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Archive for the ‘Chocolate’ Category

Baked Peanut Butter or Nutella Donuts

Posted in Breakfast, Chocolate, Dairy, Dessert, Holiday, Nuts, Peanut Butter, Super-Easy, Traditional, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 5, 2012 | 13 Comments »

baked donuts

Remember how I recently discussed how hard I find the process of making decisions? Well tonight’s post is basically a post script to that one, because if you thought deciding between pecan pie or brownies was hard, imagine trying to decide between chocolate glazed peanut butter donuts or glazed nutella (chocolate hazelnut) donuts! I know, it totally boggles the mind.

Well I, for one, don’t believe in making such difficult decisions. So I thought to myself…why choose?

Yep, that’s right. I made both peanut butter donuts and nutella donuts. Which means, if you think about it, that these donuts are super easy to make. Because I started making them late at night, and still had time and patience to make a second batch.

Psst! Looking for traditional fried donuts for Hannukah? Well, I’ve got you covered!

So, will you make both? Or pick one of these? Either way, you can’t really go wrong. My tasters raved about how these are as good as fried donuts. Plus they are practically health food because they’re baked. And mini.

baked donuts 4

Chocolate Glazed Peanut Butter Baked Donuts:

adapted from Fake Ginger

This recipe makes very little, so I recommend doubling it.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon milk or soy-milk

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

for the glaze:

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon vanilla exract

1 Tablespoon milk or soy milk

optional finely chopped peanuts

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease a mini donut pan and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the peanut butter and sugar and set aside.

Add in the milk, oil, vanilla and egg. Beat to combine. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and stir until evenly distributed.

Pour the mixture into a resealable bag or a piping bag and cut a small hole in the corner. Pipe the mixture into the donut pan, filling the cavity about 3/4 of the way to the top.

Place in the oven and bake at 325 for 5-6 minutes, until the top springs back when touched. Remove donuts from the pan, and set aside to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.

To make the glaze, mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and stir to combine. Dip cooled donuts into the glaze, then sprinkle with finely chopped peanuts, if using. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

baked donuts

Glazed Chocolate Hazelnut Baked Donuts

adapted from the recipe above

This recipe makes very little, so I recommend doubling it.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup nutella or chocolate hazelnut spread (for a non-dairy option, I use Shneider’s Delinut)

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon milk or soy-milk

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

for the glaze: 

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 Tablespoons chocolate hazelnut spread

1 T milk

1 1 Tablespoon water

1 Tablespoon corn syrup

optional chocolate sprinkles

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease a mini donut pan and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the nutella and sugar and set aside.

Add in the milk, oil, vanilla and egg. Beat to combine. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and stir until evenly distributed.

Pour the mixture into a resealable bag or a piping bag and cut a small hole in the corner. Pipe the mixture into the donut pan, filling the cavity about 3/4 of the way to the top.

Place in the oven and bake at 325 for 5-7 minutes, until the top springs back when touched. Remove donuts from the pan, and set aside to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.

To make the glaze, mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and stir to combine. Dip cooled donuts into the glaze, then sprinkle with sprinkles, if using. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Note: to use a full size donut pan, bake either recipe for 8-10 minutes. 

Enjoy!

baked donuts

Look how I just freed you from making a tough decision! You can thank me later.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all make these donuts, but for a seriously decadent, fried chanukah treat, come back soon…and save up your calories- it’s worth it! -Miriam

PS: Did you enter the fabulous giveaway I have going on?

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Pecan Pie Topped Mini Fudge Brownie Pies

Posted in Chocolate, Dessert, Holiday, Nuts, Pies/Tarts, Seasonal, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on November 18, 2012 | 22 Comments »

Let’s talk about decisions, shall we?

I don’t know about you, but I for one, hate making them. I’m talking about literally the smallest decisions there are. Like in the ice cream store when they ask if I want chocolate, vanilla or mixed. Um, so I know I don’t want plain vanilla; my love of chocolate is just too strong. But as between chocolate or mixed…I don’t know! How should I decide? And when the decisions get bigger, oy. Don’t get me started. I hate decisions.

That’s why this dessert is so darn awesome! Say you just finished a humongous meal, like, the biggest one of the year. It’s time for dessert, and you don’t have much room. Imagine choosing between a fudgey chocolatey dessert and a fabulously decadent pecan pie. I’m getting stressed out just THINKING about a decision like that! Enter pecan pie topped fudge brownie pie. I know, right? Just thinking about that makes me drool. It’s totally as decadent as it sounds.

