Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake

I think we can all agree that it's hard to know what to get dads on gift giving holidays. And no matter how much my dad actually loves getting socks, I still feel like a schmuck every fathers' day, birthday and Christmas as he opens his gift and feigns surprise. "Just what I wanted! Socks! I was afraid you were going to break from tradition and get me something else this year..."

Which is why it's nice be able to hand him an additional package, one that I can identify with desiring. Dad's favorite candy is the delicious chocolate turtle.

photo from Demet

Chocolate covered-caramel smothered-toasted pecans are dad's idea of a good time. And if we're lucky, he'll gift us with one chocolate turtle each.

photo from Beware the Cheese Photography

We can only assume they're called turtles because of the vaguely turtle shape... although if I ever see turtles that look like this in my local pond, I'm going to have serious questions for our waste management center.

While I'm of the opinion that nuts ruin many a perfectly good dessert, I think this is a pretty winning combination. It's an incredibly easy way to dress up a dessert, too, just add chocolate, caramel and pecans. Plain old vanilla ice cream becomes a turtle sundae! Chocolate cake gets a turtle makeover! Turtle brownies! And the reason we're here today: Turtle Cheesecake.

I think a lot of people are intimidated by cheesecakes because of the long bake time, the longer cool and chill time and the very real risk of crackage. However, a cheesecake is pretty non-fussy when compared to cakes and tarts. After the crust, it's just mix-and-go! The only secrets are planning ahead and a water bath. I now use a water bath every time and cheesecake fissures are a thing of the past. And the beauty of the turtle cheesecake is that even if there are cracks, they're hidden under the turtle topping.

Turtle Cheesecake, recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan and Emeril Lagasse

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

First, prepare the crust:

2-3 cups finely crushed oreos (depending on how thick you like your crust) (a food processor makes this so easy!)

6-10 T melted butter (don't over-do the butter when it comes to an oreo crust. Add it until it just sticks together when you pinch the crumbs, before it looks all moist.)

Combine the butter and the oreo crumbs, then press the mixture to the sides and bottom of a springform pan. Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes. Let it cool while you make the cheesecake filling.

Filling Ingredients:

2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/3 cup sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips or (preferably) roughly chopped dark chocolate

Place a pot of water on the stove to boil for the water bath. Get out a baking or roasting pan large enough to fit the springform pan.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the sugar and mix a minute more (the smoother this batter is, the better). Scrape down the sides and add the vanilla and eggs, blending well between each addition. Finally, add the salt and heavy or sour cream and mix until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the cheesecake filling into the crust and smooth the top. It's a good idea to put aluminum foil around the bottom and sides of the springform pan to make sure that no water leaks in and makes your crust soggy. Put the cheesecake into the baking pan and pour the hot water around it so that it comes half way up the sides of the cheesecake pan.

Bake the cheesecake at 325 for about an hour and a half, until set. You can tell its set because if you shake it, the whole surface moves only slightly, opposed to the middle still jiggling. Turn off the oven and let it cool with the door propped open, still in its water bath, for about an hour. After the hour, place the cheesecake on a rack to come to room temperature. (When I'm feeling lazy but have some time, I'll take the cheesecake out of the oven after baking and let it come to room temp in the water bath.)

Chill the cheesecake in the fridge for at least four hours, preferably over-night.

Before serving, make the topping.

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 cups pecan halves or chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup caramel sauce*

Pour the cream over the chocolate and microwave for about 45 seconds. Let sit for a minute and then whisk until smooth. Pour it over the cheesecake. Let set in the fridge for 10 minutes. Finally, sprinkle the top with the pecans and drizzle the caramel sauce over the whole thing.

*You can used a jarred caramel sauce, but of course I recommend making your own. Here's a great recipe.

You can find this and more treats over at sweets for a saturday.

Snickers Pie

Hooray! Another heavenly peanut butter dessert!

I'm feeling in a bit of a baking rut; I'm kind of sick of baking mass quantities of the same old things, kind of sick of getting up early to do it.

