Cocoa Almonds

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Veronica

Hi. My name is Veronica and I have a kitchen addiction. It started as a baking addiction and then that spread to all sweets and eventually that led to a love for cooking. My addiction is so fierce that I’ve had to go looking for excuses to spend more time in the kitchen, such as baking cookies every Monday and gifting the members of our Church with sweets on their birthdays. No one seems to mind my little problem, though sometimes I feel like a pusher.

I made these almonds for one of my favorite people on the planet. Pamela is ridiculously kind, generous, and considerate and has the most amazing hand-writing imaginable, which she puts to good use with a constant stream of cards for birthdays, sympathy, encouragement, and thanks to her brothers and sisters in Christ. She also loves chocolate, which makes me love her even more because I like people who like food, especially sweets. They are the most appreciative of the treats I push off on them!

I was quite apprehensive when I gave these to her because they aren’t the typical sweet treat that I make. They are smoky, salty, chocolatey, and bittersweet. I found the combination appealing because I like a little salty along with my sweet and enjoy dark chocolate, which has more bitterness than typical chocolate, and didn’t know how well it would be received. Well, I’m happy to report that not only did Pamela love them, but she’s having to fend off her three daughters and husband to keep a few for herself! If teenage girls, who probably are more used to milk chocolate than bittersweet, can enjoy these, I think they would pretty much be a hit with any one.

Cocoa Almonds
Recipe adapted from Blue Ridge Baker

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate (chips are fine)
2 cups almonds (I used roasted & salted)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Place chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave for one minute. Stir, nuke again for 30 seconds, stir and nuke for another 30 seconds. You should be able to stir it smooth at this point but do another 30 seconds if necessary. Stir in the almonds until fully covered. Pour the cocoa powder and sugar into a gallon-size Ziploc bag and shake up to combine. Scrape the nuts into the bag, seal, and shake the bag to cover the almonds. Use your fingers to break up any pieces that stick together and shake again. Repeat until all almonds are separated and covered with cocoa. Spread onto a sheet of wax paper and allow the chocolate to set before scooping up with a slotted spoon, shaking off excess powder, and storing in an airtight container.

*Veronica’s note: you can use more powdered sugar or less, depending on how bitter you want the outer coating to be.

I don't have a picture with Pamela, but here I am with her three girls--who are also some of my favorite people on the planet!

12 Comments

Posted in Candy, Snacks & Appetizers and tagged almonds, bittersweet, cocoa, roasted. Bookmark the permalink.

Chicken Ranch Tacos

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Veronica

This recipe was listed mid-year in the free Betty Crocker calendar I received by mail and was one of the few things that interested me, so I made it right away. It’s simple and very delicious and I will definitely be making it again!

Chicken Ranch Tacos

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 box (4.7 oz) Old El Paso® Stand ‘N Stuff® taco shells (10 shells)
3 cups cut-up deli rotisserie chicken (from 2- to 2 1/2-lb chicken)
1 package (1 oz) Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (or 3 tablespoons homemade)
1/2 cup ranch dressing (2 T of homemade was sufficient for me)
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1/4 cup sliced green onions (4 medium), if desired
Old El Paso® Thick ‘n Chunky salsa, if desired
Additional ranch dressing, if desired

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Heat taco shells in oven as directed on box.
2. Meanwhile, in medium microwavable bowl, place chicken. Sprinkle with taco seasoning mix; toss gently to coat. Microwave uncovered on High 2 to 3 minutes or until hot. Stir in 1/2 cup dressing.
3. Spoon warm chicken mixture into heated taco shells. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese and onions. Drizzle with salsa and additional dressing.

Tips:
Instead of rotisserie chicken, use any diced cooked chicken.
Offer additional taco toppings such as olives and sour cream.

Nutrition Information (will be less if you use less dressing):
1 Serving (2 tacos): Calories 500 (Calories from Fat 290); Total Fat 32g (Saturated Fat 9g, Trans Fat 2 1/2g); Cholesterol 105mg; Sodium 1500mg; Total Carbohydrate 23g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 3g); Protein 31g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 15%; Vitamin C 8%; Calcium 15%; Iron 10% Exchanges: 1 1/2 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 4 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1 1/2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

makes 5 servings (2 tacos each)
Recipe from Betty Crocker

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Posted in Main Dishes, Mexican and tagged chicken, ranch, tacos. Bookmark the permalink.

