The vineyard withstood the high winds the county received last week pretty well. Except for a 3-foot section of crown molding that was lodged in the trellis, the main damage consisted of vines knocked off the trellis wires and some fruit damage. However, we still have plenty of tiny berries on the vines.
I’m trying out a few dessert recipes to serve at Della Terra Farm’s Fourth Friday Night Dinner Parties. I’ve not tried the Root Beer Bread Pudding yet, but the Double Chocolate cake is amazing.
Root Beer Bread Pudding
2-liter bottle of Root Beer
1-1/2 c. sugar, divided
6 large eggs, divided, beaten
1 c. milk
4 c. slightly stale bread or rolls, cubed
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided, softened
1 c. chopped pecans
Pour the root beer into a stock pot and turn the heat to medium-high. Reduce down to one cup. (May be done a day prior – it takes a while.)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13×9″ pan with nonstick spray. In a large mixing bowl, mix together 3/4 cup of the root beer syrup, 1/2 c. sugar, 5 eggs, and milk. Add the cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally allowing the bread pieces to absorb the liquid. In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, 4 Tbsp. butter and pecans.
Pour bread mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven.
For the sauce, add remaining sugar, butter, egg, and root beer syrup to a saucepan and whisk constantly over medium heat. Pour over bread pudding. Serve warm or cold. It is terrific with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Double Chocolate Cake with Ganache Icing
3 ozs. semisweet chocolate such as Ghirardelli
1-1/2 c. hot brewed coffee
3 c. sugar
2-1/2 c. flour
1-1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1-1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1-1/2 c. buttermilk
3/4 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease two 8″ round pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.
Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, one hour to one hour and 10 minutes.
Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made a day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
Ganache Icing
1 pound semisweet chocolate such as Ghirardelli
1 c. heavy cream
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp.) unsalted butter
Finely chop chocolate. In a 1-1/2- to 2-quart saucepan, bring cream, sugar and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.
Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency).
Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides. Cake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.