Rustic Mini Chocolate Cream Pies

I love “rustic” because it implies imperfection (which suits me, since I’m completely imperfect).  However, I love it when my baking turns out well. . .perfect.  Confused?  Me too.

These chocolate cream pies came to be when my daughter found a picture of some pudding pies that I didn’t have the ingredients for – instant pudding, premade pie crust, and the like.  This homemade version was a big hit, and is sure to be a repeat.

In other exciting news, today is my niece’s 7th birthday. . .Happy Birthday Girlie!

Rustic Mini Chocolate Cream Pie

Pie Crust Adapted from An Adobe Oven to a Microwave Range

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 cups shortening

1 egg

5 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon vinegar

In the food processor, combine the flour, salt,  and baking powder.  Pulse 2 to 3 times.  Add the shortening and pulse until coarse-looking crumbs appear.  Add the egg, water, and vinegar and pulse just until combined, and the dough starts to pull away from the sides.

Open the lid of the food processor, and pat the dough.  It should be soft, but not sticky.  Scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until it all comes together.  Grab a golf ball sized piece of dough and roll it out on the floured surface.  Place the rolled-out dough inside a muffin pan, or individual pie pan, cut to size, and prick the bottom of each pie with a fork about 5 times.

When all of the wells have been filled with pie dough, bake them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.  The bottoms will puff up just a little.  Let them cool in the pan.

*As an added touch, we melted 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and spooned the melted chocolate onto the bottom of our cooled pie crusts to prevent the crust from turning soggy, before pouring in the hot filling.

Chocolate Cream

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

3 squares of semisweet chocolate (I used Baker’s)

3 egg yolks, beaten (in a small mixing bowl, set aside for tempering)

Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan (this will help prevent lumps).  Add the milk, heavy cream, and chocolate.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens.

Boil for 1 minute, and remove from heat.

Gradually stir at least half of the hot mixture into the 3 beaten egg yolks whisking constantly to temper (slowly bringing the yolks and hot milk to the same temperature to prevent the egg yolks from scrambling).

Then add the tempered egg mixture back into the rest of the hot milk, whisking constantly to combine.  Return the custard mixture to the stove (over medium heat) and bring to a boil – for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter.  Whisk until fully incorporated.  Then pour through a sieve into a large (4 cup) glass measuring cup.

Don’t omit this step!  Even when I think I’ve fully incorporated the egg yolks, there are always a few chewy bits that end up in the sieve.

Pour the chocolate cream into the cooled pie shells, and let set at room temperature (about 30 minutes) before refrigerating (to prevent sweating).

Store in the refrigerator, and serve cold.

Makes about a dozen pies using this individual pie pan.

Dark Chocolate 3 Musketeer Brownies

So can we all agree, it ain’t pretty?  But it’s totally worth making, because it tastes really good.  And this isn’t just your average brownie either, it’s actually 3 layers – dark fudge brownie with bits of candy bar on bottom, creamy mousse in the center, and a chocolate shell topping.  Your kids will nominate you for mother of the year if you make them. . .well, at least while they’re eating them.

Dark Chocolate 3 Musketeer Brownies Adapted from here and here

Brownie Layer:

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder)

3 eggs

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

fun size 3 Musketeer Candy bars, coarsely chopped (I used about 10)

Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with foil and coat with nonstick spray.  Set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium heatproof bowl, place the butter in the microwave for thirty second intervals until almost completely melted.  Add the sugar and the cocoa powder to the melted butter.  Whisk until combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each.  Whisk in the flour, and then stir in the chopped candy, then pour the batter into your prepared pan.  Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, take the brownies out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes.  During this time, make your mousse layer.

Mousse Layer:

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup of chocolate chips (I used semisweet)

3 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

Heat the cream in a microwave-safe bowl for about 1 minute.  When the cream is hot, add the chocolate chips and let stand for about 2 minutes.  Whisk the heavy cream and chocolate until it’s incorporated, whisk in the sugar.  Set aside for about 10 minutes to cool before adding to the eggs.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until foamy, then add the chocolate mixture.  Next pour the mixture through a sieve to catch all the chewy bits of egg that do not belong in a creamy mousse.  Then pour the mixture on top of the brownie base and put it in the oven for about 35 – 40 minutes to bake.

The top should jiggle just a little – like set Jello.  It will continue to cook a bit after it comes out of the oven – you don’t want to overbake it because the mousse will take on an odd chewy crust.  After the brownie has cooled for about 30 minutes, pour on the melted chocolate and spread it thinly to form the shell.

Chocolate Shell:

2 cups of chocolate chips (I used semisweet)

Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 1 minute intervals until almost completely melted.  Stir until it’s melted the rest of the way, and pour on top of the brownie.

Store the brownies in the refrigerator.

