Mom's Neutron Torte

This is my mother's (in)famous chocolate torte recipe (also known as "neutron torte" or "instant heart attack inducer torte"). She has kindly given me permission to post this recipe. For those people in my department, this is what I brought to the MMG department party two months ago.

I've adjusted mom's recipe to make only one torte. She always makes two and freezes one if she doesn't need the second one immediately; I simply don't have the freezer space to do so. I've also added hazelnut to the glaze, which I quite like.

Recipe:

Snap out the bottoms of an 8" springform pan (flat bottomed preferred). Cover bottom of pan with foil, snap it back in, butter the sides and the foil-covered bottom (or spray with pam, that's what I do).



CAKE:

Separate 3 eggs (save both whites and yolks).


Mix together:
2 melted sticks butter
1.5 C sugar
1 tsp bourbon vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Add in and beat together until totally blended:
1/4 C cream
3 egg yolks.

Mix together in a separate bowl:
1 C flour
2/3 C cocoa powder (NOT hot chocolate mix). Either dutch processed or normal cocoa will work, they'll just give slightly different flavors. I use whatever I have on hand.



Add to butter mixture and mix until till smooth.



Beat separately:
3 egg whites
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar. Underbeating is better than overbeating.



Side note: do you have any idea how hard it is to photograph white whipped egg whites in a white bowl sitting on a white stove? Yeesh.

Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture:



You really don't want to over-mix, or you'll lose all that air that you so carefully beat into the egg whites. Here's what it should look like shortly before you put it in the pan:



And here's what it looks like before baking:




Put in the pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Center will not be solid, and cracking should appear. Run a knife carefully around outer edges; cake will fall.

Cool at least an hour. Loosen springform sides and remove. Put a plate on bottom of cake and flip over. Peel off bottoms of pans, then the foil. Glaze when fully cooled.



GLAZE:

Chop:
1/2 lb (250 g) bittersweet chocolate (we use Trader Joe's pound plus bars)

Add:
2/3 to 3/4 C cream
1 tsp hazelnut extract (this is what I do, mom has done mint before, which is also very good. My next plan is to try raspberry extract).

Melt chocolate in cream using a double boiler or microwave (I use a microwave). Try not to incorporate extra air in as you stir or you'll get bubbles, which are annoying. Also, it is important that every edge of every piece of chocolate be dunked in the cream before heating or that piece of chocolate may seize into a hardened, unmeltable lump.

When glazing, mom makes a backwards J from the center, turns the cake slightly, and repeats all the way around. If you use the smaller amount of cream the indentations will be clearer. When I make these I then stick the glazed torte in the fridge until the glaze sets. Once it has set you can run a knife around the bottom, insert a spatula under the torte and lift the whole thing to a new (clean) plate, which is prettier than leaving it on the plate you used while glazing the torte.

Note: my mom uses manufactoring cream for this recipe, which has a higher saturated fat content, so it holds shape better. I just use regular heavy cream, and I think it works just fine.

Mom-safe chocolate raspberry cookies

I made these for a meeting this week and they went over very well. In fairness, I suspect that anything with chocolate would probably go over well at any meeting that starts at seven on a busy Tuesday evening, but I still think it's a good recipe.

As usual, I'm only getting around to actually updating this blog because someone(s) asked for the recipe. I like to think that I'm not so much "lazy" as "insanely busy." But that may be denial; it's probably a little of column A, a little of column B.

Anyway.

Mom-friendly Chocolate Raspberry Cookies: (The last recipe I designed wasn't something my mom could try because of health constraints, so I made sure this one is. This means it can't have any nuts or seeds, hence the use of raspberry extract rather than preserves, jam, etc.)

Blend together until completely mixed:

1/2 C butter
1/2 C brown sugar (white sugar would work, I just happened to be out of it).



You really want the butter and sugar to be well mixed. I wait for it to look light and almost fluffy.

Add in:

1 egg/1 egg replacer equivalent (I used the replacer).

Mix well, then add:

1 tsp raspberry extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (use the real stuff, vanillin fake stuff is vile).

In a separate bowl mix: (candor compels me to admit that I don't bother with the "separate bowl" thing, but that's because I have a stand mixer so everything gets mixed fast. If you're mixing by hand you really should mix dry ingredients separately).

