Oreo Birthday Cake

If you’d rather indulge in Oreo truffle brownies, go here.

In May, my family and I celebrated my cousin’s birthday. I love making sweet treats for him because he fully enjoys them, and I heard he sneaks in the kitchen to eat more of my creations. When I asked my aunt what cake she was planning to bring to the party, she stated that she was going to buy one from a grocery store but seeing that I was in town, I could make it if I wanted. . . and of course I volunteered! My cousin deserves more than a cake-mix/processed cake from a grocery store :).

Because he loves chocolate, my aunt and I decided on a chocolate cake. However, the day before his birthday and the day after I had purchased all of the necessary ingredients, he revealed that he wanted a strawberry cake! As a compromise, I bought some fresh strawberries and put them on top of the cake.

For the cake itself, I used my go-to recipe, which is same as the Black Magic cake recipe from the Hershey’s site. As always, I consulted the recipe on the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa box, but I used coffee in place of the boiling water. buttermilk in place of milk, and added more vanilla extract. I also have used Pernigotti Cocoa (see link below cake recipe) when I have access to it, but any other cocoa powder is fine as well. For extra Oreo flavor, I also added Oreo halves to the cake batter!

For the frosting, I made a regular white buttercream and added Oreo crumbs at the end. I piped something that resembled rosettes on the top with the same frosting and placed halves of Oreos and fresh strawberries over them. In the middle I piped in Chantilly or homemade whipped cream and then put Oreo crumbs on top. [SIDE NOTE: Please don’t use Cool Whip or an imitation whipped cream; whipped cream is too easy to make at home and tastes much better!]

After my mom and I left the house with the cake, I decided to put some gummy worms (not pictured) on top of the crumbs as a homage to Oreo dirt cakes. Since the cake was for the party, I do not have any photos of the cakes’ innards :(. Also, I cannot tell you how it tasted because I was and still am on a strict diet; however, my family thoroughly enjoyed it and stated it was very moist. They also liked the surprise whipped cream topping. In fact, later that day my aunt called me just to tell me that after having eaten a second, big slice of the cake, I had received an A+ for my cake. That was nice to hear :).

Anyway, if I ever make this cake again I think I will use whipped cream or a combination frosting/whipped cream in the middle of the cake as well. I hope you make this cake or a variation of it soon! It looked so amazingly moist and flavorful that I still think about it :D.

Oreo Birthday Cake:
slightly adapted from Hershey 
yields 10-12 servings
  • 2 cups (400g) sugar
  • 1-3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup (89g) cocoa powder (dark or regular)
  • 2 tsp (10g) baking soda
  • 1 tsp (5g) baking powder
  • 1 tsp (5g) salt
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup (237ml) buttermilk, room temperature (in Italia, si può prendere il latticello direttamente dal caseficio)
  • 1 cup (237 ml) strong, hot black coffee OR 2 tsp instant coffee/espresso + 1 cup boiling water
  • 1/2 cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract
  • MIX-IN: 15 Oreo/chocolate, cream-filled biscuit halves (one row)

1. Heat oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan (I use baking spray (see below)), two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl or stand mixer. 
3. In a glass, measuring cup, stir together the room temperature eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract.
4. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, and with a mixer, beat everything together on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. 
5. Next slowly pour in the HOT espresso/coffee (batter will be thin) and mix for 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.
6. Stir in the Oreo halves into the mixture by hand and make sure you have combined everything well.
7. Pour batter evenly into prepared pan.
8. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. 
9. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes. 
10. Loosen cake from side of pan and remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely (2-3 hours) before frosting. 
(At this point, I normally wrap the cakes well with cling/clear wrap (separately!) and allow them to rest overnight in the fridge or on the counter. I make the frosting and decorate the next day.)
Oreo Buttercream
full recipe (for cake and decoration)
feel free to halve this recipe if you plan to use more whipped cream or want less frosting
  • One pound (4 sticks/453g) of butter, room temperature
  • 6 cups (750g) of powdered sugar
  • 1 Tbsp (15ml/g) of vanilla extract
  • Crumbs of ~15 Oreos or chocolate cream-filled biscuits (crush in a food processor or in a Ziploc bag)
  • 4-6 Tbsp (60-90ml) of milk or heavy cream, room temperature

1. In a stand mixer or large bowl, whip the softened butter for about 1-2 minutes.
2. Next, add in the powdered sugar one cup at at time being careful not to get sugar everywhere!
3. Once all the powdered sugar has been incorporated, add in the vanilla extract and cookie crumbs.
4. Last, pour in a few Tbsp/ml of milk or heavy cream until the frosting is smooth enough to frost the cake without causing the cake to fall apart :).

