Christina's Fudge Pie

from Morgan Crumm

1 unbaked pie crust fitted into a greased pie pan, placed on a baking sheet 
4 T butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 oz cream cheese
3/4 brown sugar
1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and make sure a rack is positioned in the center of the oven.

Prick the bottom of the pie crust all over with a fork.

Place the butter and chocolate in a large, microwave-safe bowl or 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup, and microwave for 1 minute.

Add the cream cheese to the chocolate and melted butter, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the sugar and salt, then the eggs and vanilla, and finally the flour.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes before serving (I like it best the next day).

The pie will keep, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to one week.

Christina's Non-Cake Mix "Oreos"

from Our Best Bites

1 1/2 cups flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled (don’t scoop!)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon water
1 large egg lightly beaten

To make cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  heat chocolate chips, brown sugar, 5 tablespoons butter and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted and smooth (there will still be grains of sugar though).  Transfer mixture to a large bowl and beat in egg.  Stir in flour mixture until just combined.  Don’t overmix.

If dough is too soft to work with, let it sit at room temp for a few minutes to firm up, or place in the fridge for a few minutes.  Gently roll balls, either 1 tablespoon full for large cookies, or about 1/2 inch balls for silver dollar sized cookies.  Place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.  Bake cookies until just puffed in teh middle and edges are set but centers are still soft.  About 8-9 minutes for large cookies, and about 5 minutes for small ones.  If using 2 cookie sheets, rotate them half way through baking.  Cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

• one chocolate crust
• 4 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate

• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• • 3 eggs

• • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Directions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Wrap the outside of a 10 inch springform pan with foil. Grease the inside of the pan.
• Place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour in a mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape bowl.
• Melt 4 ounces of the white chocolate. With an electric mixer on low speed, mix melted white chocolate into cream cheese mixture. Keeping electric mixer on low, slowly beat in the vanilla and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Blend well. Pour mixture into the prepared springform pan.
• Place cheesecake pan in a water bath filled with warm water. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 50 to 60 minutes, or until center of the cheesecake is just firm. Cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Refrigerate until set before removing from pan.

Christina's One Bowl Brownies

from Smitten Kitchen

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (or 3/4 C cocoa powder and 1/4 C oil)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 3/4cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13×9-inch (or 9x9) baking pan.


Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high for 2 minutes, or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes (50ish minutes for a 9x9 pan) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs.

Christina's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

from ghirardelli.com

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups oats, uncooked
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color (about 4 minutes). Add vanilla and egg, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stir flour with baking soda, salt, and spices; add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Stir in oats. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie, 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on a cookie sheet; remove to wire cooling racks. Store in tightly covered container. Makes about 6 dozen 2-inch cookies.

Christina's Orange/White Chocolate Molasses Cookie Variation

To the wet ingredients of the molasses cookies add the zest from 3 large oranges. 


Melt some white chocolate, about a half bag of white chocolate chips, melting in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Take the cooled cookies and dip the edges in the chocolate; shake in the air a bit to let excess chocolate drip off. Lay the cookies on waxed paper or parchment until the chocolate is hardened. 

Christina's Chocolate Meringues

from Erika Sanofsky Loveland

These are a great way to get rid of leftover egg whites!

4 large egg whites
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (such as Hershey's)
2 (1.4-ounce) chocolate-covered toffee bars (such as Heath), crushed or 2 ounces chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat egg whites in a large bowl with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

Combine powdered sugar, cocoa, and candy bars (or chocolate chips or whatever sort of chip you have lying around) in a small bowl, and mix well. Fold half of cocoa mixture into egg whites (egg whites will deflate quickly). Fold in remaining cocoa mixture until smooth. Drop the egg mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes (puffs will be soft in center).

