pumpkin bread pudding

I know this is the wrong season: technically it's spring, not fall. But in Seattle, it rains from November through May, so I figure my eating doesn't have to follow seasonal variation I don't actually get to experience.

I know, this dish isn't pretty either. Bread pudding is rarely, if ever, pretty. It doesn't even sound good, and for years the name itself put me off: what kind of sicko puts bread in pudding? Since my discovery of the tastiness that is bread pudding, I've seen recipes for bread soup. Bread salads, I actually kind of understand (I was always a lover of croutons), but soup? Really? Really.



This bread pudding is like pumpkin pie meets bread pudding, basically, with a healthy gut-warming splash of bourbon. If that's not enough to make you try it, I don't know what is. Oh, well, it's really easy, too-- one bowl, one baking dish, one spoon. I prefer it to pumpkin pie now because there's no crust to mess with and I still get all my favorite flavors without the fear of failure that crust-making always inspires. Feel free to up the spices if you like; I usually double them.



Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, October 2007
Adapted again by Smitten Kitchen


1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of ground cloves
2+ tablespoons bourbon (optional)
5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread
3/4 stick unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

While preheating oven to 350°F with rack in middle, melt butter in bottom of a 8-inch square baking dish. Once it is melted, take it out of the oven and toss bread cubes with butter, coating thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all the remaining ingredients. Pour them over buttered bread cubes in baking dish, stirring to make sure all pieces are evenly coated. Bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Eat warm.

flourless chocolate cupcakes

Okay, I admit it: I've been delinquent here. I haven't posted in ages, and now I'm going to give you a picture of some very sad-looking cupcakes. But they taught me a lesson, I promise.




I've been learning, over the course of baking with my oven, that I need to shave a couple of minutes off whatever the suggested cooking time for something is-- despite the fact that my oven thermometer tells me that my oven is at the correct temperature. Clearly the thermometer and the oven are in cahoots and they've decided that I simply do not need any more chocolate.

My new favorite adjective in baking is "flourless," despite the trouble with the last cake and these cupcakes too. The reason is that when you get these things right, they're phenomenal. I made these cupcakes again, three times. You know, to make sure I had the cooking time right. And because I'd eat them so fast it felt there surely couldn't have been a dozen on the tray five minutes ago. My evidence that they're so good? Even though I made them three times beyond that pathetic photo above, I never had the presence of mind to take another picture.

Here's the trick: Check them at six minutes. If you want a molten center, pull them out while the middles are still very shiny and carefully ease them out of the pan after they've cooled for about ten minutes and eat them right then. They will ooze deliciousness all over you. Once the six-minute cupcakes have cooled entirely, the middles will solidify into a slightly fudgy deliciously moist mass.
At seven minutes, the centers of the warm cupcakes will be solid. At eight minutes, they're overdone, but still entirely edible.

Use good chocolate if you have it. It's not entirely necessary, but it's worth it.

You can also make a salted toffee sauce for these, with or without hazelnuts. I made it without hazelnuts and the first time it was too salty, and the second time, i lessened the salt and it was too sweet. I guess I just don't like this toffee. I thought the cupcakes were perfect on their own, but feel free to adorn them if you feel compelled to gild the lily.

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes
from The Bizarre Kitchen Incident. She got them from, surprisingly, Nestle.
makes 12 cupcakes

3/4 cup unsalted butter
8oz Nestle Chocolatier bittersweet chocolate (either morsels, or chopped bar form)
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup plus 1 T sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 T AP flour

Preheat oven to 425*. Grease a muffin tin liberally with Crisco.

Place eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium-high speed with the whisk attachment until fluffy and light yellow, about 8 minutes. The mixture will drizzle into the bowl in a slowly-dissolving ribbon when it's been mixed enough.

While the eggs are being mixed: In a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the chocolate and stir constantly, until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

Switch to the paddle attachment (or, if not using a stand mixer, a sturdy spatula).
Slowly add 1/3 of the chocolate to the egg mixture, stirring slowly. Once the chocolate is incorporated, add the rest of the chocolate and the flour. Mix on low speed until a somewhat thin batter is formed.