Chantilly/Whipped Cream
The recipe amount below is for the top of the cake. If you’d like to use more, then double the recipe.
  • 1 cup (237ml) of COLD heavy cream
  • 1 tsp (5ml/g) of vanilla extract (clear or regular)
  • 2 Tbsp (10g) of powdered sugar

1. If you have time, place the mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least 5-10 minutes so that the whipped cream will come together faster.
2. Once the bowl and beaters are ready, pour in the cold, heavy cream and beat it until you begin to see “slightly firm” ripples. Stop the mixer and see if there are slightly firm peaks (but NOT firm just yet).
3. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract as the cream continues to mix. Then mix everything until you form firm peaks.
4. Do not overmix or you’ll make sweet butter and buttermilk!

Cake Decoration

To decorate the cake, I piped shells at the bottom of the cake rosettes on the top with the Oreo buttercream. Next, I used a cake decorating triangle (see below) to create the lines on the side of the cake. Then, I piped concentric circles of whipped cream in the middle. I carefully poured in crushed Oreos over the whipped cream and added 7-8 Oreo halves (4 whole Oreos broken in half) and 7-8 strawberries (stem removed) over the rosettes. Last, I added in a few gummy worms coming out of the Oreo-covered whipped cream.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Oreo Truffle Brownies

Many adults have fond, childhood memories of being awakened on Saturday mornings by comforting smells of a special, homemade breakfast lovingly made by a parent or caregiver. In the southern part of the United States, a special breakfast may be comprised of bacon, buttermilk biscuits (and sausage gravy), pancakes, coffee, and/or orange juice.


As a child, I, on the other hand, was awakened on Saturday mornings, not by the intoxicating smell of a home-cooked breakfast, but by the loud, grating sound of the smoke alarm, which always indicated that my mom was attempting to partially follow yet another recipe. I say “partially” because my mom used to halve part of a recipe and kept the rest as is. For example, she would halve the amount of eggs and sugar called for, yet she would include the full amount of dry ingredients, which would yield, needlessly to say, a disfigured, unpleasant, inedible treat

One day my mother found a recipe for Magic Muffins on the side of a Malt-O-Meal box. Once I heard the timer (read: smoke alarm) go off, I woke up and jumped out of bed to see what this week’s culinary “masterpiece” would be.


Entering the living room, I saw my mom in the kitchen with her back turned, and she was talking under her breath. Then she held up and inspected her latest creation while the sunlight beamed on it proudly. From where I stood it looked like a small, brown, round, hard rock muffin with steam sashaying slowly out of it. Upon hearing my gasp or snicker (or both), she turned around quickly with an embarrassed look on her face. With feigned pride shivering in her face, she exclaimed, “LOOK! I made magic muffins…but I think they came out a little hard.” After five minutes of joint laughter, she decided to hurl the hockey puck muffin against the wall — it left a small dent that is probably still there to this day.

It isn’t entirely my mother’s fault for not knowing how to cook; in fact, now that I’ve taught her how to resist the urge to NOT follow or (to completely) halve recipes, she is able to make more dishes, including homemade bread!

Anyway, the story goes that my grandmother was an excellent cook who provided large, hearty portions of yummy, irresistible meals to the table every day, such as spaghetti and meatballs (which I learned is an unheard-of combination in Italy). When my grandmother cooked, she liked peace and quiet in the kitchen, so every time one of her six children offered to help her, she would quickly dismiss them by telling them to go play outside.

As a result, only two out of the six children are considered good cooks, and their spouses actually taught them how to cook. Then as for me, I learned how to cook from food blogs, FoodGawker, and my tendency to follow recipes to the letter before making creative, personal changes to them.

Once I became comfortable in the kitchen, I began improvising by adding different ingredients or by using different pans or presentation of the finished product, as I did with these Oreo Truffle Brownies!

I found the recipe for these delectable brownies on Pink Parsley and made a HALVED portion. At the last minute, I decided to place the brownie batter in a 9″ (23cm) springform pan instead of an 8×8 (20x20cm) or 9×9″ (23x23cm) baking pan. Just by baking them in a springform pan, these brownies looked more like an elegant cake. To provide a contrast of flavors and for aesthetic reasons, I added frozen raspberries to the edge of a slice. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the tart, bright berries with the sweet, deep, rich, chocolate flavor of the brownies.

These brownies are a more complex version of Oreo truffles (remember the popular balls of crushed Oreos and cream cheese?). The base is a brownie with Oreo truffle and ganache layers on top. Although I halved this recipe, I had to make another batch of the Oreo truffle layer in order cover the brownie. Also, I had some ganache leftover so you can make individual truffles with it (chill it first!) or make a third of the ganache recipe (if you’re halving the brownie recipe).

