Chocolate Panna Cotta Layer Cake

A creamy chocolate pudding fills this rich cake and an easy-to-make chocolate band wraps it up in style.

Cake:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup hot coffee
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Panna Cotta:

• 1/2 cup water
• 5 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 7 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 5 ounces high-quality milk chocolate, such as Lindt or Perugina, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 vanilla beans, split lengthwise

Chocolate Band:

• 2 16x3-inch strips waxed paper
• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preperation

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 10-inch-diameter springform pans with 2 1/2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Place chocolate and cocoa in medium bowl. Pour hot coffee and hot water over; whisk until smooth. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat oil and both sugars in large bowl 1 minute (mixture will be crumbly). Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in sour cream. Mix in half of dry ingredients. Beat in chocolate mixture. Add remaining dry ingredients; beat on low speed just to blend (batter will be thin). Divide batter between pans (layers will be shallow).

Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pans on rack.

For panna cotta:
Place 1/2 cup water in small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over; let soften 10 minutes. Place both chocolates in large metal bowl. Combine cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract in large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla beans; add beans. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves; remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture; whisk to dissolve. Pour cream mixture over chocolates in bowl; whisk until completely melted. Place bowl over a larger bowl of ice water. Stir often until mixture thickens like pudding, draining off water and adding more ice to larger bowl as needed, about 30 minutes. Remove from over water.

Pour 1/2 of panna cotta over cake in 1 pan (mixture may drip down sides of cake). Freeze 45 minutes. Keep remaining panna cotta at room temperature.

Remove pan sides from second cake. Using large metal spatula, carefully slide cake off of pan bottom and place atop panna cotta in cake pan. Pour remaining panna cotta over, filling pan completely. Chill overnight. DO AHEAD: Can be covered and frozen for 2 weeks. Defrost overnight in refrigerator before continuing.

For chocolate band:
Line large baking sheet with foil; set aside. Place another large sheet of foil on work surface; place waxed paper strips atop foil, spacing apart. Stir chocolate in medium bowl set over pan of simmering water until smooth. Pour half of melted chocolate down center of each waxed paper strip. Using small offset spatula, spread chocolate to cover strips evenly, allowing some of chocolate to extend beyond edges of paper strips, making sure strips are completely covered. Using fingertips, lift strips and place on foil-lined sheet. Chill until chocolate just begins to set but is still completely flexible, about 2 minutes.

Cut around pan sides to release cake. Remove pan sides from cake. Using fingertips, lift 1 chocolate band from foil. Wrap band around cake, waxed-paper side out, lining up 1 long edge with bottom of cake (band will be higher than cake). Repeat with second band, arranging so ends just meet, pressing band onto uncovered side of cake. If bands overlap, trim any excess paper and chocolate. Using fingertips, press top edge of band in toward cake, forming slight ruffle. Chill until chocolate sets, 5 minutes. Gently peel off waxed paper. Chill cake. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill.

Taken from Bon Appetit - December 2007

America's Most Wanted Recipes

I personally try to stay away from so called junk food, but once in a while I can't help myself and eat some. This e-book contains many recipes from famous fast food and restaurant chains found in the USA and even worldwide. Here's a sample of the McDonald's McChicken recipe from the book. If you're interested in buying it, you can purchase it here .







McChicken® Ingredients
Tools Needed: Deep fryer; meat mallet

Ingredients:
vegetable oil (in fryer)
1 egg
1 cup water
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup tempura mix (or 1/3 cup flour for a total of 1 cup)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Accent®
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
4 chicken breast filets
4 sesame seed hamburger buns
1 cup chopped iceberg lettuce

McChicken® sauce:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/16 teaspoon onion powder

Stir together well, refrigerate until needed.


Preparing your McChicken® Sandwich
1. Beat the egg and then combine it with 1 cup water in a small, shallow bowl. Stir.
2. Combine the flour, salt, pepper, Accent®, onion powder and garlic powder in a
one gallon size zip lock bag.
3. Pound each of the breast filets with a mallet until about 1/4-inch thick. Trim each
breast filet until it is round.
4. Coat each filet with the flour mixture by shaking in the zip lock bag.
5. Remove and dredge each filet in the egg mixture, coating well. Then return each
filet to the flour/seasoning mixture. Shake to coat. Put filets, bag and all, in the freezer
for at least an hour. Cover and refrigerate remaining egg mixture.
6. After freezing, repeat the "coating" process.
7. Deep fry the chicken filets at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until light brown and crispy.
8. As the chicken is frying, toast the buns using the standard method described in cooking
regular hamburgers.
9. On the crown side of the bun, apply 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise mixture, followed
by 1/4 cup chopped iceberg lettuce. Then top with the cooked chicken patty, and the
heel of the bun.
10. Wrap tightly in a 12x16 piece of waxed paper, and let stand 6-8 minutes.
11. Microwave on high, individually, for 15 seconds and serve.

I've tried this one myself, and it tastes pretty good, actually better quality than what
you would find at McDonald's. Again, if you want to check out the e-book with recipes
from:
AppleBee's
Benihana
Boston Market
Chili's
Hard Rock Cafe
KFC
Olive Garden
Red Lobster
TGI Friday's
Wendy's

Then you should definitely check this one out!
Click here to go to America's Most Wanted Recipes!

Hershey Chocolate Cake

Here's another great dessert idea for you chocolate cake lovers! Even more so if you're a fan of Hershey's chocolate! It is also pretty simple to make.

