Tres Leches Cake

It was for Natasha's 21st birthday that I made this cake last weekend, and it had some odd requirements.  Natasha lives 8 hours away, and my mom and I were driving half way north to meet her, she drove half way south.  In the middle we met, snowshoeing, drinking wine in front of a fireplace curled up with blankets, cross country skiing and laughing our butts off.  I sent Natasha a list of cakes to choose from and she sent me three options back.  Of the three there was only one that was a practical choice since the cake needed to be baked before we left and eaten two days later.  I assumed the caramel syrup would relieve any dryness that developed in the cake as it sat. The other requirement I had was that it also needed to be able to stay together in the back of the car for four hours, during the long drive. For which of course, this cake was suitable.

Now, I've had some awesome tres leche cake before, without the caramel component, so I only assumed this cake would be even better. Unfortunately, I couldn't have been more wrong.  The cake was boring, bland, and after two days totally dry.  It was a very disappointing birthday cake if there ever was one.  Maybe this cake would be better if it was consumed on the same day it was baked.  I personally think the cake was too dry regardless, but I might have to try again, to give it a better chance.  Currently I believe there are far better recipes out there.

Baking notes:
-I did not cut the cake in half and layer it with whip cream, it seemed that it was already a doomed cake.
-I used only half the amount of whip cream called for in the frosting, it was enough.
-Watch the baking time closely, and start checking around 30 minutes.  Mine came out early.

The recipe for Tres Leches Cake can't be found online.

65/569

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

It's the dead of winter, where nothing seems to grow.  The only thing alive is the ever present falling rain, even the sky cries for us.  When it's been cold and dark for far too long I dream of warmer places.  My garden in June, the lake in July, and in particularly cold moments I remember the superheated Okanagan in August.  We've got a trip planned to a sunny warm place in March, and in the long five weeks before that I've got plenty of dreaming to do. To remind us of tropical locations there is coconut, warm toasty coconut.  These cookies hit the spot, absolutely every person who tried them, loved them.  They were a huge hit, and not one cookie survived.  I'd say these are one of my favourite cookies ever!  They're crunchy on the outside and softer on the inside, they're perfectly toasted and sweet.  My favourite part though, is the chocolate layer on the bottom, how it rounds out the cookies perfectly. These cookies hit the happy notes in my brain.  Ding! Ding!

Baking notes:
-I toasted the coconut for 8 minutes, 4 minutes less than asked for, and I stirred it three times.  Even after all that, I still had to pick out a few burnt strands of coconut.
-The cookies didn't stay together that well while I was putting them on the cookie sheet, but they baked up perfectly.
-I had to watch the cookies carefully, they only needed about 12 minutes, instead of 14.

The recipe for Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons can't be found online.

64/569

Black Pearl Layer Cake

Wow, I feel as though I've really been pumping out the birthday cakes! It's wonderful, as each cake brings me one step closer to mastering them.  You'd think someone who calls herself a baker would be better at pies and tarts and cakes.  Really, the only thing I can do reliably is make cookies and brownies and the odd candy concoction.  But I digress, it was my mother's birthday, and a big one at that. Forty, 40, the big 4 - 0.  So we celebrated with Indian food and wine, totally my mom's style. We sang an enthusiastic birthday tune to a candleless cake and capped off the night with large slices of this unique and titillating confection.

This cake kinda blew my mind.  When mom shortlisted it for her birthday options and left the rest up to me, I knew immediately that this was her cake.  It's unique and very interesting, while still maintaining a classic chocolate cake texture.  To look at it, there is nothing amiss.  But to taste it is totally different!  Ginger! Black Sesame! Wasabi!  It's crazy-town up in here.  All together you get a riot of flavour, hidden in an unassuming chocolate cake facade.  It's a rare and distinctive gem in the birthday cake world.  I must point out that the texture of this cake was incredible, in fact it was the best textured chocolate cake I've ever had.  If I wasn't in the mood for the asian flavours this cake could be adapted to a coffee, or mint, or just plain chocolate.  This is a winner in so many ways.

Baking notes:
-While making the chocolate ganache the instructions say to wait until the chocolate is room temperature to add the butter.  In my experience I added the butter as soon as the sesame seeds and syrup were added and the chocolate was already a little too cool to melt it, so don't wait until it "comes to room temperature" because it already is.
-Watch the baking times on the cakes closely, I monitored them by the minute after 20 minutes, and they took about 24-26 minutes to bake.

-Super easy and super delicious!

The recipe for Black Pearl Layer Cake can be found on the epicurious website.

63/569

Winter-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cakes with Rum-Ginger Ice Cream

After a very disappointing end to a date we had planned, (read: it didn't happen) I knew dinner was going to have to be amazing to salvage the evening.  The fondue I made was fantastic (how couldn't it be?), but I think this dessert is what really blew me away.  Or maybe that was the extra large glass of wine talking.  I doubt it.  The cake was very easy to make the day before and stick in the fridge overnight.  After dinner was over I popped them in the oven for 18 minutes and voila! One amazing dessert that took very little effort.  These cakes were a perfect consistency, with a crackly crust and and oozing molten insides.  The ice cream paired wonderfully with the cakes and the spices were wonderfully winter-y.  My only complaint is that they were extremely sweet, I'd be happy with about a third less cake next time, which would not be hard to do.

