Star Wars R2D2 Birthday Cake

I'm co-habitating with a geek. He tries to hide it from time to time, but he is a little boy at heart.

Week-long, themed birthday celebrations are the norm in our house and this year was no different. Not sure why it took me so many years to actually do 'Geek Week' for my love, but it was a smashing success. From Zombie Insurance to Light Saber Popsicles, each day brought a new present and more fun and they all led up to the grand finale: a homemade R2D2 Replica Birthday Cake.

Creating this Star Wars cake takes time and some patience but it's completely worth it. Bake the cakes ahead of time and freeze them so you can focus on the most important part - decorating. This isn't the time to test out new cake recipes; save yourself a lot of hassle and go with tried and true.

The cake is comprised of six layers: 1 chocolate stout bunt cake, 3 layers of buttermilk white cake, 1 layer of Rice Krispies and 1 layer of Chex Mix Krispies along with two extra pans of rice krispies for the arms and legs, four batches of buttercream frosting and four recipes of homemade fondant. The fondant keeps everything so moist and delicious- this cake lasts days of noshing. It's a big, giant, heavy, delectable cake.

Wow your birthday guy/girl with this R2D2 cake, then deliberate for hours whether you should actually cut into the cake, eventually enjoy a piece out of the back side, then let him take it to work and blow everyone away. The kudos will have you flying high for a week.  

Young or old, pocket protector or not, all fans of Star Wars deserve a Fat and Happy R2D2 Cake at some point. The only real questions is how to out-do this next year??

Polenta Amaranth Cake with Mascarpone, Whipped Cream and Blueberry Sauce

This Gluten Free dessert rounded out a special dinner party, below are a few of the excerpts from this course:

"OMG! This is so good, we didn't wait for you to come back and sit down, we all ate ours already."
"With these flavors, this could be a served as a breakfast dish.?"
"This was gluten free?"
"I licked the dish."

Using polenta and amaranth as the base for the GF cake gives this buttery cake an intriguing nubby-ness texture. The vanilla whipping cream and the mascarpone begin to slowly melt from the heat of the warm cake and the blueberries. Just thinking about it makes me want more.

The polenta amaranth cake comes together in minutes as does making homemade whipping cream. The Blueberry Compote mixture takes the longest to put together at 20 minutes, but this can be made ahead of time and simply rewarmed before serving.

Part of the allure of this dish is the way I served it - in little glass jars. (Glass yogurt jars I emptied out in an Argentinian airport bathroom and smuggled into my luggage!) Besides being ridiculously cute, it helps to keep in the warmth of the cake and contain the melting creams. If you don't happen to have cute jars, this looks great on a plate too- see the photo below. Do serve these in small portions, too much richness can ruin the entire effect.

End your next dinner party with this spectacular Fat and Happy Polenta Amaranth Cake with Mascarpone and Blueberry Compote; beware that your guest may not wait for you to return from the kitchen before they dig in. And that is a good thing.

Rhubarb Strawberry Coffee Cake with Buttermilk Ice Cream

There is a special season that only lasts a few weeks every year and I'm not talking about summer in Chicago. That old adage 'if you blink you will miss it' has never been more appropriate than when talking about rhubarb season.

April showers bring May flowers and pretty red stalks of crisp Rhubarb. So many people think they don't like this fruit disguised vegetable; often it's their own preconceived notions or the reminisce of some disgusting goo made by a distant aunt that slithered away on its own accord, just like in the movie Better Off Dead.

This is nothing like that and the only place the cake is going in your belly. Strawberry and rhubarb are a natural combination; the striking part of the dish comes when that tart, sweet flavor meets the tangy buttermilk ice cream. It turned out so much better than planned that I offered to make it the very next weekend for another party.

It was a good week snacking on this ice cream and cake combination until a trip to the store turned up an empty rhubarb shelf. Rhubarb hunting I went. The next store and the next were all out. The season came and went in less than 2 weeks; looking back I should be happy I was able to bag any.

