Sweets

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

By in Chocolate, Cookies & Bars, Sweets 11 Comments Tags: , , ,

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Are you guys sick and tired of chocolate yet? I hope not, because you don”t want to miss out on these cookies. I normally try not to share too many sweet recipes in a row but I”ve got company over this week and while I was making a batch of one of my favourite cookies for them I realized that I had never shared them with you. Shame on me! I”ve been making these cookies for a long time now and I can”t believe it”s taken me this long to post about them. Please forgive me.

You”d think that you can”t go wrong with a double chocolate chip cookie recipe but you really can. I”ve made many cookies that just didn”t make the cut. They were too cakey, too sweet, too dull or just off. This, to me, is the perfect double chocolate chip cookie. Ooey gooey, with a crackly top and a soft interior, and they are packed full of chocolate flavour. These are the epitome of double chocolate cookies, in my mind, and they are best enjoyed with a tall glass of milk.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter

  • 1.5 cups sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, melt together chocolate and butter. Beat in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until evenly distributed. Fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop heaping spoonfuls of cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 325ºF for 10 minutes or until cookies are crackly and no longer shiny. Cool 1 minute before removing to wire wracks or paper towels to cool.

Makes approximately: 30 cookies

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Puff Pastry Pudding Hearts

By in Kids, Pastries, Sweets, Valentine's 9 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Puff Pastry Pudding Hearts

I couldn”t resist throwing in one last Valentine”s Day treat. This is a great last-minute dessert if you haven”t nailed anything down for tonight yet. Or, it would even be a fun after school project with the kids.

Reminiscent of éclairs, these puff pastry pillows are filled with homemade vanilla pudding and drizzled with chocolate. Don”t let the thought of homemade vanilla pudding scare you. It”s so simple to make. With this type of dessert I like to serve the pudding warm but if you want to make it ahead and serve it cold that”s possible too.

These puff pastry hearts are super simple to make, whether you have a heart-shaped cutter or not. I currently don”t have one so I just used a paring knife to cut out the shapes – this way you can get a little variances in the designs, which I think is kind of fun too.

Happy Valentine”s Day! I hope you have a fabulous day celebrating with the ones you love. xox

Puff Pastry Pudding Hearts

  • 1 sheet puff pastry (from a 17.3 oz. box), thawed

  • 1 recipe vanilla pudding (below)

  • 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Unfold pastry onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut out hearts using a heart shaped cookie cutter or a paring knife*. Remove excess dough (you can bake the scraps on a separate baking sheet if you like). If you feel that the pastry has warmed up too much place back in the fridge for a couple of minutes. Bake at 400ºF for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire wracks to cool.

Once ready to serve, split puff pastry hearts in half, top bottom half with a couple spoonfuls of pudding, replace top and drizzle with chocolate. Serve immediately.

*If using a paring knife try to avoid dragging the knife through the dough as this can cause the layers to seal closed and you won”t get as much puff.

Makes approximately 9 hearts (depending on size).

Vanilla Pudding

  • 1 1/4 cups milk, divided

  • 2 tablespoons flour

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • pinch salt

  • 1 egg yolk

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring 1 cup milk to a boil in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, stirring often.

Meanwhile mix together flour, sugar and salt. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup milk, making sure there are no lumps. Whisk in egg yolk.

Slowly whisk flour mixture into hot milk. Bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to cool slightly, serve warm.

To serve cold: place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding, to avoid a skin from forming, and refrigerate.

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

By in Cakes, Chocolate, Sweets, Valentine's 21 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

triple chocolate cupcakes

I couldn’t pass up the chance to make a chocolately, decadent treat in honor of Valentine’s Day. They are pretty much best buds after all. And, can you believe there’s not a single cupcake recipe on this blog? I couldn’t. I even had to double check my archives to make sure one didn’t slip in there somewhere. But, there wasn’t a single one to be found. Craziness, I tell you. So I’m here today to share my inaugural cupcake recipe with you and what better way to start it off then with something über chocolatey.

I think cupcakes are a great project for beginning bakers. They’re less intimidating than layered cakes and much easier to decorate. And besides, they’re just plain cute.

These cupcakes start off with a moist chocolate cupcake that’s both light in flavour and texture. I prefer my cupcakes not to be too sweet because they’re going to be topped with all sorts of sugary goodness. I decided to go a bit chocolate crazy this time around. There are three layers of ganache – in the centre of the cupcakes, directly on top of the cupcakes and drizzled on the frosting. A rich chocolate frosting swirls on the top with a sprinkling of chopped chocolate. A chocolate lovers dream for sure.

The best part about these is, once they’ve been sitting in the fridge chilling out, they become even more rich and the texture of the frosting becomes almost truffle like. One cupcake is definitely enough to get your chocolate fix. At first I was worried the frosting might be too sweet but paired with this cupcake and the silky ganache, it’s pure magic.

