Ribollita

Ribollita is a simple yet hearty Tuscan bean soup that I absolutely love. I really like to make a big pot of soup when I sort of want to clean up the pantry. It always seems to get really full especially in the winter time so it was necesarry. I also had a Parmesan cheese rind in the fridge that needed to be used up, which is amazing in soups.



Whenever I get down to the end of the rind, I just wrap it in some plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer for when I want to make soup. That is just one tip that I learned from watching Giada. Pretty nifty, right?

Speaking of Giada, this is one of her recipes and it can be found here. Enjoy.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

I hate to post two chocolate birthday cakes in a row! Actually I guess this post couldn't come at a more perfect time since St. Patty's Day is right around the corner.

When I first spotted all of the recipes for Guinness cake floating around the internet, I could not wait to make one! Not that I love beer or anything- in fact I pretty much hate the taste of it. But I just knew that it would make the perfect birthday cake for my brother who loves anything with Guinness in it.



There are a lot of different variations out there for Guinness cake and I could not decide which recipe to use. I knew I wanted a double layer cake so I sort of came up with my own version. I used the most fabulous chocolate cake recipe from my last post and made a few slight changes. You can view the recipe below.

Just a few of my thoughts:

The flavor of the cake doesn't really have a strong beer flavor like you would think...but the Guinness really brings out the chocolate, sort of like coffee does. They compliment each other so well and becomes this amazing flavor that I can't quite describe. Not too sweet or chocolate-y, but just right. It's really, really unbelievably good!

Another heads up, this is a VERY moist cake. I had some issues getting the cake out of the pan and so that is why you can see little bits of cake coming through the frosting. I wasn't even going to show the picture because I thought it looked so bad, but what fun would that be! Anyway, be sure to line the bottom of the cake pans with parchment paper and you should be fine. I learned the hard way!

I think next time I will try making it into little cupcakes, maybe for St. Patty's Day with little shamrocks on top. Well, that might have to be for next year since we're all caked out.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup Guinness stout beer, room temperature

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.
In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.
With mixer still on low, add the beer and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal.
With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting.
Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
1-2 tablespoons of Guinness stout beer

Directions:
Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and add the coffee powder then set aside until cooled to room temperature.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes.
Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy.
On low speed, add the chocolate and beer to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip!
Spread immediately onto the cooled cake.

The Best Chocolate Cake

January and February are by far the two craziest birthday months in our family. I did 5 out of 7 cakes in just 2 months! Everyone is still managing to stick to their diets though, so I don't feel that guilty!

I've been saving Barefoot Contessa's Beatty's Chocolate Cake recipe for months so when my dad asked for chocolate cake- I had a plan. I think I'm safe to say that I will never need another chocolate cake recipe ever AGAIN. It was amazing!! I could go on and on about this cake because it seriously was the best I think I ever had. The Contessa does it again!

I used Scharffen Berger cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate which is a bit pricey, but very high quality and totally worth it for this recipe.


Sorry for the sloppy picture. I almost forgot to take one.

Here are my slight changes to the recipe:

Cake: I used a 1/2 cup of coffee and added a 1/2 cup of water to it.
Frosting: I used 1/2 tsp. of instant espresso powder instead of 1 tablespoon.

You can add as little or as much as you like, but since my dad hates coffee I was afraid to add the whole thing. I plan on making it again with the entire amount because being the coffee lover that I am, you can never have too much!

Valentine's Day Cupcakes

For Valentine's Day I whipped up these cute cupcakes in no time at all- thanks to my Cake Mix Doctor cookbook. Once in a while when I need a really quick recipe I'll use this book and nobody can ever tell that it came from a box mix..which is most important, right?



Basic Sour Cream White Cake
Adapted from The Cake Mix Doctor cookbook

Ingredients:
1 (18 1/4 ounce) package plain white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Generously grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch baking pan or line a cupcake tray with paper liners
3. Place cake mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla in mixing bowl.
4. Blend with mixer on low speed for 1 minute
5. Stop machine, scrape down sides of bowl.
6. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more.
7. Scrape down sides again if needed. The batter should look well combined and thickened.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
9. Place pan in oven.
10. Bake the cake until it is light brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 35-40 minutes. OR for cupcakes 20-25 minutes.
11. Remove pan from oven and place on wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.
12. Run a dinner knife around edge of cake and invert it onto wire rack.
13. Allow cake to cool completely, 30 minutes.
14. Prepare the frosting

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temp.
1 stick of butter, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3/4 cup fresh ripe strawberries, rinsed, capped, and mashed to make 1/2 cup, then drained well

Directions:
1. Blend together the cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
2. Add 3 cups powdered sugar, gradually, and the mashed strawberries; blend frosting again on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute.
3. Increase mixer speed to medium and blend frosting until fluffy, 30-45 seconds more, adding up to 1/2 cup more sugar to make desired spreading consistency. (You may need to add more than that if you will be piping the frosting).
4. Use as desired.

Mini Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake

This is the first time I baked the same thing twice in the same week! It was that good! First, because I recently came to discover that my little brother loves chocolate and orange as much as I do so I wanted to make it for him. And second, because my mom liked it so much she wanted it for her Birthday.

If you recall, I made the bundt version of this cake awhile back, but something about these little minis was soooo much better! The recipe can be found here.

I used a Martha Stewart mini bundt pan, made by Nordic Ware that was only $8 on clearance at Kmart. These baby cakes slid right out of the pan-it was incredible! I must buy more Nordic Ware soon!

I took a lot of pictures this time because I couldn't resist. They are just so darn cute!

Crock Pot 16 Bean Soup

I love my crock pot especially for soups and stews. This soup is also called holiday bean soup and I've been making it ever since my first year of marriage. It started after a visit to PA when my mom handed me a bag of 16 bean mix and a leftover holiday ham shank to take back home. I didn't really know what I was doing, but the soup is now one of Justin's most requested so I must of done something right!

Crock Pot 16 Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1 package 16 Bean Soup (about 2 cups)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. chili powder
2 stalks celery chopped
2 carrots diced
1 large onion chopped
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
1 ham hock or shank
1 28 oz. can tomatoes stewed or diced
6 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place the beans in a large pot or bowl and cover with water until above the bean line. Soak overnight. Drain in the morning.

2. In a crock pot, place all of the ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

3. Remove the ham and shred or chop the meat and add back into the pot. Continue cooking until ready to serve.

Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies

I crave brownies ALL the time so I'm always looking for that perfect chewy brownie recipe that will turn out just like the boxed mix. I came across this recipe and thought how perfect since I already had a tub of mascarpone that needed to be used up. So far every other recipe I've tried has failed me until now. Well, sort of...

These brownies win for taste, but are still lacking the right consistency- in my opinion. High quality chocolate is suggested for this recipe and makes all the difference in taste. I used Valrhona cocoa powder that I bought online from Chocosphere.

If you are craving something really rich and indulgent, these are for you. In the meantime my hunt will continue for the ultimate chewy and fudgy brownie. Anyone want to share their favorite recipe?