Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. The first real challenge was all about chocolate. Trying to make the most decadent chocolate dessert possible. Truthfully the fact that the winner used white chocolate to me makes it null and void. I like white chocolate, but it’s not chocolate. Do you think white chocolate is chocolate?
Anyway, I watched and listened as the judges picked apart the dessert. They seemed to be most impressed with the desserts that had different texture and different chocolates. The very same day I was thinking of this my much awaited copy of Baked: Explorations came out. I LOVED their last book and couldn’t wait until for this to arrive on my doorstep. Inside was a Mississippi Mud Pie. Which had a cookie crust, a flourless chocolate cake bottom, and chocolate pudding. Okay, now we are talking. I had originally wanted to make chocolate meringues to crush up and put on top, but our humidity the last couple of days was making a crunchy meringue a big no-no. If I were to do it again, I would try and add an extra element of texture with the meringue.
These are not super pretty. This is know. But they are definitely chocolate overload. The thing is that making things super pretty isn’t all that good for this blog. I want to have fun with these challenges but I still also want you to go and make it. And though this has a bunch of steps, overall, it’s pretty easy to make. And how can you no love a Oreo Double Stuffed Cookie Crust with a Flourless Chocolate Cake baked into it! Helloooo.
I went with milk chocolate, which is different than the original recipe to add a different depth. Feel free to use whatever chocolate you would prefer. I also through on some toffee pieces as it was my excuse to open the bag and eat some. Because I really wanted some. But just opening the bag to eat them is gluttonous. But opening the bag to use for some mini tarts and eating the leftovers in the bag is just making sure I am not wasting food. Clearly, you see the way to go.
Again, I want to say, I am not doing these challenges in the time allotment. I am doing them for as little or as long as I want. This was just to spur my imagination a little and is supposed to be fun. So writing me mean emails saying it’s not really a challenge if I don’t do it in the same time frame just means you need to find a hobby.

Chocolate Overload Mud Pie

Chocolate Cookie Crust:

16 ounces Oreo Cookies (it’s about 35 to 40 regular, I used 30 (maybe less, some might have gone in my mouth) double stuffed)

5 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

Flourless Chocolate Cake

4 TBSP unsalted butter

6 ounces dark chocolate (60-70%), chopped

1 TBSP espresso powder

¼ cup strong coffee, at room temperature

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

Milk Chocolate Pudding

2 TBSP granulated sugar

2 TBSP cornstarch

2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½  cups whole milk

½  cup heavy cream

4 ounces  milk chocolate, chopped

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

To make the crust:

Preheat oven to 300F.

Lightly spray a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray. Line with parchment, spray that and the sides of the pan. I chose to make these into tarts. I used six 4 ½ inch diameter tart pans.

In a food processor, grind the cookies into a fine crumb. Add the butter and pulse until well combined.

Evenly distribute the crumb among the tart pans, or place all of the crumb mixture into the pan (if using spring form). Make sure to not only get the bottom but up the sides as well.

Place in freezer for 10 minutes.

Remove and bake for 10 minutes and remove and let cool on a wire rack.

To make the flourless cake:

Increase oven temperature to 350F

Using a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate together. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together the espresso powder, coffee, salt and vanilla. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks with ½ cup of the sugar until the mixture is light and has almost doubled in volume, about 5 minutes.  Add the chocolate mixture and beat until just combined. Scrap down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix on low seed for 5 seconds. Add the coffee mixture and beat until just combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix on low for 5 seconds.

In a clean bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually increase the speed to high and add the remaining ½ cup of sugar, beating until soft peaks form.

Scoop 1 cup of egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten the batter. Using a rubber spatula mix the egg whites into the chocolate batter. Not too rough but not to gentle. Add the remaining egg whites but this time by folding them in gently.

