Molten Chocolate Skillet Brownie

Hi there, remember me?  I am the girl who started a blog with yummy recipes and pictures and then got busy and abandoned said blog for months at a time.  Not entirely though, I am always lurking around here (that's not creepy, right?), sometimes making subtle changes like adding a bar at the top, changing the background, or just watching the numbers roll...and I must say that I am amazed at how they have rolled, even in the absence of new posts (ha - new posts, what's that?).  Like from about 2,000 views to 12,000 + views, and counting, since my last blog post, back in June...

 Do you know what post is making the numbers roll the very most?  (answer yes because I'm going to tell you anyway)...it's this one - "How to Make an Ice Cream Cake."  I'm not really sure why.  Is there an astoundingly small number of "How to's" for icecream cakes available?  Or is it just the fact that it is a "How-to" post in general?  I suspect maybe a little of both...so now that I have ripped the band-aid off and am officially blogging again - I plan on doing how-to's more often.  Like maybe twice a year this time.  Just kidding.  More often than that.  Also I feel like this is a good time to let you know that my "h" key is sticking...no doubt a victim of the Dr.Pepper spill... So if you see "wit" or "tat" just know that I missed that one in my editing and try to forgive me (sheesh people I just got back, cut me some slack!  You can overlook a few missing h's, can't you?). 

Anyways, sorry for rambling and on to the recipe (can you tell I need adult conversation?)...
A few weeks ago I found myself in dire need of something sweet and chocolatey, and all I could think about was this heavenly chocolate thing the Pampered Chef Consultant had made at a party I hosted once.  I e-mailed Lisa and she was prompt to send me the recipe, so today I pass it on to you:

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE SKILLET BROWNIE

source: Season's Best Fall/Winter 2005

Ingredients:

1 pkg. brownie mix (19-21oz.) (I lived dangerously and used one that was only 18 oz...we survived, it was fine)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups water

1 jar (12 ounces) chocolate fudge ice-cream topping

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350  Lightly spray bottom of Family (12-in.) Skillet with nonstick cooking spray.

Make brownies according to box directions for CAKE like brownies, pour into a 12 inch skillet  (or 12 inch cake pan).

 Sprinkle choc. chips over batter (I was lazy here and got a brownie mix that already had chocolate chips in the batter)...this is what I used...

 My fudge icecream topping jar was bigger than I needed, so I just measured out 12 ounces with my kitchen scale...

Combine water and ice cream topping in large microwave-safe bowl, whisk until well blended.
 Cuss a little cause you spilled some...

 Microwave, covered, on HIGH 5-6 minutes or until mixture comes to a full boil (I cover with a saucer and use a potholder as the bowl gets very hot!).

Whisk until blended; stir in vanilla. (Mixture will be thin.) Carefully pour ice cream topping mixture over brownie batter in a circular pattern. 

Bake un-covered 35-40 minutes (Will appear saucy, but will thicken as it cools).

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and almonds (eh I skipped this part).

Spoon out to serve...I don't think it's possible to serve this without icecream, the hot gooey chocolate is so perfect beside slightly melting BlueBell...Enjoy!!

Linked up to Sweets for a Saturday! 

 
Happy Baking!!
Julie

How to Make an Ice Cream Cake

Soooo....Mr.Sweetshack had a birthday Friday...and has been sick with the flu all week. His birthday cake request was an icecream cake. The man is very particular. He wanted chocolate cake with chocolate chip icecream and a chocolate cake layer on top. Vanilla icecream for "icing" on the outer layer, whipped icing borders and chocolate chips but NO buttercream (he is not a fan...). So, this is what he got:





On Friday. His actual birthday day. I gave the man 6 storebought mini-refridgerated petitfours and stuck a candle in them. Because I had been running errands all day. Because an icecream cake, while not difficult, can be complicated. Because it has many layers, requires working in short spurts, and, well...it's icecream. So yes, I, horrible wife that I am, gave my sweetie the storebought mini-refridgerated petitfours on his birthday because I ran out of time and his icecream cake was still...processing.

But no worries, we're good...I think I made it up to him on Saturday...




Now I want to share with you the method I have perfected (err...somewhat) over the years.

How to Make an Ice Cream Cake:

You will need:

No life. Or atleast a day or two to work on this in short intervals.
Cake mix, and ingredients required
Icecream - I use one flavor for the layer, and one to "frost/ice" with
Icing - you can make this yourself or use storebought (I used whipped icing for the borders)
Ganache - (optional) to write the message and decorate inplace of buttercream.

