Decadent Chocolate Pudding

Two years ago, before I started really cooking, I would have been completely satisfied ripping open a package of Jello powdered pudding, adding some milk and calling it dessert. 

Now, I'm much more interested in what I'm eating. I'm finding the more I cook, the less interested I am in pre-packaged foods. Without even thinking, I've stopped eating Kraft Dinner (which I honestly used to love), canned soup, salad dressing, pre-made oatmeal -- all in favour of making these foods myself. I enjoy knowing what's going into my food and trying to make it as fresh as possible. 

One more step in that was making this decadent chocolate pudding. Making it from scratch can't even compare to a package. The flavour is richer and more choclatey, the texture is thicker and dense. And, most surprisingly, I felt much more satisfied after a single serving than I would have with a whole box of packaged stuff (not that I ever ate a whole box...). So I'm finding that I'm not only enjoying the process of cooking more, but I am certainly enjoying the results!

What do you make from scratch that you used to buy pre-made?

Decadent Chocolate Pudding

Serves 6

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

• In a medium bowl, sift together the cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Stir in the sugar. Add the egg yolks and pour in 1/2 cup of milk. Whisk until combined.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining two cups of mils and the heavy cream over medium heat until the mixture just comes to a boil. Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the cocoa mixture.
• Rinse out the saucepan (but don't dry to avoid scorching) and return custard mixture to the saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the vanilla. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, cook until the custard has thickened slightly (Martha said until about the consistency of mayonnaise, but mine never got that thick and turned out great). Do not let it boil and don't worry if lumps form.
• Pour the custard through a fine sieve into a clean bowl. Add the chopped chocolate in two batches, stirring until thoroughly melted after each addition.
• Divide the pudding among six ramekins, cover with plastic wrap and chill at least four hours or overnight before serving. 
• Garnish with whipped cream if desired.

Recipe from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics

Cake Mix Cookies

Looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth the other day, I turned to the internet and typed in chocolate chips -- the base ingredient I was hoping to use. Of course, thousands of responses came back, and with them, a recipe for Cake Mix cookies. 


I had never heard of these before, but the basis is that it uses a boxed cake mix as the main ingredient. I whipped these up in about five minutes and 20 minutes later, I was enjoying them while watching What Not to Wear. 


You'd be right in thinking that their consistency is not quite cookie like, and definitely not cake like. But they were easy and the possibilities of flavour combinations are endless -- white cake mix with chocolate chips, chocolate mix with white chocolate chips, chocolate mix with mint/butterscotch/peanut butter chocolate chips! Not bad for a five minute mix.


Ingredients

• 1 package of dry chocolate cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, butter, eggs, oil and vanilla and mix until smooth and well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Be sure to put them far apart as they get really big.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes. 
• Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

Best-Ever Brownies with Million Dollar Icing

The classics never go out of style and I believe the same can be said for a good brownie recipe. My mom cut this recipe out of a newspaper in the 1970s and its the same recipe she's been using ever since. They're moist and delicious filled with chopped walnuts, but what makes this recipe really special, is the icing. It's like silk. Decadent and smooth, it certainly takes the cake on these brownies.

One word of warning though, brownies can get dry very quickly so be sure to watch and test  after about 20 minutes.

Ingredients

Brownies

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Icing

• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp milk or cream
• 2 tbsp hot coffee

Directions

Brownies

In a large bowl, melt butter and add white sugar, brown sugar and cocoa.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

In a separate bowl, blend flour and baking powder and fold in -- by hand -- into the butter and sugar mixture.

Add vanilla and walnuts by hand.

Bake in a buttered 9 x 13 pan at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Icing

In a mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar and cocoa and mix until smooth.

Add vanilla, milk/cream and hot coffee.

Mix further until like silk.

Spread over cooled brownies. It looks like it won't be enough, but it will cover the pan with a little left over to taste while icing!

Download the printable recipe for Best-Ever Brownies and Million Dollar Icing

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are simple, easy cookies that taste a little bit like Christmas with cinnamon and nutmeg. I whipped these up in no time on Friday night, a perfect, after dinner snack. Not only were they delcious right out of the oven, they actually tasted better the next day as all the flavours had really come together. Now all I need is a glass of egg nog!

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups chocolate chips (note that this is more than 1 bag)
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In another bowl, beat butter until soft and creamy. Beat in brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time and add vanilla.

Reduce speed and stir in flour mixture in three stages. Mix in chocolate chips and oatmeal.

Drop tablespoons of dough onto a greased baking sheet.

Bake in oven preheated to 350 degrees, for 10-12 minutes until golden and slightly firm to the touch.

