Bittersweet Chocolate Pear Cake

Hooray! I'm back!

Sorry for the break, but we've been moving these past couple of weeks. If you haven't moved lately I would advise against it, since it turns your whole life into a tornado of not knowing where anything is and a thousand boxes and discovering how dirty it is behind your furniture.

But, if you can persevere, the reward is, in our case, a brand new kitchen! It looks like this:

And it is wonderful and big and full of natural light and there's an oven in it that doesn't hate my guts.

So this week I decided to take advantage of it by making this Bittersweet Chocolate Pear Cake. I don't know about you but pears are one of my favorite fruits and any kind of desert with pears in it sounds like a good idea to me.

And that instinct is not wrong. The bittersweet chocolate... the pears... the browned butter...it all comes together so beautifully.

Your ingredients: Flour, sugar, baking powder, pears, bittersweet chocolate pieces, eggs, and butter

Whisk together the flour and baking powder.

Chop up your pears.

Beat your eggs until they are very pale and very thick. You can do it by hand but it takes forever. In a mixer it takes about 10 minutes.

While you're waiting on the eggs to thicken up, brown your butter in a medium skillet. Wait until the butter starts to make a nutty smell, but don't let it burn. Pour it into a bowl.

Add the sugar to the eggs, beat some more. Add in a third of the flour mixture, half the butter, another third of flour mixture, the other half of the butter, and then the last of the flour mixture. Mix the batter until just combined. Pour into a greased 9-inch cake pan, then put the pears on top. Then top with the chocolate pieces. Then just bake it! It's super easy. 


Mmmm, it's so good and light and fluffy. Please make this and eat it.


Bittersweet Chocolate Pear Cake
From The Pastry Affair
2 medium pears, diced
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup flour
3 eggs, room temperature
1 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate pieces


Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch cake pan.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. In an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs until they are pale and very thick- about 10 minutes.


While the eggs are beating, brown the butter in a medium skillet. Pour the butter into a bowl.


Add the sugar to the eggs and beat for about 2 minutes. Put the mixer on low, then add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 the butter, then another third of the flour mixture, then the last half of the butter, then the last of the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.


Pour the batter into the cake pan, then top with the diced pear, then top with the chocolate pieces. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Gooey Butter Cake

The Husband's birthday was this week! And I don't know if I told you this but he loooooooves peanut butter. Like a lot. So for his birthday desert, all he said he wanted was, "Something with peanut butter." Super helpful, right? I know.

But don't worry, I have tricks up my sleeve. Tricks like Chocolate Peanut Butter Gooey Cake, which I don't even have a picture of because it's all gone already!! The Husband had two pieces in one night!

This recipe is full of win, and it is also SUPER EASY.

Ingredients: Chocolate cake mix, smooth peanut butter, butter, cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, and powdered sugar

First, combine your cake mix, one egg, and melted butter. Then press it into the bottom of a greased 9x13.

For the filling, beat together the cream cheese and peanut butter. Then add the eggs.

Add the vanilla, then the melted butter, and then the powdered sugar. It looks creamy and delicious and makes the whole house smell like peanut butter.

Pour it on top of the cake mixture, then bake it. It's deliccccioussss. Trust me, because I don't have any pictures. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Gooey Butter Cake

From Tasty Kitchen

18.5 oz.  box chocolate cake mix

16 tbsp. melted butter

3 eggs

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

16 oz. powdered sugar

For the crust:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 8 tbsp. melted butter. Press the mixture into a greased 9x13.

For the filling:

In a mixer, beat together the cream cheese and peanut butter until creamy. Add 2 eggs and mix until combined. Add 8 tbsp. of melted butter and the vanilla and mix until combined. Add the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Pour the mixture onto the crust and bake the whole thing and bake for 40-50 minutes.

Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting

I'm sorry people. I made an Oreo Cheesecake last week planning to blog it, but it was a disaster. I mean, not taste-wise, but every other-wise.

After a series of unimportant and totally pointless freak-outs during the process of making this cake, The Husband said to me, "You just need to chill out when you bake." Which made me kind of miffed.

