Martha Washington's Devil's Food Cake for President's Day

Martha Washington was known for entertaining, and who better than to put forth a recipe for Devil's Food Cake than the First First Lady. Her Devil's Food Cake is a classic chocolate-buttermilk cake that has been handed  down through the generations, republished (with variations) by baking chocolate companies and appearing on thousands of websites. President's Day is a celebration of Presidential Birthdays, and this is the perfect Birthday Cake.

Recipe  from Capitol Hill Cooks: Recipes from the White House, Congress and All of the Past Presidents by Linda Bauer (Taylor, 384 pp., $26.95). The collection of appetizers, entrees, sides and desserts, from two centuries worth of politicos, is a benefit for Homes for Our Troops, which helps injured veterans build or adapt their homes for handicapped accessibility.

Martha Washington's Devil's Food Cake

Ingredients
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, divided
1/2 cup cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-15-inch pan or two 9-inch cake pans.
2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Add 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup buttermilk, and stir until sugar is dissolved. Cool.
3. Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder, baking soda and salt and sift together three times.
4. Cream butter thoroughly. Add 3/4 cup sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add about a quarter of the flour mixture, mix thoroughly. Add chocolate mixture and blend. Add remaining flour, alternately with buttermilk, a small amount at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla.
5. Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until done. Let cool. When completely cooled, trim edges and cut rectangular cake in half crosswise to make a two-layer cake. Fill and frost with icing of your choice.


Illustration: San Jose Mercury News Staff

Red Velvet Macaron Bouquet: February MacTweets

As I mentioned yesterday, blog cooking groups are perfect for me because an actual in-person cooking group is difficult when most of your spare time comes when normal human beings are, like, sleeping. And given the fact that I’ve been obsessed with perfecting my macaron-making technique since I first made them just about four months ago, the MacTweets group is perfect for me. I joined up last month, and had such fun checking out everybody’s creations that I decided to take on this month’s MacTweets Mac Attack Challenge: Macs are in the Air, which challenged us all to make macarons in the spirit of Valentine’s Day.

Red velvet macarons it is. But just macarons? Is that enough? Not if you are insane. No, then you have to make a bouquet of macaron flowers.

And you know what’s cool about this bouquet? You can totally do this after Valentine’s Day. For any occasion. To replace flowers. Take note of this recipe. You might want to use it some day.

Because if some dude showed up at my door with a bouquet of macarons and truffles, it would be the best thing ever.

Actually, I’d probably call the police. Details. Anyway, the recipe.

Red Velvet Macaron Shell Ingredients (from Tartlette)

25 grams granulated sugar

3 egg whites

200 grams powdered sugar

110 grams blanched almonds

Red food coloring, as needed

To begin, grind the almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor until finely ground and a uniform mixture is achieved. Set aside. Whip the egg whites until foamy, then continue whipping while slowly adding the granulated sugar. Whip until the mixture is stiff, like shaving cream. Add food coloring until desired color is achieved, then carefully fold the meringue the almond-powdered sugar mixture in fewer than 50 strokes, taking care to scrape the bottom of the bowl on the strokes.

Now you may remember that I’ve previously had issues with going nutty with food coloring when making macarons. This time, it was intentional. These shells are, after all, for red velvet macarons.

Once you’ve made your stoplight-red batter, pipe it into rounds about 1 ½” in diameter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Let the piped rounds sit for 45 minutes, then bake at 280° F, for 20 minutes.

Feet! And pretty smooth tops. Can I brag for a minute? These shells were so good that when I took the finished product to a party, people asked me where I BOUGHT these guys.

Bought? Ha. I guess I’m getting better at this stuff.

After admiring my shells for a few minutes, I got to work on the red velvet filling.

Red Velvet Ganache Ingredients

4 ounces white chocolate, chopped (Callebaut 25.9% Cocoa White Chocolate)

2 ounces milk chocolate (Callebaut 33.6% Cocoa Milk Chocolate)

¼ cup heavy cream

Red food coloring, as needed

Heat the cream and chocolates over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature, stir in food coloring until ganache is bright red.

