The Witchery

So, I'm back. Yes I know, it's been while. Life is life.

So for Christmas I got a Belgian waffle maker (one of few kitchen gadgets I didn't already own). One of my neighbors had me over for dinner last night, so I had her over for breakfast this morning. First time ever making waffles and they came out great.

( Sweet Potato Pecan Waffles )

Mom was heading off to vacation yesterday when she asked if I wanted some over-ripe bananas she was about the throw out. "Nah.... I don't really need.... er.... OK", realizing that today was supposed to be pretty damp and dark and perfect for baking. So of course the sun is bright and shining. But I still committed baking.

( Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins )

I did warn you that me being bored and a bit depressed was going to mean quite a bit more baking. That and the holiday season is always a busy baking time. I was tasked by Mom to bake a dessert for Thanksgiving dinner that was a) not chocolate (heretic) and b) not very big, since there is only going to be 3 of us this year. I found a cool sounding bundt cake recipe, and decided to try out a few of my mini-bundt pans (yes, I have several different kinds - sigh). They came out extraordinarily well and made the whole condo smell wonderful.

( Spiced Cranberry Mini-Bundt Cakes )

Still out of work (It's been two whole weeks people! Hire me already!). Went to a Mensa gathering in Boston this past weekend. They had a pie contest. So of course I had to bake something. This pie came in second place.

( Chocolate Chip Maple Pecan Pie )

Still in a bit of a baking mood (brought the salty cookies to work today - put em in the kitchen at 9:00am - picked up the empty Tupperware at 9:15am). So tonight I thought I'd try the Turtle Bars recipe from the May 2005 issue of Real Simple.

The top layers came out fantastic. The cookie layer is a bit dry and crumbly. I will definitely make this again, but I will look for a better shortbread recipe for the bottom.

Turtle Bars
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup toffee-and-chocolate baking pieces (such as Heath or Skör)

Heat oven to 350° F. Combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until a crumbly dough is formed. Press the dough firmly into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake until just golden, about 13 minutes. Whisk together the condensed milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour the filling over the baked crust. Sprinkle the pecans, chocolate chips, and toffee pieces evenly over the filling. Bake until the filling is set, the edges are golden brown, and the toffee is melted, about 25 minutes. Cool completely in the refrigerator, about 2 hours. Cut into 32 bars.

This is a bit of a recipe mutt, with the filling coming from Cook's Illustrated and the cake coming from The Food Network. I had a friend who made the entire Cook's Illustrated recipe and thought the cake came out too dry (it had that chocolate sawdust texture common to cakes that just don't work). So, I stuck with my tried and true basic chocolate cake recipe, simply using Dutch cocoa instead of regular.

German Chocolate Cake

Filling
(from January 2005 Cook's Illustrated)

4 large egg yolks
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 cup (7 oz) sugar
1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups (7 oz) sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/3 cups (6 1/2 oz) finely chopped pecans, toasted

Whisk yolks in medium saucepan; gradually whisk in evaporated milk. Add sugars, butter, and salt and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is boiling, frothy and slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl, whisk in vanilla and coconut. Cool until just warm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least two hours (I usually make it the day before)

Chocolate Cake Recipe

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (either Natural or Dutch - both work)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by rubbing with butter, sprinkling with flour and tapping out extra. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix together with a wooden spoon then set aside. In small bowl combine eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat well with hand mixer. Slowly add boiling water and mix. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and fold and stir until smooth. Pour batter into pans, dividing evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove cake from pans and cool on racks.

Remove filling from fridge, and stir in pecans.

With a serrated knife (I use a wire cake slicer), cut each cake into two even layers. Using an offset spatula, layer the first level with 1/4 of the filling, spreading it to the very edge of the cake and leveling the surface. Carefully place the next layer on top, and repeat until complete.

Refrigerate. Let stand 20 minutes before serving.