These are delicious desserts that two of my friends make. That’s one of the advantages of being in a LIFE group or being involved in other group activities, is you get to sample other peoples’ food (how’s that for a deep reason for fellowhip!)
Cathy says about her Chess Squares: “If you’ve never had a chess cake square, you are really missing out. I mean this from the bottom of my heart. Just read the recipe and tell me it doesn’t sound divine.” She made some for our Christmas party, and I ate an embarrassing amount of them.
Chess Cake from Cathy Martin
1 Duncan Hines butter recipe golden cake mix
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
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1 box (~4 cups) 10x powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. cream cheese
Mix first 4 ingredients and spread in a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish. Mix next 4 ingredients together and pour over the cake mixture. (To save time, use a mixer and don’t wash it in between. The two batters mix together just fine.) Bake @ 325 degrees for approximately an hour. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean (or with just a few little pieces stuck to it.)
Top layer will puff up in the oven, and fall when cooled. After cooling, cut into squares (as best as you can…they’re pretty gooey!) and watch them disappear from the plate!
Patricia says about the following cake: “I can’t even begin to describe how rich and yummy this cake is. It’s a chocolate lover’s dream dessert! It’s heaven for chocoholics. It’s chocolate overload, and that’s a great thing! (Is there such a thing?)
La Bete Noire (The Black Beast) from Patricia Williams
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, diced
18 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 large eggs
Ganache:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
Lightly sweetened whipped cream
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment round; butter parchment. Wrap 3 layers of heavy-duty foil around outside of pan, bringing foil to top of rim. Combine 1 cup water and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk sugar syrup into chocolate; cool slightly. Add eggs to chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan.Bake cake until center no longer moves when pan is gently shaken, about 50 minutes. Remove from water bath; transfer to rack. Cool completely in pan.
Bring whipping cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour over top of cake still in pan. Gently shake pan to distribute ganache evenly over top of cake. Refrigerate cake in pan until ganache is set, about 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.
Bon Appétit
September 2006
Jason Aronen
Wilde Roast Café
A tip from Patricia: “This time I used all bittersweet chocolate. The first time I made it I used half bittersweet and have semisweet. I like the all bittersweet one much better. Using semisweet makes it much sweeter, in my opinion. But both were good.” I had this at a Craving Grace blogging meeting, and it was awesome, especially with some cool whip on top.
December 27th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
This is the most amazing chocolate cake/pie thing ever! It’s so yummy. I made it for Thanksgiving, and it was delicious, as well as relatively easy to make.