back-words... recipe...

 I came across this in another old email. I thought it would be make this with someone. it never happened and I don't recall the source of the recipe, either. These days, I would have to adjust it to be gluten-free, but it doesn't look that hard to do. Perhaps this will be something I do later in autumn.

Triple Layer Devil's Food Cake

12 servings

1 3/4 cups water

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee

powder

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature

2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar (~ 1 lb)

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter three

9-inch cake pans with 1 3/4 inch high sides. Line pan

bottoms with waxed paper rounds. Butter paper.

Bring water and coffee powder to boil in heavy small

saucepan. Remove from heat. Add cocoa and whisk until

smooth. Cool completely.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into

medium bow. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large

bowl until fluffy. Add sugar in 4 additions, beating

well after each addition and scraping down sides of

bowl occasionally. Add eggs and yolks 1 at a time,

beating just to blend after each addition. Using

rubber spatula, mix dry ingredients into butter

mixture alternately with cocoa mixture, beginning and

ending with dry ingredients. Divide batter evenly

among prepared pans. Bake until toothpick inserted

into center comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Cool

cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Turn out onto

racks. Peel off waxed paper, cool completely.

   

Icing

12 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet

chocolate, chopped

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

3 tablespoons Framboise liqueur or Grand Marnier

Melt chocolate, butter and corn syrup in heavy medium

saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Stir in

Framboise. Cool icing until firm enough to spread,

about 2 hours.

Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen.

Cut cake into 2 layers using serrated knife. Place

bottom cake layer on platter cut side up. Spread 2/3

cup icing over. Cover with top cake layer cut side

down. Spread all but 1/2 cup icing over top and sides

of cake. Refrigerate cake until icing is set, about 1

hour.

cooking with dog...

Yeah, I know: "with dog," right? Only it's a play on words. Allow me to elaborate further...

For those of you familiar with YouTube (a site featuring videos of various topics), someone is using the medium to release a short feature cooking series and guess what? Dog isn't the ingredient- he is the host! Francis, a French Poodle, hosts every video which teaches the viewer how to cook Japanese meals (one meal per video since each video is about 5 minutes in length). An excellent mix of humor and instruction keeps even the most contemporary attention span glued just long enough to learn how to make something simple and amazingly delicious (yes, sometimes acquired tastes apply, but substitutions often work in a pinch). Ingeniously, a recipe is also provided in the info area to the right of the video for those curious enough to want to try any of the recipes on video. I gave them a "Stumble" and I was glad to find I wasn't the first to do so. I think you might enjoy their videos as well, if for nothing more than sheer entertainment value.

Here is the main link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/cookingwithdog

back-words... recipe...

September 19, 2008
recipe...
Congo Bars

Makes about 15 dozen
Cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, or pecans are all fine substitutes
for the macadamia nuts.
6 cups macadamia nuts
1 one-pound box graham crackers
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1.5 cups packed sweetened shredded coconut
Caramel for Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spread macadamia nuts on a baking sheet, and
bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Set baking sheet on a wire rack to cool.

2. Line an 11-by-18-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Using a food processor or rolling pin, finely crush graham crackers. Place in a medium bowl. Stir in melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of prepared
baking pan in an even layer. Sprinkle the chocolate over the graham crackers. Sprinkle the coconut over the chocolate. Sprinkle the reserved nuts over the coconut.

3. Using a microwave or double boiler, heat the caramel until liquid. Drizzle caramel over macadamia nuts. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool. Cut into .75" x 1.25" pieces.

back-words... recipe...

September 19, 2008
recipe...
Martha's CONGO BARS

Martha's version of the Congo Bar varies slightly from traditional
recipes in that she prefers to use Valrhona chocolate chunks instead of
chocolate chips. The fine-quality Valrhona chocolate makes them taste
better than ever.

Congo bars became popular in the 1950s, back when cacao beans were
imported from Central Africa, which, in those days, was known as the
Congo. But bar cookies have been around since at least 1896, when a
recipe for them appeared in that year's edition of the "Fannie Farmer
Cookbook." Bar cookies are just that much quicker to make than drop
cookies, which can mean a world of difference if you're pressed for time
but are still inclined to give your family home-baked cookies. They are
deliciously dense, rich, and moist in the center and perfectly crusty on
top. You can substitute chocolate chips for the Valrhona, if you like,
and you can use walnuts, almonds, or peanuts instead of the pecans.

CONGO BARS
Makes 18 two-and-one-quarter-inch bars

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for
buttering the baking dish
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
Vegetable oil spray for spreading dough

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9x13" glass baking
dish, reserving butter wrapper. Set aside. Sift together the flour,
baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2. Using a wooden spoon, beat butter and sugar in a medium bowl until
light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time,
mixing well after each addition. Add sifted flour mixture, and mix until
just combined. Add chopped nuts and chocolate, and mix to combine.

3. Place the dough in the prepared baking dish. Using the reserved butter wrapper, spread dough evenly. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove to rack to cool slightly before cutting, about 20 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut into 18 2 1/4-by-3-inch bars. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days.

back-words... recipe...

September 19, 2008
recipe...
Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

brownie batter:
4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

cheesecake topping:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups raspberries
1 tablespoon sugar

confectioners sugar, for sprinkling Brownies (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Butter and flour a 13" x 9" baking pan.

Make brownie batter:
In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter stirring, and cool. Whisk in sugar and eggs, 1 at a time, and whisk in vanilla and salt. Whisk in flour until just combined and spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

Make cheesecake topping:
In a bowl with an electric mixer cream together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy and beat in lemon juice, egg, vanilla, and salt. Beat in flour and spread mixture in an even layer over batter. Scatter raspberries over topping and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake brownies in middle of oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until top is puffed and pale golden and a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. Cool brownies completely in pan on a rack and chill, covered, at least 6 hours or overnight. Cut brownies into bars and sprinkle with confectioners sugar.