Chocolate Fudge Cookies with Candy Cane Buttercream Filling

It seems I still have holiday baking on the mind. I wrote out a whole bunch of recipes I wanted to bake while I was home, many of which were holiday inspired. I even bought candy canes in order to make these peppermint buttercream filled fudge sandwich cookies and I’m only posting about them now (even though I did make them before the new year started). I also have a box of gingerbread pudding mix I intended to use somehow, but that didn’t really work out since I’m not sure you can still get the pudding mix now. Maybe I’ll wait ‘til next Christmas. Oh well.

So these here are fudge cookies with candy cane buttercream filling. Did I tell you I purposefully bought candy canes for this recipe? Well I did, and I’m not sorry either.

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to make sandwich cookies. If you recall, these were my first sandwich cookies I ever made and they were freaking fantastic! I’m a little ashamed to admit that I stuffed my face with more than my fair share… but they were so good. I’m getting a little sidetracked. I want to talk about these fudgy cuties.

The dough was so dark and thick I just wanted to eat it by itself, but I held back, I wanted to make sure I got an even amount of cookies so I could sandwich them all together.

The frosting that goes between these cookies is pure peppermint perfection (some alliteration for you). It was kind of fun to mash the candy canes to make the dust, but it wasn’t fun to clean up. Note to self: make sure to double bag it with hitting things with a meat pounder.

These are definitely best when paired with a glass of milk because it softens the cookie a little bit and makes it kind of fudgier.

Chocolate Fudge Cookies with Candy Cane Buttercream Filling

Slightly adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Makes 21 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

Fudge Cookies

1 cup + 1 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

8 oz. semi sweet chocolate, chopped

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

Candy Cane Buttercream Filling

(Please note I made half this batch and still had about 1/3 remaining, but I tend to be a little reserved when filling cookies)

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 ½ - 3 cups powdered sugar

3 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1-2 tbsp. milk

½ cup candy cane dust*

*To make candy cane dust: place about 8-10 candy canes into a plastic bag and crush with a mallet or rolling pin—something hard and heavy. Place a sifter over a bowl and sift the candy cane bits through. Keep the larger bits for garnish if desired.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

To make cookies: whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Melt the 8 oz. of chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl placed over simmering water. Stir occasionally until chocolate has completely melted. Take the bowl off the heat and set aside to cool. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg mixture. In a steady stream, pour in the melted chocolate. Mix on medium speed until everything is completely blended together. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times. Gradually add the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Take a medium-small cookie scoop and portion out the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Space each dollop of cookie dough about two inches away from each other. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. The dough should still be a little soft when taken out of the oven. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

To make the filling: beat the butter on medium speed with the paddle attachment on a stand mixer. Gently add the powdered sugar. Beat in the vanilla. Pour in the candy cane dust and beat until completely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for another minute. Refrigerate the filling for about 5-10 minutes. Frost the bottoms of half the cookies with the filling. Place the remaining cookies, bottom side down, on top of the filling. Keep sandwich cookies refrigerated up to five days.  

Cake Slice Bakers - August 2012: The Ultimate Lemon Roll

It's cake time! And by cake time I mean that it's time to share this month's cake baked to you from the Cake Slice Bakers. Well, I'm actually a little late, it being the 21st and all, but more on that later. 

I know I've been on a hiatus for a little while, and I probably will go back to that after I share this post. But it won't be for long. I'm just trying to settle in and get used to things. It's only my fourth day in my new "home" and I think I'm already starting to miss the normality of my home back in Colorado. 

Even though I haven't been posting anything recently, I did manage to make this cake a week before my road trip (my dad and I drove 1,700+ miles just so you know!). This month's cake happened to be a lemon roll cake. Now I've never made any sort of roll cake in my life, ever, so this was new and exciting for me, and dare I say it a dern good success! But when I think of lemons, I think of Spring, not Summer, but because this was the cake that won, I was obligated to make it, and I'm so very glad I did.

