Chocolate Ganache Birthday (or any occasion) Cake

It was my husband's 24th birthday this past week, so I thought it was a perfect excuse to try out a new recipe. Incredibly rich, so this four layer beauty goes a long way with a crown. My family managed to polish off maybe half of it. It is also a little more time consuming then most recipes I take on, but I knew the birthday boy was worth it, and let's be honest...I was craving chocolate. The levels of Chocolate in this cake are borderline insane. On that note, enjoy!

SoNo Chocolate Ganache Cake

(from SoNo Baking Company & Café in Connecticut) 

Ingredients

Ganache 
1 pound semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped
4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup good-quality honey
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise, or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Sponge Cake 
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 1/3 cups brewed American coffee

Directions

1. To make the ganache: Place all the chocolate in a heatproof bowl; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, honey, and salt. Scrape the tiny black seeds from the vanilla bean pod, if using, into the cream, and add the pod. Bring the cream to a boil, pour over the chocolate, and let stand for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Strain through a fine strainer into a bowl. Discard the vanilla bean. Stir in the vanilla extract, if using. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the ganache stiffens, at least 6 hours or overnight. (Or, place in the refrigerater and chill, stirring every 20 to 30 minutes, until the ganache stiffens.)
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9 by 2-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with a round of parchment paper and dust with a little bit of cocoa powder, tapping out any excess.
3. To make the cake: In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift in the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed to combine.
4. Add the eggs, vanilla, melted butter, buttermilk, and coffee. Mix on low speed until fully combined. Pour the batter into prepared cake pans. Bake on a baking sheet until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then unmold the cakes onto the rack and let cool completely.
5. Using a serrated knife, slice the top ¹⁄8 to ¼ inch off each cake to level it, if necessary. Discard the top pieces. Splice each cake horizontally into two layers for a total of four layers. Place the bottom layer on a 9-inch cake round, a turntable, or a platter, and using an offset spatula, spread thickly with about 1½ cups of the ganache. Repeat with the second and third layers, spreading another 1½ cups ganache over each layer. Add the final cake layer and spread it with a very thin layer of ganache (this is your crumb layer). Place the cake in the refrigerator until the crumb layer is set, about 30 minutes.
6. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and place it on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, heat the reserved ganache just until liquid. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, allowing it to run down the sides. Using a large offset spatula, help spread the ganache from the center to the edges so the cake is completely covered. Smooth the top and sides. Refrigerate to set, about 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

Just in case you wanted a visual of the man who inspired this cake...here he is. Yes he is in a Kayak on grass, and yes he is pretending to paddle. Doesn't everyone ride in their kayak in their lawns for their birthday?

A Bridal Shower

This past weekend I was in the cities to help throw a bridal shower for my friend Justine. It was a brunch shower so we did most of the decorating and cooking/baking the night before. I managed to take a few photos of the day, but there were many details that I didn't get a chance to catch.

Details of the day:

Make your own paper bag and book page flowers.

Mini German Pancake Recipe with Triple Berry Sauce

Chocolate Truffles  (I added peppermint to the recipe)

Homemade Coffee Creamers (we made the peppermint mocha & the pumpkin spice)


It was a wonderful morning filled with wonderful people and delicious food.

Hello Salted Caramel Cheesecake!

I am thankful for so many blessings this year...

my wonderful sweet husband

being able to spend Thanksgiving at our apartment with Ben's mom and sister.

being able to take a walk before dinner (this weather is lovely!)

our bright colorful Christmas lights decorating our patio

surviving Black Friday shopping

getting a full 8 hours of sleep after shopping

my hot cup of coffee

my warm cozy apartment

and...I am thankful that I send the rest of our Thanksgiving dessert with Ben to work. 

Why you ask? 

Because it was way too delicious. ( I'm not just saying that because I made it)

SALTED CARAMEL CHEESECAKE

The recipe was originally found on Joy the Baker. The original recipe is to be made in a pie pan. I however, wanted to use my spring form pan so I tweaked the recipe a bit. I listed below the ingredient changes I made for the larger spring form pan size. (I think mine is a 9" pan) The directions on Joy the Baker are very detailed and include pictures so I won't do that here. Follow the same steps, just use the different measurements here.

CRUST INGREDIENTS 

2 1/2 cups ginger snap cookie crumbs

2 tablespoons brown sugar

pinch of salt

3/4 stick unsalted melted butter

CHEESECAKE INGREDIENTS

20 oz cream cheese (at room temp) 

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt 

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs (at room temp)

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. lemon zest (I'd say optional...but it truly adds a lot)

CARAMEL INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

It's seriously delicious. That's why it had to leave our apartment. A whole cheesecake sitting in our fridge is dangerous. 

