Bakingwhiz’s

A Chocolate Cake is always known for being the very first cake made by beginners. Count me in! Aside from being the common dessert being served in most gatherings, it is one of the accounted all-time favorite. And a lot of home bakers and professional chefs have continuously created alterations and modifications on the recipe that lead to the various trends in the versatility of the chocolate.

Here’s a recipe I would share to you:

Ingredients:

For cake layers
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

For frosting
1 pound semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter

Directions for Cake Layers:

1. Grease two 10- by 2-inch round cake pans and preheat oven to 300°F. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.

2. Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stir occasionally until chocolate is melted and mixture runs smooth.

3. In a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

4. In a separate large bowl beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well.

5. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean.

6. Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely.

Baking Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes for each cake layer

Directions for Frosting:

1. Finely chop chocolate. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring together cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved.

2. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.

3. Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable.

4. Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides.

Serves 12 to 14

Now that’s what I call SUPREME! Head on to your kitchens and start making one! For beginners, this detailed instructional video would definitely help you out.

Ingredients:

1 pack long pretzel rods
1 pack vanilla candy coating
Decorations, such as red and green sprinkles, holiday M&Ms or crushed up candy canes

Procedure:

1. Place the candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl.

**Note: Make sure you do not get any water in the bowl. Any water at all will cause the candy coating not to melt properly and separate.

2. Microwave the candy coating for a minute, then stir. Microwave for an additional minute, until it is completely melted and smooth.

3. Stick a pretzel rod into the chocolate, and with a spoon, cover about 3/4 of the pretzel with chocolate. Let the excess drip back into the bowl.

4. Sprinkle the chocolate with either red and green colored sprinkles, crushed up peppermints, or stick red and green M&Ms to the chocolate.

5. Place the decorated pretzel on a piece of waxed paper or aluminum foil, and let it dry completely, about an hour. Gently pull the pretzels off the paper.

Creative Idea: You can stick your decorated pretzels to your cookies and serve them like these. Let your creative mind work!

Ingredients:

36 large marshmallows
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cups chunky peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Procedure:
1. Line a 9-in. square pan with foil and butter the foil. Arrange
marshmallows in pan.
2. In a double boiler or microwave-safe bowl, melt
chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Pour over the
marshmallows. Chill completely. Cut between marshmallows.

This recipe makes about 3 dozens…

Ingredients:

1 German Chocolate Cake Mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 large bag Snickers Bar(or Milk Way Bar)

Procedure:

1. Combine cake mix with melted butter and condensed milk.

2. Spread out half of the mixture into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

3. Cut chocolate bars into little slices. Lay these on top of the baked crust.

(Note: Don’t worry about the remaining crumbly texture.)

4. Put it back into the oven and bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

OREO… I don’t really know what’s with this cookie that makes us all love it! Over 362 billion Oreo cookies have been sold since it was first introduced in the year 1912. It has been a fact that it is the best selling cookie in the 20th century. Pretty cool huh?

You might want to try out this recipe (And hey, it does not deal with baking at all. Its all chilling.)

Ingredients:

3 packs Oreo cookies
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lb milk chocolate
1/2 lb white chocolate
Procedure:

1. Grind cookies to a fine powder.

2. Blend cookie powder, cream cheese and vanilla extract.

(Note: you would know it is properly mixed when there are no more traces of cream cheese.)

3. Roll into small 2-inch balls and place on cookie sheets. Then refrigerate for 45 minutes.

5. Line two cookie sheets with wax paper.

6. Melt milk chocolate using a double boiler.

7. Dip balls into the mix chocolate to coat. Place on the prepared cookie sheets.

8. Finally, melt white chocolate in a separate double boiler. Drizzle white chocolate over the balls. Let cool.

This is one of the days that I feel the need to spoil myself. And for me, that is serving myself with a mouthwatering dessert. “A mix of banana and toffee.” You heard that right, I want to have my dose of bananas. I’ve read in an article that the famous saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” is no longer true. And believe it or not, “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!” So after being enlightened about that new info, I could say that spoiling myself with the right food is not at all bad. But good, better, and BEST. So here’s the recipe for you:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
4 cups butter, melted
2 1/2 cups biscuits, finely crushed
Filling:

