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Peaches and Cream Cake

1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 pkg vanilla instant pudding
4 eggs
1 c vegetable oil
1 c sugar
1 c water
1 15-oz can sliced peaches
8 oz cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350.
Beat cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil and water on medium speed for three minutes.
Pour into greased and floured 9x13 pan.
Drain peaches, reserving liquid. Cut peaches into thin slices and arrange over cake batter.
Beat cream cheese, sugar and peach liquid until smooth.  Pour evenly over peaches.
Bake 45 minutes or until top srpings back. Cool, store covered in refrigerator.

(Not My) Aunt Laurie's Pound Cake

1 c real butter
1/2 c Crisco
3 c sugar
5 eggs
3 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1 c milk
1 t lemon
1 t vanilla

Cream first 3 ingredients. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Blend dries until just combined. Slowly add liquics until well combined.

Bake at 325 in greased and floured pan:

10" tube pan: 2 hours.
2 large loaf pans: 1.5 hours.

Chocolate Silk Pie

2 c chocolate cookie crumbs
¼ c unsalted butter
3 eggs
1/3 c sugar
10 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 T unsalted butter
¼ c cream
1 t vanilla
1 c whipped cream

In a medium bowl, stir together cookie crumbs and melted butter, press into bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake in a 350 oven for 10 minutes. Cool.

In large, heatproof mixer bowl, whisk together eggs and 1/3 c sugar. Place bowl over saucepan of simmering water. Whisk constantly about 12 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in egg mixture registers 160. Remove from heat and beat with a stand mixer on high speed for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine chocolate and 6 T butter. Place over simmering water, stir until melted and smooth. Beat into egg mixture until smooth.  Beat in ¼ c cream and vanilla. Spread evenly in crust. Cover surface with plastic wrap and chill up to 24 hours.

Before serving, dollop with whipped cream, garnish with chocolate curls.

Chocolate Cheesecake Tarts

1 recipe basic dough
1 8-oz pkg cream cheese
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled.
½ c sugar
2 egg yolks
3 T chocolate liqueur or milk
1 T milk
½ t vanilla
Whipped cream
Bittersweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 36 1-3/4 inch muffin cups. Shape dough into 36 balls and press into bottoms and up the sides of the prepared tins.

Beat cream cheese and chocolate with electric mixer until combined. Add in sugar, egg, liqueur, milk and vanilla. Spoon a rounded teaspoon of filling into each dough-lined cup.

Bake about 18 min Cool in pan for 10 min. Remove and cool 1 hour on wire rack. Cover and chill 2-24 hours. Top each tart with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Chocolate Bowls

10 oz dark chocolate, chopped.

Blow up 10 to 12 small balloons, about 4” in diameter. You’ll only need 8, but some are likely to pop. Set aside a baking sheet lined with parchment.

Melt half the chocolate, remove from heat and stir in remaining chocolate until also melted. Spoon ½ t chocolate onto prepared pan to form a small disk that will be the base of the bowl.

Dip balloon into bowl of melted chocolate, coating about a third of the balloon by tipping to all four sides. Place dipped end of balloon on chocolate disk.  Transfer pan to refrigerator and let set, about 30 minutes.

Release air from balloons slowly, so that the bowls don’t crack. To do this, pinch the balloon near the knot and cut a small hole above your fingers. Then modulate air flow until deflated and peel balloons from bowl. Patch any holes with remaining chocolate.  Return bowls to fridge until ready to serve.

Frozen Chocolate Malted

1-1/4 c cream
¼ c milk
7 T sugar
6 T cocoa powder
1 T malt powder
3 c ice cubes

Whip ½ c cream and set aside.
Place milk, remaining cream, sugar, cocoa and malt powder in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add ice cubes, a few at a time, until thick and smooth. Pour into tall glasses and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Chocolate Pots de Crème

5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3-1/2 c cream
6 egg yolks
1½ t vanilla
2 T sugar
¼ t salt
Boiling water

Preheat oven to 325. Put chocolate in medium bowl.

