Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches: Ice Cream Sandwich Day

I've subscribed to Sunset Magazine forever. I love this 'Western' magazine for its home and travel tips and, of course, for the recipes! Over the years the recipes have changed from using heavy ingredients to producing lighter, healthier fare. Chocolate has been a constant, and the writers and editors at Sunset are always discovering new and delicious combinations.

So, since today is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, I thought I'd post this fabulous twist on the ice cream sandwich from Sunset -- Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches. You can even freeze these for up to a week. If you plan to make brownies anyway, this is a great way to elevate them!

Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Brownies

Ingredients
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt

1 pint ice cream, softened (any flavor you like--I love Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, but vanilla is great, too)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
In medium pot, bring 1 inch water to simmer. Put chocolate and butter in medium metal bowl and set bowl over pot, being careful not to let bottom of bowl touch water. Heat until chocolate is almost completely melted, then add sugar and eggs and mix thoroughly. Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt, then add to chocolate mixture, stirring well. Pour batter into a greased 10 x 15 inch baking pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely.
Invert brownie sheet onto work surface and cut into 1 1/2 inch squares; arrange on pan.
Freeze brownies 30 minutes.
During last 10 minutes, remove ice cream from freezer to soften.
Working in batches, scoop 1 heaping Tbsp ice cream onto half of brownie squares. Set remaining squares, shiny side up, on top of ice cream and press gently.
Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
Straighten tops of brownies and trim oozing ice cream with paring knife if you like.
Freeze, covered, up to 1 week.

Photo: Sunset Magazine, Annabelle Breakey; Styling: Karen Shinto

How to Store Chocolate: Tuesday Tips

Welcome to Tuesday Tips. Today's Tip is on How to Store Chocolate. First off, why are you storing chocolate? If you have truffles or bonbons, eat them as soon as possible. They have a shelf life.

Let's start off with one of the most important concepts. The fresher the chocolate is, the better it will taste. Buy chocolate in amounts you will consume. That being said, sometimes you're given chocolate, or you buy in bulk for baking or candy projects. You might have some left over. So what to do?

The most important thing about storing chocolate is to keep it in a cool, dry place. If you have chocolate bars or chocolate for baking, wrap the chocolate in plastic wrap, ziploc bag, or plastic storage containers and put it in a dark cupboard or pantry. The ideal temperature is between 60-75 degrees. I usually just stack the bars in the pantry, but my pantry stays cool.

Stored improperly, chocolate can develop bloom (a whitish tint on the chocolate). Bloom appears when chocolate becomes too warm, causing the cocoa butter to separate out, or because condensation has taken place, melting sugar in the chocolate's surface. Don't fear, though. If bloom appears, the chocolate will be o.k. for baking, but for eating, it might not have the same mouth-feel.

How to Store different types of chocolate. First off, I have to say that high end artisan chocolate is different from baking chocolate or commercial chocolate. I personally NEVER store any chocolate in the refrigerator or freezer. I remember giving a good friend 10 fabulous artisan chocolate bars as a gift, only to see her toss them in the freezer for later consumption. No bag, no plastic wrap. I fear that by the time she got to them, they weren't very tasty at all. But a gift is a gift, and I knew the recipient would not take my advice on how to store. I had to let it go.

So if you intend to store chocolate, here are more tips and info:

Since Chocolate keeps best between 65 and 75°F, away from direct sunlight, and protected from moisture, storing in a dark pantry or shelves is best. Then consume the chocolate as quickly as possible.

If you do decide to refrigerate or freeze chocolate, make sure to seal the chocolate in an airtight container (Ziploc baggies are great). Start by storing in refrigerator and then move to freezer. Make sure to take out as much air as possible to avoid freezer burn -- and don't leave the chocolate in the fridge/freezer too long. Tip: Always thaw frozen chocolate in the refrigerator. If it goes straight from the freezer to room temperature, condensation will form and alter the appearance and texture.

A wine refrigerator is perfect. You can reset the temperature and keep bloom off the chocolate. Still, keep your chocolate wrapped up.

Going to use it from the regular refrigerator? Allow chilled chocolate to come to room temperature before eating or baking with it. Tip: You might want to wrap it in a dishcloth after taking it from the fridge .. in order to let it reach room temperature a bit slower.

