I thought it would be a cute idea post-Japan to give home-made Pocky out as a Christmas treat, so this weekend I roped Court into helping me out. As she said, our efforts were "not quite Not Quite Nigella" (whose recipe & instructions I pinched). The dough was not the easiest to make without a stand mixer but I managed, and the results are remarkably close to the real thing. It also made for a fun afternoon of decorating, even if our artistic skills are approximately Grade 4 level (and I'm being generous here). For toppings, we had dark, milk, and white chocolate, and some green tea chocolate made by mixing matcha into white chocolate. Everything else was whatever I could find in the pantry: - dark chocolate shavings - yellow & pink decorating sugars - cashews - dried cranberries - ground almonds - candied ginger - kinako powder - sea salt - pepper - chili powder
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Almost Pocky
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Reese's PB Cookie Tarts
Well, here it is almost Christmas time. As I mentioned in my last cookie post, my mom came by to help me with Christmas baking (and more importantly child minding). This cookie is a real hit with all peanut butter and chocolate lovers. It looks really cute too!
Reese's PB Cookie Tarts:
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 package mini peanut butter cups
Cream the margarine, peanut butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla together. In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and blend into the creamed mixture. Shape into 1 inch balls and press into ungreased mini muffin tins (tins should be about 3/4 full).
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes - don't over bake! While cookies are baking, unwrap the peanut butter cups, and keep them in the fridge. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, press a peanut butter cup into the centre of each cookie. Work quickly while the cookies are still soft and hot. Let the muffin tins cool completely before removing the cookies.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
The other day my lovely mother came over to help me watch the baby, and we did some Christmas baking. We actually made four different things all in one day! It's wonderful because now when people pop over I have sweets to pull out of the freezer. It also doesn't hurt that I refer to my mother as the baby wisperer. Seriously, the woman can calm the most angry baby as if it is nothing! There are days I wish she would move in with me...
These cookies are from my Canadian Living cookbook that I got when I got married. My husband thinks they are better than when I make my mom's chocolate chip cookies with pudding mix. I can't say I agree, but they are pretty good.
Oatmeal Cookies:
2/3 cup softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups quick oats
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
In a large bowl beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and cinnamon. In a sparate bowl mix the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture along with the chocolate chips and walnuts.
Drop by heaping spoonful onto greased baking sheets and bake at 375 F for 10 minutes or until golden. Delish and great for freezing!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Delia Smith's Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding
Okay, it's not that I am not cooking or eating, I just haven't had time with the little one to then take pictures and write about it. Basically I end up making food as fast as possible and then either relish the few second I have to eat with both hands free or I end up eating while holding her or feeding her. This was actually made the weekend before I had the baby, back when I still had time to photograph things not baby related. It is delicious though. It's not just kind of delicious, it is amazingly delicious if you like dark chocolate. It's like a mix between the perfect gooey brownie and a chocolate lava cake.
I've never made bread pudding before, it just isn't the first thing that comes to mind for me when I think about dessert. My husband picked it out though when I told him that he had to pick a cake for me to make for him for his birthday. It was a big hit all around, I can't wait until I have an occasion to make it again so I can show off. I also like that you make it a day ahead, and then just pop it in the oven when the time comes.
Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding:
9 slices, each ¼ inch (5 mm) thick, good-quality white bread, 1 day old, taken from a large loaf
5 oz (150 g) dark chocolate (75 per cent cocoa solids)
3 oz (75 g) butter
15 fl oz (425 ml) whipping cream
4 tablespoons dark rum (I used Kahlua instead)
4 oz (110 g) caster sugar
good pinch cinnamon
3 large eggs
Begin by removing the crusts from the slices of bread, which should leave you with 9 pieces about 4 inches (10 cm) square. So now cut each slice into 4 triangles. Next, place the chocolate, whipping cream, rum, sugar, butter and cinnamon in a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, being careful not to let the bowl touch the water, then wait until the butter and chocolate have melted and the sugar has completely dissolved. Next, remove the bowl from the heat and give it a really good stir to amalgamate all the ingredients.
Now in a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and then pour the chocolate mixture over them and whisk again very thoroughly to blend them together.
Then spoon about a ½ inch (1 cm) layer of the chocolate mixture into the base of the dish and arrange half the bread triangles over the chocolate in overlapping rows. Now, pour half the remaining chocolate mixture all over the bread as evenly as possible, then arrange the rest of the triangles over that, finishing off with a layer of chocolate. Use a fork to press the bread gently down so that it gets covered very evenly with the liquid as it cools.
