2 Great Butter-Free Cakes

Before you get all excited, thinking that the term "Butter-Free" in the title suggests there's something healthy on this page, just stop it. Stop it right there.

There are such cakes. They rely on an extravagance of egg whites and patience. They are low in fat, impossibly airy, and perfect sprinkled with some fresh berries on a hot summer day. In fact, given the relentless heat in our un-air conditioned apartment, that kind of cake would probably have hit the spot.

No, these cakes have plenty of fat, but in liquid form. This gives them two advantages: (1) they're just a tad easier to throw together--no creaming or streaming here*; and (2) they are perfect refrigerator cakes. Meaning, if you want a delicious pudding, mousse, whipped cream, custard or other fancy layer in your cake creation, you will have to store it in the fridge. Meaning, you want it to be texturally perfect when it is eaten cold. Meaning, you want a cake with little-to-no butter, which hardens up when chilled.

Enter Mr. Chocolate and Ms. Vanilla. Each of the following recipes will make one 8- or 9-inch cake. Chocolate made its debut as the sis's delicious 30th birthday cake. Vanilla, as this year's Fourth of July flag cake.

*P.S. if you are still using boxed cake mixes because "they're just so convenient," try these recipes. They're just as easy and chemical-free!

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and line your cake pan with parchment paper cut to fit (this is important!).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, powder, and salt. Add buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes. Add egg and beat 2 more minutes. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until tester inserted near center comes out clean.

Easy Vanilla Cake

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and line your cake pan with parchment paper cut to fit (this is important!).
2. Beat eggs and sugar with electric mixer until slightly thickened, about a minute. Add flour, buttermilk, oil, powder, and vanilla. Beat for one more minute, until well incorporated. Pour into the pan. Bake 25-30 minutes, until tester inserted in center comes out clean.

the CHOCOLATIEST cookies in existence

These are brownies masquerading in cookie form. They are ri-di-cu-lous (slow, emphatic syllables necessary), but be forewarned: the batter is a little strange. It comes together pretty runny, then must sit for 20 minutes -- during which time its microscopic magical chocolate bits unite into a fudgy mass. It continues to harden as it sits, so go ahead and dole out all the cookies at one time. You can keep the pre-formed cookies in the fridge if you don't want to bake them all, but don't wait to scoop; you'll end up with a rock of dough (which I may or may not have hacked at with a sharp knife, then eaten without baking).

Super Fudge Cookies

adapted from Cook's Illustrated; makes about 10 cookies; takes about 45 minutes

1/2 cup flour

2 Tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 Tbsp butter, softened

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup pecan pieces (optional)

1. First, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Then, in a small bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave, working in 20 second increments until you can stir it smooth. (Alternately, melt over very low heat on the stovetop.) In a third bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla together.
2. In a medium bowl (yes, a fourth one, sorry), beat butter with sugars until well incorporated and smooth, 30 seconds. Add egg mixture and mix for another 30 seconds. Now the melted chocolate, another 30 seconds. Stir in dry ingredients as well as chips and pecans until incorporated; batter will be thin. Cover with plastic wrap and walk away for 20 minutes.
3. Return to discover your dough has undergone a mysterious yet wonderful transformation. Preheat your oven to 350º and scoop out about 2 Tbsp pieces of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. When oven is ready, bake 11-12 minutes. Cookie should seem under done, but it will continue to cook as it cools. Don't overbake! You want this baby to be gooey!

Chocolate Orange Pudding

I'm not entirely sure why, but David looooooves pudding. Or mousse. Or custard. Or panna cotta. Or anything that is cold and smooth and you can slurp from a spoon. He loves pudding the way normal people love chocolate chip cookies or slices of cake. When I say, "I made pudding," there is a spark in his eye that is only ever repeated upon the purchase of a long-desired book or the kickoff of a long-anticipated football game.

"Really!?" True elation. Why don't I make it all the time? It's this easy to make him happy?

In fact, this very evening, as he spooned his dessert, he effused--and I quote--"This is one of the perfect desserts in the world, don't you think?" He didn't even know I was planning on making fun of him later on the blog! He just says that stuff naturally!

Well, anyway, here's a great little chocolate pudding recipe, perfect for two. I happen to really like dark chocolate and orange together, but if you're not an orange person, you can just omit the zest and the juice. Easy.

