Intense Chocolate Cheesecake

 Chloe's choice of cake for her birthday- cheesecake

Baker By Nature

For the Crust:

• 1 and 1/2 cups (24 chocolate cookies) like oreos
• 1/4 cup (57g/2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the Ultimate Chocolate Cheesecake:

• 2 cups (340g/12 ounces) bittersweet dark chocolate chips (A)
• 1 and 1/2 pounds (680g/24 ounces) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup (198g/7 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (53g/1 and 7/8 ounces) light brown sugar, packed
• 3 Tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 4 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (170g/6 ounces) heavy cream, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Ganache:

• 1 and 1/3 cups (226g/8 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 and 1/4 cups (12 ounces) heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (57g/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes

Instructions

 

For the Crust:

• Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan in layers of heavy duty aluminum foil. You’ll be placing this pan in a water bath, so be sure the pan has been wrapped from every angle.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the chocolate wafer crumbs and melted butter. Pat the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack and cool the crust completely. Leave the oven on.

  For the Ultimate Chocolate Cheesecake:

  • Fill a medium pot one-third full with water and bring it to a low simmer over medium heat.
  • Place a heatproof bowl that will fit on top of the pan snugly, but will not touch the simmering water, on top of the pan. Reduce the heat to low and add the chopped chocolate into the bowl over the pot. Heat until the chocolate is completely melted, stirring occasionally with a silicon spatula. Remove the pot from the heat, leaving the bowl of chocolate over the hot water. Set aside until needed.
  • In the bowl of a food processor (or high-powered blender), pulse the cream cheese until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 2 minutes. Add in both sugars and cocoa powder and beat smooth. Add in the eggs, egg yolks, and heavy cream and mix until just combined, about 20 seconds. Fold in the chocolate. Finally add in the vanilla and pulse for another 20 seconds.
  • Remove the bowl from the food processor and, using a rubber spatula, stir the filling several times to ensure it’s evenly blended.
  • Scrape the filling over the partially baked crust in the prepared pan.
  • (B) Place the springform pan in a roasting pan or large baking pan. Place the roasting pan in the preheated oven and pour enough hot water into the pan to come 1-inch up the sides of the springform pan.
  • Bake the cheesecake in the water bath for 1 hour and 30-40 minutes, or until the center of the cake is set but still slightly jiggly. The cake will set completely as it cools.
  • Remove the cake from the water bath and  place the pan on a wire rack. Carefully loosen the foil, then immediately run the tip of a knife around the sides of the pan, to prevent the top from cracking. Cool completely (in the pan), then transfer cheesecake to the refrigerator to chill for at least 6 hours before removing from the pan and slicing. 

  For the Chocolate Ganache:

  • Add chopped chocolate to a medium bowl; set aside.
  • In a small saucepan over medium-heat, bring the cream to a low simmer. Pour half of the cream on top of the chocolate pieces and set aside for 1 minute. With a whisk, begin to incorporate the melted chocolate into the cream. Slowly add the remaining cream and continue carefully whisking until smooth and glossy.
  • Add in the butter and use a spatula to stir until the butter is completely melted. The mixture will be dark and glossy. Set aside, at room temperature, until needed.
  • Pour ganache over cooled cheesecake. Set aside until ganache is set, about 1 hour.
  • To serve, slice the cheesecake with a thin-bladed sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between each cut.
  • Store, loosely covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days. 

  (A) I used one 10oz bag of dark chocolate chips. I turned on the stove to cook the cookie crumb crust and I put the new bag of chocolate chips right where the oven emits heat so the oven would melt the chocolate chips so I wouldnt need to do a double boiler or melt the chocolate chips in the mirco.

(B) I did wrap the cheesecake springform pan with a crockpot plastic liner so the cheesecake wouldn't get wet by the water bath. it worked out perfect

Crockpot hot chocolate

• Delish

1 and 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. heavy cream
6 c. whole milk
Mini marshmallows, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients except marshmallows in a slow cooker. Stir to combine.
2. Cook until everything is melted, stirring occasionally, 2 hours on LOW.
3. 10 minutes before serving, add marshmallows and let them get melty. Garnish with more mini marshmallows, if desired.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Natasha's Kitchen

8 oz package cream cheese, room temp8 Tbsp (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temp3 cups powdered sugar1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1/4 tsp salt1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer using paddle attachment (or using an electric hand mixer with a large bowl), beat together 8 oz cream cheese with 8 Tbsp butter on medium/high speed until creamy (3 min), scraping down the bowl as needed.
2. Sift in 3 cups powdered sugar with 1/2 cup cocoa powder to ensure there are no lumps then add 1/4 tsp salt. Mix on low speed until well combined, scrape down the bowl well then increase to medium/high speed and beat until smooth and whipped (1 min).
3. Add 1 tsp vanilla and beat on medium/high until smooth (1 min). Now it’s ready to be piped onto cooled cupcakes.

