Dark Chocolate Souffle

I really like dark chocolate. I like it’s bittersweet taste, and the fact that it makes me feel less guilty for eating sweets because I like to think that having antioxidants makes it good for my health. I guess it’s no surprise that when I decided to make souffles for the first time, it would be dark chocolate souffle! But I have to say that I made the mistake of using bittersweet chocolate when I think I should have used semisweet instead.

What’s the difference between bittersweet and semisweet chocolate?

Semisweet chocolate is sweeter than bittersweet chocolate and usually contains ~30-50% cacao. Bittersweet, on the other hand, contains about 60% cacao and has more of an intense, dark chocolaty taste.

This recipe uses bittersweet chocolate but you can decide what you would prefer. I used Ghirardelli’s bittersweet 60% cacao chocolate and, even though I love dark chocolate, I would have preferred if it was a tad sweeter!

Ingredients -

• 2.5 tbsp butter, softened
• 3 oz bitter/semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2.5 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 medium ramekins or 4 mini ramekins

Where can I find cream of tartar?

Cream of tartar can be found at any grocery store (Ralphs, Albertsons, etc.) in the spices section. :)

Use 1/2 tbsp of butter to coat the insides of your ramekins (thanks Francine for letting me borrow them! :D). Then use 1/2 tbsp of sugar to line the butter-coated insides (yum, more calories!).

Melt the chocolate chips and butter together using a double broiler. This can easily be done by placing a glass or ceramic bowl on top of boiling water in a small pot. Make sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl or else your chocolate will burn! Stir regularly so that the chocolate and butter can combine and melt together.

Separate the egg white and egg yolks of the two eggs. Remove the chocolate & butter mixture from heat and stir in egg yolks and the vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. Whisk the mixture together using an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Fold egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture carefully using a spatula or large spoon. Be careful not to overmix! Fill the prepared ramekins about 3/4 full and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes and garnish with chocolate ganache & powdered sugar (optional). Eat these immediately…cause they will not be very souffle-ish after refrigerating for a night (but still good! :))

Thanks for following! xox

Beverly :D

Dark Chocolate Walnut Brownies

Hi Everyone!

I’ve been slacking on the blogging lately, but I haven’t stopped or given up (yet, anyway)! I just moved into my new apartment in San Diego at Regents La Jolla and we haven’t gotten our internet installed yet, so I’ve been stealing internet at the Starbucks downstairs from the complex. : )

The apartment is beautiful! But I have to admit, San Diego life isn’t any more interesting than I remembered it. It’s been less than a week and I find myself looking for things to do already, and I guess not having internet access doesn’t help. I’m taking 5 classes this quarter, so that will keep me pretty busy. I will, however, continue baking once a week! These next two posts are from last week and the week before…enjoy!

—

Ingredients -

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened (dark chocolate) cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2-1 cup walnuts

These brownies were super easy to make! Prep ingredients, bake, and they are ready to eat in less than an hour. I brought them to my niece’s 9th birthday party and realized that I definitely did not make enough, so if baking for a large party, double the recipe. : )

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until soft peaks form. Then add in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until combined. Add in the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Add in walnuts and bake in an 8x8 pan at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Thanks for following! xox

Beverly :D

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Last week I went up to Santa Barbara to celebrate my 21st and I meant to post a recipe of these rainbow jello shots that we made…or attempted to make. Anyway, it didn’t turn out as cute-looking as we had hoped, so I decided not to create a post on it (but we ate it all anyway!). I’ve been craving some strawberry shortcake, so I decided to make some mini strawberry shortcake cupcakes. It was my first time making these and it turned out surprisingly okay. At first, I wasn’t too big of a fan because I thought the texture was a bit strange, but after it cooled in the fridge it actually was pretty decent! As a tip, I wouldn’t make frosting in 100 degree weather as it melts very easily.

Step 1: Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients -

• 1 cup chopped strawberries
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed in 1 tbsp water
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/8 cups oil
• 1.5 eggs
• 3/8 cups milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

I decided to first make the strawberry filling mixture first in order to cool it while I prep the cupcake batter. Chop up the strawberries and heat with water and sugar in a small pot over the stove for about 5 minutes or until berries are softened. Then add in the cornstarch to thicken the mixture and stir for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool in the fridge.

