This moist cake combines the fruits, nuts, and spices from the New World that the Spanish conquistadores discovered in 1508. Chocolate was part of this Mesoamerican tableau. Brown sugar and ginger arrived much later, but this cake pays homage to the riches of the original jungles and river valleys.

Makes 1 (9-inch) bundt cake.

Cake Ingredients
2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 scant teaspoon grated fresh ginger
4 large eggs
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
11/2 cups cooked pumpkin puree or 1 (15-ounce) can
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 cup cocoa nibs
1 cup pecans, broken into small pieces

Glaze ingredients
8 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon light corn
syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a standard Bundt cake pan with oil or butter, then dust flour on the greased inside of the pan. Fluted Bundt pans, especially, need a lot of grease for the cake to release.

To make the cake, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and brown sugar with a whisk until light and fluffy. Add the vegetable oil and pumpkin puree and stir until smooth. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until it is absorbed. Then add the rest of the flour mixture followed by the vanilla, rum, cocoa nibs, and pecans. Switch to a rubber spatula to stir the mixture until smooth. Use the rubber spatula to scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick or bamboo skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few crumbs, not batter. Allow the cake to cool in the pan to room temperature before inverting in onto a wire rack.

To make the glaze, combine the chocolate, butter, milk, corn syrup, and salt in a stainless steel bowl over a saucepan of simmering water over medium heat and stir as the ingredients melt together. Pour the glaze over the cake after the cake has cooled to room temperature. You’ll have extra glaze left over, which you can pour into the center of the cake or save to serve with plated slices.

Enjoy!

About: This recipe is courtesy of Susie Norris who just launched her new gift/recipe book Chocolate Bliss: Sensuous Recipes, Spa Treatments, and Other Divine Indulgences in bookstores nationwide.

Courtesy of Chef Angela McKeller:

“This recipe has been passed down through our family, generation after generation, and it is absolutely delicious. The cake melts in your mouth and the fudge frosting…gives me chills thinking about it! Every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we have this dessert. It wouldn’t be the same without it! From what I
understand, this is very Southern and a recipe that is becoming harder and harder to find. A staple for decades at Thanksgiving gatherings, it is becoming a distant memory and I would like to put a stop to that! :)

Enjoy my Great-Grandmother’s recipe for 7-Layer Fudge Cake.”

photo courtesy of Chef Angela McKeller

Cake Layers:
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. Baking soda
¼ c. apple sauce
2 c. self-rising flour
1 ½ c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
1 c. buttermilk

Directions:
Combine flour and baking soda.
Add eggs, apple sauce, sugar, vanilla and buttermilk.
Mix until well blended, but do not over mix.
Pour ¾ c. batter into 6 or 7, 9” round cake pans (depending on how much batter you have and how well you scrape the bowl) and use anodized aluminum, so as not to burn the edges.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Cool on wire racks while making fudge frosting.

Fudge Frosting:
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 c. cocoa
1 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
½ c. margarine
7 oz. Evaporated milk

Directions:
Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat without boiling.
Add sugar, cocoa, vanilla and evaporated milk.
Stir well and bring to a boil.
As soon as it comes to a boil, time for five minutes (ONLY five minutes) and then immediately remove from heat.

Ice your cake layers immediately or the frosting will harden into fudge, rendering it impossible to spread. Serve warm, if possible, and you have the most decadent, Southern tradition that will melt in your mouth and be remembered for generations to come!

About Angela McKeller: Chef, Kookbook Author, Couture Aprons and Host of “Kick Back and Kook!”, Angela McKeller appeared in many tv shows and her recipes have been featured on numerous websites. Check out her radio show and website for more delicious recipes!

Another yummy-licious recipe courtesy of our friends at Del Monte: Holiday Peach Upside Down Cake!