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 Cup cocoa powder (NOT hot chocolate mix)
1 Cup flour

Mix until blended, then add to butter mixture, and mix until flour is just barely incorporated. Then add roughly a cup of chocolate pieces of some variety. Here's what I used:





1. About 1/2 C chopped milk chocolate (Trader Joe's Pound Plus bar, thanks Mom for supplying it since I still live in this forsaken state that has no TJ store!)

2. 1/4 C dark chocolate (an extra half of a 85% dark lindt chocolate bar I had sitting around).

3. 1/4-1/2 dark chocolate truffles, chopped. A kind friend gave me a ton of these when I was sick last year, and I haven't been able to get through all of them, so I threw them in-- definitely a good move.

For those (like one of my siblings) who are allergic to milk, it would totally work with all dark chocolate. The chopped truffles are a nice addition, though, so if you happen to have dairy-free truffles on hand (don't laugh, many people in my family would have random truffles lying around) do chop a few and throw them in.

Mix in the chocolate pieces (this can be done with a stand mixer turned to low or just with a spatula).

At this point I rolled the cookie dough into balls (1-2" in diameter), stuck them on a cookie sheet and froze them. This is the best way to plan ahead for cookies when you know you won't have much time during the week. If you want cookies right away, obviously don't freeze the cookie dough.

Bake at ~350F* for 8-10 minutes (may take a couple minutes longer if dough is frozen). You want these cookies to look just barely undercooked when you take them out of the oven.




Directly after taking out of the oven sift powdered sugar on top of them. The first layer may melt a bit, that's ok. Just keep adding sugar until they look thoroughly dusted.




Let cool on the pan for about ten minutes, then loosen with a spatula. Add more powdered sugar if necessary. Note: it's not a great idea to package the cookies into a tupperware container before they are totally cool, or they'll kind of melt together. Nobody will be terribly bothered by this, but it is a bit of a pain.


*sorry about the iffy temperature. I live in a craptacular student apartment whose oven takes a somewhat stochastic approach to temperature regulation, so I have to guess what temperature it really is at any given moment.

Minty Brownies

Nom nom nom nom...

I am quickly discovering that the unifying force behind food blogs is laziness... the only time I am not too lazy to update this page is when people ask me for a recipe. It is at that point that I realize it that it is easier for me to post the recipe once than to have to write it out for multiple people... so here goes, with apologies to my sister, who may have asked me for this recipe about a month ago.

As anyone who has ever cooked with me knows, I am constitutionally incapable of following a recipe exactly. That being said, the King Arthur Flour Brownie Recipe is by far the best brownie recipe I've ever found. I've even been known to follow it exactly. The only changes I made this time were as follows:

1. I decreased the sugar from 2.25 to 2 Cups (just because I really prefer less sweet desserts, 2.25 isn't overly sweet)

2. I used Hershey's Super Dark cocoa (although the regular stuff works fine, I've used it in the past, this results in a VERY dark brownie)

3. I decreased the vanilla from 1 tablespoon to two teaspoons because I didn't want it to fight with the mint icing.

Other than that, follow the recipe as the wonderful folks at King Arthur Flour have designed it. Make sure you give yourself enough time for the brownies to cool completely before trying to ice it, or you shall have a crumbly mess.

Icing:

I really don't use a recipe for buttercream frosting, which is essentially what this icing is. But basically it is as follows:

Whip the heck out of the following (I use a stand mixer. You can also use a hand-held electric mixture. I suppose it may be technically possible to do this entirely by hand, but I certainly wouldn't try it):

* 8 tbsp/one stick butter (at room temp) (Earth Balance sticks also work. If you ever try Crisco or some equivalent nastiness I may have to hunt you down and beat you with a stick)

* ~3 cups powdered sugar
*1-2 tsp mint extract. I use ~2 tsp, but unless you really like a lot of mint I would recommend using 1 tsp and then add more later if you want it mintier.

Once this has reached a uniform texture and is really, really blended together, add milk until it reaches desired consistency. I add about a tablespoon at a time and then whip it again until it's all incorporated. It should take ~1/4 cup. If you overshoot you'll have a goopy mess. Not to worry; you can add more powdered sugar and fix it. However, with both the milk and the powdered sugar it's a really good idea to only add a little at a time or you'll keep overshooting and end up with a huge bowl of frosting which you will then feel that you have to use/eat. And then your bathroom scale will scream in agony.

