FOR THE LOVE OF CHOCOLATE

Posted in Cake, Chocolate Bonbons, Cookies, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Today it is all a celebration of chocolate, so appropriate for the season, don’t you think? Let’s start with another winner of a recipe by Helen Fletcher.

MEXICAN BROWNIES

To get the recipe, pay a visit to her site, where you can get step by step pictures to guide you through the process. One of the tips she gives is pouring the smooth icing on the brownie after flipping it so that the bottom side is up. That ensures a super flat surface for glazing. It is all in the details, my friends!

Moving on, a Celebration Cake I made for the chef who is behind the homeless meals, a person I admire so much! Works tirelessly to offer free meals 7 days/week.

CHOCOLATE CELEBRATION CAKE WITH RASPBERRY FILLING
(inspired by many sources)

for the cake:
1 + 3/4 cups (210g) all-purpose flour
1 + 1/2 cups (300g) sugar
3/4 cup (70g) cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

for the buttercream:
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3 + 1/2 cups ( 420g) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup ( 45g) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 to 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the filling:
Raspberry jam (store-bought or homemade)

for optional decoration:
Brazilian brigadeiros (click here for recipe)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 7-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans, or use baking spray.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before filling and frosting.

Make the frosting:
On a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 1 full minute. Adjust consistency with more powdered sugar or with heavy cream. Place in a piping bag fitted with appropriate icing tips for the decorations you desire.

Place the first cake on a circular cardboard, add a circle of buttercream as a dam around the perimeter, fill the center with jam. Place second cake on top, repeat the process. Place the last cake on top, cover with a thin crumb cake layer of buttercream and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Finish the buttercream icing, add brigadeiros if so desired, or any other decorations.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I donated this cake whole, so we have not tried it, but I have used this recipe before and it is really a delicious, very moist, intensely chocolate-y cake. The raspberry jam goes very well with it, although it is also outstanding with some salted caramel as the filling.

CHOCOLATE COVERED OREOS, DA VINCI STYLE

These turned out so cool, I was super happy with them. My sister Norma pointed out they reminded her of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions, so that’s the reason for the name. I used a silicone mold I’ve had for many years to make the decorations with dark compound chocolate, later brushed with luster powder copper. I used a very light green to tint the chocolate for the molds.

Finally, I close this post with a series of chocolate cookies decorated according to a tutorial from Tunde Dugantsi. Simple white Royal icing, good practice for fine line piping. It would also work well on gingerbread cookies, keep that in mind. I used my default chocolate cookie recipe for those (find it here).

ONE YEAR AGO: Three Little Cookies for the Holidays

TWO YEARS AGO: Two Festive Cakes, Part One

THREE YEARS AGO: Broccoli Slaw Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

FOUR YEARS AGO: Vegan Blueberry-Lemon Cheesecake

FIVE YEARS AGO: Green Tea Rice with Edamame and Butternut Squash

SIX YEARS AGO: Santa Hat Mini-Mousse Cakes

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Fun with Sourdough

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Pasteis de Nata

NINE YEARS AGO: New Mexico Pork Chile, Crockpot Version

TEN YEARS AGO: Chocolate on Chocolate

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Double Chocolate and Mint Cookies

TWELVE YEARS AGO: The Story of my first Creme Brulle’

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Sourdough Mini-rolls

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Focaccia with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Gorgonzola

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Mediterranean Skewers

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO Fettuccine with Shrimp, Swiss Chard, and Tomatoes

17Nov2025

VANILLA-CHAI CUPCAKES

Posted in Cake, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

A celebration of Fall in cupcake format… Decorated with tiny tuile cookies, in the shape of maple leaves.

VANILLA-CHAI CUPCAKES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

makes 10 cupcakes

120g all-purpose flour
150g granulated sugar
50g butter, unsalted and at room temperature
1 large egg
140mL milk
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
1 tsp chai powder (or make a spice mix of your liking

Heat the oven to 350F and line a cupcake pan with paper baking cups.

Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and butter cut in small pieces in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low until the butter is in very small pieces, almost like sand.

Whisk the egg with the milk, vanilla and chai powder, and add slowly to the mixer running in low-speed. Once it is almost smooth, increase the speed to high for a couple of minutes, scraping the bottom of the bowl once.

Stop the mixer and make sure the batter is fully smooth, mixing by hand with a spatula. Add batter to lined pan, filling half-way full only. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
Leave cool completely before decorating.

For the tuile cookies:
20g egg whites
20g melted butter
20g granulated sugar
20g all-purpose flour

Mix all ingredients and whisk well. Make sure butter is liquid but not too warm. Spread over your template, lift the template gently. Bake at 375F for 5 to 7 minutes, until fully cooked. Air-brush if you like, draw the details with a fine tip pen.