Peach Upside Down Cake. photo and recipe courtesy of Del Monte “Stretch Your Dollar” Campaign

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cooking Time: 30 Minutes
Servings: 10+

Ingredients

· 2 cans (15-1/4 oz. each) DEL MONTE® Sliced Peaches
· 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter plus 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
· 1/2 cup brown sugar
· 1/4 cup evaporated milk
· 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
· 1 cup chopped pecans
· 1 pkg. yellow cake mix

Directions

1. Drain peaches reserving syrup for sauce.

2. Combine 4 oz. unsalted butter, brown sugar, reserved syrup from peaches, and
evaporated milk; cook over medium heat until syrupy, about 5 minutes; set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 325°F. Use remaining 2 Tbsp. butter to grease 13×9x2 inch baking
pan. Pour caramel sauce in pan, and arrange peaches over bottom; sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped pecans.

5. Prepare cake mix according to package directions; pour over fruit. Bake 30 minutes.

6. Cool completely before serving.

We featured Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier in our Chocolate Manufacturers – Guide for Chocoholics.

About the Company:

Gail Ambrosius founded her chocolate business in 2004, based on a deep love of dark chocolate and all of its richly complex and flavorful possibilities. She holds monthly tastings in her shop and encourages you to drop by and learn more about the distinct flavors of single-origin chocolate.

photo courtesy of Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier

Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier specializes in creating deliciously exotic dark chocolates in her Madison, Wisc., shop daily for legions of loyal fans in the area and around the country. Much like coffee, fine chocolate takes on the characteristics of the regions where the cacao beans are grown. Gail uses single-origin chocolate for most of her truffles, meaning that the unique flavors of a particular region’s cacao are melded with the finest spices, fruits, teas, nuts and other natural ingredients for the ultimate chocolate experience.

Gail and her staff are constantly tasting, adjusting and concocting new signature truffles and treats, bringing in fresh seasonal flavors to their handmade chocolates. At the same time, Gail is involved in every step of the process from ensuring the cacao farmers receive fair payment to powering her shop with solar and wind power.

About the products:

Looking for a small, simply divine pleasure for a gift, a special occasion or to savor in a rare moment of pampering? Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier has a constantly changing assortment of flavor options that fits the bill. Below are just a few of the possibilities:

Gail Ambrosius Chocolate. photo courtesy of Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier

Boxed chocolates: Truffles are available in beautifully designed boxes in a variety of flavor assortments and sizes. Flavor assortments include: Travel, Teas and Liqueurs. You can also select your own flavor combinations from our wide variety.

Price per box: $4.25 for two-piece; $11.00 for six-piece; $21.50 for 12-piece; and $40 for 24-piece box.

Twelve on the twelfth: You can order their box of twelve chocolates to arrive on the 12th of each month (or as near as possible). This makes a great gift anytime or as a convenient way to keep yourself in chocolate each month. You can select the flavor and length of time you want them to deliver.

Price: $64.50 plus shipping for three months, billed in monthly installments.

Hot chocolate: Warm your senses with this small batch, shaved 65 percent dark Columbian chocolate. Melt into warmed milk or enjoy European style in hot water. Thick and decadent. One bag makes 25 eight-ounce servings.

Price: $15.00

Chocolate sauce: A chocolate sauce for grown-up tastes. Dark and thick, it’s perfect on fruit, ice cream or just treat yourself to a spoonful. Made with Rainforest Certified Ecuadorian chocolate.

Price: $9.00

Shipping: Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier chocolates are made by hand in small batches to provide the freshest chocolate experience. Chocolates should be eaten within two weeks of purchase or refrigerated.

Location:

Chocolates can be purchased at their retail store at 2086 Atwood Avenue, Madison, Wisc., or purchased online at www.gailambrosius.com.

Today I have a very quick and easy dessert recipe.
This was made by my 15 year old daughter who loves desserts and whips it up in less than 1/2 an hour.

Easy Coffee Dessert

Ingredients:

1 liter milk
2 TBLSP. sugar
1/2 tin condensed milk or more
4 1/2 heaped TBLSP. corn flour
1 tsp. cocoa powder
3 tsp. coffee powder

Directions:

Boil the milk and sugar together.
In the meantime mix the rest of the ingredients except the  condensed milk with a little milk to make a paste.
Add this paste to the boiling milk on the stove and stir continuously to avoid lumps and remove when thicken.
Add the condensed milk .
Then pour into bowls and before serving top with nestle dessert cream, chocolate or anything you fancy.

