The Ninja Baker - #Chocolate Party

The Ninja Baker’s Japanese Plum Wine Brownie Chip Ice Cream, #ChocolateParty

NinjaBaker — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 08:46:40 +0000

Roxana of Roxana’s Home Baking is celebrating one year of hosting her Chocolate Party. Every month she invites foodies from the blogosphere to bring their best chocolate treats to the virtual party. As this month celebrates a momentous anniversary, Roxana is requesting an extra-special family favorite.

The Ninja Baker's Japanese Plum Wine Brownie Chip Ice Cream
is sandwiched between two giant chocolate cookies.

Do you want to join the fun? Roxana is giving away fabulous party favors! Here’s how this month’s invite reads:

Bring your favorite chocolate dessert to Roxana’s home baking #chocolateparty and win amazing prizes from OXO, Calphalon, Keurig, Imperial Sugar, Honey Ridge Farms and Land O Lakes® Butter

An elegant and easy trifle:
Japanese Plum Wine Brownie Chip Ice Cream with brownie bits.

I’m bringing The Ninja Baker’s Japanese Plum Wine Brownie Chip Ice Cream. In our Tokyo home, Japanese plum wine was enjoyed only for truly momentous events. My sister’s 16th birthday was one of those rare events. We took the precious bottle of alcohol with the wrinkled plums out of the pantry and raised our glasses. To celebrate Roxana’s one-year Chocolate Party birthday, I combined brownies (a family favorite) with plum wine in ice cream. (If you like the idea of mixing liquor into ice cream, click here for a Buttery Bourbon Ice Cream recipe.)

Wine plus chocolate in ice cream equals celebration!

The Ninja Baker’s Japanese Plum Wine Brownie Chip Ice Cream

First you’ll need to make brownies. A favorite go-to is the recipe from the Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate box. Bake and cool.

For ice cream recipes, I run to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home cookbook.
Using Jeni’s Vanilla Bean recipe as a base I churned a lovely Japanese plum wine brownie chip ice cream. I substituted ¼ of the heavy cream with wine. To
balance the subtraction of cream fat, I added 1½ tablespoons of vanilla pudding mix. Droplets of pink food coloring were also mixed in. Last and not least, 1 cup of crumbled brownie bits were dropped into the churning ice cream.

Wishing you many reasons to celebrate every day.

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Tags:

#wine

#Ice cream

#Chocolate Party

Whoopie Pies, #ChocolateParty

NinjaBaker — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 23:30:25 +0000

“Whoopie!” exclaimed the Amish farmer. In his lunch box was an Oreo-like treat made with leftover cake batter. That is one rendition of the origin of the Whoopie Pie.

The American classic Whoopie pie filled with espresso cream,
garnished with a chocolate espresso bean.

Many citizens of Maine disagree with this Pennsylvanian story. Apparently in 1925 Whoopie Pies were being sold at Labadie’s Bakery in Maine. They claim this as birthplace of the beloved treat.

These history factoids were garnered from Jessie Oleson Moore’s The Secret Lives of Baked Goods. Happy to say I’ve got the green light from the author to share delicious Whoopie Pie how-tos from the same book.

The Secret Lives of Baked Goods by our favorite Cake Spy, Jessie Oleson Moore.

As this month’s Roxana’s Home Baking Chocolate Party theme is chocolate and coffee, I thought I’d fill the fudgy Whoopie Pies with espresso marshmallow cream. If you’d like to join the sweet fun, please scroll down for details. (You'll also see lots of delectable creations featuring coffee and chocolate.)

Here’s the recipe for Whoopie Pies from Jessie Oleson Moore’s The Secret Lives of Baked Goods. (Jessie is also the infinitely creative artist, baker and Cake Spy.)

Whoopie Pies with Espresso Cream

“Whoopie!” exclaimed the Amish farmer. In his lunch box was an Oreo-like treat made with leftover cake batter. That is one rendition of the origin of the Whoopie Pie...History factoids and recipes for American classics such as the Whoopie Pie are featured in Jessie Oleson Moore’s The Secret Lives of Baked Goods. This recipe is adapted from Jessie Oleson's The Secret Lives of Baked Goods.

