Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Peaches and Cream: Peaches and Cream Day: Retro Ad and Recipe

It's Peaches and Cream Day. Peaches may not be ripe in your area, so bookmark this Retro recipe for later in the summer. We have fresh peaches here in California, so I'm making this now! Try this Retro recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Peaches and Cream. It's Gluten-Free!! You'll love it.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Peaches and Cream

Ingredients
7 ounces whole hazelnuts with skins
5 eggs
2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
4 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (75-80%)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-5 ripe peaches
1/2 cup apricot preserves

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line bottom of 10-inch cake pan with parchment paper and grease sides.
Chop hazelnuts coarsely in food processor using pulse. Set aside. Separate eggs. Beat yolks with 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy.
In separate bowl beat egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks.
Melt the chocolate over very low heat on stove. Add to egg yolk mixture in slow steady stream and mix well.
Fold in chopped nuts, then fold in egg whites.
Pour batter into prepared pan and even out with a spatula.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Loosen sides and unmold upside down onto cake rack and let cool slightly. Carefully remove parchment.
Let cool completely.
Whip cream until it stands in stiff peaks adding 2 teapoons sugar and vanilla extract.
Place cake with the flat side up on cake plate. Evenly spread whipped cream over cake.
If peaches are very ripe, remove peel with small pointy knife. Otherwise, make "X" on bottom of each peach and blanch for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove skin.
Cut peaches into thick even slices.
Strain apricot preserves and warm them over very low heat in small saucepan.
Dip each peach slice in the preserves, then arrange slices on cake.
Refrigerate until serving.

SUMMER SOLSTICE CHOCOLATE COCA COLA ICE CREAM SODA

I love the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, and how perfect is it that today is also Ice Cream Soda Day? Here's an easy way to celebrate both holidays with this Mid-Century Recipe for Chocolate Coca Cola Ice Cream Soda.

SUMMER SOLSTICE CHOCOLATE COCA COLA ICE CREAM SODA

For each Chocolate Coke Ice Cream Soda, you'll need a tall glass, 3 Tbsp chocolate syrup, 2 Tbsp half & half, coca cola, chocolate ice cream, whipped cream.

Chill glass in freezer.

Pour chocolate syrup into bottom of glass. Add half & half and blend together. Add coca cola to 3/4 of glass.

Add 2-3 scoops of chocolate ice cream. Stir.

Top Ice Cream Soda with whipped cream and maraschino cherry.

ICE CREAM SODA DAY: Have a Brown Cow!

Today is National Ice Cream Soda Day, and, of course, I'm going to have a Brown Cow! See recipe below. Ice cream sodas, aka ice cream floats, are made by combining ice cream with soda or carbonated water and flavored syrup. Of course, mine always contain chocolate (ice cream and syrup). Many people consider root beer and vanilla ice cream to be the classic ingredients for an ice cream soda, but that's a Black Cow. I posted a recipe on National Black Cow Day. A Brown Cow is very similar, but it's made with chocolate ice cream. See below for an easy recipe for a Brown Cow to celebrate National Ice Cream Soda Day!  Serve in a "retro" glass or Mason jar for that 'out of the past' feeling. A Brown Cow is great for Fourth of July or any time!

According to Wisegeek.com, "although the recipe for an ice cream soda is quite simple, there is a trick to creating the perfect drink. Plain soda foams because it releases carbon dioxide gas, but ice cream is actually a foamy mixture of liquid, ice crystals, and air pockets. Therefore, if you want to make an ice cream soda with a lot of foam, put the ice cream in the glass before pouring the soda. If you want to make a treat with a minimal amount of foam, add the ice cream after the soda has been poured."

From The Nibble:

According to food historians, the first ice cream soda was created by accident at the Philadelphia Exposition in October 1874. It was there that pharmacist Robert M. Green invented the now-familiar ice cream soda. At that time, at soda fountains in pharmacies across America, the pharmacist or an employee known as a soda jerk (because he had to jerk back the tap of carbonated water to make a soda) would create a “cream soda” by adding a tablespoon of vanilla or other flavor of fountain syrup along with a tablespoonful of heavy cream to soda water. 

As with most stories, there are multiple variations. One version says that the fountain ran out of fresh cream. As there was no cream in the vicinity, Mr. Green got vanilla ice cream from a nearby vendor. He planned to let it melt and use it as cream, but was so busy that instead he added a frozen spoonful directly to the cream soda. In another version, he ran out of ice and used the ice cream to cool the drink. However, in his own published account, (in Soda Fountain magazine in 1910), he recounted that while operating a soda fountain at the Franklin Institute’s sesquicentennial celebration in Philadelphia in 1874, he wanted to create something that would attract customers away from another competitor. During some deliberate experimenting, he added ice cream to the soda water. 

