Leite's Culinaria» chocolate

Melting Chocolate

Louise Nason | Chikako Watanabe — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:58:22 +0000

Melt: A Book of Chocolate | Absolute Press, 2011 | Servings vary

There are three basic methods of melting chocolate. Our favorite way is simply to put it in the oven at a very low temperature. This results in chocolate that is easy to handle and minimizes the possibility of producing lumpy, unevenly melted chocolate.

If you overheat the chocolate, or if it comes into contact with water or steam, it may “seize,” i.e. thicken and turn lumpy. If this happens, the chocolate is fine to use for baking cakes but can’t be used for making chocolates or ganache.–Louise Nason and Chika Watanabe

LC Smartypants Note: We know what you’re thinking. You already know how to melt chocolate. Maybe, Smartypants. But maybe, just maybe, you and I and all of us could stand to benefit from an unexpected approach to something we thought we understood. Because really, that oven technique described above? Brilliant.

Active time: 5 minutes | Total time: 15 minutes

Melting Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

Chocolate

Directions

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1. Chop the chocolate.
2. Melt the chocolate one of three ways…

If melting in the oven: Heap the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, and place it in a very low oven [about 150°F (65°C)], stirring once or twice with a rubber spatula, until smooth and melted, 10 to 15 minutes.

If melting in the microwave: Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat it in 15-second bursts at medium power, stirring with a rubber spatula between each heating, until smooth and melted.

If melting over simmering water: Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure that the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl, and stir occasionally with a rubber spatula until smooth and melted.

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Butterscotch Sauce from Smitten Kitchen
DIY Salt Caramels from The Kitchn
Brigadeiros from Leite's Culinaria
Mallomars from Leite's Culinaria

Chocolate Pots de Crème

Sam Mogannam | Dabney Gough — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:00:06 +0000

Bi-Rite Market's Eat Good Food | Ten Speed Press, 2011 | Makes 8

The type of chocolate you use has a significant impact on the flavor and texture of this luscious dessert. With bittersweet chocolate (60 – 65% cacao), the pots will be intensely chocolaty and almost truffle-like; using semisweet chocolate (around 52% cacao) yields a sweeter, mellower, more pudding-like treat.–Sam Mogannam and Dabney Gough

LC As You Like It Note: As the headnote above indulges, er, instructs, you can choose exactly how you want these little puddings to turn out. It’s sort of the culinary equivalent of a choose your own ending book, except this riff on a classic invites you to choose your own dessert–a bittersweet, truffle-like custard or a sweet, mellow pudding. It all hinges on whether you choose bittersweet or milk chocolate. Or, if you’re the indecisive sort, choose not to choose. Instead simply make a batch of each type of these petits pots. Why not?!

Active time: 25 minutes | Total time: 7 hours

Chocolate Pots de Crème Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 ounces) half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
9 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream, for garnish (optional)
Shaved chocolate, for garnish (optional)

Directions

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1. Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. (Try not to nibble any of it…or maybe you bought a little extra for that.)
2. Combine the cream, half-and-half, salt, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a medium saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until it starts to approach a simmer—that is to say, when small bubbles begin to appear around the edge of the pan. This ought to take about 4 minutes. Do not let the cream mixture boil. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
3. Combine the egg yolks and the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a bowl and whisk until well combined and smooth. Whisking the egg yolks constantly, slowly pour in about 1 cup of the warm cream mixture and whisk until combined. Then pour the yolk mixture into the remaining cream mixture in the pan and whisk constantly until smooth.
4. Return the pan to medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula, until the mixture has thickened to about the consistency of a pureed soup, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chopped chocolate and let it stand, without stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes to warm the chocolate. Then slowly and gently stir with a whisk—trying your best not to incorporate any air into the chocolatey goodness. When the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla extract and gently stir again. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer into a large measuring cup or bowl.
6. Divide the custardy chocolate mixture evenly among eight 4-ounce ramekins or ovenproof cups. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 2 hours. Cover the chilled custard-filled ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours longer. (Don’t let your impatience get the better of you. The additional fridge time brings about a revelatory transformation in the texture of these pots de crèmes.)
7. To serve, let the pots de crèmes come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, give or take a little. If desired, top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Nutmeg Pots De Creme from Not Without Salt
Maple Pots De Creme from Eggs on Sunday
Duo-Tone Chocolate Pots De Creme from Leite's Culinaria
Chai Pots De Creme from Leite's Culinaria