The Sandwich Cake: Cardamom Pound Cake with Pistacio Butter Filling and Sour Cherry Jelly

Some of my favorite gifts come from my friend Heather. Whimsical and fun gadgets that I wouldn't purchase for myself but love having. One of these treasures came in the form of a sandwich cake
mold. Fill the mold with cake batter, bake, cut the cake in half and add some filling. It looks like a giant sandwich. 

Peanut butter and jelly seemed to be the obvious choice, but since I tend to follow the least traveled path my flavors skewed toward an Indian edge with cardamom, pistachios and orange. But my homemade orange jam turned bitter on me. So a jar of sour cherry spread filled in and completely hit the mark!

The whole thing becomes an adult play on the PB & J. The cake is dense with a tender crumb while the pistachio filling gives it richness that gets a kick from the sour cherry jam. It's a very different cake; a fantastic break from traditional cake flavors.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

Dave's birthday means it's time for a new birthday cake. He gets to decide what 'flavor' he wants and I get to create it. It's a win-win for everyone. This year he asked for a cake that tastes like a chocolate covered cherry.

My goal is always to create something that hasn't been done before because I can't seem to accept simple solutions. Sure you could add some cherries to a box cake and probably get a fairly decent result. But if, for just a little more effort, you could end up with a WOW cake, why not??

The edges of this cake become slightly crunchy while the inside stays moist from the cherry filling. The frosting becomes a filling to emulate the gooey insides of a chocolate covered cherry. And just a little layer of chocolate on top rounds out the mouth feel.

At first bite, the response reads as deep, yummy cherry and chocolate. And the cake is cute to boot! Super for a birthday but there is no reason not to make this Fat and Happy Chocolate Cherry Cake this weekend.

Recipe Swap: Ginger Molasses Frozen Cheesecake Nibs

What: August Recipe Swap
Original Recipe: Sorghum Molasses Cookies
Recreated Recipe: Frozen Ginger Molasses Cheesecake Nibs


This was nearly my first Recipe Swap fail. I was convinced that I needed to create a molasses beer cookie that had an oozing ginger center. I was so close to an amazing, porter based molasses cookie with a creamy ginger center that I could almost taste it. In fact, I did taste it ... a few times. It was so close, but I just couldn't quite get the recipe where it needed to be.


Imagine now that it's Sunday afternoon, just a few mere hours from when my recipe is supposed to be posted and I over tweaked my cookie recipe so much that these cookies now look like sad, flat little tortillas. So much for the puffy, gooey middle.

Almond Cake with Ginger Rosemary Syrup and Grapefruit Ice Cream

Birthdays are special and should be celebrated as such. When I get the chance to help a friend celebrate by making their cake, my goal is to make that cake as memorable as possible. The cake should represent them, their personality and their energy.

This Almond Cake was for a friend who is refined and classic with an refreshingly cool and sassy layer. The ground almonds give the elegant cake it's  grainy-like texture while the ginger syrup keeps the cake mouth-wateringly moist. The grapefruit ice cream brings in a bold punch against the ginger.

An elegant birthday cake by all standards, yet casual enough for any Fat and Happy day.

German Chocolate Ice Cream with Coconut Pecan Caramel Swirl

German Chocolate cake says birthday to me. The tall- tiered cake, dripping in caramel frosting with coconut and pecans, crowned with colorful flickering candles on top... Oh happy day!

Ice cream making mode was on thanks to fresh cream from Oberweis Dairy when the image of this German Chocolate cake came to mind. Why not turn that childhood memory into a super yummy frozen treat?

I set out to make a German Chocolate ice cream rather than a basic ice cream with cake mixed in; the result is super creamy and chocolaty delicious. What really brings the full cake flavor together is the layer of caramel coconut pecan swirl. It's basically frosting for your ice cream, but it stays creamy when frozen.

I couldn't resist adding a candle to the ice cream scoop; this is now embedded in my memory in place of that tiered cake. Kids of all ages will love this Fat and Happy rendition of a birthday classic.

