Chocolate Easter Cake with Ganache Frosting

Attention all chocolate lovers: this cake might put you over the edge. Two dense layers of chocolate cake, rich and creamy ganache frosting, topped with shaved milk chocolate (Cadbury, to be exact) and the smoooothest little chocolate eggs you've ever had. (Again, obviously Cadbury... I'm a little obsessed.) I'm usually a fruity dessert lover, but to appease the chocolate eaters in my family I made this rich chocolate cake for Easter dinner back home. Dylan came home with me for the holiday and I have no doubt he was happily fed the whole trip. He's always astounded by how much my family eats. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing...

Posing with the cake

Easter Sunday

Dyeing eggs with Dylan and my sister Megan

Another exciting part about the weekend was that Dylan and I got to celebrate our 2-year anniversary! We've been living 8 hours apart since January, so seeing each other in general is reason enough to celebrate. Back in Boston we would cook together most nights, so we decided to make a nice dinner for the occasion. We had caprese salad, paprika-spiced flank steak, and beer-battered coconut shrimp. Expect to see that coconut shrimp recipe on here soon - it was amazingggg. Then again, how could you go wrong beer-battering anything?

Set-up in the dining room

Caprese salad

Paprika-spiced flank steak and coconut shrimp

Getting back to the cake, I found this recipe on marthastewart.com, which has yet to steer me wrong. This cake was spongy and moist, giving it this awesome sensation of both soft and heavy. The Cadbury chocolate on top is what pushed me over the edge. Dylan introduced me to these chocolates, which are only sold once a year around Easter and are his absolute favorite. This cake would be great to make all year round, but the chocolate egg nest make it particularly adorable for spring. Enjoy! :)

Chocolate Easter Cake with Ganache Frosting (from Martha Stewart)
Serves: 10-12  Prep: 1 hour  Total: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup butter
1 tbs instant espresso powder
3/4 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbs vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbs corn syrup
8 ounces milk chocolate
Cadbury eggs for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Coat two 8-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray, cover in parchment paper, spray again and sprinkle with cocoa powder, shaking off excess.
Melt butter in a large pot and whisk in water, cocoa powder and espresso powder until dissolved. Whisk in sugar and remove from heat. Add the remaining wet ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and mix until fully incorporated. Pour into cake pans and bake for 45-50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
When the cake is done, remove and let cool in pans for 20 minutes. Remove from pans and let sit until cool to the touch. Cut off the rounded tops of both cake layers to make them flat. Place one layer cut-side up on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Spread a little less than half the frosting in the center of the cake. Cover by laying the second half cut-side down and spread remaining frosting over the top and sides. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until frosting is firm.
Melt semisweet chocolate, heavy cream and corn syrup together in a heat-proof bowl over boiling water. Let cool for several minutes before pouring over cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Before serving, shave milk chocolate with a large knife and garnish on top of cake with Cadbury eggs.

Green Velvet Cupcakes with Rum Spiked Frosting

Continuing with the Irish spirit, I decided to make some GREEN velvet cupcakes for Saint Patty's Day. Since half of the fun (or maybe 99% of the fun) on Saint Patrick's Day is the drinking, I spiked some cream cheese frosting with a little bit of rum. You only need a touch of imitation rum to get the right flavor, so if you're looking to recreate these don't go overboard or you'll end up feeling like you're eating a shot... not always so delicious. Enjoy!

Green Velvet Cupcakes with Rum Spiked Frosting
Makes: 18 cupcakes  Prep: 20 minutes Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup cake flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbs green food coloring
12 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup butter
3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp imitation rum

Directions
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix well until lumps are gone. Pour into paper-lined cupcake tins and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out dry. Let cool before icing.
To make frosting, combine softened butter and cream cheese in a mixer and beat on high for 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and rum and beat for another minute or until smooth.

Irish Bacon and a Traditional Irish Breakfast

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I came home for the weekend to celebrate with my whole family this year, so we woke up early to make a big traditional Irish breakfast. My brother used to work at a great Irish pub in Chicago, so he gets credit for most of this meal. He put together a menu of Irish bacon, Irish sausage, fried eggs, British-style baked beans in tomato sauce, sauteed tomatoes, and Guinness brown bread with Kerrygold butter.

Oh, and don't forget the Irish coffee - made the real way with some good whiskey! Yesterday, my brother Conor and I brined a pork shoulder overnight in preparation for boiling this morning. I rarely eat red meat, so this was a big treat. After boiling the pork shoulder for three hours we sliced and seared it for a nice golden crust and that great greasy flavor.

