TWD: Gooey Chocolate Cakes

Another week gone by, another Tuesday arrives. This week's Dorie recipe was Gooey Chocolate Cakes. I'm not big on chocolate, but it looked easy enough and hubby's eyes lit up when I said I'd make some for him with butterscotch chips in the middle. I have 7 ounce ramekins, and filled 3 with this recipe. 13 minutes didn't seem like enough, so I went 2 minutes longer. I know this narration is really boring, but (finally) nothing seemed to go wrong! (Unless you count dropping my top-heavy whisk and getting chocolate all over myself - fun times!)

GAH!! I spoke too soon. I just unmolded my lovely chocolate cakes. If you want runny molten lava -you came to the right place! I'm thinking my walls are a little TOO thin... however, nothing a lil' ice cream (really, check this stuff out!) can't fix! This seriously tastes like an ice cream sundae - heavy on the hot fudge sauce.

Gooey Chocolate Cakes
Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Chosen by Leigh of Lemon Tartlet
See more TWD bakers here!

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, (4 ounces coarsely chopped, 1 ounce very finely chopped)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar

Getting ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

Pumkpin and Goat Cheese Risotto Balls

I was doing some preliminary googling for Platinum Chef Challenge #7*, and stumbled (no, I don't know how, given the ingredients) across this website with a recipe for pumpkin and goat cheese croquettes with maple mascarpone sauce. I immediately thought about twisting the recipe into risotto balls, since I'd seen them here and had them on my list of things to try.

These were amazing! I was a little light on seasoning, so I've increased that in the final recipe here.

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Risotto Balls
For the risotto:
~1/2 of 15 ounce can Pumpkin
~1/4 cup minced shallot (prefered, I didn't have it so I used white onion)
~2 Tbsp butter
~drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
~1 cup arborio rice (about 200 grams)
~2 tsp dried sage
~3/4 cup dry white wine
~1 quart low sodium chicken broth
~1/4 cup goat cheese

1. Bring the chicken stock to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp of the butter in a saucepan. Add the minced shallot, cook until tender. Add the pumpkin and sage, stir to combine with the shallot.
3. At this point the butter will be gone, push aside the pumpkin and add a drizzle of oil to the pan. Add the rice, coating it with the oil. Toast the rice, while stirring, about 2 minutes, then combine with the pumpkin/shallot mixture.
4. Add the wine, stirring to combine, cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly with each addition until broth is absorbed. When finished, the rice should be tender, but firm to the bite.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the goat cheese and remaining 1 Tbsp of butter.

You can save all of it for risotto balls, or reserve 2 cups of risotto and eat the rest. :-) The remainder of the recipe is based on 2 cups of risotto.

For the risotto balls:
~2 cups risotto, chilled
~2 eggs, lighty whisked
~1/2 cup panko (I ended up using breadcrumbs because I was low on panko and wanted it for rolling)
~3 or so ounces of goat cheese, cut into small squares
~additional 1 cup panko or breadcrumbs for rolling
~1 tsp dried sage
~oil for pan frying

1. Combine the risotto, eggs, and 1/2 cup panko. In a separate bowl, combine the 1 cup panko and sage, for rolling.
2. Form a ball in your hand with a scoop of risotto, indent it in the middle and place a piece of goat cheese there. Wrap the risotto around the cheese to close it up into a ball, and roll in the panko/sage mixture. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet (or other tray). (I got about 11 LARGE risotto balls out of this.)
3. Chill in a refrigerator (I'd say at least an hour, I had them in there for over 2 hours).
4. Heat oil in a sautepan (I just used enough to liberally cover the bottom), and fry risotto balls until golden brown on each side. Be careful not to crowd the pan. Drain on papertowels and sprinkle with salt.

For the mascarpone sauce:
~1/2 cup mascarpone
~1/4 cup heavy cream
~1.5 tbsp maple syrup

1. Stir to combine mascarpone, cream, and syrup. This is half the original recipe, and found it to be a good amount for the 11 risotto balls that I made (plus, I only had 1/2 cup of mascarpone left). :-)


*I have it as #7 in my book, and if I make this one #6 I will have two #6s and that bothers me!

