Chocolate mud cupcakes

When I made these cupcakes it wasn't a melted chocolate in the inside like the recipe said, probably because I cooked them too long, but they were still amazing. You can eat these easy to make cupcakes plain or with a little ice cream to go with it (They’re great any which way.)  The cupcakes are so simple to make that you could make them every day until you run out of supplies.

 

Here's the ingredients.

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/3 cups (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter

5 eggs

2/3 cup superfine sugar

¾ cup self-rising flour

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a double boiler, or a medium bowl set over a pae of gently simmering water, melt the chocolate & butter together, stirring well. Leave to cool.

Beat the eggs & the sugar in a large bowl until pale & thick. Fold the flour into the egg mixture & then stir in the melted chocolate & butter until well blended.

Spoon the gooey mixture into the muffin pans & bake for 20 minutes. The cupcakes will be soft & gooey in texture & appearance. Remove from oven & cool 5 minutes. Then remove from the pan.  

Note ... the recipe calls for superfine sugar. You can make superfine sugar but processing the sugar in a food processor.

Black Forest Boule-de-Neige

I made this cake for my mom’s birthday & it was absolutely fabulous, rich, creamy & chocolaty. The inside of the cake is chocolaty & fudgy. If I could, I would have it all the time! This cake would be a great fudgy chocolate birthday cake without the cherries. I liked the cherries, but I might have liked it better without cherries, but it's up to you what you like.

Frosting the Cake:

Here's the finished cake:

Here you can see the chocolaty inside:

Cake

1/3 cup cherry preserves

1 ½ cups dried tart cherries

1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% caco), chopped

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

1 ¼ cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 large eggs

1/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour

Whipped Cream

2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream

¼ cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon almond extract

16 candied flowers

 

Cake

Position rack in lowest third of oven & preheat to 350 degrees. Line a 10 cup metal bowl with tin foil, extending 3 inches of the sides. Spray foil with nonstick spray. Stir preserves in medium skillet over medium heat until preserves melt. Add dried cherries; bring to boil. Cover; remove from the heat & let cool.

Melt chocolate with butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar & vanilla, then whisk in eggs one at a time. Mix in flour, then cherry mixture. Transfer batter into the prepared bowl.

Bake in bowl 30 minutes. Fold foil overhang over the edges of the cake to prevent overflowing. Continue to bake cake until the top of the cake is cracked & dry, & tester comes out with some moist batter attached, about 55 minutes longer. Cool cake completely in the bowl on the rack (cake may fall in center). Press edge of cake firmly to level with center of the cake. Cover & let stand at room temperature overnight.

Whipped Cream

Using electric mixer beat cream, sugar & almond extract in large bowl until cream holds peaks.

Invert cake onto platter. Peel off the foil. Spoon whipped cream into large pastry bag fitted with medium star tip. Pipe whipped cream stars over the cake, covering completely. Pipe additional stars over the top flap center of cake to form a dome.

Decorate with candied flowers.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

This mug cake is soo spectacular, I could make it everyday. It’s something that you can make any day with all the household supplies you usually have.  Luckily it makes for one with all it’s supplies, but it also can be made for two. I love it soo much. It makes a lot!!

It's perfect for an after school snack or if you want to have cake & not have to make a big cake.

See how big the cake gets in the cup. Don't worry, it'll go back down again!

Tip it over to get the cake out of the cup.

Here's the final, yummy cake!

Recipe

4 Tblsp. flour

4 Tblsp. sugar

2 Tblsp. cocoa

1 egg

3 Tblsp. milk

3 Tblsp. oil

 3 Tblsp. chocolate chips (optional)

1 sm. splash vanilla

powdered sugar dusting

1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug. Mix well. Add egg & mix thoroughly. Add milk & oil & mix well. Add chocolate chips & vanilla & mix again. Put in microwave for 3 minutes @ 1000 watts. Cake will rise over top of mug, but don’t worry!! Allow to cool & tip out onto a plate if desired. We sprinkle powdered sugar over the top. 

Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

            This cheesecake is sooo rich & delicious it’ll knock you off your feet with flavor. When you make this cheesecake make sure your cream cheese is room temp. or a little warmer because it’ll be harder to mix cold cream cheese. Your family & you will be sure to love this dessert. If you don’t like cheesecake you’ll like this one because it’s sooo chocolaty that you can’t taste the cream cheese. I’m not a huge cheesecake fan but I love this cheesecake.   

Crust

24 chocolate wafer cookies (from a 9-ounce package)

1 Tblsp. sugar

¼  cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

1 9.7-ounce bar Sharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao)

4 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temp.

1 ¼ cups plus 2 Tblsp. sugar

¼ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Scharffen Berger)

4 large eggs

Topping

¾ cup heavy whipping cream

6 ounces Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), chopped

1 Tblsp. sugar

Bittersweet curls

Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9-inch diameter springform pan with 2 ¾ -inch high sides. Blend cookies & sugar in processor until cookies are finely ground. Add melted butter & processes until well blended. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake just until crust is set, about 8 minutes. Cool while preparing filling. Maintain oven temp.

Filling: Stir chopped chocolate in metal bowl set over sauce pan of simmering water until melted & smooth. Remove bowl from over water; cool chocolate until lukewarm but still pourable. Blend cream cheese, sugar, & cocoa powder in processor until smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Blend in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in lukewarm chocolate. Pour filling over crust; smooth top.

Bake cheesecake until center is just set & top looks dry, about 1 hour. Cool 5 minutes. Cut around sides of pan to loosen cake. Place warm cake in pan in refrigerator & chill uncovered overnight.

Topping: Stir cream, chopped chocolate, & sugar in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts & topping is smooth. Cool slightly. Pour over center of cheesecake & spread to within ½ inch of edge, cover any cracks. Chill until topping is set, about 1 hour.

Do Ahead: Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover with foil & keep chilled.

Cut around pan sides again; remove pan sides. Transfer cheesecake to platter. Top with chocolate curls. Let stand 2 hours at room temp. before serving.