1 1/4 cup Flour
1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
6 tablespoon Extra Light Corn Oil Spread
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Skim Milk
1 tablespoon White Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 8 inch round pans with
cooking spray. In bowl, stir flour, cocoa and baking soda. In
saucepan, melt corn oil spread, stir in sugar. Remove from heat.
Add milk, vinegar and vanilla to mixture in sauce pan, stir. Add dry
ingredients, whisk until well blended. Pour evenly into pans.
Bake 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted comes out clean. Cool. Fill
and frost top. Refrigerate.

Light Cocoa Frosting:
In small mixerbowl, stir together 1 envelope dry whipped topping mix, 1/2 cup
cold skim milk, 1 T Hershey's CoCoa and 1/2 t vanilla extract. Beat
on high speed of mixer about 4 minutes or until soft peaks form.

Fat Free Chocolate Cake

This is a good dessert idea for people who want to watch what they eat, the recipe it is a low-fat alternative for all the other chocolate cake recipes out there.

1 1/4 cup Flour
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup Corn starch
1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
1/2 teasoon Salt
4 Egg whites
1 cup Water
1/2 Light or dark corn syrup
Mazola No-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9" square baking pan with
cooking spray.
In large bowl, combine dry ingredients until well mixed. In medium
bowl, whisk egg whites, water and corn syrup. Stir into dry
ingredients until smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes
or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool on wire rack
10 minutes.
Makes 16 servings.

Chocolate Covered Truffles

This is a great chocolate truffle recipe I've tried, and it's not too hard to make. Truffles came out
pretty good, quite chocolaty and not too rich.

1/4 C butter
1 1/2 lbs. real semisweet chocolate
3/4 C non-dairy coffee creamer, any flavor
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds real milk chocolate for dipping
1 cup finely chopped chocolate for decoration

Makes about 3 dozen truffles

Melt semisweet chocolate in double boiler over hot water. Heat
butter, creamer and vanilla in another saucepan to 125° F on a
candy thermometer. Add to semisweet chocolate all at once, beating until smooth and creamy. Chill in refrigerator until nearly set but still pliable. Beat with mixer until light and fluffy. Spread in 9 inch buttered pan until set enough to roll into small balls. Melt milk chocolate over double boiler. Dip truffles in melted chocolate, then sprinkle generously, or roll in, chopped chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Ganache

This is a sweet and very rich chocolate cake taken from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts. The authors refer to the frosting as "a day trip to chocolate cream heaven."

Cake
1/2 cups (375ml) boiling water
3/4 cup (175 ml) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups (500 ml) unbleached white flour
1 1/4 teaspoons (6 ml) baking soda
1/8 teaspoon (0.5 ml) salt
1 cup butter (250 ml), at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (325 ml) packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, gradually add a bit of the boiling water to the cocoa, whisking to make a paste, then whisk in the rest of the water. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Butter two cake pans and lightly dust them with flour.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cooled cocoa mixture, beating after each addition.
Divide the better evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool the layers in the pans for about 5 minutes, then turn them out onto racks to cool completely. Frost with chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) heavy cream
9 ounces (225 g) semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon (15 ml) hazelnut-flavoured liqueur, like Fra Angelico (optional)

In a saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Melt the chocolate or chop it into small pieces. Whisk the melted chocolate or chocolate pieces into the simmering cream and continue to heat gently, in necessary, to fully melt the chocolate. Stir in the liqueur, if using.
Pour the chocolate cream into a bowl. Chill for about an hour, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes until it has thickened enough to spread. Store in the refrigerator until needed.

Chocolate Kahlua Brownies

The Kahlua adds a refreshing new taste to brownies. If you feel like havibf a different kind of brownie, definately give this a try!

1 1/2 c Sugar
1/2 c Fresh eggs
3 tb Kahlua
1/4 c Margarine, melted
1 1/4 c Sifted cake flour
1/2 c Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ts Baking powder
1/8 ts Salt
1/3 c Finely chopped walnuts
Vegetable cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. With an electric mixer, beat together
the sugar, egg, liqueur and melted margarine until blended.
Combine cake flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add to the
sugar mixture, beating just to blend. Stir in walnuts. Spray a 9"
square pan with vegetable cooking spray. Transfer batter to the pan
and bake 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool
completely. Makes 16 brownies.

Magnolia's Cupcakes

This dessert recipe is taken from the Magnolia Cookbook, and is the best cupcake recipe I've come across.

Everyone is always asking us which is the most popular cupcake at the bakery. Most people are surprised that it is what we call the vanilla vanilla - the vanilla cupcake with the vanilla icing (and the most popular color for the icing is pink).

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)

• CUPCAKES:

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

• 2 cups sugar

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

• 1 cup milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ICING:

• Vanilla Buttercream (recipe follows) or Chocolate Buttercream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

5. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.

Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.

The Queen's Chocolate Biscuit Cake

This is a very simple and absolutely delicious dessert recipe! The recipe was provided by Michael Dunn, a former chef at Buckingham Palace.

Ingredients

- 20 arrowroot biscuits (4 oz/125 g)
- 8 oz (250 g) Bittersweet chocolate (Belgian if possible), finely chopped
- 1 cup (250 ml) Whipping cream
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) Granulated sugar

Perparation

Line 5-3/4- x3-1/4-inch (625 ml) loaf pan with waxed paper; set aside.

Break biscuits into 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces; place in large bowl. Place chocolate in heatproof bowl. In saucepan, stir cream with sugar; bring to boil. Pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) of the chocolate mixture to biscuit pieces; stir to coat.

Pour biscuit mixture into prepared pan; smooth top. Cover and refrigerate cake and remaining chocolate mixture separately until cake is firm, about 4 hours. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

Remove remaining chocolate mixture from refrigerator; let come to room temperature.

Invert cake onto serving plate; peel off paper. Using small palette knife, spread remaining chocolate mixture over cake. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.) Slice thinly.

Taken from canadianliving.com