Chocolate Mousse Tart

This is not a recipe for the gluten-free, dairy-free friends in my life. I have successfully replicated this crust with vegan cream cheese and gluten free flour; however, there is no replicating the filling without the heavy cream. It just doesn't work. This dessert is perfect for the holidays because of its rich, decadent texture making it the perfect once-in-a-while indulgence. You can also make it well ahead of time.

Crust

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened (1/2 of the standard size 8oz package)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/2 cup finely chopped, toasted pecans

Mousse

1 (12oz) package semisweet morsels
2 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided 2 cups and 1/2 cup
1 Tbsp. bourbon *optional*
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

To prepare the crust, beat together on medium speed the butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the flour and salt, beating at low speed until just blended. Shape into a disk, wrap with plastic warp, and chill for 1 hour. After chilling is complete, preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease aa 12"x8" tart pan. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface into a rough 13x9 rectangle. Gently press dough into pan and press up side, trimming excess dough. Bake dough for 15-17 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.

For the mousse, microwave the 1/2 cup cream and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in bourbon and vanilla; let stand 5 minutes. Beat remaining 2 cups of cream at med-high speed until medium peaks form; fold cream into chocolate mixture and combine well. Spread in cooled tart shell. Topped with coarsely chopped pecans. Chill for at least 4 hours, but at least overnight is preferred.

The Way to Anyone's Heart

One of the best parts of Christmas is gift-giving. And, one of my favorite things to give is food! I'm not a caterer of fine food a or maker of fabulous cakes like the Goddess, but I do enjoy making yummy and pretty food. When Christmas rolls around each year, I get excited about making treats for the special people in our life. 

The popular phrase is, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." But I contend that food lovingly prepared and given as a gift is special to anyone (not just men). Here are a few of the items I made and gave this year.

Buckeye Bark: 

I can't think of any better combination than chocolate and peanut butter! I have always loved Buckeyes, and now I have discovered that I can have that same great taste with half the time and effort. For the recipe follow this link.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread:

For several years, I have been making the Pioneer Woman's amaaaazing cinnamon rolls. Her recipe is extremely decadent. The rolls are yummy and unhealthy and yummy and full of butter and yummy! When the Pioneer Woman recently posted a recipe that converted her cinnamon roll dough into Pull-Apart Bread, I couldn't wait to make it. I was not disappointed! In fact, I'm pretty sure I will make them this way from now on.

"Christmas Crack":

I'm not sure where this candy got its name, but I suppose it is because it is hard to say no to the second and third (or fourth or fifth) piece of it. This is homemade toffee and chocolate. Go on over to this blog post and check it out. I found this recipe on Pinterest, but I plan to peruse the whole fabulous looking blog soon!

Peppermint Popcorn:

This treat is often called Peppermint Popcorn Bark. But when I make it, I use less of the almond bark. This ensures that the snack is like a flavored popcorn, rather than a candy bar. It is a special treat and looks mighty cute packaged in storage bags and cardstock (a trick I learned here). For the recipe for Peppermint Popcorn, visit the Plain Chicken.

Need more ideas? Come see me on my recipe blog, Family Favorites. I recently posted some other food gift ideas.

Need still more ideas? You can look at the links I have posted on my Holiday Cooking board.

Happy cooking, y'all! Happy gifting! and Merry Christmas!

A Pound I Can Live With...

Chocolate pound cake. One of life's simple pleasures. Straight up with no special icing needed. Although...if I were going to give this an icing I would drizzle on a yummy ganache. Who doesn't love ganache - it's the stuff that dreams are made of. We've been messing with this recipe for a while and I think we have it folks. Not too dry. Perfect butter and brown sugar goodness. Keep it around for after school snacks or late night snacking, either way it's a huge success.

Chocolate Pound Cake

1/2 cup strong coffee

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups butter, softened (3 sticks)

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanila extract

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Greas and flour bundt pan. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. If using leftover coffee, heat first and then stir in cocoa - the heat will help the cocoa to dissolve better. Set aside. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Combine cocoa mixture with sour cream. Alternating and beginning/ending with flour mixture, add flour mixture and sour cream mixture to the mixing bowl, beating after each addition until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon into prepared pan and bake 60-70 until inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes and turn out onto a wire wrack to cool completely; sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm.

xox,

A

Molten Chocolate Cake

If you are not local to me, or if you simply live under a rock and missed it, here is the Molten Chocolate cake article that appeard in CHARM magazine on January 26th. *sigh*  BEWARE: I ate...well, about three...completely on my own...so be sure to wear stretchy pants, 'kay?

