Nutella. Enough Said.

Nutella, as we all know, is dangerously good. One bite of pretzels dipped in Nutella or banana Nutella toast is never enough. It's irresistibly rich, chocolatey, and nutty, and is outrageously delicious on just about anything.

My brother Elliot showed me this recipe for Nutella hot chocolate, and I can't get over how perfectly simple and divine it is. This hot chocolate is almost as easy as any Swiss Miss mix and is infinitely better. It's going to be so perfect on a cold, blustery day, and I encourage everyone to give it a try!

Ingredients: 1 cup of milk (any kind works, but 2% and whole will be much richer than skim) and 2 overflowing tablespoons of Nutella. That's it!

1. Combine ingredients in a small saucepan on medium heat.*

2. Whisk until Nutella melts into chocolate (yum) and small bubbles begin to form on the edge of the pot.

3. Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy! 

Last weekend I went to a pottery store and painted this mug; I decided to use an Obama theme, now that it is finally 2012, and it turned out great!

Delicious, two-ingredient hot chocolate? Yes we can!

*I'm not sure if this can be made in the microwave, but I'm guessing it would! For those of you at college without access to a stove, try to microwave it in a microwave-safe mug for a bit on high and stir to combine the milk and Nutella. It seems like a logical option to me!

Baked Alaska Challenge

A few weeks ago my family went to Philadelphia for my grandmother's 80th birthday. We had a delicious meal at Butcher and Singer, complete with a traditional dessert my brother and I have never tried--baked Alaska. We ordered it, not really sure what to expect, and were pleasantly surprised!

A baked Alaska, as we learned, is a dessert where ice cream is scooped on top of pound or sponge cake, and the entire thing is covered in meringue and baked in the oven to create a stiff shell. The baked Alaska at Butcher and Singer had a vanilla sponge cake with banana ice cream, and was delicious.

Elliot, my cousin Lauren, her boyfriend Nick and I loved the dessert so much, and Elliot and I vowed to recreate it at home. It's a simple, fun dessert that can be made with many flavor combinations. Elliot and I decided to keep it simple--for the cake we used a marble pound cake, and for the ice cream we used Haagen Dazs vanilla frozen yogurt.

First, we cut the pound cake into 1-inch thick slices. We put a scoop of ice cream on top and trimmed the cake into a circle. We put them on a baking sheet and put it in the freezer.

Next, we prepared a simple meringue using egg whites, vanilla, cream of tartar, and sugar.

We then piped the meringue to cover the ice cream and pound cake.

We put them in the oven for 3 minutes at 500 degrees and were amazed with how quickly the tips started to brown.

Here are the final baked Alaskas (Elliot's is on the left, mine is on the right)

They turned out great! The pound cake was a little dry, and we want to try a different flavor of ice cream next time, but overall it was a great first effort. Here's a cross-section of one; I need to learn how to make a more compact scoop of ice cream!

We all loved the baked Alaskas, and we can't wait to make them again!

Winter Break Baking (so far!)

Having started my winter break only a little over a week ago, I haven't had a lot of time to bake yet. Here's what I've been able to enjoy so far:

NYT Magazine Cookies

My mom pulled a couple of pages from the NYT Magazine (12/18/11) that has the most perfect cookie dough recipe, along with lots of alternatives for what to do with the dough. Variations on frosted cookies, thumbprints, sandwich cookies, and cookie bars were included in the article, and some notable combinations were lemon curd thumbprint cookies, mocha sandwich cookies, and butterscotch and cayenne cookie bars. 

I ended up making three kinds of cookies to send to friends for the holidays--traditional raspberry jam thumbprint cookies, dark chocolate and sea salt thumbprint cookies, and mocha sandwich cookies. The dough was easy to make, and the flavor combinations were delicious. I highly recommend this recipe!

 Abigail's Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Tart

I think I could call this the best dessert I have ever had. That's really saying something, because (as many of you know) I enjoy a lot of dessert. I went to Abigail's with my family tonight and enjoyed a lovely dinner. Their butternut squash soup was to die for! After dinner I convinced my dad to split this tart with me, as we are both chocolate and peanut butter fanatics, and I'm grateful I did. It was extremely rich but oh so delicious.

Although the dessert is called a mousse tart, it was extremely dense. It was circular with a chocolate crust and what seemed to be a layer of ganache. The peanut butter filling was extremely rich, and its saltiness was complemented nicely by the chocolate in the crust and top. It was garnished with peanut brittle and accompanied by banana ice cream, which cut the sweetness and saltiness of the tart.