For the buttercream, use this recipe, starting with 226g of butter. Separate in two batches, dye one light brown, leave the other plain. Spoon tow lines of icing over a plastic wrap, make a little sausage and insert in a piping bag fitted with 1M tip. Ice the cookies when fully cool, add sprinkles and the tuile decorations.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These cupcakes are wonderful for Fall, particularly if you make the maple leaf decorations. You can also use fondant or modeling chocolate with a silicone mold, but I was anxious to try my hands at the template I had sitting in my drawer for a while. I have not found it where I bought, it is out of stock, but you can see it here.

The Chai powder is a great ingredient, I’ve been using it in cookies, macarons, and now on cupcakes. Available in the place that sells it all (click here), and that I keep trying to fight against but don’t have enough will power, apparently.

ONE YEAR AGO: Marbled Travel Cake, Brigadeiro Style

TWO YEARS AGO: Thai Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

THREE YEARS AGO: Vanilla Mini-Cakes with Honey Pears

FOUR YEARS AGO: Buttermilk Roast Chicken

FIVE YEARS AGO: Cauliflower and Sweet Potatoes in Yogurt-Curry Sauce

SIX YEARS AGO: Panettone, Wild-Yeast Version

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Turkey Chili Under Pressure

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Tiramisu Macarons

NINE YEARS AGO: Cider Mini-Cheesecakes with Caramel Sauce

TEN YEARS AGO: Rustic Ciabatta and Mini-Meatloaves

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Green Rice

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Potato-Crusted Italian Mini-Quiches

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Beetroot Sourdough for the Holidays

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Cod Filet with Mustard Tarragon Crust

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Soba Noodles: Light and Healthy

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Potato-Rosemary Bread

9Apr2025

CAKES TO CELEBRATE EASTER

Posted in Cake, Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

I am thrilled to share these because they were my first cakes frosted using my electric turntable, a wonderful gift from my hubby last month (check it out at my last In My Kitchen post). Amazing how much easier it was to get a smooth frosting! Without further ado, here is the first cake, fully dressed for an Easter Party.

VANILLA-ALMOND CAKE WITH RASPBERRY FILLING
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

345 grams (3 cups) cake flour
2 teaspoons)baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
226 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
375 grams (1 + 3/4 cups) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
160 grams egg whites (about 5 eggs)
170 grams (¾ cup) sour cream
170 grams (¾ cup) whole milk
Swiss meringue buttercream for frosting
seedless Raspberry jam for filling

Prepare three 6-inch round cake pans lining them with parchment and spraying with baking spray.

Heat oven to 350F.

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Reserve. Mix the sour cream and milk together, making sure they are at rom temperature and well incorporated. Reserve.

n the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Cream together on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through mixing. Slowly pour in the egg whites while the mixer continues running.

Alternate adding the dry ingredients into the bowl in three additions with the milk/sour cream mixture in two additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed between additions until almost fully incorporated. Finish mixing by hand with a spatula.

Transfer the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for about 25 minutes, until a tester comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached. Cool the cakes in their pan completely on a cooling rack before turning out of the pan.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Basis formula: 1X egg whites + 2X sugar + 2X butter

For the three layer 6-inch cake I started with 200g egg whites. The magic is all in the temperature control.

Start by dicing your butter and placing at room temperature for at least a couple of hours before making the buttercream. The reason for that is the closer the temperature of the egg whites/sugar and the butter match each other, the smoother the whole preparation will go. All problems with Swiss meringue buttercream happen when there is a sharp difference between those temperatures.

Mix sugar and egg whites and whisk well, then over a bain-marie bring them to 140 F minimum. I take it to 149F because I find it makes a nicer emulsion to work with. Place in a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed for about 10 minutes. You want a stiff meringue.

Most recipes will tell you that it will be enough to bring the mixture to room temperature level, or not feeling warm if you touch the bowl. However, if you measure the temperature inside the bowl you will notice it will probably still be at mid 90’s Fahrenheit, way above the butter that is waiting to be incorporated.

My advice is to turn the mixer off and walk away. Come back in 10 minutes, give it a 20 sec mix, check, the temperature. Still a bit too high? Walk away and repeat the process. I find that if the egg white mixture is around 80F it will be ok to incorporate with the butter, which might be around 72F or so.

Now start incorporating the butter with the mixer running, you can squish it with your fingers as you drop them to help incorporate even better. Once all the butter is added, whisk at high speed for a couple of minutes, change to the paddle attachment and mix for another couple of minutes to smooth out air bubbles.