Divide the batter among 12 muffin cups.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until set around the edges and slightly jiggly in the center. Place pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
Gently run a knife around the edge of each muffin and turn out onto a rack to cool for about 5 minutes.

Salted Toffee Hazelnut Sauce

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
1 t vanilla
1 t kosher salt

Place all ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Over medium heat, stir until the butter and sugar melt.


Continue stirring occasionally until the mixture comes to a full boil - 5-7 minutes. Once it reaches a boil, let it boil without stirring for 1 minute.

Remove sauce from the heat and let cool about 10 minutes.

Spoon over cupcakes.

chocolate idiot cake

This cake was supposed to be so easy that an idiot could make it. However, this cake made me feel like an idiot instead.



First, it's made in a springform pan and baked in a water bath. If your pan isn't waterproof (and whose really is?) you're supposed to wrap it in foil. This sounds easy until you realize that the foil isn't really big enough and you have to improvise with many pieces until you end up with a frankenpan that is only marginally more waterproof than before.



Once that's done, making the batter is easy. Chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs. You're done. Pour it into the pan, put the pan into a roasting pan, fill the roasting pan with hot water, and into the oven for an hour and fifteen minutes. When it's just set and you can touch the top gently and come away with a clean finger, you're done.

Well, I checked mine at an hour and fifteen. Liquid. An hour and a half? Still liquid. I checked it every ten minutes and finally, after more than two hours (I lost track of the time) the cake was mostly set and I could touch parts of the top and come away with a clean fingertip, so I called it good and pulled it out. I let it cool, said a prayer, and hoped for the best.



It was worth it. The cake is like silk. It melts in your mouth. It's lighter than a truffle, but just as rich. It's everything I ever wanted in a dessert. The cake sweats butter. How could I not love it? I know an easier version of this cake-- which I will post, the next time I make it--but I confess, the texture of this one is better by far. Silk, I'm telling you. Make it, just once. You won't regret it. I took it to school to share, and I ended up with two pieces left over. Justin got up in the middle of the night and ate them both--sneaky bastard! I'm still plotting my revenge.

Chocolate Idiot Cake
courtesy of David Lebovitz
One 9-inch (23 cm) cake

This cake is extremely rich, and tastes like the most delicious, silkiest, most supremely-chocolate ganache you've ever had. As mentioned, it's equally good a few days later, and only an idiot could possibly mess it up. You don't need to use ScharffenBerger chocolate for this cake, but use a good one—you'll appreciate it when you taste your first melt-in-your-mouth bite.

10 ounces (290 gr) ScharffenBerger bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped. (I used Trader Joe's bittersweet chocolate, and it was fine.)
7 ounces (200 gr) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into pieces (Use the richest butter you can afford.)
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200 gr) sugar


Preheat the oven to 350F (175 C).

1. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan* and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess. If you suspect your springform pan isn't 100% water-tight, wrap the outside with aluminum foil, making sure it goes all the way up to the outer rim.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or microwave), stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil. Put the springform pan into a larger baking pan, such as a roasting pan, and add enough hot water to the baking pan to come about halfway up to the outside of the cake pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. (Ha! If it takes two and a half hours, don't fret.)

You'll know the cake is done when it feels just set, like quivering chocolate pudding. If you gently touch the center, your finger should come away clean.

5. Lift the cake pan from the water bath and remove the foil. Let cake cool completely on a cooling rack.

Serve thin wedges of this very rich cake at room temperature, with creme anglaise, ice cream, or whipped cream. (I used creme fraiche, but really, it doesn't need a thing.)

orange-chocolate cake

I first made this cake months ago, thinking that it would make a good breakfast. It was good, I guess, but I wasn't that into it. My friends and boyfriend ate it up, but something aboout grapefruit (which I love) in a cake didn't do it for me. Then, smitten kitchen posted another version of the cake, with lemons and blueberries.



The cake itself is good-- light and tender, very moist thanks to the yogurt, but not too rich at all. In her post on the lemon version, she reminded me that you really can put anything you damn well please into the cake. And then she suggested one of my favorite combos ever: orange and chocolate.



I remember looking at a recipe for an orange-chocolate cake once that I wrote off as too much work. But tossing some zest and chips into this cake was, well, a piece of cake.



