Chocolate Brownie Torte

I know it's half-past Valentine thirty, but you need to make this recipe. I normally make this easy dessert in a 9" spring form pan, but I just couldn't pass up making these heart shaped hunks of chocolate goodness all adorned with cupid-esque cuteness in honor of Saint Valentine!!

This particular recipe was added to my repertoire some twenty years ago. It came with a group of recipe cards advertising a monthly recipe membership.  I made it once for a group of sewing friends and the rest is history.  The ingredients are pretty standard pantry staples and goes together in a matter of minutes.  The only lead time is allowing the torte to cool so that you can finish it with a fudgey glaze.

I'm giving you the original recipe. Over the years I've modified it to use organic corn syrup or organic agave (Wholesome Sweeteners brand) in place of conventional corn syrup. I've also found that whole wheat pastry flour (Wheat Montana brand) is a great substitution for all-purpose white flour. In my personal opinion, the end result is just as good, perhaps even better. As per usual, I use organic whenever possible. In this recipe I use organic butter, organic cane sugar and organic eggs.

Chocolate Brownie Torte

makes one 9" torte (10-12 servings)

1/2 cup corn syrup (Karo)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour*
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9" spring form pan. Melt corn syrup, butter and chocolate chips in a small saucepan over medium heat just until chocolate has melted.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Cream sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add melted chocolate mixture and stir just until mixed. Add salt, flour and nuts, mixing just until incorporated.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until done when tested in center. Let cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around the outside edge of spring form pan. Release spring form clamp and remove outer spring form ring.  Allow to completely cool.

*high altitude adjustments-add 1 tbsp flour

Glaze:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp corn syrup (Karo)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Melt butter and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until melted. Allow to cool slightly, then pour over torte and spread along sides.

In honor of Valentine' Day, I made ganache rather than the standard glaze, so if you're feeling extra decadent and have the ingredients on hand, I'd say go for it. The ratio for ganache equal parts heavy cream and semi-sweet chocolate.

Chocolate Ganache:
8 oz heavy cream
8 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Place chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Place heavy cream in a small saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Pour over chocolate chips. Allow to sit for a few minutes before stirring. Stir until melted. Allow to cool slightly, then pour over torte and spread along sides.

My pictures do not reflect it, but I also made strawberry coulis to go along with the torte and vanilla bean ice cream. ("cupid" adornment consists of melted white chocolate piped in a pastry bag)

Strawberry Coulis

makes approximately 2 cups

10-12 oz frozen organic strawberries
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
juice of half lemon

Add ingredients to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then cook on low until sugar has dissolved. Use immersion blender to puree. Strain strawberry mixture using a fine mesh strainer. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until ready to use. Can be made several days in advance.

The heart shaped pan is a Wilton product. I was lucky enough stumble upon this pan at a thrift store. If you know me, you'd understand the "lucky" part--I get weak in the knees for all things "♥"!  I won't go into detail, but I've included a picture depicting the heart shaped parchment liners I cut.  This step will make getting the baked goods out of the pan easy-peasy.  Just revert back to the paper cutting skills you acquired in kindergarten! Oh, and remember to grease the pan, insert parchment, then re-grease parchment followed by dusting with flour.

  

High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've always been a Toll House cookie gal, that is, until living in a small mountain town with an elevation of 5,500ft above sea level.  The tried and true recipe on the back of the chocolate chip package does not work here. I expect chewy cookies, crisp on the outer edges and soft in the center.  I think I have "finally" found "the" recipe...stumbled upon this recipe online and it delivers!!

I've shared the recipe below with my usual modifications...use organic ingredients wherever I can along with Montana produced "non-gmo" wheat flour....oh, and I added chopped walnuts and made a larger cookie than what was called for in the recipe online. Upon typing this post, I realize my "golf ball" sized dough balls are somewhat larger than an actual golf ball. So to that I say, make whatever size you'd like...smaller balls yield more cookies & less baking time...enjoy!

FYI...from a modification standpoint compared to the Toll House recipe, this high altitude recipe uses an additional 1/4 cup each of white sugar, brown sugar and flour along with an extra egg.

High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 3 dozen large cookies

1 c organic salted butter
1 c organic cane sugar
1 c organic brown sugar
3 large farm fresh eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 1/2 c Wheat Montana all-purpose flour
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (12oz bag)
1 c chopped walnuts (not an option for me, but you can leave them out!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix butter and both sugars until smooth.  Mix in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla.  In a separate bowl, mix salt, baking soda and flour.  Add dry ingredients to wet and mix just until blended.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Shape dough into golf-ball sized rounds. Place 2" apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Flatten ball slightly using palm of hand.

