Chocolate Sheet Cake with a Caramel Glaze

It’s almost halloween 😀

That of course means candy, pumpkin carving, halloween decorations, and, of course, scary movies parties with my friends.  Tonight, some friends and I watched Poltergeist, which turned out being the most unscary “horror” movie ever, haha!

And then I ended up putting makeup on myself and a friend (my makeovers are pretty awesome, if a total mess is what you’re aiming for ;D), which of course meant we needed a myspace style picture HAHA!

CLICK HERE for a video of my friend in the back (wearing the beautiful makeover by moi). Then, make sure to subscribe to her brilliant youtube page! 🙂

Now I just need to decide what to be for halloween….hmmmm…

Chocolate Sheet Cake with a Caramel Glaze Recipe:

Chocolate sheet cake recipe here.

Caramel glaze recipe here.

1. Make the chocolate sheet cake.  Allow to completely cool.
2. Boil the caramel glaze, and when still warm, pour on the cake and frost evenly.
3. Embellish the cake with sprinkles or just leave plain.  Enjoy!

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Fleur de Sel Cupcakes

I first met my Tibetan godmother, Yeshi, when I was extremely young, probably still in nursery school.  At first she was solely my Nanny, but eventually, her family (she married and had three daughters) and mine were so close that when my parents decided to move to a new house, they specifically bought a lot with two main houses (connected) so that my Yeshi and her family could live with us.  Strange, I know. Whenever I try to explain how my godfamily and I are “related,” I always get a few blank stares.

Anyways, here’s to the 11th birthday of Yeshi’s eldest daughter, Lhaga.

She’s the most helpful, selfless, and considerate person I know, and she’s way too mature for her age (she’s more mature than me!).  She’s the one that’ll join me when I clean up my room, assist me when I bake, and help me without any complaints.  Happy birthday Lhaga, I hope your life as an 11 year old is amazing!

Fleur de Sel Cupcakes

*NOTE: All recipes are below.

• 1 batch chocolate cupcakes
• 1 batch Buttermilk Caramel Syrup (there will be leftover caramel, yum!)
• 1 batch whipped chocolate ganache
• Fleur de sel sea salt

1. Cut out cylindrical pieces of cake from the center of the cupcakes, and fill with the buttermilk caramel syrup.
2. Frost the cupcakes with the whipped chocolate ganache.
3. Sprinkle with the fleur de sel sea salt, and enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
• ¾ cup dutch-processed cocoa
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp espresso powder
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup boiling water

1. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso power in a large bowl.
2. Add the buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients, and whisk together for a minute, or until homogenous.
3. Pour in the boiling water, and whisk until smooth.  Batter will be quite runny.
4. Pour into ~30 cupcake wrappers, and bake at 350 degrees for 16 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted without any crumbs. Cool completely.

Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

*NOTE: Does not taste like buttermilk at all.  It’s quite honestly the best caramel you will ever eat though. 🙂

Recipe originally found here.

• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 2 tbs corn syrup
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. In a large pot (And I cannot stress large enough.  Stick caramel sauce on a stove is not fun to clean up….not that I know ;P) combine all the ingredients but the vanilla.
2. Boil on medium heat until deep golden brown colored.
3. Take off heat, add vanilla, and then stir until combined.
4. Cool completely.

Whipped Ganache Frosting

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream (1 pint, I believe)
• 2 cups chocolate chips (1 bag of chocolate chips)
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Heat the cream until just about boiling.  Pour over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for a couple minutes.
2. Whisk the mixture until completely smooth.  Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Place in a fridge until cold (it’s essential that it’s not the teensiest bit warm).
3. Beat with an electric mixer until the frosting holds its shape.  Enjoy! (I honestly like whipped chocolate ganache more than this nutella frosting, shocking, I know!)

Rolo Filled Brown Butter Cookies

Delicious.  Decadent.  Caramel-y. Chewy. Moist. Chocolate-y. Crispy edges. Soft centers. Fragrant.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words (and according to one of my old history teachers, ten thousand), but there are quite frankly no proper words to describe this picture.  I could write a novel describing the luxurious texture, and nutty, slightly vanilla-y scent of these cookies, but that wouldn’t even cover the most basic aspects of these cookies.

I’m serious when I say that taking pictures of these warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven-cookies required every ounce of my self control.  For my older brother, the temptation was perhaps even worse. Being the maniacal sister I am, I made him hold the cookies for the pictures and slowly break them apart to reveal the caramel…all with an empty stomach. Muhahaha  Needless to say, Once I finished snapping a couple shots, we quickly (and I mean quickly!) ate a majority of the batch, savoring each and every caramel-laced bite.  Here’s my advice to you: make em, savor em, finish em, make em again, repeat.

Rolo Filled Brown Butter  Cookies

adapted from here

• ½ cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups AP flour* (you can replace 1 cup with whole wheat flour)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ~30 rolos, unwrapped

1. Heat the butter in a saucepan at medium until the butter has a slightly nutty scent and is amber colored.  Pour the butter in a large bowl.
2. Add the two sugars and stir until combined.  Allow to cool completely (essential step!).
3. Beat in the two eggs, and the vanilla.
4. Sift the dry ingredients together in another bowl.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, and stir with a spatula until combined.
6. Measure out 1 tbs balls of dough, and wrap the dough around a rolo. (tip: used a bit of flour to stop your hand from sticking to the dough)
7. Bake at 350 degrees F, for about 8 minutes, or slightly golden brown around the edges.
8. Enjoy with a glass of milk, or tea, or coffee, or plain! 🙂

*NOTE: Others who have tried this recipe have had problems with the dough being too wet.   In my experience, the dough is very soft and sticky, but dusted with a little flour, it’s not too hard to shape them into balls.  If the dough is obviously too wet to even hold its shape, you can either a) add more flour (too much could result in tough cookies) b)place the dough in the fridge for an hour before forming the cookies.  I plan on playing around with this recipe a bit more, but until then, the two tips above should ensure nice cookies.

P.S. If you have a dog, make these to share.  Aiya [pictured above] wasn’t so pleased when I refused to give her any of the rolo cookies. Oh silly puppy 😛