Day 22 - Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies & Chocolate Mousse

Saturday, April 30, 2011 & Sunday, May 1, 2011

Today is Saturday and I've decided to get an early start on baking. I wanted to bake two confections this weekend since I feel I've been slacking a bit in the baking department. One thing I wanted to make is a chocolate mousse. I've never made a mousse and while I was in italy I saw a lot of chocolate mousse listed on dessert menu's. I was unsure of the second thing I wanted to make so after perusing the internet for a while, I came across a recipe for double chocolate chunk cookies that looked awesome.

Today I started with the chocolate chunk cookies and decided to leave the mousse for tomorrow. To start the cookie dough, I mixed all of the dry ingredients in a bowl [flour,  cocoa powder, baking soda and salt]. Next, I melted milk chocolate with butter and once combined, added it to the stand mixer. I then added eggs, vanilla and sugar to the chocolate mixture. Once the mixture is thick and smooth, I added in the dry ingredients slowly. The last step to complete the cookie dough is to mix in chunks of milk chocolate.

I put balls of dough on the sheet pans and put them in the oven to bake for 15 minutes. The directions specifically say that the cookies will still be soft after 15 minutes [and almost look under cooked] but they will harden as they cool. The directions couldn't be more right on because thats exactly what happened. The first batch I made created giant cookies so for the next two trays I was careful to make smaller balls of dough.

I couldn't wait to sample a cookie when they were cooled! I'm happy to say that the cookies lived up to all of my expectations. They were crisp along the edges and chewy and decadent in the center. I would definitely make these again!

Stay tuned for tomorrow!!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

I am back in the kitchen and ready to bake [again!] As I mentioned yesterday, I will be making a chocolate mousse today. This is actually a no-bake dessert and it looks really elegant when its finished.

All my ingredients are ready!

I started out by mixing the chocolate part of the mousse, which is just semi-sweet chocolate and butter melted together. Once the mixture is smooth, three egg yolks are added to it.

Next, I whipped the egg whites with sugar until they are light and create stiff peaks.

Getting ready to whip the egg whites

All done!

The last part of the mousse is the whipped cream. I whipped heavy whipping cream with vanilla extract and sugar to create a light and airy cream.

Cream waiting to be whipped

Once all three parts of the mousse are put together separately, I was ready to put them together. First I folded the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, careful not to deflate the eggs. Once this was combined, I then folded in the whipped cream. The mousse came together quickly and I spooned it into individual size ramekins. The mousse needs to be chilled for several hours before eating, so we will enjoy these later!

Mousse coming together

Ready for the refrigerator

When the mousse is ready to serve, I will top it with fresh whipped cream. I will be sure to post an update with how they came out :) 

Day 21 - Tiramisu

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Today I decided to go with an Italian theme in honor of my upcoming trip to Italy! I am leaving on Thursday and am in the midst of packing so I needed to make something that wouldn't take up too much time. I decided on Tiramisu - one of my favorite italian desserts that is actually a no-bake dessert! It's so simple and delicious. I actually think it looks pretty fancy and people always love it so it's a win-win!

I started by making some instant espresso using espresso powder and boiling water. While the espresso cooled, I took out the rest of my ingredients [eggs, mascarpone cheese, sugar, lady fingers, cocoa powder and espresso] and let all of the refrigerated items come to room temperature.

Espresso - ready for the lady fingers!

Once the ingredients were ready to go, I whisked the sugar and egg yolks until the mixture was thick and pale yellow. Then I added in the mascarpone cheese and a drop of espresso. Once this mixture was combined I was ready to assemble the tiramisu.

Lady Fingers

Mascarpone

My assembly line!

First, I dipped each lady finger into the cooled espresso and covered the bottom of the dish. Then I spread a layer of the mascarpone mixture and then dusted the top with cocoa powder. I repeated this step three times [even though the recipe only calls for two layers] but there was plenty of the mascarpone mixture for three layers.

Layering the Tiramisu

I put the finished tiramisu in the refrigerator and will sample it later!

All done!

I think they liked it :)

Stay tuned for next time… hopefully I will come back from Italy with tons of inspiration for new desserts to try :)