These Oreo Truffle Brownies make Oreo Truffles seem lackluster! 😉 While they take longer to make and require the oven, they taste and look like an expensive, elegant, overly tedious dessert. I accidentally cooked the brownie layer longer than Pink Parsley did. I thought I had ruined it, but I actually liked the contrast of the dense, chewy, cake-like brownie with the other, more silky layers.

Oreo Truffle Brownies
HALVED and adapted from Pink Parsley who adapted it from Chef in Training via Good Thymes & Good Food

BROWNIE BASE:

1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup (57g) granulated sugar 
2 large eggs 
1-2 tsp vanilla extract (o 1-2 bustine di vaniglia) (I like extra vanilla!)
2/3 cups (83g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (30g) of cocoa powder (I used Pernigotti)
1-2 tsp coffee or espresso powder (to enhance chocolate flavor; optional)
1/4 tsp salt 

OREO TRUFFLE LAYER (I ended up making the full recipe):

30 Oreo cookies or chocolate wafer cookies/biscuits
6 oz (170g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature 

GANACHE:

1/2 cup (118ml) heavy cream or half-and-half
5 oz (142g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F/180°C and line a8x8-inch baking pan or 9″springform pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on the two long sides. Spray with baking or cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk flour, cocoa, coffee/espresso powder, and salt in a separate bowl and set aside. To the butter and sugar, add 2 eggs one at a time and vanilla extrace. Mix well, scraping down the bowl, as necessary. Add dry ingredients, and mix everything until just combined. Do not over mix!
  3. Place batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes (test with a toothpick; there should be just a few crumbs attached).  Transfer brownies to a wire cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
  4. Meanwhile, make the Oreo truffle layer. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse cookies and the cream cheese together until combined. You may need to stir things around between pulses.
  5. Once brownies are completely cool, spread the Oreo truffle layer over brownies with an offset spatula, clean hands, or the bottom of a cup. 
  6. To make the ganache, heat the cream in small saucepan over medium heat until it is simmering or simply microwave it for 30-45 seconds.  Meanwhile, place the chocolate chips in a medium heat-proof measuring cup or bowl.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes.  Whisk the cream and chocolate together until the chocolate is melted and smooth.  
  7. Pour the ganache over Oreo layer and spread with an offset spatula. Chill in the refrigerator until fully set.  To slice and serve, lift the brownies out of the pan using the foil overhang, then use a sharp knife to cut into small squares. If using springform pan, simply remove the edges and serve! These brownies taste good cold and warm!

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg Double Chocolate Brownies

Peanut Butter Brownies

Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownies

It’s funny how I made these Peanut Butter Brownies almost exactly a year ago. I know it was about a year because Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs were on sale in time for Easter, and I decided to use these eggs in a brownie recipe that I had made 2 or three times previously.

Peanut Butter Brownies

By this time, I had decided to make these Peanut Butter Brownies recipe my go-to recipe for brownies. So, I no longer needed to try other brownie recipes after having enjoyed these Peanut Butter Brownies consistently, and with the Reese’s peanut butter cup/egg add-ins, I was in love for sure.

Peanut Butter Brownies

Although my brownies were cooked a bit longer than the original, fudgier brownies found on How Crazy Cooks, they were still so fudgey, yet had a crackly top on them! I love how they naturally formed two layers in the oven. Please try these brownies with or without the Reese’s peanut butter candy; you won’t regret it!

Peanut Butter Brownies
Oops! Who took a bite out of that brownie?! Not me! *teehee*
 Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies
adapted from How Crazy Cooks

 

1/2 cup (113 g) butter

1/3 cup (39 g) dark cocoa powder
1 cup (225 g) sugar
3/4 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 (2 g) teaspoon salt

1 (8 g) teaspoon espresso or coffee powder (optional; to enhance chocolate flavor)
1/4 (2 g) teaspoon baking powder
2 whole large eggs
1/2 cup (63 g) all-purpose flour

ADD-INS
1/4 cup (78 g) chocolate chips

1 1.2 oz package (4-6 eggs) Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs

 
Instructions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. 
  2. Spray an 8×8 baking dish with non-stick/baking spray. For easy brownie removal, line the bottom and two sides with parchment paper/foil, leaving some overhang. Spray the parchment/foil.
  3. In a medium saucepan, melt the  butter on the stove or in the microwave for 30-45 seconds.
  4. Whisk in cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, salt, espresso/coffee powder (if using), and baking powder. Mixture will have a grainy texture.
  5. Working quickly whisk in the eggs one at a time.
  6. In order to avoid the add-ins (peanut butter cups, chocolate chips, nuts, etc.) from sinking to the bottom of the pan, stir the add-ins and flour together in a small bowl.
  7. Add the flour/add-ins mixture to the saucepan with the wet ingredients.
  8. Mix the two together just until combined. Some lumps and/or streaks of flour are fine. Do not overmix!
  9. Pour brownie batter into the lined 8×8 baking dish.
  10. Bake at 350/180 for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out with no raw batter. Do not overbake.
  11. Let brownies cool in the pan at least 15 minutes. Then use the parchment paper/foil to lift them out of the pan. Slice into squares and serve.