Whatever the genesis, the ice cream soda was an instant hit and spread nationwide, where they were also called floats (for the scoop of ice cream floating at the top of the glass). 
Read more at: http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/ice-cream/ice-cream-float.asp

Brown Cow

Ingredients 
Chocolate syrup
Chocolate ice cream
Root beer  (or cola)
Whipped cream, for garnish
Chocolate sprinkles, for garnish
Optional: 1 ounce Godiva chocolate liqueur  (for an adult Brown Cow!)

Directions
Put approximately 2-1/2 scoops of chocolate ice cream in glass cup (depending on size of glass)
Pour optional liqueur over ice cream.
Fill glass with cola (or root beer).
Place spoon in glass and stir gently.
Top with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and sprinkles.
Add straw and serve.

Two S'mores Martini Recipes for National Martini Day

Today is National Martini Day, and here are two recipes for S'mores Martinis from Three Olives to celebrate. Three Olives also makes a S'mores Vodka, so you can drink it straight up. Either way -- making your own or drinking a pre-made S'mores Vodka, it's a great way to drink your S'mores!

Inspired by the classic vodka martini served with a garnish of olives, Three Olives launched as a non-flavored vodka brand in 1998 and became a pioneer of the flavored-vodka market when it introduced the first-ever cherry and grape varieties in 2001. The super-premium vodka brand now offers over 20 different flavors that have fueled a three-fold increase in sales to nearly 1.5 million cases from half a million. As implied by the brand’s popular flavors - Cake, Bubble, Dude and S’mores - Three Olives delivers one-of-a-kind drinks that appeal to polished individuals who revel in their uniqueness; they are clever, witty, and loath to take themselves too seriously. 

Thanks to Three Olives for the following recipes and photos!

Campfire Martini
3 parts Three Olives S'mores Vodka
Crushed graham crackers, chocolate syrup, marshmallows

Dip rim of martini glass in chocolate syrup and coat with crushed graham crackers.
Pour Three Olives S'mores into martini shaker filled with ice.
Shake and strain into martini glass.
Garnish with a skewer of three toasted marshmallows!

S'mores Sea Salt Martini
2 parts Three Olives S'mores Vodka
2 parts half & half
Sea salt
Chocolate syrup

Dip rim of martini glass in chocolate syrup and coat with sea salt.
Drizzle chocolate syrup inside martini glass.
Pour Three Olives S'mores and half & half into martini shaker filled with ice.
Shake and strain into martini glass!

CHERRY TART ICE CREAM: Vintage Ad & Contemporary Recipe!

Today is Cherry Tart Day! Last year I posted a recipe for a Cherry Tart that's easy and delicious! But here's something fun for the day from Elsie the Cow: Cherry Tart Ice Cream from Borden's. It's a great Vintage Ad.  Alas Borden's no longer makes ice cream. 

The original Borden Company completely ceased commercial production and distribution of ice cream in 2001 after facing corporate restructuring and bankruptcy. I loved the Elsie the Cow ads. There is one 'Borden' ice cream shop still operating. They're located in Lafayette, LA., just in case you're passing by. 

"Steal a heart with new Borden's Cherry Tart Ice Cream!"

Want to make your own "Tart" Cherry Ice Cream? Try this recipe from King Arthur's Flour. Fab!

Add Chocolate Sauce to keep with the theme of this blog. :-)

HAPPY'S BUTTER TOFFEE: Snow White Cookbook

I love Toffee, and I am a Toffee Judge for the San Francisco International Chocolate Salons. So many wonderful toffeetiers out there! But maybe you want to make your own? Over the years, I've posted several great recipes for Toffee, but here's one more from the Snow White Cook Book. Happy loves Toffee, too.

And just an FYI, I have multiple 1950s cement statues of the Seven Dwarfs in my Garden -- and two Snow Whites.

RIBBON FANTASY FUDGE: Retro Ad with Recipe for National Fudge Day

Today is National Fudge Day. I love Fudge. Who doesn't? I love both the texture and the taste. What makes it special for you?

To celebrate this food holiday, here's a great Retro Ad with Recipe from Kraft for Ribbon Fantasy Fudge using Marshmallow Creme. I usually use Marshmallow Fluff which I think has a better flavor, but whatever works for you. What I like most about this Fudge recipe is that there are two distinct layers. Easy to make, and oh so pretty! And, you can always throw in some walnuts for more texture.

