Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 15

Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt 

I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 15

Happy National Bundt Day! November 15th is one of my favorite days of the year! :) I don't know who made up this silly food holiday, but I'm glad they did.

I hope you make a Bundt to celebrate the inverted, curvy cake! If you do celebrate today, let me know by filling out this ONLINE FORM and submitting a photo - I'm going to do a round-up of yummy cakes. (You don't need a blog to join in). If you want, I'll send you some food gift tags that you can put on a slice of Bundt cake that you give to friends and family. (Don't have a photo of these yet, because I haven't made them yet ;) If you live in the US, you'll be entered in a raffle for a cool Jubilee Bundt pan too! Notes: Bundts need to be made within the last 30 days, and deadline to enter is Nov 23, 2013. This is not sponsored - I'm paying for this.

This is the Julibee Pan you could win if you bake for National Bundt Day! 

I make this cake All. The. Time.
Really.
If you invite me to a meeting next week, I'm likely to show up with this Bundt.
You just got home with a new baby? This Bundt might show up on your doorstep.

And you should make it too! Each year I have profiled this Bundt because it's my go-to Bundt and so versatile - I've made cupcakes with the recipe too.

You don't need a mixer and it all comes together in a flash. If you want to celebrate National Bundt Day today and can't decide from the 100 plus recipes I've made in the past... then pick this Bundt. You probably have many of the ingredients in your house. And if you don't have buttermilk, just make it with some milk and vinegar.

This cake is moist and delicious. It keeps for a few days too...if you don't eat it first!

See this earlier post for step-by-step instructions with photos!

Thank you sooooo much for following along on my crazy adventure (I'm not the crazy cat lady, I'm just the crazy Bundt lady). Although it was the "light" edition with only 15 days of bundts this year, I'm going to take a breather and rest for a bit... Happy Bundt Day to you and yours! - mary the food librarian

Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/4 c plus 1 T (or 5 T) cocoa (I have used both Dutch processed and natural cocoa with fine results). I used 30 grams of Hershey's Cocoa.

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
2 cups (400 grams) sugar
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 c buttermilk
1 t baking soda

2 eggs
1 t vanilla

Instructions:
Prepare 10-cup or 12-cup Bundt pan (I prefer to use Pam with Flour or Bakers Joy but you can also butter and flour the pan). Preheat oven to 375 degree.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together: flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon
2. Bring to a boil in a pot: Water, oil, butter and cocoa. Once it reaches a boil, remove from heat.
3. Add the chocolate mixture to the flour and whisk by hand until combined.
4. Add the buttermilk and baking soda and mix.
5. In a small bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla. Add to the batter and combine.
6. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes (depending on your oven and pan), until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven and let sit on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto wire rack and let cool completely.
9. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy.

I Like Big Bundts 2013
Day 15: Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt (this post)
Day 14: Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Bundt
Day 13: Fresh Ginger & Molasses Bundt
Day 12: Matcha Green Tea Crème Fraîche Bundt
Day 11: Triple Chocolate Bundt
Day 10: Biscoff Speculoos Cookie Butter Bundt
Day 9: Zucchini Bundt with Chocolate Ganache
Day 7: Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
Day 6: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day 5: Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt
Day 4: Moosewood's Fresh Apple Spice Bundt Cake
Day 3: Butterscotch Bundt Cake
Day 2: Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt
Day 1: Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Triple Chocolate Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 11

Triple Chocolate Bundt

I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 11

Chocolate once.
Chocolate twice.
Chocolate three times!

Welcome to Day 11 of I Like Big Bundts 2013! National Bundt Day is Friday, November 15th and I hope you'll bake a Bundt to celebrate. I'm going to do a round-up so take photos and share with me (info coming soon...my weekend has been busy - sorry for the delay). If you make a Bundt, I'm having a little giveaway for bakers too (but it's not a button because that was a mailing/postage fiasco).

Today's Bundt has so much chocolate. It has 10 ounces of chopped chocolate in the cake, Dutch processed cocoa, and a chocolate ganache with 4 more ounces of chocolate. It's a massive chocolate cake.

I used much of the Pound Plus 72% Dark Chocolate bar from Trader Joe's for the recipe. I also used Starbucks Via for the coffee syrup. I don't drink coffee and find the Via packets are convenient when baking.

