Essence of Chocolate Squares

Essence of Chocolate Squares - made February 7, 2010 from Baking by Flavor by Lisa Yockelson

I posted on my friend Kendra's blog (www.kitchenreport.wordpress.com) that Baking by Flavor was one of my favorite baking books. This recipe is only one of the reasons why. Stare at that picture for a second. See how moist the brownie part looks? Then topped with luscious fudge frosting. Not only that but the frosting is almost of equal height as the brownie! How could that not completely seduce you into a chocolate coma? This is a two-brownie recipe - meaning with most brownies I make, no matter how well they turn out, I'm fine having one piece and giving the rest away. With this one, I'm likely to eat 2 pieces before letting the rest go.

The only drawback is these don't make good care package brownies because the frosting gets all mashed up. But no matter - you should make it yourself :). Once you take the brownies out of the oven, make the frosting and spread it over the warm brownie. You don't want to frost it like you do a regular cake because the frosting will start to melt (that's the point). Instead, drop it in large dollops over the brownie and cover the top quickly. There's plenty of frosting for cover. Then let it sit. Some of the butter might separate out because the frosting will get too warm over the cake. That's okay. Blot it with a paper towel and let it cool completely. Then workout like a fiend before you consume a piece. This brownie isn't for the faint of heart or the calorie conscious.

1 ¼ cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons unsweetened, alkalized cocoa
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ pound (16 tablespoons or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to tepid
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid
4 large eggs
2 cups vanilla-scented granulated sugar (or use regular granulated sugar - vanilla scented is if you have a piece of vanilla bean and let it steep in the sugar canister for a few days)
1 ½ teaspoons intensified vanilla extract

Dense chocolate frosting for topping the fudge chocolate layer
3 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons unsifted confectioners’ sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ pound (8 tablespoons or 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to tepid
2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid.
¼ cup milk
2 tablespoon (light) table cream
1 teaspoon intensified vanilla extract

9 x 9 x 2” baking pan

1. Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Film the inside of the baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Sift the all-purpose flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
3. Whisk the melted butter and melted unsweetened chocolate in a medium-size mixing bowl until thoroughly combined.
4. Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl to blend well, about 1 minute, then add the vanilla-scented granulated sugar and whisk slowly for 1 minute, or until just combined. Whisk in the tepid melted chocolate-butter mixture. Blend in the vanilla extract. Sift over the dry ingredients and mix until all particles of flour are absorbed into the batter, using a whisk, wooden spoon or flat wooden paddle.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan. Smooth over the top with a rubber spatula.
6. Bake the cake layer for 35 to 37 minutes or until just set. Cool the cake layer in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes while you make the frosting.
7. Place the confectioners’ sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk the melted butter and melted unsweetened chocolate in a small mixing bowl until thoroughly combined. Add the milk, light cream, and vanilla extract. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the frosting on moderately low speed until creamy and completely combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl two to three times to keep the frosting even-textured. Do not beat the frosting on high speed or it will become airy and fluffy instead of creamy and dense.
8. Immediately and carefully, place large dollops of the frosting evenly over the surface of the hot bar cookie base and spread it, using a flexible offset spatula. Spread it smoothly and lightly, to keep the bar cookie layer intact.
9. Let the sweet cool in the pan on a rack for 3 to 4 hours, or until cooled and completely set. The cooling time is especially important in hot, humid or damp weather. Cut the cake into four quarters, then cut each quarter into four squares, using a small, sharp knife. Remove the chocolate squares from the baking pan, using a small, metal offset spatula.

Freshly baked, the squares keep for 4 to 5 days.

