An Anniversary Giveaway!!!!!

Bouchon mol - ButterYum

Forgive me for being away so long - I've taken on some added responsibilities that have proven to be more time consuming that I had originally realized. I even managed to miss my blog's 1st anniversary, but it's not too late to celebrate, so I'm hosting a giveaway for this neat Williams-Sonoma Silicone Bouchon Mold which retails on their website for $30.

What the heck are Bouchon you ask? They're cute little chocolate cakes made famous by the renowned chef Thomas Keller - owner of The French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon, and Ad Hoc Restaurants. WS used to sell a boxed mix for these Bouchon, but I don't see it on their site anymore. Thankfully there's a recipe printed on the bouchon box.

So I decided to try the recipe from the box, BUT I noticed a teeny-tiny detail which I thought might cause a problem. You see, the batter is supposed to fill the molds just below the rim, and the finished Bouchon are supposed to have flat tops, but the recipe included baking powder, which we all know makes things rise. I was worried the batter was going to overflow the molds - as you can see, I was right.

So I went on the internet and did a little research. Apparently there's another bouchon recipe out there, directly from the Bouchon Cookbook, and guess what, it didn't include baking powder.

Actually, not only did the recipe not include baking powder, it was completely different than the recipe from the bouchon box. So I gave it a go - they didn't over flow, but they didn't taste very sweet, and they were a bit on the dry side.

So back to the original recipe I went, but with a tweak or two.

My first tweak was to omit the baking powder from the recipe - that batch tuned out a lot better, but the tops weren't as flat as I hoped they would be (on the left).

The second tweak was to reduce the eggs in the recipe - that batch turned out perfectly flat on top with a wonderful brownie-like taste and texture (on the right).

My revised recipe is printed below, and I'll be sure the lucky winner gets a copy included with the mold. Whoever you are, have fun playing around with it... I'm already thinking of other ways to use it - cakes, jellos, ice creams... there are so many possibilities!

I piled 48 of them onto this platter and presented them to a group of hungry teens - this is what the platter looked like just 3 minutes later - they were obviously a huge hit!

Now for the giveaway:

One winner will randomly be picked from the comments left on this post. For multiple chances to win, simply mention this post (including a link to it) on your blog, twitter, facebook page, etc., and let me know in your comment how many chances you should get - honestly please!! A winner will be chosen next Thursday, March 25.

I look forward to picking a winner!

Items used to make this recipe:

• Bouchon Bakery https://amzn.to/2LILOfY

• silicone bouchon baking pans https://amzn.to/2LF0ixq

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Chocolate Bouchon

makes 12

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I use the good stuff)

• 1/3 cup all purpose flour

• 3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Confectioner's Sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and place the bouchon mold on a sheet pan. Prepare mold with baking spray or shortening.

2. Melt the butter and chocolate together gently until combined; set aside to cool slightly.

3. Whisk the sugar, egg, and vanilla together; set aside.

4. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and salt together.

5. Add the egg mixture and melted chocolate mixture; combine.

6. Fill molds evenly (about 1/8-inch below the rim).

7. Bake for about 20 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean when done.

8. Place mold on a cooling rack to cool for 10 minutes, then turn the bouchon out of the mold and cool completely.

Notes:  

• I like to chill my bouchon in the mold before removing.

• Serve with a dusting of confectioner's sugar, a scoop of ice cream, a drizzle of fruit sauce, or pop them straight up.

Death by Chocolate Cake

Requested by my hubby, who is indeed a serious chocolate lover, for his 40th birthday.

Believe me when I say this cake is extremely rich and a little goes a long way. We first had it at the The Trellis Restaurant in Williamsburg, Va. There they serve gigantic slices of this cake - enough for two. At home, this 9" cake can easily serve 16. Anything more than a 1 to 1 1/2-inch slice is too much.

Anyway, Hubby always orders this cake for dessert, and the last time we ate there, he purchased the Death by Chocolate Cookbook for me (hint-hint). He was a happy birthday boy when he sank his teeth into his beloved Death by Chocolate Cake.

If you plan to tackle this cake, devote several hours of uninterrupted time. I won't go into all the details of making the various components, but before you can assemble the cake, you'll need two (2) brownie layers, chocolate ganache (made several hours ahead), cocoa meringue (bakes for 2 hours), mocha mousse, and chocolate mousse - all simple to make individually, but together they are quite involved.

Start by topping the first brownie layer with some of the ganache.

Next you add the cocoa meringue that has been trimmed to fit. I found the recipe made an extremely generous amount of meringue. I trimmed 1/3 to 1/2 of it away to fit nicely on the 9" brownie layer.

Next you add the Mocha Mousse - again, there was way more than I needed. Will use the extra in some sort of parfait or something. Also, I didn't have the right size springform pan to use as a barrier (to hold the loose mocha mousse in place), so I made one from a strip of wax paper that I folded in half and glued together with a bit of ganache. Then you top with the second brownie layer and pop it into the freezer.

After about an hour in the freezer, this is what the cake looks like without the wax paper collar. I smoothed the mocha mousse with a spatula (wiped away the excess), but didn't get a photo - sorry.

Then I filled in any gaps and covered the top and sides of the cake with the remaining ganache. I made this casual swirl pattern by moving my spatula up the sides of the cake while spinning my turntable.

The last step is to pipe the chocolate mousse on in a decortive fashion.

Death by Chocolate Cake ButterYum

I was able to find the recipe on this blog. Also, here at The Washington Post.