Bouchon Bakery's Hot Chocolate

I was perusing Food & Wine's list of best hot chocolates in the U.S. the other day (because that's the type of thing I do when I should be folding the laundry or answering emails). I couldn't help but be intrigued by the mention of coriander, so I found the recipe on delish.com and here we are. I made this recipe, in spite of the fact that I had none of the very specific brands of ingredients listed and I have no idea whether my heavy cream is 40% fat (who does?). And all I can say is that it came out thick and luscious and I now understand the term drinking chocolate (which I've heard before, but until now just thought it was someone's clever way of getting me to pony up twice as much for hot cocoa mix). This is serious hot chocolate that laughs at Swiss Miss (and not just because she's dressed like a Bavarian bar maid).

Side note: You may have noticed (or maybe you haven't), that I haven't been posting much lately. I'm just really busy at work and can't find the time to clean my house, much less cook and post on my blog. I'm not apologizing (mostly because I'm not delusional enough to think anyone cares, especially if I don't). I'm just explaining, in case you were wondering. Now back to the ultra creamy hot chocolate...

 BOUCHON BAKERY'S HOT CHOCOLATE

8 ½ ounces whole milk

1 ounce 40% heavy cream

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

1 cinnamon stick

½ vanilla bean

1 tablespoon Cacao Rouge-Guittard cocoa powder

1 ½ ounces 38% Soleil d'Or Milk Chocolate-Guittard, chopped

1 ½ ounces 61% Lever du Soleil Dark Chocolate-Guittard, chopped

_________________________________________________________________________

1.      Bring the milk and cream to a boil.

2.      Smash the coriander seeds and toast them with the cinnamon stick in a hot pan until fragrant. Add these spices to the hot milk to steep.

3.      Scrape vanilla bean and add to the milk mixture. Stir in cocoa powder and combine well.

4.      Strain the milk mixture over the chopped milk and dark chocolate. Mix well until the chocolate is melted. Strain one more time. It's now ready to serve!

from delish.com (originally from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery)

whole coriander seeds

toasting the spices

steeping the coriander & cinnamon in the hot milk mixture

Don't be nervous, the spices are very subtle with all that chocolate!

stirring in the cocoa powder

I didn't have Cacao Rouge-Guittard cocoa powder,
so I used the best brand in my cabinet (Scharffen Berger).

I also didn't have a vanilla bean, so I used
about 1/2 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract

dark and milk chocolates

I didn't have the brands that Thomas Keller uses,
so I used Callebaut (which is a good quality chocolate).

milk mixture strained into the bowl with the chocolates

stirred and strained into my cup

Since I probably won't be posting again until after the holidays...
Merry Christmas (and possibly Happy New Year too)!

.

Brownie Spiders

Happy Halloween! I saw these cuties online and knew they'd be perfect for my daughter's school party today. I hoped to finish them yesterday and post them before Halloween, but clearly that was not meant to be. But the important thing is that I finished them before the party, with time to dry (I wouldn't want the eyeballs to fall off). Although if that happens this afternoon, I'll just claim it was on purpose (me trying to make the spiders scarier). It's all about spin. 

BROWNIE SPIDERS

Yield: approx. 20 spiders

1 (9” x 13”) pan baked brownies

1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

2 cups chow mein noodles

candy eye balls (at least 40)

_____________________________________________________________________

1.      Use a 1 ½- to 1 ¾-inch circle cookie cutter to cut out circles for the spider "bodies".
Place on wax paper for prep, or place them right on your serving tray.

2.      In a double-boiler, melt the chocolate chips in a medium-sized bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons of the melted chocolate and set aside.

3.      Place a sheet of waxed paper on a sheet pan or large plate. Gently stir the chow mein noodles into the remaining melted chocolate until all of the noodles are coated. Spread the noodles out on the wax paper, separating them as much as possible, and then pop them in the freezer for about 10 minutes to chill and re-harden the chocolate. Once chilled, remove the chocolate covered noodles, and pick out some long ones to use as the spider "legs".

4.      Using the melted chocolate that you set aside and a toothpick, transfer a dot of melted chocolate to the back of each candy eye as the "glue". Place the eyes on the front of the brownie circles.

5.      Dip the tip of each “leg” in melted chocolate and insert 4 legs into each side of each spider body.

6.      Set aside for chocolate “glue” to set (will keep for up to 4 days).

barely adapted from gimmesomeoven.com

adding chow mein noodles to melted chocolate

the original instructions said not to worry about
separating the "legs" completely, but mine really
stuck together, so I recommend separating.

cutting brownie circles

brownie spiders

The original "recipe" has the legs inserted on the top/sides. But I played around and thought they looked better on the sides. Obviously you should go with whatever you like best.
.

