Easy Three Ingredient Berry Ice Cream

I know super easy “ice creams” made with frozen fruit, especially bananas has been done many times and I’ve made it many times myself.  I usually make it with only bananas and sometimes add peanut butter and/or chocolate to it, which IS probably my favorite.  But last night I had a hankering for a sweet treat and saw how much frozen fruit I have in my freezer right now so I threw some in the food processor and made this heavenly version.

 

SO easy!  Perfect.  Healthy.  I even was so kind to share some with Parker, who is trying out veganism right now.  Going crazy trying to keep him fed!  This is my kid whose favorite foods were bacon and A1 Steak Sauce and steak.  I’m going crazy and hope this doesn’t last too long for him.  To each his own, but I think someone shouldn’t go all certain-diet crazy unless they can buy their own food and feed themselves!  Back to the delicious treat!

 

I went a little crazy (ha!) and drizzled some melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips on mine.  It was just like Magic Shell, but way, way healthier!  Love!

 

Easy Three Ingredient Berry Ice Cream, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

 

1 cup frozen bananas

1 cup frozen strawberries and blueberries (there were probably more strawberries)

2 tablespoons Enjoy Life (or any of your choice) chocolate chips, optional

 

You can easily do 2-3 cups of any fruit of your choosing.

Add the frozen fruit to a food processor.  Blend for 3-5 minutes until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl every minute or so.

While it is blending, melt the chocolate in a small microwaveable dish in 20-30 second intervals until melted.  Drizzle over ice cream. Yum!

 

I know this probably isn’t a very exciting post and something you’ve seen before but I decided to document it on my blog, which has been suffering from neglect lately. I’m going to try to get back into sharing……and making more goodies!  I miss it!

 

Gluten Free Peach Crisp

Wait!  Summer, Hold On!  Don’t go yet!  There’s still time.  Peaches are still available and you need to make this Gluten Free Peach Crisp.  It’s so good.  I’ve made it twice in the last couple weeks.  Do you realize how simple it is to turn a regular crisp into a gluten free one? 

I used this apricot crisp recipe and just made a few simple changes using gluten free oats and flour and some adjustments on the sweeteners.  Please don’t let summer fade away without making a fruit crisp.  The peaches are perfect right now!

Gluten Free Peach Crisp, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

For the peaches:

6-7 cups peaches (6-10 peaches depending on size), peeled, pitted and sliced**

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

2-3 tablespoons raw honey (to taste)

1 tablespoon gluten free flour blend

For the crisp topping:

1 cup gluten free old fashioned oats

1/4 cup gluten free flour blend

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup organic brown sugar (or 1/2 cup coconut sugar or organic brown sugar, you decide)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch or two of freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 cup butter, cold, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

**Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cut a criss cross slit (about an inch each way) in the bottom of each peach, not too deep, just enough to cut through the skin of the peach.  Set 3-4-5 (however many fit in your pot) peaches in the boiling water for 1 minute.  Remove them to a dry cloth using a slotted spoon.  While the rest are boiling quickly, start peeling the peaches.  Using the cut end the skin peels off with ease with the four slit corners.  Every now and then a peach will be stubborn, but you can still get it done.  If you have never tried the slit, try it.  You’ll never peel a peach another way again.  Best tip ever from my friend, Paige at For Love of the Table.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly grease a glass dish (mine is a 2.8 liters Pyrex dish) with coconut oil.  Peel, pit and slice the peaches.  Put them in a large bowl.  Add the honey, almond extract and gluten free flour and stir carefully to coat all with the flour.  Spread the peaches in the prepared pan and set aside.  In a medium sized bowl, add the oats, gluten free flour, coconut sugar, brown sugar, spices and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Add the pieces of butter and mix together with your hands, pressing the butter throughout the dry ingredients until well mixed and all the mixture is moist.  Stir in the almonds.  Sprinkle the oat mixture evenly over the peaches.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until peaches are bubbly and topping is golden and crispy.  Let dish set on a wire rack until mostly cooled.  This is great served still slightly warm topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

 The skin on the peaches just peels off so easily after making a slit in the bottom and boiling them for a minute.  These peaches pictured here were HUGE.  I got almost 2 cups of sliced peaches for each one!

