French Silk Cheesecake 5/5 Spoons

Okay, so I love cheesecake and I love chocolate. So it is always only logical to throw the two things together and make something so decadent, delicious and INSANE that you will dream about it.

I am entering a cheesecake this summer into the Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival and have started to work on and think about what I could make so I can win! I mean as a first-time entrant, I doubt I will win, but it doesn't hurt to try! So one morning I was watching Cook's Country and they made French Silk Pie. Whoa. I haven't had a slice of French Silk Pie since going to Perkins in high school. I was sitting here and thought to myself, "What if I made a layered French Silk Cheesecake???" and thus a star was born. That one right below.

The French Silk Pie was no bake so I had to find a no-bake Cheesecake recipe that would mimic the smooth, mousse like texture of the chocolate and found this one. Although there were a few steps to making, waiting and assembling everything, overall every step was easy. You just need patience and when it comes to something as delicious as this, I had no problem waiting.

Here are my notes:

Cheesecake part -

-- Um, nothing. It's perfection, don't change it.

French Silk pie part -

-- I cut the recipe in half because I didn't want an extremely tall cheesecake and I think it worked out well. I cracked three eggs in measuring cup and only poured half into my bowl. Make scrambled eggs with the rest!
-- Make sure your bowl and beaters are very cold. Put them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before beating your cream. Trust me, it helps a lot.
-- Use good chocolate. It will be worth it. I used a 4 ounce bar of Ghirardelli's 60% Bittersweet Chocolate. It's my (affordable) favorite. (Oh use baking chocolate instead of chips, chips have stabilizers and you don't want anything potentially ruining your silkiness.)
-- Wanna hear something dumb that totally ended up being absolutely okay? I forgot to add the butter. I could not even believe it. I took such time to get the butter at room temp and I forgot it! But to be honest with you, the French Silk mousse was AMAZING. So yeah, I recommend doing it my way because I just saved a lot of calories getting rid of those 4 T. of butter, ha.
-- So, I didn't bother to bring my egg mixture to 160 degrees. Yup, I was sick of hand mixing it over the stove and potentially electrocuting and setting myself on fire at the same time. I mixed it for about 7 minutes until it was light and fluffy and then mixed again for about 2-3 minutes off the heat. I am not worried about raw egg like perhaps I should be, but we only live once right?

The only negative I will say is that I think the chocolate overpowers the cheesecake part too much. They are delicious but I found myself eating the chocolate part and then the cheesecake part. That is not going to fly at the festival. So back to the drawing board. But if you want an insanely impressive dessert with not a ton of fuss but with a lot of fancy, I would recommend trying it my way.

PS - A springform pan is kind of the best thing in the world. And I found mine for $3 at a thrift store!

Up next, something healthy! I swear.

Red Velvet Waffles w/ Cream Cheese Maple Sauce and Toasted Coconut 4/5 Spoons

OK, so it is not the weekend anymore, but here I am!

I have this insane idea to make pancakes/waffles out of all of my favorite desserts and luckily people around this beautiful world have the same idea as well. I've made Vegan Carrot Cake Pancakes and now Red Velvet Waffles (next will be Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes!) I served this with my standard tofu scramble (Thanks Kris Anne!) and some MorningStar Farms Veggie Bacon.

(My picture of my 2nd waffle.... I was too hungry to take a picture of the 1st one! That is the cream cheese maple sauce and toasted coconut on top.)

Here are my notes:

-- I was astounded that someone would use 1 1/4 cups of sugar in these waffles. These made 6 big waffles for me, so that's like a little less of 1/4 c. of sugar in EACH WAFFLE. Sick. I used 1/2 c. and I think it was plenty. I wanted the cocoa flavor to shine through and I was putting sweet syrup on top, so I recommend you don't go above 1/2 c. unless you love really sweet things.
-- Make sure to have your buttermilk at room temperature. Even though my butter was melted and cooled, my buttermilk was cold so it kind of turned the fat in the butter into a weird flaky mess. I could whisk most of it out but you don't want to over-whisk waffles so just a note for y'all.
-- For my cream cheese maple sauce, I didn't use their recipe. I left 4 ounces of cream cheese out at room temp most of the day. I warmed up the cheese in the microwave for about 40 seconds and added about 2 T. confectioner's sugar, 3-4 T. pure maple syrup and a dash of milk to combine. Just mix with a fork until it is smooth and you are able to drizzle it on your waffles.
-- As for the coconut, it was kind of an after thought. I put about 1/2 c. of coconut in a pan and toasted it on low-medium heat and stirred it frequently. It takes about 10 minutes, just keep an eye on it, because it can burn quickly.