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Vanilla Stout Buttercream

David Arrick — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:55:03 +0000

The Butch Bakery Cookbook | Wiley, 2011 | Makes 12 jumbo or more regular cupcakes

There’s nothing like an ice-cold beer on a hot summer day or while you’re watching your favorite ball game. So we thought, why not make a cupcake with beer? We started with chocolate cake and then added our favorite stout to the mix. Next we frosted them with our pumped-up creamy vanilla frosting, again with lots of stout, and then topped them with crushed chocolate-covered pretzels. And on that day, a winning combination was born!

For a Virgin Beer Run, substitute your favorite soda for the beer. We like a cola or root beer the best.–David Arrick

LC The Right Time Note: There’s a time and place for everything, they say. There’s no better time and place for these than the present moment, we say.

Active time: 30 minutes | Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

For the chocolate stout cupcakes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup dark stout, such as Guinness, poured and settled before you measure
2 large eggs
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the vanilla stout buttercream
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted through a strainer
3 tablespoons dark stout, such as Guinness, poured and settled before you measure
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
For the topping
3/4 cup crushed chocolate-covered pretzels (optional)

Directions

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Make the cupcakes
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and place a baking rack in the center of the oven. Line two 6-cup jumbo-size muffin pans with liners.
2. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat, add the cocoa powder, and stir until smooth. Then stir in the stout. (It may be tempting to think that you have some stout left to drink, but hold your horses! You’re going need some for the frosting, too.) Set the butter and aside to cool, about 10 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and the sour cream. Add the cooled chocolate mixture, incorporating well. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt, and whisk until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.
4. Fill each prepared muffin cup about 2/3 full. with 1/3 cup batter, about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the tops are just firm to the touch and a tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Leave the cupcakes in the pan on a rack to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack to cool completely before frosting, about 1 hour.
Make the buttercream
5. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar, stout, vanilla, and salt to the bowl, and continue to beat until very smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Construct the cupcakes
6. Get out that ice cream scoop (2 to 2 1/4 inches in diameter) and top each cupcake with a scoop of frosting. (If you like, you can shine the cupcakes up a bit by taking a butter knife–no serrated edges, please–and pushing the frosting down to about an inch high and flattening the top. Take the knife and make a flat 45-degree angled edge all the way around the side of the scoop of frosting.) Sprinkle each cupcake with a tablespoon of the crushed pretzels, if using. (The cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container or frozen for up to 1 month.)

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Root Beer Float Cupcakes from Cupcake Project
Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes from My Baking Addiction
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting from Leite's Culinaria
Black Bottom Cupcakes from Leite's Culinaria

Tom Aikens’ Chocolate Crepes

Micah Carr-Hill — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:00:48 +0000

Green & Black's Organic Ultimate Chocolate Recipes | Kyle Books, 2010 | Makes 16 to 20

Tom Aikens of Tom Aikens Restaurant in London developed this chocolate crêpes recipe based on one he used to make with his mother, except cocoa was added to make the crêpes extra delicious and chocolatey. They remain an all-time favorite of his. Serve immediately—perhaps with some chocolate sauce or mousse.–Micah Carr-Hill

LC Final Flourish Note: Rolled or flat. Filled or unfilled. Smothered in chocolate sauce or straight up. However you think you’d like to take your chocolate crêpe is exactly what you ought to do with it. As for us, we’re partial to pretty darn simple, maybe drizzled with melted chocolate as a no-fuss flourish. Call us crazy.

