Happy Easter to all my family, friends and blogger buddies!
Apr5
Happy Easter 2015!
Happy Easter to all my family, friends and blogger buddies!
Tag Archives: TenaciousM
Apr2
White And Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake Bars
Rich chocolate cake with chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and filled with cream cheese. These bars are always a hit at parties and are fast, easy and foolproof!
YIELD: 9×13-inch pan, 18 to 24 bars
PREP TIME: 10 mintues
COOK TIME: about 24 to 27 minutes
TOTAL TIME: about 1 hour, for cooling
Ingredients
1 box devil’s food cake chocolate cake mix (or your favorite boxed chocolate cake mix)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (bourbon vanilla is especially nice)
1 to 2 tablespoons cold brewed coffee or water, optional if necessary
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 can (14-ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup (4 ounces) cream cheese, softened (I use whipped cream cheese)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (clear imitation vanilla extract will keep this layer whiter)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 9-by-13 inch pan by lining it with aluminum foil and then spraying it with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, egg, vanilla and mix either with a mixer, with a spoon, or with your hands, kneading it together. The batter will be extremely thick and will be difficult to combine, but keep stirring or use your fingers and knead it together, adding the coffee (will deepen the flavor and does not make them taste like coffee) or water if necessary. Press the dough it into the prepared pan. It will be tacky, sticky, and a bit tricky to work with, but keep pressing, spreading, and finessing it. Sprinkle the white and dark chocolate chips evenly over the top.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and stir until well combined, and pour mixture evenly over dough, using a spatula to gently spread and even it if necessary.
3. Bake for 24 to 27 minutes, or until edges of bars begin to barely brown and pull away slightly from the sides of the pan, or until the middle has barely set, taking care not to overbake. Note that the middle will not seem very well set and will be jiggly upon removing from oven and that is okay, you want to keep these gooey. They will continue to set up more after they have cooled. Allow bars to cool well before slicing and serving. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for up to three months.
Apr1
Chocolate Mousse in White and Dark Chocolate Shells
Spoon any chocolate flavored instant mousse or pudding you desire into the shells, and top with fresh fruit for a simple and stunning dessert.
Yield: makes 9 servings.
Ingredients
1 (3.1)-ounce) package chocolate mousse
9 White and Dark Chocolate Dessert Shells
Garnish: fresh mint
Preparation
Prepare mousse according to package directions; spoon mousse evenly into cups. Garnish with mint, if desired.
Mar24
Mississippi Mud Cheesecake
“All the flavors of Mississippi Mud Cake (chocolate, pecans, and marshmallows) in a cheesecake instead.”
PREP: 40 mins
COOK: 4 hrs 20 mins
READY IN 10 hrs
Original recipe makes 1 – 9 inch cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 cups finely crushed animal cracker cookies
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1/4 cup melted butter
Cheesecake:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Topping:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup marshmallow creme
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Directions
1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
2. Mix together the animal cracker crumbs, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules in a bowl. Pour in the melted butter and mix until evenly moistened. Press into the prepared springform pan and set aside.
3. To make the filling, combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, the cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons instant coffee, and the cornstarch in the bowl of an electric mixer; stir until blended. Add the softened cream cheese and beat until the sugar mixture has been incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding the vanilla extract with the last egg. Fold in 1/2 cup of chopped pecans, then pour into the prepared crust.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C) and continue baking 2 hours. Turn off the oven, and let the cheesecake stand in the oven for 2 hours more before opening the door. Remove and cool to room temperature.
5. Once the cheesecake has cooled, melt the chocolate chips and milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove the cheesecake from the springform pan, and spread the marshmallow cream evenly over the top. Spread or drizzle the chocolate over the marshmallow cream and sprinkle 1/4 cup of chopped pecans over top. Chill completely before serving.
Mar22
Sunday Reflections
Happy Sunday to all. Breathe and enjoy!
Mar20
Mocha Loaf Cake
More great chocolate blogging!
Mar16
PB and Chocolate Pan Cookie
Well, we knew Monday was coming, so treat yourself to some much needed dark chocolate comfort. This pan cookie recipe calls for chunky peanut butter and dark chocolate morsels–a winning combination!
Ingredients
3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose baking mix
1 (12-ounce) package dark chocolate morsels, divided
Make a Delicious Mushroom Chicken Risotto
Directions
1. Stir together peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl.
2. Stir in brown sugar until combined. Add baking mix and 3/4 cup dark chocolate morsels, stirring just until moistened. Spread mixture in a lightly greased 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan.
3. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate morsels; let stand 5 minutes or until chocolate melts. Spread melted chocolate evenly over top. Cut into triangles, bars, or squares.
Mar15
Sunday Reflections
Happy, amazing Sunday!!
Mar14
48 Hours in Corpus Christi, Texas
It’s amazing that you can literally feel like you’re in another country just traveling a couple hundred miles in my home state of Texas. I spent the last few days in Corpus Christi. I haven’t been here in 20 years. Shame on me. It’s a coastal paradise.
Mar9
Chocolate Caramel Tart
This chocolate caramel tart is absolutely amazing. A buttery almond crust, gooey salted caramel and bittersweet chocolate ganache, all garnished with salted crystals. Chocolaty, rich and buttery, I fell in love with it from the first bite. Love the salt crystals as they don’t melt immediately and let you taste the sweet, the salty and the bitter at the same time.
Prep time 1 hr + chilling time
Cook time 30 mins
Total time 1 hr 30 mins +chilling time
Makes about 6-8 servings
Ingredients
Almond Chocolate Sweet Pastry
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (110 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small (1/2-inch) cubes
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1-2 tbsp ice water
Caramel
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 tbsp (70 g) unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
Chocolate Ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz (120g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Garnish
sea salt crystals
Directions
1. Prepare the sweet pastry. In a large bowl mix flour with ground almonds, cocoa powder, sugar and salt.
2. Incorporate butter to the flour mixture, using a pastry blender, a fork or a pastry processor, until crumbs are formed. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix them in. Add water and incorporate into the dough. Wrap it with plastic, knead slowly to form a disc and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
3. On a floured surface or over the plastic wrap roll the dough to a circle with about 1 1/2 inches larger than your tart pan. Lift up the rolled dough and place it on a greased 9 inch tart pan. Remove the edges and refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking.
4. Prick the dough with a fork, line a parchment paper over the dough. Fill with dry beans, rice or pie weights.
5. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated 350 F (180C) oven. Remove the weights and the parchment paper. Return to oven for another 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from the tart pan.
6. Prepare the caramel. Place the sugar and water in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook without stirring until sugar dissolves and gets a caramel color.
7. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cream. It will bubble a little bit.
8. Cook for about 1 or 2 minutes stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until smooth. Remove from heat and add butter and salt. Stir well until smooth.
9. Let the caramel cool slightly and pour over the chocolate crust. Refrigerate for about 4-5 hours.
10. Prepare the chocolate ganache. Heat the cream in a small saucepan. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth.
11. Pour the chocolate ganache over the caramel. Spread it evenly and refrigerate for another 2-3 hours before serving. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve.
Egos & Buffaloes 