Italian Chocolate Balls

I've been baking like crazy this month...Cake and Cupcakes for Ben's 5th birthday party, a baby shower cake for a coworker and friend, cookies for The Great Food Food Blogger Cookie swap, cookies for a work cookie exchange....and then good old christmas cookies for family and friends. Woohoo! I've used some of my old standby recipes- Orange Drop Cookies (15 dozen made so far...woah!), Cutout Cookies (6 dozen), and Angeletti (3 1/2 dozen) as well as some new recipes. Preparing for Christmas stresses me out....but the baking relaxes me, which explains why I am making so many cookies!!

Two of the new recipes I tried came from a little box set of cookie recipes I found in the gift shop at the hospital I work in. It's called One Smart Cookie, and it's published by Daymaker inspirational gifts, and it has 50 cards with cookie recipes. It's a cute little gift set...and I have one to give away to one of you as well!

This is a great recipe...coconut, nuts and chocolate all rolled into one, and the best part is that it doesn't require any baking!

Italian Chocolate Balls adapted from One Smart Cookie
Makes 2 dozen


1/2 Cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup flaked coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tsp salt
1 16 oz bag milk chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips in large bowl, and stir  with wooden spoon until combined. Roll into small balls. Melt chocolate chips according to package directions, stirring until smooth. Dip* balls in chocolate and pace on waxed paper to cool.

* I have issues dipping things in chocolate...so I melted the chocolate, and spooned it onto each of the cookies. Might not be as pretty, but they're still a big hit around here!

Giveaway Time!- 

Leave a comment here telling me what your favorite christmas cookie is, and you're entered to win. You can gain additional entries by following Baked by Beth on  twitter and/or facebook and then leave me another comment with your handle(s). Winner will be chosen 12/30 and notified by email.

Congrats to Cindy B, the one and only entrant! Those are some odds...I'll email you to get your shipping info, Cindy. Enjoy the recipes!
Enjoy!

Remembering my Dad

My family and I celebrated my dad's life yesterday- a life that ended very unexpectedly 10 years ago. We decided to celebrate together this year, as the cooker boy has had a lot of questions about Pop Pop Jim.We had lunch at the beach, and Ben sent Pop Pop Jim some balloons.  I baked this cake, which was always my dads favorite...He called it "Schocolate cake with schocolate icing" as a kid...the Schocolate stuck even as he grew up, and it became a family joke. I wasn't into baking much when my dad was around, but I'm sure he's drooling over this cake from up above.

Ben and Mom releasing the balloons and Ben's note to Pop Pop Jim

I spent some time scanning old pictures and posting them on Facebook, as most of our family and friends are still in Ohio, and I wanted everyone to be included in the celebration. Several people posted great memories of my dad on my wall, and they were definitely fun to read. He was an incredibly funny guy, and that's what I miss the most.

Family Pictures

The recipes. I used the "Too Much Chocolate Cake" and Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting recipes for this cake. Talk about chocolate overload...exactly what my dad would have enjoyed!

Too Much Chocolate Cake from  AllRecipes.com

1 devils food cake mix
1 pkg instant chocolate pudding
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup warm water
4 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare (2) 9 inch cake pans with baking spray and set aside. In large bowl, combine dry ingredients and stir to break up lumps. Add oil, sour cream, milk and eggs and whisk until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into pans and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into center of cake. Cool in pans on wire racks until completely cool.

Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting from Hersheys.com

1 stick butter
2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter in saucepan and stir in cocoa power. Whisk until smooth and transfer into large mixing bowl. Alternate adding powdered sugar and milk, beating until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla extract and beat until just combined.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Big Birthday Cake for my Little Brother

My "little" brother turned 30 this year, and that makes me feel older than my own 30th birthday did! My brother is the general manager of a local bar, so we decided to celebrate his birthday there and let some of his staff and customers in on the celebration. I decided  I'd make two cakes for his birthday, one for our family dinner, and one for the celebration at the bar.