Pour the batter onto the cooled cookie crust (if using mini tarts, spoon into the tarts so that it comes 2/3 of the way up…you will probably have some left over, I just made a mini cake and ate it…shhh, don’t tell anyone). Bake for 39-42 minutes (minis only took about 20-24 minutes…so pay attention). You are look for the cake to be set but still jiggles slightly…kind of like cheesecake. Transfer it to a wire rack and cool completely. The cake will sink in size. That’s what it does. You did nothing wrong. Once cool. Cover in plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours (which gives you time to make the pudding and chill that).

For the pudding:

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in milk and cream. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, 2 minutes. (Mixture will be thick.) Remove from heat. Whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl and chill pudding, its surface covered with wax paper (to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least 2 hours.

Pudding recipe from Epicurious.com

To assemble:

Stir the pudding to loosen it, then pour it on top of the cake (pie), making sure to stay inside the cookie crust boarder (if you made a tart you can pile it on).

Return cake to refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Top with chocolate whipped cream (make it the regular way and when you add sugar, also add 1 TBSP of cocoa powder) and crushed toffee pieces.

Overall recipe adapted from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

 

For years friends have said to me, you should be on Top Chef. I would tell them no way, I don’t have the knife skills(and a whole other bunch of reasons). And well, there’s never any dessert. So of course, what comes along? Top Chef: Just Desserts. My friends hounded me like crazy to try out. After seeing the cast, thank goodness I did not! Not afraid of their skill, just plain afraid of them! No seriously, I would lie awake at night probably hoping that my bunk mate wouldn’t try to smother me to death with buttercream frosting just for the fun of it. But it got me thinking. Along the lines of, Julie and Julia, I decided I will be doing each of the challenges that they are going to do on Top Chef Just Desserts. Which is how I ended up with these Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes with Cheesecake Frosting topped with Mini Cinnamon Rolls.
The first quick fire challenge was to make your signature dessert. I really have two. Either my bread pudding or my cinnamon roll cheesecake. In the middle of making the dessert they came in and told them to make it into cupcake form. So that’s how I ended up with a cinnamon roll cupcake. I would have totally failed, as this took way longer than the allotted time.
Yep, these are pretty much over the top fantastic. Especially since I actually put a piece of cheesecake into the frosting. Mmmm, cheesecake. Then of course the little cinnamon roll on top just adds a little something extra.
Now for the bad news. Yes I plan on making to the best of my ability each challenge. But no I don’t plan on putting them all on here. A couple of the recipes will be going on my CCbP Facebook Fan Page only. So if you are not a fan of it yet, and you are curious to see what I am doing with the project, you might want to become a friend of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes with Cheesecake Frosting topped with Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes:

2 cups cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
Filling:
½ cup brown sugar
2 TBSP cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar Coating:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 TBSP cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F . Butter two 12 cup muffin pans. Place a TBSP of cinnamon sugar coating in each cup and swirl around until the sides and bottom are covered in the coating. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, and salt.
Cut up the butter into 1-inch pieces and place them in the large bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment or beaters. Beat for 3 minutes on MEDIUM-HIGH speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.
Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs one at a time.
Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
Spoon batter a 1/3 of the way up the muffin cup. Place 1 tsp. of brown sugar filling inside. Spoon another 1/3 of the way up. Using a butter knife, swirl the filling around in the cupcakes.
Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 15-18 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and comes away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cake recipe adapted from Epicurious.com

Cheesecake Frosting
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 slice cheesecake, bottom removed, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a bowl and a mixer) beat the cream cheese and cheesecake on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Add sugar, and beat another three minutes, until super smooth.
Add vanilla and lemon juice and beat another 30 seconds.
Chill in fridge for 20 minutes. Pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes.

