A Tale of Two Chocolate Cakes

I love cake. No joke. My favorite part of weddings is the cake, and I'm a fierce critic. I know how much wedding cakes cost, so in my mind, it better be perfect. I honestly don't care what you serve me for dinner, or how awesome your DJ was, your wedding cake makes or breaks the whole shabang in my mind. When Jeff and I got married, I took the cake very seriously. I wanted it to look memorable and interesting, but I wanted the taste to be just as memorable and interesting. I'm quite taken by the look of fondant icing (who isn't) but I loathe the taste. When I met our baker, and she said she can make butter cream look like fondant, I fell in love with her. She wasn't lying and managed to make a gorgeous cake inspired by our invitations. I remember very little from my wedding day, it was all a whirlwind, but I can recall the taste of our cake as if I had just had some for lunch. One layer, my choice, was spice cake with an caramel apple filling, and the second layer, Jeff's choice, was dark chocolate with chocolate fudge filling.



If you couldn't guess, Jeff's favorite cake is chocolate cake, and so is his dad's (at least I heard that somewhere, sorry Scott, if I'm mistaken). When we made plans to eat dinner at the in-laws a few weeks ago, I wanted to bring a dessert, and it absolutely had to be a cake. See, I don't get to satisfy my affinity for cake often. I bake a lot, but usually it's things that last longer than a day or two (most cakes croak in 48 hours) or things that are easily shared, i.e. thrown in a plastic bag and sent to work with Jeff. So, I seized this opportunity and looked for a classic chocolate Bundt cake recipe online. I found what I needed from Martha Stewart.

Chocolate Bundt Cake



I found this cake to be quite nice. In the words of Jamie Oliver, "it's not going to change your life" , but I was very satisfied with the results of my effort. The glaze is really the star, so don't skip or skimp on it. I did not add booze to my chocolate glaze, certainly not because I have anything against that - just that I don't really have a whole lot of hard liquor hanging around. Instead I added instant coffee, and I'm glad I did. By all means, go for the Cognac, but I really recommend the coffee. Also, a note, the recipe asks for a 14 cup Bundt cake pan, I don't have one that large and just used my 10 cup Bundt pan and baked it for 55 minutes. It turned out perfect.

For the cake:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream (4 ounces)
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional, but I think you should - it made the cake more interesting)

For the glaze:

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Cognac or rum (optional)
OR
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 14-cup Bundt pan. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix milk and sour cream in a small bowl.

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add flour mixture, alternating with milk mixture, ending with flour. Fold in walnuts, if using. Spoon batter into pan. Bake until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Invert cake. (Cake will keep for up to 1 day.)

Make the glaze: Place chocolate in a bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan until simmering, if using coffee - mix into the milk now, then pour over chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Add butter and Cognac or rum, if using, and mix until smooth. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Pour glaze over cooled cake.

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Sounds good, you say? What else you got, you say? How about a chocolate cake that is just like eating a wedge of dark chocolate fudge. This cake isn't for the chocolate faint at heart. You feel just so-so about chocolate? Take a pass on this one. Do you have dreams of bathing in a claw foot tub filled to the brim with ganache (ahem, Borislava)? You might consider making this next cake, like right now.

As mentioned in the last entry, my parents and my sister made their way down to Indiana last weekend. My sister has found herself under a lot of stress lately, so I wanted to have a special dessert for her the night of our big dinner. Endless options? Not really. She follows a gluten-free diet so that creates a few obstacles when baking. Her favorite gluten-free dessert when dining out is a flourless chocolate cake. I thought this would be quite an endeavor to find a recipe for, not to mention actually making it. I was wrong. I found this great recipe on Whole Foods Market's website and this cake seriously takes very little equipment and expertise. The result, however, like bathing in a claw foot tub filled to the brim with ganache. Enjoy!

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze




12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) plus 3 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Spray the paper with cooking spray, too, then set the pan aside.

Place two-thirds (8 ounces) of the chocolate and 1 cup (2 sticks) of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Stirring often, melt chocolate with butter until completely blended. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. (Alternatively, you may use your microwave to melt the butter with the chocolate, if desired). Add sugar and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Sift cocoa into bowl and stir until just blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cake has risen and top has formed a thin crust. The cake should be just firm in the center when done. Cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate, removing sides of springform pan. Remove and discard parchment paper and set cake aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the chocolate glaze. Melt remaining 4 ounces chocolate and 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, then stir in milk, honey and vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly.

When cake has cooled, pour glaze onto the center. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, very gently smooth glaze along the top and sides of the cake. Chill cake, uncovered, for 30 to 60 minutes before serving to set the glaze and make the cake easier to slice.

Movin' On Up

My parents and my sister all gathered at our apartment for the Easter weekend. We ate well, played hours of Yahtzee, and gave Marlo more attention than she could ever imagine. She's been getting very strong and out of curiosity, I wanted to see if she could climb stairs. This is her first try. We were all impressed. She liked all the cheers and claps she got.