You can leave the peaches in just sliced wedges, but I like cutting them wedges into cubed pieces. 

I made a simple dairy free vanilla ice cream with coconut milk, eggs, vanilla paste, raw honey and a pinch of salt, heated and cooked until thickened, then chilled, then churned and frozen.  Perfect for topping a crisp!

Don’t let summer slip away without making a peach crisp!  It’s so easy to make gluten free and cut the refined sugars.

Marquise au Chocolat—Baking Chez Moi—Tuesdays With Dorie

Marquise au Chocolat (Frozen Chocolate Mousse), Baking Chez Moi, Tuesdays With Dorie

You might not realize what this is (which is why I put it in parenthesis in easy terms) and might not even think it looks too terribly good, but let me tell you, this frozen chocolate mousse is divine!  I even kind of like the lines in it from lining my heart-shaped mold with plastic wrap and it not being perfectly smooth.  It’s rustic and heart-warming and hello, it’s frozen chocolate and it’s definitely smooth going down the hatch.

I’m so glad I buckled down and made this, though it was last minute (the weeks sure fly by, not sure how I used to do TWD way back when, when we posted weekly)!  My seven year old woke up early, early Monday morning (the middle of the night) with the stomach flu and was sick all day yesterday.  I even dragged him to the store so I could get some chocolate and cream, which was in my plans before he was sick.  It worked well for me to tell him we needed to get some Sprite and saltine crackers for his upset tummy.  We got to the store and they were out of the chocolate I needed/wanted.  SIGH. 

Never fear, we went back home and I decided I had enough of everything to quarter the recipe and make a small serving.  Then I decided it would be fun to make it and put it in heart-shaped molds (this was before I even read Dorie’s suggestion to do that if desired).  She and I, we’re so smart.  So while my son lay on the couch trying to rest and not be sick, I got out the things I needed to make the quarter recipe for this chosen delight, Marquise au Chocolate (Frozen Chocolate Mousse), from Baking Chez Moi, pages 357-359.  Don’t let seeing that it’s three pages in her book make you think it’s too much.  A lot of it is all her background about the dessert and a great photo.  This was really so easy to make!  It took a couple steps, um, most recipes do, but if you plan it out and get everything together before starting, it’s pretty simple!

I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, they are dairy, nut and soy free and made with evaporated cane juice.  They taste great!  Love the fun-shaped chocolate flower that showed up in the mix here.

The chocolate and butter were melted in a double boiler.  Since I made only one-quarter of the recipe, I beat the egg yolk and sugar with my hand mixer, then added that to the cooled melted chocolate and in another small bowl beat the heavy cream.  That was folded in to the chocolate mixture, then I put it in a small heart-shaped ramekin and a small heart-shaped metal mold that I’d lined with plastic wrap. 

 I put the molds in the freezer for only about four hours (recipes says six), but since they were smaller, I thought it would be okay.  Had to taste (and photograph) it right after an early dinner.

I ate about 2/3 of this little dessert (and gave Kevin the rest), it was rich and delicious and perfectly creamy.  I’m so excited that the bigger heart is still there for me in the very near future.  This was pretty simple to divide (especially with the gram measurements).  I’m sure I’ll make this again, maybe, just maybe I’ll try it with coconut cream and honey for the sweetener.  I’m not afraid. ; )  I would like this with some raspberry coulis or fresh raspberries next time.  If I make it that way, I’ll post it with the recipe for you.  Go get Dorie’s book!

Peach Mango Cinnamon Ice Cream, Dairy Free and Refined Sugar Free

I made this Peach Mango Cinnamon Ice Cream, though it’s dairy free (made with coconut milk) and instead of sugar I used raw honey.  It might not be all that pretty, but it sure is tasty!  I have made peach mango “ice cream” before, but this one is a little different. 

