Double Decker Chocolate Cake

For the record, this chocolate cake was a complete disaster. I was trying to put it together in the two hours between class and work and...well, I finished it, but I broke things, burnt chocolate, and melted a plastic measuring cup.



On top of this, I have a bad habit of not reading completely through recipes, so when I got to the frosting, I panicked - I've never done anything with custard before. Besides melting a few things, though, it turned out well.



I'm not a fan of chocolate cake, but I was craving one and this one satisfied my craving. It got better after a night in the refrigerator in terms of moistness, but other than that, it was a keeper.

Chocolate Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting
Makes one two- or four-layer cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used half dark, half light)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk (or 1 1/2 cups milk mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar)

2/3 cup whole milk (I used 1%)
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
8 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled


Put the oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 (9- by 2-inch) round cake pans and line bottom of each with a round of parchment or wax paper (I actually skipped this part and the cake popped right out of the pan still). Butter paper and dust pans with cocoa powder, knocking out excess.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl. Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes in a standing mixer or 4 to 5 minutes with a handheld. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add chocolate and vanilla and beat until just combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in 3 batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just combined.

Divide batter between cake pans, spreading evenly, and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of each cake layer comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool cake layers in pans on racks 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of each layer, then invert onto racks. Peel off paper and cool layers completely.

While waiting for the cake to cool, make the frosting. Heat milk in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot. Whisk together yolks, flour, 1/3 cup confectioners sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl, then add hot milk in a stream, whisking. Transfer custard to saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking, 2 minutes (mixture will be very thick), then transfer to a large bowl. Cover surface of custard with a buttered round of wax paper and cool completely, about 45 minutes.

Add vanilla and remaining cup confectioners sugar to custard and beat with cleaned beaters at moderate speed until combined well, then increase speed to medium-high and beat in butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, until smooth. Add chocolates and beat until combined well.

If you want a four-layer cake, halve each cake layer horizontally using a long serrated knife. Layer cake, using a heaping 1/2 cup frosting between each layer, then frost top and sides with remaining frosting.

Ginger-iffic

When I make a batch of cookies, I usually have to split it in half or in thirds because I don't really have anyone that I can push three dozen cookies on once a week. Since my grandpa got out of the hospital, he has steroid-induced diabetes, so the number of baked goods I have been able to give him has decreased significantly.



Anyway, I made these ginger cookies because I really like molasses-based goodies and it originally makes 18 cookies, which meant that I didn't have to deal with weird measurements like 5/16ths of a teaspoons.



The only problem I ever really have with ginger and molasses is that I can never really tell when they're done, which can lead to some overcooking. I think these were just about perfect though; the crunchy sugar topping really brought out the spice of the actual cookie.




Ginger Nuts
Makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup unrefined dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Granulated sugar, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the butter, molasses, brown sugar, and egg in a large bowl. Sift the remaining dry ingredients together and sitr into the butter mixture.

Using about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dought at a time, form the dough into balls. Place the balls 2 inches apart on a non-stick baking sheet or a standard baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly press the cookies into 1 1/4-inch rounds.

Refrigerate the cookies for one hour before baking. Then, sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes; the cookies will puff up, then settle when cooked. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Chewy and Egg-Free

In case you haven't noticed yet, some of my favorite things in cookies include oatmeal, peanut butter, and nuts in general. So, when I stumbled across these Peanut Butter-Oatmeal cookies, I began salivating immediately. Not only do they contain all three of my favorite cookie ingredients, they're also vegan, which is a field of baking that I have been wanting more experience in. Also, I bought a big thing of soy milk and vegan butter to make gb's frosting and now I need to use all of it up as quickly as possible.



I added butterscotch chips to mine because those are my favorite chips, and these cookies were going to be just for me. (Don't worry, I ended up sharing a couple of them.) Unfortunately, the butterscotch was a little more sugary than I remembered and ended up being the lower point of the cookies.



Overall, these cookies were so good. It was my first experience of baking without eggs (with one exception of some brownies), and I was quite impressed. I definitely recommend these if you want a small batch of thick and chewy cookies.



Gigantoid Crunchy Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 1 dozen large cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup natural crunchy peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate or butterscotch chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; lightly grease two cookies sheets. Stir together the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oil, peanut butter, sugars, soy milk, and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix. Stir in chips, if using. The dough should be extremely difficult and moist. Pack a 1/3-cup measuring cup with dough, pop out and roll into a firm ball. Flatten just barely on a prepared cookie sheet, spacing the dough balls well apart.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until cookies have puffed a bit and are lightly-browned. Allow to cool for at least two minutes before moving off the cookie sheet.