I could hardly wait for it to cool, (and in fact I didn't-- it was still a bit warm on first bite) I was so excited for orangey-chocolate goodness. Alas. Underwhelmed again. I don't know what it is-- I think the citrus in this cake just makes it feel sort of plasticy/waxy to me somehow. I may try the cake again without flavoring to see if it's the cake I'm reacting to or the citrus, but suffice to say I am sad.



My boyfriend isn't--he polished off the cake.



Orange-Chocolate Cake Adapted from Ina Garten

1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (if you’re skipping the fruit, you can also skip the last tablespoon of flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (i was out and used almond torani syrup)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold the chips very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup orange juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in (a pastry brush works great for this, as does using a toothpick to make tiny holes that draw the syrup in better). Cool.

rhubarb coffeecake

I've had coffeecake before, and I liked it, but it was always too rich somehow. Or too sweet. Maybe both. I was always a little underwhelmed, although that never stopped me from eating it (just you try and stop me from eating something).

Then, I found this.



I was intrigued for two reasons: the rhubarb (I'd never had nor baked with it before) and the crumbs. THE CRUMBS. Anything that is 1/2 crumby goodness must be made. And devoured.



Luckily, rhubarb is in season, and the overpriced market down the street had some. This recipe called for 8 oz (1/2 lb) and for some odd reason every single piece of rhubarb I picked up at the store weighed exactly 6 oz. I started to wonder if they cut them all to size. It was disturbing. Undaunted, I weighed about 8 or 9 pieces until I spotted Gigantor at the bottom and lo! He weighed a bit over 8 oz.



Sadly, that lonely rhubarb stalk sat in my fridge for several days. After the debacle with the dulce de leche brownies (I scrubbed that pan for AGES, peeling bits of caramel-glued foil off under the hottest water that would come out of my tap) I just didn't want to tackle a recipe with three parts.



But I'm glad I did. After all the chocolate and cream and butter overload, this was perfect. THIS is coffecake. Light and crumby, buttery but not overwhelming, with fruit bits that allowed me to pretend it was healthy. It was light (okay, compared to my usual fare) and perfect for a sunny summer day. Except this is Seattle, and so I ate it in the rain.

‘Big Crumb’ Coffeecake with Rhubarb
Adapted from The New York Times 6/6/07
stolen, as usual, from smitten kitchen

Not rhubarb season? Don’t fret. I think this cake would be amazing with a blueberry, raspberry, sour cherry or any other tangy fruit filling you can think of. Simply adjust the sugar level accordingly–most of these will need far less than rhubarb does to make them palatable.

Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling

Butter for greasing pan

For the rhubarb filling:
1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumbs:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 3/4 cups cake flour (I was out and used all-purpose and it worked great)

For the cake:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour (ditto on the all-purpose flour–worked just fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

2. To make crumbs, in a large bowl, whisk together sugars, spices, salt and butter until smooth. Stir in flour with a spatula. It will look like a solid dough.

3. To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

4. Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.

5. Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

dulce de leche brownies

I had some dulce de leche left over, despite giving away a large jar and making two batches of cheesecake. Dulce de leche freezes just fine, but then I stumbled across this and I simply couldn't resist.



Dulce de leche + chocolate = heaven.

Best part? It took ten minutes to throw together. If you weigh your ingredients, it's even faster.



Unfortunately, in the end, they were somewhat uneven. Parts of the dulce de leche hardened too much and were sort of crunchy (not in a good way) and the dulce de leche leaked around the foil lining the pan, making the brownies impossible to remove cleanly. So, I have a plate of brownie chunks. That said, the brownie bits are amazingly moist and the perfect kind of chocolatey. Although I probably won't make these again (too much of a pain in the end--the fact that I will have to soak the foil-lined pan before I can clean it is the deal-breaker) I will probably eat all of the brownies (minus what Justin can lay his hands on) in the next 24 hours.



Dulce de Leche Brownies
from David Lebovitz
12 brownies

8 tablespoons (115 g) salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup (25 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140 g) flour
optional: 1 cup (100 g) toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup Dulce de Leche

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 C).

