Monthly Archives: July 2015

Jul28

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

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Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Bars-Buttery Oreo crust, creamy chocolate cheesecake then garnished with rich Chocolate Ganache. When you slice these bars up and put them on a serving plate all you’ll see is elegance.

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Ingredients

2 cups crushed Oreo cookies (about 24 cookies)
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
24 ounces cream cheese (3 8 ounce bars) softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

for ganache
1/3 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon heavy cream

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Instructions

1. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with foil, lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Combine crushed Oreo cookies with melted butter until all crumbs are moistened. Press crumb mixture into prepared pan. Set aside.

3. Place 1 cup chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high in microwave for 45 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Heat an additional 15 seconds if needed. Let cool.

4. Cream cream cheese until smooth. Add in sugar and vanilla, beat well.

5. Add cooled chocolate and beat again until combined.

6. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined. Make sure to scrap down sides of bowl.

7. Spoon cheesecake mixture over prepared crust and smooth to edges.

8. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 40-45 minutes, until only center of cheesecake jiggles. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven with door to oven cracked for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove cheesecake to rack to cool completely before refrigerating. Let cheesecake chill for 1 hour before adding decorative ganache.

9. To make ganache, place chocolate chips and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute. Let chocolate rest for 5 minutes before stirring. Stir until completely smooth. Let cool. Spoon ganache into a pastry bag fitted with a #3 tip or you can use a plastic freezer bag with a small hole cut out of one corner. Drizzle chocolate ganache over cheesecake in any design.

10. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to completely chill before slicing.

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Jul19

Sunday Reflections

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Yesterday was International Nelson Mandela Day, a day for service to mankind in honor of a great leader. What better way to acknowledge the day than to spend it working to bring health insurance to under-served populations. #Time2Serve
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Many thanks to my lifelong friend, Pamela (middle), for using her birthday the serve!!

Jul16

Chocolate Celebration Cake

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Sharing that someone else knows that chocolate should be celebrated!! Enjoy!

Jul6

Heath Bar Cake

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Just looking at this cake with the sweet vanilla buttercream covered in rich chocolate ganache sprinkled with buttery Heath chips… it just makes me happy. It’s perfection.

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Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee (I use decaf)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl and mix until combined.

3. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans (it will be very thin) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

5. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.