The cake doesn’t really soak up the sauce… it is more like the sauce swathes the cake in a rich, sticky blanket of yumminess. Between the hot sauce, the crunchy pecans, and the velvety cake you have a major  convention of flavor and texture going on in your mouth.

If you cook it a little less (like I will next time) you will also have the gooey middles of the cakes. I am not sure that you can find something a whole lot better for the time and effort it takes to make these (hardly any). You can start them just before you serve the main course and have them on the table by the time the bread is gone. Seriously. This one’s a keeper.

Make these in muffin cups that have been sprayed with baking spray or individual custard cups.

Chocolate Cakes with Praline Sauce

• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup dark cocoa
• pinch of kosher salt
• 12 oz chocolate, chopped. Mix bittersweet, dark, semisweet, or milk in any combination.
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melt one and allow to become golden brown
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Melt the chocolate and the one stick of butter together, whisking often
3. Remove from heat and add the browned butter
4. Sift the dry ingredients together three times
5. Beat the eggs and yolks until light
6. Beat in the sugar
7. Carefully whisk in the chocolate and butter combination
8. Divide between 8-10 muffin cups
9. Bake for 12 minutes (gooey) or 15 minutes (moist and rich)
10. Cool for no more than 2-3 minutes and unmold onto dessert plates

Praline Sauce

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 2 tbs heavy cream
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup pecans, toasted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Melt the butter, salt, and brown sugar together until no longer grainy, stirring often.
2. Add the cream and stir well
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla
4. Sprinkle pecans over the cakes and pour the warm syrup over all

Makes 8-10 servings

images: marye audet

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I grilled the chicken long enough to get grill marks and rubbed it with a beer-honey-chipotle mixture. I put it in the oven at 350F and then worked on the compote.

The finished product was excellent. The flavors mingled well and the beer added an extra earthiness that I really liked. Use a honeycrisp or granny smith apple for this. You want the flavor to be able to hold up to the beer.

I used chicken breast but you could use a split chicken or cut up chicken. It really is versatile. I suspect that it would do as well with pork.

• 8 chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup strong honey (like organic buckwheat)
• 1 tbs mashed chipotle in adobo
• 1/2 lemon squeezed into mixture
• 1/4 cup Guinness Stout
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 honey crisp apples, washed and chopped – not peeled
• 1 purple onion, chopped
• Remainder of the bottle of beer
• 4 tbs of unsalted  butter
• 1 canned chipotle chopped (more if desired)

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Oil a grill pan and preheat it lay chicken on it to establish grill marks; turn once
3. Simmer honey, 1 tbs chipolte,  1/4 cup Guinness, and lemon until reduced and thickened slightly – about 10 minutes. Glaze chicken with mixture and place in oven. plan on cooking until 180F is reached, about 30 to 40 minutes depending on the chicken.
4. Meanwhile saute onion, remaining chipotle, and chopped apple in 2 tbs  butter in a pan until tender.
5. Pour in the remaining Guinness and simmer until the mixture is reduced to a juicy compote.
6. Stir in remaining 2 tbs butter
7. About 15 minutes before chicken is done remove it from oven and spoon compote over it.
8. Return to oven to finish cooking.

Serves 8

images : Marye Audet

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I like sticky brownies not cakey ones. They have to be intensely chocolate. They have to cause your tastebuds to jumping around and screaming for milk or coffee. They absolutely have to be worth eating. Seriously!

The trick to really intense chocolate brownies is the darkest cocoa powder you can find. Cocoa gives a much richer flavor than melting chocolate and adding it, however in these you are going to use both. Yep. And then… ready? You are going to add toasted pecans (remember that the toasting intensifies the flavor…)  AND chocolate chips…AND white chocolate chips.

In a sugar coma yet?

These are fantastic. I think they will keep for several days… I say think because honestly they have never lasted more than an hour or two here. You can’t use the toothpick method to test these and see if they are done. In order to maintain the complete awesomeness that they are these brownies will always test raw.  Just follow the cooking time, and then cool them in the fridge long enough for them to set.  You can top them with ganache if you like extra chocolate.

