January's post, where I mentioned what I've been cooking, reminded me that I never shared with you an experiment that I did with several of my fellow Shelf Awareness reviewers last fall. We participated in what we called an "Iron Shelf" where we each made a recipe from a cookbook entitled CookFight: 2 Cooks, 12 Challenges, 125 Recipes, an Epic Battle for Kitchen Dominance
.From the 'Iron Shelf':
Jessica Howard chose to make "the scrumptious Chocolate Log." Considering that the ingredients consist largely of heavy cream and dark chocolate, she was sure she had a winner on her hands. "My trusty stand mixer and I got to work: whipping egg whites, beating cream, and stirring in oodles of melted chocolate. After the cake baked, sweetened whipped cream was spread thickly across it. Now came the tricky part: rolling up the log, jelly-roll style. I am a novice roller, and it started cracking at first, much to my alarm. The title of CookFight Champion was at stake! But things came together; the log was rolled, and set to chill." Jessica could not wait for the requisite few hours' cooling time, so cut into it after only 45 minutes. The verdict? "Heavenly chocolate perfection. And it's grain free--which is nice for the gluten-free among us."
Read about the rest of the Cook Fight battle here.
And seriously, go make that chocolate log. It's absolutely delectable. Too bad I didn't tell you sooner, it would've made a great Easter dessert! If I could eat sweets right now I would be making it. (But sadly the baby violently rejects any attempt on my part to sneak in a jelly bean or cookie or such. Boo.)
What have YOU been cooking?