Don’t Waste That Cake!

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Veronica

I bake a lot of cakes, which means I throw away lots of cake. Not because I ruin them, but because I have to level off the dome on top in order to layer them without trouble. That extra cake, if I’m being a good girl and not stuffing it in my mouth, gets tossed most of the time.

Not any more! Cake Balls/Pops to the rescue!

I just posted the recipe and step-by-step tutorial for cake pops and you can use the same concept to save a cake that stuck to your pan, came out too dry or heavy, or to use on the extra cake that you levelled off.

If using an entire cake, go ahead and follow the recipe as instructed. If the cake is very very dry, you will probably have to add the entire can of frosting to it. For cake tops, I use just about a spoonful of frosting and then mush it all up with my hands, just like with cake pops.

I ran out of lollipop sticks, so I just made cake balls (also called “cake truffles”) this time. Roll them up into quarter-size balls and put on a plate; refrigerate until very cold (I always do this 24 hours or more in advance of the dipping but a couple hours should be enough). You’ll need about 3-4 squares of white or chocolate candy coating. Melt it and dip the balls using a spoon, tapping off the excess chocolate before placing on wax paper to set. If adding sprinkles, do it quickly before the chocolate hardens. You can also drizzle any leftover candy coating over the tops or melt another color to drizzle over the tops.

This works with any flavor cake mix. So far I have tried red velvet , chocolate and white. Have fun with it!

By the way, I lied when I said I don’t ruin cakes. Though I haven’t in a while, it’s been known to happen.

This was the 14" base of a wedding cake. It was the biggest cake I'd ever made and I didn't realize you had to freeze the layers before trying to lift and stack them. I'm surprised it didn't crack completely in half when I hefted that huge layer on top of the other one!

This was the middle 10" tier of the same wedding cake, which I ruined when I applied the fondant that the bride had insisted upon, despite my insistence that I couldn't do it. I guess I showed her!

There was no hope for this cake. I ended up baking and frosting two whole wedding cakes and barely got the second one done in time for the wedding. Had I known about cake balls & pops back then, I would have saved back some of the cake for that.

Though I've had other cake tragedies, this is the only other one I photographed. This is Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake.

To end this on a happy note, here’s some pics of the wedding cake after I completely redid it. I didn’t even attempt the fondant because I didn’t want to risk ruining a second cake when I had absolutely no more time to spare. Thankfully, the bride was very pleased with the cake (though nothing like the one she originally wanted) and had no complaints!

Brenda's Wedding Cake 8-8-08

Me with the cake.

18 Comments

Posted in Cake & Frosting, Candy, Tips & Tricks and tagged cake, cake balls, cake pops, cake truffles, waste. Bookmark the permalink.

Cookie Mondays: Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Veronica

A MySpace friend posted this recipe on her blog last week and I knew as soon as I read it that I had to use it for the following Cookie Monday.

Recognize anything about the title? You would if you’re half as obsessed with Gooey Butter Cake (my favorite is pumpkin) as I am. This is Paula Deen’s spin-off of her famous cake, turned into a cookie. The cake mix makes it simple and the butter and cream cheese helps to create a very moist, almost brownie-like center. These were another big hit at the office–Den came home with an empty platter and lots of compliments from his co-workers. Another cookie success. :)

CHOCOLATE GOOEY BUTTER COOKIES
Recipe by Paula Deen

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner’s sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and “gooey.” Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

Makes 2 Dozen

8 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged butter, chocolate, Cookies, gooey, paula deen. Bookmark the permalink.

Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Veronica

These are the best tasting wholesome muffins I’ve ever made. Made with whole wheat flour, honey, apples, carrots & walnuts, they are not only good for you but have a very moist and tender crumb (this surprised me) and are really delicious (this surprised me too). They are so good, in fact, that I replaced my dinner with them tonight!

[OK, fine. Here’s the full disclosure. I meant to only have one as a snack (I baked them in the afternoon) and it was so yummy, I nabbed another. And another. Then I had to break one apart to take a picture of the inside so I figured I may as well eat that one too. By then I no longer wanted dinner!]

I plan to store them in the freezer and pop one or two into the microwave on busy mornings. I think they’d be wonderful with a cup of black coffee.

Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins
Recipe adapted from An Edible Mosaic
Makes 12 large muffins

Muffins
2 eggs
1/3 c canola oil
1/4 c 2% milk
1/2 c honey
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 large finely shredded carrots
1 large or 2 small sweet apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped (I used Fuji)
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Glaze
1 oz Neuchâtel cheese (low-fat cream cheese)
1 1/2 tsp honey

Preheat the oven to 350F and put paper liners in your muffin pan.

Beat together the eggs, oil, milk, honey, and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Lightly stir the wet ingredients into the dry, then fold in the carrot, apple, and nuts. Fill the muffin tray (the batter will come up to the top and mound in the center) and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

To make the glaze, warm the Neuchâtel in the microwave, then stir in the honey. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cooled muffins with a fork, or put it into a Ziploc bag, cut the corner, and squeeze it over the muffins while sweeping the bag back and forth.

Nutritional Information (per muffin): 224 Calories, 11g fat, 37mg cholesterol, 225mg sodium, 29g carb, 3g fiber, 4g protein

I very finely shredded the carrots so they're hard to see, but I promise they're there!

16 Comments

Posted in Breakfast, Lighter Fare and tagged apple, Breakfast, carrot cake, muffins. Bookmark the permalink.

Cake Pops

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Veronica

**Update 5/12/11: If you are here looking for answers to cake pop questions, please check my Cake Pops FAQ and Troubleshooting Guide before leaving a comment. I also have a recipe for making cake pops or balls with leftover or broken cake here, a recipe for Vegan Dark Chocolate Cake Pops, and a recipe for Cupcake Bites (cake balls that look like little cupcakes–the easier version of cake balls). For my full pops index, click here.**

These pops are essentially cake truffles on a stick and are very simple to prepare: Bake a cake, mush it up with frosting, roll it into balls, insert a stick, and dip it in chocolate! These things really are a hit with kids because they are so fun, but adults seem to enjoy the delicious truffle-like confections equally well.

Want to make some? Here are step-by-step instructions, complete with videos.

Cake Pops
Makes 40-50 pops
Printable Recipe

What you will need:
1 (14.25 oz) box cake mix, any flavor
1 (16 oz) tub frosting, any flavor (you will not need all of it)
or 1/3-3/4 cup homemade frosting (I use my Cream Cheese Wedding Frosting)
1 (24 oz) package of almond bark/candy coating (white or chocolate)
Sprinkles
Lollipop sticks
3″x4″ cello bags
Curling ribbon

Bake the cake mix according to package directions. Once it’s cool, crumble the cake into a large bowl. I prefer to process mine in the food processor to fine crumbs. Place in a large bowl and stir in half of the frosting container or 1/3 cup of your homemade frosting. Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined and thick like a truffle center. Mix in additional frosting if necessary. You just want enough to get the crumbs to stick together when you roll them into balls. Do not add so much that the mixture becomes soft and mushy!

Roll mixture into 1″ balls and place on a cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. I usually do this step the day before and then dip them the following day. Do not freeze them before dipping or it may cause the chocolate to crack after they are dipped.

Melt chocolate in the microwave per directions on package. Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in a little of the melted candy coating and insert into the flat end of the cake balls. (Bakerella says to insert a little less than halfway, but I go more than halfway b/c I imagine they stay put a little better when dipping.)

The cake balls will have a flat bottom from resting on the cookie sheet. Insert the stick into this end so the top will be round.

Carefully insert the cake ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered. Once covered, remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Don’t tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off, too. Immediately cover with sprinkles before the chocolate has a chance to set, then insert in a styrofoam block to harden.

You want the chocolate to come over the platform you created when inserting the chocolate-dipped stick, but you don’t have to cover it all the way to the stick.

Tap off the excess chocolate.

Add sprinkles before the chocolate has a chance to set.

I wrap my styrofoam board in plastic wrap to keep it clean so I can reuse it.

See the two hiding in the corner?

I ran out of sticks so I just made these two into cake truffles. To do this, drop one ball at a time into the chocolate and lift out with a fork, tapping off the excess chocolate. Place on wax paper to set.

