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7 Layer Chocolate Cake

I made this cake for Popmuse's dad a couple weeks ago. Apparently, this is a pretty iconic cake among Jews in the Northeast. As it turns out it's thin layers of sponge cake surrounded by a decadent surprisingly light tasting frosting. It's a little labor intensive, and I don't recommend making it if you don't have a stand mixer, but it's a pretty impressive slab of cake to have on your plate. 

7 Layer Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Buttercream:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
6 large egg yolks
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled, or 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 to 3 tablespoons rum or kirsch

To make the buttercream: Stir the sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and boil, without stirring, until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, or 250°F on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks until pale and thick, about 4 minutes. In a slow, steady stream, pour the hot syrup into the eggs, beating continuously as you pour. (Do not let the syrup touch the beaters or it will spin into threads.) Continue beating until the mixture thickens and cools to room temperature, about 10 minutes.

Beat in the butter and shortening, 2 tablespoons at a time, until absorbed. Gradually beat in the chocolate. Blend in the vanilla, salt, and rum if using. Do not add the flavoring too quickly or the buttercream might curdle. Chill until of spreading consistency, at least 2 hours or up to 1 week. If the buttercream firms too much, return to room temperature before using, about 1 hour.

Cake:
6 large eggs
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottoms of two 15 1/2-by-10 1/2-inch pans (or cookie sheets with a 1” lip) and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

To make the batter: Beat the eggs and sugar until thick and creamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt. Sift the flour over the top and carefully fold it in.

Spread the batter evenly over the bottom of the two prepared pans. Bake until the edges begin to color, 5 to 7 minutes. Cut each pan into three 5” X 10 1/2” rectangles.

To assemble, place a cake layer on a serving plate, spread with 1/8-inch thick layer of buttercream, then place a second layer on top. Repeat layering the buttercream and cake layers. Cover the top of the cake with buttercream. Cover the sides of the cake with buttercream and chill. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 day or in the freezer. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a big fan of pairing dark chocolate and orange. Here is a recipe for some reinvented chocolate chip cookies that will surprise and excite you.

Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c butter
1/2 c Crisco
3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
zest of one orange
juice of one orange
2 1/4 c self-rising purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter, shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, orange juice, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Stir flour and zest into the creamed mixture. Fold in chocolate chips lightly and chill for 20 minutes or so. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on lightly-greased baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes until light golden brown and still soft, but set in the middle. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to cooling rack or counter. 3-4 dozen cookies.

Blueberry Cupcakes w/ Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting

As soon as I heard this song in 2003, a margarine spread commercial started playing in my mind. I pictured Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow sitting and buttering muffins from a tub of butter substitute and singing to each other. In honor of them and buttered muffins everywhere here is another muffin turned dessert recipe by Bloghungry. For the fans of my stellar video scripts, I am posting the outline for the video that I pictured at the time. 

"Pictures" Script Outline fo Sheryl Crow/Kid Rock

Enter on Kid Rock rolling out of bed in a trashed hotel suite. Surrounded by empty bottles, he stumbles out of bed and to a glass door with the drapes closed. He picks up a broken framed picture of Sheryl lying on the floor.

Cut to Sheryl seated on a patio table singing and sipping coffee. She is surrounded by a backdrop of grassy vineyards or wheat fields and is painted in the golden light of a sunrise.

Cut to Kid pulling back the hotel room drapes, opening the sliding glass door, and walking out to a balcony sunrise. He clutches the picture and sits at a table on the balcony.

Cut to Sheryl and pull back to reveal that she has been sitting next to a giant wall of blueberry muffins. She pulls a muffin from the wall and butters it with a knife from her tub of margarine.

Cut to Kid to reveal that he is sitting on the other side of the giant wall of blueberry muffins. He pulls a muffin from the wall opening a hole to reveal that Sheryl is sitting on the other side.

Cut to Sheryl realizing that Kid is present and accessible on the other side of the giant muffin wall. Wide shot to reveal the two feverishly pulling muffins from the wall, buttering, and eating them. With each bite they become more intoxicated with love. The muffin wall collapses and they fall into each other's arms surrounded by muffin carnage.

