Archive for the Category ◊ Holidays & Events ◊

29 Sep 2016 Pumpkin-Chocolate Cake

w

This is the BEST cake to serve at this time of year (or any other time of the year, actually)!  It’s a good chocolate cake – a very, very good chocolate cake; it’s moist, and nicely chocolate-y, and made richer with some pumpkin puree added.  The cake doesn’t taste of pumpkin, it just tastes well-rounded and delicious and the frosting tastes like Fall! There is a touch of cinnamon in the frosting, then the ganache topping is smoothed over the top and dripped down the sides which sends this cake into the realm of ‘One of the Best Cakes EVER’! My daughter, Abby, has been making this cake since she was in high school.  Her friends would ask for it for their birthdays (even for Summer birthdays)!

It goes without saying that this cake takes a bit of time to make and decorate, but if you are thinking of making this cake then you are thinking of making it for a special occasion, right?  The time and effort are worth it and there’s nothing complex or confusing about making this cake, it’s pretty straightforward. And you won’t be serving up a box mix and a can of chemicals to your friends and family, either 🙂

Now, your cake is going to look a bit different than the one above, since this cake was decorated for my witch themed Halloween party. Abby used candy, cupcake toppers, and Pinterest inspiration [to decorate the cake in the picture below] for my Halloween party last year.  Isn’t it cute?

Witches 2013 dessert abby's witch cake

The original recipe came from a Good Housekeeping magazine about, oh, 20 years ago?  I still see pictures from that recipe dancing around.  Don’t believe them!  For some reason in the picture the frosting under the ganache is orange.  I tried to do that and there is no way that I know of to turn a cocoa powder frosting bright orange.  I tried. Many times. It. Can’t.Be.Done. Sigh…

Not all recipes in magazines, cookbooks, newspapers and the Internet will work.  Mine will.  I only post recipes that I’ve tested and have been verified “Delicious!” by a multitude of family members and friends.  Many of my treasured recipes, like this Pumpkin-Chocolate Cake, I have made time and time again. You can do it, too! Make it once for Halloween, and I KNOW you’ll want to make it again for your Thanksgiving potlucks!

PUMPKIN-CHOCOLATE CAKE

For Cake

1 1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark is good)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. dark brown sugar
1 c. sugar
3 eggs plus one egg yolk
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Line the bottoms of 2 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and lightly butter (or spray with Pam for Baking).
  • Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
  • In another bowl stir together the pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the butter and the sugars until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and then the egg yolk.
  • Reduce speed to low and beat in 1/3 flour mixture, and then 1/3 pumpkin mixture.
  • Repeat until all ingredients are used.
  • Pour batter into prepared pans.
  • Bake until cake passes the toothpick test, about 35 minutes.
  • Cool, frost and glaze as directed below.

For Frosting

6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick), softened
1 (16-oz.) box powdered sugar
3 T. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 – 3 T. cream (or milk)
  • Beat cream cheese and butter together until well blended.
  • Stir in powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and enough cream to make a stiff spreading consistency.
  • Spread 1 cup frosting between the two layers, and use the remaining frosting for the tops and sides.
  • Chill cake for a minimum of 30 minutes before glazing.

For Chocolate Glaze

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 T. butter
3 T. corn syrup
1/2 c. heavy cream
  • Place chopped chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a small bowl.
  • Heat heavy cream until boiling.
  • Pour hot cream over chocolate mixture in bowl.
  • Let sit for 3 minutes then blend with whisk until smooth.
  • Let glaze sit for  FOR AT LEAST 5 minutes to thicken slightly (it might be 15-20 minutes–better the glaze be on the thick side rather than the thin side)
  • Pour the glaze on top of the chilled and frosted cake. Smooth out glaze to edges, and then let drip down the sides.
  • Refrigerate to set glaze.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
20 Dec 2014 Minty Malty Hot Chocolate

You HAVE to try this!  It’s delicious, and it’s mild and smooth and warm and comforting, and sooooo Christmassy!.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t like bitter hot chocolate (Starbucks!), and I don’t like hot chocolate that is so strong I can hardly finish it (Starbucks!), or so rich I feel sick after drinking it (Paris!).  This hot chocolate is perfect. Mild. Creamy. Totally Yummy. Totally Christmassy.  Serve it with a candy cane stirrer or crushed candy canes sprinkled on top of the whipped cream. I served it at my Christmas party and it was a big hit.

Make it to watch your favorite Christmas movie with, or to read your favorite Christmas book with, or to just sit under the Christmas tree and watch the lights.  Make it for after a long walk in the snow (or, in California, in the rain), or for the Christmas Carolers (there’s so few of them now). Or to celebrate having finished all your Christmas shopping. Or make it for Santa and leave it out with the cookies–with testers for the whole family, of course. Make it for Christmas morning, to open the presents with, or make it for Christmas night to end the day with.  Just make it.  You’ll love it.

