PopSugar

This Thanksgiving, Make Triple-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie!

partysugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:33 -0800

Although I can't deny the deliciousness of a slice of classic, cinnamon-laced pumpkin pie, in recent years, I've expanded my horizons to somewhat non-traditional Thanksgiving desserts. Pecan pie? Surprisingly easy, yet wildly delicious. Pumpkin meringue pie? An unexpected crowd-pleaser. Pumpkin cake with pecan brittle and whipped cream cheese frosting? Devoured in seconds. Triple chocolate pumpkin pie? Sign me up! When I came across this recipe, while browsing Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving central, I knew I had to try it. If you've made pumpkin pie in the past, you can master this. It's actually easier because the crust is made from graham crackers instead of a standard pastry dough. The resulting pie is dense and rich. Each bite is an experience of flavors: first you taste chocolate, then pumpkin, and finally the sweet crust. To take a look at the recipe, read more.

Triple-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

For the graham cracker crust
2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers)
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped
For the filling:
6 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably 55 percent cacao), chopped
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Ground cloves
1 ounce milk chocolate, melted

Directions

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars, salt, and cinnamon in bowl. Firmly press mixture into bottom and up sides of a deep, 9 1/2-inch pie dish. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove from oven, and sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over bottom of crust. Return to oven to melt chocolate, about 1 minute. Spread chocolate in a thin layer on bottom and up sides.
Let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Make the filling: In a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt semisweet chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.
Mix pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/3 pumpkin mixture into chocolate mixture. Whisk in remaining pumpkin mixture until completely incorporated.
Transfer pie dish to a rimmed baking sheet, and pour pumpkin mixture into crust. Bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pie dish on a wire rack.
Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours (preferably overnight). Before serving, drizzle melted milk chocolate on top. Serve immediately.

Serves 12.

Print recipe with images | without images

View 25 Photos ›

Reader Recipe: Chocolate and Chili Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting

YumSugar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:18:19 -0800

I was looking for a good dessert to share with you guys, when I came across these Chocolate and Chili Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting by TeamSugar member celebrity_soup. I thought the combination was so intriguing and lovely. I love peanut butter and chocolate, I love chili and chocolate, and yet I've never thought to put the three together. Peanut butter, chili, and chocolate? Sign me up!

Soup says that they're even better than a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, and that they're really fudgy and dangerous. If that has you intrigued then check out her recipe and accompanying pics! To do so, just read more.

Chocolate and Chili Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting
Submitted by TeamSugar member celebrity_soup

Muffin girl has upgraded!
I'm a chocoholic . . . and chocoholics need their FIX!
Today I was day dreaming about those delicious Reese's Peanut Butter Cups while on the treadmill at the gym.
Yes, I always day dream about chocolate while working out, thats how I get around!
I felt so worked up when I finished my work out that I NEEDED a special treat.

Muffins came to mind, but the thought of peanut butter and chocolate muffins wasn't pleasing.
Why not make a peanut butter frosting?
PERFECT!
The thought of making a chocolate cupcake with a peanut butter frosting was born . . . and 20 minutes later I found myself baking up heaven in the kitchen.

I used a Chocolate and Chili cupcake recipe and frosted those babies up with a peanut butter frosting.
THEY TURNED OUT TO BE EVEN BETTER THAN A REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUP. duh!
The cupcakes turned out to be so fudgy and chocolaty with the slightest hint of chili.
The frosting is what wraps it all up into something so dangerously GOOD.
Give them a try, you won't be disappointed! I ate up like three in an instant!

Ingredients:

150 g unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup warm milk
1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. finely chopped chili pepper (or 1 tsp chili powder)
2 sticks butter (200 g)
1-1/2 cups dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Frosting:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream (the fresh kind, double cream, its thick and creamy)

Directions:

Combine chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium sized bowl, add boiling water and warm milk, whisk until smooth, set aside.

Sift flours, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Add the 1 tsp. of chopped chili, set aside.
In a standing mixer, beat butter until creamy.

Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

At medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beat well between each.
Add sour cream and vanilla and beat until combined.

Add about a third of the flour mixture, beat briefly until combined.
Add about half of the chocolate mixture, beat briefly until combined.
Repeat, adding flour, chocolate, then flour. Beat until just combined. Scrape down bowl if needed.

Fill cupcake papers about 3/4s full. Bake at 350°F oven for 25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
For the frosting, beat in all ingredients, starting with creaming the butter with the peanut butter. Once it's smooth add in the rest of the ingredients.

