What says, “St. Patrick’s Day” better than Guinness beer…in a cake…drenched with Bailey’s Irish Cream?
Don’t scoff. You know you want to try it.
My goal here was to create a triple chocolate Bundt cake so moist you could eat it without icing or frosting and that’s exactly what this cake is. It’s even better if you warm a piece up before you eat it. Its chock full of dark chocolate chips that get all gooey-melty (my eyes roll up in my head just thinking about it).
You can make this triple chocolate Guinness cake with a lot of beer taste or just a little. It’s up to you to add 1 or 2 cups to the batter. With 1 cup of beer, you can barely taste it. If you know it is in there, and think about it, you get a little malty, dark beer aftertaste, which goes nicely with the chocolate. With 2 cups, you can smell it and taste it–wonderful for beer lovers like me.
If you really want to go over-the-top, drench a piece of cake with Bailey’s Irish Cream Anglaise. I insist you not skip on the Bailey’s because it makes such a big difference. You get that delicious boozy flavor, taking a homemade cake to 5-star-restaurant status.
Crème Anglaise is a fancy French dessert sauce that’s pretty much the same thing as ice cream before its frozen. If you reverse that process with your favorite store-bought vanilla ice cream flavor, voila! You just made Crème Anglaise. It’s as easy as letting ice cream melt and stirring in a few tablespoons of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Everyone will be impressed for your efforts.
I won’t tell if you don’t.
This triple chocolate Guinness cake with easy Bailey’s Irish Crème Anglaise is a really lovely way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, or any day. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.
Spray Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray or use a paper towel to rub the inside of the pan with neutral-tasting oil.
In a heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate on low heat, stirring constantly. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave. Stir until smooth, and then scrape the chocolate into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Allow to cool slightly so the chocolate is still warm but not hot.
Add the oil and sugar to the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth. Beat in the egg.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Sift if necessary to remove any lumps. Add half of the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture, half of the beer and half of the buttermilk. Whisk until smooth. Add the remaining dry and wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and bake in the lower third of the oven approximately 45 minutes or until a tester comes out with crumbs. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, and the turn out onto a cooling rack.
Allow ice cream to melt at room temperature or warm in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir in Bailey’s Irish Cream. Serve on the side, drizzle on top of cake.
http://loveandduckfat.com/triple-chocolate-guinness-cake-easy-baileys-irish-creme-anglaise/
Recipe adapted from Food & Wine Magazine’s Double Chocolate Bundt Cake (contributed by Kate Neumann)
I think I’ve been approaching this “learning to bake” thing backwards. Here I am, 100+ recipes into my blog, and I’ve made 8 cakes and only 2 cookie recipes. Baking cookies is so much easier! That said; this chocolate espresso crinkle cookie recipe is a little challenging. Not because the recipe is hard to make, but because they are delicate once baked. In a good way.
Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookie Recipe
These chocolate espresso crinkle cookies have 3 kinds of chocolate, barely held together with a bit of flour and butter. They are addicting in so many ways. With dark, rich chocolate, a light cake-like consistency, and the added caffeine-boost of espresso; they were gone in days. Two days.
So my warning: Don’t make these cookies if you plan on having them around for a little while. It won’t happen.
Do make them if you want to eat a cookie that you can’t buy in a grocery store—that tastes 10x better than any cookie in the grocery store. If you have little ones, tell them these are “mommy’s and daddy’s cookies” because you will want them all for yourself and they shouldn’t have caffeine anyway. If you have guests over, impress them with your sophistication and great baking abilities because these look so gorgeous. I’m a fan. Can you tell?
Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookie Recipe
Slightly adapted from David Rocco’s Chocolate Espresso Cookies
Ingredients
Method
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, instant espresso, baking powder, and salt, using the back of a spoon to press any lumps through.
In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light in color and fluffy. Add the egg and melted chocolate and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and 1 tablespoon of milk.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
The resulting dough will be sticky. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer until firm, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/177 degrees C.
Using your hands, shape about 1 tablespoon of dough into a 1-inch ball. Roll the ball into confectioners sugar 2 times. Let the balls sit in icing sugar as you proceed with the rest of the cookies. They should be completely covered so you can't see any cookie dough.
Place on a parchment lined (or silpat) cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake about 12-15 minutes until the cookies are cracked but not browned on the bottom.
