Chocolate Raspberry Triple Torte With Chocolate Ganache

                          Laura’s Beautiful Chocolate Cake!

OH MY , if you gave up sweets for your New Years resolution, stop reading NOW!  A very dear friend of mine has passed along a simply delicious recipe to me that I just had to try.  I have had the recipe for almost a year now and until her most recent post on Facebook, I had forgotten about it.  Laura is a wonderful cook and we always joke that she can make us dinner (a fabulous one for that fact!) and I will make the dessert.   When I saw the photo of this cake that she had created, I almost passed out.  WOW, that cake looked like it was from a posh West Bloomfield Bakery, not from Laura’s country kitchen!  I immediately had to email her to compliment her on the beautiful cake and to ask how hard the cake was to make.  I got all the answers and just had to wait for a special occasion to make the cake….

                                                My Chocolate Cake
                    (Couldn’t be to creative since I had to transport!)

So, this week marked the 30th birthday of my friend, Saniya.  I thought what a perfect time to try out that cake that Laura has mastered.  I was a little worried about it since I waited until after I put the kids to bed to make this creation.  But I got out the mixer, fired up the oven and got busy.  The husband had no idea what the heck I was doing, so I had to fill him in on my madness. 

About an hour later, I had 3 layers of cake that were ready to be assembled.  The only problem was that I didn’t have all the ingredients for the Ganache, so I had to wait until the next morning to put the cake together.   After getting my heavy whipping cream, I made the Ganache and assembled the cake.  Then I was off to meet up with my friends for Birthday Lunch.

The cake was really good, I mean GREAT!  I cannot believe that I made something so great in such a short amount of time!  Saniya liked the cake so much that she ate 2 slices at lunch.  I will take that as the best compliment anyone could give!  With that being said, I present you with the recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Triple Torte with Chocolate Ganache. 

CAKE INGREDIENTS
Spray Crisco/Pan with flour
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen raspberries packed with sugar, thawed
1 pkg (18.25 ounces) devil's food cake mix with pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 – 2 tbsp. Chambord (raspberry liqueur; or raspberry extract)
Chocolate Ganache ( recipe below)
1 tablespoon Chambord (raspberry liqueur; or  raspberry extract)
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1/2 cup fresh raspberries, for garnish (optional)

CHOCOLATE GANACHE
Makes 1 3/4 cups, enough to thinly frost a 2- or 3-layer cake
Preparation Time: 5 Minutes
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. liqueur of Chambord or Raspberry extract (optional)
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans with shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the
excess flour.

2. Place the cake mix, raspberries and their juice, sour cream, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 2 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side, or if your oven is large enough, separate on two different racks.

3. Bake the cakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 25 to 28 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow to cool 30 minutes or more.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Ganache.  Place the cream in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring. Meanwhile, place the chopped chocolate in a large stainless-steel mixing bowl. Remove the cream from the heat, and pour it over the chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is melted, then add raspberry and almond extracts, if desired, after all the chocolate
has melted.

To use this ganache as a glaze, let it stand at room
temperature for 10 minutes before spooning it over a cooled cake or dip tops of cupcakes into.

To use the ganache as a frosting, let it stand for 30 minutes at room temperature, or chill it for 10 minutes, until it has thickened enough to spread with a metal spatula.

5. Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with ganache frosting. Place the second layer,
right side up, on top of the first layer. Spread the top with ganache. Place the third layer, right side up, on top of the
second layer and frost the top and sides of the cake. Work with clean, smooth strokes. Decorate the top attractively with
the fresh raspberries, if desired.

6. Place this cake, uncovered or in a cake saver, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. Then cover the cake with waxed paper, or place it in a cake saver or under a glass dome, and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or
freeze it in a cake saver for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

This is a poor little piece that I brought home and snapped a photo of it before the “Hubby” gobbled it up :)  This is a fabulous recipe to try to Valentine’s Day!!! Send me a photo of your creation!

-Lori

Apple Cranberry Salad

My mom found this recipe and oh my gosh is it tasty and so easy too!  It is perfect for a special holiday or just a good ole Sunday Dinner.

6 oz package raspberry or strawberry Jell-O

1 c. boiling water

16 ounce can whole cranberry sauce

16 ounce can crushed pineapple

1 granny smith apple, cored and diced

1/4 c. chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are good)

1/4 c. golden raisins (options, my kids wouldn’t eat it if added!)

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.  Add cranberry sauce and stir until berries are separated.  Add remaining ingredients; chill until set.  Makes 12 servings!  YUMMY!

