Biscotti Toscani and Triple Chocolate Decadance

Years ago I picked up a cute little book about biscotti.  I got it as much for the art work as for the recipes, but I was pleasantly surprised when I started trying out some of them. Above is a picture Biscotti Toscani, but I will also list my version of Double Chocolate Decadence, which I call Triple Chocolate Decadence.

Biscotti Toscani
The book describes this recipe as having a delicate flavor.  Ideal for savoring plain or with ice cream, frozen yogurt or cappuccino.  I couldn't agree more!

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole almonds

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I tend to put in at least double that)

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

2 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1) Place almonds on cookie sheet and place in a 325 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  You can tell when they're done because they smell like toasted almonds.  Let cool and cut the small ones into halves.  Cut the larger ones into thirds.  Hold onto both ends to prevent them from flying all over the kitchen when you cut them.

2) Beat sugar and butter until fluffy. 

3) Beat in eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and orange zest.

4) In a bowl, combined dry ingredients.  Add to the wet ingredients and mix until blended.

5) Add almonds and fold in.  I usually do the last bit of mixing with my hands so that the nuts are distributed evenly.

6) Roll into a log shape and place on a greased and floured pan.  Then flatten to about 1/2 - 3/4 inch high as shown here.

7) Place in a 325 degree oven for 25-28 minutes or until lightly golden along the bottom.

8) Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a cutting board.

9) With a serrated knife, cut at a 45 degree angle, or as close to 45 degrees as you can.  This photo is of the Triple Chocolate Decadence recipe, but the cutting is the same.  Broken pieces should be eaten immediately to see if it is good enough to serve.

10) Lay cut pieces back on the pan and bake 5 for minutes.  Flip them over and bake 5 additional minutes.

11) Allow to cool and place in a sealed container.

  

Triple Chocolate Decadence
The original recipe, Double Chocolate Decadence, does not dip them in chocolate like I do.  They prefer milk chocolate, whereas mine have semi-sweet.

Ingredients

2/3 cups whole almonds

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoons Amaretto or Kahlua or double-strength coffee

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 bar Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate (or any type you like), chopped

Directions

1) Place almonds on cookie sheet and place in a 325 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  You can tell when they're done because they smell like toasted almonds.  Let cool and cut the small ones into halves.  Cut the larger ones into thirds.  Hold onto both ends to prevent them from flying all over the kitchen when you cut them.

2) Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

3) Beat in eggs and liqueur or coffee.

4) In a bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

5) Add dry ingredients to wet ones and mix until blended.

6) Fold in nuts and chocolate.  Do final mixing with your hand so that chocolate and nuts are evenly distributed.  Lick fingers, wash hands.

7) Roll into a log shape and place on a greased and floured pan.  Then flatten to about 1/2 - 3/4 inch high as shown in the first recipe.

8) Place in a 325 degree oven for 25-28 minutes or until lightly golden along the bottom.

9) Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a cutting board.

10) With a serrated knife, cut at a 45 degree angle, or as close to 45 degrees as you can. 

11) Lay pieces back on the pan and bake 5 minutes.  Flip the pieces over and bake 5 additional minutes.

12) While the biscotti cools, melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler.  Be careful to melt it slowly and try not to get the chocolate above 92 degrees so that it stays in temper.  Dip the biscotti in the chocolate and place on a cooling rack to dry.  Spread on leftover chocolate to make thicker if desired.

13) Allow to dry, then place in sealed container.

14) These are a great treat with a cup of coffee or other warm beverage...

...or brought to work for a birthday!

Happy Birthday Shawn!

Dark Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

My co-worker and friend, Timothy, likes dark chocolate cupcakes so I went looking for something inspiring on the web.  I found this, but when I tried making their icing I was disappointed.  Also, my experience tells me that cake recipes found on the internet can be disasters.  So I decided to let Duncan Hines and the Keebler Elves help me out, but I also used my own recipes for the ganache and the icing.  They were so good that after Timothy's birthday I made more for everyone who missed out.  

Unlike some of my creations, this one only took an evening after work.  Timing is important though because butter needs to be at room temperature, and ganache and cupcakes need time to cool before you can assemble everything.  Here is how I did it, in order, so that it all fit in before bed time.

First of All

Get out 4 (not 6, that's just the picture) sticks of butter and let them come to room temperature.  You will need them for the icing so make a little Stone Henge out of them so that they can warm up while you do other things.  Do this a few hours ahead of time if you are able to.  If you're short on time, it helps to unwrap them and cut them into chunks. 

Dark Chocolate Ganache 

Ingredients

1 bar Ghirardelli dark chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 tablespoon Karo Light Corn Syrup

Directions

1) Put chocolate bits in a bowl that can withstand heat.  

2) Heat the cream and syrup in a small sauce pan until simmering.  

3) Pour cream over chocolate pieces and let sit for 1 minute.

4) Stir with a whisk until well mixed.

5) Cover with Saran Wrap directly on the surface so that it will not form a skin.

6) Let sit for 20 minutes.

Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix

Water, eggs, and oil as specified on the box

Directions

1) Follow the directions on the back of the box.  They work just fine.

2) Here is my trick for making cupcakes quickly, neatly, and roughly the same size.  Pour the batter into a 1 gallon Ziplock bag.  Squeeze the air out, and cut off the corner.  Use your hand to control how much goes in each cupcake liner.

3) Don't worry if some are flat and some are rounded on top.  The ones in the top of my oven turned out round.  No matter.

4) While the cupcakes are baking, your 20 minute timer for the ganache has probably gone off.  Remove the Saran Wrap and whisk again.  Cover it up and let it sit on the counter for an hour or more.  When it gets to the right temperature it will be like icing.  

5) Another thing to do while cupcakes are baking or cooling is to put a few of the Keebler Grasshopper cookies in a small Ziplock bag and crush them.  This will be part of the decoration.  

6) If it's warm and the cookies you plan to use for decoration are sticking together, put them in the fridge.  When they're cold, pry them apart with a small knife, and keep them in the fridge until you are ready to use them.  Remember only half of the cookie will show so if they get messed up a little because of the weather it's ok.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream (this is a keeper!)

Ingredients

4 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into roughly 8 chunks per stick

1 cup sugar

4 large egg whites

Directions

1) Place sugar and egg whites in a heat proof bowl.  The metal bowl that comes with a stand mixer is perfect.

2) Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to the touch.  The best way to know when you're done is to rub it between your fingers.  When you can't feel the grains of sugar, you're done.  

3) Remove the bowl from the pan.  Place on stand mixer with the whisk attachment.

4) Beat on high until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.

5) Change to the paddle attachment and add the butter one chunk at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

6) After all the butter is added, beat on medium high until thick and very smooth.

7) Add mint to taste, then food coloring if desired.

8) Put the icing in a large piping bag.  I used a 1M tip, which is common for cupcakes, but you can use what ever you prefer.

Assembly

1) By now your ganache should be the right consistency to spread on the cupcakes.  I put it in a Ziplock bag and cut off the end, and I also used a small knife to spread it around.

2) Let the ganache sit for a little while to become thicker.  It doesn't need to be completely dry, but we don't want the icing sliding off.

3) The icing recipe makes enough to be quite generous.  Pipe it on so that some of the ganache still shows around the edges, and make it high enough that when you shove that cookie in, there is enough icing to support it.  Then sprinkle with the crumbled cookies.  

4) Top it off with a cookie on each and you have a really special and delicious treat.

Happy Birthday Timothy!