National Chocolate Day

Image from theyummylife.com blog

January 24 was National Chocolate Day. Personally I'm not a huge fan of chocolate. I would rather have some Sweedish Fish or Sour Patch Kids than chocolate but there are times that I do enjoy a nice dark chocolate bar, or a Charleston Chew, or an Almond Joy. My husband on the other hand has a problem. He IS a chocoholic, just like his mom. Chocolate can't be kept in the house because he'll sniff it out and eat it even if it isn't the type of chocolate he likes. I've been looking at Pinterest for some fast and easy ideas for Valentine's day and I came across this recipe for Brownie Lava Cakes. Since they are individual, I won't have to worry about having left-overs and any left-overs can be given away to other chocoholics.

This recipe is really simple and even though it isn't from scratch, I'm still making it for Valentine's Day. What you will need is a brownie mix, eggs, canola oil, water, Dove Chocolate Promises (dark), ramekins/custard cups/mason jars. It is suggested to use Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge mix. The family size will yield 8 cakes so if you want a smaller number, grab a smaller size box. Custard Cups allow you to see what is going on and they make a rounded shape once they come out of the cup unlike ramekins, which will give you a flat bottom.

Pour the Brownie Mix in a bowl and whisk it until all the lumps are out. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, water, and canola oil as suggested on the back of the mix box. Add another egg to what is required for a cake-like texture. (So if it requires 2 eggs, add 3). Mix the egg mixture in with the brownie mix and stir until incorporated and not lumpy. Prepare custard cups/ramekins by spraying with PAM or another type of cooking spray. Dust with dry brownie mix so the outside of the cake won't be white as it would if you used flour. Add 1/2 c of the brownie mixture to the cups/ramekins. Stack 2 Dove Chocolate Promises in the middle of the cup, pushing down through the batter and then use a knife to spread some batter over the tops of the chocolate. Cook in the Microwave, yes Microwave, on full power for 1 minute. Each microwave is different so cook one first and add additional time as needed. You can cook up to 4 cups at the same time just add 30 more seconds per additional cup. Once done cooking, use a knife to go around the edges of the cake to separate it from a jar, and invert over a plate. Some of the brownie and lava might stick to the bottom but you should still get a nice 'volcanic-like' cake. Top with whipped cream and fruit or even more molten lava (chocolate) and enjoy.

If you want, you can use the mason jars (1/2 pint) and just eat out of the jar. I'm planning on doing this since I have a ton of mason jars around and I won't have to worry about washing more dishes.Last year I made individual Chocolate souffles so this will be a fun treat to enjoy on Valentine's Day.

Been awhile...

Yes it has been awhile since I've posted a blog about the bakery. To be honest with you once the Holidays hit, the last thing on my mind was posting a blog. So since I have some downtime between baking, I figured I would try to do a catch-up blog and hopefully I'll be able to post more frequently in the weeks to come.

The rest of 2012 went by fast and had us extremely busy. We still participated in our Hingham Market on Saturdays and then ended up doing the Thanksgiving Celebration Harvest Market the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had tons of apple, pecan, and pumpkin pies fly out the door during this time. We caught our breath for a few days before we plunged into the Hingham Holiday Market the beginning of December and this started another busy month for us.

Simpson Spring Co., located in Easton, MA., opened their doors to vendors for a Wintertime market. Vendors from the Easton Summertime market along with vendors from other markets converge on Simpson Spring every Saturday through the winter from 10-2. Some vendors are there every week and some are there bimonthly. There are several bakeries bringing bread and sweets. There is local farm bringing in root veggies and other produce. There are a few cheese vendors, a pickle vendor, a pasta vendor, a seafood vendor, a jellies/jam vendor along, a honey vendor, an olive oil vendor... the list goes on. We are there again this coming weekend, Feb. 9 but won't be back until the first weekend in March. If you are in the area, stop on by. You can take a tour of the oldest bottling company and take home some soda, fizzy water, or plain water (or as my friends in Europe say, flat water). I can personally recommend the White Birch Beer and the Ginger Ale.

