Chocolate Mini Cakes

Chocolate Mini Cakes

Jill and I were asked to cater a mother and daughter event recently for 150 ladies. They wanted to recognize these girls for their achievements in the LDS personal progress program and wanted to create a tea party type atmosphere complete with a tea party type dessert. We took the challenge and decided that it had to be chocolate and it had to be PINK! What we came up with were some chocolate mini cakes decorated with a pink frosting flower and pearl center on top, a strawberry in a dollop of Ready whip, colored chocolate mint candies sprinkled around the plate, and pink lemonade to drink. Of course we forgot to take a picture (yes, we are not the brightest of the bunch when it comes to remembering to take pictures...it could also have to do with the fact that my picture taking devices are either my cell phone or my camera that is held together with duct tape!) Anyway, here are the chocolate mini cakes that we served. Not too hard to make even though it takes a few recipes combined to make each part of the cake just right, (you will recognize each of the recipes as ones we have used before!) but go and make someone feel special by making these cutest little cakes today! You can even make them the day before your event and keep them in the fridge! ENJOY!

Chocolate Mini Cakes
Otherwise known as upside down cupcakes using our favorite chocolate bundt cake recipe!

1 devils food cake mix, Duncan Hines is favorite (do not make according to package)
1 (4 serving) instant chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
½ cup warm water
½ cup vegetable oil
Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Blend with electric mixer for 1 minute. Scrape down sides and continue to mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Generously grease and sprinkle cocoa to coat 24-30 dark non-stick muffin tin cups. (My favorite is to actually use the cooking spray that has flour in it, expensive but worth it!) Spoon batter into the muffin tins filling only about 1/2 or so full. Bake at 350 for 13-14 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached but not wet batter. Let cool in the pan for about 10 mins and then using a knife, carefully remove the mini cakes and invert "bottoms up" on a cooling rack to finish cooling. Cool completely before filing, but if not using immediately, they need to be put on parchment paper in an air tight container as soon as they are cool so they won't dry out.

Filling:
Otherwise known as Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling

6 TB flour
1 cup milk
1 cup real butter (MUST be good quality butter!)
1 cup sugar (granulated, not powdered sugar)
2 tsps vanilla extract
In a small saucepan, whisk together the flour and milk. Heat on medium heat whisking continuously until it starts to thicken. Stir and cook until you barely start to see streaks of the bottom of the pan (it should still be mostly liquid though) and quickly get off the heat still stirring. Put a mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the mixture into the strainer and stir with a rubber spatula to push it through, cleaning off the bottom of the strainer when you're finished. You should end up with a nice, smooth mixture. Put mixture in fridge and let it cool completely. In an electric mixer, beat the butter and the sugar a couple of minutes until fluffy. Use the whisk attachment on an electric stand mixer. Then while beating, pour in the cooled milk mixture, then the vanilla. Beat to combine and then scrape down bowl. It will look goopy and lumpy at this point! Just wait...beat on medium high for 7-8 minutes, longer if needed. After 7-8 mins. it will have transformed into a gorgeous and fluffy, light and silky frosting or filling!

Use a long (Wilton Bismarck) tip and put tip 3/4 of the way into the center of each cake, filling and lifting out of the cake until you can see the cake "plumping" (oooh, is that a word, if it is, I certainly hope that "plumping" is never used in a sentence to describe this girl!) and starting to come out the top hole. You can also cut out a piece of the cake and replace after filling, but the decorating tip is much faster and easier I think.

Helpful notes:*Use real butter that is a good quality, cheap brands do weird things!*If after 7-8 min. it's not fluffy, keep going and increase your mixing speed.*Store at room temperature, it may separate in the fridge, can store overnight in a well sealed container. *This recipe really isn't as hard as it sounds, just follow the hints and give it a try, you will LOVE it!


What a better way to "frost" these mini cakes than with real chocolate!...
Chocolate Ganache
3/4 C heavy cream
2 T real butter, melted
8 oz semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped (or use good quality chocolate chips)
Put chocolate pieces in a bowl. Pour melted butter over it. Place cream in microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes- it needs to be at a simmer. Immediately pour over chocolate and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for about 3 minutes and then stir until smooth. Let it cool until it's a good spreading consistency and then spread on top of filled mini cakes. Use about a tablespoon chocolate and drop in the center of each cake. Then use the back of your spoon to spread the chocolate around the top, allowing the chocolate to lovingly drip down the sides of the cake. If your chocolate in the bowl gets too thick to spread, just put it back in the microwave and reheat for about 30 seconds or so.

