Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

1 cup self raising flour
⅓ cup castor sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
 ½ cup milk
 40g butter, melted
 1 free range egg, lightly beaten
 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla essence
  1 cup brown sugar
 2 tablespoons cocoa (extra)

 1 cup boiling water
  Cream, for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180˚C (160°C fan-forced). Grease a 4 cup ovenproof dish. Sift flour, sugar and cocoa into a mixing bowl. Combine milk, butter, egg and vanilla in a jug and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix gently until just combined. Pour into the prepared ovenproof dish. Combine brown sugar, extra cocoa and boiling water into another jug, mix well. Gently pour the sauce mixture into dish and bake for 20-25. Serve warm with cream.

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Coffee Cake with Brown Butter Glaze

Ingredients:

Streusel
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Cake
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugr
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream

Brown butter glaze
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk, if needed
pinch of salt

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10-inch bundt cake pan and set aside. Butter and flour is key. Don't use cooking spray.

Streusel
Whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, cocoa and salt. Add the butter pieces and using your hands, mix together the flour and butter until the flour is incorporated and in tiny pieces. It's okay if the mixture looks like sand.

Cake
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, then add the sugar and beat for 4 to 5 minutes on medium speed until fluffy, scraping down the sides if needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well for a minute or so after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat well. Beat in the sour cream, again scraping down the sides if needed.

Gradually add the dry ingredients with the mix on low speed. But until they are just incorporated. Spoon half of the batter into the greased bundt pan, then sprinkle with two thirds of the streusel. Add the remaining batter on top then finish off with the remaining streusel and swirl it into the batter with a knife. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 45 to 55 minutes. My cake needed the full 55 and it was perfect. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Invert the pan on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool completely. Don't attempt to move it or it will break apart.

Brown butter glaze
Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the butter begins to bubble and as soon as brown bits start to appear in the bottom of the pan, remove it from the heat. This will take about 5 minutes. Add the brown butter to a bowl and whisk in the sugar and vanilla extract. If the mixture is too thick to drizzle, whisk in the milk if needed. Pour over the cake once it has cooled and serve!

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Macroons

INGREDIENTS

Strawberry Macaroon Shells
4oz Almond Flour
8oz Powdered Sugar
5oz Egg Whites
2 1/2 0z. Sugar
2 Tsp. Strawberry
1/2 Tsp. Salt
Pink Gel Coloring

Vanilla Macaroon Shells 
4oz Almond Flour
8oz Powdered Sugar
5oz Egg Whites
2 1/2 0z. Sugar
2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 Tsp. Salt

Chocolate Buttercream
1/2 Cup Butter
2 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 Tbs. Cocoa Powder
1-3 Tbs. Milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Measure out all of your macaroon ingredients for the strawberry shells first.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, pour in egg whites, salt, and sugar. Set timer for 3 minutes and beat at a medium speed using the whisk attachment. Once the 3 minutes are up turn it up about 3 notches to speed 7 and beat for another 3 minutes. Once those are up turn it all the way up on high and beat one last time for 3 minutes.

While your meringue is beating sift your almond flour and powdered sugar into a bowl. Once all is sifted you should have some small bits of almond that were too large to pass through. If there is a tsp. or less you just leave them out, if there is more you will want to send them through a food processor to grind them up before pouring into the batter.

Add in strawberry extract and pink gel coloring then beat on high for about 30 seconds, stop and use a spatula to scrap all the unmixed meringue from the sides, then beat for 30 more seconds.

Here is where you really have to pay attention, you will need just the right consistency to get a good macaroon.

Add in dry ingredients. Using a spatula “fold” the batter with about 25-28 turns of the spatula going around the bowl then across in a swooping pattern. By doing this you are deflating some of the extra air from the batter. Make sure to get everything off the bottom mixed in. At first it will seem really thick and clumpy but it will smooth out quick. You want a thickness that is still thick enough to hold a little shape but thin enough to fold back into itself. You can check this every few stirs by holding up your spatula with batter on it, the batter should “drop” off the spatula but then settle into the batter after a few moments.