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

The frosting sets up very quickly so you’ll want to use it right away. Also, it’s sets up nice and firm so it’s easy to cover the cupcakes loosely with plastic wrap, once they’ve set up, without ruining the piping job.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs

Sift flour, sugars, baking soda and salt through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.

Place chocolate, butter and cocoa into a large bowl. Pour boiling water over. Let sit for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Whisk in vanilla, sour cream, buttermilk and eggs until well combined. Add dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into regular-sized muffin tins prepared with cupcake liners (about 15). Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Ganache
  • 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream, steaming hot

Place chocolate in a bowl. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

Chocolate Frosting
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup whipping cream
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 pound confectioners sugar

Place butter, cream and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Sift cocoa through a fine-mesh sieve set over the mixing bowl. Mix on medium-speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Sift confectioners sugar into mixing bowl through a fine-mesh sieve. Beat on low to combine; turn speed to medium and beat for 6 minutes until creamy and fluffy. Icing will be quite stiff.

Assembly
  • 1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Cut out a small cone in the centre of each cupcake. Discard scraps. Spoon ganache into each cupcake and spread a small amount over the top to smooth it out. Pipe on frosting in desired fashion (I used an Ateco 808 tip). Drizzle with remaining ganache, heating up if necessary. Garnish with chopped chocolate.

Makes: 15 + cupcakes

Cupcake recipe adapted from My Recipes. Frosting adapted from My Recipes.

Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake

By in Cakes, Easter, Sweets 16 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

strawberry lime cake

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I first posted about our brand new baby girl. Ahhhh! *tears* She’s growing up too fast! I love the baby stage. Just look at those cute baby cheeks (below) and tell me you don’t want to squish them all day long. I know there’s a lot of wonderful times ahead and I’m looking forward to it all so much. But, it’s ok for me to be a little sad that my baby girl is taking one more step to adulthood right?

I wanted to give her a simple but girly birthday party so I decided to go with the theme of Strawberry & Lime. I know that at this age she really couldn’t care less about her birthday so I tried to keep everything simple and stress-free. After-all I wanted to spend lot’s of time with the birthday girl.

The main star to the show (besides the sweet baby) was the Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake – a white cake sandwiched with coconut lime curd and smothered in whipped strawberry frosting. Fruity, refreshing and girly.

The decoration was extremely easy to do and the result was so precious. Perfect for a little girl’s birthday party. I followed a tutorial from Sockerru, where you pipe big dots of frosting and smooth them out with a spoon (I used the Ateco tip# 808 to pipe on the dots). Seriously, it was so simple and quick, anyone could do it. The key is to make the crumb coat as smooth and flat as possible so that everything looks even (I follow this method to smooth my frosting). The only thing I couldn’t figure out was how to finish it up in the back where the pattern met. The solution I came up with? Put the seam in the back where no one can see it. :D

Happy Birthday to my favourite baby girl!

Strawberry & Lime Layer Cake

White Cake
  • 3 cups cake flour*
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup milk
  • 8 large egg whites, room temperature (save the yolks for the curd below)

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and 2 cups sugar for several minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Mixing on low-speed, add flour in 3 additions, alternating with milk, starting and ending with flour. Beat just until combined.

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites on low until foamy. Add 1/4 cup sugar and beat on high just until stiff, glossy peaks form when beater is lifted.

Gently fold 1/3 egg whites into butter/flour mixture to loosen batter. Fold in remaining whites.

Divide batter between 2 9-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper rounds and spayed with cooking spray; smooth tops. Bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool 20 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off parchment. Cool completely on wire wracks before wrapping in plastic wrap to store.

*To make your own cake flour place 2 tablespoons cornstarch into a 1 cup measuring cup, spoon in enough all-purpose flour to fill. Sift several times to combine. This makes 1 cup cake flour.

Coconut Lime Curd
  • 1 (15 oz) can coconut milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • 6 eggs yolk
  • green food colouring, if desired

Place 1 cup coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Mix together the remaining coconut milk and the cornstarch. Pour into the saucepan, stirring to combine. Lower heat to medium, add butter and whisk until melted together. Whisk in lime juice and egg yolks. Cook, stirring often, until thick and it coats the back of a spoon. Do not overcook or eggs will start to scramble. Stir in food colouring, if desired. Allow the mixture to cool slightly and then pour into a heat-proof bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to stop condensation. Allow to cool completely before refrigerating. Beat, to loosen, before spreading on cake layers.

Whipped Strawberry Frosting
  • 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups icing sugar, sifted
  • 1/4 cup strawberry puree (from frozen, thawed berries is fine)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a stand mixer, beat butter for 6 minutes, until pale and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat for an additional 6 minutes, until light and creamy.

If not using all of it right away beat by hand with a spatula, to remove any air bubbles, before using.

