Chocolate Malt Whopper Cake
Posted: May 1, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chocolate Malt Cake, Chocolate Whopper Cake, Whopper Cake Leave a comment
This cake is not a strong hit you in the face malted flavor, but rather the wonderful crunch of the whoppers in the filling along with the really flavorful malty vanilla buttercream give it a nice change to your average traditional chocolate cake. If you really love whoppers you could go all out and even crush some on top of the cake. I just love the simple crown of whoppers adorning the cake. I made this for a dear friend of mine who happens to be a wonderful neighbor as well. She’s part of my squad if you will. There are six of us; 3 couples (my Husband and I), and the 2 other couples who are all neighbors and we get together at least once a week to hang out, swim in the pool, drink or just relax and have a great time. There’s always laughs and good food, and I always bring the cake if it’s a special occasion.
Chocolate Malt Cake
1 3/4 Cup Flour
2 Cups Sugar
3/4 Cup” Hershey’s Special Dark” cocoa powder, sieved (you can used original Hershey’s cocoa powder also)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 Cup milk
5 Tbsp. malted milk powder
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
1 Cup very hot coffee
2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 8 inch cakes pans. Heat the milk in the microwave until very hot and whisk in the malted milk powder; set aside. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Whisk in the milk mixture until combined, then stir in eggs along with the oil and whisk vigorously until combined. Using the same whisk stir in the hot coffee and vanilla until batter is smooth. The batter will be very thin. Divide batter into equal parts into the 3 pans. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 26 mins or until a skewer inserted reveals a few moist crumbs. Depending on your oven; you may want to rotate your pans half way through for even baking. Do NOT overbake or cake will be dry. Allow cakes to cook in their pans over a wire rack until cooled.
Malted Milk Vanilla Buttercream
2 1/2 Tablespoons hot milk whisked with 5Tablespoons malted milk powder (I used Carnation brand)
5 oz. pasteurized liquid egg whites by weight (141 g)
1 lb, plus 4 oz. by weight confectioners sugar, sifted (567 g)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 lb and 1/4 unsalted butter (2 1/2 C) , softened but slightly cool
2 tsp. vanilla
Whisk together the hot milk and malted milk powder as above and set aside to cool.
*You will need whopper candies and some additional dark bittersweet chocolate in bar form. I like the Trader Joes Belgium dark chocolate brand. See below for details.
In a bowl of a stand mixer whisk together by hand first (to avoid a mess) the egg whites ,salt and confectioners sugar just to combine, then using the whisk attachment whisk on high for approximately 6 minutes until thickened and combined; stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. With the mixer on med high, start adding in the butter a tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated; stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the vanilla until combined. Mix in malted milk mixture until combined, then switch to the paddle attachment and whip for a couple minutes; this helps to ensure the buttercream is really smooth.
- Crush a couple handfuls of whoppers to break up so you have both small pieces and larger pieces.
- Approx. 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate divided. Melt 1.75 oz -2 oz (in this case I used one small bar of Trader Joes 1.75 oz bar) of bittersweet chocolate and allow to cool; to use for decorating; the remainder will be used to grate over the filled layers to add in some chocolate flavor.
To assemble the cake; Fill the first and second layers with 2 1/2 ice cream scoop size of buttercream and top with a generous grating of shaved chocolate using a large hole rasp, then top with some crushed whopper pieces. Top with the third cake layer and do a thin crumb coating of buttercream. Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes before finishing with the rest of your buttercream. Frost the top and sides first with the malted buttercream. To achieve the ombre effect; save one cup to 1 1/2 cup of buttercream, and in a small bowl combine with some of the melted chocolate to achieve a darker shade of buttercream, spread this along the bottom 2/3rds of the cake and using a bench scraper smooth. Dot the rest of the melted chocolate along the bottom of the of the cake about an inch worth and continue to smooth and scrape and add in any random spots of melted chocolate to you reach the desired effect. Top the cake along the border with whole whopper pieces. Chill until ready to serve and let the cake come to room temperature to serve.
You can drag a little of the melted chocolate along the top of the cake for a marbled effect
Easy Lemon Curd Parfaits
Posted: March 10, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized 3 Comments
This will make about 4-5 depending on the size of your glass jars or parfait glasses. I used 5 oz. repurposed yogurt jars that I had saved for small desserts.