TWD: Caramel Topped Flan

In college, I minored in Spanish (actually I had 3 minors, but that's another story). I wanted to finish up the minor before my junior year (to work on the other two), and I got the opportunity to study abroad in Spain over the summer to complete that goal. I spent one month there, studying in Salamanca but traveling much more of the country, and it was nothing short of amazing. On one excursion, we traveled to northern Spain, the part that sticks out over Portugal. It was there that I had my first taste of flan. And really, that's all I had - one taste. I didn't like it! Give me pudding - awesome. Give me jello - great. Give me pudding that wants to be jello? No thanks! (I know, pudding and custard aren't even close, but that's what it looks like!) It's definitely a texture thing for me.

Nevertheless, still guilty after skipping out on last week's recipe, I decided to give flan one more try (plus, caramelizing is fun!). I cut each recipe down by 1/3, and it worked out perfectly for two small ramekins. I'm happy to say that there were no major disasters this time around! I was moderately slopping with the unmolding, but I made these on Easter Sunday when I was also juggling a turkey and all the stuff that goes with it. (No, no ham in our house. My husband won't eat it!)

I must say, even with my dislike for flan, this recipe was so good, even I could see its potential. I *almost* liked it. Which is saying a lot. :-)

Caramel Topped Flan
Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Chosen by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon
See more TWD bakers here!

For the Caramel
~1/3 cup sugar
~3 tbsp water
~squirt of fresh lemon juice

For the Flan
~1-1/2 cups heavy cream
~1-1/4 cups whole milk
~3 large eggs
~2 large egg yolks
~1/2 cup sugar
~1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a roasting pan or a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a tea kettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat. Put a metal 8-x-2-inch round cake pan-not a nonstick one-in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel.

To Make the Caramel:
Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes-remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke.Remove the cake pan from the oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.

To Make the Flan:
Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the hot cream and milk. Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.

Ready for the oven!

Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven. Very carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (Don't worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.) Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there. A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooking rack and run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it. Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Cooling... amongst the corn muffins

When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the pan. Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan-the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.
Yield: 6 to 8 Servings

Tuesdays with... Mint Chocolate Cupcakes?

I took one look at this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe (Brioche Raisin Snails) and realized that I had enough on my plate this weekend (namely taxes, taxes, and more taxes) so it was a good time to take a week off. I thought, instead, that I would find a simple plain white cupcake recipe with some sort of green filling and frosting to share with friends for St. Patrick's Day. I stumbled upon (hmm, I've been doing a lot of that lately) this recipe for Mint Chocolate Cupcakes. Usually, chocolate doesn't call to me, but MINT chocolate... now we're talkin'!

I must have been channeling Dorie Greenspan anyway on these, because I ended up with some problems, as I typically do when working on the Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. The TWD recipes seem to give me problems simply because they get me to do techniques and make things that I never would otherwise do... so the problems are actually a good thing - I'm learning! For these cupcakes, the first was the amount of batter... supposed to make 24 cupcakes; I ended up with 36 cupcakes (3-6!!). Let's take it batch by batch...

First batch of 12: I was very excited about my little cupcakes. The batter looked heavenly, and I checked in on these babies a few times. I think I should not have done that! By the time the 25 min was up, they had risen, then fallen. I took them out, made sure they were done (they were) and wondered what the heck I'd done wrong. Obvious to me, there was too much batter in the cups. So I moved on to batch #2 with that in mind...

Veritable cupcake disaster area

Second batch of 12: I put less in the cups, which seems to help. They were still tough to get out of the pan, as the top was very fragile, almost like a meringue/macaroon. I went back to the website... sure enough, hers were beautifully risen. I started going through the comments and came to find out that at least I'm not the only one! Others had similar issues, so I read through their brainstorming session.

Escaped with minor damage

~Oven not the right temperature... well I've gone through great pains to get that right, so that's not it.
~Baking powder too old... if so, there's nothing I can do about that now, so what else is there?
~Cupcakes aren't done... I tested, they were done.
~Don't open the door for at least 15 minutes... OOPS.
Since that was really my only saving grace for batch #3, I gave it a shot.

Third batch of 12: I was very careful to add just enough batter to the cups (I was using a 1/8 cup measure, about one heaping scoop each). I put them in the oven and didn't even look at them through the window until 25 min later when they were done. They still weren't as pretty as they should be, but at least they'd be presentable to friends. Given the plight I'd just been through, and the fragile nature of the top, I decided to skip the ganache filling (another project for another day).

