Nutella Crunch Ice Cream

I’m not a big Nutella fan, but there are a couple of them in my house, so I decided to give this a try after seeing it at yourhomebasedmom.com. Keep in mind that this should be eaten in small amounts because it is rich, and it tastes better than Nutella ever did.

Nutella Crunch Ice Cream

1 1/2 c whole milk

2 c heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 c half & half

1 1/2 c sugar

1 1/2 T vanilla

1/4 t salt

2 c Rice Krispies cereal

1 cup Nutella

Mix all the ingredients except the last two in a stainless steel bowl and place in the refrigerator. Heat the Nutella over low heat and add the Rice Krispies, stir till incorporated. Please the mixture on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and freeze for 15 minutes.

Pour the ice cream mixture into an ice cream maker as per manufacturers instructions. Toward the end of the cycle, add some of the Nutella Krispie pieces while it churns. When the ice cream is the right consistency, move into containers, layering the Nutella pieces into the ice cream. Freeze till firm.

*This recipe uses most of a small jar of Nutella, the rest of which can be poured into the layers of ice cream, forming a ribbon of yum throughout.

Makes 5 pints

 

 

Éclair Torte

 

This dessert has been around for many years, I have no memory of where I first learned of it, or even when I began serving it. The base has no sugar in it, giving it more of a European taste.

Éclair Torte

1 c water

1/2 c unsalted butter

1/4 t. salt (or use salted butter and leave this out)

1 c flour

4 eggs

1 package cream cheese (8 oz, room temperature)

2 packages vanilla instant pudding (3.4 oz each)

3 c cold milk

12 oz whipped topping (I make my own)

chocolate syrup for decorating

Bring the first three ingredients to a boil in a saucepan . Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball is formed. Remove from heat and let stand for five minutes. Add eggs and mix until smooth. Spread the mixture into a greased 13×9 pan and bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Cool completely.

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, pudding mix and milk until smooth. Spread the mixture over the cooled puff and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Spread whipped cream over the top, sealing it. Drizzle with chocolate syrup just before serving.

 

Butter Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

I needed to bake a cake for a house full of people and had a taste for lemons, so I put this together and it worked well! I buy jarred lemon curd (Dickinson’s) but you can make it yourself. This cake is good the first day, but even better when the lemon curd has had time to sink into the cake some. This is a rich cake, something I would only make for a crowd so we cant have too much of it!

Butter Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

1 package plain yellow cake mix

1 cup milk

1 stick butter, melted

3 eggs

2t vanilla

1/2 jar lemon curd

 

Buttercream Frosting

1 stick butter

3 3/4 c powdered sugar, sifted

3-4 T milk

2 t vanilla

zest and juice of one lemon

Oven 350 degrees. Grease two round pans and set aside. Place the cake mix, milk, butter, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and blend 2-3 minutes until well combined. Divide the batter into the two pans equally and bake side by side 27-29 minutes. Remove to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile prepare the buttercream frosting by blending all ingredients, add more milk if needed, until the desired consistency is reached.

When the cake is cool to the touch, place the first one on the cake plate and spread 1/4 jar of lemon curd across the top of the layer. Add the second layer and spread 1/4 jar of the lemon curd over the to layer. Carefully frost the top and sides of the cake over the lemon curd. Serves 16

 

 

Fallen Chocolate Cake (gluten free)

I wanted to take something deeply chocolate to a friend’s house the other night, and he needs his food to be gluten-free, so it was a good excuse to finally make this cake. I saw it in Bon Appetit magazine a couple of years ago and tucked it away, I really like the idea of it being an obviously fallen cake. It was dense and fudgy, not overly sweet at all, and really needed the whipped cream to offset the richness of it.

Fallen Chocolate Cake

1/2 c unsalted butter

3/4 c plus 2T sugar

10 oz bittersweet chocolate (61-72% cacao), coarsely chopped

2 T oil

6 eggs

2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t vanilla

3/4 t salt

1 c heavy cream

3 T powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9 inch springform pan and dust with sugar.

Combine chocolate, oil and butter in the top of a double boiler, with the bottom pan filled with simmering water and allow ingredients to melt while stirring over medium heat.

In two bowls, separate 4 eggs with whites in one and yolks in the other. To the yolks bowl add cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, 1/4 c sugar, and remaining two eggs and whisk until smooth. Gradually add yolk mixture to chocolate mixture, blending well.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites on high until frothy, add 1/2 c sugar and beat until firm peaks form. Gently fold in egg whites into chocolate mixture in two additions and folding only until incorporated. Scrape batter into prepared springform pan and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Bake 35-45 minutes, until the top is puffed and starting to crack  and cake is pulling away from the pan. Allow to cool completely in the pan, the cake will collapse in the center as it cools. Mix the remaining ingredients on high speed until soft peaks form. Mound the whipped cream in the center of the cake.

 

 

 

Too Much Chocolate Cake

This is a favorite in our house, it is quick and easy to make and it satisfies the most intense chocolate craving. I’m pretty sure we originally found it on Allrecipes.com and that is where this picture came from. We are most likely to make it for someone else or when a group of people are expected, because it is hard to eat more than one piece of this rich cake.

Too Much Chocolate Cake

1 pkg Devils Food Chocolate Cake mix

1 5.9oz Instant Chocolate Pudding

1 c sour cream (I use greek yogurt)

1 c vegetable oil (I use safflower oil)

4 eggs

1/2 c warm water

2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Glaze

1 c semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 stick butter

2 T corn syrup

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except the chocolate chips with a mixer. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into a greased bundt pan and back for 35-40 minutes, until the cake springs back. Let cool for an hour before turning the cake out. Make the glaze by heating the ingredients over low heat, pour over cooled cake.

 

 

 

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Bon Appetit magazine shared this recipe in the most recent issue, and I have made it a couple of times already. It is smooth like pudding, and satisfying like a dessert should be. I have used Hershey’s cocoa and Special Dark, and prefer the dark chocolate version, but that wasn’t surprising to me. If you leave off the whipped cream, this is vegan, dairy free and sugar free.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

2 large avocados

1 t vanilla

3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c pure maple syrup

1/4 c agave nectar

1/4 c fresh orange juice

1/2 t salt

3/4 c hot water

Scoop the flesh of avocados into a blender and add all the ingredients except the water. Blend to a coarse puree and add the hot water and more orange juice until the desired consistency is reached. Divide among 6 ramekins and chill for at least two hours, up to three days covered. Blend 1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream and one tablespoon of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form and dollop over the pudding, sprinkle with cocoa nibs.

 

 

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

This is one of my most requested recipes, I don’t think I got it from anyone else, I just decided to add some chocolate to a standard pecan pie many years ago. There are some recipes that have a ribbon of fudge going through the pie, this is not like that, it’s more of a suggestion of chocolate that takes pecan pie to a whole new level. This picture is not mine, it’s from MarthaStewart.com because she has a photography department.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

1 9″ pie crust, baked

3 eggs

2/3 c sugar

1/2 t salt

1/3 c butter, melted

1 c corn syrup

1 c whole pecans (I use more like 1 1/2 c)

1 1/4 c mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Set oven to 375 degrees. Blend eggs, sugar, salt, butter and corn syrup. Fold in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour into the baked pie shell and dot with extra pecans as needed. Bake 40-50 minutes and allow to cool before cutting.