Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Honey Crème Brulee

February 16, 2013 by 4 Comments
Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Honey Creme Bruleee

Who doesn’t love Creme Brulee? Or better yet, Chocolate Creme Brulee? And February is all about love and chocolate at LunaCafe. But, there are so many formulas for Chocolate Crème Brulee, I hardly knew where to begin. After some initial testing, I figured that the important thing was to first get the perfect proportion of egg yolks to cream, then the perfect types and amount of chocolate, and finally the perfect process. The romantic flavor pairing was added after I worked out the basic formula.

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Cupid Crunch (Cracker Jacks for Lovers)

February 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Cupid Crunch (Cracker Jacks for Lovers)

Cupid Crunch (Cracker Jacks for Lovers)
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I’m in a Cracker Jack craze, and there is no end in sight. After developing Chinese Cracker Jacks in December and eating it daily for weeks, I can’t stop thinking about all the possible flavor permutations. This is such a versatile concept: popcorn, nuts, seasonings, caramel brittle. Hey, wait a minute, what about chocolate?

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Chocolate Ginger Chipotle Stout Cake

February 13, 2012 by 3 Comments
Chocolate Ginger Chipotle Stout Cake

I have a confession to make. This is not a new cake. I created it at the tail end of LAST YEAR’S All Chocolate! All Month! celebration, and then in the excitement of planning a slew of new spring recipes, forgot to post it. In fact, I forgot it altogether. Until yesterday.

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Spicy Chocolate, Banana & Fresh Ginger Tea Loaf

February 12, 2012 by 5 Comments
Close Up of Spicy Chocolate, Banana & Fresh Ginger Tea Loaf

It’s All Chocolate! All Month! in the LunaCafe OtherWorldly Kitchen. As usual during the Month of Love, I am covered in chocolate: milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate, and unsweetened cocoa powder. All in an effort to come up with the most delectable, memorable Valentine’s Day dessert ever.

Filed Under: All Season, Chocolate, Desserts, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Chocolate Almond Pound Cake

February 13, 2011 by 10 Comments
Chocolate Almond Pound Cake with Glazed Strawberries

I have been dreaming of creating a chocolate and almond paste pound cake for some time now and have finally done it. The impetus was Valentine’s Day of course but maybe even more this gorgeous, nonstick Nordic Ware quilted heart cake pan.

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Spirited Mocha Crepes with Peanut Butter Caramel, Peanut-Cocoa Nib Brittle & White Chocolate Crema

February 7, 2011 by 3 Comments
Spirited Mocha Crepes with Peanut Butter Caramel & Roasted Peanut-Cocoa Nib Brittle

When I’m creating chocolate desserts, one of the first flavor pairings that pops into my mind is chocolate and peanut butter. I mean, does it get any better than that? And if I’m trying to please my man on Valentine’s Day, well chocolate and peanut butter are surely going to do the trick.

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Chocolate Shortcake with White Chocolate Crema, Strawberry Lime Sauce & Strawberry Lime Salsa

January 29, 2011 by 14 Comments
Mayan Chocolate Shortcake with White Chocolate Crema & Strawberry Lime Sauce

To set the record straight and to put my mind at rest, as near as I can determine after years of looking for the ultimate and absolute distinction between scones and shortcake, there is none.

Shortcake is a lightly sweetened cream biscuit–which is exactly what a scone is. So if you can make a perfect scone (and YOU CAN after reading The Best Scones in the Entire Universe), you can also make perfect shortcake.

Filed Under: All Season, Chocolate, Desserts, Quick Breads, Quick Breads, Recipes, Sauces, Scones, shortcake, Valentine's Day Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Bittersweet Chocolate Orange French Toast for Lovers

January 26, 2010 by 8 Comments
Bittersweet Chocolate French Toast for Lovers

With this post, we kick off the second annual Love Rules! All Chocolate! All Month! celebration at LunaCafe OtherWorldly Kitchen. To check out the wonderful chocolate creations we debuted last February, be sure to visit the All Chocolate! recipe archive.

Beginning now, every post until the end of February will feature, you guessed it, CHOCOLATE. In fact, I’ve been covered in unsweetened and bittersweet chocolate, as well as cocoa, for many weeks now, trying to come up with the world’s best, truly CHEWY (not fudgy, not cakey) brownie. And finally, after many attempts, I succeeded. In all the testing, I also serendipitously hit upon a wonderfully silky, light, and luscious fudgy brownie that turned me, the swamp boogie queen of chewy brownie lovers, into a fudgy brownie convert.

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Luscious White Chocolate and Raspberry Rose Petal Cheesecake

February 5, 2009 by 33 Comments
LunaCafe's Luscious White Chocolate & Raspberry Rose Petal Cheesecake for Valentine's Day

My original version of this cheesecake was topped simply with white chocolate shavings, but for Valentine’s Day this year I am adding a raspberry rose petal topping. It really sends the dessert over the moon for me. I mean: Raspberries! White Chocolate! Rose Petals! Together!

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Mexican Hearts of Fire Cookies

January 30, 2009 by 9 Comments
LunaCafe Mexican Hearts of Fire Cookies on a White Doily

Mexican Hearts of Fire Cookies are demur, almost austere, little cookies that befit reflection, refinement, and lovely rituals, such as afternoon tea (or a Valentine’s Day gift for your office team mates). You don’t devour them, you savor them, you take your time eating them, you experience the HERE, the NOW. They make you feel almost saintly.

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Bittersweet Chocolate & Montmorency Cherry Morning Love Muffins

January 23, 2009 by 9 Comments
LunaCafe's Valentine's Day Bittersweet Chocolate and Montmorency Cherry Morning Love Muffins

I LOVE sour cherries with bittersweet chocolate … and these chocolate and cherry muffins are fabulous taste combo. the muffins are tender and moist with a medium grain. What better time to serve these delicious morsels than on Valentine’s Day morning to the love-of-your-life?

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