Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies

Today is National Cream Cheese Day. Here's a great recipe for Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies. Philadelphia Cream Cheese is usually my cream cheese of choice since I grew up in Philly, but I've been known to substitute local rich California Cream Cheese. The extra dark chocolate chips are a great addition to these Cream Cheese Brownies, and you can actually add more than 1/2 cup. I often chop up high quality chocolate rather than chips, but both work! Celebrate! Make Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies today. You can never have too many brownie recipes!

Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies

Brownies
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 ounces 65-70% good quality chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks or dark chocolate chips

Cream Cheese Layer
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Line 9 x 9 inch square baking pan with aluminum foil across the bottom and up two opposite sides of the pan.
In stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt butter and chocolate.
Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Use a spoon. Stir in flour and salt and beat, until batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of the pan (about a minute).
Remove 1/2 cup of the brownie batter and set aside.
Fold chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) into remainder of brownie batter and then pour batter evenly onto bottom of prepared pan.
Using mixer or food processor, whip cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla, and egg and process just until smooth.
Spread cream cheese mix over brownie layer. Spoon small clumps of reserved brownie batter on top of cream cheese filling. Then with knife or wooden skewer, swirl two batters without mixing them.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until brownies start to pull away from sides of pan and edges just begin to brown.
Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
Refrigerate brownies until firm enough to cut into squares (at least two hours).
Once chilled, remove brownies from pan by lifting with ends of foil and transfer to cutting board.
Cut into squares.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Libby's Pumpkin Ad, November 14, 1949

Fall is Pumpkin Time! Add chocolate! 

Here's an easy recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies adapted from Libby's Pumpkin. My mother's name was Libby, so I always use Libby's Pumpkin in recipes."Libby, Libby, Libby, on the Label, Label, Label." You can always substitute home-made' pumpkin puree. 

FYI: These brownies are more cakelike than chewy. With that in mind, enjoy!

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon DARK unsweetened Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions
PREHEAT - 350° F. Spray 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
COMBINE - pumpkin, sugar, egg, egg whites, and oil in large mixer bowl. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Add flour, baking powder, cocoa, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and nutmeg.
BEAT on low speed until batter is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips (or chunks). Spread evenly into prepared pan.
BAKE for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 2-inch squares.

Do you have a favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Brownie recipe? Leave a comment and link!

CHOCOLATE CHERRIES JUBILEE & CHOCOLATE CHERRIES JUBILEE CAKE! Cherries Jubilee Day!

Today is National Cherries Jubilee Day! Cherries Jubilee was created by Chef August Escoffier in honor of Queen Victoria's Jubilee celebration. Cherries were her favorite fruit. The original recipe featured cherries poached in syrup and warmed with brandy that was set afire just prior to serving.

But this is a chocolate blog, so here are two recipes that include chocolate - one for Chocolate Cherries Jubilee Cake and one for Chocolate Cherries Jubilee. The cake is moist and scrumptious. You can also pour the Cherries Jubilee sauce over your own favorite chocolate cake!

CHOCOLATE CHERRIES JUBILEE CAKE!

Cake:
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1- 1/2 cups cake flour or 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1- 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided use
1/2 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Canola oil
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 tsp purevanilla extract

Cherry Sauce:
1 (16 or 17-ounces) can/jar pitted dark sweet cherries, drained (reserve 3/4 cup liquid)
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp Kirsch or Cherry Brandy
1 Tbsp cornstarch
Dash salt

Vanilla ice cream

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.

For Cake:
Stir baking soda into buttermilk in medium bowl until dissolved; set aside.
In large bowl, stir together flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, and salt. Add oil, buttermilk mixture, egg yolks, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
In small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold egg whites into chocolate batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pan.

For Cherry Sauce:
In medium saucepan, stir together reserved cherry liquid, cherry liqueur, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add cherries and orange peel.

Serve cake with a scoop of ice cream and Cherry Sauce spooned over the top.

CHOCOLATE CHERRIES JUBILEE

Ingredients
1/2 cup dark cherry preserves (I love Bonne Maman)
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tbsp Cognac or Kirsh

1 pint chocolate chocolate chip ice cream

Directions
Melt preserves in heavy small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Mix in cinnamon and Cognac.
Scoop ice cream into bowls. Spoon sauce over (you can ignite it for special effects and then pour :-).

Pride O' Pumpkin Cake: Add Chocolate Chips! Retro Ad with Recipe

Here's an easy recipe for a Pride O'Pumpkin Cake to "spice up your autumn." This Ad appeared in 1953. I just love Vintage Recipes! The original recipe did not include chocolate chips, but I add them! After all, I'm always dying for chocolate. Another note: Use pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin spiced puree. You're adding your own spices. Make sure they are fresh. Happy Fall.