Chocolate Orange Pudding

serves 2; ready in 2 hours (including chill time)

1 1/2 oz dark chocolate

1 1/4 cup milk (any fat content will do)

1 Tbsp orange zest

1/3 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

2 Tbsp cornstarch or flour

1 Tbsp cocoa

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp orange juice (or better yet, orange liquor of some kind)

1. First, chop the chocolate and place it in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 20 second intervals until you can stir it smooth. (Alternately, melt over very low heat on the stovetop.) Set aside.
2. In a small sauce pan, combine milk, zest, and sugar over medium heat, until scalded (that is, you just start to see tiny bubbles around the rim of the pan). Try not to boil. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, cornstarch, and cocoa. Mixture will be crumbly.
3. When milk is ready, add it in very small increments to the yolk-cocoa mixture, whisking well in between each addition. When all the milk is incorporated, return to pan and heat again, over medium, stirring constantly, until thick--about 2 minutes. Scrape pudding into a bowl to stop cooking. Add melted chocolate, butter, vanilla, and orange juice and whisk until well mixed.
4. To speed up the cooling process, place that bowl inside a larger bowl that you have filled with ice and a little water. Stir constantly for a few minutes until the pudding becomes cool. If you like, you can strain the pudding through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the orange zest and achieve a really smooth result.
5. Divide between two serving dishes of your choice, cover in plastic, and cool for at least an hour.

Chocolate Mice

Stopped by Burdick's today in Harvard Square for a completely unnecessary and totally drool-inducing tour of their chocolates case. They are known for these tiny, adorable, my-insides-are-imploding-from-the-cuteness chocolate mice, which taste almost as fantastic as they look. One of each, please!

The good news, New Yorkers, is that you can now share my mouse habit at your very own Burdick's location, recently opened in the Flatiron district. Please go there, if not for the mice, then for the hot chocolate--a.k.a. liquid GOLD--which is unparalleled (in provincial little Cambridge, anyway).

Texas Sheet Cake

Ah, Texas sheet cake: chocolatey buttermilk cake, fudgy pecan icing. Where does your name come from?

Some say it's because your dense, delicious slices are so rich, one only needs a small sliver to feel satisfied (hence, the ability to feed a Texas-sized crowd on a single cake). Maybe your fudgy explosiveness could only come from such a sizable state. Maybe that super-chocolatey flavor is as big as Texas.

Either way, this cake is ri-i-ich, almost brownie like, its accompanying icing quite sweet and studded with pecans. Buttermilk gives it a softness and a slight tang, the perfect foil to such a chocolate overload.

Texas Sheet Cake

serves up to 4; ready in 45 minutes; c/o BH&G

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter

1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 cup water

1/2 beaten egg -or- 2 Tbsp egg substitute

2 Tbsp buttermilk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting (recipe follows)

1. Grease a 5x5-inch (or equivalent) pan. Preheat oven to 350º. Stir together flour, sugar, soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter, cocoa powder, and water together, until you can stir it smooth. Use 30 second intervals, taking it out and checking it each time.
3. Pour chocolate mixture into flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined (this can be done by hand, with some effort). Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, beating for an additional minute. Batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pan.
4. Bake 30ish minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Top with warm Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting and allow both to cool.

Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting

2 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 Tbsp buttermilk

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup chopped, toasted (optional) pecans

Throw butter, cocoa and buttermilk into a bowl and microwave on high until butter is melted and you can stir them all smooth (use 20 second intervals). Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth (you might need a mixer for this one). Stir in pecans.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies

What a surprise! I have made dessert! And it combines peanut butter with chocolate! I swear I make other things sometimes. Sometimes.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies

makes 6 cookies; takes about 30 minutes with optional chill time; 15 without

1/4 cup flour

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp peanut butter (preferably crunchy; if not, add chopped peanuts)

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Coarse salt (optional)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, soda, powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Stir melted butter with sugar until sugar is nice and wet. Add yolk and vanilla, mix well, then add peanut butter. Mix until smooth. Stir in flour mixture, then chocolate chips (and optional chopped peanuts). Form into 6 balls, place them on a plate and press down to flatten slightly. Sprinkle tops with a little bit of coarse salt. Stash in the freezer for 15 minutes. (Or go ahead and bake if you must, you impatient fool.)
3. Preheat oven to 350º. Bake for 10 minutes and remove to cool slightly before enjoying.