Next, blend together the sugar and oil. Add in the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly blend in the dry ingredients into the mixture. This will form a thick liquid mixture.

Next, line your cupcake pan (I used a silicone mini pan) and pour in the batter until about 1/3 filled. Drop some strawberry filling mixture (that we made earlier) and cover it up with more cupcake batter. Fill cupcake pan about 3/4 full. Set the oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 12 minutes.

While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the strawberry frosting!

Ingredients -

• 6tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp milk
• strawberry jam (strawberry filling mixture can be used for this purpose)

First, whisk the butter with an electric mixture until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and continue mixing. I had to kneed the sugar and butter together so that they would blend better. Then add in the vanilla, salt, and milk and continue blending for about 2 minutes until it becomes a smooth, creamy frosting.

I redid the strawberry filling with smaller-chopped strawberries to add into the frosting. You can also use strawberry jam for this purpose. Add in to taste…fyi I used about 1/3 cups.

Take the cupcakes out of the oven and COOL them! Make sure they are fully cooled before frosting. I got a little anxious and my frosting became kind of melty (the 100 degree weather didn’t help either). Put some strawberries on top for decor and voilá! you’ve made strawberry shortcake cupcakes. :D

Thanks for following! xox

Beverly

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cranberries & Walnuts

Since it’s finally summer time for me, I have lots of time to bake and I’m going to make an effort to post a new recipe each week (probably on Wednesdays since that seems to be the pattern). I plan to continue this throughout the school year, so my apartment mates will be eating lots of baked goods!!

This recipe is adapted from a chocolate chip cookie recipe from the food network featuring the secret ingredient: cornstarch! I haven’t made many cookies before, but all of the ones I used to make would become hard and crunchy. However, this one (with the added cornstarch) remains soft after baking! Enjoy! : )

Ingredients -

• 3/4 cup softened unsalted butter
  
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

First, use an electric mixer (by far my best baking investment for $6.99 at Target!) to cream together the two sugars and softened butter until smooth.

Blend in the egg and vanilla extract. Then, add in flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt and kneed the ingredients together into a soft ball.

Now add in the fun ingredients and kneed together! : )
— cranberries, chocolate chips, & walnuts —

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for ~10 minutes until edges are lightly browned.

Thanks for following! xox
Beverly

Girl Scouts Samoa Cookies!

This first post features my favorite Girl Scouts cookies: Samoas! These are dark chocolate, coconut caramel dipped shortbread cookies. They took a couple of hours to prepare, so if you’re looking for an easy way out…I’d advise spending your time searching for a Girl Scout instead. Below is the recipe (borrowed from Once Upon a Plate Recipes)…enjoy! : )

Step 1: Shortbread Cookie

Ingredients -

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp milk

First, blend together butter and sugar until smooth. Next, add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk or kneed dough together, adding in milk to make it into a soft, non-sticky ball of dough.

Gather ~1/3 of the dough and roll it out between two sheets of wax paper until dough is approximately 1/4” thick.

Use a round cookie cutter (or the top of a jar) and cut out circles of about 2” in diameter. Then, select a smaller circle and cut out the center of the cookie to make a donut-like shape.

Preheat the over to 350 degrees and bake cookies for about 10 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and set on a plate to cool. Be careful, as the cookies may break easily.

Step 2. Coconut Caramel Topping

Ingredients -

• 3 cups coconut
• 12 oz chewy caramels
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp milk

Toast the coconut on a pan over light fire or in an oven for a few minutes, until lightly browned. Unwrap caramels combine with salt and milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir, then microwave again for 30-60 seconds as necessary until caramel is smooth. Then, mix in coconut.

Using a small spatula or a spoon, spread caramel-coconut mixture on top of cooled shortbread cookies.

Step 3. Dark Chocolate

Ingredients -

• 8 oz (dark) chocolate chips/bar

Break up chocolate into small pieces and microwave for 60-90 seconds, stopping every 20-30 seconds to stir, until chocolate is smooth. Dip bottom of cookies into melted chocolate, then place cookies onto wax paper. When finished, cool cookies in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before enjoying.

Thanks for following! xox
Beverly