Hi Hat Chocolate Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes mainly to see if they would work. I was pretty sure when I dipped the frosting in the chocolate that I'd be left with big gloppy mess. But much to my surprise and delight, it all went according to Martha Stewart's plan. (How could I ever have doubted her?) I should note that even though they look inviting, I did make a mistake and leave the water out of the frosting, which caused the sugar not to dissolve completely and added a little unwanted crunch (which my daughter actually liked).

I was little embarrassed to send them to school for the Harvest Eve bake sale, but then I realized since my husband dropped them off and we keep a pretty low profile that they might not even realize they were from me. Also, anyone who bought one didn't find out my error until after they paid the school...and who's going to ask for their money back for a fundraiser cupcake? A wanker who deserves crunchy frosting, that's who (I've been watching a lot of BBC America).

HI HAT CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Yield: 12

Chocolate Cupcakes: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar ½ cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder ½ cup milk ¼ cup vegetable oil 1 egg ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup boiling water

Frosting: 1 3/4 cups sugar 1/4 cup water 3 large egg whites 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon almond extract Chocolate Coating: 2 cups chopped (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate 3 tablespoons coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

1.      Preheat oven to 325º F. Place 12 cupcake liners in a standard size 12-cup muffin tin.

2.      In a large bowl or kitchen aid bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder. Whisk (or use paddle attachment) until well combined.

3.      Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.

4.      Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full with batter.

5.      Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6.      Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

7.      Prepare the frosting: In a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar, water, egg whites, and cream of tartar. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 12 minutes; frosting should register 160º F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts, and beat for 2 minutes more until frosting thickens.

8.      Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain pastry tip. Leaving a 1/8-inch border on each cupcake, pipe a spiral of frosting into a 2-inch-high cone shape, using about 1/2 cup of frosting per cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet, and refrigerate while preparing the chocolate coating.

9.      Prepare the chocolate coating: Combine chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool about 20 minutes.

10.  Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Spoon more coating around edge of cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show. Let cupcakes stand at room temperature 15 minutes.

11.  Carefully remove paper liners from cupcakes, and discard. Place cupcakes on a serving platter, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let coating set. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours more. Serve cold. Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

chocolate cupcakes from addapinch.com, 
concept, frosting and chocolate coating from Martha Stewart

dry ingredients mixed together

adding milk, oil, egg and vanilla

adding boiling water

batter in cupcake liners

baked

sugar, egg whites and cream of tartar

My egg white mixture never got frothy (which should
have been my first clue that I had forgotten to add the
water). But I missed that clue and just kept on going.

beating over simmering water

Even though I had forgotten the water,
everything was going along swimmingly.

stiff peaks forming

The color only looks weird because of the
bad lighting by my stove. Also, if this looks
like a lot it's because I made 3x the recipe.

adding homemade vanilla extract & almond extract

Still looking good.

stiff peaks again

At this point I tasted the frosting and noticed a slight
crunch from the sugar that never quite dissolved completely.
That's when I realized that I had left out the water. I didn't
have time (or the eggs) to make another batch of frosting,
so crunchy frosting it was. Consider this a cautionary tale.

piping on the slightly crunchy (but still tasty) marshmallowy frosting

piped

dipping

Yes, I was nervous all the frosting
would melt right off...but it didn't!

hi hat cupcakes drying

.

One Pot Cookies

I don't know about you, but sometimes I don't bake just because I don't feel like doing the dishes. If I'm really tired, just the idea of breaking out the mixer is enough for me to opt out. So when my daughter asked if we could make cookies, I modified this recipe to use only one pot and a spatula. No mixer. That I can handle, even when I'm exhausted and in no mood to deal.

ONE POT COOKIES

Makes 1 1/2 dozen (3-inch) cookies

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 cups + 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 to 2 cups chocolate chips (or other chips/candies of choice)

________________________________________________________________________

1.      Preheat oven to 325º F. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.      Melt butter in a large pot. Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.

3.      Add sugars to butter and mix until thoroughly blended. Mix in vanilla, egg and yolk. Add flour, salt and baking soda; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.

4.      Form scant 1/4 cup dough into a rough ball. Place formed dough on cookie sheets, about an inch apart.

5.      Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). To ensure a chewy texture, cool cookies on baking sheets. Store in airtight container.

Note:  Dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month (shaped or not). Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.

adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

adding sugars to melted butter

sugar/butter mixed; adding egg and vanilla

mixed

adding flour, salt and baking soda

Stir the dry ingredients together a little, while they're
still sitting on top of the wet mixture. Then mix.

flour etc. mixed in

I let my daughter pick what type of cookie...we used
white chocolate chips and Vermont Nut-Free Skippers
(faux M&M's that are safe for my daughter's peanut allergy)

dough mixed

The dough is pretty thick, so it's easiest to mix the
chips in with your hands. You're about to roll the
dough with your hands anyway - it's all good.

dough balls rolled

We made ours a little smaller than the recipe says
because we needed closer to 2 dozen cookies for my
daughter's last day of camp party.

boom! one pot cookies

.