Chocolate Fondue and Pound Cake
Posted: February 16, 2013 Filed under: Cakes & Cupcakes, Dessert Recipes, Dips & Spreads, Vegetarian Recipes | Tags: cake, chocolate, desserts, fondue, food, recipes, vegetarian Leave a comment »
Chocolate fondue is a Valentine’s Day tradition for my family. I usually make this chocolate coconut cream fondue but I didn’t buy the ingredients I needed the last time I was shopping for food and didn’t want to go back to the store for just a few items. This year I had to make a fondue with stuff that was already in my pantry. I have a pretty well stocked pantry, so it wasn’t too hard. I used milk chocolate chips because my oldest son prefers them. I think semi-sweet would be good too.
Chocolate Fondue
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons milk, cream, or half and half
Heat the sweetened condensed milk in a heavy pan over low heat. Add the chocolate chips, butter, and cream and stir until the chocolate is melted and everything is combined.
Serve the chocolate fondue with various fruits, cookies, and cake for dipping.
I made this pound cake to go with our chocolate fondue. I usually buy a frozen Sarah Lee pound cake, but I didn’t feel like going to the grocery store so I just made this one. I have yet to find a perfect pound cake recipe. This one is very basic (although not a true pound cake). It’s good for making strawberry shortcake.
I got distracted by my 3-year-old son and overcooked the cake (I baked it for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Don’t do that). It was very dry (my oldest son mentioned something about a brick…), but we were dipping it in chocolate, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. I cut off the edges and the bottom and cubed it for the fondue.
Pound Cake
2 sticks (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter a loaf pan or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and salt. Add the flour, mixing on the lowest setting until just combined.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool cake for at least 10 minutes before removing it from the pan . Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Cheesecake
Posted: April 9, 2012 Filed under: Cakes & Cupcakes, Dessert Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes | Tags: baking, cheesecake, desserts, food, recipes, vegetarian Leave a comment »
This is a basic, plain cheesecake, but it is amazing. Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or with fresh sliced strawberries to make it extra special. A canned cherry or blueberry pie filling would make for a good topping as well.
Cheesecake
butter
2 lbs. cream cheese (4 8 ounce packages)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position in the oven and preheat oven to 350°.
Butter an 8” x 3” one-piece cheesecake pan all the way up to the rim. You will also need a larger pan (for hot water) to place the cake pan in while baking.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until it is completely smooth, frequently stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Once the cream cheese is smooth, beat in the vanilla, almond extract, and the sugar. Mix the batter well and then add the eggs one at a time. Continue to mix until the eggs are just incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared cheesecake pan. Place the cheesecake pan into a larger pan. Place it in the oven and pour hot water into the larger pan, about 1 1/2” deep.
Bake the cheesecake for 1 1/2 hours. The top of the cheesecake will be golden-brown, but will still be soft inside. It will firm up once it has cooled and been refrigerated.
Lift the cheesecake pan out of the water and place it on a rack. Cool the cheesecake in the pan for at least 2 hours. (Do not cool it in the refrigerator or the cheesecake will stick to the pan.)
Cover the pan with plastic wrap. Place a flat plate or small board upside down over the pan and turn the pan and the plate or board upside down. Carefully remove the pan.
Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the bottom of the cake. Gently place the serving plate upside down over the cake and carefully invert again (be careful not to smush the cake), leaving the cake right side up. Remove the plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.
Hint: It’s easier to cut the cheesecake if you dip a sharp knife in very hot water before making each cut.
Died and Went to Heaven Chocolate Cake
Posted: January 11, 2012 Filed under: Cakes & Cupcakes, Dessert Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes | Tags: cake, chocolate, desserts, sugar, vegetarian Leave a comment »
My son and I made this cake from Eating Well magazine and it turned out wonderful! It was so easy and really didn’t take much more time than putting together a cake mix from a box. It’s also nice not to have all the preservatives and unpronounceable chemical ingredients found in the typical box cake mixes. The grocery store was out of buttermilk, so I used soured milk instead (1 very full tablespoon of lemon juice and then enough milk to make the 1 1/4 cup required in the recipe).