Grandma’s Toffee

My mom and I had a candy making day on Sunday and decided to make 3 batches of this great tasting peanut brittle.  One batch we made especially for my dad, CAJUN PEANUT BRITTLE.  For this specialty we added 2 teaspoons of Penzey’s Cajun Seasoning.  It was pretty good, had a kick to it!  Anyhow, here is the original recipe! (Click to make larger!) ENJOY!  Oh, the “Syrup” on the recipe is corn syrup. 

 

Yes, we were beautiful and covered in chocolate and candy from head to toes!

Chocolate Saltine Toffee

I received some AWESOME candy this year and I knew that I wanted the recipe.  I have tried numerous times to make English Toffee and end up wasting 12 lbs of butter and an equal amount of sugar and almonds every year!  I decided that I needed to throw that recipe away and this recipe took its place!  It is so simple that even my kids were able to help out.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Butter

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1  1/2 Sleeves Saltine Cracker

1 Bag Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chip

Nuts for dusting the top (optional)

Directions:  Pre heat oven @ 350 degrees.  Line 15-in X 10-in x 1-in baking sheet with foil and coat with nonstick cooking spray.  Place crackers in rows on foil.  In a saucepan, melt butter; add the brown sugar and bring to a boil for about 1 minute.  Pour mixture over crackers and spread until completely covered.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (crackers may float).

Remove from oven.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers, wait a few minutes until melted and then spread evenly over crackers.

Cool completely and then crack into small pieces! ENJOY! 

CAUTION: Once you start eating, you may eat the entire batch!

Yummy Pumpkin Bread

I found a great recipe for some pumpkin bread that with a few alterations in the recipe makes it super yummy! Try it out yourself!

3 cups canned pumpkin puree (1 large can)

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

4 cups white sugar

6 eggs

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9x5 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed.

September's Daring Bakers Challenge

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Mandatory parts of the challenge: We must make Michel Richard’s recipe for puff pastry (as seen below), and form at least part of it into vols-au-vent.
Optional parts of the challenge: Make your vols-au-vent large or small, and may fill them with whatever you choose (savory or sweet).

Since I have used puff pastry before, I was excited for this month's challenge. After thinking about what filling I would want to make and fill the pastries with, I choose to make a cheesy spinach filling. I filled my circular pastry "cups" with the spinach and cheese filling and with the left over filling, I made it into a cream sauce by making a rue to start and then adding the filling and milk to thin the mixture. I then drizzled the spinach cream sauce on the plate and placed the puff pastry on top of it. It was very delicious and I plan to make it again when I am out to impress, but would possibly used the frozen premade phyylo instead of making my own.

Spinach Cheese Filling:
4 cups chopped fresh spinach ( I used 2 packages frozen spinach. drained)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1/2 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened and cut up
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Sauté spinach and onion in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in cream cheese until blended. Stir in mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, cheddar cheese, egg yolk, flour, nutmeg and cumin. Set aside until your pastries are ready to be filled.

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough
Ingredients:2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups ice water
1 pound very cold unsalted butter
plus extra flour for dusting work surface
Mixing the Dough:
Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.
Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)
Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Harriet’s Stuffed Zucchini

My wonderful neighbor and good friend, Harriet, came over today and taught me how to make stuffed zucchini. I had no idea if my kids were even going to eat this, but it was worth a try and I thought we needed a new recipe. Harriet told my kids that she had prepared a special dinner for them and that they had to try it. They were skeptical at first but after a few bites G1 exclaimed that he “LOVED it” (INCLUDING THE ZUCCHINI!) and when could we have it again. G2 wasn’t so excited about the zucchini, but he quickly noticed the bowl of leftover stuffing and he chowed that down!

Harriet’s Stuffed Zucchini

Sauté ½ large onion in olive oil then brown with 1 to 1 ½ pounds of ground turkey. After it is done browning, add one can (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce, Italian seasonings, ½ c. uncooked rice and 2 grated (or put in food processor) carrots. Simmer this and add more water as needed to cook the rice.

Take 4-6 small/medium size zucchini and remove seeds/pulp and hollow out so that you have a shell. Reserve seeds/pulp and cook in microwave for about 3-4 minutes, then allow it to drain off its liquid. Dispose the liquid from the cooked zucchini and then put the cooked pulp/seeds into a food processor until it is in tiny pieces. Now, add this cooked zucchini to the turkey burger mixture.

Fill zucchini boats with mixture and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cook for about 45 minutes/1 hour or until tender at 350 degrees.