As you can see from the picture, the chocolate shell cracks when you cut into the brownie.  Which leaves one with a few options: cut the brownies first and add the melted chocolate to each individual piece or make a ganache instead to spread on top of the brownie.  Either way, refrigerate overnight before cutting and serving for best results!

A Special Engagement. . .

My oldest buddy ol’pal, Gina, is getting married!  And boy do I love a good wedding.  They’re such a great excuse for good food, music, and friends to get together and celebrate.

Gina and I grew up together – as in we knew each other when we were babies (our parents were college friends), so we saw each other through the ups and downs of life, and spent many holidays celebrating together.

And while weddings bring out my happy, fun-loving side, the idea of marriage decidedly does not.  Not to be Debbie Downer, but it’s hard.  Am I right?

There’s this little thing I’ve been obsessed with lately.  I call it “celebrating mediocrity.”  You know, like when my husband cooks dinner once a year and then congratulates himself during the entire meal as if he’s never been served amazing food before.

Apparently (unlike me) his hands have been miraculously blessed and anything he touches is awe-inspiring.  To be fair, those are my words, not his (even if they’re spot on, ahem).

Yep, it’s hard to tolerate.  And when he has taken all of the kids with him to the grocery store because it was the weekend (and I was incredibly sick), old ladies and a few men have stopped to congratulate him on his bravery venturing out alone into the unknown with all of the kids without his dutiful wife.

Are you kidding me?  I sent him with a detailed list.  He’ll be fine.  That right there is “celebrating mediocrity” at its finest.  You will never see an old woman, or a man, stop to awe at me for shopping with my kids.

Nope, I get dirty looks for toddler meltdown in aisle 5.  So, the next time your husband does something mediocre, do what I do and raise an imaginary glass to him to celebrate – facetiously, of course.

Oh, sorry I’ll get down off my soapbox.  Where was I?  I mean before my whole tirade. . .ah, my dear friend Gina.

Yes, I’m so excited for her because she gets to have a wedding all about her, with flowers, and pretty dresses, and presents. . .and at the end of the day, a husband (to wait on, and clean up after, and take to the emergency room after he runs over his foot accidentally with the lawnmower blade – good times).

Let’s try this another way, Bob (that’s not his real name) is so lucky because Gina is one of the most sincere, honest, kind people that I know.  She is funny, and if you’re her friend, she’ll take anyone down who tries to talk bad about you.  She’s just as beautiful inside as she is outside.

I know that she’s going to put everything she has into this marriage, so he better bring it because she deserves nothing but the best.

So what are we waiting for?  Let’s celebrate!  Wouldn’t these be cute as individual servings of wedding cake?

Mini Angel Food Cake Adapted from Norpro Professional Essentials

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

12 egg whites (room temperature)

1/3 cup warm water

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Process the sugar in a food processor until fine.  Put half the sugar in a bowl, along with the salt and flour and whisk – set aside.

In a large bowl whisk the egg whites, water, vanilla, and cream of tartar for two minutes.

Using the hand mixer to continue to beat the egg whites, slowly add the remaining sugar while continuing to beat.  Once the egg whites start forming peaks, spoon the flour mixture lightly over the top and using a rubber scraper fold into the batter carefully.  Continue to add the rest of the flour and fold into the batter.

Spoon the cake batter into ungreased cake cups until 3/4 full.  Bake for about 35 minutes, or until there are no crumbs on your toothpick or cake tester.

Immediately turn them over onto a wire cooling rack for at least 20 minutes.  After that time, you may have to loosen them gently from the pan with a nylon scraper (to not scratch the pan).

Store covered when completely cool, or serve.

I ended up with leftover batter and was able to make a pan of mini cakes using this pan.

Sources:
4 inch Silver Cupcake Pick

Mini Angel Food Pan

Individual Pie and Burger Bun Pan

Mr. & Mrs. Stamp

Flourish Frame Rubber Stamp

Mini Wedding Dress Copper Cookie Cutter

Lemon Curd Stuffed Pastry

I just couldn’t let today go by without wishing my sweet nephew a happy birthday!  In honor of him, I made some lemon curd pastries.  While sugar cookies would have been more fitting, it’s citrus season and I wanted to show you just how versatile lemon curd can be!

If you’ve never made it before, it really is simple – click here for my favorite recipe.  I used this recipe for the pie crust, because I wanted it to be just like puff pastry without all of the work.  I just rolled out the pie dough and used a round scalloped cutter, and baked them in the oven at 425 degrees for 18 minutes.

When they’re cool, slice them in half and spread with lemon curd and top with sweetened freshly whipped cream.  You can then top them with the other half of pastry if desired.

Gingerbread Reindeer + Rudolph

This gingerbread is so good, buy new spices (they make such a huge difference), and play around with the amounts until you get the flavor you like - I personally prefer more cinnamon.

