Chocolate Coconut Brownies

Um yeah. I admit that I may have been conceited about my brownie-making in the past. I even named one of my own recipes "Marry Me Brownies" because of the number of marriage proposals they've gotten me throughout the years. Count me sufficiently humbled. Chocolate Coconut Brownies {page 436} are hands down the best brownies I've ever had in my life. Everyone who tasted them agreed.

The brownies are made rich with both coconut milk and shredded coconut, and the added chocolate chips boost them to that down-right-decadent level. I used dark cocoa powder {I always do, I have a slight love affair with it}, and these dark little brownies were fudgy, moist little morsels of heaven on earth. Not only do they taste fantastic, but the smell that was wafting through my house while they baked...I cannot even describe. I could scarce keep my hands out of the oven until they were finished.

Coconut-haters obviously wouldn't find these enjoyable {although really, if you hate coconut, you are grumpy and probably not enjoying life anyway - I jest, I jest}, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a single other individual alive who could resist these babies.

Dozens of thumbs way, way up on this recipe {I shared the brownies with my coworkers}. I already have repeat requests for them to make an appearance at Tuesday Treats in the near future. {Every Tuesday I make treats for my coworkers and bring them into work.} I think I will selflessly oblige {and enjoy every savory lick of the batter in the process}.

-- Your Friendly Neighborhood Batgirl

Chocolate and Walnut Farfalle

I grew up eating noodles tossed with ground nuts and sugar. It might sound weird if you didn’t grow up in Eastern Europe, but pasta + sweet is a delightful concoction the rest of the world is truly missing out on. So I felt compelled to bring your attention to it by cooking up a batch of Chocolate and Walnut Farfalle (page 480).

The farfalle of choice were whole wheat, which added a little extra flavor and nutrition. And because I tossed the nuts into the food processor with the chocolate chips right after roasting, the chips melted. And then melted more when they met hot pasta. This was a great development.

Roasting the walnuts makes all the difference. The smoky nuttiness of the walnuts, paired with the sweetness of the melted chocolate, all on top of the chewy bite of the pasta makes for one fine eating experience. I’ve had plenty of noodles with nuts, but toasting those nuts well and adding melty chocolate is a delectable, welcome twist on an old classic.

- - Ulpia, the nuttiest! - -

Chocolate Swirl Tofu Cheesecake

I have been absent for so long, I feel guilty! After shopping at Macy's on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago, I went to my favorite coffee shop and treated myself to a piece of peanut butter cheesecake. Because Macy's Herald Square during holidays is surely one of the circles of hell- maybe the one where they send obnoxious tourists? The cheesecake was delicious and I immediately decided I had to make my own. After all, an entire cheesecake at $6 a slice would be too expensive. At first I was going to adapt a different cheesecake recipe to a peanut butt version, but then I remembered the Chocolate Swirl Tofu Cheesecake page 454.

I love making cookie crumb crusts after the success of my pumpkin cheesecake. This one is made from chocolate cookies- I used Newman's Own chocolate alphabet cookies. I ended up using a little bit more cookie crumbs and margarine than the recipe called for, but I couldn't tell you how much more- I went by eye. The filling was easy to whip up in my trusty food processor and was ready quickly. And scraping the filling off the sides of the processor bowl was a delicious preview of the finished product. The funnest part was pouring in the melted chocolate and swirling it into the cheesecake. I felt like an artist! Or at least like a kid fingerpainting (with a knife, but let's not get technical). My oven is a bit wonky so I had to bake it a bit longer-I'd say an extra ten minutes. The worst part was that I made this late. I had it out of the oven at 11:30. Then it had to cool on the counter; then be refrigerated for four hours. So no cheesecake last night. No matter- cheesecake is a perfectly acceptable breakfast- especially when it has peanut butter and banana in it.

I really like the finished cheesecake, but it tastes more like banana than peanut butter. Next time I will use cornstarch instead and up the peanut butter. I'll also substitute maple syrup for some of the sugar for added moisture. It is also pretty to look at, at least before I cut into it. Now I'm off to eat another piece!

