Bake Chocolate Cake

Easy Valentine Chocolate Brownies

2012-02-10T15:27:00.000-08:00

Chocolate brownies are fabulous desserts that can easily be packed in a lunch or served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

There are hundreds of brownie recipes, but I have found that some of them can be quite time consuming and they require a lot of planning ahead.

I think the recipe for Double Chocolate Brownies is the very best, but it takes a little bit of effort and costs more to make, especially if you use a high quality chocolate.

When I am rushed for time and I do not have my favorite chocolate bars in the pantry, I make this easy brownie recipe instead.

I came up with this recipe for those days when a chocolate dessert sounds good but I don't want to go to the store for special ingredients or spend a lot of time melting chocolate.

This recipe is not too sweet and not too buttery. It is the perfect consistency to serve with vanilla ice-cream or a tall glass of milk.

If you prefer a slightly more buttery brownie add an additional 3 Tablespoons butter to the batter.

The basic recipe is quick and easy.

Super Simple Chocolate Brownies

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark - whatever you have in the pantry)
1/2 cup butter (pop in the microwave to melt)
2 Tablespoons water
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder (Nestle works great, but any unsweetened cocoa will do)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Optional Topping:
mini marshmallows if desired

Here is the easy part:

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

In a separate bowl mix all other ingredients.

Stir dry ingredients into the mix along with the chocolate chips.

Spread into a prepared 13x9x2 pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake 350 degrees for about 28 minutes. (Test by sticking a toothpick into batter 1-inch away from the edge of the pan. If it comes out clean it is done. Do not overbake). Cool. Wrap individual brownies in plastic wrap.

FOR OPTIONAL TOPPING:

If you are using marshmallows there are two options:

1. Place them on top right before it goes into the oven to bake. This will leave a slightly carmelized coating on the brownie when they are baked, or

2. Sprinkle marshmallows on top after 20 minutes of baking. Return to oven to finish.

Wrap leftover brownies in plastic wrap and store in an air tight container.

Valentine's Day Treat

For a special Valentine's treat, use a heart shaped cookie cutter to make heart shaped brownies. Press gently into cooled brownie. Carefully remove heart.

Hearts are also great for school lunches or a special surprise at work.

Hello, Cupcake!

2008-04-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make

I spent an afternoon making cupcakes inspired from the designs shown in Hello, Cupcake! a new book by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. It was a lot of fun!

The owls were the easiest to make since they only require a few basic items: Oreo cookies, chocolate frosting, Junior mints and a yellow candy for the beak (I didn’t have any of the banana shaped Runts mentioned in the book, so I used a yellow M&M).

The most difficult part was separating the two Oreo cookie halves, but the suggested few seconds in the microwave made it much easier.

I chose to make the regular size cupcakes, but you can also make mini owls by using mini cakes and mini Oreo cookies. The results are great.

The slumber party required a few more steps. I didn’t have a vanilla wafer cookie for the heads, so I ended up cutting off the top part of the cupcake and making a mini circle for the head. Following is a picture of the assembled pieces before decorating. I didn’t have any jelly beans for the feet, so I substituted M&M’s.

I decorated the face after assembling it. It was difficult to decorate the face at that angle. I was not happy with my results. In the future, I would decorate the face on a flat surface before assembling it.

The blanket is made out of Air Heads (or you can use Laffy Taffy). A few seconds in the microwave soften it enough to be able to roll it out into thin shapes. It is then easy to cut with scissors.

Buy the book. It is a lot of fun!

Following is the recipe I used to make peanut butter cupcakes. They are really good, but they need to be eaten within two days. They tend to dry out quickly.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 3 Tablespoons milk

Beat butter with sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture alternating with milk.

Fill cupcake holder 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes in a 350 degree oven for 15 or 20 minutes.

Frost with vanilla frosting or Nutella.

The Best Vanilla Frosting

2008-03-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

I have been busy this month decorating birthday cakes. Following is a recipe for the best vanilla frosting.

This frosting is extremely smooth and it is easy to use for decorations and borders. *If you are decorating a 9-inch cake, plan to double this recipe.

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted *
½ cup butter (if using unsalted add ¼ teaspoon salt)
1 1/2 Tablespoons milk (may use up to 2 Tablespoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat butter for about 4 minutes until very soft. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the sifted powdered sugar and mix on a low speed to combine.

Add milk and vanilla.

Mix on medium-high for 4 minutes. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

I know this seems like a lot of beating, but that is what makes this frosting extremely light and fluffy. It is wonderful!

Herbes de Provence Bread

2008-03-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

I came up with this recipe one day when I was experimenting in the kitchen. The aroma while it is baking is amazing!