What's up with the salt? Well, I'll tell you. Do you know why you love chocolate chip cookies so much? It's because the dough is nice and salty while the chips are nice and sweet. Your mouth really loves the play of those two tastes together. So up the ante a little by sprinkling coarse sea or kosher salt on top of your cookies right before baking. If you're skeptical, just sprinkle one or two and do a taste test with the non-salted ones. Betcha you'll be doing it a lot more from now on.

Pumpkin Brownies

It's PUMPKIN TIME! Finally! All these fresh vegetables, bountiful crops, and dizzying varieties during the summer--at last, we can settle down on one thing. And eat it all winter long.

Fall has several meanings for me: 1. Pumpkins, 2. Apples, 3. Cranberries, 4. Halloween Candy. And seasons changing and all that other crap too, of course, but mostly I really look forward to the foods that go with autumn. They're crisp and spicy-sweet and warm and mushy. (Think baked apples and soft roasted winter squashes and pie galore.) They also have come to mean infiltrating all otherwise normal dishes somehow with pumpkin. Enter Libby.

I saw her on the shelf and couldn't walk by. Look at that beast! Think of how many Downsliced creations she could make! Cookies, muffins, brownies, pie, pastas, soups, sauces....my head almost exploded right there on the carpeted floor (not kidding) of my local Foodmaster. 100% Calabaza Pura. I made her mine and took her home.

As usual, I wanted chocolate, but I also wanted pumpkin. Most of the recipes Google gave me had dreadful terms like "healthy" and "low calorie" in the title. Worse, they were actually promoted using phrases like, "Can't even taste the pumpkin!" or "Your kids won't know its there!" What blasphemy is this? A pumpkin brownie with no traceable elements of pumpkininity? What has our world come to?

My pointer finger went spasmodic; I think I actually made it to page three of Google's search results before Food and Wine magazine saved me. A delicious chocolate brownie with an intentionally discernible pumpkin swirl marbled throughout. Phew. The living room ceased to spin around me. I calmly clicked 'Print.' The world was as it should be.

Pumpkin Brownies

adapted from Food & Wine,* serves 4ish; takes about 40 minutes

For the Pumpkin batter

2 tsp butter, room temp

2 Tbsp cream cheese, room temp

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

2 Tbsp pumpkin

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp each cinnamon and ginger

1 Tbsp flour

For the Brownie

1 1/2 oz chocolate

2 Tbsp butter

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

1/3 cup flour

(1/4 cup walnuts, optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Whisk together cream cheese and butter in a small bowl until creamy and uniform. Add sugar and whisk to incorporate. Add yolk, pumpkin, vanilla and spices then whisk again until smooth. Stir in flour. Set aside
2. Now, melt chocolate and butter together in microwave or gently over the stove. Set aside to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, beat egg, sugar, vanilla and salt until your arm gives out, or until the egg is frothy and the sugar is almost dissolved, whichever comes first (feel free to use electric beaters for this). Gradually add melted chocolate mixture, whisking all the while so it doesn't cook your eggs. Once chocolate is in, fold in flour and nuts (if using).
3. Take a well-greased 4-5 inch square pan and pour the brownie batter in. Slop heaping spoonfulls of pumpkin batter all over the top, then swirl with a knife (not too much! you still want separate entities). Bake 20-28 minutes, depending on your gooeyness preference. Tastes really good cold.

*Special note: I actually made two versions of this brownie; the first, I felt, did not have all the pumpkin-packed power I was craving. On the second round I actually doubled the amount of pumpkin swirl it called for and found it perfect.

My Favorite Chocolate Cake

Everyone needs a good, solid, foolproof, go-to chocolate cake. This is mine. It is impossibly moist, good at room temperature or in the fridge, and stands up to many types of icing. Plus: one bowl, no mixer. TADOW!

The full recipe, from the charming Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes, can be found at the equally charming blog Smitten Kitchen. It should be used indiscriminately for as many occasions as you find for a full-sized cake. [This is the famous 27th Birthday Cake, for those of you who partook.]

But maybe you don't need the temptation of a triple-layer cake on your kitchen counter. Maybe you just want a slice or two. Shouldn't you be able to have that?

