Joy the Baker » peppermint

Chocolate Peppermint Roll with chocolate ganache

joythebaker — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:30:13 +0000

Own your life. Own every last bit of it.

Don’t send your Christmas cards out until you’re good and ready. Wear neon purple tights with a grey dress… why not ? Go heavy on the gold eyeshadow…tis the season. Green nail polish? Go on. Run through the rain… or sleep in and skip exercise class.

Fashion your cakes into a roll and slice generous portions for yourself, and skinnier portions for other people. Pretend not to notice what you’re doing.

Whatever it is: own it!

Maybe you’re one of those people who thinks that rolling a cake is bonkers crazy and waaaaay too hard for you to do.

I’m hear to change your heart and mind. Ok? Let’s do this!

The secret to this roll cake is its spongy texture.

The spongy texture comes from eggs. Egg yolks and egg whites are separated, beaten in a mixer until thick and stiff, then folded back together.

Want to know the other good news about this cake?

It’s GLUTEN FREE! I know… there’s no flour. Plain and simple.

There are some specific things you need to make this cake happen.

There’s 4 ounces of chocolate. Treat yourself to some fancy chocolate. It’s worth it for this recipe.

You’ll also need parchment paper. Essential. Don’t skip this step.

Egg yolks and sugar are beaten until pale and thick then folded with melted chocolate.

Thick and pale yellow egg yolks mixed with glossy brown melted chocolate. The batter will be thick and fluffy. Amen.

Egg whites are beaten to stiff, slightly glossy peaks. Stiff like this! Egg whites that stand their ground.

The egg whites are folded into the chocolate egg yolk-y mixture. Folded and folded. Bit by bit into a fluffy chocolate batter.

Cake batter. So sweet and innocent. Just waiting to be baked.

The baked cake come out spongy and light. It’s just begging to be spread with whipped cream and rolled into a festive shape.

Are you scared of cake cracks? Sure… this will happen to the best of us. Just remember… this cake was born to be rolled.

Spread with a thin layer of peppermint, vanilla bean whipped cream.

Or just crazily spoon the whipped cream into you mouth. Whatever works.

This is the part that might make you want to hold your breath.

Ok… it makes me want to hold my breath. Maybe it’s just me.

Let’s roll.

Start rolling the short side of the cake. A loose roll. No biggie.

Use the parchment paper to help you roll. Use the parchment paper and peel it away.

See that giant crack through the center of the cake.

No biggie. That’s going to be in the center of the cake. Stay on your roll!

Finish with the cake seam side down.

Nevermind that little crack.

Give yourself, and the cake a little pat on the back.

Then pour chocolate all over it… all the heck over it.

Crushed candy canes are a lovely last minute garnish.

Look how pretty you can make life!

Do you see all those cracks in the cake? Nope… you don’t see em at all. They’re all folded and rolled up… and covered in whipped cream and chocolate. Even when things go cracked… whipped cream heals most wounds.

This cake is such a lovely holiday treat. It’s festive and way way impressive. It’s so light. It’s effortless to eat. It reminds me of fluffy cake ice cream. So so dang yummy!

Don’t like peppermint? Feel free to flavor your whipped cream filling with only pure vanilla, with almond extract, or orange zest and extract.

Make it yours. Own it (then share it)!

Chocolate Peppermint Roll

Makes 1 roll cake, serves about 8

adapted from Joy of Baking

Print this Recipe!

For the Cake:

4 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped fine

6 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the Whipped Filling:

1 1/4 cup heavy cream, cold

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or scrapings from 1 vanilla bean

1-2 teaspoons peppermint extract (start with one teaspoon and add more according to your taste).

For the Ganache:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces

2/3 cups heavy cream

To make the Cake:

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 17×12-inch baking sheet with butter or vegetable spray. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper (not foil… definitely parchment), and grease and flour the paper too. The parchment should overhand the sides of the pan just an inch or so. Let the baking sheet aside.

It’s easiest to separate egg yolks from egg whites when they are cold. After separating, allow them about 20 minutes to come to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together egg yolks and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Beat the eggs until they are thick and pale in color. This usually takes about 5 to 7 minutes at medium-high speed. The egg yolk mixture will pour in a thick ribbon from the beater, that’s how your know they’ve been beaten enough.

