cups or grams? Chocolate Chunk Cookies v.3.0

Background. I received a kitchen scale over the holidays. I've been wanting one since receiving Joanne Chang's Flour cookbook, which usually lists ingredients with both weight and volume measurements. Most notably, however, the bread recipes requiring bread sponge are based in weight and after awhile, eye-balling bread sponge seemed to get more and more inaccurate.

So last night, I decided to give my kitchen scale a try. Why experiment with one variable when one can experiment with two? Previous studies have suggested that chocolate chip cookies are best when the dough has time to sit. See previous series of experiments including time test part one and recipe test part two (Torres recipe). The current study built upon previous experience but instead, used Joanne Chang's recipe for chocolate chunk cookies. Those who know me will be proud of me--I barely made any adjustments this first time around. The only piece I changed was chocolate chunk ratios out of practicality / what I had on hand. Yes, I actually followed directions. Shocking.

Methods.
1 c butter (2 sticks)
3/4c (150g) sugar
3/4c (165g) light brown sugar (I used dark, because I can't read directions)
2 eggs
1/2t vanilla extract (skipped because my fingers were too cold to open the bottle)
1c (140g) all purpose flour
1 c (150g) bread flour
1t baking soda
1/2t kosher salt (I used sea salt)
Chocolate--(Original recipe calls for 9 ounces/255g semisweet chocolate / about 1.5c chopped and 2.5oz/70g milk chocolate, chopped / about 1/2 c.) I didn't have this on hand and instead, used 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, put it on the kitchen scale, and added ghiradelli chocolate chips until the weight ended up at 255+70g. Then I chopped the chocolate up.

Results.

Good texture. Better after dough has been out for 12h.

Discussion.

Next steps include adding more sea salt (and buy vanilla).
Try doing a combination of the Torres recipe and this one...

Addendum: 

Reduced baking time and baked at 325 instead. MUCH better.

Chocolate stout cupcakes and chocolate Bailey's mousse

Happy St. Patty's.

I finally gave in and purchased a Kitchenaid, many thanks to an amazing team of friends and family that have kept a lookout for me for deals and rebates over the last ten years...  Found a deal to good to pass on and am now part of the Kitchenaid family of bakers.  I was reluctant to give up old fashioned stirring and whisking (n.b. I received my first whisk in my twenties, as part of a birthday gift and until then, had predominantly used forks and chopsticks).  But I'd be hard pressed to say I miss trying to beat heavy cream or eggs by hand.  It's amazing how within a day, I can be a total convert to the K.

For my first experiment, I tried making Bailey's Irish Cream mousse.  The recipe originates from Epicurious.  I do love the mousse.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Irish-Cream-Chocolate-Mousse-Cake-103235

Mousse

• 4 large eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream
• 1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur

Whisk eggs and sugar in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water) and whisk constantly until candy thermometer registers 60°F, about 5 minutes. (I transferred everything to the kitchenaid)

Remove bowl from over water. Using electric mixer, beat egg mixture until cool and very thick, about 10 minutes. (After using the kitchenaid, I transferred this back to a different bowl...washed out the kitchenaid bowl so I could do the cream part in it as well)

Place chocolate in top of another bowl over simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Cool to lukewarm. (I cheated and did the chocolate part in the microwave.)

Combine cream and Irish cream liqueur in medium bowl; beat to stiff peaks. Pour lukewarm melted chocolate over egg mixture and fold together. Fold in cream mixture. Cover and chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
I tried pairing the mousse with a chocolate stout cupcake.  I'm accustomed to alcoholic baked goods no longer tasting all that alcoholic and thought this would be a good cupcake for St. Patty's.  Of course, I forgot that I actually don't love stout.  And as luck would have it, the cupcake does taste very stout like--much more stout than chocolate.  So if you love stout, this would be the perfect cupcake.  Definite recipe keeper if this is your thing.  If not, the mousse would probably have gone better with a yellow cake or devils' chocolate cupcake, as the stout overshadows the mousse a bit.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Irish stout (recommended: Guinness) I used Guinness

4 ounces unsalted butter

3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 cups dark brown sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (I used 1 t baking powder, 1.5 baking soda)

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cupcake or muffin pan with 24 regular-size cupcake liners.

Place the stout and butter in a medium-size saucepan and whisk together on medium heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat. Sift the cocoa powder into a medium-size bowl and add the sugar. Slowly whisk into the stout mixture. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and lightly whisk until smooth. Add this mixture to the saucepan and whisk thoroughly (it may appear lumpy). Sift the flour and baking soda together in another small bowl and then add it to the saucepan, mixing a final time until the color is even.

Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full with batter and bake until the cakes spring back after touching, about 27 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in their pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

To assemble: Pipe the frosting onto cooled cupcakes using a large plain tip. Dust with cocoa powder if preferred.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-stout-and-irish-cream-liqueur-cupcakes-recipe/index.html

Rain drops on roses, gelato in mochi

These are a few of my favorite things!  Hazlenut.  Chocolate.  Gelato.  Mochi.

Hazlenut gelato in chocolate mochi.  What isn't there to love about this combo?

http://www.mikawayausa.com/

Yellow Cake with Raspberry Filling, and Candied Ginger Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Chocolate molten cake

Update on Joanne Chang's Molten Chocolate Cake recipe for the poor grad student...In all fairness, she does say to use 62% to 70% cacao... I ended up just using the ghiradelli chocolate chips because they're substantially cheaper.  I also don't own a stand mixer.  

Adding in 1/4 cup of ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder definitely helped bring out the chocolate flavor substantially. It also helped with the texture. Still, if one is left to supermarket quality chocolate and does not have a stand mixer, I like my molten cake recipe more...


However, to be fair, here is the cliff notes version of her original recipe--it may come out substantially better if one can buy the high quality chocolate and use an electric mixer instead of doing it by hand.


10 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
8 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 t kosher salt
1 t vanilla extract

• Position rack in center of the oven, and heat until 400 degrees F.  Butter ramekins, pour sugar into them to coat them, then turn sugar out into the next ramekin, etc.
• Melt chocolate
• Whisk in butter until well mixed
• Use a stand mixer fitted with whip attachment and beat eggs on low speed to break them up.  Turn up speed to medium and slowly add 3/4 cup sugar.  After incorporated, beat for 6-8 minutes until mixture is thick and pale. Add salt and vanilla, and beat to incorporate.
• Pour chocolate butter mixture into eggs and beat for 1 minute or until combined.
• Remove from mixer stand and whisk vigorously by hand to make sure all of chocolate is incorporated.  Mixture will deflate but should still be frothy.
• Divide batter among mugs, filling them to within at least 1 inch of rim. 
• Mugs/ramekins can be covered tightly and refrigerated up to one day.
• Bake 20-26 minutes (on shorter side if batter is fresh).
• Edges should be firm but if you poke your finger into the center, it should be gooey.  Gooey center should be less than or equal to the size of a quarter.
• Let cakes set for 3-4 minutes.
• Run knife around edge of mug to loosen.
• Invert.

Week of December 12

Garlic roasted potatoes with cheese "fondue"
Inspired by my friends Alison and Jess's wedding that involved hors d'oeuvres that included a croquette served over a truffle cheese fondue in a shot glass...

I made garlic roasted potatoes and served them with a four cheese fondue served in a shot glass
(Parboiled diced potatoes, threw into oven with salt, pepper, and unpeeled garlic cloves and baked until golden)
(Made a roux with melted butter, whisked in flour, milk, and Trader Joe Four Cheese blemd)


Ginger mint themes:
Ginger and Mint Teat
Boiled fresh ginger with fresh mint--absolutely amazing with sugar or honey for tea


Ginger and Mint Poached Pear
Peeled a pear, cut into thirds, cored it, and then boiled it along w/ ginger mint mixture and brown sugar

Ginger Pear and Mint Gin Cocktail
Reduced ginger mint sugar mixture over high hight, added syrup to gin, topped with tonic

Reduced Ginger Pear Basalmic Vinaigrette 
Boiled part of ginger mint syrup with basalmic vinegar...kept on heat until volume was reduced.
Blended with garlic and olive oil in food processor

Grilled portobello mushrooms:
Marinade: few cloves of garlic, soy sauce, basalmic vinegar, olive oil; blended in food processor
Destemmed and washed mushrooms, marinated for an hour
George Forman Grill

Molten Chocolate Cakes: by Flour
Substituted bittersweet chocolate chips for the chocolate
Was missing pizazz...and the chocolate chips didn't have as high as a cocoa content as the recommended one...  would add additional chocolate next time or use different brand of chocolate
However, I labeled one of the ramekins with rosemary...the flavor seeped in--I am definitely in love with the chocolate rosemary combo.  Will deliberately enhance the rosemary flavor for next batch.