Ribbon Fantasy Fudge

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter (original retro recipe calls for Parkay margarine)
2/3 cup (5-1/3 fl oz can) evaporated milk
6 ounce pkg semi-sweet chocolate pieces (I substitute chopped good dark chocolate)
7 ounce jar Kraft marshmallow creme (I prefer Marshmallow Fluff)
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy style)

Directions
Combine 1-1/2 cups sugar, 6 Tbsp butter, and 1/3 cup milk in heavy 1-1/2 quart sauce pan; bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 4 minutes over medium heat; stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate pieces until melted. Add 1 cup (1/2 jar) marshmallow creme and 1/2 tsp vanilla; beat until well blended. Pour into 13 x 9 inch pan. Repeat with remaining ingredients, substituting peanut butter for chocolate pieces. Spread over chocolate layer. Cool at room temperature; cut into squares.

HOLY CANNOLI: Cannoli Day!

Today is National Cannoli Day! I love all these food holidays because they remind me that there are so many different chocolate foods. One of my all time favorite desserts: Cannoli. 

I first tasted cannoli in South Philly, either at the bakeries or for dessert at the many Italian restaurants. Traditionally cannoli comes from the Palermo and Messina areas and was prepared as a treat during Carnevale season, but it quickly became a year-round staple in Sicily. Cannoli is fried and stuffed with sweet ricotta cheese with chocolate chips. Heaven!

Here's a great recipe from Alex Guarnaschelli on the FoodNetwork. Do you have a favorite cannoli recipe? Post a comment with link or note.

Don't have a Cannoli mold? Here are a few substitutes.
Wood dowel: about 6-8 inches. Sand it down, so it's smooth, and then grease with canola oil.
Curtain rod (be sure it's clean).
Aluminum Foil: Scrunch up foil into golf ball sized balls. Make a 6-8 inch long line and press together for even surface. Wrap with additional aluminum foil into long piece of aluminum. Make enough for all your cannoli.

Or, you can buy Cannoli shells ready made and just stuff them!

Many Italian bakeries and markets sell cannoli - just in case you don't feel like making them today!

CANNOLI

Ingredients 

Shells:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup dry white wine

Filling: 
2 cups ricotta cheese, preferably whole milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup small semisweet chocolate chips
1 lemon
1 quart canola oil, for frying

Flour, for rolling
1 egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

For Shell Dough: 
In medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, and salt. Work butter pieces into flour with your fingers until mixture becomes coarse and sandy. Add egg yolk and white wine and mix until it becomes  smooth dough. Spread piece of plastic wrap on flat surface and place dough in center. Wrap plastic loosely around it and press dough to fill gap. Flattening dough will mean less rolling later. Let it rest in fridge for a few minutes while you make filling.

For Filling: 
In medium bowl, whisk ricotta until smooth. Sift in powdered sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Mix to blend. In separate bowl (or in bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment), beat heavy cream until fairly stiff. Using rubber spatula, gently fold cream into ricotta mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
Lightly zest exterior of lemon and stir it into ricotta. Refrigerate for half hour to hour.

To Roll and Fry Shells:
In medium pot with heavy bottom, heat canola oil to 360 degrees F. Meanwhile, sift even layer of flour on flat surface. Flour rolling pin. Roll dough until very thin (about 1/8-inch thick). Cut dough into fourths and work in small batches.

Use any glass or small bowl that has 3-to-4-inch diameter. Cut rounds, tracing around each one to assure dough has been fully cut. You should have about 24 circles. Wrap each circle around cannoli mold. Use a little of the egg wash on edge of each round to seal it shut and to assure it won't slide or fall off the mold before pressing it closed over the mold. Flare the edges out slightly from the mold. Flaring will allow oil to penetrate each cannoli shell as they fry. Use pair of tongs to hold edge of the mold as you submerge and fry shell in the oil until crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oil, and holding mold in one had with tongs, gently grip shell in your other hand with kitchen towel and carefully slide off the mold. Set aside to cool. Repeat with all of the circles.

To Fill Cannolis: 
Just before serving, use pastry bag without tip to pipe ricotta into cannoli molds. Fill cannoli shells from both ends so cream runs through the whole shell. Dust with powdered sugar. Powdered sugar gives that little extra sweetness and added texture to the exterior. It also makes me feel like I have a professional bakery touch in my own home.
Serve immediately.

Tip:
If ricotta has an excess of liquid, drain over strainer for at least half hour before making filling. Make and fry shells and filling. Don't fill shells with cream until you are ready to eat them. Everyone loves a crispy cannoli.

CHOCOLATE FLAG STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE: NATIONAL STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE DAY & FLAG DAY!

Today is a Double Food holiday, at least for me.. It's National Strawberry Shortcake Day, and it's Flag Day. Why not whip up a Flag Cake made with Chocolate Shortcake and topped with Whipped Cream, Blueberries and Strawberries?