First I started with a pre-made pie crust. Because I’m not as crazy as you think I am. Next I baked it a bit. Then I filled it about 3/4 of the way with the fudgiest brownie mixture you’ve ever seen. Baked that a bit, then topped it with some fabulous pecan pie mixture. Baked the whole thing one last time, and then took the most amazing dessert out of the oven.

Oh. And I made these mini because my name is Miriam and I’m addicted to making things mini.

Not sure if there’s really any decision left here. Just make these. Now, preferably.

Pecan Pie Topped Mini Fudge Pies

Brownie mixture slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour, Pecan Pie mixture loosely based on Karo Syrup bottle recipe.

Ingredients:
36 premade mini pie shells

for the brownie mix

1 cup (two sticks) butter or margarine
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup flour

For the pecan pie filling

3/4 cup corn syrup
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Place pie shells on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for ten minutes.

While pie shells are in the oven, prepare the brownie mixture.

Melt the butter in a double boiler or microwave. Add the sugar and stir until smooth. Return to heat and stir until hot but not bubbling.
Remove from heat and add cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine.
Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until smooth. Add the flour and stir until smooth.

Pour the filling into the pre-baked pie crusts, filling them about 3/4 full. Put the pies back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

After ten minutes, check that the tops of the pies are just firm enough to support additional weight. If not, bake for another minute or two. If it is, proceed to next step.

While brownie pies are baking, prepare pecan mix. Whisk all pecan mixture ingredients except pecans together in a small bowl. Add the pecans and stir to combine.

Pour a small amount of the pecan mixture over the partially baked brownies, enough to cover the top. Place back in the oven and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve hot. You can make these in advance, freeze them, and warm them up for a couple of minutes just before serving.

Enjoy!

Hope you folks all love these beauties! What’s your favorite desserts you’d like to combine?! Enjoy these and come back soon! -Miriam



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Mini Chocolate Pomegranate Bundt Cakes with Pomegranate Glaze

Posted in Bundt Cake, Cake, Chocolate, Dessert, Fruit, Holiday, Seasonal, Super-Easy, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 16, 2012 | 19 Comments »

Before we talk about the recipe I’m posting tonight, can we discuss the most amazing thing that happened? Two weeks ago, I published a recipe in the Ami magazine for a butterscotch bundt cake. I’ve been writing the column for more than half a year now, and have gotten some nice feedback before, but I was completely unprepared for this. Emails poured in from all over the world. People had made my cake and loved it, people who wanted to make my cake and had questions, and people who just plain love my column. My ego is still a little swollen, so bear with me because I’m still bragging.

Turns out, the cake was popular enough to cause butterscotch chip shortages in Kosher grocery stores all over. People were asking me on twitter, Facebook, blog comments and emails where they could possibly get their hands on a container of butterscotch chips. It’s totally weird to me that I have the power to do that…!

Anyway. Back to desserts. You didn’t think that I’d get a case of pomegranate juice from my friends over at Pom Wonderful and not come up with a dessert recipe, did you?

Of course I knew I’d have I come up with a good dessert idea. My mind went to cookies at first, but I wasn’t sure how I’d make the pomegranate flavor come through enough in a cookie. I figured cake would work better for these purposes. I had just made my (now famous) butterscotch bundt cake from my column in Ami Magazine, so I decided to make these as mini bundt cakes. Cuteness factor aside, mini bundts are a fun change from the usual.

There’s an entire cup of pomegranate juice in the cake, but the chocolate flavor is strong enough that the fruity flavor is more of an undertone. The glaze however, is exactly what the cake needs to really have a perfectly balanced flavor combination.

Note: I haven’t tried this in a full sized bundt pan, but it should work nicely. Just watch the baking time. I’d guess it would need about 40-50 minutes.

I know some of you might think that the Pomegranate time is over, now that Rosh Hashanah is behind us, but pomegranates are still plentiful, and the juice is always delicious. Trust me, this is a great cake for any time of year! Oh, and don’t forget to enter to win a case of pomegranate juice! Imagine how much cake that would make… 

Mini Chocolate Pomegranate Bundt Cakes:

Ingredients:
4 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup oil
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 mini bundt pans well with floured baking spray. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar and brown sugar until well combined. Add the vanilla extract, oil and pomegranate juice and beat to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Slowly stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pans, filling the cavities about 3/4′s full.
Bake at 350 for about 17-19 minutes. Remove cakes from the oven and set aside to cool.

