Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Jim — No Comments ↓

Not mixed by the expected methods, but very nice!

2 sticks butter
1 cup water
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 square bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons rum
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
13” x 9” pan (or two 9” round cake pans)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In saucepan, melt together, butter, water, cocoa chocolate and rum. Allow to cool slightly.

Sift together all dry ingredients and fold into the chocolate mixture.

Stir in vanilla, sour cream and eggs. Pour into pan and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Cool and frost with your choice of chocolate frostings.

Big Batch Sugar Cookies in the Bosch Universal

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Jim — 6 Comments ↓

Let’s make some sugar cookies!

12 C flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1.5 tablespoon baking powder
4 C butter
4 C sugar
4 eggs
4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoon either lemon, orange or almond extracts
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and other extracts.

Sift, then mix dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Mix well.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours. Roll to 1/4″ thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake 8 to 10 min.

Cool.

Can be decorated with colored sugars before baking or iced with royal icing afterwards. Use your imagination decorating these.

To freeze: divide dough into approximately 4 rounds and wrap tightly in waxed paper then over wrap in moisture/vapor proof. You can freeze the rounds on a tray then vacuum seal the frozen rounds

Submitted by Miss Vi & the Duckies

Procedure using the Bosch Universal

4 cups butter
(use the pulse feature to start mixing)

Sugar mixed with butter:

Butter and sugar after 3 minutes of creaming: The creamed butter and sugar

Getting ready to change to the dough hook to mix in the flour: Getting ready to switch to the Bosch dough hook to mix in the flour

Adding 12 cups flour using splash ring:

Finished dough:

Chocolate Overdose Cake

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Jim — No Comments ↓

What is better than chocolate? More chocolate. Lots more chocolate. Did I mention something about chocolate?

I originally found this recipe at Annie’s Eats and I just Had. To. Try. It. Out. Almost two pounds of chocolate? Who could say, “no” to that?

It has a chocolate-brownie base. Then there is a layer of chocolate mousse. Then a chocolate cake layer. The entire thing is then covered in chocolate ganache and decorated as you see fit.

Ingredients gathered and ready. Softened butter and warm eggs.

The Brownie

Brownie Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 T cake flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
6 T unsalted butter
1 T dark rum (because Julia did it)
1 1/8 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 t vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Prepare a straight-sided [easyazon-link asin=”B0006GNPP0″ locale=”us”]9 x 2 inch round cake pan[/easyazon-link]. You can line the bottom with parchment if you like, while buttering the sides. Or you can cheat and spray the entire thing with one of those flour-containing baking sprays like [easyazon-link asin=”B00473NTB8″ locale=”us”]Baker’s Joy[/easyazon-link].

Mix together the dry ingredients and set aside (remember, in baking, sugar is almost always considered a wet ingredient). Melt the butter and chocolate together with the rum. (You can use a double boiler or microwave – if using a microwave, only heat the chocolate for short times, stirring frequently until smooth.)

When the chocolate is completely smooth, stir in the sugar. Then stir in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. When the eggs are thoroughly combined, mix in the vanilla extract.

Fold in the flour mixture until no white bits of flour remain.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (You can set the pan aside at this point and prepare the cake layer and bake them at the same time if you like.)

Butter and chocolate getting ready to be nuked:

Fold in the flour:

Don’t leave any bits of flour in your batter:

The brownie batter ready to go into the oven … please ignore those bits of flour, thank you:

The finished brownie base waiting for assembly!

The Cake

Cake Ingredients:

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/8 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1/4 cup hot water
7/8 cup sugar, divided
7/8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 t vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
6 T unsalted butter, soft

Prepare a [easyazon-link asin=”B0006GNPP0″ locale=”us”]9 x 2 inch round cake pan[/easyazon-link], by buttering and flouring, or spraying with your [easyazon-link asin=”B00473NTB8″ locale=”us”]favorite pan spray[/easyazon-link].

Melt chocolate together with the cocoa powder, stirring until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar, stirring to combine. Set aside to cool.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt.

Combine buttermilk and vanilla.

Beat eggs together until combined, increase speed and add sugar. Using the whisk attachment beat until fluffy and light in color – about 3 full minutes.

Using the paddle attachment, add the chocolate mixture, mixing well. Beat in the softened butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing about 10 seconds between each addition.

Starting with the flour, alternate adding buttermilk and flour, ending with flour. Mix about 20 seconds, to make sure everything is combined.

Pour into pan and smooth batter.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until done.

Water, chocolate and cocoa powder.

