Lunchbox Brownies

Do you know what makes "lunchbox" brownies? Well, until yesterday, neither did I. But here is what I learned:

Lunchbox brownies are not too cakey so that they go stale, but they're not too fudgy so that they make a huge mess. They sit comfortably in the middle. Evidently, the middle is good.

According to my hubby (self-renowned foodie) these are just the very best brownies he has ever put in his belly. He actually demanded that I make another batch "as soon as possible.....which means today" (since the first batch is already gone, partly due to him and partly due to our Family celebration yesterday)

This is his first brownie from this batch. My hubby loves whipped cream, can you tell?

Now, I did follow the recipe exactly.....until it came to the "additions". I threw in (no kind of actual measurement) some milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and a little chopped pecan. Yummy.

This recipe was super easy to make and pretty quick. It makes a full 9 X 13 pan, so enough to go around a decent size crowd (or a couple of serious brownie lovers). They aren't too rich that you have to eat a teeny piece, but they're fudgy enough to satisfy the chocolate lover. A really good and happy medium.

Wanna make them? Here ya go:

Lunchbox Brownies

1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 C sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Generously butter a 9 X 13 pan; set it aside

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside

3. Place the butter and chocolate in a bowl and put in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat at 15 second intervals until chocolate is completely melted. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. (You can also use a double boiler to melt the chocolate and butter together, if you prefer)

4. Beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture with a whisk or with an electric mixer at medium speed (I recommend the electric mixer, you'll see why in just a second); continue beating until the mixture is well-blended. (About 6 minutes by hand or 3 minutes with the mixer) Beat in the eggs one at a time, allowing each to be thoroughly incorporated before adding the next. After beating in the third egg for 1 minute, beat in the vanilla.

5. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Do not beat, although the batter will be very thick. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it gently to the corners.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Set the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool for 30 min - 1 hour.

7. Cut and serve. This will make 24 - 2 1/4 X 2 1/8 brownies.

*After cooling completely, you can wrap with plastic wrap and they'll stay fresh for up to 2 days. If you wrap them (individually) tightly with wax paper and seal in a freezer-safe bag, they can freeze for up to 4 months (allow them to thaw at room temperature before serving).

**To vary this recipe:
Whisk one of the following spices into the flour mixture - 2 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp ground mace.
Add one of the following flavorings with the vanilla - 2 tsp banana extract; 2 tsp orange extract; 1 1/2 tsp maple extract.
Stir in 1 1/4 C of any of the following mix-ins (or 1 1/4 C of any combination of the following) with the flour mixture - chopped candy bars; honey-roasted walnuts; chopped malted milk balls; chopped pecans; chopped hazelnuts; cocoa nibs; crumbled Oreo cookies; dried blueberries; dried cranberries; milk chocolate chips; peanut butter chips; white chocolate chips; pinenuts; Raisinets; shredded coconut; shelled sunflower seeds; plain or chocolate-covered espresso beans; or just about anything you love!

I leave you with a bite:

If you feel like sharing....I'd love to know what makes your ultimate brownie? Fudgy? Cakey? What do you like in your brownies?

Enjoy!
-Erica

PS) Don't forget to enter to win Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook here.

Our first CUPPIE SOCIAL!

I was so very excited to include a "Cuppie Social" in our last FFNOW event! We had bakers contribute their favorite recipe and bake a dozen (or in some cases more) to share!

I ended up baking FIVE dozen cuppies to share at the event! It was fun, but a bit overwhelming, honestly. I pulled out a book that I have never consulted before, 125 best Cupcake recipes. I was pleasantly surprised. There are a lot of great recipes in there....125 to be exact. :)

Okay, so I baked the French Toast cuppies, Chocolate Mint cuppies, Chocolate Chip Cookie cuppies, Banana Nutmeg cuppies, and the Chocolate Peanut Butter cuppies. All of which were good....but the French Toast cuppies were FAB-U-LOUS! Really. If you like french toast or maple in general, those are for you!

Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry that I didn't get to take pictures of all the cuppies, which makes me sad. But I was able to get a picture of the Chocolate Mint cuppies before we went....and I had a couple left over that made it home with me, so you get pictures of those too!


