chocolate

Matchbox Kitchen’s Hot Chocolate Cake

February 6, 2013


In contrast to the White Velvet is the new Hot Chocolate cake. Inspired by Mexican hot chocolate, a rich chocolate cake is lightly seasoned with a touch of cinnamon and chili powder. Layered in between is chili caramel sauce, infused with three types of chilies for a spicy flavor and hint of smokiness. It is then finished off a slathering of silky whipped ganache buttercream and garnished with caramelized sugar shards sprinkled with red pepper flakes. Not for the faint of heart, as this a decadent semisweet chocolate flavor with a noticeable hint of spice.

As a Valentine’s treat, the Hot Chocolate cake is available in a petite 4 inches. To order, please visit our website.

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Matchbox Kitchen’s Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

January 10, 2013


Today I want to share one of the cakes I offer for order, Matchbox Kitchen‘s Chocolate Hazelnut Cake. It quickly became a favorite this past holiday season! Four layers of moist chocolate cake is filled with layers of hazelnut swiss meringue buttercream and a combination of chocolate crumbs, vanilla crumbs, and hazelnut crunch. See those bits on the top? The cake is filled with ‘em! They are one of my favorite parts of my cakes because they add such a nice texture. The outside is frosted with the same smooth, creamy hazelnut buttercream.

As always, Matchbox Kitchen cakes (and cookies!) are only made with the highest quality and organic ingredients. For cake inquiries please email me at sara@matchboxkitchen.com.

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Lone Musketeer – Soft Chocolate Nougat Cookie

December 12, 2012



A few weeks ago I had the idea to make a cookie that contained soft chocolate nougat. I wanted it to be similar to a few grocery store candy bars I love, but without the preservatives, artificial ingredients, and terrible chocolate. The cookie hasn’t been perfected for the shop yet but I did make these as a special for Work/Shop this past Saturday. Speaking of which, thank you for those of you that came! I was completely sold out by the first half of the show.

I named these “musketeer” (for obvious reasons) but they are a bit different from the candy bar version. The bottom is a chocolate cookie which is topped with a round of milk chocolate nougat, then drizzled with a bit of dark chocolate. I’m so happy they were well received and can’t wait to figure out how to make a set for the shop.

If you’d like to make them yourself, I used this chocolate nougat recipe. You can use your favorite chocolate cookie recipe (perhaps this one!) but I went for something with a soft bite to it, like this one.

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Chocolate and Vanilla Swirl Cake

September 21, 2012




In an effort to try something new, I skipped my usual swiss meringue buttercream and made a butter roux frosting. Though I love how much less sugar and butter it uses, the slightly grainy texture doesn’t hold a candle to SMBC. I’m trying to branch out but I just can’t give it up!

While making this cake I had no vision/plan in mind so it isn’t executed as nicely as I’d like. Not a complete loss though, as the chocolate cake portion was a newly improved recipe that I’ll be using from now on. A perfectly light, soft, fine crumb. Not too rich but full of smooth chocolately flavor. I’m sold! I can’t wait to pair this cake with espresso swiss buttercream.

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Strawberry + Chocolate Cake

June 19, 2012



Over the weekend we had some strawberries that needed to be used up so I came up this cake. It’s devil’s food chocolate cake with diced strawberries mixed with whipped cream for the filling, covered with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream, then chocolate ganache poured over. This was my first time attempting to pour ganache on a cake, and in my haste forgot to thin it down a bit, whoops!

Want to hear something funny? A few nights ago I had a dream that someone wrote me a Yelp review saying that they never tried my cakes but thought they looked boring because of the way I frost them. When I woke up I realized that as much as I love a simple frosted cake, I should add a little detail here and there. Consider this ganache my first foray into something a little more elaborate.

Edit: Here is the recipe, enjoy!

Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

8 large egg whites (225g)
2 c sugar (400g)
1 lb butter, cubed
1 tbsp vanilla
3-5 tbsp strawberry jam
pinch of salt

In a double boiler, gently heat egg whites and sugar to 140 F. Take off stove and transfer to stand mixer, then whisk until thick, glossy, and cool to the touch. Change to paddle attachment and slowly incorporate butter, with mixer on low. Finish off with salt, vanilla and strawberry jam.

Notes: Try to take out any lumps of strawberry jam or it might not incorporate well into your buttercream. For any additional help I would suggest reading Sweetapolita’s swiss meringue buttercream tutorial.

Strawberry Filling:

1 c strawberries, diced
1 c whipped heavy cream

Dice strawberries and let any excess liquid drain though a fine mesh sieve. Whip cream to stiff peaks, then gently fold in strawberries.