I say yes.

So when I am in need of a classic chocolate-layer-cake-with-chocolate-icing fix, this is what I do. You can either bake it in two 5-inch cake pans and make layers that way (what I did), or do a single layer in a 8- or 9-inch cake pan and just chop it in half and layer those (what I have done before). That way, at least, you only end up with half a cake.

My Favorite Chocolate Cake

makes 1 5-in cake or 1/2 full-size cake; takes about an hour

1/2 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup water

1/2 Tbsp white vinegar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 beaten egg

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line your cake pan(s) with parchment. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, and salt. Make a well in the middle an add oil and sour cream. Mix to combine--it will be very thick. Gradually add the water, then the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk to incorporate. Lastly, whisk in the egg.
2. Divide between two prepared pans or scrape into one. Bake 25-30 minutes, until sides pull away from edges and cake springs back when lightly pressed with your finger (in the middle). Cool on a rack and then transfer to the fridge. Because this cake is so deliciously moist, it is easier to work with when cold.

Go-To Chocolate Icing

will ice small cake; low fat to boot!

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 oz semisweet chocolate

pinch salt

1/3 cup cocoa

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk (skim is fine)

1. Melt butter and chocolate in a small bowl in a microwave or small saucepan over low heat. In a large bowl whisk together salt, cocoa, and powdered sugar. Pour warm chocolate mixture into sugar mixture and mix with a spatula to moisten.
2. Now, get out your beaters and mix on low speed to continue moistening. Add milk in several additions, beating well after every one. Feel free to tweak a little as needed: more p.sugar if your icing doesn't feel like it will hold its shape; more milk if its too thick.

Puppy Chow!

Um, excuse me, are you there? Hello?

It's your childhood here, just checking in to remind you sometimes to eat the ridiculous and indulgent foodstuffs of your youth--foods that were just off limits, maybe only for special occasions, foods that you made in celebration, foods that take you back to a kitchen you remember with pangs of nostalgic fondness--when the only thing that mattered was not calories or ingredients or prices, but when these delicious things would be ready already.

For me, it's Puppy Chow (a.k.a. Chex Muddie Buddies). Where either of these names originated, I cannot say. But I can confirm with certainty that this recipe has been printed on the back of the Chex box since time eternal, and continues so today. And it is exactly the same, which is why we love it, right? Right.

Actually, why I love it are the accompanying memories of my friend Marlee and me disappearing into the pantry or rifling the fridge contents, intent on including an outrageous and undetectable "Secret Ingredient" to every batch we made, and we made quite a few. Never would we divulge our selections to our unsuspecting munchers, but oh how we giggled to ourselves at the thought of what they--ok we--were all eating. Apparently the litmus test was whether or not Mar and I would consume the batch we had produced. If we didn't eat it, no one else would. (We always ate it.)

Here's how to make just enough for one (though, lamentably, Chex cereal comes in only one box size: Y2K-ready -- just eat the rest for breakfast over the next few years):

Puppy Chow

1 cup rice Chex

2 Tbsp chocolate chips

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1/2 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

copious amounts of powdered sugar (ok, like 1/2 cup)

Melt chocolate, peanut butter and butter in a microwave safe bowl, being careful not to burn (go in 20-second increments). Stir in vanilla, then Chex, making sure all is well coated. Turn out into a paper or plastic bag and add powdered sugar. Toss to coat.

For 2 people or for leftovers, use the following proportions: 2 cups chex, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 2 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 Tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and plenty of P.S.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Puddings

I know, it's been, like, two whole days since I've posted a dessert. Don't worry. I'm here for you.

This gem came from that spectacular spread on peanut butter desserts in Bon Appetit we once talked about on these pages. Their recipe is for peanut butter and milk chocolate puddings stacked together with billowy whipped cream on top. Our version became dark chocolate (because that's the chocolate I had) and significantly lower in fat (because that's the milk I had) with no whipped cream (because that I did not have). Still pretty tasty, though, if our finger-swiped mason jars are any indication.