The big cake was a moist chocolate cake covered in chocolate ganache with a hint of Chambord, filled with the same ganache and seedless raspberry jam. Yum, yum, yum. I am a big fan of chocolate and raspberry, and this was the best combination yet! I also made a small amount of white chocolate ganache flavored with Chambord to use for decoration. Obviously I need to work on writing on cake...Ganache probably wasn't the easiest to start with! The white chocolate, however messy, was a great contrast to the rest of the cake,

This cake recipe is large..it made 2 full 9x13 layers! I ended up mixing the batter in halves based on the suggestion of Deb at Smitten Kitchen, the blogger I got the recipe from...the full recipe would have been way too much for my mixer to handle.

Chocolate Butter Cake with Bittersweet Chambord Ganache
adapted from  Smitten Kitchen

Cake:
5 1/3 C. cake flour
5 1/3 C. sugar
2 2/3 C. unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch process)
6 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 1/3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 2/3 C. buttermilk
5 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk
2 2/3 C. freshly brewed coffee
1 C. seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 9x13 inch pans with baking spray, and line bottom of pans with parchment paper.

Combine dry ingredients in large mixer bowl. Whisk ingredients until combined. Add buttermilk and butter and mix on low until moistened. Increase speed to medium high and mix until batter is light and fluffy, between 2-3 minutes.

Combine eggs and coffee in a medium bowl, and whisk until combined. Add to batter in 3 additions, scraping down the bowl after each addition and mixing until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pans, each pan uses about 5 1/2 cups batter.

Bake at 350 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Let cool in pans on wire rack 10-15 minutes, then carefully turn cakes out onto rack to cool completely.

Bittersweet Chambord Ganache

2 lbs bittersweet chocolate chips, I used Ghiridelli
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 C. heavy cream
1/3 C. chambord liqueur

Place chocolate chips in large bowl. Heat cream in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, removing from heat just before it boils. Pour over chocolate chips, and let sit for one minute. Whisk until smooth, then add butter, continuing to whisk until smooth. Stir in liqueur, and let cool to room temperature.

Assemble cake:

Place one layer on cake board and top with a thin layer of cooled ganache. Let ganache set, then spread 1 cup raspberry jam on top. Top with 2nd layer, and apply thin coat of ganache as a crumb coat to top and sides of cake. Let ganache set, then spread the remaining ganache over top and sides of cake. Top with fresh raspberries.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!!

Block O Grooms Cake

Soon after my brother Jason and his wife Monica started making wedding plans, Monica asked if I could make a surprise Groom's Cake for Jason. Of course I said yes...that was a no brainer! I knew I'd have my hands full, making 100 cupcakes as well as a surprise groom's cake..in a kitchen that wasn't mine, and trying to get the grooms cake finished without my brother finding out. I figured the best way to go was a Block O, since Jason attended the Ohio State University and was in the Ohio State University Marching Band. Our family is full of Buckeye fans...both the college "Buckeyes" as well as the candy ones. I decided to try to replicate a buckeye in the cake- chocolate cake filled with peanut butter mousse and topped with chocolate buttercream under the marshmallow fondant. I had my work cut out for me.

I did a trial run a few weeks before the wedding, to make sure everything worked out well. I originally planned just to ice the cake with red and white buttercream, but I didn't like the way it looked once it was finished. That's when I decided fondant was the way to go. I also knew this cake wouldn't be complete without the Candy buckeyes all Buckeye fans love!

All said and done, Jason knew we were trying to pull something over on him. None of us females are all that great at keeping secrets! I think he was happy with the cake though...and I know the guests enjoyed it!

Buckeye Cake recipes from many sources, listed below


Chocolate Cake: my favorite chocolate cake recipe x 2 and baked in 9x13 cake pans. Can be baked ahead and frozen if desired, as the assembly and decorating takes some time.


Peanut Butter Mousse Filling: from Cafe Johnsonia


2 C peanut butter, not natural
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 C heavy cream, chilled


In large bowl, mix peanut butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, mix until all sugar has been incorporated....this mixture will be thick! Set aside. In bowl (preferably chilled) of stand mixer, beat heavy cream with whisk attachment on high speed until soft peaks form. Using a large spatula, gently fold whipped cream into peanut butter mixture in two additions. The first lightens the mixture without deflating the whipped cream. The second lightens it even more, and smooths it out. Cover and chill until ready to assemble cake.