Pumpkin Molasses Cookies

These cookies are a perfect addition to coffee. I like normal molasses cookies just fine, but when you add the slight pumpkin flavor to them something wonderful happens. The pumpkin is not overpowering at all, for those that claim to dislike pumpkin it may be hard to even pick up on it without knowing. What I like best about adding the pumpkin is that it makes for very moist and fluffy cookies. Perfect for breakfast, after dinner, before bed...etc.

makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients
2 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp black pepper
8 Tbs butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Directions
1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and pepper.
2. In your mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Next, add the brown sugar, molasses, and pumpkin puree and beat for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute more. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing until the flour and spices disappear. If flour remains in the bottom of the bowl, mix the last of the dry ingredients by hand to avoid over beating. You will have a very soft dough.
3. Take your dough and divide it into two pieces and place each piece in plastic wrap. Now place these in the fridge for about an hour, or the freezer for 30 minutes. This will allow the dough to be much easier to handle.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silicone baking sheet.
5. Put the sugar in a small bowl. Working with one packet of dough at a time, divide it into 12 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball. Don't work with the dough too much to get it into balls because it will only get harder to roll. Make a quick ball and roll it in sugar.Roll the balls in the sugar and use a the bottom of a glass to press down on the cookies until they are between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. 

6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12-14 minutes, or until the top feels set to the touch. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

This recipe was found at My Baking Addiction.

Raspberry-Oat Muffins

Raspberry-Oat Muffins

I made this muffins a few weeks ago after finding the recipe in a cookbook from the library. They are very filling and delicious. They are also somewhat healthy because they do not contain any butter, and have some delicious grains in them (oats, and bran too if you wish). I have included the original recipe from Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumai. I then included the substitutions I have made below the recipe. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup quick oats (I used old-fashioned ones before though too)

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of sea salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)

Confectioner's sugar for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.

Mix the eggs, applesauce, and honey together in another bowl, and then stir this mixture into the flour mixture until completely mixed. 

Finally, fold in the raspberries.

Fill a 12 cup muffin tin with liners if you wish, and then fill each cup 3/4 full. Bake until golden brown on top, and a toothpick will come out clean when inserted in the center. (about 20 minutes)

Let cool and then dust with confectioner's sugar before serving. 

Enjoy!

**substitutions I have made**

*If you prefer you can use non-fat greek yogurt instead of apple sauce.

*I have also added a cup of bran flour too, if  you do this make sure you add 1/4 cup of the applesauce or yogurt.

*I also added sliced almonds as well. You could add any type of nut, walnuts would be good too...

Rhubarb perfection.

I have always loved Rhubarb. 

I always have a hard time finding any of it to bake with, so when I saw some at the Farmers' Market last weekend I snatched it up. I had it sitting around in my fridge for a few days while I searched for the perfect recipe. 

I found it.

This cake was absolutely amazing. Even before baking it I knew it had promise because the batter smelled wonderful. Bekah and Ellie came over to help me make it and eat it. ( I always try to bake when I know that someone besides Ben and I will be consuming it) 

Anyway, it was late into the evening before it came out of the oven so I didn't get a decent photo of it then, but here is someone else's photo of the same recipe.

SOUR CREAM & RHUBARB CAKE

(recipe from “The Country Cookbook” by Belinda Jeffery)

Ingredients:

2 & 1/3 cups Self-Raising Flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

 & 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg

3 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

4 cups rhubarb, cut into 1cm chunks

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

1/2 cup white sugar

vanilla ice cream, to serve with (if you wish)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a round cake pan (I used my a 9" spring form pan but you don't have to). You could honestly use any pan that will hold the batter. Then mix together the flour, salt, nutmeg and 1 and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon in a bowl with a whisk and set aside. Put the butter and brown sugar into a separate bowl and beat till the mixture resembles (and feels like) wet sand.

3. Once the butter is fully incorporated, add the egg and beat will till the mixture is fluffy and creamy and there are no more lumps of sugar.

4. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat in till well combined.

5. Mix in the flour on low speed till combined, then add your rhubarb chunks and stir briskly to make sure that the rhubarb is completely coated in batter. 

6. Once the mixture is combined, scrape it into your prepared cake tin and sprinkle the top liberally with sugar and the remaining cinnamon. 

