Banana Split Brownies

Banana Split Brownies! Sounds fantastic huh? The good news is they taste just as amazing as you might have imagined. Just picture this if you will…a fudgy banana brownie base, covered with a rich, banana infused chocolate ganache and then topped with gooey toasted marshmallows. That’s right! Three delicious layers!

My husband loves banana anything, so he was over the moon with these brownies as that banana flavour really comes through. There is mashed banana in the brownie base and the chocolate ganache is made with cream that has been infused with banana flavour. You just can’t beat that chocolate banana combination. And no self-respecting banana split can be served without ice cream, so make sure you have some on hand when you bake a batch of these little devils. Are you drooling yet?

Banana Split Brownies

recipe from: Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

yield: 16 brownies

Ingredients:

For the Brownies:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup mashed overripe banana (about 1 medium banana)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup (3 oz) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (2 1/2 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder

For the Topping:

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 cup chopped ripe banana (about 1 medium)
• 7 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (55-62% cacao), finely chopped
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (I didn’t use these, husband doesn’t care for nuts)

Directions:

For the brownies: Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line a 9-inch square metal baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on opposite sides so you can lift the brownies out.  Butter and flour the foil.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until it smells nutty and is golden in color, about 4-5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let the butter cool for 5 minutes.  Add the sugar and salt to the pan and whisk to combine.  Whisk in the eggs, banana and vanilla.  Finally, add the flour and cocoa powder and whisk until all ingredients are combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool.

To make the topping: while the brownies are cooling, bring the heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped banana.  Cover the pan and let steep for 1 hour.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Return the cream (with the banana still in the pan) to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Pour the cream through a strainer into the bowl with the chocolate.  Discard the banana in the strainer.  Let the chocolate/cream mixture stand for 1 minute then stir until smooth.  Pour the ganache over the brownies and spread evenly.

Preheat your oven’s broiler and set a rack about 6 inches from the heating element.  Distribute the marshmallows and almonds over the top of the ganache.  Put the pan under the broiler – watch it very carefully and turn the pan frequently – until the marshmallows are browned.

Remove the pan to a wire rack and let cool until the ganache is set, at least 1 1/2 hours.  Lift the brownies from the pan using the foil handles.  Cut the brownies using a wet knife, which will keep the marshmallows from sticking. Served with ice cream, these brownies are to die for!

Enjoy!

Tipsy S’mores Bites

Have those backyard cookouts fired up in your neck of the woods yet? They are in full swing around here and I found just the perfect little dessert to bring along to them. Tipsy S’mores Bites – Tiny bite sized s’mores infused with marshmallow vodka! Everyone loves S’mores and these little devils take it up a notch, primarily due to the addition of the booze, but they are not nearly as messy as an actual s’mores and you don’t have to work over the grill or fire pit to make them. They are ready to go. Just grab ‘em and pop ‘em right into your mouth!

Of course this also means you can serve them inside if your party has gotten rained out. They are quite easy to make. In fact I usually make them over a couple of days. The first day I make the graham cracker cookie cups. Once your graham cracker crust is mixed up, fill each mini muffin well nearly to the top. Pat the filling down into the cup. And then use your fingers to shape the cup portion which will hold the chocolate. Or use a wine cork as I do. Once baked, you just fill them with that scrumptious boozy chocolate.

Making Graham Cracker cookie cups using my special wine cork shaping technique!

Now truth be told, you don’t really need a whole lot of that Marshmallow Vodka. My advice would be to try to get ahold of one of those little airplane bottles of the stuff. If you can’t find that, I suppose you could just use regular old vodka, or heaven forbid, eliminate the booze altogether. I will say that if you do buy a bigger bottle of the stuff, mixing it with root beer gives you something tasting real close to a good old-fashioned root beer float. Always a good thing in my book.

Anyway, once the graham cracker cups and chocolate are finished, I store them in the fridge for 1-2 days. On the day I want to serve them, I whip up that marshmallow frosting and pipe it onto them. Then it is time for all the fun with the kitchen torch. Folks really do seem to love them. Have some ready for your next get together!

Tipsy S’mores Bites

recipe inspired by: Teach Eat Love, My Baking Addiction, and Martha Stewart

yield: 36 mini s’mores cookie cups

Ingredients:

For the cookie cups:

• 4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup butter
• 6 Tablespoons sugar
• splash of milk (I used about 4 1/2 Tablespoons)

For the chocolate filling:

• 6 ounces high quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/6 cup heavy cream (1.3 ounces, or 5 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Fluffed Marshmallow Vodka

For the marshmallow topping:

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Begin with the Graham Cracker Cookie Cups:

Stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Add milk a little at a time until the crumbs stick together just slightly. You don’t want a wet dough, so don’t add much more than a few tablespoons of milk. I ended up using about 4 1/2 Tablespoons. You are going to need to kind of “eye-ball” the amount because it will vary based on the brand of graham crackers and even the weather that you’re experiencing. The mixture will be crumbly but just moldable.