There were a couple things with this recipe that affected the outcome. If I didn't have to make more Bundts, I would try it again (perhaps after National Bundt Day!)

(1) The recipe says it fits in a 6-cup Bundt, but my 6-cup bundt pan runneth over. So, I think this would be better in a 10-cup Bundt pan. Or, you can use the 6-cup Bundt and make a couple cupcakes too. Because my cake was too full, I baked it a bit longer and I found it a bit dry.
(2) I didn't use all the coffee syrup. It makes 1/2 cup of syrup. I was afraid the cake would get soggy if I used it all. But then it was a bit dry - Was that because I baked it longer (because is went over the top) or because I didn't use all the syrup? Hum. Thus, I would try it in a 10-cup bundt next time (or not fill the 6-cup Bundt as full). If you make it, let me know how it turns out for you.

A coffee/sugar syrup is brushed over the warm cake. Coffee and chocolate go perfectly together!

You can see all those bits of chopped chocolate. This cake is fulllllll of chocolate!

Note: I was making a double batch of ganache for another recipe and didn't follow their recipe. I also didn't wait long enough for the ganache to thicken up before pouring. Therefore, you should get a richer covering of ganache on your bundt if you follow their recipe! :)

The rest of the cookbook looks really good and this was my first recipe. I hope to make more recipes soon!

Hope you are planning your Bundt making! See you tomorrow for another Bundt! - mary the food librarian

I Like Big Bundts 2013
Day 10: Biscoff Speculoos Cookie Butter Bundt
Day 9: Zucchini Bundt with Chocolate Ganache
Day 7: Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
Day 6: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day 5: Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt
Day 4: Moosewood's Fresh Apple Spice Bundt Cake
Day 3: Butterscotch Bundt Cake
Day 2: Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt
Day 1: Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt

Recipe: Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake
Adapted from the Standard Baking Co. Pastries cookbook by Alison Pray & Tara Smith
Find it on Amazon or in your library.

Cake:
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup hot water
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (122 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups (10 ounces) chopped bittersweet chocolate (I used Trader Joe's 72% dark chocolate Belgium bar)

Coffee Syrup:
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee (I used 1/2 a packet of Starbucks Via)
2 teaspoons sugar

Ganache:
3/4 cup (4 ounces) chopped bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup half-and-half (I used heavy cream because I didn't have half-and-half)

Directions:
1. Coffee Syrup: Mix together hot coffee and sugar until dissolved. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. The instructions say to use a 6-cup bundt pan. I used a 6-cup pan and it was too full, so you might want to reduce some of the batter in a 6-cup bundt and make a couple cupcakes too, or use a 10-cup Bundt pan. Prepare by spraying it with Pam with Flour or Baker's Joy, or greasing and flouring the pan.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the cocoa powder and hot water into a paste. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. The instructions said the mixture would be lumpy, but I mine was pretty smooth.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
5. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Then add the cocoa mixture and mix on low until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened.
6. Beat the mixture on medium speed for an additional minute to aerate the mixture - it will lighten in color.
7. Fold in chopped chocolate to distribute evenly.
8. Pour into pan and bake 40-43 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking process, until wooden skewer inserted in the clear or with moist crumbs. (My cake came over the top and took longer to bake)
9. Remove cake and let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Then invert on the wire rack.
10. Brush the coffee syrup on the warm cake. (I used about 50% of the coffee syrup). Let the cake cool completely.
11. Ganache: Place chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat half-and-half or cream in a small pan until it simmers. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes when stir until smooth.
12. Pour warm ganache over cake.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Zucchini Bundt with Chocolate Ganache - I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 9

Zucchini Bundt

I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 9

Hello! Do you have some great neighbors with a green thumb? Do they leave fresh tomatoes on your doorstep every summer?

And do they leave boatloads of zucchini on your porch and run? Oh, zucchini. I love you, but I know that sometimes you go and multiply for gardeners. If you do get some zucchini, make this bundt from The Kitchn (love this website!)

I added some chocolate chips and ganache to the bundt, but it is lovely as is too. Since zucchini can be a watery veggie, you squeeze out as much water as possible before adding it to your batter. Great tip!

Of course, you can enjoy this plain with just a dusting of powdered sugar. Or...