Died and Went to Heaven Chocolate Cake
Makes 16 Servings
Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose white flour
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup hot strong black coffee
Icing
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons buttermilk or low-fat milk
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 12-cup Bundt pan or coat it with nonstick cooking spray. Dust the pan with flour, invert and shake out the excess.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Whisk in hot coffee until completely incorporated. (The batter will be quite thin.)
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes; remove from the pan and let cool completely.
4. To make icing: In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and enough of the buttermilk or milk to make a thick but pourable icing. Set the cake on a serving plate and drizzle the icing over the top.
NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 222 calories; 4 g fat (1 g saturated); 27 mg cholesterol; 43 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 2 g fiber; 274 mg sodium; 124 mg potassium.
3 Carbohydrate Servings
Recipe from EatingWell Magazine March/April 1995.
Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Posted: September 12, 2011 Filed under: Cakes & Cupcakes, Dessert Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes | Tags: buttermilk, cake, chocolate, coffee, cream, flour, sugar, vegetarian Leave a comment »
This cake is amazing! I’ve made it several times and it always turns out light and moist. It is deeply chocolate, but not too sweet. This cake is easy and fairly quick to put together. The recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate, but I have used semi-sweet chocolate with delicious results. I like to use Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips, which are inexpensive and easily found at most grocery stores.
Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Vegetable oil spray
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cu Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup strong-brewed coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 tablespoon butter
Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray. In a small saucepan, melt 2 ounces of the chopped chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Scrape the chocolate into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the oil and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the egg.
In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture along with 1/2 cup of the coffee and 1/2 cup of the buttermilk; whisk until smooth. Add the remaining dry ingredients, coffee and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out and let cool completely.
In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. In a heatproof bowl, combine the remaining 3 ounces of chopped chocolate with the corn syrup and butter. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Let the ganache glaze cool until thick but still pourable, about 5 minutes.
Pour the ganache over the cooled cake. Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, at least 30 minutes, before serving.
Recipe by Kate Neumann.
Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
Posted: October 13, 2010 Filed under: Cakes & Cupcakes, Dessert Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Leave a comment »
From January 19, 2009: It is my son’s birthday and we put together these cute and yummy cupcakes today. This recipe takes a boxed cake mix and makes it special. Totally disregard the instructions on the cake mix box and just follow this recipe. I used light sour cream and white cake mix.
Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
1 package Oreo cookies
1 (18 1/4 ounce) white or vanilla cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350°F Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set pans aside.
Crush 30 Oreos in a freezer Ziploc bag. Set aside.
Blend cake mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer. Blend for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as need. Fold in the 1 1/2 cups of the crushed Oreos (save the rest for decorating). Spoon or scoop batter until each paper liner is 3/4 full. Place the pans in the oven and bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes before moving the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
Frost with your favorite frosting (homemade or canned) and sprinkle the remaining crushed Oreos on top of the frosting.
Store in a sealed container at room temperature for about 3 days or refrigerate up to a week.
Blackberry Upside-Down Cake
Posted: June 24, 2010 Filed under: Cakes & Cupcakes, Dessert Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes | Tags: blackberries, desserts, vegetarian 2 Comments »
This is a great summer treat. Quick and super easy to throw together. Blackberry season is peaking right now, so fresh berries are ideal for this cake, but you can also use frozen berries. Defrost and drain (I also gently pat them dry with paper towels) the frozen berries before placing in the bottom of the pan. This is delicious served with vanilla ice cream. Although I never tried using other berries in the recipe, I bet raspberries and other fruits (peaches, cherries, or plums) would be delicious as well
Blackberry Upside-Down Cake
2 1/2 cups fresh blackberries (12 oz)
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line bottom of a buttered 8- by 2-inch round cake pan with 2 rounds of parchment paper, then butter parchment. Dust pan with some flour, knocking out excess.
Arrange blackberries in 1 layer in cake pan. Sprinkle berries with 11/2 tablespoons sugar and shake pan to help distribute sugar.
Whisk together 1 cup flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix at low speed until just incorporated. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk in 3 batches, mixing at low speed until just incorporated. Spoon batter evenly over berries, smoothing top, and bake in middle of oven until top is golden and a tester comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
Run a thin knife around edge of pan, then invert a large plate over pan and, using pot holders to hold plate and pan together tightly, flip cake onto plate. Peel off parchment and serve cake with ice cream.
