Chocolate Nutella Nests with Strawberries

Meringues are one of my dessert tray staples. I make them with peppermint at Christmas. I add lemon juice and lemon zest for a treat after a heavy meal. I make vanilla meringue nests to put fruit in (like Pavlova, named for the dancer).

You probably have your own favorite recipe, but if not the Internet abounds with versions. You want to use one with cream of tartar (or use citrus juice). It has to do with the chemistry of egg whites and chemical bonds and stuff like that.

I created this version just for this month since DH is my chocolate monster. You could just drop these onto the baking sheet in dollops of chocolate meringues or you could take it the extra step I did with Nutella and strawberries. This recipe makes about 12 meringue drops or 6-8 meringue nests for filling. The recipe is for the nests.

 

Chocolate Nutella Nests with Strawberries (makes 6-8)

2 egg whites      

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 pinch of cream of tartar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 heaping tablespoon Nutella for each nest

1 strawberry, sliced to fan for each nest

Preheat oven to 225°.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Allow enough paper to separate the meringues since they spread a bit while baking.

In medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Whisk together the sugar, cream of tartar, and cocoa.

Add a tablespoon of sugar mixture at a time and beat until dissolved then add more. Gradual works best.

Drop two heaping spoonfuls of meringue onto the baking sheet. Use the spoon to create the nest. Repeat with remaining mixture until you have 6 to 8 nests.

Bake 35 minutes (but check after 20 minutes since ovens vary) until they are dry but crispy.

Turn off oven and leave meringue nests to cool inside.

When cool, fill with Nutella and place the strawberry fan on top. Serve as soon as possible. Diners pick up the nest to eat in three or four bites.

NOTE: You can bake the meringues and store them in an airtight container for several days until needed.

DH’s RATING: 5+ Tongues Up

He told me he loved the combination of flavors and textures. There was crunchy, chewy, and gooey! This was one of his favorites this month.

Month-of-Mini-Desserts: Red Wine Chocolate Cake

This is for our Valentine’s Day dinner tomorrow (but DH had to sample one to rate it for today’s post). Red wine and deep dark chocolate are a classic pairing, and this dessert for your sweetheart will send a clear message of love.

I adapted this Red Wine Chocolate Cake from Martha Stewart’s recipe. So if you want the real deal, here it is.

Since I was making mini-bundts, I didn’t want a whole cake, so I halved the recipe. I have three sizes of bundt pans: the mini three-bite bundt, the small bundt that I cut in half for us, and the regular bundt pan everyone owns.

Even so a dozen+ mini-bundts is too much for the two of us, so I am going to freeze some (glaze on) for later eating. I hope it works. My freezer is filling up with desserts that I hope to serve after this month is over!

The cake batter was very thick, and yes, the wine will curdle the milk, but that’s okay! This cake isn’t hard to make, but it does take paying attention as you will have several things going at once. I changed her directions to how I put everything together.

Red Wine Chocolate Cake with Red Wine Glaze

(makes 12 mini-bundts and 2 small bundt cakes)

Cake:
½ cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 whole egg + 1 white, lightly beaten

1 cup flour + 1 tablespoon

½ box sugar-free black cherry gelatin (heaping 1½ teaspoons)

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

½ cup red wine (I used pinot noir)

¼ cup milk

Wine glaze

1 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup red wine

½ cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for serving

¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Red Wine Chocolate Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°.

You are going to need on each of small, medium, large bowls.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, gelatin, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. When chocolate is melted remove from the pan of water and let cool 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine red wine and milk. Set aside.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs. Beat well. Mix in the cooled chocolate.

When chocolate is well-blended, add wine mixture and flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat well, for about 3 more minutes, using a spatula to scrape down batter from the side of the bowl.

Spoon batter into prepared 12 mini-bundt and 2 two small bundt pans. Bake for 20-22 minutes and test with an inserted toothpick. Bake up to 25 minutes, if required.

Red Wine Glaze:

Add butter, wine, and confectioner’s sugar to a medium sauce pan.

Whisk ingredients constantly as you bring to a boil.

You are making a reduction, so occasionally tilt the pan. When the wine sauce is glazing the bottom of the sauce pan, remove from the heat.

Whisk in vanilla. Set aside until time to glaze the cakes. Spoon glaze evenly over the warm bundt cakes and let sit to absorb some of the glaze. Pick up each cake so the glaze spreads across the plate. Set cakes back down on the glaze so they absorb from the bottom, too.

DH’s Rating: Mixed Tongues!