Once you have the right texture, taste it to see if you want to add more mint, do so if necessary, and then frost the cooled brownies. I do this by adding about half of the frosting in a thin layer over the top of the brownies, then letting it sit for a minute. I then take a clean knife/spatula and add a second layer. This helps prevent crumbs from getting mixed in the frosting, which doesn't look nice. I have to admit, though, I have a hard time making it look totally even, so don't worry about it if it's not perfect.

Edit: for a variation my family won't make but other people might enjoy, add 1 tsp instant coffee to brownie batter. Then use Bailey's Irish Cream in place of milk in the frosting (and omit the mint extract). You'll need about 2 tbsp, maybe, then switch to milk. This will add an almost negligable amount of alcohol, but it's really good. Basically you'll have created Irish Coffee Brownies. You may have to fend people off with a baseball bat, if my experience bringing these to a potluck is any indication.

C is for Cookie, it's good enough for me...

because, really? The Cookie Monster singing about vegetables? Not so much with that.

Alternative Title: "Sam finds another excuse to break her self-imposed moratorium on cookie-baking."

I've been a) very sick and b) attempting to reduce my cookie intake, hence the lack of updates recently. However, my friend is having a party tomorrow and she requested that I make cookies. That is more than enough excuse for me, so here goes...

I tried variation of my usual chocolate chip cookie recipe. I followed the basic recipe with two exceptions:

1) I use Ener-G egg replace, which calls for the addition of two tablespoons of water. I used one tablespoon of water and one of vanilla coffee creamer. Using coffee creamer this way is a great (read: cheap) way to enhance/change the flavor of cookies. Coconut creamer is especially good, for those who love coconut. (I don't, but I've used it when making cookies for those who do, and they've loved it).

2) I decided to try Dorie Greenspan's suggestion of chopping my own chocolate rather than using chips. Using a fantastic Trader Joe's dark chocolate pound plus bar that my family kindly sent when they found out I was sick, I made my own chocolate chunks.




The resulting cookie dough was tasty, and had uneven sized chocolate bits in every cookie.





The cookies themselves also turned out well:





(The trick is to take the cookies out of the oven just before they actually look done. They will finish baking on the pan and be very soft).

The advantage to chopping your own chocolate is that you generally get better quality chocolate in bars than you do in commercial chocolate chips. Of course, it helps if you a) live near a Trader Joe's store, or b) have nice family members who will mail you pound plus bars.

The second variety of cookie is one I came up with as part of an attempt to use up extra Halloween candy. My friend and I each bought a huge bag of mixed chocolates from Costco, you know... for kids. I had, however, a grand total of one trick-or-treater. In an attempt to not eat the whole bag myself, I decided to experiment with adding chopped candy to my cookies. The base cookie recipe is exactly the same as the standard one except that I used one cup of flour and 1/4 c cocoa powder instead of 1 1/4 C flour. I then added M&M's, peanut butter chips, and chopped up Mars Bars, Snickers Bars, Nestle Crunch Bars, and Snickers Fudge bars. I basically added candy "until it looked pretty," as my family would say. I'm not sure I'll use Mars Bars in the future, as they tend to melt and then stick to the pan.

Cookie dough before baking:



Cookies:






All in all, a happy time baking was had by me, although by the time I was finished my temperature had risen by 2 degrees (Fahrenheit), proving that I'm not as fully recovered as I'd hoped. Oh well, it was totally worth it.

Weekend bakination...

They say the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have a problem... Between baking for socialness on Saturday and baking some cookies for a friend's Sunday school class I ended up logging some serious cooking time this weekend.

These are the pumpkin muffins I described earlier, as well as some cheese muffins from a recipe I adapted from a Cooking Light recipe (I'll post it if anyone is interested).



I also baked the rest of the chocolate cookies, and made the amazing espresso shortbread cookies, which I believe originally came from a Dorie Greenspan recipe (it's only a matter of time before I break down and buy her fabulous cookbook) [Edit: I found one for 1/2 price on Amazon. I broke down and bought it. That didn't take long]. I've made these shortbread cookies twice. I don't keep expresso powder on hand, so I used instant coffee instead. One time I used 2 tablespoons and the other time I only used 1; go with the higher amount. I also tried it with dark chocolate and with toffee/chocolate. I didn't think it made a huge difference one way or the other; the toffee flavor doesn't really come out.


