Barefoot Bloggers Bonus-Mini Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake and Chive Risotto Cakes + TWD Rice Pudding Redo

There are alot of pictures going on here today. But both of these cakes were so delicious that the pictures are necessary. The mere mention of the word cake in both these Barefoot Blogger Bonus recipes, is what made up my mind when I was deciding if I was going to make them. I love making cake, so there you go.

Deb, who you can find at Kahakai Kitchen picked the Chive Risotto Cakes and Lisa of Lime In The Coconut, chose the Mini Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake. The risotto cakes were divine. I mixed the ingredients together the night before and had no trouble with them staying together. I used non-fat Greek yogurt since it is always in my fridge and didn't want the rest of the rice in the bag to just sit there, so I made TWD rice pudding again, to try and get the right consistency.

I loved these risotto cakes- they were just perfect. The cheese melted (I used mozzarella, since there was no fontina to be found) and the chives and seasonings were delicious. This might be my favorite BB recipe ever.

The orange cakes I made in my mini-mini bundt cake pan. It has 12 little mini bundts per pan and I got 16 with this recipe. I used mini chocolate chips instead of chunks, omitted the coffee in the ganache, and these smelled so good. The combination of the orange syrup and ganache just really put these over the top! Plus, the servings were smaller, so we enjoyed one, without feeling too much guilt. Go see who else made these fab Bonus recipes by checking the BB Blogroll.

Now the wierd thing- after making rice pudding for the first time the other day and it turning out a little soupy- I woke up craving it the next day. And I wanted to see if I could get the consistency right. I was using Arborio rice for the chive cakes anyway, so I used the rest of the bag on the rice pudding. I changed a few things and it turned out perfectly! It was so good. I kept the pudding bubbling at close to medium, and it thickened up nicely overnight in the fridge. I made half chocolate (so good), but melted the chocolate before stirring it in, and half vanilla. I am going to write up my recipe below. I wasn't the only one who was thankful for the redo- my family was happy too!

Mini Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake from the Barefoot Contessa

For the cakes:

1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1/8 cup grated orange zest (2 large oranges)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

3 ounces buttermilk, at room temperature (I used reduced fat)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup good semisweet chocolate chunks (I used mini chips)

For the syrup:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

For the ganache:

4 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules (I omitted this)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 6 individual serving baking molds, such as the flexible non stick 100 percent silicone molds. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the orange zest.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks with 1 tablespoon flour and add to the batter. Pour into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the molds on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cake from the pans, put them on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cakes.

Allow the cakes to cool completely.

For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Drizzle over the top of the cakes.

Chive Risotto Cakes from The Barefoot Contessa

Kosher salt

1 cup uncooked Arborio rice

½ cup Greek yogurt (I used non-fat)

2 extra-large eggs

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1 ½ cup cups grated Italian Fontina cheese (5 ounces) ( I used mozzarella)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)

Good olive oil

Bring a large (4 quart) pot of water to a boil and add ½ tablespoon salt and the Arborio rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. The grains of rice will be quite soft.

Drain the rice in a sieve and run under cold water until cool. Drain well.

Meanwhile, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, chives, Fontina, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a medium bowl.

Add the cooled rice and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, until firm.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Spread the panko in a shallow dish. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Form balls of the rice mixture using a standard (2 1/4 –inch) ice cream scoop or a large spoon. Pat the balls into patties 3 inches in diameter and ¾ inch thick. Place 4-6 patties in the panko, turning once to coat. Place the patties in the hot oil and cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side until the risotto cakes are crisp and nicely browned.

Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Continue cooking in batches, adding oil as necessary, until all the cakes are fried. Serve hot.

Revamped Rice Pudding adapted from Dorie Greenspan

1/2 cup + 1/3 cup Arborio rice

6 cups whole milk

1/3 + 1/6 cup sugar
1 Tbls pure vanilla extract

3 Tbls bittersweet chocolate

Bring rice and 3 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain rice, but do not rinse.

Bring milk and sugar to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium or medium high heat, and stir to dissolve sugar. Add rice and cook for 55 minutes over medium or medium-low heat. Make sure that the pudding keeps bubbling a little while cooking. Stir frequently. The rice should thicken a bit. Divide the pudding in half. Melt chocolate in the microwave and stir into half the rice, until smooth. Stir the vanilla extract into the other half of pudding.

Place in bowls or small dishes and cover with plastic wrap, pressing down onto the pudding, so a skin doesn't form. Refrigerate overnight.

Come back tomorrow for The Cake Slice- Sweet Potato Cake with Chocolate Cream Frosting and Orange Cream Filling