Ok so I recently found the Peppermint Brownie Cake Pops at Starbucks and my life has not been the same since.  They are that delicious.  And somehow, under 200 calories…I’m guessing that’s because they are so small, but really this sweet treat is all I really need to get me through my day.  I also, however, realized that they are sadly seasonal items – so probably sometime this month they will be trickling out of stores near you.  Obviously, I could not let this happen without figuring out a reasonable knock-off recipe prior to the inevitable end of the holiday season.

I have to say, this recipe is a pretty passable version of the deliciousness that is the Peppermint Brownie Cake Pop.  I made it for Christmas this year, and it was a big hit to say the least.  It also is very easy, even if you’ve never tried cake pops before.  Basically Cake Pops are what you make if your cake comes out all crumbly and fall-apart-y.  You combine the cooked and crumbled cake with frosting and form into balls, about 1.5 inches in diameter, then freeze until semi-solid.  For the finishing touch, you put a stick into the ball of crumbled cake (since it’s frozen, it won’t fall apart) and then dip into your choice of coating, which for me was melted white chocolate.  Finally, sprinkle with whatever cute/tasty decoration you wish to use.

We sincerely enjoyed making these, and also eating them...although I do not recommend licking the candy coating off of a butter knife as my sous chef is.

I used a store-bought brownie mix, seeing as I was going to be crumbling it all up and mixing it with frosting to make it even moister and more delicious.  A tip for melting white chocolate here -if you add about 1-2 tsp of vegetable oil, the white chocolate melts much more smoothly, and is about a million times easier to work with.  I suggest using a double boiler for this recipe, (rather than my go-to chocolate melting strategy – the microwave) as it takes a while to dip all of the cake balls into the chocolate, and this will keep your white chocolate good to go the whole time.  Lastly, I would strongly recommend having a block of unused floral foam on hand, so that you can place the sticks into it and have the cake pops harden without a flat side.  Makes them much more pretty.

Peppermint Brownie Cake Pops – a la Starbucks

• 1 boxed brownie mix, prepared according to package instructions and cooled
• 4oz cream cheese, softened  **you may use frosting instead of cream cheese if you prefer a sweeter finished product
• 1 package white chocolate chips
• 1-2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 bag starlight mints or 1 box candy canes, crushed
• Candy sticks, found in the candy-making section of your local craft store

Place prepared brownies into the bowl of your stand mixer and turn it on.  Add softened cream cheese, and mix until the brownie crumbs are moistened.  Form into 1.5 inch balls and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Freeze for at least 1 hour.  Remove from freezer and insert a candy stick into each ball.  Place your white chocolate chips and vegetable oil into the bowl of a double boiler and place over a small amount of boiling water.  When the chips start to become glossy-looking, stir until they melt completely and are smooth.  Dip each cake pop into the melted white chocolate.  Immediately dip the cake pop into the crushed peppermint.  Finally, place the cake ball sticks into a waiting block of unused floral foam, so that your cake pops end up perfectly round.  Enjoy!

My husband and I recently took a trip to Kennebunkport, Maine for our anniversary.  It was our first time staying at a bed & breakfast in the US (although we had been to some in Ireland) and we had an absolutely amazing time – it was the off season so the town was quiet as can be.  We went for walks on the beach, visited a meadery, and earned ourselves a hat on the Maine Beer Trail by visiting 5 breweries – which by the way, was awesome, and you should totally do if you have the opportunity.  During our trip, an innkeeper at the Captain Lord Mansion made us a fantastic breakfast and as we chatted with our fellow guests he mentioned that blueberry kuchen was his favorite pastry to make.  Kuchen is the German word for cake, and the dish is somewhat reminiscent of coffee cake…only better!  I happened to have some frozen raspberries on hand one day, and thought to my self that raspberries would probably taste equally awesome in kuchen, and gave it a whirl.  Turns out, Raspberry Kuchen is pretty awesome too, and FANTASTICALLY easy!  I used frozen berries, but certainly this would come out fine with fresh raspberries too.  This made a great cake for an afternoon tea party, or for a special breakfast treat, or for dessert.   I modified the berry content, as the 2 cups the original recipe calls for is a LOT of berries, and I was afraid it would be too watery – I’m glad I did, as it came out great!

Raspberry Kuchen

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup frozen raspberries – straight from the freezer, do not thaw!

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl.  Mix in the milk, butter, egg and vanilla.  Beat until the batter is smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 baking pan.  Sprinkle frozen raspberries evenly over the top of the batter.  To make the topping, combine the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour.  Stir in the melted butter so the mixture takes a crumb-y appearance.  Sprinkle this topping evenly over the pan.  Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top appears slightly golden.  Cut into squares and serve.  Enjoy!