The procedure is identical for both puddings, so make the peanut butter, rinse out your pot, then start straight in on the chocolate. You'll be a pro by the second time.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pudding

serves 2; active time about 15 minutes plus 2 hours' cooling

For P.B.:

2 1/2 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

pinch salt

1/2 cup milk (recipe calls for whole; I used 1%)

2 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream (I used light cream, you could also use half and half)

2 1/2 Tbsp natural peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

For Choc:

2 1/2 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

pinch salt

2 tsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 Tbsp cream

1 1/2 oz chocolate, chopped (milk or dark)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Start with peanut butter pudding. Whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt in a small saucepan. Add milk and cream and whisk well to combine/dissolve. Turn heat on to medium and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. It will be a frothy boil--let it go hard for about 30 seconds to thicken up. Add peanut butter and return to boil, again, whisking constantly. Let boil almost a minute. Turn off heat and stir in vanilla. Divide between two serving dishes and stash in the freezer while you make chocolate pudding.
2. Rinse out and dry your saucepan. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cocoa in the bottom, then add milk and cream and combine/dissolve. Turn heat on to medium and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Let the thick, frothy boil go for 30 seconds, then add your chopped chocolate. Return to a boil, again, whisking constantly. Let boil about a minute, then take off heat and stir in vanilla.
3. Chill chocolate pudding 5 minutes before adding to p.b. Divide evenly between two dishes and store, uncovered, in the fridge for 2 hours. If desired, top with whipped cream.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Since I am physically unable to skip dessert after almost every meal (with breakfast being the occasional exception), sometimes I find myself trying to sneak some nutrition into my sweets. Does it make a difference? Probably not. No amount of fiber is going to cancel out butter and chocolate. BUT, while we eat these whole wheat cookies, we can glare from beneath our whole grain highbrows, scoffing at the philistines and their refined white flour. Ha! Eat your inferior sweets with their deliciousness and their moisture and their irreplicably delicate textures. We will all live longer and laugh at you after you are dead.

Meanwhile, here's what you should know about baked goods with whole grain flours, as gleaned from a masterpiece of nutritional experimentation, King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking: in many, many cases, whole grain flours can be used in place of white flour in (specially designed) recipes. But the secret to achieving a palatable texture is often to let your dough, or your baked creation, sit at least overnight. This gives the denser flours time to absorb some liquid from the batter and soften up a bit, resulting in a more delicate chewing experience.

All this having been said, this cookie is good, but you can definitely taste the whole wheat. More precisely, I should say, you can feel the whole wheat lingering on your tongue. The ungodly proportion of chocolate chips to dough in this recipe goes a long way toward disguising the texture, but if you're a purist, you may be disappointed.

Let me also say, I was not disappointed. I really liked these cookies and will be making them again. If you make them, be sure to allow a FULL 24-hours' chill time for the dough.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 9 small cookies; adapted from KA's Whole Grain Baking (see above); start to finish 1 day + 20 minutes

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/16 tsp (yes, just use half of your 1/8th) baking powder

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp agave nectar or corn syrup

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 beaten egg (eat the rest for breakfast tomorrow)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1. In a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and then stir in brown sugar. Cook until beginning to bubble (only took about 30 seconds in my microwave--work in small increments). Stash in the freezer 10 minutes to cool to lukewarm.
2. Stir in vanilla, salt, soda, powder, agave/syrup, and vinegar; mix well. Add egg and stir until combined. Next, add flour and chips and mix until nice and blended. Cover and stash in the fridge until tomorrow. Batter will be very runny.
3. On day 2, your batter will have magically become more of a dough. At this point, heat your oven to 375º and drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes. Because they are whole wheat, the cookies will already be a little dark, so don't rely solely on color for determining doneness; give them a little poke with your finger. They shouldn't be raw but they shouldn't be too firm either. They'll continue to cook a bit out of the oven.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

Because Bon Appetit wishes to taunt me with its glossy pages and its delicious recipes and its close-ups of towering slices of cake--with glistening frosting and nothing but a lonely fork beside them, just begging begging to be picked up--I immediately fainted when I received the January issue this year. A whole spread on Peanut Butter Desserts, the cover advertised? I still haven't read the rest of the issue. Mostly I've just focused on pages 64-71.

What I love about the desserts in this particular article is that they all use natural peanut butter, not the processed peanut-flavored product endowed with shelf-immortality. Don't get me wrong, Skippy has its place. But if you're a peanut butter nut (yeah, it's a pun, get over it) like me, as close to the peanut is where it's at.