Enjoy!

We featured Bissinger’s in our Chocolate Manufacturers – Guide for Chocoholics.

The Story of Bissinger’s

In a small kitchen in St. Louis, there is a place where tradition and quality are still the most important ingredients in the making of the world’s finest chocolate confections. This special place is Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier, one of the last handcrafted chocolatiers in the world. Bissinger’s has been making fine confections for more than 350 years taking pride in the fact that it has not sacrificed quality ingredients, taste, or craftsmanship to produce more candy at a lower cost. Even today, in an age of high tech production and immediacy, Bissinger’s remains committed to the high standards, heritage and traditions that have made the company what it is today.

Bissinger’s History

The name Bissinger has been long linked to fine confections. In fact, in the early 1600’s, the Bissinger family was named Confiseur Imperial, or “Candy maker of the Empire” for excellence in the confectionery arts by Emperor Louis Napoleon.

Karl Frederick Bissinger left France in 1863, bringing his loyal candy maker and all of the Bissinger family making-secrets to the United States near Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1927 his son, also name Karl, opened the Bissinger’s candy-making kitchen and first Bissinger’s shop in St. Louis on McPherson Avenue. Today, the retail business has expanded to include three stores in St. Louis and one in Minneapolis. The Maryland Plaza store in St. Louis is a particularly fun place since it is a chocolate lounge where small plates of chocolates and chocolate desserts can be paired with special teas, coffees, wines and ports.

Handmade Confections

Bissinger’s chocolate confections are still made in the St. Louis kitchen, many using original recipes from the Bissinger family cookbook, dated 1899. Bissinger’s candy makers oversee every detail of each delectable treat. Hand-dipped and hand-decorated, Bissinger’s confections are made the old-fashioned way in copper kettles, on marble slabs with wooden ladles, and each box of chocolate is hand-packed and wrapped for delivery or sale. Bissinger’s only uses the finest ingredients in its family recipes, and continues to produce over 400 confections by hand. Bissinger’s is a company that always strives to provide its customers with unique and innovative confections. Seasonal specialties have been added to the Bissinger’s collection throughout the years, such as Chocolate-Covered Raspberries and Blackberries, both only available in July / August / September.

More recently, Bissinger’s has focused their energies on making all-natural contemporary products which taste great and are good for you. Bissinger’s Naturals (black sesame, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, almond, walnut), adult gummies (pomegranate white tea, blueberry acai, gogi guava camu camu, pink grapefruit with grapeseed extract), high antioxidant chocolate bars, olive oil truffles, porcini mushroom truffles, etc. are treats perfect for chocolate-lovers with a healthful eating plan.

Bissinger’s, based in St. Louis, is a leading confectioner of fine chocolate products, distributing to more than one million customers worldwide through retail, catalog and online sales. Bissinger’s products can also be found at upscale retail locations throughout the United States. For most chocolatiers, Valentine’s Day is the leading holiday. However, at Bissinger’s, the company has nine major seasons that require the company to be busy all year long: Valentine’s Day, Easter/Passover, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Chocolate-Covered Raspberry Season (July), Chocolate-Covered Blackberry Season (August/September), Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah. This consistent seasonal demand allows them the opportunity to search the world for the finest packaging and gift ideas to marry with Bissinger’s fine chocolate.

Bissinger’s Corporate Gifts

Bissinger’s has a corporate gifts line designed to meet the needs of today’s busy executives. From the Business Card Folding Box to the Corporate Truffle Box to the Corporate Deluxe selections, Bissinger’s Master’s Reserve Corporate line has a gift for everyone on your customer list!

Bissinger’s Online

In 1999, Bissinger’s launched its full-service e-commerce Web site at www.bissingers.com . Today the site generates more than 20% of total revenues for the company and has over 25,000 visitors each month.

The Chocolate Catalogue

Bissinger’s distributes eight catalogs annually, with unique items including hand-crafted chocolates, hand-roasted nuts, fresh and glaceed chocolate covered fruits, decorated mints, edible table decorations, fabulous gift-giving ideas for children and adults, and great confections to complement a new wine or dinner as a delectable dessert. For more information on Bissinger’s exquisite chocolate confections, please visit Bissingers.com.