 

1953 Ad 

Ingredients

2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour 

3 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon soda 

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon ginger 

1/2 teaspoon allspice 

1/2 cup butter or other shortening 

1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 egg and 2 egg yolks, unbeaten 

3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk 

3/4 cup canned pumpkin  (unspiced)

1/2 cup finely-chopped walnuts 

1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more if you like it that way!) 

Directions

Measure sifted flour, add baking powder, salt, soda, spices. 

Sift together three times. 

Cream butter, add sugars gradually and cream well. 

Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating until light. 

Add flour alternately with buttermilk in small amounts, beating after each addition until smooth. 

Add pumpkin and nuts. 

Mix well. 

Bake in 2 round 8-inch layer pans, line on bottom with paper, in moderate oven (350 F) for 30 to 35 minutes, or until done. 

Cool.

Frost with fluffy frosting, tinted orange (or not) or a nice fluffy pumpkin frosting

Apple Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake: Fall Equinox

Happy Fall Equinox! I love Autumn with its infinite variety of apples.  Here's a great way to make the most of the apple harvest. This fabulous Chocolate Chip Apple Bundt Cake (recipe originally from Sunset Magazine) is a great way to celebrate the Fall Equinox. I use tart apples in this recipe because I like the combination of tart and sweet. Try different apple varieties. You can use your favorite dark chocolate, chopped, instead of chocolate chips.
Apple Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Ingredients 
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups apples - peeled, cored and diced
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease and flour one 9 or 10 inch Bundt Pan.
In large bowl, cream butter with sugar. Beat in eggs. Add water and vanilla.
Stir flour, cocoa, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg together. Beat this mixture into creamed mixture.
Fold in chopped apples and semisweet chocolate chips (or chocolate chocolate chunks).
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake tests done when toothpick is inserted near center. Do not overbake. Start checking at one hour.
Transfer to a rack to cool.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PECAN COOKIES: Go nuts on Pecan Cookie Day!

Pecans and chocolate are a marriage made in heaven! I've posted recipes for Chocolate Pecan Sandies, definitely a pecan cookie, but this recipe for Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies is one of my favorites and the perfect way to celebrate National Pecan Cookie Day!

This recipe is adapted from Woman's Day, April 1, 2006. As always, I suggest you use the very best ingredients. I use chopped pecan toffee in the recipe, and I use 15 ounces of 70% chocolate in place of the original 2 10-oz milk chocolate bars. I also use DARK cocoa. And, FYI, there are over 1000 varieties of pecans. Whichever you choose, you'll go nuts for this recipe!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PECAN COOKIES

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2⁄3 cup packed light brown sugar
2⁄3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3⁄4 tsp baking soda
3⁄4 tsp salt
2 1⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
2⁄3 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
10 oz chopped pecan toffee 
1-1⁄2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
15-oz dark chocolate (70% cacao), chopped coarsely (or dark chocolate chips)

Coarse Kosher salt (optional)

Directions
Heat oven to 375°F. Have baking sheets ready.
Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in large bowl with mixer on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes until fluffy. Beat in eggs, baking soda, and salt until combined. Add flour and beat on low speed until blended.
Stir in cocoa powder, chopped toffee, pecans, and chocolate.
Drop rounded tablespoons dough about 1 1⁄2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Optional: sprinkle lightly with coarse Kosher salt.
Bake 8 to 9 minutes until edges are golden brown.
Cool on sheet 1 to 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Noodle Kugel: Breaking the Fast

The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, starts tonight. This is a fasting holiday. The day, and the fast, is over at Sundown tomorrow night. This is a great dessert to make in advance for the Breaking the Fast at the end of the day.  Note: If you're taking this to a kosher household for the Break Fast, check with your host if they are having a dairy meal. I love this Chocolate Chip Noodle Kugel (aka Noodle Pudding). FYI: It's great any time!

A bit of  history about Kugel. Kugel is a traditional Ashkenazic Jewish dessert or side dish. Kugel is Yiddish for ball, but it is sometimes translated as pudding or casserole, and related to the German Gugelhupf. The first Kugel were plain -- made from bread and flour, and salty rather than sweet. About 800 years ago, the flavor and popularity changed when cooks in Germany replaced bread mixtures with noodles or farfel. Eventually eggs were incorporated. The addition of cottage cheese and milk created a custard-like consistency which is common for today's dishes. In the 17th century, sugar was introduced, which gave the option of serving kugel as a side dish or dessert. In Poland, Jewish women sprinkled raisins and cinnamon into recipes. Hungarians took the dessert concept further with a hefty helping of sugar and sour cream.

Today many people add corn flakes, graham cracker crumbs, ground gingersnaps, or caramelized sugar on top. Some people layer the dish with sliced pineapples or apricot jam, but since this is a chocolate blog, here's a recipe that includes chocolate chips! Enjoy this for the Break Fast or any time!

