Chocolate Raspberry Crêpe Cake

I... I can't even... I don't know where to begin, really. I almost didn't share this with you. Chocolate, cream, crêpes, more chocolate, more cream, ganache, raspberry jam, truffles, diabetes, chocolate, obesity, cream. In good conscience I couldn't give you this recipe. Luckily for you, I apparently gave up being a good person for Lent this year.

The cake: A dozen or so crêpes layered with chocolate ganache and raspberry jam, covered in chocolate ganache frosting, topped with chocolate truffles, and dusted with cocoa powder. If you enjoy chocolate, the odds are in ever in your favor (Did you see The Hunger Games this weekend? I did, and my inner tween loved it!) of enjoying this cake. This is easily the most ridiculous dessert I've ever made.

I don't wish to know the calorie count of a slice of this cake. It's unfortunate that I'm going to a beach in Florida in less than a month. I apologize to my fellow sand loungers. It's not going to be pretty. This cake is partially to blame, but it was worth every rich, decadent bite. 

Proceed at your own health risk. You may never breathe the same way again, but you will die happy.

         

Chocolate Raspberry Crêpe Cake
adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

Crêpes
yields about one dozen crêpes

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
1 cup cream
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Directions:
Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or a blender and process until well combined.  The mixture will be the consistency of heavy cream.

Brush a 9 or 10 inch skillet with melted butter and place over medium heat until butter just starts to smoke. Pour scant 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet. Swirl the batter with the pan lifted over the stove eye until the bottom is coated with a thin layer of batter.  Place pan on the stove eye and cook until the surface of the crêpe loses most of its glossiness and the top is set. Flip crepe and leave on the stove for another 20 seconds. Slide the crêpe out of the skillet and onto a plate.

Repeat process until all crêpe batter is used. Allow the crêpes to cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache
**half this portion of the recipe if you do not intend on making truffles**

Ingredients:
18 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Roughly chop the chocolate and place it in a medium heatproof bowl.

In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream and vanilla over medium-high heat until just boiling.

Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool slightly before using.

Assembly

Center a crêpe on a serving plate.  Using a pastry brush, very lightly coat the crêpe with chocolate ganache while it is still thin (if ganache begins to set, you can gently heat it in the microwave at 20 second intervals). Thinly spread a little raspberry jam over the ganache and top with another crêpe. Continue brushing, spreading and stacking, ending with a crêpe on top.  Place in the cake thus far in the freezer for 30 minutes to set.

Refrigerate the chocolate ganache. When remaining chocolate ganache is of spreading consistency, use to frost the cake.  Let stand at room temperature until set.  

The remaining amount of chocolate ganache can be chilled and rolled into truffles.  Roll truffles in cocoa powder and garnish top of cake. Dust cocoa powder over the entire cake.

Die happy.

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Raspberry Crumb Bars and Taliesin West

My parents came to the big AZ this past weekend for a visit! My mom had one request: "Could you make those raspberry bars?" Done and done.

The raspberry bars were busy. They went to the pool, spring training games, and Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's southwestern studio and school of architecture (beautiful! see below).

            

The bars and I learned all about Frank's passion for natural architecture and his energy well into his seventies.  If you want inspiration for activity and creativity, this is the place to be provoked.

These raspberry crumb bars are a favorite. They basically taste like an oatmeal cookie sandwich with raspberry filling. Mmm mm mm, finger lickin' good! You can use either fresh or frozen raspberries (I recommend thawing the raspberries if they are frozen), so this recipe works any time of year! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does :)

           

Raspberry Crumb Bars
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Crust and Crumb
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

Raspberry filling
Ingredients:
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of one 9-by-13-inch or two 8-by-8-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. Butter the parchment and sides of the pan.

Crust and Crumb:
Put the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until combined. Add the butter and pulse until loose crumbs form.

Reserve 1 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside. Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan and use your hans or the back of a large wooden spoon to push the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. The crust should touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool. Keep the oven on while you make the raspberry filling.

