Using Up Halloween Treats 2: Crispy Crunchy Cake

Yes Halloween has been over for awhile now but good thing about candy, they pretty much last forever with that much sugar...

But you only live once!



So...



Crispy Crunchy Cake, as you might have guessed it's made with the candy bar, Crispy Crunch.



They're peanut buttery but somehow it's has a lot of bite into it and really good. So I decided I want to not really do anything to the candy bars because I want to keep that crunch. Then I wanted cake and duh, chocolate cake for a chocolate bar! Which somehow jump started this whole chain of perfect combinations which starts with peanut butter -> chocolate -> bananas -> Nutella!

So it ended up with a moist chocolate cake filled with bananas, Nutella frosting, and covered in Crispy Crunch.

Okay I'm going split the recipe in the categories of "making the chocolate cake" and "decorating the cake" and the second part is...quite picture heavy I must say.

Crispy Crunch Cake

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Flour - 300g (2 1/5 cups according to Yahoo answers 140g unsifted flour = cup...buy a scale already!)
Cocoa powder - 100 grams (3/4 cup)
Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon
Baking Powder - 1/2 tablespoon
Salt - a pinch
White sugar - 200g (1 cup)
Brown Sugar - 200g (bit less than 1 cup? It's supposed to be 220g for 1 cup for brown sugar)
Butter - 200g, cubed (1 1/2 cup, if you have a block uh...just cut it a bit smaller than half it's also about two sticks)
Shortening - 50g (1/4 cup)
Cream - 100 ml

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325
2. Cream the room temperature butter and shortening with the sugars until light and well incorporated.
3. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and 100ml of the cream
4. Add the eggs slowly, one at a time at low speed until well incorporated, then turn the speed to high till the batter starts getting fluffier. Add the melted chocolate.
5. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add to the batter at slow speed.
6. Turn up the speed till the batter is light and fluffy.

Like so. You can see I added some candy bar bits but I don't think you should because it melted anyways and the flavour gets lost in the chocolate.
7. Pour the batter into two 7 inch pans and put in the oven, middle rack.
8. Take out after 30 minutes or check with a toothpick (when it does come out clean, have a feel for the cake so you know how it feels when it's done.)
9. Let the cake rest until it's room temperature.

Decorating The Cake

Ingredients
Crispy Crunch - 15 small bars (or you can use like 4 big bars)
Nutella - 250g (they come in 400g jars so half of that and then two big spoonfuls)
Unsweetened chocolate - 100g
White chocolate - a small handful
Cream - 400 ml
Bananas - 4-5, ripe (there should be a few dots on them, but not full of dots)

Instructions

1. Now make the frosting, whip 390ml of the cream till it's firm (shouldn't drop if you hold it upside down)

2. In low speed, add the nutella, then turn it back to high speed until well incorporated. Keep the frosting in the fridge until it's time to use it.

3. Once the cake is cool, cut the top part (the part that looks like a dome) so the cake will be flat...like a perfect cylinder. Than cut the cakes in half, making four cake layers. If you're wondering why one of the layers there is different looking...I dropped the pan mid bake and it collapsed within itslef, it's more condensed.
4. Now you only need three of the layers because I thought it's a bit tall with four layers but you can if you want to.

5. Add a bit of the frosting to one of the cake layers, spread it around with a palette knife but not all the way to the edge.

6. Cut the bananas in half, lengthwise.

7. Line the bananas at the edge, as you can see, the pressure from the bananas kinda pushed the frosting to the edge, it would've went overboard if you spread the frosting all the way to the edge in the first place.

8. Put as much bananas as possible.

9. Fill in the gaps with more frosting.

10. Chop 6 of the candy bars (1 1/2 large one), sprinkle the chopped candy bar on top of the bananas.

11. Repeat with the second layer and then top it off with the final layer.

12. Pour most of the frosting on the top of the cake. Using a palette knife, spread the frosting on top, pushing the frosting to fall down on the sides until there's a thin but adequate layer on top.

13. Just run the palette knife around the cake to spread the frosting thoroughly. If there isn't enough to cover the cake, if there is not enough, add more frosting, but you have to do the same as in step 11, add it to the top and use the palette knife to spread it.

14. Chop up the rest of the candy bar. Just grab a handful and gently pat it on the edges. Then transfer the cake to a cake board or whatever you plan to hold your cake.
15. Now melt the white chocolate with the 10 ml of cream.

16. Using a spoon, just randomly drizzle circles on top.

17. Get a fork and drag it from top to bottom in lines.

Instantly looks more professional!

Phew! Typing it all out was more tiring than the actual process (fortunately for everyone who wants to make this cake...unfortunate for me who had to type all that.)

I have to say, I think the cake looks alright for me, who never really had to do much cake decorating (it's why I make cupcakes...so I don't have to deal with this bullshit).


Of course you have to look at the inner beauty as well. It's not just a pretty cake, it has a lot of layers, very complex.


