My favorite recipes - Sept. 17, 2009

Jana Mathia | Sep 17, 20090

Melt in Your Mouth Chocolate Contest

“Wow.”

“Is that a good wow?”

“It’s chocolate.”

That was all I could say after the first bite of the Death by Chocolate cake—it’s chocolate. Very good chocolate, by my taste, and just another wonderful entry in the Melt in Your Mouth Chocolate Contest at the Palouse Empire Fair.

As good as the Death by Chocolate cake was, there was still one entry that was better—true melt in your mouth chocolate fudge. What surprised the judges was that both of these excellent chocolate desserts were submitted in the youth division.

This year I had two women from county offices helping me judge the 10 items in the contest.

The three of us worked together to generate one score for each entry, sometimes having to compromise.

In all honesty, the youth knocked the socks off the adults this year. There are always one or two entries that I cringe to sample, but none of those were in the youth class.

When we looked at the directions for the Carnation Famous Fudge that won the youth division, we were surprised to find miniature marshmallows included in the ingredients. They were so well blended we couldn’t tell they were there.

The youngsters also take the cake for creativity. One fudge entry came in the shape of a horse, cow, pig, and sheep. The hard part was deciding which animal to sacrifice for the tasting—the sheep lost.

The Death by Chocolate cake had paper tombstones on toothpicks. When I visited the fair later last week, I noticed more of the cake missing.

Winner of the youth division was the Carnation Famous Fudge made by Dominic Treis of St. John. The winner of the adult division was Chocolate Clouds made by Danielle Treis of St. John.

I’m going to guess that chocolate confectionism runs in the family.

The Chocolate Clouds were found after we had completed the rest of the chocolate judging. Like last year, chocolate judges agreed to help judge other baked goods and while we were doing that, the Chocolate Clouds were discovered. The recipe card submitted with the divinity-looking entry states the recipe was created by Jenny Sherman, a friend of the maker.

After two years of judging, I’ve suggested that the fair consider a change in the wording in the fair book.

Entry for the chocolate contest requires the “entire dessert must be submitted on a cardboard/disposable container for judging.” This could be taken to mean all the items in a batch must be submitted and that could be costly.

Other divisions for baked goods only require a sample, such as four cookies or half a loaf of bread.

I hope next year to see the trend of declining entries do an about-face, because so many delicious chocolate desserts are out there, and I want to try them.

Chocolate Clouds

Danielle Treis, St. John

3 egg whites

1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder (unsweetened)

2 cups chocolate chips (or one bag)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and have ingredients at room temperature. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Add sugar, vanilla and cocoa. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls (or tablespoonfuls) onto greased cookie sheet or sil-pats. Bake 35-45 minutes or until hard.

Carnation Famous Fudge

Dominic Treis, St. John

2 Tbsp. butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cup (4 oz.) miniature marshmallows

1 1/2 cup (9 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine butter, evaporated milk, sugar and salt in a medium heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients and stir vigorously until marshmallows are melted. Pour into foil-lined 8X8 pan and chill until firm.

Death by Chocolate Cake

Sierra Kozak, Colfax

8 oz. dark semisweet chocolate (40-50%)

2/3 cup butter

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

4 heaped Tbsp. all-purpose flour

4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder or 1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 Tbsp. sour cream

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Melt small pieces of chocolate with butter. Beat eggs with sugar, mix with flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract. Slowly fold in melted butter and sour cream. Bake in greased 10 inch circular pan for 40 to 50 minutes. When cake is cooled completely, frost.

Frosting:

2/3 cup heavy cream or whipping cream

9 oz. semisweet chocolate (40-50% cocoa)

Heat cream with chopped chocolate. Cool until thickened. Frost cake.

Fudge

Lauren Claassen, LaCrosse

1 1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

2 Tbsp. butter

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 1/2 cups Nestle Toll House semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla

Line 8 inch square baking pan with foil. Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a full-rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir vigorously for 1 minutes or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan; refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan, remove foil. Cut into fun shapes or squares.

Chocolate Yummies

Sara Jo Kramer, Colfax

3 cups Kellogs Rice Krispies cereal

7 whole pieces honey graham crackers

2 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

2 cups chocolate chips

2/3 cups light corn syrup

3 Tbsp. margarine

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

Coat 13x9x2 dish with cooking spray. Place 6 whole pieces of graham crackers in single layer in bottom. Cut remaining piece to fit in remainder of bottom. Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over crackers. Microwave on high one minute or until marshmallows are puffed up. Remove from microwave and cool completely. In 2 qt. microwave bowl, combine chocolate chips, corn syrup and margarine. Microwave on high about 1 1/2 minutes or until chocolate can be stirred smooth. Stir in peanut butter. Add rice krispies, mixing until evenly combined. Spread evenly over marshmallows. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm. Cut and store in airtight container in refrigerator.

I don’t have a microwave large enough for 13x9x2 inch pan. I do the marshmallows-crackers in 325 degree oven for 7 minutes.