Joy the Baker » halloween

Midnight Black Chocolate Pudding

joythebaker — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:58:09 +0000

So there’s this thing about me.

I really really don’t like making Halloween treats. Tombstone cupcakes. Spider web cookies. Witch finger snacks. Please… just please. I can’t get into it. I don’t want things to look dead, or bugged, or dismembered.

I want things to look sweet and chocolatey and dripping with caramel… and not blood-colored caramel. Please!

I feel like I should come clean now, before you expect some sort of zombie cake.

Oh. Also… I don’t really have time to make tombstone cupcakes. I’m dedicating most of my time to planning my super slutty panda bear costume.

I’m kidding.

…. I’m so so kidding.

Right?

I have a wonderfully exciting, secret ingredient in this Midnight Black Chocolate Pudding. It’s Black Onyx Cocoa Powder. See how black it is!? Especially compared to the regular cocoa powder hanging out in the back. See!? Intense.

Let me tell you a little about this cocoa powder.

Black Onyx Cocoa Powder has been alkalized to the max. That means that it’s acids have been super neutralized. If you’re using this cocoa powder in a recipe, you’ll probably want to pair it with baking powder, as it doesn’t have the acid to react with the baking soda.

Still with me?

This cocoa powder has less fat than regular (lighter) cocoa powder, so it may produce a more dry end product. It’s been suggested that you use half black cocoa and half regular cocoa. Black cocoa powder is an intense chocolate flavor. It smells like crushed up Oreo cookies. It makes cookies, puddings and cakes as dark as midnight! I’m so into it. It’s perfect in this pudding because there’s no worry of over drying.

Black Onyx Cocoa Powder is an awesome way for be to act Halloween-y without making slutty witch fingers.

I love this pudding recipe because it’s thickened by both egg yolks and cornstarch. The yolks provide a nice richness while the cornstarch is a no fail thickener.

Look how luscious!

Wait… is luscious an awkward word?

A little.

It’s like art… but it’s just a dirty dish.

See that orange flower back there? That was my attempt at festivity.

Please say you’re proud of me or something.

Oh hey! One more thing. In case you’re thinking of dressing up as the slutty version of a random something this Halloween, can I please please please suggest that you NOT DO THAT!?

I might have to write a whole blog post about that.

Let’s just stick to pudding for now.

This pudding is rich, dark, unapologetic. It’s chocolate right in your face!

Of course you can make this recipe using regular cocoa and not the fancy Black Onyx… but, hey! Try a little darkness. It’s the season.

Midnight Black Chocolate Pudding

makes 4 servings

adapted from Tyler Florence

Print this Recipe!

2 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (just 1/2 cup sugar if using regular cocoa powder)

1/3 cup black onyx cocoa powder

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean

1 cup heavy cream

2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 vanilla bean

pinch of salt

Place 2 cups milk in a medium saucepan with sugar and cocoa powder. Heat over medium heat until steaming and warm. You don’t necessarily have to boil the mixture, just heat it up and whisk it together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 1/2 cup milk, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla extract. Drizzle about half of the steaming hot chocolate milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. This will temper the eggs, making them a bit warm before they’re cooked over a flame. Return all of the chocolate, milk, egg mixture back to the saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking nearly constantly. Make sure the get into the corners of the pan where the pudding might stick and overcook.

When pudding starts to boil, continue to whisk and boil for about 2 to 3 minutes. Pudding will thicken. Remove from heat and spoon into 4 ramekins or jars. Cover with plastic wrap (on the surface of the pudding if you want to avoid pudding skin). Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

For the whipped cream, whip together heavy cream, sugar, vanilla bean, and a pinch of salt. Dollop over cold pudding and serve.

Homemade Almond Joy

joythebaker — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 07:14:11 +0000

I tried on about thirty different pairs of skinny jeans last week. It wasn’t cute. This trend is not ok with me.

I have thighs. They rub together a little.

These candies might be why.

If you feel compelled to make some sort of joke about the word ‘joy’ in the title of this recipe and my name… which is also Joy.

Well… go on. Get it out of your system.

Just don’t make any Joy to the World jokes. I’m so over those.

I really like what’s going on with these little gems. I combined unsweetened coconut with sweetened condensed milk and toasted almonds… and I covered the whole thing in dark chocolate. Seriously good.

But aren’t Almond Joys kind of a Grandpa candy bar? No… that’s Baby Ruth… totally an old dude candy bar.

Homemade Almond Joy

makes about 30 little bars

Print this Recipe!

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut

30 almonds

about 20 ounces (a bag and a half) of good quality semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, spread raw almonds onto a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Stir in the unsweetened coconut. The mixture will be thick. Place mixture in the freezer for 3o minutes. It’s easier to work with if it’s a little cold.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the coconut mixture from the freezer. With clean hands shape one tablespoon of coconut into a little log about 2 inches long and 3/4-inch thick. Press the logs together very well so they don’t crack when dipped. Place the log on the lined baking sheet and continue until all of the coconut mixture is gone. Rinse hands occasionally if they get too sticky. Press an almond on top of each coconut log. It might not completely stick. That’s ok. Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill while you melt the chocolate.

Place a medium pot with two inches of water over a medium flame. Bring the water to a simmer. Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl and place the bowl over the simmering water. Stir the chocolate as it melts. Turn off the flame once the chocolate has melted but keep the bowl of melted chocolate over the hot water.