Ingredients:

Whoopie Pie:

2 cups plus1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
¾ cup softened, unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup milk (coconut milk works, too)

Espresso Cream:

½ tablespoon espresso powder
¼ cup warm water
¾ cup softened, unsalted butter
1 ½ cups marshmallow fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Whoopie Pie:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer for about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Pour in the vanilla.
Scraping the bowl frequently, alternate the addition of the flour/cocoa mixture with the milk, blend until all ingredients have been incorporated.
With a mini ice cream scoop or tablespoon, place mounds of the batter 1-½ inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies should have a dull sheen and spring back when lightly touched.
Allow at least 5 minutes before removing the cookies from the baking sheets.
Let the cookies cool completely before filling with cream.

Espresso Cream:
(Note: The addition of espresso and water is my adaptation of the cream filling recipe in
The Secret Lives of Baked Goods.)

Vigorously stir the espresso into the warm water. Set aside.
Beat the butter, fluff and vanilla until very smooth.
(Approximately 5 minutes on an electric mixer at high speed.)
To avoid a hurricane of powdered sugar, reduce the speed on your mixer.
Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until well combined.
Add the espresso at low speed. After 3 minutes, a fluffy filling should appear.
Smother the cream between 2 Whoopie pie cookies.
Take a bite of bliss!

Roxana, the grande dame of the Chocolate Party has a few simple rules for party participation.

How to participate (the rules)
1.) Blog about your chocolate treat. Your recipe must include the two ingredients we choose. It can be a simple no bake treat or a sophisticated layer cake, the complexity level of the recipe is totally up to you.
2.) Include a link back to the Chocolate party page or on your sidebar.
3.) Your recipe must be published during the current month. Please do not link old recipes, they will be deleted.
4.) Add the Linky code at the bottom of your post.
5.) Have fun!!!

Regardless of yesterday’s history, wishing you joy today.

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Tags:

CakeSpy

Whoopie Pies Recipe

Espresso Cream Filling

#Chocolate Party

Mini Baked Alaska, #Chocolate Party

NinjaBaker — Sat, 29 Jun 2013 22:52:16 +0000

As a child didn’t the adults in your life ask, “What do you want to be when you’re a grownup?”

How did you reply? My answer was “famous actress.” But I lied. I dreamed of being a royal princess. Whenever the ever-so genteel Crown Princess Michiko (now the Empress of Japan) appeared on television, my heart ached to embody such grace and enjoy such luxury.

Pre-Empress Days: Crown Princess Michiko

So lovely inside and out that current Emperor Akihito
married her even though she was a commoner.

(Click here for photo credit info.)

The yearning for royal status was exacerbated the day I was served Baked Alaska at the Imperial Hotel. Against a backdrop of the centuries-old Imperial Castle, the moats and manicured emerald gardens, a flaming dessert arrived on a silver platter. After the mini-fire was extinguished, the white-gloved waiter sliced and served the meringue-covered dome of ice cream. As I dug into the crystallized crunch covering Neapolitan ice cream, Dad smiled and explained that I was eating Baked Alaska.

That lovely spring day was the first and only time the dramatic dessert passed my lips. Until Roxana of Roxana’s Home Baking announced the chocolate and ice cream theme for July’s virtual Chocolate Party. (If you wish to attend, please scroll down for the details.) At about the same time The Secret Lives of Baked Goods (by Jessie Oleson of CakeSpy.com) arrived on my doorstep. A recipe for Baked Alaska leapt from the pages and pulled me into the kitchen.

Mini Baked Alaskas from the Ninja Baker's Kitchen

I won’t pretend that my mini baked Alaskas reached the high level of perfection (or price) as the one served at the Imperial Castle. But, they were pretty darn good.

Mini Baked Alaska

(For complete measurements, I recommend a copy of The Secret Lives of Baked Goods.)

