Page 106: Triple Chocolate Fat Pants Cake aka THE FINALE

Hooray! Friends, I present to you: recipe 52.  I have now made every recipe in the BabyCakes NYC cookbook.

And this grand finale was well worth the wait.  Appropriately named Triple Chocolate Fat Pants Cake, this elaborate creation was one for the record books - both in size, flavor, and calorie count I'm sure.

As I set out to make this recipe I had to do a little pre-baking.  Specifically, a batch each of chocolate chip cookies and vanilla frosting.  As I was pulling the cookies from the oven it suddenly dawned on me that this in all likelihood would be the very best thing I've made in the book.  I mean, you essentially start with the amazing-in-its-own-right chocolate chip cookie sandwich and smash it between three decadent layers of chocolate chip laden brownies.  How could this not be amazing?

First thing was the frosting - now that I use just half the milk I really have confidence that I'll end up with frosting instead of sauce, and this batch was no exception.  It set up great and held together perfectly - even when on the cake and out at room temperature.

Next, I made a half batch of chocolate chip cookies.  The recipe called for twelve but I easily went through thirty.  I apparently make them much smaller than Erin McKenna.  I also used mini chocolate chips in this batch in an attempt to a) flatten them out for optimal layering and b) more evenly distribute the chocolate once they were disbursed into the cake.

So with a batch of frosting setting in the fridge and the last tray of mini-chocolate chipped cookies coming out of the oven, I set out to bake the actual cakes.  Which, really, were more like giant brownies than cakes... but no complaints from me because they were awesome.  This probably had something to do with the fact they contained two cups of evaporated cane juice in addition to two cups of chocolate chips.  [sound of pants button bursting]

I used the toothpick rule (I've learned so much in 52 recipes) and they were all perfectly done.  I had a tiny bit of trouble getting them out of the pan but this was because there were so many chocolate chips that some of those on the bottom stayed in the pan and left some holes in the brownie.  But in all of history too much chocolate has never been a bad thing and in the end it wasn't really an issue.

I let everything cool for a few hours before starting the assembly process.  First brownie, covered in frosting and topped with chopped up chocolate chip cookies (it called for broken bits but after half a cookie's worth of that the anal retentive part of me decided this process called for a knife).  Second brownie, more frosting, more cookies.  Third brownie, the remaining frosting, and cookies all over the top and sides of the cake.  Are you drooling yet?

VOILA! My beautiful Triple Chocolate Fat Pants Cake!

So there you have it. It was beautiful.  It was delicious.  And it was the last recipe.

I'm going to be taking a bit of a baking hiatus before moving onto book two.  My husband has kindly requested I bake only those recipes that I'm interested in rather than embark on another quest to bake every one in the book, but I haven't fully made up my mind yet.  However, I can assure you that the next time I'm ready for a baking session, donuts will be on the menu. And I promise to share the results with you!

xoxo,
Anna

Page 41: Strawberry Shortcake

As I was plotting my recipe timeline to finish this book, I explained to my husband that I had kind of made this one before. Except I was out of spelt flour so I used wheat.  And I didn't have any frosting so we had it with vegan ice cream instead.  He thought it sounded close enough, but I felt that the frosting made a big difference and I lacked photo documentary proof of my last effort.  So... here it is... my second to last recipe: Strawberry Shortcake!

First of all, the biscuits. I love biscuits, especially sweet and scone-like biscuits such as this one. Fortunately it made twelve full size biscuits with enough dough left over to make two mini biscuits I ate immediately after removing the pan from the oven. 

I also made a rather successful batch of vanilla frosting - using half the soy milk called for really seems to make it manageable. Sure glad I figured that one out by the time I got to recipe 51. 

Oh well. The assembled shortcake was good. But it's not strawberry season and did I mention I love biscuits? I ate one as pictured, and then ate two more leftover biscuits plain on Sunday! The rest were consumed by friends in a post-chili-cook-off food coma.

And so, my friends, this brings me to it - just one recipe to go! And can you guess which one I left for the grand finale?  If you read my inaugural post you may have an idea. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait until this weekend.  Fortunately my friend Kim is hosting a holiday party and thus giving me the perfect occasion to bake and celebrate the final BabyCakes adventure from book one.

Watch for recipe 52 - coming SOON! 

Page 55: Jalapeno-Cheddar Corn Bread

We hosted a chili cook-off to watch the Notre Dame vs. USC game on Saturday (go Irish!), and I took the opportunity to pair this last cornbread recipe with a delicious array of chili cooked by me and my friends.

I'm not generally a fan of vegan cheeses, but I bought a block of Daiya Cheddar just for this recipe.  While entirely unimpressive on it's own, it worked well in the finished product.  The cornbread was sweet yet savory and was a perfect pair with the chili.

I also made this cornbread as directed in a loaf pan instead of in mini muffins like the plain version I attempted.  It caved in the middle a bit but was done through and was really moist.  I definitely like it better in this format!

Stay tuned for dessert: Strawberry Shortcake.  One of the last TWO recipes to go!