So yester-evening, as the temperatures started to sag in Boston, I fired up the oven and baked a downsized batch of their Peanut Butter and Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Brownies. I know, you just fainted too, right? Because I wasn't sure how big of a pan to use, I just meted out the ingredients into a cupcake tin and it worked perfectly. Unfortunately, I don't like brownie end pieces (I'm a gooey-from-the-middle kind of gal), which is basically what you get from the tin. If you hate this, use a muffin cup liner or simply do what I did and eat out the middle!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Brownies

makes 4; total time about 40 minutes, but I think they taste best cold, so if you can have patience, stash them in the fridge for an hour before eating

For the brownie layer:

2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 egg, lightly beaten *(beat full egg and save other half for the topping)

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp flour

pinch salt

For the cheesecake layer:

2 oz cream cheese, soft

1 heaping Tbsp natural peanut butter

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 egg

1/2 Tbsp cream or half-and-half

1/2 Tbsp flour

1/2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325º and spray 4 muffin cups with nonstick spray.
2. First, the brownie layer: melt the chocolate and butter together in a small saucepan or in a microwave (slowly--only 20 or so seconds at a time!). Set aside. Meanwhile, beat sugar, 1/2 egg and vanilla with electric beaters--or your indefatigable arm strength--until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Gradually add chocolate mixture then stir in flour and salt. Divide among 4 cupcake cups.
3. Next, the cheesecake: Beat cream cheese, peanut butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add sugar gradually, beating until fluffy. Add remaining 1/2 of beaten egg and mix well, then cream, then flour.
4. In a small bowl, place chopped chocolate and microwave at 15 second intervals until melty. Stir smooth. (You want to be extra special careful because chocolate on its own, i.e. no butter, oil, etc., will burn very easily. Go slow and check often.) When nice and melted, stir in 1 Tbsp of cream cheese mixture and mix well. Divide remaining cream cheese mixture between 4 cups and spread over top, then ladle chocolate-cream cheese mixture into the center of each. Using a toothpick, swirl chocolate and plain cream cheese mixtures together.
5. Bake 15 minutes, then start checking. You want the edges to be slightly puffed and the center is set. I overbaked. Don't make the same mistake.
6. Let cool slightly, then extract from tin. Chill in the freezer or fridge until ready to eat.

Irish Insanity Cake

Apologies for the some-time hiatus, but there was traveling and then there was general busyness and then there was a whole week in there when I had no one to cook for. I now completely understand why single people never eat. Where's the motivation? It's so much trouble for just you. And there's no one to wash your dishes.

Well, anyway, here's to the times you're eating with your roommates or significant others or just get tired of the supermarket salad bar.

Specifically, here's to the time when you want a pretty spectacular dessert flavored with not one but TWO irish boozes: Guinness and Bailey's Irish Cream. Zing! Start with a chocolate stout cake, frost it with some Bailey's buttercream, then drizzle it all with a deep, dark chocolate ganache. The best part is, my little recipe makes 3-4 servings of cake, depending on your baking pans, so you won't be tempted (and believe me, you would be tempted) to polish off an entire layer cake by your lonesome.

Guinness Cake with Bailey's Irish (Butter)Cream and Chocolate Ganache

(Adapted from Bon Appetit; serves 4; total cook, cool, and ice time, about 1 hr)

For the Cake:

1/4 cup Guinness

1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) butter

3 Tbsp cocoa

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1/2 beaten egg (or 2 Tbsp egg substitute)

2 1/2 Tbsp sour cream

For the Frosting:

4 Tbsp butter

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2-4 tsp Bailey's

For the Ganache:

2 Tbsp cream (heavy or light, whatev)

2 oz. dark chocolate

1. For the cake: preheat oven to 350º. Carefully melt together butter, cocoa, and Guinness until smooth. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, sugar, soda and salt in a small bowl, and eggs/sour cream in another. Slowly add chocolate-Guinness mixture to egg/sour cream, whisking constantly. Add dry ingredients and fold in.
2. Grease and flour a cake pan. I happen to have a 6-inch square cake pan, which made perfect sized layers, but a 5-7 inch round would do OK too. You could also go smaller and make a thick cake instead of layers, just increase the baking time a bit. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool.
3. For the frosting: beat butter creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, beat well. Add Bailey's teaspoon by teaspoon until you reach desired consistency. Yum. Cut cooled cake in half and frost as you would a full layer cake.
4. For the ganache: gently melt (or microwave) the chocolate and cream together, stirring smooth. Pour over frosted cake.

