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