Raspberry Filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together. Add the raspberries, lemon juice and butter and use your hands to toss gently until the raspberries are evenly coated. Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly on top of the filling.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.
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Raspberry Pie

Have any of you seen the movie Waitress? I just love it to pieces. This is my I Don't Understand Turbulent Convection in Stellar Interiors Raspberry Pie.

This pie is just some good, old-fashioned, home-cooked love. Flaky crust, tart and sweet filling, and a lot of heart(s). I do not have any pictures of pie wedges, because this dessert was devoured by grad students in about three minutes flat. That does suggest, however, that this pie recipe is a keeper.

         

 

Personally, I don't like to add too much cornstarch or flour to my filling. I like a slightly thickened filling, but I don't want to taste paste, so I just sprinkle some cornstarch on the top. Any kind of berry or cherry can be substituted for the raspberries. Nothing beats fresh raspberries, but frozen ones will work just as well (I would make sure to thaw the frozen raspberries and drain the excess water so that your pie isn't soupy.). The fruit will joyfully bubble and the crust will golden, letting you know that it's ready to come out of the oven.

The taste is perfect, but what will truly win you over is the aroma. This is the kind of pie that makes your whole house smell inviting and promises a comfortable haven. If there is one slice of advice I can give you, it's this: Take some time to smell the pie.

Raspberry Pie
adapted from Saveur

yields one 9" round pie

Ingredients:
Crust
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6-8 tablespoons ice water

Filling
4 cups raspberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Assembly
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon milk or cream
1 tablespoon coarse sanding sugar

Directions:

For the crust: In a food processors, pulse the butter, flour, and salt until it resembles a coarse meal. With the processor on, slowly add the ice water until the dough begins to hold together. Press the dough into a rough ball, then transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a few times until smooth. Divide dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other, and flatten each slightly to make a flat disk. Wrap disks individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

For the filling: Toss raspberries with lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

For the pie: Preheat oven to 375°. Roll the larger disk of dough out on a lightly floured surface into an 11" round, then fit it into a 9" glass pie plate. Transfer filling to pastry bottom. Sprinkle with  1 teaspoon of cornstarch and scatter the 3 tablespoons of butter over fruit. Roll the remaining disk of dough out on the lightly floured surface into a 10" round, then cut it into eight 1"-wide strips. Weave dough strips on top of filling to make a lattice-top crust, fold edges of dough under, and crimp edges. Brush lattice crust with 1 teaspoon of milk or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake until pastry is deep golden (cover edges of crust with foil if browning too quickly), 60–70 minutes. Set pie aside to cool for several hours before serving.

Enjoy.
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Chocolate Tart with Nutella, Raspberry Curd & Berries

Chocolate and Raspberry. Need I say more, ladies? I think not. However, this tart says plenty more by taking chocolate and raspberry to another dimension: chocolate crust with Nutella and raspberry curd with fresh berries.

Can you believe that I kept this in my fridge for a whole 24 hours just to bring into school to share? 24 hours. 24 long, long hours. I even gave the mini tarts to my roommates. I never had a taste for 24 hours! Ok, fine, that's a boldfaced lie. I had spoonfuls of curd and Nutella, and maybe a berry or thirteen while assembling this tart. I'm only human.

This recipe for Chocolate Tart Dough is adaptable to all your chocolate tart needs (Make this tart and you will discover that you have chocolate tart needs.). This combo is satisfying, to say the least, but pick your own favorite fillings - pastry cream, custard, curd, ganache, fruit, etc. Let me know what you come up with!

Chocolate Tart Dough

Martha Stewart

yields 4 2x4-inch rectangular tarts; or 1 9-inch round tart + some extra for mini tarts

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons heavy cream, chilled
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Add yolks, cream, and vanilla and process until mixture comes together.


Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, flatten into a disk, and wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to use, up to 2 days.

Now it's time to make the tart! Preheat oven to 375 F. Remove dough from fridge and let sit on a floured work surface for 5 minutes. Roll dough about 1/4-inch thick. Press dough evenly into tart pan. Bake for about 20 minutes (You're whole house will smell like chocolate - this is the best part!). Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for an hour.

Fill tart with delicious things. Enjoy.

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