There is a problem though, finding Chocolate Malted Milk Powder.  I had to order it from Amazon.  The first time I made it, I made it with Vanilla Malted Milk Powder though, which is easily found in any grocery store, then I added cocoa powder and sugar to taste. It was great! (I used 1/2 cup Vanilla Malted Powder…, and just kept adding equal amounts of cocoa powder and sugar until it tasted right.)

The original recipe starts with a gallon of milk, and leftovers do keep well in refrigerator and warm up well in the microwave, but if you want to make half a recipe, I have written the recipe with easy to half measurements. If you are making for a party, mix everything on top of stove, then pour into a crockpot to keep warm.

Trust me!  This is delicious.  Let me know how you like it.

Minty Malty Hot Chocolate

  • 1 gallon whole milk
  • 1 11 oz pkg (about 20-22) chocolate-covered cream filled mint patties (Mini York Peppermint Patties)
  • 1 ½ cups chocolate malted milk powder* (order from Amazon)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • Whipped cream, marshmallows, mini candy canes or crushed peppermints topping (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a pan on top of the stove, stir  until mint patties melt.  Stir occasionally, and watch like a hawk. Once milk gets hot enough to boil over, there’s no stopping it.  Just gently heat the milk and melt the mint  patties. (Can be made a few days in advance.) Beat to combine well.  Serve from pan, or place in crock pot to keep warm up.  (Can keep in crockpot for at least 2 hours.) Top with whipped cream, marshmallows, mini candy canes or some crushed up peppermints…, or serve “as is”.

*Or sub ½ cup vanilla malted milk powder and enough cocoa powder and chocolate to taste. I did this once, delicious, but don’t remember the quantities…, just a bit of this and a bit of that. Then a bit more of this, a bit more… Until it tastes delicious!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today,

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
09 Dec 2012 Skibo Castle Crunch

This cookie is something you’ve never tasted before.  There’s no chocolate, no caramel, no peanut butter, no nuts, no oatmeal, no coffee, no mint, nor is there any jam in this cookie, so how can it be good?  I don’t know, but it is.  Damn good.  Two bites and you’ll be addicted and you won’t know why.

I don’t know why I made this cookie in the first place.  I found it in “The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe From Each Year 1941-2009” by Gourmet Magazine.  This was billed as the best cookie of 1999.  Maybe I made it because it was made famous in Scotland and I have a fondness for all things Scottish.  Maybe because it was a 15 minute bar cookie recipe and I had all the ingredients on hand.  Nevertheless, I made it, and this odd, crunchy ginger cookie has become one of my favorite all time cookies.

I had to change the recipe though.  The first year I made it, I loved it, but it was ODD, downright ugly and temperamental (no two batches turned out the same).  So I twiddled with it a bit and then , sadly, had to let it go as an “almost great” cookie.  This year,  I found the recipe again,  on Epicurious. com…, with twenty-five comments!  So I tried the recipe again and incorporated some of the suggestions.  Success!  This is the cookie I am taking to my Cookbook Club’s annual Christmas Cookie Exchange (my yoga group already gave it 10 thumbs up–and they got to taste both years’ versions).

The biggest change was doubling the recipe, but baking in the same size pan as the original recipe.  The second big change was using a food processor to make the base.  The third big change was cutting the cookie into squares before the cookie cooled. So here is the recipe for an odd, crunchy, ginger-y cookie that takes 15 minutes to bake and is totally addictive.

If you want more ginger flavor, add 1/2 cup minced candied ginger to either the shortbread base or sprinkled on top of the glaze.

Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch

For Shortbread Base:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into pieces

For Glaze-like Topping:

1 1/2 cups butter
2 tablespoon Lyle’s Golden Syrup (British cane sugar syrup-try World Market or an Indian Grocery or Amazon.com…or sub dark corn syrup)
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F . Line  a 13″ by 9″ baking pan with parchment paper.

Make shortbread base:
Place the dry ingredients in a food processor and whirl to combine.  Add in and blend in butter  and whirl until mixture resembles coarse meal and just starts to hold together.  Pour mixture into parchment lined baking pan. With your fingers, press mixture evenly into bottom of pan.  Do this lightly.  If you press too hard the shortbread will suffer.  Bake shortbread in middle of oven until golden and crisp around the edges, 25 to 30  minutes.  Keep  your eye on this.  The shortbread can go from perfectly done to over baked in a minute.

Just before shortbread is done, make the topping:
Five minutes before the shortbread is to be taken out of the oven, melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Whisk in remaining ingredients until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring, for one minute. Remove shortbread from oven and pour topping over, tilting pan to cover shortbread evenly.

Cool in pan on a rack for about 20 minutes, then cut the Skibo Crunch into small squares or rectangles.  Let the Skibo Crunch cool completely before removing from pan.  Then…WOW your guests with this seriously odd cookie.

Let me know if it becomes one of your favorites, too.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
07 Dec 2012 Peanut Brittle

Three years ago, maybe four, I made some peanut brittle for some end-of-the-year gifts for my children’s teachers and coaches.  No problem.  Two months ago I made some peanut brittle as samples for a craft fair.  No problem.  Two days before the craft fair I made two batches of peanut brittle.  LOTS of problems. Both batches were big flops.   Crisis!  I needed some peanut brittle to sell, I needed it fast, and I needed it to be fabulous.

