Chocolate Peppermint Torte

Isn't this torte gorgeous? I brought this showstopper to many holiday gatherings through the years. It is just as delicious as it is pretty, and there is never a crumb left. How can you go wrong with mint and chocolate. It's very rich and addictive, so beware!

Chocolate Peppermint Torte
Source: adapted from The Way to His Heart

Crumb Crust
1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (or regular or chocolate graham crackers)
1/2 stick butter, melted

Chocolate Peppermint Filling
3/4 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons butter, cut into 5 pieces
16 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon peppermint extract.

Crushed candy canes for garnish. (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly spray a tart pan with baking spray.

To make the crust: Mix together crumbs and melted butter. Transfer crumbs to prepared tart pan and press crumbs smoothly and evenly onto bottom and sides of pan. Chill for 10 minutes and then bake for 8 minutes. Let cool before filling.

To prepare filling: In a medium saucepan, heat heavy cream and butter on low heat until mixture is near boiling. Turn off heat and add hot cream mixture to chocolate chips. Let stand for 1 to 2 minutes to melt chocolate chips, and then whisk until smooth. Whisk in peppermint extract.

Pour chocolate mixture into prepared crust and spread to edges. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Refrigerate for about 2 hours or until set and firm. Store in refrigerator and serve chilled.

Sweet Baby Jesus! Cupcakes

We're big craft beer lovers. I feel like we're always on the hunt for a special brew. I love IPAs, but my favorite will always be a dark, heavy porter or stout (black IPAs also hold a special place in my heart!) Most of my friends are winos, but my friend Becca appreciates beer almost as much as I do. So when her birthday came around, I had the perfect idea for her cupcakes: chocolate peanut butter with beer incorporated into the cake. I used a chocolate peanut butter porter called Sweet Baby Jesus! by Duclaw. The brewery boasts that the beer is so good that you will exclaim it's name!

Sweet Baby Jesus! Cupcakes

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

1 and 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 oz. Sweet Baby Jesus! chocolate peanut butter porter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake tin with 12 paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. In another bowl, beat together oil, vinegar, vanilla, and beer with a hand mixer on medium-high speed. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake about 18–22 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Salted Peanut Butter Icing
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 stick butter (room temperature)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/4 teaspoon regular salt)

2–3 cups powdered sugar

2–3 tablespoons milk

Beat together peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth with a mixer on medium speed. With mixer on low speed, add powdered sugar one cup at a time and milk one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Add more milk or powdered sugar if needed. Beat until smooth and fluffy.

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart

I love pumpkin. And I don't care that pumpkin-flavored everything starts showing up in August. My goal is to try as many pumpkin foods as I can until I make myself sick of it. I usually make this layered pumpkin-cream pie for dessert every Thanksgiving, but this year I wanted to try something different. When I saw a recipe for a beautiful marbled pumpkin cheesecake tart, I knew I had to make it. It looked like a lot of steps to make it, but it was easy and turned out great. It was very delicious, and the cream cheese swirl complemented the pumpkin nicely.

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart
Source: slightly adapted from The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Crust
10 to 12 full graham cracker sheets

3 to 4 tablespoons butter (melted)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sugar

Cheesecake batter
4 oz. cream cheese (softened)
3 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
1 large egg yolk

1/4 cup heavy cream

Pumpkin batter
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 and 1/4 cups pumpkin purée
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream

For the crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Crush the graham crackers either using a food processor or put them in a large Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin or meat cleaver to crush them. 

Put the crumbs in a bowl (about 1 and 1/2 cups), add the cinnamon sugar and butter, and mix until combined.

Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch round (or equivalent size) tart pan.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, and cool on a wire rack.

For the cheesecake batter
Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and salt until creamy. 

Add the egg yolk and cream, and mix until smooth. Set aside.

For the pumpkin batter
Whisk the egg and egg white. Add pumpkin, sugars, salt, and spices, and mix until smooth.

Add the vanilla and cream, and mix until evenly combined.

Spread the pumpkin batter evenly over the cooled crust. 

Use a spoon to dollop the cheesecake batter over the pumpkin batter, and then run a knife through the cheesecake batter, dragging it into the pumpkin batter to create swirls.

Bake for 10 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for about 30 to 40 minutes (until the center is slightly jiggly).

Cool on a wire rack completely or can be refrigerated overnight.

Chocolate Chile Cupcakes

My friend loves spicy foods. When we go out to eat, she will ask the chef to make her dishes extra spicy. For her birthday, I knew I had to incorporate spice into her cupcakes. I took a basic chocolate recipe and added cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and chipotle chile powder. I topped the cupcakes with a cinnamon chocolate icing. I have to admit I may have added a little too much cayenne pepper for my tastes, but they got rave reviews—even from my friends who do not like spicy foods. I topped my friend's cupcake with a red jalapeno from my garden, which she devoured as if it were a sprinkle.



Chocolate Chile Cupcakes
Source: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

1 and 1/2 cups cake flour (I used all-purpose and subbed out three tablespoons for corn starch.)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

3 teaspoons ancho chile powder (use less to make it less spicy)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (use less to make it less spicy)

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cups water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake tin with 12 paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and spices, and set aside. In another bowl, beat together oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water with a hand mixer on medium-high speed. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake about 18–22 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Chocolate Cinnamon Icing

Source: adapted from Hershey

1 stick of butter
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Melt the butter, and stir in cocoa.

Add cinnamon, and alternately add powdered sugar and milk while beating.

If needed, add in more milk. Stir in vanilla. 

Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad

I threw together this Greek pasta salad with leftover ingredients I had from making a layered Greek hummus dip. It is a perfect side dish (or even main dish) when you are craving something Greek.

Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad
Source: Inspired by Kraft via Pinterest

1 package of cheese tortellini
1/3–1/2 cup Greek vinaigrette
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 large cucumber (chopped)
1/3 cup roasted red peppers (chopped)
1/3 cup kalamata olives (chopped)
1 teaspoon fresh oregano

Cook tortellini according to directions on package and drain.

Rinse tortellini with cold water. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Add feta, cucumber, peppers, olives, and dressing and toss to combine.

Sprinkle with oregano.

Keep leftovers refrigerated.

Black Forest Cake

Isn't this tiny cake adorable? It has three layers of chocolate cake filled with cherry pie filling and chocolate chip whipped cream and topped with more whipped cream, cherries, chocolate chips, and festive fall sprinkles. It was so delicious! The tart cherries paired well with the bitter chocolate cake and sweet whipped cream.

Chocolate Chip Whipped Cream

1 and 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/8 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Place bowl of electric mixer and whisk attachment in fridge for 30 minutes. Combine whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold in chocolate chips.

Turkey Cheese Platter

Isn't this turkey cheese platter an adorable way to present cheeses for Thanksgiving? All it takes is a variety of cheeses, half of a pear, some olives (or whatever else you choose), and an imagination! I saw a similar idea on Pinterest and ran with it!

Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta

I love the tang and earthiness of goat cheese. I think it pairs very well with veggies and pasta. This pasta recipe is light, creamy and tangy and easy to toss together on a busy weeknight. I paired it with crab cakes for an elegant weekend dinner.

Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta
Source: adapted from Bon Appetit via Pinterest

1 pound pasta
2 cups of chopped sauteed vegetables (I used a red pepper and small zucchini.) 
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2.5 oz. soft fresh goat cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to instructions on package.
Reserve 1 cup of cooking water when draining pasta.
In a large bowl, combine olive oil, lemon peel, and goat cheese.
Add pasta, veggies, and 1/4 cup of reserved water at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Season pasta with salt and pepper to taste and add parmesan cheese.