Page 128: Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Okay, now I really feel like a cheater.  Only when forced to sit down and document my progress did I realize that I've been taking a lot of liberties with the handful of remaining recipes. Let me explain...

I was down to four recipes and it was Thanksgiving - so I thought this pie would be the perfect recipe to knock out in honor of the holiday.

However, rhubarb was nowhere to be found at the three grocery stores I visited last Wednesday. Maybe this is because it's just not rhubarb season, or maybe it's because I live in one of the most remote places in the country. Regardless, it was simply not available.  After several minutes of google research whilst standing in the produce department of grocer number three (what did we do before iPhones?), I learned that cranberries can be substituted for rhubarb in strawberry-rhubarb recipes because they have a similar sour quality. One blogger also advocated the substitution of swiss chard simply because she bought it on accident and couldn't tell the difference (though subsequent google searches strongly advised against this particular substitution).  

It was Thanksgiving after all, and cranberries were so readily available... so I made the switch. I was a woman on a mission with just four recipes to go. So yes, I consider this recipe done.

I cooked the cranberries down with a half cup evaporated cane juice then used them as directed in the recipe.  This addition of sugar probably made the whole thing sweeter, but it turned out pretty good anyway. Besides, since when did extra sugar ruin anything?

I learned my lesson from last year and made the dough only when I was ready to make the pie, and even left it in the fridge for just a smidge under the 20 minutes suggested. It was so much more manageable this time and rolled out easily.  However, the final version still didn't really taste like a pie crust and certainly lacked the flakiness of traditional pie crust.  However, if you have eat gluten free it's probably a pretty good pie considering your options.

While I was at it I made a baby pie in a ramekin so I could sample without cutting into the pie before dinner.

The filling was a tart and sweet combination, and overall I thought it was pretty good.  Not as good as my Mom's pie crust for sure, but considering it doesn't have butter and is made from spelt, I'll take it.

THREE recipes to go!

Page 135: Vanilla Shake

Oops. I really didn't realize this was supposed to be a vanilla shake. I just saw "shake" and that the ingredients contained "one pint vanilla vegan ice cream" and then apparently took some liberties.

Instead of vanilla, I made a chocolate peanut butter shake. However, the last thing I need is an excuse to consume another half-pint of ice cream, so I'm considering this recipe made.

I started with Luna & Larry's dark chocolate ice cream (which is so delicious on it's own by the way) instead of the vanilla.  The rest I did by the book - soy milk, agave nectar, and ice - and then added a heaping spoonful of peanut butter.  Erin McKenna suggests throwing in things like brownies, cookies, and even pie, so I don't think the peanut butter was that far off.  It's really the dark chocolate that made for the biggest deviation.

I know this picture doesn't look all that appealing.  And, honestly, I've made a better vegan shake myself (peanut butter & chocolate chip cookie dough shake anyone?).  But it was ice cream, agave, soy milk, and ice - so of course it was tasty.

Now back to the baking - just FOUR recipes to go!

Page 31: Zucchini Muffins

After being so underwhelmed by the Pumpkin Spice Muffins, I was not exactly excited about to make the zucchini version.  But I had picked up a couple of zucchinis at the farmers market and was banned from the beach the first weekend after LASIK, so I took the plunge.

I was sooo pleasantly surprised! They were sweeter then their pumpkin sibling (although I did learn from that experience and used an extra heavy pour of agave) and so, so, so moist. I think that was really the kicker with these - what sent them over the edge from "meh" to "good" - how crazy moist they were.

Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take photos before dishing them out among my friends.  Fortunately, my friend April loved them so much she texted me a picture of her breakfast the next day - so I am able to document my success!

Not bad. And... done with muffins! We're in the final countdown. Just FIVE recipes to go!

Page 110: Double Chocolate Crumb Cake

And here is the third and final recipe which was partially derived from the disappointing Red Velvet Cupcakes. I made the vanilla version of this cake for Easter, but since this one involved chocolate crumb base I needed to wait until I had leftover chocolate or red velvet cupcakes to crumble.

I also had a little help in the kitchen since my sister's family was visiting me last week. Even though my nephew Cooper isn't too fond of chocolate (yes, the child is a little crazy in that respect) he was a willing helper and even he could not resist to sneak a handful when I brought out the jar of chocolate chips.

Since Cooper was here his mommy was also here, and she is infinitely better than I at capturing an activity in photos. Therefore, the process was well documented (here's to you, Jess!).

Cooper doesn't like potatoes either, so when he found out the ingredient list contained potato starch, he was less than thrilled.

But the final product didn't look anything like potatoes! Unlike the Easter cake, I watched this thing like a hawk to prevent over-baking it and drying it out. The end result was a pretty moist cake and the extra sweet and salty crumb topping was yummy. 

The recipe calls for chocolate sauce, but since I've severely failed in my attempts to make that previously I opted for a layer of chocolate chips. Sauce would probably be better, though, I have to admit (but probably not the way I make it!). 

I served it for dessert ala mode - the real stuff since I had guests and did not have any non-dairy ice cream!

Despite the chocolate and the potato starch, even Cooper had some.

Seems like it was a hit. Now... just SIX recipes to go!