Chocolate Buttercream Icing from Brown Eyed Baker


2 C (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 C powdered Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
8 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled


Using whisk attachment of stand mixer, mix butter on high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl as needed. Add powdered sugar in small batches, and mix well on low speed after each addition. Once all powdered sugar has been added add vanilla and mix on medium speed. Add chocolate and continue to mix until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed. 


Marshmallow Fondant from Whats Cooking America with Peggy Weaver


1 16 oz package mini marshmallows
2-5 Tbsp water
2 lb powdered sugar
1/2 C shortening

Place marshmallows and 2 Tbsp water in large microwavable bowl. Microwave for 2-2 1/2 minutes, in 30 second increments. Stir after each 30 seconds is up. Remove from microwave, and add 3/4 of the powdered sugar to the bowl. Use a wooden or plastic spoon to stir to mix partially, then dump contents of bowl onto shortening covered work surface. Using your hands (also well greased with shortening), knead fondant like you would knead bread..I use the push, fold, turn and repeat method. Add the remaining sugar as you knead. If the fondant starts to stick to your work surface or hands, recover with shortening. If fondant starts to tear, add water, 1/2 tbsp at a time, kneading well after each addition. This is a lot of work...I find that it takes 7-8 minutes and several applications of shortening to get the fondant to a nice stretchable state. Shape into a ball, rub outside with shortening, and wrap in plastic wrap (2 layers) before refrigerating. I find the fondant easier to work with after being refrigerated. Let come to room temperature before attemping to knead. Color or flavoring can be added as you knead before rolling out. I covered my cake with white fondant, cut the "O" out of white fondant, then "painted" with red gel food coloring mixed with a little vodka. The alcohol evaporates, and it thins the gel enough to paint with. The green for the leaves I mixed food coloring with fondant and kneaded since it was such a small amount.

I suggest checking out Peggy's site for a great in-depth tutorial on working with Fondant, complete with pictures. I'm not doing the process justice,as I am still learning.


Candy Buckeyes: adaped from AllRecipes.com and previously posted on my site.

Cake preparation and assembly:
I baked my cakes ahead of time, wrapped in plastic wrap x3 layers and froze them. I had to transport all of my cooking utensils with me to West Palm Beach, so I wanted to make the process as easy as possible.

Made the mousse, stuck in the fridge, then made the frosting.

I drew the block O on wax paper and used that as a stencil for trimming the cakes before filling and frosting.
I also used a simple syrup to brush on the cakes for a little added moisture. Filled with mousse, stacked cakes, crumb-coated with a light layer of buttercream and stuck in the fridge.

While the crumb-coat was setting, I made the fondant. I didn't frost the cake until I had the fondant ready to go, as I wanted the fondant to stick to the buttercream well. I Cut out the block O, painted with red food coloring and let dry. Made the green fondant, and cut out my leaves. I adhered these pieces to the cake using a little bit of simple syrup. Tinted a little white buttercream red to pipe around the edges of the cake to give it a more finished look.

I made the buckeyes last, and placed them on and around the cake after I placed the cake on the dessert table.

One lesson learned: Warm, humid weather and buttercream don't mix...as the evening went on I noticed the fondant had cracked and started to slide a little. All in all, I was super happy with my first big fondant cake! I thought it looked great on the dessert table, and it gave the newlyweds a cake to cut for pictures!

Photo Courtesy of Dawn V. Gilmore Photography

Snickers Cake

Let me just start this post by saying that I'm head over heels in love. I'm in love...with this cake. I'm in love with the moist chocolate cake, with the creamy salted caramel buttercream, and the homemade sea salt caramel that's on top. None of these recipes are new to me, I've made and posted about them before..however, I did make a few small changes that I think made all the difference in the world. In fact, I think these changes elevated this cake from good to AMAZING. The Snickers Cupcakes I made for a bake sale at work a few weeks ago went over so well, that I thought I'd try to convert the cupcakes into a cake. I did, and it worked beautifully. Three days after it was decorated, it is still incredibly moist and perfect. This is a rich cake- definitely not low cal- but in my opinion, I'd rather eat cardboard than low-cal dessert!