...you can add some ganache. I happened to have some leftover ganache in the freezer and just let it thaw in the refrig until soft enough to spread on the bundt. You can also heat it to get it liquefied and pour it over the bundt.

You may wonder...What happened to Day 8 of I Like Big Bundts? Um...I went out with friends for lunch at Canter's (famous Jewish deli in Los Angeles) and we had a lovely time on our day off. When I walked back to my car, I couldn't find my keys (I've never lost a set of keys!). Nothing like dumping the contents of your purse on the sidewalk! Luckily, one friend didn't drive off yet (we came from three different areas of town) and was able to search the sidewalk, restaurants and bakery (of course we stopped in at Diamond Bakery) for my keys to no avail. So he drove to my friend's work where I hung out and shredded documents for her (hey, what are friends for?) until the end of the workday. Then we went to my area of town, had dinner, drove back to my house for my extra set of car keys, then drove back to Canter's, and I picked up my car. Thus, my 1:00 pm lunch took me until 9:30 pm to get home. Lovely to chat with my friends for an extended period of time...but no time to Bundt!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway for cool Snapware Pyrex food containers. See this post - deadline 11/13/2013.

P.S.S. If you bake a bundt for National Bundt Day on Nov 15, I'm doing a round up (with a giveaway for an awesome bundt pan for those who bake). Submission info will be up soon...I've been delayed in getting that together but never fear...we'll be celebrating! :)

P.S.S. Need ideas of what Bundt to make? Check out my I Like Big Bundts page with lots of links, and here are this year's so far...

I Like Big Bundts 2013 (so far)
Day 7: Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
Day 6: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day 5: Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt
Day 4: Moosewood's Fresh Apple Spice Bundt Cake
Day 3: Butterscotch Bundt Cake
Day 2: Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt
Day 1: Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt

Recipe: Zucchini Bundt with Chocolate Ganache 
Adapted from The Kitchn, How to Make Zucchini Bread by Emma Christensen

Bundt:
1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium-sized)
3 cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup (200 grams) white sugar
1/2 cup (50 grams)  brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup olive oil or canola oil (I used olive oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional extras: 1 cup chopped nuts, 1 cup raisins, or 1 cup chocolate chips (I used one cup of chocolate chips)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 12-cup Bundt pan by spraying it with Pam with Flour or Baker's Joy, or greasing and flouring the pan.
2. Shred the zucchinis on a box grater. Place shreds in a clean kitchen towel or several layers of cheese cloth and squeeze to press out as much moisture from the zucchini as possible.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to combine.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sugars, olive oil, and vanilla extract together to combine.
5. Add the squeezed zucchini and the optional nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips into the flour mixture and gentle combine with a spatula. Add the liquids to the flour/zucchini mixture. Fold the batter together, being careful not to overmix.
6. Place batter in Bundt pan and smooth out top with an off-set spatula or spoon. Bake 45-50 minutes until skewer inserted in the center come back clean, and the top springs back when touched.
7. Let cook in the Bundt pan for 15 minutes and then invert and cool completely on a wire rack.
8. Optional: Add some ganache to the top (either pour over ganache or spread on)

Ganache - This makes a cup or so of ganache. You will have extra and can freeze it or use it on another baking project!

1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1. Ganache is a combination of heavy cream and chocolate. So easy and so delicious. You can use semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (or a mixture of both). The ratio is heavy cream (in fluid ounces) : chocolate (in weight)
2. Therefore, I used 8 fluid ounces (1 cup) of heavy cream to 8 ounces (weight) of semi-sweet chocolate.
3. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Bring the cream to a light simmer. Turn off heat and slowly pour the cream over the chocolate.
4. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. Then slowly whisk the liquid and chocolate together. Mix slowly...you don't want to incorporate extra air into the mixture. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
5. You can use ganache in different stages of "set". When it is warm, you can pour it over a cake or cupcake. When it firms up a bit more, you can spoon it on the treats. A bit more settling and you can frost with it. You can also whip it up for a lighter frosting. Oh, the possibilities of ganache.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Chocolate Cupcakes for my 8th Work Anniversary!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

8 years ago, I started my second career as a public librarian (before I worked in non-profit accounting). It's my 8 year work anniversary today. Can't believe how fast that time has gone.