Tips and techniques: I felt like I made just a bit too much frosting swirl and did not layer the entire batch with the ice cream; it just depends on your taste preference. Using all of the swirl will just give a little sweeter ice cream.

German Chocolate Ice Cream with Coconut Pecan Caramel Swirl


German Chocolate Ice Cream

2 cups cream
1 cup half n half
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbls cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
4 ounces of German chocolate
1 cup Greek yogurt

Heat the cream, half and half and 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat, just below boiling. While the cream is heating, whip the egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until they are pale, creamy and doubled in size. Temper the eggs with the hot cream by adding in just a drizzle of the cream to the eggs at a time. This will keep the eggs from cooking or scrambling.

Pour the egg mixture back into the pan and return to medium low heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and vanilla and continue to cook until the custard thickens. Stir often with  a wooden spoon, check the thickness of the custard by running your finger along the back side of the spoon. If the custard is thickened, your finger line will stay.

Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the melted German chocolate and a pinch of salt. Place the custard in an ice bath to cool. Cover and place the custard in the refrigerator overnight to steep.

Before placing in the ice cream maker, stir in the Greek yogurt. Process according to the ice cream makers directions.

Make the Coconut Pecan Caramel Swirl ahead of time so it has time to cool before the ice cream comes out of the ice cream maker, this can be done the night before and kept in the fridge.

To add in the coconut pecan caramel swirl, the best method is to layer it with the ice cream rather than to swirl it in the ice cream maker. Do layer this when the ice cream comes out of the ice cream maker so it is still a little soft and pliable. Choose the container that will hold the ice cream, add a layer of ice cream and then a thinner layer of the German chocolate frosting. Repeat until you have used up all the ice cream and swirl. . Place in the freezer until solid.



Coconut Pecan Caramel Swirl

4 Tbls butter
5 oz evaporated milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 cup coconut
1/2  cup pecans

Place the butter, evaporated milk and brown sugar in a small sauce pan. Bring to a soft boil and hold there for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add in the vanilla and pinch of salt. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut and pecans. Cool, follow the directions above to layer with the German Chocolate Ice Cream.

Recipe Swap: Blueberry Applesauce Wacky Cake with Crumb Topping

 

When this months Recipe Swap recipe came through for a wacky cake, I thought how fun, and what easy cleanup. A wacky cake is one of a group of cakes that were popular in the depression era; popular thanks to their ease and accessibility to cheap ingredients. Containing no eggs or butter, they are stirred together in the same pan as cooked in.

The recipe swap rules state you must change at least 3 ingredients and/or the cooking method; essentially make it your own. Initially I set out to keep true to the depression ease and simplistic-ness of the original recipe and ingredients, but somehow Grand Marnier fell into my cake and it just went from there.

Instead of using cocoa as the base, this was my first opportunity to use one of my new Strange Ingredients a friend sent in, vanilla powder. To keep the calories down, I opted for applesauce in place of the oil, for that reason, the texture of this cake is reminiscent of a quick bread. When you get a good forkful of the cake, a blueberry and the crumb topping, it makes for one good fat and happy bite.




Tips and Techniques: Switch up the flavor of this cake with ease by changing the fruit filling. Try Strawberries, peaches or apples! If you don't have vanilla powder, either add an extra tablespoon of the Grand Marnier or add a teaspoon of liquid vanilla extract.


Burwell General Store Recipe Swap: Blueberry Applesauce Wacky Cake with Crumb Topping


Blueberry Filling for Wacky Cake
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 Tbls sugar
squeeze of lemon
1 tsp corn starch

Make the blueberry filling first.  Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan, cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use. This step can be done a day or two ahead of time.

Butter Crumb Topping
2 Tbls butter, room temperature
2 Tbls flour
2 Tbls powder sugar


Place all the ingredients on a plate, use a fork to mash the dry ingredients into the butter. Once it is all combined, set aside until ready to use.