The Mini Cinnamon Rolls are just a smaller version of these cinnamon rolls, minus the frosting. If you choose to make them. I made a half batch, just bake up the bread for french toast or what not. They take about 16-18 minutes to bake up depending on the size. Mine were all about the size of quarter on steriods before I started, the of course grow bigger in the oven. You could also just use refrigerator rolls if you were in a hurry ( I wont tell anyone)

The first time I took my husband to a Sam’s Club he was in awe. See he had never been to one before. Or a warehouse club in general  for that matter. He was of the consensus that a warehouse club meant rows and rows of 100 pound bags or rice and beans. So when he saw things like televisions, jewelry, pillows, tube socks,  and what not he was a little like a kid in a toy store for the first time. I think a lot of people would be surprised what Sam’s Club has to offer. Especially since  not everything is be in bulk like people think.

Let’s talk cheese for example. I am fortunate enough to be in partnership now with Sam’s Club. And with that partnership came a LARGE box of cheese. Can you imagine? You come to the door and there is a large box of gourmet cheese just hanging out there. Calling your name. Free cheese. Free good cheese (disclaimer, in case you didn’t catch on Sam’s Club gave me 14 free cheeses). My mind was a little bit on overload, as well as my fridge at that point.

Then came the hard part. Pick your favorite. Ummm. That’s like saying to a parent pick your favorite child (but then again we all know I’m my parent’s favorite ).

Then once you found your favorite, make something on your blog with it. Did you know Mario Batali even made cheese? He does. I tried three of them. All good. But not what I was looking to bake with. I went through his Parmigianino Reggiano like nobody’s business though on just about every dinner we ate for two weeks.

I considered the Formage D’Affinois. Which is a French double-cream cheese that I thought I could do something with but in the end I decided I wanted to go blue. I had a few blue cheese offerings but decided for what I was making, the Maytag Blue was clearly the best choice. If you want to see all the cheeses that Sam’s is offering up (and there are quite a few) as well as enter to win a trip to Paris (Paris people!) then go here.

Maytag Blue for those who don’t know is produced by having each wheel made by hand, aged in caves (no, not the Bat cave…but wouldn’t that be cool?) twice as long as most other cheeses. What I like about it is its texture and the fact that it has a lovely blue cheese flavor but without being too blue cheesey. Which sounds weird but I think most of you know what I mean. And yes, I got my cheese at Sam’s Club.

I had originally thought about a blue cheese tart with a cherry compote, but truth is that Fall is here (wearing sweats as I type this) and stone fruit is on its way out. So I switched to pears. If you aren’t into wine you could always just poach your pears in white grape juice or even apple juice for that matter.  And to represent the fine Pacific Northwest I have hazelnuts from my friend’s tree. Which are candied because if you haven’t tried nut brittle or candied nuts with blue cheese you my friend are missing out! Technically you probably want to skin the hazelnuts, but that’s way too much effort for this lazy girl. I think the skins on worked just fine. More rustic if you will.  I must say these actually exceeded my expectations. I knew the flavors were going to go well together but I ate these in the blink of an eye. Well two blinks.

It makes for a very simple to make yet highly sophisticated (impress your friends!) dessert…or even appetizer, or lunch if you throw a little salad on the side. Throw in a pork roast and you have got yourself a fine Fall meal.  If you want more Fall ideas you can check out some ideas here.

Maytag Blue Cheese Tart with Poached Pears and Candied Hazelnuts

16 ounces pie or short dough (any recipe of your liking)

3 pears (I chose Asian pears), peeled, cored, and sliced

2 cups dessert wine (I chose to use an ice wine, but a Riesling would do nicely)

6 ounces Maytag Blue Cheese (which you can get at Sam’s Club), at room temperature

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup plus 1 TBSP granulated sugar

2 egg yolks

Candied hazelnuts (recipe follows)

In a medium sauce pan bring wine to a simmer. Add pears to pan and reduce heat, but make sure that the liquid is still simmering. Let them simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from liquid and set aside to cool. You will have left over pears, keep them to use as a topping.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Spray six 5-inch diameter tart pans to help avoid sticking.