My kids got a kick out of handing these beauties out to their teachers, and I was relieved that it was a consumable gift – no worries about giving them clutter or duplicates.  Trust me, these are big concerns when one is married to a minimalist.

Gingerbread Adapted from Martha Stewart

3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup unsulfured molasses (I used Grandma’s Brand)

In a large bowl whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a food processor, pulse the butter and brown sugar together until creamed. Add the egg and molasses and pulse until well combined.

Add in the flour/spice mixture all at once and pulse until everything is completely incorporated. The dough will be very sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour.

Set a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter, and spoon the dough onto it. Wrap the dough up in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the next day.

When you’re ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then roll the dough 1/4 an inch thick on a lightly floured surface, and cut with cookie cutters. Place cut outs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Transfer the cookies (left on the parchment) to a wire rack to cool immediately out of the oven.

Once cool, frost with royal icing* and decorations of your choosing. Enjoy!

For the simple decoration seen above, I just followed the directions on the back of my meringue powder, and added white food coloring (as an extra precaution, but certainly not necessary) to keep the frosting from turning yellow due to the butter content in the cookies.

King Arthur Square Bake and Give Pans with Lids

Mini Reindeer Cookie Cutter

Red and White Baker’s Twine

EK Success Real Estate Sign Paper Punch

Rose Cake

I received a comment from Lisa (Hi!) and she requested some information on this cake - which previously was nothing more than a  photo in a birthday collage I’d thrown together earlier this year.  See, I do read comments!

Anywho, this is the rose cake. . . and I love it.  Like me, you’ve probably seen these rose cakes everywhere, and they are so much fun.  I wanted to do something a little different with mine – I wanted a strawberry cake (something about strawberry just screams summer to me) covered in colored roses.  And I wanted them layered so some actually stand taller than the others, for visual interest.  For the recipes, see below.  For a great tutorial, click here.

To layer the roses (on the top of the cake only), simply pipe a rose over the bare space between roses.

Although this particular cake was a soft Strawberry Cake, I think a lovely white cake (just omit the sprinkles unless you want a “funfetti” cake) would also make for a stunning interior.

Super Soft Strawberry Cake Adapted from Family Circle Magazine

3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons strawberry liqueur
1 cup buttermilk
Red food coloring
2/3 cup diced strawberries
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray three 9 inch (round) cake pans with PAM spray and line with parchment.  Set aside.

Whisk the cake flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.  In a large bowl, cream the shortening and 1 ½ cups of sugar together.  Beat in the vanilla and the liqueur until combined.

Next, in three additions beat in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk – beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

When the flour and buttermilk are completely incorporated, add the diced strawberries and a few drops of red food coloring.*

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy and add the cream of tartar, and gradually add the remaining ½ cup sugar.  Continue beating until stiff peaks have formed.

Gently stir some of the stiff egg whites into the batter.  Then fold in the remaining egg whites until completely incorporated.

Divide the batter between the three prepared cake pans and bake in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until done.  Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan (placed on top of a cooling rack).  After 10 minutes, turn the cakes out onto the wire rack to continue cooling.**

*The cake lightens up after baking, so I like to add enough color for the batter to be a shade or two darker than my desired color.

**My sister-in-law (Hi Lisa!) shared this tip with me – it not only keeps your cake really moist, but it also helps when assembling layer cakes.  Instead of cooling on the wire rack after the 10 minute cooling period in the pan, turn the cakes out onto plastic wrap and carefully (they’re hot!) wrap them up.  Then wrap each layer in foil and stack them on a cutting board (or cookie sheet) and place them in the freezer for at least an hour.

Click here to get the recipe for my favorite Italian Meringue Buttercream.  It’s delicious and the perfect consistency for piping frosting.

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

I’m not a big peanut butter fan, but when I am in the mood for peanut butter these are the cookies I like to make.  They’re super soft and add just the right amount of sweetness to counteract any bitterness from the peanut butter.  Does anyone else think peanut butter is bitter?

The trick to keeping these beauties super soft, is really simple.  Don’t over bake them!  In fact, I take them out of the oven and let them cool directly on the baking sheet.

Don’t be like my husband and eat one right out of the oven, unless you like gooey peanut butter dough.  Just be patient and let them cool for 45 minutes to an hour and they’ll be perfect.  I promise!

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies Adapted from Ghoulish Goodies (I know, great title, right?!)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup smooth peanut butter (I use Skippy Natural)

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 – 2 3/4 cups flour (more on this in a minute)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment.  Set aside.

Using your beaters, cream the butter, brown sugar, sugar, and peanut butter together until creamy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.

Add 2 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.  Beat until the flour is completely incorporated.