The chocolate cake recipe I found on The Novice Chef Blog when I made the Snickers Cupcakes. The only adaptation I made was to use freshly brewed hot coffee instead of boiling water. I am not a coffee drinker, but I love what coffee does to the taste of chocolate when it's used in cake batter. There isn't the slightest bit of a coffee flavor to this cake- it just makes the cake super, super moist!


Printable Recipe: Snickers Cake

Chocolate Cake adapted from Hersheys.com 


2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare (2) 9 inch round baking pans with nonstick spray and circles of parchment paper cut to the size of the pan.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl, and stir with wire whisk until combined.  Add milk, oil, eggs and vanilla and beat with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in hot coffee until combined- batter will be runny.

Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool pans on wire rack for 10 minutes.

If you're going to frost the cake right away, turn cakes out of pans onto wire rack and cool completely.
If not, place the pans in the freezer for 20 minutes, then turn cakes out onto plastic wrap, and wrap each layer in 3 layers of wrap. Freeze until ready to assemble cake.

Sea Salt Caramel from Doughmesstic
* I doubled this recipe for the cake- and for some reason it didn't work as well as when I've made it as follows. However, the caramel tasted great- it was just thinner than normal, which worked to my advantage here!*


1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream

Combine cream and salt in a small saucepan and heat over low until salt is dissolved. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, add sugar and corn syrup. They will not combine well until the sugar starts to melt.
If you have a candy thermometer, cook over high until mixture reaches 350 degrees. If your child thinks the thermometer is a toy (like mine does), cook until the mixture is a light amber color. Remove from heat- the mixture will continue cooking, and the color will darken to a nice caramel color. ( I cooked it to the caramel color the first time, and while it looked great, the caramel had a very bitter taste..I burnt it. Thanks to Susan @doughmesstic for your help!)

Stir in the cream mixture and vanilla, then whisk in sour cream. Let the caramel cool to room temperature, and transfer to an airtight container to refrigerate.


Salted Caramel Buttercream


3 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sea salt caramel
2 lbs powdered sugar


Cream butter in a large bowl with electric mixer. Stir in caramel until combined. Add sugar in small batches, mixing on medium speed with electric mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. If thicker consistency is desired, add more sugar. At this point, my buttercream was creamy and perfect for spreading. I added a bit of sugar to the icing I had left over to get a good piping consistency.


To assemble cake:


Unwrap one frozen layer of cake, and place on cake board. Level with a serrated knife if necessary. I brush a little of my lovely sugar water (great tip from Bakerella) on top to keep the cake super moist. Spread a generous layer of buttercream on top. I chopped up a snickers and sprinkled it on top of the buttercream, and added a drizzle of caramel.


Top with second layer (trimmed and leveled if necessary), brush with sugar water if desired and apply a light layer of buttercream as a crumb coat to trap any loose crumbs. Place cake in freezer for 15-20 minutes to set crumb coat- it's ready when you can touch the frosting and not have any stick to your finger.


Spread a generous layer of buttercream of top and sides of cake. Pipe on top if desired, and if you're feeling super adventurous, flood the top with caramel before sprinkling on chopped snickers.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Brownies

I had a very interesting weekend at work. It ranged from moments of sheer boredom to what could have been moments of sheer panic if such a luxury was afforded in my profession. When someone else's newborn baby's life rests in your hands, there is no time for panic. You do what you've been trained to do, breathing for a baby that isn't breathing on it's own...while barely remembering to breathe for yourself. When it's all said and done, you go home on an adrenaline high...and barely sleep that night, reliving that experience over and over again.

I've said it before..I bake to clear my head. I definitely needed a clear head after my experience in Birth Care over the weekend. I'd attempted a new brownie recipe last week that didn't turn out right. I wanted to try brownies again, but I'd also seen a recipe for Dulce de Leche Cheesecake bars that looked good. I decided to take elements of both and make up a new recipe. Brownies, a layer of Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, a layer of Dulce de Leche, and a chocolate glaze. I wasn't sure if this would turn out or not, but it did...perfectly. The brownies are exactly what I envisioned-rich, creamy and decadent. The process of deciding how to put this recipe together and then making each of the elements definitely cleared my head and left me relaxed, just as I hoped it would.