I have a meeting today so I'm bringing in some Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting. Both super duper easy to make, and always enjoyed by my library friends.

It's also my friend's birthday, so Happy Birthday Susan!

And it's Talk like a Pirate Day. Ahoy mates! Make some cupcakes and learn Pirate via Mango Languages' free course.


Recipe:
Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Frosting (Adapted from Hershey's)
1 stick butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup natural cocoa (40 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk (I used 1%)

Beat the butter until soft and fluffy.
Sift together the cocoa and powdered sugar.
Mix the milk and vanilla in a measuring cup.
Slowly add the dry ingredients and alternate with the milk mixture.
When combined, beat at high speed for 30 seconds until desired consistency. Also, if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar, and if too thick, add a little more milk.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Hershey's Frosted Chocolate Brownies

Hershey's Frosted Chocolate Brownies

Sometimes I open my cupboard for inspiration. I knew we would need something special for a meeting and couldn't decide what to make. Then I looked on the shelf and saw my big tin of Hershey's cocoa and knew what I was going to use.

A quick scroll of the Hershey's website and I found their "Ultimate Chocolate Brownies."

Hershey's covers theirs with a few chocolate chips, but I have these great dark chocolate Belgium sprinkles. So delicious!

Honestly, I'm not a fan of frosting and usually not a fan of the frosted brownie. But I am growing fond of the Hershey's One Bowl Chocolate Frosting. It provided a nice balance to the brownie.

The brownie has natural cocoa and 1 cup of chocolate chips (I used Dark Chocolate chips). You can make it in one 9x13 pan, or two 8x8 pans (that's good for those who like brownie edges). When cooled, you top with chocolate frosting...and sprinkles or more chocolate chips. If I were to skip the sprinkles, I would garnish with mini chocolate chips because everything is better in mini form.

Can you see the chocolate chips in the brownie? Always a winner.

Hershey's Frosted Chocolate Brownies
Adapted from the Hershey's website

Brownies
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa (or a natural cocoa)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup butter, melted (This is such a weird amount of butter. Since it is really 10 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of butter, I just used 11 Tablespoons of butter or between 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 sticks of butter)
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
2  eggs (at room temperature)
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur All-Purpose)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (I used Hershey's Dark)

Frosting (see below)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan or two 8-inch square baking pans. (I used a 13 x 9 pan, and I lined the pan with parchment paper.)

2. In a large bowl, stir the cocoa and baking soda together with a whisk, and then stir in 1/3 cup butter (that's half the melted butter). Add boiling water and stir until mixture thickens. Stir in sugar, eggs and remaining 1/3 cup butter. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Fold in the flour, then fold in the chocolate chips. Don't overmix. Pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan, 30 to 35 minutes for square pans or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

4. When cool, frost cupcakes. Garnish with chocolate sprinkles, other fun sprinkles or chocolate chips. Cut and enjoy!

Hershey's One-Bowl Buttercream Frosting
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup natural cocoa
1/3 cup milk (I used 1% milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa (Hershey's instructions don't have this, but I find it is very helpful to sift all powdered sugar and cocoa).

Beat butter in medium bowl until soft and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed). Stir in vanilla.

Spread over cooled brownies. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

Sometimes I make recipes into bundts.
This time, I made something from a bundt.


I took my favorite cinnamon chocolate bundt and make them into cupcakes... topped with ganache. Easy peasy and delicious.

For this batch (above and below photo), the ganache was allowed to set for about an hour before use.


This recipe is really simple to make. Boil the ingredients, pour it over a flour mixture, stir in some buttermilk, eggs and other things you already have available in your kitchen, and in a few minutes you have a cupcake.

I think the best compliments are the ones overheard. My co-worker said she heard two colleagues talking about how much they enjoyed the cupcakes I bought to a meeting that day...while they were in the ladies room!


You don't need to drag out KitchenAid mixer and just a couple bowls will do you fine. The resulting cupcake is very moist because it uses both butter and oil.