This video illustrates the dipping process. Forgive my PJ’s–I made these first thing in the morning. OK, it was afternoon. I’m lazy on Saturdays. And every other day. Once the chocolate has set, put a cello bag over the top and tie the neck with some curling string and tie into a bow or curl.

I found these at Wal-Mart in the cake decorating section near the wedding supplies

Recipe Source: based on Bakerella’s recipe & instructions

*Update 1/19/12: I have disabled comments on this post, since there are over 400 and many of them are the same questions asked and answered over and over again. If you have a question, please refer to the FAQ. Thank you!*

423 Comments

Posted in Cake & Frosting, Candy, Videos and tagged balls, cake, how to, pops, recipe, suckers, truffles, tutorial. Bookmark the permalink.

Cookie Mondays: Millionaire Bars

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Veronica

I made these bars in my new Perfect Brownie pan and now I’m going to make a batch of brownies tonight because it worked so well, I can’t wait to see how perfect it will turn out the product it was intended for!

These bars consist of a buttery, flaky shortbread layer, a creamy caramel layer and a chocolate layer. They are sooo delicious and for the first time since cookie Mondays, Dennis didn’t return home with any leftovers. They remind me a lot of Twix and I’ve seen them turned into homemade Twix bars here, so I might try that next time just for fun!

Millionaire’s Shortbread Bars
Recipe from Joy of Baking

SHORTBREAD:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 stick) (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

CARAMEL FILLING:
1 – 14 ounce can (1 cup) Dulce de Leche or sweetened condensed milk

CHOCOLATE TOPPING:
6 ounces (170 grams) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Grease with butter (or use a cooking spray) a 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) pan.

FOR SHORTBREAD: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour and salt and beat until the dough just comes together. Press onto the bottom of your greased pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until pale golden in color. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

FOR CARAMEL FILLING: If using Dulce de Leche then simply warm the caramel in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. If using sweetened condensed milk, pour the milk into a heatproof bowl and place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Cover and cook, over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 60 to 90 minutes or until the milk has thickened and has turned a caramel color. Remove from heat and beat until smooth. Pour the caramel over the baked shortbread and leave to set.

Note: You can also do this step in a microwave oven. Place the sweetened condensed milk in a large microwaveable bowl and cook on medium power for about 4 minutes, stirring halfway through baking time. Reduce the powder to medium-low and continue to cook for another 8 to 12 minutes, or until the milk has thicken and has turned a light caramel color. Remove from microwave and beat until smooth.

FOR TOPPING: Melt the chocolate and butter either in the microwave oven or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Pour the melted chocolate evenly over the caramel and leave to set. Cut the shortbread into pieces using a sharp knife.

Store the shortbread in the refrigerator to keep the chocolate nice and firm. (I found this unnecessary–it was hard at room temperature.)

Yield: 16 – 2 inch (5 cm) squares

If you’d like to make this in your Perfect Brownie pan, spray the pan & insert with cooking spray. Press the shortbread into the pan with some waxed paper (it was sticking to my hands and this worked perfect) and then press the insert into place before baking. You don’t need to bake it on top of a cookie sheet–the shortbread won’t leak out. After removing the shortbread (I only had to cook mine about 18 minutes), you can immediately remove the insert. Take a minute to admire the perfection of the shortbread squares.

Spread the warmed dulce de leche over the bars after you remove the insert and let them cool. Then spread on the chocolate layer. Now this is where I went wrong. I let the chocolate layer set up before I tried to put the insert back to re-divide the bars. The insert isn’t sharp enough to cut into that hard chocolate layer, so I had to cut into it with a knife in order to separate the bars. Next time I would spray the insert again with cooking spray and insert it while the chocolate is still warm and then remove it once set. That should work!

10 Comments

Posted in Brownies & Bars and tagged bars, dulce de leche, homemade twix, millionaire bars, millionaire's, shortbread. Bookmark the permalink.

Sesame-Maple Roasted Tofu

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Veronica

My friend, Jaci, clipped this recipe and mailed it to me a few years ago because she knew of my preference for vegetarian fare. I’m not a huge fan of tofu, which is one reason it took me over three years to try it. (The second being that I have about 36,000 recipes saved and this one kind of got lost in the pile.)