I take my job very seriously, and I'm used to receiving praise for it. I love watching customers approach the dessert case with wide eyes, clutching their friend's arm and gasping "look...just look at all that..." I love when they find out I'm the baker and they sigh "I just love your desserts!"

Buuut, recently I heard about some customer complaints, and I have no idea what could have gone wrong. It makes me feel extremely insecure. I'm going in to bake in the morning and I'm actually nervous. I'm an approval suck, it's true. It's funny how one bad comment can wipe out the memory of all the good ones. That's true about everything in life, I suppose.

Anyway, this weekend is the Holiday Market downtown (8th st and Reynolds) from 12-6 and it should be good. Santa will be there and live Christmas trees and FREE chik-fil-a sandwiches. I'll be there with loads of good bread and baked goods like sourdough, ciabatta, rosemary, black olive, mediterranean stuffed loaf, bleu cheese stuffed loaf, cinnamon rolls, brownies, oat fudge bars and more! If you're in the Augusta area, make sure to stop by.

Now, on to this luscious snickers pie, which is a winner guaranteed to improve any bad baking day. There's several steps but they're not hard and the result is phenomenal.

Snickers Pie, Adapted from Martha Steward

Oreo crust:

1 9-in springform pan.

about 2 cups finely ground oreos (a food processor does the job in a jiffy, but you can also crush the cookies in a heavy duty ziplock bag with a blunt object like a rolling pin)

3/4-1 stick melted butter

Caramel Layer:

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sour cream or 1/2 stick butter

1 cup roasted salted peanuts

Peanut Butter Mousse:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 t vanilla

1 cup heavy cream, whipped into medium-stiff peaks

Chocolate Ganache Layer

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Make the Oreo Crust. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the ground Oreos with the butter and press the mixture onto the bottom and sides of the springform pan. I like to use the side of a measuring cup to do this. Use your fingers if necessary. Bake the crust for 10 minutes so its nice and crispy. Remove from oven and let cool.

2. Make the Caramel. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and heat it over medium-high heat on the stove. It will take about 10 minutes to turn amber, but watch it carefully, swirling the pan occasionally, because it can burn easily. Remove from heat once a dark amber color and carefully whisk in the 3/4 cup heavy cream. It will bubble and steam and be very hot, so watch your hands. If there are any caramel lumps, reheat the caramel until smooth. Whisk in the sour cream or butter. Transfer to a heat proof bowl and cool, about 45 minutes. Once the caramel is fairly cool, fold in the 1 cup of peanuts. Spread the mixture evenly in the bottom of the oreo crust. Refrigerate while you make the Peanut Butter Mousse.

3. Make the Peanut Butter Mousse. In a stand mixer or with a hand held mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the 1/2 cup powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add the 1 1/4 cup Peanut Butter and the vanilla and beat until smooth.

Whip the 1 cup heavy cream in a clean bowl until medium-stiff peaks form, and then fold 1/3 the whipped cream into the Peanut Butter mixture to lighten it. Fold the rest of the whipped cream into the Peanut Butter in two additions.

4. Spread the Peanut Butter Mousse evenly on top of the caramel layer, taking care that the two don't mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Make the Chocolate Ganache. Pour the final 1 cup heavy cream into a microwave safe container and microwave for about 40 seconds, depending on your microwave. You can also heat it on the stop until bubbly around the edges. Dump the 8 oz chocolate into the hot cream (or pour the cream over the chocolate) and let sit for 1 minute to melt. Whisk until smooth. Pour the Chocolate Ganache over the peanut butter mousse and spread evenly.

Refrigerate a final 30-45 minutes and you're done! Slice and enjoy!

Caramel Cake with Apple Filling

Apples often seem pretty plain jane to me. It was a fruit we always had in the house growing up,* and so I never thought it very special. This could be because I kind of hate red delicious apples, and pretty much any other apple that is sold at the grocery store in a plastic bag with ten other of its fellows. Not very special at all.

However, I declare Fall 2010 the Apple Revolution! Let us rejoice with the bounty of autumnal boughs hanging heavy with the crisp, sweet-tart fruit that is the apple!

And caramel. Everything I make has caramel in it these days.

