Ingredient: all purpose flour

Marshmallow Mudslide Cookies

marshmallow mudslide cookies

Have you ever had mudslide cake? It’s a deliciously messy chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and marshmallows, also known as Mississippi mud cake. I saw one covered in a layer of marshmallow fluff and it made its way into my dreams. I woke up with the inspiration to make a cookie version of the gooey mudslide cake.

I saw a few mudslide cookie recipes out there that used standard size marshmallows and chocolate chips mixed into the cookie dough. If you’ve ever baked with marshmallows, you know that they nearly disappear during the baking process. Chocolate chips melt beautifully into little pools of chocolate, but then harden once cooled to room temperature. I happily volunteered to address these challenges! After some trial and error, I created a satisfying cookie with plenty of gooey marshmallow goodness and a rich fudge filling that stays soft at room temperature. Dreams do come true!

marshmallow mudslide cookies

Print Recipe
 Marshmallow Mudslide Cookies
Chocolate fudge-filled cookies topped with toasted marshmallows
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Fudge filling
Cookies
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Fudge filling
Cookies
Instructions
Fudge filling
  1. Melt chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk together in a double boiler or in the **microwave in a medium microwave safe bowl.
  2. Stir in chopped nuts. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Cookies
  1. Heat oven to 350º.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer.
  4. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.
  5. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well combined.
  6. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
  7. Add dry ingredients in two increments, mixing just until combined.
  8. Roll fudge filling into tablespoon sized balls
  9. Roll cookie dough into 1/8 cup balls then flatten into a disc with your fingers and place a ball of fudge filling in the middle of each disc. Wrap the cookie dough around the ball of filling, sealing it completely.
  10. Place cookies about 2 inches apart on large baking sheets.
  11. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
  12. Turn on broiler.
  13. Place a marshmallow on top of each cookie.
  14. Broil cookies until marshmallows are toasted. This takes about 1 minute. CAUTION Watch cookies carefully when broiling! They can go from done to burnt in the blink of an eye!
Recipe Notes

*I used Kraft Jet-Puffed S'moreMallows, but if you're unable to find them, use jumbo marshmallows. Cut them in half lengthwise with kitchen shears. Place on cookies cut side down.

**To melt fudge filling in microwave, heat for 30 seconds. Stir, then microwave for 10 second intervals, stirring until melted.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Brownies

pumpkin cheesecake crumble brownies

It’s Fall 2020. We need chocolate! We need pumpkin spice! And we need it drenched with caramel! These satisfying brownies check all of the boxes with multiple layers of comfort. A rich chocolate brownie is the base. The next layer is heavenly pumpkin cheesecake. The topping is a buttery crumble that rivals the best crumb cake. Finally, as if that isn’t enough, it’s drizzled with caramel sauce!

If it sounds complicated, don’t worry, it’s not. Each layer is super easy to make. You can use your favorite store bought caramel sauce to top it with. Vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream are optional, but highly recommended toppings also. Just saying.

The layers go unexpectedly well together and make the perfect dessert for Halloween or Thanksgiving. I’m even going to add these beauties to my Christmas dessert table this year. Enjoy! You deserve it.

Print Recipe
 Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Brownies
Chocolate brownies with pumpkin cheesecake and crumb topping, topped with caramel sauce.
Course Dessert
Servings
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
Pumpkin Cheesecake Layer
Brownie Layer
Course Dessert
Servings
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
Pumpkin Cheesecake Layer
Brownie Layer
Instructions
Crumb Topping
  1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
  2. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or your fingers until well-combined and crumbles are pea-sized. Press crumbles together to make large quarter-sized chunks.
  3. Set aside in refrigerator.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Layer
  1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.
  3. Add pumpkin, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and beat until well combined. Set aside.
Brownie Layer
  1. Melt 1 stick of butter in a large microwaveable bowl.
  2. Stir in sugar until combined
  3. Stir in cocoa powder, vanilla, baking powder and salt.
  4. Add the eggs and beat until smooth
  5. Add the flour and mix until just combined.
  6. Spread brownie batter into prepared baking pan. Smooth with a spatula.
  7. Spread pumpkin cheesecake batter over the top of brownie batter. Smooth with a spatula.
  8. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over the top of pumpkin cheesecake layer.
  9. Bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into pumpkin cheesecake layer comes out clean.
  10. Let cool completely. Cut into squares and serve with caramel sauce.

