Bittersweet
Chocolate Mousse Cake
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Pizza Dough
Crab Cakes
Brownies
Cream Puff Cake
Honey Banana
Whole Wheat Bread
Chocolate Crinkle
Cookies
Modified
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gloria's Chocolate Cake
Denise's
Favorite
Butter Icing
Shoo-Fly Cake
Champagne Punch
Christmas Trees (plain butter
cookie from Mirro cookie/pastry Press recipe book)
Nut Thins
Here is the new recipe from Ameria's Test Kitchen:, my comments in [brackets], and below recipe. I have never made this version, though I have made the Flourless Chocolate Cake , below, several times and it was pretty good:
Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Cake
Makes one 9-inch cake, serving 12 to 16
Because it is available in most supermarkets and has scored
highly in past tastings, Hershey's Special Dark is the chocolate
of choice in this recipe. Other bittersweet chocolates will work,
but because the amounts of sugar and cocoa butter differ from
brand to brand, they will produce cakes with slightly different
textures and flavors. When crumbling the brown sugar to remove
lumps, make sure that your fingers are clean and grease-free; any
residual fat from butter or chocolate might hinder the whipping
of the whites. If you like, dust the cake with confectioners'
sugar just before serving or top slices with a dollop of lightly
sweetened whipped cream. To make slicing easier, freeze the cake
for 30 minutes just before serving.
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces,
plus 1 teaspoon softened butter for greasing pan
Flour for dusting pan
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (such as Hershey's Special Dark),
chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
8 large eggs, separated
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (4 ½ ounces) packed light brown sugar, crumbled with
fingers to remove lumps (see note)
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the
oven to 325 degrees. Butter the sides of a 9-inch springform pan;
flour the sides and tap out the excess. Line the bottom of the
pan with a parchment or waxed paper round. Wrap the bottom and
sides of the pan with a large sheet of foil.
2. Melt 12 tablespoons butter and the chocolates in a large bowl
over a large saucepan containing about 2 quarts barely simmering
water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate mixture is
smooth. Cool the mixture slightly, then whisk in the vanilla and
egg yolks. Set the chocolate mixture aside, reserving the hot
water, covered, in the saucepan.
3. In the clean bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk
attachment, beat the egg whites and salt at medium speed until
frothy, about 30 seconds; add half of the crumbled brown sugar,
beat at high speed until combined, about 30 seconds, then add the
remaining brown sugar and continue to beat at high speed until
soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted (see photo on page 334),
about 2 minutes longer. Using a whisk, stir about one third of
the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it,
then fold in the remaining egg whites in 2 additions, using the
whisk. Gently scrape the batter into the prepared springform pan,
set the springform pan in a large roasting pan, then pour the hot
water from the saucepan into the roasting pan to a depth of 1
inch. Carefully slide the roasting pan into the oven; bake until
the cake has risen, is firm around the edges, the center has just
set, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center
registers about 170 degrees, 45 to 55 minutes.
4. Remove the springform pan from the water bath, discard the
foil, and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a thin-bladed
paring knife between the sides of the pan and cake to loosen;
cool the cake in the springform pan on a wire rack until barely
warm, about 3 hours, then wrap the pan in plastic wrap and
refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 8 hours. (The cake
can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
5. To unmold the cake, remove the sides of the pan. Slide a thin
metal spatula between the cake and pan bottom to loosen, then
invert the cake onto a large plate, peel off the parchment, and
re-invert onto a serving platter. To serve, use a sharp, thin-bladed
knife, dipping the knife in a pitcher of hot water and wiping the
blade before each cut.
Here is the recipe from Ameria's Test Kitchen:, my comments in [brackets], and below recipe:
Serves 12 to 16
Even though the cake may not look done, pull it from the oven
when an instant-read thermometer registers 140 degrees. (Make
sure not to let tip of thermometer hit the bottom of the pan.) It
will continue to firm up as it cools. If you use a 9-inch
springform pan instead of the preferred 8-inch, reduce the baking
time to 18 to 20 minutes. We like the pure flavor of chocolate.
However, coffee or liqueur (choose something that tastes like
nuts, coffee, or oranges) can added if desired. In any case,
choose a high-quality chocolate that you enjoy eating out of hand.
8 large eggs, cold
1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch chunks
¼ cup strong coffee or liqueur (optional)
Confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder for decoration
For chocolate I use Trader Joe's "pound-plus"
bittersweet bar -- it is a great price (~ $4, I think), and
tastey. AND I ADD 1/4 cup OF SUGAR.
They (ATK) claim Hershey's special Dark works well but I haven't
tried it. I also tried Trader Joe's 70% Dark (which is
darker than bittersweet) once and it turned out way too bitter
for our taste.