Take a cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 Tbsp size) and scoop out some cookie dough to “test” if there is enough flour.  Another secret to soft peanut butter cookies – less flour!

To “test” the cookie dough, roll that scoop of dough in between your hands to make a ball and place it on the parchment-lined baking sheet.  Take a fork and gently press the tines into the ball of dough flattening it.  Lift up and repeat on the other side, making a crisscross pattern.

If the dough is too sticky to make the crisscross, then throw it back into the bowl with the rest of the dough and add another 1/4 cup of flour and retest.

Once you’re able to make the crisscross pattern with minimal stickness (my dough still had some, but that’s good because it means softer cookies!) Then pop the cookies into the oven for 12 minutes.

When done, leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 45 minutes, or an hour, to cool completely.  Enjoy!

*I like to freeze the cookie dough.  To do this, simply do everything except don’t put them in the oven, instead place them in the freezer, and take them out after an hour and place in a ziploc bag.  Frozen cookies take about 20 minutes to bake.

Candy Apple Whip

You’ve probably seen this “salad” around the web. . .I think it’s known as “snickers salad.”  I love the concept of a dense whipped cream base loaded with crisp apples and chewy bits of candy, but I can’t in good conscience call it a salad – it’s a dessert!

No matter what you choose to call it, it’s delish, and it’s the perfect time to make it with all those leftover Halloween candy bars.

Candy Apple Whip

4 ounces cream cheese (full-fat)

1/2 cup powdered sugar (dip and scoop method)

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

1 granny smith apple, peeled and sliced into chunks

4 small snickers, baby ruth, milky way, and/or 3 musketeers bars – chopped

Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth.  Slowly add the heavy whipping cream and beat until nice and fluffy.  Taste to make sure you’ve added enough powdered sugar, and adjust as needed.

Add the apple and chopped candy bars.  Stir together and serve, or refrigerate until serving time.  Enjoy!

Fishing Pole Cupcakes (for a Fishing Party)

I saw these cupcakes here, and fell in love with them.  I knew they’d be the perfect sweet ending for my son’s Fishing Party.

I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe, filled them with freshly sweetened whipped cream (because everyone loves a surprise cream center), and topped them with ganache.

Then I frosted them with my favorite frosting recipe (tinted blue) and decorated with pretzel rod and goldfish connected with a white frosting “fishing line.”  Super easy!

Spiced Apple Hand Pies

My daughter wanted to make apple hand pies, and after I saw this post I knew exactly what recipe I was going to use for the crust.  It’s basically a short-cut puff pastry, and it’s flaky and fun to work with.

We used these cutters for the star.  The trick to using these, is to push the cutter by the base into the dough (like a cookie cutter), then push the plunger down and lift out.  Next, you can push the plunger and out pops the dough shape.

Pie Dough Adapted from this post

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup cold butter, divided and cut into 16 pieces

1/2 cup cold sour cream, full fat

In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and baking powder and pulse until combined.  Next, add 1/2 cup (which is 1 stick or, 8 pieces) of butter and pulse until crumbly.  Then add the remaining stick of butter (cut into chunks) and pulse for just a few seconds.

*You want big chunks of butter in the dough so that when you fold it you create layers of butter that puff up really nicely in the oven.

Pour mixture into a bowl and add the sour cream.  Stir until the dough starts to form a ball, and then roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface.  Fold the bottom up,  then the top down, and turn it so the fold is on your left, and roll it again, repeating the folding.

Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for an hour, or overnight.

When you’re ready to roll out the dough, place it on a lightly floured surface and roll to about 1/4 inch thick.  Then cut it into rectangles (a pizza cutter works well for this).

Next, scoop some filling in the center of one pastry, and place a star cut-out pastry on top and then crimp the edges with a fork, and brush with egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 Tablespoon water).

Next, place the star cut-outs on the egg washed pastry and press gently to adhere, then coat the star accent with egg wash.  Bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 18 minutes.

Coat with glaze (see recipe below) while still hot.

Enjoy!

Apple Filling

3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and cut into chunks

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

pinch of salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Toss the apples into a bowl with the cornstarch, sugar, and cinnamon and stir to coat.  Next, add the salt and lemon juice and continue to mix until the apples are completely coated.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter over medium heat, and pour in the apple mixture.  Cook until the apple mixture thickens, about 5 to 8 minutes.  If it becomes too thick, add water a Tablespoon at a time until it loosens.

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  Take off the heat and set aside to fill pastries.

*The apples shouldn’t be completely cooked down, since they’ll continue to cook when the pastry is baked.

Glaze Adapted from this post

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

1 Tablespoon milk

Whisk together until there are no lumps.  Add more milk as necessary.  Brush onto hot pastries to create that beautiful shine.

Linking to Jam Hands, Lil’ Luna