Chocolate and Cheese Fondue

Six Sisters Stuff

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 (4.25 oz) large Hershey’s Chocolate with Almonds candy bars
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Place butter, chocolate, marshmallows, and milk in a 1-2 quart slow cooker that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cover and cook on low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes until melted and smooth. Gradually stir in whipping cream. Cover and keep warm for serving up to 2 hours. Makes 6-8 servings.
Serve with bite-size brownie pieces, bananas, apples, marshmallows, graham crackers, strawberries, cinnamon bears, cookies, mandarin oranges, or anything else you like. I like to use wooden skewers or large toothpicks to pick up the bite-sized food and dip it into the chocolate.

Cheese Fondue
Taste of Home

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 cups milk
2 cups (8 ounces) cubed colby jack cheese
Bread cubes, ham cubes, bite-size sausage and or broccoli florets
In a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour, salt if desired, mustard, pepper and Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat. Add the cheese; cook and stir until cheese is melted.
Transfer to a fondue pot or 1-1/2-qt. slow cooker; keep warm. Serve with bread, ham, sausage and/or broccoli. Yield: 2-1/2 cups.

Served with fresh sliced red and yellow peppers, roasted cauliflower,roasted  broccoli, roasted carrots, roasted  asparagus

Also Served with
BBQ Drumsticks

White Cake mix additions

1.  White Cake mix to peppermint cake
Betty Crocker

1

box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ white cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box

1/2

teaspoon red food color

1/2

teaspoon peppermint extract

White Icing

1

cup powdered sugar

1

tablespoon milk or water

1/2

teaspoon vanilla, if desired

Decoration

Crushed candy canes or crushed hard peppermint candies, if desired

• 1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Generously grease rectangular pan. Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour about 2 cups batter into pan. In small bowl, pour about 3/4 cup batter; stir in food color and peppermint extract. Carefully pour pink batter over white batter in pan and then swirl the two colors together with a knife.
• 2 Bake and cool cake as directed on box.
• 3 In small bowl, mix white icing ingredients. If necessary, stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until smooth and spreadable. Spread over cake. Sprinkle crushed candy on top. Store loosely covered.

2.  White Cake mix to Chocolate cake mix

1 cake mix 

3 eggs

1and1/4 c milk

1/4c oil

1/2 c sour cream or mayo (i've tried both and very successful()

1 pudding package (keep it in powder form)

1/4-1/2c cocoa powder 

Chocolate chips

Oven 350. Mix eggs, water, oil, pudding and cocoa till smooth.  Then add cake mix.  Spray the baking pan add the cake mix. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top, they will sink down as it cooks.  Last 5 min add two handfuls of chips to top, they will stay on the top.  Cook 24min, let cool.

4/01/24

MAde a white cake mix and turned it into a most delicious chocolate cake 

Two options for frosting:

1. Melt chocolate chips in microwave with a little oil/butter and pour that on top of a cooled cake.  It will harden and be delicious

2. Chocolate sauce

• 4 tablespoons (60g) virgin coconut oil
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (52g) carob/cocoa powder. (For a sauce, decrease to 1/4 cup)
• 2-4T honey

Melt the coconut oil and honey  in the microwave. My honey was old and granulized, but the micro smoothed it out. Add the cocoa. Stir stir stir! Stir until it gets thick like Artisana Cacao Bliss.

3.Banana-Cinnamon Cake

 Betty Crocker

1

box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ yellow cake mix

1/2

cup water 

1

cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 medium)

1/2

cup butter or margarine, softened

2

teaspoons ground cinnamon

3

eggs

1/2

cup chopped walnuts

Cinnamon Glaze

1/2

cup Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy cream cheese frosting

2

to 3 teaspoons milk 

1/4

teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

• 1 Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease and lightly flour 12-cup fluted tube cake pan, or spray with cooking spray.
• 2 In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, bananas, butter, cinnamon and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in walnuts. Pour into pan.
• 3 Bake 47 to 57 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn pan upside down onto cooling rack or heatproof serving plate; remove pan. Cool completely, about 2 hours. In small bowl, stir glaze ingredients until thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over cake. Store loosely covered.