Scoop the crumbly graham cracker mixture into an ungreased mini muffin tin and pack each s’more down with your fingers, making a little indentation in the middle to hold the chocolate.  I used a small cookie scoop to fill the muffin wells, then patted the graham cracker crumb mixture flat. Finally I made a little well in the center of the graham crackers with the cork from a bottle of wine. Bake at 350° F for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack and then carefully remove each graham cracker cookie cup from the muffin tin to continue cooling on the rack.

Now for the tipsy marshmallow vodka infused chocolate filling:

 In a large pyrex measuring cup combine chocolate, butter and heavy cream. (You can use any microwave safe dish you prefer, but I like the pyrex measuring cup because it allows the melted chocolate to be easily poured into the cookie cups.) Place cup in microwave and heat for 20 seconds at a time until chocolate is melted. You do not want the chocolate boiling, just warmed enough to melt. Stir until you have a smooth mixture. Whisk in the vanilla and the Marshmallow Vodka. Pour the melted chocolate into the graham cracker cookie cups, filling to the top. You will likely have a bit of chocolate left over. Make sure you gather it all up and save it for later. Let me tell you, it is great re-warmed and  poured over ice cream!

Allow cookie cups to cool completely before adding the Marshmallow topping. I usually make the chocolate filled graham cracker cups the day prior to the day I need them and place them in the refrigerator to cool overnight. You just don’t want warm chocolate to melt your marshmallow frosting, so make sure they’re cool before you proceed.

Toasted Marshmallow Topping:

Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.
Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low-speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined.

Place frosting into pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip.  Pipe frosting onto each cooled chocolate filled graham cracker cup. Use a kitchen torch to lightly toast the frosting.

Enjoy!

White Wine Cake

I have a confession to make. I’m a total cake snob! I don’t know when it happened, but happened it did. I came to this realization the other day and I must say I was caught somewhat unaware. So let me set the scene for you. I was having one of those completely crazy days. Completely crazy but sort of tricky…you see it didn’t look like it was going to be crazy in the beginning. Everything seemed fine. My schedule was somewhat full, but not jammers by any means.  I got  going on my to-do list early and was very pleased when I arrived back home from the dog’s morning walk before most folks had set off for work. That was when the downward spiral began. After flitting here and there and all about the house with various chores, I noticed that I had come back from said walk with the bottom of one of my running sneakers coated with dog poo. Yup, stinky poo….which I had just proceeded to track all over the place. Right. I immediately set about cleaning that mess up and getting the day back on track but no, fate was not done with me yet. I continue to stumble around and kid you not every little thing that could go slightly askew did. Nothing major, but just persistent little annoyances. Finally, as I step out to run to the grocery store I find that the car battery was dead and the state registration was expired. Hmmm., I’m really behind now and I still have to whip up some sort of baked goods for a little get together tomorrow. I proceed to cross a bunch of stuff I thought could have been done off my list for the day to make sure I can focus on preparing the necessary baked goodies. I decide to take my husband’s car and head off to the grocery store, which was a hoot as usual. The weirdest stuff happens at the grocery stores around here…but that’s another story. That accomplished with little injury, I arrived home and opened the tailgate of the car to have a bottle of olive oil, which had become dislodged from its bag in transit, fall out onto the driveway and shatter. Hmmm…a slick, slippery, razor sharp mess. Nice! I limped into the house and poured myself a little glass of white wine and tried to regroup.

That is when I remembered my Mom’s White Wine Cake recipe. It was delicious and really easy to make. I thought perhaps I should cancel out the time intensive, multi-stepped dessert I had planned to do that evening and make that wonderfully easy White Wine Cake instead…but I instantly despaired and thought, “No. That cake is made with box cake mix. I have to do something from scratch.” That was it. The moment of clarity when I recognized the ridiculous cake snobbery that had inexplicably taken hold of me somewhere along the way. Mom had always been lavished with rave reviews whenever she made that cake. Having eaten it before, I knew it was fantastic. Yet I seemed to somehow think it was below me because it was made with a box mix. A box mix which, I might point out, was very convenient, easy and along with a few additional ingredients baked up to be quite tasty! How foolheaded could I possibly be? Surely God put those cake mixes on this green earth to make life a little easier for us poor creatures.?!! Come to think of it, life is too short and way too action packed to turn up your nose at box cake mixes! So I decided right then and there to make it and you know what? Folks couldn’t stop raving about how much they loved that White Wine Cake. It was moist, buttery, white wine perfection! And the glaze you drench it in? Ambrosia I tell you! I could nearly drink it straight from the pan. Not to mention, when I finally got over myself and settled in to making it, I realized how much fun it was, especially after my trying day. It didn’t tax my brain at all. You know….it was a little wine for the cake…a couple glugs (or possibly glasses) for the cook…etc. etc. It was White Wine Cake therapy and it actually went a long way to improving my mood and outlook. Make this cake and soon. You won’t be disappointed, perhaps a little tispsy….but never disappointed!

