Tag Archives: What’s for dessert?

Flourless Chocolate Cake #Recipe for #Foodies

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I follow King Arthur Baking Co. on Facebook because I enjoy the recipes they share online. They also offer lots of tricks and tips for baking and cooking. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to bake and cook and try out new recipes. King Arthur Baking posted this recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake just a few days ago. Wow! Talk about rich and decadent!

Flourless Chocolate Cake
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients –

Cake:

  • 1 cup (170g) semisweet chocolate chips
  • 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup (43g) Dutch-process cocoa

Glaze:

  • 1 cup (170g) semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup (113g) heavy cream
Directions –
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a metal 8″ round cake pan; cut a piece of parchment to fit, grease it, and lay it in the bottom of the pan. See “tips,” below.
  2. To make the cake: Put the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the butter is melted and the chips are soft. Stir until the chips melt, reheating briefly if necessary. You can also do this over a burner set at very low heat. Transfer the melted chocolate/butter to a mixing bowl.
  3. Stir in the sugar, salt, espresso powder, and vanilla. Espresso enhances chocolate’s flavor much as vanilla does; using 1 teaspoon will simply enhance the flavor, while 2 teaspoons will lend a hint of mocha to the cake.
  4. Add the eggs, beating briefly until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, and mix just to combine.
  5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
  6. Bake the cake for 25 minutes; the top will have formed a thin crust, and it should register at least 200°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into its center.
  7. Remove it from the oven, and cool it in the pan for 5 minutes.
  8. Loosen the edges of the pan with a table knife or nylon spreader, and turn it out onto a serving plate. The top will now be on the bottom; that’s fine. Also, the edges will crumble a bit, which is also fine. Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing.
  9. To make the glaze: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until it’s not quite at a simmer, but showing fine bubbles around the edge. Pour the cream over the chocolate and then stir very briefly to combine. let rest for 5 minutes. Stir again — at first slowly, then more vigorously — until the chocolate is completely melted and the glaze is smooth. If any bits of chocolate remain, reheat briefly in the microwave or over a burner, then stir until smooth.
  10. Spoon the glaze over the cake, spreading it to drip over the sides a bit. Allow the glaze to set for several hours before serving the cake.

St. Patrick’s Day #Recipes by @PatriceWilton

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St. Patrick’s Day is upon us – and I have something to share. When I was born, I was supposed to be David, and my parents had no girl name picked out for me. Since my birthday is March 14th, I became Patricia! How lame is that?

Here are a few recipes you might enjoy!

ST. PATRICK’S DAY IRISH CROCKPOT CORNED BEEF

INGREDIENTS: St. Patrick's Day

  • 1 lb of corn beef
  • 1 onion
  • 1 stalk celery, cut into three pieces
  • Medium potatoes, cut in half
  • Medium carrots, sliced in three pieces
  • 1 cup of beef bouillon
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1 small head of cabbage, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Place onion celery, potatoes and carrots in bottom of the crockpot. And then lay brisket on top.
  2. Whisk together bouillon, bay leaf, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard.
  3. Pour over the brisket.
  4. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, adding cabbage wedges for the last hour of cooking.
  5. To serve, discard cooking liquid, slice meat and place onto hot serving plates, accompany with the cooked potatoes, carrots, celery, cabbage wedges. Serve your favorite mustard on the side.

No meal is complete without dessert, so here is one for you!

CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CAKE

INGREDIENTS: Guinness Chocolate Cake

  • 1 cup of Guinness stout
  • 1 cup of unsalted butter, sliced
  • 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup superfine sugar
  • 3/4 cup plain yogurt or 3/4 sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda

For the Icing:

  • 8 ounces of cream cheese
  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • l/2 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch pan and line with parchment paper.
  2. Pour Guinness into a large saucepan, add butter, and then heat until melted.
  3. Whisk cocoa powder and sugar into the stout and butter.
  4. In a small bowl, beat sour cream with eggs and vanilla and pour into brown, buttery, beery mixture. Whisk in the flour and baking soda.
  5. Pour cake batter into greased and lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack as it is a damp cake.
  7. When cake is cold, gently peel off parchment paper and transfer to a platter or cake stand.

ICING:

  1. Place cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar in a mixing bowl. Whip with an electric beater until smooth. A food processor can also be used.
  2. Add cream and beat again until the icing is a spreadable consistency.
  3. Ice top of cake, starting at the middle and fanning out, so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint of stout!

Have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day, and think of me who might have been David!

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Serendipity Falls – 3-book set

 

Unforgettable Heroes – 7-book set for 99¢

 

Champagne for Two

 

Petite Cherry Cheesecakes #Recipe for #Foodies

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These petite cherry cheesecakes are easy enough for a casual, everyday meal, but they look fancy enough for a special occasion. Whatever your gathering, these little gems are sweet and lusciously creamy. You and your guests will love them.