The melted chocolate – cocoa powder mixture:

Eggs:

Beaten eggs with sugar:

The sugar beaten in:

Adding the chocolate:

The chocolate mixed in:

Whipping the chocolate:

The whipped chocolate mixture:

Alternating the flour …

And the milk …

My pan is only 1.5” high, so I added a parchment paper collar:

The batter ready for baking:

The baked cake layer, collar removed, ready to be removed from the pan:

The cake layer cooling:

The chocolate mousse

Mousse ingredients:

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-oz. pieces
1 7/8 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp. sugar

Melt chocolate and cool.

Whip cream and sugar together in a chilled mixer bowl, until stiff peaks form.

Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate in three additions.

The completed chocolate mousse:

The ganache

Ganache Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
18 oz. semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-oz. pieces

Heat the heavy cream to boiling. Pour over the chocolate and butter and stir until smooth.

Chocolate and butter ready for melting:

Heated cream:

The completed ganache … silky smooth goodness:

The assembly

To assemble:

Top the brownie with the chocolate mousse. Top with the cake layer and press firmly to level.

Use the mousse that will ooze out between the brownie and cake to skim coat the brownie and cake layers. Refrigerate until the mousse has firmed up, making the ganache at this time.

Pour the ganache over the chilled cake, spreading with an off-set spatula to smooth. Decorate as you desire.

A thick layer of mousse on the brownie layer:

The completed layers:

I gave the whole cake a skim-coat of mousse and then refrigerated it to set up a bit:

The completed cake, with ganache shells and rosettes, with a ring of mini chocolate chips:

Chambord White Peach Cobbler

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Jim — No Comments ↓

Traditional Peach Cobbler with a touch of Black Raspberry Goodness

Do you know what goes very well with white peaches? Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur, that’s what! I took a traditional cobbler recipe, used white peaches and laced it with a bit of Chambord Liqueur, for my current favorite taste sensation.

Crust:
2 cups flour; plain or self rising
1 t salt only if using plain flour
2/3 cup + 2 T shortening
4-5 T ice water

Filling:
4 cups fresh fruit
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups water
4 T butter
1 1/2 T Chambord Liqueur

Topping:
extra sugar for sprinkling

To prepare crust:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees or so.

Mix salt well with flour if not using self rising flour. Cut shortening into flour using two forks until mixtures is blended and crumbly.

Add ice water, mixing lightly, until pastry holds together.

Divide into two portions and pat into balls.

Chill while preparing fruit.

To prepare fruit:
Peel, pit, and slice or rinse berries.

In heavy saucepan, bring fruit, sugar, water, butter to boil and boil 5 minutes stirring often to keep from sticking. Add liqueur and stir.

Set aside.

To assemble:
Role one ball of pastry to pie crust thickness and cut into inch wide strips.

Pour half the fruit mixture into a 12 x 9 x 2 inch pan (or equivalent). Lay the strips across the fruit in rows. Top with remaining fruit mixture.

Roll and cut the second ball of pastry as the first, topping the cobbler with the strips. Feel free to be artistic or rustic.

The assembled cobbler, ready for the oven. Sprinkle pastry with granulated sugar.

Bake in a 400-450 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Begin checking at 30 minutes and in 5 minute intervals thereafter.

German Chocolate Cheesecake

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Jim — No Comments ↓

The taste of German’s chocolate cake in cheesecake form. Complete with coconut-pecan topping and coconut-pecan crust!

Crust ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped pecans
coconut liqueur

Filling ingredients:
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate
24 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vanilla liqueur
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs

Topping ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons light cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F.
Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar in small bowl. Stir in butter, coconut and pecans; mix well.
Press mixture onto bottom and 1/2-inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.
Sprinkle with coconut liqueur.
Bake 5-6 minutes. Cool.

Filling Directions:
Heat oven to 450°F.
Melt chocolate and set aside.
Combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanillas in large bowl; beat on medium speed of mixer until smooth.
Add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, blending well. Add eggs and melted chocolate; blend well.
Pour into prepared crust.
Bake 10 minutes; without opening oven door.
Reduce oven temperature to 250°F.
Continue baking 35 minutes; remove from oven.
With knife, loosen cake from side of pan.
Cool completely; remove side of pan.
Spread topping over top of cake.
Best served at room temperature but must be stored in the refrigerator.
10 to 12 servings.

Topping Directions:
(prepare while the cheesecake is baking)
Melt butter in small saucepan; add brown sugar, light cream and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool slightly.

recipe