Apple Revolution started a couple weekends ago when Eric and I went to Greensboro, NC for a wedding (shout out to Haley and Dave! Hooray!). We found there, surprisingly near our hotel and the highway, the absolute biggest farmer's market I have ever seen. It had three massive awnings that housed vendors selling everything from pumpkins to bread to flowers to apples. So many apples. I bought a very large bag filled with one of every kind I could find. We're talking Winesap and Arkansas Black and King Luscious and Duchess and Honeycrisp (aren't apple names just wonderful!)

Therefore...you will be seeing a lot of apple related desserts around here in the coming weeks.

The inspiration for this cake came from Honey and Jam, but I couldn't make the frosting from that recipe set. It stayed a caramel goo mess. Fortunately, I found a delicious recipe on Epicurious from Bon Appetit. If you beat the frosting a little, you get this dark, thick frosting that reminds me of caramels. If you beat it a lot, the frosting becomes lighter in color and very fluffy. Both are tasty, but I like the way the darker one looks better.

This combination is awesome, by the way. Truly awesome. The cake is a rare vanilla cake that stays moist for many days in a world full of dry cakes. The individual components take some time (mostly cooling time, so don't try to make this on a tight schedule), but you can spread out the making of the cake and it's not bad.

Vanilla Cake from Cakelove (it's best if you can weigh the ingredients, and so much easier)

I make this times 1.5 to come up with a three layer cake.

Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare two 9-in cake pans with parchment rounds in the bottom and butter or spray.

Dry Ingredients:

AP Flour, 7 oz or 1 1/4 cup plus 2 tbs

potato starch, 2 oz (you can sub cornstarch if necessary)

baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp

salt, 1 tsp

Wet Ingredients:

half and half, 1 cup

brandy, 2 tbs (can sub more half and half for this)

vanilla extract, 1 tbs

Creaming:

unsalted butter, room temp, 6 oz or 1 1/2 sticks

extra-fine granulated sugar, 14 oz or 1 3/4 cups (you can food process regular sugar to make extra fine.)

eggs, 4 large

Start by mixing the butter and sugar with in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on med-low for at least 5 minutes, the more time the better. It will be very fluffy.

Meanwhile, whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl and sift together. In a separate container, combine all the wet ingredients.

After the butter and sugar are sufficiently creamed, add the eggs one at a time, blending well between each.

Finally, add the wet and dry ingredients in 5 alternating additions, waiting only until the ingredients are just incorporated before adding the next addition. Scrape the bowl and mix on medium speed for 15-20 seconds.

Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 25-28 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Apple Filling adapted from Honey and Jam

I doubled this for a triple layer cake.

2 large granny smith (or other baking-type) apples

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

Peel the apples and grate with a box grater. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook until the apples are tender and there is little liquid left. Cool completely.

Caramel Frosting from Epicurious

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup cream

2 egg yolks

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp

1/8 t salt

1 cup powdered sugar

Stir the sugar and water together and cook over med-high heat, swirling the pot occasionally (not stirring). Cook until the caramel is deep amber; watch it carefully, it will continue to darken a little after you turn off the heat. Remove from the burner and whisk in the cream (watch out for steam and bubbles). Stir until the caramel is smooth.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, and gradually whisk in the hot caramel. Cool the caramel mixture.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth. Beat in the caramel mixture. Let stand at room temperature until thick enough to spread, about an hour.

Spread the apple filling between the cake layers and frost the outside of the cake with caramel frosting. If you have time to freeze your cake layers, it makes frosting easier.

Go, enjoy this quintessential fall cake.

* Oddly enough, we also always had bananas around too when I was growing up, but that apparently had the opposite effect on me than the ever-present-bagged apple, because now I am slightly obsessed with the banana. Really, its the perfect fruit.

Flan de Naranja

I love chocolate as much as the next girl, but I promise you that I will choose desserts from the custard/pudding family first every time. The texture! I love the smooth creaminess that holds its shape but yields the second it's placed on your tongue...

The only problem is desserts of this nature are usually comprised almost entirely of cream, egg yolks and sugar. Aka, not health food as we usually define it.