Truffles (or bonbons): OK, I NEVER store truffles in the refrigerator or freezer. I suggest you consume them as quickly as possible. Lots of artisan truffles and bonbons will have a use-by-date. There's a reason for this. Although, some ganache centers are o.k. if frozen; most cream and caramel centers will become grainy when stored in the refrigerator or freezer. If you must put them there, make sure they're wrapped up tightly, and defrost slowly (in refrigerator as above) before eating. 

If you have a lot of chocolate, here are some Ultra-Cool (and efficient) Ways to Store Chocolate from  the Candy Blog. I think you'll love the ideas here. Ice packs and thermoses and more!

What questions or tips do you have about chocolate storage?

Chocolate Raspberry Cake: National Raspberry Cake Day

I love chocolate and raspberries, especially when they're together in a cake. So here's another great recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Cake for National Raspberry Cake Day! It's so easy. Recipe below from BUTTER with a side of BREAD. Main ingredients you need - a chocolate cake mix (I like Duncan Hines) and a bag of frozen raspberries. And, you can make this in a bundt pan, so it's also pretty. You can frost or not. Of course, if you're a purist, here's a link to my all time favorite 'from scratch' Chocolate Raspberry Cake from Martha Stewart. Not only does it use fresh raspberries, but there's a splash of of raspberry liqueur in the recipe! Two choices to celebrate the day!

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CAKE 

Ingredients
1 chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
1 (12 oz) bag frozen raspberries

Directions
Partially thaw raspberries  (set out for 20-30 minutes before making cake).
Mix cake mix, eggs, sour cream, and oil together with electric mixer.
Fold in frozen raspberries (Tip: Use electric mixer for about 5-10 seconds to chop up raspberries a bit but still have some larger pieces of raspberry in cake).
Pour into well-greased Bundt pan and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool 10-15 minutes before inverting pan and placing the cake on plate.

(optional)
CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Ingredients
5 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup milk
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
Add milk and sugar and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute and then remove from heat.
Stir in chocolate chips until completely melted and smooth.
Let set for minute or two to set up a little bit, making it the best consistency to pour/spread on cake.

And, as I mentioned above, you can always make a Chocolate Raspberry Cake from Scratch using fresh raspberries.

Goat Cheese Chocolate Chip Cheesecake: National Cheesecake Day

Today is National Cheesecake Day. I've posted so many Chocolate Cheesecake Recipes over the years, but here's one of my favorites: Goat Cheese Chocolate Chip Cheese Cake. In my area, there are so many wonderful goat cheeses available. As always in any recipe, the quality and taste of your Goat Cheese Chocolate Chip Cheese Cake will vary with the cheese and chocolate you choose, so choose wisely--and experiment. If you're new to goat cheese, start with a mild one. Ask your local cheese purveyor.

Here's the recipe I use for Goat Cheese Chocolate Chip Cheese Cake. I think the recipe was originally from Whole Foods. I'm sure the original recipe didn't use a Chocolate Crust, but I'm all about Chocolate, and this recipe works well with it. I also added Chocolate Chips, because once again, you can never have enough chocolate. I use mini-chocolate chips in cheesecake rather than regular because the bigger chips sometimes sink to the bottom. That's not really a bad thing because it just means your crust will be that much more chocolatey! So you can decide. When you use the mini-chocolate chips, you also see the chips in the cheesecake.

Goat Cheese Chocolate Chip Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust

Crust
1 cup chocolate wafer crumbs (whirl in blender or just crush with rolling pin between two sheets of waxed paper)
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter

Combine crumbs and butter and press into the bottom of a 9” springform pan.

Cheesecake

Ingredients
16 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces (softened)
12 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled (leave out to soften, and it will be more crumbly)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
about 8 ounces dark mini-chocolate chips (must be mini or they'll sink to the bottom)*

Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Place cream cheese, goat cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla in large mixing bowl.
Using mixer, beat until just smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl as you go.
In two or three additions, beat in sugar until mixture is creamy.
Add eggs, one at time, beating and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Continue to beat until mixture is very smooth.
Fold in mini-chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared crust.
Bake about 50-60 minutes.
Place pan on a rack to cool completely in the pan.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Run spatula along side to loosen; remove sides of pan.