Pomegranate Glaze:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons pomegranate juice

Up to 1 Tablespoon water

Instructions:

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and pomegranate juice. If needed, add a bit of water until you reach a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled cakes.

Enjoy!

Hope you all had a fabulous week! Shana Tova to all my Jewish readers, and enjoy the cake! PS- Interested in sneak previews of my baking escapades? You should follow me on Instagram. You guessed it- my user name there is OvertimeCook! Can’t wait to connect with you! -Miriam

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Reverse Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted in Chocolate, Cookies, Dessert, tagged , , , , , on August 22, 2012 | 9 Comments »

Anyone reading this who’s been a reader for any length of time will know that I love to bake, and more specifically, to experiment and have fun with all kinds of fun recipes. From recent recipes like S’mores Cheesecake and Zebra Bundt Cake, to older but still fun recipes like  Pretzel Coated Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cheese Swirled Chocolate Fudge Cake, I try to share fun and unique recipes with you folks. But sometimes I like to share some more basic recipes. Things like Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and Blueberry Muffins may not be unique or different, but I definitely think they are recipes worth sharing.

Today’s recipe is more along the lines of the basic, staple type recipes. It’s not revolutionary, but it sure is delicious. Next time you want a simple drop cookie that isn’t the typical chocolate chip, try switching things up a bit by reversing things. Chocolate cookie, white chips. They’re as delicious as they are pretty. Bonus: if you’re not a fan of white chocolate, just add chocolate chips instead. No sane person can say no to double chocolate cookies, right?

Reverse Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter or margarine

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

optional additional chips, for decorating

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375. Grease cookie sheets lightly or line with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter or margarine, sugar and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and eggs, beating well to combine after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. With the mixer at a low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips.

Using a medium cookie scoop (or a heaping tablespoon measuring spoon) drop the dough onto the prepared sheets, leaving about 2 inches in between the cookies for spreading. If you would like to make them look prettier, press an extra 2 or 3 white chocolate chips onto the top of the cookie.

Bake the cookies at 375 for about 9 minutes, until set. Remove from oven and let cool.

Enjoy!

Hope you like these cookies folks! Thanks for visiting! -Miriam PS- I am working on Yom Tov recipes now- anything specific you want to see?

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S’mores Cheesecake

Posted in Cake, Cheesecake/Dairy Desserts, Chocolate, Dairy, Dessert, tagged , , , , on August 12, 2012 | 31 Comments »

Today was liberating for me. I think I always felt that something exciting such as a cheesecake needed to be made for some kind of occasion. A family get-together, a holiday, some friends coming over, or just a regular Shabbos (Sabbath) meal. Don’t worry, that hasn’t stopped me from making some delicious cheesecakes in the past.

I know what you’re thinking. This gal makes so many different kinds of desserts, they can’t all be for a special occasion. Well, they aren’t. But somehow, some desserts seem fancier than others, and I always felt they needed an occasion.

 

And that’s why today was liberating. I didn’t make this cheesecake because of any special occasion. I didn’t make this because guest were coming or because it was a holiday of sorts. No, I made this because I dreamed it up, and just had to try it out. Yeah, it was one of those light-bulb moments when I knew I had come up with a fabulous dessert idea.

Just take a look at this and you’ll understand why you shouldn’t put off making this dessert. It’s rich. It’s creamy. It’s pure decadence. Oh, and it’s a kind of s’mores. Really, could you ask for more?

S’mores Cheesecake:

Ingredients:

1 pre-made graham cracker crust

for cheesecake:

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

12 ounces (1 1/2 packages) cream cheese (I used tofutti)

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

to assemble:

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

mini marshmallows

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325.

Melt chocolate over a double boiler and set aside to cool slightly. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, cocoa powder, sugar and eggs until creamy. Fold in the melted chocolate and stir to combine fully. Do not over-mix.

Pour the cheese mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust. Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes, until just set (the middle may still be a drop jiggly). Remove from oven and set aside while you prepare the topping.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Immediately when it is melted, spoon it over the cheesecake and spread gently with a rubber spatula. Place the marshmallows over the top (for a fancier presentation, like it is in the picture, arrange them in circles over the top.)