Banana chocolate ganache woopie pies

Background: I hate bananas.  And yet, I never put them on my "no" list for my organic veggie box, as I think the potassium will be good for me...  I end up procrastinating on eating them, have overripe bananas, and stick them in the freezer.  Yes, it's true.  Bananas freeze well.  My roommate dropped the bag of frozen bananas I had accumulating in the freezer and I decided it was a sign to try a new banana dessert.  Having recently succumbed to the holiday cookies edition of the Martha Stewart magazine, I decided it was a great time to try the recipe for banana whoopie pies.  I didn't have cream cheese on hand, so I figured that caramel and chocolate filling would be just as good.  But then, I ran out of butter as well so I had to simply use chocolate ganache (I know, I know...it's a hard life).  I forgot the butter in the first batch and ended up with very low-fat banana cookies--not as good as the full butter cake-ish pie version but if there were not the comparison point, I dare say they were mighty good for a relatively healthy snack...  but then I went to make the real version.. and oh my my my, are they delicious!

Methods:
Banana chocolate ganache woopie pies

-c/o Martha's with slight modifications (a.k.a. I don't own a pastry bag and only have 2 mixing bowls...and I used chocolate filling in lieu of cream cheese)

2 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c mashed banana
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c unsalted softened butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2c brown sugar
1 large egg
1t vanilla extract

Oven: 350
Ziplock bag:
2 cups flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Mixing bowl A:
1/2 c banana
1/2 c sour cream

Mixing bowl B:
1. Mix until fluffy:
1 stick butter
1/2 c mashed banana
1/2 c sour cream
2. Add egg and vanilla
3. Mix in half of banana mixture
4. Mix in half of flour mixture
5. Mix in half of banana mixture
6. Mix in half of flour mixture

Put contents in ziploc bag
Cut hole in corner
pipette out 1 1/4 in rounds
Bake 12 minutes at 350
Let cool
Fill with chocolate ganache (1 c heavy cream, 1/3 bag of Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips)

Results: LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEE THEM!!!!!!!!!  Ready to make these all the time!!!

Chocolate cupcakes

I went to a fundraiser for the Trevor Project that was held at Rocca. They had the most delicious fried spicy peppers that were lightly battered and salted. Mental note to try them at home some day... They reminded me slightly of the fried red chili peppers we had in Schezuan back in 2001...except, they were not intended to be an entree on their own.

They also had delightful chocolate cupcakes that reminded me of the ones that Kelly and I once made to celebrate James and Oliver's tenth anniversary. Since it was a save-worthy recipe but I still seem to spend hours re-searching epicurious every time I need it, I am recopying it here with a few modifications.  Credit goes to Ginny for finding the cupcake recipe and to Kelly for the frosting recipe...

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Devils-Food-Cake-with-Brown-Sugar-Buttercream-104574

1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tin with cupcake holders.

Whisk together boiling water and cocoa powder in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla. 3Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.
Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour and cocoa mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture (batter may look curdled).

Bake ~ 20 minutes

Frosting:

2 cups butter (no substitutes), softened
9 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 cups baking cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Flourless chocolate cake Recipe2

Trying out a different flourless chocolate cake recipe tonight... I'm not doing the glaze (Happy Passover)...the recipe is pretty similar except for the fact that the eggs are separated and there's no cocoa powder in this one...I have a feeling that I'll prefer my standby recipe but we'll see.

For cake

* 12 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces


* 6 large eggs, separated
* 12 tablespoons sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract


For glaze

* 1/2 cup whipping cream
* 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
* 9 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped


* Chocolate shavings or Gold-brushed Chocolate Leaves

Preparation

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper or waxed paper; butter paper. Wrap outside of pan with foil. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, stirring often.

Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 6 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Fold lukewarm chocolate mixture into yolk mixture, then fold in vanilla extract. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 6 tablespoons sugar, beating until medium-firm peaks form. Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake until top is puffed and cracked and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack (cake will fall).

Gently press down crusty top to make evenly thick cake. Using small knife, cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Remove pan sides. Place 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom or cardboard round atop cake. Invert cake onto tart pan bottom. Peel off parchment paper.

Make glaze:
Bring cream and corn syrup to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.

Place cake on rack set over baking sheet. Spread 1/2 cup glaze smoothly over top and sides of cake. Freeze until almost set, about 3 minutes. Pour remaining glaze over cake; smooth sides and top. Place cake on platter. Chill until glaze is firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; store at room temperature.) Garnish with chocolate shavings or leaves. Serve at room temperature.