But icing a cake is a quiet, tedious process that gives you a lot of time to think. While I was icing this cake, I thought about it and realized that I am a selective control freak. In my dayjob as a preschool teacher, there is not a lot about my day that I can control. Dirty diapers, babies screaming, things spilling, toys getting dumped... So when I come home, I like the things that I can control to be just so.

So I won't be able to chill out when I bake. And that's okay. I'll just try to be less rude to the Husband about it. Even if he DOES turn off the oven and cause my layers to sit in the oven, not cooking, for 30 minutes.

Except, try not to think about dirty diapers while you're icing a cake.

Speaking of this cake, it is SUPER. Continuing my salted caramel binge, I chose this recipe and believe me, I did not choose wrong.

It's a little daunting once you see the ingredient list, but don't be frightened away, it's not hard and it's super delicious.

(Most of)Your Ingredients: Sugar, Flour, Brown Sugar, Sour Cream, Eggs, Cream Cheese, Baking Soda, Buttermilk, Vanilla, and that's right, almost 4 sticks of butter. Not pictured: Coffee and Salted Caramel

Cream together the butter and sugars, add in the eggs, and then the vanilla. It looks like this- sort of goopy and gross. Don't fret. It gets better.

Mix together your cream cheese, sour cream, and coffee in a bowl. In another bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt.

 
Now just mix it all together and get your batter, and bake it into two delicious, gorgeous chocolate layers.

Whip up your frosting, which is a beautiful, light caramel color.

Now just frost your cake, and eat it up! Nom nom nom.

Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting

From Around the Table on Blackberry Farm

Cake:

12 tbsp. butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar

2 extra-large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

2 tbsp. good brewed coffee

1 3/4 AP flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting:

1 cup salted caramel

16 tbsp. butter, room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese

3 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 9 or 10 inch cake pans (doesn't affect anything but the size of the layers).

Cream together the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the the vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the sour cream, buttermilk, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. 

Add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately to the butter, starting with the buttermilk and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.

Pour batter into layer pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let layers cool completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting:

Cream together butter and cream cheese until creamy. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix together. Add in the cup of salted caramel and mix. Add powdered sugar until you have the consistency of frosting that you want. 

Frost your cake and enjoy!

Chocolate Pudding Pie

This pie. Is fantastic. And it is so, so easy.

That's all I'm gonna say about it. Just. Make it. Please. For the sake of your health.

Your ingredients: Chocolate chips, cream, oreos, whole milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla

First, crush up your Oreos, butter, and sugar together and bake a beautiful, delicious piecrust out of it.

In a bowl, whisk together your egg yolks and sugar, then add the cornstarch, vanilla, and salt.

Now melt your milk and chocolate on the stove, try not to drink it all because it smells deliciously like hot chocolate. Then add it to the egg yolks, then back into the pan, then cook it until it thicks up. Then pour it onto the pie crust.

Mm, mm, mmmmmm. Top it with whipped cream and gobble it up!

Chocolate Pudding Pie

Slightly changed from Ezra Poundcake

Crust:

1 1/4 cup very finely ground Oreo crumbs

5 tbsp. butter, melted

3 tbsp. sugar

Pie Filling:

2 1/2 cups whole milk

5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Whipped Topping:

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla


For the crust:
Preheat oven to 350°.


Mix together the crushed Oreos, melted butter, and sugar, then press them into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 5 minutes, then set aside to cool.


For the pie:
In a heavy saucepan, turn on medium-high heat and combine the milk and chocolate chips. Use a whisk occasionally until the chocolate is melted.


In a large, heat-safe bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Add in the cornstarch, salt, and vanilla. Pour the melted chocolate mix into the bowl and whisk the mixture together until combined.


Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium-high heat. Cook until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble slowly. Remove it from heat and whisk it until it's smooth, about a minute. Pour the mixture onto the pie crust.


Cover the pie with plastic wrap, make sure you lay the plastic wrap directly on top of the pie. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.


For the whip:
With a whisk or an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the sugar, cream, and vanilla until stiff peaks form.


Spoon onto the pie.

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

You guys, it has not been a good week. I mean, I've said that before, in like a "Wow, I'm so busy, this week is crazy, whew!" But this... this has not been a good week.

