Chocolate Cream Pie

I'm drooling right now just looking back over these pictures.  I made my daddy a chocolate cream pie for Father's Day, and it was declared by him "the best pie he's ever had."  I couldn't believe how perfect it turned out.  It was so, so, so easy to make - yet tasted sinfully rich.  The crust is just a basic, flaky pie crust; I wouldn't use any other crust on this if you mainly want to taste the chocolate layer.  This layer is rich, fudgey, silky, and oh-so chocolatey.  It's also kind of thin, but you definitely won't mind because it's so rich anyways.  And even though it is very rich, it doesn't fill you up like a cheesecake would (since it's a thin layer) - so you will definitely want to go back for seconds(:  This pie was over half way eaten the first night I made it!  And that's just between my mom, dad and I, and it was right after we'd gone out for Father's Day dinner. This is definitely the only chocolate cream pie I will ever use from now on!

Yield: 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Thawed Cool Whip or home made whipped cream

Chocolate shavings, toasted coconut, or chopped candy bar pieces

Directions:

1. In medium saucepan, combine sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. In a medium bowl, beat milk and egg yolks until smooth. Gradually stir into sugar mixture. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil. Boil and stir for one minute.
2. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla. Stir until melted.
3. Pour into pie shell. Place plastic wrap over filling to prevent skin from forming and chill for several hours. Top with Cool Whip or whipped cream and toppings if desired.

White Chocolate Chunk Scones

These are, hands down, the BEST scones I've ever made.  Even [better than Starbucks], and any other bakery.  This recipe is absolutely perfect.  I wouldn't change anything about it.  The scones rise perfectly, and stay super soft and fluffy in the center.  One thing I hate about some scones I get in coffee shops is that they're too dry and crumbly, but this one is perfectly moist all the way through, while still having a consistency suited for dunking.  The white chocolate chunks are a must.  They aren't overpowering, and give the scones a wonderfully rich, sweet flavor.  Do NOT skip allowing the scones to sit...this allows the baking powder more time to work (like the rising part of making a bread loaf) and draws all the flavors together.  The beaten egg yolk gives the outside a shiny, smooth, exterior, and allows it to be very presentable....which only makes you want to eat them more(:  These are delicious even a few days later (2 to 3), and are great re-heated. 

Yield: about 8 scones

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons white sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chopped white chocolate (I used Ghirardelli Vanilla-Bean White Chocolate Bar) 
• 1 egg yolk, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with baking parchment.
2. Sift flour and baking powder into a medium bowl. Rub butter and sugar into flour to form a fine crumble. Make a well in center, and add milk and white chocolate. Knead gently together, being careful not to over mix. Dough will be sticky.
3. On a generously floured surface, roll out dough to 3/4 inch thickness. Stamp out 2 1/2 inch rounds with a plain pastry cutter (or just ball it up with your hands). Transfer to prepared pan, and brush tops with egg yolk. Allow to stand for 15 minutes.
4. Bake in preheated oven until risen and lightly golden on top, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool.

Chocolate Waffles With Caramel Sauce and Ice Cream

Oh yesss...dessert for breakfast. That is my favorite thing in the entire world.  And what could be better than a waffle sundae for breakfast?  I can answer that ----> absolutely nothing! I woke up a few mornings ago craving something sweet, so I browsed through some of my recipes, and when I saw this - I knew it was the one.  Who can resist a chocolate waffle with home made caramel sauce, and ice cream??  Ice cream for breakfast is something I have a little too much(:  I guess you can say my sweet tooth was satisfied after I made these waffles. This recipe was absolutely heavenly.  The caramel sauce especially was the best caramel sauce I've ever had.  I'm gonna keep the recipe handy for future dishes, because it makes an incredible dessert topping and goes perfect with ice cream.  I used Ben and Jerry's American Dream Ice cream because that was what I had on hand (vanilla ice cream with caramel swirl and fudge covered waffle cone pieces...yum!!)  My parents and I gobbled these waffles up.  And my mom declared it the best thing she'd tasted in a long time.  I didn't disagree.

Ingredients:

For the Caramel Sauce:

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the Waffles:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg, separted

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

Vanilla (or your choice of) ice cream, for serving

Chocolate shavings, for decoration Instructions:

FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE:
Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring, for 3 minutes.

FOR THE WAFFLES:
Combine the melted butter and cocoa powder and stir until well combined. Add the sugar and egg yolk and beat well.

Sift together all the dry ingredients and add to the chocolate mixture alternately with the milk. Beat the egg white until stiff. Fold into the chocolate mixture.

Heat a waffle iron and cook the mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately with the Caramel Sauce, ice cream, nuts (optional) and shavings of chocolate.