Toasted Pecan Brownies

• 3/4 c unsalted butter-melted and allowed to brown
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 c flour
• 1/2 c cocoa (the darkest you can find…do not substitute baking chocolate)
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chopped and melted in 2 tbs heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 c chopped pecans, toasted in a 375F oven for 5 minutes. Watch carefully!
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Cream sugar, melted butter, and chocolate until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. beat well. add flavorings.
2. Stir in dry ingredients, nuts, white chocolate chips, and chocolate chips
3. Spread into a greased 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Leave slightly under done.
4. Allow to cool long enough for the center to set.

Makes 12 or so depending on how big you cut them.

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The cookies themselves are made with Hershey’s Dark Cocoa. It is important that for this recipe you use a very rich, dark cocoa to get the level of chocolate intensity that these need. After the cookies are baked they are cooled and filled with a bittersweet ganache, sprinkled with crushed candy cane, and then topped with a Hershey’s Mint Kiss. These are a specialty kiss that I found, a traditional Hershey’s Kiss but filled with a mint truffle type filling.

Roll the cookie in sugar.

The result is amazingly rich, dark, and chocolatey with a fresh burst of peppermint flavor that cools your mouth and cuts through some of the chocolate.

This are going to be a popular addition to the cookie trays or gift baskets you create this year!

Triple Chocolate Mint Christmas Kisses

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
• 1 cup sugar or confectioner’s sugar for rolling
• Ganache filling
• 24 unwrapped chocolate mint Kisses
• 2 candy canes coarsely crushed

1. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and cream and beat well.
2. Combine the flour, cocoa, and salt and blend into the creamed mixture
3. Chill for at least two hours
4. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat
5. Roll  teaspoons of the dough into balls, roll in confectioner’s or granulated sugar, and place on baking sheet
6. Indent the balls with your thumb
7. Bake 10-12 minutes
8. Push the middles back down with your thumb and cool
9. Add 1/2 tsp ganache to each cookie and press a kiss into it
10. Sprinkle with ground candy canes
11. Cool completely

Makes about 2 dozen

image:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Again, I used an oreo crust. I think that if you are making a chocolate crust this is absolutely the best way to go! There was a layer of caramel and chocolate and nuts on the bottom and then a deep vanilla cheesecake, topped with caramel, chocolate, and pecans.

Was it good? Oh yeah it was.  This is such an easy base for cheesecake. If you have read very many of my cheesecake recipes you will soon figure out that they are all the same foundation….. shhhh…don’t tell.

Always use a bain marie for the baking. It allows the cheese filling to bake slowly and evenly and you will end up with a much creamier product. Also, keep everything at room temperature, for the same reason.

Turtle Cheesecake

• 1 package oreos, crushed
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 bag caramels, unwrapped and chopped
• 12 oz milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 lb pecans, chopped
• 32 ounces cream cheese
• 2 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 tbs strong bourbon vanilla
• 16 ounces sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 375F
2. Mix oreos and butter and press into a 9 inch springform
3. Wrap the bottom and sides of  the  springform with aluminum foil to seal out water
4. Beat the cream cheese on low speed until blended
5. Add sugar and continue to beat on low
6. Add the eggs one at a time
7. Remove from mixer and fold in sour cream and the vanilla
8. Add half the chopped caramels, half the chocolate chips, and half the pecans to the pan over the crust
9. Pour the filling over it carefully
10. Bake for 45 minutes
11. Leave oven door closed and turn off heat. Allow to stand for one hour
12. Remove from oven and bain marie and allow to come to room temperature
13. Chill for 8 hours
14. Remove cake from fridge
15. Melt the remaining caramels,  reserving a few for garnish, cover the top of the cake in caramel
16. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips, reserved caramel pieces and pecans, and gently press into the melted caramel
17. Bring 1/4 cup cream to a simmer. Whisk in remaining chocolate chips until smooth.
18. Drizzle over the top of the cake
19. Chill until ready to serve

about 12-16 servings

images : marye audet

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Roast Apples, Onions, and Thyme

Yay.

Then I found out that my tenants were moving from investment house #2. That means two empty houses…Then I had about two days of nonstop crying..this breakup stuff is much worse than it was in high school..and since I announced my singlehood on Baking Delights..I have been getting a trickle of email from male readers..Just for the record guys? I don’t do computer sex.

