TWD: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies

 

"Those are good."

Literally, if I had J write reviews of my baked goods, that's what I'd get 90% of the time. Another 5% would be a turned up nose, and the balance would be "That was awesome!" Unfortunately, he's not all that into the nuanced reviews. For me? I liked these, but I have other cakey chocolate cookies that I like better; ones that are oil- rather than butter-based tend to stay moist longer, and there was a bit too much sugar in these for my liking. After a couple days in a plastic bag, they were already just a bit too crisp on the edges for me. However, I have a solution. Basically, it's my solution for a whole lot of things - sandwich them with cream cheese frosting. Oreo cream cheese frosting, to be exact. Done and done.

 

In the meantime, I've gotten to watch as J builds and paints cornhole boards with Detroit Red Wings designs. As Wikipedia kindly tells us, cornhole is a standard drinking game, especially in Michigan and the rest of the Midwest. And since J is from the Lansing area, it just made sense that he knew about it. I, on the other hand, had never heard of it (or euchre) until I went to college. My family was all about bocce and bridge, what can I say? The funny thing was that his entire motivation to make these cornhole boards came from the impending invasion of a number of his friends from work this coming weekend. So this weekend, there will be burgers, brats, beer, and cornhole. And if I have anything to do with it, some vegetables and a fruit pie. All in all, it sounds like a good idea.

Last Week: Date-Nut Loaf
Next Week: Chocolate Chunk Muffins (And who did Bridget pay off to get to pick again? HUH????) ((jealous))

TWD: Date-Nut Loaf

 

I'm going to bet that many people hate Mondays. Hate. It's the end of lazing about, the end of time to get errands done, and you have to go back to work. Yuck, right? Has anyone else ever referred to Monday as "Moanday?" Well, here's where you can throw things at me (but I'll dodge them - I'm like a ninja!). Because this past Monday? Hot. Damn. I was on fire. Seriously. I woke up before J, which never ever happens. Seriously, the guy's up at 5a sometimes because he just can't get back to sleep. I don't know about him, but I can always get back to sleep if it's 5a. But I popped out of bed at 5:45 and skipped into campus by 6:50, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. J? He was probably still incoherently mumbling obscenities at the cat for walking all over him. And from when I walked into lab until when I walked out (5:30p!), I was non-stop action. Meetings, emails, and just plain getting shit done. And all of the bolding? Yeah, it needs to happen. I kicked ass. I took names.

And you know what's crazy? I loved it. Every minute. It had been so long since I had had so much to do that I didn't have to think what I was going to do next. I mean, I've had things to do, but who really leaps at the chance to do data analysis? (If you do, could you please come do mine for me? Kthxbai.) These are the days that I want to have all the time. I got to talk with an undergrad who will be doing menial labor (oops, I mean "gaining important research skills and experiences"), and afterwards was complimented on my ability to teach things in an accessible manner. I didn't tell him that it's because I take all my incoherency out on you poor people. Thank god you're willing to listen to my drivel! It might also be due to the fact that the guys on the floor in New London would have tuned out within 0.273 seconds if I tried to talk like I was better than them. (They're right, I'm not. They know a hell of a lot more than I ever will about their jobs.)

The entire day made me appreciate my experiences over the last 8 years. Since I took advantage of such varied research and employment opportunities, I've learned this completely nonsensical and random assortment of skills that have somehow melded to turn me into this crazy energetic and passionate person who can actually discuss scientific topics at various levels of expertise without sounding like too much of a dumbass. And combine that with talking with a friend from college about how much our perceptions have changed, how much our values and expectations have changed? Talking to him about big, grown-up adult things? I'm feeling extrovertedly introspective right now.

And I swear. There goes another post where I babble on about 32498723495812 things that have nothing to do with the week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick. Damnit. Well, here's the thing. I never ever purchase dates. But I did. For this week's date nut loaf. And with a quarter recipe, I made three adorable little date nut loaves, which have yet to be eaten because hello! I had a leftover croissant in the house for breakfast instead. Those of you who would rather eat something over a croissant, I bow to your willpower. I can never resist the power of the croissant. In the meantime, here are some things to do with those leftover dates you might have rattling around your kitchen:

- stuff them with almond butter, peanut butter, tahini, cheese, chocolate (please, not all at once...)
- wrap them in bacon
- make ma'amouls with them
- sticky toffee pudding!!! (!!!)
- add to granola, banana bread, or shortbread
- lettuce. goat cheese. top with dates.


Now don't you wish you had leftover dates?

Last Week: Chocolate Biscotti
Next Week: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies

TWD: Memories of Chocolate Biscotti

Dorie's chocolate biscotti. Yes, I did make them, a whole four years ago. More time than that actually. I just haven't made them lately. And that's because of the couple, the baby family, with whom I made them the first time. Then, they were a bit of a smaller baby family, just the two of them. But this weekend? This past weekend, I got to fly back to Wisconsin to see them with their adorable son. Almost at the three month mark, he had figured out his legs, was starting to figure out that he did, in fact, have arms, and hadn't quite figured out the falling asleep gig.

