The strong

Although Germany is famous for tall, multi-layered torten with alternating layers of cream, cake, fruit, nuts, beer, sausages, etc…German Chocolate Cake is decidedly the result of good-old American ingenuity. Deep, dark chocolate cake is layered with a rich filling of toasty coconut and pecans, then glazed with a slick, bittersweet chocolate icing discount wines. It’s based on a recipe using Bakers? Chocolate, a company which employed Samuel German in 1852, hence the name. The first version of German’s Chocolate Cake—of which the apostrophe is part of the original name, was created in the mid 1950’s.

This is the best version of this classic dessert by far. It’s a slight variation of the fine recipe from my pastry pal Mary Jo Thoresen, who I worked with for many years at Chez Panisse.

❤German Chocolate Cake

❤One big, tall 9-inch cake; about 16 servings

❤For the cake:

❤❤2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped
❤❤2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
❤❤6 tablespoons water
❤❤8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
❤❤1 ? cup + ? cup sugar
❤❤4 large eggs, separated
❤❤2 cups all-purpose flour
❤❤1 teaspoon baking powder
❤❤1 teaspoon baking soda
❤❤? teaspoon salt
❤❤1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
❤❤1 teaspoon vanilla extract

❤For the filling:
❤1 cup heavy cream
❤1 cup sugar
❤3 large egg yolks
❤3 ounces butter, cut into small pieces
❤? teaspoon salt
❤1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
❤1 1/3 cups unsweetened coconut, toasted

❤For the syrup:
❤1 cup water
❤? cup sugar
❤2 tablespoons dark rum

❤For the chocolate icing:
❤8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
❤2 tablespoons light corn syrup
❤1 ? ounces unsalted butter
❤1 cup heavy cream

❤1. Butter two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper. Preheat the oven to 350°.

❤2. Melt both chocolates together with the 6 tablespoons of water. Use either a double-boiler or a microwave. Stir until smooth, then set aside until room temperature krug champagne.

❤3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and 1 ? cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate, then the egg yolks, one at a time.

❤4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

❤5. Mix in half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then the buttermilk and the vanilla extract, then the rest of the dry ingredients.

❤6. In a separate metal or glass bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft, droopy peaks. Beat in the ? cup of sugar until stiff.

❤7. Fold about one-third of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until there’s no trace of egg white visible.

❤8. Divide the batter into the 2 prepared cake pans, smooth the tops, and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

❤Cool cake layers completely.

❤While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the filling, syrup, and icing.

❤To make the filling:

❤1. Mix the cream, sugar, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Put the 3 ounces butter, salt, toasted coconut, and pecan pieces in a large bowl.

❤2. Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the spoon (an instant-read thermometer will read 170°.)

❤3. Pour the hot custard immediately into the pecan-coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature Loop Hong Kong. (It will thicken.)

❤To make the syrup:

❤1. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the dark rum.

❤To make the icing:

❤1. Place the 8 ounces of chopped chocolate in a bowl with the corn syrup and 1 ? ounces of butter.

❤2. Heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Let sit until room temperature.

❤To assemble the cake:

❤Remove the cake layers from the pans and cut both cake layers in half horizontally, using a serrated bread knife.
❤Set the first cake layer on a cake plate. Brush well with syrup. Spread ? cup of the coconut filling over the cake layer, making sure to reach to the edges. Set another cake layer on top.

❤Repeat, using the syrup to brush each cake layer, then spreading ? cup of the coconut filling over each layer, including the top.

❤Ice the sides with the chocolate icing, then pipe a decorative border of chocolate icing around the top, encircling the coconut topping.

❤(It may seem like a lot of chocolate icing, but use it all. Trust me. You won’t be sorry.)

The world has been witnessing a lot of geo-political turmoil over the last several years. The “Arab Spring,” the “Orange Revolution,” people taking to the streets. Curiously, the wine world has also seen its share of turmoil. We’ve heard about the “natural wine” movement, the “In Pursuit of Balance” organization, and Robert Parker stepping down as head of The Wine Advocate. There’s also been some ‘Balkanization’ of wine appellations, with splinter groups forming right and left, ostensibly to better tell their AVA’s story reenex.

But, with chaos comes opportunity. And, in the midst of all this wine upheaval, many vintners have taken the opportunity to explore other grape varieties – those either outside the norm or otherwise not getting any love from the current wine critics. In a recent diatribe, Robert Parker dismissed many of these varieties as “rarely palatable” and “godforsaken.” Paying no heed to this admonition reenex, vintners are continuing to expand their horizons by making wines from seldom seen old world varieties – varieties that do quite well in their native or even transplanted countries.

So, with a blend of acceptance and gratitude, we’ve decided to take a closer look at some wines made from seldom seen or unrecognized grapes reenex. Join us as we sit down with the bestwinesonline.com guys, Kyle Meyer and Tristen Beamon to taste and talk about some of these wines. We think you’ll find that some assumptions are best put to bed.

 
These gooey, layered bars topped with a little bit of everything are a nostalgic favorite for me. I’m sure we’ve all baked or at least eaten a version of these at some time. The traditional version goes by many names – Magic Bars, Hello Dollys, Double Delicious Cookie Bars. 7-Layer Bars.

