Nonesuch: May 2014

May 30, 2014

Skillet Chocolate Cake

I asked my dad what type of cake he wanted for his birthday, and his answer was chocolate cake with white frosting or white cake with chocolate frosting. Really, dad? I repeatedly told him how boring that was and offered him literally 20 or more recipes I had bookmarked to try with enticing options. He still wanted plain chocolate cake with white frosting or white cake with chocolate frosting.

Begrudgingly, I honored his request. I did, however, find a bookmark tucked away for Cookies and Cups' cake made in a cast-iron skillet. That's the recipe I selected since it let me try a new recipe and was at least a bit unique. I didn't manage to get a picture before we ate it, so I guess that tells you it was a solid cake. It's worth repeating ... if I'm ever requested to bring a plain chocolate cake anywhere.

Skillet Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used a mix of regular and dark)
1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup water, brought just to a boil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with butter. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper, grease again and dust lightly with flour. Set aside. (Note: the parchment paper was necessary for me. As in, I didn't do this step and had my cake not come out of the pan in one piece.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Pour hot water over top, let sit for 1 minute and then whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In another bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat together butter and light brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in eggs and vanilla beating until combined and smooth. Turn the mixer to low, and pour in melted chocolate mixture slowly until incorporated. Finally add the flour mixture and buttermilk in alternating portions, beginning and ending with flour. Stir until just combined, scraping sides when necessary.

Pour batter into prepared skillet. Bake for 40-50 minutes, turning skillet halfway through baking. Cake is done with a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs dangling.

Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes in the skillet, and then invert onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Frost as desired. Makes about 12-18 servings.

Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Granola

This granola from Yammie's Noshery caught my eye because of the inclusion of pretzels. My husband loves pretzels, as does our toddler, and I thought they would add a different twist to our normal granola routine. I made a couple substitutions with this recipe using ingredients on hand, but I'm sure the original recipe is equally delicious.

Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Granola
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup almond oil
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup crispy cereal
1 cup almonds, chopped
1 cup pretzels, lightly crushed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 250ºF. Melt the peanut butter in the microwave for one minute. Stir together with the rest of the ingredients (except for the chocolate chips).

Spread on silipat-lined baking sheet. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15minutes. Melt the chocolate chips, and drizzle over the granola. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Makes a large batch to enjoy, about 9 cups.

1 cup crunchy peanut butter (smooth is fine too)

1/4 cup butter

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup Rice Krispies

1 cup pecans,chopped (or other nuts)

1 cup pretzels (lightly crushed)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cup milk chocolate chips

May 19, 2014

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Each year for my birthday, I make a decadent dessert that's been taunting me from the blogging world. The past two year's creations have involved chocolate and peanut butter: Reeses Fudge Pie and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cake. (As a sidenote, I made a lot of tasty things in July 2012!) History will repeat itself this year in the flavor profile with this cake from Dieter's Downfall. The idea of cookie dough sandwiched into cake seems like an appropriate way to celebrate my 31st birthday. And I love that these projects with multiple steps and layers can be done over the course of a few days, which makes them easy to do with two little helpers. This concept is highly adaptable to other flavors of cookie dough, frosting or cake just for future reference. Perhaps future versions will be tastier because this one failed to impress me completely.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Cookie Dough Layer
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup flour
Cake
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cup cake flour
1 cup milk
1 cup boiling water
Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
2-5 Tbsp. milk
2 cups powdered sugar
Garnish
Chocolate curls
Peanut butter cups
Mini chocolate chips
Reeses Pieces

Make the cookie dough layer first by blending butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add in the sugars, and blend until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients until evenly incorporated. Line a 9-inch cake pan with plastic wrap, and transfer the cookie dough into it. Using slightly damp hands, press the dough evenly into the pan. Refrigerate overnight until set.

To make the cake, melt chocolate and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans by greasing, flouring and lining them with parchment paper.