Chocolate Mint with Chocolate Mint buttercream and a junior mint on top!


Chocolate Chip Cookie cuppie with Chocolate buttercream dollop in the center!


Banana Nutmeg cuppie with powdered sugar sprinkled on top - delightful!


French Toast cuppie - we split it open and doused it with some more maple syrup and sprinkled it with powdered sugar - just awesome!

Some of the other cuppies that were there:
Pineapple Upside Down cuppies
Pina Colada cuppies (which won the grand prize)
Jones soda cuppies
Strawberry Ice Cream Cone cuppies

I'll get the recipes up here for you all lovely people soon.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Caramel Chocolate Cake

As promised - here is a highlight from The Lady & Sons Just Desserts Cookbook.

This is the 1,2,3,4 cake (first recipe in the book) with the Caramel Filling (from another cake) and the Chocolate Frosting (from yet another cake). So, I combined 3 luscious desserts into one beautiful baby.



This is one of the easiest and tastiest cakes I've ever made. Honestly, I've never had a cake bake so evenly (and level) before either! I didn't have to level them off before I stacked them - super! The cake was very moist and had the perfect crumb. Delish!

Now, as you can imagine...sometimes these goodies look so good it is hard for me to contain myself long enough to take good pictures to show you all. Well, evidently it is much harder on my 4-year-old daughter than me. *giggle*giggle*



Look at that expression! I couldn't help but turn the focus onto her when I seen her eyeing the cake from across the table.

She kept asking me for a taste, over and over and over again. All I kept saying was, "Hold on, Love. We'll get to eat it in a minute." Poor thing. What torture, yeah?

Waiting. Staring. Drooling.

Four years old and she already knows pain.

*LOL*

Just so you all know, I'm not totally brutal. The child did get a piece of cake after I took pictures. All is well in her world again.

So, have you entered the contest yet? It ends TONIGHT at 5 PM Eastern.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Peppermint Patties - Homemade

So, I was feeling like I needed some time in the kitchen today....just the two of us. We're best friends, you know? I went to my shelf and picked out a book that I haven't used yet. Sweet Temptation by Nicki Trench. To be honest with you, I was a little disappointed after getting this book. I'm not a fan of fondant, never have been. This book uses a LOT of fondant....therefore has a LOT of recipes I'll never use. None-the-less, I have the book and wanted to use it.

I decided to make the Peppermint Patties....called Peppermint Creams in the book.

The recipe is very simple, 4 ingredients (and actually only 3 of them are necessary) total and voila!

You start with powdered sugar and a lightly beaten egg white (it should be a little frothy-looking). It'll be runny at first:


Then, as you add more powdered sugar, it'll become more thick....so thick and chunky and dry-looking that you won't be able to stir it with a fork any longer:


After this point, you can add in the peppermint extract (or you could be really daring and use another kind of extract) and the food coloring (optional). You'll need to start working the dough with your hands until you get a nice "doughy" ball that is evenly colored (if you used dye) and smooth:


Now, this is where I deviated in a big way from the recipe (other than the fact that I never measured the powdered sugar. *smile*

The recipe says to roll the dough out and cut the circles with cookie cutters. I thought that I'd end up wasting a lot of the 'dough' that way, since the dough will dry out quite quickly, I probably wouldn't be able to reuse the scraps after cutting the first set. So, to alleviate this problem, I just pulled off little bits of the dough and rolled them into balls.



I used a small glass cup and dipped it into some powdered sugar and then flattened the balls. Yes, the edges will be cracked (but I didn't care), unless you flatten the balls as you go. Then they wouldn't have time to dry slightly on the edges and would be easier to flatten without cracking.



Now, you can stop here and end up with something similar to those "after-dinner mints" that come in those pastel colors...but I wanted chocolate! So, we decided to dip half of them into some semisweet chocolate. Which, I think, made them look pretty anyway.....and of course everything tastes better with chocolate.



We were able to get 26 little mints out of one batch. The recipe never says how many they 'suggest' you'll get out of it.