Cover the dish with clingfilm and allow to stand at room temperature for 2 hours before transferring it to the fridge for a minimum of 24 (but preferably 48) hours before cooking. When you're ready to cook the pudding, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C). Remove the clingfilm and bake in the oven on a high shelf for 30-35 minutes, by which time the top will be crunchy and the inside soft and squidgy. Leave it to stand for 10 minutes before serving with well-chilled double cream poured over.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Easiest Chocolate Mousse - Take 2
It's hot out, I have six and a half weeks left until the baby finish line, and although I am madly craving sweets, I don't want to heat up my house any more or stand for any long periods of time. The other day I had run out of my freezer stash of baking, and I sunk to looking for chocolate chips to eat. Sadly, that wasn't far enough for me to go as I realized I was out of chocolate chips and I then resorted to eating squares of baking chocolate. This is what my life has come to. In honor of that, I am reposting my easy chocolate mousse recipe, which I made in white chocolate version this time (because I had white chocolate baking squares that I hadn't gobbled up in a fit of desperation). Topping it with fruit makes it healthy, I promise. The raspberries are part of the bounty I harvested off the bushes behind my garage all summer long.
If you have been reading us for a long time, you may recognize this as the first post we ever did :-)
Chocolate Mousse:
6 squares of bakers chocolate (any kind you like)
1 ½ cups whipping cream
Combine the chocolate squares with ¼ cup of the whipping cream and microwave for 1 minute on high. Give it a stir and then microwave it for 30 seconds to 1 minute more. If you chop up the chocolate it takes a bit less time. If it is not melted fully after the second minute, just stir it until it has melted. Let the melted chocolate sit for about 20 minutes or until close to room temperature.
Whip the remaining 1 ¼ cup of whipping cream and fold it into the cooled chocolate mixture. If the chocolate mixture is still quite warm, give it some extra time or the whole thing will curdle, and you will be very disappointed after smelling delicious melting chocolate to not get a nice mousse to eat in the end. Refrigerate for two hours.
Friday, June 5, 2009
White Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake
I don't think it is a secret that Brooke and I really really like cheesecake (don't act like you are too good for it!). I'm sure I have mentioned the past shame of eating 3/4 of a full cake by myself in the course of a couple of days before taking the last quarter to a party and begging my girlfriends to take it away from me before I did myself in. This is that cake! Well, it's not that particular cake, which was long ago in my belly, but one I made again using the same recipe, this time knowing I would have guests to help with the eating. Even though it is made with a good amount of white chocolate, it doesn't have that overly sweet taste some people don't like about white chocolate. It is just subtle and perfectly delish. It's also flexible in that it is flavor that goes well with a lot of different fruit toppings if you decide you want to try to make your cheesecake seem "healthier."
White Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake:
Crust
3/4 cup hazelnuts (optional)
12 whole graham crackers, broken (I up this to 15-18 if not using the nuts)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted
Filling
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 ounces imported white chocolate (such as Lindt), finely chopped
3 tablespoons liqueur (I used Kahlua, but if I have Bailey's or Tia Maria I use what I have that tastes like coffee or chocolate or both)
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Grease 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Wrap aluminum foil around outside of pan. Place hazelnuts in pie pan and roast until brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to kitchen towel, cover and let stand 5 minutes. Rub hazelnuts with towel to remove husks. Chop coarsely in food processor. Add graham crackers and sugar and process until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter and process until crumbs begin to stick together. Press crumbs into bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool crust on rack.
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in white chocolate and hazelnut liqueur. Pour filling into crust, covering completely.
Bake cake until edges are set and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, a little over an hour. Cool completely in pan on rack. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead.) Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen. Release pan sides. Transfer cheesecake to platter. Cut into wedges and serve. You can cook it in a bain marie (on a tray filled with water) if you feel that helps avoid cracking. I feel like cracking is pretty inevitable with a nice cream colored cheesecake, and instead of fretting about it, I just put something pretty on top like chocolate shavings, fruit, whipped cream or all of those. I mean really, who looks at a cheesecake for more than a few seconds before it is gone!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The World's Greatest Buttercream
The truly amazing texture of this icing cannot be captured on film (pixels), but believe me when I say this is the best buttercream I have ever tried. And I've tried many, because often I prefer the icing to the cake. The fact that icing one cake takes a full pound of butter just has to be overlooked in this case, I think. I found this recipe and adapted it when I was making Court's wedding cakes - one in vanilla and one in chocolate. They are both so delicious that I really have a hard time not eating it by the spoonful!
My icing job on these mini-cakes was pretty mediocre, but they were just tasting cakes for a wedding in July. This particular buttercream used 200g milk chocolate and 50g unsweetened dark chocolate as the bride prefers a milk chocolate flavour.
Buttercream:
(makes 5 cups - enough to ice a 3 layer 8" cake)
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
165 ml whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 sticks/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
optional: 200-300g dark chocolate, melted & cooled
For extra potency in the vanilla buttercream, adding vanilla seeds is a nice touch. If you decide to make chocolate buttercream, I wouldn't recommend milk chocolate as the sweetness tends to overwhelm the chocolate flavour. However, if you really prefer milk to dark a mixture of the two seems to work best to balance sweetness & chocolatey-ness. You can also experiment with other flavours: I have tried adding raspberry puree, Chambord, chestnut puree, and most kinds of chocolate... it's pretty much a universally good icing.