Step one entails baking a brownie base. Chopped bittersweet chocolate is melted with butter over a double boiler. Diamond grains of sugar are mixed with bright yellow eggs and heady vanilla extract. Chocolate is swirled in next. Flour, baking powder and salt are then stirred in with a wooden spoon. The batter is poured into a 13 x 9 pan and baked for almost an hour at 350 degrees. Once cooled, with a 1½ inch cookie cutter, little brownie circles are made.

Step two requires ice cream. The recipe for Soft Oreo Matcha Ice Cream follows. Quite frankly, the matcha green tea filling does not translate to taste. But the ice cream boldly declares its Oreo flavor profile.

Lesson learned: No need to travel to the Japanese market. Go with the Oreos sold at the neighborhood store. Once ice cream is made, using cake pop maker pans, mold the ice cream into little balls. (Mini ice cream scoops would work, too.)

Soft Oreo Matcha Ice Cream

Soft Oreo Matcha Ice Cream
Adapted from AverieCooks.com's
No Ice Cream Maker Funfetti Cake Batter Golden Oreo Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2 packages of soft Oreo matcha filled cookies or the variety you love best
1 can of 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:
1. Chop the Oreos – trying not to sneak too many into the mouth.
2. Next, mix together the milk, cream and extracts in a medium bowl. Stir in the Oreo bits.
3. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and create a delicious dessert according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Crowned with meringue, a brownie topped with Oreo Ice Cream:
A mini baked Alaska!

Step three of the Mini Baked Alaska calls for coating the frozen ice cream atop the brownie bites with meringue. Whipping egg whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt are pretty easy. However, baking the frozen concoction is when the true challenge begins. The difference between 3 and 4 minutes in a 500-degree oven is huge.

My first batch came out right at 3 minutes. Golden tips of baked meringue and not a trace of melted ice cream. The second batch was kept in maybe 30 seconds longer but puddles of chocolate Oreo ice cream appeared. An eagle eye is required for this phase of the dessert.

Once plated and photographed, the satisfaction of once again enjoying the dessert from the day at the Imperial Hotel made this wannabe princess’ heart sing!

From our hostess, Roxana:
How to participate (the rules)
1.) Blog about your chocolate treat. Your recipe must include the two ingredients we choose. It can be a simple no bake treat or a sophisticated layer cake, the complexity level of the recipe is totally up to you.
2.) Include a link back to the Chocolate Party page. Optionally, add the Chocolate Party logo in your blog post or on your sidebar.
3.) Your recipe must be published during the current month. Please do not link old recipes, they will be deleted.

Dessert for the princess or prince in your life - you!

Wishing you days of delicious royal treatment.

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Tags:

Mini Baked Alaska

#Chocolate Party

Secret Lives of Baked Goods

1950s Blast to the Past! Cherry #ChocolateParty

NinjaBaker — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 06:30:13 +0000

Chocolate covered cherries, Jitterbug dancing, and Elvis on Ed Sullivan. Remembrances from the idyllic 1950s childhood of my husband, David. Other wonderful memories include his mom, Betty and her baking. The smells of made-from-scratch pies and cakes in the oven awaited David upon his return from school. (Betty learned her skills by baking at her mother’s side.)

Homemade Apple Pie from the Ninja Baker's Kitchen

Mastering (pretty-looking) homemade piecrusts are a work in process in the Ninja Baker kitchen. I am, however, able to bake David’s favorite yellow cake with chocolate frosting. But he prefers oatmeal cookies - which are healthier - and still bring David back to the comfort food of the ‘50s.

Fortunately my friend, Liz - That Skinny Chick Can Bake - has a fabulous recipe for oatmeal cookies. The first time around I made them with the recommended dried apricots and white chocolate. (I omitted the bacon.) Rave reviews from neighbors and the participants in my husband’s monthly meeting (for brainy types with big hearts who discuss connections between physics and metaphysics) ensued.

David and his Theory of Everything MeetUp with devouring oatmeal cookies

Roxana, the queen of comfort food and home baking, announced that cherries were to be the star of this month’s chocolate party.