Line a 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with a long sheet of aluminum foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides. If it doesn't reach all the way up and over all four sides, cross another sheet of foil over it, making a large cross with edges that overhang the sides. Grease the bottom and sides of the foil with a bit of butter or non-stick spray.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate pieces and stir constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, then the flour. Mix in the nuts, if using.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan. Here comes the fun part.
Drop one-third of the Dulce de Leche, evenly spaced, over the brownie batter, then drag a knife through to swirl it slightly. Spread the remaining brownie batter over, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining Dulce de Leche in dollops over the top of the brownie batter. Use a knife to swirl the Dulce de Leche slightly.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. The brownies are done when the center feels just-slightly firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Note: If you can manage to wait (yeah, right) these are even tastier the second day.

dulce de leche cheesecake squares

I confess that I am not much of a caramel fan. I remember when caramel frappuccinos were all the rage at starbucks, and honestly, i've never had one. I don't like caramel on my ice cream, and I'm not a huge fan of caramel desserts.

Then I discovered two things: good caramels (salted!) and dulce de leche. Good caramels, i've discovered, come wrapped singly and cost far more than anyone should ever have to pay for something that weighs under an ounce. And then you eat one, and you wonder which organ you should sell to buy another.

Dulce de leche is also delicious. It doesn't cost a fortune, but it takes ages to make. Literally. I made three different batches at once (I wanted to try all the varieties in a cross comparison! Don't look at me like that!) and no, I did not boil three different kinds of condensed milk. I did this the old-fashioned way. (And someday, I'll make my own butter too!)

I scoured the internet for dulce de leche recipes, and settled on two, one with whole cow milk (one batch with the best whole milk I could find, from a local dairy, and another with 'plain' whole milk) and a version with goat's milk (which I'd never had and sort of squicked me out.)

Then I realized that making the dulce de leche would take hours. In fact, when I finally got to it, it took over eight hours. I actually woke up once an hour through the night to go stir it, because I'm insane.

It was delicious, but I'll spare you. Below is the Smitten Kitchen version, safer than than of most of the world (which boils the milk inside the sealed can), but still a time-saver compared to my obsessive version.

Dulce de Leche (Milk Caramel)

Pour 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk into top of double-boiler pan; cover. Place over boiling water. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 50 minutes, or until thick and light caramel-colored.

I know 40-50 minutes seems long. But remember- my version took at least eight hours. It might have been twelve. I quit counting.



If you make this with the dulce-in-a-can, the dulce de leche flavor is subtle. If you make it with the longer version (ask for the recipe and I shall post) the flavor is much stronger. In fact, it's amazing. And addictive. And I wish I had more.



Also, use powdered gelatin for this. I used leaves of gelatin (thin sheets) the second time I made this and they did not melt as well. I think I need to learn gelatin-sheet handling techniques. As it was, I had to pick the unmelted bits out of the final batter.



Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares
Adapted from Gourmet, December 2003

Time: 9 3/4 hr (includes chilling) (45 minutes active time)
Makes 64 (1-inch) petits fours

For crust
3 1/2 oz graham crackers, crumbled (1cup)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-oz envelope, will just about half of envelope)
1/4 cup whole milk
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup dulce de leche (12 1/2 oz) (recipe follows)

For glaze
3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), coarsely chopped
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Make crust: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with 2 sheets of foil (crisscrossed), leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

Finely grind crackers with sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor. With motor running, add butter, blending until combined. Press mixture evenly onto bottom of baking pan. Bake 10 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.

Make filling: Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small bowl and let stand 2 minutes to soften. Beat together cream cheese, eggs, salt, and gelatin mixture in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes, then stir in dulce de leche gently but thoroughly. Pour filling over crust, smoothing top, then bake in a hot water bath (I was able to fit mine in a 9×13-inch baking pan) in oven until center is just set, about 45 minutes. Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 2 hours. Chill, covered, at least 6 hours.

