David's Most Amazing German Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes

Last year David said he'd like a carrot cake but because he's vegan, I got very nervous and ended up buying him one from PCC. Everything changed this year when my boss, Nick, let me borrow Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule. The recipes weren't scary and I already owned most of the ingredients. This year I would not wimp out!

One afternoon when David was walking past my desk I handed him the cookbook. "Pick anything. Choose whatever you want," I said proudly. "I'll make it!" David looked a little giddy, "Really? Wow. " A few hours later he surrendered and said everything looked good and gave me his blessing to pick whatever I wanted to make. With Nick's prodding I decided to make the Basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe with the German Chocolate frosting.

The recipe, as basic as it was, was a bit viscous. I was sure that I had done something wrong and they wouldn't look like the pictures in the book. But after exactly 18 minutes at 350F, they were perfect. And the frosting was easy and probably the best Coconut Pecan frosting I have ever had. The only mistake I made was that I didn't make enough! I made two dozen and probably should have made double that. Everyone loved them!

Happy Birthday David! Thank you for helping me face my vegan baking fears. Now I want to make every recipe in this cookbook! Oh and out of respect for the authors and copyright laws, I've decided not to post the recipes that I used. I just don't feel that it's right. You can find this book at Amazon, any bookstore, or at your local library. Be sure to check it out!

Joan's Classy Red Velvet Cake

In every company there's always that person that people are drawn to talk to; that person that you can't help but like. Joan's that person. Everyone just loves her and why wouldn't they? Who wouldn't adore a women than wore a pink Barbie tiara after passing a big exam? Joan's just spunky and classy and she loves the color red. For her birthday she told me I could make her what ever I wanted. Woo hoo! There was no other cake that would do. I had to make her a Red Velvet Cake. Happy 50th Joan!

Here's the recipe I used for the cake. It was was adapted from The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook: More Than 80 Recipes for Irresistible, Old-Fashioned Treats

Red Velvet Cake

• 1 oz food coloring (one big bottle or 2 tablespoons)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups flour, sifted
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Velvet Cream Cheese Icing

• 2 cups full-fat milk, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup of flour
• 1 lb unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 8oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Start preparing the icing by, whisking together the milk and flour. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until thick - about 18 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the milk leaves a coating on the back of a metal spoon. Let the mixture cool for at least 50 minutes. (Icing instructions continue in step 10)

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare two 10" round cake pans or three 9".

3. In a small bowl, whisk together until well combined the food coloring, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed, cream the butter and sugar until very fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Add 1/3 of the buttermilk, mix a little, then add about a cup of the flour, beating well after each addition. Repeat the process until the buttermilk and flour until they are gone and the batter is mixed together well. Add in the salt.

6. Turn the mixer off. Slowly add the red cocoa mixture to the batter. Slowly mix incorporate the mixture into the batter (This will keep splatters to a minimum!). Turn the mixer on medium low and beat in the cocoa mixture until thoroughly incorporated. You will need to scrape down the bowl and check for white spots.

7. In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter at the end, making sure to mix well.

8. Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

9. Let cake cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack. When cake has cooled, ice between layers with a generous amount of frosting (there will be more than you need). I recommend a "crumb layer" of icing first. Store in the refrigerator until set.

Icing Continued
10. Remove the skin that has formed on the top of the milk. Drain the milk through cheesecloth or a sieve to remove any big glops.

11. Cream together the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until it's really fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix well. Slowly add the milk mixture, taking breaks to scrape down the bowl.

12. Using a whisk attachment, add the softened cream cheese and mix for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, to taste and store in the fridge until ready.

Traci's Almond-Chococonut Bars

Traci's birthday falls on a Friday the 13th this year, but the only thing scary about it is the amount of calories I managed to fit into her dessert! She said she would like something that resembled an Almond Joy candy bar and it didn't matter what it was. She just wanted it to have coconut, chocolate, and almonds as part of it's ingredients.

I checked around the web and a few cookbooks and eventually settled on a recipe in the Cake Doctor's Chocolate Lovers cookbook called, "Joy of Almonds" Bars. Unfortunately I made a tiny error when I was at the grocery store and ended up buying condensed milk instead of evaporated! So I had to scramble and get creative. I ended up tweaking the dessert and I think it came out pretty good. It's definitely Almond-Joy-ee!

Happy Birthday Traci - I hope you enjoy your dessert!

