Chocolate Meringue Cake

I had this craving for brownies AND pavlova over the weekend so a date was set Saturday night. Just me, my mixer and the oven. 

It is such a great mash-up of my two favorite desserts: chocolatey, cakey layer topped with crisp meringue softened with softly whipped cream. The strawberries added the fresh element that paired together with both the cream and chocolate. I'm sure other berries would work well, maybe even fruits in season. 

It was such an easy cake to whip up. The longest wait was spent for the cooling of the cake which is needed before the whipped cream is added. The finished cake is impressive, making others think more time and effort was spent. 

I didn't realize I had ran out of berries late Saturday night so cake was assembled and enjoyed after Sunday supper. My family was happy to enjoy this with me. And my sons now call this a "just because" cake. 

Chocolate Meringue Cake

adapted from The Joy of Baking

Chocolate Layer:

4 large egg yolks

175g AP flour

60g cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

152g butter, room temperature

130g granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

110g milk, room temperature

Meringue Layer:

4 large egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

175g granulated sugar

Chantilly Cream:

480g heavy whipping cream

45g granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to325F. Prepare two 8-inch springform cake pans by oil spray and lining with parchment then spray again.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, set aside.

In a mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter over medium-high speed, adding sugar a tablespoon at a time. Once added, keep mixing until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Reduce speed to medium and add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bottom of bowl.

Reduce speed to low. Add cocoa-flour mixture in 3 batches alternating with milk and beat until just combined.

Place batter into your prepared pan. The batter will be thick, it helps to smooth out with an offset spatula, set aside.

In a clean mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg whites in medium speed with cream of tartar until frothy. Turn speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.

Evenly divide meringue between the two pans, smoothing tops. Bake for 24-28, switching sides halfway through. Transfer in rack to cool completely.

To make the Chantilly cream, place cream, sugar and vanilla in a chilled bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.

To assemble: place one layer of cake, meringue side up on a serving plate. Spread half of the cream and add berries in an even layer. Top with second layer of cake and repeat. Best served the day it's assembled. Cake can be kept in the refrigerator for a day.  

Rocky Road Muffins

Is it just me or does the days going by way too fast? November seemed like it just started but it just hit me Thanksgiving will only be a few days from now. Next thing, Christmas will be around and we'll be welcoming 2012 --Ack, I'm certainly not ready for the holidays just yet.

There's been a whirlwind of events in my family lately: celebrating three birthdays in one week and a 11-11-11 wedding of my little cousin definitely made for a busy household. My busier work schedule this week have definitely made me feel like I can't seem to catch up! So an unexpected weekend off from work was just what I needed to slow down a little, take a deep breath and BAKE!

These Rocky Road muffins were very simple to put together. Chocolate and nuts along with marshmallows were stirred into a chocolaty batter and topped with even more chocolates and nuts; they made for a scrumptious muffin. While I was prepping my ingredients the night before,I realized I didn't have mini marshmallows on hand. I got too lazy and didn't really want to go out in the cold to buy them so figured I make them. Making marshmallows from scratch is really easy (and fun for me, watching my boys trying to handle the sticky goo). I've made marshmallows before, the recipe can be found here.

And apparently my pantry contained all the nuts in the world except walnuts, the ones originally asked for in the recipe. No matter, I just used a little bit of each nuts and even cracked several macadamias to add in there. I really like the result of putting a variety of nuts in these muffins, they gave a different flavor and texture to each bite. I would even go ahead and add more nuts next time I bake these.

So something chocolaty that's not overly sweet you can enjoy first thing in the morning. Truly a great muffin to start the day. Oh, but my family couldn't help themselves, we enjoyed these with a cup of hot cocoa, topped with marshmallows, of course! :)

Rocky Road Muffins

280g (2 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
15g (1 TBSP) baking powder
5g (1 tsp) salt
15g (3 TBSP) cocoa powder
60g mini marshmallows
75g milk chocolate chips
60g (1/2 cup) nuts
150g (2/3 cup) brown sugar
200g (3/4 cup) milk
2 large eggs
75g butter, melted

1. Preheat oven 400F degrees. Prepare muffin pan either by greasing or using liners; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. Stir in the marshmallows and set aside.
3. Combine the nuts and chocolate chips together. Set aside 1/3 cup and add the remaining to the flour mixture.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, milk, eggs and butter. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
5. Portion batter into the prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle tops with reserved nut-chocolate chip mixture. Bake for 16-18 minutes.
6. Remove and let cool on rack for 5 minutes. Then remove from pan and serve.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Pumpkin Marble Streusel Muffins

Chocolate: check. Cream cheese: check. Streusel: check. This week we start the Muffin Monday series on holiday muffins. And what a great muffin to start! All the different components you could ask for in a muffin are all here: rich chocolate flavor and creamy cheese topped with crumbly streusel.