I had recently bought some of those fruit pouches, that are perfect for kids lunch boxes.  My boys really like them.  Apparently their favorite is the plain applesauce or applesauce with cinnamon.  But I’ve got some of the other flavors here and there to see what else they might like.

Apparently these Fruit and Veggie ones from Del Monte are not a favorite.  The boys weren’t eating them.  I kept seeing them in the pantry.  They are all real fruit with juice and veggies added.  Peach mango, hmmm?  I checked to see what veggies were in them and it’s just a little pumpkin and carrot juice.  Ding!  These needed to be put to use.  This dairy free ice cream was created using seven pouches.  Here’s the recipe.  Get a box of them and try it out. 

Peach Mango Cinnamon Ice Cream, Dairy Free and Refined Sugar Free, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

7 Del Monte Peach Mango Fruit + Veggie Squeezers (1 Box is 8 pouches, you could use all 8)

1/4 cup raw honey

1 can lite coconut milk (or regular is fine, I just had some lite on hand)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (to taste—I added 1/2 teaspoon, but ended up putting in a bit more)

couple pinches of fresh nutmeg

Put all the fruit and veggie mixture from each pouch in a large bowl.  Add the honey and whisk to combine.  Whisk in the coconut milk, then add the almond extract, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk until all combined.  Pour the mixture into the frozen bowl of an ice cream maker and church according to manufacturer instructions, about 20 minutes.  Serve ice cream soft serve immediately or put in an airtight container in the freezer.  To serve frozen ice cream, let sit on the counter for 15 minutes for easier scooping.

Peach is definitely the dominant flavor in these pouches and in the ice cream.  The cinnamon is a perfect autumn addition.  You’ll love it!

Coconut Mango Ice Cream (Paleo, Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free)

Does that not look like the most delicious bowl of ice cream?  Yeah, I know, there’s no chocolate.  I live in a world of chocolate and prefer it most often.  But this ice cream is delicious and basically health food.  You’ve got to make this!

I started with a couple mangoes.  Then I added a little raw honey and some lime zest and lime juice.  Mango and lime are a match made in heaven.  Instead of dairy cream, I used a full fat coconut milk.  That’s it.  So easy, fresh, healthy, delicious.  This ice cream is Paleo, dairy free, and void of refined sugars, but you’d never know it isn’t there and you won’t miss it.  I happened to have some toasted unsweetened coconut, so I sprinkled that on the ice cream and drizzled it with a little honey.  Love the texture and flavor it added!

Course, it’s good “plain”, too.  The first photo is right out of the ice cream maker.  The second photo is after it hardened in the freezer.  Both are good!  the mango flavor comes through, the lime is there and you can taste the coconut, even without the toasted coconut on top. 

Coconut Mango Ice Cream, Dairy Free, Paleo, Refined Sugar Free, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2 mangoes, peeled and cubed

1-14 ounce can of full fat coconut milk

2 tablespoons raw honey ( a little more to taste)

zest of half a lime

juice of 2 limes

*optional topping—toasted coconut and honey

Put all the ingredients in a blender (or a food processor would work, too).  Blend until smooth.  Put the mixture in the bowl of a frozen, prepared ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Serve as soft-serve ice cream with toasted coconut and a drizzle of honey if desired.  Put ice cream in an airtight container in the freezer.

Mmmm, you’ve got to try this!

Oreos Pretzel Frogs

Are these not the cutest little frogs you’ve ever seen?  And they are edible, made with one of America’s favorite cookies, Oreos.  And pretzels.  Almost too cute to eat.  Almost.

These are a fun, super easy treat that kids (big and small) will love.  I thought they’d be fun since today is St. Patrick’s Day, but you could find all kinds of perfect reasons to make them.  Spring is coming up.  Easter.  Heck, you could make these for no special reason at all. 

My mom sent me a picture of them a couple months ago, then I looked them up on the world wide web again and they are found in many places with each one made slightly different.  You can easily do them however you wish.  I used some candy eyeballs and Fruit by the Foot candy that I cut for the tongues.  These are fun because you can use any flavor of Oreos you’d like.  You could even live a little on the edge and do all different colors of frogs. 