This is one of the most enjoyable tofu dishes I’ve ever eaten! The caramelized onion, sweet snap peas (OMgosh, I’ve found a new best veggie friend–these are so sweet & crisp!), flavorful sauce, and the way roasting made the outside of the tofu firm really made this enjoyable. My husband couldn’t eat the tofu but loved the rest of it so if you’re a person that really doesn’t like tofu, don’t expect this recipe to change that. If you’re looking for a tofu miracle, this one and this one worked for me.

Sesame-Maple Roasted Tofu
Recipe from EatingWell magazine, September/October 2007 issue
Active time: 20 minutes Total: 45 minutes

1 14-ounce block extra-firm water-packed tofu, rinsed, patted dry and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium red onion, sliced
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon tahini, (see Tip)
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
3 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Toss tofu, onion, canola oil, sesame oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread on a large baking sheet and roast until the tofu is lightly golden on top and the onions are browning in spots, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Whisk tahini, soy sauce, maple syrup and vinegar in a small dish until combined. Remove the tofu from the oven, add snap peas and drizzle with the maple sauce; stir to combine. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Return to the oven and continue roasting until the peas are crisp-tender, 8 to 12 minutes more.

Makes 4 servings, about 1 1/4 cups each

Notes
Tahini is a smooth, thick paste made from ground sesame seeds. Look for it in the Middle Eastern section or near other nut butters in large supermarkets. I used peanut butter in place of the tahini and it still tasted really good, though maybe not as intended. :) To make it a meal, serve over udon noodles or rice.

Nutrition Per serving: 197 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat, 4 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 13 g carbohydrates; 11 g protein; 3 g fiber; 305 mg sodium; 219 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Calcium (25% daily value), Vitamin C (20% dv), Iron (15% dv).

10 Comments

Posted in Asian, Lighter Fare, Main Dishes, Vegetarian & Vegan and tagged maple, roasted, sesame, snap peas, tofu. Bookmark the permalink.

Rich Chocolate and Caramel Cake

Posted on January 16, 2010 by Veronica

My friend, Jaci, in Texas contacted me last week to order a cake for her sister’s birthday. Her sister and I are both in Kansas and she figured since she was unable to make a cake for her herself, she’d get the next best thing.

After she told me that Liz loves chocolate and caramel, I started brainstorming and finally settled on this conconction: two layers of devil’s food cake, filled with caramel buttercream, iced with whipped caramel ganache and decorated with ganache and caramel sauce. With all the chocolate, caramel, cream, and butter involved, this is definitely a special-occasion cake!

Rich Chocolate and Caramel Cake

1 recipe of your favorite chocolate cake, made into two round layers and cooled (I used a Pillsbury devil’s food cake mix)

Caramel Sauce
1 c sugar
6 T unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1/2 c heavy cream

Caramel Buttercream
6 T unsalted butter, softened
1 T dulce de leche, room temperature
1 c powdered sugar
2 T caramel sauce, room temperature

Whipped Caramel Ganache
1 c sugar
1 ½ c heavy cream
1/8 t salt
1 lb semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 lb (4 sticks) butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces, softened

Simple Ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Prepare the Caramel Sauce at least 4 hours in advance: Heat the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until the sugar has begun to melt and is brown around the edges, about 3 minutes. Using a heat-safe spatula or spoon, pull the melted sugar toward the center until all sugar is melted and caramel is deep amber in color, about 3 minutes more. Continue pulling and stirring until all the sugar is melted. It will be amber in color. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the butter, vanilla and salt. When mixed, whisk in the heavy cream. Pour into a heat-proof bowl and allow to come to room temperature. After removing 2 T for the buttercream, cover and refrigerate the remaining sauce.

Prepare the Caramel Buttercream: Beat the butter, then mix in the dulce de leche until smooth. Beat in the caramel sauce and then the powdered sugar.

Prepare the Whipped Caramel Ganache: Make a dry caramel with the cup of sugar by putting it into a large saucepan and setting it over medium heat. When the bottom starts to melt and the sides turn brown, start pulling the melted sugar toward the center. Continue doing this, constantly pulling & stirring, until all the sugar is melted and it has turned a deep amber color. Remove from heat.

While the sugar is melting, take a minute to bring the cream to boiling and then remove from heat.

Immediately pour the hot cream into the burnt sugar as soon as you remove it from the heat. It will bubble like crazy and scare the heck out of you, but just keep stirring until all the caramel is dissolved into the cream. If some of the caramel seizes up, put the saucepan back on medium heat and stir, stir, stir, until all the caramel is dissolved and you have a thin, smooth mixture.

