Day 54: German Chocolate for a Good Friend on his 61st Birthday

  Having grown up southern, there are some flavors I cannot live without.  One of these flavors is traditional German chocolate cake frosting.  Could do without the cake and just eat frosting.  Happily, a friend asked for German chocolate birthday cake.  Use any chocolate cake recipe you like, but I began with Michele's recipe from Chocolate Cake.  By the time this one was adapted for altitude, made less sweet to suite my friend's preferences, and darkened with an extra 4 ounces of 100% Cacao Ghirardelli because I just couldn't stop myself; Michele might not recognize it!  This is truly about the frosting, though, and here's my mom's recipe, the one I of course use, and I double it.

Mother's Icing for German Chocolate Cake

5 oz. can of Carnation evaporated milk (NOT sweetened)
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 cage- free eggs
1/2 stick butter 
2 tsp Mexican vanilla
1 1/3 cups Angleflake sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped pecans toasted


Combine milk, yolks, and butter.  Add sugar.  Cook to thick over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 20 minutes (even longer @ 8,000 feet). Add vanilla and nuts.  Beat, apply and indulge.

Chocolate Southern Comfort Truffles on Day 53

photo by Simon Howden

    A man I know just barely know turns up everywhere.  He appears in sushi restaurants, philosophical lectures, plant stores. For six weeks we even trained in the same dojo. Odd coincidences.  This person brings to mind a cross between Yoda and a garden gnome, and he loves chocolate truffles.  Beginning with Chef Alicia Prescotte's recipe published in a Jr. League cookbook, continuing with advice from the December 2011, Cook's Illustrated, and tweaking along the way; here's what I whipped up and gave  him:

Chocolate Truffles with Southern Comfort


Ganache
12 oz.  Lindt Dark Chocolate  (3 1/2  bars), chopped
6 oz. Ghiridelli Milk Chocolate Chips
3 oz. heavy cream
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T Southern Comfort (which has about the same alcohol content  vanilla extract)


Coating
1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, darkest you can find
1/4 cup powdered sugar


Gently melt the chocolate in a double boiler, and remove it from heat.  Meanwhile, in  separate saucepan, bring the cream and butter just barely to a boil.  Pour the cream-butter mixture over the chocolate, add the Southern Comfort,  and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. (Avoid electric mixers and whisks, which incorporate more air into this mixture, encouraging a gritty, grainy truffle, which you don't want.) Pour into a 9x9 inch square cakepan lined with parchment or waxed paper. Allow the mixture to cool gradually to room temperature out on the counter (not in the fridge, where it cools too rapidly,  often developing a sandy texture).  A couple of hours seemed to be long enough for my truffle mixture, but some candy-makers like to leave it out overnight. 


When you're positively sure the soon-to-be-truffles are no warmer than room temp, pop them in the refrigerator for about an hour or two, making them firm enough to handle. 


Using a sharp knife, warmed with hot water and dried completely, slice as you would fudge or brownies, to the size you like.  I like them to be about the size of a large marble, one big bite or two nibbles.  Many chocolatiers prefer a more generously sized truffle, and this is totally your call. 


Sift the cocoa powder together with the powdered sugar twice, sifting the second time into a flat-bottomed bowl or pan.   Wearing food service disposable gloves dusted with cocoa powder mixed with powdered sugar, roll the sliced ganache cubes into spheres.  Place them into the cocoa powder and sugar mixture, and roll them around to coat.  This coating makes it possible to pick one up without stickiness. 


Place the truffles in a well-sealed container; you don't want to let them dry out!  Store refrigerated, but serve at room temperature.


While the Yoda-like man was extremely gracious upon receiving his truffles, and they were delicious, the presentation would be better with tempered chocolate coating rather than the cocoa dusting.   Sadly, these chocolates looked a little bit inelegant and a lot like moose poo.

photo credit for gnome picture:
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=404">Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

Day 52 - Another Batch of Sugar-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

   Made right off the Hersey's package, into the freezer, out through the mail on Dec. 20; they arrived by Christmas.

Day 51: Cayenne Chocolate Pecan Torte, Again

      "You can deprive the body, but the soul needs chocolate."  - Dagoba candy wrapper

This being the case, Cayenne Chocolate Pecan Torte accompanied me to a dharma-minded dinner early in December.  Turns out my favorite,  favorite cake is gluten free since it is a flourless chocolate cake.  If you're counting on that - there being no gluten - check your chile;  some companies reportedly use flour to keep cayenne and other peppers from clumping.

Monks on the Beach by hinnamsaisuy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

photo credit:  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1529">Image: hinnamsaisuy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

Thanksgiving Top Chef Cook-off with Chocolate-Cayenne Cocktail Cookies on the 50th Day

  Page 164 in the November 2011 issue of Food and Wine: Chocolate-Cayenne Cocktail Cookies! This blog has reached the 50th day half-way point with these snappy little treasures. While the Top Chef prize went to a pumpkin cheesecake baker with a beautiful singing voice, which I think certainly swayed the judges, this unusual pastry was really in a class by itself: salty-sweet hors d'oeuvre cookies.  Can't wait to make these again!

Days 48 and 49, Boston Cream Pie

    

     What's the best layer cake for Boston Cream Pie?  Well, that all depends. 
     If you feel there's never enough chocolate in your world, Michele's Sin City Chocolate Cake layers will get you there, to a more-chocolate universe. We loved that. 
      If you're a BCP purist like my friend L., make Michele's One Two Three Four Golden Layers,  page 156 in  150 Chocolate Cakes.  We  loved that too, as did L. and her family.   Both times I used Jurgen's Chocolate Glaze - again from Michele's book.  This is a superb, delicious, shiny glaze.  And both times the essential cream was New Basics pastry cream, page 653 in The New Basics Cookbook, an especially rich and gooey filling.