Here is their recipe:

1 3/4 C powdered sugar
1 free-range egg white
peppermint extract
food coloring (optional)

1. Lightly grease a large piece of waxed paper. Sift approximately two-thirds of the sugar into a mixing bowl. Lightly whisk the egg white with a fork until it is lightly frothy. Pour the beaten egg white into the icing sugar, add a few drops of peppermint extract, and mix with a fork until all the ingredients are combined.

2. Add the remaining sugar a little at a time and continue mixing until the dough is too stiff to mix with a fork. Finish mixing with your hands until the mixture has a doughy consistency. Taste and add more peppermint, if necessary. Keep your hands dusted with sugar so that the mixture doesn't stick to your fingers. Add a few drops of food coloring if desired.

3. Dust your work surface with powdered sugar and roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch. With a small round cutter, cut out the peppermint creams and lay them on the sheet of waxed paper to dry.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Chocolate Almond Kahlua Cheesecake

It is that time again, my friends! The Daring Bakers have been busy in April........creating CHEESECAKE! Cheesecake of all kinds, sweet and savory. Glorious cheesecake. I was excited! I love cheesecake!

Me? I went for something different than I've ever made before....and it was yummy!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

So, we pretty much had tons of freedom on this challenge. We could add flavors, change crust, etc. Which was fun....and interesting. To see what the other Daring Bakers came up with (and there are some truly phenominal creations), go here.

So, I started with the basic recipe and added 1/4 C of cocoa powder. For the vanilla, I substituted almond extract and for the liquer, I used French Vanilla Kahlua. YUMMY!

Once I had the crust ready, I sprinkled white chocolate chips over it. Then covered it with the cheesecake mixture.



Once it was set and ready....I covered it with a chocolate almond ganache. So delightful, really. Then, for just one more OOMPH! I sprinkled more white chocolate chips on top of the ganache (before it had set, of course).



This recipe is fantastic! The cheesecake is creamy....sets perfectly....and did you notice....NO CRACKS! I have been using a "water-bath-like" method for a long time to prevent cracks in my cheesecakes. I did it the same way this time.....just put a pan of hot water on the shelf below my cheesecake....BUT I put the pan of water in as soon as I turn the oven on for pre-heat. That way it gets the oven ready for my cheesecake. I find this to be a great method.

One last beautiful shot:


Here is the recipe we used (you should try it and get creative on your own!)

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Some variations from the recipe creator:

** Lavender-scented cheesecake w/ blueberries - heat the cup of heavy cream in the microwave or a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add 2 tbsp of lavender flowers and stir. Let lavender steep in the cream for about 10-15 minutes, then strain the flowers out. Add strained cream to cheesecake batter as normal. Top with fresh blueberries, or make a quick stovetop blueberry sauce (splash of orange juice, blueberries, a little bit of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon - cook until berries burst, then cool)

** Cafe au lait cheesecake with caramel - take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal. Top cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce (I usually find one on the food network website - just make sure it has heavy cream in it. You can use store-bought in a pinch, but the flavor is just not the same since its usually just sugar and corn syrup with no dairy).

** Tropical – add about a half cup of chopped macadamias to the crust, then top the cake with a mango-raspberry-mandarin orange puree.

** Mexican Turtle - add a bar of melted dark chocolate (between 3 and 5 oz., to taste) to the batter, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of cayenne pepper (about 1/8 tsp.). Top it with pecan halves and a homemade caramel sauce.

** Honey-cinnamon with port-pomegranate poached pears – replace 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/2 cup of honey, add about a teaspoon or more (to taste) of cinnamon. Take 2 pears (any variety you like or whatever is in season), peeled and cored, and poach them in a boiling poaching liquid of port wine, pomegranate juice/seeds, a couple of "coins" of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, and about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Poach them until tender, then let cool. Strain the poaching liquid and simmer until reduced to a syrupy-glaze consistency, then cool. Thinly slice the cooled pears and fan them out atop the cooled cheesecake. Pour the cooled poaching syrup over the pears, then sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds.

Some variations from Jenny (from JennyBakes):

**Key lime - add zest from one lime to sugar before mixing with cream cheese. Substitute lemon juice, alcohol, and vanilla with key lime juice.