Blueberry Cupcakes w/ Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting

6 premade blueberry muffins
1/4 cup butter @ room temperature
6 oz cream cheese @ room temperature
1/8 cup sour cream
1/2 cup blueberries
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 16oz pkg powdered sugar

Beat the butter, cream cheese, and sour cream together in a large bowl until light. Add the blueberries, vanilla, and sugar, mixing well until fluffy. Spread over premade blueberry muffins and keep refrigerated until serving time.

4 Minute Banana Cupcakes with Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

Recently in a late night dessert panic, Bloghungry baked and iced a 2 layer chocolate ricotta cake with homemade vanilla buttercream from pantry to plate in about 30 minutes. In honor of the new Madonna/Justin Timberlake song 4 Minutes. I attempted to throw together a banana cupcake with banana cream cheese frosting in just 4 minutes. It took a little longer than 4 minutes, but only because I used a pastry bag.

Also, Bloghungry has a hobby of scripting out music videos for songs while sitting in L.A. traffic. I've done it for years and I fully believe that if Brittney would have just called me for her last few videos, her career and life would be in a better place right now. Here is an outline of my thoughts for the Madonna/J.T. song.

Bloghungry's "4 Minutes" Video Outline:

Enter on Madonna (lip-syncing) being wheeled down a hospital hallway on a gurney as she extends in Top Modelesque poses. A 4 minute digital countdown clock begins in the corner of the screen.

Cut to J.T. (lip-syncing) in GQ doctor fashions walking in a hurried runway walk down a hospital corridor. He busts through some double doors.

Cut to Madonna (lip-syncing) sprawled out on an operating table in heroine chic awkwardness as her clothes are cut off her by sexy mod nurses to reveal bathing suit-like unitard. Sexy mod nurses circle around in a medical dance panic.

Cut to J.T. (lip-syncing) scrubbing his hands, putting on gloves, etc. and bursting into the operating room with Madonna. He rushes to her side and they both lipsync as he is operating on her general midsection in no specific way. Sweat drips from his brow with great intensity as sexy mod nurses dance around and are sprayed with Technicolor blood and medical fluids originating from Madonna's general midsection. The nurses turn into an orgy on the dance floor as the surgery becomes more heated. The clock in the corner of the screen counts down to zero and Madonna's monitor flatlines. J.T. hangs his head as Madonna and the sexy mod nurse orgy lie lifeless.

4 Minute Banana Cupcakes with Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

6 premade banana muffins
1/4 cup butter @ room temperature
6 oz cream cheese @ room temperature
1/8 cup sour cream
1 banana mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tiny dash nutmeg
1 16oz pkg powdered sugar

Beat the butter, cream cheese, and sour cream together in a large bowl until light. Add the banana, vanilla, nutmeg, and sugar, mixing well until fluffy. Spread over premade banana muffins and keep refrigerated until serving time.

Apricot Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

As I grow older I have really come to love a good shorbread cookie, but I am bored of a plain shortbread cookie and decided to fill them with dried fruit and nuts this year.

Apricot Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
5 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries
powdered sugar, for rolling cookies

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a food processor chop apricots, cranberries, and pecans into small pieces and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients until well mixed. Mix in pecan, apricot, and cranberries until combined. Roll into balls, place on a baking sheet , and bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Fill a shallow bowl with 1-2 cups of powdered sugar. Remove cookies from oven and roll in powdered sugar until coated. Let cool.

Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe was my favorite cookie of last Christmas. These cookies are a big crowd pleaser and are some of the easiest cookies you could ever make. All you need is premade cookie dough, peanutbutter cups and 2 mini muffin pans.

Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 roll chocolate chip cookie dough
1 pkg. miniature Reese's peanut butter cups
2 mini muffin pans

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray miniature muffin pans with cooking spray or use paper liners. Cut wedges of cookie dough the size of large marbles. Place dough in miniature muffin pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly brown. While cookies are baking remove all paper from miniature peanut butter cups and set aside. Push unwrapped peanut butter cups into center of hot cookies. Cool completely before removing from pans.