So here's what you do. Bake a chocolate shortcake (or a chocolate sponge cake) in a 9 x 13 rectangular pan. Here's a link to a great Chocolate Shortcake. When the cake is cool, cover with a thick layer of whipped cream. For the stars, use blueberries, making a small square in the upper left hand corner of the cake. Place the blueberries in rows for best results. Leave some room between blueberries (the stars). For the stripes, cut the strawberries in half and put them flat side down to make stripes. Press gently into the whipped cream. Although there are 13 stripes on the flag, you don't need to have that many on your cake (and you won't have room). It's about aesthetics more than veracity. The bottom stripe of the flag is red, so that's a good place to start.

Don't want to make a chocolate shortcake or sponge cake? Make your favorite chocolate cake and follow the decorating instructions. Or, you make a white chocolate sponge cake! 

Save this recipe for Fourth of July!

Happy Flag Day! Happy Strawberry Shortcake Day!

FROZEN S'MORES BARS: Beat the Heat!

What a brutal week it's been. The Bay Area is sweltering. Climate Change! Right now I usually begin posting S'mores recipes to make around the campfire, but because of the heat, I think S'mores can no longer be relegated to camping and summer campfires. Try making this Frozen treat at home! 

This is a variation on traditional S'mores, and it's so easy and great on a hot day: FROZEN S'MORES BARS. You can glam these up by making your own graham crackers or using fabulous chocolate and making your own Marshmallow Fluff (recipe below). But, if you're in a hurry and just want a yummy treat, use store bought grahams, Marshmallow Fluff, and dark chocolate.

How to make these: 
Basically you're freezing marshmallow cream between two graham crackers, dipping the'sandwiches'  in melted dark chocolate and then freezing! How easy is that?

Want to be more precise?

FROZEN S'MORES BARS

Put graham crackers bottom side up on parchment lined cookie sheet. Pipe (use a ziplock with a corner cut out or piping bag) marshmallow cream onto graham crackers and top with graham crackers. Put in freezer to harden (30 minutes).
Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. Let cool a bit (can't be too hot or will start to melt the cream).
Keep cookies in freezer until ready to use. Take a few out and dip halfway in chocolate. Put back in freezer. Continue to dip. Freeze until hard.

Want to make your own Marshmallow Fluff?

Ingredients
3 egg whites, room temp
2 cups lite corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp Madagascar vanilla

Directions
In bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachment, add egg whites, corn syrup, and salt.
On high speed whisk for 5 minutes, until thick and doubled.
On low speed, add powdered sugar. Mix until blended. Add vanilla and blend.

Want to make Chocolate Graham Crackers for triple the chocolate?
Here's a link to my recipe for Chocolate Graham Crackers!

CAIPIRINHA TRUFFLES: Cachaça Day

Today is Cachaça Day. Cachaça, a Brazilian white rum made from sugar cane, is the main ingredient in the Caipirinha, the national cocktail! How can you go wrong with sugar, cachaça, and lime? You can enjoy a caipirinha at home, but if you add chocolate, you can make Caipirinha Truffles! It's the perfect way to celebrate Cachaça Day!

CAIPIRINHA TRUFFLES

Ingredients
14 ounces white chocolate, chopped (make sure it's 'real' white chocolate)
Grated zest of one lime
1/4 cup whipping cream
3 Tbsp Cachaça
cocoa powder

Directions
Combine chocolate, lime zest, and cream in metal bowl; place it over saucepan over simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted.
Remove from heat, add cachaça, and stir until smooth.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2-3 hours --or until firm enough to form balls.
Using a scoop or teaspoon, scoop out chocolate mixture (while cold and firm) and form balls. They don't need to be perfectly round.
Roll balls in cocoa powder.
Keep refrigerated.

THE ORIGINAL GERMAN SWEET CHOCOLATE CAKE: National German Chocolate Cake Day!

Today is National German Chocolate Cake Day. Here's a wonderful Vintage Ad with Recipe from Baker's Chocolate for German Sweet Chocolate Cake, using Baker's German Chocolate. (It also appeared in theBaker's Cookbook) This is an easy delicious cake with a wonderful Coconut-Pecan Frosting. Let me know what you think! 

And, it may sound odd that's there's an American National Holiday for German Chocolate Cake, but German Chocolate Cake is not German. German Chocolate Cake is an American creation that contains the key ingredients of sweet baking chocolate, coconut, and pecans.

In 1852, Sam German created a dark baking chocolate bar for Baker's Chocolate Company, and in his honor, the company named it "Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate."

Hower, the story goes that the first published recipe for German's Chocolate Cake showed up in a Dallas newspaper in 1957 and supposedly came from a Texas homemaker. The cake quickly gained in popularity and the recipe together with photos spread all over the country. America fell in love with German Chocolate Cake, and food editors were swamped with requests for information on where to buy the chocolate. In one year, there was a 73% sales jump in German's Baker Sweet Chocolate sales (then owned by General Mills).  