So, I made this recipe twice in two days (I had two meetings to attend). The first day, I made the ganache in the morning and let it sit for about an hour before using an offset spatula to apply it to the cupcake. As you can see in the photos labeled "one hour ganache", the ganache was still pretty soft. After I glazed those cupcakes, I put plastic wrap around the remaining ganache and placed it in the refrig. That night, I came home, pulled out the ganache to put it on the counter, walked the dog, and then made the cupcakes again and let them cool. The ganache was set up more than the previous day so these cupcakes had more of a "frosting" look. I placed the frosted cupcake in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, the ganache looked dull on the cupcake - see the left photo above. I remember a hint from a cookbook (was it Dorie Greenspan?) to lightly blow dry the ganache for a few seconds with a hair dryer and the gloss would come back! I did that...and it totally worked. Don't go crazy with it...you don't want to completely melt it...just a few seconds do the job. Imagine that - your cupcake gets a blow out.

Cupcakes
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/4 c plus 1 T (or 5 T) cocoa (I have used both Dutch processed and natural cocoa with fine results). I used 30 grams of Hershey's Cocoa.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 c buttermilk
1 t baking soda

2 eggs
1 t vanilla

Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, combine together with a whisk: flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon

2. Bring to a boil in a pot: Water, oil, butter and cocoa. Once it reaches a boil, remove from heat.

3. Add the chocolate mixture to the flour and whisk by hand until combined.

4. Add the buttermilk and baking soda and mix.

5. In a small bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla. Add to the batter and combine.

6. Pour batter into 24 cupcakes cups lined with paper liners (or sprayed with Pam with Flour).

7. Bake at 365 degrees for 16-20 minutes (depending on your oven), until a toothpick comes out clean.

8. While it is baking, make the chocolate ganache and let it set up before use. Frost with chocolate ganache.

Ganache
1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Ganache is a combination of heavy cream and chocolate. So easy and so delicious. You can use semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (or a mixture of both). The ratio is heavy cream (in fluid ounces) : chocolate (in weight)

Therefore, I used 8 fluid ounces (1 cup) of heavy cream to 8 ounces (weight) of semi-sweet chocolate.

Place the chocolate in a bowl. Bring the cream to a light simmer. Turn off heat and slowly pour the cream over the chocolate.

Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. Then slowly whisk the liquid and chocolate together. Mix slowly...you don't want to incorporate extra air into the mixture. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

You can use ganache in different stages of "set". When it is warm, you can pour it over a cake or cupcake. When it firms up a bit more, you can spoon it on the treats. A bit more settling and you can frost with it. You can also whip it up for a lighter frosting. Oh, the possibilities of ganache. It rocks. (It also freezes really well so you should always have some on hand for chocolate emergencies!)

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Peanut Butter Crunch Coffee Cake

Peanut Butter Crunch Cake from Piece of Cake Cookbook

Last week, I went to Smart & Final (a mini warehouse type store with more restaurant stuff than Costco) and picked up two giant jars of peanut butter. Thus, the peanut butter kick is on.

The recipe is from From Piece of Cake: Home Baking Made Simple by David Muniz and David Lesniak. Published by Rizzoli, the cookbook is filled with homey favorites. Beautiful photographs, easy to understand instructions, and weight measurements are highlights. When do I know that I like a cookbook? When there are multiple post-it tabs peeking from the top...at last count, there were 10 tabs showing!

Americans David and David opened the Outsider Tart in London. Their book says it is the first American bakery in London. Have you been? Sounds like a fun place...more places to visit on my wish list of travel!

This coffee cake has two layers of melted chocolate chips & peanut butter. Yes, two layers of goodness. And the cake batter has peanut butter. As well as the topping. Um, any craving you have for peanut butter is satisfied with this cake.

I made this in the morning, but measured what I could the night before and laid out the ingredients - mise en place.

For this recipe, you mix soft butters (unsalted butter and peanut butter) together with the sugar and flour. This makes a crumble. Pull out some of that for the topping and then add the liquid ingredients to complete the cake batter.

In the meantime, you melt chocolate chips with even more peanut butter. Then the whole thing gets assembled with two layers of batter and melted chocolate mixture. It's easy to put together! P.S. A small offset spatula is your friend to smooth out the batter.

Two layers of chocolate/peanut butter makes for a delightful coffeecake. I didn't let my cake fully cool (I was heading to work!) so the cutting was a bit messy. I image a cool cake might be nicer.

Everyone at work really enjoyed this cake! I think adults and kids alike will love this tasty cake.

