CHOCOLATE Gooey Butter Cake

I went to middle school and high school in Farmington MO.  According to local folk lore the Gooey Butter Cake was invented in nearby St. Louis.  Although I can't prove or disprove that claim, I can tell you it is a wonderfully, even sinfully rich treat.  Them baptists may not drink, but they sure has hell know how to make a sinful treat!

It really falls into the stupid easy cookery category as it is just that.

There is no real trick to making it.   I knew going into this recipe that I'd have a challenge of keeping it gooey with the addition of cocoa powder to the second layer that bakes up to make the crackly crunch and gooey center.  2 T of butter kept the center the right consistency.  Even the chocolate hater in my house liked it.  So without further adieu...the first ever chocolate gooey butter cake!

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake
Layer 1

• 1 package Devils Food chocolate cake mix
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 egg, beaten

Layer 2

• 1 8 oz package cream cheese
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 t coffee extract
• 2 T butter
• 1/4 t kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c Black Onyx or Hershey Special Dark cocoa
• 4 c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F
Lightly grease, spray with Pam a 13X9 baking dish

For the first layer dump the cake mix in a bowl and with mixer on slow...slowly pour in melted butter and lightly beaten egg.  Stir on slow speed until a thick dough forms.  Pat the dough into the baking dish.

For the second layer cream together the cream cheese, butter, salt, vanilla and coffee extract until smooth.  Beat in eggs until smooth.  Reduce speed and stir in cocoa powder.  Stir in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until it is incorporated into the cream cheese mixture.  Increase speed and beat 2-3 minutes until smooth.  Pour over second layer and smooth out with a spatula.

Place the baking dish on a tray to catch any boil over as it does rise a lot during baking.  Bake 35-45 minutes until the top has a dark crispy top.  Cool to room temperature and serve.  Note the cake will fall some as it cools...its normal.

Baked Molten Fudge Cakes

The basics for this recipe gave me the idea for the final version, Where I got it from I don't recall.  Its really a soupier version of a molten lava cake that you don't have to try and flip out of the ramekin.  Plop on a big scoop of coffee ice cream when done and you are in heaven.

I used Surfas Black Onyx cocoa powder as its sooooo much richer in chocolate flavor than the usual stuff at the groc.  If you can't find Black Onyx, Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder is a very close replication of what I used.  

Superfine sugar dissolves easier than regular table sugar.  Its worth the few extra pennies in this recipe to use it.  The regular sugar doesn't dissolve completely and leaves a gritty texture.  And texture is everything with this treat.

Baked Molten Fudge Cakes

• 12 T (1 1/2 sticks) butter melted
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 1/8 t sea salt or kosher salt
• 1 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/2 t coffee extract
• 3T heaping cocoa powder
• 3T all purpose flour
• 4 12 oz ramekins
• 13X9 baking dish
• 4-5 C boiling water
• Coffee Ice Cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 325F

Melt butter and set aside to cool.  

Place eggs in mixer with whisk attachment and beat on high until light lemon colored and fluffy.  The eggs should fall from beater in a ribbon...about 5 minutes.  Don't skimp here as this is what gives the airy texture to the final product.

Beat in sugar until dissolved.  Beat in vanilla, salt and coffee extract.  Reduce speed and fold in cocoa powder and flour.  Pour in melted butter and stir until just mixed.  Don't over-beat this last step.

Divide the batter between the 4 ramekins.  Place ramekins in the 13X9 baking dish.  Gently pour in boiling water until it comes up half way up the sides of the ramekins.  Be careful not to splash water into the batter as it will ruin the batch.

Bake in oven 50-55 minutes until the top is crackly set.  Do not bake through.  Remove from oven, remove ramekins from water bath and let cool 5-10 minutes.  Place ramekin on a desert plate, top with scoop of ice cream.  Enjoy while warm and melty.

Thin Mint Chocolate Cheesecake - decadence defined

There are a few different versions of this cheesecake floating around.  This one is decadence defined.  Super rich and chocolaty, its not for the feint of heart and will power.

A couple of things I've learned over the years...addition of a starch, even a couple of tablespoons of corn starch will stabilize the egg cheese mixture so it won't crack on baking.  In this case the starch comes from the cocoa powder.  It works, don't knock success.

On the topic cocoa powder, I've talked about it before here, but the Black Onyx cocoa powder is my favorite...its a much more intense chocolate flavor.  Sorta the difference between milk chocolate and bittersweet.  It is a dryer product and this recipe takes that into consideration.  Really, either get this cocoa powder online or run to Surfas in Culver City.  It makes all the difference in the intensity of the chocolate flavor.  And quite frankly subbing out regular cocoa powder you are doing yourself a disservice.

I set my cream cheese out overnight to soften to room temperature.  You have to do this as you'll never cream the cheese and sugar to the right consistency if you don't and you pretty much guarantee a flop in the kitchen.

Thin Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

• 1 box Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies
• 7 T butter, melted
• 12 ounces bittersweet (60%+) chocolate
• 3 boxes cream cheese
• 1 C Sour cream (full fat, not light)
• 1 3/4 C sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 C heavy cream
• 1/2 C Black Onyx cocoa powder
• 1 T vanilla
• 1 t peppermint extract
• 1 t coffee extract ( I use Kona from Surfas)
• 1/4 t sea salt

Preheat oven to 325F

Hand crush thin mint cookies into a food processor.  Pulse until crumbly.  Add butter and pulse until wet and it looks like coarse sand.  Press into 10" cheesecake pan bottom and about 1" up the sides.  Set aside.

Melt chocolate over double boiler, stir until smooth.  Remove from heat and let cool.

In a stand mixer cream together cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, sea salt and extracts.  Beat until creamy and fluffy.  Beat in eggs 1 at a time until well incorporated.  
Reduce speed and stir in cocoa powder and heavy cream until uniform in color.  Slowly pour in melted chocolate and stir until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Place pan on a baking sheet.  Bake in center of oven for about 1 hour.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes.  Remove side of pan and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill in refrigerator 4 hours or overnight.

Best cocoa powder ever...Black Onyx in a Devil's Food Cake

I can't take the credit for the recipe for this is purely a Martha Stewart creation.  You can get the recipe for her "Moist Devil's Food Cake" HERE.  It is a pretty easy from scratch recipe to make.  The cocoa I used is what takes the recipe over the top.

I know I've blogged it before here, but Black Onyx Cocoa Powder from Surfas in Culver City or online at Culinary District.com is what really rocks.  Its a super rich and dark chocolate powder.  Because it has least cocoa fats than the lighter stuff you get at a groc you do need to compensate some with it.  They recommend mixing it 50/50 with the lighter stuff.  I suggest you experiment with it.  In the case of this cake recipe and in cookies that have a lot of butter in them to start with it really doesn't make a difference.  I've experimented with it in bread and found that I did need to add a bit more fat...butter or oil to compensate for the dryness factor.