After a semester of stress, fun, and new experiences, what better way to celebrate than to bake yummy desserts! Here are three recipes to start off the new semester with! These recipes may need to be modified if you have any allergies. These recipes are all from the Food Network. Have fun!

Beatty’s Chocolate Cake

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe-1947521 

By: Ina Garten

Ingredients:

• Butter, for greasing the pans
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
• Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, recipe follows

Chocolate Frosting

• 6 ounces good semi sweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely
3. Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake
4. Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake

Shortbread Cookies 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/shortbread-cookies-recipe-1945855 

By: Ina Garten

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 to 7 ounces very good semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes
3. Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature
4. When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don’t trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it’s completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier
5. Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it

Quick and Easy Peppermint Fudge 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/quick-and-easy-peppermint-fudge-2267891 

By: Ree Drummond

Ingredients: 

• Cooking spray, for spraying foil
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• Red peppermint candies, crushed, for topping

Steps:

1. Line an 8-by-8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray 
2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk and stir until melted and smooth. Pour into the prepared baking pan and spread to even out the surface. Sprinkle on the crushed candies. Refrigerate for 2 hours
3. Lift the foil out of the pan and peel off the fudge. Cut into small squares

By: Sorina Yeghian ‘26, Food and Wellness editor 

26syeghian@montroseschool.org