White Wine Cake

recipe from: My Mom

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 3 oz. box instant vanilla pudding
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 Cup water
• 3/4 Cup Vegetable oil
• 1/4 Cup white wine
• 1/4 Cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 Cup pecans-finely chopped

Glaze:

• 1/4 Cup butter
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 1/8 Cup water
• 1/8 Cup wine (possibly more depending on your mood and the day you’ve had)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a bundt or tube pan and set aside.

Place all of the ingredients except for the pecans in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until blended.

Fold 1/4 cup of the pecans into the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup pecans in the bottom of the prepared cake pan and then pour batter over top of them.

Bake cake for 50-60 minutes. Remove cake from oven and cool on a wire rack.

While Cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. Melt butter, sugar and water over medium high heat. Bring mixture to a boil and let boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately add the wine, stirring to combine.

Remove cake from pan. Place baking sheet under wire rack. Using a pastry brush or marinate brush, cover cake with glaze. I usually do this in several passes, letting one application of glaze sink in and then going back over the cake with another, etc.

Enjoy!

M&M Cookie Bars

Want a tasty, crowd pleasing treat that doesn’t take much time or effort to make? Look no further, you’ve found it here with these M&M Cookie Bars. These wonderfully thick and chewy bars are simply delicious, buttery and chocolatey and every single bite is just bursting with M&M’s. And as I’ve mentioned, they are so easy to make I could almost do it in my sleep. (And perhaps I have…though that is an entirely different story) But really, in 45 minutes these little devils are done and dusted with the dishes washed up and everything!

The great thing about using M&M’s in these bars, besides the fact that folks just plain love them, is that it makes the dessert very versatile. M&M’s come in so many varieties these days. You can find bags of them with colours customized for almost every holiday, they come in white chocolate, dark chocolate, peanut butter, pretzel filled, etc. etc. By changing which type of M&M you use, you’ll seem to have come up with a brand spanking new dessert every time. Minimal effort, maximum results. Gotta love that. Bake yourself the first of many batches today!

M&M Cookie Bars

recipe from: What Megan’s Making

yield: 16 squares

Ingredients:

• 2 1/8 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 12 Tbsp butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 12oz bag M&M’s, divided ( I used mini M&M’s but regular sized will work fine as well)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. Grease a 9×9″ pan and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and sugars until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in 1 cup of M&M’s and turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Sprinkle remaining M&M’s on top and press in slightly.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start pulling away from sides of pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

Bourbon Apple Cinnamon Hot Cross Bun Bread Pudding

Since I just shared that wonderfully spicy Chicken & Andouille Jambalaya recipe with you, I thought you might like something with a bit of a Creole flavour to serve for dessert. New Orleans Bourbon Bread Pudding is just such a dessert. Usually this bread pudding would be made with a French baguette or other egg rich bread like brioche or challah.But I had just made a huge batch of Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday. Those Buns were deeee-lish!

The best Hot Cross Buns I have made to date. However, there were quite of few of those gems sitting around here. Even after the husband and I had eaten our fill, and I’d set one aside for its good luck/medicinal value, we still had quite a few and they were rapidly heading towards a very stale state. Perfect for Bread Pudding! Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Bun Bread Pudding!

Oh and don’t forget that I’m putting some Bourbon in the mix as well. That is always a good thing! I had made Dorie Greenspan’s Bourbon Bread Pudding before and knew it was a winner, so I just made her Bourbon Bread pudding using my Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns for the bread. I decided to make up a bit of Bourbon Syrup to drizzle over the pudding as well. Oh yeah…and we might have added a little scoop of ice cream on the side. Let me tell you, this bread pudding is just da bomb! I hope you won’t wait until next Easter to make it!