The Perfect Waffle Recipe

Waffles are a wonderful thing.  And I've been looking for the perfect waffles recipe for a long, long, long time.  Well...as of yesterday morning...I finally found it.  These waffles are absolutely perfect. The difference between this recipe and every other boring, non-crispy waffle recipe is beating the egg whites and adding lemon zest.  The beating of the egg whites makes the waffles wonderfully crispy, and the lemon zest ties all the flavors together and gives the result an amazing taste.  Crispy on the outside, yet soft and fluffy on the inside, with a delicious flavor even plain. But who eats waffles plain?  These taste so amazing any way you dress them up.  I had sections of mine with a little peanut butter and maple syrup, strawberries and whipped cream and maple syrup, and the magnificent maple butter.  If you've never had maple butter, you have to try it!  It's absolutely phenomenal in oatmeal, on pancakes, waffles, or toast, and I also recently tried it in a sweet potato and it was sooo incredible.  My dad and I tasted it at a food festival downtown, and we were totally blown away and bought it instantly.  You can check it out here.  Also, I froze the leftover waffles I had and popped them in the toaster a few days later and they still tasted sooo delicious!  The lemon zest was a little more pronounced, giving them an amazing flavor, and they were perfectly crispy.


Yield: about 5 Belgian waffles.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg whites
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups milk
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat a waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together in a mixing bowl; set aside. Beat egg whites until foamy in a separate large glass or metal mixing bowl (not until stiff peaks form...but right before that). Whisk the egg yolks, lemon zest, and vanilla extract together in a third bowl; whisk in the milk. Stir in the flour mixture until smooth. Fold in the melted butter and then the beaten egg whites until just incorporated.
3. Cook the waffles according to manufacturer's instructions until golden brown.  Top with desired toppings and serve immediately. 

Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes

Have you ever had the legendary molten chocolate cake at Chili's??  Well...this was better.  I made this tonight and it was a chocolate lover's dream. It was on my plate maybe for a mere 45 seconds. My dad and I were practically drooling everywhere.  And it was so easy to make!!  I wanted to create a rich dessert because I was really in the mood for a good chocolate fix (I have a major sweet tooth...if you didn't know)..and this hit the spot - for sure.  It's not sickeningly sweet, like some other molten cakes I've had in the past.  The addition of cocoa powder in this recipe gives it more of a bittersweet taste, and it blends really well with the semi-sweet chocolate chips.  This is an easy, elegant dessert that is sure to impress anyone you cook for.  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1.5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1.5 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• toppings: powdered sugar, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease 4 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups very well.
2. In the top half of a double boiler set over simmering water, heat the butter and the chocolate until chocolate is almost completely melted.  Set aside.  Stir in cocoa powder until just combined.  (You don't want to stir this mixture too much so that it doesn't get too runny)
3. Beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until light colored and thick (about 2 minutes).
4. Beat together the melted chocolate and butter. While beating, slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, then quickly beat in the flour and mix until just combined.
5. Divide the batter between the four molds and bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 7-8 minutes. The centers of the cakes will still be quite soft and won't looked puffed up in the oven. Invert cakes on serving plates and let sit for about 15 seconds, then unmold. Serve immediately.  Dust with powdered sugar and top with fresh whipped cream and vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Rich Chocolate Filled Golden Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

Oh my goodness.  These just made their way to the very top of my list of favorite cupcakes.  I am extremely proud to say that I created the recipe...but I came up with the filling by mistake.  Did you know that popsicles, potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, coffee, sourdough bread, cheese, chocolate, ice cream cones, and even sandwiches were all created by mistake??  That's crazy.  But it proves that the absolute best foods were created by mistake...like these cupcakes.  The reason I started baking these cupcakes is because it was International World Nutella Day, and - of course - I just had to celebrate by eating (what else?) NUTELLA.  I started with a classic, yellow cake for the cupcake base flavor.  Then I searched my Crazy About Cupcakes cook-book for a cream filling, and as I started preparing it, I realized way too late that I had been doing the wrong recipe.  At this point I had done the first step of the chocolate filling, soooo I decided to just continue what I had started and attempted to finish my filling by tasting and altering...and tasting and altering...and tasting and altering some more...until it was just perfect.  I brought these to my friends at school to celebrate International World Nutella Day, and they couldn't stop telling me how amazing they were.  They all begged me for the recipe...so they'll probably be super duper excited that I'm finally posting it.  First, you lick off the fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth, Nutella flavored frosting.  Then you bite into that buttery, golden, soft cupcake, and lastly - your taste buds hit the extremely rich, fudgey, smooth, chocolate filling.  And you just can't help but to drool....and then grab another one.


Yield: About 12 medium-sized cupcakes


Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk


Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.  
2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the egg yolks. Beat well. Add the vanilla. Mix.
3.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
4.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk.  Mix well.
5.  With clean beaters, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
6. Fill the cupcake liners one-half to three quarters full.  Bake for 18-22  minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean.  Cool cupcake in the pan.


