Chocolate Blackout Cake

Is there anything better than chocolate topped with chocolate? Only if it's topped with even more chocolate! And that's exactly what the Chocolate Blackout cake is.

"The Blackout Cake was the creation of Ebinger's, a famous New York-based neighborhood bakery chain. An indecently rich, dark tower of chocolate, this cake has become something of a Holy Grail for many bakers. Cult-like fans went through Blackout withdrawal when the bakeries closed down and The Cake disappeared. Many have tried to re-create this cake; I feel this version comes close. It is a multi-stepped process (remember, this was a bakery specialty) but it can easily be broken down into components." -Food Network show "Sara's Secrets" 


I assume my mom followed the recipe on the food network site. All I know is I got this picture the other night on my phone: 

So much chocolate! Maybe it's just me, but I think it's kind of cruel to send someone pictures like that and not bring me a piece of cake.

So I figured the only logical thing I can do with these pictures is to share them! I hope you all are craving chocolate cake like I did after seeing these!!

Make sure to visit the fantastic blog parties on my sidebar, and of course, link up all your made from scratch recipes on my Tuesday linky-Made From Scratch Tuesday!

Mini Angel Food Cakes

 I did something I swore I would never do. I used a Martha Stewart recipe. I don't know why, but that woman truly irritates me. But, when I googled "mini angel food cake recipe" that was the first thing that came up.

It all started because I was shopping with my mom and found mini angel food cake pans. Now really, how can you resist these? Especially when I'm making something for just me and the husband. If I make a full cake, we end up throwing half of it away. I used the Martha Stewart recipe and scaled it down to make 2 instead of 12.



 Here's the recipe from Martha Stewart's website:

 

 

 

Old-Time Favorites: Mini Angel Food Cakes

Though it's not often served at weddings, angel food cake never disappoints. Guests will be delighted by these individual versions of the heavenly confection; each one is glazed and then topped with a single sugared flower (an edible rose, viola, or primrose), making them elegant enough to present either in lieu of a classic wedding cake or as part of a dessert buffet. Cake stands dusted with pale pink sanding sugar give them the stature they deserve.

Ingredients

Makes 1 dozen

• 1 1/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 12 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Poured Fondant Glaze

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lower third. Sift flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Beat egg whites on medium-low speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk until foamy, about 2 minutes. Mix in cream of tartar and vanilla. Raise speed to medium-high; beat until medium- stiff peaks form. Reduce speed to medium-low; add remaining 1 cup sugar in a steady stream. Beat until stiff (but not dry) peaks form; transfer to a large bowl.
3. Sift one-third flour mixture over egg-white mixture; gently fold in with a rubber spatula. Repeat to incorporate remaining flour mixture. Gently spoon batter into a large pastry bag without a tip. Pipe batter into 1-cup angel food cake molds so each is 2/3 full.
4. Bake, rotating molds halfway through, until cakes are pale golden and tops spring back when lightly pressed, 15 minutes. Let cool in molds on wire racks 30 minutes.
5. Invert molds, and sharply rap them on a towel-covered work surface; gently release cakes from molds. Spoon poured fondant glaze over top of each cake, letting it drip down sides.

 I didn't do the fondant glaze. Instead, I made a berry syrup.

To make the syrup, put 2 cups of mixed berries (mine were frozen) into a small sauce pan and simmer until the berries cook down. How simple is that? No sugar added to this; just the sweetness of the berries. So maybe Martha isn't so bad, well except for that whole insider trading bit.


Make sure to visit the fantastic blog parties on my sidebar, and of course, link up all your made from scratch recipes on my Tuesday linky-Made From Scratch Tuesday!

The Cutest Baby Shower Cupcakes

So this week, I made cupcakes for a co-worker's baby shower. Well, I love baking so I was ready to go! I'll warn you now, I'm going to get off track a few times with this story.

