Greetings and welcome to the Chocolate Snowball website!

Chocolate! Did you know that the Latin word for chocolate is cacao theobroma, which means "food of the gods?". I've been dipping into chocolate as a baker and pastry chef for the last 20 years: chocolate represents the culinary nibble of my snowball.

As a college student, my life metamorphosed into that snowball... I fell in love with the sport of skiing and moved to Utah, the mecca of powder snow.

Chocolate Snowball and Other Fabulous Pastries from Deer Valley Bakery. My title comes from the recipe Chocolate Snowball - a rich, dark chocolate cake with whipped cream snowflakes piped all over the outside. It's one of Deer Valley Resort's signature desserts. And it seemed like the perfect title for a dessert cookbook from a ski area famous for its food!

Chocolate Snowball the website evolves along with my life. Enjoy the changes--the newest flavors and facets of my chocolate snowball. On this page, following the seasons, I'll offer new recipes, telling what's new in Letty's kitchens, both at home and at Deer Valley.

The Recipe link takes you to previous recipes and short memoirs from this page.

On the Cooking Class page you can find out where I am teaching classes. Or link to websites about my Other Passions, including yoga, vegetarian gourmet cooking and the Spanish language.

Family Memories and See's Candies

When I was a little girl, every year my mother in Orange County, California sent Aunt Jan in Seattle, Washington a See's Candies chocolate Easter egg. The eggs were solid chocolate and big. Aunt Jan says she would cut off a piece at a time and that the candy didn't last very long. I don't think I ever tasted one of these eggs, because Mom didn't buy them for us--just for her chocoholic sister. I remember we'd enjoy chocolate assortments from See's during the holidays, but I don't remember buying them--I think they were gifts to our family.
If you know See's Candies, it's likely that you've lived in the western United States, or as they say these days, the left coast. You can find a See's Candies shop with its familiar black and white storefront in malls and thriving city centers and there are even See's kiosks in California airports--for those last minute impulse gifts, I suppose. When I pass one of those kiosks I have a Pavlovian reaction--my mouth waters in memory. It’s a good thing they only sell packaged chocolate in the airport, because if there was an old-fashioned service counter, I'd have to stop to buy a piece.
Last fall, at 90 years old, Mom died. Her memorial was a celebration of a loving and full life, a celebration of family. The evening before the church service, one of my brothers and his wife hosted a family party--with pizza from down the street, a huge tossed salad, and for dessert--four pounds of See's Candies. I know I ate more than my share (and so did my Aunt); maybe subconsciously it was to assuage the sadness of Mom's passing, but consciously I enjoyed every bite. Two days later in another brother's garage, as we sorted family photos and mementos, I spied a box of See's in my older sister's suitcase, which she was using as a depository for things she would take back to Minnesota. I easily cajoled her into sharing. We sampled our way through that assortment, enjoying the time together as well as every sweet nibble.
My favorite See's chocolate is a Dark Bordeaux, with chocolate sprinkles on the outside and a creamy brown sugar center. Recently, the pastry chef in me decided to create a cake that tastes like this candy--a chocolate cake with a spring theme. First step, I thought, buy some Bordeaux to decipher the filling and replicate it. So I ordered a pound--online. www.sees.com. On See's website Bordeaux sports a little 'tm'--it's a trademark name. I learned that I couldn't call my new cake Bordeaux.
When the package from California arrived, I closed my eyes, bit into a chocolate and tasted another memory--penuche. I remember eating Mom's penuche from a spoon as a sugary after-school snack and deluding my sister that it was peanut butter. She licked peanut butter and I kept the penuche to myself. Penuche (puh-NOO-chee) is a creamy, fudge-like brown sugar candy, with a texture and taste very similar to my favorite candy's center. I hid my box of See's Bordeaux in the office closet. I savored them quietly and privately, over the span of a month, one at a time. And when the sugar buzz of the candy wore off, I made Chocolate Penuche Cake.

Chocolate Penuche Cake

Cake:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup less 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cold water
Penuche:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup evaporated milk
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
Pinch salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Honey Glaze:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon honey

Chocolate “jimmies” (Guittard decoratifs are very good)
To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush a 9-inch round pan with oil and dust lightly with flour, or spray generously with cooking spray. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment or waxed paper.
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, vanilla, and water; then add to the dry ingredients. Mix for 2 minutes--with a hand whisk or with an electric mixer on low speed. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the center of the cake springs back when touched with a finger. Cool completely.
To make the penuche:
Mix together the brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in a saucepan. Place over low heat and stir a few times until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook until the mixture reaches a boil. When the mixture reaches a boil, let it cook but do not stir, for about 4 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Sift in the confectioners' sugar and beat until the frosting cools and reaches spreading consistency, which can take 10 to 15 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
To make the glaze:
Place the chocolate, butter, and honey in the top of a double boiler, over gently boiling water; upper pan should not touch water. When the chocolate and butter are almost melted, remove from the heat. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until smooth. Allow to cool until just spreadable.
To assemble the cake:
With a serrated knife, split the cake in two layers, keeping the knife level and parallel to the bottom of the cake.
Put the bottom cake layer on a cardboard circle or a flat serving plate. Use a frosting spatula to spread the penuche on the cake. Place the second cake layer on top, pressing gently to flatten.
Frost the sides and top of the cake with the cooled glaze. Sprinkle the cake all over with chocolate decoratifs.
Makes 1 (9-inch) cake.