Active time: 30 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes, not including resting

Chocolate Crepes Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the pans
2 ounces dark (70% cocoa solids) chocolate, broken into pieces
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup superfine sugar, plus extra for sprinkling (if you don’t have superfine sugar, you can simply blitz some granulated sugar in a blender until finely ground but not powdery)
1/4 cup good-quality cocoa powder (preferably natural)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 free-range eggs plus 2 egg yolks, beaten
2 cups 1% milk, plus more as needed

Directions

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1. Gently melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the butter and heat until melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt, if using. [Editor's Note: Do consider adding that pinch of salt, as it really draws out the distinct notes of the chocolate you choose to use.]
3. Make a well in the middle and then stir in the beaten eggs, then the 2 cups milk, and then the melted butter and chocolate mixture. Pass the batter through a fine sieve and let rest at room temperature for an hour or two.
4. When you’re ready to cook, heat a large nonstick frying pan and rub with a little butter. Add enough batter to the pan to thinly coat the surface after tilting it from side to side. Cook the crêpe for a minute on each side, and then slide the crêpe out on to a warm plate lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with superfine sugar. If the batter seems too thick, simply stir in a little more milk until the desired consistency is achieved. Continue to cook the crêpes until all the batter is used, layering them on the plate and sprinkling each one with a sprinkling of sugar as you go. You may wish to swipe the pan with a touch of butter in between crêpes. Serve immediately.

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Crispy Crêpes with Apples, Brie and Prosciutto from Steamy Kitchen
Crêpes with Spiced Poached Pears for Monsoon Spice from eCurry
Buckwheat Crêpes with Sauteed Apples and Gruyère Cheese from Leite's Culinaria
Tropical Fruit Crêpes from Leite's Culinaria

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Bea Vo — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:57:49 +0000

Tea with Bea | Ryland, Peters & Small, 2011 | Serves 8 to 12

This chocolate cake is vegan but we don’t tell people it is, and they love it. That’s how good it is.–Bea Vo

LC We’ll Second That… Note: We second the author’s sneaky sentiment about not telling people this chocolate indulgence is vegan, as it somehow makes it all the more gratifying when they go back for seconds. (And, uh, we also won’t divulge how long any remaining slices last after guests go home.)

Another lovely thing about this recipe? If you have no unsweetened soy milk in the house, you don’t necessarily need to run to the store or pass the recipe by. One of our trusted LC recipe testers, Natalie Reebel, smartly swapped soy for almond milk (regular almond milk, not the sweetened, flavored kind, notes another LC recipe tester, Sita Krishnaswamy) and found it to be a swell substitute given how “beautifully” the cake turned out. A word to the wise, though it may be tempting, don’t swap rice milk for soy, as it has a profoundly different consistency.

Active time: 20 minutes | Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup natural cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch salt
1 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 2/3 cups superfine sugar (you can easily make your own by blitzing granulated sugar in the blender until finely ground but not powdery)
1 cup sunflower oil (you can substitute any mild-flavored vegetable or olive oil), plus more for the pan
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions

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1. Preheat the oven to 325˚F (163˚C). Oil a 9-inch round cake pan and line it with parchment paper.
2. Dump the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the soy milk, vinegar, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a spoon until well combined.
4. Spoon or scrape the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40 to 55 minutes. It’s done when a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out with almost no crumbs attached and the center of the cake, when pressed, springs back slightly instead of sinks. Bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes if necessary.
5. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Slide a table knife or a paring knife between the cake and the edge of the pan to loosen, then carefully invert the cake onto the wire rack. Invert it again so it’s right-side up and let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Thin Mint Cake from I Am Baker
Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake from Madhuram’s Eggless Cooking
Chocolate French Mousse Cake from Leite's Culinaria
Bittersweet Chocolate Rum Icebox Cake from Leite's Culinaria

Monster Chocolate M&M Cookies

Pat Sinclair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:18 +0000

Baking Basics and Beyond | Agate Surrey, 2011 | Makes 32 jumbo or 96 standard cookies

We call these “dishpan cookies” at my house because if you make the whole recipe, you need a dishpan to mix all the ingredients (or a very large bowl). These cookies traveled with my kids on many team trips and were always “winners.”–Pat Sinclair

We Interrupt This Recipe…: Put down that wooden spoon. The New York Times just reported that this Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVI will introduce yet another animated M&Ms character: Ms. Brown. The sixth member of the melts-in-your-hands-not-in-your-mouth cast, Brown will join Yellow, Orange, Red, Green, and Blue. Look for her during the first quarter commericals. (Are we the only ones who’re a little giddy about this?!)