Brownie Mix-Black Bean Brownies

All Recipes
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
1 package brownie mix
1 cup chocolate chips, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.
Blend black beans and water together in a blender until smooth; pour into a bowl. Stir brownie mix into black bean mixture until batter is smooth; fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips over batter.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side of the pan comes out clean, 35 minutes. Cool brownies completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Recipes To try

Choco Zucchini Brownies

Double Chocolate Cookies

All Recipes

2/3 cup butter, softened
1  cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

I remember having these double chocolate cookies in high school b/c my friend jenny shared with me and brought them in her lunch.  Her dad made them.  They are delicious and we'd call them poo cookies.  Once you cook them you'll see the resemblence.

Domestic Superhero

Chocolate Lava Cake

11/30/15 I had this cake at a friends house, it is was amazing!!!

Giant Cupcake Candy Melt Base

For katie's birthday she wanted choco cake, with choco chips and choco frosting.

I bought a jumbo cupcake pan on sale a couple of weeks ago, so I'm gona try it for her bday.

Original recipe- Cake Central

I first made a hard chocolate mold in the cake pan.  I bought semi sweet choco chips, then melted them over the stove.  ( I usually melt choco chips in the micro with a little oil, but I did the stove top b/c I had to put layers of choco in the cake pan and freeze each layer in between reapplying.)

So I got a small sauce pan and a small glass bowl that would hold 12oz of choco chips and about 2t of oil. On the cake pan spray non-stick spray then add the layers of choco. I wanted the choco chips to stay warm and not get hardened while waiting to reapply the next layer while the cake pan with choco was in the freezer.

The freezer probably took 15-20 min between each layer of applying choco to harden it.  I layered about 3-4 layers of chocolate.

To get the choco mold out, Attempt #1 fill up the sink with hot water and dip the bottom part of the cake pan for a few minutes and then turn the cake pan upside down to get the mold out.  Attempt #2 the first attempt didn't work, so I put the faucet on hot and rotated the outside of the pan to loosen the choco mold, then put down a clean plate and shook up and down the mold on to the plate. (it worked) Then put the mold in the fridge while I cooked the cake.

When cake is done put it in freezer to cool it down for 30min and then I needed to cut off an inch around the sides so I would fit inside the chocolate hard mold.

Frozen Banana, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip shake/Dairy free- ice cream

From The Kitchn

Use a food processor or blender,

Makes 1 large shake or 2 small shakes

2 medium FROZEN bananas, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
1/4c peanut butter
1/4c  cup skim or 2% milk, or coconut milk, or almond milk
1/4 cup chocolate chips (could use cacao or cocoa powder)

Freeze the bananas in a covered container for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Put everything except the chocolate chips in the machine. Mix/Chop till smooth, then add choco chips, I like to have a little more chunks, so don't puree long.

More banana ice cream recipes- Quick ice cream

Carob VS. Chocolate (cocoa) VS. Cacao

Amy's thoughts on Comparison:  
    Personally for me I want to feel a little more self control when it comes to chocolate. So I've reached out to try carob powder instead of chocolate.  They appear they both have their pros and cons to both sides.  The cacao powder seems to have significantly more vitamins and nutrients but still has the caffeine impact.  Maybe a balance of all of them.  But cacao is a more pure form of chocolate (cocoa).  It is just what you prefer. (amy)


    1.  Chocolate (cocoa) has stimulants called- caffeine or theobromine, can give migranes if your prone to it,  iron, magnesium, copper, and manganese.  (Found from Quick and Dirty)
    2.  carob powder is lower in fat but significantly higher in carbohydrates and sugar, significant amount of calcium (Found from Quick and Dirty)
     3. Cacao powder contains the minerals calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc, contains flavanoids which are beneficial for cardiovascular health



What is carob?
Carob comes from the pod of a tree that grows along the Mediterranean Sea called the carob tree. Once dried and roasted, the pulp is ground into a powder called carob flour,  This website also has recipes for- carob cake, granola bars, and no-cook energy balls...  carob should be consumed with plenty of water
From Whole Foods



How are cacao and cocoa different?
cacao and cocoa are both made from pods of the theobroma cacao plant.
      Cacao however avoids the roasting processes and is just grinded into powder.  Cacao powder has a stronger, more bitter flavour, and is packed full of nutrients and antioxidants.  
      The cocoa powder is roasted, grinded, usually (dutching) potassium carbonate, is added to the powder making the cocoa less acidic. Studies show however that heavy dutching destroys as much as 90% of the antioxidants.
      Carob doesn’t contain the theobromine that chocolate contains. Generally speaking carob chocolate has lower calories and less fat than chocolate made with cocoa, although it does have a different flavour.  It’s also a good source of vitamin A, B vitamins and some minerals.
From First be healthy

Fudgy Flourless brownies

http://mywholefoodlife.com/2014/03/02/fudgy-flourless-brownies/

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 cup macadamia butter (I used almond)
• 1 flax egg (I used an egg )
• 1/3 cup maple syrup (I used honey)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips (forgot them :)
• 3 T cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder (forgot :)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350.
• In a food processor, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
• Pour the batter into a parchment lined pan. I used an 8x8 glass baking dish. ( I put in muffin tins and it made 11 muffins) 
• Bake for 45 minutes.
• Let the brownies cool completely before removing them from the pan.
• Store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
• They should last 1 week in the fridge.
• You can also freeze them.