However, the cake most likely didn't originate from the Dallas housewife. Buttermilk chocolate cakes were popular in the South for over 70 years, and pecans were plentiful, also, to make the frosting. 

FYI: German's Chocolate is similar to a milk chocolate and sweeter than regular baking chocolate.

BLACK COW DAY: History & Recipe

Today is Black Cow Day. You can go out and give Bossy a pat, but really this holiday is about a different type of black cow. A black cow aka a root beer float is made with root beer, chocolate syrup, and vanilla ice cream. Have one at your favorite Ice Cream Fountain or make one today. So easy!

The history of the Black Cow From Leites Culinaria: The first true black cow day seems to have occurred on August 19, 1893. That’s when the notion of combining root beer and ice cream into a frothy concoction is rumored to have occurred to Frank Wisner, owner of a soda fountain as well as a mining company in Cripple Creek, CO. Although soda fountains were rampant at this point in our country’s culinary evolution, iced cream sodas didn’t yet contain ice cream. Instead, they were commonly made from either syrups combined with cream and cold soda water or cream mixed with flavored syrup. As the story goes, on that particular moonlit night, Wisner was gazing at the dark Cow Mountain when its snow-capped peak inspired him to float a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of his Myers Avenue Red root beer. Sure enough, he swapped root bear for cola, and ice cream for cream, and called the sweet creation “Black Cow Mountain.” It proved immensely popular, not just with the town’s children, but their mothers and the miners whom one might expect to find elsewhere—say, in a saloon or worse. Regulars promptly shortened the title to “Black Cow,” and since then, the term has been used interchangeably to describe root beer floats both with and without a dose of chocolate sauce. Consider trying it both ways before passing judgment.

BLACK COW

Ingredients
10 ounces root beer
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
1 Tbsp chocolate syrup
1 1⁄2 ounces whipped cream
 maraschino cherry

Directions
Pour root beer over ice cream and chocolate syrup in a large glass.
Top with whipped cream and maraschino cherry.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie S'mores: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day!

Today is Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day. I've posted several recipes for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Chocolate Crust, but for today's celebration I thought I'd post a fun recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie S'mores. S'mores you say? Pie in S'mores you ask? Yes!

TCHO Chocolate here in the San Francisco Bay Area makes a very unique bar--Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Bar. This unique bar won a Bronze medal at the Americas 2015 International Chocolate Awards.

As their materials note:
Remember when you were a kid and your mom baked a fresh pie with strawberries you'd picked that summer afternoon? Bursting with summer berry goodness, here are all the fixings in a real strawberry rhubarb pie — including the pie crust.

TCHO Pairings are about how great ingredients and great chocolate enhance the flavors of each other, masterfully mixing to create extraordinary chocolate delight! TCHO Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Bar has chocolate-covered strawberry rhubarb pie goodness that even has crunchy bits of real pie crust included.

FYI: This bar is seasonal, but I just checked, and it's available on InstaCart, so check other resources. You can also use other unique Tcho (or other brands) bars to make some uniquely flavored S'mores. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie S'mores

Ingredients
Graham Crackers
Tcho Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Bar
Marshmallows

Directions
Break graham cracker in half. Put a piece of TCHO Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Bar on graham cracker
Put marshmallow on stick and roast (or cook over a stove) until golden brown.
Take marshmallow off stick and lay on top of chocolate bar piece that's on top of the graham cracker. Cover with other graham cracker part and EAT!

MALTED MILK BALL CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM PIE: Chocolate Ice Cream Day!

Yesterday was National Ice Cream Pie Day, and I meant to post a recipe. Well this Malted Milk Ball Chocolate Ice Cream Pie takes the cake--or, in this case-- the pie! If you're like me, you've always wondered about Malted Milk Balls. What are they really?

Lots of companies make them now, but when I was growing up, I only remember one: Hershey's Whoppers Malted Milk Balls. But there were actually other "old fashioned' brands such as Maltesers. Maybe they weren't available at my candy store? Ghirardelli also makes Milk Chocolate Malt Balls. (There's also a Kittymalt Hairball remedy that I have, but I won't go there).

Malt balls (interchangeable with malted balls but not moth balls!) are now also available in a variety of flavors: There are pumpkin spice malted milk balls, dark chocolate milk balls, mint malted milk balls, cookies and cream malted milk balls, peanut butter malted milk balls and yogurt malted milk balls, and many other varieties. I'm a purist, however.

Want to just have the Malt Ball center only? Nuts on Line sells them. These malt ball center only candies can be enrobed in the very best chocolate. You can do it yourself in the same way you make chocolate covered nuts. Just melt some chocolate and dip. I use two forks to make it easy. Dry them on a parchment lined baking sheet.

