icing | Kitchenbelle

Black and White Cookies

Posted on January 11, 2010 by kitchenbelle

Black and White Cookies are my husband’s absolute favorite. He isn’t totally a sweet lover but when it comes to Black and Whites, he is on board. On the evening of our rehearsal dinner I presented him with a Black and White Cookie CAKE. It was a giant Black and White cookie that could be shared. It has become a little tradition, in fact, that every time I see a Black and White cookie in a store or bakery, I buy one for him. They are sometimes hard to come by. I fully intended to make these cookies for him for his birthday, however, the meal ended up being more time consuming than I expected and I barely had time to bake a cake. (The cake actually had to share the oven with the baked beans!) Needless to say, there was no time for cookie baking and cookie frosting and the recipe sat on our counter.

Then, almost serendipitously, the very sweet Shannon organized a cookie swap! It was the perfect occasion to bake these cookies. (Thanks again Shannon!)

Not only did I get to take home extras of these Black and White cookies (making for a very happy husband!) but also, I received the following DELICIOUS cookies as a result of the swap:

Recipe Notes:

I am in love with the puffy cake like texture of these cookies.
I was not happy with my chocolate frosting per the recipe instructions and after frosting about 12 cookies, I decided to switch to the always-satisfying Hershey’s Chocolate frosting. Muuuuuch better. It doesn’t have the sheen of the white frosting but it definitely tastes good. (I have included this in the recipe below.)
This recipe yielded approximately 55 medium-sized cookies.
Just out of the oven, the cookies looked like delicious silver dollar pancakes!
Set aside a decent amount of time to frost these little guys.

Black and White Cookies:

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

White Frosting

4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup water

Black (Chocolate) Frosting

½ cup unsalted butter

2/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the cookies

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.

In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter. Mix using an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and lemon extracts, and mix until smooth.

In medium bowl, combine cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until mixed. Add dry mixture to the wet in batches, stirring well after each addition. Using a rounded tablespoon spoon, place heaping spoonfuls of the batter 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Use your finger to spin the batter into perfect circle shapes. Bake until edges begin to brown, 16 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.

Make the white frosting

Boil a cup of water in a small pot. Place confectioners’ sugar in a large mixing bowl. Gradually stir in enough boiling water to the sugar to make a thick, spreadable mixture. Spread frosting on half of the flat side of each cookie.

Make the black (chocolate) frosting

Melt the butter in a medium bowl. Stir in the cocoa. Alternately add confectioners’ sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Frost remaining halves of cookies.

Adapted from SmittenKitchen.

Filed under: chocolate, cookies, Dessert, frosting, icing | 9 Comments »

Heath Bar Chocolate Cake

Posted on December 11, 2009 by kitchenbelle

Wow–the days and weeks have gotten away from me! I came down with a nasty cold after Thanksgiving and I am not, what you might call, a quick “rebounder.” I take some time to bounce back! I am working on it, though. With the help of some roasted garlic cloves I hope to be 100% soon! Needless to say, I have not been cooking anything too snazzy in the kitchen as of late. Roasted winter vegetables, simply grilled steaks, some pasta, sweet potatoes, and beans are pretty much it. That said, I hope to get back on it and squeeze in some fun holiday treats before the season spirals away from me.

I recently did some baking for my wonderful co-worker, Jill, who is getting married in the Bahamas next month. We had a surprise shower for her at work and I made this celebration cake for the gathering. It is an adaptation of Annie’s Eats Cookies and Cream Cake, which won me our office bake-off. This time, instead of crushed Oreos I used Heath Bar chocolate bits folded into the whipped cream filling.

I must say I was quite pleased with the result. The chocolate cake is rich and moist, the whipped cream filling is light and fluffy, yet not too sweet, and the Hershey’s chocolate frosting is fudgy and delicious. I’d say this cake has mass appeal, which makes it perfect for an office occasion or a party where you might not know everyone’s tastes.

Heath Bar Chocolate Cake:

For the cake:

2 cups sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

For the filling:

1 ¼ cups heavy cream
1/8 cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 bag of Heath Bar chocolate bits

For the frosting:

½ cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat on low speed until all sugar is incorporated; increase speed to high and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in candy pieces with a rubber spatula.

To make the frosting, melt the butter in a medium bowl. Stir in the cocoa. Alternately add confectioners’ sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

To assemble the cake, slice two cakes in half cross-wise using a serrated knife. Place one cake layer on a cardboard cake circle. Pipe a ring of the chocolate frosting around the outside edge of the cake. Fill the area inside the ring of frosting with a thick layer of the cookies and cream mixture. Repeat with remaining layers. Place the last cake layer on top. Frost the sides of the cake layers with chocolate frosting. Pipe a decorative border of the chocolate frosting on top of the cake. Fill the area inside this border with a thick layer of the cookies and cream mixture. Garnish with extra candy pieces and chocolate frosting.

Adapted from Annie’s Eats.

