Ghirardelli® Individual Chocolate Lava Cakes

If you don't like chocolate like this, you're just odd. Actually, if you dislike chocolate, you would hate this. It's very rich and chocolatey, which makes it heavenly for people like me. I strongly recommend this recipe. You don't need ramekins or anything fancy (I used a muffin pan), it's fairly easy, and the product is SO DELICIOUS!

RECIPE (Original here - I followed it exactly but did not use raspberries or whipped cream this time because Blake doesn't really like whipped cream. Psh. What? I know.)

Centers:

2 ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate baking bar, broken or chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream

Cakes:

4 oz. Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate baking bar, broken or chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large whole eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup cake flour - If you don't have any, like me, make some yourself! Easy! Love Joy the Baker.
Whipped cream for garnish (optional)

Centers/Fillings:
(1) In the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water, melt the 2 ounces of chocolate with the cream. Whisk gently to blend.
(2) Refrigerate for ~2 hours (or until firm). With your hands, form into 6 balls. Refrigerate until needed.
(3) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray six 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups with cooking spray (or just a muffin pan)


Cakes:
(1) In the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water, melt the 4 ounces of chocolate and the butter, stirring occasionally until smooth.
(2) In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, whisk whole eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla on high speed for about 5 min, or until thick & light.
(3) Fold the melted chocolate mixture & flour into the egg mixture just until combined. Spoon the cake batter into the ramekins
(4) Place a chocolate ball in the middle of each ramekin
(3) Bake for ~15 minutes, or until the cake is firm to the touch.
(4) Remove from the oven and let sit for ~5 minutes. Run a small, sharp knife around the inside of each ramekin or muffin cup, place an upside-down plate on top, invert, & remove the ramekin or muffin pan. Garnish if you desire.

Enter the Fresno Fair Great Cake Contest! + Fudge-Glazed Creamy Peanut Butter Cake

Ooo I wish I were going to be here for this! Check it out!

***


This Fresno Fair Great Cake Contest offers hobby bakers a chance to compete with other area kitchen warriors for bragging rights and cash prizes. Check out the details below!

Cake Makers Compete at the Big Fresno Fair: King Arthur Flour invites you to compete in their “Great Cake Contest.” Prizes valued at $450 are awarded to the top three winners, plus the first place winner has a shot at the grand prize valued at $500. Bake your cake using any type of King Arthur Flour, but no cake mixes please. Any theme, shape, size or flavor is welcome. Use any frosting, topping or delightful decoration you desire. Winners of the top three cakes receive gift cards for King Arthur Flour’s popular baking website and online catalog. First place gets $200 and runner-ups win $150 and $100 each. Cakes are judged on Taste, Presentation and Texture. All ages may enter; limit one entry per person.

Big Fresno Fair runs October 3 - 14, 2012

Pre-registration for the Cake Contest is required by September 8, 2012

Cake Contest Judging is on Saturday, October 13 at 1 pm

The contest is judged at the Fresno fairgrounds. Check out the contest section of www.fresnofair.com for details or call the fair’s entry office at 559-650-3213 with questions.     

Fudge-Glazed Creamy Peanut Butter Cake

(Sample recipe from King Arthur Flour) 

Cake
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon (1/4 ounce) Instant ClearJel® or cornstarch
1/3 cup (1 ounce) Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa, black cocoa, or Dutch-process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup (2 3/8 ounces) vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (5 ounces) water

Filling
3/4 cup (7 ounces) peanut butter, creamy or chunky
2 cups (8 ounces) confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (2 5/8 ounces) milk or cream

Icing
1 cup (6 ounces) chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) heavy or whipping cream
1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts, for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour (or grease, then line with parchment, then grease again) an 8-inch round cake pan. Note: This pan needs to be at least 2-inch tall; if you have a non-standard, shorter 8-inch pan, substitute a 9-inch round pan.

To make the cake: Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla, beating until smooth. Gradually add the water, beating until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake for 35 to 38 minutes (about 25 minutes if you're using a 9-inch pan), or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, and then turn it out of the pan to cool completely on a rack.

To make the filling: Beat together the peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla till crumbly, then add the milk or cream, beating till smooth. Add additional milk or cream, if necessary, to make a spreadable filling.

To make the icing: Combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the cream is hot, and the chocolate soft. Stir to melt the chocolate completely, reheating very briefly if necessary. Allow the icing to rest for about 30 to 45 minutes, or until it's thickened enough to be spreadable.