Christina's Brigadeiros

from Serious Eats

1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 T of butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 T powdered sugar

Chocolate sprinkles, mini M&Ms, coconut, crushed pistacios or other nuts, crushed cookies (optional)

1. In heavy saucepan, mix chocolate with condensed milk, stirring constantly under low heat. Add butter to mixture.
2. Stir until mixture no longer sticks to pan.
3 Pour mixture into a bowl and allow to cool completely.When cool, roll into small balls.
4. If you'd like, place toppings in a second bowl. Take a small amount of chocolate from first bowl and roll into a tiny little ball. Coat the ball with second topping, if you'd like.
5. To store, place in sealed container inside your fridge. They'll stay good for two weeks.

Christina's Easiest Ever Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Mix together. Plop on cookie sheet in balls. Mash with a fork to make that cute criss cross. Cook until done.

Addendums: I cooked mine for 10 minutes at 350. Also, I thought they were a little too sweet and so I used a rounded 1/2 cup of sugar the second time, but I'd say 90% of the population would prefer them just how they are. Also, I tend to toss in some chocolate chips just for fun.

Christina's Peanut Butter Cookies

from Smitten Kitchen

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (smooth or chunky)
¾ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup peanut butter chips (optional)
½ cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crissscross pattern, but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Christina's Chocolate Waffles

from Our Best Bites

2/3 C flour
1/3 C corn starch
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/8 t cinnamon
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 C milk
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 t vanilla
1/2 C mini chocolate chips (optional; I used leftover chocolate filling from this recipe, but if you don't have anything this recipe is plenty chocolatey on its own)

Preheat a waffle iron.

Combine flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Use a whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl whisk together sugar, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk for a minute so it gets a little frothy.

Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry a little at a time, whisking to combine. Stir until just combined and don't overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.

Grease waffle iron and cook according to your iron. Be careful to not overfill. On mine (Belgian waffle iron) I just needed to barely put in enough to cover all of the holes in the bottom.

Christina's Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

from Smitten Kitchen

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.

5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving. Decorate the top with chopped peanut brittle.

Peanut Butter Frosting

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

8 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of a double boiler combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

Christina's Peanut Butter Brownies

from Smitten Kitchen

For brownies
2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter, softened
1¾ cups sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (9 ounces)
½ teaspoon salt

For ganache
1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (9 ounces)**
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Make brownies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with rack in middle. Butter a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan, then line bottom of pan with parchment paper and butter parchment.

Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, then add peanut butter and beat until incorporated. Beat in whole eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Reduce mixer sped to low, then mix in flour until just combined.

Mix in chocolate chips (1½ cups) then spread batter in baking pan, smoothing top. (It will be thick, almost like cookie batter.)

Bake until brownies are deep golden, puffed on top and a wooden pick inserted in center come out with some crumbs adhering, 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 1½ hours.

Make ganache: Put chocolate chips (1½ cups) in a heatproof bowl.

Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan, then pour over chocolate chips and let mixture stand for one minute.

Gently whisk in butter until it is incorporated, chocolate is melted, and a smooth mixture forms.

Spread ganache on cooled brownies and let stand until set, about 15 minutes.

Christina's Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

from Our Best Bites

3oz semi-sweet, dark or bittersweet chocolate (3 squares of baking chocolate, or about 1/2 C chocolate chips)
1/4 C butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Put all ingredients in a pan on medium heat and melt it all together till it's smooth and creamy.

Christina's Chocolate Babka

from Smitten Kitchen

Dough
4 1/4 cups (530 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
Grated zest of 1 small lemon or half an orange (optional)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup water (cold is fine) and up to 1 to 2 tablespoons extra, if needed
3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter (150 grams or 5.3 ounces) at room temperature
Sunflower or other neutral oil (coconut), for greasing

Filling
4 1/2 ounces (130 grams) dark chocolate (or approximately 3/4 cup chocolate chips)
1/2 cup (120 grams) unsalted butter, cold is fine
Scant 1/2 cup (50 grams) powdered sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Streusel Topping
3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2/3 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, and butter. Using a fork, stir until fully combined with clumps ranging in size from crumbs to 1 inch.