While the eggs are beating, melt the chocolate pieces. You can melt them in the microwave with low heat for a few seconds, stirring every once in a while as it melts. I melt chocolate over a double boiler. Place a few inches of water in a medium pan. Bring to a simmer. Place chocolate pieces in a heatproof bowl, and place the bowl over the boiling water. Stir the chocolate until it is melted completely. Turn off the heat and carefully remove the bowl from the simmering water. Allow the chocolate to cool for just a few minutes.

Add the thickened egg yolk mixture to the chocolate mixture. Gently stir together until just incorporated. Stir in the vanilla. The addition of the chocolate to the egg yolk mixture will thicken the egg yolks further, and make the chocolate appear fluffy in texture. Perfect. Set aside.

Clean the bowl and whisk attachment of your electric mixer well. Dry them to insure that no remaining egg yolk is present. Add the egg whites to the bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until frothy, about 2 minutes. Add the pinch of salt, and gradually add the cream of tartar. Increase speed to medium-high until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar while beating. Allow the mixture to beat until stiff peaks form.

Place the chocolate egg yolk mixture in a large bowl. Place about 1/3 of the stiff egg whites in the bowl and gently fold. Use a light hand to sweep the egg whites through the center of the chocolate mixture, up and under. Fold until just incorporated, but large egg white and chocolate streaks remain. Add another 1/3 of the egg whites and continue to fold. The batter will be glossy and fluffy. This fluff will create the desired sponge texture of the cake, so we want to deflate the egg whites as little as possible. Fold in the remaining egg whites and gently fold together until just about entirely incorporated.

Immediately transfer the batter to the prepared baking sheet. Carefully smooth into the pan creating an even thickness. Don’t fuss with the batter too much. The more fussing, the more the cake deflates. If the cake batter doesn’t easily each end to end, then just try to make a even rectangle. Don’t sweat it.

Bake cake for 15 to 17 minutes. When done the cake will have a dry top and a spongey, bounce back feel.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

While the cake cools, prepare the whipped cream and ganache.

To make the Whipped Filling:

Place heavy cream in the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the granulated sugar, vanilla and peppermint extract. Beat to soft, whipped cream peaks. The whipped cream should hold its shape but still be velvety and spreadable. Allow to rest in the refrigerator.

To make the Ganache:

Place chocolate pieces in a medium bowl. Heat cream in a small sauce pan to almost boiling. The milk will be steaming hot. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate pieces. Allow to stand for one minute before whisking into a smooth and glossy chocolate sauce. Allow to rest in the fridge until thickened slightly, about 30 minutes.

To Assemble the Cake:

Allow cake to cool completely. Remove the cake, using the overhang of parchment paper, from the baking sheet. Spread with a thin layer of whipped cream filling. This doesn’t need to be a thick later. When the cake is rolled, there will be ample filling.

Place the cake so that the 12-inch side is facing you. We’re going to roll from the short side.

Use the parchment paper to help you. Don’t worry about creating a tight roll. This isn’t like rolling cinnamon rolls. Gently roll the cake, removing the parchment paper as the cake is rolled. The first roll or two will most likely crack and it’s being folded. Don’t let this stop you. This cracking is totally normal. As the cake roll gets larger, the cake will crack less.

Gently lift cake and place on a clean serving board or plate. Allow the cake to rest for about 30 minutes in the fridge.

Remove cake from the fridge and drizzle with chocolate ganache. Allow to chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Just before serving, garnish the cake with crushed candy canes. Garnishing before will make the candy cane pieces ooze just a bit.

Cake will last, wrapped in the fridge, for up to 3 days.

Peppermint Meringues

joythebaker — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:17:55 +0000

What are you up to on this fine Sunday?

Holiday shopping? Holiday partying? Trying to find a pair of pantyhose without a run in them? Yea… me too.

I thought I’d pop in and remind you of these little peppermint gems. They’re light. They’re beautiful and festive. You can put them in the oven and just about forget about them while they bake…. and yes, they look a little bit like Colgate toothpaste.

Peppermint Meringues. Because you can. Because you should.

Peppermint Meringues

joythebaker — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:22:37 +0000

There are some things in the world that make me feel like an adult. Most of the time my brain likes to idle in the fact that I’m somewhere between ten and twelve years old. When I thought I was pretty cool. When I thought I had a pretty good handle on things. Before the painfully awkward Blossom hats and frizzy hair set in.