Glaze cake within 2 hours of serving: Heat all glaze ingredients in a double boiler or a small metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth, then pour over cheesecake, tilting baking pan to coat top evenly. Chill, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Lift cheesecake from pan using foil overhang and cut into 1-inch squares with a thin knife, wiping off knife after each cut. (If you're OCD, don’t skip this step! A clean knife is essential for uber-neat squares.)

chocolate caramel cheesecake

As though I hadn't gotten enough baking in when I made two desserts for Rebecca's potluck, I decided to host a potluck of my own. What can I say? I like to hear people praise my cheesecake. So for this potluck, I made two more.

I know they say that it's women that love chocolate, but I've seen a grown man whimper like a child at the phrase "chocolate caramel cheesecake". Try it sometime. I stole this recipe from smitten kitchen , but I topped it with a glaze from a different recipe (actually, the recipe that follows this). I can't bear to leave a cheesecake naked. They all look so much tastier dressed in chocolate.



The wonderful thing about cheesecake is that it looks labor-intensive, but really, you can throw one together in an hour. The hardest part is waiting the 6-9 hours it takes to chill. That is pure torment.



I will warn you: making the caramel takes forever. Have patience. And a strong arm. Or a boyfriend to take over the stirring when you need a nap.

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake
Recipe from Epicurious.com

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 9 3/4 hr

1 crumb-crust recipe (recipe below)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
8 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Make crumb crust as directed in separate recipe, using chocolate wafer cookies instead of graham crackers.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cook sugar in a dry heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a fork, until melted and pale golden. Cook caramel without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden. Remove from heat and carefully add heavy cream (mixture will vigorously steam and caramel will harden). Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until caramel is dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate until smooth. Stir in sour cream.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy, then beat in chocolate mixture on low speed. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 55 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken.

Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on a rack. (Cake will continue to set as it cools.) Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Cooks’ note:
Cheesecake keeps, covered and chilled, 1 week. (As though you could just let it sit that long.)

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Crumb Crust
Recipe adapted from Gourmet, 1999

10 oz finely ground cookies such as teddy grahams
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 24-centimeter springform pan. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

Makes enough for a 24-centimeter cheesecake.



Glaze
adapted from Dulce De Leche Cheesecake Squares

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped coarsely
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 tsp light corn syrup

Cheesecake should be completely chilled before glazing.

Heat all ingredients in a double boiler or metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Stir until smooth, then pour over the cheesecake, tilting the pan until top is coated evenly. Chill, uncovered, at least 30 minutes.

black-bottom cupcakes

I found both this recipe and the cheesecake recipe below at the same time, and I couldn't resist making them together-- they're like inverses of each other! I called them secret agent desserts because they'd infiltrated one another--cake (okay, brownie) hiding in the cheesecake, and cheesecake sneakily nestled in the middle of each cupcake.



When smitten kitchen made these, she (and several commenters) had a hard time keeping the filling in the middle. I used an ice-cream scoop that held about two tablespoons and put two scoops of cupcake batter, then two of filling, and then another one and a half of batter, making sure that no filling was peeking out of the top, and that seemed to work just fine.



I would suggest using liners for these, as I didn't and they were a bit tricky to get out of the tray. They didn't puff up too much, but they were moist and crumby and amazing.

Black-Bottom Cupcakes
The Great Book of Chocolate, David Lebovitz

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg (room temperature)
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil (canola, not olive)
1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the filling: Beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate pieces. Set aside.

Assemble:

1. Adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter/spray a 12-cup muffin tin, or line the tin with paper muffin cups.

2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring until just smooth. Stir any longer and you will over mix the batter and end up with less-than-tender cupcakes.

4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Spoon a few tablespoons (2-4) of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly. (If you do it this way, the cupcakes will have a marbled look on top, or be cheesecake-topped. If you want surprise filling, save some cupcake batter to put over the filling, making sure that no filling peeks out.

5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown (if they're cheesecake-topped) and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. These keep well unrefrigerated for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container. I thought about buying one of those cupcake-transporters (finally, a way to justify it!) but we, um, ate them all before I could get to the store.

brownie mosaic cheesecake

I stole this adaptation from Smitten Kitchen, but I adapted it further, using a different (and easier) ganache than she did. I'm not a huge fan of very sweet things, but this cheesecake was devoured at the potluck.