If you have a kitchen torch, go ahead and brown the tops of your marshmallows. If you don’t, turn your oven broiler on, and broil the marshmallows for about two minutes, turning frequently to ensure they don’t burn. (Don’t walk away from it! As my sister said, “a watched marshmallow never burns.”)

Remove cheesecake from the broiler, and refrigerate until cool. Serve cold.

Enjoy!

Thanks folks for stopping by! I’m sad that the weekend is over, but this is totally a consolation prize, isn’t it? Did you all remember to enter my giveaway? I am giving away a copy of one of my favorite cookbooks, you really want to win this one! Come back soon. -Miriam

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Chocolate Cupcakes and a First Blogiversary Giveaway

Posted in Cake, Chocolate, Dessert, Giveaways, Muffins/Cupcakes, tagged , , , , , on August 7, 2012 | 133 Comments »

 

 

 

 

Giveaway Closed! 

See here for the winner

 

I’ve been thinking about today a lot, but I can’t believe it actually came. It was one year ago that I published my first ever recipe.

I know that most bloggers follow up on that statement with “I am so embarrassed of that post” or “I can’t believe how far I have come since then!” or “it was totally on a whim that I started my blog!” But I am not going to say any of that. Sure, I think I have come pretty far since I wrote and photographed that recipe, but I am proud of that post, just as I am proud of every post I have up on this blog. This blog wasn’t started on a whim, it was the result of weeks of planning that followed months of deliberating. I am not spontaneous, and I don’t like to jump into things without knowing what I am getting into.

Before my first post, I spent an hour getting a one-on-one photography lesson with one of the professional photographers at work. I read a ton about food photography, about recipe writing, about recipe attribution. Then I spent days deliberating over a name for the blog. Next, I read all about the various hosting options and debated endlessly with myself about spending the few dollars to get my own domain.

And then I finally pressed publish. And through it all, I dreamed of “making it” in the food blogging world, but being the super realistic and practical person that I am, I didn’t expect many, if any, readers. And yet, you came.

I remember the first day that I broke a hundred hits. Then the first day that I broke a thousand. And the day I reached 100 thousand hits. I remember the first time someone blogged one of my recipes, the first time someone invited me to guest post, even the first time a stranger commented on my blog. Each one is a special little memory in a sea of amazingness that’s been the last year of blogging. So many extraordinary things happened this year. I had my work featured in a magazine. I started writing a baking column in another magazine. I bought a “fancy” camera and learned (somewhat) how to use it. I was interviewed, I was recognized. But most of all, I met some of you, some of the most amazing, friendly, sweet and talented people in the world.

Fellow bloggers will get this, but for the non-bloggers reading this, you can’t begin to imagine it, but some of the sweetest moments of this entire year have been letters from regular people like yourselves, who invited me and my recipes into their kitchen, then took the time to write me a letter and tell me about it. Every minute of work that has gone, and will go into this blog is validated completely when I get an email like that.

Honestly, I wish I could throw you all a giant cookie party to thank you for coming, for reading, for commenting, for baking and for cooking. But that isn’t very realistic. So instead, I decided to celebrate in the second best way. I decided to giveaway one of my favorite cookbooks to one lucky reader. No marketing gimmick, no sponsored giveaway, no paid ads. Just me, thanking you with a cookbook.

And hoping you’ll be joining me for the next year. And all the years that follow…

Okay, enough sappiness. Let’s get onto the cookbook giveaway. I chose to giveaway Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours. It’s a classic cookbook that every avid baker needs on their bookshelf. If you already own a copy, enter to win it for a friend. It’s a book to be treasured.

Here’s how to win:

Required entry: Leave a comment telling me how you found my blog, or what your favorite recipe(s) is/are. Or both. I love hearing from you!

For additional entries: leave a separate comment for each entry!

1) Follow @OvertimeCook on Twitter and tweet the following: “I want to win a cookbook in honor of @overtimecook’s first blogiversary! http://bit.ly/NfXCy7 ends 8/15″

2) Like Overtime Cook on facebook.

3) Follow Overtime Cook on Pinterest and pin one of the images in this post.

Rules:

Giveaway is sponsored by me. It ends at 11:59 PM on 8/15. Winner will be selected via random.org. Prize can only be shipped within the continental US. Winner will be notified via email or twitter.

And now, what would a birthday post be without some birthday cupcakes?

Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Cupcakes:

Adapted slightly from Baking From My Heart To Yours

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk (for non-dairy use soured soy milk)

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

For the Glaze:

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons cold butter or margarine, cut into 6 cubes

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 12-section muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter or margarine until smooth. Add the sugar and beat for about two minutes, until they are completely combined and creamy. Add the egg, then the egg yolk and vanilla, beating for about a minute after each addition to fully incorporate.

Turn the mixer to slow, and beat in half of the dry mixture. Add the buttermilk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Beat to combine. With a rubber spatula, stir in the melted chocolate.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups. Bake at 350 for 22-24 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over boiling water (double boiler style). Set aside to cool for 2-3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the confectioners sugar. Stir in the butter, one piece at a time, until smooth. Dip the cupcake in the glaze, and swirl slightly, then lift up. Decorate with sprinkles of your choice.

Enjoy!

Thank you all so much for stopping by! Please remember to enter the giveaway and spread the word! And come back often, next year is gonna be even better!! -Miriam

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Zebra Bundt Cake

Posted in Bundt Cake, Cake, Chocolate, Dessert, tagged , , , on July 25, 2012 | 38 Comments »

Ever since I made that zebra cake months ago, I have been completely fascinated by the possibilities that this method allows. Zebra cheesecake, zebra cupcakes, zebra layer cake…I totally want to try all of those. Enter pinterest and the ideas seriously don’t end!

Then I saw this Zebra Bunt Cake on Bakers Royale, and I was totally infatuated. Combine zebra style with my favorite kind of cake (bundt cake, duh) and you have a gorgeous and winning dessert.

Best thing about this cake? It looks gorgeous, but it totally tastes amazing too! The zebra style does take an extra couple of minutes, but I think it’s well worth it. If you’re confused about how to get the pattern, scroll down for my step by step pictures, taken from my iphone as I formed the cake. Does anyone know the best way to get cake batter off of an iphone? Asking for a friend.

Zebra Bundt Cake

Adapted slightly from Bakers Royale

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour (or 3 cups cake flour)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided

1/2 cup cocoa powder (not dutch process)

6 Tablespoons water

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter or margarine, melted and cooled

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 eggs

1/2 cup milk or non-dairy milk substitute (I used rich’s whip)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a bundt pan well with baking spray (oil and flour). Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In another small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar, the cocoa powder and the water. Stir until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the cooled melted butter and the remaining 2 cups sugar. Add vanilla and beat until combined.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then half of the milk, then repeat until all the milk and flour have been incorporated.

Measure out two heaping cups of the mixture and mix into the bowl with the chocolate mixture. Stir to combine.

To make the zebra look: 

(It’s best to use a medium cookie scoop for both of the batters. I only had one, so I did two mini scoops of chocolate to each medium scoop of white. If you don’t have a cookie scoop just use a spoon.)

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the white batter into the bundt pan. Spoon an equal amount of the chocolate mixture directly in the middle of the white. Next, spoon some white into the center of the chocolate. Repeat until all of the batter has been used.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Chocolate Glaze:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

2 Tablespoons oil

1-3 Tablespoons water

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients for the glaze together to form a drizzling consistency.

Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

Enjoy!

Thanks everyone for stopping by! Come back soon, I have a cookbook review coming up! Also…I know, I know, I haven’t shown you folks the pictures of the party. What a bad blogger! I promise they’re coming soon! -Miriam

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Dark Truffle, Candied Cherry, and Toasted Almond Ice Cream

Posted in Cheesecake/Dairy Desserts, Chocolate, Dessert, Frozen Treats, Guest Post, No-Bake Dessert, tagged , on July 11, 2012 | 11 Comments »

Tomorrow is the big party and I am freaking out about a million details I need to deal with. Good thing you guys won’t have to miss out- I have an awesome guest post for you today!

Carla from Chocolate Moosey has become a great blogging buddy of mine, and it’s particularly fitting that she guest post here, because I met her initially through a guest post she did on another blog! Plus, Carla and I share a great love of desserts, which is pretty evident from posts of hers like these peanut butter nutella crinkles, these strawberry lemonade cupcakes and these chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake bars. (Plus, you know you gotta love a blog with an entire cheesecake section!) Anyway, check out Carla’s blog, then scroll down for her awesome looking recipe!