Lemon Ripple Crunch Cake

Lemon Ripple Crunch Cake - made February 6, 2010 from Fearless Baking by Elinor Klivans

I was tempted not to post this entry because, as you can tell from the picture, this cake does not look like one of my successes. No, it's not supposed to be lemon lava cake with the insides pouring out ("um, I meant for that to happen"?). On the other hand, this blog is about my baking odyssey, be it success or failure. And I learn as much from failures as I do from successes. So no sense hanging my head in shame. Although if I were back in culinary school, my chef instructor would probably give me the beady eye if I turned out a cake like this one.

I followed the directions to the letter. This is from Fearless Baking by Elinor Klivans, another baking book that's becoming a favorite of mine because she has so many good recipes in it. The directions said to pour 2/3 of the batter in the tube pan, add in the lemon filling, swirl it around and pour the rest of the batter in. I baked it for the time specified and it seemed done when I took it out. I let it cool the requisite 15 minutes before I took it out of the pan. That's when everything went south - literally. The cake, unable to withstand the onslaught of the filling, literally broke apart and the filling gushed out. I dumped it in a 10-inch square pan before it completely flowed off my counter (fortunately I had foil underneath so not much was lost). I couldn't tell if the lava coming out was really the filling or raw batter since there wasn't the color distinction the recipe said it would have. I put it back into the oven to bake a little longer in the hopes that the raw batter would distinguish itself by baking completely this time. I let it bake another 10-15 minutes before taking it cautiously out. And yes, I baked it as you see in the picture, in the 10-inch square baking pan. You do what you can to salvage the cake.

Despite its appearance, this is good cake. I tried a bit when it was still warm and it tasted nice and buttery but not that lemony. But once it had cooled completely, the lemon flavor really came out. The crunch on top was a nice contrast with the smooth filling and cake. I actually love this cake despite its Quasimodo appearance. Let me put it in perspective for you - yesterday I made 3 batches of brownies which cut into ~12 dozen brownies. I ate one, yes one, small brownie and that was from the batch that I forgot to add vanilla to just to make sure it came out okay (it did). The other brownies I've left untouched - they got packaged up and went straight to the freezer to give out later and I wasn't tempted at all to indulge in more. But this cake? I've probably eaten a good 1/4 of the darn thing since yesterday. I gave 1/3 to my parents today and they liked it too (although my mom made a comment about its appearance too - sigh. Poor thing. It might be ugly but it's delicious!). And don't think I don't have evil designs on the rest of the cake.

So my next project is to make this cake again and try to make its appearance match its taste. There are a few things I would do differently. First, I may try it with a little less filling. The cake batter was rather thin and the filling was heavier than the batter so once you put it in the tube pan, it sinks to the bottom. Second, I would swirl the filling more with the batter. I think it had as much power as it did over the cake because not only was there so much of it but it wasn't really intermingled or marbled with the cake. Instead the filling took over the insides, taking up residence as one lava flow inside the cake. Lastly, I would bake it a little longer and let it cool more in the pan so the cake part isn't so fragile when I take it out. I used a tube pan with a removable bottom (contrary to the instructions) so there's no need to take it out when it's warm. I look forward to making this again and getting it right next time. And if that doesn't turn out, I'll just - cough - keep trying.

Crumb Topping
¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces

Cake batter
2 large egg yolks
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 ¾ cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup canola or corn oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup sour cream
Powdered sugar for dusting the top of the cake