Bourbon Apple Cinnamon Hot Cross Bun Bread Pudding

Recipe slightly adapted from: Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces left over Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 4 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Demerara sugar to sprinkle over top

For the Bourbon syrup:

• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Bourbon ( I like Knob Creek)

Directions:

Butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan ( Pyrex or ceramic will work well. I had so many Buns left over to use, I doubled the recipe and made mine in a 9×13″ pan). Line a roasting pan big enough to hold the loaf pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.

Cut the buns into 1″ cubes and remove the cross from the top of the bun as it tends to have a tough texture. If the bread is stale, put it into the loaf pan. If it is not stale, spread it out on a baking sheet lined with parchments and bake it in a 350° F oven to “stale” it for 10 minutes. Once finished, place the bread in the loaf pan and set the loaf pan in the middle of the roasting pan.

Bring milk and cream just to a boil.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, yolks, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a bowl. Still whisking slowly drizzle in about one-quarter of the hot milk mixture-this will temper, or warm the eggs so they don’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remaining milk. Add the bourbon and vanilla and whisk gently to blend. Rap the bowl against the counter to pop any bubbles that might have formed, then pour the custard over the bread and press the bread gently with the back of a spoon to help cover it with liquid. Cover the pan lightly with wax paper and leave it on the counter, giving the bread the back-of-the-spoon treatment now and then, for 1 hour.

Center a rack in an oven preheated to 350°F.

Discard the wax paper. Sprinkle Demerara sugar over the top of the pudding. Cover the loaf pan snugly with a piece of aluminum foil. Poke about 5 holes in the foil. Slide the roasting pan/loaf pan into the oven and very carefully pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake the pudding for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes more, or until the pudding is puffed and golden and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer the baking pan to a rack and cool the pudding until it is just warm, or reaches room temperature.

While pudding is baking make the Bourbon Syrup. Stir the water and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar melts, then bring to a boil for about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Bourbon. Pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl and let cool.

Once you a ready to serve the pudding, sprinkle powdered sugar over the top and serve with a Bourbon syrup drizzle. Or you could go even one step further and serve it along with a scoop of ice cream.

Enjoy!

German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake. You know what I’m talking about, a big impressive chocolate layer cake with that distinctive coconut pecan frosting. It always seemed a bit intimidating to me and I had never attempted to make one before. My husband has a texture thing about shredded coconut. So with all of the layers of shredded coconut on this cake, and my unfounded trepidation, it just wasn’t happening. But then, a good friend of mine had a birthday coming up and I asked around to see what his favourite cake might be. Yup. You guessed it, German Chocolate Cake. So I did a bit of recipe research on the good old interwebs and found one that I was sure would produce a fantastic cake.

I also uncovered a few interesting facts about this confection. Turns out it isn’t German at all! Nope. It is a total German poser! In actuality, this cake is so American it might as well be whistling Yankee Doodle Dandy! You see, back in 1852 there was an American chocolate maker whose name was Sam German. Now he invented a dark baking chocolate for Baker’s Chocolate Company. In honour of Sam, the Baker’s company christened this new chocolate as “Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate”. Fast forward 105 years later to 1957, when a homemaker from Dallas Texas published a recipe for “German’s Chocolate Cake”. This recipe became very popular and various newspapers across the country published the recipe. It essentially went, as we would say today, viral causing Baker’s Chocolate sales to increase by as much as 73%. The thing is that some where along its meteoric rise to fame, that possessive “German’s” changed to just “German”. Ahhh….so it became known as “German Chocolate Cake”. Thus conveying it’s false Germanic pedigree to the masses.

But enough of my historic ramblings, let’s get back to talking about this incredibly decadent cake today. This wonderful recipe comes from the Brown Eyed Baker who adapted it from David Lebowitz. With it you will be able to create a big tall dark chocolate four layer cake. Each of these rich chocolate layers are brushed with a rum syrup which not only intensifies the chocolate flavour but keeps the cake incredibly moist. After being drenched in rum syrup the layers are filled with a custard based toasted coconut pecan frosting. And then, as if anything else was needed, the sides of the cake are covered with a bittersweet chocolate ganache that is just to die for!

This stunning cake is actually easy to make, though a bit time-consuming. But with just one bite, you will know it was all worth it! Needless to say, my friend was delighted with his German Chocolate Birthday Cake. Indeed my coconut adverse husband even happily ate a slice. But don’t wait for a special occasion to make this cake. Believe me, any day you choose to make this spectacular cake will instantly be transformed into a special occasion. And in the meantime, let’s all raise a glass to Sam German whose lovely German’s chocolate made it all possible…

German Chocolate Cake

recipe from: Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1¼ cup + ¼ cup granulated sugar, divided
• 4 eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
• 1 1/3 cups unsweetened coconut, toasted

For the Rum syrup:

• 2/3 cup water
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons dark rum

For the Chocolate Icing:

• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Make the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Melt the semisweet and unsweetened chocolates together with the 6 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Use either a double-boiler or microwave on 50% for 30 seconds to 1 minutes. Stir until smooth, then set aside to cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1¼ cup of the sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat in the melted chocolate until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half of the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Add the buttermilk and the vanilla extract, mixing until combined, and then add the remainder of the flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the ¼ cup of sugar and beat until they form stiff, glossy peaks.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold one-third of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until there’s no trace of egg white visible.