Vanilla Powder Wacky Cake

1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbls vanilla powder
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup water
1 tsp champagne vinegar
1 Tbls Grand Marnier
5 Tbls applesauce

Have the blueberry filling and the crumb topping ready. Once you add the vinegar to this cake, you need to work quickly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have the one cup of water ready. In a greased 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 baking dish, sift in all the dry ingredients and stir with a fork. Make 3 holes in the flour and place the Grand Marnier in one hole and the applesauce in the second. Quickly add the vinegar to the third and then pour in the water while stirring everything together with a fork.

Spoon the blueberry filling over the top of the cake, and then crumble the butter crumb topping on top of the filling.  Place in the oven until a toothpick comes out just about clean, the crumb topping will not brown so don't look to that as an identifier. My cake took around 40 minutes or so but keep an eye on it - it's better to under cook this than over cook.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly. If serving this warm, a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipping cream would be a fantastic addition.

Please take a moment to visit my fellow Recipe Swappers

Lindsay was the first blogger I asked to do the swap.  I found her blog after a day of surfing around looking for new recipes, and became hooked by the honesty and simplicity written into her recipes. She loves Oregon, its ingredients and Portland's lifestyle, and it shows.

Chef Dennis joined us on the Lemon Cake swap.  A veteran chef in his own right, we are lucky to have his Italian Lemon Pear Cake contribution to the swap.  The rest of his fantastic food blog can be seen at morethanamountfull.

Mari lives in Oregon wine country and is a budding wine connoisseur.  I fell in love with her use of Pinot Gris in the glaze for her (gluten-free!) Lemon Cake swap, which was her inaugural recipe with us. Visit her at The Unexpected Harvest.

Boulder Locavore’s  starting point for the recipe swap is always a local-seasonal-organic combination, though her love of international cuisine and cocktails often work their way into the mix!

Joy, holding down a dairy-intolerant household, doesn't let that restrict her love of flavors and food, in fact, I think it inspires her to do what she does. When you visit her blog, be sure to check out her "ubiquitous about page" and the balcony gardening category.

Monique has been food blogging since 2007, and was very gracious as I talked to her about my personal project of the recipe swap while on a professional work call with her. It must have gone okay, because she joined in, and her first recipe was a BLT-inspired chicken pot pie.  I'm so glad to have her on board.  

Shari is our first International participant!  Writing from down under, we cherish her voice in the swap because she brings the results of additional recipe challenges; the seasons are flipped from where most of us are blogging.  Her first swap was Grandma's Chicken Pie and Drop Biscuits, which she made in the dead of summer.

Jennifer's tag line says it all: Life is too short to eat bad food.  At her blog, Adventuresome Kitchen, you will find a passionate food-type, feeding her family amazing meals and living to blog about it. Jennifer joined in at Grandma's Chicken Pie and Drop Biscuits. 

The Cake Duchess.  The name says it all, and Lora's recipes are rock solid, creative, decadent, inspiring. What other adjectives can I throw at her?  Her innaugural recipe was Grandma's Chicken Pie and Drop Biscuits, a rare savory recipe for her to develop. 

Pola is a new blogger from Italy, transplanted to the cold Midwestern plains. After years of calling mom to check on cooking times and temperatures of family Italian recipes, she started writing them down. In the process, she is hoping to help new friends discover how to cook simple and authentic Italian food. 

Mary is a lifelong resident of the San Francisco Peninsula and was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2007. Her search fora  gluten-free chocolate chip cooke that didn't taste, look or feel gluten-free inspired her blog and she's been happily baking ever since.

Jamie blogs at Random Acts of Food and has a love for food that only an Italian could! She enjoys cooking and baking in all cuisines for her family and friends.  Originally from Long Island, Jamie now resides in Boston with her amazing boyfriend.

Crissy and Lauren are two recent college graduates who are embracing their passion for all things culinary in the smallest yellow kitchen that ever was.  Their balanced diet of equal parts savory and sweet helps them add a little zest to what they do best!

Claire blogs with Texas pride from Dallas. She loves chicken fingers, Law and Order SVU and is left handed. We are excited to have her!