Berries cream and flowers courtesy of Elle Moss

Chocolate caramel swirl mousse or double chocolate fudge cheesecake may sound delicious but, at the end of the meal, these desserts leave you with heavy bellies and droopy eyelids effectively dampening your hot summer nights. The sweet summer months deserve a different sort of dessert, one that entices you to reconcile body and mind with the miracles of mother nature, leaving you feeling healthy and light on your feet.

The succulent taste of nature’s fruits are unparalleled, not to mention the potentially immense health benefits that are hidden within the beautifully colored skins and juices of blueberries, cranberries, blackberries and pomegranates. I have yet to taste anything created by man that can rival the the sour, sweet, salty, and bitter flavors than can be found in even the smallest sized nature-made edibles. It’s time we appreciate these tiny miracles and enjoy them in their pure and natural form.

Try taking fresh blueberries (or other fresh fruit of your choice) and dropping them into a saucer of real cream. Eat them slowly with a spoon, and savor the sweet and sour of the blueberries mixing in with the sweet cream. The flavor burst is unbelievable and the texture is smooth. An added bonus is that children will go nuts for a simple dessert such as this, and you can feel good about offering your child an all natural dessert in two minutes flat.

Sometimes, it is the simplest of combinations that make the most delicious explosions in your mouth. For a sweet summer dessert that fulfills both your desire for sweet richness and your inevitable need to be able to get up and walk away from the table, try fresh blueberries and cream. Nothing beats pure and natural, so succumb to mother nature and taste the magic for yourself.

We featured Chalmers Ganache in our Chocolate Manufacturers – Guide for Chocoholics.

About Chalmers Ganache:

Founded in January 2004, Chalmers is the product of a Friday night family tradition of ice cream and TV, a beloved ritual made sweeter with the delight of a homemade ganache-like chocolate. Seizing the moment in the marketplace for a high-quality chocolate with more versatility, richness and natural dark chocolate flavor, Chalmers was born. Recipe experimentation resulted in Chalmers Ganache – made without high-fructose corn syrup unlike most traditional sauces and spreads available.

About the products:

Chalmers Ganache products are crafted from the finest imported European cocoas and blended to a luxuriously thick, silky texture. It is an exquisite, affordable chocolate indulgence and can be used in a myriad of recipes – spoon, melt, spread, or dip. Original Luxe Dark, Ultra Mint, and new Mucho Mayan Spice, are available in 8.25 oz. jars – and a beautiful gift set.

photo courtesy of Chalmers Ganache

The stylish set includes three 8.25 oz. jars of Chalmers Ganache – one of each flavor: original Luxe Dark, Ultra Mint, and Mucho Mayan Spice, presented in a lush brown sueded gift box tied with Chalmers blue grosgrain ribbon. Suggested retail price for the set is around $30.

Additional epicurean products available online soon, will include industry-first “Patisserie Pack” presented in a pastry bag-like package for bakery/foodservice, drinking bowls and stylish logo “baby-Ts.”

The newest flavor, Mucho Mayan Spice, is a heady blend of cinnamon, chipotle chiles in Chalmers’ luscious dark chocolate ganache.

Location:

It’s a groovy little brand that’s making some waves in the fancy food world. They are available at select Whole Foods Market stores in GA, TN, SC, and NC, Naples Gourmet Grocer in Long Beach, Rice Epicurean in Houston, and other specialty food retailers as well as online at www.chalmersganache.com

We featured Recchiuti Confections in our Chocolate Manufacturers – Guide for Chocoholics.

About Recchiuti Confections:

Consuming about 11 pounds of the stuff per person every year, America eats and drinks all manner of chocolate, from the mass-marketed all-American candy bars to the imported bonbons and truffles of Belgium and France. Using words like “seductive,” “sensual,” and “decadent,” Americans claim chocolate as their favorite flavor when it comes to desserts. All this, yet most people in the United States are only familiar with super-sweet “snacking” chocolate, and have very little exposure to premium, dark chocolate and its myriad varieties and complex flavor profiles. Enter Recchiuti Confections, an artisan company in San Francisco on a mission to introduce consumers to “real” chocolate and to share with people what it was meant to be. There’s no going back – one bite of these handcrafted morsels will change the way you think about chocolate forever.