Divide the batter into the 2 prepared cake pans, smooth the tops, and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake layers completely (leave them in the pans). While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the filling, syrup and icing.

Make the Filling: Stir together the heavy cream, sugar and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Put the butter, salt, pecans and coconut in a large bowl and set aside. Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir) until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon (an instant-read thermometer will read 170 degrees F.). Pour the hot custard immediately into the pecan-coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature.

Make the Rum Syrup: In a small saucepan, heat the water and sugar, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the dark rum. Set aside until ready to use.

Make the Chocolate Icing: Place the chopped chocolate, corn syrup and butter in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Once the filling and icing are both cooled to room temperature, refrigerate for 1 hour.

Assemble the Cake: Remove the cake layers from the pans and cut both cake layers in half horizontally using a sharp serrated knife, so you have four cake layers. Set the first cake layer on a cake plate. Brush the top of the cake layer with the rum syrup. Spread ¾ cup of the coconut filling over the cake layer, making sure to reach to the edges. Set another cake layer on top. Repeat, brushing the top of each cake layer with the rum syrup, then spreading ¾ cup of the coconut filling over each layer, including the top. Ice the sides with the chocolate icing, then pipe a decorative border of chocolate icing around the top, encircling the coconut topping.

Enjoy!

Robin Egg Rice Krispie Treats

Wow! Time flies! Seems like I just finished my St. Patrick’s Day blogging extravaganza and here it is nearly Easter! Again, my hat is off to all of you daily bloggers out there. I just took a week off to recover from my 17 day stint at it and I still feel a bit wobbly about the whole thing. I thought I’d ease back into the saddle today with a great Easter recipe that is also really easy to make. Robin Egg Rice Krispie Treats are just what they sound like, yummy Rice Krispie Treats with extra malt flavouring and one of my favourite Easter candies, Robin Eggs! For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Robin Eggs, they are made by Whoppers and are egg-shaped malted milk balls covered in pastel speckled candy shells. I love Robin Eggs and am so thrilled when they finally show up in the stores. The only Easter candy that lands above Robin Eggs as far as I’m concerned are Cadbury Mini Eggs. Oh my God! Don’t get me going about those little devils. Addictive, like crack. I literally can’t stop once a bag is opened. I haven’t reached that level with the Robin Eggs, though it may not be far off. I did polish off a bag of them the other day while working on taxes (better a bag of candy than a bottle of wine when tax preparation is concerned). I had one more bag left, so I figured I better do something with them pronto. That’s when I remembered seeing Sweet Southern Blue’s post about these Robin Egg Rice Krispie Treats, so I got right to work. Not that it’s a lot of work, I must admit. I can get a pan of Krispie Treats done and dishes washed in about 15 minutes flat. And I’ve gotta say, it is pretty awesome that you can make such a classic, delicious, crowd pleasing snack at the drop of a hat!

Sweet Southern Blue makes use of her microwave to melt the marshmallows. I’m still an old-fashioned top of the stove gal and prefer to use the mini marshmallows over the big fellas. My husband and I both like to find the occasional whole unmelted mini marshmallow scattered throughout our treats, so I always hold back a handful or two of them to throw into the melted marshmallow butter mix along with the cereal. And I decided to use the mini version of Robin Eggs, also reserving a few whole eggs from being chopped to decorate the top of the treats. Of course the big version of Robin Eggs would work perfectly well, you just might need to do a bit more crushing prior to adding them into the mix. These treats would be great to make with the kids before Easter or a good way to use up Easter candy afterwards. Indeed, this recipe is certainly adaptable to whatever left over candy is on hand (sorry…what exactly is left over candy?!). Not matter what ingredients you choose, before you know it, these adorable treats will be made and your family singing your praises. I mean who doesn’t like a Rice Krispie treat, and with Robin Eggs to boot…what a winner!

Robin Egg Rice Krispie Treats

recipe adapted from: Sweet Southern Blue

Yield: 12 squares

Ingredients:

• 10.4 oz bag of mini marshmallows or 7oz container of marshmallow cream
• 3 Tablespoons of butter
• 4 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
• 2 cups mini Robin Egg malted milk balls, roughly chopped
  
• ¼ cup malted milk powder

Directions:

Butter a 8×8″ pan. Set aside.

