Thimbles, Bobbins, Paper and Ink: February 2015

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Peanut Butter Center and Peanut Butter / Chocolate Drizzle

I am a Peanut Butter and Chocolate fanatic. I love the combination. I actually crave it so much that I began searching for a peanut butter and chocolate cake recipe. Of course, Pinterest features a wide selection of various types of cakes and fillings. For this cake I combined a little of this and a little of that from several recipes and came up with this cake. The Mister and I loved it! I should add we actually liked it best after it was a few days old. It was still quite moist and the flavors seemed richer and more flavorful than the first day we cut into it. The peanut butter center is more cake-like than cream filling. I like that too.

Would you like to try this? Here is my recipe combining elements from other recipes I found.

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Peanut Butter Filling

Cake Ingredients:

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup canola oil

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup of strong-brewed coffee

1 cup buttermilk

Peanut Butter Cake Filling:

1/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar (caster sugar)

1 large egg

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

Peanut Butter Drizzle:

2 Tablespoons smooth peanut butter

2 - 3 Tablespoons cream

3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar (Icing sugar)

pinch of salt

Chocolate Drizzle:

4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 Tablespoon corn syrup

1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with vegetable oil spray. In a small saucepan, melt 2 ounces of the chopped chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Scrap the chocolate into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the oil and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the egg.
In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture along with 1/2 cup of the coffee and 1/2 cup of buttermilk; whisk until smooth. Add the remaining dry ingredients, coffee and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER CAKE FILLING: In a medium bowl, cream together butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add the sugar and mix until combined well. Add the egg and mix until combined.
Fold in the flour and salt. Add the cream and stir to combine. Mix until flour in completely incorporated.
CAKE ASSEMBLY: Add half of the chocolate cake batter to the prepared bundt pan. Spoon the peanut butter cake filling on top of the chocolate layer, distributing the peanut butter batter evenly. Now spoon the remaining chocolate cake batter over the top of the peanut butter batter.
BAKE for 50 - 60 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before unmolding. Let cake cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer (Do not allow it to come to a full boil, it will curdle) In a heat proof bowl, combine the remaining 4 ounces of chopped chocolate with the corn syrup and butter. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it stand for a couple minutes to soften the chocolate and then whisk until smooth. Let the ganache glaze cool until it is thick, yet still pourable, about 5 minutes.
Pour the chocolate glaze (the ganache) over the cooled cake. Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, about 30 minutes.

PEANUT BUTTER DRIZZLE:

Stir together sifted powdered sugar, peanut butter and salt. Add the milk and stir until smooth. Add additional milk if the glaze is too dry and stiff. It is too runny add additional sifted powdered sugar. Drizzle the peanut butter glaze over the chocolate glazed cake.

ENJOY!

Until next time,

Cheers!

Jennifer

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Saturday, February 21, 2015

Pugliese

The Mister has been ~~whining~~ politely asking me to make bread, or as he says, "I want some good, chewy, crusty bread! Something with bite and chew." So....what else could I do but make a loaf of bread.

A year or so ago I purchased THE BREAD BIBLE written by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Truly a bread recipe book if you want to know how to make and bake good bread. I handed the heavy tomb (it IS a big and heavy book) to the Mister and asked him to pick out any bread he would like and I'd give it a go.

The techniques and baking process Ms. Beranbaum uses are explained well in step by step format. The Bread Bible contains a huge variety of different types of breads, rolls, pizza crust. The ingredients are simple but it is the process...both in the making of the Dough Starter or Biga, as it is called as well as the method of baking. This bread starts out baking in a 500 degree F oven for 5 minutes and then the temperature is lowered to 450 degrees F for another 20 minutes. Prior to putting the bread into the oven at the preheated 500 degrees you put ice cubes on a tray of the oven floor and then put the bread in on the lowest shelf. This creates the moisture in the very hot oven needed to create this fabulous bread.

Pugliese bread is very much like Ciabatta or Focaccia breads. Chewy, big air holes and flavorful. It is a fairly small loaf; about 6 inches across and 3 inches high. I don't think it will last through the day at the rate The Mister is eating it so I should get back in the kitchen and see what other tasty recipes I can find in The Bread Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy making bread.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Jennifer

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Sunday, February 1, 2015

Blueberry Chevre Custard and Basil Pie (I call it Chess Pie)

Do you love Chevre as much as I do? The pure creamy goodness of this delightful goat cheese is truly one of my guilty pleasures. I've only ever eaten goat cheese on salads or in pasta recipes, so imagine my delight when I was reading The Beekman 1802 blog and saw this recipe for Blueberry Chevre Custard and Basil Pie. OH!! EMM! GEE!! I had to make it! And the chevre goat cheese wasn't the only aspect of the recipe that caught my attention. BASIL was also a key ingredient. I love Basil and why not pair it with blueberries and chevre in a dessert. Josh and Brent (the Fabulous Beekman Boys) are geniuses!

Just look how pretty blueberries are with the bright green chopped leaves of the Basil (above photo). Truly art worthy. Then when you mix the Chevre, eggs and cream to create a custard on top, you'll have a pie made in heaven...or a heavenly tasting pie. *smiles*

You know you want to make it so let's go! Here's the recipe:

Blueberry Chevre Custard and Basil Pie

Ingredients:

Single pie crust from your favorite pie shell recipe or store bought
2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
8 ounces Goat Cheese (Chevre)
12 fresh Basil leaves torn into little pieces

For the simple crumb topping:

1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup rolled oats

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line your pie plate with your favorite pie crust recipe or store bought. (I used my recipe that I usually use found HERE.)
Pour 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen) into the pie crust.
Top blueberries with 12 basil leaves torn into small pieces.
Mix together 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 eggs, and 8 ounces of Chevre cheese. Pour over blueberries and basil in the pie crust.
In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar and flour. Cut in butter with a fork and mix just until the sugar/flour/butter mixture is crumbly. Top your pie with the crumb mixture and sprinkle the oatmeal over the top.
Bake in preheated oven (350 degrees F) for 50 to 55 minutes, until the custard is set.
Serve pie chilled or at room temperature. Pie may be topped with whipped cream (or English custard is good too!)

Recipe from The Fabulous Beekman Boys website: Beekman 1802

Once again, we've had another snowstorm blow in. The pups and the Mister had a fun morning walking in the woods this morning. Now everyone is settling in for the big game this evening.

I hope you are warm, well and in the arms of family and friends.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Jennifer

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