Which is why, dear readers, I was positively THRILLED to find this recipe for "Orange Flan." Which is as close to health food that custard will ever venture. Which is why I bought a large bag of oranges the very next day.

In general flan, unlike creme brulee or other egg custards, is not worth eating without the caramel topping, and this orange flan is no exception. Make the caramel. It will hit your tongue first, giving way to a mysterious orange egginess. If you think this is a puzzling set of flavors, you are correct- but you'll be completely satisfied mulling them over as you take the next bite...and the next...

The custard is incredibly easy to prepare, so save your worry for the caramel, which can be tricky.

Flan de Naranja (Orange Flan), adapted from Apple Pie, Patis and Pate

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and get out 4 ramekins and a baking dish that will hold all of them.

Have 4 6-oz ramekins at the ready. Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons of water in a sauce pot. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring only until the sugar is dissolved. Once the syrup boils, watch it carefully and swirl the pan occasionally to make sure the mixture is heating evenly. Cook until the caramel is deep amber- but be careful! It cooks some after you take it off the heat, so you may want to take it almost there and have some cool water in the sink to stick the bottom of the pot in to make sure you don't burn it. Burnt caramel is inedible.

Working quickly before the caramel hardens, pour a little into each ramekin, coating the bottom. I swirled mine to get the caramel on the sides too, but it's not necessary, and hot caramel is VERY HOT. And STICKY. And DANGEROUS. (or, because we're dealing with a Spanish dessert here- PELIGROSO!)

Make the custard:

6 large eggs

5 T sugar

1 1/3 cups fresh squeezed orange juice (about 4-5 large oranges)

1 t orange zest (from one orange)

In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Try not to incorporate too much air into the eggs. Mix in the sugar, and then slowly mix in the orange juice while beating the eggs. Strain to remove pulp or seeds. Add the zest and stir.

Get out the baking dish and line with a tea towel. Place ramekins in the dish and distribute the custard mixture evenly among them. Pour hot water in the pan so it comes half way up the sides of the ramekins. This will help the flans bake evenly.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes until the centers are set. Once done, remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool at room temperature. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Run a knife around the edges of the flans and invert onto plates to serve.

I figured it out- each flan only has about 1.5 eggs and less than 2 tablespoons of sugar. Not too shabby.

Flan

I love flan. It's true.

In college my roommates would open the fridge to find that almost every single mug we owned was half full of this delightful custard. The best part was...they didn't really care for it, so it was all mine!

I could go days just eating this stuff. In fact, I made it yesterday and it's been featured as the main part of my every meal since. Healthy? No. Delicious? Absolutely.

I used "The Perfect Flan" recipe on Epicurious from Bon Appetit.

I don't think I'd call it the perfect flan; I've had better. It was very good though.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup whipping cream

1 cup whole milk (I substituted evaporated milk, following the advice of some of the commenters.)

pinch of salt

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (whoops. I just realized I used a whole one. It obviously didn't hurt it though.)

1/3 cup water

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

7 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Assemble 6 or 7 ramekins or custard cups. Combine cream, milk and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Set aside to steep for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the cup of sugar with 1/3 water in another medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves, then cook over high heat without stirring (you can swirl it if you want to though) until the caramel is deep amber (I would remove it before it gets to this point because it will continue to darken a bit once off the heat.)

Working quickly, divide the caramel among the ramekins, tilting them to coat the sides. Careful, it's reeeaaallly hot. Set the ramekins into a 13x9 in baking pan.

Whisk the eggs, yolks and remaining sugar until just blended. Gradually whisk in cream mixture, trying to create as little foam as possible. Pour this mixture through a fine sieve into the prepared ramekins. Pour enough hot water into the baking pan that it comes half way up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake until loosely set, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, preferably over night.

To serve, run a knife around the edges of the flan and shake out onto a plate, letting the caramel run down over the flan.

I guess the hardest part about making flan is the caramel. It's not really hard though, just finicky. And flan without the caramel is just not worth the calories.

Sweet and Salty Cake

A GEM of a cake, from Baked.