What to do:

Bake your cake. I used a boxed chocolate cake mix - reality check: it's going to be frozen, so "scratch cake" is kind-of a waste of time here...

Cool cake completely, then trim the tops so they are level (I used this tool found at most craft shops, but a knife works just fine). Wrap layers in plastic wrap, place in freezer.



Set icecream out on counter and let soften for approx. 30 minutes, until it is soft enough to scoop and spread.

Wash your cake pan, place a large layer of plastic wrap horizontally over the pan, gently press down allowing the plastic wrap to take the shape of the pan. Repeat with a vertical layer of plastic wrap. Scoop icecream into the same cake pan that was used for your cake layers (you know after you've washed it. Or don't wash it...whatever.)




Spread the icecream around in the cake pan (using an icing spatula) until it is smoothe and level. Fold the layers of plastic wrap over top of icecream layer, place pan in freezer to set for several hours.



Prep your cakeboard. After the icecream layer has had time to set, set out the second flavor of icecream, which will need to thaw for about 30 to 45 minutes (you want this to be soft enough to spread, like icing).



Stir the "icing" icecream until blended, then remove your cake layers and icecream layer from freezer, and begin to stack. I usually put a smear of "icing" icecream onto the cakeboard to help the cake layer adhere. Then carefully remove cake layer from plastic wrap and place on cake board. Place a thin smear of the "icing" icecream on top of the cake...



then carefully unwrap the icecream layer from the plastic wrap and place on top.





Ok. Moment of truth. For this particular icecream cake I used a sugar free cake mix. He asked for it. It behaved - weirdly. It shrunk away from the sides of the pan ALOT after cooling. So, when I stacked my cake, I noticed that my icecream layer was much bigger than my cake layers. It was protruding and would not have been pretty if I had left it how it was and just iced it anyway. Had to do some trimming. You may not need this step, just use your judgement.

I carefully trimmed the icecream layer by holding a knife against the side of the cake, turning my turntable slowly and sawing with the knife. The excess icecream pieces will fall to the cakeboard and you will feel compelled to eat them so they don't melt there. It's ok. Happens to the best of us...(so I'm told).



If you have a second layer of cake, place on top of the icecream layer now. (I usually only do 2 layers for an icecream cake - one layer of cake, one layer of icecream. But I was following a "request"). See? Told you. Particular.

You may find it necessary to now trim again, so that all 3 layers are flush with each other. You may not need to. I did. Whatever.



Now that your cake/icecream sides are even, you can "ice" your cake. I like to use a large icing spatula, and just pretend that the icecream is icing. Except that it melts. When you get a good base coat/crumb coat, place it back in the freezer for an hour or so. Also place your "icing" icecream back into the freezer (you want it to be soupy spreadable, not melted).



When you get time again, set out your icing icecream again and thaw to the same consistency. Or do what I did...I finally figured out that at this point it's much faster to pop it into the microwave for 30 second intervals (stirring in-between) until it reacehes the desired consistency. Working as quickly as possible, get a good even coat of "icing" icecream on the sides and top of your cake. This will be your final coat. Pop cake and "icing" icecream back into the freezer.

When you feel that your cake has set thoroughly, remove from freezer to decorate. I used a #22 tip and whipped icing for the borders. You can use storebought buttercream or whipped, or just make some yourself.

I had refridgerated the ganache I had leftover from making the flourless chocolate cake (if you did not make that...insert guilt trip and bakers' remorse here). So, I placed that into a piping bag with decorator tip #3 and used it to write the "Happy Birthday" message, then just did some streamers along the top. Because I thought it might need more chocolate, fat and calories...plus I had to make up for all of the lost sugar in the "sugar-free" cake mix =)

Here's how it looks cut:

YUM!! Sooo worth all the time and hassle. If you have questions, or if I've totally lost/confused you, please feel free to comment so I can help out.

Happy Baking!

Julie

Linked to:

Sweet Tooth Friday

Flourless chocolate souffle cake

I have been wanting to try this cake for years, so I thought it only fitting that I make it for Valentine's day...buuuuut I missed the Valentine's deadline. Eh, probably for the best - in the looks department, this cake is very unimpressive (infact it's downright ugly)! But no worries - what it lacks in charm it makes up for in taste.
I found this version in Parade magazine (that comes in the Sunday paper) from 2/06/11. It is, quite possibly, the ugliest cake I have ever made...at first sight, it hurt my heart...but I am ok with that now.