Peaches & Cream Profiteroles

Peaches & Cream Profiteroles by Brownie Mischief

Summer is nearly over, and after the recent heatwave here in Southern California, I’m more than ready to welcome fall weather. But before I put on my fluffy sweater and dive into pumpkin spice everything, I want to enjoy the tail end of peach season, don’t you? Farmer’s markets and stores near my home are still brimming over with fresh peaches, so I picked up some peaches and decided to give them a proper goodbye and send them off in style.

Peaches & Cream Profiteroles by Brownie Mischief

I created some luscious peaches and cream filled, bite-size puffs of choux pastry, called profiteroles. They’re like cream puffs, only smaller. The filling is creamy, but so light and airy that I’m convinced that these profiteroles have no calories! The recipe I’m sharing with you uses fresh peaches, but feel free to substitute frozen peaches if fresh peaches aren’t available. There are a lot of steps to this recipe, but the steps are done in stages and are very easy to do.

Peaches & Cream Profiteroles by Brownie Mischief

I decorated my profiteroles with fresh, pesticide-free miniature rosebuds, also known as spray roses. If you can’t find miniature rosebuds, pesticide-free rose petals would be a good substitute. You may not get a chance to embellish these little beauties. They have a way of popping into people’s mouths even before you can decorate them!


Print Recipe


Peaches & Cream Profiteroles

Bite-sized puffs of choux pastry filled with a creamy, fresh peach filling and topped with fresh peach icing.

Course Dessert
Cuisine French

Servings


Ingredients
Peach Purée

Peaches & Cream Filling

Profiteroles

Peach Icing

Course Dessert
Cuisine French

Servings


Ingredients
Peach Purée

Peaches & Cream Filling

Profiteroles

Peach Icing


Instructions
Peach Purée
  1. Purée peaches in a blender or food processor. Strain puréed peaches through a sieve. Stir in lemon juice.

  2. Place puréed peaches in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

  3. Reduce heat and simmer until peach purée is reduced by half.

  4. Remove from heat. Stir in peach flavoring and set aside to cool completely.

Peaches and Cream Filling
  1. Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat.

  2. Meanwhile, whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the egg and whisk until smooth.

  3. When milk starts to boil, remove from heat and pour 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk to combine.

  4. Pour the egg mixture into the remaining hot milk and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.

  5. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and extracts.

  6. Pour mixture through a sieve placed over a bowl. Cover the surface of pastry cream with plastic wrap. Let cool.

  7. Set aside 2 tablespoons of cooled peach purée. Add remaining peach purée to cooled pastry cream and stir to combine. Chill in refrigerator.

  8. In a medium bowl, whip heavy cream to stiff peaks with an electric mixer at high speed. Fold whipped cream into peach pastry cream mixture. Set aside in refrigerator.

Profiteroles
  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. Combine water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

  3. Reduce heat. Add flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture pulls away from sides of the pan and forms a ball.

  4. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until steam dissipates and mixture cools to lukewarm.

  5. Add eggs one at a time and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth, stopping to scrape down bowl.

  6. Transfer mixture to a piping bag, fitted with a large round tip. (**I used Ateco tip 808.)

  7. Pipe 1 1/4 inch mounds, about 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Smooth tops with a wet finger.

  8. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn oven temperature down to 350ºF and continue baking until golden brown, about 8-10 more minutes. Using a toothpick or skewer poke a small hole in each profiterole to let steam escape. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

  9. Using the tip of a paring knife, poke a pilot hole in the bottom of each profiterole.

  10. Place peaches and cream filling into a piping bag fitted with a medium round piping tip. (***I used Wilton tip 12.)

  11. Place piping tip into the pilot holes and fill each profiterole with filling.

Peach Icing
  1. In a small bowl, whisk all icing ingredients together and spoon over filled profiteroles. Refrigerate until ready to serve.


Recipe Notes

*To make peaches easy to peel, blanch them  in boiling water for about 30 seconds, then dunk  in ice water.

**To find Ateco tip 808, click here. ***To find Wilton tip 12, click here.

Purple Berry Cake with Silky Cream Cheese Frosting

Purple Berry Cake with Silky Cream Cheese Frosting by Brownie Mischief

Purple is passionate. It’s mystical. It’s regal. Don’t we all know someone whose favorite color is purple? It’s painfully obvious. They can’t hide it. They don’t want to hide it. They can’t just be friends with purple. They’re in a relationship with purple. The first time I made this Purple Berry Cake, a purple lover I know said that when she saw it, it spoke to her soul. This cake is, what I like to call, a double-take cake. People stare. They can’t resist it’s charismatic charm. Once they stop staring and taste it, they fall hopelessly in love.

Purple Berry Cake with Silky Cream Cheese Frosting by Brownie Mischief

Fresh berry purée is added to the batter, creating a soft, moist cake. The layers are brushed with berry syrup, which helps keeps the cake moist and gives it a nice punch of berry flavor.  I used blackberries and blueberries, but you can use any combination of purple berries that you like. After baking, the color of the cake layers will be a brownish gray with a hint of purple, depending on your berries. I think I need to come up with name for this color. How about Silverberry? You can see tiny flecks of the berries in the cake and I think the color is lovely, especially with the lavender frosting. If you want a more purple cake, feel free to add some gel food color to the batter. I used Wilton Violet gel food color to achieve the pretty lavender cream cheese frosting. The extra butter and the addition of heavy cream makes this frosting silky and spreadable.

Purple Berry Cake with Silky Cream Cheese Icing by Brownie Mishchief

I’m obsessed with edible flowers lately, so I garnish my baked goods with them whenever I can get my hands on some. I found these pansies in the produce department of my local food market. If you can’t find pansies, pesticide free violets or rose petals would also be pretty. Make sure to apply them to your cake right before serving, since they are delicate and will wilt over time. Brush some of your berries with a little dab of edible gold luster dust for an extra regal touch.

Print Recipe
 Purple Berry Cake with Silky Cream Cheese Frosting
Course Dessert
Servings
6-inch cake (serves 6)
Ingredients
Purple Berry Cake
Silky Cream Cheese Frosting
Finishing Touches
Course Dessert
Servings
6-inch cake (serves 6)
Ingredients
Purple Berry Cake
Silky Cream Cheese Frosting
Finishing Touches
Instructions
Purple Berry Cake
  1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray two 6-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and line with parchment paper circles.
  2. Purée the berries in a blender or small food processor.
    Puree fresh berries.
  3. Strain puréed berries through a sieve. Reserve 2/3 cup berry puree. Set aside remaining puree for syrup.
  4. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  5. In a large bowl, beat 1 1/4 cups (8.75 ounces) sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract with an electric mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
  6. Add flour in two additions, alternating with buttermilk, beating at medium speed just until combined.
  7. Stir in the reserved 2/3 cup berry purée.
  8. Pour batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.
  9. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and continue cooling on wire racks.
  10. Meanwhile, make berry syrup. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining berry purée, remaining 1/4 cup sugar (1.75 ounces) and 1/4 cup water over medium-low heat. Stir together and bring to a boil. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
  11. Split each cake layer into two and brush with berry syrup. Fill and frost cake with Silky Cream Cheese Frosting.
Silky Cream Cheese Frosting
  1. In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth.
  2. Add vanilla extract and salt and beat until combined.
  3. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat at medium speed until combined.
  4. Add heavy cream and beat at low speed until smooth and creamy.
  5. Add gel food color with a toothpick, a little at a time, until desired shade is reached. Beat at low speed until well blended.
Finishing Touches
  1. Garnish top of cake with fresh berries. Brush a few of the berries with edible gold luster dust. Garnish with fresh flowers immediately before serving.
Recipe Notes

*To find my favorite 6-inch cake pans, click here. To find Wilton Violet gel food color, click here. To find Alan Tetreault Edible Hybrid Luster Dust Soft Gold, click here.

Fully Loaded Chocolate Snack Attack Cookies

Fully Loaded Chocolate Snack Attack Cookies by Brownie Mischief

I’ve seen some fully-loaded cookies out there, but these extreme cookies just earned the title! They’ve got enough chunky, chocolatey, sweet and salty glory to satisfy the most ravenous cookie craving!!! (Yes, all of those exclamation points are necessary.) But, before we even go one step further, I must mention a few disclaimers. I strongly urge you to make sure your fridge is stocked with milk. Please change into your comfiest pants before attempting this recipe. Canceling all plans for the rest of the day is recommended, as a nap may ensue immediately following consumption of these cookies. OK, now that we got that out of the way, let’s jump in with both feet!

Fully Loaded Chocolate Snack Attack Cookies by Brownie Mischief

Did you notice how serious the mood got? We need a moody photo that looks like it was taken in a rustic cabin to emphasize the seriousness of these chocolate cookies. It’s no coincidence that I’m sharing this recipe with you right before Father’s Day. Every Dad I know is an accomplished snacker. Dad will love these cookies for his personal snack stash! Package them up and deliver them to your Pop with a jug of milk or a thermos of coffee. You can probably skip the straw. We all know that Dad is going to chug his milk, but every respectable blog photo of milk must contain a pretty straw.

Fully Loaded Chocolate Snack Attack Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches by Brownie Mischief

These cookies make amazing ice cream sandwiches, too. Press a scoop of softened vanilla ice cream between two cookies and pop it in the freezer. If you want to make these cookies picture perfect, use a scoop to portion out your dough. This will make them uniform in size and they’ll bake more evenly. Click here to find the scoop I used. For even more visual appeal, don’t crush the pretzels before adding to the cookie dough. Some of them will break when you are mixing them into the dough and this is fine, because the large pieces help make these cookies chunky. This recipe makes eighteen large cookies. That’s one dozen for Dad plus six for you to snack on, because when these babies come out of the oven with their melted chocolate chunks and little pools of caramel, resisting will be impossible! Now it’s cookie time…you’ve got this!

Print Recipe
 Fully Loaded Chocolate Snack Attack Cookies
Large chunky, sweet and salty chocolate cookies loaded with chocolate chunks, pretzels, caramel, rice cereal and nuts.
Course Dessert
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla and beat just until combined.
  5. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed, just until combined.
  6. Stir in chocolate chunks, pretzels, caramel bits, chocolate rice cereal and peanuts.
  7. Scoop 1/4 cup portions of cookie dough and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until set. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute before transferring to wire rack to cool.
Recipe Notes

To find 1/4 cup portion scoop, click here.

To find blue baker's twine, click here.

 

Unicorn Rainbow Milkshake

Unicorn Rainbow Milkshake by Brownie Mischief

I’ve been dying to try one of those over-the-top milkshakes that have been catching my eye on social media for some time now. Also known as freakshakes, some magnificently indulgent ones can be found in Australia, the UK and New York City. It’s certainly on my bucket list to go meet up with one of those glorious creations in person and dig in! In the meantime, I decided to concoct my humble version here at home, in honor of National Unicorn Day. Yup, unicorns have their own day! Whoever invented celebrating national days, I thank you. It gives me a great excuse to indulge in a delicious treat…not that I need an excuse.

There are so many versions of unicorn milkshakes out there and I love every one of them! In fact, anything that’s unicorn related sets my heart aflutter. The current unicorn craze won’t seem to go away and, as you can imagine, that is just fine by me! One of the cutest unicorn things I’ve seen is my adorable cousin Nicole, scooting around in her fluffy unicorn slippers. Unicorn slippers are a must while drinking a Unicorn Rainbow Milkshake!

To make the Unicorn Rainbow Milkshake, you’ll need:

  • Unicorn Horn Cookie (Recipe below.)
  • Fondant Rainbow Topper (Click here for instructions.)
  • 3 ounces (about 1/2 cup) candy melts in the color of your choice
  • vegetable shortening, melted (about 1 tablespoon)
  • piping bag or squeeze bottle
  • tall glass (24 ounce)
  • rainbow sprinkles
  • 8 ounces vanilla ice cream
  • 1/3 cup milk (any kind)
  • 6 ounces rainbow sherbet
  • cotton candy
  • whipped cream
  • edible gold star glitter (Click here to find glitter.)

Place candy melts in a microwave safe container. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute at 50% power. Stir. Heat in the microwave for 10 second intervals until melted and smooth. If your melted candy melts are too thick, stir in melted shortening a teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Transfer the melted candy melts to a disposable piping bag or a squeeze bottle. (Alternately, you can use a plastic zip bag.) Place your glass on a rimmed plate or baking sheet. Snip off the tip of the piping bag and drizzle the melted candy along the rim of the glass. Immediately sprinkle on the rainbow sprinkles, before the melted candy sets.

Combine vanilla ice cream and milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Place 3 scoops of rainbow sherbet into your glass. Pour vanilla milkshake over the sherbet scoops in your glass. Top with cotton candy, whipped cream, a Unicorn Horn Cookie, a Fondant Rainbow Topper and a sprinkle of edible gold star glitter. Put on your unicorn slippers and enjoy your unicorn milkshake!

Unicorn Horn Cookie by Brownie Mischief

Print Recipe
 Unicorn Horn Cookies
Sugar cookies shaped like unicorn horns.
Course Dessert
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 11/2 hours
Servings
cookies (*see note)
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 11/2 hours
Servings
cookies (*see note)
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add the egg yolk and extracts. Beat at medium speed until combined.
  4. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Do not over mix.
  5. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  6. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  7. Form dough into tablespoon size balls. (I used a tablespoon cookie scoop to make them uniform in size.) Form each ball of dough into a log, tapering at one end.
    Unicorn Horn Cookie Tutorial
  8. Twist two logs together to form a horn shape. Repeat with remaining logs. Insert skewers or lollipop sticks, if using. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
  9. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  10. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake until golden brown, about 13-15 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.
    Unicorn Horn Cookies Tutorial
  11. When cookies have cooled completely, place them on a parchment paper lined work surface. (You can use the same pieces of parchment paper that you baked them on.) If you are using lollipop sticks, you may want to cover the sticks with plastic wrap to keep them clean. Spray with edible gold spray. Let dry. Apply an additional coat of edible gold spray, if desired.
Recipe Notes

*This recipe makes about 14 unicorn horn cookies, but if you only need a few, you can roll out the remaining dough and use your favorite cookie cutter to make cookies. The baking time will be a bit less. You can also make as many unicorn horns as you need and freeze the remaining dough for later use.

**To make toppers as shown, use wooden skewers. To make cookie pops, use lollipop sticks.

***Click here to find Wilton Gold Color Mist

Mini Chocolate Hand Pies for Pi Day

Mini Chocolate Hand Pies by Brownie Mischief

Pi Day is a day to celebrate mathematics, or more specifically, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to it’s diameter. While I do appreciate math for it’s precision, I also feel a bit peeved at math for making my brain hurt! Ok, I’m sorry math. I forgive you. I do need you! How would I bake without you? So today I will celebrate math (and also my love for puns) with these tender, fudgy mini hand pies!

Mini Chocolate Hand Pies by Brownie Mischief

Since pi is all about circles, I used a 2 3/4-inch circle cutter to make round pies, but you can cut them into any shape you like. You could cut larger circles, fold them in half and call them empanadas. Rectangles are very popular with Pop Tart fans and you don’t need a special cutter, but a ruler would be helpful. I think squares would be cute, too! Whatever your shape of choice, my buddy math can hook you up!

I used a stencil to add some powdered sugar polka dots to my mini pies. I may have gone a little overboard with my circles, but who’s going to stop me? I think they look pretty cute, but If you don’t have a stencil, a sprinkle or two of powdered sugar will do just fine! Alternately, you could drizzle them with some melted white chocolate. I had a bit of white chocolate on hand, so I can confidently say, that version is yummy too!

Print Recipe
 Mini Chocolate Hand Pies
Mini chocolate pies with fudgy filling and a tender chocolate crust.
Course Dessert
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Passive Time 1 1/2 hours
Servings
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
Finishing Touches
Course Dessert
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Passive Time 1 1/2 hours
Servings
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
Finishing Touches
Instructions
Crust
  1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking powder.
  2. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to work the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until it resembles pea-sized crumbs.
  3. Add 2 tablespoons of the cold water to the mixture. Stir gently just until the dough comes together.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a couple of times. Form the dough into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
Filling
  1. In a small microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in the microwave. Heat for 10 second intervals, stirring until smooth.
  2. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Assembly
  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and remaining 1 tablespoon water.
  3. On lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness.
  4. Cut out 20 rounds with a 2 3/4-inch circle cutter (or cut into desired shapes of your choice).
  5. Place 10 dough rounds about 1 inch apart onto prepared baking sheet. Top each with 1 tablespoon of filling.
    Mini Chocolate Hand Pies
  6. With a small pastry brush or your finger, brush egg mixture around the perimeter of each of the filled dough circles.
  7. Top each with the 10 remaining dough circles. Crimp the edges together with a fork. Brush the pies with the remaining egg mixture.
    Mini Chocolate Hand Pies
  8. Bake until the crust is crisp and browned, about 15-20 minutes.
  9. Transfer to a cooling rack. Sprinkle the cooled pies with powdered sugar or drizzle with melted white chocolate.
    Mini Chocolate Hand Pies
Recipe Notes

*The chocolate chips you use depends on personal preference. Bittersweet chocolate chips give a more intense chocolate flavor, while semi-sweet chocolate chips yield a slightly sweeter finished product.

To find my favorite circle cutters click here.                                                                                  To find the polka-dot stencil click here.

Chocolate Lovers’ Valentine Cake for Two

Chocolate Lovers' Valentine Drip Cake for Two

My relationship with Valentine’s Day has transformed over the years. When I was a child, I joyfully skipped home from school with my bounty of tiny Valentine cards, candy hearts and a cupcake someone’s mother baked. As I grew older, I was hot and cold towards Valentine’s Day, depending on the state of my love life at the time. After having kids, Valentine’s Day became about red construction paper, doily hearts and glue sticks. I happily cleaned up sprinkles and kissed chubby, frosting-stained cheeks. Now I think of Valentine’s Day as simply a day to celebrate love. I embrace Valentine’s Day and all the hearts, roses and chocolates that go with it! Show your loved ones that you love them on Valentine’s Day, but more importantly, show them throughout the year, by loving, respecting and accepting them for who they are every day.

If your heart beats for a chocolate lover, then this Valentine cake for two will have them swooning. It’s small in size, but grand in chocolate indulgence. It has three layers of moist chocolate cake, rich, white chocolate buttercream and a silky chocolate glaze. As if that isn’t enough, I loaded the top with chocolate candy! Some of the candy is store bought and some I made with candy melts and chocolate molds. Click here to find the cherub mold. Click here to find the heart mold.

Chocolate Lovers' Valentine Drip Cake for Two

I hope you share this Valentine cake with someone you love! However you celebrate the day and whoever you love, have a happy one!

Print Recipe
 Chocolate Lovers' Valentine Cake for Two
A mini chocolate cake with white chocolate buttercream, topped with chocolate glaze and chocolate Valentine candy. Perfect for sharing!
Course Dessert
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Passive Time 1 1/2 hours
Servings
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake for Two
White Chocolate Buttercream
Chocolate Drip Glaze
Cake Decorating Supplies
Course Dessert
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Passive Time 1 1/2 hours
Servings
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake for Two
White Chocolate Buttercream
Chocolate Drip Glaze
Cake Decorating Supplies
Instructions
Chocolate Cake for Two
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease & flour three 4-inch cake pans. *See note below.
  2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Add sugar and stir to combine.
  3. Combine egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Whisk lightly to combine.
  4. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix on low speed with a handheld electric mixer, until combined. Stop mixer. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula. Turn mixer up to medium speed and beat for 1 minute.
  5. Add hot coffee and stir until incorporated.
  6. Pour batter into prepared cake pans, dividing batter evenly between the pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  7. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool.
White Chocolate Buttercream
  1. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler over gently simmering water. (Alternately, you can melt the white chocolate in the microwave. In a small microwaveable bowl, heat the white chocolate for 30 seconds, then stir. Heat again for 10 second intervals, stirring until melted, being very careful not to overheat it.)
  2. Set white chocolate aside to cool until lukewarm and still soft.
  3. In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and creamy.
  4. Add vanilla extract, salt and melted white chocolate. Beat at low speed until combined. Stop mixer. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula.
  5. Add powdered sugar. Beat at low speed, until powdered sugar is combined. Beat at medium speed until buttercream is smooth, stopping to scrape the bowl occasionally. Keep covered at room temperature until ready to use.
Cake Assembly
  1. When cakes have cooled completely, trim the cake layers to 1-inch tall.
  2. Attach one of the layers to a cake board with some of the white chocolate buttercream. Apply 1/4-inch thick layer of buttercream to the top of the cake layer, followed by the second cake layer, another 1/4-inch thick layer of buttercream, then the final cake layer.
  3. Apply a crumb coat (thin layer) of buttercream to the cake. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  4. Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream. Apply chocolate sprinkles to the bottom edge of the cake.
  5. Melt chocolate drip glaze ingredients together in a double boiler over gently simmering water. Let cool slightly.
  6. Spoon chocolate glaze into a piping bag. Snip off the end of the bag with kitchen scissors. Drizzle chocolate glaze along the edges of the perimeter of the cake, then fill in the middle. Smooth top with a small offset spatula.
  7. Top cake with assorted chocolate candy. If desired, you can stack some of the candy and adhere them with melted chocolate to give some variation in height.
Recipe Notes

*Click here to find 4-inch cake pans.