(Photo courtesy of The Spellbound Cafe)

These were really delicious. I wouldn't say they were perfect because I think they could use some tweaks. Not sure what but I'll mull it over and let you all know. They had a great cake like texture but didn't necessarily crisp up the way I wanted them to in the waffle iron. It might have something to do with my really old iron and not with the recipe though. Even though they were a bit floppy they had a really nice cocoa flavor and worked SO WELL with the cream cheese maple topping and toasted coconut. I will make this again with some minor adjustments. If you have fantastic waffle and pancake recipes you think I should try, please let me know!

Next up.... Spinach and Artichoke Spaghetti Bake! (My own recipe.... ooh la la.)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese Filling and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting 4/5 Spoons

The title is quite a mouthful, huh? There is no way to shorten it without people asking, "So what is this stuff inside? What's on the top?" Long name usually means all kinds of goodness packed inside and this is no exception.

(You will have to deal with my crappy cell phone photos for this one!)

I found this recipe for Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes (although I wouldn't exactly call them "dark"). Initially I had planned on just dolloping raspberry preserves in the middle but I wanted to bump up the filling factor. If you are a baker, you know how much of a pain filling a cupcake can be. As long as I'm sawing off the tops and filling it with something, might as well make it extra special. None of the raspberry cream cheese fillings I found fit the bill, so I just made up my own! It was kind of beyond easy and don't really need to pat myself on the back for this (okay, I will... pat pat).

When it was all said and done, I barely deviated from the original recipe above. I made up my own version of a filling and cut the buttercream frosting recipe in half. Here are my notes:

-- All I could find at the grocery store was normal unsweetened cocoa powder, not dutch process. It worked out just fine.
-- I left my eggs at room temperature for about 3 hours and they were perfect. Here is an explanation why room temp eggs are better than cold in baking. You learn something new everyday.
-- Skim milk was used instead of anything else that is often used in baking. It was either that or almond milk. I honestly don't think any kind would make a big difference.
-- You may realize that something is missing in the recipe that is ESSENTIAL for chocolate desserts (heck, all desserts). SALT! I didn't see it and was confused so I added about 1 t. of kosher salt.
-- I halved the frosting recipe. I followed it all and really didn't like it (hence the 4 stars). It came out looking of glossy and like royal icing (which I wasn't looking for). I'll probably find something more suited for my tastes next time.
-- If you haven't filled anything before, here is what I did. Grab a cupcake, take your sharp and small knife and jab it in at a 45 degree angle. You want to make a small cone sort of shape with the cake top so that you can discard the bottom part and the filling won't overflow. Baking Bites can explain it better and with pictures here!

So I baked these up all pretty and made this raspberry cream cheese filling (this is from memory, so hopefully it's not totally off on the measurements):

4 ounces cream cheese, room temp
1/4 c. raspberry preserves (you can use any kind if you don't like the seeds)
1/2 t. vanilla
2 T. confectioners sugar

Whip the first three together until well combined. Add the sugar 1 T. at a time until it comes together. It doesn't need to be firm, but needs to hold together well.

(As you can see, these went over well.)

Overall these cupcakes were AWESOME. The cakes that were a little more full came out really fudge-y and were hard to cut into but tasted so good on their own. Almost like a cupcake brownie (don't even get me started...). I wouldn't necessarily say these were very "dark" but still had a nice chocolate flavor and not overly packed with sugar. I think the real shining star here is the raspberry cream cheese filling. It has a nice creamy, tart flavor with a punch of fruity goodness right at the end. So what I'm saying is, make this. It takes a bit of work and some patience (which I don't have) but they came out great.

Up next, White Pizza with a Chicago style deep dish crust!

Vegan Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Toasted Coconut 5/5 Spoons

Finally back to review!

So I tried to make these ALL vegan but my local grocery store does not carry Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese (jerks). I definitely have cut down on my dairy consumption in the last week or so and I'm pretty proud of myself for that. I'm avoiding cereal so I don't use skim milk, have been making smoothies with almond milk and soy yogurt and want to make dairy-free calzones this week.

(Photos courtesy of Everybody Likes Sandwiches)

It was my birthday on May 1st and I turned 29. I won't get into birthdays because I think I take a much more cynical view than I should. It has nothing to do with getting older, it has more to do with the pressure of doing something awesome on your "special day" and other things. Typically I would have made some chocolate concoction but as soon as I found these vegan coconut cupcakes, I was ready to rock.