In a saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows (remember to hold back a few if you like seeing the occasional whole unmelted marshmallow) and stir until completely melted and smooth.

Remove from heat and add the malted milk powder stirring until combined.

Add the Rice Krispie cereal and chopped Robin Eggs (as well as any reserved marshmallows). Mix until well coated.

Using a buttered spatula, press mixture into prepared pan.

Cool and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daiobh! (Happy St. Patrick’s Day!) Woohoo! It’s finally here! Everyone is Irish today! I’m sticking with my blogging tradition and featuring a tasty Irish-y cupcake on St. Patrick’s Day. Two years ago it was Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, last year brought you Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with a Swiss Vanilla Baileys Buttercream Frosting and today…(drumroll please….) we have these deliciously decadent Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes. And just like all of my previous St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes, these little devils are a bit boozy. In fact, they have a perfect trifecta of Irish Booze. The cake portion of this treat is a rich chocolate Guinness creation, which is then topped with a velvety Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting. That sounds great all on its own right? I could’ve stopped there, but oh no….I then dipped the whole thing into a Irish Whiskey spiked Chocolate Ganache! Be still my heart!

I was inspired to make these when I saw Arctic Garden Studio’s Irish Coffee Cupcakes. I loved the idea of piling on all of that creamy Baileys frosting and then dipping the cupcake into the whiskey chocolate. It reminded me of those dipped soft serve ice cream cones. You know like the ones at Dairy Queen, or from a Mr. Whippy truck or a 99 Flake ice cream for all of you in Britain and Ireland.

For those of you unfamiliar with a “99″ it is a soft serve vanilla ice cream cone which has a piece of a Cadbury chocolate bar which is called a “Flake” stuck into it.

You can find them at all the shops etc. in Ireland. I even managed to find a Flake candy bar in good old Virginia, no small feat, and stuck it in one of my lovely cupcakes as a bit of an homage to the “99″.

Even without the added Flake, these cupcakes are so reminiscent of dipped soft serve ice cream, albeit rather boozy – perhaps there is an adult ice cream truck – that my husband has christened them “Whiskey Whippy Cakes” which I like, but thought it might leave a lot of folks confused, so I went with Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes officially, but around here it’s another story! I don’t know what it is about us and ice cream cones recently. Perhaps we’re just ready for Spring, but since we don’t have those Spring temperatures yet, I guess we will just have to make do with these little boozy cupcake imposters.

Ha! Everyone who knows me, knows I LOVE cupcakes so I’m not making much of a sacrifice here! These Whiskey Whippy Cakes will definitely make our St. Patrick’s Day all the more festive.

Which reminds me, I think it’s time for a little celebratory drinky. I have managed to blog about an Irish-y dish everyday from March 1st up through today. Phew! I’m probably going to have to take a few days off after today’s publication, but don’t worry, I’m already planning out some great tempting future treats. In the meantime, check out some of my favourite blogs which come to you from Ireland to see what they’re cooking up, like: The Green Apron, I married an Irish farmer, Edible Ireland, Warm&Snug&Fat and The Daily Spud. And when you’ve finished browsing, get busy baking some of these mouth-watering Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes with their Guinness and Baileys and Whiskey (Oh My!) Just the ticket for a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope everyone has a great time!

Chocolate Whiskey Dipped Irish Cupcakes

recipe adapted from: Runcible Eats (the cake part of the cupcake) and Arctic Garden Studio

yield: 30 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Stout Cupcakes:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup (  3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cup Guinness, poured and settled before you measure it out
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream

For the Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Two – 8 ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur, such as Bailey’s Irish Cream

For the Chocolate Whiskey Glaze:

• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
• 4 tablespoons whiskey

Directions:

for the cupcakes:

First, bake your cupcakes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with muffin liners and spray lightly with non-stick spray. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt your butter and set aside to cool slightly, then add in the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the stout, then set aside to cool completely for another 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream, then whisk in the cooled chocolate and butter mixture. Whisk in the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt, combining until just moistened. Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup of batter, so that the cups are 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cupcakes are set and a toothpick comes out clean (mine took about 24 minutes). Allow to cool completely before frosting.

for the frosting:

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the Irish cream liqueur.
Pipe frosting on top of cupcakes using a pastry bag or spread on with a spatula. You want a nice thick layer. Place cupcakes in the refrigerator while making the glaze. This will make them easier to dip.