Oreos Pretzel Frogs, by Katrina, Baking and Boys! adapted from all over the web

12 Oreos cookies, any flavor

24 pretzel twists

7 ounces (half a bag) of green Wilton candy melts

24 candy eyeballs

1 strawberry/red Fruit by the Foot candy roll up, or any other candy that can easily cut/shape

green sugar sprinkles, optional

Unroll the Fruit by the Foot and cut into small tongue shapes.  Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.  Melt the candy melts according to package directions.  Dip each pretzel in the candy, using a fork to lift them out of the bowl.  Tap the excess melted candy off the pretzel by gently tapping the fork that is holding the pretzel on the bowl.  Lay them on the baking sheet, laying two next to each other so they are just touching.  After dipping all of the pretzels, dip each Oreos cookie one at a time, also tapping the extra candy off the cookie and lay each cookie on top of the pretzels. 

Sprinkle the back of each cookie with green sprinkles if desired.  Stick a cut out tongue in the center of each cookie.  Let the candy melt harden slightly.  Once it is starting to set, put the candy eyes on the tops and hold in place for a few seconds.  If they aren’t staying upright very well, wait until the candy melt is hardened a little bit more.  If it has hardened too much, carefully dip the bottom of each candy eye into the candy melt to use as “glue”.  Let all the candy frogs set completely.  Easily double the recipe.

Served these cookies with a simple “Shamrock” Shake.  Filled the blender with vanilla ice cream (about 4-5 cups), added milk (about 3 cups), about 10 drops of green food coloring and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract.  Blend until smooth.  This made about 6 eight ounce cups.

Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

This Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream would be perfect for Cinco de Mayo.  That said, why save it for only one day of the year.  This is fabulous ice cream!  Mexican chocolate has a little kick of cinnamon in it.  But to make this ice cream have even more of a kick—I also added some cayenne pepper.  Now we’re talkin’.

Too many months ago, I made mention on Facebook or a blog about how I could never find Mexican chocolate around here.  Out of nowhere a few days later, I received a package in the mail from my dear friend, Suzanne, from Thru the Bugs on My Windshield.   She sent me a bunch of Ibarra Mexican chocolate.  She said it was everywhere in Texas.  So after months and months of seeing it in my baking cupboard, yesterday when I saw it sitting on the shelf, it came to me—ICE CREAM.  I don’t know what took me so long to think of it, but I finally knew what I’d make with the chocolate. 

Mexican chocolate is grainy because it has lots of sugar in it, as well as the cinnamon.  It’s not the easiest thing to chop, but I managed with my new Cutco Santoku knife. ;)

I made up my own recipe, which I’m always proud of myself when I do.  I added the cream and milk to a saucepan.  Once it was beginning to get hot over medium heat, I added the chopped chocolate and the cayenne pepper.  After the chocolate was melted and the mixture was almost to a boil, I removed it from the heat and slowly whisked a little of it in to the waiting egg yolks and salt.  Once the yolks are mixed with some of the hot cream, it can be poured back in to the saucepan.   I returned it to the heat and stirred it until a thermometer read 175 degrees and it was thickened.  It didn’t even take 2 minutes.  Once it was removed from the heat, I added some vanilla then strained the mixture over a fine-mesh strainer into a metal bowl.  That helped remove some of the lingering graininess. 

I then set the bowl into a bigger bowl that is filled with ice and water and it takes an ice bath while I stir it every couple minutes.  This cools the mixture really fast.  You could just set the hot creamed mixture in an airtight container in the fridge until it is chilled.  But doing it in an ice bath makes it cold and chillin’ and ready to churn within about 30 minutes!

Just about ready for the ice cream maker.

Here it goes.  I think I’ll go take a siesta.

Ahh!  Ready for a stint in the freezer, although this is how I prefer ice cream—soft serve!