I adapted elements from a few different sources to come up with these Brownies. The Brownie itself is from David Lebovitz via Cake or Death. The Cheesecake and Chocolate glaze come from Becky Bakes. The Dulce de Leche is from The Perfect Pantry. I only take responsibility for having a sweet tooth and wanting all of these goodies in one!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Brownies

First, the brownies.
8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour

Line an 8'x8' square pan by criss-crossing two sheets of foil to leave foil hanging over the sides of the pan. Grease the foil with butter or non-stick spray.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate, stirring constantly until the chocolate melts. Remove from heat and add cocoa powder, whisking until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add sugar, vanilla, and flour, whisking until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and set aside.

Now, my favorite part, the Dulce de Leche

I use the microwave version of Dulce de Leche. It's the only method I've ever used to make it, but I've had good results and it's fast. 

(2) 14 oz cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk

Pour contents into a large glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap with a little bit left uncovered to vent steam. Microwave for 2 minutes on 50% power. Remove from microwave and stir with wire whisk. Repeat for another 2 minutes at 50% power, remove and stir. Continue to microwave for 10-12 1/2 minutes, now in 2 1/2 minute increments, stirring after each. The milk will start to bubble up as it heats, and will darken in color. When the color and consistency look right to you, stop microwaving. It's that easy. Set aside and let cool, covering bowl when completely cool.

Next, the cheesecake...

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup milk
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup dulce de leche * recipe follows

Pour milk into a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top and let stand until it softens.

Beat cream cheese, eggs, salt and gelatin mixture together in a medium bowl using electric mixer on medium speed. Beat until smooth, then gently stir in dulce de leche.


Pour over brownie batter, and bake for approximately 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove from oven when cheesecake is lightly browned, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.

Immediately top with one cup of dulce de leche, cover with foil, and place back in the oven for a few minutes to soften the dulce de leche and make it spreadable without destroying the cheesecake layer. Remove from oven, and spread dulce de leche to cover cheesecake. Let cool.


Finally, the glaze.

3 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 stick butter
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate and corn syrup, and stir until chocolate is melted. Pour immediately over the brownies, and tilt pan to spread.

Refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes to set glaze. Then, cover and refrigerate until serving.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Snickers Cupcakes

Snickers Cupcakes- Heaven in a cupcake wrapper

These heavenly creations were made for a bake sale that is being held at the hospital I work for. The American Heart Association's Heart Walk is coming up soon, and several of the different departments at the hospital have formed teams and are raising funds before the walk. For some reason, my department (The Cardiopulmonary department) doesn't have a team...which is sad. Had I known sooner, I'd have volunteered to start one up. I was asked to bake for the bake sale that the Cardiovascular Intensive Care and Stepdown units are having for their team, as I work up in CVICU quite a bit. The nurses up there have seen my blog and some of my other goodies, and knew I'd love to make something for the occasion.

I saw a recipe on The Novice Chef Blog for 100 Grand Cupcakes, and they looked amazing. I wasn't able to get my hands on the mini 100 Grand bars for the first batch, so I went for Snickers. The thing that excited me most about the recipe was the Salted Caramel Buttercream, and that works well with either candy bar.

Snickers Cupcakes adapted from 100 Grand Cupcakes at The Novice Chef Blog
 Makes 30 regular sized cupcakes

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

10 snack size Snickers bars, cut into thirds and frozen
3-4 snack size Snickers bars, chopped for topping

Preheat oven to 350°F and line muffin tins with cupcake wrappers.

Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl and stir with wire whisk. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla  and mix with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be very runny).

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full with batter. Place in oven for about 8 minutes, remove trays and insert 1 candy piece into each cupcake. Place trays back in the oven for approximately 16 minutes.

Recipe Adapted from: Hersheys



Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting
3 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
1/2- 2/3 cup caramel topping depending on taste; plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 teaspoon salt



Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, salt and caramel syrup and combine well.

Add sugar in small batches, mixing well and scraping bowl after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, taste the frosting and add more caramel syrup if desired. For thicker frosting you can gradually add in a little more sugar.

Waiting for the finishing touches

Garnish with chopped  Snickers bars and a drizzle of caramel of caramel syrup.

The cooker boy (excuse the MJ glove)  with his cupcake..one happy camper!!

Enjoy..and let me know what you think!

Buckeyes+Cupcakes= Buckeye Cupcakes!