I started out making white cupcakes and white frosting. My stand mixer broke during Christmas cookie season, so I made the cake using my hand mixer. I've become super dependent on my stand mixer, so this was like going back to the dark ages for me. But, I survived. Now onto the frosting. I love homemade buttercream frosting. There really is no substitute, well except for "better"cream. That's a story for another day. Anyway, time to make the frosting. I heard a tip a while back that frosting should be made in a food processor. I hadn't tried it out yet, so I figured this would be the perfect time. I tossed the butter in the food processor and let it do its thing while I pulled out the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. While there should be pictures here, I decided to let you guys use your imagination. (translation: my camera was missing for a day) So the butter is now smooth and creamy. I added in the other ingredients and processed away! OMG! I am never mixing frosting again! It's going in the food processor every time now! Then I get ready to add the coloring. Uh-oh. I'm completely out of the good coloring. All I have is the squeeze bottle junk. Erg. But wait! What's that in the cabinet? My food coloring spray! I heart this stuff. I haven't quite justified buying an airbrush doohicky yet, so this is the next best thing. So I go to town piping the frosting on the cupcakes and spraying them blue. Wanna hear something crazy? Ott,A and I were making cupcakes for the same baby shower. Without talking to each other, WE BOTH SPRAYED THE CUPCAKES BLUE! Crazy, right?

Cupcakes-baked and cooled
Frosting-fully processed and piped onto cupcakes
Decorations....ah, the best part. I made these the night before, so they were all dry and set up.

But what are these awesome little things? I found the recipe at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom. Her post is about making your own conversation hearts. I used the same recipe and directions, but instead of cutting out small hearts, I cut out letters spelling "It's a Boy", hearts, stars, circles, and other geometric designs. I stuck toothpicks in some of them so I could stand them in the cupcakes rather than laying them all on top of the frosting.

Here's how they turned out:

And I can vouch for Suzy's recipe. They taste just like conversation hearts! Next time I make these, I'm going to try adding different extracts like orange, cherry and maybe even root beer!

Are you ready for the most exciting news ever?? After using the archaic hand mixer, I had enough. I convinced the husband to let me go ahead and get the mixer I've been drooling over for the last couple of years. I went to the website and ordered my KitchenAid Pro 600 Series Stand Mixer. It arrived Wednesday! As he opened the box and pulled it out, I swear the skies opened up and a choir of angels burst out in heavenly song. I'm pretty sure there was an aura around the mixer too :)
Yes, my friends, I finally got my mixer. I'm sure you'll all be seeing shots of it in posts to come. 

Guest Blog: Cakes

Ever wonder where all of my creative ideas started? You may remember my mom from one of the first posts on Messhall to Bistro. She taught me all the basics in the kitchen, and is the reason I can keep all the bellies full and happy in my house now. I can also blame her for my lack of measuring skills. She taught me how to get the feel for recipes, and use my senses rather than mathematics to cook. So without further ado, meet the Mom.

Beyond dinners and brunches, she also does cakes. Meet Bobbi, a "forever 29" baker, quilter, and mom.




I've always like to cook and bake. I used to sit and watch my grandma as long as she'd let me be in the same room.She was my mentor and inspiration to be a better cook and baker. Through the years, I've broadened my horizons a bit...at least in the kitchen! These are some of my recent efforts.













Like what you see? Bobbi is located in East Central Indiana and can be reached at AnotherBobbiCreation@gmail.com.

This post was linked to Spotlight Yourself Wednesday



House of Hepworths

Because Bass Players are Sexy...

So after my first attempt with fondant, my sister wanted to try it out. She decided she wanted to make a guitar cake. We made the cake late Sunday night and let it cool over night. Then we cut the neck and laid it on the board.

Then we made the template for the body of the guitar and cut out around it

Then a thin coating of frosting


Then color the fondant and roll out. It takes two people on a big cake to place the fondant on the cake. Make sure you smooth it out over the cake and seal the edges by pressing.




Continue this with all colors for all sections of the cake. Shape the other items to decorate and add finishing touches. Secure pieces with royal icing (egg whites and powdered sugar)




Here's what we learned in our cake:

Make sure you leave enough room for 6 strings, otherwise your electric guitar becomes a bass!!

Wilton's Forest Green coloring doesn't take as much as the other colors when coloring fondant

Making strings is a lot harder than you'd think

The recipe for chocolate cake on the back of the Hershey cocoa box is very moist, which is great for the cake, but a little harder to carve

All in all, her first try and my second try at working with fondant was a lot of fun and it didn't turn out that bad.

Decorating with Fondant

Sorry, no recipe this time. But, my husband and I have been dying to try decorating a cake with fondant. Several years ago, my mom did a cake for my birthday with fondant and made it look like a pizza. I wish I had pictures from that, but we'll just have to settle for the picture from Saturday's attempt!