I was near Charleston last weekend for a Fuchs family girls' weekend. My mom and I drove down together, and we stopped in Charleston on the way. I remembered hearing that Baked has a branch there, but it took me completely by surprise to come across it in the street. I literally sprinted to it, thinking "Spicy Brownie. Spicy Brownie. Spicy Brownie."

Unfortunately, the South's taste buds are not exactly attuned to the spicy-sweet combo. The ladies behind the counter said they tried selling it when they first opened, but no one was interested. They did, however, have a Sweet and Salty Brownie, which was a dense, chocolately brownie married with salted caramel and sea salt.

It was so good it made my eyebrows contract and my mouth hang open in shock and delight. The sea salt joins with the salted caramel and makes the dark chocolate unfold a million different love letters in your mouth. It's an experience, people.

So this week, I opened my Baked cookbook zoomed in on the Sweet and Salty Cake. It did not disappoint. See NOTES before starting.

Chocolate Layers

3/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups hot water

2/3 cup sour cream

2 2/3 cup AP flour

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 1/2 sticks softened unsalted butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup firmly pack dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 T vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Butter 3 8-in round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, butter said parchment and flour it, too. When I made this I was skimming the recipe and I just buttered and floured the pans...this cake definitely needs the parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, hot water and sour cream. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening together for 5 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for 5 minutes more. Add the eggs, one at a tie, beating well after each addition, then add vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat for 30 seconds.

Add the flour mixture, alternating with the cocoa mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes. (mine only took 30 min, so check early. I took it out when there were just a few crumbs sticking the knife I stuck in the middle). Let the pans cool for 20 min before removing the cakes and allowing to cool completely.

UPDATE: I now substitute light brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of molasses for the dark brown sugar for a lovely moist cake.

Salted Caramel

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 t fleur de sel (sea salt. I used celtic sea salt, but you will get different results with different varieties. Don't use table salt, please.)

1 cup sugar

2 T light corn syrup

1/4 sour cream

In a small saucepan, combine the cream and the fleur de sel. heat slowly over low heat until the salt is dissolved. Do not boil.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, 1/4 cup water and the corn syrup. Stir them together and the heat over high heat without stirring until a candy thermometer reads 350 degrees or until the mixture is dark amber.

NOTE: It is better to undercook than overcook caramel, because overcooked caramel tastes bitter. Bear in mind that it will cooking for a bit after you remove it from the heat, and you can even have a bowl of ice-water ready to dip the pan in to stop the cooking process.

Let the mixture cool for 1 minute, then add the cream mixture to the caramel.

NOTE: It is best to slowly pour the cream into the caramel, whisking all the time. This will ensure a smooth, fully combined caramel.

Whisk in the sour cream. Let the caramel cool to room temp. Refrigerate it in a covered container until you're ready to use it.

Whipped Caramel Chocolate Ganache

1 pound dark chocolate (60-70%cacao), chopped

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

2 T light corn syrup

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but cool, cut into 1/2 in pieces.

Put the chocolate in a large heat proof bowl and set aside.

In a small sauce pan, bring the cream to a simmer over very low heat.

Meanwhile, keeping an eye on the cream so it doesn't burn, in a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup water with the cup of sugar and the cornsyrup, stirring together. Heat on high without stirring until an instant read or candy thermometer reads 350 or until the mixture is dark amber, 6-8 minutes (see NOTES above). Remove from heat and let cool one minute.

Slowly add the cream to the caramel and stir to combine. Slowly stir for 2 minutes, then pour the caramel over the chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, then, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way to the edges, slowly stir the chocolate and caramel in little circles until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Let the mixture cool, then transfer it to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Mix on low until the bowl feels cool to the touch. Increase the speed to medium high and gradually add the butter, beating until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat at high speed until fluffy.

NOTE: I had some problems with this frosting being kind of loose at room temperature. I ended up frosting it in shifts with freezer time in between (late for work, too, as always). When I frosted the cupcakes I added a couple cups of confectioner's sugar, and this helped the situation a lot and didn't affect the taste too much. So give yourself time for cooling and whipping and freezing if necessary.

