Taking the Cake

I needed to make Alex Browning a birthday cake. She had mentioned chocolate when I asked her what kind of cake she'd like, and the recipe I settled on seemed to accommodate that request pretty well. It is, after all, called Chocolate Eruption Cake.

This cake was so intense, it was actually a two day process. Day one consisted of making a pan of the most dense brownie recipes you can find, lots of sugar and butter, the way it's really done. You're probably thinking, "But Molly, you're making a cheesecake! Why would you make brownies?" Well, dear reader, the answer is quite simple. A regular graham cracker crust just isn't enough for the most epic cheesecake known to mankind. Instead, one is obviously expected to use brownies. Oh yes, and because you will obviously have far too many brownies to include them all in the crust, you should probably put them in the actually batter, too. But we'll get to that part later :D.

So day two I actually cut the brownies up and assembled them in my brownie pan...



Of course, to compliment such a rich crust naturally one would prepare a ridiculously rich batter. And lots of it. This recipe called for a whopping 2 1/2 pounds of cream cheese, I did a double take when I read the recipe. For those of you who don't know how much cream cheese that actually it is, think five packages:



Some of you are now probably thinking, "Well that's all great, but for a Chocolate Eruption Cheesecake, this really doesn't have that much chocolate." Oh but just you wait! After I actually turned that cream cheese into a batter with a few eggs, some sweetened condensed milk, and whipping cream, I took about 1/3 of that batter and added 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips and poured it over that delicious looking brownie crust. The other 2/3 of batter had even better things in store. To that I added: 1 cup chocolate chips, 2 cups chopped snickers bars, and almost 2 cups chopped brownie chunks. Before being stirred in, it looked like this...


You can't even see the chocolate chips! Clearly this picture doesn't do it justice.

So 1/2 that batter was poured on top of the layers I already had going. Why just 1/2 you make ask? Because I drizzled 1/4 a cup of caramel topping in between that chocolate filled batter that's why! And of course dolloped another 1/4 c on after I'd added the last of the cheesecake batter. By epic I mean really really epic. Especially since after the cake came out of the oven I drizzled 1/4 cup EACH of melted white, milk, and semisweet chocolate chips on top. Oh yes.



Since it was a birthday cake I decided to actually declare it a birthday cake by adding a little birthday sign. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX!!!



This cheesecake, which I was fortunate enough to snag a couple slivers of over the course of the following week, was beyond delicious. It's so moist and chocolaty, the perfect indulgence. Even though it's time consuming and definitely calorie-wise an "X-rated" dessert according to the book it came from, I whole-heartedly recommend it, especially for special occasions. If you've got the time/spirit to give it a go I'd love to share the recipe, just hit me up!

Pecan Pie and ...Brownies?

Fortunately I spent quite some time in the kitchen today, it seemed pretty sad that I have started this blog and had so far failed to actually make mention of a specific recipe. Better yet, (for me at least, maybe not for you) each endeavor was a success!

I'm not very fond of recipes that call for pre-baked, store bought pie crusts. Where is the fun in that? "Yes, I made this pie for you. Homemade? Well, the pecan filling was all me, but you'll have to thank the darling elves at Nabisco for the flaky bits around it." Not my style. Besides, one of the most charming things to make is pastry dough. I wouldn't say cutting in butter is exciting by any means, but something about the rustic simplicity of a rolled out pie crust is just gorgeous. The smooth, flour dusted, golden brown surface and somewhat unevenly folded edges of a homemade crust has so ridiculously much more appeal than the shrink-wrapped and sticker labeled crap in Meijer's baking aisle. I took a picture and was disapointed in my digital camera's complete failure at capturing the charm of it all. I suppose I'll post it anyway, but you'll have to promise me you'll roll out one of these yourself!



And that was perhaps my favorite part. I must admit, I don't care for pecan pie. Were it the last sugar filled substance on Earth, I'm sure I would happily serve myself a slice, but I would never choose to eat pecan pie over other desserts. The pie is a gift, however, to someone who claims it is their favorite, so I happily set out to provide an indulgence. In the end I can only assume it was a success. Because it's a pie present, I wouldn't dare cut into it, and probably wouldn't care to try a bite anyway, but I think it's pretty and that's good enough for me!



Later this evening, without really trying, I definitely satisfied my own sweet tooth by much more interesting means. A pan of brownies was requested and, because I simply cannot bake anything in the standard way, set out to find an interesting brownie recipe. Taylor gave me a baking book for Christmas that if I didn't adore already, I've certainly fallen in love with now! What the book calls "Brownie Fantasy Bars" won me over for good. Where my mom would've chosen a brownie box mix, I embarked on a two batter recipe that was well worth the work. I'm not sure I would even call them brownies really... but whatever they are, they are AWESOME. The first batter was basically a thick chocolate brownie batter, with cheerios, miniature marshmellows, chocolate chips, raisins, dates, crushed oreos, and chopped pecans mixed in. Sound like a lot? It is. But that is topped by a batter the recipe referred to as a "caramel batter" that is swirled in. As if that's not enough, when the whole pan of batter is done baking, chocolate and butterscotch chips are melted on top as a frosting type garnish that makes you realize that if you eat any of this you will probably instantly have a heart attack. Oh well! I have to admit, I cheated on the taste testing... it's supposed to chill for at least two hours, but if you cut into this monster of a "brownie" when it's just out of the oven, it's a melty gooey goodness that taste so delicious it's worth ruining the bar aspect.



I suppose I should take more pictures along the way, I'll have to do that next time. In a few days I'm planning on making a four layer cake, my birthday cake, and since Taylor will be lending a hand I'll have to make sure we do that. I might even have to post a few recipes on here, in case somebody decides they'd like to make them, too. Especially this darned brownie recipe, if you're mouth isn't watering by now you're completely nuts.