Pecan Praline Cake from the Charleston Cake Lady

I do believe I have found one of the best cake recipes – EVER!  I came across an out of print book called Special Recipes From The Charleston Cake Lady by Teresa Pregnall.  Sadly Mrs. Pregnall passed away in 2008 but her recipes live on.  They’re old-fashioned and remind me of my Great Grandmother Florence’s original (typed on a Royal typewriter) recipe book I treasure.  Anyway, the Pecan Praline Cake is not only dead easy to make, it received high marks from all the household critics here.  Make it once, and you’ll make it again, and again.  It will be one of your “go to” cakes and will now be included in our list of favorite family recipes – it’s that good!

For the cake:

2 cups flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

½  cup butter

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

Cooking spray

For the frosting:

¾  cup butter, melted

1 ½  cup dark brown sugar, packed

½ cup whipping cream

2 cups pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray.

Whisk flour, cocoa, and baking soda in a medium bowl.  Melt butter into buttermilk in the microwave or on very low heat in a small saucepan.  Let cool slightly.  Beat eggs, sugar and buttermilk in a large bowl on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes.  Add flour mixture and vanilla, beat until batter is smooth.  Pour into prepared pan and spread batter to corners using a spatula.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until a tester comes out clean.  Let cool about 10 minutes.

To frost the cake:

Preheat broiler.  Lower the oven rack.  Stir melted butter, dark brown sugar, whipping cream and pecans together in a medium bowl.  Spread frosting over warm cake and broil.  “Cook” no more than 5 minutes just enough to allow the frosting to bubble – check often to prevent burning!

Frosting before sticking it under the broiler 

It’s All Delicious Notes:  sorry the pictures aren’t better – but the cake was gone before I could get an individual shot!

Chocolate and Vanilla Tiramisu

I love tiramisu!  It’s one of my most favorite desserts.  I always order it when I see it on a menu and you know something?  Eight out of ten times I’m disappointed!  Yup, that’s right.  I take my first bite and wonder…where’s the mascarpone?  It’s easy to tell when “they” substitute a bunch of whipped cream for mascarpone cheese.  The texture isn’t the same.  I’m not saying it tastes awful; it’s just not tiramisu.  It’s coffee soaked ladyfingers layered in whipped cream.  That’s NOT tiramisu, but this recipe is with a little chocolate twist. 

6 egg yolks

16oz mascarpone cheese

7 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon, plus 1-teaspoon vanilla

¼ coco powder

¼ heavy cream

1 cup espresso or strong coffee, cooled

2 teaspoons dark rum

1 24-package Italian ladyfingers (savoiardi biscuits)

Mix coffee and rum together in a small shallow bowl or dish.  Set aside.  Beat 3 yolks with 2 tablespoons of sugar until thick and pale using an electric mixer in a medium bowl.  Add 8 ounces of mascarpone and 1 tablespoon of vanilla, continue beating until smooth. Set aside.  Clean beaters.  Beat the remaining 3 yolks with 5 tablespoons of sugar until thick and pale.  Add remaining 8 ounces of mascarpone, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, coco powder, and cream, beating until smooth.  Set aside.

Assemble tiramisu in a 9x12 (approx) baking dish by dipping each biscuit quickly into the coffee (no more then a few seconds or the biscuit will fall apart).  Lay 12 biscuits on the bottom the dish side by side (it’s okay to break them if they don’t fit).  Spread the chocolate mixture over the biscuits.  Arrange another layer of soaked biscuits on top of the mixture, then spread the vanilla mascarpone over.  Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for a couple of hours.  Before serving dust top of tiramisu with coco powder.

It’s All Delicious Note:  When I made this and snapped the picture, I reversed the chocolate and vanilla layers then soon decided the vanilla would look better on top!  

Coconut Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting

I know right?  More bananas hanging out on the kitchen counter. 

I started talking and threatening myself the other day “No more bananas for ‘these people’ around here.  No one ever eats them, all they do is turn brown.” 

And then I realized the banana conspiracy that’s been transpiring.  ‘Those people’ are doing this on purpose.  I buy bananas at the beginning of the week.  There’s usually about three left towards the end of the week (that magic mashed cup) that have started to turn brown, so come Saturday morning I’m having my banana stare down wondering what to make. 