**Cheesecakelets - put in muffin tins, ramekins, or custard cups. Try baking 20-35 minutes, or until still a little jiggly, and cool as before.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Gooey Turtle Brownies

Chocolate. Caramel. Pecans. Brownies.

Need I really say more?

I love brownies. I love chocolate. I love caramel. I love nuts....any kind of nuts, just about. When you put them all together, it is a celebration.



These brownies are not for the faint-hearted. These are chewy, gooey, rich, decadent, fudgy brownies. Mmmmmmm.

I started with a double chocolate brownie base with pecans. Two kinds of chocolate in there, my dear. Sprinkled with chocolate morsels and pecans.



I baked them for about 40 minutes....they looked delightful straight out of the oven. I could barely keep my hands off of them!



Oh, but this is where it gets *really* good.


Bring on the CARAMEL! Lots of it!

After the caramel set, I smothered them in even more chocolately goodness. A rich chocolate ganache. Delightful.

I was so anxious, I didn't wait for them to cool all the way. I know, I know....shame on me. But, I'm willing to bet you would've done the same thing. Let's be honest. Yeah, I thought so.



Double-Chocolate Brownies

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 C butter, softened
2 C sugar
4 large eggs
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 C chopped toasted pecans
3/4 C semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 350 F. Microwave chocolate in a small bowl at MEDIUM for 30-second intervals until melted. Stir chocolate until smooth.

Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended. Add flour and salt, beating at low speed just until blended.

Stir in vanilla, 1/2 C pecans, and 1/2 C chocolate morsels. Spread batter into a greased and floured 13 X 9 pan. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 C pecans and 1/4 C chocolate morsels.

Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares.

YIELD: 32 brownies

Note: Freeze brownies in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

After my brownies set, I poured the caramel and chocolate ganache over them.

For the caramel:
12 caramels, unwrapped
1 Tb heavy cream

Melt over low heat, stirring often, in a small saucepan. Pour over brownies.

For the ganache:
1/4 C semisweet chocolate
1 Tb heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Melt over low heat, stirring often, in a small saucepan. Pour over caramel.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Creme de Menthe Cheesecake

Ok - can we all say (together now) - YUMMY!!!

This was one of the best cheesecakes I have ever tasted! :)

A friend of mine, Mike DiDomenico, is a Pampered Chef Consultant. We were having a party at my house over this past weekend and he made this dessert for us! Needless to say, we were one bunch of HAPPY women that day! LOL

I will make this myself in the upcoming months....so be on the lookout for another post on this baby with "behind the scenes" pictures to accompany!


Here is the recipe:
A layer of crème de menthe candies in the center of the cheesecake gives this dessert a minty surprise.

Ingredients:
Crust and Filling
14-16 creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (1 1/4 cups/300 mL finely crushed)
4 pkg (8 oz or 250 g) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (250 mL) sugar
4 tbsp (60 mL) all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 tsp (2 mL) Double-Strength Vanilla
4 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup (125 mL) sour cream
8-12 drops green food coloring (optional)
2 pkg (4.67 oz each) crème de menthe chocolate candies, unwrapped, divided (about 56 candies total)

Topping
3/4 cup (175 mL) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) thawed frozen whipped topping
7 crème de menthe chocolate candies (reserved from filling)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). For crust, lightly spray sides of Springform Pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line sides of pan with two 3 x 15-in. (7.5 x 38-cm) pieces of Parchment Paper. Press cookie crumbs onto bottom and slightly up sides of pan. Bake 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack.
2. For filling, place cream cheese, sugar, 3 tbsp (45 mL) of the flour and vanilla into Stainless (4-qt./4-L) Mixing Bowl; beat on medium speed of electric hand mixer 3 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs; mix on low speed 2 minutes. Add sour cream and food coloring, if desired; mix until smooth.
3. Set aside seven of the candies for topping. Cut remaining candies in half crosswise and toss with remaining 1 tbsp (15 mL) flour. Pour half of the filling into crust. Arrange candies, slightly overlapping, over filling; gently spoon remaining filling on top. Bake 55-60 minutes or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken (center will firm as it cools). Remove from oven to cooling rack; cool completely, about 3 hours.
4. For topping, place chocolate morsels, whipped topping and reserved candies into Small Micro-Cooker®. Microwave on HIGH 1 1/2-2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring after each 30-second interval. Spread topping over center of cheesecake using Small Spreader. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Yield: 16 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 500, Total Fat 34 g, Saturated Fat 22 g, Cholesterol 120 mg, Carbohydrate 41 g, Protein 8 g, Sodium 250 mg, Fiber 2 g

U.S. Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2½ starch, 7 fat (2½ carb)

Cook's Tips: To make a cheesecake with the creamiest texture, bring ingredients to room temperature before beginning the recipe.