My goodness, was it delicious. Sharing it with my dad was a smart move, because even though it was fantastic, it was too rich and dense for one person alone. My brother got the sticky-toffee pudding cake, which was delicious but not as photogenic as my tart. The dessert menu at Abigail's is very creative; I love the different headings! Be sure to check it out here, and be sure to note the photo of the sticky toffee pudding cake.

I'm looking forward to all of the baking adventures 2012 will have to offer!

Happy National Cupcake Day!

Baked and Wired: Chocolate Mocha

Baked and Wired: Unicorns and Rainbows

Crumbs: Ooh La La

Baker Boys: Banana Chocolate Chip

Baker Boys: Red Velvet

Baker Boys: Curious George

Enjoy!

I'm Back!

I apologize for the lack of posts over the past month. Everything has been going great here in DC--so many wonderful things have happened, but unfortunately they have taken away from my blogging. Womp.

In the spirit of a recent discussion with food bloggers and with Thanksgiving just behind us, I want to revive my blog and return to posting more regularly. I only have a month of school left before winter break when I know I'll be doing a lot of baking with my mom and brother; I can't wait!

Today I'd like to feature a recipe I finally made a few weeks ago for a dear friend's birthday celebration: chocolate mousse with coffee whipped cream.

This recipe has been in my mom's recipe book ever since I can remember--it's called "Ro-Ro's Chocolate Mousse (Not Judy's)." Ro-Ro is my mom's mom, Rosalie, and Judy is her sister.  Regardless of the true owner of the recipe, it is absolutely delicious. The sweet mousse with the intense coffee whipped cream is a match made in heaven. I had some left over chocolate chips and decided to make a ganache as a final touch. Perfection.

Ideally I would serve the mousse in some sort of elegant glass parfait dish, but as a college student I did the best with my limited resources and used these blue bowls. Although this dessert may not look beautiful, it's how it tastes that counts. And boy, did it taste good!

Coming soon: Thanksgiving deliciousness!

Sweet Like ADPi

Hello everyone! I apologize for the lack of posting. Right now we are halfway through recruitment and it's been going incredibly well!  Right before recruitment began I wanted to make something sweet to send to Tony as a surprise, and I figured I'd let some of my sisters give them a taste as well.

I made absolutely scrumptious peppermint brownies.

(Recipe from David Lebovitz)

Boy oh boy were they devoured quickly.  Within moments of walking into the ADPi house I was flocked by sisters who wanted to have a taste.

I can't wait for Tony to get them in the mail soon :)

Pure Magic

I can't believe I haven't yet written a post about the one...the only...

2 Ingredient No-Fail Fudge!

But actually. I feel like I share this recipe with friends at least once a week, and I'm shocked I haven't yet shared it on this blog! Craziness.

About three and a half years ago I discovered this recipe--I was in desperate need for a quick, easy, delicious recipe. During the month of February my high school hosted a month-long, school-wide fundraiser for a local charity, and my sophomore year I wanted to help raise money by selling baked goods to my friends.  Great in theory, right?  Right. Except...theory differed from real life, where I ran around after school between Model UN meetings, dance classes, and homework. When I discovered this recipe, it was a match made in heaven.

Cheap ingredients + endless possible combinations + quick preparation + absolute deliciousness = 2 Ingredient No-Fail Fudge.

1. Acquire ingredients: 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips + 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (optional: marshmallows, craisins, nuts, pretzels, or anything else you can think of!)

2. Combine ingredients in a large microwavable bowl.

3. Microwave on high for 1 minute and 45 seconds.

4. While you're waiting, line a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper, wax paper, or plastic wrap. Be sure to line it all the way up the sides.

5. Mix melted chocolate and milk until creamy and smooth.

6. If you have add-ins, add them in now.

7. Pour the fudge into the lined baking dish.

8. Let cool for at least 5 hours.

9. Cut into squares or triangles, and enjoy! This last time I put the fudge into little treat boxes I found at Sur La Table. How adorable?

Here are some of my favorite fudge combinations:

• marshmallows and graham crackers
• marshmallows and pretzels
• almonds and craisins
• pistachios, craisins, and a pinch (or two) of cayenne pepper

What are your favorite fudge creations?