Using a small round tip and piping bag, pipe small 1-1.5 inch circles onto either a macaroon mat or parchment paper. Again, I used a macaroon mat and it really made this process so easy. But you could simply pipe circles on to parchment paper and even pre-draw circles on the bottom as guides. Either way you need to remember you batter will spread a bit so you don’t want to pipe all the way to the sides or the circle. I find it best to pipe the circles by holding the tip straight up in the center and letting it “flow” out. You will have small peaks at first but the first tip should have already appeared after you’ve piped about 5 macaroons. If not, you want to stick the batter back in the bag and deflate it a little more.

Preheat the oven for 290-300 degrees. Then set your piped macaroons trays on the counter and set the timer for 25 minutes. Don’t place the macaroons in the oven right after piping. After about 25-30 minutes your macaroons should have a slight “crust” over them. When you gently touch them they should not stick to your finger. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

After pulling tray from oven, carefully pull the baking mat or parchment paper off the baking tray and on to the counter to cool. Let the cool completely before attempting to remove.

Repeat process with vanilla macaroons shells adding vanilla extract instead and no coloring.

While your last shells are baking time to whip up some yummy chocolate buttercream to fill them with.

In a mixing bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy add in 1 tsp. vanilla, beat until combined. Then add in powdered sugar and cocoa, beat until fully combined. Add in milk a little at a time beating in between until you’ve reached desired consistency.

Using the same size tip and piping bag, pipe buttercream on one side of each macaroon and then sandwich together.

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Chocolate Cake (flourless)

Ingredients

• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate (60%), chopped
• 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, diced into pieces
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Topping (optional)

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• Fresh strawberries or raspberries

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line bottom with a round of parchment paper and butter paper.
• In a large microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate with butter on 50% power in 30 second increments, stirring well between increments until melted and smooth. Whisk in granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt until well combined, about 1 minute. Add eggs and whisk until well blended, about 1 minute. Sift in cocoa powder and stir until combined. Pour batter into prepared baking dish, smooth top into an even layer and bake in preheated 20 - 25 minutes. Allow to cool, then cut into slices and serve with whipped cream or ice cream and optional fresh fruit. Store cooled cake in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days.

For the optional sweetened whipped cream:

• In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Store in refrigerator.

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Lava Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 100g unsalted butter, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks, extra
• 1/2 cup (110g) sugar
• 1/4 cip (35g) plain (all- purpose) flour
• Cocoa, for dusting

Instructions:

1.)    Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celcius. Place the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

2.)     Place the eggs, extra yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the chocolate mixture and flour and whisk again.

3.)    Spoon the mixture into the dariole moulds/ ramekins until it fills halfway

4.)    Make sure you grease the container really well, or the cake will stick to the sides after baking and won't come out.

5.)    Spoon some peanut butter and place it right in the centre of each mould.

6.)    Fill the remaining of the mixture into the moulds/ containers until it fills just below the top line. Don’t over- fill it because the cake will rise during baking.

7.)    Place moulds/ containers on a baking tray and bake for 16- 18 minutes or until the cake springs back when you touch the surface with your finger. Gently turn out the cakes immediately and dust with cocoa to serve.

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Coca-Cola Cake

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12-ounce) can cola
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:1 (12-ounce) can cola

½ cup salted butter, cut into small cubes
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

3. In a small saucepan, stir together the cola, butter and cocoa powder over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Pour into the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until moistened.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until blended. Add to the batter, whisking constantly.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

6. Make the Frosting: About 15 minutes before the cake is finished, begin the frosting. In a small saucepan, bring the cola to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is reduced to ½ cup, about 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the butter and cocoa powder until the butter is melted, then remove from the heat. Add the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, whisking until smooth. Pour immediately over the hot cake in an even layer. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before serving. Leftovers should be covered and stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

 

Enjoy!

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Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies

36 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
2. Divide dough in half; add cocoa to one portion. Divide each portion in half. On a baking sheet, roll out each portion between waxed paper into a 12-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Remove waxed paper. Place one chocolate rectangle over a plain rectangle. Roll up tightly, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; wrap in plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices.
4. Place 2 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool. 

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