Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Death by Chocolate (or what a way to go)!

First, we have a winner! Ellen of Jacksonville, FL
is this week's winner of the $25 Williams-Sonoma
gift card.

Congratulations, Ellen, and thanks for joining us here at Mystery Lover's Kitchen. Now, do not despair those of you who did not win. There are still three more chances to score your own gift card. Just keep those comments and emails coming!

AND NOW: DEATH BY CHOCOLATE

(Or what a way to go)!


There is a motto that has been sent to me at least fifty times through email and amazingly enough I never get tired of it, because these really are words to live by:

LIFE SHOULD NOT BE A JOURNEY TO THE GRAVE WITH THE INTENTION OF ARRIVING SAFELY IN AN ATTRACTIVE AND WELL PRESERVED BODY, BUT RATHER TO SKID IN SIDEWAYS, CHOCOLATE IN ONE HAND, WINE IN THE OTHER, BODY THOROUGHLY USED UP, TOTALLY WORN OUT AND SCREAMING, "WOO HOO, WHAT A RIDE!"


I have no idea who said it or where it came from, but I do believe they were on to
something and I love that this quote usually shows up in my email just when I need it
most!

That being said, I have to confess the line I most appreciate
about that quote is "chocolate in one hand". Personally, I'd
skid in with chocolate in both hands but that's me -- the
chocoholic. If you are one, too, you know what I'm talking
about. There are signs. A bag of chocolate chips in the pantry
will never see a batch of cookie dough, because at night
while everyone is sleeping, you are snitching until you go to

make cookies and the chocolate chip cookies you'd planned
must now be peanut butter cookies because you ate all of the
chips. Or...you have to put leftover Easter jelly beans in your
child's advent calendar because you ate all the chocolate
pieces before December first. And..you have secret stashes of chocolate hidden all over your
house for when you need a "fix". Mine is in my nightstand, oh, and in an old coffee tin, oh and
then there's one...well, never mind. As you can see, I have issues.

Luckily, there are recipes out there to accommodate my endless craving for
chocolate. One of these is for the Death by Chocolate Cupcake that my character
Melanie Cooper whips up in her bakery Fairy Tale Cupcakes. Believe me, I had a
wonderful time perfecting
this recipe and it actually cured my need for chocolate
(after I ate six of them) for five whole minutes!

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE: Dark chocolate ganache on a chocolate with chocolate chip cake.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Add the chocolate chips. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes. Makes 24.

Dark Chocolate Ganache:

Ingredients:

2 cups dark chocolate chips

2 cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions: Place chocolate chips in a large bowl. Pour the cream into a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Once the cream boils, remove it from the heat and pour it over the chips. Let stand for a minute or two, then stir with a whisk until smooth. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl occasionally. Stir in the vanilla until well blended. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface and allow to cool to room temperature. Dip tops of cool cupcakes into mixture and allow to dry.




YUM! And now I have to go move my secret chocolate stashes in case anyone
who knows me reads this and comes to visit!


Jenn McKinlay SPRNKLE WITH MURDER -- March 2010
(aka Lucy Lawrence -- STUCK ON MURDER -- Sept 2009)
For more recipes and information visit: http://www.jennmckinlay.com/












8 comments:

  1. I'm a chocoholic, too! Thanks so much for the recipe.

    Elizabeth/Riley

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't wait to try this one. Yum, double-yum!

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE the quote, Jenn! I too plan to skid into MY grave sideways with chocolate in one hand. Not quite sure what I want in the other yet, maybe a cuppa Joe, maybe a Mojito. LOL!

    ~Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    "Where coffee and crime are always brewing..."

    ReplyDelete
  4. Count me in as a major chocoholic. This is a great recipe Jenn. I'm already checking to see if I have all the ingredients here... or if I've depleted my chocolate supply too.

    And congrats to Ellen! Woo-hoo!

    Julie

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  5. This might actually have enough chocolate in it for my chocoholic husband! Thanks, Jenn. By the way - y'all, I made the Peach Pecan muffins, and they were AWESOME! Thanks for the recipes :)
    Shel

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fantastic, Shel! I love those muffins -- I'm glad you did, too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, those look absolutely delicious!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Patricia BarracloughAugust 20, 2009 at 11:03 PM

    Too rich, too rich, too rich. But it sure sounds good. I'll have to send it along to my daughter. She is a true chocaholic.

    ReplyDelete