Chocolate Caramel Dipped Pretzel Rods

Ingredients
Bag of pretzel rods
1 lb of caramel (available at Bakers Rack)
1 lb Milk chocolate
1 lb Dark chocolate
1 lb White chocolate
chopped nuts, toffee bits, granola, etc..about 3 cups (optional)
Roll of parchment paper


Preparation
Lay out a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Work the entire pound of caramel into a tall plastic glass, tupperware-type works good, and microwave for 1 min or until melted. Do not over heat.

Melt the milk, dark and white chocolates in separate bowls also in the microwave. You may choose to use only one or two of the chocolates.

Have the chopped nuts heaped in a plate or pan. Stick the pretzel rod down into the cup of caramel all the way and pull out, scraping the caramel off the rod in several places. You should have just 2 inches for holding on to without caramel. Immediantly roll into the pile of nuts until coated all around and lay on the parchment paper. You may lay just the caramel covered pretzel with no nuts on the parchment paper also.

When all pretzels have been dipped, using a different spoon for each kind of chocolate, drizzle the milk, dark and white chocolate over all the pretzels. You may also choose to just dip the rods in the milk chocolate then drizzle the dark and white.

If you don't roll the caramel in nuts then dipping the pretzel in the milk chocolate is recommended.

Chocolate Banana Bread

The recipe is below :
I absolutely love chocolate....and banana bread!
this recipe doesn't call for any nuts....but
I would definitely add nuts to it..I'm sure it would
be sooo much better! At least for my taste buds!
Enjoy!

Bill Granger’s Choc Banana Bread

* 250 grams (2 cups) plain (all purpose) flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 125 grams (4 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
* 250 grams (1 cup) caster sugar
* 4 ripe bananas, mashed
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 175 grams (1 cup) good quality chocolate chips

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C (350 F/Gas Mark 4)
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl
3. Mix the butter, sugar, eggs, banana, choc chips and vanilla extract in a seperate bowl
4. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine, being careful not to over mix
5. Pour the batter into a non-stick , or lightly greased and floured 19 x 11cm loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the bread is cooked when tested with a skewer
6. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool
7. Serve in thick slices with butter

Magnolia Bakery's Red Velvet Cake

Photo by Antonis Achilleos



Cake
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2¼ cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 Tbl. red food coloring
3 Tbl. unsweetened cocoa
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
1½ tsp. salt
1½ cups buttermilk
3⅓ cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1½ tsp. cider vinegar
1½ tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour 3 (9x2-inch) round cake pans and line bottoms with waxed paper. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time; beat well.

In a small bowl, whisk food coloring, cocoa and vanilla. Add to batter and beat well. In a measuring cup, stir salt into buttermilk. Add to batter in three parts, alternating with flour. In a small bowl, stir together cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to batter and mix well.

Divide batter among 3 pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cool for 1 hour. Remove from pans and frost.

Vanilla Frosting
1½ cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
8 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup milk
1 Tbl. vanilla extract

Place butter in a large mixing bowl; then add 4 cups sugar, milk and vanilla.

Using an electric mixer, beat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition, until it’s a good consistency for spreading.

Baklava

1 package filo dough
3 cups finely ground walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
21/2 sticks unsalted butter
Defrost filo the night before in the fridge. Do not open box. You will need a cookie sheet size baking pan. The baking pan should be the heavy kind so the baklava, since it cooks for a while, not to burn but to slow bake.
Open the filo package and decide which way, according to the shape of your pan, you will layer the dough. If you have not worked with this specific dough before it is good to cover it,while you are working with it, with a dumb tea towel, so not to loose the moisture and dry up. It will if you do not work fast enough.
So first you melt the butter and mix the filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Start layering the dough while you are brushing it with the melted butter. You will need a clean pastry brush. So you layer about 8 buttered sheets of dough and then spread ½ of the walnut filling. Add one more sheet brushed with butter and spread the rest of the filling. If you have followed directions you are almost done. All you have to do now is to continue brushing the rest of the dough until you run out of it. If you have left over butter just pour it on top.
Now the most important part is to cut the baklava in small diagonal pieces, otherwise it will crumble if you try to cut it after it is cooked. So you bake it now in a 340 preheated oven in the lower middle. Bake it until it has a nice golden cold color for about 1 hour.
While the baklava is cooking prepare the syrup.

Syrup

In a heavy saucepan mix 3 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups water and ½ cup corn syrup, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla. Allow syrup to cook and simmer for about 5-7 minutes. When baklava comes out of the oven, pour warm syrup over the dessert and allow to stay for 1 hour before you serve it. Baklava can keep after it is room temperature in an airtight container for at least 4 weeks. Enjoy!