Black Forest Cake with a Shortcut

This is not the original recipe for this famous cake. I liked the taste, anyway. And it is relatively easy to make it. I was inspired by Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade (actually, by the ingredients I had at home).

Ingredients:

1 box of chocolate cake (Pillsbury, Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker)
the other required ingredients in the box (in the Duncan Hines, eggs and oil)
1 can (21 oz., about 600 g) cherry pie filling

For the chocolate buttercream icing:

1 cup (240 ml) vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon (5 ml) flavoring (vanilla or butter)
10 teaspoons (50 ml) water
1 oz (40 g) dark chocolate or chocolate chips or 3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 lb (450 g) confectioner's sugar *
1 pinch salt (optional)

Preparation:

Bake cake as directed on the box. Let it cool on a rack. Cut it in half with the help of a bread knife or a cake leveler, separating the two halves. Spread the cherry filling over the bottom half. Depending on the size of the cake, you may not need to use the entire contents of the can. Cover with the top half.

Preparation of the icing:

Melt the chocolate or the "chocolate chips" according to the manufacturer's instructions (you can use the microwave at 40% power for a minute, then extra 30 seconds, if needed). Beat the shortening in a mixer for 1 minute. Add the flavoring and water, beat for a little while until well blended. Add the other ingredients, beat at medium speed until light and creamy.

 Test of consistency:

By turning the bowl with the icing and spatula, the spatula should move slightly to the side. 
Icing the pie:

Spread icing over a portion of the pie. Smooth with a spatula or knife. Add more icing. Smooth again. When it's got more or less the desired thickness,  pipe the stars with a star tip. One good idea is to spread a little grated chocolate. This option is easier and faster, and it hides the imperfections, if it is not smooth as you want.

* It does not work if you use granulated sugar.

Sweet Fig Compote

I dedicate this post to the ladies at Beijing Haochi, my favorite Chinese food blog. They have published their own fig compote recipe.

This compote is a favorite of my family. We would fight for this at the Sunday lunches in my grandma's place when I was a kid. They were made by my aunt Alzira, she was a perfectionist. Now she can't cook any more, but fortunately my mother and I learned to make it. The challenge is getting the figs... Even here in Michigan, I only see them for sale in (our) Summer. And for a short period of time... 

  

Ingredients:

  

ripe figs (the skin is dark purple)

sugar (about 1 tablespoon for each fig used)

Preparation:

Soak the figs in cold water for 1 or 2 hours to help the removal of the skin. Cut the stalk. Remove the skin carefully, scraping or peeling with a small knife.

 

Also be careful not to smash them, if they are very ripe.

Place the figs and sugar in a deep pan and cook over medium heat. DO NOT STIR. The sugar will melt, and then it begins to boil. With enough care not to disturb the figs (they fall apart easily), remove the foam that is being formed on top, with a slotted spoon.
 

The compote will be ready when the figs turn brown and almost translucent and the syrup has thickened.

Allow to cool and store in glass jars with lids. Refrigerate and they last a long time. Freeze and they last forever...

 Serve with a bit of syrup on top or sprinkle grated cheese (Parmesan or another, if you prefer).

Notes:

After removing the skin, the figs are presented as shown below, a nearly white color.

  

The cooking time is quite high. For the 26 figs that I had here, it took over 1.5 hours. But it's totally worth it. Anyway, apart from the peeling procedure, there's basically not any work in this. You can peel them while watching TV (or listening to it). 

Optional: Place a clove in the pan with the figs and sugar before cooking. I personally don't like the taste with the clove.

Use the syrup leftovers with ice cream or pancakes.  

 

Frozen "Waltz Dream" Candy Dessert

"Sonho de Valsa" can be literally translated to "Waltz Dream". This is the name of the famous Brazilian candy used in this recipe. It is composed of a cashew paste filling, covered with a crunchy crust that tastes like ice-cream cone, then covered with another layer of milk chocolate. There is another version of the candy with white chocolate as the external layer, called "Ouro Branco" ("White Gold"), which is the one I found in the Brazilian/international supermarket close to where I live.
If you don't find this candy, I suggest you try with Ferrero Rocher or other not very hard candy (because it will be frozen). Another idea is to use Kit Kat and Reese's Peanut Cups (break them in pieces).

Ingredients:
Bottom layer:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
The same amount of milk as the can of condensed milk (use empty can)
3 egg yolks
2 teaspoons (10 ml) corn starch
2 tablespoons (30 ml) sugar

Middle Layer:
12 Brazilian candies of "Sonho de Valsa," "Ouro Branco" or "Serenata de Amor" (you may substitute with Ferrero Rocher, or Kit Kat and Reese's Peanut Cups, for a more economic option)
1 cup (240 ml) milk
1 tablespoon (15 ml) corn starch
2 tablespoons (30 ml) sugar
4 tablespoons (60 ml) cocoa powder (unsweetened)

Top layer:
3 egg whites
6 tablespoons (90 ml) sugar
1 1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation:
Bottom layer:
In a medium saucepan, bring the condensed milk, milk, egg yolks, cornstarch and sugar to medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Turn heat off when you get a creamy consistency.
Pour the cream into a Pyrex-type dish approximately 9" X 13" and let it cool.

Chop the candy and spread it over the cream (bottom layer).

Middle layer:
In a small saucepan, bring the ingredients of the intermediate layer (milk, cornstarch, sugar, cocoa) to medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour over into the dish over the chopped candy.