*Store any leftovers in an airtight container and eat within 2-3 days. For longer storage and to prevent diet sabotage :), freeze the leftover brownies by wrapping them well (and separately) with wax paper or foil and freezer bags/containers. Frozen brownies last up to 4-6 months!

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangioeviaggiodasola.com

Daring Bakers: Swiss Roll Ice Cream Bombe Cake

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – Life and Food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

I was finally able to take decent photos of my cake. I know I’m super late, but at least I posted this before August! HAH! So, I bet you’re wondering my cake doesn’t look a Swiss roll ice cream cake. I will give you three seconds to guess why. . .just think about my sausage buns, and you’ll figure it out.

1 segundo.

2 segundos. .

3 segundos. . .

Yep, you guessed it. My overheating oven apparently isn’t too fond of sponge cake, so it ruined the first one completely and almost ruined all of the second one as well. I managed to salvage most of the cake, but I was unable to make Swiss rolls out of it. So, I slathered on the vanilla bean whipped cream (which is just “genious-ly” good!), cut the cakes into circles and rectangles, and placed them into two ramekins and one loaf pan.

I used the leftover hot fudge from my Chocolate Sybil Cake. I still have more left for chocolate milk. YUM!
This one looks more like an elaborated s’mores cake than a bombe ice cream cake.

Although my ice cream cakes are not nearly as pretty as the other daring bakers’ cakes, at least they still tasted pretty good, and I completed the challenge.

For the ice cream portion, I made coffee ice cream and chocolate ice cream. I used different ice cream recipes from those on the challenge because I wanted egg-based ice cream, which tends to be creamier. Everything tasted fantastic except for the sponge cake, but I think that is because of the egg-white flavor and my oven’s performance (or failure to perform well).

TWO THINGS I LEARNED DOING THIS CHALLENGE:

1. Whole eggs can expand big time! I thought that with the addition of egg yolks, eggs couldn’t expand that much, but I was pleasantly surprised. I don’t know why, but I was.

 
2. That there exists such a thing as vanilla bean whipped cream that doesn’t require the removal of the seeds. This whipped cream was AMAZING!!

 3. That there really are foods that can stick unmercifully to Silpat despite what the company claims.

TWO THINGS I KNEW ALREADY BUT SOMEHOW FORGOT:

1. My oven sucks even after being “fixed” twice. 
2. Ice cream melts quickly and can be frustrating so set up everything for your photo shoot ahead of time.

 3. That I love ice cream cake!

    I apologize to all my fellow DBers for being so late. A lot of things are going on in my life that I will let you know about later. I enjoyed this challenge despite the moments of frustration while taking photos of the melting ice cream haha. Now, I need to find volunteers to eat up all this excess ice cream and cake! Anyone interested? 🙂

    Here is the recipe for the cake.
    Here are the recipes for the coffee and chocolate ice creams I used.  
    Note: For the chocolate ice cream, I used half-n-half instead of milk for a creamier consistency.

     Mmmmmmmmmm!
    Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

    White Chocolate Mocha Cookies

    For some reason, I was craving cookies the other day. I was deciding between two recipes that both had espresso powder in them and decided on this one because it was more different from any cookie recipe I’ve done on the blog due to the addition of cocoa powder . The other recipe looked more like a regular chocolate chip cookie.

    The day I made these cookies, I was not overly impressed. I allowed the rest of the dough to refrigerate for two days (I had planned to make more cookies out of this dough the next day, but I didn’t feel like baking that day.), and it made a world of a difference.

    I halved this recipe and still made almost 2 dozen cookies. After forming the balls of dough, I rolled them in sugar to add sparkle, and then baked them. After baking the cookies, I immediately mashed the rounded cookies slightly with the bottom of a measuring cup to make them have a different look. Lastly, in these cookies, I used the Guittard white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and cocoa rouge powder that the Guittard company sent me a while ago. I think they look much better than they did when I didn’t roll them in sugar and left them rounded . They also tasted much better.  

    Is it weird to drink fat-free milk with decadent desserts? haha

    Remember: These cookies are much better in a warm state and with cold milk!