It didn't matter. We spent much too much time getting him to smile and blow bubbles, kick off our hands to push himself across the carpet, and give us the most ridiculous furrowed forehead looks I've ever seen from something that teeny. So instead of baking, we reminisced about baking. There are very few people with whom I'm completely comfortable in the kitchen. Christine is one of them. We just work around and with each other incredibly well, and trust that each of us will know how to do whatever the recipe tells us to do. (Unlike some, who find the instruction to cream butter and sugar to be completely baffling.) The first few times we hung out involved the kitchen - her teaching me ravioli, me teaching her apple pie. After that, things just blur. We went through the list of TWD picks, and were floored by how many we had made together. Thankfully for my sanity, she no longer has the patience to carefully fan out each apple slice for the apple cheesecake.

So it was four years ago that we chilled in the kitchen and made chocolate biscotti. A test run for Christmas gifts, which included toffee and mini loaves of quick bread and a couple other kinds of cookies (at least mine did). And since we were willing to make them again, in large quantities for gifting, they were definitely a winner. Just, well... I was a bit more focused on the little addition to their family than I was on their flour and sugar canisters this time. If you'd like to see others' reactions, we've been leaving our links on a weekly post and you can click through to see what others thought.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

Originally, J thought I was making a "blueberry brown sugar plane cake" for TWD this week, which, while awesome, wasn't really on the docket. Me + sculpting cakes? Yeah, um no. Not when my favorite desserts can only be characterized as "rustic." I am definitely no Ace of Cakes-style baker. I'll leave that to others, thankyouverymuch. (And really, someone should seriously make this and then shape it into a plane. How awesome would that be???) ((But instead, I baked the cake, forgot to take pictures, and instead give you a birthday cake.))

My love of rustic desserts is why I'm not too embarrassed by this year's birthday cake for J. The last two years have been showstoppers - a massive chocolate malted cake from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book and an orange-grand marnier chiffon cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes. So when J requested the plainest of plain birthday cakes (chocolate with chocolate frosting, natch), I revolted. BORING! I wanted something more excited. So chocolate cake was okay, but I wanted to make ice cream to have with it. What kind? Cookies'n'cream, one of his favorites. So frosting could be oreo cream cheese frosting. And that's when he dropped it on me - "Can you make an ice cream cake?" Which, of course, meant that I spent this past weekend making custard, churning ice cream, baking cake layers, making frosting, and swearing a lot as ice cream melted while I tried to spread it on the first cake layer. Because people? Ice cream melts in two seconds flat when it's homemade. Especially since I didn't want to break a tooth on it, so I had put in a nice amount (2-3 Tablespoons) of vodka. And our freezer is jam-packed, so the cake was on a plate that wasn't level, which caused the melted ice cream to ooze all over our freezer contents. Oops?

 birthday carnage

So yes. Rustic it was. The cream cheese frosting was hella tasty, but had to go only on the top to prevent epic ice cream meltage. The ice cream couldn't get spread to the edge so it wouldn't ooze out even more onto our frozen goods. And I really really wish I had a tall 9" cake ring to assemble this sucker in, because it would have been so much easier. Except that our kitchen is full to the brim, so getting more baking toys is completely out of the question. Hmph.

But you know what? I sliced into this puppy, and it was probably one of my prettier cakes. For serious. And I'm pretty sure I killed J with sugar and awesome and Oreos.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

For the cake (adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes):

1 1/3 cups flour

1 2/3 cups sugar

½ cup dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/3 tsp baking soda

2/3 tsp salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup sour cream

1 cup water

4 tsp distilled white vinegar

½ tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*F. Butter the bottoms and sides of two 8- or 9-inch cake pans (layers will just be taller if you use an 8-inch pan). Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, then butter the parchment.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend (this will be very thick). Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the two prepared cake pans.

Bake for 25-35 minutes (less for the 9-inch pans, more for the 8-inch), or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes, invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

For the ice cream (adapted from Perfect Scoop):

1 cup whole milk

¾ cup sugar

½ cup malt powder

2 cups heavy cream

pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

6 large egg yolks

¾ tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp vodka

20 Oreos, coarsely crushed

Warm the milk, sugar, malt powder, 1 cup of heavy cream , and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard into the large bowl of heavy cream. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use. Add the vodka then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once the ice cream is done churning, mix in the crushed Oreos with a spatula before transferring to a container. Chill in the freezer for at least 3 hours before using.

For the frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1 lb powdered sugar

2-4 Tbsp milk

pinch of salt

5 Oreos, pulverized in a food processor

Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the salt until smooth. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk until you reach your desired consistency. Mix in the Oreo crumbs. Use immediately, or refrigerate and let come to room temperature before using.

To assemble:

Make sure that your cake is cooled completely, your ice cream is solid, and you have a level place in the freezer to stash the cake as you assemble. Place one cake layer on a nice plate (you can chill the cake layers in the freezer as well, for extra insurance). Use a large cookie scoop to scoop 1-2 cups of ice cream on top of the cake layer. Quickly spread the ice cream evenly around the cake. Freeze for at least one hour, preferably two. Once the ice cream has hardened back up again, take the cake out of the freezer and place the second cake layer on top. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Freeze again, but now for at least 2-3 hours. If you want to cover the cake with foil or plastic wrap, do so at this point. It’s sliceable and not too hard to eat directly out of the freezer given the vodka in the ice cream and that the cake is oil-based rather than butter-based. That will also keep the cake from drying out too quickly, even in the freezer.