Here’s recipe for you sinners out there who love to sink their guilty pleasures into a chocolate layered dessert with pudding and whip cream..Enjoy!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tub whipped topping, 32 ounces
1 package (4oz) vanilla instant pudding
1 package (4oz) chocolate instant pudding
3 cups cold milk, divided
1 square semisweet chocolate, shaved, or mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Combine flour, butter and pecans and press into a 9×13x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.
2. Combine cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar and spread over pecan mixture. Spread half of the whipped topping over the cream cheese layer.
3. Mix package of vanilla pudding using 1-1/2 cups of milk. Spoon evenly over the whipped topping; spread until layer is even. Mix package of chocolate pudding using remaining 1-1/2 cups milk. Spread on top of vanilla pudding.
4. Spread remaining whipped topping on top and sprinkle with shaved semisweet chocolate or mini chocolate chips.

Photo by Boise IT

Recipe from our friends at About.com

About three feet tall and made from 150 pounds of rich smooth creamy chocolate stands the Hershey’s Stanley Cup.  This massive block of chocolate is the sweetest life size replica Lord Stanely’s mug ever made.  Maybe they can wrap the chocolate in tin foil and make it the largest Hershey’s Kiss replica right after.

This replica was unveiled at the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday to celebrate a multi-year partnership between the NHL and Hershey’s Canada making the chocolate giant the official chocolate & candy company of the national hockey league.

Watch the video of the making of Hershey’s Stanley cup below.

This picture of Nick Kypreos licking the chocolate cup might be the most creepy and repulsive image of the day!  What an ogre.

Introducing the newest member to the YummyLocal family, Tomato Pretz!

Tomato Pretz is all about the restaurant deals and is an eccentrically charged certified chocoholic.  Tomato Pretz works as an advertising executive and who better to spot a deal than a professional?

She loves fine dining, baking, Asian foods, and most importantly dessert!

This month is truly a love affair for chocolate fanatics in China. Beijing is hosting a 3 month long chocolate celebration with the “World’s Chocolate Dream Park” and Shanghai has a slightly smaller exhibit with the 3 day “Chocolate Exhibition” This might be the closest thing to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory but with a historical and cultural twist.

World Chocolate Dream Park
Location: The Olympic Green
Opening dates: January 29 to April 10, 2010
Opening times: Weekdays 9 AM to 5:30 PM; weekends 9 AM to 7:30 PM
Prices: RMB 60 (child) and 80 (adult)

Le Salon du Chocolat
Location: Shanghai Exhibition Center, 1000 Yan’an Zhong Lu, Jing An
Opening dates: January 21-23, 2010
Opening times: 9 AM to 5 PM
Prices: RMB 30 (child) and 60 (adult)

For those who love fine pastries using fresh natural ingredients, you must check out Frangipane.

At Frangipane you’ll find a large variety of tasty creations from cakes, tarts, cookies, chocolates and desserts for all occassions.  For people with a gluten allergy, they have many gluten-free alternatives too.  They even do custom orders.  As you can see, their work is just simply beautiful.  I’ve tried many of their tarts and cakes.  They taste as good as they look.  I’ve never been disappointed.  You can find Frangipane at 215 Madison Avenue at Dupont in Toronto.  They can also be reached at (416) 926-0303.

Title Photo Credit:  ansantari11

YummyLocal flikr Group Credits:

Photo by: ansantari11

Photo by ansantari11

]]> http://www.yummylocal.com/reviews/frangipane-patisserie/feed/ 0 http://www.yummylocal.com/recipes/dark-chocolate-red-wine-cake-w-chocolate-cream-filling/ http://www.yummylocal.com/recipes/dark-chocolate-red-wine-cake-w-chocolate-cream-filling/#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:00:43 +0000 Alice Summers http://www.yummylocal.com/?p=3732

This chocolate cake is insanely rich, moist, creamy and did I mention chocolate?

As directed this cake is intended for grown ups only.  I think the wine and loads of chocolate really gave that away if it wasn’t already evident.

Ingredients

Cake

1 3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup(s) unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1 1/4 cup(s) sugar
1/2 cup(s) softened butter
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup(s) red wine, use your favorite red wine
1/3 cup(s) confectioners’ sugar

Filling
2/3 cup(s) butter, softened
4 cup(s) confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup(s) cocoa
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla
4 tablespoon(s) half and half

Directions

1.  For Cake: Pre-heat oven to 350˚F. Grease/spray a Bundt pan.

2.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and the wine, alternating and mixing well after each addition.

4.  Spread the batter into the Bundt pan. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for 15 minutes then remove from pan. Cool completely before adding chocolatecream filling.

5.  For Filling: In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, beating well. Add the vanilla and cocoa. Beat in the half and half until creamy.

6.  Using a serrated bread knife, carefully slice off the top half of the Bundt cake. Set aside the top. Using your fingers, press down on the center of the bottom of the cake to make a small “canal” or “moat” all around the bottom section of the cake.

7.  Place the filling in a pastry bag. Fill the moat with the chocolate filling. Replace top half of cake. Dust top of cake with powdered sugar. Slice and enjoy.

Between the days of November 15th and 21st stop into a Laura Secord store for a free treat!  Buy a 400g box of chocolate and receive a 100g box of miniatures for FREE!

Print out this coupon below and get some FREE chocolate!

Valid on regular priced products and valid between Nov. 15 – 21st only.

Click here to find the nearest Laura Secord near you!

According to Nestle there are “Million reasons to bake” but in this particular case just two reasons will suffice, chocolate and mint.  This cookie recipe will leave you in blissful cookie heaven with the sweet dreams of minty chocolate goodness.

Here’s what you need:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts *

Directions:

1. PREHEAT oven to 350° F. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts.
4. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
5. BAKE for 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan.

1. Prepare dough as above.
2. Spread into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

* NOTE: If omitting nuts, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.

Other cookie recipes:

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

“The Chewy”, Alton Brown’s Chocolate Chip Recipe

The Free Cookie Recipe – Neiman Marcus

For edible dessert cups, brush paper muffin cups with melted bittersweet chocolate and chill until hard.

Peel off the paper and fill the shells with chocolate mousse or fresh fruit.

That’s it – now who can’t make those?

This ultra expensive cookie recipe may look familiar to some of you who received it via chain email…mentions of someone being very disgruntled for overpaying for a chocolate cookie recipe.  Anyways, thanks to Annie and Barbra for so generously sharing this fantastic recipe for all of us to share.

Ingredients: (Makes 112 cookies)

2 (500 ml) cups butter
680 g chocolate chips
4 (1000 ml) cups flour
2 (500 ml) cups brown sugar
2 tsp.. (10 ml) Bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp. (5 ml) salt
2 (500 ml) cups sugar
500 g Grated Cadbury chocolate
5 (1250 ml) cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. (10 ml) baking powder
2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla
3 cups (375 ml) chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder.
2. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour,
3. oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda.
4. Add chocolate chips, grated Chocolate and nuts.
5. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees (180 C).