It may be the end of January, but that doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on all of the fun flavors associated with Christmas.  Sure, the holidays have come and gone, but it’s still winter.  It’s still cold, and who doesn’t need some cheer in the form of a delectable dessert at the end of a frigid January day?

I added gingerbread to my 30 While 30 list fully expecting to make it during the Christmas season.  Life (and 28 dozen cookies) got in the way, but an impromptu dinner with my mother-in-law presented the perfect opportunity to give this recipe a whirl.

This cake is just perfect.  The crumb is moist and dense – leaning more towards the consistency of a quick bread than a standard cake.   It has all of the hallmark gingerbread flavors – rich molasses, warm cinnamon and spicy ginger and cloves.  Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon alongside your favorite hot beverage for the perfect winter day finale.

Gingerbread

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
heaping 1/2 tsp ground ginger
heaping 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
scant 2/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour one 8 inch square baking pan. (I prefer to line a pan with foil and use cooking spray…easier clean-up!)
2. Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and molasses, beating until well-combined.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon and ground cloves.
5. Once water has come to a boil, alternately add the water and flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Beat well after each addition.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Regular readers of this blog will probably recognize the recipe below – it’s the chocolate cake that I’ve used as the base for all of my chocolate cupcakes.   It deserves its own post – it’s just that amazing.

First of all, it’s really easy to make.  There’s no melted butter or chopped chocolate, just vegetable oil and cocoa.  It’s a breeze to throw all the ingredients together.    The resulting cake has a rich, warm chocolate flavor with a soft, but not overly spongy crumb.

My husband made and decorated this cake for my birthday.  It was so pretty and absolutely delicious!  The cookies and cream frosting (simply halve the recipe from Oreo Cupcakes) added a nice touch.  I have to admit, it was difficult to get a good picture of the cake because it was after dark and we didn’t want to interrupt the celebration.

If you’re looking for a delicious, easy chocolate cake recipe, give the Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake a try… you won’t regret it!

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease 2 9-inch cake pans.
2. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir until well blended.
4. Add flour mixture to large bowl and beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.
5. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.

First, sorry for the long break in posting! My husband and I were refinishing our guest room. 2 buckets of spackle, a roll of fiberglass tape, and a few buckets of paint later…we are tired but done.

In tastier news, my mother-in-law gave me this recipe for a Flourless Chocolate Torte – she first made it for my mother, who follows a gluten-free diet, at a family function a few years ago. The cake was an instant hit – it’s very rich and chocolatey, almost fudgey. Even the non-gluten-free folks in the room thought it was incredible! Unlike a lot of gluten-free cakes, it is incredibly moist and has a lovely texture. This recipe is now legend in our circle – friends and family alike have procured this recipe and make it for special occasions – I made one this week in preparation for a weekend celebration and can’t wait until Saturday to try it!

This recipe does require a fair amount of work – not something to try when you’re looking for something quick to whip up, but the results are very tasty and worth the time and effort.

Jan’s Flourless Chocolate Torte

Ingredients:

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I used chocolate chips)

1 oz (by weight) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 and 1/2 sticks of salted butter (sliced into tablespoon sized pieces)

8 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

2/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and butter in a double boiler (or a Pyrex bowl over a saucepan of hot water). Meanwhile, butter a springform pan (mine was 12 inches) and line the bottom with parchment paper. Cover the outside with a piece of aluminum foil – this cooks in a water bath, and using the foil keeps the water from seeping in!

Separate the 8 eggs. Add the vanilla to the egg yolk bowl and mix.

When the chocolate mixture has finished melting, remove it from the heat so it has the chance to cool a little. Take 1-2 tablespoons of the melted chocolate mixture and add it to the egg yolks, mixing well (this will gradually increase the yolk temperature so the eggs don’t cook!) Then add the egg yolk mixture back into the bowl with the rest of the melted chocolate mixture.

With the egg whites – add the salt and begin to whip the eggs in a bowl, gradually adding the brown sugar as you go. When all the sugar is incorporated beat on high until peaks begin to foam.

Stir about one half of the egg white mixture into the chocolate and egg yolk mixture until they are well mixed. Then gently fold in the rest of the egg white mixture, preserving the fluffiness of the egg whites as much as you can.

Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan. Place the springform pan in a roasting pan and fill to about 1 inch depth with warm/hot water. Bake for 40-50 minutes; the cake is done when a good crust has formed.