But what is a malt ball? wiseGeek (clear answers for common questions) has the answer: 
Malted milk balls are chocolate-coated candies often sold in milk carton packaging to promote their association with flavored milk and malted milkshakes.

The flavor of malted milk balls is often described as nutty or distinctively hearty, much like a grain cereal. The reason for this unusual flavor is the use of a grain treatment known as malting. Barley grains are allowed to germinate after harvest, which changes the sugar composition of the grain, in the same sense that germinated corn becomes more suitable for distillation. The malted barley grain is carefully dried and ground into a powder for confectionery use.

Want a fabulous use for Malted Milk Balls? Well, besides eating them at the movies? Sunset Magazine had a great recipe a few years ago for Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream Pie. I definitely love using candy in pies and cakes. This ice cream pie has crunchy malted milk balls on the bottom, malt ice cream above it, and a layer of dark chocolate frosting. Add some whipped cream and sprinkle with chopped and whole malted milk balls when you serve, and you're good to go.

MALTED MILK BALL CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM PIE

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups malted milk balls, divided
Cookie Crust, using chocolate wafers and a 9-in. cheesecake pan with removable sides (I've posted this recipe before)
1 3/4 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened
3 Tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups malted milk powder (Malted milk powder is made from milk, barley malt, and wheat; don't confuse it with Ovaltine, which has other ingredients added. Find it next to the chocolate milk powder in well-stocked grocery stores or online)
1 cup whipping cream, divided
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Preparation
Arrange a tight layer of malted milk balls (3 cups) over crust. Stir ice cream with cocoa powder and malted milk powder until smooth. Spoon into crust, set on plate, and freeze 5 hours.
Heat 1/2 cup cream meanwhile until simmering. Put chocolate in small metal bowl, pour in cream, and let sit until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let cool completely.
Smooth chocolate ganache over top of pie and freeze until set, about 15 minutes.
  
To serve:
Whip remaining 1/2 cup cream and swirl onto pie. Chop some malted milk balls and drop onto pie; add a few whole balls. Remove rim and serve immediately.
 
Tips: 
Let the pie soften for 5 minutes at room temp to make slicing easier.
If you're having trouble free-ing your pie from its pan, set it over bowl of hot water for a couple of minutes and then slide a thin knife between pan edge and crust. It should pop right out.

Photo: Malted Milk Ice Cream Pie: Yunhee Kim; Styling: Karen Shinto

CHOCOLATE CHIP APPLESAUCE BUNDT CAKE: National Applesauce Cake Day!

Today is National Applesauce Cake Day, and my favorite recipe for Chocolate Applesauce Cake comes from Kristin Donnelly in Food and Wine (2007). I love it because it's a one bowl cake, and when it's made in a bundt pan, it's pretty, as well as easy. Applesauce cakes are usually spice cakes, so this recipe may remind you of the holidays. Nevertheless, it's great all year round, but especially today on National Applesauce Cake Day!

I used to make my own applesauce from my Gravenstein apple trees, but my golden retrievers 'retrieve' the apples before they get ripe. Some years, I've picked up a flat or bushel along the road in Sebastopol in Sonoma county, famous for its Gravenstein Apples. Lately I've been buying my applesauce from Trader Joe's. They sell First Press Gravenstein applesauce. How great is that?

CHOCOLATE CHIP APPLESAUCE BUNDT CAKE

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 cups unsweetened applesauce  (applesauce from Gravenstein apples - my favorite!)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
12-ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Optional: Crème fraîche or whipped cream, for serving

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour 12-cup Bundt pan.
In large bowl, whisk flour with granulated sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, cloves, and pepper. Whisk in applesauce, eggs, oil, and melted butter. Fold in chocolate chunks or chips.
Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs attached.
Transfer pan to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto rack and cool completely, about 20 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over cake, slice and serve with crème fraîche or whipped cream--or plain.
This cake also tastes great toasted for breakfast with unsalted butter or cream cheese!

FROZEN MOCHA CHEESECAKE: Retro Ad with Recipe

I love Retro Ads with recipes, especially when they include chocolate. 

Here's an easy and delicious recipe for Frozen Mocha Cheesecake from Borden's Eagle Brand, 1983! This is perfect for the upcoming warm weekend.

As always use the very best ingredients--always butter, not margarine, the best 'real' chocolate syrup, etc. 

