dessert « Great Eats with Petes

Posts Tagged ‘dessert’

Chocolate Pizza

Monday, May 16th, 2011

Ok, so Pizza Week turned into two weeks. I am sorry to be neglecting all of you but I have been taking care of myself. First like I said I was in Vegas but during this time I have also been training for a 30 mile bike ride. Training has taken up a lot of my time especially since I haven’t been on a bike in probably 18 years. I go to work come home ride and hope that I get to eat dinner by 9 pm at the earliest. Due to the training I’m lucky to eat none the less make a meal (there’s been a lot of sandwich eating going on). The ride is on June 11th and I should be back in full swing by then or at least grown a custom to my new schedule so I can continue to share with you all my recipes.

So to finish Pizza Week(s) here is a chocolate pizza recipe. It makes for a great dessert and you can play around with all the toppings to suit your needs. Have fun with it and Enjoy!

1 pizza dough

2 tablespoons buter, melted

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread like Nutella

Your favorite toppings I used mini marshmallows and dark chocolate M&M’s

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Dust a clean, flat surface with flour. Dust the pizza dough with flour. Roll out dough into the shape you desire. Brush the dough with melted butter. Bake in oven on a cookie sheet, pizza pan or pizza stone until the dough begins to become golden, approximately 17-20 minutes. Don’t let it get as brown as I did (I walked away).

Spread the chocolate hazelnut spread all over the pizza dough. Top with your favorites toppings. Place pizza back in the oven and bake for 3 minutes or until the chocolate begins to melt and marshmallows puff up.

Slice and Enjoy!

Tags: chocolate, chocolate pizza, dessert, dessert pizza, marshmallows, pizza
Posted in Recipes | 7 Comments »

7 Tasty St Patrick’s Day Recipes

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day and what better way to celebrate then with some good food and drink. I had the pleasure of being in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day two years ago. It was an amazing experience. Actually, the entire trip to Ireland was breathtaking. I hope to do it again soon. Below is a picture fr0m my trip. It was taken in the Guinness Factory where everyone is Irish on March 17th. It is also an appropriate picture since so many of the following recipes are made with Guinness. So whether you are Irish or pretending to be tomorrow, I hope you enjoy this roundup of my St. Patrick’s Day Recipes. Enjoy!

The Guinness Factory, Dublin, Ireland : Everyone’s Irish on March 17th

1. Irish Cream Cupcakes – A blend of coffee and Bailey’s Irish Cream come together

to spruce up a yellow cake mix

2. Irish Soda Bread – A great recipe that is perfect for breakfast on St. Patrick’s Day

3.Corned Beef and Cabbage – A tradition here in the United States is to have Corned Beef and Cabbage on St Patrick’s Day.

This one can be made in your slow cooker.

4. Bailey’s Mint Molten Chocolate Cake – Chocolate and Bailey’s Mint Liqueur make this

molten chocolate cake extra special and Irish.

5. Shepherd’s Pie – A traditional Shepherd’s or Cottage Pie is made with mutton though this uses ground beef. It

tastes just as good and topped with crispy mashed potatoes.

6. Guinness Pie – Nothing beats having a pint of Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day and now you can eat it too

7. Guinness Chocolate Cake – You can have some Guinness for dessert too.

Forget the milk and have a pint of Guinness with this chocolate cake.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Tags: bailey's mint molten chocolate cake, baileys, dessert, entree, guinness, guinness chocolate cake, guinness pie, irish cream cupcakes, irish soda bread, recipe roundup, shepherds pie
Posted in Recipes | 1 Comment »

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Monday, March 14th, 2011

Like I said in my last post I am not a Guinness fan. I do though love to cook with it. It goes so well with chocolate as I have done here. This is a very rich cake that very much tastes like chocolate. Tom enjoyed it and was happy to finally be able to eat a cake I made. I usually bake them and bring them to work and he never gets a taste. Anyways, back to the recipe. I have had Guinness cake in many different places and my favorite had always been at the Rose and Crown Restaurant in Disney World. I would like to say that I enjoyed my version even more. It is very chocolately but the cake itself tastes just like Guinness. Enjoy it with a pint on St Patrick’s Day!

