This Pecan Crunch is the start of the show in this dessert and works so well with the Praline Cream. Use them with your favorite brownie or chocolate cake recipe.
This is exactly the type of dessert you were looking for. Your family loves the basics. They love your brownie, they love your chocolate cake. But for Yom Tov, you were looking for something a bit more special.
Something that makes you feel like a real balabusta when you’re serving it, right? Or perhaps something that will have them polishing that dessert plate off and leaving the meal with positive feelings and rave reviews.
They also want that familiar + a twist type of dessert. Those comforting flavors they love, with the feeling of “this is special.” After all, they want to have their cake and eat it too.
This dessert does it. To start, you can use any brownie or chocolate cake recipe (depending on how fudgy or cakey you prefer it to be). We used the Chocolate Cake from Dinner Done 2 (recipe below) and baked it in a sheet pan instead of in a 9×13 (we included the recipe card for the cake below; make sure to print both recipes below if you are using it!).
If you are using a brownie recipe, you will likely need to double it. W
Do you remember this brownie hack? For perfectly glazed brownies, slice the cake/brownie before adding the glaze. Didn’t slice beforehand? You can also chill the cake and use a warm knife as instructed in the recipe below.
We used a different glaze here; this one is a bit more delicate and suitable for this dessert.
Smooth using an offset spatula. To read more about offset spatulas and why you need them to frost brownies and cakes, see this post.
The Praline Cream is easy to make and only entails three ingredients. Plus, you can keep it in the refrigerator from now until you are ready to serve the dessert. In the past, we’ve shown you this piping bag hack that makes it easier to fill the piping bag. But what about when you want to close it securely and you don’t have a rubber band available?
First, make sure you don’t overfill the bag. Then, use a scissor to cut the empty portion of the bag in half.
Tie the two sides into a secure knot.
Now you can store this until you’re ready to use it!
For the perfect dessert plate, pipe some of the praline cream on each plate. Place your rectangular chocolate cake on top of it or next to it.
Generously shower the entire dessert with the Pecan Crunch Crumble.
Decorate with fruit and pomegranate seeds.
You’ll be so proud and excited to serve this dessert!
Better-Than-the-Back-of-the-Box Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- ¾ cup oil
- ¾ cup orange juice
- ¾ cup water
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp instant coffee powder
Glaze:
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 4 ½ tbsp hot water
- 4 ½ tbsp oil
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place sugar, oil, orange juice, water, eggs, and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Beat together until the mixture is completely smooth and slightly pale.
- Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and coffee powder. Mix everything together just until the batter is combined, and no dry flour streaks remain. Do not overmix.
- Pour the cake batter onto your prepared parchment-lined baking sheet, spreading it evenly into the corners. Bake for 25-30 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean). Let it cool completely.
- In a bowl combine all glaze ingredients mix until smooth
- Because you are aiming for that crisp, clean, miniature rectangular loaf look, wait until the sheet cake cools completely. Put the entire baked sheet cake into the fridge or freezer for 20 minutes before cutting.
- Once cake is cold, completely pour glaze over cake and top with toppings. Wait until it sets. Slicing a chilled cake with a warm knife will give you razor-sharp, professional edges without a single crumb breaking out of place. Another way to do it is as demonstrated in this post, where you slice the cake first and add the glaze later. Both methods work well.
- Once chilled cut into rectangles (roughly 5 inches long by 1.5 inches wide). Divide up and store in the freezer until ready to use.
Pecan Crunch Brownie with Praline Cream
Ingredients
- 1 recipe your favorite Chocolate Cake or Brownie
- 1 recipe your favorite Chocolate Glaze
Praline Mousse Cream:
- 8 ounces non-dairy whipped topping defrosted and kept very cold
- ¼ cup Baker’s Choice Praline Paste
- 2 oz high-quality parve dark chocolate melted and cooled slightly
Pecan Crunch Crumble:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup pecans finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp margarine melted
Instructions
Prepare the Praline Mousse Cream.
- Add cold non-dairy whipped topping into a chilled bowl of an electric mixer. Whip at high speed until stiff, firm peaks form.
- In a separate small bowl, vigorously stir the Baker’s Choice Praline Paste straight into the melted dark chocolate until a completely uniform, smooth paste forms.
- Turn your mixer to low speed. Slowly stream the chocolate-praline mixture into the whipped topping. Mix for just 15 to 20 seconds until a uniform, light-brown, fluffy mousse forms. Transfer to a piping bag and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. This can be prepared a few days ahead of time.
Prepare the Praline Crunch Crumble.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and salt.
- Pour margarine over the mixture. Using a fork or your hands, toss and press the mixture together until it begins to clump into breadcrumbs and small gravel-sized clusters. Do not overmix it into a flat dough paste.
- Scatter the clusters evenly across the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, tossing gently halfway through, until deeply golden and fragrant. Let it cool completely on the tray to crisp up.
- For the perfect dessert plate, pipe some of the praline cream. Place your rectangular chocolate cake on top of it or next to it, and generously shower the entire dessert with the crunchy pecan crumble. Decorate with fruit and pomegranate seeds.
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