Goodies By Anna

Chocolate Ice Box Pie

This dessert is the perfect warm weather treat as there is little that needs to be baked! The crust is a simple graham cracker base that is quickly baked to give it a crisp texture (you could also substitute with a ready-made graham cracker crust from the store if you don't want to turn on the oven) while the chocolate for the filling is easily melted in the microwave.

Whip up the cream and you have a cool and creamy chocolate dessert perfect for summer time! Here is how you can make your own.

You can find the entire recipe here. Start by crushing graham crackers into fine crumbs. I like to use the food processor to get a nice evenly processed crumb. Set crumbs aside. Lightly grease a 9" pie pan with Pam and set aside. Place the bowl of an electric mixer and the whisk attachment into the fridge to chill. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Crust: In a medium bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 5 Tablespoons melted butter until all the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the mixture into the prepared pan, pressing firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides. I like to use a measuring cup to press the crumbs into the pan, this helps to create a firm crust. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes then bake for 8-10 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned on the edges. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely before filling.

Filling: Combine hot water, cocoa (I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder) and vanilla in a measuring cup until cocoa is dissolved. Set aside. Microwave the bittersweet chocolate disks on high for 1 minute then stir until melted, you may have to microwave again for 20 seconds to get the chocolate completely melted. Set chocolate aside. Remove bowl and whisk attachment from the fridge and whisk together the cream, sugar and salt until soft peaks form.

Stir the cocoa mixture into the melted chocolate and stir to combine. Using a whisk, fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Spread the filling evenly into the crust and place in the refrigerator.

Topping: Whisk together 1 cup of cream with 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar until soft to medium peaks form. Spread whipped cream over pie and top with chocolate sprinkles. Refrigerate the pie for 1 hour before serving.

Mini Profiteroles

After making these Giant Cream Puffs and really enjoying the flavor of the crisp puffed pastry I decided to try Mini Profiteroles. Profiteroles are basically cream puff pastries filled with a scoop of ice cream and topped with a chocolate sauce. I made my profiteroles small, around 3" in diameter, to create tiny little treats perfect for enjoying on a warm summer day. To create the puff pastry I used the same recipe from the Giant Cream Puffs but utilized a small #50 scoop to portion out the batter. These little puffs bake up light and crispy with an airy center that allows the perfect spot for a small scoop of French Vanilla Ice Cream.

A chocolate drizzle over the top finishes off this simple confection. The classic combination of crispy airy pastry combined with the creamy cold ice cream and decadent chocolate ganache is heavenly. Here is how you can make your own.

You can find the entire recipe for the cream puffs here. You can see pics of the entire process in my previous post here. Place the oven rack on the bottom shelf and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat and set aside.

Puff Pastry: Combine the water, butter, salt and I added 2 Tablespoons of sugar in a medium sauce pan. Heat until the butter is melted then bring the mixture to a rolling boil that won't stop when you stir it with a spoon. Remove pan from heat and add all the flour at once, stirring vigorously to combine. Return pan to heat and cook over medium heat, stirring the entire time, until the mixture becomes smooth and pulls away from the sides and bottom of pan (around 1 minute). Remove batter from heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes or until the temperature drops to below 125 degrees. Transfer cooled batter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat in the eggs one at a time until each is thoroughly incorporated. Batter should become smooth and glossy. Using a scoop (#50), place mounds of batter around 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 minutes until puffs are medium golden brown. Do Not Open Oven Door During Baking Time Or Puffs Will Deflate! When puffs are browned remove from oven and quickly cut a small slit on the top of each puff and return to oven for another 5 minutes to allow the steam to escape and the insides to dry out. Place finished puffs on a wire rack to cool for around 5 - 10 minutes then cut the tops off each puff and let cool to room temperature. 

Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache Sauce:

3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate disks

1 Tablespoon dark rum

Heat cream and butter in a saucepan until melted and remove before it starts to boil. Place chocolate discs in a small bowl and pour hot cream on top. Let sit for a few seconds and whisk by hand. Add the 1 Tablespoon dark rum and continue whisking until completely incorporated and smooth. Let cool until thick and pourable. Use a wire whisk to stir it every few minutes to keep it smooth and pourable.

Assembly:  Fill cooled puffs with tiny scoop of French Vanilla Ice Cream. Place puff pastry cap on top of ice cream and drizzle with chocolate ganache sauce. Serve immediately. P.S. Add sprinkles if desired!

