chocolate fudge cake

for the chocolate fudge cake:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• ½ tsp salt 
• ½ cup butter 
• 1 ½ cup sugar 
• ½ tsp vanilla extract 
• 2 eggs 
• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled 
• ½ cup dairy sour cream 
• 1 cup cold water or hot coffee 

Grease and lightly flour two 9 inch round baking pans.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixture till softened, add sugar and vanilla; beat till combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in cooled chocolate and sour cream. Alternately add flour mixture and cold water, beating on low to medium speed after each addition just till combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake in a 350F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Fill and frost cake.

for the brownie batter filling:

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter 
• 6 oz coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate 
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/2-3/4 cup water 

Melt butter, chocolate, and cocoa powder. Add sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour and water until batter is of a spreadable consistency. Set aside until cake is ready to fill.

for the fudge frosting:

• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled 
• 4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (no need to sift) 
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 6 tbsp heavy cream or whole milk 
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract 

Cream the butter and add in vanilla. Add in cooled chocolate and mix until combined. Add in half of the sugar, mix thoroughly, then add heavy cream. Add in the rest of the sugar and mix well. Add more heavy cream / sugar until you have the desired consistency.

Simple Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chips

I finally got to bake my first dessert in my new apartment! I finished packing up at my mother's house yesterday and the unpacking is almost finished here. I got a brownie pan and some other baking stuff, and since we need to go grocery shopping today anyway, I figured brownies weren't a bad idea for breakfast.

This is my go-to brownie recipe. I usually add chocolate chips of some sort, but you can add pretty much anything (candy, caramel, nuts, etc).


Dark Chocolate Chip Brownies (recipe via Living Lou)

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter
• 6 oz coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• a handful—1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (depends on your preference; too many chocolate chips and the brownies won't cook properly)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch pan or line with parchment paper, and grease the parchment paper.
Melt butter, chocolate and cocoa in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, or melt in microwave at 30 second intervals, mixing each time. Stir together until melted. Once melted, cool slightly.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bow, and set aside.

Beat sugar, eggs and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer for 4 minutes. Add the melted chocolate mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl until completely combined.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs, which takes about 30—35 minutes, depending on your oven.

Halloween Oreo Cheesecake Brownies

I got the chance to bake I was at my mom’s house, picking up a few things. I had to make something for Halloween, since I do every year, and with all the Halloween Oreos I’ve been eating, I figured I might as well incorporate them into something.

Notes: The oreos I took cream out of were the ones that went in the batter. Instead of “coarsely chopping” them, I crushed them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, until they were pretty much just crumbs, about the consistency of sand. I left a few with cream, chopped into about 1/8in bits to crumble on top before I put them in the oven.

Halloween Oreo Cheesecake Brownies

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped Halloween Oreo cookies (about one row from a package)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cover an 8x8 baking pan with tinfoil (this will make lifting the brownies out easier when they’re cool) and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Whisk until combined and set aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Whisk in sugar and bring to a boil, whisking frequently; boil for 1 minute. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Take the cream out of about six Oreos. In a small mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and Oreo cream until well combined, about 1 minute.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, until combined. Whisk in melted butter-sugar mixture until combined. Stir in flour mixture until just combined, followed by Oreo cookies.

Spread half of brownie batter into baking dish, followed by cream cheese layer; dot the top with remaining brownie batter, and spread evenly, as best as you can. Run a knife through batter to make “swirls”.

Bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out semi-clean.
Cool on a wire rack to room temperature before slicing.

Brownie Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

These were really, really good. The only complaint I have is that when you try to press the cookie dough around the brownie, the cookie dough gets kind of sticky and messy, even if chilled.

Brownie Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 package brownie mix or use your favorite brownie recipe (this one is mine)
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 oz. bag miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Make brownies according to package/recipe and let cool. Cut about ten 1 inch squares. Enjoy the remaining brownies.
For the chocolate chip cookie dough, beat butter with a mixer until creamy. Add brown sugar and beat until smooth. Add eggs, yolk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl and stir together with a wire whisk. Add flour to butter mixture and beat until combined. Stir in mini chips.
Let dough chill covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Use a measuring cup to scoop batter by the 1/2 cup. Since it’s chilled, you may need to pack it with a spoon. Then use the spoon to remove the dough from the cup and place it on parchment paper. Work quickly so the dough remains chilled or either prepare one cookie at a time so the rest of the dough remains cold.
After the dough is on the parchment paper (I’ve never used parchment paper), make an indention and place a 1 inch square brownie in the center. Press the brownie down gently and work the remaining dough around the brownie. You can use your hands to shape the dough into a ball. (I found that once the brownie was covered, it was a good idea to pinch some of the extra dough off so the cookies weren’t TOO large.)
If your dough gets too soft, you can chill the rolled dough balls for a few minutes right before baking.
Prepare six cookies at a time using a large baking sheet (15 X 20) and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. Return the remaining dough to the refrigerator until time to bake the second batch.
Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.
Makes about ten cookies using a little less than a 1/2 cup of dough for each cookie.
If your cookies start to get too brown before they are done baking, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over top for the last few minutes.

(recipe courtesy of Life's Too Short To Skip Dessert)

Brownie Cookies

These are probably my favorite cookie. I’ve never made these the same way twice, but they always seem to turn out delicious. Sometimes I use different kinds of chocolate, and/or cocoa powder, sometimes I add a little more or less sugar depending on what kinds of chocolates I’ve used. One time I even used chocolate sprinkles when I didn’t have enough of one kind of chocolate (it added a nice crunchy texture, I recommend trying it sometime). It all depends on what you have in your kitchen and your personal preferences.

Brownie “Puddle” Cookies

• 2 2/3 cup chocolate, chopped
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.In a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, heat the chocolate and butter until completely melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract; whisk until well combined. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Stir together and set aside.
Add the melted chocolate mixture to the sugar mixture and whisk until well combined. Mix in the dry ingredients, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Drop scoops of about 1½ tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, evenly spaced. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm on the outside and the dough has lost its sheen. Leave to cool completely on the baking sheets.
Transfer to a wire rack when firmly set, and repeat with any remaining dough, if necessary.