Last time I decorated the top by first dusting the whole thing with cocoa, then laid down a snowflake stencil followed by a heavy dusting of powdered sugar. I got the stencil from http://www.daves-snowflakes.com/ I chose Snowflake #11, whose pattern is here.
I ended up buying a (cheap) digital thermometer for this recipe, so I could get the finished temperature right. If you bake it too long it really dries out. I have found that baking time of 20 minutes gets it done (if you start with boiling-hot water in the roasting pan).
CRUST
1 C
Water
1/2 C
Butter (1 stick). I used unsalted
1 C
Flour
4
eggs
FILLING
3 boxes
Instant Vanilla pudding mix
8 oz.
Cream cheese, softened
1 container
Cool Whip (for topping), I used 8 oz. container
Bring water and butter to rollling boil. Stir in flour all at once.
Stir quickly over low heat until mixture leaves the side of the pan and
forms a ball. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.
Beat in eggs one at a time until smooth and velvety.
Place mixture into bottom (it will creep up the sides during baking) of
a 13x9 glass pan (I greased it, not sure if that's necessary?
Bake 30-35 minutes at 400º, crust raises and gets puffy and
will flatten as it cools.
Let crust cool for at least an hour, then prepare filling:
Combine dry pudding, softened cream cheese and milk. (I had some
problems with little lumps of cream cheese no matter how much i beat
it, maybe the milk should be room temperature, too?)
Put filling into cooled crust. Top with cool whip, if desired.
Refrigerate for 2 hours.
1/2 package Betty Crocker, "Fudge Brownie: Traditional Chewy Mix" (19.8 oz. package) 2 T ground flax seed 3 T oil (I usually use olive oil and extra virgin olive oil about half and half) 1 Egg 1 T cocoa ~ 1 oz. very dark (70%) chocolate, rough chop
After trying most of the brands and also trying, and giving up on, "scratch" recipes I have finally settled on Betty Crocker brand "traditional" brownie mix with a handful of amendments. Probably any brand would work but would need different adjustments. The main adjustment I like is to add additional dark chocolate/cocoa (I think the mix is too sweet). I add the ground flax because I like the texture (but it does get stuck in your teeth) -- flax has a lot of oil so I reduce the amount of oil by a tablespoon.
I like to make 1/2 package at a time so I have given the proportions as such. To get 1/2 the mix, I use a blunt knife to divide the unopened mix (it comes in a plastic bag inside the box). The key is consistency, different ovens will bake faster/slower, and also the type of pan will significantly affect baking time. If they come out dry, just keep shortening the baking time.
Mix everything together. Don't overmix, just until the dry stuff is incorporated.
In my oven: Bake 25 minutes in 8x8 dark pan, at 325º
2 cans small cans (6 oz ?) crab meat 1/2 medium onion 1 stalk of celery, and some leaves 1 Egg 1/4 C. bread crumbs (approx) 1 T. grated hard cheese
Finely chop onion and celery. Sauté with some oil and/or
butter until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with
some salt (be careful, the canned crab has lots of sodium) and
pepper.
Mix everything together, varying the amount of bread crumbs to
get a good consistency. Be careful not to dump the hot onions/celery
mixture onto the egg. Form into patties, I usually make it into
about 8 patties. Finish them by patting into bread crumbs. Panfry
with a little oil. 2 patties served on greens makes a nice light
lunch.
I usually use "Italian flavored" bread crumbs.
Sometimes I add garlic.
XLarge Large 1 C. 2/3 C. Water 2 C. 1 C. All Purpose flour 2/3 C. 1/2 C. whole wheat flour 1/3 C. 1/2 C. bread flour 1 tsp. 1 scant tsp. salt 1.5 tsp. 1 tsp. yeast 1 T 1 scant T olive oil 1 tsp. 1 scant tsp. sugar
I've been playing with proportions of different types of flour. The all purpose flour makes a little bit softer crust. Run the dough in bread machine on dough cycle.
Let dough rest for 10 minutes after punching down. I usually
make the "Large" amount and stretch dough into a 15"
x 12" rectangle to fit a cookie sheet I have. This sheet has
a dark non-stick coating that seems to make the crust come out
nice on the bottom (I don't have a pizza stone or anything
special). For cheese topping I use an 8oz. package of pre-shredded
mozzarella and a couple of tablespoons of whatever grated hard
cheese i have on hand (usually romano). I used to use about 2/3
cup of whatever tomato sauce I had in the refrigerator, but now
Denise is demanding "white" pizza so I leave it off.
Lately I've been adding bits of sun-dried tomato that have been
soaked in olive oil and bits of garlic. I pre-bake the crust for
4 minutes at 450º, then brush on the oil/sun-dried/garlic then
sprinkle cheese and some dried oregano. Final bake is another 8
minutes or so.