Chocolate Chip Noodle Kugel

Ingredients:
12 oz pkg medium wide egg noodles, boiled & drained (I use Manischewitz)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
8 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 pint (16 oz) cottage cheese (large curd)
2 cups sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter sides and bottom of 9 x 13 Pyrex or another Pan.
Beat together eggs and sugar. Add cottage cheese, sour cream, melted butter, and vanilla, and mix with wooden spoon.
Fold in cooked noodles and chocolate chips.
Pour mixture into buttered pan.
Bake at 350°F for 40-60 minutes until just set.

CHOCOLATE MARBLE COFFEE CAKE: Breaking of the Fast- Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the most important holiday in the Jewish calendar. It starts Sunday night and concludes Monday evening. This holiday involves fasting, but at the end of the holiday there's a Breaking of the Fast that usually involves a big feast. Chocolate Marble Coffee Cake is perfect for the Breaking of the Fast. You can make it ahead and have it ready when the group assembles at the end of the day. The following recipe includes butter and sour cream, so if you're bringing something for the Breaking of the Fast, check to see if your hosts are Kosher and whether or not they're planning a meat or dairy meal. Everyone else, this is a fabulous chocolate marble coffee cake for just about any time! It even tastes great sliced and toasted for breakfast!

This recipe is adapted from Carole Walter's recipe for Chocolate Ripple Coffee Cake in Fine Cooking, October 29, 2008. You're going to love it! It's one of my favorite go-to recipes! I'll bet you have most of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge. This coffee cake also freezes well.

CHOCOLATE MARBLE COFFEE CAKE

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:
3 cups sifted cake flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups unsalted butter, slightly softened
1-1/2 cups superfine sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sour cream

For the filling:
1/2 cup toasted pecans
6 oz coarsely chopped dark chocolate (64-75% cacao)
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
3 Tbsp light brown sugar
3 Tbsp Dutch-processed or natural cocoa powder  (Tip: Natural vs Dutch-processed) 

For the streusel topping:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt  

DIRECTIONS

Position rack in center of oven -- 350ºF.

Butter and flour 10-inch tube pan with removable bottom.

Make topping: In 2-quart saucepan, heat butter over medium heat until almost melted. Remove from heat and cool to tepid. In medium bowl, combine flour, pecans, both sugars, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt, and stir with fork. Add flour mixture to butter and stir until evenly moistened and crumbly.

Make filling: In food processor, pulse pecans, chopped chocolate, both sugars, and cocoa until chocolate is finely chopped, 12 to 14 pulses. Set aside 1/2 cup of mixture as additional topping.

Make cake: In medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add sugar slowly, beating until combined. Scrape bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending each one completely before adding each. Scrape bowl and blend in vanilla. On low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and sour cream, adding flour in four parts and sour cream in three parts, beginning and ending with flour, and scraping  bowl as needed.

Layer and marble batter and filling: Spoon 2 cups of batter into prepared pan. Smooth with back of big spoon, spreading batter to side of pan first and then to center. Sprinkle 1/2 cup filling evenly over batter. Cover filling with about 2 cups batter, dropping chunks around pan and smoothing with spoon. Sprinkle another 1/2 cup filling evenly over batter and cover with 2 more cups batter. Layer on another 1/2 cup filling and then remaining batter. (four layers of batter and three layers of filling.) Insert table knife 1 inch from side of pan straight into  batter going almost to bottom. Run knife around pan two times, without lifting up blade, spacing circles about 1 inch apart. Smooth top with the back of spoon.

Top and bake the cake: Take a handful of streusel crumbs and squeeze firmly to form a large mass. Break up mass into smaller clumps, distributing streusel evenly over batter. Repeat with remaining streusel. Clump reserved chocolate filling mixture together with your hands and sprinkle over streusel. Press both toppings lightly into surface of cake. Bake until top of cake is golden brown,  sides are beginning to pull away from pan, and skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 70 to 75 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool for an hour before removing from pan.

RED VELVET CAKE THE NATURAL WAY: Beets!

Today is National Red Velvet Cake Day! Most red velvet cakes use red dye. You use red food dye, the kind in the little bottles, if you want to get that really red color (even the Wilton's doesn't quite do it), but for fabulous flavor, beets do the trick! They're full of great natural sugar. Following are three recipes for natural red velvet cake. The first cake uses lots of real beet juice and the color comes very close to a true red. The cake is delicious. The second is a great Red Velvet Cake, too, although not quite as red. Most red velvet cakes I've made call for buttermilk and/or vinegar in them, so that one is perfect in taste. The first two recipes come as close as it comes to a 'natural' Red Velvet Cake. The third recipe is more of a 'vegetable' cake...as in zucchini or carrot cake. Still delicious, but not really red. As always, the quality of the chocolate or cocoa will really make the difference!