I made Liz’s oatmeal cookies again. This time though I added white chocolate and dried cherries as a tribute to the 50s and my dear David. And so I could contribute something truly delicious to the party! Click here for Liz’s recipe. Simply substitute dried cherries for apricots. Revel in the lovely smells of baking oatmeal cookies. Share. And enjoy the party!

Cherry & White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Scroll down and delight in the other cherry, chocolate wonders presented at the Chocolate Party. If you are interested in joining the monthly chocolate party, please visit RoxanasHomeBaking.com and see the participation rules below.

How to participate (the rules)
1.) Blog about your chocolate treat. Your recipe must include the two ingredients we choose. It can be a simple no bake treat or a sophisticated layer cake, the complexity level of the recipe is totally up to you.
2.) Include a link back to the Chocolate party page. Optionally, add the Chocolate Party logo in your blog post or on your sidebar.
3.) Your recipe must be published during the current month. Please do not link old recipes, they will be deleted.

White chocolate partners with dried cherries in a buttery oatmeal cookie.

Wishing you comforting friends and food.

The Ninja Baker

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Tags:

white chocolate cherry cookie

#Chocolate Party

Banana Chocolate Caramel Minis, #Chocolate Party

NinjaBaker — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 05:08:44 +0000

Roxana of HomeBaking.com, and the monthly #Chocolate Party may be a hostess with the “mostest” chocolate recipes on the web. Check out her collection if you need inspiration. Her March challenge to fellow food bloggers is to marry caramel and chocolate in one treat. In my mind that translates to a sweet that’s cute and petite. Why? In my hometown of Tokyo, caramels and chocolates come packaged as pretty little presents.

Japanese Chocolates have feminine appeal - pretty and bite-sized.

So, keeping with tradition, I packed petite banana cakes with mini chocolate chips. And with a tiny bit of caramel, I decorated the tops.

Petite Japanese caramels. The purple candies are made from sweet potato.

SimplyRecipe.com’s Elise Bauer’s Banana Cake serves as the foundation. Elise’s recipe is divine. However, I thought I’d add almond flour and wheat flour for a nuttier feel. Greek yogurt was my sour cream substitute. I added a pinch of pumpkin pie spice, too. And of course, a big heap of mini chocolate chips to meet the Chocolate Party challenge.

The Ninja Baker's Banana Chocolate Caramel Minis

Banana Chocolate Caramel Minis

Adaptation of Elise Bauer’s Banana Sheet Cake recipe
from SimplyRecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
¾ cup wheat flour
¼ cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of mashed ripe bananas (2 large or 3 medium bananas)
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
Heaping 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Baking time 16 minutes
Yields 83 mini cakes

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) .
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
3. Beat together in a mixer the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla and mashed bananas.
4. Mix in half of the flour mixture, then the Greek yogurt, followed by the remainder of the dry ingredients.
5. With a mini ice cream scooper, fill lined mini muffin tins with batter. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 16 minutes, or until firm on top and bounces back when pressed. The tops should also be golden brown.
6. For the icing on the cooled cakes, I whipped up Ree Drummond’s Easy Caramel Sauce.

A dot of caramel was dropped on some cakes. Others I generously covered the surface. A single chocolate chip serves as garnish.

A trio of banana chocolate caramel treats.

The syrupy caramel topping does provide a perfect compliment to the nutty cake with a snap of spice. I brought my Banana Chocolate Caramel Minis to dance class. They stole the spotlight away from some other cupcakes (which I thought were pretty tasty) and brought lots of smiles.

The other #Chocolate Party goers have also produced some great treats, too. A selection of the finest caramel and chocolate combos follow. To join the party:

Blog about your chocolate treat.
Your recipe must include the two ingredients chosen by the hostess.
Include a link back to the Chocolate Party page at Roxana’s Home Baking.
Your recipe must be published during the current month.

Wishing you presents, petite and grand, of happiness.

The Ninja Baker

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Tags:

#Chocolate Party

Japan

mini banana cake recipe