1. Mix the topping: Put the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Mix just to blend the ingredients together. Add the butter pieces and use a fork, pastry blender or your fingertips to break up the butter pieces, then mix them until crumbs form. Set aside.
2. Mix the cake: Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Oil the bottom, sides and center tube of a 9 ½- or 10-inch-diameter fixed bottom tube pan with at least 3 ¾” high sides. Line the bottom with parchment or wax paper and oil the paper.
3. Put the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest for the lemon filling in a small bowl, stirring them until smoothly blended. Set aside.
4. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together onto a piece of wax paper or into a medium bowl. Set aside.
5. Put the eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes until the mixture looks fluffy, thickens and lightens to a cream color. This is the stage of the mixing that lightens the cake. Move the beaters around in the bowl if using a handheld electric mixer. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the oil, vanilla, almond extract, and the remaining teaspoon of lemon zest, mixing until blended together. Mix in the flour mixture just until it is incorporated. Add the sour cream, mixing until it is blended and no white streaks remain. Use a rubber spatula to scrape about two-thirds of the batter into the prepared pan. Leaving about a ½-inch plain edge, spoon the reserved sweetened condensed milk and lemon mixture over the batter. Dipping a spoon about 1 inch into the batter, run it once around the lemon mixture in the pan to swirl it lightly through the batter. There should be dark yellow and marbleized streaks of lemon. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the remaining batter into the pan, spreading it evenly.
6. Bake and serve the cake: Bake 35 minutes. Gently sprinkle the reserved crumb topping over the top of the cake. Bake about 40 minutes more until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. If the toothpick penetrates a large area of lemon filling, test another spot. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the sides and center tube of the pan to loosen the cake. Turn the cake out onto a plate or wire rack. Carefully remove and discard the paper lining the bottom. Place a wire rack over the bottom of the cake and invert the cake onto it so the cake is crumb topping side up. Cool thoroughly. Dust the top with powdered sugar. Use a large spatula to slide the cake onto a serving plate.

Double Chocolate Brownies

Double Chocolate Brownies - made Febuary 6, 2010 from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle

Another good, basic, straightforward brownie from The Good Cookie. As you can see, I dressed it up a bit with some Valentine-themed M&Ms. This time I did remember the vanilla extract but left out the 6 ounces of chocolate chunks in the batter in favor of the M&Ms on top. I'd made this recipe a couple of times over the years but kept forgetting to take a picture of it to include with the recipe so I "had" to make it again and capture it for posterity. The recipe says to cut into 16 squares but I find that makes big brownies so I cut them into 24 or 25 squares. Nothing wrong with large pieces but I favor small ones in case I want to try other kinds. If you're keeping track by the dates, I've made 3 batches of brownies in one day - not unusual for me. I did say it had been a tough week, right?

If you want to make this with M&Ms and don't want them to sink to the bottom before baking or during baking, spread the batter in the pan and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. The batter will firm up and you can place the M&Ms with abandon and not worry about them sinking once they're in the oven.

11 ounces bittersweet chocolate, 5 ounces coarsely chopped, 6 ounces cut into ¼” to ½” chunks
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1 cup cake flour (not self rising)
¼ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil so that the foil extends 2 inches beyond 2 opposites sides of the pan. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan.
2. In the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water, heat the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler from the bottom and set the chocolate mixture aside to cool.
3. Sift together the flour and salt into a medium bowl. Gently whisk to blend. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract at high speed until very light and thick, about 5 minutes (the mixture should leave a ribbon trail when the whisk is lifted). Switch to the paddle attachment. At low speed, add the chocolate mixture (it’s okay if it’s still warm), mixing until blended. Add the flour mixture, mixing just until blended. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chunks.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the brownies for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely.
6. Using the foil as handles, lift the brownies out of the pan. Cut into 16 squares.

Deluxe Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Brownies

Deluxe Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Brownies - made February 6, 2010 from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you - yes, those are nuts on top of the brownies I baked. I've ranted enough against nuts in brownies to make you doubt but in this particular case, nuts on top of brownies are okay. They can remain crisp when they're baked on top of the brownie unlike nuts folded into the actual batter which get soggy. This is another good, basic, fudgy brownie. The pecan crunch on top is actually a nice contrast with the brownie as there's both some crunch and a bit of sweetness against the chocolate brownie. Toast the pecans first and let them cool before making the crunch. Even though they'll toast some more while the brownies are baking, I still like to toast them beforehand to bring out their flavor. Don't overbake - these are perfect when they're fudgy. This picture is from when I first made this recipe back in 2003. For the batch I made today, I actually chopped up the pecans a bit more - that makes for easier cutting of the brownies when they're cool since you don't have to slice through whole nuts.