Flourless Chocolate Cake:

7 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar, divided
4 eggs, separated

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Stir together half the sugar and four yolks; add to melted chocolate concoction.




2. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites; slowly add remaining 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold mixture into chocolate. Pour into a greased 9-inch cake pan.


3. Bake 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Cool 30 minutes before removing from pan. Dust with powdered sugar.


Ok, so I just could not bear to serve an ugly cake intentionally. I decided to dress it up with some ganache. I used this simple recipe, but scaled it down to 4 servings.

Ganache I

These are the amounts I used:

5 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream


1.Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a large stainless steel bowl (um I used chocolate chips and a glass bowl)

2.In a large, high sided saucepan, heat cream over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until it starts to boil. At this point, the cream will want to boil over, so keep an eye on it! Immediately remove from heat and pour over chopped chocolate.






3.Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Cool completely and then store in refrigerator. Ganache can be reheated in a stainless steel bowl over hot, but not boiling, water.

I turned the cracked, ugly cake out onto a cake board, then iced with my ganache...still ugly, but not as bad...this cake turned out to be very rich and delicious. If you are a chocolate lover, it's definitely one for you!





Linked up to:

Cinnamon Roll Cake

So, the "winter storm of the century" turned out to be a bust...atleast in my area of Texas. No snow or sleet, although there was ice on the roads and vehicles. I wanted to make something cozy and comfort-y since the kiddos were a little stir crazy. I found this yummy recipe by Ingrid of 3bs which she guest posted on another blog.

Cinnamon Roll Cake:
(click link for full recipe)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

2. Mix cake ingredients by hand and pour in greased baking pan (I dared fate and used my mixer anyway)...



3. Mix the filling ingredients and sprinkle over cake batter. (It should cover the top of the batter.)



4. Swirl the “filling” into batter with knife. (I used a figure 8 motion and cut the filling deep into the batter.)



5. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake cool 10 – 15 minutes before icing. Mix icing ingredients together by hand and pour over warm cake.



Enjoy!




Happy Baking!

Julie





PS - I linked this post to a fun bloggy party called "Sweets for a Saturday (#3)" - stop by her blog and check out some of the amazing goodies other bloggers have baked this week!

Molten Chocolate Cakes

I cannot believe it has been a month since I have blogged! For those of you who have been checking in on me to see if I've updated - thanks so much for hanging in there and not giving up on me! I finally found the light at the end of the tax tunnel, but these last few weeks were some of the most stressful ever - I had little time for anything between the taxes, orders, and a wedding cake that had me worried for weeks...(not to mention my regular housework and life's little ups and downs)...I thank God for a strong family support system that is willing to step in and help out when needed!

SO anywhoooo, I'm baaaaack!! AND - I baked today! Yay me!! (you have no idea the withdrawls I've been suffering - it really is a stress reliever to bake, but I was actually too stressed and busy to bake, if you can imagine ;)

So here's what I made - Molten Chocolate Cakes - (click for recipe amounts and printable version). The verdict? Yum-o! These were a big hit with my husband and kids and will definitely be made again.

Want to make them yourself? Here's how:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Butter 4 (3/4-cup) custard cups or souffle dishes. Place on baking sheet (or just use cupcake pans and bakers joy)


2. Microwave chocolate and 1/2 cup butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted.(This took 2 45-second intervals for me, you'll still have chunks of chocolate but if you stir it briskly the heat from the butter will melt the chocolate the rest of the way).




3.Stir in sugar until well blended.

4.Whisk in eggs and egg yolks.

5.Stir in flour.
6.Divide batter between prepared custard cups.

7.Bake 13 to 14 min. or until sides are firm but centers are soft. *After reading reviews I only baked 10 minutes* Let stand 1 min. Carefully run small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Serve immediately each topped with 1 Tbsp. of whipped topping (I skipped the coolwhip and sprinkled with powdered sugar instead).

A few notes: next time I make these, a few minor changes...first of all, I didn't have ramekins, so I made them in muffin pans...which probably would've worked better if I had put more batter in each. I spread it out among 9 muffin cups, filling about half way full, and they look a little...squatty. Probably should've divided it among about 6 cups instead, because they baked gooey in the center but didn't flow like I wanted them to (like lava). So, note to self, either get ramekins or add more batter per muffin cup! Hope you enjoy them!