Almond Chococonut Bars

• 1 box of Devil's food cake cake mix
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Prepare as indicated on the box but add the almond extract at the same time you add the eggs. Pour into prepared jelly-roll pan. Bake at 350F for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the cake clean. Cool. Keep the oven on.

• bag of sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 can of condensed milk
• 20 big marshmallows

Put the condensed milk into a small medium sized saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat. Stir often so that the bottom of the pan doesn't burn and turn the milk into caramel. Add the marshmallows and continue mixing until the marshmallows are completely melted. Add the coconut and mix well. Spoon the coconut mixture over the cooked the cake and put it back in the oven for 8 minutes. Cool. (Turn off oven) .

• 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of chopped almonds

In small bowl, melt chocolate chips in the microwave for a minute at a time and mix well. Continue until completely melted. Drizzle over bars. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Nate's NoName Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nate's a guy who appreciates the good, simple things in life. For his birthday he asked for Chocolate Chip cookies. Nothing fancy, nothing with nuts, just "normal" cookies. Hmm.. I can do that!

I just happened to have a great chocolate chip cookie recipe that has been a favorite for generations on my husband's side of the family. I ended up tweaking it a bit, sort of by accident, and I really liked the way they came out. The cookies are a bit thin, but also soft and chewy. They are also just a bit crispy on the edges. I hope this is what you had in mind Nate. Happy Birthday!

No-Name Chocolate Chip Cookies *

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten slightly
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda + 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1 teaspoon baking powder + 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (I recommend Guittard chocolate)

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Cream together the butter and both sugars. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl mix the baking soda and hot water together until dissolved. Add to batter.

4. Repeat the process with the baking powder and hot water. Add to batter along with the salt.

5. Stir in flour until well combined. Add chocolate chips just until combined.

6. Drop tablespoon sized dough onto Silpat (or ungreased) baking sheets. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden brown. Let the cookies rest on the baking pan for a minute or two until they firm up slightly. Cool on a wire rack until room temperature.

Yields about 5 dozen 3 inch cookies

* I need a name for these cookies, so if anyone has a suggestion, please let me know.

Tracy's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cloud Pie

Tracy's been my neighbor for over four year now and she's someone I've liked from the moment I met her. She's always smiling and just a ray of sunshine around our neighborhood. Recently she hosted a very large neighborhood swap meet. Not only did she help me rid my house of a ton of stuff I didn't want, I was able to pick up a bunch of stuff I could use, including my new favorite book, Food Lovers Companion. So, to show my gratitude I offered to make her something sweet. She said she loved anything with chocolate and peanut butter. I knew just the thing! I had something similar a few years ago that a friend made for me so I tweaked the recipe and this is what I came up with. I hope you had a great birthday Tracy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cloud Pie

Crust:

• 1 package (2 to 2 1/2 cups) of Oreo cookies, separated with sweet filling removed, crushed (run them through the food processor)
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
  

Filling:

• 2 8 oz blocks of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 pint whipping cream
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 F

2.Mix cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter together into a spring form pan (9 1/2 or 10 1/2 in both work) and press down into place. Bake for 8 minutes - DO NOT OVER BAKE! . Remove from oven and cool.

3. Beat whipped cream just until stiff peaks are formed. Add vanilla and continue mixing until stiff. Set aside.

4. Beat together cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar until fluffy. Add whipped cream mixture and fold until well combined. Pour into cooled pie crust.

5. Melt chocolate chips in microwave. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth. Put a few tablespoons of the melted chocolate into a heavy duty zip lock bag. Snip the very end of the bag. Slowly pipe out a design on the top of the pie. You can also use a squeeze bottle or pastry bag instead of a zip-lock bag if you have either handy. For an even prettier design, use 1/4 cup each of dark and milk chocolate and layer the two one on top of the other. In the pictures I've
submitted, I've used two kinds of chocolate and made 4 layers.

6. Chill for at least 4 hours or until set.

Vicky's Carrot Cake

Last year, Vicky asked for carrot cake for her birthday but we just couldn't coordinate schedules. Much to my disappointment we agreed to just let it go. This year was my chance to make it up to her and once again she requested carrot cake. So last Tuesday, two days before Vicky's birthday when she was in the office (she usually telecommutes) we had arranged that we would celebrate her birthday. Well when Tuesday came, the fates were not with us. The cake made it into the office but Vicky had not. She was not feeling well and decided to stay home. I knew the cake wouldn't last more than a few days so, with Vicky's blessing, we decided to share it with everyone anyway. It was gone in a matter of minutes! :-)

All was not lost. Vicky had said she was going to be in the office again this Monday and coincedently I had decided to make another carrot cake for dessert for a big Easter dinner I was making. So, I saved a piece just for her. I think the first cake a made was actually better but at least she got her carrot cake! I hope you had a great birthday!