    White Chocolate Mocha Cookies
    adapted from Home Sweet Eats
    Yields about 3-4 dozen small cookies; can be halved easily.

    1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
    1 1/2 cups sugar
    2 eggs, room temperature
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    2 cups AP flour
    1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used Guittard Cocoa Rouge powder)
    2 Tbsp instant coffee or espresso powder
    1 tsp baking soda
    1/4 tsp salt (I always use kosher)
    1/2-3/4 cup white chocolate chips (I used Guittard wafers)
    1/2-3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Guittard wafers)
    1/4 sugar for dredging (optional)
    Preheat oven to 350.
    Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

    Roll dough into balls; coat with sugar (optional), and set on baking sheet or Silpat. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. If your cookies are too rounded, immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, press down on the cookies lightly with a measuring cup or the bottom of a cup.

     
    Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

    Daring Bakers: Pièce Montée and a Croquembouche

    The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a pièce montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.
    Martha Stewart made it look easy and so pretty. The host of this challenge made it look easy and lovely. The other DBers made it look easy and amazing. But it wasn’t easy or pretty for me. 
    This is the final product. It is ugly and messy after two days of work. I had to make the pastry cream twice b/c the first one was too runny, the caramel sauce twice because I ran out of the first one, and the cream puffs twice because the dough (or batter in my case) was too runny. I had to do this all while having a serious toothache b/c of a wisdom tooth (or teeth) that I’m too chicken to get extracted. The pain was/is so unbearable that I didn’t eat anything until the late evening. All of that work, and this so-called pièce montée (“assembled or mounted piece”) and croquembouche (“crunch in mouth”) is all I have to show for it.  I don’t even like cream puffs, but I wanted to complete this challenge since I missed out on so many in the past.
    Mise en place (the (failed) coffee pastry cream is in the bottle)
    This challenge made me realize some things: 1) If I’m willing to spend all this time, effort, and money on a baking project, I should be able to extend even more effort on my dissertation. 2) I don’t know if I can keep doing this Daring Kitchen thing. I was so frustrated today to the point of tears. *sigh* 
    Anyway, below are photos of the process. I don’t feel like going into details about the project. As far as taste is concerned, the pastry cream and puffs tasted good enough, but the caramel was so hard, I had to spit it out.
    Blurry photo. Sorry.

    So, yeah, I’m going to take a break from the kitchen for a few days. I don’t even want to do anymore baking for a long time (hah! yeah, right). I should feel better by tomorrow.

    You can find the recipe on Cat’s blog.
    ******************************************************************************
    Pastry Cream Process (the runny version): I was too tired to take photos of the good version.
    I ended up using this pastry cream recipe on my second attempt.
    Caramel (reheated a MILLION times):
    First Creme Puff attempt was fine before…
    adding the eggs…
    Tried to work with the runny dough and ended up burning the puffs. Thanks overheating, old oven!
    No, these are not macarons.
    After adding flour to the runny dough…
    Next day, second attempt.
     Better, but not great. 
    The croquembouche kept falling, and I kept burning myself with the hot caramel that I had to reheat over and over again. Do I sound frustrated much?
    A photo of the croquembouche caving in.

    Oh well. I apologize for sounding so negative. I’m just tired and in pain. Take care, everyone!

    Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

    Chocolate Overload Cake

    I’m an introvert. I’m a hermit. I don’t like to go to parties. Nevertheless, I was invited to what I thought was going to be a simple party for most of the ladies in the Spanish & Portuguese department of my university, but it turned out to be a bridal shower X 3/baby shower/farewell to departing colleagues/dancing fiesta instead haha.
    We played a bunch of shower games such as wearing g-strings over our clothes (I placed my thong on my ears and under my chin hehe), dressing the two (out of 3) brides-to-be in toilet paper, placing condoms on big cucumbers, making and listening to marriage advice, etc. There was also a LOT of good food such as different types of salads, sandwiches, tamales (yum!), Challah bread, fondue, cream puffs, bacon-wrapped dates, etc. It was a fun party even for an introvert like me.
    The main reason I originally agreed to go was because my friend/colleague, the host of the party, wanted me to make a chocolate cake for them. I was nervous about making a cake for everyone; it was my first time to do something like this.

