Chocolate Zucchini Loaf

 My sister Penelope makes a great chocolate zucchini loaf. And here it is.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup margarine (I used butter)
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups grated zucchini (peeled and seeded before grating)
• 6 ounces chocolate chips

Methods:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans and/or line them with parchment paper.

Cream the margarine and sugar. Beat in the eggs. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk and vanilla. Fold in shredded zucchini and chocolate chips. Pour into the two loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour. The loaves will be moist - that's OK.

Chocolate Cream Eggs ...the best chocolate eggs you will ever eat

Spring, renewal, eggs, rebirth etc.

Since Easter is nigh, chocolate eggs are in order. I love these chocolate eggs, but unfortunately don't have sufficient powdered sugar to make them this year given the whole pandemic thing that's happening right now. This is a recipe I obtained from an internet search and chose because it seemed most similar to the cream eggs of my youth. It was written by someone called Alison Ladman of the Associated Press and makes about 20 eggs. Terribly messy process but worth it in the end I think, and if a bunny can do it....

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 14-ounces of sweetened condensed milk
• 3 pounds powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
• yellow food coloring
• 2 packages of chocolate chips ( or other form of chocolate) for coating the eggs

Methods:
In a large bowl, combine the butter, salt and vanilla. Use an electric mixer on medium to beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the condensed milk and beat, scraping the bowl as needed, until thoroughly mixed.

Reduce the mixer to low, then add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Continue mixing until it forms a stiff dough. Transfer the mixture to a counter dusted with powdered sugar. Knead until smooth, about 2 to 4 minutes.

Cut away a quarter of the mixture, then add a few drops of yellow food coloring to it and knead it in. Use a teaspoon to divide the mixture into about 20 small balls, rolling them between your hands until smooth. (These are the yolks). Set the balls on a cookie sheet and chill until firm. Divide the white dough into about 20 larger pieces (you will need an equal number of white and yellow pieces), rolling each into roughly an egg shape. Press your thumb into the center of each and place one of the yellow balls into it. Gently work the white filling around the yellow ball, covering it completely. Shape each piece into an oval. Set aside on a cookie sheet and chill again.

Warm the chocolate in a double boiler or over a saucepan of water until melted and smooth. Use a fork to dunk each egg into the chocolate to coat it completely, then set it on parchment or waxed paper to set.

Wacky Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

My sister Sylvia is a seasoned recipe maker. She invented these delicious cupcakes to use up a surfeit of avocado.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 T. dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 large ripe avocado, mashed
• 2/3 c. sunflower oil
• 2 T. vinegar
• 1 c. cold water
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Methods:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. 

Sift the first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the next 6 ingredients together in a second bowl. Then mix the wet (avocado mixture) into the dry ingredients and spoon the batter into 12 large muffin cups. Bake 15-18 minutes, depending on the size of your muffin cups.

Remove the cupcakes from the pan when cool.

Frost with a dark chocolate ganache, (which is simply chopped chocolate mixed into warmed heavy cream).

Chocolate Guinness Cake from Nigella Lawson...thinking about St. Patrick's Day

This recipe for a moist chocolate cake containing that most famous of Irish stouts (Guinness) comes from Nigella Lawson. I love her description of the cake. Some might call the writing florid. I prefer to call it an example of an advantageous use of adjectives.

Nigella writes..."This cake is magnificent in its damp blackness. I can’t say that you can absolutely taste the stout in it, but there is certainly a resonant, ferrous tang which I happen to love. The best way of describing it is to say that it’s like gingerbread without the spices. There is enough sugar – a certain understatement here – to counter any potential bitterness of the Guinness, and although I’ve eaten versions of this made up like a chocolate sandwich cake, stuffed and slathered in a rich chocolate icing, I think that can take away from its dark majesty. Besides, I wanted to make a cream cheese frosting to echo the pale head that sits on top of a glass of stout. It’s unconventional to add cream but it makes it frothier and lighter which I regard as aesthetically and gastronomically desirable. But it is perfectly acceptable to leave the cake un-iced: in fact, it tastes gorgeous plain."