Nay blogs about food at Spicy Living from Portland, Oregon, and joined in on the Lemon Cake swap.  She incorporated lavender and lemon into cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Cindy, co-worker, food lover, all-around awesome person.  I may have guilted her into the swap, and then I found out her knowledge about US restaurants is almost encyclopedic so I know she's game. Check out her quirky and fun blog.

Sabrina Modelle blogs at The Tomato Tart from the San Francisco bay area, and for her first swap (the Lemon Cake) she made a Brown Sugar Lemon Rosemary Cake with Rosemary Caramel.  How's that for inspiration?

Blizzard Baileys, Kahlua and Chocolate Scones

Chicago has been hit by a blizzard.  A real bona fide blizzard. On Facebook this morning I counted 5 different nicknames for this Blizzard of 2011: 
Snowtorius 2011
Snowpocalypse
Snowpocolypsamaggedon
Snowacan
Blizzaster



Last night there was thundersleet and thundersnow- it was actually lightening and thundering during the snow storm. This clip from Weather.com caught the action of both the thunder and lightening, check it out- it's cool!

So along with the snow was the horrendous wind that found it's way through our windows, under the doors and down the vents. It's been chilly in here. When I woke up this morning I put a little Baileys in my coffee to warm up. And then I thought how great a scone would be great with my coffee. Then I thought how great would it be if there was Baileys in my scone?  With Kahlua and chocolate too???

Before I knew what hit me the the oven was on and my hands were in a bowl of flour. I like to use applesauce in scones to keep the fat down, but do apples and Baileys really go together? And do calories count during a blizzard? After a few modifications to one of my classic scone recipes, the scones were nestled in a toasty oven doing there thing.

I'm just going to say it, sooo goood! Warm, moist, dense and fluffy all at the same time. The chocolate chips are needed to add depth to the Baileys and Kahlua so don't skip them. It's like a breakfast cookie, absolutely fabulous and a perfect start to a Fat and Happy snow day!

Tips and Techniques:  You can make these ahead of time, form them into shapes, lay flat on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, pile them into a freezer bag. When you are ready to bake, simply drop on a cookie sheet, brush with milk and bake. I added just a touch of protein to these scones by using cooked quinoa, you could easily substitute dry oatmeal instead but I would also add a few tablespoons of milk as well.

Secret Ingredient:  My friend Marianne brought me a secret ingredient a few weeks ago, as I thought about these scones this morning the first thing that came to mind was how that the crystallized honey would make a super topping in place of sugar. It gives a nice mild honey flavor that blends with the liquor. Thanks Marianne!


Baileys, Kahlua and Chocolate Scones

2 cups flour

1/3 turbinado sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbls cooked quinoa
1/4 - 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Tbls chilled butter
1/3 cup Baileys
1/3 scant cup Kahlua

3 Tbls olive oil
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
For topping (optional):  milk, crystallized honey or turbinado sugar, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and quinoa).  In a smaller bowl mix the wet ingredients (Baileys, Kahlua, olive oil, egg yolk and vanilla).  Cut the chilled butter into smaller pieces and add to the dry ingredients. 

Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour until the butter forms pea-sized pieces. Add in the wet ingredients and mix with a fork just to combine everything.  Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Remove from the frig, sprinkle a little powder sugar on the counter and pat out the dough to desired height (I go for roughly 1/2 inch).  Use a knife to cut the dough into triangles. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush the tops with milk or egg, then top with desired toppings (crystallized honey, turbinado sugar or cocoa nibs.) 

Bake at 375 degrees for about 16 minutes (depending on the size of your scones.)  The scones will be nicely browned on the bottom and lightly browned on top. The are best enjoyed the same day.

Chocolate Beet Mousse Torte with Golden Beet Reduction

 I didn't invent the idea of baking with vegetables; after all, zucchini bread and carrot cake have been around since the middle ages or something like that.  Yet somehow, beets in chocolate cake seem pretty far fetched. 