Allow to cool.
http://loveandduckfat.com/chocolate-espresso-crinkle-cookie-recipe/
This recipe for coconut hot chocolate is the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. I could drink it every day. It’s rich and creamy with a subtle coconut flavor. Topped with crunchy, toasted coconut with a touch of salt, it’s everything you could ever want in one warm, comforting cup.
This recipe calls for solid, dark chocolate NOT cocoa powder. This gives you a creamier, more flavorful hot chocolate that is free from chalky lumps floating on top or glued to the bottom. It’s divine. It’s silky. I could keep going with the adjectives, but I won’t. Just promise me you will try this hot chocolate.
The recipe calls for milk and whipped cream, but you CAN make it dairy-free if that’s what you want. I’ve included substitutions in the recipe. The coconut milk gives this hot chocolate a thick consistency naturally, without the addition of cornstarch, which some recipes call for. You can even add in a touch of dark rum if that’s what you’re in the mood for.
Top your hot chocolate with freshly whipped cream, or marshmallows for a non-dairy version. There’s even a recipe for making whipped cream out of canned coconut milk out there if you want something super-coconutty. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Method
Chop chocolate into pieces. Set aside.
Heat milk, coconut milk, brown sugar, vanilla and 1 pinch of salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. When the milk just begins to bubble around the edges of the pan, stir in chocolate. Remove from heat and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Add coconut flakes to a hot skillet on medium heat. Keep an eye on the pan, as the coconut will brown quickly. Toss coconut in the pan to ensure even browning. This should only take 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and remove from heat.
Pour hot chocolate into mugs. Top with freshly whipped cream or marshmallows. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.
http://loveandduckfat.com/best-coconut-hot-chocolate-recipe/
I have to admit; this isn’t a typical recipe for me. Chocolate cups? Strawberry mousse? I think I spent a little too much time on Pinterest last week looking at Valentine’s Day desserts. I wanted to make a chocolate mousse with champagne zabaglione, inside a freshly baked chocolate tart shell. Maybe I will someday. When it came down to it, I was tired and didn’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen while my toddler fussed…only to make a big (bigger) mess of my kitchen.
All the egg yolks too. That dessert would have a ton of eggs in it. I couldn’t do it.
Chocolate Cups
Instead, I made chocolate cups, which are super-easy. I also made a fresh strawberry mousse, which doesn’t have any artificial food coloring or flavoring (yum!). Piped into the chocolate cups and served with fresh strawberries, this recipe makes a romantic Valentine’s Day dessert, or anytime dessert. You can make the mousse more interesting by substituting your favorite liquor for the water in this recipe. Try it with port, or ice wine, or even vodka. It’s up to you how boozy you want to make it.
Strawberry mousse in chocolate cups
The mousse is very light and airy. It’s creamy, too, which pairs nicely with the crunch from the chocolate cup. Serve this strawberry mousse with a glass of champagne. Chocolate, champagne and strawberries just love to be together!
Strawberry mousse in chocolate cups
Adapted from Spoonful recipe
Ingredients
Method
Pour the cold water (or liquor) into a small bowl and stir in the gelatin. Allow to stand for 2 minutes. Pour the boiling water (or liquor) over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
Set aside 6 strawberries for garnish. Clean and remove the leaf-ends of the remaining strawberries. Add the hulled berries, gelatin, lemon zest and sugar into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
In a mixing bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Set aside a few spoonful’s of whipped cream for garnish (whip in additional sugar if you want). Fold together the remaining whipped cream and strawberry mixture. If you are using chocolate cups, chill the mousse in a container before adding to the cups.
If you are not using chocolate cups, spoon the mousse directly into serving glasses. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and strawberries before serving.
Use disposable cups. Cut them down to the height you want them if they are too tall.
Add the chocolate to a dry glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds on the lowest heat setting (use the “melt” setting if you have one). Stir the chocolate. Continue to microwave in 20-30 second intervals, stirring in-between, until the chocolate in completely melted, but not too hot.
Using a spoon, add about 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate to the inside of the plastic cup. Smooth along the sides using the back of the spoon. Add another teaspoon and smooth again, running the spoon completely around the inside until completely coated with chocolate. Add a little to the bottom of the cup if necessary. You want a thin, even coating.
Chill the cups in the refrigerator for an hour, until set. To remove, peel the cup away from the chocolate, being careful not to leave fingerprints on side of the cup. It helps to hold the cup at the bottom with one finger on the top edge and one on the bottom. Chill cups again before adding mousse.
Fill chocolate cups with mousse using a spoon or piping bag.