Spread ganache between macaron shells and sandwich to achieve your final product.

Now those are very nice, but I had decided to make a bouquet. I needed greenery.

Enter mint white chocolate truffles. They totally look like greenery. In an abstract way.

Mint White Chocolate Truffle Ingredients

12 oz white chocolate

1/4 cup crème de menthe

Heat the white chocolate over very low heat until melted, then add the crème de menthe and stir until smooth.

After the mixture cools to room temperature, roll into ¾” balls and affix to decorative sticks for presentation.

This recipe yields about three beautiful, edible bouquets. Or one very impressive bouquet. Remember this the next time you feel the need to get flowers for somebody. This is tastier.

Would you rather get flowers or a macaron bouquet as a gift?

Chocolate Almond Cheesecake

For the crust:
* 1-1/2 cups Graham Cracker crumbs
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

For the cake:
* 32 ounces cream cheese
* 1-3/4 cups sugar
* 5 eggs
* 1/2 cup Amaretto
* 8 ounces Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Baking Bars
* 7-ounce tube almond paste

For the topping:
* 2 cups Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
* 1/3 cup heavy cream
* 3 tablespoons Amaretto
* 1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Prepare a 10-inch springform pan with nonstick spray.
3. Melt the butter in a medium bowl. Add the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and chocolate powder and stir until well blended.
4. Press the crumb mixture firmly into the pan, covering the bottom and about one third up the sides.
5. Pinch off pieces of almond paste, press it flat with your fingers, and layer it across the crust.
6. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until fluffy.
7. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
8. Stir in the amaretto.
9. In a small bowl, break the chocolate baking bars into chunks. Heat for 30 seconds at 50% power in the microwave. Chocolate will start to melt but still keep it’s shape. Add more time in ten second increments as needed. Stir until it’s completely melted.
10. Gradually stir the melted chocolate into the batter and mix just until well blended.
11. Pour the batter into the crust and bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes or until it’s set.
12. Cool completely before removing the sides of the springform pan.
13. Meanwhile, using the same method as above, melt the chocolate chips in a small bowl. They’ll be warm but still retain their shape. Add the cream and amaretto and stir until completely melted and smooth.
14. Spoon the melted chocolate over the cake and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Chill for at least another hour before serving.

Source: Our Life in the Kitchen

Grasshopper Pie: Chocolate Mint Pie Day

Today is National Chocolate Mint Pie Day, so I thought I'd do a post on Grasshopper Pie!

Grasshopper Pie is named because of its green color, although modern recipes may omit coloring the pie green. This pie was most likely invented in the 1950s in the United States, and may have been inspired by the "Grasshopper Cocktail" invented at about the same time. Grasshopper Pie is a chiffon pie usually made with a Chocolate Cookie Crust.

Chiffon pies in the 1950s were often a combination of whipping cream, gelatin, sugar, eggs, and flavoring (see vintage recipe at the end of this post). In the case of the Grasshopper Pie, common flavoring used was alcohol in the form of crème de menthe, and sometimes other alcohols like crème de cacao. For non-alcoholic pie, mint flavoring was achieved by using mint extracts instead, though these might still contain a tiny amount of alcohol. Green food coloring was a frequent addition to give the pie a light green color.

There are huge differences between classic recipes for Grasshopper Pie and modern ones. Since gelatin can be somewhat annoying to work with, many people now prepare the pie by melting marshmallows and blending them with milk or whipping cream, and sometimes cream cheese. Green food coloring can be optional. Several recipes advocate the use of specific cookies like Oreos, but I use chocolate wafers.

In the US, Grasshopper Pie tends to be most popular in the South, but other parts of the country enjoy it too. The pie rose in popularity especially up until the 1970s. Many ice cream stores capitalized on the flavor of this pie by producing their own version with mint or mint chocolate chip ice cream and a cookie crust. Some ice cream stores are particularly known for their grasshopper ice-cream pies.

Following are several different recipes for Grasshopper Pie. Let me know if you have a special family recipe. 