To assemble the cake, spread the caramel across each layer and sprinkle with sea salt. Freeze the layers for a few minutes to stiffen the caramel. Spread 3/4 cup ganache each over two of the layers and assemble the cake. Coat the cake with a "Crumb Coat" of frosting and refrigerate for 15 minutes to stiffen up. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining ganache. Garnish with more sea salt.

Serve the cake at room temperature with lots of MILK.

Let me know how yours turns out!

So Many Options!

Our friend Spencer is going to school for Genetic Counseling in Columbia, SC. For the next couple months, he is on rotation at the hospital here in Augusta, so he is staying with us a couple nights a week.

So last night, we had a little party to introduce him around, and there was Satay Chicken, Mozzarella-Tomato-Pesto Sandwiches, Stuffed Mushrooms and CUPCAKES (of course.)

I made Chocolate Cupcakes, Banana Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Frosting and Salted Caramel Frosting, and let people mix and match.

First make some home-made caramel. My directions are on this blog here. Let cool to room temperature.

For the Frosting, I made a basic Cream Cheese Frosting to start.

Whip 1.5 sticks softened unsalted butter, 1 lb of cream cheese til smooth, then blend in a 1/2 cup heavy cream and 2 t vanilla. Then slowly add 2 whole pounds of powdered sugar.

We divided the frosting in half, and mixture one part with Peanut Butter (to taste, really.)

When the caramel is cool, mix it in with the other half.

These flavors are divine and cream cheese is TASTY.

Banana Cupcakes from Baked.

(see The KING post above)

Chocolate Cupcakes adapted from Martha. Makes about 12.

I was in a rush and put the sugar in the bowl with the dry ingredients, then tried to scoop it out and as a result, my creaming action was more like gravy. It turned out okay though.

Preheat oven to 350.

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup flour

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1.5 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 t vanilla

1/2 buttermilk (original recipe called for sour cream, but I didn't have any)

Mix cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar for about 3 minutes, then add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each. Add vanilla. Scrape down the bowl, then add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermik, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the bowl and mix for a few seconds. Fill cupcake papers 2/3 and bake at 350 for 20-25 min, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Caramel-filled Chocolate Cookies

On saturday night, I had a work Christmas party. I decided to make Cakelove's Cranberry-Lemon-Chocolate Poundcake and these "milk-dud inspired" chocolate cookies.

I was in a rush, so dear Eric helped me. (I had to make him smile for this picture, but for a cheesy smile, I think he looks pretty darn good.)

aaaand for the recipe...you can go here :)

Triple Layer Mousse

Normally, I am not such a fan of mousse, but I love the salted caramel in this, and the flavors combine very nicely.

They were a hit at the restaurant.

I adapted this recipe from Tartlette.

and I'll let you check out her blog for the recipe, but I do have a few notes:

1. When making the vanilla base, don't let the egg mixture boil. It curdles something digusting and will set into something like grainy, grits-looking, hard-set jello. This is different from pastry cream, which you do boil. I suppose the difference is gelatin in mousse and corn starch in pastry cream. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

2. Also, I let my mixtures cool until they were really set- I even put my vanilla base in the fridge. I think this was a mistake, because it became chunky when blended with the chocolate and caramel. My chocolate was also pretty hard. I think it would nice nice if everything was on the warm side of room temperature, because then you might have a shot at pouring the layers into your ramikins. (Her pictures show layers that are smooth as if poured- I had to pipe mine in.)

Caramel

Would you like to know how to make your very own home made caramel for all your caramel needs?

You can either pour only sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and heat until it melts, being very careful not to let it progress beyond "golden" to "burnt," or you can mix the sugar with a little bit of water and boil that together.

I think it's a little easier to mix the sugar with the water because the sugar doesn't clump that way.

When the caramel turns golden, add a bit of whipped cream and butter, stirring all the while and being very careful not to get burned. This stuff is HOT. Liquified sugar- which sticks to you- can give you second degree burns.

I used 1 cup of sugar with a few tablespoons of water, boiled til golden, then added a 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 2 T of butter. Add it slowly and stir continually. This makes a nice consistency for dipping apples. We had the caramel with Granny Smith Apples and Brie cheese mmmmmm!