chocolate – Page 2 – Baking Genes

Gluten Free Chocolate Everything Muffins

I bought some buckwheat flour the other day, and I’m hooked. It adds an amazing nuttiness to breads and muffins that I’ve never experienced before. Combine that with some oat flour, bananas, chocolate, and other delicious flavors, and you have a killer gluten free muffin:)

I’m a total novice in the gluten free baking world, so I’ve been searching my favorite food blogs for inspiration. This one is based off a recipe from Edible Perspective, and I’m pretty obsessed with it. These muffins are super moist, dense, and filled with chocolatley goodness. Luckily, they’re still pretty healthy for you:) Hope you enjoy!

Gluten Free Chocolate Everything Muffins
modified from Edible Perspective – ‘Triple Chocolate Quick Bread’

Muffins:
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 ripe banana, mashed
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (or sweet potato puree)
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons agave (or maple syrup, honey)
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 1/3 cup gluten-free oat flour
1/2 cup almond meal
6 tablespoons buckwheat flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground flax meal
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate

Crumble:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
3 tablespoons coconut oil, softened
2 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease your muffin pan cups with coconut oil or use muffin liners.

Whisk the milk and apple cider vinegar in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. (We’re making some almond milk buttermilk!)

Whisk all wet ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Add the dry ingredients on top of the wet and stir until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Combine all of the crumble ingredients in another bowl.

Pour the batter into the muffin cups and sprinkle the crumble mixture overtop. This recipe made about 18 normal sized muffins for me.

Bake for 18-22 minutes until the center is set and the top is golden and crumbly. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then carefully remove and transfer them to a cooling rack. Let cool another 10 minutes are so, and they are ready to eat!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Here is a short and sweet, only slightly belated Valentine’s Day post! These red velvet cupcakes were a simple treat to bring into the office and share with co-workers for a holiday potluck. Luckily, red velvet is always a hit, so you can make these any time of the year!

Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 to 2 tablespoons red food coloring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer for a few minutes until nice and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time and beat for 30 seconds. Mix in the sour cream, milk, food coloring and vanilla. (Yeah, it gets a “little” red. Don’t worry, the cocoa in the flour mixture will calm it down later. You can add more food coloring if you like the classic red velvet look or less if you just want a hint of red.) Now, mix in the flour mixture and beat slowly until just incorporated; don’t over beat the mixture.

Note: While making this batch, I thought I had sour cream, but alas, I was all out. So I poured 1 1/2 cups of milk in a glass bowl, added 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and let it set for about 10 minutes. I used this 1 1/2 cups of sour milk in place of the 1/2 cup milk and 1 cup sour cream. Still tasted great!

Place paper cupcake inserts into a muffin pan. Fill each cup about 2/3 full with the batter.

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes. Test to see if a tooth pick comes out clean or if the top bounces back. Let the cupcakes cool for about 2 minutes in the pan. Then, remove them from the muffin pan and let them cool on cooling racks. Make sure you let the cupcakes cool to room temperature before frosting.

Frosting

8 oz cream cheese
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Mix the cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla and beat until fluffy – about 3 minutes. Add in the confectioners sugar and beat another 5 minutes, until it is nice and smooth.

I like to pipe the frosting on the cupcakes to get a nice thick layer, or in this case, in the shape of a heart. Add some red sprinkles and you’re good to go!

Birthday Boston Cream Pie

When we are planning for and upcoming birthday in our house, the conversations don’t revolve around where the birthday person wants to go out to dinner or which gifts they desire. For us, the most significant birthday decision centers around the birthday dessert. The selections typically bounce between my Nona’s chocolate cake (my favorite!) and the Boston Cream pie. Other times, we make carrot cake (post coming soon), a trifle, or pound cake with berries, but those first two are the household staples. When you combine cake, homemade pudding, and chocolate, you get one of the most delectable desserts around. There is only one downside of a birthday Boston cream pie – it is tough to insert candles into the hardened chocolate shell. You’ll have to make starter holes with a small knife so that your loved one can blow out some birthday candles, but that is a sacrifice I’m willing to make:-).

A few words from Sarah: From one glance at this layered treat, I think we can all see that this so-called pie is indeed a cake. And let me tell you, it is not just ANY cake. It wasn’t enough for this cake to get sandwiched in between some loving layers of smooth and creamy pudding. Oh no. Then it decided to be blanketed with a generous coating of rich, chocolate glaze. I’m pretty sure this cake and I are on the same page because chocolate truly makes everything better. Perhaps you, like me, are wondering why on earth this intelligent dessert decided to call itself a pie. Let us turn to Wikipedia for the answer. “Although it is called a Boston cream pie, it is in fact a cake and not a pie… The Boston cream pie is the official dessert of Massachusetts, declared as such in 1996. However, it is not mass-produced in Boston.”

Continue reading Birthday Boston Cream Pie

Christmas Croquembouche

I’ve dreamt about this moment for a long time, and it’s finally here! My first blog post! EEEEE I have my very own food blog! Whew, Ok I’m good. Now, onto our first sweet treat…

Christmastime is my favorite season of the year, when our house is filled with the sights and smells of buttery goodness. Every year on Christmas Eve, we celebrate at my aunt’s house with a Feast of the Seven Fishes. And for the past 5 or so years, I’ve made a Buche de noel to serve at the party. This yule log is the perfect combination of delicate rolled up sponge cake, creamy chocolate ganache, and meringue mushrooms. It’s a challenging adventure each year, and I love making it. A few years ago, I started to wonder if people were getting tired of my annual treat, so I called my aunt to find out. She jokingly replied that I wouldn’t be allowed in the house on Christmas Eve without a Buche in my hands. I mean…I think she was kidding…but I didn’t dare to find out.

But while studying for my pathology final in mid-December 2013, I felt the surge of rebellion. I wanted to try something new, but I also knew my relatives were expecting something as delectable and striking as the yule log. I googled things like “impressive holiday desserts” and “complicated Christmas cake.” Amidst all of the gingerbread houses and fruit cakes, I stumbled upon the perfect dessert – a dazzling tower of cream puffs decorated in spun sugar. Behold, the croquembouche.

Continue reading Christmas Croquembouche