Inspired by all the pumpkin recipes this Halloween season, I added some to the cream cheese. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Marble Streusel Muffins
makes 12 muffins

For Streusel:
30g (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
72g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
1g (1/4tsp) pumpkin pie spice
28g (2 Tbsp) butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
35g (1/4 cup) cocoa crisp pearls (or chocolate chips)

For Muffins:
240g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
120g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
5g (1 tsp) baking soda
2g (1/2 tsp) salt
15g (3 Tbsp) cocoa powder
110g (4 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
122g (1/2 cup) pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, room temperature
125g (1/2 cup) water
80g (1/3 cup) oil
5g (1 tsp) vanilla extract

1. In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and spice. Add the butter and mix until crumbly. Stir in the cocoa pearls (or chocolate chips). Place in the refrigerator while you prepare muffins.
2. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Prepare pan with liners and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Remove half a cup (about 80g) and set aside. Whisk in cocoa to combine. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, pumpkin puree, 1 egg and half cup of flour until smooth. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl, combine the other egg, water, oil and vanilla. Add to the large bowl of cocoa-flour mixture (from Step 3).
6. Spoon cocoa-flour and cream cheese pumpkin mixtures side by side into pans.
7. Sprinkle tops with prepared streusel.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or it passes the toothpick test.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Pinipig, Coconut & Chocolate Granola Muffins

This week's Muffin Monday recipe came courtesy of New York Times' Recipes for Health series. The muffin consists of granola baked along whole wheat flour, sweetened by raisins and a touch of honey. The healthiest muffin baked so far by the Muffin Monday bakers!

I had planned on making granola for this muffin recipe but weekend plans got the best of me so ended up using this organic granola. I followed the recipe only altering it by using whole wheat pastry flour but had to say the recipe gave me not-so-good results. The muffins came out with flat domes and burnt edges even after they've only baked for 15 minutes. Imagine if I waited to checked in 20 minutes like the recipe stated? Crunchy edges aside, I had to taste these muffins which were not at all bad (but not spectacular either). Not too sweet which I prefer but a bit one-note. My oldest son described it best when he said it tasted like raisin bran. My granola of choice might be the culprit since it was very plain. I realized then that the success of these muffins depend greatly on the granola used.

So off to bake again, this time using ingredients I would use to make my own granola: pinipig, coconut flakes and chocolate. Pinipig is glutinous sweet rice that was harvested while still young and pounded flat. Fresh pinipig is usually bright green but quickly loses it color as it dries. Puffed rice (Rice Krispies' Snap, Crackle & Pop) can not compare to pinipig in terms of flavor and crunch.(More information on pinipig from Market Manila here.) Toasting them before use makes it even better; the heat releases their light sweet rice fragrance.

So the second time around I can say is a success; the muffins came out with a light, fluffy texture with still-crunchy pinipig here and there. The coconut flakes throughout made for a satisfying chew while the tiny pieces of bittersweet chocolate added a little sweet bonus.

Pinipig, Coconut & Chocolate Granola Muffins

85g pinipig
140g (1 cup) whole wheat pastry flour
10g (2 tsp) baking powder
2g (1/4 tsp) salt
2 eggs
355ml coconut milk
60ml vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g coconut flakes
80g bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

In a dry skillet, toast pinipig over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Prepare muffin tins with pan spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs along with coconut milk, vegetable oil and vanilla.
Stir in the pinipig, coconut flakes, and chocolate into the wet mixture
Sift in the flour mixture and stir only until moistened.
Spoon into muffin tins, filling 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until it pass toothpick test.
Remove from oven. Let it cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from tin and enjoy.

A big "Thank You" goes to Anuradha for all the work she does week after week. Check out her Granola Muffins along with the links to all my fellow Monday Muffin bakers.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Doughnut Muffins for Muffin Monday

Ever since I joined Muffin Monday, I find myself looking forward more enthusiastically to Mondays. I mean a little baked good can really get your week to a great start. This week's recipe is Doughnut Muffins, the easiest recipe so far.

The original recipe makes about 10 regular-sized muffins. I decided to make mini muffins to mimic the doughnut holes and I yielded 24 minis. These muffins were just slightly sweet, baked with cinnamon and nutmeg, and dipped in more cinnamon sugar once they come out of the oven.

What made baking these muffins really fun for me was the option of adding a jam filling. I went crazy and added what I have in my pantry: candied kumquats, chocolate chips, passionfruit jam and pumpkin butter. :)

While they were baking, I thought to put different toppings so my family will know what's inside. Chocolate ganache for the kumquat, powdered sugar on the chocolate chips, sprinkles on the passionfruit and cinnamon sugar on the pumpkin butter ones.