Anyone from my pastry school days will remember me as a bit of a lemon head. I love love love anything lemon. I would always pick the lemon option when our instructor was passing out assignments. Recently the fine folks at www.Paradisefruitco.com sent me some complimentary candied lemon peel! and kindly asked me to come up a dessert or two and this is number 1 of a few that I’ll be posting, so come back in the near future for a couple more. Lemon lovers will love this super easy parfait that ticks all the boxes; tangy, sweet, crunchy and did I say super easy? You don’t even have to turn on the oven. If you’re not up to making lemon curd you can always purchase store bought curd.
*For this recipe you’ll need store bought lemon sandwich cookies. I purchased “thin” version lemon sandwich cookies (since they had less of a sweet filling , crushed to a coarse crumb in a food processor. (If you can’t find those you can use any other type of crisp lemon cookies, ginger snaps or any crisp type of cookie that you like.
Easy Microwave Lemon Curd
1 Cup Fresh lemon juice (not Meyer Lemon)
zest of one medium lemon
1 Cup castor sugar
1/2 Cup melted butter
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. softened butter
In a 8 cup capacity measuring cup or bowl (such a Pyrex), place all of the ingredients (except the extra 2 tablespoons of soft butter) and heat on high in one minute increments; stopping each minute to whisk mixture. Continue heating until mixture coats the back of a heat proof spatula and registers at least 185 degrees F. (This will take about 7-10 minutes). Note: Do NOT place in a 4 cup measuring cup; the curd will expand around the 6 minute mark and you’ll end with it overflowing. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to catch any bits of egg material and also the zest (zest is just there for flavor). Whisk in the 2 tablespoons of soft butter and then place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd and chill until ready to assemble.
Cream Cheese “Fluff”
4 oz. Cream cheese, cold , cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Cup heavy cream, very cold
1 1/2 Tbsp. Non-fat dry milk powder
1/2 Cup Confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste or 1/2 tsp. vanilla is fine also
In a medium bowl beat the cream cheese until it is a spreadable consistency and free of lumps. Set aside.
In a stand mixer bowl or large bowl place the cold heavy cream, the non fat milk powder, confectioners sugar, and vanilla bean paste. With the whisk attachment beat until stiff peaks. Add the cream cheese and gently beat until combined; avoiding overbeating. Keep cold until ready to use.
To assemble the parfaits:
In the bottom of your dishes place a layer of crushed cookies, followed by some lemon curd, followed by some cream cheese “fluff”, followed by some bits of the chopped candied lemon peel over the fluff. Repeat once more with cookie crumbs, then curd and ending with the cream cheese fluff. For the last layer of fluff pipe a decorative swirl with a piping tip or simply a dollop, and top with a few more bits of the candied lemon. Keep cold until ready to serve.
Gingerbread ~ Cinnamon Chip Biscotti
Posted: December 26, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
Gingerbread Cinnamon Chip Biscotti:
(yield ~ 2 dozen) depending on size)
1 stick (1/2 Cup) unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 Cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup unsulphured molasses (such as Grandmas)
2 large eggs
3 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp. mini cinnamon chips (you can find them online from King Arthur or sometimes in baking shops) If you can’t find them; you can leave them out.
Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy; about 3-4 minutes. Add in the molasses and mix til combined. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix on medium low speed until combined. In a separate medium bowl combine all the dry; from flour on down the rest of the list. Add in the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time until combined; taking care not to over mix. Stir in the cinnamon chips.
Preheat the oven to 325 F degrees. Divide the dough into thirds or half depending on how big you like your biscotti.
I did mine into small-medium form size and shaped a long rectangular shape into a parchment lined baking sheet into a 2 inch wide x 10 inch long shaped strip; the dough will spread (width wise) to about double once baked. Bake your cookie “slab” at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let sit on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Decrease the oven to 300 degrees.
Cut the slab into diagonal 3/4 inch slices. Set onto a clean parchment paper lined sheet spaced apart and bake for another 10 minutes (stopping half way to turn over each cookie) or until firm. The cookies will firm up further once cool. Repeat with your other portioned out dough to bake off the rest or shape larger if you like.