Peanut Butter Pecan Pie / Pie Rainbow

Last Thanksgiving started a revitalization of pie making in my house and my life. We ate through 7 pies in that weekend alone. This flux of pie in my house gave birth to what is now refered to as "pie rainbow". Pie rainbow is the thin slicing and pairing of 3 or more different pie flavors on one plate. Seen above is a pie rainbow consisting of Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie, Peanut butter Pecan Pie, and Sweet Potato Meringue pie. 2008 is all about pie rainbow. Here's this year's Peanut butter pecan recipe.

Peanut Butter Pecan Pie

1  unbaked pie crust for a 9-inch pie
3/4  cup light corn syrup
1/2  cup creamy peanut butter
3  eggs
3/4  cup granulated sugar
1  tsp. vanilla extract
3/4  cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2  cup coarsely chopped peanuts
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Fit pastry into pie plate. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk corn syrup, peanut butter and eggs until smooth. Whisk in granulated sugar and vanilla, then stir in pecans and peanuts. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until browned and center is set. Let cool completely at room temperature on a wire rack. Dust with confectioner's sugar before slicing and serving.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Fudgy Caramel Pan Frosting and Salted Pecans

I spent months on my birthday cake recipe this year and was very close to finalizing a Champagne Pear Cupcake with Salted Caramel Cream and & 7 Minute Marshmallow Frosting recipe before I scrapped the whole project. This cake is based on the birthday cake my grandmother made me every year for my birthday through my childhood. It’s rustic and country and has been my favorite birthday cake for over 20 years now. I added vanilla bean this year as a shout out to my food snob friends and buttered and salted pecans to help balance out the rich sweetness in the frosting.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Fudgy Caramel Pan Frosting and Salted Pecans

Vanilla Bean White Cake

1 pkg white cake mix
1 cup whole milk
1 stick butter (melted)
3 large eggs
2 vanillla beans

Slice vanilla beans in half lengthwise. Put bean and milk in a small saucepan and heat to a slight boil. Remove from heat to cool. Using a small knife, scrape all vanilla bean specs from the bean pods into the milk. Discard remaining pod. Mix milk and remaining ingredients together until well blended. Divide batter into 2 round cake pans. Bake @ 350 for 25-29 minutes (until cake bounces back when pressed).

Butter and Salt Roasted Pecans

10oz pecan halves or pieces
3 Tbsp butter
Salt

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium-sized skillet melt butter. Toss and coat pecans in butter. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and salt generously to taste. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Grandma's Caramel Frosting

2 sticks butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
4 cups powder sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
a handful of pecan pieces (optional)

Melt butter with brown sugar and boil for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and bring to boil. Sift in powder sugar, add vanilla and stir until smooth. Immediately pour and spead over cake. Sprinkle pecan pieces over each layer as you go. If it begins to harden, return to heat and add small amounts of milk. Sprinkle pecan more pieces gererously over top.

Bourbon Pecan Pie #2

I was pretty happy with my bourbon pecan pie from a couple years ago, but I have been told that this recipe is even better. Don't be afraid of the bourbon. It helps to cut a little bit of the sweetness and ads a richer flavor to the pie without being overwhelming.

Bourbon Pecan Pie #2

1 frozen pie crust
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 cups chopped toasted pecans
1 to 2 tablespoons bourbon
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Set separate racks in the center and lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Put a piece of parchment paper or foil over the pie shell and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake on a baking sheet on the center rack until the dough is set, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift sides of the parchment paper to remove the beans. Continue baking until the pie shell is lightly golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

While the crust is baking make the filling: In medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and stirring constantly, continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts, bourbon, and the vanilla. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. (If the crust has cooled, return it to the oven for 5 minutes to warm through.) Whisk the beaten eggs into the filling until smooth. Put the pie shell on a sheet pan and pour the filling into the hot crust.

Bake on the lower oven rack until the edges are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 40 to 45 minutes. (If the edges get very dark, cover them with aluminum foil half way during baking.) Cool on a rack. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin pie has lost the zeal it once had. This Thanksgiving, I will be making Pumpkin Whoopie pies instead.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
1 2/3 cups flour
4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake. For best storage, wrap each pie individually in plastic wrap.