Category Archives: whipped cream

Raspberry Mousse Chocolate Cake

In preparation for my move, I need to eat everything out of my freezer. I always keep an emergency bag of frozen raspberries as they can be turned into an amazing fast dessert. They made a great filling for a rich chocolate cake. I brought this to work and make everyone’s day.

Chocolate Cake:
3/8 cup cocoa
21cups flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
3/8teaspoon salt
1 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter flavored shortening
1 extra large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Grease 4 4-inch spring form pans. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all of the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add the shortening, egg, milk and vanilla and turn the mixer on low. Once the flour is combined turn the mixer on high and beat for at least 5 minutes so that the batter gets fluffy.

Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake for at least 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Cut the cooled cake into two rounds.

Raspberry Mousse Filling:
10 oz bag frozen raspberries
1 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 ½ cup heavy cream

Heat the raspberries and sugar in a small saucepan. Stir until all of the raspberries break down and are heated through. Run the raspberries through a strainer and into a new saucepan. Add the gelatin to the raspberries and heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whip the heavy cream until it form soft peaks. Fold the cooled raspberries into the whipped cream.

Divide the filling evenly between the four cakes to make a double layer cake.

Ganache:
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup heavy cream
1 pint fresh raspberries

Place the chocolate and cream in a metal bowl over a pot of water on medium high heat. Stir the chocolate with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is completed melted. Take the chocolate off of the pot of water and set aside till the chocolate thickens enough to work with it.

Place the cakes on top of the rack and cover with the cooled ganache. Decorate the tops with the raspberries and cool over night before serving.

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cupcakes

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cupcakes

This year since the market is so bad, we have a “self funded” holiday party at work. The theme was a dessert potluck. I knew I needed to come up with something really amazing to prove to my work that I rein supreme. My cupcakes were the first item to go on a table of 30 desserts. And apparently, people are still talking about them later throughout the week.

Chocolate Cupcakes:
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
¼ cup butter flavored shortening
2 eggs
½ cup milk
½ tablespoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Add all ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix with a spoon to combine. Whip the mixture on high for 5 minutes until the batter is lighter in color, fully incorporated and fluffy.

Place cupcake liners into muffin tins and fill each liner to just under halfway full. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean.

Move to a wire rack to cool.

Peppermint Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon peppermint extract

Mix all of the ingredients in a sand mixer to form stiff peaks.

White Chocolate Butter Cream Icing:
3 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips

Place the egg whites and sugar in the metal bowl from a stand mixer. Place over a pan of water on medium heat. Beat the egg whites with a whisk over the water as it gets warmer. The egg whites will turn white and the sugar will dissolve. Keep beating over the heat until the mixture is warm and the sugar is fully dissolved.

Place the chocolate into a small metal bowl and place it over the warm pan of water. Mix with a rubber spatula until the chocolate if fully dissolved.

While the chocolate is melting, move the egg whites to the stand mixer and beat until soft peaks form. Add the soften butter and vanilla and beat for another 3-5 minutes.

Let the chocolate cool slightly. Add it to the icing base and beat on high for another minute or two, till its combined.

Assembly:
Chocolate Cupcakes
Peppermint Whipped Cream
White Chocolate Icing
Crushed Peppermint Candies

Cut a cone out of the top of each cupcake using a small pairing knife. Trim the pointy part of the cone off to leave just a thin cap. Scoop out more of the interior of the cupcake to make a pocket for the cream filling.

Using a small spoon, fill each cupcake with the peppermint whipped cream and place the cap back on top to seal in the filling.

Using a star tip and a Ziploc bag, pipe a tall swirl of icing onto each cupcake.

Sprinkle each cupcake with the crushed candies and refrigerate until ready to serve.