Still in School

Sometime last year, I found a recipe on Recipezaar for Maple Muffins. gb loves maple syrup, but he loves bacon even more, so I decided to add that into the mixture. They were a pretty big hit; he likes to add extra maple syrup to them and eat four or five in the morning, and the bacon provides manly protein to keep him going until lunch.



He also helped me make these muffins by cooking the bacon while I assembled the yummy muffin-y parts. Then he crumbled it up, still cracklin' with his bare hands and didn't wince once. He sure is tough.



These are surefire for people who like bacon and/or muffins, and they would be a great addition to a brunch buffet. They have a texture that is reminiscent of cornbread, but the syrup adds sweetness while the bacon adds a combating little jolt of savory.



Maple Bacon Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
½ cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, bacon, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Back to School

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, especially if you're in college. What's the point of getting up and going to class if you're just going to be exhausted and hungry by the middle of it?

To kick off the beginning of the Fall semester, I made gb some doughnut muffins, which covered both his love of doughnuts and my muffins. Also, they are easy for him to pop in his mouth as he runs out the door to drive to school.



After baking these, I melted the soy butter in a small glass bowl and dipped the tops of the muffins in the butter. I then dipped the buttery tops into a bowl of cinnamon sugar. This proved to be only slightly foolproof - I ended up with a lot of cinnamon sugar ground into the paper cups that I had lined the pan with. Oh well, more sugar means more energy, right?



I insisted that gb help me make these, just because it was nighttime and I like it when he bakes with me because he's pretty good at following directions. He mixed the dry ingredients while I combined the wet and he ate the first one after it was topped.



These turned out to have an dense texture, which was good for a while, but they dried out after a few days and, as this recipe makes such a large batch, this led to quite a bit of waste. However, if you are having a large breakfast/brunch get-together or if you halve this recipe, I think it will turn out perfect. And while they may not be a part of your complete breakfast, they're still pretty damn good.



Doughnut Muffins
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen muffins

½ cup butter, softened
¾ cups sugar, plus 1/8 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups flour
½ tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup milk (I used soy)
¼ cup heavy cream

¼ cup butter, more if needed (I used soy)
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with muffin cups.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just mixed in. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Combine the vanilla, milk and heavy cream.

With a spoon, mix a quarter of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Then mix in a third of the milk mixture. Continue mixing in the remaining dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dry. Mix until well combined and smooth, but don't overmix.

Scoop enough batter into each tin so that the top of the batter is even with the rim of the cup, about 1/2 cup. Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, about 25 to 30 minutes.

To finish, melt the butter for the dipping mixture in a small bowl. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tin, dip them into or brush them all over with the melted butter, and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.

Reverse Dominoes

I don't really eat very many chocolate-based baked goods - I tend to just put chocolate into my cookies and such as an accent. I had some white chocolate chips, though and decided that I would make the recipe on the back of the bag for the chocolate cookies.



These were also for my grandpa. He loved them. He is pretty easy to please and quite well-fed when it comes to cookies.



They turned out alright. It was hard to know when they were completely finished and I'm not the biggest fan of white chocolate. It tastes kind of fake and oversweet to me.



Chocolate White Chip Cookies
Makes 4 dozen cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Baking Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Milk-Free Birthday

I have always wanted to make milk-free icing for my boyfriend, but I don't usually make him frosted cakes and thus have never had a chance to do so. However, today is gb's 20th birthday and to celebrate, I made him a yellow cake with Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. Unfortunately, the original recipe was...somewhat off. It called for 1/8 cup of soy milk right off the bat and I just measured it out without questioning it; anyway, it turned out to be way too much and the frosting was much too wet; plus, I was afraid to add more powdered sugar because it was already extremely sweet. Even though the frosting was runny, gb loved it anyway and told everyone about the "awesome birthday cake" that I had made him.



Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Makes enough to frost two-layer cake

1 cup soy margarine, softened
1 to 3 tablespoons or more soy milk, rice milk, or other non-dairy milk of choice
6 cups Veganized Powdered Sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla

Using an electric mixer or in a large bowl with a hand held mixer, place the soy margarine and soy milk, and cream them together. Add half of the sugar, and beat well to combine. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to beat the mixture until light and fluffy.

Nostalgic and Delicious

The recipe that started me baking at the ripe young age of 8 was one for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies out of a Betty Crocker Cookbook. They're my grandpa's favorite cookies and he always asks for them for trips, special occasions, and just in general.



