| Recipe Archive |
Chocolate Cupcakesmakes 188 ounces bittersweet chocolate Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place paper muffin cups in 18 muffin tins. Set aside. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a large bowl. To melt the chocolate over the stove, you can place it in a heatproof bowl over simmering water (a double-boiler). To melt in the microwave, cook for 1 minute, stir, cook another 45 seconds, stir well, and then finally cook another 30 and stir. When the chocolate is melted, add the canola oil and sugar and mix well. Add the milk, eggs, and vanilla and mix until well-combined. Add the salt, baking powder and cocoa and mix again. Finally, add the flour and mix well. Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 to ¾ full, dividing evenly among the 18 muffin cups. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with only a little chocolate on it. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan and then remove the cupcakes to a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. They reheat well. They also freeze perfectly Chocolate Mousse Truffle Cake12- 16 servings 16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped roughly Preheat oven to 350ºF. You will need a 10-inch springform pan. Take a piece of parchment paper and trace a circle around the bottom of the pan. Cut out the circle. Unlock the sides from the bottom of the pan and place a piece of foil on top of the bottom of the pan and fold the excess foil under the pan. Attach the sides and lock and then take the part of the foil that you folded under the pan and wrap it up the sides of the pan; this prevents any water from leaking into the cake. Grease the top of the foil. Press the parchment circle into the bottom of the pan on top of the foil and grease and then grease the sides of the pan. This step makes it easy to slide the finished cake onto your serving plate. Place the chocolate and margarine in a bowl over simmering water and stir often until melted. Add the egg yolks and cocoa and beat with an electric mixer until thick. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Turn the speed down to low, add the sugar slowly and then turn up the speed for 1 minute. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Pour 2/3 of this batter into the prepared springform pan. Place the pan into a larger roasting pan and then add boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the water bath and let cool. While the cake is baking, prepare the mousse. Whip the whipping cream until stiff and fold into the reserved 1/3 of the batter. Mix well. Place in the fridge until the cake cools. When the cake has cooled, spoon the mousse on top of the cake layer and try to smooth the top as much as possible with a silicone spatula. Place in the fridge overnight. To remove the sides, heat a sharp knife and run it all around the cake. Open the spring and remove the sides of the pan. Use a spatula to separate the parchment circle from the foil and slide the cake onto a serving plate. Store the cake in the fridge and then place in the freezer 1 hour before serving to help in making perfect slices. Fruit Cobblerserves 12 - 15This is the perfect winter dessert on a cold day. It hold up reheating over and over again.You can make this recipe with 6 cups of any fruit – plums, peaches, apricots or those listed below. And the frozen berries work well too. Filling Topping Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut the pears or other fruit into ¾ to 1 inch pieces. Place all the fruit into an 11X 14 inch Pyrex (glass) or other pretty oven-to-table baking dish. Add the sugar, vanilla and flour and toss to combine. To prepare the topping, place the oatmeal into a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until finely ground. Place the margarine and sugar in another bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix again. Add the flour, ground oatmeal, salt and baking powder and mix to combine. Using 2 large spoons, spoon clumps of the dough on top on the fruit mixture. The dough clumps will not cover the entire pan – the dough clumps melt and spread while baking. Bake for 45 minutes or until browned on top. Serve warm. For the Holidays, A New Biscotti FlavorLemon Rosemary Biscotti Sticks — makes 32 cookies Use your largest cookie sheet or jelly roll pan as the biscotti loaves spread during baking. 2 cups all-purpose flour Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper and set aside. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and zest. Add the eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and rosemary and mix with a wooden spoon or paddle attachment of a stand mixer until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into two. Form 2 logs, about 3 inches wide and 8 inches long. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving space between the logs. Beat the reserved egg white and brush the tops of the 2 loaves. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon sugar on top of each loaf. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until slightly golden on top. Remove from oven and slide parchment off the cookies sheet. Place a new sheet of parchment on the cookie sheet. One log at a time, remove from parchment paper and slice into ½ inch slices. Place the sliced cookies onto the parchment covered cookie sheet and place back in the oven. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, until browned a little on the edges. The longer you bake the cookies, the harder they become, so if you want chewier cookies, bake them 12 rather than 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper to a rack and let cool. Store in an airtight container or freezer bag. They freeze well. Forward Motion Recipes:CHOCOLATE BABKA makes 2 large loavesDOUGH ½ cup warm water Combine the water, teaspoon sugar and yeast and let sit 10 minutes, until the mixture bubbles. Add the 1/2 cup sugar, flour, butter or margarine, and eggs. Combine using a dough hook in a mixer until all the ingredients are mixed in and the dough is smooth to touch. Cover bowl with plastic and let rise 2- 4 hours. FILLING & ASSEMBLY 2 cups sugar For cinnamon version: substitute 10 teaspoons ground cinnamon for the cocoa and chips Combine sugar and cocoa. Add soft butter or margarine and mix well. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 2 loaf pans. Divide dough into four. Roll each piece into a 10 X 7 rectangle. Spread ¼ of filling, sprinkle with 1/4 of the chocolate chips and roll the long way. When you have two rolls, twist them together. Tuck the ends under and place in the loaf plan. Do the same for the other two pieces of dough. Brush tops of loaves with reserved egg yolk mixed with a little water. Bake for 45 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes and then remove from pan. Wrap in foil and freeze unless you will use it by the next day. Chocolate Mousse Meringue Layer Cake serves 12To make this cake you will need a dessert ring, which is a 2 ½ inch tall ring, 8 inches in diameter with no bottom. You will also need a pastry bag with a ¼ inch round tip and a metal flat blade spatula. It is worth investing in these items as you will use them again. Meringue layers 2/3 cup powdered sugar Mousse 1/4 cup whipping cream (Rich Whip) To bake the meringues: Preheat oven to 230°F. Tear off a piece of parchment paper the size of your largest cookie sheet. Take your 8 X 2 ½ inch ring and trace 3 circles on your parchment paper; the circles may touch each other or even overlap because the meringue circles will be smaller than the ring. Turn the paper over and place on your cookie sheet. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa together into a bowl. Place your egg whites into the bowl of your mixer and beat until they start to stiffen. Add the granulated sugar gradually while the machine is on low and then beat another minute until the whites are stiff. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa a second time into the bowl with the egg whites. Turn your machine on low and mix beat until just combined. Take a pastry bag with a large round tip, about ¼ inch, and fill the bag with the meringue batter. Starting from the center of the circles on your parchment, squeeze out spirals until your circle is about ½ an inch smaller than the circle. Do not worry if your circles are not perfect or you even use the back of a spoon to smooth over the “holes”. If you do not have a pastry bag, use a silicone spatula to shape 3 circles, about ½ inch high of meringue batter. After you have made 3 circles of meringue batter on your parchment, you may use any leftover batter to make any shapes you like to decorate your cake such as Hershey’s kisses, letters, lines or hearts. Place in the oven and bake for 2 hours. Turn off the oven and let meringues remain in the oven another 2 hours so they can dry out. Let cool. To make the moussse: Melt chocolate in a double boiler (in a bowl over pot of water) until smooth. While chocolate is melting, place the cream and sugar in a small pot and heat over medium flame until the sugar melts and cream starts to boil stirring often. Turn off the heat as soon as the cream boils slightly. Remove chocolate from heat and whisk in the cream/sugar mixture until smooth. Add the egg yolks and whisk well. Place cold whipping cream into a large bowl and use an electric mixer to whisk until the cream is whipped. Watch carefully and stop mixing when you see the top of the whipped cream look like ribbons or swirls. Add the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture and mix until well blended. To assemble the cake: Take a piece of cardboard and trace the inside of your ring. Cut out the circle. Cover another cookie sheet with parchment, place the ring on top and place the cardboard circle into the ring. Place a spoonful of the mousse onto the cardboard to help glue the meringue circle. Place your first meringue circle into the ring. Pour a third of the mousse into the ring to cover the meringue. Make sure you get some mousse between the meringue and the ring on the sides. Add the second meringue circle and another 1/3 of the mousse. Repeat with the last circle and more mousse and then use a flat blade metal spatula to smooth the top. Place into the freezer for 4 hours or overnight. Remove from the freezer and lift up the ring and place on top of a can of tomatoes or vegetables; the larger sizes work best. Place boiling water into a small bowl and take a towel or paper towel dip into the hot water and then rub around the outside of the ring; this will help release the ring from the mousse. Go around the entire ring with the hot water. Take your hands and gently slide the ring off the cake. Place the cake back on your parchment and then decorate with the extra meringues you made or you can melt some chocolate chips and drizzle the top of the cake. I have also used a potato peeler to shave chocolate circles and then pressed those into the side of the cake. I like to store the cake in the freezer and then remove 30 minutes before serving.
PASSOVER LEMON LAYER CAKESPONGE CAKE 4 eggs separated Preheat oven to 350°F. Trace the bottom of a 9-inch round baking pan onto a piece of parchment and cut out the circle. Grease the 9 inch round baking pan, place the parchment circle on top and then grease again. Beat egg yolks with water, lemon juice and sugar. Add cake meal, potato starch and lemon rind and beat until combined. Beat egg whites with salt until stiff. Gently fold whites into batter and then pour into pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Cool. Remove from pan and wrap in plastic. Chill in freezer for one hour. Slice into three even pieces. LEMON CREAM 3 eggs plus 2 egg yolks In a double boiler, combine the eggs, yolks and sugar. Add the lemon juice and zest, stirring occasionally until a think mixture is formed. This takes approximately 25 minutes. Be patient and do not stir too much. If the water in the double boiler boils too fast, turn down the heat. Remove bowl from the heat and whisk in the margarine in small pieces. Cool slightly and then cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight. ASSEMBLING THE CAKE 1 1/4 cup parve whipping cream Cut a circle of cardboard the size of the cake slices. Whip cream until stiff. Place a little cream on the cardboard circle and attach one slice of cake. Spread 1/3 lemon cream on cake. Add second piece of cake and another 1/3 of lemon cream. Mix the remainder of the lemon cream with the whipped cream. Spread the cream on the top and sides of the cake. Freeze 15 minutes. Spread some more cream to even the sides and top and freeze another 5 minutes. Store in the fridge until serving. Decorate with raspberries, strawberries or lemon slices. |