dosants

Well I know it's been ages since I've blogged and I don't have any reason for it, other than I've been busy with other interests. I took the time to truly enjoy the summer and I'm so glad I did because now it's busy (I'm sure pretty much everyone can relate to me). Elise Ruby just started preschool and I'm working more, so there's not a lot of extra time. The posts might be a little sporadic until I get into a better groove, so if anyone still reads this thing (thank you!) it'll be easier to subscribe to the blog (on the right-hand side of the site) so that you know exactly when I put up a new post! 

In the spring Kent and I went to Sweet, a dessert-focused restaurant (um, best idea ever!!!) made popular by chef/owner Alina Eisenhauer, who had been on a Food Network cooking competition show.

The restaurant had a fun vibe and good food, but the dessert was amazing (as it should be since that's the theme!). We chose their best seller: dosants. Remember when I made cronuts? Well these are similar since it's fried puff pastry, but instead of cutting it into a classic donut shape, like the cronut, these are rectangular so that they can hold dark chocolate oozing inside.

So yes, they're basically a chocolate croissant, but fried. Then they're tossed in a bit of sugar and the over-the-top-moment is when you can dunk them in Salted Caramel Sauce. I was so excited about eating these that I burnt my tongue. I just didn't have the patience to wait for these to cool, and who can blame me? These are incredibly good. Amazing. Worth pulling out the candy thermometer for.

chocolate hazelnut cake

Nutella is a weakness of mine (as evidence in this delicious comforting drink, festive cookies or campfire amazement)... I just love that sweet chocolate hazelnut combination. So it will come as no surprise that when I saw the ABC Challenge was this chocolate hazelnut cake, I was excited.

A few things intrigued me about this recipe: 1. There was no actual Nutella involved, just the real-deal chocolate hazelnut ingredients. 2. Chopped hazelnuts went into the cake batter, but weren't required in the frosting. 3. There's no frosting. So if you have poor decorating skills that won't matter here since the only adornment is a sprinkling of cocoa powder (I added the tiny flourishes of whole hazelnuts on top of mounds of fudge-y filling). 4. The lack of frosting is quickly remedied with a divine ganache-type frosting, but it goes in between the cake layers, not draped over the entire cake which is more common for ganache. 

After baking and sharing the cake with many friends and coworkers, they all agreed it was delicious, but crumbly! The cake is light, but falls apart too easily for my liking. And even though I didn't mind the chopped hazelnuts in the cake, I think they were a contributing factor to the crumbliness. The next time I make this I'd add the hazelnuts to the ganache filling. Speaking of the chocolate filling it was amazing. Silky, rich and perfect on it's own; no other frosting was needed. 

Here is the recipe I used to make this cake since I didn't really change anything... although I may need to make it again with a bit of tweaking ;)

what's in the middle? the white stuff

It was the early '90's and my friend was playing a  a parody song of NKOTB's 'You Got It (The Right Stuff)' by Weird Al Yankovich, but the song was about Oreo's. Now, I'm not a Weird Al fan normally, but I'm tickled by wacky humor and I love Oreo's even more, so this song just gets in my head every time I see those little cookies.

Who doesn't love Oreo's? Those crispy little black and white cookies just beg to be dunked in milk, broken up into ice cream or smashed into a delicious pie crust. But you can't beat a homemade version. Ever.

This recipe is courtesy of the Flour cookbook (I know, I feel like I'm on a bender with this book) and can be made two ways. Bake them for the full 20-25 minutes and you'll have a traditional, crunchy Oreo...or you can be a bit rebellious and under-bake them so that they have a softness to them. There's no wrong way to make them, the point is that you should make them. 

I want candy

Confession time: even though I'm crazy about chocolate and peanut butter, I'm not a fan of Reese's peanut butter cups. I know, I know...how can I call myself a candy fanatic if I don't love Reese's? Well, if you've been reading this blog for any length of time you probably already know it has more to do with texture then it does flavor.

I just prefer natural, smooth peanut butter in a crispy, hard shell of chocolate. And while we're at it, a good quality dark chocolate is in order. And to make it even more grown up, I'll take a bit o' sea salt sprinkled for good measure. But to keep it festive, egg shapes are necessary and that requires a bit of conjuring. Or some disposable pastry bags and patience. 