Simple Grasshopper Mallow Pie recipe from Kraft

Ingredients
1/4 cup green creme de menthe
1 jar (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme
1 pt. (2 cups) whipping cream, whipped
1 OREO Pie Crust (6 oz.)

ADD creme de menthe gradually to marshmallow creme in large bowl, beating with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped cream.
POUR into crust.
REFRIGERATE 4 to 6 hours or until chilled. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.

This Frozen Grasshopper Pie Recipe is from cooks.com

FROZEN GRASSHOPPER PIE

Ingredients
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 rows Oreo cookies (lg. pkg.) crushed (you can also use chocolate cookies)

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 c. creme de menthe
1/4 c. white creme de cacao
2 c. (1 pt.) whipping cream, whipped

Directions
Combine crushed Oreos and butter and press in bottom of 9 x 13 inch pan. In large bowl combine sweetened milk, creme de menthe and creme de cacao. Fold in whipped cream.
Pour over crust. Cover. Freeze 6 hours or until firm. Garnish with chocolate curls. Return leftovers to freezer.

Expert Grasshopper Pie From Bon Appétit

Ingredients
Crust:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
22 chocolate wafer cookies
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
1 cup whole milk
Pinch of salt
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 ounces good-quality white chocolate (such as Baker’s or Lindt), chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons green crème de menthe
2 tablespoons light crème de cacao
3/4 cup chilled whipping cream
Shaved white and dark chocolates

Directions

1. For crust: Spray 9-inch-diameter glass or ceramic pie dish with nonstick spray. Finely grind chocolate cookies and sugar in processor. Blend in butter. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of prepared dish. Freeze.
2. For filling: Combine milk and salt in heavy small saucepan. Bring to simmer. Whisk egg yolks and cornstarch in medium bowl to blend well. Gradually whisk in hot milk mixture. Return mixture to same saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until mixture thickens, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add white chocolate and butter; whisk until smooth. Transfer custard to large bowl. Whisk in crème de menthe and crème de cacao. Set custard over another large bowl of ice water until cold and thick but not set, stirring often, about 30 minutes.
3. Whip cream in medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/3 of whipped cream into custard. Fold in remaining whipped cream. Pour filling into crust. Freeze at least 5 hours or up to 2 days. Garnish with shaved chocolates.

And one more, Vintage Cookbook Recipe for Grasshopper Pie that includes gelatin!

Want to make the Classic Grasshopper Cocktail?

Grasshopper Cocktail
1/2oz. Green Creme de Menthe
1/2 oz. White Creme de Cacao
1/2 oz. Cream


Combine in a blender with 1 cup of crushed ice. Blend until smooth (about 30 seconds). Serve in a Collins glass.

Matcha Sugar Cookie Brownies: We Should Cocoa February

Man do I love blog cooking groups. It’s like a supper club that you can participate in at 3 am. If that’s the only time you have available to cook. Because that’s normal.

Do you know what else I love? Finding new blog cooking groups that interest me. Daring Bakers is cool, but it’s only once a month. So when I found out about “We Should Cocoa,” my ears perked up.

At 2:30 am, which was when I was reading about it. That’s OK, though. It’s also normal to read chocolate blogs in the middle of the night.

OK, maybe doing those things between 2 and 4 am is not normal. But don’t hate me for it. Instead, hate me because you didn’t get to eat any of these Matcha Sugar Cookie Brownies.

See, the February 2011 challenge, hosted by Choclette, required participants to incorporate tea into their recipes. I contemplated what I wanted to do, and after seeing Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies posted at Evil Shenanigans, I decided that a brownie topped with matcha cookie dough would be perfect.

Also, I hadn’t made brownies in months and it made me sad. But first, I had to whip up the matcha sugar cookie dough.

Matcha Sugar Cookie Dough Ingredients (as inspired by Kirbie’s Cravings)

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg yolk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons matcha tea, finely ground

Few drops green food coloring (optional)

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in egg yolk until incorporated. Add vanilla and tea, then mix in flour mixture on low speed until just incorporated. Add food coloring near the end of this process.