Next task to tackle: Buttercream frosting.
Frosting in general is just a bad idea in my kitchen. I never seem to get it right. In the past, I've had problems with funny tasting powdered sugar. So now, any batch of frosting starts with a new bag or box. I decided to make a little less frosting than called for, since I had less cupcakes to frost and didn't plan on using as much as she did. I had just enough to frost 16 cupcakes - perfect for sharing (the remainder are frozen, awaiting some divine inspiration).

I didn't love the buttercream, so I'll have to do some more digging and find some new frosting recipes. The cupcake part was pretty good, even for my non-chocolate loving self. My friends loved them (though I am starting to wonder if they would even tell me if they didn't like something... you know, don't bite the hand that feeds you?). In the hands of others, this is probably a fantastic recipe. Someday I will come back and tackle it again, but in the meantime, I thought you'd enjoy hearing about my cupcake trials and tribulations. :-)

Chocolate Cupcakes
24 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven
200 gram bar of Valrhona 61% cocao
3 sticks butter
2-1/4 cups sugar
8 eggs
1-1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt

1. chop chocolate and transfer into the bowl of a standing mixer.

2. add butter to the chocolate and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. stir until chocolate melts and butter is combined.

3. remove from heat and stir in sugar. let mixture cool for 10 minutes.

4. beat in an electric mixer for 3 minutes.

5. add one egg at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each.

6. sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt into the mixture and mix until blended.

7. scoop into cupcake cups and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate-Mint Ganache
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon chopped mint leaves
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature

1. chop chocolate and transfer into a heat proof bowl.

2. heat cream and 1/4 cup mint until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, pour cream through strainer, over the chocolate.

3. let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined.

4. add butter and the remaining teaspoon of chopped mint and stir until combined.

5. let cool then transfer to the refrigerator to thicken, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Mint Buttercream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon all natural peppermint extract

1. beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.

2. add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, and peppermint extract, beat until combined.

3. add more powdered sugar as needed to get piping consistency.

Note: I tried to keep the mint flavor subtle and not too overpowering. I recommend starting on the light side with 1/8 teaspoon or less and tasting to get the flavor you want.

Assemble
1. stuff the cupcakes with ganache using the cone method (cut out a cone shape from the top, cut off the pointy cone part, stuff the whole with filling, then put the top back on)

2. frost them.

3. top with something green (if you want), like a mint leaf, green candy, or whatever you fancy.

Old Time Vanilla Ice Cream

This is, hands down, the best vanilla ice cream I've ever had! After making the apple pie-cake last week, I was craving some vanilla ice cream. I haven't bought any from the store since breaking out my ice cream maker (gift from the wedding), so I started searching for a low-fat vanilla ice cream. I stumbled upon this during the search, and thought it is by no means low-fat, I decided it was worth a shot. It is definitely a keeper and I can't wait to try some other recipes from this site! **Updated 06/29/08** I have played around with this a bit, to find the right volumes and lower the fat content a bit. This is perfect for a 1.5 quart ice cream maker. Here is the revised version... still great as ever!

Old Time Vanilla Ice Cream
Source: Doc Wilson's Ice Cream

~3 Tablespoons egg beaters
~1/2 can of fat free sweetened condensed milk
~3 Tablespoons white sugar
~3 Tablespoons brown sugar, not packed
~4 ounces heavy whipping cream
~12 ounces fat free half and half
~8 ounces skim milk
~1/8 tsp salt
~1.5 Tablespoons of vanilla extract

~In a large mixing bowl whisk together egg beaters and sweetened condensed milk until thoroughly mixed.
~Then add sugars and mix.
~Add heavy whipping cream, half and half, skim milk, salt and vanilla extract.
~For the very best results (who wants anything less?), let the mix chill in the refrigerator for about four hours which allows the mix to "age" before freezing according to the directions with your ice cream freezer.

Spinach Soup

In the never ending search for new meal options on Fridays during Lent, I was happy to be rummaging through my pantry and stumble upon a box of pearl pasta. This box happened to have a healthy, delicious sounding recipe for spinach soup on the side... so I gave it a shot. I changed it up a tad, and certainly added some more seasoning as I initially found it to be quite bland. My husband loved it, too, so I just made a big batch and will be freezing it for an easy to grab lunch.

