Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Crust:
1 C crumbs, about 30 Nila Wafers (I always do more because I like a thicker crust)
1/4 C cocoa
1/4 C powdered sugar
1/2 stick butter, melted

Heat oven to 350. Stir it all together and stir in butter. Press into 9-inch spring-form pan. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven, then turn oven up to 400.

Cheesecake:
3 packages cream cheese, though I only put in 2 1/2 because it makes too much for my pan.
1 C sugar
3 TBS flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 C pumpkin
4 eggs
1 1/2 C mini chips

Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and pie spice until smooth. Add pumpkin and eggs. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into crust. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 250 and bake 50 more minutes. I cook it until the center looks done, otherwise it will be runny. But be careful because if you over-cook it, the edges will be tough. I also let it cool with the oven off for a good long while. Then I cool it on the cupboard. THEN I cool it in the fridge. I've noticed this keeps it from falling.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest

While I wouldn't say my sweet tooth is back, I can now eat small amounts of sugar without getting sick, so I have made a couple of chocolate chip cookie recipes the last couple of weeks that I've been wanting to try for a while. The first was from America's Test Kitchen and claimed to be the best ever Chocolate Chip Cookie. They browned the butter before using it to give it a carmel flavor, then before adding the flour, they stirred the batter and let it sit for a few minutes several times to get all of the liquid absorbed into the dry ingredients. The taste was good, but they were greasy and really flat, so I'm not going to bother posting the recipe.

The second recipe I tried was from the NY Times and also claimed to be the best ever Chocolate Chip Cookie. I'll let you read the article about it because I found the science behind it really interesting. This recipe calls to refrigerate the dough for 24 to 36 hours. I made the first batch at about 22 hours, and they were all right, but not amazing. Then I got lazy and left the dough in my fridge for a week before I made the second batch, and it was AWESOME! I'm sure they would have tasted good about 36 hours as well. The other key is to sprinkle the dough with sea salt right before baking. Just go with it. They were fluffy, had a great texture and flavor and will probably replace my childhood recipe when I've got the time to make them ahead.

Here's the article link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/09chip.html

NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookie
2 cups minus 2 T cake flour (8 1/2 oz)
1 2/3 cup bread flour (8 1/2 oz)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp course salt (I used Real salt)
2 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar (10 oz)
1 cup plus 2 T sugar (8 oz)
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 lbs bittersweet chocolate disks (the article talks about what kind to use. I used a mix of Ghirardelli's bittersweet chips and semisweet.)
Sea salt

Sift flours, baking soda, baking posder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugars together until very light. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. On low speed, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently stir in chocolate pieces. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate 24-36 hours. Can be refrigerated up to 72 hours. (or a week...)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18-20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cook a bit more. Eat warm.

I actually measured the ingredients on the kitchen scale to make sure it was accurate, though I'm sure it would turn out if you measure it. And I made them the size it called for, which produced an amazing cookie.
~L

The Cake I'm Most Proud Of!

So this recipe is long and pretty much took all day. I made two full chocolate cakes, then had a chocolate moose/cream filling, then made a ganache that failed once because the recipe was bad (Solid ganache?). My dad had bought the serving plate for my mom for her birthday, and I was in charge of making a "presentation" of it.

Chocolate Potato Cake

I can't believe I haven't posted this. I have made it more than once and found easy success. This is a very moist cake (nice change for a cake) but make sure you eat it day of.
1/2 c cocoa
2 c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter
3/4 c sugar
3 eggs
1 c cold, unseasoned, mashed potato (I used a dry mix -- and it is the only reason I have a box in my house. Makes it quick for this recipe.)
1/2 c milk

Oven at 350. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan (Finally get to use that bunt?) Mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl, add the eggs one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition. With mixer on low, gradually beat in potato, followed by the dry ingredients, alternating with milk. Spoon into pan, bake about 30-40 minutes (toothpick test). Cool cake in pan, then turn onto rack. SMOTHER with frosting. Here's the recipe they gave, which is a nice compliment to this particular cake:
3 c powdered sugar
1 c butter
1 c cocoa
2/3 c mik

Blend up butter, gradually adding sugar. When it's all in, beat for a bit. Add in cocoa, then slowly add milk. VERY nice.

Muffin Pics

Fudgelike v. Cakelike

This one is for those who like their brownies in the former category (and honestly, who doesn't?). Take a look at the chocolate to flour ratio, and all doubts as to the goodness of this brownie will be resolved. Credit goes to Judith Sutton (I don't know her, but I would like to after these).

