Daring Bakers go Chocolate!

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

This Chocolate Valentino cake is really a flourless chocolate cake. I have made this before, so this was not a challenge for me, but the real challenge for me was the ice cream. I have made a chocolate ice cream, but I am still skeptical about making ice cream.

I chose to make a peanut butter ice cream to go with this chocolate cake. I found the recipe for this ice cream from Diane's Dishes. It was fantastic! Nice and creamy, and peanut buttery! Is that even a word? If not, it is now! :)

The cake itself was wonderful too, nice and moist in the center. Oh, and very chocolaty!! Combine that with the PB ice cream and my taste buds think that they are in heaven! I can't wait to see what March brings us!

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C.
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

1 (18 oz) jar of creamy peanut butter
1 pint of heavy cream
1 pint of half and half
1 can of sweetened condensed milk

Mix all ingredients together in a medium pot over medium-low heat, until peanut butter is melted and all is combined. Let cool to room temp. You may need to stir occasionally so that the mixture doesn't separate. Once the mixture is cool, freeze according to your ice cream maker directions.

Lightened Strawberry Muffins

These muffins are surprisingly really good, to be low fat. I have to admit that I will almost never turn down a muffin. There is just something about them, that I can't pass up. This recipe originally called for blueberries, but I used strawberries instead. This just proved that you could use any fruit that you would like with these. I am thinking that next batch will be made with blackberries. The one thing that I liked about these muffins were that instead of butter, you used 1/3 less fat cream cheese. I am sure that using fat free would work the same and could probably use the Splenda sugar blend to lower the calories some more. But, I am good with these being 223 calories. Oh, and the kids loved them too!

Strawberry Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 (8oz) package 1/3 less fat cream cheese, at room temp

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 cup (1%) low fat milk

1/2 refrigerated liquid egg substitute

1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries of your choice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray (I got 16 muffins). Combine flour, baking powder and salt; reserve. In separate bowl, on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese and 1 cup sugar until blended, 1 minute. On low speed, beat in milk and egg substitute. Add flour mixture; beat until just moistened. Fold in berries. Divide among muffin cups. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp sugar. Bake 15-17 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers come out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Transfer from pan to rack; cool or serve warm.

Tropical Banana Bread, the Lightened Up Version!

My biggest problem with trying to watch what I eat, is the sweets. I have a really big sweet tooth! It's ok, I can admit it. I am not a huge fan of banana bread, but make it tropical and I am all in. And to make it even better, it is a healthier version. This loaf serves 12, and each serving is 185 calories! So, now I don't feel as guilty!

Tropical Banana Bread
From: Woman's World Magazine

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup refrigerated liquid egg substitute
1/3 cup 1% low fat milk
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, drained, squeezed dry

For the glaze:
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1 Tbsp 1% low fat milk

Toasted coconut for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 8 1/2 x4 1/2 loaf pan with cooking spray. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; reserve. On medium high speed, beat bananas and sugar until blended. Stir in egg. On low speed, beat in reserved flour mixture alternately with milk until just combined. Stir in pineapple. Transfer to pan. Bake 45 minutes or until pick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

Combine confectioners sugar, extract and milk until smooth. Pour over bread. Sprinkle with coconut.

Megan's Healthy Maple and Brown Sugar Muffins

I have been wanting to make these muffins ever since I saw where Megan had made them. The only problem is there here in Knoxville, you can't find the Malt O Meal hot wheat cereal. The closest thing that I could find was Quaker instant hot wheat cereal. I decided that I would give it a try with the instant.

These muffins took no time to whip up and put into the oven. The verdict? My muffins didn't rise. They puffed up just a little. This could be because I used the instant cereal or because I baked these at 350 degrees instead of 450. My oven tends to bake hotter than it should. They tasted good, but I would like to try them with the malt o meal cereal to compare. These are definitely a dense, stick to your rib muffin, as Megan had said.

Maple and Brown Sugar Magic Muffins
Adapted from Malt O Meal

1 1/4 whole wheat flour
1 cup Maple and Brown Sugar flavored Malt O Meal hot wheat cereal, dry
1/3 cup Splenda or sugar
3/4 cup low fat milk
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients till just moistened. Pour into greased muffin pan.

Bake at 400 18-20 minutes.

Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

This is what becomes of a cheesecake that has been crumbles and all mixed together! You squish it into the bottom of a strawberry!

First you cut the middle and bottom out of the strawberry, kind of like a triangle...

Then you take about a teaspoon of cheesecake and press it in that hole. You may need to use a little more, depending on how big you cut out the bottom.

Once you have stuffed your berry with the cheesecake, dip it in chocolate...

Then decorate it!!

And who thought a chocolate dipped strawberry couldn't any better?

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Cheesecake....

What happens when you take a perfectly good cheesecake, cut the top off, if it got a little too brown, and then you do this......

crumble it into a bowl and mix it all together with the crust?

I am not telling right now! Check back later this week and I will show you!

Tiramisu Brownie Squares

I make this dessert for any type of pot luck that I am attending. This always goes over well with the others. I made this last night for our small group Superbowl party, and again it was a favorite. This recipe originally came from Pampered Chef, I have found that these recipes are always simple and never disappoint, but end the end, I made a few changes. The original recipe called for chopped creme filled chocolate cookies. I left these out. It also calls to use a box brownie recipe, but I chose to make Dorie's Bittersweet Brownies. So, whether you want to go simple or if you boycott box mixes, either way, this recipe is a hit.

Tiramisu Brownie Squares
This is the original from Pampered Chef

1 pkg brownie mix, plus ingredients to make cake like brownies
1 cup milk
1/4 cup instant coffee granules
2 pgs (3.4 oz each) cheesecake instant pudding and pie filling
1 container (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
20 creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped (2 cups)
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels, grated
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 9x13 in baking pan with cooking spray. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies; pour into pan, spreading evenly. Bake -30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.

In medium bowl, combine milk and instant coffee granules; stir until dissolved. Add pudding mix and half of the whipped topping; whisk until smooth. Coarsely chop cookies and fold into pudding mixture. Spread filling evenly over cooled brownie.

With remaining whipped topping, pipe diagonal rows, over entire surface of filling. Sprinkle grated chocolate and cinnamon over top of filling and whipped topping. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

The bittersweet brownie that I used is not a cake like brownie. It is very dense and moist. I actually prefer it over the cake like brownie in this dessert.

Bittersweet Brownies
By: Dorie Greenspan

2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
9 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped--I used semi sweet
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp instant espresso powder, optional --I used this
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Put the butter in the bowl, top with the chopped chocolate and stir occasionally until the ingredients are just melted-you don't want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

With a whisk, stir in the sugar. The mixture might get grainy, but it will even out. Whisk in the eggs one by one, then add the vanilla and whisk enthusiastically to smooth the batter. Finally, gently whisk in the espresso powder, if you're using it, salt and flour, stirring only until incorporated. Scrape the better into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake the brownies for just 20-22 minutes, or until the top is dull and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the brownies to room temperature.