To assemble the cake: Slice the cake in half horizontally, to make two layers. Place one piece, cut side up, on a serving plate. Spread with the filling. Top with the second piece, cut side down. Spread the top and sides of the cake with the icing. Garnish with chopped peanuts, if desired. Yield: one 8-inch cake, 8 to 10 servings.  

Fantastic Eclair Cake w/ Chocolate Ganache



Seriously, what could be better?

Fluffy clouds of HEAVEN

Oops I think "chocolate ganache" is redundant. It's clearer for those who don't know what ganache is (chocolate + cream) though I guess.

Ohhh....my goodness. I wanted to bring Auntie Joanne's custard pie/cream puff pie to Christmas Eve, but it wasn't big enough, and I didn't want to make two separate pies, so I found this recipe, which is basically the same thing but with a ganache topping. Heavenly...unless you don't like eclairs or cream puffs or chocolate or something. It does have a lot of pudding, but it's dang good pudding because it's mixed with real whipped cream. HECK YEAH. Making this again for New Year's Day, so I'll take better pictures and update this post soon.

Got the recipe from All Recipes (I just broke down the directions into easier-to-read steps and changed "and"s to "&"s and stuff to save people's printer ink.

Pastry shell:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Filling:
2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups cold milk

Chocolate Ganache:
1 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli's 60% semisweet chips)
1 cup heavy cream

Pastry:
1) Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C)
2) Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish
3) Chill a mixing bowl in the freezer
4) Combine the water, butter, & salt in medium saucepan & bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium & stir in the flour. Cook and stir until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan & forms a ball.
5) Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl & beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated
6) Spread the dough evenly in the bottom of the baking dish.
7) Bake the pastry in preheated oven until golden brown (25 to 30 minutes - Dough will rise & make a boat shape but should drop as it cools)
8) Cool completely on wire rack.

Filling:
9) Remove chilled mixing bowl from the freezer & pour in 2 cups of cold whipping cream
10) Whip until cream thickens (about 1 minute)
11) Stir in confectioners' sugar & vanilla extract
12) Continue to whip until cream forms stiff peaks
13) Refrigerate whipped cream while you mix the pudding
14) Pour pudding mixes & milk into a mixing bowl & stir until creamy
15) Fold in the whipped cream
16) Spread the filling over the cooled crust & refrigerate

Ganache:
17) Place chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl
18) Bring 1 cup of cream almost to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat
19) Pour the hot cream over the chocolate & allow it to soften for 1 minute
20) Whisk mixture until smooth
21) Let mixture cool slightly to thicken (~10 minutes)
22) Pour ganache over the cream filling, spreading to cover the entire surface
23) Return pan to the refrigerator & chill for at least 1 hour before serving

Buttery Cinnabon Cake (or Cinnamon Roll Cake)

Michelle F and I started baking about once a week! Two Mondays ago we made this cinnamon roll cake (found the recipe on Lovin' From the Oven,who got it from The Girl Who Ate Everything, who got it from Picky Palate, who got it from her brother-in-law's mom). We used the recipe on Lovin' From the Oven (there have been a few modifications along the way). It's a tiny bit too sweet, but I didn't notice that until the second time I ate it. That's just my opinion. Michelle and I both thought it was delicious, and we'd make it again! Ohh man I love pecans. And butter. And sugar. And cinnamon.

 

 

 

 

 

 Cinnamon Roll Cake (recipe found here):

Cake:

• 3 cups flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) real butter, melted

Topping:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) real butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (optiona) - Always measure the nuts first then chop them...did not know this. We used already-chopped pecans intended to top a salad because we couldn't find pecans at the store.

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix together flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs & vanilla
3. Stir in the 1/2 cup melted butter
4. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan
5. For the topping, mix 2 sticks of softened butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon & pecans until well combined. Drop evenly over cake batter by spoonfuls & use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake (the fun part!)
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min or until toothpick comes out clean from center
7. For the glaze, mix powdered sugar, milk & vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth & pour over warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The Original Red Velvet Cake Frosting

I had thought that red velvet cake is always supposed to have cream cheese frosting until I read a food blog that led me to The Pioneer Woman's post about the best frosting she's ever had (see blog post here), which is supposedly the frosting that was originally used for red velvet cakes. I'm having trouble finding reliable evidence that the original red velvet cake recipes had the cooked flour frosting, but just search for "original red velvet cake," and all kinds of blog posts will come up. Most of the ones I've seen show that the cake part should be made of vinegar and the frosting originally was not made of cream cheese (disappointing and surprising but interesting!). See Cookie Madness's post here on the original frosting (check here and here too). Auntie Joanne recently told my mom and me that red velvet cakes used to be made of beets instead of food coloring (see here). Well, I tried the flour-based frosting, and it was really good, but I still prefer cream cheese frosting. It could be the best non-cream cheese frosting though!