Then Sunday arrives, the house is full for “Sunday lunch” which usually is “Sunday early dinner” and the banana-whatever-I’d-made has been devoured.  Ha, I’m on to all of you now!  So there!!

Makes 18 large cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

½ cup butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

2 ¼ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1-teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed about 1 cup

1 ¼ cup flaked sweetened coconut

2 teaspoons vanilla

¾ cup sour cream

For the Icing:

1 stick butter, room temperature

6 oz Mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese)

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1-cup confectioner’s sugar

1-teaspoon vanilla

For the cupcakes:

Pre heat oven to 350°F.  Let eggs and butter stand at room temperature for ½ hour.  Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl, set aside.  Mix bananas and coconut together in a small bowl, set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a flat paddle beat butter on high speed for one minute.  Reduce speed to medium, add sugar ½ cup at a time.  Beat for 5-8 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Scrape side of bowl frequently.  Reduce speed to low, add vanilla.  Keeping the speed on low, alternate adding the bananas in two batches, then flour, then sour cream.   Mix until just combined and smooth.  Fill lined pan with a scant ½ cup of batter.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Let cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

To make the icing:

Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder together in a small bowl

Beat mascarpone, butter and vanilla together in a medium bowl on medium speed until smooth using a hand mixer. Reduce speed to low and add sugar mixture in stages (so you don’t have a sugar cloud in the kitchen).  Continue beating until combined and fluffy.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with White Chocolate Filling and Peppermint Marshmallow Frosting

These cupcakes are a “must do” for the holidays.  Chocolate, peppermint, and marshmallow...I mean come on!  I took inspiration for these little babies from the December 2008 Bon Appetit magazine cover.  But, this time, rather than wrestling with a cake that, when done, looked like something from Dr. Seuss’s “How The Grinch Stole Christmas!” – which was not a bad thing, I just worried that it might end up in Whoville overnight – so, this time I decided to make cupcakes.  And it worked great since I didn’t have to worry about the cake toppling over in the fridge (even with cake-dowels stuck in it) and the individual cakes are so much easier to handle.  When I made this, I used James Peterson’s Devil’s Food Cake recipe from his book “Cooking” – it’s just so easy and delicious –  I kept with the peppermint marshmallow frosting and white chocolate cream recipe from BA.  These little cupcakes are now a new holiday tradition.  If you don’t like peppermint you can substitute orange – that would be yummy as well!

Devil’s Food Cake – from “Cooking” –

Makes 12-14 cupcakes

Ingredients - Cupcakes

1 cup flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, cut into eight pieces

8oz bittersweet chocolate pieces

1 cup sour cream (only Daisy here)

¾ cup sugar

3 eggs beaten

Ingredients – White Chocolate Cream Center

6 oz white chocolate pieces like Lindt or Ghirardelli

1 ½ cups chilled heavy whipping cream

¾ teaspoon peppermint extract

Ingredients – Peppermint Marshmallow Frosting

1 1/8 cups sugar

¼ cup water

2 large egg whites

½ tablespoon light corn syrup

¼ teaspoon peppermint extract

Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a standard sized muffing tin with paper liners.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.  Heat butter, sour cream and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt over a sauce pan of simmering water.  Stir with a rubber spatula until melted and smooth.  Remove from heat. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, attachment beat sugar and eggs until well blended. On low speed, add the chocolate mixture then the four.  Scrap down the sides and bottom of bowl making sure everything is mixed evenly together – do not over mix.  Fill each liner with a scant ½ cup of batter.  Bake for 15-18 minutes until the tester inserted comes out clean and the tops spring back when pressed.  Cool completely. Using an apple corer or small paring knife, cut a small plug from the top of each cupcake. Can be made one day ahead.  Store at room temperature in a cake domes or covered in foil.

White Chocolate Cream

Heat 1 ½ cups cream in a small sauce pan until simmering.  Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and pour hot cream over pieces.  Let stand 1 minute then whisk until smooth.  Whisk in extract.  Cover and chill until mixture thickens – about 4 hours.  Can be made one day ahead.  When ready to assemble cupcakes. Beat ½ cup of heavy cream in to chocolate mixture until smooth and peaks form.  Pipe filling into cupcake centers, chill while making the frosting.

