Super Bowl Sunday Chocolate Cake

[JennLynn]

Cake:
3 ounces semisweet or bitter sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup flat cola
2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Icing:
2 1/4 cups sugar
9 large egg whites
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch fine salt
1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup natural cocoa powder
2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted
Football Sugar Cookies, homemade or store bought, recipe follows
Plastic goal posts, available a specialty baking stores


For the cake: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter and line the bottom of 9 by 13-inch cake pan with parchment paper, overlapping on 2 sides to create flaps.
Put chopped the chocolate in a bowl. Heat cola just to a simmer over low heat and pour over chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes; stir until smooth.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

In another large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until slightly thickened and pale, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs. Beat on low until combined well, but not aerated. Add the flour mixture and continue to beat until just combined. (Stir lightly with a rubber spatula to remove any pockets of flour.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the cake springs back lightly when touched, and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Cool cake completely in the pan on a rack. Run a knife around edge of the pan and invert cake onto a rack. Carefully remove parchment paper and cool completely. (The cake may be made in advance, tightly wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.


For the Icing: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a standing mixer's bowl above the water. Whisk the sugar, the egg whites, lemon juice, or cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar dissolves, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bowl to a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the whites at medium-high speed until they almost hold a stiff peak and are fully cooled, about 10 minutes. Beat in the butter, a little at a time, until the icing is smooth and spreadable. (If the icing separates, just keep beating and it will come back together.)
To decorate the cake: Divide the icing in half. Set aside a couple of tablespoons white icing for field line. Blend a few drops of green food coloring into 1 portion so it is the same color as football field turf. Beat the cocoa powder and melted chocolate into remaining icing.

Cover sides of the cake with chocolate icing. (Save some chocolate icing to decorate football cookie, if desired.)

Transfer the green icing to a pastry bag fitted with a small tip, and cover the top of the cake, moving back and forth in small motions to create the turf. Clean bag and tip thoroughly, fill with white icing and add yard lines to field as desired.

Pressed football themed cookies into the top or sides of the cake, as desired, and finish with plastic goal posts.

Serve or set aside at room temperature for up to 2 hours before serving, refrigerate if needed. (If cake is refrigerated, bring to room temperature 1 hour before serving.)

8 oz bittersweet organic chocolate, broken into pieces, 2 sticks organic
butter, cut into 4 pieces each, 1 1/4 cups unbleached natural cane sugar
6 organic eggs, lightly beaten, 1 cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder

4 oz bittersweet organic chocolate, broken into pieces, 3 TB organic butter
1 TB milk, organic soymilk, or almond milk,1 TB honey, 1/4 tsp vanilla
Cake directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9-inch spring-form pan or round cake pan. Line bottom with a circle of wax or parchment paper and spray the paper.

Place chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stirring often, melt the chocolate with the butter until completely blended. Remove from heat and pour mixture into a large mixing bowl. (Alternately, you may use your microwave to melt the butter with the chocolate, if desired). Add sugar and mix well. Add eggs, a little at a time, and mix well. Sift cocoa onto mix and stir until just blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake has risen and the top has formed a thin crust. It may crack just a bit. The cake should be just firm in the center when done. Cool cake for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate, removing sides if using a spring-form pan. Remove wax paper and allow the cake to continue to cool.
While cake is baking, prepare glaze. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt broken chocolate with butter, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in milk, honey and vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly. When cake has cooled, pour glaze onto the center. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, very gently smooth the glaze along the top and sides of the cake. Chill for 30 minutes to an hour before serving. This sets the glaze and makes the cake easier to slice.
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dwella


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[Britni]

Hot Caramel Choco Tarts

Ingredients:
2 cups - plain flour
3/4 cup - softened butter
1/2 cup - icing sugar
1/4 tsp - vanilla essence
1 cup - granulated sugar
1 tbsp - cocoa powder
1 cup - co****ly crushed walnuts
1/4 cup - cream
2 tbsp - butter
1 cup - chocolate curls
Method:
1 Beat softened butter and icing sugar till soft and fluffy.
2 Fold in vanilla essence, and flour to make a crumbly dough.
3 Divide in 12 ungreased tart moulds.
4 Press down softly, with a small mallet or back of spoon.
5 Bring up on side to line till rim.
6 Even out by putting a thin sheet of plastic over dough, while pressing.
7 Bake in preheated oven, at 160oC for 28-30 minutes, or till golden.
Remove, allow to cool to room temperature.
8 Melt sugar in heavy pan, till golden and fully liquefied.
9 Take off fire, add cream and cocoa, whip till well mixed.
10 Take care because mixture will boil furiously, on adding cream.
Add nuts, butter, mix well, allow to cool and thicken a little.
Spoon into tart moulds, sprinkle thickly with chocolate curls.
Serve warm and gooey, with tea and snacks.
Making time: 1 hour
Makes: 12 small tarts
Shelflife: 2 days
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Britni


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