This week was my first week in my new job, and that part of it has been great. A little crazy, but in a good way.

But also. I got into a cark wreck on Tuesday. Bodily, I am fine. Car-ily... not so much. And since I was the rear-ending car, it's of course going to go down on the record as my fault. So now I'm probably out a bunch of money we don't really have, and we're down to one car this week. Which you know, is sort of fun in a bonding activity kind of way, but certainly not in a convience way.

But as usual, all of that drifted away as soon as I started sifting my flour. Baking is like therapy, and I should probably start some sort of program for it.

Oh by the way... this cake is awesome. You should probably make it, even if you haven't had the kind of week that I had.

Also, don't be cheap and have to beg your husband to do this math- just buy cake flour.

Your ingredients: cake flour, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, sour cream, an orange, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt

Sift together all the dry ingredients except the cocoa powder. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in your eggs one at a time, beat well between each egg. Beat in your vanilla.

Now add in half your flour mixture and beat until combined. Now add in the sour cream, mix it in until just combined, then add the rest of the flour mixture. Your mixer is going to be working really hard at this point, but don't worry, that's just how this cake rolls.

Now- here's where it gets interesting. Divide your batter evenly into 2 bowls. In one bowl, add the orange juice and orange zest and mix together. In the other bowl, mix in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips.

Spread your orange batter into the bottom of the bundt pan evenly, then spread the chocolate batter on top of that evenly. Now bake it!

Voila! A very pretty, fancy-looking (slightly blurry, sorry) cake that tastes heavenly!

That makes you forget, for a second, about your smushed-up, towed, leaking fluid car. For a second.

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

Adapted very slightly from the always fabulous Joy the Baker

3 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter, room temperature

4 eggs, room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups sour cream

zest of 1 orange

1 tsp. orange juice

4 tbsp. sifted cocoa powder

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Generously grease a bundt pan.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well between each egg. Beat in the vanilla. Add half the flour mixture and beat to combine. Add the sour cream, beat until just combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture, beat until the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter evenly into 2 bowls. In one bowl, put the orange zest and orange juice and mix. In the other bowl, put the chocolate chips and sifted cocoa powder and mix.

Spread the orange batter into the bottom of the bundt pan and smooth out. Spread the chocolate batter on top of that, and smooth out.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

So I bought this awesome new cookbook a couple of weeks ago, and I've been dying to try it out. Look, even the cover is awesome.

It's called Bake! Essential Techniques for Perfect Baking and it's by Nick Malgieri. There are step-by-step instructions and pictures for everything. That has been the most frusting part of learning to bake- the fact that most cookbooks and recipes assume a base of knowledge that I don't have. Not so with this cookbook!

So today, on a relaxing Saturday, I picked a recipe that I already had the ingredients for and went to town. And I am so glad that I did.

Because this, my friends, is delicious. So I decided to share the recipe with you and totally promote this book, because I love it and it is awesome.

Your ingredients: Flour, Butter, Eggs, Chocolate Chips, Baking Powder, Salt and Vanilla (oops again, that vanilla never wants to get in the picture)

First, combine your dry ingredients and mix them together in the mixer briefly on low, about 30 seconds. Then, add the butter, which should be very soft, and mix it on low until it's completely combined and looks like this.

Then, in a small bowl whisk together your eggs and vanilla. Make sure your eggs are room temperature, otherwise they'll make the batter seperate.

Add the egg mixture in 1/3 at a time, mixing for about 1 minute on medium speed in between each addition.

Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula, then just pour into your pan, smooth over the top, and bake!

Yum!

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

From Bake! Essential Techniques for Perfect Baking

5 cups flour

2 sticks butter, very soft

1 tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup chocolate chips

5 eggs, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325°. Thouroughly grease a loaf pan.

In an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix on low for 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until thouroughly combined and no butter chunks remain.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Add in 1/3 of the egg mixture, then beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Repeat until all of the eggs are mixed in and it is smooth.

Fold in the chocolate chips by hand, then pour the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 60 minutes.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Guess what, friends. This week I discovered that Joy the Baker and I both use Knock Knock's All Out Of shopping lists to write our grocery lists on. Don't believe me? Look! You know what that means? She and I are one step closer to being blog buddies.