..then the van stopped working… Well..it just goes on from there. And I realized that I have been worse about blogging this week than ever before. I am so sorry!  I will be making it up to you..promise.

Today I just want to link to some old posts on Baking Delights that will help you with your holiday baking. Call it blogsurfing at home I guess. Ready?

How to Stuff a Turkey Pictorial

Bourbon Sweet Potatoes

Last Minute Thanksgiving Tips

10 Easy Thanksgiving Recipes for Kids

Sage Stuffing

Easy Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

25 Best Thanksgiving Pie Recipes

Pumpkin Pie Noir

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Bread Pudding

This is funny. As I was going through old posts I saw this one from November 23, 2008 Blogsurfing Saturday…on Sunday must be the date..I am going to mark my calendar for next year!

Thanksgiving Side Dish Round Up

Wyatts Eggplant Casserole (not traditional but yummy)

Pictorial: Perfect Pie Crust

Roast Apples, Onions and Thyme

Sausage, Apple, and Raisin Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Crisp

Hope this helps! I will be posting more Thanksgiving posts all week..I promise

images:marye audet

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Thanksgiving is usually a no brainer around here. I made a menu over ten years ago and we pretty much go by it completely, adding a new dish or two every year to try. It is just that everyone has things they just “have to have” and adding something new is impossible without taking away something old, comfortable, and traditional so…we don’t.

What I have found is that it is great to make Thanksgiving foods other times during the month. It allows us to try new things without sacrificing the almighty menu. Everyone is happy.

Today’s blogsurfing is  is made up of the cool dishes I have found that you might like to try. Not all of these are from blogs, but they are all things that just looked really good to me. I am woefully behind on the posts that I promised last week, not just because I am behind on posting but because I am behind on cooking! I need life to slow down just a tiny but. Heading in to Christmas? Not likely to slow down, is it?

1. Green Beans with Ginger and Cashews
2. Green Beans with Caramelized Shallots
3. Bacon Ranch Potatoes
4. Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions
5. Soy Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Sesame Seeds
6. Cider Glazed Butternut Squash
7. Turkey Cranberry Strudel
8. Glazed Baby Carrots and Brussels Sprouts
9. Whipped Carrots and Parsnips
10. Warm Pumpkin Salad with Polenta and Candied Pumpkin Seeds
11. Roasted Onions with Gruyere Croutons
12. Creamy Broccoli with Cashews

In a couple of days I will do a roundup of the past Baking Delights Thanksgiving recipes. Enjoy your weeked!

image: marye audet

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I put a layer of streusel on the bottom as well as on the top for added texture and sweetness. I really like the result.

This is a great, comfort food type dessert but would also work well on the Thanksgiving dessert buffet. It is just different enough to be awesome but familiar enough to  make you feel cozy.

Vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream would be great with this. It is so easy to make, takes very little time…and is amazing. How can you resist?

Cooking the berries before adding them to the crisp allows the juices to thicken and so the bottom layer doesn’t turn to mush. In every bite you have the contrast between crunchy, chewy, tart, sweet, and tender. Every bite gives you intense flavor. This is a new favorite. I loved it.

Cranberry Crisp

• 2 bags cranberries
• 2 cups of sugar or to taste
• 1/2 cup fruity red wine
• 4 tbs unsalted butter
• Water if needed

Cook the ingredients together, stirring, until cranberries pop open and liquid thickens. You may need to add water to keep it from sticking. This will take about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add butter.  Set aside.

Streusel

• 1 cup chopped almonds
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 half cup unsalted butter

Mix together with fingers until crumbly.

Assemble and Bake

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Grease a 9 inch square pan and sprinkle half the crumbs in the bottom
3. Spoon the cranberry on top
4. Sprinkle the rest of the streusel over the top
5. Bake for about 40 minutes or until done.

serves 6-8

images: marye audet

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Bourbon is, to me, a winter ingredient. I say ingredient because I don’t drink hardly at all..and rarely hard liquor. Strawberries are spring and summer…the two should not mix….except…

Except this worked. I was amazed. The flavors just all blended into a mass of incredible. This went way beyond homey, comfort food and into the realms of kitchen nirvana. The tartness of the rhubarb and the tangy sweetness of strawberries turned into velvety marriage of flavors when the smooth, sweet bourbon sauce mixes in. I added some thickened, sweetened cream as well.