1 cup butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup dark brown soft sugar
397g can Condensed Milk
1 tablespoon black treacle
3/4 cup dark chocolate, melted

Topping:
4 small bananas
1 cup double cream, lightly whipped
cocoa powder, to dust

Procedure:

1. Mix together cocoa powder, mixed spice, melted butter, and crushed biscuits. Blend well.

2. Press the mixture into the base and partway up the sides of a 20cm (8in) loose-bottomed cake tin. Chill for a couple of minutes until it sets to the pan.
3. Filling: Mix butter and sugars into a saucepan over low heat. Stir until butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Add condensed milk and bring gently to a boil. Stir continuously until golden caramel. Remove from the heat. Add treacle and melted chocolate. Mix thoroughly.

4. Spread the filling over the biscuit base and chill for 1 hour and 30 minutes, until firm.
To serve, slice the bananas, fold half of them into the whipped cream and spoon over the toffee base. Decorate with the remaining bananas and dust liberally with cocoa powder.

You do have your creative side. I’m sure. So go decorating them like it leaves no words left to be uttered.

This is what you have to do to finish up you Chocolate Mocha Cake.

Make the sumptuous filling!

Ingredients:

3/4 cups butter, softened

1 pound confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

1/3 cup cooled strong coffee diluted in water

Procedure:

1. Beat butter until light and fluffy.

2. Add sugar and cocoa alternately with coffee until smooth.

3. This makes about 2 1/2 cups, good for 2 pans of Chocolate Mocha Cakes.

Be a bakingwhiz!

What is it with mocha that makes us just love it? I know of someone who says he loves this cake flavor among all others. But hey, he ain’t a coffee lover and yet he loves mocha cake. Basically, the main ingrediendt there is coffee. Coffee and chocolate makes the mocha flavor come to life.

And so I say to him, “You don’t know that it’s actually a mix of chocolate and mocha?”

Bewildered.

Some things actually become BEST when they’re together… Right sweetest? *wink*

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 pieces large eggs (stored at room temperature)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Procedure:

1. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, combine vegetable oil and buttermilk.

3. In a separate bowl, beat sugar and eggs until light and fluffy at high speed using an electric mixer. Shift to low speed and blend in cocoa.

4. Beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beating after each addition until smooth and creamy.

5. Pour batter into prepared two 9 x 1 1/2 inch layer cake pans.

6. Allow to cool after baking before spreading on the Mocha Cake Frosting.

Indulge!

Baking Temperature: 350 degrees celcius

Baking Time: 30 to 35 minutes

if you want to have them as presents, you might as well place it in a jar and give them out as a surprise!

Here’s what you do:

1. Mix flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

2. Pour into a 1 liter jar and pack down level.

3. In a blender, mix and grate oatmeal and chocolate bar.

4. Pack on the jar. Add white sugar and brown sugar packed down after each addition.

5. Layer with copped nuts. Finish top by scattering with chocolate chips until the top.

Just stick the recipe on the jar and its ready to go! Go make some of your loved ones smile with this one.

Drop cookies are made from a relatively of soft dough that is “dropped” by spoonfuls onto the baking sheet. During baking, the mounds of dough spread and flatten. Popular examples of this are chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and oatmeal cookies.

I guess the best thing about drop cookies is that they’re easy to make. Aside from that, ingredients for making this sumptuous dessert could easily be found. Anytime of the day you could go and make some. SO why don’t you try out this one. A mix of chocolate and oatmeal for a hearty dessert!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 (2.6 ounces) chocolate bar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Procedure:

1. Spoon chocolate chips and nuts into small bowl, set aside.

2. Spoon brown and white sugar into mixing bowl, add margarine or butter, cream well.

3. Add 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, mix well.

4. Pour oatmeal and flour mixture from jar into bowl, mix thoroughly.

5. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Roll into walnut size balls, place on slightly greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

6. Bake and indulge!

Baking Temperature: 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)

Baking Time: 8-10 minutes