Let the mixture sit for five minutes.

Meanwhile, measure your chocolate into a metal or glass bowl. Pour the caramel mixture over the chocolate and allow to sit for a minute before stirring. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth. Allow to sit until the mixture is room temperature, about fifteen minutes. You can pop it in the fridge to speed the process, stirring every few minutes.

With an electric mixer, beat the softened butter into the caramel ganache on low speed and then increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is thickened and lighter in color, about 2 minutes.

Prepare the Ganache: Bring the cream just to a boil over medium heat (or in the microwave). Place the chocolate in a glass or metal bowl and pour the hot cream over the top. Allow to sit for a couple minutes and then stir, stir, stir, until the chocolate is completely emulsified and you have a smooth, shiny dark ganache. Allow to cool slightly before using. You’ll want it still slightly runny but not hot.

Assemble the cake: Place one cake layer on a plate and spread the caramel buttercream over the top. Place the second cake layer over that and then smooth the whipped caramel ganache over the top and sides of the cake. Garnish the cake with the ganache and caramel sauce. Serve at room temperature. The butter and chocolate in the whipped ganache get hard when refrigerated, which isn’t as fun to eat as a light & velvety frosting. For a pretty presentation, you could drizzle some caramel sauce over each plate before placing the cake slices on them.

If you wish to write a message with the ganache as I did, you will have to let it set up further, so wait until it’s the consistency of thick buttercream before attempting that. Otherwise, it will just leak out of your pastry bag and you’ll have smears and pools of dark shiny ganache on top and your sentiments will look like a threat rather than the good thoughts you’d intended. :)

You can use the extra whipped caramel ganache to pipe a border around the top and bottom. There will be enough leftover whipped ganache to make 1-2 dozen cupcakes, so do it and take them to work to brighten everyone’s day!

Recipe by Veronica Miller

A word of warning: because of the light, velvety texture of the whipped ganache, it couldn’t support the weight of the ganache and caramel I put around the edges of the cake and the sides slid down to the bottom of the cake eventually. (Luckily Liz got her cake while it was still pretty and everyone enjoyed a piece before this happened). Next time I make this cake, I will pour the ganache over the iced cake and let it ooze down the sides so that the weight is evenly distributed. Then I’d use caramel buttercream (I’d double the recipe so there’s enough for decorating) to write on top. I’d recommend the same to you, unless you plan on serving the cake shortly after applying the ganache.

These are (poor) photos of a birthday cake I made last year that illustrate my suggestion about pouring ganache over the top and letting it ooze down the sides.

Thanks to Liz for providing the following photos!

The beautiful birthday girl with her cake. Happy birthday, Liz!

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Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged cake, caramel, chocolate, rich. Bookmark the permalink.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Chili

Posted on January 16, 2010 by Veronica

This chili is so easy and the results blew me away! I could not believe how delicious it was, especially for how little energy it required. I will definitely be making this over and over again throughout the remaining winter months.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Chili
Recipe from Betty Crocker
Prep time: 10 minutes Start to finish: 7 hours, 10 minutes Servings: 6 (1 2/3 cups each)

1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 medium yellow or green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
2 cans (14.5 oz each) Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (15-16 oz each) chili beans in sauce, undrained
1 can (10 oz) Old El Paso enchilada sauce
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Mix all ingredients exept sour cream and cilantro in a 4-5 quart slow cooker.
2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7-8 hours.
3. Stir mixture to break up chicken. (I had to pull it up and cut it against the side of the crockpot with a fork a little bit and did the same with the stewed tomatoes). Top each serving with sour cream and cilantro.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:
1 Serving: Calories 370; Total Fat 11g; Cholesterol 65mg; Sodium 1690mg; Total Carbohydrate 38g (Dietary Fiber 8g); Protein 30g

Notes: I used 1 large breast and 1 thigh for the meat and that equaled 1 1/4 lb. I accidentally only purchased 1 can of Mexican stewed tomatoes, so I substituted a can of chili-ready tomatoes for the other with great results. I will probably use the chili-ready tomatoes instead of the stewed next time b/c they are already diced and I wouldn’t have to cut up any big chunks.