Bake 12-15 minutes, rotating half way through baking time. Remove cookies from baking sheet and place on a cooling rack.

I didn't want to bake the entire batch at one time, so I rolled the dough into balls, and placed them on a parchment lined baking sheet, followed by putting them in the freezer overnight.

The next morning, I put the frozen dough balls into a zip-lock bag and returned them to the freezer for future use.

Remove frozen cookie dough balls from freezer and place on parchment lined baking pan. Allow to come to room temperature before baking....follow recipe for baking temperature and time.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Holy frijoles!! Has it really been over a month since my last post? I have it in my head that I would like to post weekly...perhaps I need to master monthly posts first? Ahem!!

Last night I knew I wanted to make some type of muffin this morning to go along with my latte, so I assessed my refrigerator fruit bin and decided upon cranberry muffins.  I had a bag leftover from Christmas....I planned on stringing them to place on my tree, but that endeavor was quickly aborted as the season went into full swing.

I have a great little muffin cookbook and have used it to make these, but I was sitting with my notebook in my lap and started cruising the web.  I looked at several, but settled on a recipe from a fellow blogger...Caroline over at Whipped. She lives in Chicago which has an elevation just under 600ft. Elevation is something I take into consideration when researching recipes to use while living in our little mountain town with an elevation of 5,500ft.

My basic modifications for high altitude baking consist of reducing the leavening agent by 1/4 tsp, adding 1/8-1/4 cup flour and increasing oven temperature 25 degrees.  However, I remembered reading about high altitude baking adjustments in a new book "Santa" blessed me with.  This book is nothing but brilliant.  The information in this book seems to go on infinitely...definitions for just about any food item you could imagine, along with an expanded glossary section that covers major protiens, grains, cheeses, spices, wines, etc...and the list goes on.  Needless to say, I highly recommend heading on over to Amazon right now...just buy it...you'll be happy you did. I have included high altitude modifications I made for this recipe near the end of the post.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

makes 12 muffins

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used Wheat Montana brand)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup organic butter, melted & cooled
2/3 cup plus organic cane sugar (plus 1 tbsp reserved for muffin tops)
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 orange, zested* & juiced (reserve juice--use for high alt. adjustments)
1 cup buttermilk (our store does not carry organic)
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, rough chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line muffin tins with disposable paper liners.

Add first four ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

Whisk remaining ingredients, minus reserved tbsp sugar and chopped cranberries, in a medium mixing bowl.

Using wooden spoon, or spatula, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; mixing just until combined. Fold in cranberries.

Fill muffin cups almost full. Sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining 1 tbsp sugar. Bake 20-25 minutes or until done when tested with a toothpick in the center.

*When using a microplane to zest your citrus...use as shown in the picture below. The underside of the microplane acts as a repository and you'll easily be able to visualize the quantity.

High Altitude Adjustments:

• baking powder-reduce by 1/4 tsp
• sugar-reduce by 2 tbsp
• liquid-add 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• oven temperature-increase 25 degrees
• decrease baking time approx 5 minutes

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

It's that time of year again...my favorite season by far. There is a bite to the morning air, the leaves are a gorgeous mixed array of red, yellow and orange....and there are squash, apples and pumpkins.  With the harvest comes an assortment of seasonally appropriate comfort foods that can be made.  For me, apple pie, curried butternut squash soup and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are what comes to mind...let's talk about the latter.

My first experience with this muffin was years ago (trust me, long enough that it makes me feel like an "old-timer" to mention) while living in Washington state. There was a bakery open for the early commuters and I would stop by most Fridays for an end-of-the-week treat. The bakery was very progressive for the area and era in that they focused on using whole grains, healthier fats and reduced sugars.  There were over a dozen different muffin selections on any given day along with cinnamon rolls, breads and soups.

For years I longed for the recipe on making these spice scented-chocolaty gems.  OK, again this was before the Internet and google searches. I eventually found it in an unsuspecting, cute little cookbook and I've been using it ever since.  I wouldn't declare this recipe as being particularly healthy, but they're good none the less.  I make these muffins only once or twice a year.  The recipe calls for the use of pumpkin pie spice. I never seem to have this spice blend in my repertoire.  And even though I've read many a substitution list providing the breakdown, did I ever write it down?? No, not until five years ago when I was tired of having to look it up each time. And yes, now I use google :o)  What I finally did was jot it down in the book on the page of the recipe!  Yeah, I know, crazy talk, right?? Seems pretty "normal" at this point in my life, but there was a day that even a butter smudge in my beautiful cookbooks were disappointing. Well, I'll have you know I'm way past that now...it kinda "warms my heart" to stumble upon a recipe in a cookbook with splatters, stains and comments....it says...yep, it's a good one!!  So today is two-for one day...here's a recipe for the spice blend and the delicious muffins I adore.