In the photo, you'll note that I have not removed the cake from the bundt pan in which I baked it. That would be the bundt pan with the defective non-stick surface. The cake looks like baked asphalt and smells a bit medicinal at this point. However, I know that this is an edible cake because my friend Jennifer made it for our bookclub meeting and it looked and tasted great. And of course, Nigella endorses it.

Ingredients Cake: 

• 1 cup Guinness 
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of butter 
• 1/2 cup cocoa 
• 2 cups of sugar 
• 3/4 cup sour cream 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour 
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda

Frosting Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese 
• 1 and 1/4 cups of powdered (icing) sugar 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 350° F. and grease and line with parchment paper a 9-inch springform pan, ( a smarter choice than a bundt tin). Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan and add the sliced butter. Heat until the butter is melted and remove from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla. Add the sour cream mixture to the Guinness mixture in the saucepan. Finally, beat in the flour and baking soda. Pour the batter into the greased and lined springform pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
For the frosting, beat the powdered sugar and cream cheese together until well combined and creamy. Add the cream and beat again until it's a spreadable consistency. This may seem like a lot of frosting but don't skimp! Remember, Nigella's somewhat over-the-top vision is that the cake should resemble the frothy head of a pint of Guinness.

Bobby Flay's Olive Oil Brownies

During my recent trip to Spain, I noticed that a common dessert menu item was a brownie. I think that I was expecting something more exotic and less North American. To be fair, the brownie might be served with some bitter marmalade; a Spanish flair to be sure. This Bobby Flay recipe, which uses olive oil rather than butter as the fat, feels somewhat Mediterranean to me. In any case it is el postre to end my tapas party. 

Ingredients:

• nonstick cooking spray

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes

• 3 oz high-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

• 2 oz high-quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

• 1/2 tsp espresso powder

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup packed light brown muscovado sugar

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp mild extra-virgin olive oil, 

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• pinch fine sea salt

• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

• 2 oz coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate

• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

• 2 tsp mild extra-virgin olive oil

• (for olive oil-toasted bread crumbs) 2 tbsp mild extra-virgin olive oil

• 3/4 cup fresh whole-wheat bread crumbs

• 1 tsp sugar

• pinch fine sea salt

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 325° F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. Line it with foil, then spray the foil.

In a medium, heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, combine the butter, unsweetened chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, and espresso powder. Let the mixture melt over low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugars together until smooth and pale. Add the olive oil, vanilla, and salt, and stir until combined followed by the melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the flour and the chopped semisweet chocolate and mix until just combined, then place in the prepared baking pan.

Bake for  about 25 minutes. Underbaking the brownies produces their fudgy texture. Cool the brownies in the pan on a wire rack, about 2 hours, then refrigerate them for 30 minutes.

In a medium heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, combine 1/4 of the chocolate chips and the oil. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Add the remaining chips, remove from the heat, and stir until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes. Pour the glaze over the brownies and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs you have managed to prepare without burning them.

The breadcrumbs: In a small sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the breadcrumbs and toast, stirring constantly, until light golden brown. Stir in the sugar and salt and cook until slightly caramelized. These things are a deluxe finishing touch. Absolutely delicious. 

Wacky Chocolate Cake

Wacky cake is one-pot cake recipe dating back to the 1930’s or 40’s. The premise for its wackiness is the non-use of butter, eggs and milk to bake the cake. Apparently this was a popular recipe during World War II due to rationing of those ingredients. Everything can be mixed together in the pan, using only a fork. My sister iced this cake with dark chocolate and vanilla buttercream. So much for the lack of ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups (213 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (198) granulated sugar
• 4 rounded tablespoons (22 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup (240 ml) water

Methods: 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix all ingredients well with a fork either in a bowl or in the pan you plan to bake in. Bake in a greased 9"x 9" pan for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the centre of the cake comes out clean.