Pecan Crunch
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Chocolate Pecan Brownies
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cake flour (not self rising)
3 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup chopped pecans
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan.
Make the pecan crunch
2. In a small bowl, thoroughly toss together the pecans and brown sugar. Stir the vanilla extract into the melted butter, and toss the pecans with the butter mixture until well coated. Set aside.
Make the brownies
3. Sift together the flours, cocoa, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. In a small bowl, toss the chocolate morsels with 1 ¼ teaspoons of the sifted mixture to coat. Set both mixtures aside.
4. In the top of a double boiler, over barely simmering water, heat the butter, unsweetened chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool until tepid.
5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the chocolate mixture and vanilla extract. Sift the flour mixture over the top and slowly whisk it in, mixing just until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels and chopped pecans (not the pecan crunch mixture).
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly, and smooth the top, using a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the pecan crunch evenly over the top of the batter. Bake the brownies for 40 to 45 minutes, or until puffed and set. A toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
7. Cool the brownies completely in the pan on a rack, then refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm enough to cut.
8. Cut the brownies into 16 squares. Just before serving, sprinkle a list dusting of sifted confectioners’ sugar over the top of the brownies, if you like.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Dark Victory Brownies

Dark Victory Brownies - made February 6, 2010 from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle

It's been a tough week. If ever I needed baking therapy, now is the time. I had all sorts of baking plans lined up this weekend just to get myself back on an even keel. But even I didn't expect to wake up at 2:30 am this morning and not be able to fall back asleep. I listened to the rain pounding on my roof for awhile (try 2 hours) then when it tapered off, I thought the silence would induce me back to slumber. By 5 am, I had stopped kidding myself and was in the kitchen pulling out butter and chocolate to begin my day.

This is from another awesome baking book called The Good Cookie. Tish Boyle was the editor for Chocolatier magazine (the only one I read cover to cover) and has a ton of great recipes in her books. I'd made this one before and chose to make it again because I had some sour cream I wanted to use up before next weekend. It's a pretty straightforward, "plain" brownie but I melted some caramels with whipping cream and layered that in the middle of the brownie. You can choose to do that or leave it plain - either way works. This picture is from a previous time I had made the brownie so don't look for the caramel in this one. This brownie takes add-ins pretty well and in the past I've added in chopped up candy bars, M&Ms, caramel, etc. It's easy to make, rich and fudgy - everything you could want in a brownie.

One time I gave this recipe to someone who wanted an easy brownie recipe but she said it didn't turn out very well. On quizzing her, I found out she used the pre-melted Baker's chocolate from the grocery store and I think Hershey's cocoa. Plus she might've baked it too long. Remember, you don't want the toothpick to come out clean - by then, it's too late and the brownie is overbaked. I use Valrhona, Lindt or Trader Joe's bittersweet chocolate (the solid kind that you melt yourself) and Pernigotti cocoa. Quality of ingredients really does make a difference.

Oh and true confession time. I accidentally forgot to put in the vanilla extract in this batch. I had the teaspoon out and the vanilla out so I don't know what I was thinking (or not thinking). I blame it on lack of sleep. But I just ate a taste test piece and the brownie was still okay without it. Regardless, don't do what I did though and please don't forget the vanilla.

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil so that the foil extends 2 inches beyond 2 opposite sides of the pan. Grease the foil.
2. In the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water, heat the bittersweet chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl.
3. Using a wooden spoon, beat in the cocoa powder and sugar until well blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Add the flour and salt and mix just until blended. Stir in the pecans.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely.
5. Using the foil as handles, lift the brownies out of the pan. Cut the brownies into 16 squares.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze up to a month.