Active time: 20 minutes | Total time: 1 hour

Chocolate M&M Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

3 1/2 cups (14 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
2 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups cornflakes (after measuring the cornflakes, crush them lightly)
2 cups M&Ms, semisweet chocolate or butterscotch chips, or a combinations

Directions

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1. Heat oven to 350°F (180°C) with oven rack in middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in really, really, really large bowl or a dishpan.
3. Beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in bowl of a mixer on medium-high speed until creamy, scraping down sides of bowl once or twice. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix well.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat just until a dough forms. Scrape the dough back into the very large bowl. Dump in the oatmeal, corn flakes, and M&Ms or chips and stir with a spoon until combined.
For jumbo cookies
5. Using a 1/4 cup measure or ice cream scoop, drop the dough onto the baking sheets, making 6 cookies on each cookie sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until set in the center and edges are lightly browned. For softer cookies, reduce baking time slightly. The cookies will still look a little moist in the center. Cool cookies 1 minute on the cookie sheets and then place them on wire cooling racks. (Store the cookies loosely covered at room temperature.)
For normal cookies
6. Drop 1-tablespoon blobs of dough onto the baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake 10 to 13 minutes, or until set in the center and edges are lightly browned. For softer cookies, reduce baking time slightly. The cookies will still look a little moist in the center. Cool cookies 1 minute on the cookie sheets and then place them on wire cooling racks. (Store the cookies loosely covered at room temperature.)

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Giant Double Chocolate Chip Cookies from Annie's Eats
Big, Soft & Chewy Molasses Ginger Spice Cookies from Farmgirl Fare
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies from Leite's Culinaria
Monster Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies from Leite's Culinaria

Ultra-Thin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Alice Medrich — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:00:27 +0000

Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies | Artisan, 2010 | Makes fifteen 5-inch cookies

A theatrical departure from mainstream chocolate chip cookies, these ultra-thin cookies are large and decidedly flat. They shatter dramatically when you bite them, releasing loads of caramel brown sugar goodness and bursts of bittersweet chocolate.–Alice Medrich

LC Fancy Pants but Not Fussy Cookies Note: Those of you who like your chocolate chip cookies cakey and chewy, you may as well stop reading now…unless you doubt your devotion. Crispy cookie junkies, once you experience these brittle, caramelized ultra-thin cookies that seem heaven sent, you may find yourself falling to your knees in reverence. The only trick to these fancy-pants but not fussy cookies? Squashing the dough flat, but not too flat, before baking and keep careful watch over the cookies so the sugars caramelize but not scorch. What can we say, practice makes perfect. And oh, what palatable practice!

Active time: 20 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes, not including time for the dough to rest

Ultra-Thin Chocolate Chunk Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 generously heaping cup chocolate chips or chunks

Directions

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1. Combine the flour and baking soda in a small bowl, mixing them thoroughly with a whisk or fork. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, oats, granulated and dark brown sugars, corn syrup, milk, and salt. Whisk in the flour mixture. If the batter is still warm from the butter, let it cool to room temperature before adding the chocolate. Stir in the chocolate chunks. If possible, let the dough rest for at least several hours at room temperature or covered overnight in the fridge. (The resting time makes for an especially crisp and extra-flavorful cookie. If you refrigerate the dough, you may need to warm it to room temperature before you’re able to portion it into cookies.)
3. Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. (These cookies will not spread as they should in a convection oven, so make them only if you have a conventional oven.) Have ready 3 baking sheets.
4. Place 3 large sheets of aluminum foil, cut to fit your baking sheets, on the counter. Divide the dough into 15 equal blobs of about 2 tablespoons each. Arrange 5 blobs of dough well apart on each sheet of foil, situating 4 in a square and 1 in the center. Flatten each piece of dough until it is about 3 inches in diameter. Slide two of the sheets of foil onto baking sheets.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cookies are thin and very brown, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. If the finished cookies are too pale, they will not be crisp, although watch the cookies carefully as they turn brown quickly. Slide the cookies and foil onto wire racks to cool completely before removing the cookies from the foil. Repeat with the third batch—you can slide the last sheet of foil and cookie dough onto a hot baking sheet as long as you put the sheet in the oven immediately. Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing. The cookies can be kept in an airtight container for at least 3 days.