"Somewhere circa 1996 I was living in Columbus, Ohio and up to my eyeballs in restaurant work while planning my wedding.  A co-worker attempted to calm my frazzled self by making an off-hand comment that “chocolate calms the nerves in women”.  Throwing caution to the wind and forgetting all about fitting into my wedding gown, I made a bee-line for the Russell Stover’s outlet as soon as my shift had ended. One doesn’t have to tell me twice that chocolate might be my cure. The same co-worker later introduced me to my first elliptical which I promptly moved into the basement of my West Columbus home and used faithfully each night – I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the chocolate habit alive and well.  Both chocolate and the elliptical remain two of my favorite pass-times – one quite deserving of the other. Now, nearly fifteen years later, I maintain that chocolate does in fact calm the nerves in any gender. The melt-in-your-mouth richness, the soothing delectability, the perfect finish to a romantic dinner - chocolate pacifies the soul, lifts the spirit, and brightens the day. A rich reward for a job well done, a mother’s indulgence during the nap time of a toddler, or a balm to appease a time of stress – chocolate knows no boundaries. This cake is the perfect embodiment of all things chocolate – a chocolate lovers dream. The soft cake shell will quickly give way to a warm center of rich, buttery, pudding-like goodness – a perfect finale to a romantic Valentine’s dinner.
Convenient to assemble ahead of time and refrigerate while preparing the rest of your meal, you can then easily pop them into a pre-heated oven before you are ready to serve. Enjoy!"

Molten Chocolate Cake

11 Tbs. unsalted butter cut into small pieces, plus more for ramekins

½ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for ramekins

1 ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

5 large eggs, room temperature

¾ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

Butter and flour six 6-oz. ramekins (approximately 2 inches deep). Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. While the chocolate and butter are melting, whisk together the eggs and sugar at high speed until pale and thick, about 4-5 minutes. Sift together flour and salt in another bowl and set aside. When eggs have thickened, fold into melted chocolate and then immediately fold in flour mixture. Divide batter evenly among ramekins and transfer to a rimmed sheet pan. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake until just set – about 14-16 minutes. Let cool for about 3 minutes and turn cakes out onto plates – serve immediately while warm. 

A Groovy Kind of Love

I've hit a record low. I thought I was nearly there when I found myself drooling over a piece of cheesecake thinking, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the cheesecake told me so", but alas...that was merely the tip of the iceberg. I hit rock bottom last night when I found this souffle on my plate, staring back at me. I'm not sure why song lyrics come to mind when I'm salivating over my dessert, perhaps because I'm married to a musician. At any rate, this lovely bit of goodness had me humming, "Baby, I need your lovin'" and I became painfully aware that if there were such a thing as dessert rehab I would need to check myself in immediately. In the meantime, I'll carry on as usual with my shameful love affair, humming familiar tunes summoned by my rendezvous with sugar..."When I'm feeling blue, all I have to do..." well, you know.

Chocolate Souffle

3 large eggs, separated
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
5 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted
2/3 cup whole milk
2 Tbs. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. sour cream
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease four ramkeins with softened butter. Whisk egg whites and cream of tartar with a mixer until soft peaks begin to form. Add 1/3 cup sugar and continue whisking until medium peaks form 3-4 minutes.

In the bottom of a small saucepan, combine flour and milk. Whisk in milk and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Simmer for about 2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Whisk milk into chocolate. Whisk in egg yolks and sour cream. Gently fold in egg whites.

Fill ramekins evenly with batter, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 14 minutes or until souffles rise but the centers are still mostly liquid. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.

Sweet and Salty

If you are living the sugar-free life or if you are diligently attempting to follow through on a New Year's resolution to kick the sweet tooth habit, then stop now and don't read any further. Go ahead and close your browser or click back over to Facebook. However, if you crave a little a sugar now and then or if you are especially fond of sweet and salty combinations, then stay right here and check out this super simple recipe. After making these treats for my bunco group last night, I was slightly disappointed that there were no leftovers! I may have to make more today...

Toffee Bars

12 graham crackers
1 (8oz) bag toffee bits
1 1/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup chocolate chips*
3/4 tsp. coarse salt (such as kosher salt or sea salt)

Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the graham crackers side by side in a single layer on the sheet, edges touching. Sprinkle toffee bits and nuts over the graham crackers. I used walnuts this time, but I've made these with pecans or almonds too.