For the glaze:

Melt the chocolate with the cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the whiskey.
Dip the tops of the frosted cupcakes in the glaze right to the edge of the cupcake paper, let excess glaze drip off before turning upright. Let cool, right side up, until the glaze is firm. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator, remove and bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes) before serving. This recipe makes more glaze than you need, but makes it easier to dunk the tops of the cupcakes. Store remaining glaze in the refrigerator, it will form a whiskey ganache that can be used later as a hot fudge ice cream topping by slowly heating or added to hot milk for a whiskey hot chocolate.

Enjoy!

Sweet & Salty Guinness Chocolate Pie with Beer Marshmallow Meringue

We only have one day to go and it will be here! You know what I’m talking about…St. Patrick’s Day! It’s happening tomorrow ya’ll! Woohoo! I am so ready. I have all of my green clothing laid out and ready to go. Yup. I am going to do the green clothing thing. Now before all ya’ll Irish folks judge me, let me just say, if you don’t wear green over here on the day, people will pinch you! I do NOT want to be pinched and I actually like wearing green. I think it suits me, soooo….there you have it! But we’re here to talk about food right? Not rude, pinchy people, so onto the fabulous recipe. Today it is Sweet & Salty Guinness Chocolate Pie with Beer Marshmallow Meringue. How completely outstanding does that sound….sweet, salty, Guinness, Chocolate, Marshmallow. Good Lord! Bring it on!

Now this pie has a sweet and salty pretzel graham cracker crust, which is filled with a Guinness infused Chocolate pudding and topped with a toasted Guinness Marshmallow Meringue! What an embarrassment of riches!!!

And the great thing about this recipe is that it makes two, count them two, pies. This means that you get one entire pie for yourself and you can give one to a friend. (A very deserving friend, mind you. You need to be selective here, as this is not just any old pie!)

Believe it or not, when I first started talking this pie up to my friends, I did have one who said “Oh, I don’t really like meringue pies very much”. I totally get that. I’m sure it has something to do with dry meringue pies made by totally well-meaning Grandmas. However, this Beer Marshmallow Meringue is like no meringue you’ve experienced. It is more like a melted marshmallow fluff. Totally gooey and delicious! I don’t even know if I can legally call it meringue (I can only hope the “meringue police” are not monitoring me at this moment.) And we’ve only talked about that topping at this point. Let’s not forget the rich, chocolatey Guinness pudding filling or the lovely sweet yet salty pretzel crust. What an absolutely perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert. And what are you waiting for? It is happening tomorrow! Get busy!

Sweet & Salty Guinness Chocolate Pie with Beer Marshmallow Meringue

recipe from: Sprinkle Bakes

Yield: 2 pies

Ingredients:

For the Pretzel crust:

• 2 cups crushed pretzels
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (you can substitute in digestive biscuits crumbs if grahams are unavailable)
• 10 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar (firmly packed)

For the Guinness Chocolate Filling:

• 8 large egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 14.9 oz. can Guinness Draught, divided
• 2 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 7 oz. high quality bittersweet chocolate, evenly chopped
• 1/4 cup cornstarch

For the Beer Marshmallow Meringue:

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 12 jumbo marshmallows (or about 18-20 large) cut into quarters with kitchen scissors
• 3 tbsp. beer reduction ( Place remaining Guinness from chocolate filling in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 15 minutes)

Directions:

For the Crust:

Reheat oven to 350° F.

In a medium bowl, mix together pretzels, graham cracker crumbs, butter and brown sugar.  Stir together with a rubber spatula until well incorporated.

Divide mixture between two 8 or 9-inch pie plates. Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool completely before filling

For the Filling:

Whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a non-reactive bowl.

Pour 1 cup of Guinness in a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan (reserve the rest for later use - no drinky! Not yet anyway, but remember …St. Patrick’s Day is nigh. Your time will come!). Add heavy cream and whisk to combine.  Set over medium-high heat and cook until very hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate.   When chocolate has melted, whisk in the egg mixture in a very thin stream as to not scramble the egg.  Whisk in cornstarch and return to heat source.  Whisk over medium heat until thickened.

Divide mixture between pie pans.  Use a rubber spatula to effectively remove all the pudding from the saucepan; quickly smooth the chocolate into the crust.  Refrigerate while making the marshmallow topping.

For the Beer Marshmallow Meringue:

Whisk sugar, egg whites, water and salt together in a large metal bowl.  Set bowl over a simmering pan of water; whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot to the touch.  Remove bowl from simmering saucepan and stir in marshmallows pieces.  Let stand for 3-5 minutes until marshmallow pieces have softened. Return bowl to simmering water and beat together using a hand-held mixer.  Beat for several minutes until mixture thickens. Remove bowl from simmering water and add beer reduction. Continue to beat mixture until it has cooled slightly.

