yellowpigs.net

Recipes

Here are some recipes I've made, which I've shared here mostly for my own convenience.

Chocolate-cranberry-oatmeal muffins

Size: 12 muffins.
Time: 40 minutes.

1. In large mixing bowl, combine:
   • 1 1/4 cup rolled oats
   • 1 1/4 cup milk (I usually use 1% or 2% milk)
   • Let this stand for about 15 minutes, which is conveniently about how long it takes me to mix the rest of the ingredients.
2. Meanwhile, in small mixing bowl, combine:
   • 3/4 cup white flour (if you don't have whole wheat flour, use 1 1/4 cups white flour)
   • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
   • 1 heaping tablespoon baking power (3 to 4 teaspoons)
   • < 1/2 teaspoon salt
   • 1/2 to 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch-process cocoa will also work)
   • < 1 tablespoon assorted spices (I consistently use cinnamon and ginger, and sometimes use small amounts of chili powder or cardamom)
   • Whisk.
   • 1 cup chocolate chips
   • 1/2 cup dried cranberries (or other fruit)
3. And in liquid measuring cup, combine:
   • 1/4 cup canola oil (if you don't have applesauce, use 1/2 cup oil)
   • > 1/4 cup applesauce
   • 1 large egg
   • 1 teaspoon vanilla
   • Whisk.
4. Preheat oven to 400F (200C).
5. Add to large bowl:
   • the contents of the liquid measuring cup
   • < 1/2 cup brown sugar (use less sugar if the cocoa powder contained sugar)
   • Mix.
   • the contents of the small bowl
   • Fold (mix lightly).
6. Line muffin pan with muffin cups. Spoon in batter.
7. Bake at 400F (200C) for 15-17 minutes.

Source: Extrapolated from several muffin recipes and experimentation.

Chocolate-chip banana bread

Size: 1 loaf.
Time: 70-90 minutes (+ cooling time).

1. In small dish, melt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (microwave 2-4 minutes on medium heat). Use a bit of the butter to grease the bottom and sides of loaf pan.
2. In small mixing bowl, combine:
   • 1 1/3 cups white flour
   • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
   • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
   • 3/4 teaspoon salt
   • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (approximately, as I've never measured)
   • 1-2 teaspoons spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, etc.)
   • Whisk.
3. In large mixing bowl, combine:
   • 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
   • < 2/3 cup white sugar
   • Beat until blended.
4. In small dish, lightly beat 2 eggs.
5. Add to large bowl:
   • contents of small bowl
   • Beat until blended.
   • 2 eggs
   • Beat.
6. Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
7. In small dish, mash 2-3 very ripe bananas.
8. Add to large bowl:
   • bananas
   • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
   • 1/2 cup dried fruit (optional)
   • Fold.
9. Pour batter into loaf pan.
10. Bake at 350F (175C) for 50-70 minutes (I have one pan which requires about 50 minutes, and another which requires 65).

Source: The Joy of Cooking, with minor tweaking (mostly, reduced butter and sugar).

Chocolate (baked) cheesecake

Size: 1 cake.
Time: 2-3 hours (+ chill overnight).

Crust mapper (parallelize with filling mapper):

1. In small dish, melt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (microwave 2-4 minutes on medium heat).
2. In food processor (or Ziploc bag and mixing bowl -- much slower), prepare crust:
   • 6-8 ounces of chocolate wafer cookies
   • Blend or crush until finely ground.
   • 3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter
   • Blend.
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom of springform cheesecake pan.
5. Bake at 350F for 5 minutes until just set. Remove and let cool.

Filling mapper (parallelize with crust mapper):

1. Take out 32 ounces of cream cheese (4 8-ounce packages) to soften.
2. Chop about 10 ounces of dark chocolate (I think I used about 70%).
3. Melt chopped chocolate over very low heat until smooth (stir to prevent burning).
4. In small dish or measuring cup, lightly beat 3-4 eggs.
5. In small mixing bowl, combine:
   • 1 cup white sugar
   • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6. Cut cream cheese into chunks.
7. In large mixing bowl, combine:
   • cream cheese
   • sugar and cocoa powder
   • Blend until fairly evenly mixed (I used a combination of utensils, of which a plastic spatula/scraper was most effective).
   • eggs
   • Mix.
   • lukewarm (but still pourable) melted dark chocolate
   • Mix.

Reducer:

1. Pour filling over pre-cooked crust (smooth the top).
2. Bake at 350F for about 1 hour.
3. Chill overnight before cutting.
4. Cut, garnish, and serve. For long-term storage, wrap slices in waxed paper, bag, and place in the freezer. Defrost in the refrigerator and serve as desired.

Source: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Deep-Dark-Chocolate-Cheesecake-236209, with some modification/simplification.