My favorite recipes

Talk about a tough job! Three judges for the Melt in Your Mouth Chocolate contest at the Palouse Empire Fair, myself, Teresa Keene and Jana Mathia, entered the Home Arts building knowing that they had a delicious job ahead of them. Tasting chocolate and scoring treats can be a great experience in the minds of some people, namely, the judges.

Lorna Lynch, Home Arts superintendent, served sample bites of the entries and confided that she couldn’t judge them because she doesn’t care for chocolate.

Entrants in both divisions submitted recipes with their entries, so here are the top three chocolate treats in each division.

Carolyn Parsey, Pullman—

1st Place Adult

Dark Chocolate Chocolate Ganache Cake

Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup hot coffee (not espresso)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 8” round cake pans with parchment paper on the bottom. Spray the sides of the pan with cooking spray.

To make the cake: Sift together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, being careful not to overmix. Then slowly add the coffee until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes; then remove from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Ganache

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 cup heavy cream

Chop chocolate into small pieces. Over low heat, warm cream until just boiling. Pour cream over chocolate and stir constantly until combined. Allow to cool slightly before pouring over completely cooled cakes.

Yield: 2 round cakes. They can be stacked for a two-layer cake with ganache filling (double the recipe) and glaze.

Dana Repp, Colfax—Adult 2nd Place

Chocolate Cake Cups

Double Chocolate Cake:

3 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups milk

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, grated

Allow eggs to stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease cupcake pans. Line bottoms of cups with parchment paper. Grease parchment paper and lightly flour pans; set aside. In medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium to high for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium until well combined. Scrape sides of bowl; beat 2 minutes more. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low after each addition just until combined. Beat on medium to high 20 seconds more. Stir in grated chocolate. Pour batter into cups—fill about 2/3 full. Refrigerate any remaining batter until ready to use.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pans on wire racks 5-10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool thoroughly on wire racks.

(Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens magazine triple layer cake recipe)

Place in waffle cone bowls and frost using desired frosting.

“Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Frosting:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount of additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

(Above frosting recipe from Hershey’s Best Loved Recipes.)

Top with crumbled Skor candy bar pieces and marshmallows (or any of your favorite toppings).

Elinor Huber, Colfax—Adult 3rd Place

German Sweet Chocolate Cake

1 package (4 ounces) German’s Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup water

4 eggs

1 teaspoon soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups flour

Cover bottoms of 3 9-inch pans with waxed paper. Spray sides of pans with Pam.

Microwave chocolate with water until almost melted, about one minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Mix remaining ingredients in order given.

Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before inverting pans on cake racks.

While cake is cooling, make frosting:

4 egg yolks

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 package (7 ounces) coconut

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

Mix first five ingredients in saucepan until well blended. Cook on medium heat, until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly to avoid scorching.

Remove from heat and add coconut and nuts. Mix well. Cool completely before frosting cake.

Daisy Ward, Pullman—

1st Place Youth

Flourless Chocolate Torte—Emeril Lagasse

1 pound semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup Kahlua

8 large eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

Confectioners’ sugar for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line bottom with parchment. Cover pan underneath and along sides with foil and set in a roasting pan. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil.

Combine the chocolate, butter, and Kahlua in a metal bowl set over simmering water. Melt the mixture, stirring constantly, until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes; reserve.

Meanwhile, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until frothy and almost doubled in volume, about 5 to 10 minutes. Fold 1/3 of the egg mixture into chocolate mixture using a rubber spatula. Repeat until all of the egg is used.

Pour batter into prepared springform pan and place in the roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come about halfway up the sides. Bake until cake has risen slightly and edges are just beginning to set, about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove cake from roasting pan and cool on wire rack to room temperature. Remove foil, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Remove cake from springform pan and invert onto large plate. Invert again onto another plate or serving platter. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Ashley Goebel, Colfax—

2nd Place Youth

Brownies—Lydia Quintana’s Recipe

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 cups chocolate syrup

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter, sugar, and eggs until well mixed. Combine flour and salt; add to chocolate mixture and beat well. Stir in vanilla, then sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Pour into greased 11x14 or 11x 16-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Kathryn Amdahl, Spokane—

3rd Place Youth

Fudge Bars—Dorothy King’s Recipe

Crust:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 square unsweetened chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup flour

2 eggs

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat; remove. Add sugar, flour, nuts, baking powder, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Spread in greased and floured 9x13-inch pan.

Filling:

6 ounces cream cheese

1 egg

2 Tablespoons flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup nuts, optional

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine filling ingredients. Spread filling over chocolate mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Use toothpick to test. Cool.

Frosting:

1 square unsweetened chocolate

1/4 cup butter

1 pound powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup milk

2 ounces cream cheese

Combine ingredients: beat until smooth. Spread on cool brownies. Eat and enjoy!