My boys had lots of fun baking (and eating) these doughnut muffins that they've already requested to bake more this week. They have also made a list of fillings they want to want to try like peanut butter and grape jelly, Nutella, strawberry preserves and peach jam.

I wanted to try adding bacon jam myself. :)

Doughnut Muffins

250g (1 3/4 cup) all purpose flour
10g (1 1/2 tsp) baking powder
3g (1/2 tsp) salt
3g (1/2 tsp) ground nutmeg
2g (1/4 tsp) ground cinnamon
150g (3/4 cup) sugar
80ml (1/3 cup) oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
180ml (3/4 cup) milk
fillings: jams, preserves, chocolate, Nutella

cinnamon-sugar topping:
1/4 cup melted butter
50g (1/3 cup) sugar
8g (1 tsp) ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Prepare muffin pans, either with pan spray of liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a small bowl, combine sugar, oil, egg and milk. Stir mixture into the dry ingredients.
Fill pans halfway with batter, add half a teaspoon of desired fillings, top with more batter until 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-17 minutes or until toothpick test comes clean.
Remove from pan and brush tops with melted butter then dip in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Coffee Cake Muffins for Muffin Mondays

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! I was unexpectedly called to work in short notice and as always, it took longer than planned. I ended up working four weeks straight (mostly 16-hour days) with only a total of two days off. This surely got this little old blog of mine neglected.

So when work finally ended Thursday, I was excited to start cooking and baking again in my own kitchen. Annapet of The Daily Palette and Malou of Skip to Malou suggested I bake muffins with them. I've seen how much fun they've been having putting their own spin on a muffin recipe so of course I said YES.

This week we are baking Coffee Cake Muffins from Martha Stewart. These little cakes are moist and really tender due to sour cream and not only topped but also filled with crumbly streusel. A little mishap when I baked them yesterday, not realizing the recipe yields 12 jumbo size or 24 standard size muffins, I only used 1 standard muffin pan that only holds a dozen so you could probably just imagine the mess that ensued putting double the batter in one muffin pan.

So today, I decided to bake them again using the correct proportions and they came out so much better. I ended up using yogurt for the sour cream since I had used it all from the previous batch. This time, I also added a few sprinklings of Sugar, Chocolate & Coffee Beans before placing them in the oven. I bought this new item, a grinder gadget from Trader Joe's. Basically a pepper mill-type grinder filled with sugar crystals, chocolate and coffee beans. It produces coarse grinds of all three that gives you a little something crunchy-sweet with hints of chocolate and coffee. (though they looked like they were sprinkled with salt and pepper!) I have been putting it on every thing lately, from ice cream and yogurt to buttered toast and cereal. So if there's a Trader Joe's near where you live, I recommend you get one and try it for yourself.

Also want to share you my new cake stand. I know this style have been around awhile but I finally found one (and for a steal, too) so decided to get it as a gift for me for working so hard this past month. The best feature is that I can put different kinds of ribbons through it to match the treats I've baked. Also perfect since I now have another way to use my collection of vintage ribbons. :)

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Conversation Heart Brownies

Just a little something to let you know I'm back! While you wait while I work on more recipes to post, just a reminder that I am on Twitter. Follow me @carolineadobo and let's get this conversation going! :)

I used the brownie recipe in Thomas Keller's ad hoc cookbook (my favorite at the moment) baked in a heart-shaped silicone pan. I'm sure your favorite brownie recipe will work. Then cover in some candy melts once cooled. A simple treat to have for Valentine's Day.

Oh, and have a Happy Monday! ;)

Lavender-Vanilla Marshmallows, Cardamom-Lavender Ganache and Hot Chocolate

I love lavender, the scent and color but I have to admit I have had no experience cooking with lavender. So when I found out lavender is October's theme of International Incident Party I was stumped. When I asked my husband for ideas, he jokingly told me to make soap so needless to say I am on my own here.

Last minute inspiration came from my pantry, a jar of vanilla sugar staring right at me. You see, every time I use vanilla, I save the vanilla pods and put it in a jar filled with sugar. So I took some of the vanilla sugar and added some lavender buds in there. I let it "marinate" a few days but I'm sure my lavender-vanilla sugar is not enough for this party. So just made simple marshmallows with them.

Lavender-Vanilla Sugar

2 cups sugar

1 pod vanilla

1 tsp. lavender buds

Place sugar in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Split vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a paring knife. Add the vanilla "caviar" and lavender to the sugar and stir to combine. Place the vanilla pod in as well. Let the sugar steep for several days before using. The longer it "marinates", the more scent is absorbed by the sugar. (Alternatively, add sugar, vanilla and lavender in a food proccessor and pulse until incorporated. Transfer into a glass jar. Add the vanilla pod, close jar and let it steep at least several days before using.)

