Dora and Diego

Happy Birthday, Hillary!

(Sorry about the poor picture quality...)

Chocolate Cake with Port Wine Ganache

Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how yummy this is?!?! Today my hubby and I went to a wine and chocolate shindig at our local favorite winery (Boeger, on Carson Road). While we were there, we picked up a bottle of their new dessert wine, Rubies. It cannot legally be called a port, but that is what it is. At $35 a bottle, it is a little pricey, but in all honesty I would gladly sell a kid for a bottle of this bliss. It is WONDERFUL with chocolate. What is a baker to do? Bake up some chocolate, of course!

Chocolate Cake (from Anne Brynn's book)

1 box chocolate cake with pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup water
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Mix as you would a regular box mix, and bake as you regularly would. Makes 2 8" rounds, but I did manage to cram the whole thing into my bundt pan. Well, I scooped off a bunch to eat raw, first, of course. Doesn't everyone?

Chocolate/Port Ganache (courtesy of my friend Hilary)

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons butter (unsalted)
1/2 cup port/dessert wine
1 tsp vanilla

Ganache is super easy to make. SUPER EASY. Warm the cream in a saucepan until just before it boils. (If it boils, no biggie...I have had it boil over the pan several times, but I used it anyway and it was fine.) Put choc chips into a bowl, and pour the warmed cream over them. Cut the butter in smallish pieces and add it, too. Stir with a wisk until it is all blended. Add in the vanilla and the port. Stir it together. When it is well combined, pour it over your cooled cake. Ah heck, it's good over a warm cake too!

This recipe makes alot. You could cut it in half and still have enough. I put the extra in the fridge. When it chills, take it out and whip it until it lightens up. You then have whipped ganache, and this is YUMMY as a filling for a cake. It is also YUMMY as a molded candy filling, or rolled into balls and dipped into melted chocolate, or even sweetened cocoa. Or on your spoon, as you drink the rest of the port. The possibilities are truly endless!

Enjoy, baker buddies!

Valentine Cupcakes

My son informed me at 10PM on a Thursday night that he needed some cupcakes for school the next day. Huh. At least he gave me some advance warning. Anyway, I just baked a basic cupcake (as in, I followed box directions and added NONE of the good stuff I usually use to doctor it up), iced it in a tip 12 with buttercream (which I thankfully had a supply of, already made), added some dragees, and quickly molded some heart candies for the top. They were a hit!

Lesson Learned...Always Center Dowel!!!

He's cute, huh?!?! I made him last winter as a thank you gift. He is an 8", 6", 4" and a cupcake hat, all frosted in buttercream. Fondant accents. I was so very proud of him. He is properly doweled...except for a center dowel. "He doesn't need it", I thought, "the cake isn't that heavy, and I am a careful driver. It is only going 30 minutes away." Right. Because I live in Placerville, which is basically built on a hill. He lasted not even two miles, and down he went in a big ol' buttercream pile.

Needless to say, I did not give him to the intended recipient, and my family ate cake for a week. Okay, okay...it only took us two days. He was YUM-O.

Lesson learned. If you care about the cake you are transporting, center dowel it!