Let cool to a wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Download a printable recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from The Mixer Bible

Mocha Buttercream Chocolate Cake

I have had the same birthday cake my whole life. Chocolate cake with mocha buttercream icing. It's simple, delicious and a classic cake.

The cake we make is extra moist. It's the Duncan Hines Extra Moist Chocolate Fudge, and then, unlike on the box, we add one box of Jello instant vanilla pudding (4 serving), 4 eggs, 1/2 cup of oil and 1 cup of water.

But it's the icing that makes this one special, so here is our family's secret recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 squares of semisweet baker's chocolate
• 6 tbsp cold, double strength coffee
• 1 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• pinch of salt

Directions:

In a small bowl, melt chocolate squares on low heat and let cool to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together butter and icing sugar.

Add egg yolks, one at a time.

Add vanilla, chocolate and salt, mixing until combined.

Slowly add coffee, one tablespoon at a time, mixing very well, especially around the edges.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Slowly add egg whites, one dollop at a time, back into icing.

Cut your cake into three sections -- I use thread for the neatest cut. Take a really, really long piece of thread and fold into four sections so it's still about 2 feet long. 

Hold it at the back of the cake and slowly bring your hands together until they cross. 

Separate the layers and using an icing knife and a offset spatula to ice. Use 1/4 of the icing for each layer and 1/2 for the whole cake.

Download the recipe for Mocha Buttercream Icing

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Wow.

This dessert is A-W-E-S-O-M-E. It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and definitely worth the work.

I served this after a pretty heavy Easter dinner and while it was utterly decadent, it is a light dessert that didn't leave you feeling full.

Yes. It's a lot of chocolate.
Yes. It's a lot of whipping cream.
Yes. It's a couple of hours of work.
But. It's definitely worth it.


Ingredients

Bottom Layer:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped finely)
• 1 teaspoon ground coffee
• 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, separated
• pinch table salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar

Middle Layer:

• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 5 tablespoons hot water
• 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped finely)
• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• pinch table salt

Top Layer:

• 3/4 teaspoon powder gelatin
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 6 ounces white chocolate (chopped finely)
• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

Directions

Bottom layer

Melt butter, chocolate and coffee in double boiler.

Cool for at least 10 minutes and mix in egg yolks and vanilla

In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt at medium speed until frothy (about 30 seconds) and then beat on high with brown sugar until soft peaks form (a few minutes)

Slowly fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until no white streaks remain. Pour batter into greased springform pan

Bake at 325 degrees in the middle rack for 13-18 minutes until middle is just set but still soft to the touch. 

Cool for at least one hour before putting next layer on. Note that it will collapse while cooling.

Middle Layer

First, mix the cocoa with the hot water in a small bowl and set aside.

Melt chocolate in double boiler and let cool for another 10 minutes.

In a clean bowl, mix the whipping cream, sugar and salt at medium speed until the cream begins to thicken. Then, mix at high and whip until soft peaks form.

Whisk cocoa mixture into chocolate mixture, then fold in whipping cream until no white streaks remain. 

Pour on top of first layer, gently smoothing top with off set spatula. Put in fridge for at least 15 minutes while preparing the next layer.

Top Layer

In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water. This will make an odd paste, don't worry!

Bring 1/2 cup of cream to a simmer and mix gelatin mixture in and stir until fully dissolved.

Pour over white chocolate in another bowl and mix until fully melted. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Beat the rest of the cream until soft peaks form. Fold into white chocolate mixture.

Pour over second layer and smooth with an offset spatula. Refrigerate for 2.5 hours.

Next, make chocolate curls and arrange over the top.

Next time, I would clean the knife after each cut to avoid that chocolate run in the white chocolate.

I'd also like to learn how to make really big chocolate curls as mine were more like shavings. Any ideas?

Overall, an amazing dessert and well worth the work!

Granola Bars

T and I eat a lot of granola bars. Every day for work, we take salads for lunch so granola bars are the only carb we eat during the day. I decided a few weeks ago to try and make these tasty treats myself and found a pretty basic recipe on my favourite site -- http://www.allrecipes.com/. I've made these a few times now and they always turn out great, and the best part is that you can totally customize them.

The base is:

• 3 cups instant rolled oats
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tbsp butter melted

After that, you can add just about anything. This week, I added:

• 1 cup mixed nuts (I pounded these a little to break them up)
• 1/2 cup craisins
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (mmm!)

Then bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes. I've also learned it's much easier to cut when they're warm. Then I wrap them individually in wax paper and voila, a perfect and healthy snack for work!