Fallen Chocolate Cake

I made this cake months and months ago (before I was pregnant, actually), but it's too good to not share. This is such a great recipe because it's one dessert that you actually want to fall. I made this for company, so I could make the cake earlier in the day and let it cool and fall all afternoon while I finished up dinner. I always try to have a combination of make-ahead and last minute recipes for when we have company, and this one is a winner!

Fallen Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces, plus more for pan
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar, divided, plus more for pan
10 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (61-72%), coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 eggs
2 Tbsp natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp salt

for the topping:
1 cup chilled heavy cream
3 Tbsp powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter 9" springform pan and dust with sugar, tapping out any excess.

Combine chocolate, oil, and 1/2 cup butter in a large heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan of simmering water and heat, stirring often, until melted. Remove bowl from saucepan.

Separate 4 eggs, placing whites and yolks in separate medium bowls. Add cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, 1/4 cup sugar, and remaining 2 eggs to bowl with yolks and whisk until until mixture is smooth. Gradually whisk yolk mixture into chocolate mixture, blending well.

Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until frothy. With mixer running, gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar; beat until firm peaks firm.

Gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture in 2 additions, folding just until incorporated between additions. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp sugar.

Bake until top is puffed and starting to crack and cake is pulling away from edge of pan, 35-45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cake cool completely in pan (cake will collapse in the center and crack further as it cools).

Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Remove sides of springform pan from cake. Mound whipped cream in center of cake and serve. Serves 8-10.

source: barely adapted from Bon Appétit, March 2013

Peanut Butter Fudge Pie with Salted Peanut Butter Caramel

I have always had quite the sweet tooth, but this pregnancy has taken "sweet tooth" to a whole new level. Although in the past month I've drastically cut back on my sugar intake (doctor's orders - eek!), this pregnancy has been filled with lots of delicious treats, both homemade and store-bought. I made this pie several weeks back when we had friends over for dinner. There were just four of us, but Saturday night company warrants a decadent pie, in my (pregnant) mind. THIS pie. This PIE. Peanut butter + chocolate is forever the best combination, and throwing in some salted caramel seals the deal. This pie is pretty easy to put together, and I even used a store-bought pie crust, because I'm pregnant and I'm allowed to take shortcuts like that :)

Peanut Butter Fudge Pie with Salted Peanut Butter Caramel
1 pie crust
1 cup unsalted butter, softened and divided
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, divided
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar, divided
1 1/4 cups flour, divided
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 (12 oz) jar caramel ice cream topping
1/2 tsp flaked sea salt

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the pie crust and fit it in a 9-inch pie plate. Flute the edges as desired, then place the pan in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to fill.

In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the softened butter, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, and 1/2 cup flour. Cut together until combined, then stir in the peanuts. Freeze for 15 minutes.

In a double boiler, combine the chocolate and remaining 3/4 cup butter. Heat until melted and combined. Alternately, place in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals until they are melted and combined. Whisk in the sugar, cocoa, and 1 cup of remaining brown sugar. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Add in the vanilla, salt, and remaining 3/4 cup of flour. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust.

Take the peanut butter topping from the freezer and crumble over the top of the chocolate layer.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes, or until the center of the pie puffs and sets. Remove from the oven and cool for 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the caramel sauce, the remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter, and the sea salt. Drizzle 4 Tbsp of the caramel over the pie, then allow the pie to cool completely. Serve with the remaining caramel sauce for drizzling over each slice, if desired.

source: taste & tell blog, originally from Country Living, November 2014

Tunnel of Fudge Chocolate Cake

For the past couple of months I have been craving chocolate cake - like a rich, thick chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I saw the recipe for this cake a couple of weeks ago and knew it was the one. We had friends over this past weekend for dinner, so I used that as an excuse to make this cake. And let me just tell you it was one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had. The recipe does this crazy thing where the very inside of the cake is like molten chocolate cake, hence the "tunnel of fudge". The rest of the cake is a perfect blend between moist chocolate cake and fudgey brownies, and then it's topped off with a ganache - hello delicious!  

Tunnel of Fudge Chocolate Cake
to prep the pan:
1 Tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

for the cake:
1/2 cup boiling water
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp salt
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 sticks (20 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature

for the glaze:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and melted butter. Use a pastry brush to evenly coat the inside of a 12-cup bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the 2 oz of chopped chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. In another medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, and salt. Combine the eggs and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup and beat lightly.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, brown sugar, and butter. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add in the egg mixture just until combined. Add the chocolate mixture and mix until incorporated. Blend in the dry ingredients until just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the edges of the cake begin to pull away from the pan.

Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 1 1/2 hours before inverting onto a cake platter. Allow to cool completely, about 2 more hours.

To make the glaze, combine the cream, corn syrup, and chocolate in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until smooth. Blend in the vanilla. Set aside for about 30 minutes, until slightly thickened. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and let set for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

source: recipe from annie's eats, originally from Cook's Illustrated Entertaining Holiday 2010