Cherry-Port Swirled Bundt Cake with Almond Streusel ~ #BundtBakers

They say life is a bowl of cherries - I say make those cherries into a bundt cake.

Black Forest Bundt Cake ~ #BundtBakers

Chocolate cake, cherries, kirsch, and whipped cream.  All of these add up to a Black Forest Cake, and as this is my husband's favorite cake I turned it into a bundt for this month's #BundtBakers theme of Dad's Favorite Cake.

Cherry Kuchen

Time for another Cake Slice Baker's cake.  Once again it was free choice between 4 different cakes, and I chose a Cherry Kuchen. I can't wait to see what my fellow bakers chose as their cake.

Chocolate Cherry Brownie Kisses

You may remember last month I started baking through Lick the Bowl Good, the fantastic new cookbook by food blogger Monica Holland.  Last month we baked a Banana Pecan Breakfast Cake, which was amazing.  This month the group is baking Chocolate Cherry Brownie Kisses, which seems very appropriate for the chocolate-loving month of February.

Double Chocolate Cherry Biscotti

A few days ago I was doing my regular sweep of my favorite blogs and saw on Roxana's Home Baking that it was the 1st anniversary of the #chocolate party. I knew that I needed to join in on this fun event.  To celebrate we were asked to bake our family's favorite chocolate dessert.

Is it weird that one of our favorite desserts is biscotti? I know that when most people think of their favorite chocolate dessert they don't necessarily think of cookies. Now don't get me wrong, I love an ooey, gooey, decadent chocolate dessert as much as the next person - for example these Mexican Chocolate Crunch Brownies - but I don't always have time for them during the week. Biscotti on the other hand is something that I can bake over the weekend and then enjoy with my coffee after dinner, or even crumble it over a bowl of vanilla ice cream. It is also the perfect treat for my girls to enjoy when they are craving something sweet, but not too big, as they finish off their homework.

This biscotti is double the chocolate fun - cocoa and chocolate chips - and has dried cherries added to give them a little tartness.  I love chocolate and cherries together, as you would guess if you saw my secret stash of Cherry Ripe candy bars.  I can't tell you where I hide them because they are a prized possession in this household.  They are only available in Australia (or via mail-order which can be pricey) so I don't get them very often and I treat them like rations - open only in case of an emergency.

I based my recipe on one that I use from The Craft of Baking. The original recipe contained walnuts which are great, but I subbed them out for dried cherries. Be warned that the dough for these biscotti is quite wet so you may look a little like you have been playing in mud by the time you have them shaped them on the baking sheet. Just make sure you have everything set up before you put your hands in the bowl. Also, I find that mini chocolate chips work best in this recipe, but I only had regular on hand so I went with that.  These biscotti will last up to three weeks in an airtight container at room temperature, but they are gone in our household well before then.

The Chocolate Party is going on for the month of September and it is so easy to join in the fun.  All you have to do is bring your favorite chocolate dessert to Roxana's Home Baking #chocolate party and win amazing prizes from OXO, Calphalon, Keurig, Imperial Sugar, Honey Ridge Farms and Land O'LakesⓇ Butter.  I can't wait to go and check all of the amazing chocolate treats that have been brought to the party.


Double Chocolate Cherry Biscotti
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces and at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dried cherries
• ½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, cocoa, both sugars, butter, baking soda, and salt. Beat on low speed until all ingredients are well combined and the butter is no longer visible (about 4 minutes).
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, espresso powder, and vanilla.
4. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on low speed to combine.
5. Add the dried cherries and chocolate chips and beat to combine.
6. Turn out the dough on a generously floured work surface and divide in half. Shape each portion into a 16x2-inch log, and carefully transfer each one to the prepared baking sheets.
7. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the logs are firm to touch, about 20 minutes. Transfer the logs, still on the parchment paper, to a wire rack and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300℉.
8. Transfer the warm logs to a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into ⅓-inch-thick slices.
9. Arrange the slices, cut side up, on the parchment covered baking sheet.
10. Bake for 30 minutes and remove baking sheets from the oven and flip each biscotti piece over.
11. Return baking sheets to the oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes and the biscotti are dry and firm to touch.
12. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the biscotti cool completely.

Recipe adapted by ATLATC from The Craft of Baking.

To Try Tuesday - Bill's Berry Tart

Math never was my strong point so it is no big surprise that I missed Pi Day.  I had this great idea that I would make Bill Granger's Cherry Tart to celebrate Pi Day (even though it is, technically, a tart not a pie) but I ended up having 3.14159265 other things to do, so it became a To Try recipe instead.

I planned on using cherries but Costco did not have any and I didn't want to be stuck with a big bag of frozen cherries.  So I went with blueberries instead, using about 2 cups of whole berries to make a single layer in the tart shell.  It therefore became Bill's Berry Tart.





There is not one thing about this tart that I would change - it was amazing.  If you are looking for a easy-to-make dessert that will impress your family and friends then this is your dessert.  Cherries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even a mix of berries would be great in the filling.  I loved that the crust was a cinch to make and it did not have to be rolled out.  You know how the crust can shrink sometimes when you are pre-baking? Not with this one.  Also, those pie weights that you use to stop air pockets forming in the crust? Well, you will not need them for this crust. Simply make crust in less than 5 minutes, pre-bake, fill with fruit, pour custard over the top, and bake once more.  Mine baked for 35 minutes, so realistically you could have this pie ready in about an hour.  I sprinkled mine with a little powdered sugar after it cooled, but this is optional.  Ice cream or whipped cream would be a nice addition too.  Lastly, the original recipe was in metric, so if you prefer these measurements you can find the recipe here.

Bill’s Berry Tart

(Printer Friendly Version)

Ingredients

Pastry

• ½ cup (1 stick) + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
• ⅓ cup sugar 
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour 
• a pinch of salt 
• 2 tablespoons of ground almonds 

Filling 

• ⅔ cup cream 
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 3 tablespoons sugar 
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 16 oz cherries, halved and pitted 

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9-inch round loose-bottomed tart tin. 

To make the pastry:

1. Stir together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the flour and salt and stir to make a soft dough.
3. Press dough evenly into base and side of tart tin with fingertips.
4. Put the tin on a baking tray and bake for 12-15 mins, until pastry is slightly puffy.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle almond meal over base.

To make filling:

1. Whisk together cream, eggs, vanilla, sugar. 
2. Add flour and whisk until well mixed.
3. Arrange cherries over pastry base and pour cream filling over cherries.
4. Bake for 40-50 minutes until filling is firm.
5. Leave to cool and serve with cream or ice-cream.

Serves 8-10.  Original recipe appears in Holiday by Bill Granger.