Herbes de Provence is usually sold as a mixed herb, but sometimes it is difficult to find. It is a combination of winter savory, thyme, rosemary, basil, tarragon and lavender flowers.

This is a great recipe to make in a bread machine. (And Bread Machines make life so much easier).

4 cups bread flour
¼ cup whole ground Flax Meal
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
½ teaspoon dry Basil
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons walnut oil
1 ½ cups water

Add flour, Flax Meal, Herbes de Provence, basil and salt to the machine. (If you do not have flax meal, just add another 1/4 cup flour)

Make a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast.

Carefully pour the water around the edges along with the walnut oil (olive oil can be used in place of the walnut oil if desired).

Before baking, if desired, sprinkle 3 Tablespoons of freshly shredded Parmesan Cheese on top.

This bread is really good hot, but it is even better the next day when the flavors have had a chance to develop.

St. Patrick's Day Shortbread Cookies

2008-03-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

Ever since someone put green food coloring into a loaf of bread for St. Patrick’s Day, I have not been a big fan of fake green food. The color does, however, work quite well in these shortbread cookies.

I was planning to make sugar cookies with powdered sugar frosting for St. Patrick’s Day, but when I discovered I would have to make an extra trip to the store just to get powdered sugar, I decided to alter my plan.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Enjoy.

Shortbread

½ cup butter, soft
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
This recipe is also very good with 1 teaspoon fresh lemon or fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 ¼ cups flour
6 drops green food color

Beat the butter until soft. Add sugar and continue to beat until light. Add vanilla, almond extract, salt, egg and food color. Mix well. Add flour and stir until combined. Do not over mix.

If you are ambitious and you want to cut shapes, this dough is very easy to work with. You don’t even have to roll it. Just gently flatten it with the palm of your hand on the top of a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Just be careful not to overwork the dough.

If you don’t have a clover cookie cutter, it is easy to use a small heart shaped cookie cutter instead. Just put three hearts together to form one clover.

If you are in a rush, just make round cookies by shaping the dough into 1-inch balls. Gently flatten each ball with your thumb. The dough should be about ¼ inch thick.

Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn light brown.

Store in an airtight container to keep the shortbread crisp. The vanilla/almond version makes a perfect accompaniment to a cup of hot chocolate.

Double Chocolate Brownies

2008-03-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, when it was still Peter Kump’s School of Culinary Arts, I took a chocolate class from Nick Malgieri. If you ever have the opportunity to take a chocolate class, I highly recommend it. It is not often that one has the opportunity to be in a room with over over twelve pounds of melting chocolate. The aroma is unbelievable.

Following is a revised version of one of the recipes we made in class.

Double Chocolate Brownies

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
¼ cup walnuts, chopped
¼ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 inch pan with parchment paper.

In a double boiler, melt butter and chocolate. (If you don’t have a double boiler, boil water in a pan and then remove it from the heat and place your bowl of chocolate and butter on top of the pot (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water).

Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, salt, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla.

Slowly whisk in the melted chocolate mixture. Fold in flour just until combined.

Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips (optional).

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top.

When cool, cut the brownies into individual serving size pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Place all of the wrapped pieces inside a plastic bag or sealed container.

Now for the difficult part. Wait one day before eating. (I'm not joking.) The chocolate flavor is much more intense if you wait.

In the Kitchen

2008-03-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

Chocolate. I love to watch the texture change as it slowly melts into a shiny liquid and fills the house with a wonderful aroma.

When I was a child, we often had cookies baking in the oven. I still remember the thrill of eating a hot chocolate chip cookie. I loved the chewy texture combined with the melted chocolate. It was a perfect treat with a tall glass of milk.

I still have a copy of the very first cookbook I received from my parents when I was nine. I can easily see which recipes I enjoyed making as a child because those pages are stained with ingredients that escaped the bowl during mixing.

I remember watching my granny bake in the kitchen. She taught me the secrets of making a perfect piecrust. She also made the most amazing candy. I can still picture her in the kitchen pulling large strands of taffy with her strong hands.

Today my time spent in the kitchen is usually around dinner when I am trying to think of something healthy to feed the family. What I really prefer to be doing is baking. I love the smell of different types of homemade bread baking in the oven. I love to make desserts and I enjoy the challenge of creating a beautiful cake or developing a new cheesecake recipe.

Most of all, I love chocolate. There is something about the aroma that fills the air when chocolate is melting that makes everything in the world seem okay.

I’m secretly hoping that this blog will give me the excuse to do a lot more baking. I plan to include fun recipes, photos and a lot of ideas. I hope you will visit often and hopefully the blog will encourage you to enjoy life and start baking.

When life gets too stressful just bake chocolate cake.

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