Cranberry ~ Orange Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
Posted: December 22, 2020 Filed under: Cakes (36), Uncategorized | Tags: Cranberry Cake, Cranberry ~ Orange Layer Cake, White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Leave a comment
Cranberry ~ Orange Layer Cake
3 1/3 Cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 Cups unsalted butter, room temp
2 Cups sugar
zest of one large orange or 2 tangerines
3 large eggs, room temp
1 Cup milk, room temp
1 Cup sour cream, room temp
1 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla
3 Cups fresh cranberries
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour or spray with baking spray 3 eight inch pans.
Cream the butter, sugar and zest until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time and combine. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl or large glass measuring 4 cup size; whisk together the sour cream, milk and vanilla until combined. Starting and ending with the flour; Alternate with the flour in 3 additions and w/the milk mixture in 2 additions. Don’t over mix. Fold in the cranberries. Divide the batter in the 3 prepared pans and bake about 35-40 minutes until a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool the pans over a wire rack until the cakes are completely cool. Frost with the cream cheese icing.
Decorate as desired.
Optional sugared rosemary and cranberries:
Make a small amount of simple sugar with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water by melting in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves and gently boil for a minute. Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool for about 10 minutes. Drop the cranberries into the syrup and remove and place over a wire rack and let rest for about 10 minutes then roll in sugar and place back onto the rack to dry. “Drag” the rosemary sprigs into the syrup and let dry on the rack for about 40 minutes, the coat with sugar and place back onto the rack to dry.
Optional marzipan pine cones:
Quick food processor marzipan: (you can use store bought also)
5 oz. finely ground blanched almond flour
6 oz. confectioners sugar
1 Tbsp. liquid pasteurized (100 %) egg white
1 tsp. almond extract
Blend all the ingredients in the processor and dump out onto a piece of plastic wrap and roll into a log.
Break off a small piece of marzipan and roll it into a ball first in your hands, then shape into a cone shape. Insert sliced “natural” almonds at an angle into the marzipan. Sprinkle a generous amount of confectioners sugar once formed. Carefully place on the cake as desired.
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
16 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 lbs. Confectioners sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. white chocolate melted
1/4 Cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar
(optional)* 8 oz. white chocolate melted and cooled
Beat cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Add in the white chocolate and blend until combined; but don’t overbeat. Fill and frost cooled cake layers. Tip; the prevent the cake layers sliding insert bamboo skewers into the top of the cake and chill the cake after doing a thin crumb coating on the top and sides before putting on the final layer of frosting. Remove the skewers once you’re ready to frost the top and sides of the cake; chill the cake in between if the frosting starts to get a little soft.
Peanut Butter ~ Salted Pretzel Balls
Posted: December 13, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
This is seriously the easiest treat to whip together. Plop yourself in front of the tv with a friend and commence to rolling out the balls. Take advantage of your little gremlins to help get all the balls rolled and then you can get to the dippin. I like the crunch of the Himalayan salt on top-don’t skip that part; it helps make them extra special. The salt I had was a little coarse so I bashed it (yes that’s a cooking technical term) in my mortar and pestle until it was a wee bit finer in texture. With all the other time sensitive treats you may be whipping up these don’t take much time to crank out.
Happy Holidays!
Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter ~ Salted Pretzel Balls
1 stick (1/2 Cup) unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 Cup smooth peanut butter; such as Jif (not natural style)
pinch of kosher salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 Cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1/2 Cup salted pretzel thin sticks (cut into small pieces)
10 oz. bag Ghirardelli dark chocolate melting wafers
pink Himalayan salt for garnish
Cream the butter, peanut butter, and salt together until smooth. Switch to the whisk attachment and blend in the sugar a cup at a time until combined. Add in the pretzel pieces and stir until combined. Using about a tablespoon roll into balls. Place the balls onto a parchment lined tray and chill until firm; about 30 minutes.
Melt the chocolate wafers in the microwave in 30 second increments; taking out to stir and keeping close watch so the chocolate does not burn. Once melted dip the balls using either a fork or a chocolate dipping loop and place onto the tray and immediately sprinkle with the pink salt. Once all the balls have been dipped place in the fridge to set up completely. Let come to room temperature to serve.
