Royal Wedding Groom's Cake

If you're anything like me and kept up to date with absolutely ever last detail of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, you probably know about the cakes (yes, multiple cakes for you non-royal watchers out there).  There was, of course, the traditional English wedding cake with lots of tiers and incredibly intricate decorations.  For this particular wedding, it was so massive and impeccably decorated that I'd say it more closely resembled a sculpture than a cake!

But, it was the other cake that caught my attention. At the very end of the press release announcing the designed of the big fancy sculpture cake was a small note: "The couple have also asked McVitie's Cake Company to create a chocolate biscuit cake for the reception at Buckingham Palace. The chocolate biscuit cake will be made from a Royal Family recipe and was specially requested by Prince William." My first thought was, "Royal Family recipe?  You mean they actually cook??"  But then my second thought was, "What on earth is a chocolate biscuit cake?  And where can I find this recipe to make it?"

Enter my dear friend Michele.

Without even being asked or hearing about my curiosity about this cake, she found a recipe on a blog she enjoys and posted it on my wall on Facebook!  One look at the recipe made me realize I wasn't going to eat an entire cake of this stuff (it's seriously rich...but oh so good!), so I made it cupcake-sized.  So, for all of my fellow Americans out there curious about this decadent delight that is chocolate biscuit cake...here is my slightly altered version!

Chocolate Biscuit Cake (Royal Wedding Groom's Cake)
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
3/4 c. + 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
15 ounces 60% bittersweet chocolate (I used a blend of Ghirardelli and Nestle's new dark chocolate chips)
6 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp. golden syrup (I used Lyle's, which I found at Cost Plus World Market)
1 7oz. package butter biscuits, chopped (I used Leibniz, also found at Cost Plus World Market)

Glaze:
4 ounces 60% bittersweet chocolate
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

For the cake, prepare a cupcake pan with liners.  Over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate.  Once heated thoroughly and smooth, stir in the heavy cream and golden syrup.  Remove from heat and stir in butter biscuits.  Spoon the mixture into the prepared cupcake cups.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

For the glaze, place heavy cream and light corn syrup in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then pour over the bittersweet chocolate.  Mix until silky and smooth, then pour over the individual cakes.  Refrigerate 30 minutes to let the glaze set.

There you have it!  Apparently the royals must not be terribly high maintenance, because it's quite a simple recipe to make!  Since it requires no actual baking, it's easy to adapt to other size pans or molds.  This recipe makes enough for about 12 cupcake-sized cakes.  

Congratulations, William and Kate!  And William...thanks for introducing us to such a great dessert!!

<3 Riley

Chocolate Cookie Dough Cutouts

I'm not generally a big fan of Valentine's Day, but this year, my friend Margaux has been determined to get me to like Valentine's Day.  Since she's one of my best friends, I decided to give it a shot...and to my surprise, I actually have had a lot of fun!  I discovered that I had a heart-shaped cookie cutter, so when I saw this recipe that combines three of my favorite things in heart shape, I had to try it.  I mean, it's chocolate, cookie dough and ganache...what's not to love?!

I surprised Margaux and her sister with two cookies at Starbucks on Saturday...and then a few Russian friends sampled them Sunday night.  The verdict was unanimous...this recipe is a keeper!  So, without further ado...chocolate cookie dough cutouts!

Chocolate Cookie Dough Cutouts

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate Cookie Layer:

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. flour

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Cookie Dough Layer:

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. milk (I used organic skim milk)

1 2/3 c. flour

3/4 tsp. salt

Ganache Layer:

3/4 c. chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips)

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/8 to 1/4 c. milk (I added until I got the consistency I wanted)

For the chocolate cookie layer, mix the butter and sugars together until well-blended.  Stir in egg and vanilla extract until smooth.  Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa.  Shape the dough into a ball and refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the over to 350 degrees F.  

Once the dough is firm enough, roll the dough on a cocoa powder-dusted surface.  Roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut out shapes as desired.  Bake for 10 minutes.

For the cookie dough layer, mix the butter and sugars together until well-blended.  Stir in vanilla extract and milk until smooth.  Add flour and salt.  Form the dough into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Once the dough has chilled, roll out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into shapes the same size as the chocolate cookie layer.  Place the cookie dough cutouts on top of the baked chocolate cookie cutouts.

For the ganache, melt chocolate with butter and milk at 15 second intervals in a microwave on high power (be careful not to burn the chocolate!).  Add milk as needed to achieve the desired consistency.

Cover the cookie dough layer with ganache and decorate as desired.

Chocolate and cookie dough and ganache, oh my!!  They are definitely rich cookies, but they're perfect for a special occasion or if you want to impress someone with a kind of cookie they've never seen before.  I definitely recommend a glass of milk to go with them!

If you want to get creative, play around with different extracts (I'd imagine almond extract in the chocolate cookie layer might be tasty!) or add some instant espresso powder in with your dry ingredients (for the chocolate cookie layer again).  Let me know what sorts of combinations you come up with!

Hope everyone has a very happy Valentine's Day!

<3 Riley