Go Bucks!! O-H-I-O!

Oh how I love chocolate..and peanut butter..and Buckeyes are the ultimate combination of the my two favorite substances! One of my good friends mentioned Buckeyes the other day, I think as a not-so-subtle hint that I should make some and bring them to work. So I thought about it. And this morning it dawned on me that I should not only make Buckeyes, but I should make cupcakes to put them on. So, I made both! All of my fellow Ohio State Buckeye fans will appreciate these! Go Bucks!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

What you will need:

30 Chocolate Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Icing (recipe to follow)

30 Mini Buckeyes (recipe to follow)

The chocolate cake recipe I used is the same as in this post.  The only difference is that i used cupcake tins, filling the cups 2/3 full, and baked for 27 minutes. I think next time I'll use another cake recipe, as this one works well in layers but the cupcakes were a little too moist, and fell apart a little too easily when taken out of the paper liners. Live and learn!

The Peanut Butter Frosting I improvised..I love buttercream frostings, but I was feeling in the mood for a cream cheese frosting..so I used elements of both!

Peanut Butter Frosting

Enough to frost 30 cupcakes

1 package cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

2 Cups creamy peanut butter

1 Cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

Mix cream cheese, butter and peanut butter with electric mixer till well blended. Add vanilla, and powdered sugar. Mix on medium speed until well combined.If necessary, add a tablespoon of milk to thin frosting. Increase mixer speed to high, and continue to mix until frosting is light and fluffy. Pipe or spread on cupcakes, and top with buckeyes.

Buckeyes

Adapted from Buckeye recipe at Allrecipes.com

30 mini and 20 regular sized Buckeyes

1 Cup creamy peanut butter

1 Stick unsalted butter, softened

3 Cups powdered sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla

3/4 package semisweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp. shortening

Combine peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in bowl with electric mixer until combined well. Mixture will appear dry. Place bowl in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

When mixture is chilled, roll into 30 small balls and 20 large balls, and place on wax paper on a baking sheet. Stick a toothpick into the center of each ball. Place baking sheet into freezer for 15 minutes.

In glass bowl over a pan of simmering water, stir chocolate chips and shortening until melted and smooth.

Remove peanut butter balls from freezer. Using an ice cream scoop to hold a small amount of melted chocolate, dip peanut butter balls into chocolate until they are 3/4 of the way covered. Place back on wax paper. Repeat with each ball. When finished, remove toothpicks and place buckeyes in refrigerator for a few minutes until chocolate hardens. Top each cupcake with a mini buckeye, and try not to eat the remaining buckeyes in one sitting!

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Awesome cakes for awesome friends! Part Two..

Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Ganache Filling and

Tiramisu Buttercream

Cake and Buttercream from Love and Olive Oil

(3) 8-inch cake pans used

Approximately 18 servings

3 3/4 cups cake flour (or 3 3/4 c all purpose flour, minus 1/2 teaspoon)

2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 1/3 cup buttermilk
5 whole eggs
2 egg yolks

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Prepare your pans- I use Baker's Joy spray, and place a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of each pan to aid in removing the cakes later.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl, whisking with wire whisk to make sure they're combined well. Add butter and 1 1/4 c buttermilk, mixing well on low speed with electric mixer. Increase mixer speed to medium, and beat 2-3 minutes and batter is light and fluffy.

In a second bowl, combine eggs, egg yolks, remaining buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Add liquid mixture to dry mixture  a little at a time, making sure the batter is mixed well after each addition.

Pour batter into pans, filling each pan approximately half full. Bake 28-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Remove cakes from oven, and cool in pans on cooling rack. Once layers are cool, turn out of pans onto cooling rack and cool completely. Turning out of pans too soon will result in a broken layer. Trust me. Been there done that, twice!

Chocolate Ganache from Savory Sweet Life

8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream

Heat cream over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Pour cream over chocolate chips in medium sized bowl. Let sit for a minute, then stir until chocolate is melted. Refrigerate for a 5 minutes to set. For this recipe, i wanted a pourable consistency for my filling, so I used it pretty quickly. For a spreadable consistency, refrigerate 30 minutes, removing from fridge often to stir and check consistency.

