TWD: Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake

I was a little shocked today when I realized that it has been two - yes, two! - months since I last posted. I mean I knew it had been a while but geez - time has really gotten away from me. Things always seem to speed up in the summer. Especially here in Chicago. We all wait the entire long, dark, dreary, freezing winter for that first glimpse of summer and when it comes - look out! There's a new energy in the city and so much to see and do.

Despite all of this, I have in fact been baking! I just haven't been posting. So its time to play catch up. Starting with this week's TWD post... which I had every intention of posting on time yesterday and just didn't get done.

This week's recipe was chosen by Amy Ruth of Amy Ruth Bakes. It features one of my favorite combinations - chocolate and raspberry - wrapped up in a sweet and surprisingly tangy loaf cake. Both the cake and the ganache-like frosting involve sour cream (I used the fat free version). The cake is very moist and dense. And I finally - FINALLY - didn't overcook it! I have this knack for always leaving things in just a touch too long - especially cakes.

The cake was delicious and could be adapted in lots of ways. I liked - but didn't love - the frosting. I'm really more of a buttercream girl. But it did complement the cake well. I had some leftover whipped cream that I spooned on top - ice cream would have been delicious, too. Be sure to check out Amy Ruth's blog for the recipe!

TWD rewind: soft chocolate & raspberry tart

Waaay back on March 16th, Rachelle of Mommy? I'm Hungry! chose Dorie's soft chocolate and raspberry tart. Now normally I tend not to bake an entire tart. Why? Because I certainly don't need to EAT an entire tart! But as luck would have it, my fabulous mom came to visit that weekend, so I had someone to share it with :)

I only have an 11 inch tart pan (for some reason I couldn't find a 9 inch pan back when I needed one to bake the chocolate crunched caramel tart) so my tart is a little thinner than some. But overall it was delicious! I love chocolate and raspberry together - this was almost like chocolate mousse with raspberries... but it a light flaky tart crust. Yum!


I whipped up some homemade whipped cream and mom and I were set. Be sure to check Rachelle's blog for the recipe... and the TWD blogroll for how the other bakers did!

MSC: jumbo cream-filled cupcakes

The 15th of the month always seems to sneak up on me. I was so excited to see these cupcakes as the April pick for MSC - thanks to Jen from Cookbook Habit! These cupcakes remind me of the classic Hostess cupcakes of my youth. I've seen variations of them on many blogs and always wanted to try them.

The cupcakes themselves weren't super chocolately... but I thought they were a nice compliment to the marshmallow filling. This was my first attempt at filling cupcakes - after the first couple I got the hang of it and it was pretty simple. Martha tells you to cut the cone shaped hole from the bottom - I've also seen it done from the top, which I think would be even easier. I added a simple chocolate ganache to make these more like the Hostess variety. The one thing I would change would be to use a regular buttercream or royal icing for the classic swirl on top. I used the marshmallow filling as suggested. They looked cute for about 10 minutes... then the marshmallow melted into a big blob on top of the cupcakes! Oh well, they still tasted good! I thought they were good chilled as well.

TWD: milk chocolate mini bundt cakes

For this week's TWD recipe, Kristin of I'm Right About Everything chose Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes.

I'm all for mini desserts - I got a mini cupcake pan for Christmas and have used it 5 or 6 times already. But I don't have a mini bundt cake pan (although they do look super cute). I have to draw the line somewhere and Mr. LITK simply wouldn't tolerate many more baking supplies!


I made half of the recipe and baked it in two ramekins. At one point I thought they were going to overflow, but they fell in on themselves a little bit and turned out just fine. The cake was light and moist... although I have to say, I prefer a regular chocolate cake to milk chocolate. The only problem I had was with the glaze. I should have just used the melted chocolate chips, but the recipe calls for the addition of light corn syrup. When I added the corn syrup I wound up with more of a fudge texture. I tried microwaving it a little longer but no luck. So I just plopped a scoop of chocolate on top of each cake. Next time I'd stick with the melted chocolate. And sorry for the terrible picture quality... Mr. LITK and I have recently discovered "24" and started watching it with Season 1 (thank you Netflix!) so I was a little distracted...

TWD: Low & Lush Chocolate Cheesecake

The title of this post should be TWD: Back in Action! I was excited to see January's recipes posted on TWD this week... but it made me realize I missed all of December! I have to admit... the December recipes didn't thrill me. I wasn't jumping at the chance to make the Rosy Pear and Pistachio Tart or a pecan pie. But then I saw that the last December recipe (and the last pick for 2009) was this chocolate cheesecake. The one recipe this month that made me say "ooh, I can't wait to make that!" Lucky for me I had all the ingredients already in the kitchen.
I only made 1/3 of the recipe. Mr. LITK and I have eaten more than our fair share of rich food and sweets this holiday season... the last thing we need is a whole cheesecake in the fridge! Luckily it was easy to cut in thirds. I also used 1/3 less fat cream cheese. I put the cheesecake in two ramekins and cooked them for about 23 minutes. I ended up with two adorable mini cheesecakes - perfect! Since I didn't start until I got home from work, they certainly didn't chill for 8 hours. But the cheesecake was still rich, creamy, and delicious. Definitely a recipe I'd make again! Thanks to The Tea Lady for a great way to end the year!