A few things to note: These brownies will almost seem like they are underdone. Once they have finished cooking,let them cool completely and put them in the fridge and they will firm up nicely. I used macadamia nut butter because I like the buttery texture and taste of it. If you want to use it, just take 2 cups raw macadamia nuts and blend them in the a blender or food processor. I used my Blendtec with the twister jar and it took only 2 minutes. You can also sub another nut butter if you wish. Store these in the fridge in an airtight container. I like to put a layer of parchment paper in between each brownie, so they don't stick together.

(amy says, wowy wow that was really good)

Panda Cake

This is the cake we made for Ev's second birthday party which was panda themed, and the cake was shaped as a panda face, hence the name, Panda cake. It is a chocolate cake with thick peanut butter frosting. The batter has zucchini and pumpkin in it, making it nice and moist. The flavors and texture develop after cooking then chilling in the fridge. Enjoy!
Panda Cake
Makes 2- 8”rounds
...

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cup brown sugar (I have experimented with alternative sweeteners, such as dates and honey with good success here.)
1 1/3 cup pumpkin
2 cups grated zucchini
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup almond milk
Frosting:
1 cup natural peanut butter
½ cup greek yogurt
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sweetener (agave)
honey for drizzling
(I skipped the yogurt and added a little more honey for sweetener. I blended the peanuts into butter then added vanilla and LIQUID honey. Solid honey and makes a terrible texture.)
Directions:
For the cakes:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place liners in the pans. Mix together the whole-wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sifted cocoa powder. Set aside.
In a separate bowl mix the vanilla, brown sugar, pumpkin, zucchini, egg and almond milk.
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined (the batter will be thick).
Fill each cake pan 2/3 of the way full. For round cakes, bake for 30 minutes, until springy when touched.
For cupcakes, bake at 375 for 17-20 minutes.Let cool completely before icing.
For the frosting:
Stir together the peanut butter, Greek yogurt, vanilla and Stevia. If you prefer a sweeter icing, add more sweetener to taste. Ice the cakes right before serving Drizzle honey over top. Due to the lack of fat in the recipe and the Greek yogurt in the icing, if not eaten immediately, the cakes should be kept in the refrigerator. (This cake actually tastes better cold, in my opinion)

Black Bean Brownies

Black Bean Brownies

• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder (for more cake-like brownies)
• 1/2-3/4 cup sweetener of your choice (honey, sugar, agave, etc)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 square baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sweetener, in a blender; blend until smooth.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. 
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 25- 30 minutes.

No-Dye Avocado Frosting

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar (plus a little more if needed)
• Pinch salt

1. Using the whisk attachment for your mixer, beat avocado and butter until combined and no lumps remain.
2. Beat in vanilla and salt.
3. Add powdered sugar slowly and mix until combined. Add more powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.

Amy's notes- 9/3/2013 Made it and YUMMY! I used lentils instead and 1t of peppermint extract in the brownies and 1/2t in the frosting or do a peanut butter frosting leave out peppermint. The frosting is REALLY green! Turned out great. But, when I waited 24 hours to eat them, they were much better, so wait and put in the fridge.

Chickpea cookies

The Original Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites Recipe (aka Chickpea Cookies)
Texanerin and also Begin within Nutrition

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel^{1 (a person mentioned they used white kidney beans instead)}
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (165 grams) natural peanut butter, SunButter Natural or almond butter - room temperature ²
• ¼ cup (80 grams) honey (commenters have used agave and maple syrup with success!)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder³
• a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn't have salt in it
• ½ cup (90 grams) chocolate chips (use vegan and dairy-free chocolate chips, if needed)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C. Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined.
2. Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky.
3. With wet hands, form into 1½" balls. Place onto a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. They don't do much rising.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes. The dough balls will still be very soft when you take them out of the oven. They will not set like normal cookies.
5. Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the fridge) for up to 1 week.

Notes

1. My can of chickpeas was 400 grams, 240 grams without the water, and I used all but a few tablespoons.
2. Don't even try with regular peanut butter! They'll come out oily. You MUST use natural peanut butter. :)
3. If you need grain-free baking powder, you can use 1 part cream of tartar + 1 part baking soda + 2 parts arrowroot