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I made my first Love and Duck Fat post on July 27th of 2013, almost five months ago. Looking back, I was a new stay-at-home mom without a purpose besides caring for my little one. Lost in my new routine of baby feeding, housework and preparing meals; I needed something to funnel my creativity into – something that wasn’t all about baby. At my husband’s urging, Love and Duck Fat was born.
I’m still a stay-at-home mom, with a 14 month old little guy who makes messes faster than I can clean them up. Even so, a lot has changed in 5 months (that’s all?). I’ve learned a lot from writing this blog (like how to make a really good cake) and I look forward to my next big milestone: my 1 year anniversary post.
Chocolate chip cake
To celebrate my 100th post, I baked myself a chocolate chip cake. Yay me! It’s a simple cake recipe that reminds me of being a kid. I remember making chocolate chip cakes using yellow cake mix and store-bought chocolate fudge frosting. This cake is way better. The yellow cake batter has that perfect birthday cake smell and taste. The chocolate chips are rich and flavorful, and the frosting is to die for.
A quick note on the frosting: I originally made an American-style chocolate butter cream for this cake but tossed it because it was too sweet. Instead, I made a dark chocolate frosting that is so delicious (and easy to make) you will be licking the spatula like I did.
To celebrate my 100th post, I’m sharing ten of my personal favorite recipes to date, in no particular order.
Yellow cake recipe adapted from Best Birthday Cake by Smitten Kitchen.
Chocolate frosting adapted from recipe by Marcia Kiesel.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 350° F/ 175° C
Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans. For extra insurance, butter and line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light in color and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and blend. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk. The mixture will look curdled at this point. Add the flour mixture in batches, mixing on low speed until completely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, do not over mix.
You should have a nice, thick batter at this point. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the cake pans and tap on the counter to remove air bubbles. Bake 35-40 minutes until golden brown and a wooden pick (I like to use bamboo skewers) inserted into the center comes out clean of cake batter (melted chocolate is okay).
Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely before frosting. You can make the layers a few days ahead, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
In a heavy saucepan, bring the cream, espresso powder and sugar to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and stir, about 6 minutes, until the sugar melts completely and the mixture thickens slightly.
Add the chocolate, butter, vanilla extract and salt to a mixing bowl. Pour the hot cream mixture on top. Allow to come to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Set the mixing bowl with the chocolate inside a larger bowl with a layer of ice cubes on the bottom. Beat the chocolate, using a handheld mixer, until thick and glossy. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula until combined.
Frost the cake layers right away. The frosting should have a lovely, spreadable consistency.
http://loveandduckfat.com/chocolate-chip-cake-recipe-100th-blog-post/
Chocolate chip cake recipe
The Thanksgiving countdown is upon us and I’m completely unprepared. I’m not cooking Thanksgiving this year, because we will be visiting family, but it’s my first year with a food blog. What does that mean? Apparently, I need to be posting gorgeous, exciting new Thanksgiving recipes like mad. I’m looking at my fellow bloggers (those ones with much more experienced than me) and they are clearly on a mission. A well planned out mission.
I don’t have one of those, so I’m left feeling a little inadequate with my sad little banana & chocolate breakfast cookies. They don’t have pumpkin, cranberries or nutmeg (but, please, feel free to add those ingredients). These cookies are filled with healthy bits that taste like not-healthy bits and they are meant to be eaten on any regular day. Filled with banana, whole wheat, flax meal, chia seeds, nuts and chocolate chips, they have a soft, cake-like texture and are full surprises in each bite. I make these differently every time. Sometimes I add almond butter, protein powder, raisins or dried cherries. Other times, I pack them with lots of dark chocolate chips. That’s the beauty of this recipe. It’s forgiving. You get about 30 cookies, and they freeze well. Make a bunch and you have breakfast cookies to take with you to work, stick in the kid’s lunches or just enjoy for dessert.
I promise next year to post a bazillion holiday recipes. In a well-thought out fashion. I’ll start planning now. For now, we eat cookies.
Banana & chocolate breakfast cookies
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 350° F/ 180° C
In a small mixing bowl, combine flax meal and water. Set aside.
Mash the bananas with a fork until they are smooth. Add the nut butter, coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla extract and eggs. Stir until combined.
Add the whole wheat flour, flax meal, baking soda, chia seeds and salt. Stir until well combined. Stir in the oatmeal, chocolate chips, nuts, seeds and/or dried fruit.
Drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes. The bottom of the cookie should be very lightly browned on the bottom.