Let cupcakes completely cool, frost with a piping bag, and sprinkle over with chopped peanuts.
Keep them in the refrigerator.

Finished product:

I added some pieces of chocolate to this one for a mouth watering look. Is it working?
It was calling meeeeee. Eat meeeeeee, it's saying!

These look firmer and less shiny, cause I took this picture after they were refrigerated for a while.
A firmer peanut butter frosting was more pleasing to me.

BTW these make around 36 mini cupcakes, just like the ones pictured above.

Print recipe with images | without images

Reader's Recipe: Dark Chocolate Puds

YumSugar — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:13:42 -0800

At first glance, reader mandiesoh's recipe for Dark Chocolate Puds looks like a big gooey cookie (which is definitely what caught my attention). However, when you read through it and view all of her awesome step-by-step pictures, you'll see that it's actually a type of muffin/cake with a gooey chocolate center. Talk about tasty! To check out mandiesoh's recipe, read more

Recipe from mandiesoh

Another recipe from GoodFood Magazine: 101 Tempting Desserts. Slightly modified, here's my version of Dark Chocolate Puds! (pssst. its really yummy!)

drool-worthy

INGREDIENTS

100g/4oz butter, chopped and extra for greasing
50g/2oz plain plour, plus extra for dusting
100g bar dark chocolate, broken
8 cubes of dark choc (for middle)
3 eggs
85g/3oz caster sugar

Serves 8

METHOD

1. Preheat oven at 200C/Gas 6. Butter and lightly flour muffin tray

2. Melt dark chocolate and butter in microwave, roughly 2 mins

3. Whisk eggs and sugar until mixture leaves a trial on top when whisk blades are lifted.

4. Stir in flour, then chocolate mixture.
Pud mix

5. Pour into muffin tray.
Nice and gooey!

6. Push in a cube of dark chocolate into centre of each.
Cabury Gold Dark Choc

Nice and deep people!

7. Place on baking tray and bake 16-20mins.
poofy!

8. Cool for 5 mins, and turn out onto plates.
cakey on the outside.....

moist and chocolatey on the inside!

Serve warm or at room temp.

Print recipe with images | without images

Reader Recipe: Simple Chocolate Truffles

YumSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:18:33 -0800

If you're already gearing up for Christmas - and I know a bunch of you already are - why don't you get a head start by figuring out what treats you're going to make this year? Everyone expects cookies, so surprise them with homemade truffles. Recently, TeamSugar member issarocks shared her recipe for Simple Chocolate Truffles. It's a simple twist on mini cream-cheese balls, one that will be easy for you to re-create on your own. To get the recipe, read more

Recipe submitted by TeamSugar member issarocks

here are some simple chocolate truffles, i made them for valentines this year and they were a hit! they'll also make great christmas goodies!

Ingredients
center_
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
- 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- optional - liqueurs, other flavorings

coating_
- 1 1/2 cups (dark, milk, or white) chocolate, melted (whatever you prefer to coat)

Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese until smooth. Gradually mix in confectioners' sugar until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla (To flavor truffles with liqueurs or other flavorings, omit vanilla. Divide truffle mixture into thirds. Add 1 1/2 tablespoon liqueur (almond, coffee, orange, etc) to each mixture; mix well) until no streaks remain.

2. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll into 1 inch balls (i found it easiest to use saran wrap to assist with this).

3. With a toothpick or fork, dip balls into melted chocolate, let set on wax paper. Top with nuts, candy bits, or swirl with a different chocolate.

Print recipe with images | without images

'Wich of the Week: Chocolate and Brie Panini

YumSugar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:00:32 -0800

If you're not cooking a romantic dinner for two this Valentine's Day, then give this strangely delicious sandwich a shot. Made with salty, creamy brie and dark chocolate, this panini is neither a full-on dessert or a savory entree, but the sticky, gooey results will have you licking your fingers anyway. I've been curious to try this ever since PartySugar featured it on the menu of her wine and chocolate tasting, so I whipped up a batch on the panini press the other day. I had a lot of leftover dark chocolate from the holidays, so I used that rather than the semisweet chips, which sounded too sweet. To see how it turned out and to get the recipe, read more.

In addition to swapping in dark chocolate, I also reduced the amount used on each sandwich, after making one panini and finding that the chocolate totally overpowered the cheese. To me, it's the combination of velvety chocolate and savory, decadent brie that makes this sandwich interesting. I also added more basil and left the leaves whole, just because I liked the look of it. Some of my friends found the basil too weird and said they'd swap in mint, which would also be good. Here's how I did it.