Decorating the mini cakes:
Make sure the you give the ganache time to cool and set before decorating or else you will have a melty mess! To decorate the cakes, we used just a regular buttercream frosting (you can even just buy that stuff in a can if you want!) and added pink (3 or so drops of red depending on how much frosting you have) food coloring to it. (Try two drops of red and 1 drop of yellow for a pretty peachish-pink color too!) Use a trusty Wilton 1M Star tip and decorating bag and hold the tip upright, just touching the center of the cake and squeeze! It will come out a beautiful flower if you just let the petals form and gently release and lift when the desired flower size is achieved.


These cakes are such a hit, they are worth the extra time and effort we promise! If you want to simplify, just use silver metal cupcake holder cups and make them into cupcakes, or just don't fill them...but we insist you use the fabulous chocolate GANACHE!

Cashew Chicken Crepes with Creamy Parmesan Sauce

Cashew Chicken Crepes with Creamy Parmesan Sauce
Original recipe from Darla Evanson

This recipe is so incredibly rich and delicious and it has a very pretty presentation. Jill tried it first at a ladies Relief Society night and it was love at first bite! Gratefully, the talented caterer friend who made them was gracious enough to share her recipe to our delight and benefit! This recipe is definitely "sensational" but not as "simple" but be sure to read the notes at the end of the recipe where Jill and I have found to help make the process more simple. These crepes would be wonderful for a nice dinner party, ladies book club night, or to impress in-laws (we can speak from experience because we have made them for each of these occasions and they were a hit each time!)

Crepes: makes 14-20 thin crepes
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons melted butter

Filling: fills 14
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup cashews-finely chopped
3 Tablespoons chopped green onions
8 ounces fresh mushrooms-sliced
1 lb rotisserie chicken chunks- cut in small pieces
1 1/2 cups cut up broccoli -steamed
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Topping Sauce:
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese - canned
1 cup cashews and chopped parsley for garnish

Crepes - Blend all ingredients in the blender until smooth. Let sit for a few minutes for batter to thicken up. Cook crepes and place between waxed paper. *See hints below for how to be successful at making crepes!
Filling and Topping Crepes - In a large skillet, heat butter. Saute onions and mushrooms. Add chicken pieces and cook about 5 minutes or until warmed through. Mix whipping cream, Parmesan cheese and soy sauce and add to skillet. Stir in broccoli and ¼ c. cashews. Fill crepes. Roll and place in greased 9x13 pan. Mix whipping cream and Parmesan cheese in small saucepan and warm up. Drizzle filled crepes with a bit of sauce and spread to cover top of crepes. This keeps the crepe moist while baking. Cover and bake at 450 until bubbly - 10 minutes or less, just until warmed through. Drizzle with the rest of the sauce before serving. Garnish with finely chopped cashews and fresh parsley to serve.
(When I make this for a weeknight meal for my family, I make the filling using skim evaporated milk instead of whipping cream, and serve over hot brown rice or quinoa. The evaporated milk makes it runnier, so it would not work as well if you were filling crepes.)

*Hints for successful crepe making:
Heat a nonstick skillet to medium heat for about 3 minutes. (Our favorite pan is of course a crepe pan which you can actually find at Spoons and Spice for a very reasonable price, $15ish.)Butter pan. When butter stops sizzling, lift pan of the heat, at an angle while pouring 1/8-1/4 cup of batter (depending on size of crepes you desire) into pan and use a circular motion to help spread the batter into a circular shape. Place pan back on heat and cook until edges are set and you can run a spatula under it, about 30 or so seconds. Flip crepe and cook another 20-30 seconds. Remove crepe from pan and either keep warm in the oven or cool to room temperature.

Ways to make the recipe more "simple":
You can make the crepes a day or so in advance, just make sure they are on wax or parchment paper on a plate and cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.
Buy the pre-sliced mushrooms that they sell in 8 oz. packages in the produce section. (Although I usually slice them in half again with my spatula while they are in the pan because I like them a little smaller.)
Frozen broccoli pieces work just as well, just microwave them in a bowl with some water until tender.
You can cut up your rotisserie chicken in advance as well (make sure you use rotisserie chicken for this recipe, they are so tender!)

