semi-sweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Ganache Brownies

January 16, 2018 by Dana

Hands up if you like a big old chocolate explosion of a brownie? These Chocolate Ganache Brownies are just that… Rich, decadent brownies topped with a delightfully creamy ganache. Basically Little Debbie on steroids. 🙂

Truth: In high school I worked at a buffet. We used to make boxed brownies and slather them with canned frosting. We didn’t even cover them up at night and I would still eat them, all dried out 3 days later, especially if the soft served ice cream they also had was involved. Brownies + Frosting = Heart Eyed Emoji.

Fast forward to when I went to Pastry Arts school. I realized there was a much, much better way to achieve this type of frosted brownie. GANACHE. The epitome of chocolate awesomeness. So versatile, so deliciously smooth and pretty. You can put it on cakes, pour it over desserts, and yes… you can also frost brownies with ganache.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you may want to show someone some love by whipping up a batch of these brownies as dessert. If your Valentine is into a super fudgy, semi-sweet chocolate brownie, then this recipe is perfect!

Valentine’s Day to me this year means my baby is almost full term. When I saw the Valentine’s Day stuff popping up at all the store’s my mind just kept telling me… you are one day closer. Keep going. It is almost over! 🙂 Being a mom of 4 boys already and being pregnant has been… well… hard. Everything hurts, I’m out of breath, my body is just tired of being pregnant. But alas, one day closer… one day closer.

Recipe Tips

This recipe is super easy, yet super easy to totally bomb. Take it from me, I’ve done it before!

Please, for the love of all things… line your 8×8 inch brownie pan with parchment paper. It will change your brownie life forever. More importantly, it will give you a nice little slab of perfect brownies that you can easily pull right out of the pan and top with your ganache.
If you are wondering who on earth bakes brownies in such a small pan, you are not alone my friend! Generally I scoff at all of the recipes that suggest a dinky little 8×8 pan. I have 4 and a half kids and a husband. I’m not here to waste my time making 9 brownies. HOWEVER…. these brownies are extremely decadent and one brownie will suffice. This is the ONLY brownies you will see coming out of my kitchen in an 8×8 pan. If you happen to be feeding your own little army and feel you might need more, go ahead and double the recipe and use a larger pan.
Ganache is super easy to make, but does require some cooling time. When you first mix your ganache, the consistency will not be right to put on the brownies immediately. You will need to put your ganache in the refrigerator until the consistency becomes thick and spreadable.
When cutting your beautiful Chocolate Ganache Brownies, there is a method to the madness. First, using a large chef knife is the best way to get a perfectly cut brownie. Second, running the knife under hot water and wiping it off before each cut will ensure you don’t mess up your ganache. I know, I know… tedious… however… aren’t they beautiful?!?! What I’m really saying is don’t take a butter knife and run it through your ganache topped brownies and expect it to look the way mine do. THEY WILL BE A HOT MESS.

*Brownie recipe borrowed from this here wee little website. 🙂 I have attempted several times to make this recipe “my own” by switching things out. What I learned is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The original recipe is perfect.

Coconut, Strawberry, Chocolate Chip Scones

February 15, 2017 by Dana

I’m so very much still in the Valentine’s Day spirit over here with these Coconut, Strawberry, Chocolate Chip scones! Or maybe, just maybe.. I had some strawberries and chocolate left over from my Salted Chocolate Covered Strawberries so I decided to put them to good use! <3 <3

Speaking of the Valentine’s Day spirit, I blogged about our Shrimp and Parmesan Strip Steak yesterday. It was our family Valentine’s Day meal and it was delicious! Valentine’s Day is always a great reason for me to go above and beyond in the kitchen and we had a great day. My husband also ate about 4 of these scones, so I’d say they were a hit!

Speaking of the scones, strawberry and chocolate are always a winning combo! I remember one of the first weeks in pastry arts school our chef asked us to think of some flavors that we’d like to put together in some cream puffs. I have no idea why but I was so nervous about it! I thought all day about what I wanted to make and at the end of the day all I could think of was strawberry pastry cream in the middle and chocolate on top. I was almost embarrassed to tell the chef that this is what I thought up. It just seemed to be too obvious of a choice.

And the chef was super happy about it and was like absolutely a great combination!

Never. Doubt. Yourself. 🙂

Sometimes it is totally fine to go with something safe!

Coconut Milk

So I feel like canned coconut milk is one of the best kept baking secrets! I have used it in everything from cookies to cupcakes to these scones and LOVE IT. I use it as a substitution in so many recipes and I have yet to have anything totally fail on me. If you are substituting coconut milk into a recipe have no fear, your final product will NOT take on an extremely coconut-ty flavor, and you may not even notice any coconut at all.

I also used the coconut milk in the glaze, which I felt was a bit more coconut then the scones themselves. If you are not a fan of coconut I would just omit it all together and use sour scream in the recipe, and regular milk in the glaze.

I know everyone thinks of the non-dairy coconut milk when you mention those two words, however the canned stuff is so much better in terms of ingredients. Yes, it is a fat source (I use the light version). However there are only 3 ingredients in the Native Forest Canned Coconut Milk that I used! 3 ingredients! They are organic coconut, water, and organic guar gum. If you have ever checked out the ingredient list on a carton of coconut milk they are quite lengthy.

Salted Chocolate Covered Strawberries

February 9, 2017 by Dana

You guys. These Salted Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day because let me tell you… your Valentine does not want one of those heart shaped things that contains crappy chocolate that not only tastes like poo but also has poo ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, artificial food dyes, and hydrogenated oils. Those hearts are the WORST.