The last few weeks have had us celebrating, National Chocolate Day, National Pie Day, and today is National Pancake Day.  I'll post some recipes dealing with chocolate and pie...maybe one that has both in it later. Here is real simple recipe for Banana Pancakes that are Paleo. All you need is 2 ripe bananas, 1 egg, and 1 TBSP nut butter (almond is good), and some coconut oil. Mush up the bananas; it's okay to have lumps. Add egg and butter to the bananas and mix until you get the consistency of pancake batter. Heat up some coconut oil in a pan and make pancakes. You don't really need syrup for them but if you do, try Nutting Farm's Maple Syrup. We use their products in some of our baked items and they are delicious. I have a hard time not eating the Maple Cream straight from the jar!

Valentine's Day is next Thursday. If you are looking for something different than just a box of chocolates, we offer a wide variety of chocolate items that are delicious. We also offer cookie and cupcake bouquets. Make sure to place orders by Sunday. Local Delivery will be happening on 2/13 and 2/14 or you can pick up your order at our location, whichever is easier for you.

Well, that's about it for now. Enjoy the cool weather and we hope to see you on Saturday.

Chocolate Tiramisu

My husband loves chocolate and with Valentine's Day just around the corner, I figured I would make a nice dinner and dessert to celebrate. Last year I made a chocolate souffle recipe and chocolate covered strawberries. While going through the stacks of recipes I've ripped out of magazines or scribbled down on a piece of paper to try at a later date and time, I found a recipe from the May 2011 Bon Appetite edition. Most of the recipes I have in this stack are dinner or appetizer recipes. This one had two things that my husband likes: coffee and chocolate.  I figured I would try a different take on a tiramisu recipe.

A friend of ours father has a nice Italian restaurant located in Hull, MA called Mezzo Mare and also owns the place right next door called Beach Food Market. The market has the best subs and pizza. You can also find imported goods from Italy at the market. We get our ladyfingers here anytime we make a dessert that calls for ladyfingers. 

This recipes makes a serving for 8 and doesn't really take all that much time to make. I'm halving the recipe since Bob will be the only person eating it. The recipe listed below is the full recipe. Enjoy.

Ingredients: (espresso syrup) 1.5 c espresso or strong coffee, .25 c sugar (tiramisu) 1.75 c mascarpone cheese, 2 TBSP + .5 c sugar, .25 tsp vanilla extract, .5 tsp unflavored gelatin, 4 large egg yolks, 1 c chilled heavy whipping cream, 6 oz bittersweet chocolate*, 48 ladyfingers

Instructions: (1) Stir coffee and sugar in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved, set aside. (2) Combine 1 c of mascarpone cheese, 2 TBSP sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk until blended; cover and chill. (3) Place 1 TBSP water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it; let stand until gelatin softens, 10-15 minutes. (4) Whisk remaining sugar, yolks, 1/4 cup whipping cream and 1/4 cup water in a medium metal bowl to blend. Place bowl over a large saucepan of boiling water (don't let bottom of bowl touch water) and whisk constantly until custard thickens and temperatures reaches 160 on an instant read thermometer, 3-4 minutes. Remove bowl; add gelatin mixture and whisk until dissolved. Return bowl over water and add chocolate and whisk until almost melted. Set aside in a large bowl of ice water and whisk until chocolate is melted and custard is cool, 5-6 minutes. (5) Whisk in the remaining mascarpone. In another medium bowl, beat remaining 3/4 c of chilled cream until firm peaks form. Fold cream into custard in 2 additions to make a chocolate mousse. (6) Spread 1/4 c chocolate mousse in bottom of each eight 1-c ramekins. Dunk ladyfingers in the espresso syrup and arrange in a single layer on top of the mousse. Repeat layering with chocolate mousse and soaked ladyfingers. Spread 2 TBSP mascarpone topping over ladyfingers. Garnish with chocolate shavings and serve.

*Don't exceed 61% cacao. Chop chocolate and save some for shavings for garnish.

*Chocolate Tiramisu recipe by Kriss Harvey. Published in the May 2011 edition of Bon Appetite.