    I wanted my cake to be spectacular, so I thought of my chocolate mousse cheesecake (yes, I’m bringing this one up again) and made my own rendition of a Chocolate Overload Cake. All the components of the cake have been seen on my blog, but I’m going to post the recipes here along with process photos. Because of the over-abundance of chocolate, I decided to make vanilla bean ice cream to go with the cake. I doubled the recipe, so I used two vanilla beans in it. It was awesome. I’m not going to post the ice cream recipe here, but you can find it here. It is definitely my go-to recipe for vanilla bean ice cream.
    My friends/colleagues were very impressed with the cake and ice cream. They kept asking me if I made the cake and if I’d made all of it. I had to keep saying, “YES YES YES!” hahah. They raved over it. I’m telling you, they were so loud and energetic throughout the party until they took the first bite of the cake. The talking stopped immediately; it sounded like I was in a library or something. LOL! Then they started telling me how good it was. The colleagues who have visited my blog started telling everyone about my blog. I felt so embarrassed. I wanted to just walk out because I don’t like a lot of attention on me. I guess I should have realized ahead of time that that would happen with this cake. It did evolve into something much better than I had imagined. My cake-decorating skills are slowly getting better. I definitely need more practice, but I was pretty proud of how this cake looked. (I also found out that I need practice in taking photos of non-food items. Almost all of my photos were blurry at the party.)

    I had enough buttercream to cover the cake and make the (wimpy) rosettes, but I didn’t have enough to make a border at the bottom of the cake. The ganache dribbling down to the bottom of the cake helped a bit, though.
    WHEN you make this cake, because you will hehe, eat the slice from the bottom to the top because the top is freaking orgasmically good! I love saving the best for last.

    Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake
    adapted by Hershey’s and found here on my blog
    (this recipe is also on the back of the Hershey’s cocoa canister)

    2 cups sugar
    1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
    3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa (I used the dark cocoa this time)
    1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
    1 teaspoon salt
    2 eggs
    1 cup buttermilk (I used whole milk)
    1/2 cup vegetable oil
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    1 cup boiling water (I used 2 Tbsp espresso + 1 cup boiling water instead)

    Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans, and flip over onto wire racks. Cool completely. 10 to 12 servings.
    Cut the top of the dome of the cake to make it even (My cake was too crooked, but it worked out fine). Then place the COOLED cake in a springform pan top-side down (see photos in the mousse recipe section below).

    Mousse au chocolat/French Chocolate Mousse
    adapted from Tyler Florence on Food Network and found here on my blog

    6 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, chopped (I used Guittard this time; use good chocolate)
    3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
    2 tsp espresso powder (added to intensify chocolate flavor, optional)
    3 eggs, separated
    1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
    1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
    1/2 cup heavy cream, cold (do not use half-frozen cream; the whipped cream will curdle)
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

    THE chocolate!If I don’t get my block of chocolate from the grocery store, I go to a baking supply store called All-In-One Bake Shop in Austin, TX. They have different types of Guittard chocolate in bulk. I think it is a better deal to buy big blocks of high-quality chocolate than to get little four-ounce, packaged chocolates at the grocery store. Also, Guittard (or Callebaut, my other favorite) is a better quality of chocolate than the more common type in the store. Of course, there are other fantastic brands. Callebaut and Guittard are my favorites, though. I used up almost all of this chocolate in this Chocolate Overload Cake! WHOA!

    Place the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl, and place over a saucepan containing barely simmering water (or use a double boiler). Melt the chocolate and butter together and stir with a whisk until smooth. Add in the espresso powder. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add the egg yolks to the chocolate, 1 by 1, beating with a whisk until incorporated. Set aside.

    In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, and continue to beat. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup sugar, and continue beating until stiff peaks form.Top: Egg whites; Bottom: Heavy cream

    Beat heavy cream in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters until it begins to foam and thicken up. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and vanilla. Continue to whip the cream until it holds soft peaks.

    Gradually and gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then, delicately fold in the whipped cream. Take care not over work the mousse, but make sure you blend in the cream well.
    Place the mousse on top of the first layer of cooled cake while still in the springform pan. Add the other cake layer. Add the other half of the mousse to the top layer. Flash freeze the cake for 1 hour and then cover with clear wrap to let freeze for 3 more hours or overnight.

    Top left: cake pan turned upside down to release cake into springform. Other photos are of the layering process. I could have cut one layer of cake in half, but I wanted a tall cake. You could make this cake a four-layer cake, but I didn’t want that responsibility haha. As you can see, just the first layer of cake went over the rim of the springform pan. Also, the cake was smaller than the pan, but it worked out fine.

    Prepare the buttercream below, and refrigerate it if doing it ahead of time. If not, make it the day you’ll be eating the cake.

    Chocolate Buttercream
    from the Daring Baker’s Dobos Torte. Recipe copied from PastryPal


    4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Guittard semi-sweet chocolate)
    1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
    2 tablespoons cocoa powder, Dutch-processed
    1 1/4 cups (125 g) powdered sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Fill a pot with water, bring to a boil, and place a larger bowl filled with the chocolate over it. It will melt gently.Let the chocolate cool to lukewarm on the side. Meanwhile, beat the butter until completely smooth. Add cocoa powder and beat in. Sift the powdered sugar directly over the bowl and beat that in. Next, in goes the vanilla and the melted chocolate. Mix together, and place a crumb coating on the cake. Refrigerate or freeze the cake for 30 mins-1 hour. Then, add another coat of frosting.