Two problems might happen if the temperature was not a real good match: buttercream will be grainy (butter too cold), or soupy (meringue too hot). Both can be fixed by either warming the bowl (hair-dryer works great), or placing it in the fridge for 15 minutes and whisking again. Contrary to popular belief, Swiss meringue is not that tricky and can always be salvaged even if it looks like Armageddon in a bowl.

For the layers I added a circle of white buttercream on the perimeter of the cake, filled the center with raspberry jam, and repeated that for the upper layer. I crumb coated with white frosting, then dyed most of the buttercream with Sky Blue (just a couple of drops), and the tiniest amount of black to mute the tone. A small portion was dyed brown for the nest. Malted chocolate eggs and sprinkles finished the decor.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This is pretty much like a wedding type cake, very white because you omit using egg yolks. It is delicate and moist, truly one of my favorites for layered cakes. I adapted the recipe from versions that call for more sugar, I prefer the cake a little less sweet. Sugar is important for structure so there is a limit of how much you can reduce, but this formula works great. My rookie mistake was to use parchment paper to add the sprinkle border at the bottom, and it took me so long to do it, that the buttercream warmed up and the paper got stuck at places. All my hard work to get the smooth surface was a bit compromised, but nothing that strategically placed sprinkles would not fix!

Feedback on the cake was wonderful, I cannot show you the cut cake as I dropped it whole and it was cut later in the evening. But I hope it looked ok inside…

Moving on…

LEMON POPPY SEED LAYERED CAKE WITH BLACKBERRY FILLING

I cannot share this recipe because it is copyrighted from a very interesting book called “I’LL BRING THE CAKE” by Mandy Merriman. It is unusual in the sense that all cakes start from a boxed mix, but they are heavily doctored. If you are totally against boxed mixes, the book is not for you, but I wanted to give those a try and her cakes are quite delicious.

This was my very first cake using the turntable, and I opted for a watercolor effect, which started by adding blotches of darker color all over the frosted cake.

Then you just turn the cake and allow the color to mingle with the background until you are satisfied. For the decorations on top I mixed the white with the mauve-dyed buttercream and used the trusty 1D tip for rosettes.

I hope you found some inspiration for your Easter festivities with this post!

ONE YEAR AGO: Flower Stencil Sourdough

TWO YEARS AGO: Happy Easter!

THREE YEARS AGO: Mini-Blueberry Cakes

FOUR YEARS AGO: Wood Plank Cookies, Learning from the Best

FIVE YEARS AGO: OMG Spinach Pies

SIX YEARS AGO: Avgolemono Soup, My Way

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Sourdough Chocolate Twist Bread

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Dan Lepard Times Three

NINE YEARS AGO: Turkey Portobello Burger

TEN YEARS AGO: Raspberry Ricotta Cake

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2014

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Whole-Wheat Pasta with Lemony Tomatoes and Spinach

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Blood Orange Duck: A work in progress

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Grilled Mahi-mahi with citrus marinade

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Memories of Pastéis

5Apr2025

STRAWBERRY FINANCIERS, A MARATHON IN BAKING

Posted in Cake, Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

First of all, let me clarify that I cannot share this recipe. It is copyrighted and available exclusively for members of Savour, the online cooking community hosted by the amazing Kirsten Kibballs (click here for details). This can only be described as a baking marathon, one of the most involved projects I’ve ever attempted. However I am beyond thrilled with the way they turned out!

Although I cannot share the recipe, I will walk you through all the steps, so you will have some idea of all that is involved.

Starting with the Financier component, you can conceivably use a muffin tin to make them, but if at all possible, get this silicone pan that allows you to bake cute strawberry-shaped cakes.

.
Kirsten’s recipe includes coconut and it is really delicious on its own. Once the cakes are baked, they go straight into the freezer (still in the pan) to facilitate removal. From that point, the cakes are hollowed and filled with the other components.

Starting with a Strawberry jelly made from fresh strawberry puree, agar-agar, allowed to set, and then emulsified in a blender to make a cream. That is finally mixed with fresh strawberries, diced very small, and used to fill the cakes.

The second component of the filling is a fantastic white chocolate chantilly cream, that must be made at least 6 hours before use. First the strawberry jelly/fruit is added, then the chantilly. The cakes go into the freezer to set for a while, and then white chocolate is used to seal the bottom.

At this point, all goes back to the fridge, or for a short stay in the freezer. Tempered chocolate dyed red mixed with neutral oil is used to coat each mini-cake. It will be messy! Best way to deal with it is using two big wooden skewers to manipulate them.

Marathon is in its final stages now… For the strawberry leaves, I spray-painted wafer paper and cut shapes using the template provided by Savour. Kirsten used tempered green chocolate and a very elaborate system to cut and shape them, but I had to simplify it.