Preheat oven to broil.

Divide mixture between two pie pans and place under broiler in oven.  Watch constantly – it’s easy for the marshmallow to burn! Remove from oven when nice and toasty.

Refrigerate pies until well set – about 3-4 hours. Do not skip this step. The meringue needs the refrigerator time to set properly.

Enjoy!

Note:  Use a warm knife (dipped in hot water then wiped dry) to achieve cleanly cut slices of pie.  That marshmallow topping is sticky!

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Chocolate Biscuit Cake is one of my favourite cakes. I had never heard of it before heading off to Ireland for college where I ran across it in a little bakery in Cork. The gal behind the counter called it “Tiffin” and after experiencing just one bite of its rich, chocolatey decadence, I was hooked.

I’m sure many folks in the States had never heard of it either until it got so much press a couple of years ago when Prince William chose it for his groom’s cake, I guess thereby proving it is a confection “fit for a king”. But for those of you who somehow missed out on all of the hoopla surrounding the royal wedding (where exactly were you?), a Chocolate Biscuit Cake is just what it sounds like, a dense chocolate cake with pieces of crumbled biscuits (cookies) running throughout.

There are so many things that are fabulous about this cake. First of course is how utterly scrumptious it is. I mean complete chocolate bliss. And the cookies stay wonderfully crunchy, even after a day or two. (Ha! As if this cake would still be around a day or two after it is made!) The second glorious thing about this cake is that it is ridiculously easy to make. I’m not exaggerating. There is no baking involved. You basically melt some chocolate with butter, cream, and golden syrup, add some crumbled biscuits and pour it into a prepared pan and stick it in the refrigerator. Ta Da!

There are a couple “foreign” ingredients you will need to try to track down. The biscuits traditionally used are digestive biscuits and the brand I prefer is McVities. If you are in the States, many larger grocery stores will carry some brand of Digestive Biscuit in their “International Food” section. If you can’t find them you could substitute in a butter cookie like Le Petit Beurre, Rich Tea Biscuits or simply Graham Crackers. Lyle’s Golden Syrup is a treacle, like molasses, but with a lighter color and less bitter taste. Again the best place to look for it is in the International Food section or possibly Baking section of a large grocery store. The King Arthur Flour store also sells it. A good substitution if you absolutely can’t get your hands on it is Dark Corn Syrup. I will also mention that Edible Ireland has posted a great recipe for Chocolate Biscuit Cake that does not require Golden Syrup, so take a look there as well. Chocolate Biscuit Cake is quite versatile. You can make it in any shape pan you prefer, round, square or loaf tins are fine. And you can easily customize this recipe by adding your favourite treats into the mix. I’ve seen recipes that call for rum soaked raisins, various nuts, or chopped up candy bars. Edible Ireland puts espresso powder in their biscuit cake, which I think sounds divine.

This luscious cake is verrrrrry rich. Think of a cake made of fudge. A tiny sliver of a slice will go a long way. I’m not sure what sort of “chocolate coma” I would be in if I ate a slice the likes of which I have pictured here. Now I’m not saying I haven’t eaten that much biscuit cake in a day. I’m sure I’ve managed even more. But my modus operandi is to methodically slice off “small, little tastes” every time I walk by the cake and then to wonder at the end of the day what it is about being in the refrigerator that causes so much shrinkage in cakes! Treat yourself to a Chocolate Biscuit Cake on this St. Patrick’s Day.

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

recipe from: Rock Recipes

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds dark chocolate, roughly chopped (about 50% cocoa)
• 1 pound unsalted butter
• pinch salt
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/3 cup Lyle’s golden syrup
• 1 pound digestive biscuits, broken by hand into postage stamp sized pieces

For the Ganache:

• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 tbsp corn syrup
• 8 ounces dark chocolate chopped

Directions:

Melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the chocolate and salt and continue over medium low heat until the chocolate is fully melted. Remove from heat and stir in the whipping cream and golden syrup until smooth. Fold in the broken biscuits and pour into a 9 inch springform pan that has been lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight. Remove from pan and glaze with chocolate ganache.

For the Ganache:

Scald the cream in the microwave until almost boiling. Pour over chocolate in a small bowl and let stand for five minutes. Stir until smooth then stir in the corn syrup. Pour over the cooled biscuit cake using a spatula to help cover it evenly. Reserve a bit of ganache to decoratively pipe or drizzle onto the top of the cake if so desired.

Enjoy!