Conor also baked up Guinness brown bread last night which we ate with some Irish butter. I had never had Kerrygold butter before, but my brother explained the difference is a higher fat content. How are Europeans skinner than us again? If I ate this kind of breakfast each morning I would be doing a lot less baking, that's for sure. Now I need to prepare myself for tonight's dinner of corn beef, cabbage, potatoes, soda bread, grasshopper pie and green velvet cupcakes. (Spoiler alert! I'll be posting this later today...)

Irish Bacon

Makes: 10 servings  Prep: 40 minutes  Total: 24 hours

Ingredients

1 6-pound pork shoulder

3 cups kosher salt

3 heads fresh garlic

1 tbs ground pepper

1/2 tbs butter

Directions

Fill a dutch oven with water 5-6 inches below the rim. Pour in kosher salt and stir for several minutes until fully dissolved. Rinse pork shoulder, place in dutch oven, cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to cook, boil pork in salt water for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, dump out salt water and replace with warm water. Bring to boil again for 1 minute, add pepper and garlic, and simmer on low heat for 3 hours.

Pour out water and place pork shoulder on a large cutting board. Slice pork across its natural break into thin strips. Melt 1/2 tbs butter in a large skillet and fry sliced pork one minute each side on medium-high heat. Let drain on paper towels before serving.

Merry Christmas Cake Pops

I made four different desserts for Christmas Eve dinner last night and these cake pops were the overwhelming favorite. They were super rich and chocolate-y, perfect for anyone with a major sweet tooth. I made the cake and frosting the night before, froze the pops, and decorated them the next morning with the help of my brother and sister.

In light of the holiday, I'll fill this post with photos instead of words. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Conor and Megan showing off their decorating skills.

Merry Christmas Cake Pops
Makes: 30-40 pops  Prep: 1 hour  Total: 24 hours

Ingredients
Boxed chocolate cake (or favorite chocolate cake recipe)
2 8-ounce cream cheeses
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Red and green candy melts
30-40 lollipop sticks

Directions
Bake cake as directed and let cool. Crumble cake into a large bowl and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter until smooth. Slowly add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time and stir until incorporated. Add vanilla and whip for 2-3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Combine the cream cheese icing with crumbled cake and stir until the mixture is smooth. Form into 2 inch balls and set onto a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sticks into the center of the balls so they look like upside-down lollipops. Refrigerate overnight.
Place candy melts in the microwave for 1 minutes. Remove and stir, and microwave again at 30-second increments until fully melted. Dip cake pops into the melted candy and decorate with additional frosting. Store pops in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Raspberry Almond Thumbprints

I've decided that December will be a month of cookie recipes. With only three days left until Christmas, cookies are kind of the only thing on my radar. Today I had my best girlfriends over to bake and decorate cookies. Of course, we had to devour some brie and queso dip before getting started. Seriously, every party we have involves cheese... probably not normal. Anyway, I whipped up a few batches of these thumbprints (based off of my grandma's recipe) and my friends made some classic sugar cookies. Here are the prettiest cookies of the bunch:

It's funny how we spend so much time shopping and getting ready for the holidays, but the best moments are simply sitting around with your best friends and family. I moved to Boston several years ago, but somehow I still find the same charms every time I come home. As I write this I'm listening to "Love is Christmas" by Sara Bareilles, so perhaps that's why I'm feeling so introspective. To wrap this up, when you're running around this holiday season don't forget to slow down and enjoy the people around you. And also have a cookie. :)

Raspberry Almond Thumbprints
Makes: 1 dozen cookies  Prep: 10 minutes  Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg, divided
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup slivered almonds, chopped
1/4 cup raspberry jam

Directions
Mix butter, brown sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl. Crack the egg and separate the white from the yolk, saving the egg white in a small bowl. Add the yolk to the sugar mixture and mix well. Add flour and salt and mix until fully incorporated.
Lightly whisk egg white. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and dip into egg white. Roll into finely chopped almonds and place on a greased baking sheet. Press thumb into the center of each cookie and bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until the dough is set. Remove and let cool. Fill each cookie with raspberry jam and store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Cranberry Rocky Road Cookies: The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap!

Happy holidays, everyone! :) I'm back home for winter break and have one online final and a paper before I'm officially done with this semester. I've already moved out of my Boston apartment and will soon be making my journey to The Middle-of-Nowhere, New Jersey for a 6-month internship. I said my bittersweet goodbyes to all my amazing Boston friends this weekend, and I have to say this has been the best semester EVER. I made some wonderful new friends and got even closer to old ones, which makes it terribly hard to leave. Love you all so much, and thanks for an incredible year!

On the bright side, a few positives of leaving Boston are 1) a great new job, 2) [hopefully] great new friends, and 3) more time to blog!!! Which brings me to...