Well, now this is interesting and never has happened before. He thought the chocolate cake was good but nothing special taste wise, but he did like its density. With its name he expected it to be more distinctive. It was just a very good chocolate cake. The wine glaze, however, was a treat! I can see putting that glaze on lots of different things I make (pound cake and fruit drizzled with glaze and so on). It’s odd how that flavor doesn’t match the cake.

My recommendation (and I don’t do this often): Don’t go to all the bother with Martha’s cake; make your own favorite chocolate cake but do make the red wine glaze! On the other hand, if you like a denser cake, then this is the recipe for you.

Month-of-Mini-Desserts: Cherry Pie-in-a-Jar

On February 2 I shared Lemon Chiffon in these cute half pint canning jars. They make easy storage for desserts and extra cute serving dishes. I first started using canning jars for desserts when I happened upon pie-in-a-jar recipes. How clever is that? Single servings of pie that you bake in the jar. Couldn’t be easier!

Here’s a pie-in-a-jar site I happened on that went step-by-step. I followed those steps the first time, and then I noted what I needed to know that wasn’t there and changed some of her directions. Here’s how I make Pie-in-a-Jar! There’s always some in my freezer for when I need a quick dessert that looks like I spent the day in the kitchen!

Cherry Pie-in-a-Jar (makes 5 pies) 

1 can cherry pie filling

1 can sour cherries, drained

2 single pie crusts

In a medium bowl, mix the cherry pie filling and the drained sour cherries together and set aside.

If using store-bought pie crusts roll them to make them a bit larger and thinner.

Using the ring for the canning jar, cut 5 rounds from one pie crust with the lid. Repeat with the second pie crust. Save the scraps for patching. Set five rounds aside for tops.

The remaining five rounds will be the bottom crust for the pie. Fit one round into one jar, tearing off the excess and patching with it and scraps of dough until the entire inside, but below the rim, is covered with dough. Press out air pockets so the dough fits tightly against the jar.

Repeat the process with the four remaining jars.

Divide cherry pie filling among the jars.

The set-aside pie crust rounds are the tops. You can cut some into strips to make a lattice crust and/or use a small cutter to make vents in a solid top. I use the end of my funnel to cut out little circles.

Preheat oven to 375°. Place jars in a baking pan with sides so you don’t have them sliding off. Bake for at least 45 minutes (more if needed to brown the crust).

NOTE: Cover each jar with a canning lid and ring. Put in freezer to bake later. When you want to bake the frozen pies, remove the rings and lids (wash to reuse). Place spaced apart on a baking sheet with sides and put into cold oven. Turn oven to 375°. The jars will warm up as the oven does. Bake for 60 minutes (or until crusts are browned). 

DH’s Rating:

5 Tongues Up! He has had this dessert many times and has been known to ask what kind of pie (apple or cherry) is in the freezer!

February: The Month-of-??? Recipes

It’s that time of year again. I blog daily in February with a recipe-a-day that fit a category. Two years ago, I blogged soup recipes daily. Last year I blogged chicken recipes. So what’s this February going to be?

As in the past, I let you, Dear Readers, decide that.

The three options for you are:

Eggs

Mini-Desserts

Appetizers

Eggs you say? Yes, eggs. Did you know the traditional chef’s toque has 100 pleats because it was said a real chef could prepare eggs 100 ways. Shoot, I only need to do 28 if you pick this one.

Mini-Desserts in shot glasses (though no longer confined there) began with Seasons 52, a wonderful chain restaurant that serves un-chain-like food. Seriously, look for one near you. I don’t often recommend restaurants. This one I do. But back to the desserts: There is something about a one or two-bite bit of sweetness after a meal that is satisfying on many levels--one of which is lowered calorie count.

Appetizers are such fun. I love appetizers parties where happy hour turns into dinner because of the heft and variety of appetizers served. In fact (she says with no modesty at all), my appetizer parties have brought me a small amount of acclaim.

Thems the three. Which do you want and/or need?

But why vote now? February seems so far away. Did you read my OCD post earlier? Well, in case you didn’t notice, there are a few holiday thingies coming up that will gobble up time, and it takes time to figure out what I am going to fix every day for 28 days straight. Oh, and did I mention the OCD post? So give me time to process this selection. Comments here, on FaceBook, and on Twitter will be combined to declare the winning category.

So comment below. Which category would you like to have 28 recipes for? Eggs, mini-desserts, or appetizers? The deadline for voting is December 1. Vote now and get your friends to vote, too.

I’m waiting with bated breath for the results. Really.