1/2 C. Water or milk 1 T. oil 3 T. Honey 1 Egg 1 ripe banana, sliced 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 C. whole wheat flour 1 1/4 C. bread flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 tsp. yeast
Note that this is a yeast bread, not a quick bread. It is much
less sweet than most banana (quick) breads.
I've made this bread at least a half dozen times in my bread
machine -- it has always come out too wet after initial mixing
and I've had to add as much as another ¼ C of flour. Even so,
the dough will still be relatively sticky. It's always risen
quite a bit, and the finished bread has a soft crumb due to egg
and especially if you use milk instead of water.
Run on bread machine's regular bread cycle, select light crust.
2 C. All purpose Flour 2 C. Granulated Sugar 2 tsp. Baking powder pinch Salt 1/2 C. butter 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted 3 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla ~ 1 C. Powdered Sugar (for coating)
Cream butter in bowl and mix together with melted chocolate and sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Chill dough for at least 3 hours, overnight is fine. Roll a blob of dough between palms into a ball, then roll in powdered sugar.
Bake at 350º for 11 minute -- cookies will be soft when taken from oven, do not over bake.
Yields ~ 5 dozen.
2 C. all purpose Flour ¼ C. whole wheat flour ¼ C. ground oatmeal 1/2 C. Granulated Sugar 3/4 C. Brown Sugar 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda pinch Salt 1/2 C. butter 1/2 C. oil (less 1 T) 3 T. ground flaxseed 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla
This is pretty close to the standard Toll House cookie recipe with several substitutions:
Yields about 42 medium sized cookies
Bake at 375º for 11 minutes, or 325º for 16 minutes.
(12/27/2002: I officially cut the amount of baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon, they seem to rise just fine with this amount. I usually freeze most of the dough in cookie-sized balls, and bake as needed -- it doesn't seem to change the baking time at all)
2 C. Flour 2 C. Sugar 1 tsp. Baking Powder 2 tsp. Baking Soda 3/4 C. Cocoa pinch Salt 1/2 C. melted crisco 1 C. (hot) coffee 1 C. milk 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla
Combine everything except eggs and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, mix for 1/2 minute more. Makes two 9" round cakes, or one 13x9 rectangular.
Bake at 325º:
8" round -- 30 minutes
13x9 -- 40 minutes
Comments:
I've been substituting applesauce for one half the amount of
shortening with good results.
1/4 C. Butter (1 stick) 2 C. Powdered sugar 1 tsp. Vanilla ~1 T. Milk
Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add milk as needed to get
spreading consistency.
4 C. flour
3/4 C. Crisco
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. light brown sugar
Mix the above ingredients well into fine crumbs. Save 2 cups of the crumbs for topping. In a separate large bowl mix:
1 C. molasses
2 1/4 C. boiling water
1 Tbsp. baking soda
Add remaining crumbs. Pour into greased and floured 10x13"
cake pan.
Sprinkle remaining 2 cups of crumbs on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
(I used a 9x13 dark non-stick pan and a few cupcakes in paper
liners. The cupcakes took about 25 minutes)
| 1 bottle | cheap champagne, drier is usually better | |||
| 1 can | apricot nectar (juice), 11 oz. | |||
| 2 litre | 7-Up | |||
We used a big bottle (1.5 L) of champagne, and added a couple of extra cans of Sierra Mist (yet another lemon-lime) to water it down a little.
2 1/4 C. All purpose Flour 3/4 C. Granulated Sugar 1/4 tsp. Baking powder 1/4 tsp. Salt 1 C. Shortening 1 egg 1 tsp. almond extract (I use vanilla instead)
This is the recipe from the Mirro Cookie-Pastry Press
cookbook.
Cream butter and sugar thoroughly. Mix in egg and vanilla. Mix in
dry ingredients. Add food coloring if desired.
The consistency of the dough will determine whether you will have
an easy or hard time pressing out the cookies -- if the dough is
too gooey, add flour; if too dry, add a little water. Room
temperature dough works best.
As usual, I like the taste of butter so I use half butter and
half margarine. I substituted 1 Tablespoon of liquid oil (olive)
for margarine and that came out well.
Bake at 375º for 10 minutes.
Yields ~ 6 dozen.
1 1/2 C. All purpose Flour 1 C. Granulated Sugar 1 C. shortening 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 C. chopped nuts (I usually use walnuts)
I've never made these, but my Mother makes them every
Christmas.
Cream butter and sugar, add beaten eggs, then vanilla. Mix
in dry ingredients. Note that there is no leavening (?),
they tend to come out sort of flying-saucer shaped, and can
spread some. Reserve some nut halves for topping the cookie.
Bake at 375º for about 8 minutes.
Yields ~ ? dozen.