This recipe has many parts: you make the brownies, the crust, the cheesecake and the ganache, but every part is easy on its own, and people will be so impressed that they'll tell you to open up a bakery, graduate school be damned.



Phase I: Brownies
Adapted from Baker’s One Bowl Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I <3 scharffen berger for, well, anything)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 3/4cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH in 30-second increments until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix well. Spread into prepared pan. The batter may look precariously thin over the 9x13 pan; don't worry.

Bake 30 to 35 minute or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles. When I did this, 30 minutes was overbaked. But no one noticed or cared. Check yours at 20 or 25 minutes.

Cool brownies, then cut them into 3/4- to 1-inch squares for use in the cheesecake. You need 2 cups of cubes for the cheesecake, and you will have at least twice that. Save some to pulse in the food processor for decorative topping; the rest make an excellent snack while you're waiting the interminable million hours for the cheesecake to chill to done-ness.



Phase II: Crust
Recipe adapted from Gourmet, 1999

I'm with smitten kitchen here-- I used the doubled amounts in parentheses. Who doesn't like extra crust? It also makes patting the sides and bottom of the pan easier, as you're not worried about running out of crust because you've made the sides too thick. That's, um, never happened to me.

1 1/2 cups or 5 ounces (3 cups or 10 ounces to double) finely ground cookies such as chocolate wafers. Or Chocolate Teddy Grahams. (I use the teddies. A bit cheaper.)
5 tablespoons (10 tablespoons to double) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup (2/3 cup to double) sugar
1/8 (1/4 teaspoon to double) teaspoon salt

Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 24-centimeter (~9.5") springform pan. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.



Phase III: The Cheesecake
Part Three: Cheesecake
Three Cities of Spain Coffeehouse

3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar

Make crumb crust as directed above for 24-centimeter cheesecake. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make filling and bake cake: Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla and sugar, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

Fold brownie cubes in very gently and pour mixture into prepared pan. Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken. For me, 45 minutes was too many. 40 would have been also. Check yours at 35.

When completely cool, top with ganache. At this point, I stuck the (non-ganache-d) cheesecake in the fridge and went to bed. I put the ganache on in the morning.



As you can see, my slightly over-baked cheesecake isn't very pretty. A water bath would help, but I'm lazy. Ganache cures all top-of-cheesecake related errors, and it's delicious too. Smitten kitchen claims she's lazy, but her ganache recipe involved a food processor and 5 different ingredients. I'll spare you. Mine has two ingredients and requires a bowl and spoon.

Phase IV: Ganache
from Food & Wine, February 2006

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a medium glass bowl, combine the chocolate with the heavy cream and microwave at high power in 20-second intervals until the cream is hot and the chocolate is melted. Stir the ganache until blended, then let cool until barely warm.

Spread the chocolate over the cheesecake and chill.

You can stop here, or do what I did, if you like things pretty:

Pulse some of your leftover brownies (unless you ate them all...I had to wrestle mine away from the mister...) in the food processor until crumby. After the ganache-topped cheesecake has chilled for 15 minutes, pull it out and sprinkle the brownie crumbs around the edge of the cheesecake in a band 1-2" wide. Cover and chill overnight.

busy day cake

I hadn't been able to bake since finals started. Which means that the minute I got a chance, I went on a binge. I was invited to a potluck, and I saw this as the perfect reason to make not one, or two, but THREE desserts. Two for the potluck and one for us to start gnawing on immediately.



Because I wanted our dessert Right Now, I decided to make my quickest cake. It's easy, fast, and is good for breakfast, snack or dessert (I accidentally wrote "dinner" because sometimes, it's that too). I usually eat it plain but you can also have it with berries or some whipped cream or creme fraiche. I use as much nutmeg as I feel like grating.



This is my gift to you: the easiest, most versatile cake you'll ever make. And because the flavor is so mild, you never get sick of it. Trust me. I've made it almost once a week since I found the recipe. It keeps well and it's great to grab a slice on your way out the door when you're running late for the bus. Not that that ever happens to me.



Edna Lewis' Busy Day Cake. (stolen from Orangette.)