Everyone wants a piece of it!

Well...this cake is just really indulgent which is great for those days when you just want something sweet to make your day happier. Like everything good just comes together, chocolate, banana, Nutella, peanut butter. I love the bit of crunch that the candy bar gives.

The Blogging Dead: Chewy Chocolate Burnt Almond Cookies

I won't say "I'm back!" cause everytime I say that I don't really. So I'll just say I'm like a zombie, I'm back but not quite the same.

Anyways, one of my close friends who went abroad (or a few cities away) for a Frech program recently came back for a visit so what better way to send her off than with a batch of warm homemade cookies?

She loves all things chocolate and she loves almonds which is great cause that was kinda all the ingredients I had. So I decided to put my own twist on the chocolate almond cookie...which isn't really a thing...but it's a common pairing.


I also got a new camera that has like double the mega pixels!

Chewy Chocolate Burnt Almond Cookies
Servings: 20 cookies

I'm going to separate the dry ingredients and wet ingredients because in this recipe you prepare them separately and just mix it together in the end.

Dry Ingredients:
All-Purpose Flour - 225g (uh, just measure one cup and take two tablespoons out it'll be about that?)
Cocoa powder - 75g (quarter cup and one tablespoon)
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Baking soda - 1 teaspoon
Almonds - 25 (I just guesstimated how much I needed though it's up to how much you like almonds)

Instructions:
1. First sift all the dry ingredients minus the almonds and put it aside
2. For the almonds, just cut it into small pieces (size is up to you, that's the good thing about cooking, it's really personal)
3. Turn on the stove with a pan on medium high heat, when the pan is hot, just add the almond pieces and stir it around a bit until the nuts get a more toasted taste, if some pieces get burnt it's okay.

Note: I used all purpose but if you want to up the chewiness more you can use bread flour because of the higher gluten content, not gluten is the substance that gives bread that chew.

Wet Ingredients
Brown Sugar (sugar always counts as wet ingredient in baking for some reason) - 150 grams (1/2 + 1/8 of a cup...THIS IS WHY I ALWAYS ADVOCATE SCALES!! It's only twenty dollars for mine and I bet there's cheaper ones cause mines digital.)
White Sugar - 50 grams (1/5 of a cup)
Eggs - 2 large
Butter - 100 grams (one stick), browned
Chocolate Chips - 65 grams (about one cup bit higher than level)
Instant coffee - 1 1/2 tablespoons (you can add more but I think this is a good amount that doesn't over power the chocolate but gives it something extra)
Cream - as much as you need (I'll explain later)

1. Brown the butter by melting it in a pan until the milk solids (the white foamy stuff) browns, watch very carefully because once it starts browning it gets black and then it's ruined.

The colour should be like the amber at the middle, there were lighter layer of stuff on top but overall it was like the darker colour, the froth was just covering it.
2. When the butter is brown add the chocolate to the pan until thoroughly melted.

Note: Why so much brown sugar? Because brown sugar has molasses, which is sticky and liquid which makes the cookies more moist and chewy. I also used some melted chocolate so it'll give more moisture. And why browned butter? BECAUSE IT'S DELICIOUS! Brown butter just have a much better nutty aroma which matches well with the almond's nutty flavour.

Combining
1. Using a whisk attachment (or a regular whisk using the power of your hands!) mix the eggs and sugar until it looks a bit creamy and fluffy, add the melted chocolate and brown butter mixture.
2. Switch to a paddle attachmennt (disregard this if you don't have a stand mixer) and slowly add the flour and in small batches, scrape down the bowl when neccessary.
3. The batter should be firm but malleable but not too dry, it should be like mouldable chocolate, you should be able to shape balls with it. If it's too dry add a bit of cream until a nice consistency.

4. Chill the dough for 2 hours.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 375, put one rack on the bottom and one on the top.
6. Measure the dough in 42g or 1.5 ounce portions (like a bit smaller than a golf ball)

7. Round them up into balls and put them on a piece buttered parchment paper or silpat. DON'T PRESS THEM!!! (You should put them in the oven when they look like in that above picture)
8. Put them in the oven at the bottom for 8 minutes, than turn them around and put them on the top rack for 7 minutes.
9. Cool down for five minutes before eating.

Note: Chilling the dough makes all the difference, especially since you melted the butter when you put it in the oven right away the fat will melt quicker causing the cookie dough to slide and spread more, making them more thin and crispy rather than thicker and chewy.



This is one of my favourite recipes, my boyfriend ate a few and he also loved this cookie, he declared it "The Best Cookie He Ever Ate!". I think taking time to do each step makes all the difference. Toasting the almonds so they are more fragrant, browning the butter accentuates the nuttiness, the coffee gives it more of a well rounded flavour and nice bitterness so the cookie isn't too cloying sweet. Also the chewiness of the cookie and the crunch of the nuts gives a nice balance of textures.

