German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

Still warm and gooey...German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

by Victoria Challancin

I am certain the good folks at Betty Crocker had my Mom in mind when they created this dessert. She so loved German Chocolate Cake, an American staple having nothing at all to do with Germany, that I can only imagine somehow that love transferred itself through the airways to Betty Crocker's Kitchens when her favorite dessert was being transformed into a modern incarnation. 

These bars are a modern spin-off of that beloved cake, but much easier to make.  And they don't disappoint--the luscious gooey richness still shines through in perhaps a more manageable way.

From an earlier post, where I gave my Mom's recipe for German Chocolate Cake, I wrote a bit about the history of the original cake dessert, before it morphed into "pie bars": 

In spite of the slightly exotic name of this cake which hints of the Old Country, German Choclate Cake is a thoroughly American concoction...Dating to the 1920s, this rich chocolate cake, lightened with beaten egg whites and filled with a gooey caramel frosting enriched with coconut and pecans, became extremely popular in the 1950s, when it surely entered my life as a little girl.  Named after Samuel German, an employee of the Walter Baker and Company, the cake was originally made with the company's sweet baking chocolate, and it still is, if you have access to German's Sweet Chocolate; if not, any good semi-sweet chocolate works fine...

Instead of the feather-light chocolate cake of the original recipe, these bars are dense.  Not only is the "frosting" gooey, but there is also an extra layer of melted chocolate nestled between the top layer and the bottom layer of cocoa-rich pastry.  Because of its richness, this dessert is served in small squares--which is all the average eater could possibly manage at one go, including me, an inveterate chocoholic. ;-)

Uncooked gooeyness

Cooked gooeyness

Cook's Notes:  I didn't bother to line the pan with foil as I have a 13x9-inch pan with a separate top, which makes the bars easy to store.  I also used regular coconut as I don't have access to flaked.  Instead of spraying the pan, I greased it with butter.  As these were made in one of my weekly cooking classes, we didn't have enough time to properly cool the bars before cutting, hence the gooey yumminess which is hopefully apparent in the photos. 

Recipe:  German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

(Recipe from bettycrocker.com)

Makes 24 

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1 1/2 cup cups semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup flaked coconut

3 cups broken pecans, toasted

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line bottom and sides of 113x9-inch pan with heavy-duty foil, extending foil 2 to 3 inches over 2 opposite sides of pan.  Spray foil with cooking spray.  Set aside.

In a food processor, place flour, powdered sugar, 3/4 cup butter and the cocoa. Process with quick on-and-off pulses until consistency of coarse meal.  Press in bottom and 3/4 inch up sides of pan.

Bake 15 minutes.  Remove from oven; sprinkle chocolate chips over crust.  Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 30 minutes.

In medium bowl, mix brown sugar, corn syrup, melted butter and the eggs with whisk until smooth.  Stir in coconut and toasted pecans.  Spoon over crust.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and set.  Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 1 hour.  Refrigerate 1 hour.  Use foil to lift out of pan onto cutting board.  Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.

A still-warm piece of deliciousness on one of my Mom's Wedgwood plates

Parting Shot:  California Ferns

©Victoria Challancin.  All Rights Reserved.

Please ask permission before using text or photos.  Thanks!

Molten Chocolate Cake with Goat's Milk Caramel Filling

Molten Chocolate Cake with Goat's Milk Caramel Filling

Molten Chocolate Cake with Goat's Milk Caramel Filling

by Victoria Challancin

In the city of Celaya in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, a most wonderful artisanal sweet is produced:  cajeta, a caramel made from goat's milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  This popular treat comes in several flavors, such as vainilla (vanilla), envinada (with wine), and my favorite, quemada (burnt) which has a smoky burned milk flavor popular throughout Mexico.  I almost always use it as a substitute in any recipe that might call for a regular caramel.  The taste of the goat's milk is subtle, but definitely discernable--and utterly delicious.