    I apologize for the awful photos. At least you can see what I did here. I scraped the sides of the cake because of the mousse peaking out of the cake layers. Once I evened out the sides, I was able to add a crumb coating of buttercream. After refrigerating the cake (and preferably the frosting as well), I added the second layer of buttercream.

    If you want to do a lot of decorating with his frosting, I suggest making another half portion of this frosting or doubling it.

    Espresso Ganache
    adapted from allrecipes.com and found here on my blog

    1/2 cup heavy cream
    4.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Guittard semi-sweet)
    1-2 tsp espresso powder (optional)
    1 Tbsp dark rum (I used vanilla extract instead)

    Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Heat it up just BEFORE it boils. Place the cream over the bowl of chopped chocolate. Stir the mixture until smooth. Stir in the espresso powder and rum or vanilla extract. Allow the ganache to cool for about 15 minutes before pouring the mixture on top of the buttercream.

    The process of making ganache.

    Save the rest of the ganache for decorations (if you whip the ganache when it’s cold, you can pipe a beautiful decoration) or save it for something else.

    I totally need to learn how to take photos that don’t include food and in low-light situations like this party. That is my next project…work on non-food photography. My party photos look awful and shaky. I realize now that I should have increased the ISO.
    Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

    Mini Chocolate Mousse Cheescakes

    Mini choc cheesecake blogAfter making the chocolate mousse cheesecake for my birthday, my friend wanted me to make one for her birthday. She requested a mini version, so I used my mini springform pans and gave both of them to her.
    For the rest of the batter, I used a rectangular tart pan and kept that for myself (No photos of it. Sorry!). It took me over a week to finish eating the cheesecake, and it still tasted good. I hope to post some new stuff very soon. I just accepted a second job working on a research project, so I will be doing more work. Nevertheless, I do have some culinary “projects” in the works. Have a great weekend!

    The recipe is here.

    Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

    Brownie Bites/Cupcakes?

    My Blog Site: Sandie from Inn Cuisine (a lovely blog by the way) e-mailed me and told me that she was unable to leave comments on my blog when I had the other theme, so I am in the process of changing things around (She just e-mailed me again and told me she is still having trouble! 🙁 UF!). As you can see, there is still a lot to be done, so be patient with me. If you are unable to leave a comment on my blog, please send me an e-mail or something so that I can try to fix things. I’ve spent almost an entire day doing it, and I need to grade, gather data for my dissertation, and look for a summer job haha.
    Now, the brownie bites. My adviser suggested that I thank the Spanish/Portuguese (and one Italian professor who is now my co-chair) linguistic faculty via e-mail for not kicking me out of the PhD program (all that said in my words of course haha). I told a colleague about her suggestion, and my colleague said that the protocol is to pass out “Thank You” cards! I didn’t know about this custom, so when I learned about how formal it was, I decided to go beyond what was expected by not only passing out cards, but also baking up something yummy for the faculty.
    I debated on trying a dessert I’ve never posted before on this blog, but I wanted to make something easy and something I knew tasted really good. That is how I decided on making this King Arthur Flour Brownies again but in small bite form. After the bites were done, I poured on some leftover ganache I made for another chocolate mousse cheesecake I made for my friend.

    I made some with cupcake liners and some without.

    The bites were a hit. My now ex-committee chair (she is still on my committee, though. Short, boring story) expressed her love of the bite a lot more vocally than the other profs haha. I then decided to tell her about my food blog and gave her my website address. I hope she visits!
    In bite form, these brownies didn’t form as crackly a top as they do in regular form. They were still very good. They tasted even better with homemade whipped cream on top. On eone of them, I put on ganache and then whipped cream! OMG! Amazing!! Too bad I had run out of ganache at that point. I plan to make these brownie bites/cupcakes again. Try them with both toppings for the full effect. Do I call these cupcakes? Brownie cakes? *scratches head in ‘confusement’* hehe.

    Last but definitely not least, to all of my professors, I say,
    THANK YOU! ¡GRACIAS! GRAZIE! OBRIGADA!

    Brownie Bites
    adapted by King Arthur Flour

    1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
    2 1/4 cups sugar
    4 large eggs
    1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa (I used regular cocoa this time around)
    1 tsp salt (I used Kosher)
    1 tsp baking powder
    1 tsp espresso powder (optional, but recommended)
    1 Tbsp vanilla extract
    1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
    2 cups chocolate chips (optional)

    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a muffin pan if not using liners. [If using liners, spray them with Baker’s Joy or cooking spray because brownie batter sticks a lot more than cake batter.]