There are many recipes to be found online for this spice blend.  I use www.foodsubs.com as a reference on a regular basis.  Other sites have mentioned cloves in place of allspice.  Make both versions to see what your preference is.

PUMPKIN PIE SPICE

makes 1 tablespoon

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4    tsp ginger

3/8    tsp allspice

3/8    tsp nutmeg

Mix ingredients together.

If you want to make a larger batch, make sure to store in an airtight container.

This muffin recipe goes together within 10 minutes. Just think, in a little over 30 minutes you can have warm muffins with your Sunday morning latte! I provided the recipe just as it appears in the book. I seldom add the toasted almonds as they're perfect without the crunch. Most times I use Wheat Montana's Prairie Gold whole wheat pastry flour. And per the usual, I use organic cane sugar, organic unsalted butter and kosher or sea salt. High altitude adjustments can be found at the bottom of the post.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

makes 12 muffins

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (I used Wheat Montana Prairie Gold)

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease muffin cups or use paper or foil liners.  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs, pumpkin puree and butter. Add chocolate chips.  Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.  Scoop batter evenly between muffin cups.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until puffed and springy to the touch in the center. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

High Altitude adjustments for 5,500 ft

• Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees
• Increase flour by 1/4 cup
• Decrease baking soda by 1/2 tsp
• Use half butter, half safflower oil

Corncakes with Local Huckleberries and Lime Curd for Two

The temperature is sitting at 43 degrees with a predicted high of 51. The ski run is socked in with fog...fall is definitely in the air this morning.   I closed all the windows from being open all night (brrrr!) and had the urge to be in the kitchen and make some comfort food for breakfast.
I had huckleberries in the fridge from our time spent picking in the mountains.  They needed to be utilized so I decided upon huckleberry corncakes and lime curd.  I made a latte to go along with my breakfast.

Lemon and lime both pair well with blueberries. Wild huckleberries are similiar in flavor profile to blueberries, and I had limes on hand so I settled for making lime curd.  The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dorenenburg is a great book to reach for when unsure about food profiles and pairing "what with what".  I made this first and allowed it to cool slightly while I made the corncakes.  I followed a Gourmet January 2001 lemon curd recipe that I found on Epicurious, substituting lime for the lemon.

Lime Curd

makes approximately 1 cup

1/2 cup lime juice
2 tsp lime zest (~ zest from one lime)
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
3 large egg yolks
6 tbsp unsalted butter

Whisk ingredients together in a small saucepan.  Cook over moderately low heat until thick. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least an hour.

I used a basic pancake recipe from Michael Ruhlman's "Ratio" book...2 parts liquid: 1 part egg: 1/2 part butter: 2 parts flour

Huckleberry Corncakes

makes approx 6-3" dia cakes

Wet Ingredients:
2 oz organic skim milk
2 oz full fat yogurt (I used Brown Cow)
1 large egg
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:
1 oz brown rice flour
1 oz cornmeal
2 oz ap flour (I used Wheat Montana)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup wild huckleberries

Mix wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Add wet to dry and stir until just mixed.  Grease a griddle with butter or bacon grease...yep, I used the latter.  This creates crisp outer edges.  Spoon batter onto hot griddle and sprinkle tops of corncakes with huckleberries. Cook till golden, flip and continue cooking until done.  Serve immediately.

I like a thicker cake, so these turned out nice and puffy. If you prefer a thinner cake, add 1-2 oz of milk.

Chewy Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts & Cocoa Buttercream Frosting

I'm pressing the "easy button" this morning and posting about some yummy brownies I made last winter.  I've got a few other rhubarb posts to put up, but nothing ready enough without spending hours in front of this laptop.  It's also my day off today and I've got lotsa chores to get done before going back to work tomorrow.  I also thought I'd put this recipe out there as my cousin Sheila was asking about brownie recipes for half sheet pans.  I've only baked this in a single batch, but if you decide to go increase the recipe and bake in a half sheet pan, let me know how it goes.  I also must tell you that I've made these brownies using all-purpose flour and again with Wheat Montana Prairie Gold Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. The latter is my flour of choice. The end result is a denser, chewier texture, of which, I happen to prefer. You also have the added bonus of a more nutritious flour choice, added fiber from a whole grain and the bigger bonus being you would be supporting a local farmer who is dedicated to not using genetically modified (GMO) seeds for all of their wheat planting....can I have an AMEN.