Breakfast & Dinner Courtesy of Mr. Tub of Ricotta

One tub of delicious, creamy ricotta cheese = two delicious, memorable meals. I've been making my mother's recipe for stuffed shells for years and for years I always have a half a tub of rotting ricotta in my fridge afterwards. But (trumpets sounding) Giada has (of course!) saved the day with her Lemon Ricotta Biscuits (muffins, my friends).

Chances are, if you're my friend, and if I even just kind of like you, you've eaten these stuffed shells, cooked by either yours truly or yours truly's mother. They're simple but special enough to entertain with and really budget friendly. They're one of my family's favorite meals and just might become one of yours as well. Over the years I've played with the recipe here and there with a sprinkle of this and a sprinkle of that. I encourage you to season the stuffing to suit your taste. It's really basic and takes well to amendments.



Beef & Cheese Stuffed Shells

20-24 jumbo shells pasta
2 jars of your favorite red sauce
3/4 lb. ground beef
1 small onion finely diced
7.5 oz. (1/2 container) of Ricotta cheese
1 generous handful of shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat over to 350. Spread one jar of red sauce on the bottom of a large rectangular baking dish. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside to cool. Add ground beef and onion to large skillet over medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Break meat up into very small pieces. When meat is cooked through, pour contents onto a paper towel lined bowl to drain. Once drained, place meat in a medium sized mixing bowl add the ricotta, mozzarella, breadcrumbs, garlic, salt, pepper and egg to the bowl and mix well.
Fill pasta shells with meat and cheese mixture to your liking and place in the prepared baking dish. Pour the second jar of red sauce over the shells. Sprinkle lightly with mozzarella cheese and place in the oven for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and top evenly with Parmesan cheese.

Now for the leftover ricotta:



Lemon & Ricotta Biscuits

2 cups flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
zest from 1 lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
½ tsp almond extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together dry ingredients in bowl. With electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add lemon zest. In separate bowl mix ricotta, lemon juice, and egg. Add mixture to butter and sugar. Add dry ingredients in two batches. Fill muffin tin lined with papers or well greased. Top with sliced almonds and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 20 minutes.

Stand and Be Recognized

Marlo has pulled herself to a stand. Oh the developmental monuments we've covered in the past month. She crawls, she claps, she waves hello/goodbye, she drinks from a straw, and now - she stands. She first accomplished this yesterday after waking from her morning nap. While snatching her from her crib, I found her peering over the side standing flat on her feet. She was so excited when I saw her, she about fell straight back. This morning, my banana peel coaxed her to do it again. Everyone who said it wasn't kidding - they sure grow up fast!

Honey Wheat Dinner Rolls

This was my first attempt at making bread. I made it the old fashioned way folks. No bread machine. No food processor. Just me and my bulging biceps working it out on the counter top. I was absolutely certain it would be a failure. After kneading the dough for 10 minutes, I left it in my oven (it was off, don't worry - I just heard somewhere that it's a good place to let dough rise) for an hour excited for the big puffy ball of dough that was supposed to be. Well, I could've been crazy - but the dough ball looked exactly the same size an hour later. Whatever, I just continued on with the instructions and they ended up quite wonderful. I can't explain it.

The original recipe came from my mother-in-law and was supposed to make two loaves of bread. It takes me over a week to go through one loaf of bread - so I knew that it would go to waste. So instead, I made 12 dinner rolls. I made soup for dinner the night I baked them, so I set aside 4 rolls for Jeff and I to dip in the soup and froze the rest. They are really delicious, let me tell you. The flavor is really interesting and satisfying. To thaw and heat the frozen rolls. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Honey-Wheat Dinner Rolls

1 & 1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
2 cups bread flour
1 & 2/3 cup wheat flour
1 cocoa
2 tsp instant coffee
1 tsp salt
2 & 1/4 tsp dry active yeast (1 packet)

Combine the flours, cocoa, coffee, salt in large bowl. Make a depression or well in middle of dry mixture. Pour warm water into well then add butter, honey and yeast. Slowly mix the ingredients with a spoon, drawing the dry ingredients to the well. When you can handle the dough, begin to combine it by hand, kneading the dough thoroughly on floured surface for at least ten minutes, until smooth and consistent in color. Set dough to rise in covered bowl and warm place in kitchen for one hour. Punch down dough and split into 12 equal balls about the size of your fist. Place rolls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let rise another hour or more in warm location (cover with towel). Bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes. Rolls will darken on top when done.

Marlo's First Cookie

She's been somewhat grabby at meal time lately, reaching for the spoons and bowls. So I thought I'd let her give feeding herself a try. I picked up a few teething biscuits and let her go to town. It wasn't long before I realized what a moron I was by not putting a bib on her and sitting her on the kitchen floor instead of our white carpet.

Our Own Personal Sound Effects Machine

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