Golden Butter Buns

Soft and tender buttery dinner rolls are such a homey part of a meal that I decided to try and make some for myself.  I (and i'm sure a lot of you!) grew up with Pillsbury Crescent Rolls served at the dinner table. Fast and easy though they are, I figured that homemade is probably going to be better and these Golden Butter Buns do not disappoint!

 

Soft, warm and buttery tasting with a heavenly aroma, these roll are fantastic served with dinner and make terrific mini-sandwiches with leftover turkey or chicken the next day! Too save yourself some time you can prepare these buns the day before and wait to bake them just before serving. In keeping with that retro feel, i shaped my buns into clover leaf shapes. Here is how you can make your own.

 

You can find the entire recipe here and the instructions for making clover leaf shaped buns are found here.  Start by combining all the dough ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix for 6-7 minutes until a soft, smooth sticky dough comes together.

Place the dough into a lightly greased container and cover plastic wrap. Let dough rise for around 60-90 minutes, until it's just about doubled in size. Gently deflate the dough by pressing down into the center with your fist and transfer to a lightly greased work surface.

Divide the dough into 12 balls, then divide each of those balls into three pieces. Spray a muffin tin with Pam Spray and nestle the three balls into each of the muffin wells. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until puffy, around 60 to 90 minutes. During the last 30 minutes of rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Uncover the buns and bake then for 22-24 minutes, until they are golden brown on top (the insides should read at least 190 degrees on a thermometer). While buns are baking, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter and set aside. When buns are finished baking, remove from oven and brush with all the melted butter.

Let cool in pan for a couple of minutes (this also allows all that butter to sink into the buns!) then turn out onto a wire rack. Serve warm. Store leftovers at room temperature. To re-heat: Tent rolls with foil and reheat for 5-7 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Giant Cream Puffs

Cream puffs are often associated with petite, dainty pop-in-your-mouth, european-style of desserts... a little formal, a little fussy. Take that same cream puff and SUPER-SIZE it, stuff it with MOUNDS of freshly whipped cream and you have an entirely different dessert!

There is no dainty way to eat these Giant Cream Puffs (that are around 5" wide... seriously). Pick one up with both hands and get ready for a messy sweet treat of pillowy puffed goodness. Here is how you can make your own.

 

I used this basic recipe, but instead of 12 little puffs I made 6 Giant Cream Puffs. I followed the recipe but added 2 Tablespoons of sugar to the pastry for a little extra sweetness and switched the baking times to 20-30 minutes at 425 degrees, followed by 15 minutes at reduced temperature of 350 degrees. One word of caution: Do Not Open The Oven Door While These Are Baking! Really, don't even think about it...I opened the door in the last 5 minutes of baking and sadly watched my super-poofed puffs deflate by almost half (yeah, I know: They were actually going to be bigger!). They still tasted great but next time I will keep the door closed for the entire baking time.

Pastry Shell: Move the oven rack to bottom position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat and set aside. Combine water, butter salt (and 2 Tablespoons sugar if desired) in a medium sauce pan, heat until the butter melts then bring the mixture to a rolling boil (meaning: mixture should stay boiling even while being stirred). Remove pan from heat and add all the flour at once, stirring quickly and continuously until the flour gets incorporated with the butter mixture. Return to heat and keep stirring until the mixture smooths out and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

 

Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and let cool for 10-15 minutes or until it drops below 125 degrees on a thermometer. When the mixture has cooled, turn on mixer and slowly add the eggs, one at a time until the mixture is smooth and well combined. After the last egg has been combined, go ahead and mix just a little longer, approximately 2 more minutes.

 

Spoon or scoop the batter into 6 mounds on the prepared sheet. I used a large muffin scoop (just around 6 Tablespoons of batter full) per mound to get 6 puffs. Space the mounds around 3 inches apart because these are going to EXPAND a lot!

 

Place pan in 425 degree preheated oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes until pastry is a deep golden brown. Do Not Open Oven Door While Pastry Are Baking Or They Will Deflate. After baking, pull pan out of oven and quickly cut a small slit in each puff with a sharp knife. Return puffs to oven for another 5 minutes to allow steam to escape. Place finished puffs on a rack to cool slightly then use a serrated knife to cut the tops off and let the puffs cool completely before filling. Exposing the centers of the puffs while cooling helps to keep them from getting soggy.

 

Whipped Cream Filling: Make whipped cream shortly before you are going to use it or do like I did and get yourself one of these handy dandy whipped cream dispensers (cream stays whipped and ready to use in the fridge for up to two weeks!). When ready to serve the cream puffs, fill the bottom half of the puffs with mounds of whipped cream then replace their tops and dust with powdered sugar.

Finished Giant Cream Puff filled with Whipped Cream.