Mexican Chocolate Pudding

I had good intentions, let's start there. I felt like I heard angels sing when I put it together in my head that I love Mexican Hot Chocolate and I love pudding (and making it!). Voilà - I'm going to make Mexican Hot Chocolate Pudding! It's so obvious.
Well, my first attempt wasn't so great. First, I was using a new recipe, that I had to make several ingredient substitutions on because I didn't have enough of a few of them. Also, my Mexican chocolate's use-by date had run out. And I wasn't exactly sure what substitutions to make when swapping out regular chocolate to make it Mexican.
Well, it was a start. And I have the feeling I'm going to obsess until I've figured it out. So look for future posts!

French Macarons

I have been trying to keep active in baking since school ended. Not only trying to make cakes and figure out the rise-problem, but other things too. Because I had a girls' weekend trip coming up, and a few of the ladies are gluten free-ers, I figured it was a good time to remind myself how to make french macarons, naturally gluten free. I only made them twice in school, first time was easy. Second time, not so much. So I tried a couple batches at home.
I had some ideas on various flavors, but settled on earl grey tea macarons. I love early grey tea, and the idea of using it to flavor something besides hot water is too enticing. Later, passionfruit/chocolate macarons from the famous macaron-er (that should be a word-is that a word?) Pierre Hermé, as well as passionfruit/vanilla.
All batches turned out pretty well, not perfect. You could really get obsessed with these things and treat the process like a scientific experiment to get the perfect oven temp, resting and baking time, number of spatula turns to incorporate the merengue into the batter, etc. If time and money (ingredient prices) were no object, I'd be making even more this weekend. They are so cute and pretty! Another vote against spending the weekend tinkering with more batches is I cannot control myself around them! Really, 1-2 is even too much of a sugar shock to my system, so it's not really a smart idea.
Until a later date, I will just hold on to the recipes and all my little notes, and use them again soon. Practice does make perfect. But THIS weekend, I need to get out into the yard! It's just starting to warm up out there; I need to fine tune the patio for many a lazy weekend bbq, weeknight grilling, or daytime sunning with a good book.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake plus Lime Squares

A couple of desserts for a friend's baby shower…

Lime squares

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake

Where's the milk?

Plated desserts

We are ramping up for finals week, and have been learning a few new techniques and brushing up on old ones. We have learned so much, "plated desserts" is all about putting all of those techniques to use on one plate. Just insert your artistic eye!

Here are some of the things we have been working on...

Praline teardrop

Dragées

Teardrop with caramel sauce and chocolate merengue crumbs

Panna cotta

Chocolate

Baking with chocolate day in Baking class….

Chocolate decadence (flourless)

Cupcakes with whipped ganache

Almond Bark!!

My mother in law makes this incredible treat called almond bark. Comments such as "it's the perfect blend of salty and sweet" and "it's my fiancées favorite" are heard often. She's always claimed it's so easy, and on Christmas Eve, I got a demo. This is my attempt at writing down the recipe...


Ingredients:
Dark Chocolate chips from Michaels
White Chocolate chips from Michaels
Trader Joe's dry roasted, salted almonds

Tools:
colander
two microwave-safe bowls
two wooden spoons
two forks
several cookie sheets
spatula
1-cup measuring cup

Instructions:
1. Empty the almonds into the colander, stir them around to get rid of some of the separated skins (these end up looking a little junky in the final product, so just try to minimize)

2. Place cookie sheet on stovetop, and turn burners on lowest setting possible. You are just trying to warm the sheet so it's not cold for the next few steps, it DOES make a difference.

3. Place 2 cups of dark chocolate chips into microwave safe bowl, heat approximately 2 minutes (depending on your microwave). Take out, stir a little to make it more liquid-y, then stir in 1 cup of almonds. This is your dark chocolate mixture. You will do the same in the other bowl, with the white chocolate, same ratio. While the dark is heating, you can be mixing white, and vice versa

4. Look at your cookie sheet, and imagine a large checkerboard with dark squares and white squares. This is the pattern you will make when you pour the mixtures onto the cookie sheet. Pour approximately fist sized portions onto cookie sheet, leaving space between pours for where the opposite chocolate will go

5. When the sheet is full (between 1/4-1/2 inch height), take two forks, draw X-patterns into the choclate, to mix it up a bit, so the different chocolates SWIRL and overlap, but don't fully MIX. Use the spatula to smooth top if needed

6. Place in refrigerator to chill. Break up many hours later with hands or hammer (?) into various bite-sized and larger jagged chunks. Remember- it's home-made, it should look it!

Chopping chiles, making Chicken Mole, listening to the Dead Weather

Action shots of Mole Prep, courtesy of Greg Jacobs

peanuts measured

chiles rehydrating

chocolate measured

onions chopped

fresh chiles, roasted and sliced

tomatoes broiled

seeds and stems set aside

chiles rehydrating 2

Chocolate Soufflé

Thanks Julia, and Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I made this wonderful chocolate soufflé last night. It was pretty darned easy, I know that goes against everything you've heard about soufflés. But really. Next time I might try to undercook it so that I can have a molten lava center. Molten lava, say it with me.