Cream butter, and add in brown sugar. Beat until smooth. Add one egg at a time until light and fluffy. Add cooled chocolate, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Alternate adding in the flour and milk, and mix until just combined. Remove from mixer, and stir in the water by hand. Pour into prepared pans, and and bake for 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cakes are cool, wrap in plastic wrap. Ideally freeze overnight to make frosting easier.

To make the frosting, beat butter and peanut butter until smooth. Gradually add in milk and powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. (Note: I think an edible cookie dough frosting like this would be delicious, too.)

To assemble, place one chocolate cake on a cake platter. Add the cookie dough layer, and top with second chocolate cake. Trim edges as needed, and then frost cake. Garnish as desired.

Note: This cake recipe itself is not my favorite with the changes I made to it, so I would substitute a different recipe or use the original recipe from the blog next time I make it.

Double Chocolate Biscotti

Every now and then I get on a biscotti kick. I wanted to make a treat for my aunt to repay her kindness of watching my two little boys while I spent several hours at an appointment, so I made two batches of biscotti. These from Blogging Over Thyme turned out quite tasty. I dipped some in white chocolate and some in dark chocolate for a bit of variety. Crunchy, chocolatey and graced with sea salt ... delicious.

Double Chocolate Biscotti

2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 Tbsp. dark cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature and slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup raw sliced almonds, roughly chopped
12 oz. dark chocolate, melted
Sea salt

Line a large baking sheet with silipats. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, dark cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together for 2-3 minutes, or until the butter is pale in color. Add the eggs and vanilla, and continue to beat for another minute. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until a dough just comes together. Add the almonds, and stir until just incorporated. The dough will be thick and fairly sticky.

Turn the dough onto a clean counter top, and knead the dough lightly to combine any dry ingredients that were not incorporated. Divide dough in half using a bench scraper. Roll each half into a 12" log, and place both on top of the baking sheet (leaving space between them for spreading). Flatten the logs until the are about 3/4"-1" thick and rectangular in shape.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the logs are firm to the touch. Allow to cool on a baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Remove the dough to a cutting board, and using a serrated knife, cut each log into 1/2-3/4" thick. Line the pieces flat onto the cookie sheet, and bake the cookies again for 15 minutes, flipping once. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Once the cookies are cool, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave at 15-20 second increments. Place chocolate in a shallow wide dish. Dip the biscotti lengthwise into the chocolate.

Place the biscotti on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Allow the chocolate to set a bit before sprinkling the tops of the biscotti with flaky salt. Allow chocolate to harden completely before storing. Biscotti can be kept in an airtight container for up to a week or more. Makes about 30 biscotti.

Honey Biscotti

These biscotti came from Girl vs. Dough. The chocolate and salt combination elevate this biscotti from ordinary to addictive. The honey does make the dough more prone to burning in the oven, though, so keep a closer eye as it is baking. Quite a tasty combination.

Honey Biscotti
1 1/2 cups almonds
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Sea salt, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place almonds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, stirring once, until almonds are toasted. Let cool slightly, and then roughly chop.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate large bowl, combine eggs, oil, honey, sugar and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and stir until well combined. Stir in chopped almonds. Cover, and chill dough for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. When dough is fully chilled, divide in half. Using damp hands, shape both halves into 15-by-2-inch logs on a silipat-lined baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes until lightly golden and set. Cool 15 minutes on baking sheet.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice logs crosswise into 3/4-inch slices. Place slices cut-side down on the prepared baking sheets. Bake 15 to 20 more minutes until cookies are deep golden brown and crisp, turning biscotti once and rotating baking sheets halfway through. Let biscotti cool 5 minutes on baking sheets, and then transfer to a cool rack to cool completely.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave until smooth. Dip one end of each biscotti into chocolate, then transfer to baking sheets. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt after chocolate is cooled enough that the salt won't melt. Chill biscotti in fridge 15 minutes until chocolate is hardened. Makes about 30 biscotti.