KRUPS Chocolate Fig Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Bundt cake by KRUPS

Chocolate Fig Bundt Cake with
Chocolate Ganache

Recipe Credit: KRUPS

INGREDIENTS

·                     1 cup chopped dried figs1 1/4 cups strong hot coffee

·                     1/2 cup butter, softened

·                     1 1/2 cups sugar

·                     2 eggs

·                     1 teaspoon vanilla

·                     1/2 cup vegetable oil

·                     2 oz unsweetened chocolate

·                     melted, 2 cups all-purpose flour

·                     1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

·                     1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

·                     1/2 cup whipping cream

·                     1 bar (4-oz) semisweet chocolate (chopped)

DIRECTIONS

1.                  Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Generously grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan.

2.                  In small bowl, mix figs and coffee. Set aside.

3.                  In large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla with beaters on Speed #1 until mixed, then increase to Speed #4 until smooth and creamy.

4.                  Add oil and melted chocolate. Beat on Speed #1 until mixed, then increase to Speed #4 until creamy.

5.                  Add flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Beat on Speed #1 until mixed.

6.                  Drain figs, adding coffee to batter. Beat on Speed #1 until mixed, then increase to Speed #4 for 2 minutes.

7.                  By hand, stir in figs. Pour into pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn onto cooling rack. Cool 1 hour.

8.                  In small saucepan, heat whipping cream until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat.

9.                  Stir in chopped semisweet chocolate until melted and smooth. Cool 5 minutes or until mixture is cool enough to begin to mound.

10.              Spoon on top of cake and allow to drip down sides of cake. Let stand 30 minutes or until slightly set before cutting.

Sparkling Ice Candy Cupcakes

Candy Cupcakes

Recipe Credit: Sparkling Ice

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

·                     1 box of white cake mix

·                     12 oz of room temperate Sparkling Ice Strawberry Lemonade

Icing:

·                     1 can of vanilla icing

·                     4 drops of red food dye

DIRECTIONS

1.                Preheat your oven to 350°

2.                Line muffin pan with liners.

3.                In a medium bowl combine your Sparkling Ice Strawberry Lemonade and cake mix, stirring with a whisk until most of the lumps are gone.

4.                Fill each liner ½-2/3 full of batter.

5.                Bake for 18-20 minutes until cupcakes are springy and toothpicks comes out clean.

6.                Let cool completely before frosting.

Poached Pears with Chocolate Sauce

Paulding & Co Poached Pears with Chocolate Sauce

Need a delicious dessert for your holiday BBQ? Make these delectable pears with chocolate!

Yield: 6 servings

• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• slivered zest from one orange
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6 small almost-ripe pears, preferably a firm type like Bosc, Bartlett or Concorde
• juice from one orange
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted in a 300°F. oven until just beginning to color, about 3-5 minutes
• 3 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Combine the water, sugar, orange zest and halved, scraped vanilla bean plus its seeds, in a non-reactive (do not use aluminum or cast iron) pot large enough to accommodate the fruit. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes.

1. Peel the pears. Gently remove the core from the bottom with a corer or paring knife. Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each, so they stand. Place pears in the pan, stem end up. The liquid should just cover the pears.
2. Top this with a round of parchment or waxed paper (cut to size). Bring to a very gentle simmer and cook for 5-20 minutes, just until the pears are tender when pierced with a small knife. Less ripe pears will take longer, riper ones a shorter time. Remove pears and allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Add the orange juice to poaching syrup and simmer 15-20 minutes, until reduced by half. Pour over pears. May be refrigerated for up to 5 days at this point.
4. Make the chocolate sauce by bringing the heavy cream to a simmer in a small pan. Add the chocolate and stir, off the heat, until melted. If made in advance, this sauce will need to be re-warmed slightly for serving.
5. To serve place one pear in each flat bowl, with a little of the syrup. 
6. Spoon some warm chocolate sauce over the pear. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and serve.

About Paulding & Company

Founded by mother-daughter duo Terry and Tracy Paulding, Paulding& Co. is a commercial kitchen and instructional/event space that specializes in creating innovative event ideas for families and corporate entities through public cooking classes and exercises. Located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay area, Paulding & Company inspired Disney/Pixar animators for the Ratatouille film and director Clint Eastwood for several projects.

Food Quote Friday- Closing the Meal

Food Quote Friday!
Chocolate, ice cream, - how do you close your meal? 

With a fine dessert of berries and cream, cheesecake, or a slice of pie, perhaps some lavender honey over cheese?