1. RED VELVET BEET CAKE

Ingredients
2 large beets, fresh, (enough to make 1-1/2 cups of beet purée)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
24 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2  1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2-1/2 tsp pure vanilla
2 cup  flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup natural cocoa powder, unsweetened (not dark or Dutch processed)

Icing
4 cups confections sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp almond extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line bottom of 3 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Use vegetable spray on sides and bottom of pans.
In small baking dish, roast 2 fresh large beets, fresh (enough to make 1 1/2 cups of beet purée) use 1/2 cup water. Cover with parchment paper and foil, and roast until tender, about 60-90 minutes. When beets have cooled completely, peel and cut into small chunks. Place beets in food processor and pulse until smooth with: 1/4 cup lemon juice. There should be 1-1/2 cups of purée. Stir in: 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar.
In mixer with paddle attachment, cream together 1/2 cup butter, 8 ounces cream cheese. Mix until smooth and fluffy: Add 2-1/3 cup sugar.  Mix in, one at time: 4 eggs.  Mix until incorporated: 1-1/2 tsp vanilla.
In separate bowl, whisk out lumps of 2 cup flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1-1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder. In batches, mix flour mixture into wet ingredients. Measure out 1-1/2 cups of the beet puree mixture, and fold into cake batter. Divide batter evenly between 3 cake pans.
Bake at 350ºF for 20-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of  cakes comes out clean. Invert cakes onto cooling racks, and allow to cool completely.

Icing
In electric mixer fitted with  paddle attachment, combine 16 oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, 4 cups confectioners sugar, 2 Tbsp heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp almond extract. Switch to whisk attachment, and mix until smooth and slightly fluffy. Frost cake.

***

I found the following recipe posted on the chowhound.com site in a discussion about 'natural' Red Velvet Cake. I love the story that goes with it. It's close to a 'real' Red Velvet Cake because there's buttermilk and vinegar and/or beet juice (but not as red). I make a cream cheese frosting (see above) because that's what goes with Red Velvet Cake, in my opinion. But it's up to you.

2. Chocolate Red Velvet Cake with Chocolate Icing
Since Red Velvet Cake probably came from the South, the original 'red velvet beet cake' probably had a 'boiled frosting' rather than a cream cheese or butter cream frosting.

"When I was growing up, I always wanted a simple chocolate cake for my birthday. I still do. This velvety chocolate cake gets its name from its smooth texture and reddish hue. The original recipe called for red beet juice—in some parts of the country it is called beet cake—but was altered by manufacturers who added red food coloring to the cake. "Red coloring is evil and dangerous for children and other living things," Carole Greenwood, a chef in Washington, D.C. told me. She refuses to use food coloring but loves this buttermilk-based velvety chocolate cake, and uses red wine vinegar or beet juice for the color. She also makes her version less sweet, using both good-quality cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate."

For the cake:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup good-quality cocoa powder
2 extra-large eggs
1 Tbsp pure vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp pickled beet juice or red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

For icing
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp sugar
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease two 9-inch round cake pans.
Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Remove pan from the heat, stir in water and cocoa powder, and allow mixture to cool.
Beat eggs in bowl of electric mixer, then add vanilla, buttermilk, baking soda, and beet juice or red wine vinegar and stir well.
Sift together all-purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, salt, and sugar into bowl. Pour in butter and then egg mixture and blend thoroughly on low.
Pour batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cake pulls away from sides of pan and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Cool cakes for a few minutes, then turn out onto wire racks, and frost and fill the center with chocolate icing.

Directions for Chocolate Icing
Place cream, butter, and sugar in  small saucepan and stir over medium heat until hot and bubbly.
Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, stirring slowly until smooth and silky. Add  vanilla and  salt. Taste and adjust sweetness to your taste. Cool for about 15 minutes before frosting the cake.

***

3. Chocolate Beet Cake 
This third recipe is closer to a vegetable cake just like a carrot cake or zucchini cake. 
(Adapted from Diana Rattray --Southern Food at About.com)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 - 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1- 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder (use regular not Dutch Process)
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, Canola or corn oil
1-1/2 cups grated cooked beets
2 teaspoons vanilla
powdered sugar, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°
Combine flour, soda, salt, sugar and cocoa in bowl; set aside.
In mixing bowl, combine eggs and oil. Beat in vanilla and continue beating until well blended. Slowly beat in dry ingredients until well mixed; stir in beets.
Pour into greased and floured 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25 to 35 minutes, or until cake bounces back when touched lightly with finger.
Cool in pan on a rack. Frost cooled cake or dust with powdered sugar.

Cartoon of the Day: Magritte at the County Fair

 

VELVET ALMOND FUDGE PIE: Retro Ad with Recipe

I just love these Retro Ads with recipes, don't you? 

VELVET ALMOND FUDGE PIE

Ingredients 

1 cup almonds 

3/4 cup light corn syrup 

1 egg, slightly beaten 

1 unbaked 8" pie shell 

1 pkg. Jello brand chocolate fudge chocolate pudding pie filling 

3/4 cup evaporated milk 

1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted 

Directions

Chop almonds and toast at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Set aside. Blend together until smooth; pie filling mix, corn syrup, milk, egg and chips. Add almonds and pour into pie shell. 

