Lemon Poppyseed Strawberry Shortcake

SORRY! I swear I haven't completely abandoned my blog! I've been super busy with orders and planning a trip to, drumroll please...MAUI ! I'm so excited it's only 2 weeks away! But back to this here blog. This was actually the accompanying cake to the chocolate peanut butter pie I made for Easter dinner. Fresh, light, but full of flavor. This is a great summer treat! I took a classic recipe and stepped it up a notch with poppy seeds and lemon! Try this for your next BBQ! (maybe I will make this is Maui) ;)

Lemon Poppyseed Strawberry Shortcake

Original recipe here
For the Cake
1 ¼ Cups (175g) All-Purpose Flour
2 ½ tsp (10g) Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Sea Salt
5 Large Eggs, separated
1 ¼ Cups Granulated Sugar (I used 1 Cup (210g))
5 Tbsp Boiling Water
1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
Grated zest of 2 Lemons
1tbsp Poppy seeds
1/2 c chopped pecans

For the Strawberry Cream Filling
2 Cups Fresh Strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
4 to 6 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
2 Cups Crème Fraiche
2/3 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Confectioners’ Sugar for dusting

Method

Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan with parchment paper.

To make the cake, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip together the egg yolks and sugar on high speed until thick; the mixture will be grainy. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the boiling water. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Increase the speed to high and whip again until thick. Stir in the vanilla extract, lemon zest and poppy seeds. Reduce the speed to low and stir in the flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites on medium-low speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until thick and smooth; the mixture should not look dry. Fold half of the whites into the batter, and then fold in the remaining whites.

Gently spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan and remove the ring. Invert the cake and remove the base of the pan. Carefully peel off the parchment. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let cool completely. Using a serrated knife, cut the cake horizontally into 3 layers.
To make the filling, place the 2 cups strawberries in a bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and 2 Tbsp of the granulated sugar. Taste for sweetness; depending on the berries’ ripeness, you many need to add additional 1 to 2 Tbsp more sugar.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the crème fraiche, cream, vanilla and the remaining 2 Tbsp granulated sugar. Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form and the cream hold its shape.

Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Arrange 1/3 of the strawberries and their juices over the cake. Spread 1/3 of the cream over the berries. Sprinkle 1/3 of the chopped nuts. Repeat the layering process with the remaining 2 cake layers, berries and cream, ending with a layer cream and nuts.

Before serving, dust the top of the cake with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with additional berries. Cut the cake with a serrated knife.

Chili's Paradise Pie..Cake

Sound too good to be true? That's because it was. This was a request for a birthday last summer. It was for a birthday BBQ for a guy who is OBSESSED with the Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie from Chili's. Don't know what that is? Check it out here. Basically to sum it up its a delicious mess of walnuts, coconut, and chocolate with a graham cracker base. This was definitely not your average birthday cake. I was pretty hesitant at first because I really wasn't sure how a cookie would slice as a cake. In the end, it was a bit messy, but non-the-less absolutely sinful. It was basically like biting into a giant gooey cookie covered in chocolate ganache and caramel. Really fun to make (and eat!) and a good idea if your looking for something a little different to bring to the table this time. For all you cookie lovers out there, this one's for you!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
I used the tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe for one layer, and a blondie recipe for the other.

For the cookie crust:
1 box (16 oz.) graham crackers
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup butter melted (more if needed)

Combine all ingredients except the melted butter in a food processor and process until crumbly. Slowly add melted butter and process until combined. Crust should be able to "hold" together when pressed between your fingers (if this is not the case add more butter). Divide mixture in half and add to 2 9' springform or cake pans lined with parchment paper. Press down firmly with back of spoon or palm.

For the blondie:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup (3 oz.) coarsely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup (4 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Cut the butter into chunks and melt in a saucepan over a gentle heat. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla, then stir in the flour mixture, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Poor batter on top of the cookie crust in your springform or cake pans.

Now for the baking times; if you were baking normal cookies on a cookie sheet the recipe calls for about 25 minutes, but because were obviously not doing that, the time has to be adjusted. I just winged it here keeping an eye on how done the "cakes" were about every 5-10 minutes after the first 25. I believe overall it took about 35-40 minutes to cook each one. They were slightly gooey in the center. You'll just have to keep an eye on your cakes and pull them out when you think there done. :)

Once both cakes are out of the oven, cool completely on a wire rack. Now you can start making the caramel & chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chopped (or 1/2 semisweet 1/2 dark)
dash salt

Directions:
In a small saucepan heat cream, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and add chopped chocolate, let stand for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir mixture until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Let cool to room temperature and use right away.
(can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Soften glaze with a double broiler.)