Roll out your pie dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 –inch thick. Cut out six 6-inch circles using a paring knife. Line the tart pans with the dough and trim off the excess dough from the edges.  Prick the bottom of the tarts with a fork or knife to help prevent them from puffing up.

Blind bake the tarts for 15 minutes.  Prick the tarts again if needed (if they want to rebel and puff up). Let tart shells cool for 10 minutes.

Arrange pears in a circular pattern or just throw them in how you like (your choice) at the bottom of the tart shell.

Using a stand mixer (or a large bowl and beaters) mix together the cheese, cream, sugar, and egg yolks using a paddle attachment on medium high speed. Beat until mixture is smooth.

Spread the cheese mixture over the pears (I used an everyday spoon) evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set and allow them to cool on a rack for about 15 minutes.  Add pear garnish and top with candied hazelnuts.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Candied Hazelnuts

1/2 cup hazelnuts, skins no skins your choice (I was lazy so went with skins on)

3 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP unsalted butter

Toast hazelnuts for 1 minute in a medium sized pan (non-stick is your friend here) over medium heat.

Add sugar and butter.

Using a wooden or non-stick spoon make sure that the nuts are coated with the sugar and butter mixture.

Pour onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool. Break up into individual pieces as best you can (use your teeth if you have to…kidding…kind of)

Disclaimer: I was given a Sam’s Club membership. I was given compensation to write this post. I was given compensation to buy ingredients to make my tart. Just so ya know.

If you are missing canned pumpkin at your store and can’t seem to find it, blame your local food blogger. We have all been sufficiently scared of the fact that our canned pumpkin supply will be limited this year due to bad pumpkin crops. And thus sets in the panic among bakers everywhere. I have become the great pumpkin hoarder. When I am in the store and I see a can or two (or ten), I buy them. If you like pumpkin baked goods, I suggest you do this too! Or else you won’t be able to make things like White Chocolate-Pumpkin Topped Blondies.

I think I scare the poor check out girl. She probably thinks I’m trying out the new tanning technique. You know, instead of being orange like Snooki (I have never watched the show but I’m appealing to my younger audience here…for us old people, think Umpa Lumpa) on the outside, you can eat so much canned pumpkin you can turn yourself orange from the inside. Same effect, less skin damage. I think this new trend will catch on.

First off let me address what you are probably thinking…yes, I now have ads on this site now. Truth is that I was totaling up how much the blog has cost me this last year and almost fell over. And I haven’t done nearly as much as I used to. So with that, yes, ads are on here. They should hopefully only be food related ads and so you might not hate me as much.

One other change that has nothing and yet something to do with the blog. I’m going back to work. For years I have been out of the teaching realm and have decided to dip my feet into the pool so to speak and substitute teach. And who knows, I may eventually try to get a full time teaching job again. Having said that, gone will be my days of leisurely waking up and baking, unless of course no one needs a sub that day. I will however still be baking. Still running the blog. Still writing with the same crappy grammar.

There are a ton of new baking books that will be hitting the bookstores in the coming months, as Fall officially has started! YAY!!! The first of the ones to arrive off of my pre-purchased Amazon list was Fat Witch Brownies. I had heard of this place and they sell the mixes (for an INSANE amount of money) at my local high end food store so I was curious to see what the fuss was about.

I found a pumpkin bar recipe that had a brownie bottom and decided that I wanted to go white chocolate instead. I love white chocolate and pumpkin together. So with a few changes they were made. I would love to tell you what these taste like. I have a sinus infection. A darn good one. I can’t really taste a thing. Which if I was smart I would eat healthy food since I can’t taste anything, but no, I keep eating the bad stuff. I do know that these were very moist and from the few taste buds that were working they tasted good to me.

Happy pumpkin hoarding.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @bakerpeabody, where if you hadn’t already guessed it from the blog, Twitter proves I have no life.

White Chocolate-Pumpkin Topped Blondies