Triple Chocolate Trifle

Or more appropriately… How to Make the Best of a Messed Up Cake.

This dessert comes courtesy of my sister. She wanted to bake a cake for me - chocolate of course with chocolate chips - and was already to decorate it and surprise me. One problem. The cake stuck to the pan and fell to pieces when she tried to take it out.

Now, if it were me, I would have just made some cake balls out of it. But being the creative one that she is, she turned her mess into a masterpiece.

I don't have her cake recipe, but here's what you do.

1. Accidentally mess up your cake on purpose by mistake
2. Whip up some chocolate pudding
3. Layer it all in a trifle dish with some cool whip and refrigerate.

… and in the words of Tim Gunn… "Make it Work."



If she hadn't told me it was a mistake, I never would have known.

Actually, there was only one problem with this cold, creamy, cakelicious dessert. It was way too easy to eat. Let's just say, I wish I had a bigger spoon.

Lemon Bars and a Little Helper

Sweet squares of sugar and citrus. I love them … especially, when other people make them. Ha. What I mean is, when I think about baking something new, I usually lean towards recipes that include chocolate or either chocolate and sometimes chocolate. But every time I've ever eaten one of these yummy yellow squares, I think why haven't I ever made these things. So I did… kinda.

They're really easy and you don't even have to get out your mixer. First, grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan. I used a glass one. Next, you'll need to make a crust.



For the crust, you'll just need flour, butter and confectioner's sugar. Easy enough.



Whisk together 1 3/4 cup flour and 2/3 cup confectioner's sugar. Add 1 cup cold butter.



Then cut in the butter until the mixture is incorporated and crumbly. I used the back of a fork to work the butter into the flour. When it gets crumbly, pour it into your greased and floured pan and press firmly into the bottom. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the crust is baking, you can prepare the lemon topping.



Again, easy ingredients. Flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder and lemon juice. Pretend that's freshly squeezed juice from real lemons on the right. I didn't have any on hand.

But before we go on, let me show you my little helper. She always asks to crack the eggs open if she's around when I'm baking. And when she looks at me with those eyes, I'm sure you know the answer.



She's great at it, too. So good, in fact, that I let her finish up the rest of the work.



Slightly beat the four eggs and set aside. Then, measure 1 1/2 cups sugar making sure it exactly meets the line on the measuring cup. She's very precise.



Now you'll need 1/2 cup lemon juice. Right now I wish I had those lemons, so she could experience squeezing the juice out of them. Oh well… moving on. In another large bowl, add the 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 4 slightly beaten eggs and 1/2 cup lemon juice. Look at those hands. Steady.



Stir all that together really good.



And then pour it on top of the warm baked crust. Bake for another 20-25 minutes.

Remove and cool completely. Sprinkle with extra confectioner's sugar and refrigerate.

Yum! And even better, I still don't have to make them. She can do it for me while I make something chocolatey. Yippee!



Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar (plus more for dusting)

Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan

To make crust:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner's sugar
• Cut in butter until combined and crumbly.
• Press mixture into bottom of pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

To make topping:

• While crust is baking, prepare topping.
• In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.
• Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
• Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• When cool, dust with confectioner's sugar and refrigerate.
• Cut into bars and enjoy them cold!

Cheesecake!

Need a fork? Or maybe a shovel. This is one ginormous piece of cheesecake. And oh boy, was it good. The cheesecake, that is. Personally, I can do without a bunch of fru fru when it comes to cheesecake. But, I wanted to dress a slice up and make it all pretty for you. This one is topped with raspberry, whipped cream, and white chocolate. It's also the first real grown-up cheesecake I think I've ever made. Yay me! (Anyone else, hear London Tipton in their head when they read that? If you didn't, don't worry, that means the Disney Channel hasn't infiltrated your brain.)

The only other kind of cheesecake I've made are these itsy-bitsy mini ones. Take a look. You'll love how easy they are.

Anyway, when it comes to cheesecake, this is how I like mine.



Plain. Jane. No whipped cream. No whole fruit. Ever. Just dense and delicious. But, on occasion, I don't mind a little raspberry sauce to touch it. I actually don't mind fruit flavors at all. I just won't eat the actual fruit. For instance, on these itsy bitsy mini ones. The cherries had to go. Cherry sauce… fine. Cherries… trash can. I know. I'm weird like that.

But, not totally weird. I do like other cheesecake flavors, like Oreo, chocolate, of course, and just about every other combination from the Cheesecake Factory - as long as it's served without whipped cream or whole fruit. But, I usually gravitate towards the classic… and then I hope someone else orders a different flavor so I can try it.

And now that I've had success, I may just have to do some more experimenting on my own. This was really so easy, I don't know why I've been hesitant to try making one for so long.



Start with the crust. Graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter mixed together.



Then press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a springform pan.



Cream cheese, eggs, sugar, sour cream, vanilla, flour, and lemon juice. Dump it in.

And in a little over an hour, voila…



… cheesecake!

Now, it wasn't perfect. It did have a crack going through the middle. From what I understand, this can be a common annoyance. You can see a hint of it to the right in this photo. But, that's ok. You can cover stuff up like that with a sauce, or chocolate, or caramel and nuts, or (gags) whipped cream. Or just go ahead and slice the cheesecake, avoiding any defect.

For the raspberry sauce, I just used some jelly and heated it up until it was thin enough to spread on in a thin layer. Easy!

Here's the entire recipe if you want to give it a go.

Cheesecake

2.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

4 (8oz.) packages cream cheese
1.5 cups sugar
3 Tbsp flour
5 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Optional:
raspberry jelly
fresh raspberries
1 cup heavy whipping cream + 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
white chocolate

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar.
• Stir in melted butter until moistened.
• Pour the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan (3 inches tall). Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan.
• Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature.

• To make the cheesecake filling, cream the sugar, cream cheese and flour with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
• On medium low, add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition.
• On low, add sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla just until combined.
• Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325.
• Make sure to take it out of the oven before the center looks done. It will be kind of wobbly and it will move in one piece. The center will look more shiny than the edges. That's ok because it will continue to cook a little while it's in the pan.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely to room temperature.
• Hope that it doesn't crack.
• Go ahead and separate the cheesecake from the sides of the pan by running a knife around the edges. I also opened and reclosed the springform pan to help separate.
• Chill in the refrigerator overnight. That's right. It's best to make this the day before because it needs plenty of time to chill and firm up.
  

• Before serving: Heat up some raspberry jelly on low heat until the consistency is thin. Spread on top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate while you do the following.
• Melt some white chocolate and put it in a ziploc bag or squeeze bottle. Draw abstract (see first photo) shapes on wax paper and let dry.
• Pour some heavy whipping cream in a small chilled metal bowl. Add 2 Tbsp powdered sugar and beat the cream on high until it becomes firm and thick.
• Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator and spoon on whipped cream or use a decorating bag with a 1M tip to decorate.
• Top with fresh raspberries and white chocolate decorations.
  

Enjoy!


Now, before I let you go, I'm curious. How do you roll?
Plain Jane or Fancy Shmancy?



Or somewhere in between?