Strawberry Cream Crepes with Chocolate Drizzle

These are absolutely delectable and make a gorgeous presentation! The best part? They're easier to make than pancakes. No, really! These would make a perfect Valentine's night dessert for your little ones or your significant other... or for girls night! Because really, what's better than chocolate and strawberries with a light-as-the-clouds cream cheese filling? That's what I thought. 

What You'll Need:
serves 2-3
for the crepes:
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup whole milk 
1 tbsp sugar 
1/4 tsp salt 
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
for the filling:
1/2 lb strawberries
1 tbsp sugar
4 oz cream cheese
4 oz mascarpone cheese 
1 cup powdered sugar 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream 
for the drizzle:
1/2 cup chocolate chips 
4 tbsp heavy whipping cream 

What To Do:
To prepare the crepe batter, combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth, about thirty seconds. Cover and refrigerate the batter for an hour. 

Meanwhile, Rinse and chop the strawberries, storing in a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and stir to fully incorporate. Cover the strawberries with a paper towel and allow to sit at room temperature until ready to use. 

Heat a nonstick skillet to medium  heat and spray with cooking spray. Pour batter into the skillet (will be runny) and swirl to ensure it's evenly distributed. Allow to cook through and then flip it over with a spatula. Remove and all to cool on a plate. 

To prepare the cream filling, beat together cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla on medium speed until fully combined and fluffy. While mixing, slowly add the heavy whipping cream. Continue to beat until you reach the desired fluffiness. 

To prepare the chocolate drizzle, place chocolate chips and heavy cream together in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds and then in 10 second intervals until fully melted, stirring each time. Add more cream for a thinner consistency if desired and stir well. 

In the middle of each crepe, spread a generous amount of cream filling. Layer strawberries on top of that, and roll together carefully with the seams down. Drizzle chocolate over each crepe and garnish with extra strawberries. 

crepe recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Chocolate Bowls

Did I mention that I only took pictures with my phone over the holidays? Well, anyway, these chocolate bowls were a huge hit with family and made for a stunning presentation. Plus they were super fun to make (or for me to watch my sister make tee hee) and would be perfect for a sleepover! 

I am not totally sure where specifically Lindsey found her inspiration. She didn't follow any directions- she just kinda went with it!

What You'll Need:

ballons

baker's chocolate 

a steady cup 

scotch tape

a pin

kitchen lighter

What To Do:

1. Determine what size you want your bowls to be and inflate the balloon to that size. Lindsey made giant bowls which held two dozen cookies, but water balloons would be appropriate for smaller sizes.
2. Place the balloon(s) into the cup(s), tail down. 
3. Melt baker's chocolate according to the instructions. (I think it would be really cool to use all white chocolate and swirl in a couple of drops of food coloring.) Allow chocolate to cool but not harden.
4. Slowly drizzle chocolate over your balloon. Be sure to cover any gaps and create aesthetically pleasing designs. Lindsey created a base of milk chocolate and then added white chocolate embellishments. She also created a claw-like design. Be creative and design something you like!
5. Allow chocolate to completely dry (at least one hour).
6. Once chocolate is hardened, carefully remove balloon from cup. Place a small piece of scotch tape near the tail. Poke the pin through the tape to keep the balloon from popping suddenly. 
7. When balloon is deflated, remove it from the bowl. Repair any cracks or broken pieces by carefully melting it back together with a kitchen lighter. 
8. Keep bowls at room temperature and store airtight. 

I would love to use these for ice cream or fruit! And then you could eat the bowl- win win!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

We've had lots of birthdays in our youth group this month.

And not everyone likes cake.

Jon requested a cookie cake

so I decided to take on the challenge and see if I could measure up to 

the Great American Cookie legacy

The recipe is super simple

and it turned out so tasty!

We didn't have any leftovers!

What You'll Need:

• 1 Stick Butter (Softened)
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar (Packed)
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Cup Chocolate Chips (Semi-sweet)

What To Do:

Cream Butter and Brown Sugar.  Add Egg and Vanilla and Mix.  Add Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt and stir together.  Add Chocolate Chips and stir.  Pour into greased and floured (or greased and sugared) 9-inch round pan.  Bake at 350° for 20-23 minutes.