Make the dough: Combine the flour, sugar, yeast and zest in the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer. Add eggs and 1/4 cup water, mixing with the dough hook until it comes together; this may take a couple minutes. It’s okay if it’s on the dry side, but if it doesn’t come together at all, add extra water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a mass. With the mixer on low, add the salt, then the butter, a spoonful at a time, mixing until it’s incorporated into the dough. Then, mix on medium speed for 10 minutes until dough is completely smooth; you’ll need to scrape the bowl down a few times. I usually found that after 10 minutes, the dough began to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it doesn’t, you can add 1 tablespoon extra flour to help this along.

Coat a large bowl with oil (or scrape the dough out onto a counter and oil this one) and place dough inside, cover with plastic and refrigerate. Leave in fridge for at least half a day, preferably overnight.

[To make this on the same day, see my fourth note below.]

Make filling: Melt butter and chocolate together until smooth. Stir in powdered sugar and cocoa; mixture should form a spreadable paste. Add cinnamon, if desired. [If you're wondering what happened to the pecans and granulated sugar, see my third note below.]

Assemble loaves: Coat two 9-by-4-inch (2 1/4 or 1kg) loaf pans with oil or butter, and line the bottom of each with a rectangle of parchment paper. Take half of dough from fridge (leave the other half chilled). Roll out on a well-floured counter to about a 10-inch width (the side closest to you) and as long in length (away from you) as you can when rolling it thin, likely 10 to 12 inches.

Spread half of chocolate mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Brush the end farthest away from you with water. Roll the dough up with the filling into a long, tight cigar. Seal the dampened end onto the log. I found that transferring the log to a lightly floured baking tray in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes made it much, much easier to cut cleanly in half. Repeat with second dough.

Trim last 1/2-inch off each end of log. Gently cut the log in half lenghtwise and lay them next to each other on the counter, cut sides up. Pinch the top ends gently together. Lift one side over the next, forming a twist and trying to keep the cut sides facing out (because they’re pretty). Don’t worry if this step makes a mess, just transfer the twist as best as you can into the prepared loaf pan. In one batch, mine was long enough to “S” inside the pan and I nested the trimmed ends of the log in the openings. Even if you don’t (and choose to bake them separately in a little pan, as I did in other batches), the dough will fill in any gaps by the time it’s done rising and baking, so don’t worry.

Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise another 1 to 1 1/2 hours at room temperature. Repeat process with second loaf.

Heat oven to 375°F (190°C). Remove towels. Crumble 1/2 of streusel topping over each loaf. Place each loaf on the middle rack of your oven. Bake for 30 minutes, but there’s no harm in checking for doneness at 25 minutes. A skewer inserted into an underbaked babka will feel stretchy/rubbery inside and may come back with dough on it. When fully baked, you’ll feel almost no resistance.

Christina's Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 large egg
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 Tbs honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup toasted chopped hazelnuts or pecans
3/4 cups white chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. By hand or mixer, blend together butter, brown sugar and honey. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to butter mixture and mix until combined well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Form into balls and bake on ungreased baking sheet in center of oven until edges are lightly browned and centers are still soft, about 12-15 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 dozen 2-inch cookies.

Christina's Black-Bottom Cupcakes

For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, regular or reduced fat, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup unflavored vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the filling: Beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate pieces. Set aside.

Make the cupcakes:
1. Adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 12-cup muffin tin, or line the tin with paper muffin cups.
2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring until just smooth. Stir any longer and you will over mix the batter and end up with less-than-tender cupcakes.
4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly. This will fill the cups almost completely, which is fine.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. These moist treats will keep well unrefrigerated for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.

Lorri's Andes Marbled Mint Cheesecake

Andes Marbled Mint Cheesecake – Lorri Slaugh
Crust:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter melted
1/2 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1/3 cup sugar.

