Snowball Truffles

I get these cravings for certain things. Not necessarily to eat but just to make. I had never made truffles but I really wanted to try to make them. I decided to make a version of snowball truffles. These were easy to make but are messy and take some time to make but they are well worth it. 


Tools:


Cutting Board
Knife
Small Sauce Pan
Medium Mixing Bowl
Sheet Pan
Parchment Paper or Silicon Mat
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Mesh Strainer
Whisk
Plate


Ingredients:


1/2 lb Bittersweet Chocolate
1/2 lb Semisweet Chocolate
1 C Heavy Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 C Powdered Sugar


Directions:


Chop the chocolate into very small pieces. Place them in the mixing bowl. Heat the cream in the sauce pan until it starts to boil. Turn off the heat and cool for 30 seconds. Pour cream over the chocolate through a mesh strainer. Whisk the cream into the chocolate until completely melted. Add the vanilla and whisk to combine. 


Let the mixture rest for an hour at room temperature. Spoon round balls of the mixture onto the covered sheet pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm.

Roll each dollop of chocolate in your hands to smooth out any rough edges. Then roll each piece in the powdered sugar. They do need to be refrigerated but you can serve them at room temperature. 

They make about 60 truffles, so you will have a ton for the coming weeks. Enjoy!

Molten Chocolate Cake

Okay so a few days turned into 11 days! I am horrible at time management with school, work, and family time I run out of time before having to go to bed for the next day to start. Well here is the long awaited recipe of the molten chocolate cake. This recipe is very easy but if baked too long it changes the whole thing. So if it doesn't come out the first just cut the cooking time for the next time. 


Tools:


Muffin Tin
Mixing Bowl
Metal or Glass bowl
Sauce pan
Whisk 
Muffin cups


Ingredients:


1 C Unsalted Butter
8oz Semisweet Chocolate, chopped into chunks
5 Eggs
1/2 C Sugar
Pinch of Salt
4 tsp Flour


Directions:


Pre-heat oven to 450°. First melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler(I use a glass or melt bowl over a sauce pan with boiling water). Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt until smooth. Slowly add the chocolate into the egg mixture, continuously mixing. Then add the 4 tsp of flour to the mixture. 


I use the large muffin tin for mine but you can use the normal sized ones too. Line the muffin tin with the paper then fill the cups half way.

 Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges puff but the center isn't set yet. 

You can serve with fruit or pastry cream. I served it with strawberries. 

Enjoy!

Busy, Busy, Busy....

So I haven't made a post in a long time. I have been really busy with school, work, and family. I will have a recipe to post in a couple days. A Chocolate Molten Cake!!!!! mmmm..... Until then, check out some of my other recipes and if you try any let me know with a comment.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Espresso Butter Cream Frosting

I was recently watching cupcake wars on the food network. One of the bakers made this cupcake with espresso frosting on it. My husband instantly looked at me and asked "Can you make that?" I got to thinking about it and decided that I would at least try to make a cupcake with my version of the frosting. 


Tools for Cupcakes and Frosting: 


3 Mixing Bowls
Stand Mixer/Hand Mixer
Spatula
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Muffin Tins
Muffin Papers
Piping Bag with ends(optional)


Ingredients for Espresso Butter Cream Frosting:


1/2 C Vegetable Shortening
1/2 C Butter
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
4 C Confectioners Sugar/Powder Sugar
2 Tbs Milk
2 Tbs Instant Coffee


Directions:


Cream together shortening, butter and sugar until smooth. Add the instant coffee, milk, and extract. Whisk together until everything is combined. Put frosting in piping bag and set aside. 


Ingredients for Vanilla Cupcakes:


2 C Cake Flour
1 1/2 C Sugar
3 Tbs Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
4 Egg Whites, whisked until soft peaks form
1/2 Shortening 
1 C Milk
2 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract


Directions:


Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Separate the egg whites from the 4 yokes. Put egg whites in mixing bowl and whisk until white and foamy that create soft peaks. Set aside. Combine in new mixing bowl the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, shortening, milk and vanilla. Whisk. Add the other 2 eggs one at a time. Whisk until smooth. Then combine the egg whites by folding them into the batter until combined. 


Fill the muffin tins with cupcake liners. Fill with batter 3/4 full of batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick  inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes before putting the frosting on the cupcakes. You can garnish with a chocolate covered espresso bean if you would like.