The only way they stayed glued was using Edible glue from Wilton. Melted chocolate and Royal icing were no good.

Finally, they get brushed with a little oil (I used grapeseed) and white sesame seeds are sprinkled all over!

And with that step, we just crossed the finish line!

I made 9 of these babies, and Phil and I shared one, as I really needed to know how they tasted.

One of the best things I’ve ever baked, for sure! I messed up when I cut it, they were too cold from the fridge, but I can tell you everything worked great together. The cake is moist and tender, the strawberry cream intensely flavored, and the chocolate whipped cream completes the symphony…

I was quite exhausted at the end, but so glad I decided to face this challenge. If you are interested in expanding your horizons in baking, consider joining Savour online school. I’ve been a member from their very beginning, and although I don’t bake often from their recipes, I watch most of their videos when they are published and learn a lot with each and every one.

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2024

TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, Spring 2023

THREE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2022

FOUR YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2021

FIVE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2020

SIX YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2019

SEVEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2018

EIGHT YEARS AGO: First Monday Favorite

NINE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2016

TEN YEARS AGO: Spring has Sprung with Suzanne Goin

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Chai Brownies

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Peach Glaze

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Spring Rolls on a Spring Day

21Mar2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Posted in Breads, Cake, Cookies, Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

The date came and went (March 11th), but only now I have a chance to share a few things I made for the occasion. As you may know, most of the sweets I bake we don’t get to eat, but this series of bakes is the exception that confirms the rule. We got to savor all the sweetness! But let’s start with the bread components.

FOCACCIA ART

Maybe you remember the Quilted Focaccia Buns of a recent past? I got this idea from the book Beautiful Bread, which I highly recommend, as Theresa Culletto shares amazing designs and all the tips to make them happen. It is all a matter of making a big enough dough to cover a large baking sheet, and then planning decorations with veggies cut in shapes.

It is quite amazing how much flavor and smell little pieces of leeks impart to the dough. You can also use chives for the stems if you prefer, they will likely be easier to work with, no real prep needed.

Moving on, I had to bake a sourdough, and chose a Springtime design for it…

And now, to the sweets… From Molly Yeh’s new book Sweet Farm, one of the most delicious cookies ever, a Cherry Mahlab Linzer! I cannot share the recipe for copyright issues, but I’m tempted to tell you that the book is worth it JUST for that one. Mahlab is a Middle Eastern spice that resembles cinnamon and imparts great flavor to the dough. I will be using it often.

The dough rolls like a dream, browns beautifully in the oven, and crumbles in your mouth with that texture that only almond flour will provide. Absolutely a must-make!

From the past, I re-visited the German Chocolate Macarons, which I did not have a change to taste the first time I made, but the feedback was so great, I was intrigued and could not wait to make again FOR US. Wonderful they were, all modesty aside… Recipe available here.

TWO VERSIONS OF BRIGADEIROS

Red Velvet and Lemon. They were both made with the same basic method: 1 can condensed milk + 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan. To the Red Velvet I added one full tablespoon of cocoa powder + 1/2 tsp Red Velvet Emulsion from LorAnn and a pinch of salt.

To the Lemon version, I added 2 tablespoons Lemon Curd (store-bought), and a pinch of salt. On a later version I added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some lemon zest, I liked that better. Both versions cooked the way described in this old post of mine.

And now, for the Piece of Resistance, THE CAKE! Choice of the husband, who found the recipe online and twisted my 65 year old arm to make it. Recipe published here, and also in his cookbook SWEET.

This is one amazing cake! Luscious, moist, tender, almost feels like flourless. The ganache on top takes it exactly there: over the top. And of course, I had to add a Brazilian flair to it and topped with Red Velvet Brigadeiros. And some luster powder. Because if I cannot bling on my own Birthday, there would be something wrong with me.

ONE YEAR AGO: Incredibly Simple: Air-Fried Salmon Bites

TWO YEARS AGO: Chocolate-Covered Oreos

THREE YEARS AGO: Pan-Steamed Broccoli with Miso Vinaigrette

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cookies and Rubber Stamps

FIVE YEARS AGO: Macarons for all Seasons and Reasons

SIX YEARS AGO: Lentils and Radicchio? Yes, please!

SEVEN YEAR AGO: Tres Leches Cake

EIGHT YEARS AGO: The Joys of Grating Squash

NINE YEARS AGO: Auberge-Pecan Walnut Bread

TEN YEARS AGO: Gluten-free and Vegan Raspberry Bars

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Lasserre, a French Classic

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Bread with Walnuts and Dates