. It did its job well though, as it served as an adhesive between the saucer and cargo sections of the chocolate cake space ships.
Crusted with peanuts and blazoned with the thick layer of Napecuas caramel, the chocolate cake craft will provide many in the Rebellion a reliable way to travel the galaxy. And that is the tale of the Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake. If you will excuse me now, I believe that I hear the faint call of Ewoks and they can be ever so demanding.

Tuesdays with Dorie Number 15: Almost-Fudge Gateau

Poor Frodo, he has become bewitched by the power of the precious......yet again.....

This is not common knowledge, but Frodo has a serious chocolate addiction problem.

He can't seem to get enough of the stuff, and the Almost-Fudge Gateau sent him over the edge!

Technically, this week's recipe for Tuesday's with Dorie is Creme Brulee. The recipe calls for the use of a butane torch, and I do not own one. The option was given to make a previously done recipe, and so we rewind to the Almost-Fudge Gateau recipe featured on pages 218 and 219 of the baking mega-book, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. The recipe was originally chosen February 19, 2008, a bit before my time :)

This cake is scary good, and those who cannot handle serious chocolate desserts should only consume this confection with extreme caution.

Frodo was not careful, and in his chocolate induced haze failed to notice something sinister. Who will carry his burden? Who will ensure that the ring is destroyed? Methinks Sauron is behind the chocolate!

Tuesdays with Dorie Number 13: Chocolate Chunkers

Ah, I have found my precious!

I sense danger....it is all around...must protect....my preciousssss.....

Well, Frodo gives these cookies 2 thumbs up, and considering he is very limited in both movement and facial expression, that's saying something.

This week's recipe was chose by Claudia of Fool for Food and is the absolutely decadent cookie Chocolate Chunkers. What can one say about a cookie recipe that used 2 giant Hershey bars, 1-1/2 cups of peanuts and 1 cup of cranberries? The cookies are like candy loosely held together by cookie dough, and they make me very, very happy. It's the kind of happiness that makes me glad that I still have my membership at the YMCA, because I keep eating cookies.... If Frodo had packed chocolate chunkers along with his lembas bread for his epic journey across Mordor, he would have had little difficulty with his passage. How could anybody be cross with hobbit carrying pure gold in cookie form? Really, I want to know.

Spicy Malted Hot Cocoa Mix

The Tuesdays with Dorie Recipe for this last Tuesday, Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops, called for Malted Milk Powder. I bought a jar especially for the recipe, but found myself looking at the remaining portion and wondering what on earth I was going to do with it. In the past, I've mixed it with ice cream to make an old-fashioned malt, but I'm trying to get away from eating a lot of treats like ice cream (especially with the weekly dessert delights of Tuesday with Dorie). Alas, what to do.....

I was saved by a recipe I found on mix, mix...stir, stir. The author of this blog found herself in the same quandry...and solved the problem by creating a hot chocolate delight.
Here is her recipe:

Spicy Malted Hot Cocoa Mix

1/2 cup malted milk powder
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1-1/2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all the ingredients together and mix well. Store in an airtight container. To make a spicy hot beverage, heat one cup of milk and whisk in 3 Tablespoons of Spicy Malted Hot Cocoa Mix. Relax and enjoy.

I did not add the ancho chile powder and cayenne pepper. Instead I added 1/2 teaspoon of regular chile pepper. I found that it added a nice heat to the hot chocolate. I also found when I made this that it was a little rich with just the 1 cup of milk, so I think the next time I make it I will try doubling the milk portion, or back off a little on the mix. It was delicious though.

I have lots of mix to play with :)

Tuesdays with Dorie Post Number 12: Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops

Well, I almost missed the Tuesday posting, but here I am at the very last minute getting my two cents in on this week's recipe. It was chosen by Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart, and the recipe is posted at her blog if you would like to see what goes into these wonderful cookies!
Let me break the cookie experience down into simple terms: chocolate, whoppers, chocolate, simple, delicious, wonderful. These cookies were wonderful warm out of the oven, and wonderful cooled. The dough was cake like and puffy, and the whoppers made for a nice chewiness. There is not a bad cookie recipe in the book! I am looking forward to eating what few cookies that remain with a nice hot cup of coffee and a good book. Hurray for chocolate! Hurray for whoppers! Hurray for cookies!