Think about it this way, beets become super sweet when they roast. And if you grate the beet fine enough, you wont even notice them in the torte. In fact, they add depth to the chocolate by giving a little hint of earthiness.

Now, a chocolate beet cake isn't exactly new either, but my torte twist reinvents this to an even more decadently dense and healthy dessert by eliminating the butter, The result is so rich, moist and mousse like, you'll only need a tiny piece. The golden beet sweet reduction sauce offers sweetness with a colorful punch of nutrients. Our ancestors knew something about vegetables- hide them in baked goods! Listen to your elders, you and your loved ones will be nutritiously  Fat and Happy with Chocolate Beet Mousse Torte.

Tips and Techniques: You can use red or yellow beets here, both will 'hide' in the chocolate and make a lovely colored reduction.

Chocolate Beet Mousse Torte with Golden Beet Reduction

2 oz semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 Tbls sugar
2 Tbls cocoa powder
1/4 tsp coffee beans, ground super fine

1 cup beets, raw (2 small red or golden beets)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

Peel and clean the beet. Grate the beets using the finest grater available. Place the gated beets, water and sugar in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until the beets are completely tender.

In the meantime, whip the 2 egg whites with one tablespoon of sugar using electric hand beater or mixer, set aside.  Whip the one egg until pale and fluffy.

Melt the chocolate (either in a double broiler or in the microwave being careful not to burn it.) Add the one egg, the coffee grinds and the cocoa powder and mix.  Strain the beets, reserve the liquid, add beets and one tablespoon of the beet liquid to the chocolate, mix.

Gently fold in half of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the second half.  Pour batter into a buttered spring form pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. This torte is so moist you won't be able to test doneness with toothpick.  Lightly touch the top, if it doesn't leave a full dent, the cake is done.

While the cake is baking, place the reserved beet juice in small sauce pan, simmer until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes), set aside to cool.

Remove from the oven and cool. Remove the sides of the spring form pan. Drizzle each piece with the sweet beet sauce.  Add a dusting of powder sugar if desired by placing a few tablespoons into a sifter and lightly tap the sifter with the heel of your hand.

Layered Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Dave doesn't ask for much... football on Sundays, a good beer and The Amazing Malted Milk Ball Cake once a year on his birthday.  This year, Ed Debevic's would not sell me the malt powder I use to create this unbelievably fudgey, delectably grainy, giant malted milk ball cake.

It was too late to order the malt powder online, and unfortunately it's not something that is for sale in a regular grocery store... and I needed to make the cake that day. So Dave's 2nd choice was for a chocolate peanut butter cake...sounds doable. Starting with the malt cake base, I modified a bit here and there and came up with this 4 layer chocolate peanut butter cake with two layers of milk chocolate, a layer of meringue, a layer of krispie peanut butter and a dark chocolate ganache to finish off it off.  Yum.

To be fair, neither Dave nor I (nor Mitch) thought it surpassed the Malt Cake but we still ate it. In fact a few people from our Thanksgiving Left Overs party have already asked for the recipe- so it doesn't suck!

Seriously, this is a super decadent cake with a nice chocolate and peanut butter mix. Moral of the story is that when you can't count on someone else for an ingredient, punt and make a great cake anyway. Give it whirl for your next big fat and happy occasion.

Tips and Techniques: I've slightly modified the recipe below from my original recipe to help this cake be slightly lighter and fluffier. Let me know how it works out for you!

Layered Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Meringue
2 egg whites,
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Whip the egg whites on medium until soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar and the vanilla, continue to whip on high until the whites are shiny with stiff peaks

Spread the whites on the parchment paper in a circle the size of the cake pans. Bake for about 2 hours until the meringue is dried out.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup boiling water

Sift the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together.  Cream the sugar, butter and the peanut butter together.  Add in the eggs (one at a time), the buttermilk and the vanilla.  Combine the dry ingredients with the butter mixture.

