If we can cook it, you can cook it!

Category: Chocolate Desserts

Dorie Greenspan’s Lisbon Chocolate Cake

Dorie Greenspan’s Lisbon Chocolate Cake

A Visit to Portugal leads to a craving for Lisbon Chocolate Cake This cake is all about chocolate. The cake is brownie-like. There’s a layer of chocolate cream. And finally, a shower of cocoa adds even more chocolate flavor. But first, a tale of how…

Claudia Fleming’s Chocolate Caramel Tart

Claudia Fleming’s Chocolate Caramel Tart

Come ‘Out East’ for a recipe a famous Pastry Chef gave a special twist to. The East End of Long Island is extremely fortunate in the caliber of chefs that are either restaurant owners or lured here to work in what is a gorgeous place…

The Absolute Best Chocolate Raspberry Cake Ever Baked 

The Absolute Best Chocolate Raspberry Cake Ever Baked 

Our dear friend Don was celebrating his birthday. And who wouldn’t want to make him the best Birthday Cake you could imagine? And wouldn’t you know who volunteered to bake it. Why Andrew, of course. This was before he heard that Don was inviting 18…

Ice Cream Sandwiches…Portable Summer Treats

Ice Cream Sandwiches…Portable Summer Treats

I must admit to having been slightly taken aback when Andrew told me his weekend plans included making Ice Cream Sandwiches.  Not that I didn’t want one.  And when the smell of his dark chocolate ‘biscuit’ wafted through the kitchen, I could hardly wait until…

Bittersweet Chocolate Raspberry Tart from Nick Malgieri’s “The Modern Baker”

Bittersweet Chocolate Raspberry Tart from Nick Malgieri’s “The Modern Baker”

Our Godchild hit a major milestone this month. Olivia graduated cum laude from Poly Prep Country Day School in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. For four years she has left her home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and  travelled to school, a considerable journey.  There…

Chocolate Brownie Cookies and yes, they’re Gluten-Free

Chocolate Brownie Cookies and yes, they’re Gluten-Free

At this year’s Easter Celebration, one the guests was also celebrating Passover which overlapped this year for the first time in ages. For those of you who may not be familiar with Jewish dietary laws, leavened bread is forbidden during the 8 day celebration of…

One of Andrew’s Top Ten Cakes of All Time: Rumfest’s Ding Dong Cake

Rumfest’s Ding Dong Cake in a blaze of glory          Every year, our friend Jayne’s Birthday Celebration is declared Rumfest.  That’s a combination of her maiden name and the fact that Jayne’s Birthday is never confined to a single day. It seems to carry on…

Thanksgiving Way Out West, Dessert Round: Nick Maglieri’s Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

Thanksgiving Way Out West, Dessert Round: Nick Maglieri’s Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

         Several weeks ago, Andrew went to the Institute of Culinary Education, a great cooking school on 23rd St. in Chelsea (www.ice.edu) where he had signed up with one of the masters of the baking arts, Nick Maglieri.  The class was small – just 9 students –…

Red Eye Devil’s Food Cake…fit for the White House and Our House

I know Andrew is good, I mean really good. But his baking skills really hit an all-time personal best with the making of this sinfully rich, fudgy, bittersweet cake.  As Melissa Clark, who co-wrote “The Perfect Finish” (W.W. Norton and Co. (2010) the cookbook it…

Andrew’s Gougeres and Chocolate Eclairs from Joanne Chang’s "Flour"

Andrew’s Gougeres and Chocolate Eclairs from Joanne Chang’s "Flour"

Mark Bittman Recently Mark Bittman used his Sunday NY Times Food pages to extoll the virtues and utter simplicity of making Pate a Choux. This dough is the basis for both Gougeres, bite sized cheese puffs that melt in your mouth and Chocolate Eclairs, my…

Triple-Chocolate Cheesecake from Abigail Johnson Dodge in Fine Cooking Magazine

Triple-Chocolate Cheesecake from Abigail Johnson Dodge in Fine Cooking Magazine

       I needn’t tell you the Sweets Factory at our house has been in overdrive ever since we arrived here for the holidays.  There have been dozens of cookies, a Red Velvet Cake, even a Norwegian “Fyrstekake” a Cardomon Almond confection, beautifully decorated…

Fudgy Walnut Brownies that just happen to be Gluten-Free

Fudgy Walnut Brownies that just happen to be Gluten-Free

Andrew and I watch a fair number of cooking shows on TV.  In the baking category, we’re tuned into “Cupcake Wars” and “Unique Sweets”.  For quite a while now, we’ve scoffed, more than saluted, the number of bakers who turn out Gluten-Free items. We simply…

Classic Chocolate Mousse from The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook

John Barricelli the baker behind this Classic Recipe           More often than not, when Andrew is baking I am dumbstruck by the effort he takes.  One recent project involved making three different cupcakes, getting up at 7:30 to do so and finishing the last of…