Peppermint Marshmallow Frosting

Combine sugar, water, egg whites, and corn syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Whisk to combine well.  Place over a pan of simmering water and whisk, pretty much constantly, by hand until mixture resembles marshmallow and ribbons form when whisk is lifted – this could take as long as 20 minutes!  Whisk in peppermint extract.  Remove bowl from sauce pan and attach to stand-mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whisk on high speed until barely warm to touch and very thick – about 10 minutes.  Pipe frosting on the filled cupcakes and chill.  Let cupcakes come to room temperature before serving.

  Note:  you must use the frosting immediately, so do not make until you are ready to ice the cupcakes. 

Chocolate Coconut Crème Pie

Well, there’s absolutely nothing low-calorie about this pie...AT ALL! But there’s everything delicious and creamy about it. The subtle coconut flavor from using coconut milk really comes through after day two – yes, you can make this two days ahead, just don’t put the sour cream topping on it until ready to serve! If you don’t feel like making your own crust, just use a good quality pre-made crust. I wouldn’t recommend a graham cracker crust simply because you need something on the savory side that can stand up to the rich sweet filling and a crumbled graham cracker just doesn’t have what it takes. I advise making this with caution. It’s easy enough to become a bad habit! 

For the pie crust (9 inch pie)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 eggs

½ cup butter – cut into cubes

Pinch of salt

Ice water

For the filling

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Pinch of salt

1 16oz coconut milk, whisked until smooth and creamy

1/8-1/4 cup whole milk

¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces

3 tablespoons coconut rum

For the topping

1 cup Daisy Brand sour cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

¼ cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons coconut rum

½ cup toasted coconut flakes

Make the Pie Crust

Process flour, eggs, butter, and salt together in the bowl of a food processor for 30 seconds.  If the dough does not form a rough shape, add a little ice water by tablespoon.  Turn dough out onto a floured board, shape in a disk, and roll out.  Place dough into a 9-inch pie plate, pressing against sides.  Let dough rest in freezer for 20 minutes.  Pre-heat oven to 425°F.  Line crust loosely with parchment paper, fill with pie weights.  Blind bake crust until edge is light golden and beginning to dry.  Remove weights after about 10 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 350°F, continue baking to dry bottom another 5 minutes.  Let cool completely.

Make the filling

Whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt together in a heavy saucepan.  Whisk in enough whole milk until a smooth paste forms.  Whisk in the coconut milk.  Using a heat proof spatula, cook pudding over medium heat stirring constantly to prevent sticking and burning.  Cook for 7-10 minutes until pudding thickens and begins to bubble around edges.  Add chocolate pieces and stir until smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in coconut rum.  Pour hot pudding into crust, cover with cling film, and chill for at least 6 hours up to two days.

Make the topping

Beat sour cream, whipping cream, sugar, and rum together until soft peaks form (do not over beat!).  Dollop topping over pie.  Sprinkle toasted coconut on top. 

Inspired by the chocolate pudding pie featured in the January, 2008 issue of Bon Appetit

Baked Chocolate Cream a.k.a. Baked Chocolate Dreams

There is nothing low cal or healthy about this dessert…at all!  Heavy cream and rich chocolate are the main and almost only ingredients.  This is creamer than a mousse, thicker than a pudding and has a slightly crunchy chocolate crust on top.  It’s more like a French Pot au Chcolat but without a lot of faffing around.  This is dead easy and takes about 15 minutes tops to prepare.  It’s a huge family favorite around here.

Serves 8

Ingredients

12 oz bag good quality bittersweet chocolate pieces (like Ghirardelli)

1 ½ cup heavy cream

1-teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

½ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

8 ramekins

Preheat oven to 300°F.  Place rack in the middle of the oven.

Heat cream and chocolate in a medium non-stick saucepan over low heat just until the chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Stir occasionally.  Let cool for 5 minutes

Whisk eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla in a medium bowl until thick and creamy.  Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined

Ladle chocolate into ramekins. Bake in a Bain Marie (water bath) for 40 minutes until set.  The surface will puff up in the oven and make a delicious crunchy top to the smooth thick chocolate underneath.  Let cool, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Serve slightly chilled.

It’s All Delicious Notes:  This recipe can easily be cut in half.  Also, you could add Frambroise, Grand Marnier or another liqueur of your choice if desired