Carefully add the boiling water to mixing bowl, mix to combine.  Grease 2  round cake pans, divide the mixture in half.  Bake for about 15 minutes on 375 degrees, or until a toothpick come out just clean.  Careful not to over-bake. Remove from oven and cool.

Peanut Butter Frosting Layer
1 cup peanut butter, creamy
1 1/2 cup powder sugar
1 1/2 cup rice krispies

Whip the peanut butter and the powder sugar together until fluffy.  Gently fold in the rice krispies.

Milk Chocolate Frosting Layer
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 -2 Tbls cream
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup powder sugar

Warm the milk chocolate chips in a bowl over steaming water (or for few seconds in the microwave, but be very careful not to burn the chocolate).  Add in the cream cheese, the cream and the powder sugar; whip until fluffy. Add in more cream if the frosting is too thick.

Dark Chocolate Ganache
1 cup dark chocolate (pick a good dark chocolate bar, chopped, or chips)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Assemble the cake first and then make this ganache so you can pour over the cake while the ganache is still warm.  Put the chocolate in a bowl and heat the cream until it is steaming but do not boil.  Pour over the chocolate and allow it to melt the chocolate for a minute.  Mix it all together until smooth. Add more cream if the mixture is too thick.

Putting the cake and frosting layers together

Remove the cakes from the cake pan, slice the cakes horizontally so that you have 4 layers.  Place one layer on a cake tray, slather half of the milk chocolate frosting on top.  Place another cake layer on top of the chocolate frosting, top with the meringue and then top with the peanut butter frosting.

Add another layer of chocolate cake, the remaining chocolate frosting and then the final chocolate cake layer.  The final step is to drizzle the warm ganache over the top of the cake, allowing some of the ganache to drizzle down the sides.

Mini Lemon Basil Polenta Cake with Limoncello Glaze

Chicago is an amazing city for free events, sure we have the highest taxes in the country but it's all the more reason to actually attend the free events and concerts. Many of these concerts are held at Millennium park, it's a cool steel stage setting with the gruff city as a backdrop. Add a few friends, a picnic basket of goodies and a couple bottles wine and it's a great night out in the city.

This month we enjoyed  the Lyric Opera and also the introduction of Munti, the long awaited conductor for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. There is something iconic about watching an opera while sitting in a park with the grit of the city surrounding you.


We had less than hour for me to create a dessert for our picnic, so it had to be easy, portable, cook quickly and be made with ingredients I had on hand.  Probably not the best time to create a new recipe, but the use of polenta against the lemon and basil became reminiscent of listening to the opera in the middle of Chicago, delightful, packed with lemon omph and a slightly undertone of grit ...sort of like fat and happy. How fitting for the occasion.

Tips and Techniques:  I turned the cake out of the pan and used a small 1" round cutter to create the mini cakes. Take the scraps and make mini little parfaits for the next day. You can also leave the cake in the pan and just serve squares if you prefer. 

Mini Lemon Basil Pine Nut Polenta cake with Limoncello Glaze and Mascarpone Whipped Cream

 1/4 + 1 Tbls cup semolina flour
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 + 1 Tbls cup buttermilk
3 Tbls honey
3 Tbls melted butter
10 basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts

Mix dry ingredients with a fork, combine the wet ingredients (the egg, buttermilk and honey) in a separate bowl and add to the dry. Stir just to incorporate.  Fold in the basil leaves and the melted butter.

Pour the batter into a small greased or parchment paper lined 8x9" cake pan (these will only be about 1" tall); sprinkle the pine nuts on top. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until the middle is set and the edges begin to turn slightly golden brown.


Limoncello Glaze
 
4 tbls butter
1 lemon, juiced and zested
3/4 cup powder sugar
2 Tbls limoncello
4 basil leaves, whole

Mix the glaze while the cake is cooking. Melt the butter, whisk in the remaining ingredients. Set aside until the cake is removed from the oven, I like to keep this on the warm stove while the cake is cooking. Remove cake from the oven, let rest for 5 minutes.  If you are removing the cake from the pan, do so now.

