Chocolate Trifle

Last month I was asked to make one of my favorite desserts for a friend's birthday party, so I attempted to really focus on taking lots of pictures of the whole process of making this amazing trifle.  This recipe can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be.  I'll share with you the 'cheat method' and the 'from scratch' method!  Both are delicious!

Chocolate Trifle (adapted from Paula Deen's Chocolate Toffee Trifle)

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix or one batch Mocha Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup dulce de leche, heated (or, mix 1/4 cup carmel topping with 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk)
2 cups fudge sauce (jarred or recipe follows), warmed
2 cups heavy cream whipped and sweetened with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla (you can substitute this with store bought cool whip, but there's nothing better than homemade whipped cream and it really is easy to make)
1/2 - 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Prepare the cake according to package instructions or follow the link to the recipe for Mocha Chocolate Cake for a 9 x 12-inch pan.  Allow the cake to rest for 5 minutes.  While cake is resting, heat the dulce de leche mixture on the stove or in the microwave.  You want the mixture to be smooth and runny, so it usually take about 5 minutes on the stove.

Now, using a fork or straw, poke holes throughout the cake, but be careful not to puncture all the way to the bottom of the pan.  After poking your holes, pour the dulce de leche mixture evenly all over the cake and watch it get absorbed by the chocolate!  Allow the cake to cool completely on the counter and then cover with saran wrap and cool in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Cake after the dulce de leche has cooled on the top.  You can barely see the holes in the cake.

Next, remove the cake from the refrigerator and slice it into 1 inch thick pieces (I think mine are bigger than this, then I cut them smaller at the end).  Remember, this is a dump cake, you can't mess it up and it always makes a great impression!  You will need a trifle bowl or large bowl to assemble this cake.  Now you have all of your ingredients: cooled cake cut into small pieces, heated fudge sauce and whipped cream.  The layers begin as follows: cake pieces to fill in bottom layer, 1/4 of fudge sauce, 1/3 of the whipped cream.  Continue that pattern until you run out of items or you reach the top of the trifle bowl.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on top for a beautiful presentation.  Sometimes I have leftovers so I make a mini one in a regular bowl for me and my helpers to share. . .  ;)

These are all of the ingredients ready to be assembled. 

This is the homemade whipped cream.  It's so easy to make!  Seriously.  

Hot Fudge Sauce (this stuff is crazy addictive)

Ingredients:

1 4-oz bar bittersweet chocolate (I use any dark chocolate for this)

1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate (baking bars)

8 tbls butter (1 stick)

3 cups powdered sugar

1 2/3 cup evaporated milk (basically one small can)

1 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Melt the chocolate and the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan.  Turn the heat up to medium once melted.  Stir in the powdered sugar, alternating with the evaporated milk and mixing well after each addition.  Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer.  Continue cooking for 8 minutes while simmering, then remove from heat and add vanilla.  

Note: This fudge sauce is a labor or love.  It takes a long time for me to make it and I usually bump up the temperature just to a 6 on my stove just to get things moving.  So, if you're new to baking, I might just buy the fudge sauce from the store.  I promise it will still be 'to die for.'  

You see how it sticks to the spoon when the fudge sauce is done?  That's the consistency you want. It also thickens a bit upon cooling.

Yield: 10-12 servings

Day 6: Three Chocolate Chip Cookies

I can't believe I haven't done a post about these cookies yet, but they are my second favorite cookie next to snickerdoodles!  First place for my favorite goes back and forth between the two depending on my mood and taste buds.  I've been making these cookies for a few years, but I actually didn't follow the recipe the first time I made them.  It was one of those serendipitous mistakes and I couldn't get enough of the cookies. 

They are very moist and cakey, so they appear fluffier than most chocolate chip cookies.  My friend Jeannie was with me at a cookie exchange when I first made them and it's begun an obsession with both of us for these cookies.  Her kids actually refer to the cookies as 'Ms. Sarah Cookies.'  It took my family only a year or so to realize the 'awsomeness' of these cookies, but I've finally got them all hooked!  ;)

This recipe is adapted from a Paula Deen recipe, but I originally forgot to add the white sugar that the recipe called for and I replaced the shortening with butter (I always do that since I'm not a fan of shortening), so I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Three Chocolate Cookies (adapted from Paula Deen's recipe)


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
1 3/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (or white whole wheat)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup dark, bittersweet chocolate morsels
1 cup Heath chocolate toffee bits (found with chocolate chips in baking isle)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets. 

With an electric mixer, beat butter at medium speed until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.


In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in chocolate and Heath toffee bits. Drop cookies by 1/4 cupfuls about 3-inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Yields almost 3 dozen for me, but only 2 dozen if I make them really big.