BYU Mint Brownies

Here's the brownies that Brittany Anderson brought to last week's RS activity.

BYU MINT BROWNIES

Sugar-n-Spice, Cougareat Food Court
MAKES ONE 9-BY-13 PAN OF BROWNIES.
PREP AND COOK: 90 min. COOL: 1 hr.
1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)
MINT ICING
5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring
1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.
2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.
3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Mint Brownies the Easy Way!

I haven't been cooking or baking anything new and exciting to share, but I want to recommend these brownies. Yep, they are from a box! If you love brownies and ice cream, you have to try them! Plus, they are mint so it's an extra bonus! We put vanilla ice cream on our brownie and then drizzle the mint chocolate sauce that comes in the box over the top, SO good! And, SO easy!

Dark Chocolate Frosting by Martha Stewart

1 pound semisweet chocolate (the good kind)
6 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons boiling water
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
dash of salt

Put chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Place over a pot of simmering water on the stove. Turn the heat off. Let the chocolate melt, stirring every so often, for 15 minutes. Remove bowl from the pot and let the chocolate cool for 30 minutes.
Combine cocoa and water, stir to dissolve cocoa.
Beat butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add melted chocolate and beat for 1 or 2 minutes. Add cocoa mixture and beat to combine.

I made this cake for Jason's birthday yesterday. This frosting is totally worth the effort, especially if you like dark chocolate, which I do!

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow

I think these are the best cupcakes I have ever made, and they tie with Sprinkles chocolate coconut cupcake for the best cupcake I've ever eaten. I wasn't sure if I should attempt to make these becuase they looked a little complicated. It is more work than a cake mix and store bought frosting but TOTALLY WORTH IT! It's not hard, just a little time consuming. So if you are in the mood for fancy, these are the cupcakes for you!

I got the recipe from Martha Stewart and the link is below. Enjoy!

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chocolate-graham-cracker-cupcake-with-toasted-marshmallow

p.s. I did not toast the marshmallow becuase I don't own a kitchen torch. They still tasted good and looked fine too!

cupcakes that make you go mmmm!

Okay, this is not my baking, but I have found delicious cupcakes! Promise you won't shun me? They are at Starbucks! :) The Double Chocolate Cupcakes are so good! So chocolatey, eat it a little chilled, and yum! They also have red velvet and some other flavor, but why bother when they have chocolate?

Chocolate Ganache Cake

Hi again!
Gretchen wanted this recipe and I had already put it on my sisters' food blog so I just copied and pasted it here. I love it! I make the cakes the day before so I don't have a totally mess in my kitchen all day. Good luck with it.

Chocolate Ganache Cake. You CAN'T beat this cake!! I LOVE IT! I wanted to make Scott a Princess Cake for his birthday but he didn't want to be a princess and really wanted me to make this one again. The original MS recipe is here LINK but this first time I made it I didn't know that there was a difference between all-purpose flour and cake flour. DUH. Therefore it was a TOTAL DISASTER! I made those cakes twice that day with crappy results on the cake but yummy goodness on the ganache. But really, how can you mess up ganache? So I used Stephanie's AWESOME-amazing-can't-go-wrong chocolate cake recipe with the original ganache and now it's pretty much near perfect!

Stepi's Chocolate Cake

3 c. flour ALL-PURPOSE! Not cake flour
6 Tbs. coco
2 tsp baking soda
2 c. sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 c. oil
2 Tbs. vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
2 c. very cold water
Chocolate Ganache (recipe below)

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients and add to dry mixture. Mix till just moist. Grease and flour (or use coco) a 9x13 or 2 9" inch circular pans or cup cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-50 minutes, depending on your pan. Check frequently.

To assemble:(from Martha Stewart)

Transfer half of Chocolate Ganache (3 1/2 cups) to clean bowl of an electric mixer; set aside remaining. Let cool completely, stirring frequently, about 40 minutes. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until ganache holds soft peaks, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cake layers to make level. Transfer one of the layers to a cake turntable or platter, and spread top with 1 1/2 cups whipped ganache. Top with remaining layer, cut side down, and spread remaining whipped ganache in a thin layer over entire cake, covering completely. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.Transfer cake to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Pour reserved ganache over top, letting it run down the sides. If necessary, use a large offset spatula to spread from the center toward the edges, so that the cake is evenly and completely covered. Refrigerate until ganache has just begun to set, about 30 minutes. Transfer cake to a serving plate. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, covered with a cake dome, for up to 2 days

Chocolate Ganache

Makes about 7 cups

• 4 cups heavy cream
• 2 pounds best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring cream to a full boil; turn off heat. Add chocolate, and swirl pan to completely cover with cream. Slowly whisk mixture until smooth. Add corn syrup and salt; stir until combined. Transfer to a clean bowl.

Yummy Choclale Cake!

My sister made this chocolate cake for my birthday last week. It is TOO good!

Chocolate Cake

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour 2 c. sugar 3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa 1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. baking powder 1 t. salt 2 eggs 1 c. milk 1/2 c. vegetable oil 1 t. vanilla
1 c. boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9-inch pans by rubbing with butter, sprinkling with flour and tapping out extra. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix together with a wooden spoon then set aside. In small bowl combine eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat well with hand mixer. Slowly add boiling water and mix. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and fold and stir until smooth. Pour batter into pans, dividing evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove cake from pans and cool on racks.

Chocolate Frosting

3 c. confectioners' sugar 3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa 1 stick butter, softened
3-4 T. heavy cream 1 t. vanilla

Sift sugar and cocoa together into a large bowl. In another bowl combine 1 c. of sugar mixture with butter and 1 T. cream, beating until smooth. Add another cup of sugar and another T. of cream, beating well. Continure until all ingredients are combined and frosting is fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Spread frosting on top of one round. Top with second round and cover top and sides completely with frosting.