Since I didn’t make this one low fat at all, I only tasted a little bit—but it is GOOD!  Love the little, subtle kick from the cayenne.  You could add more than I did if you want a little more spice!

Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2  1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup 2% milk (or whole)

10 ounces Mexican chocolate (Ibarra brand preferred), chopped

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

3 large egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the cream and milk until hot.  Add the chopped chocolate and cayenne pepper.  Stir to combine.  Whisk until all the chocolate is melted and the milk is almost to a boil.  In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and salt.  Add some of the hot cream mixture to the egg yolks, whisking while you add it.  This helps make sure the egg yolks don’t curdle.  Once you’ve added about 1/3 of the cream mixture, pour the now whisked egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and return it to a medium heat.  Cook until the mixture thickens and it reaches 175 degrees on a thermometer.  Remove from heat and add the vanilla.  Whisk it all together and pour it into a metal bowl with a fine-mesh strainer over it to remove some of the grainy sugar/chocolate that hasn’t dissolved (there isn’t much there, but it’s good to strain it). 

Put the bowl over an ice bath in a bigger bowl and let it cool, whisking it every few minutes.  Within about half an hour, it will be cold and ready to churn.  Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, about 20-30 minutes.  Remove from ice cream maker and put it in an airtight container in the freezer for a couple hours.

Delicious!  While it is finally just climbing in to the 60’s and looking a little like spring here in Utah (we just had snow two days ago), I hear there is a major heat wave more West of here, like in California and Arizona.  You need ice cream.  It’ll cool you down.  And if you make this Mexican chocolate ice cream, just in time to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, it’ll heat you right back up with its nice spice kick—it’s so worth it!

Thanks so much for the Mexican chocolate, Suzanne!  So mighty Texan of ya!  (Luv ya!)

Homemade Cookie Dough and Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream Cake

Homemade Cookie Dough and Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream Cake

Parker’s 11th birthday was a couple days ago.  Happy Birthday, Parker!

This kid of mine doesn’t like chocolate.  Huh?  I know.  But one of the things he LOVES is cherries, all kinds.  He LOVES maraschino cherries.  So I recently made maraschino cherry ice cream, just to make him happy, because we often have ice cream and there aren’t any flavors he likes.  Well, I think what is really happening, is he is turning into the kind of person who would rather have savory/salty things than sweets.  How dare he! ;)

I guess when a kid is this awesome, you take them as they are. ;)

Here’s the recipe for the maraschino cherry ice cream, it’s a super simple recipe and if you like maraschino cherries, this ice cream is perfect.  Parker was pretty happy!

Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup 2% milk

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

*1/3-1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice (from a 10 oz. jar)

*about 24 maraschino cherries, chopped

In a saucepan, dissolve the sugar with 1 cup cream over medium-low heat.  Remove from heat and add it in a large bowl to the remaining cup of cream, the milk, almond extract, cherry juice and chopped cherries.  Whisk all ingredients together well.  The mixture will be cold enough that you don’t need to chill it.  You can put the bowl over an ice bath for 15 minutes or so, if you want it colder.  I just added it right to the ice cream bowl and began churning it.  Churn according to your ice cream makers manufacturer’s instructions, about 20-25 minutes.  Remove the soft ice cream from the bowl and store it in an airtight container in the freezer.  *I used close to 1/2 cup of juice from the jar of cherries and 24 cherries, which wasn’t the whole jar because a few of them had been eaten before the ice cream was made. ;)

__________________________________________

I made the ice cream a few days before Parker’s birthday.  The boys all enjoyed some the day I made it.  After asking Parker what he wanted for his birthday—no one here likes cake—he just kept hummin’ and hawin’ about it and couldn’t decide on anything.  The day before his birthday, I decided to make him an ice cream cake. 

I started with a crust base, which I made up using animal crackers.  I really like how it turned out!  Sometimes we get tired of the same ol’ graham cracker crust.  After making the crust, I stuck it in the freezer for a while.