Combine ingredients. Press evenly in bottom of 9” Spring form pan lined with wax paper. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped Andes mints (about 6-1/2 oz.)
2 tbsp water
2 lbs cream cheese, softened (about 4 – 8 oz bricks)
1 3/4 cups sugar.
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs

In a double boiler, melt Andes mints in 2 tbsp water. Cream together cream cheese and sugar. Add extracts and beat together. Scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one by one, scraping bowl each time. Beat until smooth. Reserving 2 cups of cream cheese batter, pour remainder into crust. Add reserved batter to melted chocolate, whisking quickly so it doesn’t set up. Let chocolate mixture on top of the cheesecake batter in shape of a cross. To marble, scoop some white batter over the chocolate in a few spots. Then, holding a knife vertically, gently swirl together. Place pan on baking sheet. Pour 6 cups boiling water into sheet pan to create water bath. Bake at 325° 50-60 minutes, or until edges begin to color. (Center may jiggle.) Cool at room temperature, chill overnight.

Christina's Inside-Out German Chocolate Cake

For cake layers
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup boiling-hot water

For filling
7 oz sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla

For glaze
½ cup butter
1 cup cream
10 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons light corn syrup

Make cake layers: Preheat oven to 350°F and oil cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with rounds of parchment or wax paper. Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk together whole milk, butter, whole egg, yolk, vanilla, and almond extract in another large bowl until just combined. Beat egg mixture into flour mixture with an electric mixer on low speed, then beat on high speed 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and beat in water until just combined (batter will be thin). Divide batter among cake pans (about 1 1/2 cups per pan) and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of pans and rotating them 180 degrees halfway through baking, until a tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes total.

Cool layers in pans on racks 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove parchment or wax paper and cool layers completely.

Make filling: Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Spread coconut in a large shallow baking pan and pecans in another. Bake pecans in upper third of oven and coconut in lower third, stirring occasionally, until golden, 12 to 18 minutes. Remove pans from oven.

Meanwhile, make dulce de leche by boiling unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for about 2 hours. Just cook on med/high heat and keep them covered in water the whole time. When done, open with small hole and let a little milk escape. After it cools slightly, pour into pan with coconut, pecans, and vanilla and keep warm, covered with foil.

Make glaze while milk is baking: Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate and corn syrup, whisking until chocolate is melted. Transfer 1 cup glaze to a bowl, reserving remaining glaze at room temperature in pan. Chill glaze in bowl, stirring occasionally, until thickened and spreadable, about 1 hour.

Assemble cake: Put 1 cake layer on a rack set over a baking pan (to catch excess glaze). Drop half of coconut filling by spoonfuls evenly over layer and gently spread with a wet spatula. Top with another cake layer and spread with remaining filling in same manner. Top with remaining cake layer and spread chilled glaze evenly over top and side of cake. Heat reserved glaze in pan over low heat, stirring, until glossy and pourable, about 1 minute. Pour glaze evenly over top of cake, making sure it coats sides. Shake rack gently to smooth glaze.

Chill cake until firm, about 1 hour. Transfer cake to a plate.

Christina's Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

from Smitten Kitchen

Part One: One Bowl Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (or 3/4 C cocoa powder plus 1/4 C butter)
¾ cup butter
1¾ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.
Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minute or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles.
Cool brownies in refrigerator, then cut them into ¾- to 1-inch squares for use in the cheesecake. You will have more than the two cups of cubes, loosely measured, than you will need, and I’m sorry, you’re just going to have to decide for yourself what to do with the extra. Add cubes to cake batter as directed below.

Part Two: Crumb Crust
1½ cups or 5 ounces finely ground cookies like Chocolate Teddy Grahams
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 24-centimeter springform pan. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

Part Three: Cheesecake
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar

Make crumb crust as directed above for 24-centimeter cheesecake. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make filling and bake cake: Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla and sugar, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.
Fold brownie cubes in very gently and pour mixture into prepared pan. Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken.
When completely cool, top with following glaze.

Part Four: Ganache Glaze
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken up, or 1/2 cup chocolate morsels
2 oz. butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

Grind the chocolate into powder in the food processor, scald the butter and cream in a saucepan (or in a Pyrex cup in the microwave). With the machine running, pour the hot cream/butter mixture slowly through the feed tube onto the chocolate. Blend until completely smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides once or twice. Add the extract and sugar and process until smooth. Spread over cheesecake while ganache is still warm. Chill until ready to serve.