7. Bake the cake for 1 hour, or till a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. 

I would recommend serving this warm with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream…but it also just as good when it cools down. I had a piece for breakfast with my coffee the next morning. (what?! there is fruit it in!) haha.

Baseball and Chocolate Baking

We started the weekend early by going to a Redhawks game on Thursday night. The weather was questionable for most of the day, but thankfully the rain never came. It cooled down nicely too...so much so that I enjoyed a nice hot chocolate during the game. Hot Cocoa in July?! Why not?

Oh and don't worry we also ate some hot dogs and mini-doughnuts. I couldn't remember when the last time was that I had mini-doughnuts. Needless to say it will probably be awhile before I give in to having that form of greasy goodness again. 

Oh and I also made these delicious cookies as well...

They look similar to chocolate crackle cookies, but these are made without flour so they are a much denser and fudge like cookie. 

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

Found at Divine Baking

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips (save the other 1/2 cup for later)  in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme.

Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue. 

Stir in lukewarm chocolate and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).

Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

**If dough is difficult to roll into balls, put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Yield: Makes about 18

Enjoy!

Fireworks.

We are off to the lake for about a day and a half. We weren't even expecting for Ben to have that much time off so we are happy to be able to go at all. Now all it has to do is be nice and hot tomorrow...and then maybe I will jump in the lake. maybe.

In honor of our patriotic holiday I baked some sugar cookies and had my first royal icing experience/experiment. Thankfully, Bekah stopped by just in time to help with the icing. Our first few cookies looked pretty rough. But after a few alterations to the icing we were able to call it a success. Now for those of you that have seen the cover of Martha Stewert's magazine please do not compare her perfect cookies to our more "organic looking" ones. We prefer the hap-hazard look to her perfect "fireworks"....

and for those of you who were impressed, a good majority of our cookies ended up like these below.

not so pretty. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend :)

oh and you can get the recipe/instructions here.

One Thursday afternoon: the simple things

The day started out with some rain, which meant no "outside recess" for the classroom I taught in today. They could have used some fresh air and a chance to run around. I could have used it too. But the rain did show up,  so we got through a whole day stuck inside...but by the time I left for the day all the puddles were already drying up. I opened up the windows to let in some much needed fresh air and took a few photos to prove to you (and myself) that it finally is spring.

Our little bistro set we carried up from the garage. I can't wait to sit out here on warm summer evenings. 

My little seedlings are growing!

Here are a few pots that are just waiting to hold the herbs that are for now still surviving indoors. It will be awhile before they can survive the cool nights. 

Quilts folded up, but not quite packed away...

and some simple baking (if you can even call it that) You can't go wrong with a simple rice krispie bar sometimes. 

any lastly, iced coffee. perfection.

Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 3/4 cup Flour

1 package of fresh blueberries (about 1 1/2 cups)

Cream together butter and sugar in mixer. Add in eggs and sour cream. Mix salt, baking soda, baking powder,and flour in separate bowl. Gradually add in dry ingredients into mixer until combined. Gently fold in 3/4 of blueberries and then save the rest to sprinkle on the top once you pour batter into muffin tins. (use muffin liners or grease the pan before!)
Sprinkle extra blueberries on top and dust with cinnamon and sugar too if you wish.

Bake 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Recipe from my lovely friend and sister of my sister-in-law if that makes sense, haha. I stole this recipe from her a couple years ago when we were roommates so hopefully she won't mind me sharing it with you :)

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

At my sister's bridal shower a few weeks ago I made some Chocolate Whoopie Pies. This is considered the classic whoopie pie flavor...They have a delicious rich chocolate cake with a marshmallow flavored frosting middle. How can you go wrong with chocolate and marshmallow? They do get a little messy to make with the frosting, but if you give yourself adequate time (not rushing around piping frosting 10 minutes before guests arrive) you should have a beautiful finished product. 

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

{with Marshmallow Filling}

makes about 24 sandwich cookies

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

3½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the filling:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

7½ oz. marshmallow fluff

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Combine the flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl; whisk together to blend.  Set aside.  Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.  Blend in the buttermilk and vanilla extract until incorporated.  Mix in the dry ingredients, blending just until combined.

Using a 1-oz dough scoop, drop the batter onto the prepared baking pans, 12 cookies per pan.  Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow to cool on the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat with the remaining batter.

To make the filling, place the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Blend in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated.  Beat in the marshmallow fluff and vanilla until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.

