Chocolate Fondue

Hello.

My name is Katrina.

and I'm a chocoholic. *sniffle*

___________________________________________

Seriously though - I love chocolate. In my old house, I had a saying up on the wall in the kitchen that read "Given enough chocolate, I could rule the world"
This 'no sugar' diet has put a wedge in me and chocolate's relationship. It's very love/hate right now.

But this . . . (and a chocolate and almond covered ice cream bar from Costco . . . and a snickers . . . and maybe a Milka bar . . . oh, and Kinder Eggs) . . . this I can't resist:


Chocolate Fondue

1 tsp butter
1 C miniature marshmallows
1/3 C whipping cream
6 oz. chocolate chips
2 Tbsp milk

Rub a small fondue pot or miniature crock pot with butter. Place chocolate chips, marshmallows, and milk in the fondue pot. Cover and heat, stirring every 15 minutes until melted and smooth. Gradually add whipping cream. Cover and heating for 30 minutes.

Gather up all your girlfriends or send the kids away have a candlelit dessert with hubby for Valentine's Day. Serve with everything.
Seriously.
Strawberries, bananas, apples, french bread, pound cake, marshmallows, macaroons, pretzels, ladyfingers, brownies . . . the list could go on forever.

{Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of delectable fondue that will disappear in about 10 minutes}

Pear and Raspberry Pastry

For some reason, the thought of pears and raspberries together make angels sing in my head. Ü No idea why really - I've never eaten a pear/raspberry something before, but they just GO together, you know? Like peanut butter and jelly. So i just so happened to have both pears and raspberries floating around in my kitchen the other day and i knew that i needed to make something out of them . . . like a tart or something. So I went hunting and found this:

the pictures alone had me drooling, and the recipe that followed made it even more appealing. So simple. So easy. So Yummy. The hint of ginger combined with the soft cooked pears, the sweetness of raspberries and the slight crunch and flakiness of the pastry was so cool and refreshing and yet was also intensified with the warmth {no, I couldn't wait for it to cool down, although after having it warm from the oven, i'm not sure that i'll eat it any other way now Ü} Can anyone tell I was in heaven yet?

I would show you a picture of how mine turned out (they were pretty darn cute Ü) but I'm afraid that all that's left of them are finger-licked dishes in the sink. {bummer - i know. I even went back to Costco to buy more raspberries so I could make more, but alas, the raspberries were gone.}

But I'll still tell you my version anyway, cause it's cooler Ü (ok, not really, but i was too lazy to make pie crust)

Pear and Raspberry Pastries

3 large pears, peeled and cubed

1 C raspberries

3 T sugar {YES! only THREE tablespoons! I was super excited about that Ü}

2 T cornstarch

1/2 t ginger (can't skip this ingredient - it is a must!}

Juice of half a lemon

1 sheet puff pastry {found in the freezer section by all the pies}

Roll out puff pastry and place in 10-inch pie plate, 3 medium-sized or 6 individual-sized ramekins {I used 3 medium-sized ones because it gave me an excuse to use my square pie dishes Ü}

Place pears and raspberries in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Add to pears and raspberries and mix. Add lemon juice and mix. Dish out equal portions onto pastry and bake at 400 F for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Best served warm.

Original recipe and pictures from: http://www.projectwedding.com/wedding-ideas/pear-and-raspberry-mini-pies

Oh boy - Waffles! Ü

I'm not sure if these are the best waffles in the world, because I grew up with them and therefore am biased, but I sure love them!! Especially with strawberries and whip cream on top. Breakfast food has got to be one of my favorite things to eat  - be it waffles, pancakes, crepes, omelets, breakfast casserole, etc. Ü Hmm . . . if I hadn't already had french toast today, I might just be tempted to make these for dinner tonight Ü

Waffles are super easy to make from scratch, and (in my opinion) are healthier for you too - no preservatives and other weird stuff they put in pancake/waffle mixes.

