German Chocolate Cheesecake Willow Bird BakingYou know, it doesnt really matter, I said with a shrug. The AT T tech looked perplexed by my indifference. I guess customers usually start foaming at the mouth when he tells them he cant get their internet connection up and running. I explained I really dont want the internet. Youd be amazed at how much you get done without it. For instance, things Ive been getting done Napping. Reading My Berlin Kitchen Luisa of The Wednesday Chefs amazing new memoir. You have to read it. Byrd beside me. Welcome to Baking 101 series This series is a little behind and I apologize. There has been so much happening around here, GREAT things, that I have gotten behind. Hp Wireless Printer Setup Ipad more. Tasting notes Good taste, right amount of salt and sugar, tender and flaky, can keep eating. Structure notes Did not crack or break with prebaking. In a large bowl cream the sugar and butter together until light in colour and fluffy in texture about 3 minutes. Use a hand whisk. Crack in an egg, mix in well, and. You could just make a German Chocolate Cake or you could go all out and make a German Chocolate CHEESEcake. You decide Betty Crocker General Mills, firmly rooted in grain productsGold Medal Flour, Bisquick, Softasilk, Wheaties, and Cheeriosembraced cake mixes, but Betty was a. As if Nutella was not addictive enough, I just put it into the recipe for Momofukus Crack Pie. If you have never eaten Crack Pie the dessert named for the. Baking Soda Or Baking Powder For Crack Pie' title='Baking Soda Or Baking Powder For Crack Pie' />Once you start eating this rich, saltysweet crack pie recipe with its oat cookie crust, you wont be able to stop. Momofuku Milk Bar Crack Pie Recipe. Ive never tried crack before, but after having this pie, I dont feel I ever need to. Feelings of euphoria The Kitchns Baking School Day 19 All about layer cakes. Unpacking a box every now and then. Arranging things in my new apartment. Rearranging things in my new apartment. Throwing all my windows open and lounging in the gorgeous new autumn. Eating popcorn by the bucketful. Trying to be bendy in yoga. Im going to be eating these words once my students turn in the first project for me to grade, but for now, I cant believe how many hours there are in the day. I mean, I dont know what I did on the internet all day to eat up the amount of time Ive found myself with in its absence. Some worthy things, obviously recipe research and development, writing about food, lesson planning, emailing students and their parents. But what consumed the rest of my timeFacebook People. A prolonged email checking stuporActually, I know exactly why the internet was able to fill my schedule my insidious addiction to multi tasking. Ive spent the last, oh, sixteen years of my life running around like the proverbial headless chicken, completing each responsibility roughly 5 milliseconds before its due, and dealing with the not infrequent crisis when a deadline slips by. I work on at least two things at a time, but usually five or six. For instance, right now Im writing this, posting comments on two friends blogs, and reading the comments on Willow Bird Bakings latest Facebook status. Ill do each activity for a few seconds before switching to another, throwing in a glance at my email every few cycles for good measure. Why does my brain think this is an efficient way to manage tasks And why must there be so many useless tasks available on the internetIm going to go ahead and admit to the entire interwebz that I have a therapist. Im not even slightly shy about that fact, by the way because I kind of think everyone should have a therapist. If you have one, you know what I mean Theyre wonderful. Its like having a coach for life. Yes, please. One thing she talks a lot about is mindfulness, which is being fully present, aware, and participatory in your every thought and action. Its amazing how many things we do mindlessly things like scrolling through a billion pages of Dog Shaming baaahaha, okay, I just added that to my list of things Im doing right now, eating a whole bag of popcorn while watching a movie, having a phone conversation while working on other things. In fact, I think that if we really examined our daily lives, wed find that we do most things mindlessly or at least with split attention. And the internet reinforces that behavior. Time to confess how many tabs or windows do you have open right now I have 1. How many other activities are you completing while reading this postHaving one of my favorite mindless multi tasking activities that is, the internet pulled right out from under me has made me realize how peaceful and productive mindfulness can really be. Sometimes I sit on my couch with a plate of food and do nothing but take bite after mindful bite, feeling the texture of the food, tasting each flavor, and enjoying the process. Theres no book in front of me, no television playing in the background. Nothing but me and the next bite. Eating thus becomes a meditation. Every activity I complete can be distilled down to its sensory components, down to the experience of completing it. And my spirit feels so much calmer and more satisfied. I cant go forever without the internet Im a food blogger, after all, and I do get tired of having to find a little caf with wifi any time I want to check my email but I will be using it differently when AT T figures out whats wrong with my wiring. At least, right after I catch up on Dog ShamingOne thing I did mostly mindfully Friday night was bake this German Chocolate Cheesecake. I did have soft music playing in the background, but other than that, it was just me, my new kitchen, and each ingredient. I expected the recipe to take forever, but the process actually went rather quickly perhaps because I was focused on the tasks. I also have sharper memories of each moment peeling the blocks of cream cheese off of their silvery paper, sticking the toothpick into the fragrant chocolate cake, stirring the coconut pecan filling until the cold hunks of butter melted into the hot custard. The experience was just what I needed to make my new apartment into my new home. And I found one of those little wifi cafs just to share it with you One year ago Gooey Cookies Cream Bars. Two years ago Bittersweet Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies. Three years ago Peach Crisp Pie. P. S. Remembering a very special lady this week and always. We miss you, Rose German Chocolate Cheesecake. Total time. 2 hours 4. Small pinch of salt. I used half semisweet and half Ghirardelli 6. Cacao chocolate chips3 packages 8 ounces each of cream cheese, room temperature. I used half semisweet and half Ghirardelli 6. Cacao34 cup all purpose flour. Make the cheesecake crust Combine the chocolate cookie crumbs, melted butter and salt in a small bowl. Toss with a fork to moisten all of the crumbs. Press into a thin layer covering the bottom and sides of the springform pan at least 3 inches up the sides. Its hard to get the crust up that high, but keep pressing the crumbs up from the bottom with a smooth sided glass twisting the glass as you do so, so the crumbs dont stick and working them around youll want it that high to hold the cake layer. Patience helps with this step. Make the ganache Bring the cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan or heat in the microwave for about a minute, watching to ensure it doesnt boil. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Once the cream reaches a simmer, pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand 1 2 minutes. Whisk in small circles until a smooth ganache has formed. Pour the ganache over the bottom of the crust. Freeze until the ganache layer is firm, about 3. Make the cake While the ganache is freezing, cut a circle of parchment paper and use cooking spray as glue to adhere it to a 9 inch round cake pan. Then grease the pan and the paper I use Wiltons Cake Release, but you could also use butter and flour. Preheat the oven to 3. F. Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and coarse salt together in a mixing bowl. Beat the dry ingredients on low until combined before increasing the speed to medium and adding the egg, buttermilk, warm water, oil, and vanilla. Beat about 3 minutes until the mixture is smooth. Pour it into the pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 2. Rotate the pan about halfway through so itll bake evenly. When you take the cake layer out, leave the oven preheated for the cheesecake. Let the cake layer cool on a wire rack for about 1. Wrap the cake layer and stick it in the freezer to firm it up for assembly.