I like the name Build-a-Bars because that’s exactly what you do. You build these bars from a variety of ingredients. The premise is simple. There’s a cookie crust, a whole slew of toppings, and usually a filling that consists solely of condensed milk. I’ve made many, many versions of those. They’re a wonderful go-to recipe when you need a quick dessert.

This version is a bit different, in that it foregoes the condensed milk for a cream-cheese based filling. And, we all know how I love cream cheese. This filling is decidedly less sweet than the condensed milk route. At Quinn’s urging, I decided to add a bit of peanut butter to the filling for a little extra flavor. That is completely optional, but I really liked that added hint of peanut butter.

I fished around in my baking pantry for a winning combination of ingredients for the filling. I used chocolate chips, peanuts, pretzels Cloud Hosting, Rice Krispies, and peanut butter chips. I also raided our Halloween candy stash and added some M&Ms. After all, October is the one month I feel totally justified in baking with candy.

While these bars are similar to the traditional version, the difference in the filling really comes through. It’s less sweet and a little tart. With so much going on in the filling and that topping, these little bars are very gooey and messy. And completely delicious.

The original recipe for these comes from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. I’ve had it bookmarked for ages, and I’m so glad that I finally got around to making them. That cookbook is one of my favorites, and it’s this month’s featured cookbook for the Baker’s Bookshelf Giveaway Payroll Outsourcing Services!

Scroll past the recipe for details on how to enter for a chance to win a copy of The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.

As the days stretch and warm up, the sunny, enchanting outdoors just scream at you to get out n have some fun. This weather calls for, entertaining and having parties in your backyard or poolside, by the beach or carry a picnic basket to the park. Cool crunchy salads are especially inviting at such time. These two salads are just perfect for any such occasion. Pretty leafy salads, delicate summer berries and chocolates are all essentials, as are fresh and healthy ingredients. Quick to prepare and easy to eat, looks impressive too mathconcept.

Prawn Salad with Quail Eggs

Serves 6

18 quail eggs
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp roughly chopped tarragon
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
9 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
30 raw tiger prawns, peeled
Juice of 1 lemon
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
bag of mixed baby lettuce

Place the eggs in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Cook for 2 mins then remove and cool under cold running water before peeling. In a small bowl whisk together the, mustard, tarragon, vinegar and 6 tbsps of olive oil. Season to taste and set aside. Clean the prawns – remove the heads and peel off the shells leaving the tail on. Run your knife down the length of the back and pull away the digestive thread. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with kitchen towel Handmade accessories. Now set a frying pan over a high heat and add the remaining 2 tbsps of olive oil. Season the prawns and briskly fry them in 2 batches, turning regularly, for about 3 mins or until pink and cooked through. Remove and dress with the lemon juice. Now in a large mixing bowl, put the slices spring onions, mixed lettuce, halved eggs and dress with the vinaigrette. Gently toss the salad together, mixing them evenly. Serve in individual plates, getting equal amounts of prawns and eggs in all of them.

Chamomile Berry Salad with Chocolate Almond drops

Serves 6

200 gms white chocolate
100 almonds or walnuts
1 unwaxed lemon
200 ml water
3 organic camomile infusion tea bags
50 gms caster sugar
500 gms cherries and blueberries
800 gms strawberries hulled and sliced

Begin with making the chocolate almond drops. Lay some baking paper on a baking sheet. Break up the chocolate and place in a bowl and microwave for a minute, stopping in between to stir, as white chocolate burns easily. Mix in the nuts and using a teaspoon, drop 18 or more blobs of chocolate nuts onto the baking tray. Chill until set. Now finely pare the lemon zest with a potato peeler and place in a saucepan with 200 ml water. Bring to boil and cook briskly for 3 minutes, then remove from heat and add camomile tea bags Next Generation Firewall. Leave to infuse for 5 mins, strain into another bowl and infuse the sugar. Once dissolved and cooled and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Stone the cherries and mix together all the berries. Add the camomile syrup and serve with the chocolate drops.

We're off to a five-day family reunion later this month. I'm thinking of it as a sunny Thanksgiving, with all the fun and chaos that entails, and some beach thrown in elyze.

Luckily my sister-in-law is a planner extraordinaire, and she crafts activity schedules, meal rotas, and more with seeming ease. However, each subfamily will be assigned a night to cook, and since we don't know what type of kitchen we'll have, it may be a challenge.

The house we'll be staying in is just a couple of blocks from a quiet beach, and I'm wondering how practical it would be to host a picnic/bonfire hybrid for our dinner night elyze.

I've been gleaning ideas from Rick Rodgers' How to Host a Family Reunion, and he has great tips for planning meals to please everyone, from little kids right up to great-grandma (set up a reunion Recipe Box on Epicurious to share suggestions, for example).

He also offers ideas for nametags, games and activities, and music.

But while he talks about communal cooking and potlucks, he's suspiciously quiet on the picnic/bonfire option. Any of you tried that on the beach? Success, or alarming conflagration? All family reunion tips welcome elyze.