Chocolate Cake

Mr. Whipple’s Favorite Chocolate Cake

Makes 2 – 9 inch round layers

3/4 cup cocoa powder, plus 2 Tablespoons more for dusting the cake pans

2 cups sugar (I love to use baker’s sugar if available)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup whole milk, at room temperature

2 large eggs, lightly beaten and at room temperature

2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using parchment paper, line the bottom of 2 – 9 inch round cake pans, greased

lightly and dusted with cocoa powder.

Combine the cocoa powder, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into

a large mixing bowl. Whisk to mix ingredients.

Add the melted butter, milk, eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed until

blended. Carefully add boiling water and combine.

Batter will be thin. Divide between the two pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not

overbake. Cool in pans for ten minutes and then turn out onto a rack.

Fudgey Frosting

Makes Tons

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

1 1/3 cups cocoa powder

6 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2/3 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (can substitute brewed, cooled coffee, too)

Add the butter and the cocoa powder to the bowl of your mixer and using the

whisk attachment, combine well.

Continue on medium speed, alternately add the powdered sugar and milk until

desired consistency. Add vanilla (or coffee) and beat to combine.

Makes plenty so you may want to freeze what’s left or make half a recipe.

Classic Dips for Summertime Soirees

One hot, one cold and one just right

Baked Vidalia Onion Dip

A sweet answer to the store-bought kind.

Preheat oven to 425. Bake in a shallow 2-quart casserole pan.

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 Tablespoons butter

2 1/2 cups chopped fresh Vidalia onions

1/2 teaspoon fine Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground fresh pepper

24 ozs. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise

2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce like Tabasco or Siracha

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and season

with salt and pepper, stirring for 10-15 minutes. Onions should be golden brown.

Set the onions aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayo, cheese and hot sauce. You can do this by hand or with a mixer. The paddle attachment works well. Once cool, add the onions to the cream mixture and stir to combine.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Greek Tzatzki

Serve with mounds of pita bread, veggies and olives for a simple appetizer.

1/2 English cucumber

1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste

1 cup high-quality Greek yogurt (you can use fat-free, but full-fat will be much

richer)

1 to 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Handful fresh dill, chopped

Sea salt to taste

Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and cut into thin slices. Or grate it using a large-holed grater. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and wrap in a paper towel. Let sit for 20 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture through the paper towel.

Combine the squeezed cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, and dill in a small bowl. Season to taste with the sea salt. Refrigerate until time to serve.

Creamy Oven-Cooked Bacon Dip

Try this dip as a topping for a baked potato or for appetizer-sized parboiled and

roasted baby Yukons.

8 slices bacon

6 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

2 Tablespoons prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Hot pepper sauce to taste, optional

1/4 cup chopped, fresh chives

Cook bacon until crisp and set aside. Crumble when it is cooled.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, salt, and hot pepper sauce if using. Add the bacon crumbles and fold into the cream cheese mixture. Pour into a serving bowl, top with the fresh chives and cover. Chill for at least one hour.

Strawberry Shortcake

For the biscuits

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ Tablespoon baking soda

¾ teaspoons salt

12 Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 ½ cups heavy cream, plus more for brushing tops of biscuits before baking

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 3 T sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or your hands (run them under cold water and dry them first). Alternatively, you can pulse in a food processor with a steel blade. The consistency should be that of cornmeal. You will see pieces of butter.

Combine the cream and the vanilla extract. I like to use a large measuring cup for this as you will make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the cream mixture into that well.

Mix with a fork until just combined. The dough will look “shaggy” and appear a bit dry. Gently knead the dough 5-6 times to pick up all the bits of dry ingredients in the bowl and make it more uniformly moistened.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and pat it into an 8” square, about 1-inch thick. Transfer to a silpat-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. After the dough has chilled for at least 30 minutes, cut the dough square into 9 even squares (I like to use a bench/dough scraper) and move them 2-inches apart on the baking sheet. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake approximately 18 minutes until golden. Do not let the bottoms get dark.

Prepare the strawberries

Wash and dry the berries on a paper towel. Cut and put into a large bowl with 1 Tablespoon sugar. Toss lightly and let sit on the counter for 30 minutes - 2 hours. They will be very juicy!

Lemon Pavlovas

5 Pretend Pavlovas

The great thing about this recipe is that it can look bespoke, but be composed almost entirely of store-bought ingredients.

5-6 meringue cookies from a bakery (Trader Joe’s regularly carries them, too)

Lemon curd, 1 jar (in the jam section or British import section of the grocery)

½ pint whipping cream, 8 ozs

2 T baker’s sugar

⅓ cup creme fraiche

Berries of choice (I used raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)

Edible flowers (carried online or in finer markets’ produce section) MUST BE PESTICIDE FREE AND EDIBLE. CHECK ONLINE IF IN DOUBT.

Use individual footed dessert dishes, if possible.

Gently crush the meringue cookies with a rolling pin, making sure to leave pieces that are the size of chocolate chips. There will also be smaller pieces that will be more like a powder. You can use those, too, to sprinkle on top at the end.

Line the bottom of the trifle dish with the meringue pieces.

Top with a layer of lemon curd. Refrigerate.

In a separate medium mixer bowl, beat the whipped cream to soft peaks. In a smaller, separate bowl, using a spatula, combine the sugar and creme fraiche. Fold into the whipped cream. This will stabilize the cream so it doesn’t melt as quickly.

Layer the cream mixture on top of the lemon curd.

Decorate with berries, edible flowers and meringue pieces. Sprinkle the powdered meringue over all. Refrigerate where it will keep for 24 hours.

Lemon Curd Recipe if you want to make your own

5 egg yolks

1-cup sugar (superfine Baker’s sugar if given the choice)

4 lemons, zested first and then juiced (⅓ cup)

1 stick butter, cut into pats and chilled

Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top pan of a double boiler over low heat (you want the water to simmer, not boil). Whisk until smooth. Continue to whisk until thickened, about 8 minutes. Whisk constantly. Mixture should be light yellow in color and coat the back of a spoon.

Remove promptly from heat and stir in butter pats one at a time, allowing each one to melt before adding the next one.

Add to a container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for two weeks.