Brownie Thins

Finally, a recipe that discards all that extra fatty padding and leaves you with just the thin, ever-so-subtle crisp of brownie tops. Full-sized brownies have their place, don't get me wrong, but this recipe comes together in a snap, supplies just the right amount of chocolate pleasure, and doesn't leave you with a full pan of thunder thighs waiting to happen. 

Brownie Thins

(c/o Bon Appetit -- makes 6 petite thins)

1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped 

1 1/2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp egg (or substitute is fine here)

3 tsp flour

dash of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt

2 Tbsp chopped nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350º. In a medium bowl, melt chocolate and butter together in the microwave. Start with 30 seconds, then go 15 at a time until you can stir it smooth.
2. Whisk in sugar and egg until smooth, about 1 minute. Add flour, extracts, and salt. Stir just to blend. 
3. Let batter hang out for 10 minutes. 
4. On a pan with parchment paper or a silpat, scoop out rounded teaspoons (that's right, a teaspoon) of dough a few inches apart. Using a piece of plastic wrap, sprayed with cooking oil if you like, press dough lumps down to flatten them a little. Sprinkle with nuts. 
5. Bake for 7 minutes. Cool for 2. Eat them all at once. 

Whoopie! (pies)

Apparently, whoopie pies are now trendy the way eccentric cupcakes were last year and boring cupcakes were the year before. I know this, not because I am myself trendy in any way, but because the 'New York Times' did a huge spread on this tasty cake last week. In true NYC fashion, this profile offered a gentle pat on the forward-thinking backs of its cutting edge New Yorkers for executing yet another culinary triumph.  Never mind that folks in Maine (not to mention the Amish) have never stopped eating this since they started, like, a century ago. If whoopie pies are back in style, someone should probably let Mainers know that they went out in the first place.

I happen to think that the brilliance of this treat is in its similarity to that other genius creation, the sandwich. It's all the glories of a piece of cake, but with the messy bits tucked carefully into a neat, portable exterior. No fork. No wrapper. No glamour. Just a pie you can easily eat with one had while steering your horse and buggy with the other. 

 

Whoopie Pies

(c/o The New York Times--my recipe makes 2 sizable pies)

 

For the Cake:

2 Tbsp butter, room temp

1/4 Cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp egg substitute (or 1/4 beaten egg)

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp cocoa

1/4 cup buttermilk (or 3 T yogurt + 1 T milk)

1/2 Tbsp veg oil 

For the Filling

1 Egg white

5 Tbsp butter, room temp

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

To prepare the cakes: 

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add egg and nilla. Beat some more.
2. Combine all dry ingredients (flour through cocoa) in a small bowl. Pour oil into buttermilk. Then, beginning with the flour mixture, add alternately with the buttermilk to the batter (flour - b'milk - flour - b'milk - flour) until it's all incorporated. 
3. On a parchment lined baking sheet, scoop out four, 1/4-cup sized scoops. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until cakes spring back when pressed lightly. Cool on a rack.

Now, the filling: 

1. In a double boiler or a bowl set over simmering water, whisk together the egg and sugar, vigorously, until sugar is dissolved and mixture reaches 180º. (Confession: I don't think I got up to 180, I just sort of guestimated and it came out fine.)
2. Transfer to a mixing bowl and beat on high speed (with whisk attachment if you have that option) for a good long while, until doubled in volume, thick, and shiny. Reduce speed and add butter 1 Tbsp at a time. 
3. Finish with vanilla and salt, then hit the beaters up to high again for one minute. You should have a nice, stiff cream. 
4. Split between 2 cookies and sandwich them to make pies! 

Crazy Good Frozen Banana Bites

What? I know what you're thinking. Something this adorable could not also be easy and cheap. But oh, ho it is. And also? Impossible not to eat. David and I popped them like tater tots. Here's what you need to make this happen in your mouth soon: 

Frozen Banana Bites

1 banana

1/2 cup chocolate chips or other fine, dark chocolate, chopped

1 Tbsp cream, half and half, or milk

1-2 tsp corn syrup (optional, helps with consistency in my opinion)

Toppings of your delight--I used toasted coconut and chopped cashews

First, slice the banana in 1-inch slices. Lay them on a little plate and stick them in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips, dairy product of your choice, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl. Start at about 30 seconds, then take it out and check it. Keep going at 15-second intervals until you can stir it smooth. 