Oreo Inspired Cupcakes

Butterbur's Bistro is going retro today! I have had "The Family Circle Cake and Cooky Cookbook" on my shelf for a few months now, and haven't gotten around to trying anything from it. The book was published in 1953, and is chock full of recipes, ideas and nifty retro photos.
I made the Family Circle Cupcakes, however, I have been wanting to make cupcakes that were "Oreo inspired". I used the base recipe, but added melted chocolate to part of the batter and layered the cupcakes. If I try this again, I will be more careful with the proportions...I didn't quite have as much vanilla batter as I would have liked.
I also used a butter icing recipe from this cookbook. The recipe called for heavy cream, and I think it may be my new "go to" recipe for butter cream. It was so good!
I topped the cupcakes with crushed Oreos. The picture shows Oreos on top of the cupcakes, but that didn't work as well as I had hoped.
Here are the recipes:

Family Circle Cupcakes

1 cup sifted cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk

1. Grease 12 medium-size muffin-pan cups (or use fluted-paper baking cups placed in muffin pan).
2. Measure cake flour, baking powder and salt into sifter.
3. Cream shortening until soft in medium-size bowl; add sugar gradually, creaming after each addition until mixture is well blended.
4. Stir in egg and vanilla.
5. Sift and add dry ingredients, alternating with milk; blend until smooth after each addition.
6. Pour batter into prepared baking cups, filling half full.
7. Bake in in moderate oven (350 degrees) about 20 minutes, or until centers spring back when lightly pressed with fingertip.
8. Cool cupcakes completely in pan on wire cake rack; loosen around edges with knife, remove from pan.

**I found 20 minutes to be a little too much time in the oven.
**I melted 2 0z of bittersweet baking chocolate, and added it to about 2/3 of the batter.

Butter Frosting:
1/3 cup butter or margarine
4 cups (1 pound) sifted confectioners' (powdered) sugar
5 Tablespoons cream or undiluted evaporated milk
1/8 tsp salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Cream butter or margarine until soft in medium size bowl with spoon or with electric mixer set at "cream".
2. Add sugar gradually, alternating with cream or evaporated milk, creaming well after each addition.
3. Stir in salt and vanilla; beat frosting until light and fluffy.

5 min Chocolate Cake

This may be the most diabolical thing known to man....chocolate cake that you can make in your microwave in 5 minutes!!! Ah, the madness!!! Ah, the insanity!!! Ah, the convenience!!! Once again, there is a reason for exercise....must work off all the mugs of chocolate cake....hmmmm....

Anywho, I found the recipe from Dizzy Dee. There are many fantastic pictures to guide you through the process. I didn't want to consume quite that much flour and sugar, so I halved the recipe as follows:

2 Tablespoons flour (I used whole wheat, gotta sneak healthy in there somewhere)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder (I wanted to lighten the cake up a bit)
1 egg white
1 Tablespoon oil (again with the healthy, I went with olive oil)

I mixed the dry, then added the wet and microwaved for 1 minute 30 seconds. You can get away with a smaller cup with this half recipe. Yum!!

No Bake Cookies in Bar Fashion

Today I wondered what would happen if I made no-bake cookies as a bar instead of drop cookies. After I made the cookie, I spread it in a jelly roll pan on top of wax paper and let it cool. Once it was cool, I cut it into diamonds and bars. It worked really well and made thin, chocolaty-oatmeal pieces of goodness!
1-3/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened.

Tropical Truffles

I love chocolate, and I love truffles, so this seemed like a worthwhile recipe to try. I have rationalized eating them, because after all they are full of dried fruit and fruit is good for me..... Anyway, they are very delicious.
Adapted from a recipe from Chocolate Step-by-Step.

1/2 cup (80 g) macadamia nuts, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons finely chopped dried pineapple, mango & papaya
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons cream
3 oz white chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut

1. Spread macadamia nuts on flat oven tray and toast in preheated moderate (350 degree) oven for 3-5 minutes or until golden.
2. Combine dried fruits in a small bowl. Add lemon juice and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
3. Heat cream in a small pan until boiling. Add chocolate chips, remove from heat, and stir until smooth. Move mixture to a small bowl.
4. Add fruit mixture to chocolate mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes or until firm enough to work with.
5. Roll heaping teaspoons of the mixture into balls, then roll into coconut. Place in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper.

Tuesdays with Dorie Post Number 5: Chocolate Pudding

This week's recipe is Chocolate Pudding chosen by Melissa of Its Melissa's Kitchen. I am away from my home kitchen this week, so I was a little nervous about preparing this recipe. There was no food processor available, and many of the kitchen amenities that I am accustomed to were no where to be found. I ended up using a whisk and lots of elbow grease. This, of course, gave me an excuse to buy a new whisk which I happily did.
Here is my new whisk (silicone). This is a picture of my "food processor".
The pudding is absolutely decadent! It came together beautifully and was fairly set up when I put it in the refrigerator. This may become my go to pudding recipe when I prepare pudding.

Mocha Cocoa Cake

If you are a fan of chocolate, this is the recipe for you! Not only is it healthful (yogurt, canola oil, and no eggs), but this cake is moist, rich and positively decadent! I have found that it bakes well in both cake pans and cupcake pans, and it is a cake that holds well for a few days. Enjoy!

• 1 ¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• ¾ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¾ c. nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 5 Espresso (7 ½ ounces total)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ c. vegetable oil
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch Bundt pan.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. In another large bowl, mix together the sugar, yogurt, espresso, and oil until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and mix together just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smooth with a spatula, and bake 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes before removing from the pan.8 servings

Cupcakes take about 15 - 20 minutes in the oven.