Indeed one or two years in a row I received one of those heart shaped chocolate poo boxes from my husband and ummm… well… thanks for thinking of me I guess. Nothing says I love you like a bunch of fake tasting chocolates. Orange cream anyone? 🙂

I know, I know. Because I entered Giant yesterday and there was a huge arch of red and white balloons. There were bears, and flowers, and poo chocolates. They were so cute and tempting. Right? For a second I caught myself going “awwww” and then I remembered how gross those chocolates were, and how the companies who produce those chocolates continue to take something really simple and make it one big disastrous mess of ingredients that cover the entire back of the package.

Those companies don’t love us. Let’s not love them with our money!

A hop, skip, and a jump away from that big balloon arch sat the Strawberries. Right next to them were the chocolate “dips” for making chocolate covered strawberries. Again, a product that pops up every Valentine’s Day that is filled with poo ingredients. Of course, a product I just don’t understand in general. Why exactly does the chocolate you dip strawberries in have to have trans fats in it? And why is it necessary to buy a product that YOU STILL HAVE TO MELT YOURSELF just like regular chocolate that doesn’t contain a list of bad ingredients?

A long time ago I realized one thing about chocolate. Any product marketed as “melts” or “dips” has hydrogenated oils in it. I haven’t found one that hasn’t! It seems so senseless to me because after all, it is really just marketing. There is nothing different about how you would use the product, just the ingredients. So skip right over those products and move along to the baking isle filled with bags of chocolate chips and baking bars. We are simply going to take away the trans fats and add in a little coconut oil to get the same end result. It is that simple. Those companies could do the same thing, however they choose not to so I will not support them nor will I purchase their products when they start loosing money and change their ingredients like so many companies have done recently.

Tips for Choosing the Right Chocolate for your Salted Chocolate Covered Strawberries

So I’m just going to give it to you straight. I’ve tried multiple types of chocolate. I’ve tried the expensive chocolate in the organic isle and I’ve also tried the Hershey’s chocolate chips. Either one will do as both are 1,000 times better then anything we discussed previously. I used organic semi-sweet chocolate chips from Wegman’s because they were affordable and the ingredients checked out. Don’t beat yourself up about exactly what brand you are using or if they are organic or not. Just read the ingredient label and make sure there aren’t artificial flavors and hydrogenated oils in the product and you should be good.

Tips for Dipping the Strawberries

Some folks use the microwave to melt their chocolate/coconut oil combo and that is totally fine. I prefer to use the stove top over the microwave because I can keep my chocolate at a low, consistent temperature which is ideal for dipping. If your chocolate isn’t melted quite enough you will end up with chunky looking chocolate and wonder to yourself why the strawberries on my images look better then what you ended up with.

It is all about temperature!

I used a small sauté pan and put my chocolate and coconut oil right on the burner. Some folks use a double boiler and that works too but I like to keep things really simple. If you crank up the heat on your chocolate it will seize up and you will be left with a burnt mess. So put your chocolate on the lowest setting possible and use a spatula to continuously move the chocolate around while it is melting. Yes, it is a bit tedious but your Valentine will love you for it! <3 <3

After my chocolate was melted I turned my burner off but left the sauté pan on the burner so my chocolate stayed nice and smooth. I simply rolled each strawberry through the chocolate, using the side of the pan to wipe off the excess, and then placing the side I wiped off down onto my parchment paper.

Right after I placed each dipped strawberry onto my parchment paper I took a Pink Himalayan Salt Grinder and did one little twist and shake right over the strawberry. I also used clear India Tree sprinkles on my strawberries too which made them look really professional and nice! Then I ate like 10….. haha!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

August 18, 2014 by Dana

When the words “whole wheat chocolate cupcakes” come out of my mouth you are probably envisioning a dry, cardboard-like cupcake that was better left un-eaten. SO not the case here people! I would never suggest a dessert recipe that my family hasn’t thoroughly enjoyed, and these cupcakes are no exception. They are dark chocolate, moist, and have the creamiest cream cheese icing in the world that goes perfectly with the chocolate. This is my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe, and being whole wheat is just a bonus. No flavor is compromised here because if I’m eating the calories that come packed in a cupcake…. it better taste delicious!

I love a cupcake that tastes like it came straight from a high end bakery. One that uses whole, real ingredients and yields a product far superior to cake mixes and trans fat laden whipped topping. There is something so much tastier about a product that comes right out of your own oven, and looks beautiful! These babies are truly classic and satisfying. If your sweet tooth is over powering your brain take a few minutes out of your day and treat yourself, your family will love you for it! 😉

My secret ingredient in these: coffee! Coffee is going to do two things in this recipe. 1) Give your cupcakes a “dark chocolate” flavor and 2) give your cupcakes a light, fluffy texture. I didn’t even tell my husband I put coffee in these and guess what? He didn’t know because you can’t taste the coffee. It is simply there as a flavor booster and acid. Acidity in baking makes things lighter and fluffier so it is always a good thing (just like the buttermilk in your pancakes). When I make cupcakes I always include something acidic for this reason.

My other secret ingredient: orange zest in the cream cheese icing. I learned this trick almost immediately in pastry school. I can vividly remember the day… we were making Danish. Our instructor presented us with the option of using a filling she made and when I tasted it I just about melted. It was one of the best fillings I had ever tasted! I just had to know what was in it and she filled me in. Zest, zest, zest! ZEST! Orange zest will kick up the flavor of a cream cheese icing and take it to a whole ‘nother level! I mean a whole ‘nother level you’ve never known before! You have got to zest them oranges baby because that is the key to the *in Oprah voice* best EEEEVVVVEEEERRRR cream cheese icing!!!! So gimmicky of me, yet so true. Please excuse my gimmicky food blogger talk… because… you know that’s not my style! 😉