    In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it’s hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

    The last photo of the bowl is after microwaving the butter/sugar mixture again. Notice the difference in texture from the previous photo.

    While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl (or stand mixer), and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.
    Add the flour and chips (optional), again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.
    Spoon the batter into a lightly-greased muffin pan or greased cupcake liners. Bake the brownies for about 15 minutes (30 minutes if regular sized brownies), until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

    Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

    Chocolate Crumb Cheesecake Bars & Giveaway Winner!

    I made these Chocolate Crumb Cheesecake Bars a lonnnng time ago. After I took photos of them, I made a new post, pasted the photos on it, saved it, and then just decided not to publish it. I guess I was hesitant to blog about them because they tasted just okay, and I wasn’t crazy about the photos. I think the “bland” chocolate treats I’ve made have not excited me because of the use of milk chocolate. [Side note: I should start using more semi-sweet chocolate from now on (I’m not a fan of bittersweet). I will just eat the milk chocolate bars as a treat on their own haha….or just combine it with bittersweet to make my own semi-sweet ;).]

    However, I changed my mind and decided to post it because I don’t have any other photos to post right now; I wanted to post the giveaway winner; and I wanted to give you all an update on the paper I had to turn in that determined whether I could move forward with my PhD or not.

    I have posted the winner of the giveaway below so that the winner and these bars will be the last things on your mind hah! I will tell you about the paper now.

    I did not fail. However, I do have to make some revisions on my statistics and research design. So, once I make the necessary revisions, I will be able to turn in my dissertation proposal at the same time since they will be the same topic. So, I’m very happy with the result. I really don’t mind making revisions since I would have had to do it with the dissertation proposal anyway. I will be basically killing two birds with one stone. (Such a violent saying, isn’t it? Where’s PETA?). Anyway, I was crying happy tears like crazy as I hugged my professors. I’m very thankful and pleased with the ultimate decision. It is nice to know that my 9-year-old dream of earning a PhD still has a chance to be realized. I was also pleased to find out how much the faculty appreciates me. I really didn’t know they thought of me so positively.

    Back to the bars! The original recipe does not have chocolate in it. Also, nuts are supposed to be in the crust, but I subbed in chocolate chips b/c of my dislike of nuts. I can see many variations that could be done with this recipe, so go wild!! The filling was very creamy, and these bars were pretty easy and quick to make. I’m certain these would taste better with a more intense chocolate like semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate.

    GIVEAWAY WINNER!

    Random Integer Generator

    Here are your random numbers:

    9

    Timestamp: 2010-04-02 05:46:44 UTC

    The Random Integer Generator was used to determine the winners so congratulations to:

    #9 Corrina

    “Happy Blogiversary!
    Congratulations on sticking to it. I just found your site through tastespotting, as I was looking for inspiration for this Sunday’s brunch. These danishes look wonderful! I look forward to exploring your blog further.

    1. I would enjoy any of those cookbooks, but the Portuguese one jumped out at me first.
    I already own Lidia’s Italy, and use it often. Her fennel & orange salad was a hit at Christmas dinner.

    2. I love making soups, but have never gotten around to making pho, which is one of my favorites to order when I go out. Hopefully, it will be on both our blogs one day! 🙂

    3. I am fluent in English and Spanish. I also have basic knowledge of German and French, but wish these were stronger.”

    The winner has been contacted, and I will send her the new cookbook, The Food of Portugal, in the next few days. Thanks to everyone who entered!

    Chocolate Crumb Cheesecake Bars
    adapted by Land O’ Lakes Pecan Cheesecake Bars

    CRUMB MIXTURE:

    1 cup AP Flour
    1/3 cup packed brown sugar
    1/3 cup (5 1/3 Tbsp) butter, softened
    1/2 cup chopped pecans or chocolate chops

    FILLING:

    1 (8-ounce) pkg cream cheese, softened
    3-4 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped and melted (microwave or bain marie)
    1 tsp espresso or coffee granules
    1/4 cup granulated sugar
    1/4 cup milk
    1 tsp vanilla

    Heat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, brown sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat at low speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans or chocolate chips. Reserve 3/4 cup crumb mixture; set aside.

    Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of ungreased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

    Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and melted chocolate in mixer bowl for 4 minutes. Next, add in the rest of the filling ingredients. Beat at low speed until well mixed. Spread filling over hot, partially baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture; press lightly into filling.

    Continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes or until filling is set. Cool completely or refrigerate (latter option for photo purposes) before cutting into bars. Store refrigerated.

    Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com