Once the naners have a nice chill, take them out and, working quickly, dunk each in the chocolate, coating well--a skewer and/or a fork are both helpful here--then roll in your topping. The bananas will likely have a cooling effect on the chocolate. If it starts to get gloopy, then one of two things is happening (or possibly both): your bananas are too warm or your chocolate is too cool. Return the chocolate to the microwave for 10 seconds and see if that helps. If not, freeze your bananas a little longer. 

Place the adorable little banana bites back on the tray and, if you can wait, let them freeze at least 3 hours. Make them in the afternoon, then forget about them until after dinner. Oh I'm so sad they're gone. Really. 

Chocolate Pavlova with Low Fat Chocolate Mousse

So, inspired by Martha's latest spread on the glory of egg whites, I ripped a couple of pages out of 'Living' and tried my hand at a mini version of her Chocolate Pavlova. Because the chocolate filling called for approximately 20 yolks and because I had neither heavy cream nor whole milk on hand, I thought I'd just swap out the filling for a low fat chocolate mousse recipe I had saved from a 'Cook's Country' some time back. First, you must start with the mousse.

Low Fat Chocolate Mousse (courtesy of Cook's Country)

2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped up (a hershey's dark from the check-out line works well for this)

2-3 Tbsp white chocolate chips or chopped bits

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa

3 Tbsp water (plus another 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup sugar

1 really large or 2 medium egg whites

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1. Place the chocolates, vanilla, cocoa, and 3 T water into a small saucepan. Melt over VERY LOW heat just until you can whisk it all together without any major bumps. Transfer to a large bowl, and let it hang out to cool.

2. In another small saucepan (or the

one you've just used, washed out), place 1/4c sugar and 1/4c water. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, and boil until slightly thickened and large bubbles rise to the top, about 4 minutes. It should look something like that (-->). Take off heat and cool a bit.

3. In yet another bowl, beat the egg white(s) on medium low speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and increase speed to medium-high, until you get soft peaks. [This means, when you take the beaters out, there is a soft mound left behind: not stiff, but definitely there.] With the mixer running, stream in the syrup, trying to keep it away from the beaters, so you don't lose your syrup in a losing battle against the ricochet spin-action. You will never win. Once the syrup is all in, pump up the jams to high and beat until the meringue is thick and shiny, about 2 more minutes.

4. Finally, pour about 1/3 of the meringue into the chocolate mixture and whisk to combine (that's right, I said whisk). Add the rest of the meringue, mix it up good, cover it in plastic and let it sit a long, long time. At least 6 hours or overnight. It will last 4 days if you want to do it a while. Now, for the pavlova....

Martha's recipe "serves 8–10", so here's a smaller version:

Chocolate Pavlova (courtesy of Martha Stewart Living)

2 egg whites, room temp

2 Tbsp brown sugar (dark, if you like)

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp white sugar

Pinch of salt

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 300. Line a baking sheet with parchment and draw a 6-inch circle on it. Flip the paper.

2. Mix egg whites, sugars, and salt in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly, until sugars are dissolved, your arm is cramped and you have given up on wanting the meringue altogether, about 3 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and hit the eggs with an electric mixer (med-hi) until you get stiff peaks. [This means, when you lift the beaters out of the whites, they leave a little mountain behind, like so...] Beat in the vanilla.

4. Sift the cocoa powder over the (now) meringue and fold until barely any streaks remain. Folding can be tricky: the thing to remember is that you want to preserve all those little air bubbles you just made by whipping the egg whites. Scrape around the outside of the bowl, folding in toward the middle. Be patient.

5. Spread the meringue into your parchment circle and make a well in the center with the back of a spoon. Bake until dry to the touch, about 1 hour. Turn off the oven and let it hang out until it's cool in there, another hour more.

To assemble:

It is quite simple. RIGHT before you're ready to serve, slather the mousse into the pavlova and sprinkle with a little powdered sugar or get fancy with some chocolate curls. Crunchy and chewy, plus deeply chocolate--it's a winner.