In a saucepan, bring sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high heat and rapidly simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is syrupy, about 2 minutes.
Immediately pour the sugar mixture over the graham crackers. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until sugar topping is bubbly. Remove from oven and immdeiately sprinkle with chocolate chips and salt. Cut into 2-inch squares and cool completely on a wire rack. Can be stored in an airtight container up to one week, but it's doubtful they'll last that long!

*Live-it-up-variation: substitute peanut butter or butterscotch chips in place of the chocolate chips or mix together all three flavors.

Black Forest Cherry Trifle

If you like chocolate covered cherries, and I mean real chocolate covered cherries - not the artificially flavored kind you find at the drug store during the holidays, but real cherries covered in real chocolate - then you will love this black forest cherry trifle. Be warned - it's very rich, very chocolaty and sure to send your blood sugar levels through the roof....but it is worth it!

Start by making the custard as it will need time to cool and during the cooling process you can assemble the remainder of your trifle ingredients.

Melt 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate in a double broiler....set aside.


Combine 1/3 cup cocoa and 1/2 cup sugar, sifting well to remove all lumps. Add 7 egg yolks and whisk together until well combined.


Combine 1/3 cup heavy cream, 1/3 cup milk and 1 tsp. vanilla in a large saucepan heating until just beginning to steam; add the cocoa and egg yolk mixture and whisk well to combine. Continue to cook over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly for about ten minutes - do not walk away from it!


After the custard has begun to thicken, add the melted bittersweet chocolate and stir well to combine. Pour into a bowl to cool and prevent a "skin" from forming by covering custard with plastic wrap.


Now, you're ready to assemble the rest of your ingredients....

You'll need some cake. A nice dark chocolate cake works best, but you could easily use your favorite chocolate cake at the moment.


You can make this in a full-size trifle dish as well....I chose the mini trifle because they're cute and...I like cute. Turn the mini trifle upside down to score the cake and cut accordingly...



Mini trifle dishes are lacking in stature and your initial cake round will be quite high, so you'll need to cut the cake circles in half and then in half again, resulting in a total of eight rounds of cake....



Make sandwiches by slathering on cherry preserves and smushing a second cake round on top (yes, "smushing" is a made-up word) - this will be the first layer in your trifle...



Gently smash a cake sandwich into the bottom of each trifle dish and top with a drizzle of cherry brandy. If you have an aversion to alcohol or, as in my case, you happen to be pregnant and think avoiding fetal alcohol syndrome is probably a good idea, then you can use the cherry syrup from your jar of maraschino cherries. Next, layer with maraschino cherries and then chocolate custard. Cover and chill for at least an hour or even overnight. Top with freshly whipped cream just before serving.




Black Forest Cherry Trifle
(makes 4 mini trifles or one full-size trifle*)

1 9-inch round chocolate cake
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate*
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
7 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup whole milk
1 large jar maraschino cherries
1 jar cherry preserves
2 cups heavy whipping cream for whipping*

Melt chocolate in double broiler, set aside. Combine cocoa, sugar and egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together well. Combine milk, heavy cream and vanilla in a large saucepan and heat until just beginning to simmer. Stir in cocoa and egg yolk mixture. Cook and stir constantly over medium heat for about ten minutes or until thickened. Stir in melted bittersweet chocolate and pour custard into a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from from forming as custard cools. Set aside while you assemble your cake.

Cut chocolate cake into small rounds that fit easily into the bottom of your mini trifle dish. Each round should measure no more than 1/2 inch high, so trim accordingly. Sandwich cherry preserves between 2 1/2-inch rounds and press into the bottom of your trifle dish. Top with cherry brandy or liquid from maraschino cherries. Layer maraschino cherries on top and cover with chocolate custard. Cover and chill for at least an hour or overnight. Top with freshly whipped cream just before serving.

*Live-It-Up Variation: Can substitute semi-sweet chocolate to result in a milk chocolate flavor if dark chocolate is not your preference. If using a full-size trifle, split 9-inch round cake in half horizontally and make one large cherry sandwich. Dress up your whipped cream topping with chocolate shavings or red sprinkles.

Sweet Treat

Chocolate and nuts are one of my favorite combinations. I recently found myself with an abundance of almonds that I had purchased in bulk and needed to use. First, I toasted them for 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven:


Next, I melted milk chocolate chips in a double broiler:


Add one tablespoon solid vegetable shortening (this allows the candy to set up properly later):


Heat and stir until chocolate is smooth:


By this point, my nuts have toasted and are mostly cooled. Chop to desired coarseness:


Stir nuts into melted chocolate:


Spoon into miniature baking cups:


Don't rush - wait until they are completely cool and they will be easy to remove from the baking cup. Enjoy!