Arrange candies slightly overlapping over bottom layer of filling. Gently spoon remaining filling over candies, being careful not to disturb candies.

To prevent overbaking, check cheesecake at minimum baking time given. When done, a center area about 1 in. (2.5 cm) in diameter will still jiggle slightly. The center will firm as it cools.

To freeze cheesecake, wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. To thaw, place covered cheesecake in refrigerator for 24 hours.


Here is a picture (not a great one, though) of the whole thing....which didn't survive long! LOL



I do believe that the original recipe is from Pampered Chef...so THANKS! :)

Enjoy!
-Erica

February Challenge - Daring Bakers!

Alright - so I am excited to present my very first Daring Bakers' Challenge!

A Chocolate Valentino! When that was posted - I was thrilled!!! I love cake, I love chocolate, and I love to try new things! All of which fit the bill here. :)

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

February’s challenge is a Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino, inspired by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. Recipe comes from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan.


OK - so my first attempt, I wanted to be bold and try a White Chocolate Valentino. Well....here it is:



Looks OK, right?! WRONG!



This is what it looked like after I tried to get it out of the pan. :( I was sad! So, I posted to my fellow DB'ers for help. Turns out....if you use White Chocolate, you need to cut the butter in half! I didn't know that, obviously. LOL

Alright, so back to the drawing board. :) I decided I was just going to go with a semi-sweet chocolate this time.

VOILA!



Here is a nice little slice (and yes, I mean little - this baby is RICH!)



Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to try to make the ice cream. :( I've been REALLY busy with school and such lately.

Anyhoo - I'm really excited about my first DB Challenge and look forward to future challenges! :)

Here is the recipe used (and below you will find recipes for ice cream!):

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.

3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.

4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).

5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.

8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C

9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.

10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)

(you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.)

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuseLift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.

2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy.

3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time

4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.

5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)


Wendy's Ice Cream Recipe
Vanilla Philadelphia Style Recipe
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

2 cups (473 ml) of half and half (1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of whole, full fat milk)
1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream
2/3 (128 grams) cup sugar
Dash of salt
1 (12 grams) tablespoon of vanilla

Mix all ingredients together (we do this in a plastic pitcher and mix with an emulsifier hand blender-whisking works too).
Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer
Mix in your ice cream maker as directed.


David Lebovitz link for making ice cream if you do not have an ice cream freezer.

Links to helpful tips:
Folding video demonstration.
Egg Whipping video demonstration.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Chocolate-y Buttersweets

Think thumbprint cookies......only better! These rich, dreamy treats have a creamy filling with coconut and walnuts - topped with a chocolatey glaze.

Can we say - YUM?!

I took a recipe from Best of the Bake-Off Cookbook (Pillsbury - 2008) and tweaked it. The first time I made these treats the cookies spread and didn't have this nice shape....so back to the drawing board on that one. Once I added a couple things VIOLA! Then, I used almond extract in the filling instead of vanilla. That really kicked it up a notch and made the filling into an "ultimate" filling.

I'll be creating these babies for an upcoming party - for sure!

Enjoy!
-Erica

Chocolatey Peanut Butter Bars

Talk about delicious!!! YUM YUM! I had a hard time not digging into these before they were ready. :) Though, one of my favorite combinations IS peanut butter and chocolate. What a winning combo, right?

A peanut-buttery crust with a gooey, chocolatey filling....sprinkled with pecans and coconut....then even more peanut-buttery goodness crumbled on top to finish!

This recipe is a whopper! Made in a 9 X 13 pan, this could easily serve 2 dozen people or more.

Enjoy!
-Erica