Cherry Cheesecake Recipe

Petite Cherry Cheesecakes

Makes 24

Ingredients –

  • 24 vanilla wafer cookies
  • 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Directions –

  1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line 24 regular-size muffin cups with paper liners (I prefer the fancy silver liners). Place 1 vanilla wafer cookie in the bottom of each cup. Set aside.
  2. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and the extract with electric mixer on medium-high speed 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy. Spoon evenly into muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.
  3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from muffin cups to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours before serving.
  4. Just before serving, top each cheesecake with generous tablespoon of pie filling and sprinkle with almonds.

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Who’s in the mood for a women’s fiction novel?

I’ve got one just for you! FINDING FIONA

Finding Fiona

If her husband turns up alive—she’ll kill him!

Explaining to the seriously sexy cop why she hasn’t noticed her husband has been missing for three days is both embarrassing and sobering. But the day Fiona Rowland lifts her head above the churning chaos of kids, carpools, and a million things to do, annoyance turns to fury…then to worry. Where is Stanley?

Having one of those wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee moments changes the way a woman looks at things: marriage, money, family, and friends. And when her best pal from high school arrives (packing her own secrets) to lend support, it turns out even the past isn’t quite what it seems. Scrambling to make sense of the drama unfolding, Fiona discovers there’s an upside to having your whole world turned upside down. It’s easier to grab the good stuff.

A delightful mixture of women’s fiction, chick-lit, romantic comedy, and mystery, Finding Fiona has something for every reader. The discussion questions included at the back of the book make this the perfect novel for book clubs and reader groups.

Available at these fine stores:  Kindle  *  Nook  *  Kobo  *  iBooks  *  Paperback

 

The Mouth-Watering Macaron by @KatyWalters07

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Macaron

According to some historians, the Macarons first appeared during the Middle Ages. However, it is supposed that Catherine de Medici may have introduced the Maccarone from Italy to France in the 1500’s.

The description has a comical side as they were produced in Venetian monasteries and dubbed ‘priests’ bellybuttons.’ Due in part to the shape of the pastry.

Fully Developed in France

But France is where this delicious sweet fully emerged. First, various versions, names, and spellings were added over the centuries. Then, in different regions of France, they were adopted as a delicious specialty.

In the 1830s, the modern creation of the macarons appeared in France. Two meringues were made and stuck together with a flavoured filling. This was dubbed the macaron Parisien.

In 1862, Laudress, a patisserie company, popularized this scrumptious sweet.

At the start of the 21st century, confectioners began producing macarons with varying fillings and even used savory tastes.

Popularity Spreads

Its popularity has spread worldwide, especially after being shown in the film ‘Marie Antionette,’ where the queen is surrounded by a multitude of various coloured macarons.

During the French Revolution, two Carmelite nuns known as the Macaron Sisters seeking asylum in Nancy survived starvation by baking and selling these mouth-watering morsels.

There is a vast store of fascinating history surrounding this special sweet to be found on Wikipedia.

Recommended reading—Wikipedia.

Green Silk Macaron

Macaron Recipe
  •  6 ounces Icing sugar
  • 4.5 ounces of ground almonds
  • 60 ml of egg whites using 2 medium eggs for two batches
  • 5 ounces of granulated sugar
  • Food colouring of your choice

Filling:

  • 4 ounces of double cream
  • 12.5 grams of butter
  • 37 grams of jam to your taste
  • Piping bag with a large round nozzle

PROCEDURE

Step 1. Pulse the almonds and icing sugar into your processor bowl. Do this seven times.

Add the first batch of eggs to the mixture and mix to a thick paste.

Step 2. Pour the second lot of egg whites into a heatproof bowl. Pour 25 ml of water and granulated sugar into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. At this point, use a sugar thermometer and heat it to 110C. Start to beat the eggs at high speed.

Step 3. When the syrup reaches 118C, pour it gently down the side of the mixer bowl. Then whisk meringue ingredients to high peaks. Finally, add the colouring to your taste and satisfaction.

At this point, prepare your baking sheets with parchment paper ready for the meringue mixture.

Step 4. Gently fold the almond mixture and the meringue together until it is thick. The mixture should easily fall from your spatula.

Now place the mixture into your piping bag. Pipe rounds of approximately 2.5 cm in diameter onto the prepared sheets.

Leave to rest until the meringues develop a skin. Preferably overnight.

Heat oven to 170C/150C or gas oven 3-4.

Bake macarons for 14 minutes.

Allow the macarons to cool before peeling them from the paper.

For the filling, mix butter and cream together. Then place this on top of one macaron and then stuck to the other macaron.

Bon Appetit.

Sainsbury’s Good Food Team inspired this recipe.

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Look for these books by Katy Walters – Click the covers to be taking to the Kindle Store

Katy Walters

Katy Walters

Katy Walters