To Assemble

Trim tops of cakes flat. Carefully cut each cake in half to make 4 layers of cake (here’s a great video to show you how). Place one cake layer on serving platter, spread with some of the coconut lime curd. Place another cake layer on top and spread with more coconut lime curd. Repeat one more time and then top with the last cake layer (you will have leftover curd). Crumb coat the cake to glue the crumbs to the cake and to make sure none of the curd shows through the frosting. Refrigerate 10 minutes to set. Frost as desired. Refrigerate until serving.

White Cake adapted from Martha Stewart. Coconut Lime Curd adapted from Donna Hay Dec/Jan 2012.

Pear & Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake

By in Breakfast, Cakes, Snacks, Sweets 12 Comments Tags: , , ,

Pear & Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake

It took me four hours to get this coffee cake in the oven. This has no reflection on the difficulty of the recipe but rather my life as a mom. From exploding diapers to early bath times to bedtime tantrums this cake went through many waiting periods. I think it”s pretty safe to say it”s a foolproof recipe.

I”m a big fan of coffee cakes. They”re not overly sweet and, just like muffins, they”re really just an excuse to eat cake for breakfast. :) This cake is light in both taste and texture. A refreshing break from all the heavy and rich baked goods that are everywhere this time of year.

My hubby isn”t a fan of pears but he loved this (LOVED it). So did I. It”s one of those cakes that”s hard to stop eating. Breakfast. Coffee. Dessert. Too many excuses to steal a little slice.

Pear & Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Streusel & Filling

  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 cup cold butter

  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

  • 2 medium pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Cake

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cup butter , softened

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 (8 oz) carton sour cream

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

For the streusel topping and filling: Stir together walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl grate cold butter into flour and break up with your fingers to make coarse crumbs. Stir 3/4 cup of the nut mixture into the flour mixture to make streusel. Set remaining nut mixture and streusel topping aside.

For the cake: Combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl beat the softened butter until smooth. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in flour mixture and sour cream, in three additions, starting and ending with flour.

Spread two-thirds of the batter into a greased 9 inch springform pan. Sprinkle with the reserved nut mixture. Layer pears on top. Carefully spread remaining batter over the pears. Sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake at 350ºF for 10 minutes. For a crunchy topping, sprinkle with the 1/2 cup walnuts. Bake an additional 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing the side of the springform pan. Cool one hour before serving.

Makes: 12 servings

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens.

Mocha-Chip-Fudge Cheesecake

By in Cakes, Chocolate, Creamy, Mothers Day, Sweets 12 Comments Tags: , , ,

mocha chip cheesecake

In all my time in Norway not once did I see a block of cream cheese. Spreadable cream cheese was everywhere but the one time I tried to make a cheesecake with it (in my desperation) it did not end well. Three years is far too long to go without a slice of cheesecake!

So you can imagine that it was at the top of my list of things to make when we moved to New York. And, I can now say, it was worth the wait! It was pretty hard to decide which one to make first but I’ve been craving coffee lately (I credit that to the exhaustion of furnishing an entire house from scratch in one week. Whew.) so I decided to go with Mocha Chip. It was a great choice.

On a whim I added a mocha fudge topping because I thought it might pretty it up a bit. In the end I can’t imagine the cheesecake without it. It gave it a much more intense chocolate flavour that I think would have been lacking without it. I don’t think I need to go into much description about how good this tastes. Mocha. Fudge. Cheesecake. Enough said right?

In order to help myself have some self-restraint and not be wasteful (who wants to waste cheesecake?), I decided to slice these into individual servings and freeze them. That way if we’ve got company, or are craving an indulgent dessert, I can just pull out as many as we need, let them thaw and then serve. I love the idea of having something in my freezer to serve guests that doesn’t take any work but is more special than just cookies (although there’s nothing wrong with “just” cookies).

I was a little nervous about making cheesecake again. It had been such a long time that I’d built it up in my head as something difficult. But it couldn’t have been more easy. I hope you try it soon.

Mocha-Chip-Fudge Cheesecake

My springform pan is almost 10 inches and it worked fine for this recipe. I just didn’t press the crumbs as far up the sides of the pan.

Crust
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

Combine cookie crumbs and sugar, stir in butter until evenly coated. Press into the bottom and approximately 2 inches up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan.

Mocha Chip Filling
  • 3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in flour until well combined. At low-speed, beat in eggs just until combined.

Mix together cream and instant coffee. Let sit for 1 minute, stir to dissolve. Add to cream cheese mixture along with vanilla. Stir just until evenly distributed. Stir in 3/4 cup chocolate chips.

Pour cream cheese mixture into crust. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

Bake at 325ºF for 50-60 minutes or until centre is almost set. Let cool completely at room temperature.

Mocha Fudge Topping
  • 6 oz. (1/2 of 12 oz. package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

Put all ingredients in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute at 50%. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Spread on top of cooled cheesecake.

Cover cheesecake with foil and refrigerate overnight.

To serve: Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Warm a sharp knife under hot tap water, wipe it dry with a clean kitchen towel and cut one slice. Rinse it clean under hot tap water and repeat.

Makes: 14 servings

Adapted from TasteofHome.

« 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 »