German Chocolate Cake

make the cake layers

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter pans and dust with cocoa powder (instead of flour which leaves white splotches on the chocolate layers), shaking off the excess.

In a double boiler, melt dark chocolate. Remove from heat and cool. Quicken this step by cooling chocolate in the refrigerator.

In a medium bowl, sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together coffee and buttermilk.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, about three minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping sides of bowl down after each addition. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the coffee/buttermilk mixture. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and using a spatula, fold in the melted chocolate.

Divide the batter evenly between the three pans. Batter should fill pans about half to two-thirds of the way full. Smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer cakes to a wire cooling rack for 20-30 minutes. Invert cakes onto rack and remove pans and parchment to let cool completely.

make the filling

In a large saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, evaporated milk and vanilla until well blended. Add sugars and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 12 minutes, until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat. Mix in coconut and pecans. Cool to room temperature.

assemble the cake

Trim tops of cakes to level out surface, if necessary. Place first cake layer on platter or cake stand. Spread one third of filling on top. Add second layer and spread another third of filling on top. Follow with final layer and top with remaining filling.

Blackberry & Marshmallow Semifreddo

make the marshmallow

Put the gelatin in a small bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of cold water. Let the gelatin sit until it becomes spongy.

In a small saucepan stir together the sugar, 1/4 cup of corn syrup and 1⁄4 cup of water. Don’t begin heating, just set aside. In a medium bowl add the rest of the corn syrup. Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, begin to whisk the syrup on low speed.

Heat the gelatin in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. Stir the gelatin to ensure it is completely melted. Then slowly add the gelatin to the corn syrup mixture. Keep mixer on low speed.

Begin to heat the sugar mixture on the stovetop on medium to high heat. Stir continuously. Use a candy thermometer to watch the temperature. When the thermometer reaches 235 degrees F, remove the saucepan from the heat.

The corn syrup mixture will be thick by this time. Turn the mixer up to medium for one minute, and then slowly add the sugar mixture. Begin mixing on medium-high for 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt. Mix on high for one minute. The mixture will be very fluffy. Set the marshmallow aside.

make the semifreddo and sauce

Prepare a 5×9 loaf pan with parchment paper. Cut two pieces of parchment paper, each wide enough to cover the bottom of the pan and extended over the sides vertically and horizontally. Ultimately you will use the parchment paper to lift the semifreddo from the loaf pan. Alternatively, you could serve the semifreddo in individual dishes. In that case, no additional preparation of those dishes in necessary.

Puree the blackberries in a food processor, blender or, my favorite, the Magic Bullet. Pour the puree into a mesh sieve and using the back of a spoon or ladle push it through the sieve, separating the juice from the seeds. Divide the juice evenly in two bowls.

In one bowl, make the sauce by adding 2 tablespoons of sugar. Juice the lemon and stir in 1 teaspoon of juice. Cover and chill.

In the second bowl of blackberry puree, add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.

In a small saucepan, add about an inch of water and heat to simmer.

Using an electric mixer beat the eggs, salt and 1/3 cup of sugar on medium to high speed for 5 to 8 minutes. The mixture will turn a pale yellow and will double in size.

Place the bowl over the simmering saucepan and insert a candy thermometer into the mixture. Beat with a handheld mixer or whisk vigorously until the thermometer reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from heat and chill mixture until it is cool. Softly, add in the blackberry puree. Mix until blended.

Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks. Be careful not to over beat. Softly, fold the cream into the blackberry mixture. Once well combined, carefully add three to four spoonfuls of marshmallow to the mixture. You can add more or less marshmallow according to your preference. Stir just until the marshmallow is distributed fairly evenly.

Pour the semifreddo into the prepared loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer. It will be ready to serve in two hours. Serve within two days.

When semifreddo is frozen (it will still be a bit soft) and you are ready to serve, run a butter knife between the loaf pan and the parchment paper to loosen the semifreddo. Using the edges of the parchment paper, lift the semifreddo from the pan and transfer to a plate to remove the parchment. Serve with the blackberry sauce on a platter cut in slices or on individual plates.

Rhubarb Oat Muffins

make the muffins

Line two muffin pans with muffin liners, and set aside. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, mix together by hand brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk. In a large bowl, whisk together oats, flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, gently incorporating just enough until ingredients are combined together. Be careful not to over-mix. Then, add in rhubarb and the pecans.

make the streusel topping

In a small bowl, stir together melted butter, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger. The topping should be slightly wet and form a coarse, slightly sticky meal. Adjust butter amount if needed.

finish the muffins

Pour the batter in lined muffin pans, filling each cup about 3/4ths full. Sprinkle the topping over each filled muffin pan. Place muffins in oven and immediately drop oven temperature to 400 degrees F (dropping the temperature like this will help with their rise since oat flour tends not to rise as well) . Bake at 400 degrees F for 11-13 min., or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once muffins have cooled slightly, remove them from the muffin tin and place them on a cooling rack.