Thank goodness for the Internet!  I spent a few hours reading everything I could about making peanut brittle.  I took notes.  I highlighted.  I found sites that swore microwaved peanut brittle was the way to go.  I was all for it, but as (my) luck would have it, my microwave died the same day as the peanut brittle flopped.  (Where is my guardian angel!?)   I abandoned my old recipe, and went with a recipe that seemed to have the best chance of success (and that I could cook the “old fashioned” way, on the top of the stove), a twenty year old recipe from Bon Apetite, found on Epicurious.com.

I got out my heaviest pans. I hooked up my candy thermometer.   I also hooked up my instant read thermometer.   I put on my lucky apron.  I banished the grandchildren from the kitchen. I put on Christmas music. I was going to be double extra careful.  This was do or die day. I had to get two batches of really good peanut brittle into the cute boxes with the cute bows and the cute tags ASAP.

It worked.  PHEW.  I am glad to share with you the winning recipe, with all the hints and tips.  Good Luck!  As long as you don’t make this on an especially wet/humid day–and follow these direction and all my hints and tips–you should be OK.  But please note, this is important, the times are approximate.  I have a very powerful gas range, and I am an aggressive cook, so the times noted are the ones that worked for me.  If  you have an electric stove and/or are a cautious cook, your times might be twice as long.  Trust your candy thermometer (and your back up thermometer)  and pay attention to color.

One batch of this will make about 3 ½ lbs of peanut brittle.  That’s a lot of peanut brittle. I made two batches and was able to put 7 lbs of peanut brittle up for sale, to benefit my favorite organization, Dining For Women, YAY!

Totally Nuts Peanut Brittle

  • 3 cups sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • ¾ cup light corn syrup
  • ¾ cup dark corn syrup
  • 3-4 cups salted cocktail peanuts (whole or coarsely chopped–I left mine whole)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  1. Stir the sugar, water, light and dark corn syrup, and salt together in a large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  (TIPS:  Use a really large, heavy pan (mixture will foam up, a lot, in the last step).  I used a five quart stock pot.  The dark corn syrup is for color.  You can use all light corn syrup if you want. The sugar isn’t be dissolved until you can see the bottom of the pan.)
  2. Take your spoon out of the mixture and leave it out for this entire step.  Clip your candy thermometer to the edge of the pan.  Be sure the tip of the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to high, and BOIL the mixture, without stirring, until the candy thermometer registers 280 degrees F, about 40 minutes. (TIPS:  The mixture will stay at 220 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, don’t worry about it, your thermometer is not broken.  The temperature will go up a bit faster after passing the 220 degree F. mark.  To reassure yourself, use a second thermometer, if you have one.)
  3. Preheat your oven to 225 degrees.  Put two (or three) large rimmed cookie trays into the oven to warm.  Just before your mixture reaches the 295 degree mark (next step) take the pans out of the oven and lightly grease with a bit of butter.
  4. Pour the nuts and the butter into the boiling mixture (this will cause a temperature drop).  Use your spoon now, and keep your eye on the thermometer/s.  Stir the mixture constantly until it reaches 295 degrees F., about 15 minutes.  (TIPS:  I prefer to use 3 cups of nuts, because I like more brittle than nuts, 4 cups of nuts makes a very nutty brittle.  Watch the color, you want that deep rich amber color.  One or two degrees over 295 will be fine–if you work quickly in the next step, but don’t go much higher than that.  The temperature will move fast now, and you could easily burn a batch! On the other hand, under no circumstances should you stop cooking before reaching 295 degrees–or you’ll have “Peanut Bendy and Sticky” instead of “Peanut Brittle”.)
  5. Yell for help. A child should not answer this call.
  6. Remove the pan from heat.  Stir in baking soda and vanilla and stir briskly.  Mixture will foam up.  Keep stirring. (TIPS: This is why you used a large pan. If you didn’t use a large pan your mixture might bubble out of the pan and onto the counter.  This is not a good thing. Under no circumstances should you touch the hot, Hot HOT mixture.)
  7. Being very careful and using your best hot mitts to protect your hands and arms, immediately pour mixture onto the warm and greased cookie trays.  If anyone answered your call for help have them spread the peanut brittle as thinly as possible across the trays. (TIPS: Do not get burned.  Do not burn your helper.  Banish all pets and children from the area. Do not touch the pan. Do not touch the peanut brittle.)
  8. Put the pans of peanut brittle in the warm oven for 2-3 minutes. This should help the peanut brittle spread evenly over the bottom of the pans.
  9. Remove pans from oven and let sit until cold and hard.
  10. Break brittle into pieces and store in airtight containers at room temperature for a month or more.
  11. Pat yourself on your back for a job well done.
That’s IT!  I hope this recipe helps you make the most delicious Peanut Brittle ever!
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email