Peanut Butter Crunch Cake
From Piece of Cake: Home Baking Made Simple by David Muniz and David Lesniak of Outsider Tart, London

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Swirl:
2 cups / 12 ounces / 340 grams - semisweet or milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup / 4 ounces / 115 grams - smooth peanut butter (I used Skippy)

Crumb & Batter:
3 cups / 16 ounces / 450 grams - all-purpose flour
2 cups packed / 16 ounces / 450 grams - light brown sugar
1 cup / 8 ounces / 225 grams / two sticks - unsalted butter, softened
1 cup / 8 ounces / 225 grams - smooth peanut butter
4 - large eggs, room temp
1 cup / 8 fluid ounces / 240 ml - whole milk (I used low-fat milk...I don't drink regular milk so I have those little kids cartons in the house to use one cup at a time. Some bakery aisles also have whole milk in shelf stable one-cup cartons)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a pan by lining it with parchment and/or butter & flour. The cookbook uses a 9 x 12 pan, but I used a 9 x 13 pan. If you use a bigger pan, be sure to check it a few minutes earlier.

2. Make the swirl by melting the chocolate chips and peanut butter until smooth. I used a double boiler, but the cookbook says to use low heat in a small saucepan. Set aside to cool slightly while you make the rest of the batter.

3. For the crumb and batter, mix the flour, sugar, butter and peanut butter in an electric mixture with paddle attachment on LOW speed until coarse crumbs form.

4. Topping: Pull out 3 packed cups of the mixture and set aside.

5. Batter: Add eggs, one at a time, then add milk, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the remaining mixture. Turn up to medium speed and beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth.

6. Assembly: Spread half the batter in the pan. Drizzle half the melted chocolate mixture on top. Spread the remaining batter on top. Drizzle the remaining chocolate mixture, followed by the crumb topping. Gently press the crumbs into the cake.

7. Bake at 50-60 minutes (if you are making this in a 9 x 13 pan, start checking at 40-45 minutes). It's done when a toothpick comes out clean. If the topping starts getting too brown, you can loosely cover with aluminum foil. Let cake cool on wire rack and then cut into squares. Enjoy!

*Full disclosure: I get a small % from Amazon if you purchase the book from this link.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Pecan Chocolate Espresso Coffee Cake - Back in the Day Bakery

Pecan Chocolate Espresso Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake is one of my favorites things to eat and make. No frosting, easy to cut and share, and usually just a few pans to clean up. And, you can eat it morning, noon and night.

I picked up The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook from the library. The owners of this Savannah bakery wrote a fun cookbook filled with lots of comfort food. I can't wait to try more recipes, and placed the book on my Amazon wishlist. Have you been to the bakery? If I ever visit Savannah, I definitely want to go!

This is a really easy recipe. You combine the butter, flour, and sugar until crumbly in a mixer, and then pull out 3/4 cup of the mixture and combine with the rest of the topping: pecans, chopped chocolate and pecans. The remaining batter is mixed with the eggs, buttermilk, leavening (baking soda), and extracts. Just a few items to wash up so it is simple to make in the morning.

The pecans and espresso powder are a lovely addition to your typical coffee cake. Everyone's favorites are included: nuts, chocolate and coffee. A winner.

Pecan Chocolate Espresso Coffee Cake
Adapted from "The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook," by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day (Artisan, 2012), page 47. Find it in your library or on Amazon.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted (I didn't toast mine)
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup regular or low-fat buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I omitted this because I couldn't find the bottle of extract...)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray or butter, and line with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, both sugars, butter and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low speed, then on medium speed until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Pull out 3/4 cup of the mixture and place in another mixing bowl. Stir in the pecans, chocolate and espresso powder to form the crumb topping.

Sprinkle the baking soda onto the remaining flour-butter-sugar mixture; add the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla and almond extracts. Beat on medium speed just until combined. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle the crumb topping on top.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Girl Scout Thin Mint Muffins

Thin Mint Muffins

Chocolate Muffins.
Girl Scouts Thin Mints.
Morning happiness.

These muffins are based on my favorite chocolate muffins - from King Arthur Flour. Instead of chocolate chips, I chopped up a sleeve of Thin Mints and added a few Andes Mint Chips too.