This cake is called the "Ultimate Lemon Roll" for a reason. It is super duper tart and lemony and so, so delicious. The cake is light and springy, not too lemony, but just right. The filling, which I halved from the original recipe (the amounts I used are listed below), was super creamy and really sour, but a good kind of sour. It was like eating a lemonade milkshake. Granted, the filling was very loose and sort of squished out at the sides, but it was great nonetheless. My entire family liked this cake! Even my mom, who never goes back for seconds on anything I make, went back for seconds, and I think she wanted to go back for thirds, but was shy about asking. She thought it was a beautiful cake, and joked around saying it should be her birthday cake. I'll have to see about that, because her birthday is in November and if August doesn't scream "lemons!" then I don't think November will either. And even if she wanted it, I wouldn't be able to be there to make it. One of the downfalls of going to a different state for college, right?

Anyways, the reason this post is a little late is because my apartment's internet decided to disconnect. We were finally able to get a guy to come in and fix the internet today, and I'm so glad I'm not paying for the maintenance because all the guy did was unplug something and then plug it back in. Yay for college taking care of that stuff. Anyways, enjoy this cake, it is really fantastic, especially if you love tart lemons!

The Ultimate Lemon Roll
Makes one 11 inch cake roll
Slightly adapted from The Cake Book

Lemon Silk Filling
Ingredients
3 large egg yolks, room temperature*
½ cup + 2 ½ tbsp. (233 g) sugar
1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
¼ cup heavy cream

*I suggest holding on to at least one egg white because you will need it for the cake.

Directions
Set a sieve over a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a medium saucepan until blended. Stir in the lemon juice, salt, and butter over medium heat. Whisk the mixture constantly until it thickens. (I have an electric stove and used the 4.5 setting) The custard should leave a path on the back of a wooden spoon when you draw your finger across it. Strain the mixture through the sieve and into the waiting bowl.
Set the bowl containing the custard in a larger bowl filled 1/3 full of ice water. Be careful when placing the bowl with the custard into the bowl with the water; you don’t want the water to splash into the custard. Stir the mixture frequently until chilled, about 15 minutes.

Whisk the heavy cream in a small bowl until soft peaks form. You can use your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; you can use a regular hand mixer; or you can chose to strengthen your arm muscles and do it manually. Stir a spoonful of the whipped cream into the lemon mixture and beat. This will lighten up the custard. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. This filling can be made two days in advance,

Lemon Chiffon Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling
1 ¼ cup (125 g) sifted cake flour*
½ cup sugar (96 g)
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
3 large eggs, separated
¼ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice, strained of the pulp and seeds
¼ cup canola oil
1 tbsp. water
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg white
½ tsp. cream of tartar
¼ cup (48 g) sugar
*Sift the flour first, then scoop, measure, and level out.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease the sides and bottom of an 11 ½ x 17 ½ inch jelly-roll pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and set aside. Place a sheet of parchment paper (roughly the size of the pan) on a clean work surface. Dust the top with confectioners’ sugar.
Sift together the sifted cake flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk the mixture until well blended and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, canola oil, water, and vanilla extract until well combined. Gradually fold in the flour mixture one quarter at a time. Mix until just blended.

In the bowl of a clean electric mixer fitted with a clean whisk attachment, beat the 4 egg whites and the cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat until the egg whites are stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula quickly beat in one-quarter of the egg whites into the cake batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking tray and smooth the top.
Bake the cake for 14-18 minutes (it took 14 ½ minutes for me). The top should look like it’s just starting to brown and it springs back when lightly touched. Run a paring knife around the edges of the cake. Invert the hot cake onto the sugar-dusted parchment paper. Take the pan off the cake and gently remove the parchment paper from the bottom (now the top) of the cake. Starting with the short end, gently roll the cake up, rolling the bottom sheet of parchment paper along with it. Let cool like that completely.

Gently unroll the cake. Spread the chilled filling over the surface of the cake, leaving a 1 inch boarder all around. Reroll the cake (this time without the parchment paper). Place on a serving tray and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. If you wish, dust confectioners’ sugar on top before slicing and serving.