Strawberry Chocolate Galette

make the pastry

Whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Place ingredients in the refrigerator to chill. Once chilled, remove ingredients from refrigerator and add butter. Quickly cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until butter chunks are about the size of peas. Slowly mix in the ice water, being careful not to overwork the dough. Form the dough into a ball, adding a little more water if the dough is too crumbly. Once a ball is formed, flatten it to a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. If desired, chill your rolling pin at this time as well.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough and place on a floured surface. Roll into approx. an 11-inch circle and transfer to the baking sheet.

make the ganache

Roughly chop chocolate and place in a bowl. In a saucepan, bring cream to a boil over medium heat. Remove cream from heat and pour over chocolate. Let stand for about 5 minutes and then stir with a whisk until smooth. Cool to room temperature. Spread ganache on pastry, about 1 inch from the edge.

make the filling

In a medium bowl, combine strawberries, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch. Using a slotted spoon, pile strawberries into the center of the pastry. I avoid using the leftover juices because they can tend to run and make the crust soggy. Spread strawberries about a 1/2 to 1 inch from the edge of the chocolate ganache. Fold about 1 inch of edges of pastry around the filling, overlapping as needed.

finish the pastry

In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water. Using a pastry brush, apply egg wash to the surface of the pastry. Then, sprinkle raw sugar on the pastry crust.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden yellow. I love to serve the galette warm with vanilla bean ice cream.

Toasted Coconut Custard Tart

make the crust

Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Then line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Butter and flour the parchment.

Mix the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the pieces of butter and pulse the ingredients using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. The flour should combine with the butter and begin forming small balls. In a bowl break up the egg yolk then add it in increments, mixing in pulses after each addition. Keep pulsing for 10 second each until the ingredients begin to mix. Mix until the ingredients could be formed into a ball of dough. Don’t over mix.

Using a floured surface, carefully knead the dough just enough to get all of the extra dry ingredients combined. Evenly, lightly press the dough into the bottom and sides of the tart pan. Reserve a small amount of the dough to repair cracks in the crust after baking. Freeze the crust for 30 minutes. Refrigerate the extra dough. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter the shiny side of aluminum foil and press the buttered side down against the crust. Bake on a baking sheet for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and press down the crust. Fill any cracks or thin spots with the extra dough. Bake for 8 more minutes until the crust is lightly brown. Let cool. Cover until ready to use.

make the custard

Bring the milk to a soft boil. In a large saucepan whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch and salt until well combined. While constantly whisking, pour 1/3 of the milk into the egg mixture. Continuing to whisk, slowly pour the remaining milk into the eggs. While still whisking, heat the mixture over medium heat until it begins to boil; let boil for up to 2 minutes, until it thickens. Mix in the rum and vanilla. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Then add the bits of butter. This should make the custard very smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut. Cover with plastic wrap pressed against the custard and cool in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. You can also store the custard overnight until ready to use.

make the topping

With a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds medium peaks. Add the powdered sugar and mix until firm peaks are formed, but be careful not to over mix. Fold in the rum and vanilla. If you like a lighter rum flavor, I would omit it from the whipped topping.

To put it all together, lightly whisk the cooled custard and pour it into the crust. Spoon the whipped cream all over the tart and spread evenly to the edges. Sprinkle toasted coconut on top of the whipped cream.

Mascarpone Swirled Brownies

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch baking pan. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a saucepan over low heat, melt semisweet and unsweetened chocolate with butter. Once melted, remove from heat, and whisk in 1 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of vanilla. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Whisk the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture until batter is smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk the mascarpone cheese with the egg yolk and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Pour half of the brownie batter into the baking pan. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture on top. Then add the other half of the brownie batter. Spread the remaining mascarpone mixture on top. With a knife, swirl the batter together a few times to acheive a marbled effect.

Bake brownies for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Brownies can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Cherry-Berry Pecan Granola Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan. Then line it with parchment paper and butter the parchment paper.

Combine the oats, pecans and coconut and spread evenly on a cookie sheet. Toast (mix once during toasting) until lightly browned, about 7-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and mix-in the wheat germ, cardamom and cinnamon.

Reduce heat in the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, combine butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Upon boiling, cook for one minute. Pour the heated mixture over the oat mixture. Add the cherries, blueberries and cocoa nibs. Mix until the dry ingredients are well coated.

Pour the mixture into the pan and spread evenly in the pan. Use the back of a wooden spoon or wet your fingers and press the mixture firmly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until lightly browned. Don’t overcook or the bars will be too hard. Cool for 2 to 3 hours. Cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

make the crust

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Butter the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8 inch baking pan. Cut two pieces of parchment paper in rectangles long enough to extend up the sides of the pan (so later you can use them as tabs to pull out the finished cheesecake bars). Place the parchment paper in the buttered pan cross-wise and press it into the corners.