FROZEN MOCHA CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted 
• 8 ounces package cream cheese, softened
• 14 ounces Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
• 2/3 cup chocolate flavored syrup
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee
• 1 teaspoon hot water
• 1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Directions

1. In small bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and margarine. 
2. In buttered 9-inch springform pan or 13- by 9-inch baking dish, pat crumbs firmly on bottom and up sides of pan. 
3. Chill. 
4. In large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy; add Eagle Brand and chocolate syrup. 
5. In small bowl, dissolve coffee in water; add to Eagle Brand mixture. 
6. Mix well. 
7. Fold in whipped cream. 
8. Pour into prepared pan. 
9. Cover. 
10. Freeze 6 hours or until firm. 
11. Garnish with additional chocolate crumbs if desired. Return leftovers to freezer.

Cognac Truffles: Three Recipes for National Cognac Day!

Happy Cognac Day. Here are three recipes for Cognac Truffles to celebrate! Cognac is a brandy that comes from the Cognac region in France. Distilled for a long time, it's the aging process that gives Cognac its very distinctive taste. Only brandy that is produced in Cognac can be labeled Cognac. 

Cognac goes so well with Chocolate, especially in Cognac Truffles. I always opt for easy truffle recipes. I've posted two of these great recipes in the past, but I've added a third which includes orange zest! The second recipe includes raw eggs (although they heat up a bit in the chocolate), so if that's a problem for you, make the first or third recipe. I have tried many different types of chocolate (brands and amounts of cacao), and as always the flavors will change with the chocolate. These recipes are basically ganache truffles, so no tempering needed. You can roll them in cocoa or chopped nuts.

1. COGNAC TRUFFLES

Ingredients
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp Cognac
unsweetened cocoa or chopped nuts

Directions
Put chopped chocolate in bowl. On low heat warm cream and butter until nearly boiling. Pour cream and butter over chocolate and mix gently and thoroughly until chocolate is melted. You can always just melt all ingredients together in the top of a double boiler, if you're careful.
Cool and add cognac, mixing into chocolate mixture.
Cover and refrigerate 3 hours or more.
Using a melonballer or spoon, scoop chocolate into balls. Then roll in hands to smooth out the ball.
Roll balls in cocoa or nuts and refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. COGNAC TRUFFLES

Ingredients
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1-1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp cognac
cocoa or chopped nuts

Directions
Melt chocolate.
Combine sugar and butter in bowl then cream together.
Add egg yolks 1 at a time then stir in melted chocolate and cognac.
Chill mixture at least one hour then scoop out and form into balls.
Roll in coating of your choice and dry for 1 hour.

3. COGNAC TRUFFLES

Ingredients 
6 ounces DARK chocolate, chopped
3 ounces heavy cream
1 Tbsp cognac
1-1/2 Tbsp grated orange zest
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions
Bring cream to simmer in saucepan over medium-high heat. Set aside. Add chocolate and stir until smooth. Add cognac and orange zest and stir well. Cover and chill it refrigerator for 4 hours until stiff.
With scoop or teaspoon, make small balls.
Put cocoa powder in bowl and roll truffles in it.
Chill for half an hour and serve.

National Egg Day: Chocolate "Egg" Cream!

Despite its name, the Egg Cream contains neither eggs nor cream. I think it's the perfect recipe, though, today for National Egg Day! LOL!!!

Thanks to Whatscookingamerica.com for the history of the Egg Cream. 

In the beginning, it was a soda produced almost exclusively in New York (particularly Brooklyn). The basic ingredients are milk, seltzer, and chocolate syrup. It is traditionally made in a small Coke-style glass.

True New Yorkers insist that it is not a classic egg cream without Fox's U-Bet Chocolate Syrup. It is perfectly proper to gulp down an egg cream. In fact, egg cream will lose its head and become flat if it is not enjoyed immediately.

For many years, the egg cream remained a product sold only through New York soda fountains because bottled versions were hard to replicate. The cream, chocolate, and soda had a tendency to separate and to go bad after a couple days at best, and efforts to pasteurize or preserve the product ruined the taste. Today, Egg Cream drinks are bottled by a few small companies.

According to The Brooklyn Cookbook by Lyn Stallworth and Rod Kennedy Jr., "You absolutely cannot make an egg cream without Fox's U-Bet." The cookbook quotes Fox's grandson, David, for the story of the syrup's name:

"The name 'U-Bet' dates from the late-'20s, when Fox's grandfather got wildcatting fever and headed to Texas to drill for oil. 'You bet' was a friendly term the oilmen used. His oil venture a failure, he returned to the old firm, changing Fox's Chocolate Syrup to Fox's U-Bet. He said, 'I came back broke but with a good name for the syrup.'


Chocolate Egg Cream

Ingredients
Approximately 1/2 cup cold whole milk (Skim or 2% milk won't foam as well)
1 cup bottled seltzer
2 Tbsp chocolate syrup (Fox's U-Bet Chocolate Syrup)

Directions
Pour 1/2 inch of cold milk into a tall soda glass. Add seltzer or club soda to within 1 inch of the top of the glass; stir vigorously with a long spoon (this will cause it to become white and bubbly with a good head of foam).
Very gently pour 2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup slowly down the inside of the glass; briskly stir with a long spoon only at the bottom of the glass where the chocolate sits. The resulting drink should have a dark brown bottom and a 1-inch high pure white foam top (if you mix it too much, the foam disappears).