I used this Carrot Cake recipe:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup frozen pineapple-orange juice concentrate
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 81/2-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice, well drained
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

Frosting

• 1 1/2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup frozen pineapple-orange juice concentrate

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine first 5 ingredients.

3. Add oil and mix. Add the eggs and mix.

4. Add carrots, nuts, and vanilla, mixing thoroughly.

5. Pour into a floured and greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch cake pan.

6. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in pan completely

7. Frost and refrigerate.

Cream Cheese Icing Directions:

1. Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth.

2. Blend pineapple-orange concentrate.

3. Add powdered sugar and beat on high until well combined. Do not refrigerate until the cake is frosted. (Makes it much easier to spread).

Aleigh's Lemon Poppy-Seed Rice Pudding

I always love to think outside of the culinary box when cooking and it seems the more I cook, the more brazen I get. So when I asked Allison, a fellow foodie, what she wanted for her birthday treat and she said she liked the idea of something with lemon and poppy-seeds, I wanted to make her something out of the ordinary. With Allison's blessings, I opted for to go flour-less. I had seen a recipe in last November's issue of Food & Wine for a lime and poppy-seed rice pudding* that I thought with just a little tweaking, would make both of us happy. The upgraded the rice to arborio, omitted the mango, simply substituted lemon zest for the lime and lo! a delicate, new lemon poppy-seed dessert gem was born. So the next time you want a lemon and poppy-seed confection but a muffin, scone, or cake just won't do, try this pudding. Delishy!

Lemon Poppy-Seed Rice Pudding

• 3 quarts of whole milk
• 1 lb of arborio rice (Risotto quality rice)
• 1 14oz can of unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 whole vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 2 Tbsp poppy-seeds
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cups of heavy or whipping cream
• Zest of one lemon

1. In a large, heavy pot, combine milk, rice, coconut milk. Mix well and let sit for 30 minutes. Add vanilla bean (entire bean and scraped seeds) and poppy seeds. Mix well and bring to a simmer over a moderately high heat. When it starts to bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until the rice is tender (approximately 50-75 minutes).

2. Add the sugar, cream, and lemon zest and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and cover with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Yields about 12 cups

* The adapted Food & Wine recipe can be found here

Steve's Ultimate Chocolate Trifle

I think I might have driven Steve a little nutty with regard to him being in the office on his birthday. But I think he will agree that my badgering was worth it! For Steve's birthday his request was simple, "Something chocolaty". For a few months I've been waiting for the right time to unleash what I think might be the king of chocolaty-ness: A Chocolate Trifle. What's a Chocolate Trifle you ask? Well, it starts with chocolate chip brownies, which are then topped with chocolate mousse, and layered in fresh whipped cream. This process is then repeated twice and when you're finished, you're left with a pristine whipped cream surface on which to sprinkle little curls of decadent Swiss milk chocolate. If this isn't "something chocolaty", I don't know what is.

As sweet as this dessert may be, it is a little bit bittersweet because it will probably be the last I make for Steve on his birthday. I've had the pleasure of working with, and baking for, Steve for the last three years and next Friday will be his last day at SerSol. But today we will not be sad; we will celebrate and stuff our faces with a dessert fit for a king. Here's to you Steve! Thanks for being such a great leader!

Ultimate Chocolate Trifle Recipe

• Double Batch of Ghiradelli's Award Winning Double Chocolate Brownies . This recipe is on the back of the can of Ghiradelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa can. Almost any brownies would work with this recipe except for super fudgy ones. I think these work because they are very porus and not too dry.


• 1 batch of Chocolate Mousse (I used this one but I didn't wait 6 hours.)


• 1 1/2 pints of whipped cream, whipped with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 cup of powdered suger. Be sure to only whip it until very soft peaks form. If you over whip it, just add more cream to soften it up. You don't want it too thick.


• 1/4 cup of milk chocolate curls

Assembly

1. Prepare mousse and refrigerate.

2. Bake the brownies as indicated in the recipe. Cool completely.

3. Prepare whipped cream.

4. Depending on the size of your container, start with a layer of brownies, then top with mousse. If the mousse gets too thick, thin it out with cream. Then top with a layer of whipped cream. Keep layering until you run out of brownies. Whipped cream should be your last layer. Top with chocolate curls.

Serves 25-30