The base cake is pumpkin. I needed a solid base that wouldn't sag under the weight of the fondant. Pumpkin is a heavier cake so it worked out great. We bought three Wilton food coloring gels (red, black, and brown) to make everything. We made the brown for the crust, keeping it light and not really mixing all the coloring in to give it the swirled, oven baked effect. Then I tinted some store bought icing dark red to make the "sauce". We tinted a little more fondant red and cut out circles for the pepperoni. I used the left over brown from the crust and added more brown to make the mushrooms. I have never in my life thought I would need a mushroom cookie cutter, but I really wished I had one! Shannon tinted a little more fondant black and cut out olives. It turned out great for our first attempt. Now that we are comfortable with the basics, we're planning our next cake that will involve carving! I'm so excited! My sister is trying to escape my mom's house for a night or two sometime this summer and wants to try one herself. It looks like we're going to have a cake decorating summer!!

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl

I was trying to make pumpkin cheesecake, but I sent my husband to the store to get the cream cheese. I should have known better! He came back with the small package of cream cheese, so I had to make something different. I basically took my pumpkin cake and swirled in a cream cheese "custard". It worked out great and made a typical autumn dessert more summer-y.










Cake Ingredients:

6 T butter
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c canned pumpkin
1 3/4 c flour
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder


Mix wet ingredients in mixer. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and slowly mix into wet ingredients. Pour into pan.

Cream Cheese Swirl:
8 oz package cream cheese at room temperature
1 egg
sugar (I didn't measure this, but I'm guessing 1/4 to 1/3 cup)

Mix ingredients together and drop on to cake batter. Using a knife, swirl the cream cheese mixture into cake, but do not mix it in!!

Bake at 350 about 30 minutes. The cake part will spring back when touched (like any other cake recipe)

Need a great grilling recipe to go with this? Check out Amy's Blog

Cupcake Kabobs

This is my first time participating in "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday" and I'm super excited!

Ingredients

1 box cake mix and corresponding ingredients
Fresh Fruit washed and prepared
Icing
Mint Leaves (optional)
Kabob skewers
Foam cone or other element to put kabobs in

I used Angel Food cake for this because of its light, fluffy texture, but you can use any other kind depending on the fruits you use.

Mix cake as directed and pour into lined mini-muffin pans and bake as directed. Remove mini cupcakes to cool. When cupcakes are cool, create kabobs by alternating cupcakes and fruit. For the ones I made, here's the pattern I followed:

Blueberry
Mint Leaf
Cupcake
Dab of icing inside raspberry, then raspberry on top of cupcake
Cupcake
Dab of icing inside of strawberry, then strawberry on top of cupcake







Next time I'm going to try chocolate cupakes with strawberries!

Chocolate Lava Cake

Super yum! I made the mistake of making this for Shannon, then had to make it several more times. The best part about this is you can make it start to finish in 15 minutes!



Preheat oven to 450











Ingredients
6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 c dark chocolate baking chips
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons flour
pinch of salt





In small saucepan over low heat, melt together butter and chocolate, stirring intermittently. In small bowl, mix together remaining ingredients. When butter and chocolate are all melted, stir into bowl of egg/sugar/flour/salt.
Pour into two small ramekins and bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cake will be done when edges are set. The middle of the cake will not be set! Let cool a few minutes and enjoy!

Optional: Try different toppings like strawberries or raspberries rolled in sugar.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crustless Pumpkin Cheesecake


14oz Neufchâtel cheese, softened
1/3 c brown splenda
1/3 c splenda
3 eggs
1 c pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Line 8x8 glass pan with parchment paper. Fill 11x13 pan about half way full of water and put on bottom rack of oven.

Whip neufchatel cheese until smooth and creamy. Slowly add sugars until well blended into cheese. Add eggs and pumpkin. In small bowl, mix remaining dry ingredients then slowly add to wet mixture. Mix with electric mixer on low speed for 2 minutes. Pour mix into lined pan and bake for 40 minutes with pan of water still in the oven. Cheesecake will still have movement in the center when it's done. Allow to cool about 20 minutes on the countertop. Using a butterknife, slowly pull cheesecake away from the side of the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until fully cooled. Can be served alone or topped with chocolate chips, whipped cream or chocolate syrup.