 
 The cake:

 

You want the cake recipe? Go here (it was pretty good but a tiny bit dry...and SO red, but that's just my opinion. Yes, I am aware that red velvet cakes are red; I just get grossed out when my food looks too artificial).

You want the frosting recipe (originally found here)? Here ya go:

• 5 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 cup Butter
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

(1) In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk & heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens (it should be very thick, thicker than cake mix--more like a brownie mix)
(2) Remove from heat & let it cool to room temperature. (If in a hurry, place the saucepan over ice in the sink for ~10 minutes until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step
(3) Stir in vanilla
(4) While mixture is cooling, cream the butter & sugar together until light & fluffy (you want to get rid of the sugar graininess)
(5) Add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture & beat it like Michael Jackson. If it looks separated keep beating until it all combines & looks like whipped cream
(6) Spread it on a cooled chocolate cake (or whatever)

Limón Peruvian Cuisine - Fresno, CA

Website here.


DELICIOUS!! I found a new favorite dinner place in Fresno! My parents had been there before with friends and raved about how good it was, but I actually decided to try it later once I found out that the family of this adorable preschooler (from work) owned it. I knew that the family was really sweet (and their daughter is SO cute), so I just had to take Blake there as soon as I could. Last December (2010) I talked with the preschooler's mom about eating at Limón, and then I took Blake there two days later. Soo, so good. Top-quality food. Blake thought it was all delicious too--especially the empanadas. And the TRUFFLE OIL mac 'n' cheese. MMMm.. Must go back!

Empanada Don Walter (Appetizer): "Pastry filled with sautéed beef, olives, onions, eggs, raisins and served with rocoto cream sauce." Um....We could have eaten about 10 more of these and still not been satisfied. :)

Pollo Latino: "Pan-roasted chicken breast served over a Dijon mustard sauce and truffle infused 'Mac & Cheese'": Those are sweet potato chips on top. Oh man. Blake and I love truffle mac 'n' cheese now. Truffle oil is so, soo good.


Lomo Saltado: "Traditional Peruvian dish of sliced top sirloin sautéed with soy sauce, onions, tomatoes and fries, served with a side of rice."
I was not expecting a dish with fries to be considered "traditional," but whatever! This was just the right size for me, and the sauce was really good. I wish I could offer you better details, but honestly this was from December, and I didn't take notes. Dang...


Chocolate Bandido: "Chocolate flourless cake with vanilla ice cream and mix berries coulis."
We took our desserts home, but they were both still delicious even after sitting in take-out boxes for a little bit. The chocolate cake was extra good and rich when I reheated it.

&

Helado [de fresas - Strawberry ice cream]: "Homemade tropical Peruvian ice cream: Lucuma, Mango, Guanabana Chirimoya and Strawberry.": Somehow the ice cream stayed intact through the ride home. It was so tasty and refreshing. Would love to have more of their homemade ice cream!!

DIY Cake Pops for Baby Shower Guests!

6/5/10

Aren't these the cutest little decorations?? This is the first baby shower I've attended as an invited guest (me going with my mom as a little girl to my aunt's doesn't count).

Cucumber sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches (on good brioche, btw), chocolate muffins, cupcakes of some kind, another kind of muffin (I didn't eat it), a fruit salad, and then cake pops later.


Learned about cake pops from Bakerella, of course. I was going to make them myself, but my co-workers/friends suggested that we have the guests make 'em themselves. Good idea, but honestly I'd make them myself next time because these cake pops are hard to deal with when they get warmer out of the refrigerator and start falling apart. It was neat to have the guests add their own decorations of preference though! Basically, here's what you do:

(1) Bake a cake mix cake & let it cool
(2) Mix cooled cake with a little tub of frosting
(3) Form little one-inch balls
(4) Dip sticks in melted candy melts or whatever you want to use so the sticks have something to stick to when they're inserted into the cake balls.
(5) Stick sticks into cake balls.
(6) Once balls are attached to the sticks, refrigerate them so that they're stiff
(7) Dip the balls into your melted candy melts (or chocolate or whatever you want) and decorate with sprinkles or whatever you want.