Visit my tumblr: http://lifeofjoyciel.tumblr.com/ where I not only talk about food I also do a lot of other ranting on other bunches of stuff!

Happy New Year!

So I haven't updated in...forever but I finally buckled down and used my camera! School is like taking up my life at the moment so I haven't really made anything that great lately and photographing actually takes a lot of time (yea, just imagine how ugly my photos will look if I DIDN'T TAKE MY TIME, and you think they're bad now! Anyways, I made a somewhat fancy meal last week so I whipped out my camera (which is half dying but never mind that).

So my boyfriend never had lobster (yea, I know, but he's a small town boy in and out of South Detroit~) so I decided to make him a more special meal.


Lobsters don't photograph well upclose...but anyways, I made garlic roasted lobster with pasta with tomatoes and basil, and cheddar biscuits.

Come along with me~ http://joyciel.livejournal.com/118713.html

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM I WANT CHEESY POOFS!!!!!

There must be some reason why Cartman love them? I mean, besides him being morbidly obese...so he probably eats like everything...

But Alton Brown had a recipe for them and how could I resist. They're not like what I thought they would be like. Instead of being cheetos they're like cheese bread. Really cheesy, and rich.



http://joyciel.livejournal.com/100900.html

What is This?! A POST?!?!?!?!?!

=O! Gasp! I know I'm shocked too. Been really neglecting this place ^_^"!

What is the most perfect bread in the world? A perfect crescent of warm buttery layers piled lightly on top of each other. Delightfully crunchy, aromatic outer shell and a soft, sweet, chewy innards?


Yea...

For detailed, and pic heavy (oh so pic heavy u.u) instructions: http://joyciel.livejournal.com/98426.html

I'll Have My Cup and Eat It Too!!!!

Now I'm actually not a big fan of cup cakes because...it's essentially small cakes why have it in a cup? And with the whole trendy and Sex and the City and Magnolia's....yea...(though I do love that show!). But I'm experimenting and...I'm not making a big ass cake just to experiment on it and have it fail! So yea I made small cupcakes with it.



For more pictures and my wit and sass *bats eyelashes*
http://joyciel.livejournal.com/94407.html

When All Else Fails

I love cookies! They are so easy to make! And they are in abundance =D!


Simple Chocolate Cookies, they are also break up cookies!

Instructions and stuff: http://joyciel.livejournal.com/93778.html

Nothing Is Real and Nothing to Get Hung About

Strawberry pie forever?

The first time I remember eating strawberries was when my cousins came from HK and we went to pick them in bushes. It was hot and full of bugs (the fields not the strawberries) but the strawberries were absolutely DELICIOUS! And that's when I start liking strawberries.

Unfortunately not all strawberries are created equal and Canada is stuck in an ice age 75% of the time. Out of season strawberries are sour, bland, and just never taste like what they could taste like. Makes me wonder why so many people like strawberries, I think they just like the idea of them, and they're pretty.

But I was in St. Lawrence Market a while back and the strawberries looked really nice so I picked up a basket anyways. It was five dollars! But tasted sweeter and better than the ones at the grocery stores. And after a marathon of Pushing Daisies I was in pie mode again.

It all starts here:

The strawberries of course, they were quite inspiring.

And ends like this:





For recipe and instructions: http://joyciel.livejournal.com/90654.html

A Pie for a Fun-Gi!

I love mushrooms, I love pie, so of course the obvious equation to that is a mushroom pie! And I am loving the taste of white wine with everything so I made a mushroom cream pie (or I'm going to be fancy here and call it a galette, which is french for free form pie crust or something like that) with a white wine crust.



IT. WAS. FUCKING. DELICIOUS!!!!!!

Try it! Recipe and instructions here: http://joyciel.livejournal.com/85640.html

Kermit Bale approves =D!

The Pie Hole: As in Shut Your-or in This Case Open Yours

Cause this pie is so damn good!



An American classic (what does that have to do with me when I am a Canadian? Nothing...I was born in America though..) but it tastes fantastic, good pie should not be so nationalistic!

Anyways, it's apple pie with cheddar baked in and on the crust, and underneath the filling. Yes, I do watch and love Pushing Daisies.

Anyways, follow my journey here! http://joyciel.livejournal.com/84794.html

And may I just say, how can ABC cancel this lovely, LOVELY show?! Where else can I see my favorite pie maker and dead girl?! And Itty Bitty! And knitting detective (he doesn't really had a nickname...) And where else can we see something like this?!


Ugh, television viewers.

I Like Bananas, Bananas are Good

Ah! Look at that, look at that. Best banana muffins ever and courtesy of Alton Brown. His recipes are seriously, THE BEST! The muffins had a lot of banana flavor, they were moist, and soft, and ADDICTING.

But of course, you can't get great results without great effort and this had a whole lot of effort!

I took pictures of the step to step process here: http://joyciel.livejournal.com/83504.htm

And remember:

Bananas: Great for fighting EVIL!!