Spinach Soup
Adapted from a box of Ronzoni Acini Pepe pasta

1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 Tbsp butter
70 ounces vegetable broth (5- 14oz cans)
3 plum tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup acini pepe pasta
1/4 tsp nutmeg
5 ounces fresh spinach
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
grated parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

~Heat butter in stockpot, add onion and garlic and cook until tender, not brown.
~Add broth, tomatoes bring to a boil.
~Add acini pepe and nutmeg, simmer 5 minutes.
~Add spinach and remaining spices, simmer 5 minutes more, until spinach is wilted down.
~Sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan cheese before serving, if desired.

After pouring a bowl for myself, I got 6 servings of nearly 2 cups into containers for the freezer, so I'd say this makes about 7 servings.

TWD: Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie-Cake

I almost felt as though I could not participate this week. See, my grandmother (or "Grammy") is famous (ok, legendary) in our family for her apple pie (which I actually just made 2 weeks ago and must remember to photograph so I can share it here). She can't go anywhere without bringing one, and we all fight over it. It just didn't see right making an apple pie (ok, pie-cake) from any other grandmother.

But, I joined Tuesdays with Dorie to test out Baking: From My Home to Yours cover to cover, so I embarked upon the pie-cake adventure. I knew in my heart of hearts that I should have applied Grammy's tips and tricks to this recipe, but my sense of “I must follow directions!” got the better of me.

All in all, it was yummy, but I was in a rush and didn’t test the apples for the right amount of sugar, as Dorie suggests. It could have used some more. Of course, it doesn’t hold a candle to Grammy’s apple pie. :-)

Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake
Chosen by Natalie of Burned Bits

For The Dough
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon
3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For The Apples
10 medium apples, all one kind or a mix (I like to use Fuji, Golden Delicious and Ida Reds; my grandmother probably used dry baking apples like Cordland and Rome)
Squirt of fresh lemon juice
1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Sugar, preferably decorating (coarse) sugar, for dusting

To Make The Dough: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the baking powder and salt and mix just to combine. Add the lemon juice - the dough will probably curdle, but don't worry about it. Still working on low speed, slowly but steadily add 3 1/4 cups of the flour, mixing to incorporate it and scraping down the bowl as needed. The dough is meant to be soft, but if you think it looks more like a batter than a dough at this point, add the extra 1/4 cup flour. (The dough usually needs the extra flour.) When properly combined, the dough should almost clean the sides of the bowl.

I don't know why this fascinates me so...


Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each half into a rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or for up to 3 days. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; defrost overnight in the refrigerator.)

To Make The Apples: Peel and core the apples and cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cut the slices in half crosswise if you want. Toss the slices in a bowl with a little lemon juice - even with the juice, the apples may turn brown, but that's fine - and add the raisins. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, sprinkle over the apples and stir to coat evenly. Taste an apple and add more sugar, cinnamon, and/or lemon juice if you like.

Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously butter a 9x12-inch baking pan (Pyrex is good) and place it on a baking shee tlined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Remove the dough from the fridge. If it is too hard to roll and it cracks, either let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin to get it moving. Once it's a little more malleable, you've got a few choices. You can roll it on a well-floured work surface or roll it between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. You can even press or roll out pieces of the dough and patch them together in the pan - because of the baking powder in the dough, it will puff and self-heal under the oven's heat. Roll the dough out until it is just a little larger all around than your pan and about 1/4 inch thick - you don't want the dough to be too thin, because you really want to taste it. Transfer the dough to the pan. If the dough comes up the sides of the pan, that's fine; if it doesn't that's fine too.

Give the apples another toss in the bowl, then turn them into the pan and, using your hands, spread them evenely across the bottom.

Roll out the second piece of dough and position it over the apples. Cut the dough so you've got a 1/4 to 1/2 inch overhang and tuck the excess into the sides of the pan, as though you were making a bed. (If you don't have that much overhang, just press what you've got against the sides of the pan.)

Brush the top of the dough lightly with water and sprinkle sugar over the dough. Using a small sharp knife, cut 6 to 8 evenly spaced slits in the dough.

Bake for 65 to 80 minutes, or until the dough is a nice golden brown and the juices from the apples are bubbling up through the slits. Transfer the baking pan to a cooling rack and cool to just warm or to room temperature. You'll be tempted to taste it sooner, but I think the dough needs a little time to rest.