I'm sure these would taste better when made with homemade cake & frosting, although I still loooove Funfetti cake and frosting. You can also make brownie pops, which can taste AWESOME when done right.

Where do you get the cake pop supplies? Joann Fabric & Craft Stores, Michael's, etc. Pretty much any artsy craftsy stores. You can get sprinkles at grocery stores, Target, etc. I got my candy melts and lollipop sticks at Joann and my cake mix and frosting at Vons. Next time I'll try these either with brownies or with homemade cake and homemade frosting.

Lemon Cake from Eddie's - Fresno, CA

Eddie's Bakery
7089 N. Cedar Avenue
Fresno, CA 93720
Website here.

Lemon cake from Eddie's Bakery that my grandparents' friends brought over after my grandma passed away. I don't normally like lemony sweets (aside from lemon bars and Marie Callender's double cream lemon pie), but this was pretty good. That little piece to the right is an elevated slice--not a gap. Funny illusion though.

Gigi's is DELICIOUS!

Gigi's Cucina Italiano
9447 N Fort Washington Rd
The 'No

Tuesday, 12.23.08

*Warning: DARK pictures below.

Cheese sampler appetizer (dunno the actual name):


Isn't that pretty? John's filet mignon was AMAZING. Melted like butter when you touched it. haha

Their lasagna was yummy too:

And then there was dessert. :drool:

Flourless chocolate cake (even better than Crixa Cakes's flourless choc cake!!!)

My tiramisu (mmmm!!):


Holy cow. Holy cow.

Cafe Madeleine

300 California St
(between Battery St & Sansome St)
San Francisco, CA 94104
Website *WOW - look at their pics! Their cakes, which I didn't seen when I was there, look amazing!
Yelp ratings here

I was in SF for work one day this semester...and I was hungry...and I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I was in the city, so I asked someone working in the building I was about to leave if this place had good sandwiches. She automatically said they were good, so I believed her and tried the sandwich with grilled chicken breast, Brie cheese and sliced apples with sundried tomato aioli on filone bread for $7.75 (not cheap...but I felt like being adventurous).


Hot, big, and both sweet & salty. I'm not really a huge fan of apples with cheese though, although my mom is. I know the combination is popular in other countries like France ... and I remember we had red apples with American cheese slices for snack time at Campus Club way back in elementary school (DISGUSTING!! I HATE AMERICAN CHEESE!...but I love other cheeses made in America, of course!). Anyways, this was still good, but I'd say the only two problems were that there was too much cheese (so fatty!), and it was a little too burnt for me, but that's just me.

Crixa Cakes: Pumpkin Pie, Flourless Chocolate Cake, etc.

Saturday, 11.1.08
With Minh-Chau!

2748 Adeline Street in Berkeley
Website HERE (omg look at those pics!) *My receipt below*

Flourless chocolate cake (sooo chocolatey without being overwhelming; the powdered sugar is a nice touch, although I could have done without it too; MC and I agreed that this cake dissolves in your mouth; I would buy it again sometime...perhaps for someone else):

Pumpkin pie (this was really good too, but I have a low tolerance for sugar; I think if it had a teeny bit less sugar, it would have been perfect; nice texture, pumpkin flavor, and balance of spices) **By the way, I went to Crixa Cakes mainly to try their pumpkin pie because of this**:

Looks like an ice cream scoop, but it's a meringue (for Kurtis! I'm not that big of a pig!):








Soooo good. Want to go back and try everything else. haha I really want to try that sweet Russian bread. And the Boston cream pie and the tiramisu. So bad. haha

Yikes...expensive. But so yummy.

The 3-Layer Chocolate Cake

Mom and I made this cake (the recipe was in a magazine...I don't know the name of it) for our family friends (and yes, I washed my hands repeatedly in order to take these step-by-step pictures):


The Frosting:
This cake tasted fantastic. Both the cake and the frosting were rich and wonderfully chocolatey. It wasn't too too difficult, although it takes extra time because you have to make three layers and then frost the whole thing. You also have to be careful not to put too much frosting in between the layers because I had JUST enough with which to cover the top. Perfect. If only it were low in sugar and fat. Haha.