Animal Cracker Cookie Crust, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

about 5 1/2 ounces (150 grams) crushed animal crackers

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pulse the cookie/crackers in a food processor (it was about 2 cups of cookies) until they become fine crumbs.  Add the sugar and pulse a few times.  Add in the melted butter and the vanilla and pulse until the crumbs are all moistened.  Spread evenly and press down in a 9 inch square pan.  Can be used for a cheesecake or ice cream cake or any kind of crust you’d like!

Parker doesn’t totally hate all chocolate, he really just doesn’t like too much of it and he really doesn’t like dark chocolate.  I’d recently made some eggless chocolate chip cookie dough, which there was still some of in the fridge.  Normally, I’d make homemade ice cream, but we happened to have half a gallon of plain vanilla ice cream in the freezer, so I decided to soften it up and add some of the cookie dough to it.  Why did I make edible cookie dough?  Because Sam had gone to the dentist and then to the store with me afterwards and decided he wanted chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.  Can you believe there was none at the store where we went?  I promised Sam I’d make him some cookie dough he could have in some vanilla ice cream. 

I took little balls of the cookie dough and froze them, then stirred them into the vanilla ice cream.

I stirred about one cup of the cookie dough balls/chunks/nuggets into about half a gallon of vanilla ice cream.  (There’s probably another two cups of cookie dough balls in the freezer for use another time!)  The now-chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream was spread over the animal cracker crust.

After letting the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream layer freezer for an hour or two, I softened the remaining maraschino cherry ice cream and spread it over the cookie dough ice cream.  It was probably about a quart and a half of cherry ice cream.  Once that had frozen for a couple hours, I spread Cool Whip over the top and let it freeze more.  I know, Cool Whip—it’s a hit here and I wasn’t planning on eating any of the ice cream cake.  Okay, I tasted a little.   Anyway.  The ice cream cake---it tastes great, if you like those cherries.  I don’t hate them.  I just don’t like what has happened to the cherries. ;) 

I am/was so happy that a neighbor recently gave me this great cake pan she didn’t want anymore.  It’s a 9-inch square pan with a removable bottom.  It was perfect for this ice cream cake!

Kevin put the 11 cherries on the top.  (I couldn’t find the candles and I think Parker was much happier with the cherries anyway.)  I told Kevin to just put six cherries in one of the “1’s”, but he didn’t like the idea of having them be uneven, that’s why there’s one in the corner.  I like the way the sliced ice cream cake came out with perfectly visible pieces of the cookie dough and the layers all prominent. 

Here’s the quick, edible/eggless cookie dough recipe.  I would probably halve it next time as this made a lot.  So unless you have a great use for this much edible dough, go with half. 

Edible/Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk (I used skim)

1  1/2 cups (180 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Cream together the butter and sugars.  Add the vanilla and milk and combine.   Add the flour and salt and mix just until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.  (I will last a couple weeks.)  After the dough has been refrigerated for a couple hours, you can roll it into little, tiny balls and freeze them for use in ice cream.

Parker wanted a wallet for his birthday.  We surprised him with a $50 bill hiding in it!  Next birthday—Kevin, October 5th and Taylor October 12th.  Whatever will they want? ;)

Molten Chocolate Lava Crock Pot Cake—Secret Recipe Club

Molten Chocolate Lava Crock Pot Cake

It’s time for Secret Recipe Club!  This is a date each month that I really look forward to but I have to say I can’t believe how fast the months fly by when it seems like just yesterday it was time for Secret Recipe Club from the last time.  Can anyone else believe it’s September?  I swear it was just Christmastime.  At any rate, here we are and I’ve certainly got another delicious treat to share with you that I picked from the hundreds of recipes I was faced with choosing from at the blog I had this month. 

It’s no surprise that I’m always drawn to the word chocolate.  And when I saw molten lava along with it, this was a must-make recipe.  The blog I got to pick from this month is Katie’s blog, This Chick Cooks.  I feel it somewhat of a disservice to have chosen this cake from Katie’s blog, since she is all about eating whole foods and cutting white flour and white sugar out of her diet.  Then why would this recipe be on her blog?  Because she used to make, eat, and blog things like this, but now doesn’t. 