OH...CREPES! Class

I can't believe it's been a whole month since we taught this class and we've been too busy to post these recipes! This class was fun and forgive the play on words with the title...it was either Oh crepe! or Holy crepe!, neither of which is probably very respectable so forgive us. (Although it is kind of fun to say if you stub your toe or something.) Anyway, crepes seem to be on the main scene these days if you want to serve something fancy. They are a bit of work, not as much work as time consuming. You know what we always say though, "It's the time and effort you put into something that makes someone feel special." So here are some yummy ways to make someone feel special with CREPES! So pretty, so delicious, so versatile, and yes...so FRENCH! So we also included some fun ways to make it a French night, oui oui!


Cashew Chicken Crepes with Creamy Parmesan Sauce
Original recipe from Darla Evanson

Crepes: makes 20 thin crepes
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons melted butter

Filling: fills 14
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup cashews-finely chopped
3 Tablespoons green onions
8 ounces fresh mushrooms-sliced
1 lb rotisserie chicken chunks- cut in small pieces
1 1/2 cups cut up broccoli -steamed
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Topping Sauce:
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese - canned
1 cup cashews and chopped parsley for garnish

Crepes - Blend all ingredients in the blender until smooth. Let sit for a few minutes for batter to thicken up. Cook crepes and place between waxed paper. Filling and Topping Crepes - In a large skillet, heat butter. Saute onions and mushrooms. Add chicken pieces and cook about 5 minutes or until warmed through. Mix whipping cream, Parmesan cheese and soy sauce. Stir in broccoli and ¼ c. cashews. Fill crepes. Roll and place in greased 9x13 pan. Mix whipping cream and Parmesan cheese in small saucepan and warm up. Drizzle filled crepes with a bit of sauce and spread to cover top of crepes. This keeps the crepe moist while baking. Cover and bake at 450 until bubbly - 10 minutes or less, just until warmed through. Drizzle with the rest of the sauce before serving. Garnish with finely chopped cashews and fresh parsley to serve.

(Notes- when I make this for a weeknight meal for my family, I make the filling using skim evaporated milk instead of whipping cream, and serve over hot brown rice or quinoa. The evaporated milk makes it runnier, so it would not work as well if you were filling crepes.)


Ways to Fill and Fold a Crepe:
Blintz- spread filling in center and roll, serve with crepe edge down
Half moon- spread filling over half of crepe, fold remaining half over filling
Triangle- same as half moon, only fold half moon shape in half again


Crepe Recipe: For a savory crepe, omit the sugar. For a sweetened dessert crepe, add sugar!
2 large eggs
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 cup flour
1 1/3 cups milk
½ teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons sugar (omit for savory crepes)
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor just a few seconds until combined and smooth, or whisk by hand until there are no lumps. Let sit in refrigerator for a few minutes or up to 2 days, so let it thicken a little, remixing just slightly when ready to use. Heat a nonstick skillet to medium heat for about 3 minutes. Butter pan. When butter stops sizzling, lift pan of the heat, at an angle while pouring 1/8-1/4 cup of batter (depending on size of crepes you desire) into pan and use a circular motion to help spread the batter into a circular shape. Place pan back on heat and cook until edges are set and you can run a spatula under it, about 30 or so seconds. Flip crepe and cook another 20-30 seconds. Remove crepe from pan and either keep warm in the oven or cool to room temperature.

Savory Crepe fillings:
Any meat (deli or cooked and diced) or cheeses.
Soft cheeses and fresh herbs such as goat cheese and chives or fresh mozzarella and basil.
Chopped and steamed or sauteed vegetables with soft cheeses, mushrooms, and herbs.

Sweet Crepe Fillings:
Creamy éclair type filling (see recipe below).
Nutella
Any sliced fruit or berries mixed with sugar (allow to sit for a few mins).
Spoon juice over top.
Softened vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce or sauteed apples and warm caramel sauce.

Sweet Crepe Cream Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter (½ stick of butter), softened
¼ C. sugar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon rind
1 8oz. tub Cool Whip
Mix together cream cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon rind until creamy. Fold in Cool whip. Spoon a tablespoon or so of the filling down the center of crepe and roll. Top with favorite toppings such as fruit or ganache (chocolate glaze) or any of the toppings suggested above.


French Bistro Dinner Party Ideas:
Chalk board with menu written
Simple white or beige cotton table cloth, simple dishes and napkins
Bud vase with single stem rose
Votive candles
French music
Everyday type goblets
Cheese and bread tray
Dress in your favorite black turtleneck and beret!