In a plastic bag, crush up the graham crackers in to dime size pieces or smaller crumbs. In a bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon and graham crackers. Add the melted butter and mix until the butter is incorporated. Pour the mixture into the baking pan and evenly press it into the bottom of the pan and about a 1/4 inch on the sides. Use a glass or another smooth surface to disperse the graham cracker mixture. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. Cool crust.

make the filling

Before you begin, ensure the cream cheese is at room temperature. This will make your bars more creamy. In a bowl with an electric mixer, add the cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar. Mix until the ingredients are creamy and the cream cheese is fully incorporated. Pour into the pan with the cooled crust. Then evenly distribute the blueberries.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cheesecake comes out mostly clean. Only allow the top to get a hint of brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Then refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Remove the cheesecake from the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into 9 bars and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Kumquat Tea Bread

make the kumquat tea bread

Place quartered kumquats in processor; puree 3 minutes. Reserve 1/3 cup puree for glaze.

Preheat to 350 degrees. Spray two loaf pans with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, tea powder, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Using an electric mixer, blend 1 1/4 cups sugar and oil. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition. Then, mix in vanilla, 2/3 cup kumquat puree and pineapple with juice. Gradually add dry ingredients, beating just until blended. Do not over mix. Fold in walnuts. Divide batter between loaf pans.

Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes-1 hour. Cool 5 minutes, then turn bread out on rack, top side up. Cool completely.

make the kumquat glaze

Place reserved 1/3 cup puree in large bowl. Whisk in butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. If glaze is too thick, thin by whisking in a little water. Drizzle glaze over bread loaves. Top with kumquat slices. Let stand until icing sets. Store at room temperature.

Chocolate Opera Cake

make the cake layers

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Cut out wax paper the size of three 8 or 9-inch cake pans. Line the pans with the wax paper and butter and flour the bottom and sides of the pan. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and mix together. In a saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to a boil.

In a large bowl, beat eggs on medium speed with an electric mixer (use paddle attachment if you have the option). Slowly add the oil, milk and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Then add dry ingredients and bean on medium just until combined. Add boiling water and stir by hand until combined. Divide the batter between the three cake pans. The pans won’t appear very full but the cakes will rise in the oven. Bake cakes for 18-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Try to pull the cakes from the oven before the toothpick comes out clean, a few crumbs on the toothpick are good. Cool cakes on rack. Once completely cooled, run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out on to cooling racks.

make the coffee buttercream

While the cakes are baking, you can make the buttercream. In a medium bowl, mix the egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of sugar with an electric mixer until thick and pale. This will take about 5 minutes or more. In a small saucepan, bring the milk just to a boil. Stir in the rest of the sugar, the coffee and instant espresso or instant coffee. While constantly whisking the yolks, pour in 1/3 of the hot milk mixture. Then pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly and cook on medium until you seem small bubbles. Remove from heat and pour into a clean mixing bowl and bean on medium to high until the mixture thickens and doubles in size, about 5-6 minutes. Beat in butter one tablespoon at a time until the mixture turns white and fluffy.

make the chocolate charlotte

Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments; set aside. Whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer until it holds soft-medium peaks.

Place the eggs yolks in a double boiler with water in the bottom pan. Heat yolks over low to medium heat, keeping an eye that they don’t get to hot and scramble. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Whisking yolks constantly, stir in the sugar syrup. Continue whisking quickly until the mixture thickens. Pour mixture into a medium bowl and mix on medium until it cools to room temperature. Beat in melted chocolate until it is very well combined. Then, using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream until the charlotte is all the same color. Chill until ready to use.

make the coffee sauce

In a small bowl, combine the coffee and coffee liqueur. Set aside.

make the chocolate ganache

In the microwave, melt the chocolate in 30 second increments. Add the butter and stir until well combined. Whisk in the corn syrup and liqueur. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes before using.

assemble the cake

The easiest way to assemble is by using a spring-form pan lined with plastic wrap. Place one layer of the cake in the spring-form pan. Liberally brush on the coffee sauce. Top evenly with one cup of the mousse. Place the second cake layer on top of the charlotte. Liberally brush the top of the cake with the coffee sauce. Top with 1 to 1-1/2 cups of the buttercream. Stack the third cake layer on the buttercream and liberally brush the cake with the coffee sauce. Chill the cake for 10-15 minutes.

Once the cake is chilled, turn the cake over onto a plate. Pour the ganache over the cake starting in the middle and spreading it out over the cake and down the sides. Spread the ganache evenly on the sides of the cake. Sprinkle the sides and/or top of the cake with roasted cocoa nibs. Chill the cake for at least four hours or overnight. Before serving, brink cake to room temperature. Store the cake in the refrigerator for up to two days.