Category Archives: dessert

Chocolate Cake with Oreo filling

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Today is my Dad’s Birthday and there is only one way to celebrate my dad’s birthday and that is with chocolate cake (and a large family gathering of course).

My dad’s favorite meal is dessert so sorry I didn’t go low calorie on this one. I used Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake recipe with over 1000 positive reviews. As always I cannot leave well enough alone so I added Oreo filing inside and crushed Oreos on outside of the cake for some extra dazzle http://m.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake.html.

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup coffee (cooled)
1 3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups of sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup of Buttermilk
3 large eggs

Amazing Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:
6 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips (melted and cooled
1 egg
1 1/4 cup confectionary sugar
2 sticks of butter at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 TB instant coffee (dissolved in 2 tsp of hot water) side aside and let cool

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 9 inch round nonstick baking pans and spray with combination flour cooking spray.

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You don’t want to omit this step! The cakes come out like hot butter without any difficulty.

2. Sift all dry ingredients together.

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3. Sift the ingredients into bowl attached to your stand mixer and place paddle attachment and mix until well blended.

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4. In a separate bowl whisk oil, milk, eggs and vanilla.

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5. Start to add wet mixture to dry on low speed.

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6. Now remain on low and add coffee.

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The batter will be very thin.

7. Measure evenly to batter between the two pans.

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I always use my scale for accurate measurements. One was 1.95 pounds and the other was 1.96, pretty close.

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8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and check using a cake tester or toothpick. When tester comes out clean remove pans from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

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9. Let set in Pan for 5 minutes and remove to cool completely.

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10. After cooled completely I like to cover in plastic wrap and place back in clean 9 inch pans and freeze over night in pans. This is essential prior to frosting.

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11. Remove from pans from freezer and start working on frosting.

12. Cream the butter for 3 minutes with paddle attachment.

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13. Add one egg (use pasteurized eggs for safety), and vanilla mix for another 3 minutes on medium speed.

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14. Turn mixer to low and start to add the powdered sugar in 1/4 cup increments. Once thoroughly combined add instant coffee mix and cool melted chocolate.

To melt chocolate place in microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds and stir and keep heating in 15 second increments until melted throughout.

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15. Let cool before adding to creamed butter mixture.

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16. Add chocolate and coffee to frosting.

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17. Mix but don’t whip.

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18. Uncover your cakes place flat side from pan on a cake board. Place frosting or filling of choice inside the cake. I used my trusty Oreo filling http://www.apinchofluv.com/wordpress/2013/07/04/chocolate-mini-oreo-cupcakes-with-oreo-buttercream/

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19. Place the rounded side of the second cake on the frosting so that the flat side is facing up.

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20. Fill gaps with remaining frosting and catch any crumbs.

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20. Now your ready for the final buttercream frosting. Place a large dollop of frosting on the top if your cake.

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21. Smooth frosting using a metal spatula.

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22. You will think you don’t have enough frosting but you will.

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23. Place 10 -12 Oreos in a food processor.

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Pulse until the cookies are at the consistency you like and hand place the crumbs on the side until evenly spread.

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The cake is suppose to serve at least 8 but that would be large slices !!!

Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce

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We still had about 3 pounds of early transparent apples leftover from my grandpa’s orchard so I made some of my grandma’s homemade applesauce.

Ingredients:
3 pounds of apples cored but not peeled
4 cinnamon sticks
The juice of one lemon

1. Chop cored apples

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2. Place cored apples in crock-pot, add the juice of one lemon and the cinnamon sticks.

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3. Turn crock-pot on high 2-4 hours, stir occasionally.

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4. Remove apple sticks before serving

Yields about 4 cups of applesauce! You will love the smell that permeates throughout the entire house.

Zucchini Dark Chocolate Cake!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

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We have zucchini coming out of our ears! And we don’t want it to go to waste! Just recently I found this recipe in FN Magazine and I have been etching to try it. I did do some modifications to add some of my own touches of course. PS it goes well with ice cream…..

Cake Ingredients:
1 medium Zucchini ( remove excess water)
1 1/2 cups AP flour, plus 1 TB
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 Tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 oz dark chocolate chopped finely
2 oz of semi sweet chocolate chopped finely
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup unsweetened coco powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

Topping
1 tsp canola oil
1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate
1 tsp honey

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray pan with cooking spray and sprinkle/dust pan with flour.

2. Chop chocolate finely.

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3. Place one Tb of flour in bowl of chopped chocolate and stir to coat.

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4. Place flour, baking soda, coco, salt, and nutmeg in large bowl and whisk.

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5. In medium bowl whisk eggs, sugar, applesauce, vanilla, and oil.

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6. Add wet ingredients to dry.

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7. Whisk until incorporated

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8. Shred zucchini and drain excess moisture in pasta strainer

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9. Fold zucchini into the wet mixture.

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10. Fold in chocolate chips.

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11. Pour batter into cooking sprayed 9 by 9 inch pan.

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12. Bake on 350 for 30 to 32 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

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Let cake cool for at least 20 minutes on wire rack before frosting.

12. Take 1/3 cup chopped chocolate and place in a microwaveable small dish with 1 tsp of canola oil, and 1 tsp honey.

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14. Pour mixture over cake and frost with spatula to spread glaze evenly.

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With ice cream ..

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Cheesecake Remake

We recently celebrated a few special birthdays in the family this past holiday. The request came in for a classic cheesecake recipe. I did a lot of homework and came up this this recipe. I added quite a few of healthy alternatives such as switching out the full fat cream cheese to to the Neufchatel reduced fat cream cheese (no one ever will know!!) I also incorporated more protein by swapping some of the sour cream (which I did use fat free) to fat free greek plain yogurt ( any kind will work but the recipe revealed below   was made with the costco’s brand).

Classic Cheesecake Remake

 

 

 

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Serves 10 to 12 people (use a 9 inch spring-form cake pan)

 

Crust Ingredients:

1 & 1/4 Cup of reduced fat graham cracker crumbs  (about 2 packages plus 2 sheets)

1/3 cup of sugar

5 TB of butter (melted)

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Directions for crust :

Place the first 2 ingredients in a food processor and pulse until mixture looks like sand consistency. Once mixture is ground, add melted butter. Pour mixture into 9 inch spring-form cake pan. Using your fingers press graham cracker mixture along the bottom and sides of the springform pan (only go up to 1/4 to 1/2 way up the side). Set aside.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

 

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Filling Ingredients:

3 eggs (farm fresh or eggland’s best are my top tow choices)  (*special note you can also use 2 egg whites to replace one whole egg)

16 oz  (2 packages of 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese aka “Neufchatel” (room temp)

1 Cup of sugar

½ teaspoon of Mexican Vanilla (penzey’s is my favorite)

 

Directions for filling:

Softened cream with paddle mixture <(check out mine above)..  it has a built in spatula <(look for beater blade) and you never have to scrape down the sides )>, add one egg at a time. Once combined,   add sugar and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Pour into prepared crust. Please note make sure to wrap foil around the bottom we don’t want any water leaking into the pan).

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Place the foil wrapped springform pan in a baking pan with side and do not fill with water until placed in the oven (see picture above).  Bake for 55 minutes in a water bath. Let cool for 10 minutes. Add topping below.

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Topping Ingredients:

½ cup sugar

½ cup fat free sour cream

½ fat free greek plain yogurt

½ teaspoon of Mexican vanilla

 

Direction for topping

Combine ingredients and put on top of cake: return to oven for 10 minutes.

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Once cake has cooled and right before serving add your favorite fresh fruit or topping of choice.

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