Cheeky Chocolate

This past weekend I was on the road opening for Tim McGraw, and happened to catch an episode of Martha Bakes on PBS in my hotel room! She's always been one of my favorite personalities! She did an entire episode in chocolate and I can't get it out of my mind.  I don't know about you but I love chocolate cake with a gooey filling.  I'm a big fan of making individual portions as well! Making mini chocolate cakes has a sweet touch to it! Here's a fun recipe to try! It's so easy and delicious! Make sure and share pictures at #howtobedarling

Warm Chocolate Cakes

Ingredients

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more, softened for molds
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate 
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter and lightly flour four 4-ounce molds, ramekins, or custard cups. Tap out excess flour; set aside.
2. Place butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler or heatproof bowl set over simmering water, and heat until the chocolate has almost completely melted. Meanwhile, beat together the eggs, yolks, and sugar until light and thick.
3. Beat in flour until just combined. Stir together the warm melted chocolate and butter. Pour chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Divide batter evenly among the molds.
4. Bake the molds on a baking sheet for 7 to 8 minutes; the center will still be quite soft, but the sides will be set. Immediately invert each mold onto a plate, and let sit for about 10 seconds. Unmold by lifting up one side of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate. Serve immediately with whipped cream, if desired.

Yield: 4 individual cakes

A little piece of heaven! Why not put it on your face! One if my favorite cosmetic lines Too Faced, has created eyeshadow palettes and bronzers with real cocoa powder in them! I can't even handle this! They are gorgeous colors with cheeky names.  Will leave you smelling and looking gorgeous.  Your beau will agree! Here's a favorite! You can find this and other heavenly products at http://www.twofaced.com

Xo, Sarah Darling

Sweater Weather

It's starting to get chilly outside! I find myself putting on my favorite sweaters and sipping hot drinks!  Obviously we all love our Holiday drinks at Starbucks. I wanted to share a few recipes you can do at home.  It's perfect for a party as well! My second flavor for Fall is Apple!  There's something about having apple that takes me back to being a kid. My family use to take trips to the apple orchard every fall.  It's a favorite pastime that you can enjoy right at home! Here's a unique version of apple cider for the vanilla bean lovers like me!

Warm Vanilla Cider

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups fresh apple cider
• 2 tablespoons packed dark-brown sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 vanilla bean (split and scraped)
• 6 ounces (3/4 cup) bourbon, if desired
• Whipped cream
• Honeyed Walnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine apple cider, dark-brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan. Gently simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and add bourbon if desired. Remove and discard solids. Divide among 6 mugs or heatproof glasses, and top each with a dollop of whipped cream and a few honeyed walnuts.

A Fun way to serve your hot drinks! Copper mugs are a new fashion statement! Found at www.williamsonoma.com

For all you chocoholics! Another fun project to try is making your own hot chocolate mixes! It's not just for the kids! Also makes a really sweet gift! Go grab an old mason jar and some ribbon!

Hot-chocolate mix is a wintertime staple. A homemade version is delicious and natural -- containing only cocoa, sugar, and salt -- and especially economical compared with store-bought mixes.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 1/4 cups cocoa
• 1 tablespoon table salt
• Whole milk for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Store the mixture in an airtight container.

2. For individual servings, pour 1 cup whole milk into a microwave-safe mug, and microwave on high just until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa mix, and stir to dissolve. For a larger batch of cocoa, warm the milk in a saucepan set over medium-low heat, taking care not to let the milk boil; as it warms, stir in 2 tablespoons of mix for each cup of milk.

I wanted to share a couple really cute styles for Fall! I'm loving the oversized turtleneck look from Free People! It's great when you find your go to sweater.  This one would be great with skinny pants or skirt! 

www.freepeople.com

FLANNEL EX-BOYFRIEND SHIRT IN ALBION PLAID

Check out madewell.com

Hope this puts you in the fall mood! Share your favorite ideas at #howtobedarling

xo, Sarah Darling

Salt of choice! Great for your hot drinks!!

Ombre

A lot of girls are catching on to the ombre hair craze! I really love it! I recently did a subtle version that helped me ease into it! If you are unfamiliar it's having colors or tones that shade into each other.  It gives you a cool dimension.  I've been blond for several years and have sported the same look! How many of you need an update? It's so hard to make a change.  My natural color is a medium brown.  So the stylist starts with close to your natural at the root. Mixed a medium reddish brown for the middle and lightener on the ends.  For those poser blondes like me, the benefit is having to color your hair less! It can get spenny going once a month! You can also reverse this process, going lighter to darker! Research salons in your area that specialize in this type of color! 

Subtle Ombre

For Brunettes

Ombre is more than just hair.  With my company Sweet Darling Patisserie, we have experimented with Macarons! A gorgeous statement! Wow your guests!

Here's a fun challenge this week! I've always wanted to try making an Ombre Cake! My favorite color is pink! First step is to go to Michaels Crafts to pick out your favorite gel food coloring. You don't have to buy several colors.  When mixing the buttercream you can stagger the amount you put in different bowls to make different shades of a color! I'm going to attach a Wilton cake recipe below.  If you feel like just grabbing Betty Crocker white cake, that works just as well! The recipe is below!

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon Wilton Imitation Clear Vanilla Extract

• 3/4 cup milk

• 4 egg whites

• Icing Colors, as desired

  Icing

• 3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Wilton Imitation Clear Vanilla Extract

• 6 cups (about 1 1/2 lbs) sifted confectioners' sugar

• 2-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions:

step 1

Cake

Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare pans with vegetable pan spray.

In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and beat well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk; beat until just combined. If desired, tint portions of cake batter with icing color. Divide evenly into 3 or 4 prepared pans.

Bake 17-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pan on cooling grid; remove and cool completely before icing.

step 2

Icing

For icing, beat shortening and butter in large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Gradually add milk; beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

step 3

Assemble

To assemble, cut the crowns off of each cake layer. Place first layer on cake board or serving plate. Spread a layer of icing to edges of cake. Top with second cake. Repeat with remaining icing and cake. Ice top and sides of cake.

Voila! Hope it's a fun experiment! You can share pictures at #howtobedarling

xo, Sarah Darling