My UCLA college roommate, Agnes has two beautiful daughters, Lucia & Julia. They are in the Girl Scouts and each year I put out the cookie order form at work. To be honest, I don't know why anyone orders anything but Thin Mints... especially those Samoas covered with coconut (yuck!)

Over the years, I've tried to incorporate Thin Mints into favorite baked goods. You know, baking with seasonal ingredients and all. This year, I ordered six boxes of Thin Mints for myself. I'm not sure how long they'll last though. There have been incidents that require Thin Mint assistance: a bad week, nothing in the fridge to eat, and actors leaving Downton Abbey which translates into sad, sad endings (total thin mint worthy).

So, what have you been up to lately? Obviously, I haven't been blogging too much... I've been watching some TV. What's on your DVR? I have:

The Following with Kevin Bacon on Fox. Holy smokes. This show is fantastic but scares the beeejesuzzz out of me. I can't watch it on Monday night because then I can't sleep. I have to watch it on the weekend during the day. With the doors locked.

The Good Wife. CBS. Still a good show. Liked Julianna Margulies since her Nurse Carol Hathaway days on ER.

Elementary. CBS. Took some episodes to warm up to this one, but it's a good one to keep me in the Holmes world until the BBC releases more Sherlock.

Southland. TNT. Great cop show...and I like seeing Los Angeles landmarks throughout. :)

House of Cards. Netflix streaming. Damn, this is sooo good. Kevin Spacey is amazing.

Comedies:  The Mindy Project, New Girl, The New Normal

Waiting for more episodes from: White Collar (season just ended), Mad Men (coming back in April), Downton Abbey (if they don't kill off everyone...)

I don't have premium channels on cable so I have to wait and buy Amazon instant videos of Homeland (don't tell me what happens in Season 2 please! :)

Fun way to start the morning. Or to enjoy while catching up on your DVR. ;)

Here are some other Thin Mint creations:

Thin Mint Scones


Thin Mint Brownies


Thin Mint Pancakes


Thin Mint Cupcakes

Recipe:
Thin Mint Muffins

Adapted from King Arthur Flour's website's: Chocolate Breakfast Muffins with added Thin Mint cookies and Andes Mint Chips.

2/3 cup (2 ounces) Dutch-process cocoa
1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 cups (9 3/8 ounces) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 sleeve of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, chopped (in 2013, that was about 15-16 cookies and equaled about 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup Andes Mint Chips
2 eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) milk (I used whole milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/2 cup (4 ounces, 1 stick) butter, melted

Prep: Preheat oven to 400°F. Prep muffin tin (I sprayed mine with Pam with Flour spray).
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chopped Thin Mint cookies and Andes mint chips.
2. In a large measuring cup or medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and vinegar.
3. Add the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend, just until combined. Do not mix.
4. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. King Arthur makes 12 muffins with big tops, but I made them smaller and made 16-18 muffins.
5. Bake the muffins for 18-25 minutes (depending on size), or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes remove them from the pan, to cool on a rack.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Brownie Cookies - Everyday Food

Brownie Cookies - Everyday Food

Did you hear the news? Everyday Food, one of my favorite magazines, is on the chopping block! The Kitchn reports that Martha Stewart's company is laying off staff and the magazine "will be cut from 10 issues a year to five, and will now be delivered as a supplement to subscribers of Martha Stewart Living rather than as a stand-alone publication." NOOOOOOoooooo! I love the magazine - it's simply easy recipes. I don't need to know how to make a 100,000 piece tablescape (with glue gun and upholstery nails) nor the best hair conditioners - stuff you find in other magazines. This was just food. And now I'm sad.

So, to honor Everyday Food, I made some Brownie Cookies. You can find the recipe online or in the great compilation book, Everyday Food Light.

These are round, flat brownies. They are very, very chocolaty. I made half the recipe, and the ratio between chocolate and flour shows that the flour just binds the chocolate and sugar together. :)

These are perfect with a glass of milk (or almond milk) in a UCLA glass. Go Bruins!

Recipe:
From Everyday Food, June 2009

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place chocolate in a double boiler or pan over simmering water. Stir until melted, then let cool.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until lightened in color.
Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
With mixer on low, alternately beat in chocolate and flour mixture; mix just until combined. Do not overmix.
Dish dough onto baking sheets. Bake 14-16 minute, rotating trays half-way though. Cool cookies on wire racks.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad