Sophisticated Chocolate Cake

Now this cake has class, don't you think?  :) I had promised my aunt to bring a cake to a dinner party she was planning, but my day turned out to be more hectic than I had expected, so I turned to something nice and easy - a simple, old fashioned chocolate cake.

The dough was a basic, one tier chocolate cake, with chocolate buttercream on top, but to spruce things up a little, I put a bit of mint into the cream, which really came through nicely. And last but not least, some quick and simple decorating can make a regular chocolate cake look a bit more glam - I melted some dark chocolate, spread it out on parchment paper, then drizzled a bit of melted white chocolate over it and let it set in the freezer. When it was completely set (I could use the time to get ready :) I just broke the chocolate into irregular pieces and stuck it on top of the chocolate mint buttercream.

The finished cake, half a minute before we ate it! I was really pleased with the results, since I put so little time into it.

Have you been baking anything recently? I've been experimenting with buckwheat... I'll let you know if I come up with something good!

xox,

Miss Diorista

Chocolate Pudding Cookies!

I finally had the time to try out the Gingerbread Boy Mold that I got for Christmas (you can see my post about it here). I decided to make cookies, and bake them in the mold. Yum! They turned out to be so good, and well as so cute! Give them a try, this is my favourite cookie recipe so far!

Chocolate Pudding Cookies

150 g soft butter
200 g brown sugar
50 g white sugar
1 packet pudding mix - chocolate or caramel flavour
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
270 g flour (if using cocoa, use a bit less flour)
Cocoa, optional
1 tsp soda
150 g chocolate

Heat your oven up to 180°C or 360°F.
Mix together butter, both sugars, pudding mix and vanilla. Then add the eggs, one at a time, and stir in between.
Mix together flour, soda and cocoa (if using). Mix into the butter-mixture, slowly.
Chop the chocolate (you can use white or regular) and mix into the dough.
Form cookies with tablespoons (or make them into gingerbread boys!) and bake on a baking plate with baking paper on it. Bake for 10-14 minutes, less is more here, you want them chewy, ooey and gooey!

Oops... looks like somebody had an accident...

Love, Miss Diorista

Candy Cane Bark!

Again, something I didn't find the time to do before Christmas... candy cane bark! There is something so oddly comforting about cuddling up in a huge winter-y sweater on your couch, reading a book and eating a huge peace of candy cane bark. Anyone got the munchies? Read on!

Candy Cane Bark

200 gr chocolate (milk, dark... just pick your fave)
200 gr white chocolate
Crushed up candy canes (I used four of them)

First, melt the regular chocolate, and spread it out on a baking plate, covered with baking paper. Save about two, three teaspoons of the chocolate for later!

Melt the white chocolate, pour it over the regular chocolate. Blend out wiht a fork. You could stop right here, put it in the freezer/refrigerator, break it up into peaces and wrap it up, for a very elegant gift. But we will carry on!

Now, spread the crushed up candy canes over the chocolate. Afterwards, drizzle over all that goodness what is left of the regular chocolate.

Now, put your bark in the freezer/refrigerator (I prefer the refrigerator... maybe just because there is no space in my freezer :). Let it sit there for a few hours. When the bark is ready, you can break it up in peaces. So pretty... and so yummy! Enjoy ;)

Love, Miss Diorista

Chocolate Sunflower Cupcakes

Even though it is July, here it is not really sunny... the wind has been blowing like crazy and I decided to simply spend the evening baking. So this is what came out of it: Chocolate Sunflower Cupcakes! They were easy and simple to make, and so was the icing. The only time-consuming part is the sunflower. I had them on hand (made them about a week ago when baking for my aunt's "party"), you could skip them if you're in a hurry. Or use sprinkles... or make them! They are simple too, just take a bit of time.
Line a sheet of parchment paper to pipe on. Simply melt some good quality white chocolate, colour it with food colouring, and fill a piping bag with it, using a small round nozzle (I believe I used Wilton's nr. 2... don't quote me on that, though!). Pipe the outlines of a sunflower. This takes a bit of practice, but it is not that hard. You can do it ;) Let the outlines set and harden. Then, take a bit bigger piping nozzle (I believe Wilton's nr. 3... but again, no quoting!), and gently flood the leaves of the sunflower. Be careful not to overflood. When set, you use a small piping nozzle (Wilton's nr.2... no quoting, lol!) to pipe a little dot of melted brown chocolate in the middle of each sunflower. Let set and then gently, very gently, remove from the parchment paper. There you go!


Chocolate Sunflower Cupcakes
Adapted from Baking Bites. Some slight changes were made.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup wholewheat flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sour cream (I used 5% fat)
1 cup coffee (room temperature)
1/2 cup finely chopped chocolate (or small chocolate chips)

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
Mix all the dry ingredients together in one bowl. Mix the chopped chocolate in.
Mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl, and beat a bit. Gently, mix the wet and dry together. Make sure everything is well blended, no lumps! Don't overblend, though.
Line about 18 muffin cups with muffin liners, and fill them ca. 3/4 full.
Bake for about 15 to 18 min. (I had to bake them a little longer, just watch them carefully.)

Chocolate Icing
My own recipe

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup chopped 70% chocolate, melted
3 tbls. coffee (room temperature)
3 tbls. cream, if needed to thin the icing.
About 3 cups powdered sugar (just as much as you need, I didn't really measure...)

Cream the butter, then mix in the melted chocolate. Mix in the coffee, than the powdered sugar. If you need to thin it, use the cream, otherwise, skip it.
Ice the cupcakes when they have cooled, garnish if you want, and enjoy! (My family and I sure enjoyed!)

If you make these, let me know what you think! And if you need further information on the flower-making, just comment and I'll get right back to you!

My... chocolatey regards,

Miss Diorista

White Chip Chocolate Cookies

These are completely dangerous... those still working on the art of self-control are advised to stay far, far away. You have been warned.

I love shopping, but I have to admit that some things are more fun to buy than others. Obviously, makeup is always fun. Clothes and shoes, too. All kinds of dishes, cups and kitchen tools are another addiction of mine, along with books on recipes, especially for baked goods. One would think that nothing special would tempt me in the supermarket... but one would be wrong! Whenever I see something that I think would be fun to bake with - be it a new brand of chocolate, some kind of candy, or simply anything that catches my baking-eye, I have to get it!

So the other day, I bought a bag of white chocolate morsels by Nestlé. They were quite tasty and my cookies turned out great. I was about to throw the empty bag away when I noticed two recipes on the back of it... Of course, the oven was quickly turned on again!

I made some slight changes to the recipe, but oh my! This is heaven, I tell you!

So here we go...

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White Chip Chocolate Cookies

(Adapted from Nestlé's recipe)

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1 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 package pudding mix (I used one with chocolate flavour)

1/3 unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup chopped chocolate (around 50-60% cocoa is fine)

1/2 cup chopped white chocolate

1/2 cup mint filled chocolate

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Preheat oven to 350°F (or 180°C).

Combine flour, oats, pudding mix, cocoa, soda and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl, beat together butter and both sugars until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat well in between. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Stir all the chocolate in.

Roll into balls (I use really heaped teaspoons - these grow big in the oven!), place on baking paper and press them down a little with wet fingers or the back of a spoon.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, cool and enjoy!

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Cheers,

Miss Diorista

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P.S. Sorry about the little commas in thist post! The spaces were teasing me!