Peanut Butter + Chocolate = YUMMY

Aside from baking and blogging my latest creation, another hobby of mine is scouring the net for new interesting recipes to choose from. I spend hours everyday just reading food blogs. I first stumbled upon Smitten Kitchen around two years ago, when she made a Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate Glaze. Phew! such a long title, but she had me a "Chocolate" :P

I've been putting off making this recipe since it calls for 3 pans and I only got 2 and my oven is a standalone electric kind and it wouldn't fit all three pans inside, it can barely hold 2 pans in. Throwing caution to the wind, I went ahead and made this with 2-9-in. round cake pans, I mean I've been putting it off for quite sometime now and I really want to know how it will taste like. Luckily I have a tub of sour cream sitting in the fridge waiting for me. I don't often buy sour cream because I get anxious when I know something in the fridge spoils quickly like sour cream if I don't use it ASAP.

I'm actually intrigue with this because instead of using butter, it uses vegetable oil. I was tempted to change it to butter, however since this is my first time trying this recipe, I decided follow it to the last dot. Though the instructions for this cake is quite long, I like the fact that I didn't have to bring out my KA mixer for this, you could it you want but not necessary. I made mine with a bowl, whisk and a spatula and whoa-la! finish! ready for baking. Be sure to butter and line the pan generously since this cake when baked is kind of on the delicate side. Without that parchment on the bottom to coax it probably would have stuck there. It might have help a lot to wait for the cake to cool completely before splitting it in half. But you know me Little Miss Impatient, I got crumbs everywhere. Messy cake to make but sure worth it though. Once cake layers are divided I stashed them in the fridge and I got busy with the frosting. People with peanut allergy so sorry these are not for you, these are definitely for Peanut Butter lovers only. I used to hate peanut butter when I was younger, many moons ago, now that I'm older and hopefully a lot wiser. I adore peanut butter combined with chocolate? I'm in heaven!

Since I made it into a four layer cake instead of three, I had trouble extending the frosting so that everything will be covered with this creamy peanut butter confection. It was though but I managed to pull it off. then when everything is nicely coated, put it back to the fridge and wait for the frosting to set before making the chocolate glaze. The chocolate glaze is not actually a glaze but like a thick blanket of chocolate covers the top of the cake and temptingly dribbles on the side of the cake. Gorgeous! What more can you ask for?

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

This cake is INTENSE. Serve it in the thinnest slices possible, and keep a glass of milk handy. Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16 (the book says, I say a heck of a lot more)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (Deb note: These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.)
4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. (Deb note 1: Making a crumb coat of frosting–a thin layer that binds the dark crumbs to the cake so they don’t show up in the final outer frosting layer–is a great idea for this cake, or any with a dark cake and lighter-colored frosting. Once you “mask” your cake, let it chill for 15 to 30 minutes until firm, then use the remainder of the frosting to create a smooth final coating. Deb note 2: Once the cake is fully frosting, it helps to chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze.)
5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving. Decorate the top with chopped peanut brittle.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Makes about 5 cups

• 10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 8 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
2. 2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

Intense Chocolate Ice Cream

Ever since my godmother C hand carried the ice cream maker, I've been forever obsess with finding the best chocolate ice cream there is. I know in the blog sphere, ice cream is synonymous to David Lebovitz, I'm read his blog regularly and I find him entertaining. I always find his entries humorous and informative. There are always pictures and most of the time there are recipes. My favorite recipes to try are his ice cream and chocolate creations. I know there are millions of ice cream recipes over the internet however I find his recipes though a bit complicated sometimes but it always work. All the puttering around in the kitchen seems to be all worth it. Some of David's ice cream recipe that I have tried are Malted Milk and Frozen Yogurt, these are a nice addition to your ice cream repertoire. I often make the malted milk ice cream when I'm feeling nostalgic and the frozen yogurt when I'm trying to be healthy and eat less. Hey I can't survive without dessert. I can't imagine myself being cut off from any sweets. This ice cream though I make it whenever I want to indulge because these are really pure indulgence. 


CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM
from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Yields 1 quart.

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 T unsweeened Dutched-process cocoa powder
• 5 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely (optional)

1. Warm 1 cup of cream with cocoa powder in a saucepan, whisking thoroughly to blend the cocoa. Bring to boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until smooth. Stir in remaining cup of cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as mch as possible. Set mesh strainer on top of the bowl.
2. Warm milk, sugar and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan. Stir mixture constantly over medium heat making sure to scrape the bottom and the corners of the pan until mixture thickens and reaches nappe consistency.
3. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir into the chocolate until smooth,  then stir in the vanilla. Continue to stir over ice bath until cool. Refrigerate the mixture to cool thoroughly and then freeze it in your ice cream machine as per the manufacturer's instruction. 
4. This step is optional but if you want to make it more sinful, while the  ice cream is churning. Finely chopped 4 oz bittersweet chocolate. 5 minutes before the ice cream is done churning, slowly but evenly pour in the chopped chocolates. Be sure to chopped it finely so that when you eat the ice cream you would get small pieces of of chocolate that are easy on the teeth and not a hunk of chocolate that would be too hard when frozen.