Chocolate and Brie Panini
Modified From Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

12 slices sourdough bread
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces Brie cheese, thinly sliced
10 ounces dark chocolate squares
2/3 cup fresh basil leaves

Directions

Preheat the panini grill.
Using a very sharp knife, cut the chocolate squares into bite-size pieces.

Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Grill the bread slices until they begin to turn golden, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove from the panini grill and place 2 ounces of cheese on 1 slice of bread (the bottom half), top the cheese with 1/4 cup chocolate chips, and a few leaves of basil. Top with another slice of bread. Continue with the remaining sandwiches.

Return the sandwiches to the panini grill until the chocolate begins to melt, about another 2 minutes.

Cut the sandwiches into 2-inch wide rectangles or small triangles and transfer to a serving platter.

Serves 6.

Print recipe with images | without images

Have More Fun With Blondies

YumSugar — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:15:27 -0700

Not too long ago, I organized a trip to Hog Island Oyster Farm, where I enjoyed an idyllic picnic with seven dear friends. I had a good idea of what dishes to bring, but I was hung up on dessert, until a co-worker suggested blondies. "They're so much better than brownies!" she exclaimed.

I heeded her advice and found a crowd-pleasing blondie recipe that has something for everyone: a sweet, chewy center, chunks of chocolate chips, and crunchy almond slivers scattered on top. They were so comforting that I couldn't stop eating them - so I had to give the rest away! Read on for the perfect portable dessert.

Reader Recipe: Chocolate Chip Pancakes With Blueberry Syrup

YumSugar — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:00:16 -0700

Cooking when you don't have all the ingredients on hand can be frustrating, but it can also be empowering: Since you have to think on your feet, some of the most successful outcomes are born out of limited circumstances.

TeamSugar regular FinnLover has long been the master of innovatively tweaking reliable recipes based on what she has in her kitchen. So guess what happened when she ran out of maple syrup for her pancakes? Finn improvised (and improved) her recipe by adding chocolate chips to her pancakes and using frozen blueberries stowed in her freezer to make a delectable compote. To see the recipe, which left me with a hankering for a sweet, sticky breakfast, read more.

Submitted by TeamSugar member FinnLover

Dark Chocolate Chip and Blueberry Pancakes
Adaptation of a Nigella Lawson recipe.

I just made these for breakfast and they were so good! They're a twist on a pancake recipe I posted a while ago. I just added some dark chocolate chips to the batter and made a simple blueberry syrup to serve with them because I was out of maple syrup. They were to die for!
Here's the original post:
http://teamsugar.com/group/30207/recipes/2607875

Ingredients

- 225g plain flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 30g butter, melted and cooled
- 300ml milk
- 125g 70% cacao chocolate chips

For the blueberry syrup:
- frozen blueberries
- a splash of water
- brown sugar
- a tbsp or two of lingonberry or raspberry jam

Directions
1. In a big bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat in the eggs, melted butter and milk. Add the chocolate chips. Leave the batter for about 20 minutes before using it; and you may then want to add more milk to the mixture if it's too thick to pour in the pan.
2. Put the frozen blueberries in a small saucepan. Add a splash of water to get it going and a bit of brown sugar. Bring it to a boil. Add the jam and more brown sugar if necessary. Let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until it becomes thicker and syrupy.
3. Pour some batter in a non-stick pan (medium heat). When you cook the pancakes, remember that when the upper side of the pancake is blistering and bubbling it’s time to flip it and cook the second side. It will only take about 1 or 2 minutes.
4. Makes about 11 blini-pan-sized pancakes, maybe 16 silver-dollar-sized ones on the griddle. Serve with the blueberry syrup.

Print recipe with images | without images

Reader Recipe: Triple Layer Chocolate Fudge Cake

YumSugar — Fri, 25 May 2007 07:01:19 -0700

Is it too early in the morning to talk about a triple layer chocolate fudge cake with ganache frosting? Yah, I didn't think so either. This beautiful cake was posted in the Kitchen Goddess group by TeamSugar member crispet1, and if every morsel tastes as delectable as it looks, we are in for a treat. It's a three layer chocolate cake, with a layer of thick ganache between each one. To check out the recipe, read more

Submitted by TeamSugar member crispet1 from Food & Wine

What an indulgent picture!