Baking notes:

-I made a quarter of this recipe, which was very easy to do, that way there was no leftovers!

-Make this dessert!

The recipe for Winter-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cakes with Rum-Ginger Ice Cream can be found on the epicurious website.

62/569

Mexican Chocolate Tart with Cinnamon-Spiced Pecans

I spend my long rainy winter mornings dreaming of leaving this place.  Just about anything around me can set off my wanderlust, and I'll spend hours pouring over flights and budgets.  I figure out how to milk our already squeezed budget dry, so there is not a penny to be pulled from it.  I look at pictures, and read accounts of travellers tales, and sometimes I have to go back and read my own blog to remind myself that I have travelled too.  It's easy to forget.  With spring break coming up you better believe my fingers are flying over the keyboard, watching the prices in airfare go up and down.  Just before the fiasco with the car my heart was set on Puerto Rico, and now my eye is on Turkey.  Those who know me realize it's all in my head, and I'll likely never acutally commit, but it's an escape from this poor and monatanous reality.  The student budget just doesn't really work for me.  (Not complaining, not complaing!)

While I made this tart I thought back to my times in Mexico and realized that I'd never actually tried a chocolate in, or from Mexico.  Is chocolate not a big thing in Mexico? Becuase they have their own type!  I chopped up the bar of Mexican chocolate I bought at Trader Joes in the States (the only place I've ever seen it) and tried a piece.  It was delightful!  The texture was grainy and light, and the term stone-ground comes to life in your mouth.  It's a totally unique texture, so next time you see some, buy it and have a try.  

Baking notes:
-First of all, I used walnuts, not pecans (our food budget is at an all time low with Christmas's credit card bills coming in).  Unfortunetly regardless of which nut you use they are disappointing, I didn't like them at all.  Poor texture on the egg white/sugar mixture and boring - overly spiced flavour.  I'd like the tart more without them.
-I had a leftover bag of graham crumbs in the perfect amount, which I used in place of chocolate wafer crumbs.  I'll admit that the tart may have been enchanced with chocolate crumbs instead, but I enjoyed it either way.
-The tart is very cinnamon-y, and I used Vietnamese cinnamon for all of it. I found the flavour to be just a little overwhelming, but it didn't turn me off entirely, I still enjoyed it very much!

The recipe for Mexican Chocolate Tart with Cinnamon-Spiced Pecans can be found on the epicurious website.

61/569

Chocolate Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I do a little thing called stress baking.  The first thing my mind turns to in very stressful situations is getting into the kitchen.  Yesterday evening our car was totaled (at least that's what we've heard) in a hit and run, as a result I baked these brownies.  Everything about these brownies was perfect for our situation (that and a couple bottles of beer), they were quick, chocolate-y and comforting.  We sat on the couch after they baked, lamenting our suddenly car-less life, stuffing our mouths with fudgy brownies.  These brownies needed attention in the oven, and a bit of recalculating when I made them into a half batch.  My 8x8 inch pan was a little big, so I rigged a smaller pan out of tinfoil, and my ratios on the frosting were off.  But everything worked out, the brownies were delicious.

Baking notes:
-The directions say to whisk the egg-chocolate mixture for a minute before adding the flour, but I missed that step and everything was still good.
-I did think the brownies were very sweet, and in the reviews some commenters used a lot less sugar.  Let me know if it works for you.
-I only used 3.5oz (instead of 4oz in the half size recipe I made) of cream cheese, it's all I had and I didn't use butter in the frosting because I couldn't be bothered to soften 1 Tbsp.
-I did not bake the brownies in a disposable aluminum pan (who the heck would?!) but in a regular metal pan lined with tinfoil.
-I baked the brownies for only 15 or 20 minutes in a 8x6.5-7(ish) inch pan.  Keep a very close eye on them, they will over bake quickly.
-I left off the topping called for (toasted nuts or coconut) because I didn't feel like adding the extra step, and I personally don't miss it at all.

The recipe for Chocolate Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting can be found on the epicurious website.

60/569

Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Whipped Cream Tart

Happy New Year! This isn't technically the first thing I baked this year, it's the last thing I baked last year.  But it's good enough I'd make it again this year! As with most people in our crazy part of the world, it's that time of year where we clean up our eating after weeks of gluttony.  It's nothing too drastic (we have an awesome fondue and chocolate cake date just next week), but sweets aren't on the menu for a short time, while we balance out.  This was the second dessert I made for our last Christmas dinner, and by far my favourite.  While I found the apple strudel I made a little underwhelming, this dessert had me going back for more and more.  The tart shell was crisp and light, the chocolate cream was decadent and flavourful and the crushed candy canes added the perfect crunch and flavour.  I could have eaten this for days if it weren't for that blasted New Years diet.  I'll be making this one for years to come!

Baking notes:

-The whipped cream layer I reduced by more than half.  Instead of 3.5 cups of whipped cream I used 1.5 and reduced the other ingredients by roughly half.  This was still more than enough whipped cream.

-My whipped cream topping was downright ugly, especially compared with the loveliness of the picture on the epicurious website.  But no matter, it tasted wonderful.

The recipe for Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Whipped Cream Tart can be found on the epicurious website.

59/569