Chocolate

I've loved Chocolate ever since I can remember. If you love chocolate, too, then today's post is sure to please. Check out the Hot Chocolate Cheesecake, the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup Pie (chocolate and peanut butter - you just can't go wrong!), and the rest of today's yumminess. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE



I saw something similar to this a few years back and tweaked it a little. For anyone who is sure that he or she won't like tofu, this may be the game-changer.



Ingredients

1 10-12 ounce tub of silken tofu

12 ounce bag of chocolate chips

2 - 3 tablespoons milk (you can use soy milk, if you prefer)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions

Melt chocolate chips along with the milk over low to medium heat, stirring constantly.

Place silken tofu, melted chocolate chips, vanilla, and syrup into blender. Blend on a medium setting, pulsing if needed to combine.

Pour into 4 bowls or small cups, and let cool for 10 minutes or so.

Dig in! Yum!

CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CAKE

This is from Nigella Lawson at The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipe, Nigella wrote, "For me, a chocolate cake is the basic unit of celebration. The chocolate Guinness cake here is simple but deeply pleasurable, and has earned its place as a stand-alone treat."

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes; Yield: One 9-inch cake or 12 servings

This yumminess was featured in "AT MY TABLE; A Feast for a Holiday, Or Everyday Exulting", and can be viewed online at the bottom of the article or at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1875-chocolate-guinness-cake.

Note: Take time to read the article; very interesting!

Ingredients

For the Cake

Butter for pan

1 cup Guinness stout

10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups superfine sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

For the Topping

1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation

For the cake: heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and superfine sugar, and whisk to blend.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into buttered pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan.

For the topping: Using a food processor or by hand, mix confectioners' sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

Remove cake from pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake only, so that it resembles a frothy pint of Guinness.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

This is from Genevieve Ko in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipes, Genevieve wrote, "Crackly on top and fudgy yet tender in the center, this cake tastes like a complex restaurant dessert, but comes together effortlessly in one bowl. Chocolate chips save you the messy step of chopping chocolate bars and deliver deep flavor along with cocoa powder. If you don’t have a springform pan, a regular cake pan lined with foil all around makes it easy to lift out the delicate cake, which melts in your mouth when served warm or at room temperature. Refrigerated or frozen leftovers take on a candylike chewiness, but a quick zap in the microwave will return it to just-baked softness. Slices are delicious on their own or with any creamy toppings."

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes; Yield: 8 to 12 servings

This was featured in "Forget Chocolate Bars: Baking With Chips Is Often Better", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022963-flourless-chocolate-cake. If you have a few minutes, I highly recommend reading the entire article. While you're at it, if you haven't signed up for The New York Times cooking enewsletter, please do so. Great stuff there!

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut up, plus more for greasing the pan

1 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving (optional)

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan, or press a large sheet of foil into the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch round cake pan, smoothing the sides, and generously butter the foil.

Bring a few inches of water in a large saucepan to a simmer over medium heat. Set a large heatproof bowl over the saucepan and add the chocolate. When the chips look soft and melty, stir gently until smooth. Turn off the heat, and add the butter to the bowl. Stir gently until melted and smooth. Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth, then take the bowl off the saucepan.

Stir in the granulated sugar until incorporated, then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake until crackly and dry on top, and a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the edge comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with some crumbs attached.

Cool in the pan on a rack, then remove the sides of the springform pan or lift the cake out of the cake pan using the foil overhang. You can slice and serve warm or at room temperature. Or, to cut very neat slices, freeze the cooled cake until firm. Slice and warm up in the microwave or oven, if preferred. Serve the cake with whipped cream or ice cream, if you’d like. The cake can be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

HOT CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

How does Hot Chocolate Cheesecake sound? Yum!