For the Chocolate Filling:
Ingredients:
1 cup dark brown sugar 
1/2 cup milk
3 egg yolks, at room temperature
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder


Instructions
1.   Combine the brown sugar, milk, and egg yolks in a large saucepan. Heat the pan to medium heat. 
2.  Gradually add the chocolate to the pan, stirring constantly.  When the mixture is shiny and thick, after about 3 minutes, set aside to cool. When completely cool, cut a two-inch cake cone from the center of each cooled cupcake.  Spoon in chocolate filling and replace cake cone.  Frost with recipe below.


For the Nutella Frosting:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup Nutella
3 cups of sifted confectioner's sugar
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
Little sprinkling of salt
3 tablespoons milk

Instructions:
In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat softened butter, nutella and vanilla until well mixed. In a small bowl, mix sugar, salt and cocoa powder until its thoroughly mixed. Gradually, add this dry mixture to the butter mixture, adding milk as needed to get a creamy frosting-like consistency. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Vanilla Coffee Cupcakes w/Tiramisu Filling & Coffee Buttercream Frosting

   

I recently took a cooking class called "The Art of Cupcakes," by Chef Wynton Mann (you can check out his site at www.wyntonsworld.com), and it was so much fun!  We made five different types of incredibly delicious cupcakes: these, pumpkin cupcakes with maple and ginger buttercream frosting, banana nut cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream frosting, chocolate cupcakes with strawberry mascarpone cream cheese-filling and chocolate cream cheese frosting, honey pear cupcakes with white chocolate and pistachio buttercream frosting.  I know you're probably drooling right now just reading over that. Imagine actually biting into them.  They were all sooo good...not one of them was even close to forgettable.  And none of the recipes are available online, so I guess you'll just have to make them all from my blog(:

Of all the cupcakes we made in the class, these are tied for my favorite with the honey pear cupcakes.  If you like coffee, then you will LOVE these cupcakes...especially the frosting.  Oh my goodness, the frosting is so rich and the best coffee-flavored thing I've ever tasted ---> I would totally eat it straight with a spoon.

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Cupcake:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 oz. butter, at room temperature.

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon zest

For the chocolate covered espresso beans:

1/3 cup roasted coffee beans

1/2 cup chocolate chips (good quality...like Ghiradelli)

For the Tiramisu Filling:

3 large egg yolks

1/8 cup sugar

1/8 cup dark rum

1/8 cups espresso coffee

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

For the Frosting:

1/4 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons instant coffee granules

4 oz. butter, at room temperature

4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.  In another bowl cream butter until smooth and creamy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla, and scraping down sides of bowl in between each addition; add in lemon zest; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.  Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full.  Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

For the Filling:

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until very thick and light yellow.  Lower the speed to medium and add 1/8 cup rum, 1/8 cup espresso, and the mascarpone.  Whisk until smooth.

For the Frosting:

Pour the milk into a small glass bowl and heat in the microwave oven on high power for 30 seconds, or until very hot.  Stir in the coffee granules until they dissolve.  Set the mixture aside.  Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.  Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds.  Stop the machine and add 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 30 seconds.  Alternating, add the coffee mixture and the rest of the sugar, beating on low speed until smooth.  Add more sugar if the frosting seems thin.  Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until lightened, 1 to 2 minutes more.

For the beans:

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler until liquid and smooth.  Drop in a handful of beans, and stir them around.  Scoop them out with a spoon, and set them out on waxed paper.  Keep them separate.  Continue until all the beans are covered.  They will harden overnight, or if you are in a hurry, you can freeze them for about half an hour.  Once hard, they won't stick together and can be stored in any air-tight container.

Banana Cream Pie

I made this for a sleepover with my friend, and we at over half the pie in one sitting - just the 2 of us.  She was so surprised at how good it was and made me give her the recipe.  Before she tasted it, she really, really wanted to go to a local ice cream shop for dessert.  But I told her I made a pie, and she was like: "okay...well...I guess I'll try it."  And when she tasted it - well, lets just say she really did not want to go to get ice cream anymore.  This is by far the best banana cream pie I've ever had.  The sugar cookie crust makes it extra special, as opposed to a normal, flaky pie crust.  The crust makes it very sweet, but it's just so delicious and pairs perfectly with the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, banana filling.  Without the crust, the filling is also the best tasting pudding I've ever had!  The filling has a wonderful banana flavor that I'm sure you will love.  This pie is the ultimate comfort food...especially for those warm summer nights.


For the Crust:
Ingredients:
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 egg, slightly beaten


Instructions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of a 9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie base ingredients until soft dough forms. Press evenly in bottom of pan. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely before filling.


For the banana cream filling:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 bananas, sliced

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Add milk in gradually while stirring gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is bubbly. Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from the burner.
2. Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes; remember to keep stirring. Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency.
3. Slice bananas into the cooled baked pastry shell. Top with pudding mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes. Chill for at least one hour.
5. Garnish with whipped cream and/or extra sliced bananas, if desired.