Tiramisu Buttercream

6 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoon instant coffee

In a glass bowl sitting over a pan of gently boiling water, beat egg whites and sugar until hot to the touch and it resembles marshmallow creme. Remove from heat, beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.  Add butter and vanilla,  beating well until combined and light and fluffy. Dissolve instant coffee in water, and add 1 tbsp at a time until desired flavoring is reached.

I'll post instructions for cake assembly later.

Let me know what you think!

Awesome cakes for awesome friends! Part One..

These are my awesome friends, Kaytie and Arni. Kaytie and Arni got married in Iceland (Arni's home country) a few weeks ago. Aren't they gorgeous?? Seriously, i think they moonlight as models!

While the wedding and reception were in Iceland, obviously not everyone could make the trip with them- so they held another reception last night, complete with the wedding dress and suit..like I said, absolutely gorgeous!

The food was great, pulled pork and ribs provided by Kaytie's dad..The man knows how to cook! Instead of having another wedding cake, a bunch of friends and family pitched in and provided a dessert buffet. This is where my cakes come in! I love to bake, I love my friends, I love to bake for my friends..so it was a no-brainer! I'd made an awesome (if i do say so myself) chocolate cake for Kaytie's birthday a while ago, so I offered to make it again (with some improvements and additions) along with another cake as well.

I made a Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling, Chocolate Ganache and Chocolate Buttercream topped with White Chocolate shavings, as well as a White Cake with  Chocolate Ganache Filling and Tiramisu Buttercream. I'll post one recipe today, and be back later with the other recipe as well as directions for assembling the cakes.

My contributions to the dessert buffet

Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling, Chocolate Ganache and Chocolate Buttercream



Cake and Raspberry filling
Adapted from Love and Olive Oil :

I made three (3) 8-inch layers, which provided about 18 servings.

3 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk (or mix 1 1/2 cups milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar and let curdle)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
 
Preheat oven to 300 degrees, and prepare your pans. I use Bakers Joy spray, and line the bottom of my pans with circles of parchment paper to ease in removing the cakes from the pans.
 
Pour the hot coffee over the chopped chocolate, and stir until chocolate is melted. I love this part, and I don't drink coffee!
 
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, and stir with wire whisk to assure they're combined.
 
In a second large bowl, beat eggs with mixer until they're thickened a bit, and have a nice light yellow color. Add the buttermilk, chocolate-coffee mixture, oil and vanilla slowly and beat until combined. Slowly add dry ingredients while beating on medium speed. Continue to beat until combined.
 
Divide the batter between your prepared pans- if using 8 inch pans, they'll be about half full.
 
Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven, and place pans on cooling rack. Once cool, turn cakes out of pans onto cooling racks, remove parchment paper and cool completely. Attempting to turn them out too soon results in a broken layer..Another lesson learned the hard way!!
 
Raspberry filling:
 
10 oz raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
 
Rinse or defrost raspberries, and combine in blender with sugar and cornstarch. Blend until smooth. If seedless filling is desired, press through mesh strainer to remove seeds. I leave the seeds in my filling.
I made a boo-boo and forgot to heat my filling, so it wasn't thick..but it still tasted great and worked well in the cake. If you're good at reading directions, like I very obviously am not, then go ahead and heat your filling over medium heat until it boils. Stir constantly. This, you direction followers, thickens the filling!!
 
 
Chocolate Ganache
From Savory Sweet Life
 
12 oz semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
 
Heat cream over medium high heat until it begins to boil. Immediately pour over chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl. Let sit for a minute or two, then stir until smooth. For a spreadable consistency, refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes, removing from fridge occasionally to stir and check consistency.
 
Chocolate Buttercream
Adapted from Savory Sweet Life
 
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp vanilla
4 tbsp heavy cream
1/8 cup cocoa powder
 
Beat butter with mixer until creamy. Add powdered sugar, a little at a time (again to avoid the massive white sugar cloud in the kitchen..no contact highs for my little guy..Sorry Ben!) until combined. Add vanilla, cream, cocoa powder and salt, and beat on medium speed until frosting is nice and fluffy. If you want a thicker consistency, add more powdered sugar. If you prefer thinner frosting, add more cream.
 
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!!
 
Beth