Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake

I made this cake for my friend Brian's birthday a while ago. The frosting was definitely amazing. I didn't get a big piece, but I think the cake on it's own definitely needed that frosting, because it was a little thicker. I also think the flavor could have done with a little more espresso but it was still really good and everyone really liked it!







Old-Fashioned Layer Cake
Recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated, found here

For the cake:
1 and 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans
12 tablespoons (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup nonalkalized cocoa, such as Hershey’s, sifted
2 teaspoons instant espresso or coffee powder
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting:
10 ounces chocolate, chopped fine
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 and 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened

For the cake: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Generously grease two 8-inch round cake pans and cover the pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Grease the parchment rounds and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.

Beat the butter on the bowl of a standing mixer at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds.

Gradually sprinkle in the sugar; beat until the mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and instant espresso powder in a medium bowl.

Combine the milk and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup.

With the mixer at the lowest speed, add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter, followed immediately by about a third of the milk mixture; mix until the ingredients are almost incorporated into the batter.

Repeat the process twice more.

When the batter appears blended, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Return the mixer to low speed; beat until the butter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

With a rubber spatula, spread the batter to the pan sides and smooth the tops.

Bake the cakes until they feel firm in the center when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 23 to 30 minutes.

Run a knife around the perimenter of each pan, invert the cakes on a wire rack, and peel off the paper liners.

Reinvert the cakes onto the racks and cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting: Place the chocolate in a food processor,

Bring the cream, corn syrup, and salt to a boil in a liquid measuring cup in the microwave. Stir the mixture to combine.

Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and process until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.

If your food processor is big enough (mine is not), continue with the following instructions, combining everything in your food processor. I actually switched everything over to my stand mixer at this point. Be careful-the mixture is hot.

Add the sugar and vanilla and continue to process (or mix) until combined, about 30 seconds.

With the machine running, add the softened butter, one piece at a time. Continue to process until the frosting is smooth and no butter chunks remain, about 2 minutes.

Transfer the butter to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until thick and spreadable, 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours.

Kahlua Brownies

I really loved these brownies...one friend said that the Kahlua wasn't strong enough, but I could definitely tell it apart from other brownies. Another friend, who has never tried Kahlua so didn't know, thought these brownies were the best I've made (though I think he's only tried one other recipe...but oh well, compliment none the less!). Though I am still searching for my favorite plain brownie recipe, these Kahlua brownies are excellent!







Kahlua Brownies
Recipe by Mary Kennedy, found here

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cocoa, unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup melted butter, divided
1/4 cup boiling water, 1/4 cup Kahlua
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation:
Directions for chocolate brownies
In a large bowl, combine cocoa and baking soda; blend in 1/3 cup melted butter. Add boiling water and Kahlua; stir until well blended. Stir in sugar, beaten eggs and remaining 1/3 cup butter. Stir in flour and salt. Stir nuts and the chocolate chips into chocolate brownies batter. Pour chocolate brownie batter into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until chocolate brownies are firm and begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool before cutting into squares.

Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza

MAKE THIS RIGHT NOW. It was SO good and pretty easy! Just time consuming, but SO. WORTH. IT. I have never made pizza before and didn't want to buy a pizza pan, but deep dish is just in one of my 9in cake pans, so it was perfect. I ate this for like 5 days and wish I could have it every day of my life, but it's obviously not the healthiest thing. Still, you should DEFINITELY try this out.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza
I found this recipe on Pennies on a Platter
Originally from Jan/Feb 2010 Cook's Illustrated

Yield: One 9-inch deep dish pizza (3-4 servings)

For the dough:
1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons water, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons grated onion
Pinch of dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 (14.5 oz) can petite-diced tomatoes
Pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
Ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

For assembling and topping:
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces Mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)
1/4 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 tablespoons)

To make the dough:
Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, until well blended. Attach the dough hook and mix in the water and melted butter on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is glossy and smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Coat a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Once dough is risen, turn it out onto a dry work surface and roll into an 8- x 6-inch rectangle. To laminate the dough, spread the softened butter over the surface, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. With the seam side down, flatten the cylinder into a 9- x 2-inch rectangle, then fold into thirds like a business letter. Pinch the seams to form a ball, and return to the oiled bowl. Cover tightly again with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator for 40 to 50 minutes. (Mine did not double in size, but it rose to about size and a half.)

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce:
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the onion, oregano and salt. Saute until the liquid has nearly evaporated and the onion is golden brown, stirring often, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar, then increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture just to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the basil and oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble and top the pizza:
Preheat oven to 425˚F. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with olive oil. Move the dough to a dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch disk about 1/4-inch thick. Carefully transfer the dough to the pan and lightly press to line the bottom of the pan and 1 inch up the sides. If the dough resists stretching, wait 5 minutes before trying again.

Sprinkle the shredded Mozzarella over the surface of the dough, then layer the sauce over the cheese. Top with Parmesan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Recipe Note: This recipe is for one 9-inch deep dish pizza, whereas the original is for two. I altered some of the steps as I found I didn’t need as much time for kneading the dough, cooking the sauce, or baking the pizza. These changes are reflected in my version above. If you double this recipe, your times may increase significantly for cooking the sauce, and slightly for kneading and baking.

To Make Ahead: Prepare the dough up until the time of baking. Store in fridge overnight, or freeze and thaw in fridge. When ready to bake, place pan in oven while preheating so that it warms up slowly. Once oven is preheated to 425˚F, bake for 20 more minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Dorie Greenspan's Devil's Food White-Out Cake, revisited

I made this cake less than a year ago, but Lucy wanted it for her birthday and I figured I'd try to make it prettier than last time. I used 8in round pans this time and still it wasn't as tall as I wanted, but I guess I'll try again next time! Also I felt I was being too stingy with the frosting--you can really glob it on! To find the recipe, you can search online or see it in Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours.