Dark Chocolate Challenge

Kim and I decided that we needed a little baking challenge. We asked our co-worker to choose an ingredient that we would both have to use in a baking creation. He got together with some of our other co-workers and they came up with our mysery ingredient: dark chocolate. Immediately, we knew this was going to be a challenge for both of us, since neither of us like dark chocolate! That night we went home to make our plans. The next night was for baking. And the following morning we had to bring our creations to the office for tasting and judging.

Kim's Creation: Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Bars with Fresh Berries
[no photos! boo.]
Despite the fact that she doesn't like cream cheese, and thus doesn't like cheesecake, Kim made the most delicious chocolate cheesecake I've ever tasted. The crust was crisp and chocolaty, and the cake was made with raspberry yogurt and chocolate, so it had the most wonderful flavor! We all took one bite and were in heaven.


Kelley's Creation: Dark Chocolate Mint Cupcakes with Mint Creme Filling

I was struggling on what to do with this dark chocolate, and finally decided that if I was going to experiment, I might as well go out on a limb and make mint cupcakes. I've never baked with mint before, and while I know chocolate+mint is a winning combination, I didn't know how it would turn out in cake form.

For the cake and mint creme filling, I used a recipe from my Chocolate and Coffee Bible. Of course, I used my gluten-free flour mixture for the cupcakes, and I have to say that I am very pleased with the results. This is probably the best gluten-free cake I've made so far. It was moist and springy, and had a great consistency all the way through. And the hint of mint was very nice. The mint creme recipe I used from the book wasn't very satisfactory in my opinion. It was basically whipping cream and mint extract (with some green food coloring, which I added). It quickly sunk into the cakes. I think next time I will add a little powdered sugar and maybe a bit of butter to give it some more flavor and consistency. The frosting was a complete experiment. I melted a bar and a half of Ghirardelli 70% chocolate with a stick of butter, then added two cups of powdered sugar and some mint extract. It turned out rich and delicious, although I didn't have enough to cover all 18 cupcakes - I got about 15 of them.

I am also pretty pleased with the way they look. They taste wonderful right out of the refrigerator, since you get that rush of coolness not only from the temperature but also from the mint in the cupcakes. I also nuked one of the non-frosted ones for about 10 seconds and it was delicious warm, too. The mint creme melted into the cake and gave it a nice added moist, minty flavor. Yum!


And the winner is: Kim!
We handed out samples to all of our co-workers and students that were in the office. Although we didn't have an official vote (everyone was preoccupied, preparing for Hurricane Ike), I think the answer was clear. Even I voted for Kim's cheesecake! It was to. die. for. (I mean, really, who can win against cheesecake?!)

Celery Muffin Challenge!

One day back in March or April (it's been a while now, can't remember), it occurred to me that a celery muffin might be a good idea. Apparently, however, I was in the minority with this thought since most people I mentioned it to just laughed or looked at me like I was crazy. Kim, however, liked the idea and when we began discussing celery muffins we discovered that our visions were quite different. There stood the birth of our culinary challenges.

My intention was to make a sweet muffin that had celery instead of fruit or nuts. Kim's intention was to make a savory muffin, something you could eat with a meal. We decided to bake our muffins and bring them to work, to see which ones people liked more.



Kelley's Celery Muffins
I tried three different combinations with my muffins. Since these were going to be sweet, I decided to try adding some peanut butter, seeing as peanut butter is often eaten with celery. The first muffin was just a plain, sweet muffin with a coarse celery puree mixed in. The second muffin was the same thing, but with a dollop of peanut butter in the middle. The third muffin had the peanut butter blended into the batter.

After taste-testing all three, the results were surprising. I was sure that the one with the peanut butter mixed in would be the winner, but in fact it was pretty gross. The one with the dollop of peanut butter inside was pretty good, but the dollop was too large and overpowered the muffin a bit. Yes, it turns out that the plain celery muffin was the best. I baked all the rest of the muffins this way, and enjoyed them. I brought a bunch of them over to my parents and they loved them, too! They're gently sweet, with a nice little bit of crunch, and a hint of spice that leaves you curiously pleased. Oh, and they are also gluten free, of course!

Kim's Celery Muffins
Unfortunately, Kim hasn't made her celery muffins yet. Which is a bummer because I was really looking forward to trying them! Boo. :(