Do you make any homemade candies? I really want to start making more, so I'd love to hear suggestions on what I should make next!

gluten-free brownies

Well I haven't done the ABC baking challenge this year for a couple of reasons: 1. I wasn't crazy about the recipes that were featured and 2. I kept forgetting to bake something in time for the posting. But that all changed when I saw this brownie recipe. 

I haven't really dabbled with gluten-free mostly because I'm grateful not to have to. Gluten-free recipes are becoming more popular because you probably know someone who is allergic to gluten, or you're just trying to be more health-conscious. Regardless, I was intrigued that this recipe was dairy and gluten free. No flour or butter?! This is craziness. Craziness that I needed to experience first-hand.

And you know what? I'd make these again. Now that's a huge compliment to these little babies. I'm pretty particular when it comes to homemade brownies and these were right up there. Not my absolute favorite recipe because, let's be honest, I'll always be partial to flour and butter but because the almond meal just can't be smooth like flour, so there's a slight nubby texture that takes a bit getting used to. The chocolate flavor is wonderfully intense and the chocolate chips add a lovely moist richness that brings these brownies to the fudge-y category. Which, as we all know, is not a bad category for a brownie to be in. 

I have a coworker who is allergic to gluten and is usually never able to have any of my baked goods because I practically trail flour as I walk by her. I was dying to give these to her so that I could get her opinion on how they fared with other gluten-free baked goods. She loved them and said they weren't dry and they reminded her of regular brownies, which excited her (and me) the most. Success!

Have you tried any recipes for gluten-free baked goods?

c-c-c-candy!!!

It's that time of year when there is candy everywhere. Halloween candy has already been out for months and if you love it as much as I do, it's hard to resist. This year, I promised not to buy any Halloween candy until the week of the actual Holiday. But let me say this- I'm weak and I'm already craving those mini Kit Kat's and Almond Joy's. 

And that's when these choco peanut butter crisps came into my life. A couple weeks ago I had a massive chocolate craving and when I received the Mast Brother's cookbook for my birthday, I had earmarked this recipe. It's definitely chocolate candy and it definitely makes a lot. If you're having a Halloween party, these would make great party favors thrown into a clear cellophane bag, especially since your guests would be amazed by the thought of taking home homemade candy instead of the prepackaged stuff. 

Choco peanut butter crisp

Recipe adapted from Mast Brothers Chocolate, a FamilyCookbook

Serves a lot!

Recipe Notes-

- The original recipe called for 2 Tbs. of peanut butter but with all the chocolate, the peanut butter flavor was lost completely. Either don’t bother with it all, or put enough in to taste. So I put enough in to taste- ¾ cup to be exact.

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds (24 oz.) dark chocolate

1 (½ cup) stick butter

¾ Cup creamy peanut butter

1 Tbs. honey

4 ½ Cups puffed rice cereal (aka Rice Krispie’s)

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate and butter.

2. Add the peanut butter and honey, mix until combined. Then add the puffed rice cereal and pour into a 9-inch baking pan. Let set in refrigerator.

3. Once cooled completely, cut into chunks. Keep in an airtight container.

just dreamy

Not long ago I Instagramed a picture of The Mast Brothers Chocolate Cookbook that I received as a birthday present and I have been drooling over it. Seriously, when I was analyzing each recipe, my mouth literally salivated and I had to get into my chocolate stash immediately. This book is for die-hard choco-holics.

Mast Brothers Chocolate is a New York based company that makes high-quality chocolates and personally partners with the cocoa farmers. I've seen their chocolate sold at various boutiques and the packaging alone has lured me in. I've only had the pleasure of sampling their chocolate but alas, have not purchased any for myself yet. It can be pricey, so I used my favorite standby for this recipe.  

I made this for a dinner party and everyone loved it. The soft, lightness of the whipped cream complimented the silky, rich ganache. The crust was good, but I think you could make your life easier and buy a pre-made cookie crust (or make your own with crushed up chocolate wafers) and then then you'd have a nice crunch to compliment the rest of the pie. I'll probably do that the next time I make this.