Bake at 375 degrees about 45 minutes or until top is firm and begins to crack. 

Cool at least 4 hours. 

Before serving, garnish with whipped topping, if desired.

A RECIPE FOR DELICIOUS DEATH: AGATHA CHRISTIE BIRTHDAY CAKE

Happy Birthday, Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime! I posted a bit about Agatha Christie today on my other blog, Mystery Fanfare. Be sure and check it out. It includes a link to a

1955 BBC interview with the Queen of Crime.

As many of you know, I collect 'literary' cookbooks, tie-in cookbooks, theme cookbooks, and the like. I have two Agatha Christie cookbooks: Cremes & chatiments: recettes delicieuses et criminelles Agatha Christie by Anne Martinetti et Francois Riviere (in French). It's been reissued, so I actually have both an original and a new issue. I also own Recipes for Murder: 66 Dishes That Celebrate the Mysteries of Agatha Christie by Karen Pierce, with a Foreword by John Curran. An interesting side note, Agatha Christie, herself, contributed two recipes -- neither chocolate-- to the 1940 Cookbook: A Kitchen Goes to War, a collection of recipes from famous chefs, food experts, and other well-known people. She also contributed to at least two other cookbooks. For more on Agatha Christie's Cookbook contributions, go to Collecting Christie (a fabulous website).   

When I think of Agatha Christie, chocolate doesn't come to mind. I think more scones and finger sandwiches, perhaps, an omelet or two, but not chocolate, although certainly for Poirot there might be some Belgian chocolate?

For Agatha Christie's 120th birthday celebration (it's now her 136th birthday), Jane Asher created a chocolate cake she called Delicious Death. Jane Asher, a long-time fan of Agatha Christie and actor in many Christie productions, was asked by Christie's grandson, Matthew Prichard, to create a recipe for the celebration.

"There is nothing more indulgent than afternoon tea. I have particularly fond memories of the lazy afternoons spent with my grandmother at Greenway as she tried out her latest ideas on us over a pot of tea and delicious cakes," said Prichard, calling Asher's invention "truly decadent".

Asher's cake was inspired by a passage in Christie's Miss Marple novel A Murder is Announced in which émigré housekeeper Mitzi bakes it for Dora Bunner's birthday tea. "'Impossible to make such a cake. I need for it chocolate and much butter, and sugar and raisins,'" she tells her employer, Miss Blacklock, who suggests using a tin of butter sent from America and raisins that were being kept for Christmas, along with a "slab of chocolate and a pound of sugar".

Mitzi is delighted. "'It will be rich, rich, of a melting richness! And on top I will put the icing – chocolate icing – I make him so nice – and write on it Good Wishes. These English people with their cakes that tastes of sand, never never, will they have tasted such a cake. Delicious, they will say – delicious'" - but is not so impressed with the name which is dubbed Delicious Death because it's so rich. It becomes an apt name though when Dora Bunner is found dead from poisoning after her birthday tea.

Basing her recipe on the ingredients mentioned in the 1950 novel, Jane Asher created her own version of Delicious Death. From The Guardian: "It has an intense, forbidding dark Belgian chocolate centre which is lifted by the unexpected sharp zing of its brandy-soaked cherry and ginger filling," she said. "The glorious assault on the senses doesn't end there: the cake is decorated with flecks of pure gold, sprinklings of crystallised rose and violet petals, and swirls of ganache piping. This paragon of a cake is as beautiful to look at as it is delicious – and deadly? – to eat."

So in honor of Agatha Christie's Birthday, I am reprinting this recipe.

This cake was served at Greenway in Devon throughout Agatha Christie Week in 2010. It is also  on the menu at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair, said to be the inspiration for

At Bertram's Hotel. Not sure about today, but I bet it's served somewhere in England!

Agatha Christie's Delicious Death by Jane Asher

Ingredients
175g dark chocolate drops (50-55% cocoa solids)
100g softened or spreadable butter
100g golden caster sugar
5 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract


100g ground almonds
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the filling:
150ml rum, brandy or orange juice
150g raisins
55g soft dark brown sugar
6-8 glacé cherries
4-6 pieces crystallised ginger
1 tsp lemon juice

For the decoration:
175g dark chocolate drops (50-55% cocoa solids)
150ml double cream
2 tsps apricot jam
10g crystallized violet petals
10g crystallized rose petals
A small quantity of gold leaf

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 150C, (300F, 135C fan-assisted). 
Grease an 8" deep cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment or silicone.

Prepare the filling: in a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients and stir over heat until the mixture is bubbling. Allow to simmer gently, while stirring, for at least two minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thickened. Allow to cool.