I seriously started making a list of things from her blog that I wanted to make not long after getting this assignment.  Check some of these out--Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream—I still plan to make this soon, just couldn’t remember to get coconut milk every time I was at a store.  I love oatmeal for breakfast, so I’m drawn to this post for 40 Fun Oatmeal Toppings.  Hot Fudge Brownie Larabars—I would love those.  Healthier Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies—I plan to make these, too.  I love making “treats” that have a healthier twist but are still a treat.  All the things I looked at when I first got the assignment seemed to end up being things that I needed something from the store in order to make them.  Then, before I knew it, our Group A leader, Jane, sent a little reminder last week to make sure we had our recipe and post ready and I freaked out a little when I realized I hadn’t done anything yet—just dreamed of all the goodness on Katie’s blog.  Where or where did August go?

I did another quick search of her Recipe Index—and that’s when I saw the words Molten Chocolate Lava!  After looking at the recipe, I saw that I had everything to make it and decided to get to work in time for the family treat that night. 

The Molten Chocolate Lava Crock Pot Cake (also known as Mud Cake or Pudding Cake) could not have been more simple to make.  Katie found the recipe for it on the Family Fun website.  Guess what—I didn’t change anything from the recipe Katie has on her blog.  I did exactly what it said.  This is rare for me.  I deserve a gold sticker or something. ;)  The recipe said to cook the cake in the Crockpot on high for 1-2 hours.  I cooked mine for 1 hour and 40 minutes. 

Definitely delicious on its own, with a deep, dark chocolate flavor from using Dutch-processed, dark cocoa, the cake was just screaming for some ice cream.  I mean, doesn’t it just look so much happier now?  Still, that seemed a little “plain”.  Katie mentioned how good this would be with some fresh berries on the side.  Wish I would have had some because I totally agree with that.

We ended up with sprinkles on ours here because my boys think everything has to have sprinkles.

Ahhh, definitely looking better now with the little pop of color.  I think second only to sprinkles, the boys all love maraschino cherries, so it only seemed appropriate to put a cherry on top of this cake.  Parker even likes them so much that lately when they get to have ice cream for a snack, Parker begs and pleads to just have a bowl full of the cherries with no ice cream.  I think I’ve only let him have three of them so far.  His birthday is coming this week.  Somebody is probably going to get his own jar of cherries as one of his gifts.  Silly kid.  Last year he got his own bottle of A-1 Steak Sauce, he could drink that stuff.

I’ll definitely be back to Katie’s blog, This Chick Cooks, for more recipe inspiration soon!  Go check it out if you have never been there!

Can’t wait to see what the rest of Group A made this month!

Julia Child’s Chocolate Mousse

Julia Child’s Chocolate Mousse (Mousseline au Chocolat)

Today is Julia Child’s 100th birthday!  Love that woman--all that she was and all that she did for the culinary world or just people who love food.  (Who doesn’t love food?)

I decided to make one of her signature dishes and naturally chose a dessert and chocolate!  You can’t just “whip up” the chocolate mousse.   After reading through the recipe, I realized and decided this was the kind of recipe where “mise en place” really was necessary.  With two different pots of simmering water on the stove, a bowl of cold water, the stand mixer ready (and used twice during the making of the mousse), as well as having all the ingredients measured and ready, I was right on track for my first mousse making ever.

Mise en place for chocolate mousse

After beating the egg yolks and sugar in the mixer until a pale yellow color of slowly dissolving ribbons were formed, I added my replacement of Grand Marnier (we don’t drink or use alcohol) using 2 ounces of Torani chocolate flavoring syrup.  I then removed 1/2 teaspoon of that and added 1/2 teaspoon of pure orange extract.  I think it was a perfect non-alcoholic substitution.

The mixture was ready for its stint in a bowl over simmering water.  I whisked it for six minutes, also taking a quick-as-I-could break to quickly wash the mixer bowl and get it ready for egg whites. 