KoP Melting Pot Brew & Fondue Dinner June 11

Don’t miss the King of Prussia Melting Pot’s Brew & Fondue Dinner tonight June 11, featuring Prism Brewing Company!   With a flight of four beers to pair perfectly with carefully crafted fondue, these tastes are especially suited to each other and are a true tasting experience. Enjoy a 4 Course special dinner menu pairing each course perfectly with Prism Brewing Company famous beers! We sat down in a comfortable booth while Bobby Joe, our server, expertly crafted the first course, a Buffalo Wisconsin Trio cheese fondue with Fontina, Butterkäse and Gorgonzola cheeses, white wine, sherry, shallots and Frank's® RedHot® Buffalo Wings Sauce. This was paired with a 6 oz Flight of Prism’s Bitto Honey. This was my favorite course! The Bitto Honey is an excellent sweet taste, a well-balanced IPA blended with a Chester County honey, so the beer ends with a sweet finish.    For our second course, we enjoyed a Mandarin & Almond salad. Romaine lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, almonds, wonton strips and mandarin oranges with an Asian dressing, paired with 6 oz Flight of Shady Blonde. Shady Blonde is a perfect summer beer, tart and refreshing. The whole course was crisp and refreshing- cold, crisp salad with a snappy dressing and crunchy almonds.   Our main course was Teriyaki-Marinated Sirloin, an All-Natural Breast of Chicken, Old Bay® Shrimp, and Herb-crusted Pork Medallions cooked in Court Bouillon paired with the Felony IPA, featuring European hops. Very earthy and went quite well with the spicy protein.   For dessert- Stephen’s favorite part- we were served the Rocky Road Dessert Fondue. It was a delicious blend of smooth dark chocolate, marshmallow creme and candied pecans, and a sprinkle of sea salt. We dipped strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, brownies and pound cake into this luscious creation, in which our server Bobby Joe flambéed for us first!  Dessert was paired with 6 oz Flight of ParTea Pale Ale. Blended with Orange Pekoe Tea and mixed with a lemon slice or lemonade, this was a perfect sweet ending to our meal.   Prism’s Taproom Manager Dani was at the Melting Pot to tell us a bit about the beer and the creations. Set in North Wales, PA, Prism Brewing Company pays homage to the now-defunct Philadelphia TV channel and encompasses owner and brew master Rob‘s love of film and television.  “We craft beer the way a chef treats his kitchen; crafting delicious ales using whole, natural and fresh products.   $45 per person. Tax and gratuity not included.   Call or book online now: http://www.opentable.com/the-melting-pot-king-of-prussia 150 Allendale Rd Ste 2100 King of Prussia, PA 19406  (610) 265-7195 Special thanks to Kay and her team at the King of Prussia Melting Pot!

Avalon Rose on 8th (Avalon, NJ): Best of AV

In the quiet beach town of Avalon, New Jersey, we all know it’s cooler by a mile. This is one of my favorite spots on earth and not just because of the beach. The food in town makes me happy because of all the fresh seafood I could ever want. I’m usually cooking on my own or bopping around town, so I decided to venture off the beaten path and expand my culinary adventure.

Well, let’s just say I have struck Gastronomical Gold.

I found Avalon Rose on 8^th, in between First Ave and Dune Drive. Tucked within Avalon Condominiums, this gem of goodness offers delicious dining in a serene sophisticated atmosphere, where everyone is quite obviously enjoying themselves and happy to relax. 

The owner/ proprietor Lisa Agnew offers elegant casual American food with emphasis on fine seafood and meats, and if you dine here, you will be as happy as the proverbial clam. (And the clam chowder is award-winning!)

One caveat- it's a bring-your-own so make sure you stop by the wine shoppe and pick out your favorite vintage to enjoy with dinner. 

We began with shot glasses of she-crab soup and clam chowder, both white-based. I’m a huge fan of clam chowder, but I found it a touch heavy after the she-crab soup which was light, floaty and full of succulent crab and sprinkled with chives. It was perfectly seasoned, so my pal Bran and I each asked for a bowl which we scarfed down in record time.

Our next appetizer came in the form of scallops. Fresh blackened large sea scallops with a lime roasted sweet corn salsa which was sweet, tart and smoky, all unique ingredients which blended perfectly on the tongue.

At this point, Bran and I were feeling pretty mellow, so we relaxed, had some of our sauvignon blanc, and enjoyed the ambiance of the lowered lights and the quiet chatter of fellow diners.

And then, our entrées arrived. The gracious Lauren and servers brought of the most wondrous feast ever!

We each got lobster, although mine was stuffed with sweet crab. I also had the broiled seafood combo , consisting of giant shrimp, colossal scallops, and crab imperial baked en casserole with sherry butter. Everything was sweet and slightly smoky, and so fresh. The best part was the crab imperial- no filler, just lots of lump crabmeat. I loved baked shrimp, so much more robust and flavorful.

Bran enjoyed the veal medallions, franchaise-style with chardonnay lemon garlic butter sauce, jumbo lump crab over delicate angel hair pasta. Bran was excited because he rarely gets to eat veal and he said it was very tender and juicy, and delicious!

We only dined on about half our food as we were getting so full of yumminess! This really was the best meal we’ve had in a while.  We also knew we needed to save room for dessert….

Ahh dessert.

We each got cappuccino and gelato with chocolate and malted milk balls hidden in the depths. Served in a chocolate –rimmed wineglass, this dessert was like finding hidden culinary treasures! We also shared a slice of limoncello cake with creme fraiche.

MMM. Utter delectable decadence!

At this point, we had been at Avalon Rose on 8^th for hours. It was time for us to take our leave. So we chatted a bit more with Lisa, and her staff, and then, off into the Avalon night we went, full and sleepy.

So if you find yourself in Avalon, New Jersey, do yourself a favor and get to this adorable, yummy, very cool restaurant. Chef Grier makes the best food you’ll find – fresh, unique, and delicious.

Lisa Agnew, formerly of Sorella Rose Avalon, along with executive chef Grier Essick and her dedicated staff opened Avalon Rose on 8th on May 26, 2011. Avalon Rose on 8th is aptly named in memory of Lisa's parents, Rose and  Moon.

Avalon Rose on 8th is a B.Y.O.B. restaurant open year round and accepts reservations at 609-967-7708.  Private parties and off-premise catering are also available.

You can find Avalon Rose on 8^th on Twitter and FaceBook.

Special thanks to Lisa Agnew for hosting us for dinner, and thanks to her amazing staff!!!!