Apple Cake with Maple Frosting

Apple Cake with Maple Frosting - made February 1, 2010 from Chocolatier Magazine, October 2006 issue

This is the 3rd apple cake recipe I've tried in a little over a week. What can I say, I can get a little obsessive when I'm trying out different recipes. The advantage of making the same type of thing in a short timeframe is you can really compare the different recipes and see what you like and what suits you. Although I have to admit, I took some liberties with this one since I don't believe in adding all those spices to the same cake. So I left out the cloves (and the walnuts) in the cake and omitted the maple flavoring, ginger and nutmeg from the frosting. Just went with good ol' cinnamon for the cream cheese frosting.

I liked this cake - the flavor was good although it had a softer texture than the other two cakes and was more fragile (i.e. not a good care package cake to send through the mail). I baked it for about 30 minutes but it could probably have been baked a little longer. At 30 minutes in my oven, the edges were done but the middle was still a bit soft. Once the cake was cool, the edges were fine but the middle was a little mushy. Because the cake texture was so soft, the apples were more of a contrast, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I always use Granny Smith apples for baking since they're more firm and don't turn into mush when being baked. I'm glad I didn't overspice it as I thought the cake tasted just fine with my modifications. For the frosting, make sure your cream cheese and butter are well blended before adding the powdered sugar. This is one time where you should try to have your ingredients at room temperature. Otherwise, your frosting will be more prone to lumps if you just beat them cold and don't mix them well enough. I also added about 1/2 cup more powdered sugar than the recipe called for because with only 1 cup, the frosting still seemed a bit too soft and runny.

Apple Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups peeled and chopped (1/3" pieces) Granny Smith apples (about 2 apples)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Maple Frosting
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

1. Make cake: Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of a 9" square baking pan. Dust pan with flour.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, spices, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In bowl of electric mixer, using paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions and mixing just until blended. Remove bowl from mixer stand and stir in chopped apples and walnuts.
4. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake cake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
5. Make frosting: In bowl of electric mixer, using paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese and butter at medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla extract, maple flavoring, spices and salt. Reduce speed to low, add confectioners' sugar and beat until well blended. Raise speed to high and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
6. Assemble cake: Frost top of cooled cake with frosting. Cut into squares and serve directly from pan.

Jane Bailey's Apple Cake

Apple Cake - made January 31, 2010

This recipe was given to me by Jane Bailey, an ASCSA friend I met some years ago. I'm not sure if she'd be okay with me publishing it so until or unless she gives me the greenlight, I'm going to hold off. I will say though that this is an excellent cake. I enjoyed last week's apple cake so much from the Baking by Flavor book that I thought I'd give another version a try. This is another recipe that I've had in my "Still Need to Make" folder for some time that, now that I've made it, I wish I'd made it sooner.

It's different from last week's cake in that it's more dense like a pound cake and not as cakey-cake (yeah, that's my technical baking term, haha). But it's delicious and quite easy to make. The outside is a bit crunchy and the inside is moist. I brought some to my parents' again today and my mom liked this one better than the one I made last week. She even liked the cream cheese frosting because it "wasn't too sweet" (that's my parents' highest accolade).

As a followup to the Cinnamon Apple Cake, one of my online friends made it and asked whether she could use the nutmeg in the jar instead of freshly grated like the recipe calls for. Yes, you can, although I would use a bit less than what's in the recipe. I'm not overly fond of nutmeg or overspicing a cake in general so I'd err on the side of caution. Also, one thing I recommended to her if you make something like a Bundt cake and have to bring it somewhere "whole", i.e, you can't cut into it and get a taste test slice ahead of time, is to put a small amount of batter in an individual-size ramekin and bake it along with the Bundt pan. The amount you need for the ramekin won't be missed in the regular Bundt pan and you can taste what you've made to make sure it's up to snuff before you have to bring it somewhere.

