Chocolate Pots de Creme

For those of you wondering where I've been, I have an excuse. And I think it's a good excuse. I've been occupied with wagon rides, story time (Dr. Suess's A-B-C is our current fave), outings in our rainbow tent, and more. As a matter fact, just this evening, we had our very first dance party. Mind you, mom and dad are not exactly great dancers so I'm doubting my little one will have a future in it, but tonight, while Cookie Monster crooned away about all things cookie, my family was dancing and grooving.

Our little not-quite-10-month-old has recently figured out how to pull herself to standing. So tonight she pulled herself up and started bopping to the music, grinning from ear to ear. I tried to get a video but apparently my iPhone doesn't like to run the video camera AND Pandora at the same time... I'll be better prepared next time because the wee one was either really, really proud of herself or laughing at mom and dad's awful dance moves... I'm sure if the neighbors could see us they got quite a chuckle as well...

But more about dance parties another time. Bottom line, being a mom is just plain great and seems to get better all the time... I don't have as much time to cook, but every now and again, I get ambitious. These Pots de Creme are easy - I put them in the oven while Dad fed the baby and they were set and chilled by the time we finished dinner.

What are Pots de Creme? My husband asked me the same thing. I described it as kind of like mousse, but when he tasted it, we agreed it was denser and richer. (and yummier).



Chocolate Pots de Creme
adapted from Good Food by Neil Perry

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
2 1/2 oz. good quality dark chocolate
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. Caster or superfine sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Makes 4

Place the cream and milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Bring almost to a boil, then remove from heat. Add the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has completely melted.

Preheat the oven to 325F. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl. Temper the eggs by adding a little of the chocolate mixture to the eggs and whisk. Add the remaining chocolate mixture to the eggs and whisk until well combined.

Pour evenly into 4 mugs or ramekins. Place in a roasting pan and pour boiling water around them about halfway up the sides of the dishes. Place in the lower third of the oven and bake until just set, about 25 minutes. Remove the cups to a wire rack to cool, then chill before serving.

Serve with whipped cream or berries if desired.

Wacky Chocolate Cake: no bowl, three holes, and vegan!

Some days, nothing but a moist piece of chocolate cake will do. Today was one of those days...for a number of reasons: It was cold, cold, cold out so baking seemed like a good idea. I haven't had chocolate cake in awhile. And it's my birthday, so why not celebrate with a little chocolate cake? But there's one problem: I can't have any dairy.

Why? Well, in late October (round about the time of my last post!) we found out our little girl can't digest milk protein, so no dairy for her or mommy for awhile. It's relatively easy to eliminate dairy - until you get to dessert. It seems to be some unwritten law that all the yummiest desserts contain some sort of dairy product - usually ridiculous amounts of butter. But a little digging online revealed many many recipes that are vegan or dairy free. I chose this one because it was quick and easy and promised me moist, chocolate cake.

I have to say I was more than a little skeptical. I mean, come on, this recipe calls for VINEGAR! in my cake? I felt a little like Sam I Am as he took his first bite of those green eggs and ham. The result? It's good, some might say very good. It's not dripping with buttercream, but it's moist - look at that crumb! I thought it needed a little extra chocolate so I've been dusting it with a little cocoa powder mixed with a bit of powdered sugar.

Anyway, give it a whirl. You don't even need a bowl! And while you're here leave a comment with your favorite dairy free baked goods.

Wacky Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) bleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (0.75 ounce) unsweetened, nonalkalized cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (7.5 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup water



1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan.

2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt directly into the baking pan, then add the sugar. With your finger, poke 2 small holes and 1 large one in the dry ingredients. Into one of the small holes pour the vanilla, into the other one the vinegar, and into the larger one the oil.



3. Pour the water over all the ingredients and stir the ingredients together with a table fork, reaching into the corners, until you can’t see any more flour and the batter looks fairly well homogenized.

4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is springy and a tester inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack, then cut and serve it from the pan.

Storage
Keep at room temperature, wrapped airtight, for up to 3 days; refrigerate after that.

Triple chocolate toffee walnut cookies

In my kitchen, I have two cabinets dedicated to baking - one side has mixing bowls and such and the other is jam-packed with nuts, chips, sprinkles, extracts, etc. Over time, I end up with small amounts of numerous different things: a half cup or so each of a bunch of different things. Thus, these cookies! I use a basic cookie recipe and add whatever I have in the cabinet. This time it happened to be toffee bits and three kinds of chocolate chips: milk, semisweet and white. I also threw in some chopped walnuts. The result: chunky cookies packed with good stuff and a much neater cabinet!



Try your favorite combo or let your own cabinet decide what goes into these cookies. Rather than letting nuts and chocolate get stale, this is a perfect way to make something delicious out of what you've got on hand.



Triple chocolate toffee walnut cookies

• ½ c. white sugar
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/4 c. shortening
• 1 egg
• 1 c. flour
• ½ tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. chocolate chips (use any combination of white, dark, milk, semi sweet, etc.)
• 1/2 cup toffee bits
• ½ c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cream together white sugar, brown sugar, butter and shortening, then beat in the egg. In another bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Combine flour mixture with butter mixture. Add vanilla and mix. Stir in chocolate chips, toffee and nuts (if using).



Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes at 350°.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Best. Brownies. Ever.

Two words: Thomas Keller. For those familiar with the man who's arguably the greatest chef in America, it should come as no surprise that I've titled this post as I have. For those unfamiliar with him, consider these brownies a tasty introduction. Rich, fudgy, and simply divine, I'll never make another brownie recipe again. 

This recipe appears in Chef Keller's latest cookbook: Ad Hoc at Home. I was fortunate enough to meet the chef at a book signing in November; he's friendly and encouraging to cooks of all skill levels. If you're intimidated by The French Laundry, check out this book. This recipe alone is worth it.

A couple of notes on the recipe: I used a glass pan and I dusted it with cocoa instead of flour to avoid any white on the outside of my brownies. (And really, why not add more cocoa?) I also had to bake them quite a bit longer than 45 minutes so have your cake tester ready. Finally, alkalized cocoa may sound unusual, but I was happy to find that the cocoa I had in my pantry from Penzey's was alkalized. So check your label. Finally, I didn't have 61% to 64% chocolate on hand so I use 3 ounces 67% and 3 ounces semi-sweet.

Now quit reading and make these brownies. (Get a glass of cold milk ready, too.)

Brownies
from Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup alkalized cocoa powder
1 tsp. Kosher salt
3/4 pound unsalted butter, cut into 1 Tbsp pieces
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla paste or extract
6 ounces 61% to 64% chocolate, chopped into chip-sized pieces
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9-inch baking pan (Chef Keller recommends silicone, but glass or metal will work fine.) Set aside.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt; set aside.

Melt half the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Put the remaining butter in a medium bowl. Pour the melted butter over the bowl of butter and stir to melt the butter. The butter should look creamy, with small bits of unmelted butter, and be at room temperature.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, mix together the eggs and sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until thick and very pale. Mix in the vanilla. On low speed, add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then 1/3 of the butter, and continue alternating the remaining flour and butter. Add the chocolate and mix to combine. (The batter can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.)

Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a cake tester or wooden skewer poked into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. If the pick comes out wet, test a second time, because you may have hit a chocolate chip: then bake for a few minutes longer if necessary. Cool in the pan until the brownies are just a bit warmer than room temperature.

Run a knife around the edges if not using a silicone mold and invert onto a cutting board. Cut into 12 rectangles. Dust the top with powdered sugar just before serving.