Chocolate Ganache:

8 oz chocolate, chopped into small pieces
3/4 c heavy cream

Place chocolate into medium sized bowl. Heat cream just until boiling, then immediately pour over chocolate. Allow to stand for a few minutes, then gently stir until smooth. Transfer to a container with a spout (such as a pyrex measuring cup) and slowly pour over cake.

Chocolate Cake:

Use your favorite chocolate cake recipe. I have had success with Martha’s Devil’s Food Cake.

Cake Assembly:

Bake two 6″ round chocolate cakes. Let cool, then cut both in half, leaving you with 4 rounds. Place 1 cake layer on top of cake board or cake stand. Add 1/4 of the strawberry filling, being careful not to spill over the edges. Repeat process until all cake layers and filling are used.

Coat entire cake with a thin layer of strawberry swiss meringue buttercream (crumb coat). Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until frosting is no longer tacky. Coat with an even layer of buttercream and smooth out with offset spatula. Refrigerate for 20 minutes and make chocolate ganache. Pour ganache over cake.  Cake best eaten the same day.

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Easy Chocolate Ganache Truffles

April 30, 2012

If you’ve ever been intimidated by chocolate, this recipe is for you. Simply a combination of chocolate and heavy cream, ganache is a versatile ingredient with many applications. Use it to cover cakes in a smooth, shiny layer,  to fill cakes and pastries, or make truffles like we did here. This is an easy dessert with hardly any hands on work, perfect if you’re having guests over for dinner but don’t have time to make a special treat.

The ratio of cream to chocolate changes the consistency from being pourable to scooping with a melon baller. For these easy chocolate ganache truffles, I used 2 parts chocolate 1 part cream. Heat the cream just until steaming, ten pour over chocolate. Let stand for a few moments, then stir to combine. Place container in the fridge to harden, then scoop out to make balls. You can add nuts, dried fruit, or anything else your heart desires. It is common to roll them in cocoa powder, but I used dried cake crumbs for a bit of texture. Here are some more resources for additional help: Mark Bittman, Joy of Baking, and Serious Eats.

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Tartine’s Devil’s Food Layer Cake

April 9, 2012

After making Sweetapolita’s Neapolitan cake a few weeks ago, I’ve been itching for another attempt at cake making. Thumbing through my cook books, Tartine’s devil’s food layer cake caught my eye. While I enjoyed the simplicity of its appearance, a crumb coated cake topped off with a dollop of ganache, I knew with a name like that I’d be in for a chocolaty treat. And boy was I ever. This was by far the most rich and luscious cake I’ve ever made, let alone eaten.





Comprised of bittersweet chocolate ganache and a fresh batch of caramel sandwiched between five layers of chocolate cake (with over 1 cup of cocoa powder and 1 pound of sugar), this cake is definitely not for the faint of heart. After carefully layering each decadent ingredient,  the cake is covered with a thin layer of even more ganache and coated it with a dusting of leftover cake crumbs. I really loved how this came out. It’s the ultimate chocolate lover’s cake without giving you a tooth ache. With such intense flavor, a small sliver is all you need to satisfy your craving. From the smooth ganache, to the gooey caramel, to the crunch of the cake crumb, the combination of textures were a great variation of the theme: chocolate.

I wouldn’t say this was hard to make, just a bit time consuming. But what layered cakes aren’t? Finishing the cake would have been a lot easier if I used a rotating cake stand but I’ve yet to purchase one. Even still, I’m quite happy with how even my layers of ganache came out. My only criticism is I wish the outer crumb coat was more even, but again, without the cake stand I was too scared to move it around too much.

You can find the entire recipe online here, but I’d definitely recommend buying the book.

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Chocolate Ice Cream

August 4, 2010

Last week the was a post on the Etsy blog about Van Leeuwen’s Artisan Ice Cream.  Attatched to the article was a recipe for bittersweet chocolate ice cream.  Right then I knew I had to make it! I looked for a chocolate bar with the highest percentage of cocoa (the recipe asks for 99%), but only came up with something around 86%. Although my chocolate of choice wasn’t according to the recipe, it still came out delicious.  It has just the right amount of sweet and bitter.  I’m not a fan of super sugary ice creams and noticed this one calls for less sugar than other recipes I’ve tried. It’s rather flavorful so I only have to eat a couple small scoops rather than my usual uh… half a quart. (Did I really just admit that?) Anyway, if you are a lover of chocolate and ice cream, definitely try it out!

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