NOTE: Do not let Egg Cream sit for a long period of time-5 minutes or more; it will go flat.


The Original Brooklyn Egg-Cream

Take a tall, chilled, straight-sided, 8oz. glass
Spoon 1 inch of U-bet Chocolate syrup into glass
Add 1 inch whole milk
Tilt the glass and spray seltzer (from a pressurized cylinder only) off a spoon, to make a big chocolate head
Stir, Drink, Enjoy

ROCKY ROAD ICE CREAM PIE: National Rocky Road Ice Cream Day!

Happy Rocky Road Ice Cream Day! For today's holiday, I'm posting a recipe for a delicious Rocky Road Ice Cream Pie. It's a great way to cool off. 

Rocky Road Ice Cream was 'invented' in Oakland,  California. One story goes that the Rocky Road ice cream flavor was created in March 1929 by William Dreyer in Oakland, CA. He cut up walnuts and marshmallows with his wife's sewing scissors and added them to his chocolate ice cream that reflected his partner Joseph Edy's chocolate candy that used walnuts and marshmallow pieces. Later the walnuts were replaced by toasted almonds. Another story is that Fenton's Creamery in Oakland claims is that William Dreyer based his recipe on a Rocky-Road style ice cream flavor invented by his friend, Fentons' George Farren, who blended his own Rocky Road-style candy bar into ice cream. So however it came into existence, have a scoop of Rocky Road Ice Cream today... or make a Rocky Road Ice Cream Pie!

ROCKY ROAD ICE CREAM PIE

Ingredients
2 cups vanilla fudge swirl ice cream, softened
2 cups chocolate ice cream, softened
2/3 cup miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped and divided
1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped (or lightly salted peanuts)
*Chocolate Pie Crust (see recipe below) Prepare first**

Directions
In large bowl stir together ice cream, marshmallows, 1/2 cup chopped chocolate, and toasted almonds or peanuts. Spoon into crust. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chopped chocolate.
Cover and freeze at least 2 hours or until firm.
Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting.

*Chocolate Pie Crust (good for lots of pies)
2 cups chocolate wafers (in a pinch use Oreos)
6 Tbsp butter

Directions
Melt butter.
Put chocolate wafers in plastic bag. Close bag and crush with spoon or rolling pin until you have tiny pea-sized chocolate bits. Or just whirl the cookies in a blender.
Combine melted butter with chocolate bits.
Press ingredients into 9-inch buttered pie pan. Be sure and go up the sides.
Bake 10 minutes at 325°F.
Cool completely before adding ice-cream.

How easy is this? O.K. even easier: Soften a gallon of Rocky Road Ice Cream and add to your Chocolate Pie Crust. Refreeze for two hours.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CAKE: National Hazelnut Cake Day!

Today is Hazelnut Cake Day! Hazelnuts are a staple in European baked goods, and this Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake is divine. And FYI, Hazelnuts are also known as filberts.

I'm always looking for a good flourless chocolate cake recipe, and this one for Flourless Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake, adapted slightly from Epicurious, is fabulous. Both Hazelnuts and Chocolate are heart-healthy, too. One caveat, hazelnuts are high in calories, but you're making a chocolate cake, so...what the hey! Don't have time to make this today? Bookmark this Gluten-free Recipe!

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Ingredients 
12 ounces 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
6 large eggs
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup Frangelico or other hazelnut liqueur, divided
1 cup (about 5 ounces) finely ground hazelnuts (ground in food processor)
1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
Chopped toasted hazelnuts

Directions:
Put rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
Butter 9-inch springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper round. Wrap outside of pan tightly with 3 layers of heavy-duty foil.
Combine chocolate and butter in medium metal bowl; set bowl over saucepan of simmering water. Whisk until mixture is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water.
Whisk eggs, golden brown sugar, and 1/4 cup Frangelico in large bowl to blend. Add chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Stir in ground hazelnuts and 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Place in oven and tent springform pan loosely with foil.
Bake until cake is set in center and top is dry to touch, about 1 1/2 hours (top of cake will remain shiny).
Remove cake from roasting pan; remove foil from top and outside of pan.
Cool cake in pan on rack.
Chill cake until cold, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Whipping Cream:
Using electric mixer, beat whipping cream and remaining 1/4 cup Frangelico in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides.
Cut cake into wedges. Transfer to plates. Top with whipped cream; sprinkle with chopped toasted hazelnuts.