Allow this pretty green dough to sit in the refrigerator overnight so that the tea flavor mixes in more completely. The next day, it’s brownie time. Be sure to pull your cookie dough out of the refrigerator before you start so that it is at room temperature when it’s time to top the brownies.

Supernatural Brownie Base Ingredients (as adapted from Nick Malgieri’s Chocolate)

8 tablespoons butter

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (Scharffen Berger 70% Cocoa Bittersweet)

2 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour

Prepare an 8”x8” pan by lining with parchment paper and buttering the parchment paper, set aside. Melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, set aside and allow to cool until slightly warmer than room temperature. Beat eggs until fluffy, then add sugars and beat for approximately 3 minutes on medium speed. Add salt, vanilla, and chocolate mixture, beat until incorporated. Carefully fold in the flour until just incorporated; pour into the prepared pan.

Now it’s time to make this more than just brownies – as if brownies are ever JUST brownies. Crumble the sugar cookie dough over the brownie batter in fairly large chunks, press down into batter.

Bake for at 350° F for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing (really).

You could really do this with any kind of sturdy cookie dough. And you should. But this time, I did matcha sugar cookie dough thanks to the challenge from Choclette, which was great fun.

Do you belong to any blog cooking groups?

Indulgence Chocolatiers: 60% Cocoa Dark Chocolate with Tart Cherries and Almonds

Lest you think that my experience with the creations by Indulgence Chocolatiers was limited to the salty variety, I have one more bar to report on today: The 60% Cocoa Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Bar.

The bar includes roasted almonds, as well as dried tart cherries from Door County (Wisconsin), which is a nice nod to locally-available ingredients.

You can see, however, what I didn’t like about this bar.

The added cherries and almonds are in there WHOLE – meaning that they aren’t evenly distributed. You might get a bite of all chocolate. You might get a bite that’s 90% almond. You might get nothing but a cherry with some bits of chocolate attached. You just flat out can’t enjoy it all together.

That aside, how are all the component ingredients? The cherries are very tart, and contrast well with the fairly sweet chocolate, which has a bit of grit to it along with a hint of vanilla flavor. The chocolate is acceptable, but not outstanding, and the almonds are likewise reasonably well-toasted, but aren’t anything incredible either. This was by far my least favorite bar from Indulgence Chocolatiers, though that’s more a testament to how addicting the Milk Chocolate with Sea Salt bar was.

Seriously, though, chop up your cherries and almonds, and maybe I’d have a different opinion.

Do you like chocolate bars with cherries?

Mamie Eisenhower's Million Dollar Fudge

President's Weekend, and I 'll definitely have a few more recipes, but today I wanted to mention this fun cookbook I came across recently. Some of you know that I collect mystery, literary, art and movie tie-in cookbooks. Politics & Pot Roast is 'a flavorful look at the Presidency', compiled by Sarah Hood Salomon. It features original or favorite recipes of U.S. Presidents and First Ladies. This bi-partisan cookbook contains tested and tasty recipes, including James Monroe's Minted Fruit Cordial, L.B.J.'s Pedernales River Chili, and Mamie Eisenhower's Million Dollar Fudge. Each recipe is accompanied by unusual presidential facts and amusing anecdotes. So make some of Mamie's Million Dollar Fudge this weekend!

Mamie Eisenhower's Million Dollar Fudge 

Ingredients:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate bits
12 ounces German sweet chocolate, broken into bits
1 pint marshmallow cream
pinch of salt
1 can (13 ounces) evaporated milk
4.5 cups sugar
2 cups chopped walnuts (or pecans)
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine both types of chocolate, marshmallow cream and salt. Put milk and sugar in a large pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring mixture over the chocolate. Add nuts and butter and beat until the chocolate is melted and the fudge is creamy. Pour into buttered 9"x9" pan and let cool at room temperature for a few hours before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 5 pounds of fudge.

Historic Note:
President Eisenhower was so fond of this desert that he named it "Mamie's Million Dollar Fudge."