(shortbread)


(shortbread and chocolate cookies)

And lastly I made my usual chocolate chip cookies for the Sunday school class. This is a recipe I've adapted from a Mrs. Fields cookbook.

Cream together:

1/2 C butter (Earth Balance works fine for this recipe; I have a relative who is allergic to milk so I've tried it quite successfully).
1/2 C brown sugar

(optional: add 1/4 C white sugar in addition to brown sugar. I don't because I don't like super-sweet cookies, but I do find some people prefer it).

1 tsp vanilla
1 egg/ener-G equivalent (I use the equivalent because then you can eat the cookie dough without having to worry about salmonella. Also it's cheaper).

Add in:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1.25 C flour

Mix until blended, then throw in a few handfuls of chocolate chips (the more the better; I probably use about a cup).

Eat cookie dough.

Bake remaining dough at 325 for 10-15 minutes (my oven runs pretty hot, so it doesn't take long). I like to take them out when they look just barely underdone and leave them on the cookie sheet to cool. This allows them to bake that last little bit while staying soft).

Why Sam needs to bike this weekend: exhibit A

Background for why I'm baking during the week: During the summer I am able to go to Tae Kwon Do classes on Thursdays. Unfortunately, once the school year begins the Thursday TKD class is switched back to what I like to think of as "Crazy People TKD" class, wherein competitors try to kill each other and themselves. I don't attend this class. Luckily for me, though, I've managed to arrange general socialness this weekend (read: Sam offloads baked goods on unsuspecting friends).

I decided to try this recipe, as I respect any recipe that has a LOT more chocolate than all the other ingredients put together.

Mostly I followed the directions as listed. I did make a few changes, though. The most basic change stems from the fact that I am a poor grad student, and poor grad students (even psycho baking ones) don't have tons of high-grade chocolate on hand. I therefore replaced the unsweetened chocolate with a couple squares from an 85% lindt chocolate bar I picked up on sale not long since, and replaced the six ounces of bittersweet chocolate with 3/4 cup (which is roughly equivalent volume/weight) semi-sweet chocolate chips. (Costco sells 10 pounds of semi-sweet chocolate chips for $17.99. I love Costco). In order to compensate for these changes I dropped the sugar from 2/3 C to 1/2C.

The second change came about because I always freeze my raisins because I buy them in bulk from the local co-op; bulk foods are notorious havens for nasty little bugs, so I like to be careful. Unfortunately, this can lead to interesting baking if (like me) you don't have a microwave to thaw things out quickly. Also, I was suspicious about how good raisins would be in chocolate cookies. My solution was to take about a cup of raisins (I didn't bother to measure) and cook them in a splash of rum. This had the advantage of tastyifying the raisins while simultaneously thawing them out.


In order to not throw off the liquid/dry ingredient balance I made sure the rum was all cooked away before adding the raisins to the cookie dough.

Next I melted the chocolate chips/lindt bar squares with butter as directed. I've found it's a good idea to turn off the burner (if you have an electric stove like mine) halfway through; it will retain enough heat to gradually melt the chocolate. Do not turn your back on this step; chocolate melts and burns quickly! This is what it should look like right before it's done; at this point you can see small bits of butter remaining, but it's basically smooth. I recommend removing the pan from the burner entirely at this stage; the chocolate is warm enough to finish melting all on its own.



I am a huge fan of my stand-alone mixer. That being said, I did (and would strongly recommend that others do as well) follow Ms. Greenspan's directions about mixing in the last ingredients by hand. I chose to use 3/4 cup each semi-sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips, and about 3/4 cup pecans. There are, at this point, way more add-ins than dough.



Luckily for me, someone gave me a silicon sheet several years ago. I placed this on a cookie sheet and very carefully scooped cookie dough onto it. The dough at this point is almost more like brownie batter than normal cookie dough, so you must use a spoon to drop it.




I tried (in the spirit of scientific experimentation) using pan spray in addition to the silicon sheet, and using only the silicon sheet. The verdict was clear: don't use pan spray. The cookie with pan spray spread out and burned on the edges; the other one did not. Here's a picture of the finished product:



I only cooked the two trial run cookies; my get-together isn't until later in the week. I'll try to update with a better picture once I've baked some more cookies. All in all I'm extremely pleased with this recipe and will make it again. I'm just hoping that a rich, distant and unknown relative will die and leave me a chocolate factory so that I will be able to make them frequently without having to worry about replenishing my baking chocolate supply.