Posted: April 26th, 2011 | Filed under: Cake | | 1 Comment »
Not sure if you remember or not – but four times a year I have the task of planning and cooking for our church’s elder led prayer dinner – I love it. Its a fun challenge (even if I do get a little freaked out right before). And this time around, I’ve started really early. I’m in charge of the June dinner – and I’m making lasagna, salad, bread and chocolate cake… but not just any chocolate cake – flour-less chocolate cake. (Well, there is one tablespoon of flour.) And here is the best part – this cake freezes well. I mean, it freezes really well. In fact, it gets better after its been frozen and then thawed. So I’m making a few cakes a week up until June so that I have enough cake for 250 people. So when June comes around – and I know it will come around faster than I’m ready for – I won’t be stressed out balancing baking in a hot kitchen covered in chocolate and boiling giant noodles for lasagna.
I love this cake – its dense and simple and delicious… and it is easy! Super easy! And it doesn’t require anything crazy… for real.
Flour-less Chocolate Cake
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate cake, finely chopped
1 3/4 sticks of unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup plus 2 tsp granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1 tbsp unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prep an 8in cake pan with non stick spray and line with parchment paper – spray the parchment paper also. Put the chocolate and butter into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring often, until smooth. Add the chocolate butter mixture to the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool. After 5 minutes, add your eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour and mix until the batter looks dark and silky. Pour into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. The cake is done when the center is slightly jiggly if jiggly at all.
Posted: April 11th, 2011 | Filed under: Cookie | | 1 Comment »
I know that we’re getting into spring/summer… and that I should be using lots of fresh fruits for all of my baked goodies right now… but I’m not going to lie, sometimes the produce situation here just kinda sucks, and I just can’t make a trip out to Central Market or Whole Foods right this moment for fruit to bake with without a really really really good reason. But I can always find in me the desire to bake with peanut butter and chocolate… which I am convinced is America’s favorite flavor combination. And it is certainly one of my hubby’s. So in all of its rich gloriousness I give you… the peanut butter ganache brownie. Its not hard, a little time consuming, but well worth the effort. The brownies are dense and chewy, and peanut butter icing does such a nice job of being enrobed in chocolate, that I can’t help that this may be one of my new favorite ways to eat a brownie. And who can blame me? Peanut butter frosting is just so dang delicious. So for the endless backyard parties, and showers, and spring to do’s you have going on… consider these little guys… I promise they’ll be a hit.
In other news, we are hopefully a few days away from closing on a house… we’ll see…
Peanut Butter Ganache Brownies
Brownie Base Ingredients
12 tbsp Unsalted Butter, room temperature
10 oz Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
1 1⁄4 c Sugar
4 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 c All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
Peanut Butter Layer Ingredients
1 cup Peanut Butter
4 Tbls Unsalted Butter, room temperature
3⁄4 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Ganache Ingredients
7 oz Bittersweet Chocolate
4 Tbls Unsalted Butter, room temperature
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Prep the a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, sitting over a simmering pot of water (make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water) melt the butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted and then remove from the heat. Stir in the sugar to the chocolate mixture. Stir in one egg at a time followed by the vanilla extract. Stir in the flour and salt, just until combined. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan.
To make the peanut butter layer, combine the peanut butter and butter in a small bowl until smooth and creamy. Stir in the powdered sugar and salt. Finally, stir in the milk and vanilla extract. Spread this on top of the brownies.
To prepare the ganache, melt the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl, sitting over a simmering pot of water (make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water), stirring occasionally. Once it is melted and smooth, pour it on top of the peanut butter layer and spread evenly. Refrigerate until the ganache is set.