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

 This year two amazing food bloggers, Julie at The Little Kitchen and Lindsay at Love & Olive Oil, arranged an international cookie swap for food bloggers to network, exchange information, and best of all, cookies! I can't think of a better and tastier way to connect with other bloggers out there.

I was scrambling to come up with a recipe for this event, since I usually don't ad lib on baking recipes, but I was really stuck on the idea of chocolate and marshmallow because it was my favorite ice cream as a kid. Somehow this transitioned to rocky road, then dried cranberries were thrown in the mix, and huzzah! Cranberry rocky road cookies were born. These were very quick to whip up and are the perfect holiday cookie for both chocolate lovers and fruity dessert lovers to enjoy.

Cranberry Rocky Road Cookies

Makes: 4 dozen cookies  Prep: 15 minutes  Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cups baking soda
2/3 cups cocoa
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Place softened butter in an electric mixer and beat for 30 seconds until whipped. Add in sugar, eggs and vanilla and beat for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa and mix well. Add dry ingredients into the mixer in four parts and beat for 2 minutes.
Next, chop whole walnuts before measuring. Add walnuts, chocolate chips and dried cranberries into the cookie dough and beat for 1 minute.
Scoop dough with a tablespoon and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until the dough is risen and remove from the oven. Add a few mini marshmallows to each individual cookie. Bake for another 2 or 3 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool.

Pumpkin Baked Ziti

For those of you who don't know me personally, I'm somewhat holiday-obsessed. Every Halloween, I carve pumpkins. Every Easter, I dye Easter eggs. And every time Christmas rolls around, you bet I'm sitting on the floor of my apartment cutting out paper snowflakes instead of studying for finals. Many of my friends say they hate holidays, and that after childhood the excitement wears away and the fun is gone. Maybe I'm just 9-years old at heart, but I think I will always perform these rituals because I grew up with them, they connect me to home, and make me feel closer to the people around me. Call me lame, but while the holiday naysayers are complaining, I'm skipping around having the time of my life!

I concocted this dish about two weeks in advance before my Halloween party, and it came out just as I'd hoped. I've never been a big marinara fan, so I created my own pasta sauce using organic pumpkin, vegetable broth, onion, cream, brown sugar, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. I made 2 pounds of pasta to serve a big group of people, but scaled down the recipe for 1 pound which can easily feed a family, small group of friends, or a single person who loves leftovers! I guess cannibalistic pumpkins can eat it, too?

Pumpkin Baked Ziti
Serves: 4-6 people  Prep: 40 minutes  Total: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients
1 lb whole wheat rotini pasta
1 yellow onion
1/2 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tbs nutmeg
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 15-ounce can organic pumpkin
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tbs fresh thyme
10-ounces gruyere cheese (shredded)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

Directions
Cook rotini in a large pot as directed until al dente. Strain and set aside.
Dice onion and saute in olive oil on medium heat until tender, about 3 minutes. Add brown sugar, nutmeg and cayenne pepper and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in pumpkin and vegetable broth, bring sauce to a boil and simmer uncovered on low heat for 15 minutes. Pour in heavy cream and stir well. Add thyme and simmer for another 20 minutes. When the sauce is done, remove from heat and let sit.
Begin assembling the zita by layering a greased baking dish with half of the rotini pasta, half of the sauce, and half of gruyere. Again, layer half the pasta, sauce and gruyere. Top with parmesan and bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted and the top is slightly browned.

Slow-Cooked Lamb Shanks in Bordeaux

For Easter dinner, I decided to tackle lamb for the first time. It was a trial-and-error recipe, mixing different components I'd seen. What I liked least about the lamb were the cuts themselves; the lamb shanks were super fatty and by the time you cut all the fat out, there wasn't much meat left. However, I threw them in the slow cooker for the afternoon and they were cooked perfectly. Our side dishes were great (baked sweet potato and freshly made dill biscuits) and Dylan and I picked up a cannoli and a lobster tail from Mike's Pastries, one of the most famous food stops in Boston. All in all, the not-so-perfect lamb wasn't a huge disappointment, and throwing it in the slow cooker gave us time to dye eggs and enjoy the beautiful weather! I'd say that's a successful Easter.

Slow-Cooked Lamb Shanks in Bordeaux
Serves: 2  Prep: 30 minutes  Total: 5 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients
2 lamb shanks*
Salt and pepper
1/2 yellow onion
4 carrot sticks
6-8 cloves of garlic*
1 tbs rosemary
2/3 cup Bordeaux
~3 cups water
3 red potatoes
1 red delicious apple

*If I tried this recipe again, I would suggest using a lamb shoulder and omitting the garlic. It combated with the Bordeaux, but might be nicer with a milder wine like Sherry.