Here are my notes:

-- I used 3/4 c. sugar instead of a full cup. I think next time I could cut down a tad to 2/3.
-- As any baker has done before, I forgot a major ingredient. THE SALT! I was so mad at myself when I realized it but honestly I don't think it was the worst mistake ever. It might have been nice with it but it was still nice without it.
-- Instead of white vinegar I used apple cider, it's pretty much what I always use.

This cakes were tender and chewy but I wouldn't necessarily say overly coconut-y. I think next time I will toast the coconut that is added to the batter but overall, these were totally wonderful. And heaven help me, I will remember to only fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way to the top. It is one of my bad habits.

Another wonderful thing that came out of this recipe was being able to finally perfect my cream cheese frosting. It is crazy easy but does something that you wouldn't expect! Here we go:

1 8 ounce container cream cheese, cold (Not room temp! It is a much firmer frosting that way. I used low-fat, you could really use non-fat or full fat, whatever you wish here.)
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temp (This definitely needs to be soft.)
2/3 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 t. vanilla

Cream the cheese and butter with a hand held mixer on low to start (don't get it all over yourself!). Up the speed until you get a nice cohesive creamy thick looking mix. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate. Then add the sugar 1/3 c. at a time until all looks well and it is nice and thick and well integrated.

That was easy, huh? Toasting coconut is even easier. Take about 1/3 c. of coconut and place it in a dry skillet over med-low heat. Do not crank the heat or you will have a gross burnt mess. Stir every 30 seconds until the coconut is almost all brown but specks of white still show through. It should take about 4 minutes. Let it cool before sprinkling on top of your cupcakes.

Obviously I think you know how to put a cupcake + frosting + toasted coconut all together. When these are finished they are so beautiful. I almost wanted to take all kinds of food porn pics of them but decided against it because the smell was too intoxicating.

Full Breakfast! 3 Items Reviewed!

Wow, totally missing in action ONCE AGAIN. I find it hard to focus sometimes even when it comes to food which I realize sounds insane. I have been cooking and baking a lot but I've been trying to keep myself busy. When you are looking for work, it is important to keep busy otherwise you will go totally batty. So anyhow, this is one of the best recipes from the last 2 weeks or so.

(Photo courtesy of Post Punk Kitchen)

So, of course I love sweet things for dinner as much as I like them any other time of the day. I try not to make this a habit but sometimes a girl needs a buttery, crispy waffle oozing with warm maple syrup to finish off her day. Usually I go the waffle route because I like any reason to use my grandma's old iron. My friend Ethan pointed me in the direction of these sinfully decadent Vegan Carrot Cake Pancakes. These were made non-vegan with the addition of a Maple Cream Cheese Sauce but I thought it was necessary to go full tilt with the whole carrot cake idea. And to make this a full breakfast, I made my own vegan version of this Sausage and Potato Hash.

My notes and substitutions:

Pancakes

-- Instead of maple syrup as the sweetener, I just used granulated sugar.
-- Allspice isn't something I typically use, so I just added a dash more cinnamon to the mix.

Maple Cream Cheese Sauce

-- All I can say is make sure the cream cheese is FULLY at room temperature. I'm usually super anal about that but I let it slide this time and the sauce was lumpy. It was still good but would be more presentable for guests at room temp.

Sausage and Potato Hash

(Photo courtesy of Never Enough Thyme)

-- Instead of meat (of course), I used Lightlife Gimme Lean Sausage. This is my favorite sausage substitute and use it for meatballs, hash and put it on my pizza among other things.
-- I cut this recipe in half since it was only for two people but I could have easily demolished this all! It was so good and easy customizable.
-- If you are like me and love a good dark crust on your potatoes, crank up the heat. Once the heat is cranked, place a dish on top of the hash and weigh it down with a full tea kettle or a couple of cans to really get a crispy crust. Make sure to stir a few times and replace the weights again until it is to your desired crispiness. I believe this is essential to this meal, but if you are into limp potatoes, more power to you my loves.

Breakfast for dinner is like a pile of a thousand puppies playing. Basically what I'm trying to say it's awesome. Once I made the pancakes, I put them on a pan in a very low but warm oven (200 F) to maintain their heat but not continue to cook. And because it just makes me happy, I decided to toast some almonds to sprinkle on top. The pancakes had a really nice carrot cake flavor without being too sweet (unless you add the sauce, which just made them AMAZING). The salty crispiness of the hash and sweet warmth of the pancakes and sauce made this a perfect balanced meal. Well maybe not healthily balanced but certainly made my soul sing.

I give all the recipes:

5/5 Spoons!

I might not review another recipe for a little while again, but trust me I have notes and will be back. Take care all!