Pipe messages over the top in decadent chocolate frosting!

Recipe from The Real Housewife

What's your favorite alternative to cake?

Decadent Chocolate Frosting

You may have noticed from other cupcake posts,

but I really love cream cheese frosting

So sometimes it's hard for me to understand why 

I would ever need to make any other kind

especially after this swiss meringue buttercream fail

But when I had two girls with birthdays in the same week

who both wanted some chocolately chocolate

I decided to try something new!

You see, buttercream frosting

even homemade

can be too thick or sweet or chalky

whatever

But this stuff. Oh.

This frosting is decadent and rich and bursting with flavor!

I definitely recommend you try it out.

And if you're not a double trouble chocolate fan

spread it on some yellow cake

You'll thank me later.

What You'll Need:

1 lb. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

6 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa powder

6 tbsp. boiling water

3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Pinch of salt

What To Do:

To make the frosting, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted.  Or be like me and microwave it in 30 second intervals, stirring between until all of the chocolate is melted. Let cool to room temperature, about 25-30 minutes.  

Meanwhile, combine the cocoa powder and boiling water in a small bowl; stir until the cocoa is dissolved.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.  Add the melted chocolate; beat on low speed until combined, 1-2 minutes.  Beat in the cocoa mixture until well blended.  

I spread this over my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe

(with a cup of chocolate chips mixed in)

although it'd be fantastic on yellow cake, or strawberry! 

I normally pipe frosting on in pretty designs, but this is so rich 

that I didn't want to overload the cupcakes so I just spread it with a spoon.

Frosting recipe adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I christened my new stand mixer 

by making these beauties

The great part was that I had all the ingredients already 

and didn't have to go buy anything

the other great part was that they came out moist and fluffy, 

but still firm enough to hold a pretty shape and some yummy frosting

And since one roommate doesn't eat gluten and one doesn't eat refined sugar,

I'm enjoying these a LOT more than I should :)

What You'll Need:
for cakes:3/4 c. cocoa powder
1 & 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 c. sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. coarse salt
2 eggs
3/4 c. warm water
3/4 c. buttermilk
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
for frosting:
2 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract 


What To Do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.

With the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix on low speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.


The batter is very wet. Pour into a large glass measuring cup to easily pour into muffin cups.

Fill baking cups 2/3rd full of batter. Bake about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the tops bounce back when lightly pressed. Cool on wire racks 10 minutes, then invert and remove from pans.  Cool completely on the wire racks.


Meanwhile, on medium speed beat together cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar until fluffy and well blended. Check frosting for sweetness. If you like it sweeter, add another 1/2 cup powdered sugar, blend well and taste. (I don't normally measure out sugar for this part because I don't use a whole lot.)


Once cupcakes are completely cooled, fill a piping bag or Ziploc bag with frosting and pipe a generous amount of frosting in a swirl on each cake.

Cupcake recipe from Bake at 350, originally from Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Caramel Brownies

Forget healthy New Years' resolutions.

Y'all these brownies were so good. 

Gooey, rich and a deeply genuinely chocolatey. 

At first I wasn't totally sure about the caramel layer

 but, trust me, it blends so well with the chocolate.

I made these for a student's birthday so I only got to eat one 

(well, half of one since I shared it with my roomie), 

but after I had delivered the remaining brownies

 I really wished I had made more. So I might just do that.

They were that good.

And they smelled so good that I couldn't wait for them to cool completely

I cut one out while it was still warm and had oozing caramel and chocolate chips.

Yum!

I didn't add pecans to this batch because honestly it didn't need them.

I might try it next time though and call them turtle brownies!

And, you can always do like 500 sit ups and work these off ;)

What You Need:

For the brownies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1½ cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1½ cups pecan, coarsely chopped (optional)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the caramel filling:
14 oz. caramel candies, unwrapped
1/3 cup heavy cream

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.  Combine the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth.  (Or,do what I did and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.) 

Whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla until incorporated.  Stir in the flour and salt just until combined.  Spread about half of the brownie batter in the bottom of the prepared pan in an even layer.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, maintaining the oven temperature, and let cool for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the chopped pecans (if using) to a medium skillet over medium heat.  Toast, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and light golden brown.  Remove from the heat and set aside.  To make the caramel filling, combine the caramel candies and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth.  Stir in half of the pecans.  Immediately spread the caramel mixture over the bottom brownie layer.  

Pour the remaining brownie batter over the caramel layer, taking care to pour and spread it evenly otherwise it will be difficult to spread evenly over the caramel layer.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips and the remaining pecans on top of the final brownie layer.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving.  (To speed cooling, chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.)

Cut into individual squares and store in an airtight container. If you don't eat them all out of the pan right there. 

Source: From Annie's Eats, slightly adapted from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

Tuxedo Cake

This was the finale to our Christmas dinner.

Isn't it pretty?

The best part about this cake it that the components are simple

I put this together over two days 

(which further simplified the process)

It's a basic, but very moist, chocolate cake 

whipped cream filling and frosting

and a chocolate ganache

I garnished with chocolate covered strawberries

but I've seen all kinds of cool things you can do on Pinterest! 

I also cut the recipe to 2/3 its original proportions

and made it a two layer cake. 

It was still HUGE. 

What You'll Need: 

For the cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups water
1 cup canola oil
4 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

For the frosting:
4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

For the chocolate topping:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 tsp. vanilla extract

What To Do:

To make the cake layers, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line three 9-inch round cake pans (or two 10-inch round cake pans) with parchment paper.  Butter and flour the inside edges of the pan, shaking out the excess flour.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, water and canola oil; heat until the butter is melted.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and flour; whisk to blend.  Pour the melted butter mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then whisk in the buttermilk.  Add the baking soda, salt and vanilla to the bowl and whisk just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of each cake layer and invert onto a wire cooling rack.  Allow the cake layers to cool completely before frosting, at least 2 hours.

To make the frosting, add the heavy cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until thoroughly combined and stiff peaks form.  Be careful not to over-beat!

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cake platter and spread a layer of the whipped cream frosting over the top.  Top with a second cake layer, more frosting (and the third cake layer, if using).  Frost the top and sides of the assembled cake.  Refrigerate until the frosting has stabilized, at least 1 hour.

To make the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate in a medium bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit 1-2 minutes.  Whisk until the mixture is smooth and homogenous.  Blend in the corn syrup and vanilla.  Pour the glaze into a pitcher or measuring cup and let cool for 10 minutes.  (Do not let the glaze cool longer or it may become difficult to pour over the cake.)  Slowly pour the glaze over the cake, ensuring that the top is covered and the glaze drips over the sides.

Refrigerate the cake until the glaze is set and the whipped cream frosting is firm, at least 1 hour.  Slice with a long, sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between slices.

adapted from Annie's Eats 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I made these guys for our Thanksgiving luncheon at church.

I had to grab two to take a picture of before they were all gone... 

because they went fast! 

They include my absolute favorite dessert flavor combo-

 Chocolate + Peanut Butter!

And besides the actual peanut butter cups, 

I had all of the ingredients on hand- 

basic ingredients but fantastic outcome. 

Oh and the dough was awesome. 

I probably could have just eaten that.

These would make a great Thanksgiving Day treat,

a definite crowd pleaser! 

What you need:

1½ cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

6 tbsp. cocoa

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. coarse salt

¾ stick (6 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. milk

2 cups coarsely chopped peanut butter cups

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, peanut butter, and sugars.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.  Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and milk.  Blend until smooth.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Add in 1½ cups of the chopped peanut butter cups and fold in gently with a spatula.

Use a large dough scoop (about 3 tablespoons) to drop rounds of dough onto the baking sheets, spacing 2-3 inches apart.  Gently press a few pieces of the reserved peanut butter cups into the top of each of the dough balls.  Bake 12-14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  (The cookies may seem too soft immediately after coming out of the oven but they will set as they cool.  You don’t want to overbake them.)  Let cool on the baking sheets about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

Recipe from Annie's Eats, originally from King Arthur Flour.