Something has happened though. Time I suppose. I’ve turned around and been hit square in the face with what feels like adult things.

Um… retirement plan? Yea… I have one. It’s totally weird.

Going to the airport by myself? Um… hello!? I need an adult to carry my boarding pass and my ID and to make sure I have matching socks on! Oh… I am the adult. Seriously?

Shoe shopping. No one is there to pinch the edge of my shoe and make sure I have enough toe room. How am I supposed to know if they fit!? I can’t very well pinch my own shoes!

And then there are things that show me that maybe I’m not so adult after all.

My Mom still nags me to write holiday and birthday thank you notes.

I love hot chocolate with marshmallows. I mean seriously. Come on! That’s some good stuff.

And these Peppermint Meringues remind me of the soft after dinner mints that I used to horde from my favorite Italian restaurant growing up. Do you know the mints I’m talking about? The somewhat chalky, melt in your mouth, white mints? I’m still a sucker for those things. I may have eaten them for dinner a few weeks back. Don’t judge me.

These Peppermint Meringues have just enough bite, just enough give, just enough sweetness and just enough mint to remind me of those gorgeous mints of my childhood. In turn, that minty feeling works to negate the blinding reality of being an adult with a retirement plan, because that just makes me feel like a big weirdo. No offense to those who have, or want, weirdo retirement plans. I mean no harm.

Oh! I’ve been on a cookie kick lately. I made some deliciously buttery Cherry Jam Cookies too!

Peppermint Meringues

recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Print this Recipe!

3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
Red gel-paste food coloring

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; secure corners with masking tape. Fit a pastry bag with a small open-star tip (such as Ateco #22). Set aside.
Make meringues: Put egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and stir gently until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Mix in peppermint extract.
Using a new small paintbrush, paint 2 or 3 stripes of red food coloring inside the pastry bag. Fill bag with 1 to 2 cups meringue. Pipe small (3/4-inch-high) star shapes onto prepared baking sheets. Refill bag as necessary, adding food coloring each time.
Bake cookies until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

joythebaker — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:26:37 +0000

Here’s what I love most about my blog and its readers:

- I can sit at my lap top in awe of my split ends until I figure out something clever to say to you about cookies.

-You’ll indulge me if all I want to talk about is how I’m a smitten kitten.

-You’ll understand when I tell you that I made these peppermint cookies mostly so I could eat the cookie dough cold from the fridge.

- You, dear and darling reader, have made me a millionaire. Well, a millionaire in blog hits. I just realized that I’m well over a million hits on Joy the Baker. Rock and Roll, right? Thanks to you and all of your clicks, I’m feelin’ like a rock star. Bless you and Thanks.

- Here’s how it works- I made some cookie dough. I baked some cookies. I took pictures of them. I threw the dough in the fridge. I drank some whiskey. I pulled the dough out of the fridge. I made more cookies. I ate them. I had company. We ate them. Sorta. Then we forgot about them and remembered the whiskey. That’s how the whole thing works and you like me for it.

Q: How awesome are you? A: So totally awesome.

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies. In some words: chocolatey, chewy and bright with peppermint.

What I love about these cookies is that there loaded with all sorts of chocolate. There’s the cocoa powder which intensely flavors the whole cookie, then there’s the milk chocolate chips and semi sweet chocolate chips. How many different kinds of chocolate do you need in a cookie? As much as possible. You might even try throwing white chocolate chips in these beauties.

chocolate + peppermint = one fine holiday cookie

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

adapted from Dorie Greenspan

Print this Recipe!

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt (go for 1 1/4 teaspoons if you really like salt)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 teaspoons pure peppermint extract

2 large eggs

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 2 cups storebought chocolate chips or chunks (I used a mixture of milk chocolate and semi sweet chocolate chips)

Getting ready:Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda and keep close at hand.

Working in a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth.Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes or so, until well blended.Beat in the peppermint.Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each egg goes in.Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated.On low speed, or by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the chocolate pieces.(The dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen.If you’d like, you can freeze rounded tablespoons of dough, ready for baking.There’s no need to defrost before baking – just add another minute or two to the baking time.)

Spoon the dough by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between spoonfuls.

Bake the cookies – one sheet at a time and rotating the sheet at the midway point – for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are set around the edges; they may still be a little soft in the middle, and that’s just fine.Pull the sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, then carefully, using a wide metal spatula, transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.