Cupcakes from Sweet Passions Bakery

One of my coworkers, Rhuwena, asked me last week if I had tried the cupcake place at the mall near my house. "What cupcake place?" was my first shriek, er, reaction. A cupcake place so close by and I didn't know about it? Unthinkable. There's a Kara's Cupcakes at one of the malls near me (yes, of course, I've been to that one) but she meant the other mall across the street from it. Apparently, there's a kiosk there that sells cupcakes. Who knew? Rhuwena said her husband went there and got a really good banana cupcake. Now we're talking.

Armed with directions from her on the general location in the mall of the cupcake place, I set off to walk the half mile to the mall today. Yes, I'd walk that far for a cupcake. Heck, I flew across the country to Manhattan to try out bakeries so this was a - haha - (cup)cake walk compared to that. It turned out to be a kiosk-like stand that held refrigerated cases of cupcakes right outside Restoration Hardware - not a part of the mall I normally traversed, hence why I'd never seen it before. I made the guy tell me about all the different flavors they offered - they had at least 8-10 different flavors but half of them had some kind of jam in them so I skipped those. Instead I chose a red velvet cupcake (because I always like to try different red velvets) and a banana cupcake (per Rhuwena's recommendation). The impressive thing about the kiosk is each cupcake is already made and frosted and packaged in individual plastic takeout boxes. Not only that, but each little plastic takeout carrier was designed to hold the cupcake. Not only was it deep enough to accommodate the lofty rise of the frosting but there were grooves at the bottom of the carrier to hold that-size cupcake in place and keep it from sliding around in the little carrier. I was impressed. These people knew how to package cupcakes. Look closely at the banana cupcake below to see what I mean.

The kiosk is called Sweet Passions and their business card says they make their cupcakes fresh from their bakery (of the same name) in San Jose. I will have to find it someday and check it out.

As you might be able to tell, these cupcakes are not small. They're bigger than Kara's and are probably on par with the size of a Sprinkles cupcake although their frosting rises higher. I think I've mentioned before that I'm not much of a frosting person. I'm more about the cake. I tried the red velvet cupcake first. Here's the "before" picture:

I have to admit, as luscious looking as the cupcake was, I found it to be just "okay". Not that it wasn't good because it was. But, having made red velvet cake before, and had the pleasure of eating it when it was really fresh, barely cool from the oven, you can imagine I have high standards for cakes and cupcakes. This one was good but nothing I couldn't bake just a tad bit better myself. Hopefully that doesn't sound vain but I'm picky about my calories. Perhaps I would've enjoyed this more if I liked frosting more. The frosting was the whipped buttercream variety and also wasn't my thing. One of the reasons I like Sprinkles red velvet cupcakes more than the average cupcake is I like their frosting on that cupcake - it's dense and rich, not light and airy. I don't like "airy" in a frosting - the texture reminds me too much of whipped shortening and I don't like that either. Therefore, the "after" picture with the leftover frosting should make sense since I scraped almost all of it off. Notice that being just "okay" didn't stop me from eating all of the cupcake.

I meant to save the banana cupcake for tomorrow, I really did. But I walked a lot today and had to do some work which is guaranteed to make me crabby (working, not walking) plus I got a start on my taxes so somewhere in my convoluted thinking was that it was okay to have the banana cupcake too. Yeah, I'll pay for it on the scale tomorrow but the good news is, the banana cupcake was much better than the red velvet. It was moist and tasty, the way banana cake should be. I still didn't care for the frosting so I scraped nearly all of it off before even taking a bite. What I guess Sweet Passions does with their cupcakes is inject some of the frosting down the middle of the cupcake which you don't discover until you eat it so I couldn't quite avoid the frosting entirely (the red velvet had the same treatment). It was fine but I still would prefer it without frosting. I'll have to tell Rhuwena she (or her husband) was right on about the banana cupcake.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Almonds

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Almonds (sans Toasted Almonds and with Heath Bar toffee bits instead) - made January 25, 2010 from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