Fudgy Brownies

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
6 ounces high-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped or cut into shards

Combine the butter, unsweetened chocolate and 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate in a medium, heavy saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and both sugars with an electric mixer on low speed just until smooth. Beat in the salt. Beat in the melted chocolate mixture, then beat in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the flour in two additions (the batter will be thick). Stir in the 7 ounces chocolate.

Scrape the batter into a 9x13" pan lined with foil w/ extensions on the narrow end of the pan. Smooth the top. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the top is set but still soft and the edges are puffed and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out still gooey (be brave!--underbaking the brownies is one of the secrets to their fudgy texture). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

She recommends using Scharffen Burger or a really high quality chocolate, but I have a hard time spending $8 on chocolate for brownies, so I just used Baker's unsweetened chocolate and Guittard chocolate chips. I would still chop the chips a bit before stirring them in because the smaller pieces of chocolate were better. And unless you're serving more than 8 people, half the recipe.

Would you rather spoon...

I'm not a huge cake fan, but since I've started decorating cakes, my intake of them has dramatically increased. I was experimenting with a new chocolate frosting recipe this week, and it was a-mazing. It made a mediocre cake taste awesome, and it was great on its own. It's a little more work than the normal cocoa/powdered sugar variety, but it's worth it... even if you just use it on graham crackers.

Fudgy Chocolate Frosting
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool until tepid.

Beat butter on low until smooth and creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla. Add the melted chocolate and beat until mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Turn to medium and beat until aerated slightly, 1-2 minutes.

I didn't want as fluffy an icing, and I needed more, so I increased the sugar by 1 cup and didn't beat it as much. The result is yummy – I think owing to the fact that it uses chocolate instead of cocoa... and that cup of butter probably helps as well.

Any of you ever tried icing that requires cooking/beating eggs? I'm wondering if it's worth the time...

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

I neglected to take a picture of these before I ate mine and sent the rest with Jon, so this post is pictureless, but you can imagine what they look like. The lemon adds an awesome tang, and they left nothing to be desired. Yum.

Streusel:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch salt
7 Tb. butter, melted


Muffins:

4 Tb. butter, melted then cooled slightly
2 cups flour
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries


For the streusel:

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle with butter and mix with a fork until it forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout.


For the muffins:

Preheat oven to 375. Grease or line a muffin tin.

Whisk egg in medium bowl until pale and evenly combined, about 30 seconds. Add vanilla, sugar and zest and whisk vigorously until thick, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in melted butter; add buttermilk and whisk until combined.


Reserve 1 Tb. flour and mix remaining flour, BP and salt in a large bowl. Fold in egg mixture until almost combined. Leave blueberries in freezer until this point. Toss them in the 1 Tb. flour and fold them in the batter until just combined.


Divide batter in muffin tins (the batter was closer to a soft cookie dough for me) and top with streusel. Bake until light golden and a toothpick comes out with a few dry crumbs clinging to it, 23-27 minutes. Cool in tins 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and finish cooling. Or just eat them warm. :)

Cheese Souffle

This is my nod to Judith, Julia's editor and friend.

2 tsp butter
1 Tbs grated Parmesan
1 Tbs flour
1/3 C milk
Large pinch of salt
Small pinch of paprika
1 egg yolk
1 egg whites (annoying?)
Grated cheese (I used cheddar, but she leaves it up to you)
Chopped/minced ham
Sauteed onions and mushrooms

Butter and Parmesan your ramequins. Preheat oven to 425.

Melt 2 tsps of butter in small pan, stir in flour. Let cook over low heat for a minute (yeah, that's Judith being vague. Does she mean 1 minute or a minute?), then remove from heat. Vigorously whisk in milk and return to medium-low heat to simmer for a minute (Damn her!), stirring constantly as the sauce thickens. Season with salt and paprika. Remove from heat and whisk in egg yolk.

Beat eggs until soft peaks form. Add a dollop of egg whites to pot, and mix in along with about half the cheese. Fold in remaining egg whites and other ingredients. (Ok, I didn't like her measurements for the ham, mushrooms, cheese. I just eyeballed it. If I want more cheese, I'm gonna put it more cheese.) Transfer to souffle dishes. Place them on a baking sheet. Turn heat down to 375 and bake 18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Eric and I both really liked them. But this recipe only makes a max of about 3. Definitely double it (at least). We had it for dinner with a salad, but I can see it being good for a Sunday afternoon breakfast.