__________________________________________________________________________


Big thank you to Miriam for asking me to guest post today! It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to make, but with this heat, ice cream was the perfect choice. I’ve been dying to make this Dark Truffle, Candied Cherry and Toasted Almond Ice Cream from David Lebovitz’ book The Perfect Scoop ever since I got it. His picture is just so inviting with those vibrant red cherries. When I went cherry picking a few weeks ago, I knew I was making this ice cream. It is toasted almond ice cream packed full of candied cherries, more toasted almonds, and dark chocolate rum truffles.


There is so much flavor in this Dark Truffle, Candied Cherry, and Toasted Almond Ice Cream that you won’t be able to contain your taste buds. The sweet candied cherries. The crunchy toasted almonds. The decadent dark chocolate rum truffles. All three flavors unite in a toasted almond ice cream base. I think I may like this combination more than chocolate ice cream.



This ice cream may seem time consuming, but you can make the components ahead of time and multi-task the steps. First, you make the ice cream base and infuse toasted almonds. While that is infusing, you cook the cherries until a syrup forms. While that is cooking, you melt chocolate into heavy cream and freeze. It sounds like a lot of work, but honestly, all you’re doing is waiting. If you don’t have time to do it all in one day, break it into parts. One night I made the candied cherries and dark truffles. A few days later, I made the ice cream base, froze it, and added my mix-ins. I was a bit impatient in letting my ice cream freeze completely, so I had a bit of a melted mess on my hands when I took the pictures.



Want to know a secret? I don’t own an ice cream maker. Humans have been making ice cream far before ice cream makers were invented. Sure, a machine speeds things up and gives you one less thing to think about, but if you don’t have the money or room for a machine, you can still make ice cream. Thanks to the ice cream genius himself, David Lebovitz wrote an article on a successful method, one that I’ve been using for years. Now you can’t use the machine as an excuse to not make it ;)

Dark Truffle, Candied Cherry, and Toasted Almond Ice Cream
Serves: 1 pint
Although the recipe appears time-consuming, steps 1-4 overlap in prep. The candied cherries, dark truffles, and toasted almonds can be made ahead of time.
Ingredients
  • Candied Cherries:
  • 1/2 pound (8 oz) sour cherries, pitted
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • Few drops of almond extract
  • Dark Chocolate Truffles:
  • 2 Tbsp heavy cream
  • 2 tsp corn syrup
  • 1.5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1/4 tsp rum
  • Ice Cream:
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Few drops of almond extract
Instructions
  1. Make the candied cherries: In a medium saucepan, heat the cherries, water, sugar, and lemon juice until it starts to boil. Turn the heat down to low and cook for 25 minutes, stirring frequently during the last 10 minutes to ensure they are not sticking. Once the syrup is reduced to the consistency of maple syrup, remove from the heat and add the almond extract. Let the cherries cool in their syrup. After cool, drain the cherries in a strainer over a bowl for about 1 hour. Reserve the candied cherries; save the syrup for another recipe (or serve with ice cream).
  2. Meanwhile, make the dark chocolate truffles: In a small saucepan, heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth. Mix in the rum. Place the chocolate mixture into a small bowl and freeze until firm, about an hour. Scoop into small balls and keep frozen.
  3. Meanwhile, toast the almonds: Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the almonds onto a cookie sheet and into the oven. Heat the almonds until toasted, stirring every 5 minutes or so (roughly 10-15 minutes). Remove from the heat and turn off the oven.
  4. Now infuse the ice cream base: In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup cream. Add 1/2 cup toasted almonds (reserve the other half to stir in). Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
  5. Strain the milk mixture into a separate medium saucepan; squeeze as much milk from the almonds. Discard the almonds. Rewarm the strained milk mixture.
  6. Pour remaining 1/2 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. Place the bowl in an ice bath.
  7. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and some of the warm milk mixture. Scrape the yolks back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of your spoon. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture through the strainer into the reserved cream. Add almond extract and stir until cool.
  8. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator until cold then freeze according to your machine’s directions. If freezing by hand, place the mixture in the freezer and whisk every 30-45 minutes or until almost frozen. During the last few minutes of churning/freezing, stir in the remaining toasted almonds, candied cherries, and dark truffles.

Source: The Perfect Scoop

Thank you Carla for giving me an ice cream craving! And thanks guys for stopping by! Come back soon, I have one more amazing guest post coming up for you, then back to our regularly scheduled eatin-er, programming. ;) -Miriam

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