The first step is to make a custard. Put the eggs yolks and a third of your 1/2 cup of sugar into a bowl and cream together until very it becomes pale and thickened. On the stovetop, bring the milk and vanilla to a boil over medium heat; remove from the heat and whisk a third of the heated milk into the yolk mixture, then pour that back into the pan with the remaining milk and whisk together. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens and starts pulling up on your whisk (this will be at about 190F on a candy thermometre) - this was hard to explain, but if you've ever made custard before you'll know what I'm talking about. Remove from the heat and pour through a sieve back into the bowl, then pop it in the fridge until cool.
When it's cool, whip the butter until pale and fluffy and then mix in the chilled custard. Next, heat the egg whites and remaining sugar in a bain marie (glass/metal bowl over simmering water), whisking until the sugar is dissolved - this doesn't take long. Remove from the heat and beat the whites on high until stiff peaks form. Finally, add the egg white mixture to the butter mixture and beat together until smooth. If you are making chocolate buttercream, now is the time to add the melted chocolate and whip together until fully combined.
This buttercream can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen up to 3 months. Before icing, bring it back to room temperature and beat again.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Valentine's Temptation
This is a perfect Valentine's Day cake, as one would have to be in love to want to make this. Me? I'm just crazy. This is not for the faint of heart - it is both expensive to make and extremely labour intensive. The results are worth it though; the chestnut cream gives it a unique twist and it is so chocolate-y I think it's fulfilled my cravings for the next several months.
Base Brownie Layer:
1 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 tbsp/2 oz butter
1 egg2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped roast chestnuts
Score the chestnuts and roast in a 400F/200C oven for 30 minutes, then peel and chop. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie then remove from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until smooth, then whisk in the egg and both sugars. Stir in the flour, followed by the chestnuts. Bake in a 6" greased springform pan or cake ring for 15 minutes in a 350F/180C oven. I used a strip of folded foil around the base to help seal the ring and prevent the edges of the brownie from baking faster than the middle. When the middle springs back when touched, remove & cool on a wire rack.
Centre Chestnut Cream Layer:
1 tsp powdered gelatin
1 tbps water
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chestnut puree
In a cup or small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin powder over the water and let it absorb for 5 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar together until it turns a pale yellow. Bring the cream to a boil, and whisk in the yolk mixture. Add the soaked gelatin, stirring over a low heat until the mixture thickens (around 10 minutes). Whisk in the chestnut puree. Pour through a sieve and refridgerate until partially
set. With the Brownie Base still in the pan, pour over the Chestnut Cream. Freeze for 2 hours.
Top Chocolate Mousse Layer:
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp water
3 egg yolks
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted & cooled to tepid
3/4 cup heavy cream
Bring the sugar and water to a full boil. Beat the yolks with an electric mixer, and pour over the hot syrup. Keep beating to prevent the eggs from cooking, and continue until the mixture is cool and has doubled in volume. In a separate bowl whip the cream to soft peaks, then take 1/3 of the whipped cream and whisk it into the tepid chocolate. Make sure the chocolate has not fully cooled! I was distracted by dinner while making this layer, and the cooled chocolate ended up not fully mixing into the mousse. Fold the yolk mixture into the cream/chocolate, then fold in the remaining whipped cream. Spread the mousse over the Chestnut Layer and freeze for 4 hours.
Chocolate Icing (optional):
1 1/2 tsp powdered gelatin
1 tbsp water1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water
In a cup or small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin powder over the water and let it absorb for 5 minutes. Add the sugar, cocoa, cream, and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil stirring continually. Reduce the heat to med-low and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the soaked gelatin; to ensure this dissolves properly I found it easiest to add the hot chocolate mixture to the gelatin bowl bit by bit and then added it to the pan. Let stand until the icing is tepid but still fluid.
Place the cake on a wire rack and remove the ring/remove from the pan. I used a hot knife (ice cream cake-style) to get it out of the ring, then used my hands dipped in hot water to smooth the sides. Because the icing is similar to a ganache, you need to make sure the cake has a smooth base for it. If you decide not to ice the cake 
(it's really not needed, as the cake is chocolate-y enough), sprinking cocoa on top and decorating would look good as well. This can be frozen for up to 3 days, and defrosted for 8 hours in the fridge prior to serving. 
P.S. Make sure you keep all those egg whites!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Double Chocolate Brownies
As if you haven't had enough sweets by now - I have brownies on the brain! I am always looking for the perfect brownie. I have some vague recollection that at some time in my life I have had one - for me it would be moist and fudgy and not cakelike at all - but I have no clue what recipe would have produced it. I found yet another recipe the other day that promised to produce the best ever brownies, so I gave it a try.