Once you have the batter made (see recipe at end) all you need is a waffle iron. Pour a little batter in, close the lid, and wait for the light to turn green {burn proof! no guessing involved Ü}

 {see? perfectly golden! Ü}

I like to get a little system going to keep the waffles coming smooth and steady while I work on other things, so as soon as the light turns green, I'm good to go!
Working from right to left:

• bowl containing batter
• measuring spoon (mine takes about a half cup)
• and 'spoon rest' {because I hate getting the counter messy and I hate losing the measuring cup in the batter Ü}
• waffle iron
• two forks {used to remove waffles from the iron without burning fingers! don't scratch the iron though!}
• plate for waffles
• Pam or some type of oil to coat the iron. If your iron is fairly new, you may need to use it in between every waffle. Mine's usually good with just one spritz at the beginning, but DON'T FORGET IT! {don't ask me how I know Ü}

Want to know the best part? This makes the best breakfast all week long! Don't have time in the mornings? No worries! I usually make these on a Saturday or Sunday morning, so I take all of the leftover waffles and place them on a cookie sheet or plate that fits in the freezer. Place in the freezer for an hour or two, then bag them up and stick them back into the freezer. Throughout the rest of the week, just pull out a waffle or two and pop them into the toaster - é voilá! - homemade eggos!!

Oh boy - Waffles!

Sift together:
2 1/4 C flour
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

Mix together:
2 beaten eggs
2 1/4 C milk
1/2 C vegetable oil

Preheat waffle iron. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until moistened (batter will be slightly lumpy - this is totally normal). Bake in preheated waffle iron.

Serves 4-6

Melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Cake

I got this recipe from chocolate & zucchini while searching for an easy chocolate cake recipe the other day. After seeing that it was moist and only had five ingredients, I was sold! Not to mention the melt-in-your-mouth part. 

The recipe called for dark chocolate. I'm a chocolate lover, but not a dark dark chocolate lover. I like things somewhere in the middle - not too sweet, not too bitter - so I used semi-sweet chocolate chips. You're welcome to adjust the recipe to your own likings.

I wouldn't really call this a cake - it doesn't have a 'cakey' texture at all. It has more of a cheesecake texture without the heaviness of all that cheese and sugar. It's smooth and decadent, yet firm and rich. Rich enough that one slice will leave you satisfied for the night, but if you need more, I'm sure you could grab another piece {or convince your hubby that he needs another piece and snitch some off of his. hehe. Ü}

Melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Cake

adapted from chocolate & zucchini  

2 sticks minus 1 T butter (aka - 15 T or 1 C minus 1 T)

7 oz (~ 1 C) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 C sugar

4 eggs

a rounded tablespoon of flour

Note: like all dark chocolate cakes, this cake is best made a day ahead (or at least in the morning if you serve it for dinner). 

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper (no need to if you're using a non-stick pan).

Melt together the butter with the chocolate (in a double-boiler or in the microwave slowly and for just a few second at a time, blending with a spoon between each pass). Transfer into a medium mixing-bowl. Add in the sugar, stir with a wooden spoon and let cool a little. Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition. Finally, add in the flour and mix well. Pour the dough into the pan, and put into the oven to bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the center is set but still a little wobbly. Turn the oven off but leave the cake inside for another 10 minutes, then put the pan on a cooling rack on the counter to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate, and take it out about an hour before serving.

Nutella Mousse

The other day I was making chocolate angel food cake {I'll post that recipe later - don't worry). I've made it quite a few times now and I love it for the most part - just the right amount of chocolate to make you happy and yet go back for seconds - but that's ok, cause it's angel food cake, right? The recipe also contains an amaretto filling for the cake that was just plain awful the first time I tried it. It's too heavy for an angel food cake, and the contrasting textures just aren't pleasing. Each time I made it, I'd fudge with the recipe a little - this way and that. A few times it came out good, other times a total flop. Of course, I forgot to write down the good ones. The flopped ones got thrown away and bavarian cream was made instead - at least I knew that the texture would blend well with the cake. Hence why I decided to start this blog. If I don't write this recipe down, I know I'll forget it. This time around, I decided the cake needed more of a chocolate flavor. What resulted of my own concocting was dazzling and dangerous . . . it nearly didn't make it on the cake Ü but I made sure to reserve some to eat for a little chocolate craving for later. The mousse was light and fluffy with enough flavoring to taste the sweetness, the nuttiness and the chocolate and contrasted with the sponge cake rather well. Whether it stays as a staple with the cake or not, I don't know, but I will definitely make it again. Ü

Nutella Mousse

1-1/3 C heavy whipping cream
3 T sugar
1 t vanilla
1/2 C nutella

Whip the cream with a mixer until it almost looks like whipped cream.
Slowly add in the sugar and then the vanilla.
Put the nutella in a separate bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.
Take about a cup of the whipped cream and mix it into the nutella. {This step is necessary in order to get to the nutella to a lighter consistency so it will fold into the whipped cream well}
Pour the nutella into the whipped cream and gently fold in until it is fully incorporated.
Put into individual serving dishes or use as filling for a cake. (Can be refrigerated overnight)
Enjoy!