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Pomegranate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod
Chocolate Orange Benne Wafer Cookies from Cookin' Canuck
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies from Leite's Culinaria
Crisp Peanut Butter Cookies from Leite's Culinaria

Homemade Nutella

Christie Matheson — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:00:23 +0000

Cake Simple | Chronicle, 2011 | Makes about 2 cups

For some people, Nutella—a smooth chocolate-hazelnut spread found in the peanut butter aisle in most supermarkets—is a nostalgic childhood treat. But I didn’t taste it until college, when a friend who’d been living in Europe introduced me to it, so I may always think of it as a more sophisticated sweet. The stuff from the jar is pretty darn good, although the fabulous pastry chef Gale Gand taught me how to make it from scratch, and that’s now my favorite version. You can really taste the hazelnuts and feel some of their texture. I’ve been known to eat it with a spoon, as anyone else who’s honest will admit to doing.–Christie Matheson

LC Deliver Me From Temptation… Note: No longer can you consider yourself safe from temptation just because you mustered the wherewithal to walk on by the Nutella aisle at the grocery store. Nope. Temptation lurks in your very own pantry, every second of the day, with this made-from-scratch rendition. Should you succumb to the craving and find yourself standing at the counter, spoon in hand, not quite certain how to stop spooning it up, author Christie Matheson offers up a novel way to put the rest of it to use: perhaps the most lust-inducing frosting that cake has ever known. (That’s the frosting that you see in the bowl above. You can bet your sweet bejeebers we’re going to be licking that spatula.) Here’s what you do. Just grab your stand mixer and beat 1/2 cup of homemade Nutella, 3 tablespoons room-temperature butter, and 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar until creamy. Jack up the speed to medium-high and slowly, slowly drizzle in 2 tablespoons heavy cream, beating just until smooth and fluffy and irresistible. Then slather it all over the cake you baked for your new neighbors and get it out of the house as soon as humanly possible. There. Delivered from temptation.

Active time: 20 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes, not including time for cooling

Homemade Nutella Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

1 cup hazelnuts
12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil, such as canola
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt, more or less depending upon your preference

Directions

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1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
2. Spread the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 12 minutes, until they’ve browned a little and the skins are blistered a little. Wrap them in a kitchen towel and rub vigorously to remove as much loose skin as possible. (Some skin will cling to the nuts when you’re done. It’s okay—not to mention inevitable.) Let cool completely.
3. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over gently simmering water or in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Let cool completely.
4. In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts until they form a paste. Add the oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt and continue processing until the mixture is as smooth as possible–or as smooth as you like. Add the melted chocolate, blend well, and then strain the mixture to remove any chunks of hazelnut that remain. The resulting homemade Nutella will be thin and somewhat runny and maybe even a little warm but it will thicken as it cools. Scrape your homemade nutella into a jar or other resealable container and let it cool to room temperature. Cover the container after snitching several spoonfuls. The nutella will keep on the counter for up to 2 weeks. (Hah!)

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Nutella Cupcakes from My Baking Addiction
Homemade Peanut Butter from Joy the Baker
Seven-Minute Frosting from Leite's Culinaria
Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies from Leite's Culinaria

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Sam Mogannam | Dabney Gough — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:00:14 +0000

Bi-Rite Market's Eat Good Food | Ten Speed Press, 2011 | Serves 10

This rich chocolate sour cream Bundt cake is one of the all-time best-sellers from the Creamery. We use this recipe to make cakes of all different shapes and sizes, from cupcakes to tea cakes to ice cream cake bases. The cocoa powder gives the caek a more intense chocolatey flavor. Be sure to use a high-quality cocoa powder; it makes a huge difference in the final product.

This bullet-proof recipe translates easily to the home kitchen. Unlike many cakes, this one is mixed entirely by hand. No electric mixer needed. And the cake stays most for days.–Sam Mogannam and Dabney Gough

LC Moan of Unabashed Glee Note: Easy. Failproof. Decadent. That’s all we’ve got time to share. We gotta go get us another slice of this cake–and moan in unabashed glee–before it’s gone.

Special Equipment: 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan

Active time: 25 minutes | Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes, not including cooling

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

For the cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1/3 cup (1 ounce) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup water
2 cups (9 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the glaze
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar or corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

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Make the cake
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350°F (176°C). Butter and flour a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, salt, and water and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring, just until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Place the flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Add half of the melted butter mixture and whisk until completely blended (the mixture will be quite thick). Add the remaining butter mixture and whisk until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until completely blended before adding the next egg. Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla until smooth.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then invert onto a rack. Let cool completely before glazing.
Make the glaze
5. Just before glazing the cooled cake, place the chopped chocolate and agave nectar in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the heavy cream and sugar in a small saucepan and put over medium heat. Stir constantly until the cream is hot and the sugar is dissolved. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. If the glaze is exceptionally runny, let it sit for a minute or so to thicken.
6. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake, allowing it to drip and dribble down the sides.

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Chocolate Pound Cake from My Sweet and Saucy
Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake from My Baking Addiction
Eggnog Pound Cake with Crystal Rum Glaze from Leite's Culinaria
Orange Marble Pound Cake from Leite's Culinaria

Bûche de Noël

Micah Carr-Hill — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:45:40 +0000

Micah Carr-Hill | Green & Black’s Organic Ultimate Chocolate Recipes | Kyle, 2010 | Serves 6 to 8

A bûche de Noël is the traditional dessert the French serve at Christmas and, like so much of their pâtisserie, it has potential for other celebratory occasions throughout the year. Annie Bell gave us her recipe for this very chocolatey, very festive yule log.— Micah Carr-Hill

LC Let’s Be Clear About One Thing… Note: We’re all for festive, although we’re not so into the traditional–and woodsy–embellishments for this edible yule log, among them marzipan mushrooms and faux bois flourishes. We’re into Christmas cakes strictly for the chocolate, pure and simple. So as far as we’re concerned, no need to fuss over decorative devices. Besides, one bite of this decadent cake and its inherent and chocolate-y goodness will steal all the attention. We guarantee it.

Active time: 45 minutes | Total time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.

Bûche de Noël Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

For the cake

Butter for the pan
1/2 cup cocoa powder
Pinch of sea salt
3 extra-large eggs
1/3 cup light muscovado or dark brown sugar
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

For the chocolate chestnut mousse

3 1/2 ounces dark (70% cocoa solids) chocolate, broken into pieces
13 ounces unsweetened chestnut puree
1/4 cup light muscovado sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions

Make the cake

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1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Butter a 10-by-13 inch jelly roll pan, line it with parchment paper, and butter the paper as well.

2. Sift the cocoa into a bowl and add the salt. Whisk the eggs and muscovado or brown sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until the mixture is pale and mousse-like, 8 to 10 minutes. Lightly fold in the cocoa in two additions. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth it using an offset spatula. Give the bottom of the pan a couple of sharp taps on the work surface to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake the cake for 8 to 10 minutes, until set and springy to the touch.

3. Place a clean kitchen towel on your work surface and sift a fine layer of confectioners’ sugar on the towel. Carefully turn the hot cake onto the towel. Starting at one short end, carefully roll the cake up with the towel and the parchment paper. You should end up with a short, fat roll. Let cool for 40 to 60 minutes.

Make the chocolate chestnut mousse

4. Gently melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Let cool to room temperature.

5. Beat the chestnut puree, sugar, and vanilla in a food processor until creamy. Add the cooled chocolate and mix until combined.

6. Beat the cream until it forms soft peaks, and then gently fold it into the chocolate chestnut mixture in two additions.

7. Carefully unroll the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Spread the top of the cake with half of the chocolate chestnut mousse, then roll the cake up again and transfer it to a platter, seam facing down. Smooth the rest of the mousse over the exposed surface of the cake. If desired, using the tines of a fork, make lines along its length to replicate tree bark, swirling the ends to create a log effect, and making a few knots on the log, too.

8. Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour. If keeping it for longer than this, loosely cover the cake with plastic wrap and let set at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

9. Just before serving, shower the bûche de Noël with confectioners’ sugar.

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Swiss Roll Christmas Cottages from Not Quite Nigella
Chocolate Mint Bûche de Noël from Apple Pie, Patis & Pâte
Pecan and Carrot Roll Cake from Leite’s Culinaria
Red Velvet Cake Roll from Leite’s Culinaria