I moved the bowl from the heat to the cold water bath and kept on whisking.  All the while on the other side of the burners I added the chocolate to the double boiler and instead of coffee (we don’t use or drink coffee either) I just used water.  Whisking egg yolks and sugar in one bowl and stirring chocolate until it was melted in another.  Thank goodness for two hands! 

I removed the yolks from the water bath and let them sit for a few minutes while I stirred the butter in to the melted chocolate a little at a time.  That resulted in a wonderfully smooth and rich chocolate mixture!

Ahhh, heavenly!

The chocolate was then poured into the egg yolk mixture and whisked together in to the beginnings of a wonderful mousse. 

Somewhere during all that, I turned on the mixer with the waiting egg whites and a pinch of salt in it.  Thank goodness the mixer got to help out with a few things or my left arm might have fallen off. ;)

s, I

Looks like there’s gold in that thar mousse (bad lighting photo moment)!  The mousse was ready for a little chillin’ in the fridge.

I decided to take part of the mousse and freeze it, because one of the biggest reasons I settled on making the chocolate mousse in honor of the late and beloved Julia Child is having seen Angie at Big Bear's Wife's Frozen Chocolate Mousse, also made in tribute to Julia.

A few hours later, the mousse was ready for its photo session.  I’m not all about how fancy my photos look (yes, I’m sure you noticed), a couple scoops of frozen mousse, which scooped beautifully, were dished up and ready for the camera.

A couple things are for sure, the mousse is delicious and it’s super rich.  A little scoop will do ya.

I do love the way it froze and that it wasn’t too hard to scoop.  This is the kind of treat I love just having a spoonful of and I’m good on a chocolate fix for at least an hour. ;) hehe

Maybe I shoulda coulda fancied it up with some whipped cream, but I just thought it didn’t really need it.  If I was having company over for some mousse, I would have done so and it for sure needs a couple raspberries on the side—but having made it just for the experience of making the recipe, it wasn’t necessary.

Here’s the recipe as I made it--

Chocolate Mousse (non-alcoholic and coffee-free), adapted from Julia Child, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

4 large egg yolks

3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 grams)

1/4 cup (2 ounces) Torani chocolate flavoring syrup, minus 1/2 teaspoon

1/2 teaspoon pure orange extract

6 ounces semi sweet or dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60%)

4 tablespoons room temperature water

6 ounces (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

4 large egg whites

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 pot of simmering water

double boiler with about 1 inch of simmering water

1 bowl of cold water

In a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar together.  Mix until it is a pale yellow color and forms slowly dissolving ribbons.  Beat in the chocolate flavoring/orange extract mixture.  Put the egg yolk mixture into a bowl that fits over the simmering water.  Set the bowl over the simmering pot and whisk it vigorously for 5-7 minutes until it is foamy and hot.

Remove the bowl from the hot water and set it into the bowl of cold water.  Whisk it for five minutes until the mixture is cool.  Take a few seconds to quickly wash the mixing bowl and get it ready to whip the egg whites. 

In the double boiler, melt the chocolate with the 4 tablespoons of water.  Once it is all melted and combined, remove it from the heat and whisk in the butter a little at a time until it is smooth and creamy.

Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture. 

Turn the mixer on and beat at high speed until soft peaks are formed, also adding the pinch of salt.  Sprinkle in the one tablespoon of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks are formed. 

Stir a little bit of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture.  Fold in the rest of the egg whites.  Refrigerate the mousse in a covered container in the fridge for a couple hours or you can also freeze the mousse in an airtight container for 3-4-5 hours.  Serve in small dishes.

I put the mousse into a piping bag with a large tip and piped it into the dishes.  No matter how you serve it, grab and spoon and dig in!  It may seem a little daunting to some to think of all the steps to making this, but it really did help to have everything ready and there really wasn’t anything difficult about each step, a few things just took a little arm muscle, but I can assure you, it’s worth it.

Happy 100th Birthday to Julia Child!