Once the cookies are completely cooled, match them up in pairs by size.  Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain with the marshmallow filling.  Pipe a dollop of marshmallow filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair, and sandwich the cookies together, pushing the filling to the edges.  Store in an airtight container.

Source: Martha Stewart

Enjoy! 

Tuesday's Favorite Things: If I could make cupcakes everyday...

If you have ever needed a reason to bake (not that I ever do)... these cupcake liners would be reason enough.

Shop Here

And these cookbooks are now on my wish list as well. Dessert cookbooks are my favorite, which is interesting because I cook a lot more meals than desserts. I just love it when you have that special dinner or party and I get to sit down with all my delicious dessert cookbooks and pick one out to try. Maybe I just need to start planning more dinner parties so that I have a reason to make a few extra desserts.

Okay now I am just making myself hungry. Hmmm.
Happy Tuesday!


*Links*
Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth
Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Luscious Chocolate Desserts
Luscious Creamy Desserts
Whoopie Pies
Rustic Fruit Desserts

Birthday Girl

So tomorrow is my beautiful sister's birthday ( I say that like I have an ugly sister too, but am referring to my beautiful one. I don't by the way have another sister, or an ugly one at that) . She is turning twenty-one and I couldn't be more proud to be her sister. She is such a lovely lady and I am blessed to have her constant encouragement and love. We celebrated by going out to dinner in town which resulted in getting way to full and then eating chocolate cake anyway. That is what dessert is for right?...a.k.a. Already being full and then having the waiter show you what the chocolate cake looks like...caving in and ordering two pieces to share (but when the "pieces" are the size of a large brick you can hardly feel better about yourself by casually throwing in the "sharing" phrase because let's face it I still ate what would have been abnormal sized piece of chocolate heaven & caramel goodness.) So yes. The moral of the story is that dessert always puts you over the top at restaurants. Will I learn my lesson? Probably not. But either way, Happy Birthday my dear little sister!

{yes she is wearing a wig, and yes I am in the background and have no idea what I am doing}

On another note...

I attempted to make strawberry-rhubarb jam last night. I will withhold the recipe until I actually taste the jam because I have a feeling that my lack of attention to the recipe will result in unwanted tartness. I mean I am sure that the recipe is perfectly fine so I probably could share it, but still. I'm sure you are not dying to run to your kitchens and whip up some jam (I shouldn't even say that because I actually was really excited). Here are some pictures however so you can imagine the process from before to after.




{p.s. I started this project at 10pm at night...not recommended}

So, tomorrow morning I am going to wake up and try out my homemade jam in one of my cute jars. A little tartness won't scare me away, and at least I will have my coffee to wash it down. Then out to the business of garage sales. Did I mention we are having a garage sale at my house? Oh yes we are, and it was HOT out today. Sitting outside in ninety degree weather all day is only worth it when you are a.) near a beach/pool or b.) making money. I didn't make it to the pool, but I did make a few bucks for some old junk that I certainly didn't need. Tomorrow is day number two for our grand ol' yard sale. I must say my quick adding skills are building up rapidly.

Goodnight.

Life Happens...

So I now officially 22. Well I have been for a few weeks now, but I figured this live changing age was worth mentioning belated or not. The age of twenty-two is such an odd age, because 21 seems like the last exciting age, so turning 22 is well, so....expected. Thankfully, my wonderful friends and family helped to make my birthday much more than ordinary.

On a more exciting note, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I didn't go home because my roommate was getting married nearby on Friday, so driving home three hours just to turn around and go back for a wedding seemed a little pointless. So Ellie's parents invited all of us that stayed for the wedding to come to their thanksgiving. It was amazing, and I am so grateful for their kindness. I also got the chance to use my new Kitchenaid mixer to make a pumpkin cake to bring. Here is a picture of my new adored kitchen appliance. I have been without a mixer for awhile now, so now that I have my new mixer I want to postpone all homework, papers, etc just to use it.

The rest of my Thanksgiving break was filled with coffee, church, sleeping in, Black Friday shopping, and Sara's wedding! It was a beautiful wedding, and I feel so blessed to have gotten the chance to get to know Sara so well over the last few months. She is a great friend. I am so happy for her and Lee!

And one last thing, Black Friday shopping is so bizarre. I went with a couple friends, and it is always amusing to see the intensity of the shoppers. Everyone is half asleep but determined to get their shopping done. I think we went more for the experience than for the shopping, but I actually ended up getting a lot of my Christmas shopping done.