This comes from The Food Network Kitchen, and starts off, “Use your leftover hot chocolate or cocoa mix in both the crust and the filling of this super-rich cheesecake that tastes just like the classic drink.” Total Time: 3 hr 45 min; Prep: 30 min; Inactive: 45 min; Cook: 2hr 30 min; Yield: 12 to 14 servings; Level: Easy

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/hot-chocolate-cheesecake.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

Crust:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more butter for the pan

9 graham crackers (about 1 sleeve)

1/4 cup hot chocolate or cocoa mix

Pinch fine salt

Filling:

Four 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup hot chocolate or cocoa mix

1 cup sour cream

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

10 marshmallows

Directions

Special equipment: a 9-inch springform pan

For the crust: Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 325 degrees F. Butter the inside of a 9-inch springform pan.

Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until finely ground. Add the butter, hot chocolate mix and salt, and pulse until the mixture comes together and holds its shape when squeezed. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, and press it into the bottom to make an even layer. Bake until the crust is just firm, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Place the pan on a large piece of foil, and fold the foil up the sides of the pan. (This helps seal the pan, to keep water out while baking.)

For the filling: Wipe out the food processor. Pulse the cream cheese, sugar, hot chocolate mix and sour cream until completely smooth, without any lumps, scraping down the side of the bowl a few times. Add the eggs and vanilla, and pulse until incorporated. Pour the filling into the crust, and set the pan inside a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to go halfway up the side of the springform pan (but not above the foil).

Bake the cheesecake until the edge is set but the center jiggles slightly (when you gently shake the pan, the cheesecake should move in a cohesive wave motion), 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn the oven off, and open the door for a few seconds to let out some heat. Close the door, and let the cheesecake sit in the oven until cooked completely through, 1 hour more.

Transfer the springform pan to a cooling rack. Run a knife around the edge, and let the cheesecake cool to room temperature. Wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.

Before serving, cut the marshmallows on the diagonal, and arrange them, cut-side down, in a neat line all over the top edge of the cheesecake.

CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER CUP PIE

Years ago, I was on a number of recipe exchange emailing lists. One of the emailing lists had mainly Weight Watchers recipes. This one was listed with a Points value of 6.

Anyway, this recipe begins, “Layers of chocolate ice cream, hot fudge topping, and peanut butter cups fill a chocolate cookie crust in this heavenly four-ingredient dessert. It's no wonder this pie received our Test Kitchen's highest rating and became a staff favorite.”

Prep time: 13 minutes; Other: 6 hours

Ingredients

4 cups no-sugar-added chocolate ice cream

1/2 cup chopped miniature peanut butter cups (about 11 candies), divided

1 (6-ounce) cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie pie crust (such as Oreo)

1/4 cup fat-free hot fudge topping

Directions

Let ice cream stand at room temperature 5 minutes or until slightly softened.

Combine ice cream and 1/4 cup chopped candy in a large bowl. Spoon ice cream mixture into bottom of pie crust. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup candy over top. Cover and freeze at least 6 hours or until firm. Drizzle each slice with hot fudge topping. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 slice and 1-1/2 teaspoons hot fudge topping).

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

This is from Diabetic Gourmet, and begins, "Applesauce replaces part of the fat, Equal all of the sugar, plus you get double the chocolate flavor with both cocoa and chocolate chips – so who can resist these delicious brownies?"

Recipe Yield: Yield: 16 brownies

Source: Equal

Recipe and image appear courtesy of Equal.

View this online at https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipe/double-chocolate-brownies.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons stick butter, softened

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup Equal Spoonful*

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional: Chopped Walnuts

* May substitute 24 packets Equal sweetener

Directions

Beat butter, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla until blended. Stir in combined flour, Equal, chocolate chips, cocoa, baking powder, nuts (optional) and salt until blended.

Spread batter in sprayed 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350F oven 18 to 20 minutes or until top springs back when gently touched. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into squares.

Store in airtight containers at room temperature.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 105; Fat: 7 g; Sodium: 77 mg; Cholesterol: 38 mg; Protein: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 10 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fat

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