In a small heatproof bowl, melt the chocolate drops over simmering water or in a microwave, being careful not to let it overheat. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until very pale and fluffy. Separate the eggs, setting aside the whites in a large mixing bowl, and, one by one, add 4 of the yolks to the butter/sugar mix, beating well between each one.

Add the melted chocolate and fold in carefully, then stir in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, mix together the ground almonds and baking powder, then stir them into the cake mix.

Whisk the egg whites until peaked and stiff, then fold gently into the chocolate cake mix.

Spoon the mix into the prepared cake tin, leveling the top, and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 55-65 minutes, or until firm and well risen. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out on to a rack to cool completely.

Using a serrated knife, slice the cake in half horizontally. Spread the cooled fruit filling onto one half and sandwich the two halves back together.

To decorate: put the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl and melt them together over simmering water or in a microwave. Spread the cake all over with warmed apricot jam and place on a rack over a baking tray. Keeping back a couple of tablespoonfuls, pour the icing over the whole cake, making sure it covers the top and the sides completely, scooping up the excess from the tray with a palette knife as necessary. Add any surplus to the kept back icing. Carefully transfer the cake to a 10" cake board or pretty plate.

Once the reserved icing is firm enough to pipe, place it in a piping bag with no. 8 star nozzle and pipe a scrolling line around the top and bottom edges of the cake. Leave for two to three hours to set.

Place the violet and rose petals into a plastic bag and crush them into small flakes. Sprinkle these liberally around the chocolate scrolls. Finally, with a cocktail stick, pull off some small flakes of gold leaf and gently add them to the top of the cake.

BLACK AND WHITE COOKIES: Black and White Cookie Day!

Black and White Cookies are everywhere in New York, so much so that they're often consider the official cookie of New York City.  These iconic cookies are thick and more cake-like and covered with frosting that hardens. Usually half the cookie has white icing and half has chocolate (vanilla & chocolate), ergo: black and white cookies!

Check out the history of the Black and White Cookies on Eater NY. 

Following is a great copycat recipe for Black and White Cookies.

BLACK AND WHITE COOKIES

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup buttermilk

Black and White Icing: 
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 Tbsp plus 2 tsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Dark cocoa powder

Cookies: 
Heat oven to 350.
Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
In large bowl, beat together sugar and butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in egg until well combined. On low speed, alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Drop 1/4 cupfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart and spreading into large circles, about 4 inches across.
Bake for 13 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers tests clean (they're like small cakes). Remove cookies to rack to cool.

Black and White Icing: 
In medium bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar, 3 Tbsp milk, and vanilla until smooth but thick enough to coat cookie.
Set aside 1/2 cup icing in small bowl; stir cocoa powder and remaining 2 tsp milk into bowl until smooth.
Turn over cookies.
Spread white icing over half of each cookie, and chocolate icing over the other half.
Let stand at room temperature until set, about 1 hour.

HERSHEY BAR CHOCOLATE CAKE: Milton S. Hershey's Birthday!

Every day is Chocolate Day here on DyingforChocolate.com, but for International Chocolate Day, I thought I'd repost one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes. It's also Milton S. Hershey's birthday, so this is a very appropriate recipe! And, you can never have too many chocolate cake recipes!

Growing up in Philadelphia, my family often visited the Hershey Factory in near-by Hershey, PA. What an amazing family outing. It was truly a Willy Wonka experience. At the end of the factory tour, each child was given a Hershey Bar! I'm not talking mini, either, these were the 'regular' sized bars. Since I was used to buying penny candy (remember that?), this was a huge treat. Visiting the Hershey Factory was an experience I'll never forget, and even though I might now opt for more refined single origin organic dark chocolate, I'll never turn down a Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar.

So here's a Classic Chocolate Cake recipe that's perfect for National Chocolate Day. Happy Birthday, Milt! You'll find this in many of the older Hershey Cookbooks. And, yes, you can make the recipe using high end dark chocolate and syrup, but try it first with Hershey chocolate bars and Hershey's syrup. This easy to make cake will satisfy any chocoholic!

HERSHEY BAR CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk
2-1/2 cups flour
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup Hershey's chocolate syrup
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars (1.55 ounces), melted and cooled

Directions

Heat oven to 350. Butter either 12 cup Bundt Pan or 10" tube pan. 

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. 

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla with electric mixer. Add syrup and melted chocolate and mix completely. Blend in buttermilk. Gradually add flour mixture until well combined. 

Pour into prepared pans.
Bake in Tube or Bundt pan for 45 minutes to an hour -- or until done.
Cover with foil immediately to steam and make cake moister.
Keep covered until cake is completely cool.

POMEGRANATE FUDGE: Rosh Hashanah or any time!

Here's another chocolate recipe for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Even if you don't celebrate this holiday, you'll want to bookmark this easy recipe. I use dark chocolate, but milk chocolate works well, too. I buy my pomegranate seeds at Trader Joe's, but you may want to buy a whole pomegranate and de-seed it. As I've said before, use the very best ingredients for the best flavor!

On the second day of Rosh Hashana, it's traditional to eat a fruit you haven't had this season. Pomegranates are often the 'preferred' fruit, because they also symbolize fruitfulness. The pomegranate is also said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 commandments of the Torah.

Pomegranate Fudge

Ingredients
23 ounces Chocolate, chopped  (65-70% cacao) or dark chocolate chips (or milk chocolate, if you prefer)
14 ounces Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 cup Pomegranate Molasses
1/2 tsp Sea Salt (fleur de sel)
Seeds of 1 Pomegranate (about a cup or 5 1/3 ounces if you're buying them loose)

Directions
Line pan that is at least 7 x 7 and 2 inches high with parchment paper.
In saucepan over saucepan over simmering water, combine chocolate and condensed milk. Stirring constantly.
Remove from stove and mix in pomegranate molasses. Mix in 1/4 teaspoon sea salt.
Pour fudge into parchment-lined pan, smoothing with spatula.
Spread pomegranate seeds over top of fudge and gently pat into fudge so they stick to fudge as it cools.
Add another 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt over top of fudge.
Put in refrigerator to set.
Remove from refrigerator.
Cut and eat.

Honey Chocolate Brownies: Honey Month & Rosh Hashanah!

September is National Honey Month. I'm a huge fan of HONEY. Here's a great and easy recipe for Honey Chocolate Brownies to celebrate Honey Month. Honey Chocolate Brownies are also a sweet way to start the Jewish New Year. L'Shana Tova!

This Honey Chocolate Brownie recipe won the 2000 Huron County Fair Blue Ribbon. I've adapted it slightly. Just as different cocoa will change the taste of these brownies, so will the honey. Try these brownies with different kinds of honey and cocoa.

HONEY CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Ingredients
1 cup softened unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups honey
1 cup flour
3 eggs beaten
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup DARK cocoa

Directions
In mixer, beat butter until creamy.
Slowly add honey, mixing constantly.
Add eggs, vanilla, and salt.
Add cocoa.
Add flour.
Fold in nuts.
Make sure the batter is mixed completely.
Pour batter into greased 9x13x2 inch. deep pan and bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes.

TV Dinner Day: History of TV Dinners & Retro Ads

I shouldn't be surprised, but I was, to find out that there is a TV Dinner Day on the Food Holiday list.  TV Dinners became popular in the 1950s. After a busy day, families would put frozen dinners (they were individually packaged) in the oven, and out would come a full meal of 2 to 4 courses. Traditionally these were eaten on TV trays in front of the TV where the family would sit on the sofa or chairs and watch their favorite TV shows together.

This was not the case in my family. We ate as a family, fresh food prepared by my grandmother, mother, or one of my aunts. Dinner time was when the family gathered and discussed school, work, politics, art, music. We were not allowed to watch TV during dinner. Perish the Thought! Oh how I envied the children in the ads and commercials. I was a TV junkie. Still am. I must reveal, though, that I have never eaten a TV Dinner. Never. Frozen TV Dinners wouldn't have been in our freezer, even if someone 'dropped by' as it says in one of the ads below. The food on our table was always expandable to accommodate the numerous people who might and did stop by at dinner time. My grandmother was good at stretching everything. She didn't have to rely on a frozen prepackaged dinner.

The term TV dinner is a trademark originally used for a brand of packaged meal developed in 1953 by C.A. Swanson & Sons (the name in full was TV Brand Frozen Dinner). The original Swanson's TV Dinner came in an aluminum tray and was heated in the oven. It was an individual portion. TV dinners required very little preparation and contained all the elements for a single-serving meal. A TV dinner usually consisted of a cut of meat, usually beef or chicken; a vegetable, such as peas, carrots, corn, or potatoes; and sometimes a dessert.

Because this is a chocolate blog, I want to let you know that occasionally TV Dinners had a brownie or chocolate pudding for dessert. More likely they didn't.

So in honor of TV Dinner Day, here are several Retro Ads. Always fun to see. Be sure to scroll down and watch the Retro TV Ad!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Apple Cake for a Sweet New Year!

I love Fall with its infinite variety of apples. Here's a great way to make the most of your Autumn Apple Harvest. This fabulous Chocolate Chip Apple Cake (recipe originally from Sunset Magazine) is also a great cake to make to celebrate the Jewish New Year  which begins Friday night. Here's to a Sweet New Year!

I use tart apples in this recipe because I like the combination of tart and sweet. Try different apple varieties. You can use your favorite dark chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Chop it into chunks. This cake tastes great toasted for breakfast.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Apple Cake

Ingredients 
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups apples - peeled, cored and diced
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease and flour one 9 or 10 inch Bundt Pan.
In large bowl, cream butter with sugar. Beat in eggs. Add water and vanilla.
Stir flour, cocoa, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg together. Beat this mixture into creamed mixture.
Fold in chopped apples and semisweet chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks).
Pour batter into prepared pan. I used a Bundt pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake tests done when toothpick is inserted near center. Do not overbake. Start checking at one hour.
Transfer to a rack to cool.

