Red Velvet Cake

I made this cake but i forgot to take a picture of the final cake. But here are a few photos just for kicks!

Brownie Tarts

So I don't really have a recipe for this because I made it up. So I will try to rewrite what I did.

The crusts were simply Gharadeli Chocolate Brownie mix. I used a little more oil and a little less water to make them more dense.

The filling was a ganache. I did 4 different kinds.
I did a raspberry ganache with equal parts (i think!) semi-sweet chocolate chips and cream and I added strained raspberry puree (from frozen raspberries)

The peanut butter filling was pretty much peanut butter and powdered sugar. Think Reeses peanut butter cups.

Then I had a simple white chocolate ganache which ended up being the hardest to make.

And an espresso ganache. Again, semi-sweet chocolate chips, creme, and starbucks double-shot (the little cans)

I filled each tart shell....

and then i piped whipped plain chocolate ganache.

Then i cut them in fourths and served them at work! The End!

Baked Hot Chocolate - OMG

So, i saw this recipe yesterday and had to make it. It was either make the dessert or go to the gym. From the evidence below i think you will be able to come to a conclusion of what i chose.

Baked Hot Chocolate

Note: I doubled this recipe. Who only needs 4 servings of amazingness? This dessert was explained on another blog as "an extremely decadent three layer extravaganza. The top layer is crusty almost soufflé like, the middle layer is like chocolate pudding and the last and bottom layer is very thick “liquidy” chocolate." My hot chocolates had a "souffle" crust with a pudding like filling. It seemed to only be two layers. I don't think i baked them long enough. I made them both in a corningware small casserole and in Pampered Chef 1 cup measuring cups. (if you buy one thing from Pampered Chef make it those 1 cup measuring cups!)

Adapted from “Essence of Chocolate” recipe by Heidi Friedlander, makes 4 servings
9 ounces 62% semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 large eggs
¼ cup granulated sugar

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange four ovenproof cups or mugs or 8-ounce ramekins in a baking or roasting pan.
Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler set over gently simmering water and whisk occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

Stir the eggs and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer set over the simmering water and stir until warm to the touch.

Place the bowl on the stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, beat 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

(Egg mix expands a lot)

Remove from the mixer, and fold the eggs into the chocolate mixture until it is light and smooth.

Spoon the batter into the cups. Add enough very hot water to the baking pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. The baked hot chocolates will be done when the tops lose their glossy finish. A wooden skewer inserted in the top will emerge but the batter toward the bottom of the cup will still be very moist.
Carefully remove the cups from the pan. The cakes can be served warm, at room temperature or covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day. To reheat, bring to room temperature and place into a preheated 350 °F over for 5 minutes or until warm.
Top with cocoa whipped cream if desired.

The next photo is a funfeti cake made by my brother and his girlfriend. SUGAR RUSH! It was addicting, tylenol was needed!

Ah, yes. The Lebanese Feast! I cannot take credit for this. My friend's mother made us a beautiful dinner of falafel, tzatziki, hummus, meatballs (i dont know what they were called), lemon chicken, tabouleh, etc. It was amaze-za-zing!

Dinner for a Crowd

I found a recipe for Carolina Style Pulled Pork on Use Real Butter. I made 10 pounds of this stuff! I think all together it had 6 tablespoons of Cayenne pepper in it. (dry rub+sauce) It was SOOOOO spicy! Most people loved it. There were two sensitive palates there so we had a few alternatives (see peanut noodles). I served the pork on potato buns with carolina cole slaw. If you don't like vinegar then just skip this post! To top off the feast we had a buttload of Rice Krispie Treats!

Carolina Pulled Pork
3-5 lbs. pork butt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups dry rub
Carolina vinegar barbecue sauce

dry rub
1/4 cup cumin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne powder
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper, ground
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic
Mix together.
















carolina vinegar barbecue sauce
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt1 tsp pepper, ground

Mix together and heat until sugar dissolves (don’t breathe the fumes). Let cool and store for 24 hours.

To make the pulled pork:
Day 1. Rub pork with dry rub. Place in a baking dish and cover with plastic. Refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours. Make the Carolina vinegar barbecue sauce. Day 2. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature for an hour. Preheat oven to 325F. Heat oil in a large frying pan and sear the pork on high heat on all sides (a few minutes each side). Place pork in a baking dish lined with foil. Cover with foil and bake for four hours. Remove from oven and remove fat and connective tissue and any bone. Shred the meat with forks. Pour desired amount of sauce over the pork and serve hot.
















Coleslaw is very important to this meal!
















1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 medium cabbage (about 1 1/4 pounds), thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced (i omitted)
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced (I omitted)

Preparation Combine vinegar, sugar, oil, mustard and celery seeds in non aluminum medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and dressing comes to boil. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Cool completely.
Combine cabbage, onion and green pepper in large bowl. Add dressing; toss to coat. Cover; refrigerate until cold, tossing occasionally, at least 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; keep refrigerated.)


Cold Peanut Noodles
I had these at a Chinese restaurant and LOVED them. They are served cold. Unfortunately I don't remember which recipe I used! But they are all over the Internet. Make them! Yum!

Traditional Rice Krispie Treats!

My Birthday

For my birthday last month I was taken on an advanture that started at the little dessert/deli/wine shop downtown. AMAZING!

I got a picture halfway through us devouring it. Clockwise from 11:00: snowball (I thought it looked bland and just overly sweet but OMG!!! The coconut covered this amazing whipped cream/mousse/heaven. It wasn't too sweet and it was SO light. Inside was a chocolate fudge cakey filling.) Key Lime tart. (more tart than sweet. the best way! I know a lot of people outside of Florida have never had a key lime pie before. You HAVE to try one! If you make it DO NOT squeeze your own key lime juice. Those things are as big as a walnut and it takes FOREVER) Next on the table (3:00) is a chocolate mousse cake. (Tasty, nothing special) Then we have the amazing thing. I forget what it is called but it has a brownie base topped with Kahlua mousse, macaroon layer, more mouse, and a ganache top. (i think that is it.) It is so tasty. Then we have the flourless chocolate cake. It was made with a special kind of chocolate (i forget what kind) Let me tell you, the texture made this cake. It melted in your mouth with a creamy richness and it was oh so smooth. In the middle is the lemon curd tart. This was a surprise to me. i would not have picked it but the light buttery crust filling with a thick, tart lemon curd was so refreshing! I loved it.

Kahlua amazingness

Birth of Sweet Endeavors

Well, hello world. I have been inspired by many other baking blogs to start my own. I am an amateur baker. I get the most satisfaction out of other people enjoying my sweet treats. I will attempt to be more daring in my ventures and post my results (i didn't say successes!) on here.