Recchiuti Confections was created by Michael Recchiuti and his wife Jacky Recchiuti in 1997. Michael, a self-trained chocolatier, spent many years in the test kitchen experimenting with herbal and other infusions before finally brining his creations to the masses. He founded Recchiuti Confections with the idea that once you introduce truly exquisite chocolates to people, they will be won over instantly and forever. Then, as now, he achieved those exquisite chocolates by painstakingly selecting each ingredient – all natural – that would go into the final creation. Michael is constantly on the lookout for the freshest herbs and spices that make Recchiuti Confections a necessary indulgence and have made them an obsession to consumers nationwide.

About the products:

Everything at Recchiuti Confections is handmade in small batches using traditional European techniques.

Over time, other confections were added to the Recchiuti repertoire including dessert sauces that taste as good straight from the jar as they do over ice cream, over-sized gourmet chocolate bars, heavenly Fudge Brownies, chocolate-coated Key Lime Pears and a do-it-yourself S’mores Kit. Here are two of their most popular products:

Creativity Explored Box III (3.5 oz, 8 pieces) $21 **This is a gift that gives back!**
Recchiuti Confections released brand new collection of art-adorned chocolates. The third in the Creativity Explored series features the work of Vincent Jackson, Bay Area artist and long-time CE studio contributor. Pieces of Burnt Caramel chocolate serve as tiny canvases inspiring the artist to create something compelling, beautiful and delicious. 
 
Your purchase of the Creativity Explored series helps the organization continue its work. each sale goes to Creativity Explored, a nonprofit visual arts center where artists with developmental disabilities create, exhibit, and sell art.

Black Box (16 pieces; 8 ounces) $44
A chocolate assortment containing Tarragon Grapefruit, Burnt Caramel, Lavender Vanilla, Sur de Lago, Lemon Verbena, Spring Jasmine Tea, Pearl Mint Tea and Star Anise & Pink Peppercorn, Ginger Heart, Force Noir, Kona Coffee, Sesame Nougat, Rose Caramel, Candied Orange Peel, Bergamot Tea and Piedmont Hazelnut.
 
Awards:

In 2005 Michael’s book Chocolate Obsession (Stewart, Tabori & Chang), co-authored with renowned pastry expert Fran Gage, was released to wide acclaim; the book was a finalist at the 2006 James Beard Awards and won high honors for photography and design at the 2006 International Association of Culinary Professionals annual conference.

Recchiuti creations have received praise from hundreds of upscale consumer publications, critics and the food and wine industry in general. Currently, new chocolates and confections are being developed with Michael finding new ways to make the chocolate consuming public happy and…obsessed.

Locations:

In 2003, Recchiuti Confections opened its first retail store in San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace; the renovated historic building has become a mecca for the artisan food community and a destination point for food lovers everywhere. Meanwhile, chocolate lovers across the U.S. are able to purchase online at www.recchiuti.com

Preparation Time: approx. 45 minutes
Baking Time: approx. 10 minutes
Total time: approx. 55 minutes
Servings: +- 20

Ingredients:
125g (4.4 oz) butter
2 large eggs
5ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
500ml (2 cups + 2 tablespoons) cake flour, sifted
10ml (2 teaspoons) baking powder
200ml (7/8 cup) milk

Syrup ingredients:
250ml (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) sugar
pink food colouring
300ml (1 1/4 cups) fine dessicated coconut

Preparation:
Heat oven to 180 C/ 356 F.
Cream the butter and sugar until light.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the vanilla.
Fold in the flour and baking powder alternately with the milk to form a batter with a dropping consistency.
Spoon into greased mini cupcake trays.
Bake for about 10 mins until skewer comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

To make the Syrup:
Add the sugar and 250ml (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) water to a saucepan.
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture thickens slightly.
Remove from the heat and stir in a few drops of colouring.
Dip the cool cakes into the syrup, then roll in coconut.

Enjoy!!