Studded Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

The first time I knew about Elinor Klivans was through Martha Stewart. Being an avid Martha fanatic, I see to it everyday after work I get the chance to see her program. Several months ago, Klivans book called Cupcakes! got a special mention because of this Hi Hat Cupcake. Doesn't it look gorgeous or what! Every since then, I have most of her books. I find her recipes easy to do and yet the presentation and the taste is quite impressive. But this post isn't about that gorgeous creation, but regarding her scrumptious Blueberry Cheesecake Bars. I've been making cheesecakes for many years now but this is the first time that I made it using a 9x13 pan, this means this is great feeding a huge crowd. One thing I learned in my many years of cheesecake making is that always, ALWAYS make sure that everything is at room temperature so that everything will get incorporated properly. My family  had a misfortune of eating a not so well mixed cheesecake. It taste a bit off. They were kind enough to say that it's good but  then lucky my sis C told me that it was a bit off and she was right. After that incident I always take a nibble on anything I make so that I'm sure to be serving something edible.

Armed with my favorite silicone spatula and Cookies, Brownies and Bars, off to the kitchen I went. With my ingredients at room temp. everything got mixed up quite splendidly. The only messy part in this whole scenario was pressing it the crushed grahams/butter mixture to my parchment lined pan. Messy but very tasty and smells heavenly when being baked. With my cheesecake batter smoothly mixed, I see to it that when I pour it on to the crust, I always use a fine mesh strainer to be sure that there would be no lumps. Another unique thing about this is the batter itself is studded with blueberries! Looks absolutely great if only I had a bigger blueberries. What I had handy was those small Maine blueberries, I found them too small though. Next time, I'll be sure to use a bigger blueberry variety. When it's fresh out of the oven, hold your forks, please! I needs to cool and refrigerate for 4 hours or better yet over night to ripen the flavor. While waiting for it to cool, I was torn between whether or not a topping will be too much. In the end, I threw caution to the wind and take it over the top, I added a layer of blueberry topping. Yum! I know fresh blueberry topping would have been better, I'll do that once blueberries are not so darn scarce and expensive here. But for now the canned blueberry topping will do.

BLUEBERRY STUDDED CHEESECAKE BARS
Adapted from Cookies, Brownies and Bars by Elinor Klivans

Crust:

• 2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 6 T melted unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter and line a 9x13 baking pan.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until all crumbs are moistened. Evenly distribute the crumbs all over the pan and press tightly and make an even crust layer. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

Fillling:

• 10 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

1. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract beating until blended. Pour into baked crust. With the blueberries washed and drained. Scatter them evenly on top of the filling. they will sink as it bakes so no worries that they are left exposed.
2. Bake for 30-35 minutes until set. Transfer to wire rack.
3. When the cheesecake is at room temp., transfer to the fridge and refrigerate it for 4 hours or better yet overnight.
4. When ready to serve, transfer to a serving platter and topped with your favorite blueberry topping either store bought or homemade.

Red Velvet Madness

Although the Philippines was under the colony of America for a mere 48 years, colonial mentality is prevalent here. In my case for example, I much prefer watching American TV series, American soaps operas and American made films, I just find their plot much interesting although not all the time, especially in soap operas sometimes they can be a bit cheesy to just like local soap operas here. What I find most interesting about America is their food! They have all kinds of food, though not all are healthy some are literally quite deadly but I would love to move to the United States just to be able to try their food one day at a time.

For now, I have to be satisfied with creating American sort of treats in the comforts of my kitchen. One of the American treat that I find intriguing is the Whoopie Pie, maybe because it kind of resembles Mallomars (locally known as Mallows), remember those marshmallow with biscuit based treats that’s smothered with chocolate. When I was a kid I remember saving my allowance to buy a piece for snack. I always had whoopee pie recipe as one of my should bake pile, however what gave me the pushed was when I saw the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie with a Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting, who could say no to that? I definitely couldn’t and would be absolutely crazy if I try to resist it.

Whoopie pie is a cross between a cake and a cookie. Imagine cake and cookie getting married and had a baby, you’d get whoopie pie! It’s been said that whoopie started in the 1920s, made by the Pennsylvania Amish famer’s wives from left over cake batter as a lunch treat for their husbands. Cake legend has it that when the farmers got the cake, they’d shout “whoopie!” – hence the name.

Whoopie pies are such an easy thing to whip up, you know those lazy Sunday afternoons when you want something sweet and done really fast? Whoopie pie is the answer. Just be sure that you have all the ingredients at hand. I almost ran out of AP flour, was thinking of not doing this but then I really wanted to try it and I know if I didn’t do it I would be thinking about making it for the whole week! Yeah am weird that way.  Throwing caution to the wind, I ended up using a mixture of AP flour and bread flour. Thankfully it turned out okay. Didn’t have buttermilk either but I have buttermilk powder so I use that instead around 2 teaspoon for the half a cup of milk the recipe called for. Did it make any difference? To be honest I haven’t got a faintest idea, haven’t tried this recipe using plain milk. When it isn’t broke why fix it, right?

With my current obsession with red velvet cakes, whenever I go to supermarket I always pick up a bottle or two of red food coloring. The recipe also said use 2 tablespoons of red food coloring but a bottle of mc cormick’s red color is less than that but the batter already has this wonderful red color so it seems a bit silly to open a new bottle when 1 is enough. It turn out great both in looks and in taste, I absolutely cannot fathom why it took me so long to make these! They will definitely be in my favorite pile, though that pile is growing like a weed! I need to buy another binder just to keep them all organized.

Up & Running

Finally got my Mac from Apple store! Can't wait to start blogging again.