CHOCOLATE HONEY CAKE: Rosh Hashana

Here's a wonderful recipe for Chocolate Honey Cake to celebrate Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, that begins Friday night. Honey is a traditional food that symbolizes a Sweet New Year. Add Chocolate, and the year is bound to be even sweeter! Heaven knows, we need it to be!

This recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Honey Cake aka Honey Bee Cake. She decorates her Chocolate Honey Cake with the most adorable marzipan bees, but I never get quite that involved.

FYI: Honey cake doesn't have to be dry and heavy. This cake is incredibly moist! As I've mentioned many times, as with most cakes, your final product will be different depending on the type and brand of chocolate and, in this case, the type of honey you use.

Chocolate Honey Cake

Ingredients

Cake:
4 ounces dark chocolate (60-70% cacao), chopped
1 1/3 cups soft light brown sugar
8 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp DARK cocoa
1 cup boiling water

Sticky Honey Glaze:
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup honey
6 ounces dark chocolate (60-75% cacao), finely chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp confectioners sugar

Directions:
Have all ingredients at room temperature.
Melt chocolate from cake part of ingredients list in large bowl, either in microwave or bowl over pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and line 9-inch springform pan.
Beat together sugar and softened butter until airy and creamy, and then add honey.
Add 1 of eggs, beating in with tablespoon of flour, and then second egg with another tablespoon of flour.
Fold in melted chocolate, and then remaining flour and baking soda.
Add cocoa pushed through tea strainer to ensure no lumps, and last of all, beat in the boiling water.
Mix everything together well to make smooth batter and pour into prepared springform pan.
Bake for up to 1 -1/2 hours, checking cake after 45 minutes. If it's getting too dark, cover top lightly with aluminum foil and keep checking every 15 minutes.
Let cake cool completely in pan on rack.

Glaze: 
To make glaze, bring water and honey to boil in pot, then turn off the heat and add finely chopped chocolate, swirling around to melt in hot liquid.
Leave for few minutes, then whisk together.
Add sugar through sieve and whisk again until smooth.

Putting it together:
Choose plate or stand, and cut 4 strips of parchment paper and form square outline on plate. Reason: So when you put cake on it and ice it, icing won't run all over the plate (you can always cut the excess off later).
Unclip springform pan and set thoroughly cooled cake on prepared plate.

Pour glaze over cold chocolate honey cake. It might dribble a bit down the edges, but don't worry too much about it. Glaze stays tacky for some time (which is what gives it its melting goeyness) so ice in time for glaze to harden a little, at least an hour before you want to serve it.

Nigella Lawson decorates this great cake with marzipan bees. For the recipe for the bees, and for her exact recipe, go HERE.

WHITE CHOCOLATE ANGEL FOOD CAKE: White After Labor Day!

White after Labor Day? Yes, when it's White Chocolate Angel Food Cake. Here's a great recipe from Godiva Chocolate. This is perfect for those warm early Fall days.

White Chocolate Angel Food Cake with Whipped Cream and Fresh Berries

Cake:
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 cup sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups egg whites, at room temperature (about 11 to 12 large eggs)
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 bars (1.5 ounces each) Godiva Ivory Chocolate, grated or finely chopped

Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Berries:
1 cup fresh red raspberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup fresh blackberries
White chocolate curls 

Make The Cake:
Position oven rack in lower third of oven. Heat oven to 350°F.
Sift together confectioners sugar, cake flour, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
Place egg whites in clean, dry bowl of electric mixer. Beat egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar in steady stream, beating just until whites are thick and form slightly stiff peaks. (Do not over-beat)
Gently fold in 1/3 of sifted dry ingredients over whites just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in remaining dry ingredients with vanilla and grated white chocolate in two additional batches.
Gently pour batter into ungreased 10" angel food or tube pan, spreading evenly. Tap gently on counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake 35 minutes or until top is firm and springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan on a large bottle (such as wine bottle or olive oil bottle) and cool completely.
To remove cake from pan, run long knife or thin metal spatula around outside edge of cake and gently remove side portion of pan. Then, run knife around inside of center tube, loosen bottom of cake with long knife or thin metal spatula and remove cake from remaining portion of pan. Place on cake plate; cover with plastic wrap if not serving immediately.

Make Whipped Cream:
Combine heavy cream and granulated sugar in a medium, chilled bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until soft peaks form; whisk in vanilla.
Place sweetened whipping cream in refrigerator until ready to serve cake, up to 2 hours.
Combine berries in a medium bowl and toss lightly.

Assembly:
Cut cake with serrated knife using a sawing motion. Serve with sweetened whipped cream and berry mixture. Garnish with white chocolate curls.