FUDGY-NUT BUNDT CAKE: Retro Ad with Recipe - National Nut Day!

Today is National Nut Day and what could be better than this delicious Fudgy-Nut Bundt Cake: A Retro Ad & Recipe from Betty Crocker c. 1974.  

"Very clever, this new Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Supreme Cake Mix. You can make it in layers, or bake it up in the round as our new Fudgy-Nut Bundt cake. Dedicated to you who like any cake, as long as it’s chocolate, this is deep, dark, fudgy heaven. Pass it around."

CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE: National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day!

Today is National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day: Add Chocolate...I love pumpkin and chocolate... and cheesecake is my thing, so here's a repost of an easy recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake! Celebrate.  

Great for Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving!

The filling for this pumpkin cheesecake is adapted from a recipe from Hershey's Kitchens. I like this recipe because it has a Chocolate Cookie Crust and Mini-Chocolate Chips in the filling! I've posted the Hershey's chocolate crust recipe, but I also posted another simple Chocolate Cookie Crust using Chocolate Wafers. The second is my favorite.

CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE BAKED IN A CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST

Ingredients

1 Chocolate Cookie Crust (see two possible recipes below)
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup canned pumpkin (without spice)
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions

Prepare Chocolate Cookie Crust. Bake at 400°F. Cool.
Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl until well blended. Add pumpkin and eggs; beat until well blended. Stir in mini-chocolate chips; pour batter into prepared crust. Bake 10 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 250°F; continue baking 60 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven to wire rack. With knife, loosen cake from side of pan.
Cool completely; remove side of pan. Refrigerate about 5 hours before serving.

I. CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST

Stir together 1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs (about 30 wafers)
1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup melted butter.

Press mixture firmly onto bottom and 1/2-inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.
Bake  at 350 F for 8 minutes; cool slightly.

II. CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST

30 chocolate wafers (Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers makes about 1 1/2 cups crumbs)
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Put cookies in container of food processor; process until finely ground.
Transfer crumbs to mixing bowl; combine crumbs, butter, salt, and vanilla; stir until crumbs are moistened.
Press mixture evenly across the bottom of 9-inch springform pan and all the way up sides of pan; pack tightly so crust is even and compacted.
Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until crisp.
Let cool completely before filling.

BRANDIED CHERRIES CHOCOLATE CAKE: National Brandied Fruit Day!

Today is Brandied Fruit Day. To celebrate, I'm posting my favorite recipe for Brandied Cherries Chocolate Cake. This recipe appeared in the Washington Post several years ago. You can buy brandied cherries -- or you can make your own. It's so easy and so good!

Brandied Cherries

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds dark, sweet cherries, pitted
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 small cinnamon stick
1/4 cup good brandy

Directions
Combine sugar, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick in medium saucepan. Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium. Add cherries and simmer for five minutes.
Remove from heat, remove cinnamon stick. Stir in brandy.
Cool completely before placing in jar.

BRANDIED CHERRIES CHOCOLATE CAKE

Tip: When processing nuts and chocolate, be careful not to make chocolate almond butter. Chill both ingredients -- and even the flour, if you want to be careful.

Ingredients
6 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate, chilled (about 1-1/3 cups)
6 ounces (1-1/2 cups) chopped almonds, chilled
6 1/2 Tbsp flour
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
16 ounces drained brandied cherries
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9-inch cake pan with nonstick oil-and-flour spray and line bottom with circle of parchment paper.
Pulse chocolate, almonds, and flour in a food processor to grind them into fine meal, being careful not to turn into paste.
Beat butter and sugar together at high speed in bowl of stand mixer or held-held electric mixer until mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolks, then vanilla and almond extracts, and beat well to combine. Add chocolate-nut mixture and beat until incorporated.
Beat egg whites in separate, clean bowl of stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer until they form soft peaks. Use flexible spatula to fold them into chocolate-sugar mixture.
Spread half of batter in bottom of prepared pan. Top with brandied cherries, which should fit evenly in 1 layer. Spread remaining batter over cherries, using flexible spatula to lightly level top.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until cake is puffed and set.
Cool on rack and turn out of pan.
Dust top generously with confectioners' sugar.
Serve warm or cool.

Original recipe adapted from Peter Brett, pastry chef at Blue Duck Tavern, Washington, D.C.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP SCONES

I love scones, and they're so easy to make, and these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones are perfect for this Fall Weekend. Mix up a batch today! 

Tip: Do not overwork the dough! Use frozen butter!

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP SCONES

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup salted butter frozen (frozen butter is key to a good scone!)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Coarse sugar

Directions
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in bowl.
Add cold butter to flour mixture and combine with pastry cutter, two knives, or stand mixer with paddle attachment on low speed until mixture resembles coarse meal.
In bowl whisk together egg and pumpkin puree.
Add wet ingredients to flour and butter mixture and stir with rubber spatula until just combined. Be careful to not over mix!
Carefully fold in mini chocolate chips.
On floured surface, shape dough into disk about 3/4 inch thick.
Place dough on prepared pan and slice dough (like a pizza to create 8 scones)
Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Put baking sheet in freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
When scones are chilled, bake for 14-16 minutes until very light golden brown.
Serve warm with clotted cream!