1 stick (8 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 ½ - 4 tsp. baking powder (see headnote, above)
¼ tsp. salt
1 good pinch freshly grated nutmeg, or more. LOTS more. and I promise, freshly grated is worth it.
½ cup whole milk, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9” springform pan with butter or cooking spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. One by one, add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract, and beat to blend.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

Add about ¼ of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and beat on low speed to incorporate. Add 1/3 of the milk, and beat again. Add the remaining flour mixture in three more doses, alternating each time with a bit of milk, and beating to just combine. Do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir to incorporate any flour not yet absorbed.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly across the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This cake has a tendency to brown quickly on top, so after about 20 minutes, you might want to peek into the oven and tent the cake with aluminum foil if necessary.

Serve warm. Or cool, for breakfast.

jacked-up banana bread

By "jacked-up," I mean "full of Jack". Or, in my case, Jim. Beam.




I stole this recipe from Smitten Kitchen but that's okay because she stole it too. Sort of. And I can see why- it's great. Sometimes (like this time) I add a handful or two of chocolate chips, other times I add chopped pecans or walnuts. And once in a while I make it as is.

Elise’s Friend Heidi’s Friend Mrs. Hockmeyer’s Banana Bread, As Jacked Up by Deb (and then Stolen by lana)
Adapted from Simply Recipes

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed (hooray potato masher!)
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar (or more, if you must)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour

No need for a mixer for this recipe! Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix just enough to combine (don't overmix). Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

This makes a great breakfast, especially toasted a bit in the toaster oven. If you've put chocolate in it, that makes the chocolate bits all melty. I sure do love melty.

yay, pudding!

I know that I confessed that I don't like milk chocolate. It's true. My heart belongs to dark chocolate. 62% and up. You know what they say-- once you go black...

Ahem. Anyway. I also love pudding. (And pastry cream, and mousse...) Smitten Kitchen posted an easy pudding recipe that I couldn't resist, especially after Justin gave me two bars of Scharffenberger baking chocolate for Valentine's (does he know me or what?). So I chopped up the chocolate and got to stirrin'.

I was rewarded with delicious pudding. Not too thick, perfectly chocolatey, and gone all too quickly. The only problem I'd had with the pudding was that it was a bit lumpy, because I was too lazy to waste time straining it before I let it chill. So I decided to make it again--and a vanilla version!--and try to eliminate the lumps.

That time, I used a tip from one of Smitten Kitchen's commenters, who said that you could mix the cornstarch up with some milk to make a slurry (put in small tupperware and shake) before adding it to the sugar/milk and that would prevent lumps. I did that, for both the chocolate and vanilla versions. Unfortunately, neither of these puddings ever thickened up properly. They thickened a little, but no one could ever call them pudding. Of course, we ate it anyway. Mmm, chocolate. Waste not want not and all that.

Tonight, I decided to give it a third go. I wanted pudding! I made it just like the first time. For the vanilla version, I scraped out a vanilla bean and added the bean and insides after I added the milk. At the end I pulled out the bean. Both versions are currently chilling, and I've got my fingers crossed.

Silky Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from John Scharffenberger, via Wednesday Chef, via Smitten Kitchen

Serves 6

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
6 ounces 62% semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use whatever I have on hand)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in the top of a double boiler. Slowly whisk in the milk, scraping the bottom and sides with a heatproof spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients. Place over gently simmering water and stir occasionally, scraping the bottom and sides. Use a whisk as necessary should lumps begin to form. After 15 to 20 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon, add the chocolate. Continue stirring for about 2 to 4 minutes, or until the pudding is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

2. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer (or not, if you don't mind lumps) into a serving bowl or into a large measuring cup with a spout and pour into individual serving dishes. (Or just keep it in its bowl.)

3. If you like pudding skin, pull plastic wrap over the top of the serving dish(es) before refrigerating. If you dislike pudding skin, place plastic wrap on top of the pudding and smooth it gently against the surface before refrigerating. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.

If something goes wrong and the pudding ends up runny, here are some reasons why.

update 3/6/08: My pudding went all soft and gooey. So I stuck it in the freezer and now I have the best bowl of popsicle *ever*. Yum. The vanilla one tastes just like ice cream.