Lavender-Vanilla Marshmallows

3 TBSP unflavored gelatin (3 envelopes of Knox brand)

3/4 cup water, divided

2 cups lavender-vanilla sugar

2/3 cup corn syrup

pinch salt

1 tsp. vanilla

confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Grease a 9- X 13-inch glass pan and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, pour 1/2 cup water and sprinkle gelatin. Let gelatin bloom, at least 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup water, sugar, salt and corn syrup and bring to a boil in high heat, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved.

Once boiling, lower heat and put in a candy thermometer. Let sugar syrup boil until it reaches 250 degrees F, this will take about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Turn your mixer on low and drizzle in the sugar syrup. Turn up the speed a little at a time, being careful not to splatter the hot syrup. Once syrup begins to foam and/or turn white, you may turn to highest speed. Let it whip about 8 to 10 minutes, or until you notice volume stopped increasing.

Add vanilla and stir it in for a minute. Pour out into the prepared pan. Flatten with an oiled spatula or hand (be careful, it will still be quite hot). Let it set at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Sift more confectioners' sugar and turn it out into a cutting board and cut into desired shapes.

It's been raining for a couple of weeks and that means hot chocolate in our house. And of course, my boys would always ask for marshmallows when hot chocolate is involved. The added lavender to our usual vanilla marshmallows gave them a woodsy scent, almost like rosemary. The heat from the hot chocolate accented this scent further. But I should say that lavender was missed on my boys, even my husband. They were just happy to be sipping hot chocolate with cute marshmallows to keep them warm. :)

I thought I was finished with this lavender project until I saw the beautiful picture of Lavender-Honey-Cardamom-Lemon-Dark Chocolate Tart by Desserts for Breakfast this week. Then I read more about the combination of lavender with cardamom in Meeta's Flan at What's for Lunch, Honey? which was intriguing so decided to whip up some Cardamom-Lavender Ganache to go with the Marshmallows. Cardamom and lavender were not ones I would thought of combining, but they go so well together.  I made marshmallow buttons and filled the cut-out centers with the ganache.

Cardamom-Lavender Ganache

8 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. lavender buds

2 pods cardamom

Place chocolate in a medium, heat-proof bowl. Set aside.

In a small pot, heat cream, lavender and cardamom over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove pot from heat immediately. Strain cream through a strainer, pouring over the chocolate. Tap bowl slightly on counter so cream settles all the way to bottom of bowl. Let it sit for a minute undisturbed.

Using a rubber spatula, incorporate the cream into the chocolate until it is completely dissolved. It will thicken as it cool. Pour into the marshmallow cut-outs or as desired.

Cardamom-Lavender Hot Chocolate

4 cups whole milk

4 TBSP finely chopped semisweet chocolate

2 TBSP cocoa powder

1 TBSP sugar

1 tsp. lavender buds (optional)

1 pod, cardamom, slightly crushed (optional)

In a medium pan, bring all into a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently to melt the chocolate. Do NOT let it boil. Pour into mugs (strain if using lavender and cardamom) and top with marshmallows.

Please head on over and click below to see what the others have created with lavender.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pound Cake for The Cake Slice

I'm finally baking! Just in time for this month's installment of The Cake Slice. We start off our third year of baking from the book: Cake Keeper Cakes, a promising cookbook filled with different types of cakes: from round ones to loafs, bundts to crumb cakes, chiffon and snacking cakes. I'm excited to get this year started with this book.

The first cake our group chose is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pound Cake to keep with the season's baking. October signals Fall and Halloween so a cake with pumpkin is a perfect choice. The addition of chocolate chips and walnuts along with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg truly fits in with the season. A great cake to enjoy with creamy coffee or tea, even a tall glass of milk.

My youngest son requested one without nuts so I obliged him and just added more chocolate chips. This is the picture you see here. (The first loaf were eaten right away that I didn't get a chance to take a picture!) Please see how other members of The Cake Slice did with this cake and get baking, just print the recipe.

The Cake Slice: Mississippi Mud Cake

Time for cake! This time it's a gooey, sticky, chocolatey one that is so easy to bake. Haven't had time to update my blog due to work. Luckily, I had a day off today and this cake was made in no time at all.




My boys and I were playing Lego while the cake was baking. When it was time to take pictures, the boys thought it would be great for their Lego Star Wars to be in the picture. Then I decided they should be in the picture, too! :)


All that marshmallows was a hit with the kids they didn't even mind the pecans that were in the cake. Overall, a fun cake!