Cake:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup hot coffee

Frosting:
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon water

Directions:
MAKE THE CAKE: Preheat the oven to 325°. Line the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with rounds of parchment paper. Spray the pans and the parchment paper with vegetable cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk the sugar with the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the eggs and vanilla. In another small bowl, melt the butter in the hot coffee. Using an electric mixer, beat half of the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients at low speed. Beat in half of the coffee mixture, then scrape down the bowl. Beat in the remaining buttermilk and coffee mixtures.
Pour the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cakes are springy to the touch. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a rack to cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.

MEANWHILE, MAKE THE FILLING AND FROSTING: Put the chocolate in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil. Immediately pour over the chocolate and let stand in a warm place for 5 minutes. Gently whisk the ganache until smooth. Whisk in the butter until incorporated. Refrigerate, stirring frequently, until the ganache is thick enough to spread, about 30 minutes.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the sugar with the water and heat for 30 seconds. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Set a cake layer on a cake plate or cake cardboard and brush lightly with the sugar syrup. Spread about 3/4 cup of the frosting onto the cake in an even 1/4-inch layer. Repeat with the remaining cake layers, sugar syrup and frosting. (I skipped this step completely. I didnt want to spread sugar water on pieces of cake, I just didnt see the point.) Spread the remaining frosting around the sides of the cake. Let the cake stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour before slicing.

And then, because Im a genius, I decided to cover the top of the cake with raspberries. Obviously you would wash them in cool water, pat dry, and put the open end facing down on the frosting. Since you are working with ganache, you have to be somewhat fast since it sets into hardened chocolate somewhat fast.

Source: Food & Wine

Print recipe with images | without images

Reader Recipe: Chocolate and Peanut Butter Swirl

YumSugar — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:18:11 -0800

I hope you've got a napkin nearby; if you're like me you'll be drooling all over the place! TeamSugar member Twinkle - our original Kitchen Goddess - has shared her recipe for Chocolate and Peanut Butter Swirl. It's a super simple sounding recipe and the hardest part looks like waiting for it all to set up! If you'd like to make these less than 30 minutes to make bars, read more

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Swirl
Submitted by TeamSugar member Twinkle

What you need:
360 g white chocolate chopped coarsely
½ cup (140g) smooth peanut butter
400 g dark chocolate chopped coarsely

Tip for coarsely chopping chocolate - bash chocolate with a meat mallet while still in its wrapping

Melt white chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water.

Cool for 5 minutes then add peanut butter, stir until smooth.

Melt the dark chocolate the same way. Cool slightly

Drop alternate spoonfuls of the white chocolate mixture and dark chocolate mixture into a small pan you greased and lined with parchment paper earlier. Gently shake pan to level mixture. Can you tell I didn't wait long enough for the dark chocolate to cool?

Then drag a skewer back and forth through the mixture several times for a marbled affect.

Now for the hard part: Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours or until set.

If you're impatient like me, you can stick it in the fridge.

When it has set, cut into small squares.

Yummy

It's delicious and looks like you spent more than 20 minutes on it.

Print recipe with images | without images
-----

Reader Recipe: Diabetic Chocolate Mousse Pie

YumSugar — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 07:56:31 -0700

One of my parent's closest friends is diabetic. Unfortunately, I didn't find out until after I made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies for him. My sister and I felt really proud of our baking accomplishments, walked over to his house, delivered our goods, only to return home and have my mom say, "You know he can't eat those, right?" Luckily the grandkids were in town and devoured all the cookies, but it got me hunting around for a good diabetic dessert recipe. Turns out I didn't have to look very far, as TeamSugar member rlveronica recently posted a fantastic looking Diabetic Chocolate Mousse Pie. It looks tasty enough for even the biggest sweet-fiend and friendly enough for her diabetic dad to eat. If you want to check out the recipe, read more

Recipe submitted by TeamSugar member rlveronica.

My father is a diabetic and doesn't get to enjoy desserts anymore, so I thought I'd make a pie that he could eat and not feel guilty about!

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup whipped cream (I used Cool Whip Free)
3 tbsps of cold water
1 tsp vanilla extract
14 tsp artificial sweetener (I used Splenda)
1 tsp unflavored powder gelatin
1 store bought or homemade graham cracker pie crust

1. In a small saucepan, soften gelatin in cold water
2. Low heat 'til gelatin dissolves completely
3. Mix in a bowl: cocoa, vanilla & whipped cream until stiff
4. Add sweetener and the liquid gelatin and beat until well mixed
5. Place the mixture in a graham cracker pie crust
6. Chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour

(I added the rest of the whip cream on top!)

source