Top layer:
Beat the egg whites with 6 tablespoons of sugar until fluffy. Add the heavy cream and slowly incorporate it to the egg white mixture.
Pour the mixture of egg whites and cream over the chocolate on the dish.
* Suggestion to decorate the top (optional): In the same pan used to make the chocolate cream, add a tablespoon of milk and a little cocoa powder. Take it to a medium heat and bring it to a boil. Using a small spoon, pour some drops of this liquid over the dessert. Then, using the same spoon or preferably a knife, carefully "drag" each drop of chocolate liquid on the top, making curved drawings.

Bring to the freezer for several hours until firm. Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving so it is easy to scoop from the dish.

Best Crunchy Chocolate Popcorn

This is a memory of my childhood, I guess it was the third thing I learned to make in the kitchen (after  Brigadeiro and 123 Cookies).

Ingredients:

3 cups of freshly made popcorn (microwave is fine)
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Nesquick chocolate powder

Preparation:

In a large deep saucepan, mix sugar and water. Cook in medium-high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, place the Nesquick and mix quickly, turning the heat to medium.

Immediately add the popcorn, stirring all the time. When the popcorn is all covered with the chocolate sauce, continue mixing for 1 more minute and turn off the heat.Continue mixing until the chocolate popcorn is dry and crispy.

Notes:

It looks easy, but:
From the moment you place the popcorn in the pan with the chocolate-sugar syrup, you should stir all the time, and the process is very fast. If it takes too long, the popcorn gets burned.
If the popcorn gets "soaked" it is because the mixture of water, sugar and chocolate was not correct. There was probably more water than it should. In this case, the popcorn shrinks and does not dry (thus, it does not get crunchy).
You will get the hang of it after making the popcorn a few times.

Brazilian Truffles in the Microwave (Brigadeiro)

Brigadeiro is the name of the famous Brazilian sweet that we have in children's parties. It is a chocolate and condensed milk mixture rolled with nonpareil sprinkles. The recipe is easy. The difficult part is to know when the cooking is done. While hot, the dough will always be soft. When cooled, it has to be hard enough to be able to be rolled into little balls, if it is too soft, it's a lot of trouble to roll, it will stick to our hand. If it is too hard, then the taste is not the same....

I am sorry about all the talk for one of the simplest Brazilian treats. But people who have not grown with them are not used to the process, I thought it would be useful to describe it in detail.

Ingredients:

1 can sweetened condensed milk 
4 tablespoons chocolate powder (Nesquick)
1 tablespoon butter

Equipment: deep refractory glass bowl for use in microwave oven.
WARNING: Do not use plastic. The sweet gets very hot. Be careful when handling the container with its hot content. It can break if there is a sudden variation of temperature.

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients with a spoon directly in the bowl. Place in microwave at HIGH power for 2 minutes. Wait 1 minute. Remove, stir until smooth (the butter is melted on top).

Place in microwave HIGH power again, for 1 minute. Wait 1 minute. Stir.
Repeat the process until it totals 6 minutes or by testing consistency: using a teaspoon, get a little bit of the sweet and drop it in a shallow plate containing some cold water. If mixture is soft but not very liquid, it is good to roll the sweets.

Wait until it cools down. If it is still a bit soft, you can take it again to the microwave, but the rolling will have to be delayed, since you will have a hot mixture again. It is better to make it one day ahead.

Rolling the sweets:
In a large, shallow plate, drop some nonpareil sprinkles.
Apply a little butter or margarine in your hands. With a teaspoon, get a little of the sweet mixture and put it in your hands. Shape the balls, rolling. When the ball is shaped, drop it in the plate with the nonpareil. Move the little ball around the plate, so that the sprinkles stick to the dough. Put the decorated balls in candy cups.
Notes:

If you want to eat the sweet with a spoon, cook the dough only for a total of 4 minutes only. It is softer this way, and easier to serve. You only need little plastic cups and a very little spoon that fits inside it.

For larger amounts of the candy, double the ingredients. But time is not always double, although it takes longer to cook to the right consistency. For example, for 3 cans of condensed milk (3 times the recipe), I usually cook for 3 minutes in the beginning, wait 1 minute, stir. Cook for 3 more minutes, wait 1 minute, stir again. From then on I cook for 2 minutes at a time, stirring always in the end. In my microwave it takes about 15 minutes. 

The amount of cooking time also depends on the condensed milk. If the can of condensed milk is sitting in the pantry for a long time, it is almost turning into "dulce de leche", and it is more consistent. Therefore, less cooking time is needed. 

Personal opinion: I prefer the taste of  "Brigadeiro" made in a saucepan, although after sprinkling the nonpareils, only a few people notice the difference between the 2 versions.

* I had an Anchor glass dish that got broken into thousands of pieces while I was stirring the hot mixture. The cause may have been that he was placed on the counter a little wet, or perhaps the container could not stand high temperatures. I'm using a Pyrex for a long time now, it is "doing well". But now I always wait for a minute before removing container from microwave and stirring its content.

Another presentation (spiders for Halloween):

123 Cookies

This is a classical cookie from my childhood. We would help my grandma shape the dough, a bunch of kids, cousins, together... Later I got the recipe and started making them at home, I was still a child then.
Now I make them with my daughter. They are so easy. 
They are called 1-2-3 because the recipe is: 1 part of sugar, 2 parts of butter, 3 parts of flour. In Brazil we use metric system, so it's easy to memorize: 100g sugar, 200g butter, 300g flour.

Ingredients:

4 oz sugar
8 oz butter
12 oz flour
sugar to sprinkle

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 oF.
Mix sugar, butter and flour until smooth.
Shape dough to little balls and arrange them in a cookie sheet. If you wish, press a fork on the dough to flatten the cookies.
Bake until just starting to get golden.
Sprinkle with sugar right out of the oven.