Double Chocolate Brownies:
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chunks
1/2 cup nuts (pecans or walnuts) optional
Combine the cocoa and baking soda with 1/3 cup of melted butter in a large bowl. Add the boiling water and stir until blended. Stir in sugar, eggs and the rest of the butter. Add the flour, vanilla and salt. Stir in the chocolate chunks. Bake in a greased 13 by 9 baking pan at 350 F for 35 minutes or until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.
They are not quite dense and gooey enough to be perfect in my books, but they are certainly chocolaty and yummy none the less. I am still in search of perfection, but these brownies are pretty darn good.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Peanut Butter Cup Trifle
I debated posting this recipe, because is not the prettiest dessert you will make, but it ends up being like a pudding version of a peanut butter cup that tastes lovely and very much like the candy. It will be a hit with children, and probably with the guys as well, but it's not a dessert I would pick for a fancy dinner party. Like a peanut butter cup, it is very sweet, so serve it up in fairly small portions to start. I made mine in a casserole dish, but if you want to up the "pretty" factor, I would go with a trifle dish so that the layers are visible, and a bit thicker. I took this one to my book club pot luck, knowing that the ladies would want small portions after filling up on all the delicious main course options, and I didn't want them to have to dig down for a giant scoop.
Peanut Butter Cup Trifle:
15 oreo cookies crumbled
5-6 peanut butter cups (or twice as many minis) chopped
1 package frozen whipped topping
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 package cream cheese (brought to room temperature)
1 package instant fudge pudding mix1 cup cold milk
Basically you will be making two mixtures, a peanut butter one, and a chocolate one. The peanut butter mixture requires you to whip 1 cup of the icing sugar, the peanut butter and the cream cheese together until smooth, and then fold in half of the whipped topping. The chocolate mixture starts with whipping the remaining 1/2 cup of icing sugar with the pudding mix and the milk for about two minutes, and then folding in the remaining whipped topping.
The layering of the trifle can be varied to suit your mood. Seeing as mine was in a casserole dish, I used the crumbled cookies to make a "crust" and then sprinkled the chopped peanut butter cups over the top to indicate what the dessert would taste like. Having the pb cups on the top also warns off anyone with peanut allergies. As a trifle, having the crunchy bits in the middle would be nice, or you could put half of the cookie mixture and the chopped pb cups in the middle and put the remaining cookie crumble on top (it would contrast in colour nicely with the pb mixture). Once people dig in to the trifle it will end up all combining anyway, so have fun with it. Refrigerate for a couple of hours after assembling and then serve. Note that after a couple days of sitting the cookie bits will soften, so eat up right away.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Easy Chocolate Mousse
Tomorrow evening I am having a couple of girlfriends over for dinner since the hubby is on night shift and won’t be home. I will be working during the day, so I need to think about making things that are either fast or can be made in advance, or both. It’s a pretty safe bet that girls will like chocolate, so I am going to whip up some easy Chocolate Mousse this morning that I can pull out at the end of dinner with a flourish and then sit back and listen to the oohs and ahs as everyone feels spoiled with a rich (but light tasting) chocolate dessert. Chocolate desserts go great with girls, wine, and visiting!
I like this dessert because it is fast, easy, only requires two ingredients, and can be made in advance if you have people coming over. You can make it with any kind of chocolate you like. I usually go with either white chocolate or dark semi sweet chocolate. Don’t try to make this low fat by using half and half - the mousse won’t turn out as nice. It is dessert; it’s going to be a bit indulgent.
Chocolate Mousse:
6 squares of bakers chocolate (any kind you like)
1 ½ cups whipping cream
Combine the chocolate squares with ¼ cup of the whipping cream and microwave for 1 minute on high. Give it a stir and then microwave it for 30 seconds to 1 minute more. If you chop up the chocolate it takes a bit less time. If it is not melted fully after the second minute, just stir it until it has melted. Let the melted chocolate sit for about 20 minutes or until close to room temperature.
Whip the remaining 1 ¼ cup of whipping cream and fold it into the cooled chocolate mixture. If the chocolate mixture is still quite warm, give it some extra time or the whole thing will curdle, and you will be very disappointed after smelling delicious melting chocolate to not get a nice mousse to eat in the end. Refrigerate for two hours.
There are lots of fun ways to fancy this up. You can pour it into little ramekins or pretty glasses. You can top it with chocolate shavings or berries or drizzle sauces over it. If you really want to put in some additional effort you could make dark and white chocolate mousse and layer them like a parfait. I have even made mousse cake using my spring form pan with an oreo cookie crumb crust, a layer of the dark chocolate mousse, and a layer of the white. If you are having a family style dinner, I like to make a batch in a trifle dish and just let people help themselves. Yum!
