Posts tagged ‘chocolate’
Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake – 17 and Baking turns 17
When I was little, I used to remember birthdays by party themes and presents.
There was my fabulous pink themed party, with hot magenta and bubble gum pink stuffed animals hanging from the ceiling. The birthday where all the kids swung eagerly at a pinata, unable to crack it, forcing Dad to come to the rescue. And who could forget the birthday I was presented with my own Barbie bicycle, complete with sparkles on the handlebars?
But these days, I remember birthdays by the people and the food we celebrated with. The year my Pubah carried out a hamburger cake to my utter delight. Or the birthday cake decorated with plastic dancing princesses, which I still have in a box under my bed. Even the famous family mashed potatoes I’ve requested for every single birthday dinner of my life, since I can remember.
Last year, I invited two of my closest friends over and we made dinner: 3 different kinds of pasta from scratch, mixing and rolling out the dough right on the table. It was the perfect low-key sweet 16, memorable and intimate and tasty.
Turning 17 was a little different. It seemed less important, less of a “big deal,” and there were no balloons or real parties. The only celebratory thing I did was eat at Salty’s, a pricey and stunning restaurant (more on that later.) In fact, it felt like an average April day. But little things made it special… from my friends singing happy birthday at lunch to my beautiful birthday dinner, it was made even sweeter.
Click to read about dinner at Salty’s and how I assembled this showstopper chocolate cake of my dreams.
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chunk Muffins
As a little kid, you get invited to a lot of birthday parties. You know, the kind where every kid in the class gets invited, and so the present opening process takes forever. The nice thing is, it’s inexpensive to please young kids, and the presents were never more than $10.
But by the time I got into middle school, birthday presents began to cost $30 or even $40! Now that I’m in high school, I have to admit I’m glad we don’t need to be spending that much money anymore. Birthday parties don’t exist anymore. But I can’t get enough of birthday presents, so I bake instead of buying.
Like today, when my friend M- celebrated his 17th birthday. I’ll get right to the point. Peanut butter and chocolate chunk muffins, oh my god!
Peanut butter is something that’s been in my life a long time. PB and honey sandwiches were a school lunch staple for many years. Peanut butter was the preferred treat of my first real (non goldfish) pets, my rats Blue and Dewdrop. And I could never resist feeding Tilly, my sweet and neurotic dog, a half tablespoon of peanut butter to watch her jaw get glued together.
Peanut butter pretty much improves everything. Celery? Complete bore on its own, transformed into a deliciously crunchy and refreshing snack with the addition of peanut butter. Toast and jam? Reaches a whole new level of creamy and sweet. But throw chocolate in the mix and you’ve truly got something addictive.
Mini Cocoa and Banana Pavlovas and a whole lotta trouble
Pavlova. The word rolls off of your tongue, all at once light and alluring, heavenly and undeniably delicious. Pavlova.
I decided to make it for three reasons. First, it looked gorgeous and I was curious to try it. Second, I wanted to make it chocolate and submit it to Poornima’s “For the Love of Chocolate” event. And finally, I was meeting my Grandma to celebrate her birthday and this seemed perfect. Like me, my mother had never heard of it before. “How do you spell it?” she asked.
T-r-o-u-b-l-e.
Pavlova is not entirely difficult. It’s a meringue base, with a thin crisp outer crust and a chewy, marshmallowy inside. The meringue nest is topped with freshly whipped cream and fresh fruit. The whole thing melts in your mouth, and the sweetness of the meringue is cut by the fruit and the cream, if unsweetened. So why did this little dessert give me such a hard time?
Right off the bat, I broke 18 eggs. I was opening the fridge to take out the four eggs needed for the pavlovas. One moment, I was talking, with the four eggs in my hand. The next moment, my mother had pushed me all the way over to the cabinets in an attempt to stop me, but alas – the empty container slid guiltily on the floor and sacrificed every egg along the way. While my four egg whites came to room temperature, I wiped up the floor and tried to keep the dogs from licking the splattered raw yolk.
But it was about to get much, much more embarrassing.
Chocolate Matcha Bundt Cake and a celebration
Today one of my friends, P– came into 5th period English waving around a nearly-blank white piece of paper. He was trying to contain himself, but not all that well. Something was clearly up. He tried to look modest as he passed me the print out.
“Dear P.–, congratulations! We are pleased to announce that you have been accepted into the University of Chicago.”
The University of Chicago! I’m impressed, but I can’t say I’m surprised. He is not only an excellent student and a talented athlete but an all around great person. What’s even more amazing is he’s now four for four – he’s been accepted to the University of Washington, NYU, and Georgetown. All he has left to hear from are the Ivy Leagues – Harvard, Yale, and Columbia.
I am so proud of him. And that is why I chose to bake, to celebrate.
Well, not really. I don’t know about you but these days I’m finding that I jump at any excuse to cross a recipe off my humongous, out of control “must try” list. Someone’s birthday is coming up? I’m just as excited as they are. P– said it was hardly a special occasion, but no one turns down free cake.
I knew exactly what I wanted to make, too, after seeing Bakerella’s scandelously gorgeous Chocolate Matcha Bundt Cake. The chocolate against the green was stunning. It was kind of a no brainer.
17 and Baking 