Filed under: cake, candy, chocolate, Dessert, frosting, icing | 6 Comments »

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Silver Peanut Butter Frosting

Posted on November 1, 2009 by kitchenbelle

October

The recipe in the previous post makes enough batter for three round cake pans yet I only have two. Rather than wash, cool, and reuse one of the cake pans to make a sky high cake, I decided to use the remaining batter to make mini cupcakes! (Luckily, I also had quite a bit of leftover peanut butter frosting.)

What’s funny is my intention was to make the frosting purple. Into the frosting I whipped several drops of Wilton red and blue gel coloring. However, because the frosting was taupe to start (the color of the peanut butter) rather than achieve the royal purple I had intended I ended up with this silvery gray color–and I love it! I topped each cupcake with silver sprinkles and it totally works on this aluminum serving piece. There is both eeriness and elegance to them. If you want to make these cupcakes follow the recipe for the cake and frosting here.

October

Filed under: chocolate, cream cheese, cupcakes, Dessert, frosting, icing, Peanut Butter | 10 Comments »

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Posted on October 31, 2009 by kitchenbelle

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!

Halloween is truly one of my favorite holidays. I have so many great childhood memories associated with Halloween. Every year my grandmother, who was the type of woman who always looked for a reason for a celebration, would have an over-the-top Halloween party in her basement. I remember going to her house days prior to decorate and prepare. We would tie strings from the ceiling pipes in preparation of the doughnut eating contest. We’d tape black cat and witch cardboard cutout decorations to the walls and the mirror behind the bar. We’d fill a bucket of water so that we could bob for apples. (Those were the days when bobbing for apples was fun and not fearful–no one seemed to worry about transmitting viruses like they would today!) We’d even create a haunted house in the unfinished portion of the cellar! After my grandmother died my mom continued the tradition by having Halloween parties and always keeping the holiday fun and festive. What’s funny is we don’t really have any traditional family foods or recipes associated with Halloween. It’s more about using it as a good reason to have some fun.

I always look for a reason to bake sweet treats and there is certainly not a shortage of Halloween-centric desserts! From the moment I saw this cake on Smitten Kitchen I couldn’t let it go. The chocolate ganache seemed like the perfect canvas for a spider web and the chocolate peanut butter combo speaks for itself. I would say this is the perfect dinner party dessert. It has that wow factor and the richness means a small slice goes a long way. You will not be sorry you made this cake!

Notes:

I only have two round cake pans so I made a double rather than a triple layer. (I used the leftover batter and frosting for cupcakes!)
Deb stresses the fact that these cakes are really soft and somewhat difficult to work with. I highly suggest you follow her advice and wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and freeze prior to frosting with a crumb coat. Return the assembled and crumb-coated cake to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before frosting with your final layer of frosting. Refrigerate again before topping with the warm ganache.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.

To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used the Scharffen Berger Chocolate I received in the swag bag from BlogHer Food)
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

Adapted from Deb at Smitten Kitchen.

Filed under: cake, chocolate, cream cheese, Dessert, Fall, frosting, icing, Peanut Butter | 4 Comments »

Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Pink Frosting and Sprinkles (over Times Square!)

Posted on August 24, 2009 by kitchenbelle

For my friend’s NYC bachelorette party I made some festive cookie favors! I was running late for the bus so I didn’t realize until we arrived and checked into the hotel that I hadn’t snagged any photos yet. As I was positioning the cookies near the window in order to capture some natural light I noticed a cool view of Times Square below. How fun!

The cookies were light and cakey, not chewy, and the frosting paired perfectly! Something to note: I chose to roll the cookie dough into little balls rather then roll it flat with a rolling pin and use cookie cutters. They hardly spread at all so they ended up much smaller than I anticipated. They were dainty little two-bite cookies–very light and delicious, I must say. The ladies seemed to really enjoy them!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Pink Frosting and Sprinkles:

Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Blend butter and sugar on medium speed with an electric hand mixer or with the paddle in a standing mixer. Add egg and vanilla and blend. Mix dry ingredients and gradually mix in. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour. Remove from refrigerator and either roll out on a floured surface and use cookie cutters to cut shapes OR pinch about one tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball and bake on a parchment paper-lined baking tray in a preheated 375 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes.

Pink Frosting

4 tablespoons meringue powder
1/2 cup water
6-7 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup Crisco
a few drops of gel food coloring (I used the smallest drops of Wilton Creamy Peach)

Whip the meringue powder and water on high speed for several minutes until it’s fluffy and peaks form. Gradually add the remaining ingredients until desired consistency is reached. Add more water if frosting is too thick and more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin. Add food coloring and continue to beat until color is evenly distributed.

Assemble

When cookies are completely cool, use a small offset spatula to spread a thin layer of frosting on top if each cookie. Frosting side down, dip cookie into a bowl of sprinkles. (Or “jimmies” as we like to call them in Boston!) Allow frosting to set before packaging.