Bring 2-1/2 c cream to a simmer in small saucepan. Pour over chocolate in bowl, let stand 5 minutes and stir until smooth. Whisk together yolks, ½ t vanilla and salt. Whisk in chocolate. Pour through a sieve into large measuring cup.

Place six 6-oz ovenproof cups or ramekins in a roasting pan. Pour chocolate into cups dividing evenly. Pour enough boiling water into pan to come halfway up cups. Cover pan with foil and cook until barely set, abot 25 minutes.

Transfer to wire rack and let cool slightly. Cover with plastic and refrigerate 1 hour to overnight.

Beat remaining cream and vanilla plus sugar until stiff peaks form and spoon dollops onto each pot de crème before serving.

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

½ c unsalted butter, plus more for pan
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
1-1/2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 t vanilla
¾ c flour
½ t salt

Preheat oven to 350 and butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line with parchment, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides.

Chop butter and chocolate and put in large heatproof bowl over pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Stir sugar into cooled mix. Whisk in eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Fold in flour and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, abut 45 minutes.  Cool in pan on wire rack, then run knife around edges and lift out using parchment.

White Sheet Cake

18 T unsalted butter
4-1/2 c cake flour, sifted
2 T baking powder
¼ t salt
2-1/4 c sugar
1-1/2 c milk
1-1/2 T vanilla
7 egg whites
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. butter 17x12x1 rimmed sheet pan. Line bottom with parchment, butter it and dust pan with flour.

Sift together dries into a medium bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle until creamy. Add sugar to butter in steady stream and continue beating until light and fluffy.  Add dries alternating with milk and vanilla. Do not overmix. Set batter aside.

Whisk egg whites to soft peaks, fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter until combined. Fold in remaining whites in 2 more batches. Pour batter into pan and smooth top with metal spatula.

Bake until done in middle, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes before unmolding. Loosen sides with small spatula or knife, and invert on to greased wire rack, then invert again so top is on top. (This prevents splitting.) Cool completely before assembling or wrapping airtight to freeze. Repeat steps wit second batch of ingredients for second layer.

To assemble, trim tops so they are flat. Place on layer of cake on serving platter. Set aside, covered, 1 c of the icing for coloring. Spread top of cake layer with ¼ inch layer of icing, and cover with second cake layer. Frost cake using remaining icing. Chill cake.

Place chocolate in heatproof bowl set over pan of barely simmering water stir, using a plastic spatula, until melted. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool until liquid but no longer warm., about 15 minutes. Pipe desired decorations with chocolate and set aside 10 minutes to set.

Chocolate Cream Pie

1 12-oz box of chocolate wafers
7 T unsalted butter, melted
½ c milk
1 T unflavored gelatin
1 c cream
¾ c plus 2 T sugar
8 oz milk chocolate, finely chopped
1 t vanilla
4 large egg whites

Food process wafers until finely ground. Press into 8-inch springform pan, evenly coating bottom and lower half of sides. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pour milk into small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over milk and let soften 5 minutes. Place cream and 2 T sugar in small saucepan and bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add gelatin mixture and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and vanilla; cover and let stand 3 minutes. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Pass mixture through a fine sieve into prepared crust, leave behind any undissolved chocolate to prevent filling from becoming grainy. Return filled crust to refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.

Place egg whites and remaining ¼ c sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer and place over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir constantly until the egg whites are warm to the touch and the sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Attach the bowl to the mixer and use whisk attachment to beat the egg whites on medium, to soft peaks about 3 minutes. Increase speed to high for about another 1.5 minutes, until stiff and glossy but not dry.

Remove pie from refrigerator. Using a rubber spatula, drop meringue on top, lifting to create tall peaks. Use a kitchen blow torch to brown tops of meringue or place under a broiler. Chill in refrigerator and serve cold. Will keep up to 2 days.