For the Cake

4 oz unsweetened chocolate

2 cups sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing cake pans)

3 cups all purpose flour (plus extra for dusting the cake pans)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

2 cups Guinness

1/4 cup brewed coffee

For the Frosting

2 cups heavy cream

1 lb bittersweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 9 inch cake pans with butter. Place a round of parchment paper on the bottom of the cake pan. Grease parchment paper. Dust cake pan with flour. Set aside. Melt chocolate in a microwave or double boiler and set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment mix together the butter and sugar. Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow. Add eggs and mix together, scrapping down the sides as needed.

Add in the chocolate and mix together. Add in the Guinness and coffee. Mix to combine (it be a very wet batter).

Add in the flour and mix until just combined remembering to scrap down the sides. Divide the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a tester inserted into centers comes out clean. Allow to cool. After about 20 minutes remove from pans and place on cooling rack or cake boards until completely cooled.

For the frosting place the chocolate in heat proof bowl. In a small sauce pan bring the heavy cream to a boil. Pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for 2 minutes then whisk to combine until smooth. Place in refridgerator until it is smooth enough to spread (approximately 2 hours).

Level the cake layers if they are not flat. Take one cake layer and spread a thin layer of frosting on the top. Place second layer on top of the chocolate frosting. Frost the top of that layer. Place the next layer. Cover the top and sides with remaining frosting.

Slice and Enjoy!

Tags: cake, chocolate cake, dessert, guinness, guinness chocolate cake, irish, st patrick's day, stout cake
Posted in Recipes | 9 Comments »

Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

Saturday, February 12th, 2011

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and I have be racking my brain to figure out the perfect dessert recipe to share with all of you. I finally remembered I made this cake and buttercream many moons ago and never posted it. I made this originally back in May. That was pre new Digital Rebel, macro lens, flash, alien bee and Wilton Cake Decorating Classes. If my Wilton Instructor saw this cake I think she would faint. I promise I have gotten much better at icing a cake and decorating a cake. I think part of the reason why I didn’t share this with you all sooner was because I did an awful job of icing this cake. The icing was too soft and that is because the butter was not a room temperature so make sure yours is. Other than that the cake tasted great. One can’t go wrong with chocolate and strawberries for Valentine’s Day. Enjoy!

For the Chocolate Cake

1 stick butter, softened (plus more for greasing)

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

4 oz chocolate

2 eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup brewed hot coffee

For the Strawberry Buttercream

1 stick butter at room temperature

1/2 pint strawberries (1 cup pureed)

1 pound confectioners sugar

If you want to frost the whole cake you will need to double this recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 2 8 inch cake pans with butter. Cut two rounds of parchment paper and place in pans. Butter the parchment paper and sides of cake pan. Dust with flour and set aside.

Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Over a large bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar until it becomes pale yellow. Add in the eggs and mix to combine. Then add in the vanilla and chocolate, mix to combine.

Next add in the flour and milk alternating between the two. Remember to scrap down the sides. Finally add in the coffee. Mix to combine.

Pour half the batter into one prepared pan and the other half of the batter into the second pan. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the cake is cooked through. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling racks. Remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cakes.

While the cakes are cooling make the buttercream. Remove the stems from the strawberries and cut in half. In a food processor puree the strawberries together.

In a stand mixed mixer together the butter and the powdered sugar. Once combined and fluffy add in strawberry puree. If it is too loose add in more confectioners sugar.

To ice the cake place one the cakes on a decorating turntable or plate lined with parchment paper squares (only on the edges so they can be removed when done). Since I started Wilton classes I now know that you should cut your cakes so they are flat. On the top of that cake place some buttercream as a filling for your cake. Top with the second layer. Now ice the cake with remaining buttercream. Remove the parchment paper and your cake will be all ready!