Chewy Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts

makes 9-16 bars (cut 3x3 or 4x4)

1/2 cup organic salted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup organic cane sugar*
2 farm fresh eggs*
1/2 cup flour* (Wheat Montana Prairie Gold Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 

*High Altitude (el. 5,500 ft) adjustments 
1 cup minus 1 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" square baking dish.

Stir together butter, sugar & vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition. 

Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and gradually add to wet ingredients, just until incorporated. Pour into pan and bake 20-25 minutes. Let cool, then frost.

Cocoa Buttercream Frosting

makes 1 cup

3 tbsp organic salted butter
3 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp organic agave (or honey)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered cane sugar
1-2 tbsp organic milk

Cream first four ingredients, then add powdered sugar. Add enough milk for spreading consistency.

Raspberry Swirl Cinnamon Rolls

I had planned a day of thrift shopping with some friends and wanted to make a pre-road trip goodie. I saved the recipe for these sweet gems that came from the January 2011 issue of Food & Wine magazine and decided to give it a try. Initially I was going to follow the recipe verbatim, but in the end I just couldn't use that much white wheat flour, so I added whole wheat pastry flour along with lower gluten spelt and oat flour in an attempt to make it slightly healthier.  I also cooked the raspberry filling, thinking it would make rolling easier. In the end, that part was a tad messy, so the jury is out whether or not that was a good choice. Fee free to follow the original recipe for this step by using the link above. I did use less sugar in the dough as well as with the raspberry filling, but made up for it in the glaze by adding more powdered sugar along with the addition of cream cheese.

What really piqued my interest with this recipe is the fact it called for frozen fruit. Think of the different berries that can be frozen over the summer, then utilized during the cold months.

Raspberry-Swirl Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 16 rolls

Ingredients

Dough
1 cup milk
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast (2 pkgs)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened*
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt*
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used Wheat Montana brand) plus more for dusting
1 cup Wheat Montana Prairie Gold whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup Oat flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup Spelt flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
*I only had organic salted butter on hand, so I reduced my salt by 1/2 tsp

Filling
One 12 ounce package IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) raspberries
3 tbsp organic cane sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I used Vietnamese)

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp cream cheese
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp half & half

1. In a small saucepan, warm the milk over moderately low heat until it reaches 95 degrees. Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the dough hook and stir in the sugar and yeast. Let stand until the yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes. This method is called proofing.

2. Add the softened butter, eggs, grated lemon zest and sea salt.

3. Add the flours and beat at medium speed until a soft dough forms, about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and supple, about 10 minutes longer.
2. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands 2 or 3 times. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly buttered bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

4. In a medium saucepan, add the frozen raspberries with the sugar and cornstarch. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool.3. Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to extend up the short sides. Butter the paper and sides of the pan. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll it into a 10-by-24-inch rectangle. Because I have a small convection oven that only takes quarter size baking sheets, I opted to freeze roughly a third of the rolls and prepped 2-9" baking dishes.

5. Spread the raspberry filling evenly over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 24-inch-long log. Working quickly, cut the log into quarters. Cut each quarter into 4 slices and arrange them in the baking pan, cut sides up. Scrape any berries and juice from the work surface into the baking pan between the rolls. Cover the rolls and let them rise in a warm place until they are puffy and have filled the baking pan, about 2 hours.

6. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bake the rolls for about 25 minutes, until they are golden and the berries are bubbling. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 30 minutes.

7. In a small bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and half and half and beat until the glaze is thick and spreadable.

8. Remove rolls using extended parchment paper and place on a cooling rack to cool slightly.  Transfer to a platter. Dollop glaze over each roll and spread with an offset spatula. Serve warm or at room temperature. I had leftover glaze since I had froze some of the cinnamon rolls. I placed the glaze in a lidded storage container and tossed in the refrigerator.  It will keep for the next few weeks when I bake off the remainder.

Make Ahead
The recipe can be prepared through Step 5. Cover the rolls, refrigerate overnight and then return to room temperature before baking.

Notes
Variation The sweet rolls can be filled with a variety of frozen fruit. Try blackberries, strawberries, blueberries or chopped sweet cherries. I'm thinking of giving strawberry-rhubarb a try!

ps. I found lotsa treasures shopping...all I can say is "no more" bail top canning jars!