Earlier this week I was feeling pretty crappy. Everyone around me seemed to be sick with some kind of flu or cold but apparently my mind decided to go one better and skip the sneezing stage and go straight to headache, the occasional hacking cough and general malaise. Monday was bad and by Tuesday, I'd been "nursing" a persistent pounding in my temples for almost 24 hours. Not to mention feeling rundown in general. Did I mention it was only Tuesday? I skipped my Tuesday night Zumba class since I couldn't imagine doing a salsa or merengue without my head flying off my shoulders. But as I was driving home that night, I decided I'd had enough. I was feeling bowed down from all the work pressure I was under and the belief of sickness that I didn't need to hold onto. It was time to kick that nonsense to the curb. I wanted no part of it. I literally could feel my spine straightening in my driver's seat. My original plans when I got home were to crawl into bed and try to end the day comatose to escape it all.

Instead, I got home, cracked open one of my baking books and fished out this recipe. It was simple and straightforward and is one of my comfort foods - chocolate chip cookies. I made the dough in no time, let it chill in the freezer while I cleaned myself up from the day, and did a heavy strength-training workout while they were chilling. Then I baked a batch and ate a cookie while I watched the Biggest Loser (I know, I know, that seems so wrong. But I do it all the time). I felt fine and I've felt fine since then because I claimed health for myself and wasn't going to accept anything less. BTW, the cookies were pretty good too. It's your standard chocolate chip cookie but the edges were crisp and the middles were chewy. Can't ask for anything more from a cookie. They didn't spread as much as some of my other CCC recipes which is always a plus. Instead of almonds I substitued chopped up Heath Bars and used milk chocolate chips instead of semisweet (my standard substitutions for nuts and chips). I'd consider this another hit from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book.


½ cup whole natural almonds, toasted
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
8 ounces best-quality semisweet (58%) chocolate, coarsely chopped into ¼ - ½-inch chunks

1. Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Roughly chop the almonds into large pieces.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat for another minute.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three batches, mixing until no flour is visible after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Stir in the almonds and chocolate. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 1 hour. (If you’re really impatient or hungry, spread out the dough on a tray or cookie sheet, lay a sheet of plastic wrap flush against the surface of the dough, and freeze so it chills up fast.)
7. Once the dough is chilled, turn it out onto a clean work surface and divide it in half. Roll each half into a log about 12 inches long. Refrigerate the logs for at least 30 minutes before slicing. (At this point, you can wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and freeze for up to 1 month.)
8. Cut the logs into 1-inch slides, and place them about 1 ½ inches apart on each cookie sheet. Bake for 13 to 14 minutes, or until the centers no longer have a glossy look of raw dough. They should be chewy, so do not overbake.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 weeks. Do not uncover before defrosting.

Asian-Style Country Ribs

Asian-Style Country Ribs - made January 24, 2010 from allrecipes.com

I took the liberty of making some changes to the recipe (3 1/2 weeks of cooking and look how bold I've gotten). I didn't have Sriracha (never even heard of it) so I substituted red pepper flakes instead. I didn't have limes so I used freshly squeezed lemon juice in its place. Lastly, I didn't want to make it in the crock pot as in my experience the food gets liquidy so I baked these for 3 hours in the oven instead.

The results of my changes were both good and only okay. I did marinate the ribs overnight, for almost 24 hours in fact, so they were pretty tasty. But because I baked them, they weren't as tender as if they'd been in the crock pot for hours. I started out the oven temp at 350 degrees and kept lowering the temp over the 3 hours as the ribs were cooking but also starting to dry out and I was running out of marinade to baste them with but they still weren't as tender as I would've wanted. Next time I'm going to cover the pan with foil and bake it at 325 degrees to start with and be ready to bake them for longer than 3 hours. Overall, these were pretty tasty but I think I prefer the American-Style ribs from Donna Hay's book as that had actual "sauce".

Here's the link to the recipe

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Asian-Style-Country-Ribs/Detail.aspx