We had dinner tonight at my dad's with my Aunt, Uncle, and Grandpa. It was really nice to see them all, since we don't get together very often.
I was in charge of dessert and decided to try making a smaller version of the "Great Wall of Chocolate" cake they have at PF Chang's. It wasn't perfect, but it was YUMMY! The raspberry sauce was especially good. Nicole, I figured you'd like the recipe for it so you could make it at home as well, since you're the one who introduced it to me :) I have the recipes at the bottom of the post.
While I'm blogging about food, I'll mention that Nick made me a wonderful breakfast on Valentine's day with heart-shaped pancakes.
We also baked a cherry pie on President's day in honor of Tiff-a-roo!
Chocolate cakes: I used the recipe on the back of the package of Hershey's cocoa, so I won't bother typing it up. *Thanks, again, Nicole!* She has tried it with other brands of cocoa and said it just isn't the same.
Chocolate ganache: This is what I used for the frosting (and filling) because it makes it look super smooth and shiny. It was tricky and messy pouring it on. Next time I would set the cake on a cookie rack so that the chocolate can drip off more easily and not make such a mess.
2 cups heavy cream/whipping cream
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate
2 tsp. vanilla
Heat the cream until boiling, then immediately remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for a bit to start melting the chocolate, then stir until smooth. You can add a little butter for added shine if desired.
I put some in the refrigerator to cool faster. Once it was cool, I whipped it to use as the filling - it firms it up and makes it fluffy.
The rest I poured over the cake so that it was evenly coated. I put it in the fridge to set, then coated it one more time.
If I'd had them, I would have put mini chocolate chips around the edge.
Raspberry Sauce: This was SO GOOD! It could be used for a lot of purposes (with melons, pears, short cake, etc.), but goes great with the chocolate.
2 2/3 cups raspberries (I used 1 package of frozen)
3 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. ground ginger (it sounds weird, but it's good)
Puree the raspberries in a blender or food processor. Add the honey, lemon juice and ginger, then continue to puree. Strain and discard the seeds.
3 comments:
That cake is so evil! I looked up the nutrition info on it once and it's over 2000 calories!! But that doesn't stop me for eating it...and I would've eaten yours, too:)
Wow, that cake is beautiful and looks absolutely delicious!
HOORAY for the cherry pie!! :-) I asked the rangers at the Lincoln Home if they had ever heard of having cherry pie for President's Day, and they hadn't. I was shocked.
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