When I stumbled across this molten cake recipe in Food and Wine magazine, I knew I would try it with cajeta.  And am I ever glad I did.  A sprinkle of sea salt gave it a modern twist (I mean, really, where don't you find salted caramel these days?) and a judicious tablespoon of powdered ancho chile would definitely take it over the top.

Molten Chocolate Cake with Goat's Milk Caramel Filling

Molten Chocolate Cake with Goat's Milk Caramel Filling

(Recipe from Food and Wine Magazine)

1 stick unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

6 ounces dark chocolate, (70 per cent cacao), chopped

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

Pinch of salt

4 heaping teaspoons of cold, store-bought caramel sauce or cajeta

Flaky Maldon sea salt for sprinkling

Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Brush four 6-ounce ramekins with melted butter.  In a small bowl, whisk the cocoa powder with 1 tablespoon of the flour; dust the ramekins with the cocoa mixture, tapping out the excess.  Transfer the ramekins to a sturdy baking sheet.

In a medium saucepan, melt the 1 stick of butter with the chocolate over very low heat, stirring occasionally.  Let cool slightly.

In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the granulated sugar with the eggs and salt at medium-high speed until thick and pale yellow, 3 minutes.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the melted chocolate until no streaks remain.  Fold in the 1/4 cup of flour.

Spoon two-thirds of the batter into the prepared ramekins, then spoon 1 heaping teaspoon of the caramel into each ramekin.  Sprinkle with sea salt and cover with the remaining chocolate batter.

Bake in the center of the oven for 16 minutes, until the tops are cracked but the centers are still slightly jiggly.  Transfer the ramekins to a rack and let cool for 5 to 8 minutes.  Run the tip of a small knife around each cake to loosen.  Invert a small plate over each cake and, using pot holders, invert again.  Carefully lift off the ramekins.  Dust the warm cakes with confectioners' sugar, if desired, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Molten Chocolate Cake with Goat's Milk Caramel Filling

©Victoria Challancin.  All Rights Reserved.

Key Lime Mascarpone in Puff Pastry with Mango Puree

Key Lime Mascarpone in Puff Pastry with Mango Puree

Key Lime Mascarpone in Puff Pastry with Mango Puree

by Victoria Challancin

I live in a land of mangoes.  Replete with mangoes.  Luscious, perfumed mangoes.  Ataulfos.  Manilas. Criollos.  Paraisos.  Petacones.  And so many more.  The mangoes of India may be a culinary wonder, but those of Mexico aren't far behind.  


The growing season of the various mangoes is just staggered enough to give us a long season, and to give me personally enough time to seek out new ways to use them.  When I found this recipe on keyingredient.com, where it was first published in November of 2010 by site member Texas Chef 09,  I knew it was a winner.  Easy, fast, pretty (if you take the time to properly pipe the filling as the Texas Chef did!), and delicious.  Once again, what's not to love?

I used this recipe in a cooking class for Mexican cooks using a delicious puff pastry made by the local bakery La Buena Vida.  We formed square baskets rather reminiscent of log cabins, but you could use any shape you like.  I demonstrated square baskets formed by pushing a square of puff pastry into a muffin tin with the four corners sticking out as well.  Round, square, or even triangles--whichever you choose, you can have a light, fresh, pretty dessert on the table very quickly.  


I even like the idea of baking triangular dessert empanadas filled with the Key Lime Mascarpone mixture and sauced with the Mango Puree. Yum...

Cook's Notes:  I used fresh lime juice from Mexican limes and Ataulfo mangoes.  I also found the instructions that I copied as written on the keyingredient.com site useless.  Let me know if they make sense to you!  I just made baskets as I have done before by cutting strips of pastry and using an egg wash as glue to stick them to a square base, forming a rim.