Caramel Sauce 
1/2 c butter
1c brown sugar
1/3-2/3c heavy cream
1tsp. vanilla


Melt butter, add brown sugar whisk 2 min, add cream whisk 2 min, mix in vanilla. (Make sure you test the consistancy and be sure the sugars are completely dissolved, otherwise you can end up with a grainy caramel. )


Assembly:
Put one layer of cake onto a cake board or platter. Poor enough caramel to fill the "crater" on the top of the cookie (when the cookie cools it will drop about 1/2 a cm. in the center). Add second layer of cake on top. Poor more caramel over top of cakes with the addition of the chocolate ganache as well. I added some toasted shredded coconut around the edges and on top, optional. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and pig out! :)

Deep Chocolate Ganache Cake

I did an order for a birthday party a few months back and this was one of the 4 cakes I made. It was a fun job because I basically got to pick what I wanted to make, the buyer just told me she wanted 4 cakes that would feed about 60 people. I knew I wanted at least one chocolate. This was actually the first chocolate cake I had ever made. I had done plenty of variations of chocolate cupcakes before, but never a cake. I knew it had to be layered because it would have to feed a good amount of people. Paula Deen's chocolate mousse instantly came to mind. I had made it plenty of times before and knew it would taste great layered in between cake. I really wanted this cake to explode with chocolate flavor. I feel like too many times I try chocolate cake from a restaurant or bakery and it's really bland. This was not going to be the case here! I debated on what to use as the "frosting," and came to the decision that a dark chocolate ganache would be preferred over a more traditional buttercream or frosting. Now all I needed was the cake recipe. I scoured and searched for hours online trying to find the best looking chocolate cake recipe, and ended up using bits and pieces of multiple recipes with my added touches here and there. The end result of it all in one cake? I have no idea. I didn't actually get to try the cake, it would look pretty funny if I delivered it with a slice missing.:) But the look of it was absolutely sexy. Hand carved flakes of dark chocolate adorning the top of dual layers of silky chocolate cake covered in deep chocolate gancahe. That's a mouthful. Hopefully it was a yummy mouthful :)

Here's the recipe. I will definitely have to make this again for a family event or maybe even for easter so I can let you know how it tastes. Or you can make it and let me know! Enjoy.

Chocolate Cake
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups cocoa
1 tsp. instant coffee powder (or espresso powder)
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
1 tbsp. Kahlua
2/3-3/4 cups boiling water

Directions:
Sift together dry ingredients and add to a medium sized bowl fitted to a paddle attachment, stir. Add eggs one at a time until mixed well. Add milk, oil, and vanilla, and Kahlua and beat on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. Divide in half and pour into 2-8 inch round cake pans that have been buttered and floured. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. While cakes are still hot, use a pastry brush to brush tops with additional Kahlua. Cool.

Paula Deen's Chocolate Mousse
Original recipe here.

6 (4 oz.) bars bittersweet chocolate chopped ( I've used both bittersweet and dark, either work great)
2/3 cups extra strong black coffee (you can use instant espresso powder as well or if you don't drink coffee try using a dark hot chocolate powder mix)
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar + 1/2 cup
2 cups heavy cream

Directions:
Melt chocolate over a double broiler. When close to being melted add coffee and stir together. In a separate bowl beat 3 egg yolks and 1 cup sugar mixing well. Add mixture to melted chocolate and cook over heat. Stir well until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat, cool. Using hand held mixer beat 4 egg whites until stiff peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture.

Chocolate Ganache


1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chopped (or 1/2 semisweet 1/2 dark)
dash salt

Directions:
In a small saucepan heat cream, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and add chopped chocolate, let stand for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir mixture until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Let cool to room temperature and use right away.
(can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Soften glaze with a double broiler.)


Assembling:
Place one cake (top side down) on a cake decorator or baking sheet. Grab a heaping spoonful of chocolate mousse and place in center of cake. Using a cake spatula or back of spoon, spread mousse evenly starting in the center and working your way outwards until mousse almost touches edges (leave about 1 cm.) Carve the top off of the 2nd cake to make sure you have a smooth surface. Place on top of 1st layer. Using the same technique, spoon chocolate ganache on top and on sides until your cake is fully covered and you have worked out any "blemishes."

For the Chocolate Flakes:
Using whatever chocolate you would like, melt over double broiler. (You will need about 8 oz.) Pour melted chocolate onto a large baking sheet and smooth over with the back of a spatula or spoon. Place in fridge or freezer to harden, about 10-15 minutes. Using a large and very sharp kitchen knife, pull on the chocolate until you reach the desired chocolate flake (or curl) size. To be more specific: one hand is holding the knife handle and the other is gripping the top of the non cutting edge of the knife. You are pulling towards your body so you have to be very careful, the knife could slip. If chocolate becomes temperamental, stick back in freezer for a few minutes to harden again.