Remove the basil leaves from the glaze and drizzle the entire lemon glaze over the cake.  Top each mini cake a dollop with Mascarpone whipped cream and serve immediately or at room temperature.


Mascarpone Whipped Cream

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup mascarpone
1/4 - 1/2 cup powder sugar (more for a stiffer, sweeter cream)
1 tsp vanilla

Whip all ingredients until soft peaks are formed.

Amazing Malted Milk Ball (Whoppers) Deep Dish Cake

Did you ever watch that Seinfeld episode where George says something really funny in a meeting- and realizes that he'll never be able to follow it up- so he announces "I'm out!" and leaves the meeting on a high note?

This cake is my George-moment! Swear to God I may never make anything as amazing as this ever again! Ever! In fact, Dave is questioning my ability to actually re-make this cake (although I'm pretty sure he's just saying that just to get me to make it again!) I did create this for Dave's birthday since he is such a Whopper fan! I'm telling you this cake is like eating a giant, moist, chewy malted milk ball. It's unbelievable.

In a rare Monique experience- I actually tried to keep meticulous notes...well, notes anyway. Perhaps not meticulous. While in the midst of creating this, no one would have never thought this cake was going to work out.

Before you jump into making this cake- I feel the need to forewarn that there are some steps involved, it's a bit of a process. And the cake is not going to look or bake like a normal cake, at all! It may look like its going to rise, but it falls, and you can't rely on the toothpick to be clean, it's too fudge-y to come out clean. Another really important piece is that you have to use real malt powder! And you can't get that stuff at normal stores. I went to a malt shop (Ed Debevic's) and talked them into selling me some. Do not attempt this with say- carnation powder, it is not the same.

But the rewards of this cake soooo far outweigh the risks. The fudge-like cake and the frosting turn the meringue into gooey, chewy center that is so hard to even describe. You will be a God, on a pedestal if you can pull off this cake! Seriously! Amazing!


The Amazing Malted Milk Ball (Whoppers) Deep Dish Cake

Malted Meringue

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

3 egg whites, whip on medium until soft peaks form.
slowly add
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Add 1/2 cup of malt powder
continue to whip until the whites are shiny with stiff peaks
(don't worry if the white fall, they will still work. Trust me!)

Spread the whites on the parchment paper. I made several smaller meringues rather than one large one.

Bake for about 2 hours. You can start them at night and shut the oven off and leave them till morning.


Malted Cake
Mix:
1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour-
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup malt powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons salt

Cream in a stand mixer:
1 cup sugar
1 cup melted butter

Add to the stand mixer:
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Now combine the wet and dry in the mixer, blend slightly, and then add:

3/4 cup boiling water

Pour this into 2 round greased cake pans (the batter will be somewhat thin)
Bake at 350 degrees. Now, you need this to just set up- when you stick the toothpick in- it's going to still come out with fudge on it. When I first baked this, I did this in one cake round -and it worked but also dripped over the edge and onto the oven. So I suggest using 2 basic 9" round cake pans. So for my one- I took me over an 1 hr to bake this. So I would try for around 35-45 minutes for two. Cool.

Make the frosting while the cake is baking

Malted Frosting

Beat with hand blender until it's all smooth:
½ Cup of malt powder
1 Cup of chocolate chips, melted
½ cup cream cheese
½ cup cream

Add and blend again:
1 cup powder sugar

Now add the final malt powder:
½ cup malt powder
-don't beat too much. This last addition should actually stay somewhat grainy in the frosting - which helps give the grainy feel similar to a whopper!

Putting it all together
Place one layer of the malt cake in a deep dish casserole-like dish. You might have to push the edged in some, remember its a gooey cake so it's forgiving.

Place a layer of the meringues in next. Divide the frosting in two. Add a layer of frosting on top of the meringues. Now add the second layer of cake on top- again, pushing all the edges in and down. Add the final layer of frosting. Decorate the top with malted milk balls.

I kept this in the fridge and it lasted for over a week.