Desserts

Triple-Chocolate Cake

In some homes, chocolate cake may not be a traditional Thanksgiving dessert but in my home, chocolate is always a welcome addition. I came across this recipe for Triple-Chocolate Cake in Cooking Light Magazine last month and knew right away I’d be making it for Turkey Day. This cake has cocoa, bittersweet chocolate, and milk chocolate and yes…it’s chocolatey! The cake is made with egg whites instead of whole eggs and the middle layer of filling is made with whipped topping so the overall cake is light and moist. The top glaze of bittersweet chocolate and cocoa is the richest of all layers but it doesn’t overpower this delicious cake. I plan on saving a little bit of room after dinner tomorrow and sitting down with small plate of this cake and a little glass of milk. I’ll be honest, this might even be my breakfast on Friday. 😉

The cake ingredients:

Combine boiling water, cocoa, and bittersweet chocolate in a bowl and mix until chocolate has melted. Cool to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together sugar, butter, and vanilla.

Beat in egg whites one at a time, mixing thoroughly. Add in sour cream and beat well.

In a smaller bowl, combine cake flour, baking soda, baking flour, and salt. Alternate adding flour mixture and chocolate mixture into sugar mixture.

Pour batter evenly into two cake pans sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with wax paper. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

The filling ingredients:

In a small saucepan, combine milk, sugar, and cornstarch. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and add chopped milk chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted. Cover and cool.

Once the milk chocolate mixture has cooled, fold in the whipped topping.

The glaze ingredients:

In a small saucepan, combine powdered sugar, milk, cocoa, instant espresso, butter, and a dash of salt. Cook for two minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove the cooled cake from the pans. Top one layer of cake with the filling and spread, leaving a small border.

Carefully place the other layer on top of the filling.

Pour the warm chocolate glaze over the top of the cake, spreading to cover the top. Let glaze drip over the edges if necessary.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Harvest Pear Crisp

Apple crisp was a common dessert made in my house growing up but it’s not something I think to make now. When I came across this recipe for Harvest Pear Crisp, I knew immediately I had to make it. Pears don’t get much better than they do in the fall and this dish celebrates their sweetness. Sliced pears are mixed with lemon juice to keep from browning and topped with a crumble of brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter, and oats. My food processor isn’t working so I made the crumble using a fork and it turned out just fine. But I must tell you a secret: I messed this up. I didn’t realize until after I put the crisp in the oven that I left out two ingredients entirely. A mixture of granulated sugar and cornstarch that was supposed to be added to the sliced pears and lemon juice never made it into the dish. After assuming I’d have to make the dish again, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. The brown sugar in the crumble, plus the pears, added enough sweetness to this dessert that it didn’t really need to be sweeter. In fact, if I make this again (which I probably will!), I’ll make it the exact same way.

The ingredients:

Slice the pears and mix them in a bowl with lemon juice (and sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch if you choose to follow the recipe like I didn’t). Pour pear mixture into a baking dish.

In a separate bowl or food processor, combine flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt.

Cut in cold butter with a fork (or food processor). Mix in oats and chopped walnuts.

Pour crumble over pears in baking dish. Bake at 375°F until pears are tender (mine took 45 minutes).

Serve warm (with vanilla ice cream if you so desire).

Additions: None

Omissions:

Granulated sugar
Cornstarch

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy Frosting

I wanted to make cupcakes to take into work for Halloween but found myself not being satisfied with the chocolate cupcake recipes I was finding. So I decided to combine two recipes, one for the cupcakes and one for the frosting, to come up with these Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy Frosting. The cupcake recipe comes from Shape Magazine and is lighter in calories than normal cupcakes but you would never know it. The cake, which includes a wee-bit of coffee, is light and chocolately, just what I wanted. And the frosting (which I colored orange), while not lighter in calories, is thick and sweet. I made these cupcakes while The Rocky Horror Picture Show blared on my television in the background and the whole scenario got me into the Halloween spirit. Happy Halloween!