Remove the coconut candies from the fridge. Place one coconut almond log on a fork. Use a spoon to scoop a bit of chocolate over the almond. This will help the almond stick to the candy and not fall off during dipping. Lower fork into chocolate and spoon chocolate over candy to coat. Lift fork and gently shake to release some of the chocolate. Scrape the bottom of the fork along the side of the bowl and place on the lined baking sheet. You might need a toothpick to help get the candy off the fork. Repeat until all candy is coated in chocolate. If chocolate gets thick, just turn on the flame and heat slightly.

Let dipped candy harden in the fridge for 45 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. If you need to layer the candy in a container, use waxed paper to separate the layers.

S’mores Icebox Candy Bars

joythebaker — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:22:14 +0000

I’m putting on an orange leotard tomorrow. An orange leotard.

I’m also putting on bright blue leggings tomorrow.. and white leg warmers… and sweat bands.

I’m going to encourage the big, puffy, curly hair that I spend most days trying to tame. Yes, there will be blue eye shadow.

I’m going to step out in the world tomorrow as an 80′s aerobics instructor. The only little hitch? That I actually have to step out of the house in a skin tight orange leotard and skin tight blue leggings. Oooh lordy. Whose idea was it to take the Halloween celebration beyond my solo living room dance parties? Yeeps!

Ironically, the only thing making me feel better about my very bright and very tight 80′s debut are these S’mores Icebox Candy Bars. There are fifteen in a batch and I’ve worked through four just writing this post. Send help. Orange leotard, people…. send help.

I love a good, down-and-dirty dessert. This is that treat. All the goodness of s’mores, crumbled up then pressed together and refrigerated. I sliced these little darlings into small bars, wrapped them in wax paper… and now I’m eating them like a mad woman. No baking. No fuss and sure to be gone in a flash.

S’mores Icebox Candy Bars

adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

makes 15 bars

Print this Recipe!

3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup light corn syrup

pinch of salt

1 14-ounce box graham crackers, lightly crumbled

2 big handfuls of mini marshmallows, plus a handful more for sprinkling on top

Line a 9×13-inch baking sheep with parchment paper, set aside.

In a large bowl, crumble the graham crackers into large chunks. Add two handfuls of mini marshmallows and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter together butter, cocoa, corn syrup and a pinch of salt. Stir and heat until smooth. Once melted, let chocolate mixture cool for 5 minutes.

Pour chocolate mixture over graham crackers and marshmallows. Stir so that all of the graham crackers are moistened by the chocolate mixture. Dump into lined baking pan, and a few more marshmallows on top and press down with the back of a spoon. Cover the top with another sheet of parchment and press with your fingers. Let cool on the counter for 30 minutes, then place in the fridge to solidify for a few hours or overnight. Cut into bars. Wrap individually and store in the fridge.

Blood and Bones

joythebaker — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:07:14 +0000

I come to you with these pictures and recipes not knowing whether this combination of treats is awesome or terrifying. Blood and Bones.

Before we get down to the treats, can I share something with you? I’m not a big fan of Halloween. Honestly, it scares me a bit. The whole night seems unpredictable and slightly unstable to me, even as an adult. It’s the costumes. See, there are two categories of Halloween costumes that just chill me to the bone.

One one hand, there are the girls that use Halloween as an excuse to wear as little clothes as possible. Are you one of these girls? Are you dressing up as a ‘sexy boy scout’ this Halloween? What on earth is a sexy boy scout?? I’m scared. I also don’t like the medical and other uniformed professions you make sexy for Halloween. I don’t agree, and frankly, I’m frightened.

There’s also the teenage boys that dress up as murderers with bloody plastic knives and masks. Teenage boys dressed as murders in the darkness of a Halloween night? Is it just me being old, or do these kids seem totally out of control? They seem waaaay too old to be dressing up and run the neighborhood with a pillow case scooping up candy from everyone they can. Not ok. Just not ok.

Wow! Halloween makes me sound like a grumpy old lady.

To celebrate my inner old lady and to embrace any hidden desires to be a hussy for Halloween, I’m going to be Blanche from the Golden Girls. It’s going to be a perfectly ridiculous Halloween getup.

What are you going to be for Halloween?

With all that costume talk out of the way, we need to talk Halloween treats. For the holiday I made Martha Stewart inspired bone shaped meringues and deep red hot chocolate. Blood and bones!

The meringues are perfectly light- like eating lightly crisped clouds. The hot chocolate, while mildly disturbing, if beautifully warm and smooth drinkable chocolate. Nothing beats it.

Sweet Bones

Martha Stewart

Print this Recipe!

6 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Put egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture feels warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.
Return bowl to mixer, and fit mixer with the whisk attachment.Beat on high speed until very stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes.
Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip, such as a Wilton #1A. Pipe bone shapes, each 5 to 6 inches long, onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Pipe by making one long (not as curvy) S shape, followed by another mirrored S shape atop the first. The pictures below should help. Bake until crisp throughout, about 1 hour. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Blood Red Hot Chocolate

Martha Stewart

5 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons red gel-paste food coloring

Bring milk and sugar to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves, about 7 minutes. Pour over chocolate, and let stand. When chocolate begins to melt, stir until combined. Whisk in food coloring. Serve immediately with marshmallow bones.