Directions
Press salt and pepper into both sides of the lamb shanks. Set aside.
Chop the onion into long strings and layer at the bottom of your slow cooker. Cut carrot sticks into 1 1/2 inch chunks. Place the lamb shanks on top of the onions in the slow cooker and add the carrots and whole garlic cloves around them. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of rosemary on top of the lamb.
Add 2/3 cup of Bordeaux wine into the slow cooker, then add water until the lamb shanks are just covered. Cook on high for two and a half hours.
At the halfway point add your red potato, chopped into quarters, and turn your heat to low. Cook for another two hours, then add cubes of apple and cook for a final 30 minutes.
Optional: Take 1/2 cup of juice from the slow cooker and heat in a small skillet on high for 5 minutes. Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of flour to thicken and serve over lamb shanks.

Interim Eats

This whole blogging thing is still relatively new to me, and this year so far I have obviously not done a good job of documenting my cooking. This is due to a new job, dead camera with mysterious missing charger, lack of money to buy ingredients, and a whole list of other excuses I'm sure I could think up.

Regardless, I am determined to get back on track. I want to prove to myself that cooking good food on a tight budget is possible. And believe me... no one has a tighter budget than a college student, especially when it comes to food. (Easy Mac, anyone?) While I gear up for this blogging revival, here is a photo gallery of just a few dishes I happened to document while on hiatus. Enjoy!

Twice Baked Potatoes - Yum! One of the holiday staples in my family. Simply bake the potatoes, remove filling and blend with milk, butter, cheddar cheese and horseradish. Sprinkle with cheese and chives, throw them in the oven and voila! Let's be honest, how can you go wrong with cheese and potato?

Homemade Pesto Linguine - This was my first attempt at real homemade pasta. For some insane reason, I decided that on New Years Eve I would make two pounds of fresh pasta for my best girl friends at our annual New Years party. I gotta say, five hours in the kitchen and racing to slip into my New Years dress was TOTALLY worth it. It took some trial and error but I will absolutely be making this again. Some photos of the process...

 

Making the dough was one of the easier parts of this adventure. It was all about finding the right balance between egg, flour, water and olive oil.

Flattening the dough into paper-thin sheet turned out to be way harder than I expected. About one hour in I found my groove, which made the rest of the process a lot faster.

Pressing the sheet into linguine noodles.

 

Drying the noodles on a pasta drying rack.

Pesto, pre-blend.

The finished product in action! And the perfect way to ring in the new year.

Valentine's Day Dinner - My boyfriend Dylan and I both love to cook, so we decided to stay in this Valentine's Day and make a gourmet meal of our own: filet mignon, slow roasted plum tomatoes and creamy spinach. This took maybe 40 minutes tops, with no hassle and plenty of time to enjoy our Bordeaux and delicious spread of cheeses. It was the perfect evening - we almost forgot we were in a dorm!

The set-up.

The meal.

To this day I still think this is the best, juiciest filet mignon I have ever tasted. (I left Dylan with this treacherous task, and he did better than I ever could. Thanks, love!)

Bacon Cashew Caramel Corn

I'm back and ready to deliver a bunch of new recipes in time for the holidays! I made this delicious bacon cashew caramel corn as an appetizer this Thanksgiving. It was surprisingly easy to make and lasts a long time. You can even make it up to two days in advance and store in the refrigerator. This caramel corn is a perfect festive snack to serve anytime or even wrap up and give as gifts for friends!

Bacon Cashew Caramel Corn - Adapted from Bon Apetit
Serves: 12+  Prep: 1 hour 20 minutes  Total: 3 hours

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 ounces bacon, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted raw cashews (one 2.5-ounce package)
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt or coarse sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 oolong tea bag
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Directions
Heat popcorn kernels in a covered pot until popping stops. Immediately remove and place into a large bowl. Cook bacon in a skillet until crispy and drain on paper towels for several minutes. Toss chopped bacon, pecans, salt and cayenne pepper into the popcorn. 

In a small pot, bring heavy whipping cream and tea bag to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes. (I used a Chinese black tea instead of oolong and it worked great.) In the meantime, line a baking sheet with foil. Spray baking sheet and two wooden spoons with non-stick spray; set aside.

Next, heat sugar, water and corn syrup in a saucepan* on medium to low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase to high heat and let mixture boil without stirring until it turns a deep amber color, swirling occasionally. When this is done, quickly remove from heat and add the cream. Blend and pour over popcorn mixture. Toss with non-stick sprayed spoons until all the popcorn is coated with caramel, then transfer to baking sheet. Bake in 300 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes or until popcorn is evenly coated and caramel is shiny. Remove and cool, breaking up any large clumps with a wooden spoon. Enjoy!

*Be sure to soak the caramel saucepan and spoons immediately after using. The caramel solidifies quickly and can be difficult to get off.