--vegankitty

Hot Cocoa

Maybe you don't really need a recipe for Hot Cocoa (page 540), but having only ever made it from a pre-made mix before (gasp!), I appreciated having ratios to follow. This—this creamy, rich goodness is unattainable from a mix, my friends. It is simply beyond a mix's capabilities to match such delectable liquid comfort. I raise my mug to it! Indeed, I tip back my mug to it—and with it. And then it's gone.

All right, okay, you're right—making hot cocoa was mainly an excuse to show off my 1-of-only-50-ever-made color-changing Venture Brothers mug. My VB enthusiasm knows no bounds. But come, a more fitting receptacle for such a warm delight there never was!

- - Ulpia, girl adventurer - -

Chocolate Mousse Cake with Cashew Crème

My mother and her friend, whose birthday we were celebrating, are veritable chocoholics. The darker and more chocolaty, the better. (I broke my addiction by eating nothing but chocolate for a few weeks during the ChocolART chocolate festival in Germany. You read that right. Nothing but chocolate. And I got a chocolate massage, too. And, eventually, nauseous. Anyway.)

The Chocolate Mousse Cake (page 445) covered in Chocolate Ganache (page 502) seemed only natural. Upon tasting it, my mother's first words were “You've surpassed yourself.” (Technically, her first utterance was “Mmmmh.”) Suffice to say they positively adored it. There was plenty of praising involved, yes.


There was Cashew Crème (page 501) too, and it was truly delectable. Miha, the birthday girl, likened it to crème brulee. I'll liken it to a romantic gondola ride, were said ride a silky dessert cream.

Moist layers holding between them smooth, creamy mousse—even my chocolate-jaded stomach could agree: more please! Some assembly required, but the result is worth it. Though if you decide to stop and eat the un-moussed, un-frosted cake as-is, I wouldn't blame you; nor if you just spoon the mousse right out of the food processor. The stuff's fantastic. Luckily, there's plenty of it. So go ahead and help yourself to a spoonful or five.



I wrote a dedication (Happy Birthday Miha) with almond slivers to go along with the swan I'd shaped out of marzipan. Nuts go well with chocolate, so go nuts with the décor. Speaking of nuts; when I repeated it for Thanksgiving—they demanded it—I was too eager to assemble and didn't wait for my cake to cool (patience!); it broke into pieces, sliding slowly much like chocolaty plate tectonics. My grandma gave me a lesson in thinking fast and adapting to kitchen mishaps: we filled the cracks with walnuts. Everyone loved the touch. And the cake, again. We took some to an out-of-town friend. She loved it too.


- - Ulpia, no stranger to chocolate hangovers - -

Orange-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Do you remember those Terry's Chocolate Oranges, rich and chocolately and orangey and unfortunately not vegan? Orange-Chocolate Chip Muffins {page 410} is like a Terry's Chocolate Orange's muffin-sister.

Orange and chocolate are a match made somewhere even better than heaven, and what better place to showcase these flavors than in a muffin? The muffin derives its orangey flavor both from orange juice concentrate and fresh orange juice. I used dark chocolate chips because I was going for a rich chocolate flavor. The muffin is topped with a chocolate streusel, which I used dark chocolate cocoa powder for. These muffins truly tasted amazing.

Two small gripes with the muffins: First of all, the cooking time seems to be off. They were very overdone when I got them out at the prescribed time. Generally I start watching my baked goods about 5 minutes before they're set to come out of the oven, just to make sure that they don't overbake. This time, however, I trusted the recipe and got in the shower. So, the overdoneness could very well be my error. Secondly, the muffins stuck horrifically to the wrappers. Every time one was peeled, you lost about half of the muffin to the wrapper. In the future, I would spray the muffin tin and just skip the wrappers all together. I get so mad when paper steals my nummies!

Overall, I would recommend these muffins strongly, but watch them carefully in the oven, and don't use paper wrappers!

-- Your Friendly Neighborhood Batgirl