While my dad likes the raisins in these cookies, I prefer them any other way, either with chocolate chips, nuts, or just plain. My grandpa just likes cookies in general and will eat pretty much whatever I bring him, because he loves me very much and is one of my biggest fans. When I get my bakery, I will make these cookies with walnuts and chocolate chips and call them Triple-B Cookies for my grandpa.



I made this particular version to use up some Reese's Pieces Baking Bits that I bought to try out in cookies. So, these cookies had both peanut butter candy and chocolate chips sprinkled throughout. I wasn't too blown away by the Reese's bits; I would probably make these again with peanut butter as well as chocolate chips.



Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Makes 3 dozen cookies

2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup raisins, chopped nuts or semisweet chocolate chips, if desired

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, beat all ingredients except oats, flour and raisins with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in oats, flour and raisins.

On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Cinna-swirly

One day, Andrew happened to be looking over my shoulder as I scrolled through Gigi Cakes' blog when he saw something that he liked.



Apparently, Betty Crocker (the brand, not the lady) held some sort of recipe contest, and one Lynette S. won $5,000 with a cookie version of a cinnamon roll. Basically, instead of yeast and flour and such, you use the sugar cookie dough that you make from the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix.



Anyway, Gigi Cakes had changed the directions to the recipe a little; instead of rolling each "Cinna-spin" separately, you roll a big sheet and cut it into slices. Then, she put hers into muffin liners and baked them. It was a twist on a twist on a twist, so to speak. (A twist in triplicate?) I changed the recipe by not rolling as evenly, leading to a much more unattractive end product, and using copious amounts of nonstick cooking spray as opposed to paper liners. Also, I substituted soy milk in place of regular milk in the icing recipe since they were for my lovebunny with the dairy allergy.



He enjoyed these a lot - the pictures in this post are actually from the second time he requested me to make them in two weeks. They really do taste like the cookie equivalent of a cinnamon roll. The cinnamon is in perfect proportion with the sweetness of the cookie and the icing. Plus, if I had taken more time and rolled out the sheet of dough more evenly, they would be supercute to boot.



Andrew reviewed these as the perfect combination of crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. He also liked them a lot because of their size; he refers to it as bite-size, but it usually takes me at least two or three bites. Either way, he likes them a lot.



Cinna-spin Cookies
Makes about 20 cookies

1 (1 lb 1.5 oz) pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons (soy)milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, mix cookie mix and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir in butter and egg until soft dough forms.

Roll dough out onto wax paper and pat or roll into a 12-by-7-inch rectangle; the dough will be a little less than 1/4-inch thick. Cover dough with another sheet of wax paper and chill for at least thirty minutes.

After dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cinnamon over the entirety of the dough, making sure to cover all of it. Starting with the long side of the rectangle, roll the dough away from yourself. Be sure to work quickly - the dough will fall apart easily when warm.



Spray about twenty regular-sized muffin cups with non-stick spray or line with paper cups. Slice the cookie dough into twenty or so equal pieces and bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Cool the cookies in the pan for about 5 minutes and then remove to cool completely on a wire rack.

Mix glaze ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over cookies and enjoy!

Ants, Humidity, and Cupcakes

I have a couple of friends who are going to school in Berkeley, but come home to Arkansas in the summer and on holidays. Each summer, before they go back out west, we get together and eat food. This year, we had a picnic outside in 98-degree weather.



Cupcakes are a pretty good standby for picnics and potlucks and the like, so I volunteered to bring some. When I make something as simple as a cupcake, I like to try variations and new recipes. The actual cake recipe was from Martha Stewart, and the frosting was just the Quick Vanilla Buttercream that I used for the IHCC Birthday cake.



These cupcakes were very good straight out of the cooler. The cake part was quite different: it was very dense and had an interesting texture that I would guess would be enjoyed best cold. I think I piped a little too much frosting on some of them, but luckily the frosting is always my favorite part, so that aspect was perfect to me although it might have been too much for other people.



I dyed the frosting blue and yellow on a whim and secretly called them Ravenclaw cupcakes and felt clever. I spent way too much time decorating these, but I really liked how they all looked different. If anyone was impressed aside from gb, they didn't make it vocal. In fact, I think it was too hot for anyone to really do or say anything about food. I know they threw a drunken, raucous party that night and I was told that all of the cupcakes were eaten and enjoyed the following Sunday at Deadball.



Dense White Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat 1 stick butter and the granulated sugar until pale and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Reduce speed. Beat in flour, baking powder, and salt, then milk. Dough will be extremely thick until milk is added in.



Spoon into cups. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool before frosting.