I loved this. It is perfect for last of the season berries and rhubarb here in the south, or a great way to use the fruit you have frozen. Did I mention is was super easy?

Try to get good, fresh rhubarb with a nice rosy color. There isn’t that much difference in taste but the eye appeal is better!

Don’t slice the rhubarb too thin. It will cook down too much and lose it’s character. Rhubarb without character is a terrible, terrible thing.

Always sweeten according to taste, no matter how much sugar the recipe calls for. Keep the filling tart with this though. You want to have a nice contrast to the sweet topping and sauce.

The crisp topping is made with brown butter. This gives an added complexity and depth of flavor.

These are some of the ingredients! Vanilla will be needed as well to just heighten the flavors a notch.

Can’t you almost smell it?

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp with Hot Buttered Bourbon Sauce

Topping

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup  light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• Generous pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and browned, and allowed to cool to abotu 110F.

Filling

• 5 cups sliced rhubarb
• 2 cups halved strawberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Sauce

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• About 4-5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

• Sweetened whipped cream, beat until just thickened

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 13×9 inch casserole and set aside.
2. Mix berries, rhubarb, and flour and allow to sit for about 15 minutes.
3. Pour into the casserole.
4. Mix the topping ingredients with fingers until crumbly.
5. Sprinkle thickly over the crisp. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes, or until juices thicken and topping browns.
6. Just before crisp is ready to come from the oven put the bourbon and sugar in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes until thickened and reduced.
7. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time.
8. Add vanilla and blend. Taste to adjust flavors.
9. Serve the hot bourbon sauce over the warm crisp with a spoonful of the cream

serves about 8-10

images:maryeaudet

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Yeah. You want this cake.

Now that you know how easy it is to roast your own pumpkin you can create magic in the kitchen with this recipe.  And…did you know…Pumpkin and vanilla are supposed to be very…VERY attractive scents to men…you must keep that in mind and use this recipe responsibly.

This is super moist and will serve 12-16 easily. You can serve it as is, add some vanilla ice cream, or maybe a soft whipped cream. It is incredible in the afternoon with coffee or tea, and if there had been some left I could have told you it was good for breakfast, too.

All right. First, let’s spice it up…

I love the smell of cloves!

Ginger? Yes please!

Freshly grated nutmeg has so much more flavor. Just try it!

Spice are important. They have more flavor the fresher they are. I buy mine in bulk at a local store and they are so fresh sometimes the entire kitchen will smell like a Moroccan market when I bring them home. Nutmeg should always be freshly grated. Really, there is no good excuse not to. It is easy as long as you keep your fingers out of the way…

Always mix the batter gently so that the flour doesn’t develop gluten. That is what makes it tough. Just get all the ingredients mixed in.

Gently! Gently! Gently!

I think that the cooking sprays with flour work the best on my bundt pan. You can use whatever you want to grease the pan but I have had the very best results with cooking spray with flour added. Spoon the batter in to the pan lightly and then drop it on the counter once to get the bubbles out. You want this cake to be a little dense…(I will not make a blond joke here…)

Make sure the bundt pan is well greased.

This will cook for about an hour. Start checking it at 50 minutes though. There will be just a few moist crumbs clinging to a toothpick that is stuck halfway between the side of the pan and the center tube.

Yummy....

This has a moist, velvety texture.

Browned Butter Pumpkin Bundt Cake

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and allowed to turn golden brown then cooled
• 2 1/4 cups organic all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups  pumpkin
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2  teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Grease pan
3. Mix dry ingredients together and set aside
4. Beat cooled butter and sugar until well mixed. Beat in eggs one at a time.
5. Beat in vanilla
6. Fold in pumpkin
7. Add flour and buttermilk alternately and mix until smooth
8. Spoon into baking pan
9. Bake at 350F until done, about 50-65 minutes
10. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then remove from pan to cool

Brown Butter Glaze

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted and allowed to turn golden brown
• About 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar, or enough to make a thick glaze
• 1 tbs bourbon if desired
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Spoon over warm cake. Sprinkle on almonds if desired.

Serves 12-16

images:maryeaudet

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