They're pretty fun, actually. You should get one. All the cool kids are doing it.

Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. There's not much to say about these except that they're delicious. And pretty easy. And they made me long for a bigger muffin pan.

They're not as pretty as Joy's, but who am I to compete with Joy the Baker?

Your ingredients: Flour, sugar, oil, white vinegar, cocoa powder, vanilla, peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, cold water, and a little milk.

First, sift together all your dry ingredients into a big bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the oil, water, vanilla, and vinegar. Now slowly mix your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. Don't over mix. It will be a very liquidy mixture, that's okay, don't worry. Pour into cupcake liners and bake for 22 minutes or so, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Aren't they a gorgeous, dark color? I wanted to scarf them all down right then and there.

While they're cooling, make your frosting. In a mixer, blend the butter and peanut butter until you can't see any butter chunks left. Don't even think about not using natural peanut butter in this frosting. Friends don't let friends not use natural peanut butter. Or something like that. Add in your powdered sugar, and then that litttle bit of milk. Mix it together real good.

Now just wait until the cupcakes are cooled, then frost! You can either chop up the peanut butter cups, like Joy did, or get little ones and chop them in half, like I did, or just leave them plain.

Mmmmm...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
From Joy the Baker
Makes about 24 cupcakes
For the Cupcakes:
2 1/4 cups AP flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cold water
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. white vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
For the frosting:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350°. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together the cold water, vinegar, oil, and vanilla. Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry, be careful not to overmix. Pour into cupcake liners and bake for 20-24 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. While they're cooling make the frosting. In an electric mixer beat the butter and peanut butter together until no butter lumps remain. Add powdered sugar and beat on low for 1 minute. Add the milk and beat on medium-high for one minute.

Once cupcakes are room temperature, frost and garnish with peanut butter cups.

Cake Batter Chocolate Bark

So, one of my coworkers that I really like, who's moving (boooooo) asked me to bake something for her daughter's teachers.

"I'll pay you!" she said. Like she needed to pay me to bake.

So, after going through a couple of options, we decided on this recipe. I'd always wanted to try it and I though it would package up really cute.

Baking for other people is a little bit more stressful. I mean, I thought that it would be, but it's like, it has to be right. It has to be good.

And I think this turned out pretty well! So I thought I'd share it with you, in case you want to make it to give to someone special.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate, Sprinkles, and... yellow cake mix.

Let me just say, I felt like Charlie Bucket opening up this chocolate. I half-expected there to be a Golden Ticket inside. Godiva is fancy.

So, melt down your dark chocolate in a double boiler. Pour it into a foil-lined 9x13 and pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Melt down your white chocolate in a double boiler. As soon as it's fully melted, whisk in 3 teaspoons of cake mix and take it off the heat for about 3 minutes, until it starts to thicken up. Take the dark chocolate layer out of the freezer and spread the white chocolate on top. Immediately cover with sprinkles. (Sorry, this has to be FAST, and that's why there are no pictures of it) Pop it back in the freezer for 20 more minutes.

Once it's set, you can break it into chunks! It looks very pretty. You have to keep it refrigerated, or the chocolate will melt.

And here's the finished product! I know, I'm not Martha Stewart but I thought it was pretty cute. The bark is actually inside a ziploc bag inside the paper bag, both to keep it insulated during transit and to keep it from making a mess inside the paper bag.

Good luck!

Cake Batter Chocolate Bark

From How Sweet it Is

6-7 oz. dark chocolate

12 oz. white chocolate

3 tsp. yellow cake mix

Colored sprinkles

Line a 9x13 pan with foil or parchment paper. Melt down dark chocolate in a double boiler and pour into the pan. Put the pan into the freezer for 20 minutes.

Melt down white chocolate in a double boiler. As soon as it's melted, whisk in the cake mix. Take off of heat and let sit for 3 minutes, until it thickens.

Pull the dark chocolate out of the freezer and immediately pour on the white chocolate mix. Top with sprinkles, put it back in the freezer for 20 more minutes. Once it's set, break into bark-y pieces. 

Keep refrigerated and enjoy!