Key Lime Mascarpone in Puff Pastry with Mango Puree 

(Recipe from keyingredient.com)

For the filling: 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest 4 tablespoons bottled Key lime juice  or 5 table spoons fresh lime juice 1 cup mascarpone cheese (about 1/2 pound) 1 package puff pastry, thawed For the mango puree: 3 ripe mangoes (each about 3/4 pound) 2 tables fresh lime juice, or to taste 1 tablespoons superfine sugar, or to taste

Make the mango puree: Peel and cut flesh from mangoes, discarding pits. In a blender or food processor purée mango with remaining ingredients until smooth. Force purée through a fine sieve into a bowl. Sauce may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.

Bake the puff pastry shells:  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the puff pastry with a little flour. Cut 4 squares of each (Do 8 in total) Starting in the middle of one side of the square, cut a ½ inch border to the middle of the next side (one corner of the square). Repeat on the diagonal corner. Take the border and place on the diagonal. Repeat with the second side. Brush the puff pastry squares with a beaten egg. Put in oven for 20 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

Make filling:  In a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream cheese with sugar, zest, and lime juice until smooth and beat in mascarpone. Chill filling, covered, until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

Assemble dessert:  Whisk filling and transfer it to a pastry bag fitted with a ¼-inch plain or decorative tip. Carefully pipe filling into puff pastry baskets . Put mango sauce into a squeeze bottle or drizzle about ¼ cup mango sauce onto each of 6 dessert plates, tilting plate to distribute sauce evenly.

Enjoy!

Victoria Challancin

Flavors of the Sun Cooking School

San Miguel de Allende, México

@Victoria Challancin. All Rights Reserved.

Just in Time for Thanksgiving!

 Just in Time for Thanksgiving: 


Crystallized Ginger and Black Pepper Pumpkin Mini-Cakes
and
High Altitude Baking Adjustments

by Victoria Challancin

It was another of those "perfect storm" of circumstances that forced me to make this cake:  friends coming over to watch a movie, ingredients on hand, a recipe from a blog with a recipe flagged.  The result:  Crystallized Ginger and Black Pepper Pumpkin Mini-Cakes.

I had bought a ridiculously-priced (about 80 pesos) large can of pumpkin and was looking for something new to do with it, when I stumbled across the following recipe from a blog by Donalyn Ketchum.  I threw in a few extra ingredients and made some adjustments for High Altitude Baking required here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where the GPS reads 6700 feet outside my front door.  I also decided to make mini-bundt cakes just because I love the shapes.  Black pepper?  Well, yes.  It's an old Southern tradition to add a teaspoon of black pepper to pound cakes.  The glaze is my own idea, which I made up as I went along.  

Note:  I will include the recipe as written by Donalyn Ketchum in her blog and will add my own changes and notes to San Miguel readers in brackets beside them.

Crystallized Ginger and Black Pepper Pumpkin Mini-Cakes

(Adapted from a recipe for Candied Ginger Pumpkin Cake by Donalyn Ketchum)

3/4 cup soft butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature  [4 eggs]

1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin

1/4 cup light molasses               [I had to used Mexican piloncillo melted with a bit of water]

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 Tablespoons candied ginger, finely chopped (sprinkle with granulated sugar to keep it from sticking together as you chop) [In San Miguel you can buy crystallized ginger at Moonrise Health on Calle Órganos]

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour      [plus 2 tablespoons]

1 teaspoon baking soda            [I used 1/2 teaspoon]

1/2 teaspoon baking powder    [I used 3/4 teaspoon]

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon   [heaping--I actually used 1 1/2 teaspoons]

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg     [scant]

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

[My addition:  3/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper]

1/2 cup buttermilk                    [I used Mexican crema ácida]

Preheat the oven to 350F [I used 375F].  Grease two 9-inch cake pans with solid shortening [I used a mini-bundt pan plus 3 8-oz ramekins greased with Pam].

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter until creamy.  Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.  Gradually, beat in the eggs, one at a time until each one is incorporated.  Add, and beat well, until completely incorporated the pumpkin puree, the molasses or melted piloncillo, the vanilla, and the candied ginger.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and powder,  salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.  Set aside.

Measure 1/2 cup buttermilk or Mexican sour cream and set aside.

Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream, beating well between each addition, and scraping sides of bowl as needed.

Dived batter evenly in the prepared pans/molds.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes [I baked mine for about 40--but it could be my oven], roatating pans after 20 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, with no crumbs sticking to it.  It is easy to under-bake a moist cake like this, so don't take it out too soon.  When done, cool for a couple of minutes in the pans, and remove carefully, running a clean knife around the edge to loosen, and cool completely on a wire rack.

Note:  If you want to make the salted pecans and sour cream frosting used in the original recipe, refer to the link provided above.

Ginger and Black Pepper Glaze

(Recipe by Victoria Challancin)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 Tablespoons crystallized ginger, finely chopped

2 cups confectioners' sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

Juice of 1/2 yellow Key lime (or lime or lemon...)

Scant 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

Pinch of cloves

3 Tablespoons heavy cream (or milk--even low-fat is fine)

3 to 5 Tablespoons milk 

Melt the butter in a small heavy pan.  Add the crystallized ginger and allow to soften for a minute.  

Put the confectioners' sugar in a medium-sized bowl and add the butter mixture and remaining ingredients. Adjust consistency by adding more milk if necessary.  You can add less milk/cream or substitute softened cream cheese if you prefer a stiffer frosting to a glaze.

These unfrosted cakes were almost impossible to photograph on the red platter with the green napkin behind them:  The colors do not come out "true."

Can you see the black pepper?

Here is one of the cakes made in a ramekin with the leftover batter

My conclusions:  These were delicious and a hit with everyone who ate them.  But loving spices as I do, I can see that I would have added more Chai-type spices and grated fresh ginger, just to give a bit more punch to the flavor.

Enjoy!

Victoria Challancin

Flavors of the Sun

San Miguel de Allende, México

Recipe: English Berry Trifle with Cointreau

English Berry Trifle with Cointreau

by Victoria Challancin 

This Christmas I decided to make a dessert I haven't made in years:  a proper English-style berry trifle.  Armed with a bag of frozen organic berries from Costco, a punnet of fresh raspberries, and a large container of fresh strawberries, I searched for a recipe in which they could shine.  The recipe that came closest to memories of trifles made by my British friends in the Middle East came from a source that called it a New England Style Berry Trifle, but I knew in my heart that it was British, seriously British--one of those lovely British puddings that made it across the Atlantic and found its way into American culinary legend.  

While the link will take you to the original recipe, I should note the changes that I made while trying to recreate my friends' recipe.  First of all, I baked my Mom's recipe for a traditional Southern pound cake.  Nothing complicated, just a dense and hearty cake that would easily stand up to a good soak in a liquor-laced solution.  I followed most of the recipe as it was given, but once I had made the orange-lemon curd and allowed it to cool, I folded it gently into two cups of whipped heavy cream.  The rest is history.  And the result so lovely that it just may become a part of my own Christmas tradition--a part of my own history.

Part V Cooking Class Photos: Desserts

A summer parfait made with two types of mousse, lemon and white chocolate, layered with strawberries

Part V
Cooking Class Photos:
Desserts

In my cooking classes designed for Mexican cooks who want to learn international cooking, we almost never have time to allow cheesecakes to set, cakes to cook, custards to fully set. The main thing is to learn how to make them--and then eat and enjoy them as well! The following photos show a panna cotta unmolded before it set, a mini-chocolate cake unmolded before it was cool enough to cut, and no photo at all of a fabulous piña colada cheesecake. All delicious.

Another presentation of the same summer parfait as above, but this time with a few garambulla cactus "berries" thrown in

German Chocolate Mini Cakes with Chocolate Ganache and Caramel-Coconut Topping
(Recipe can be found here)


Yogurt Panna Cotta with Balsamic-Macerated Strawberries with Basil or Berry Sauce

(Note: I created this recipe after eating a light yogurt panna cotta in one restaurant and balsamic-macerated strawberries served with ice cream in another)