Pug Cake and Birthday Party

Our middle child, Annika, turned 6 earlier this month.

Yikes!  How did that happen?

Although she had given me numerous ideas for what kind of cake she wanted, I knew there was really only one choice.  A Pug Cake.  Annika has adored pugs ever since she watched "Milo and Otis" a couple of years ago.  Her favorite birthday gift last year was a Webkinz pug, whom she named Otis, and he's her most cherished stuffed animals (of many).

So I didn't want to make a fondant covered cake or just draw a picture of a pug, although the latter did cross my mind.  Nope, when I saw this cake, I  knew it was the one I had to try.  I don't think mine turned out as cute, to be quite honest, but it's all good.

So here's the breakdown.

You'll need:
2 9" round cakes
1 8"square cake
Buttercream frosting 
  *2 cups butter, softened
  *8 cups powdered sugar
  *1/4-1/2 cup cream or milk
  *1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  *1/4 tsp. almond extract
  *dash salt
  *Cocoa powder and food coloring (I use Wilton)

    Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth.  Add powdered sugar gradually.  Mix in
    1/4 cup cream, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt.  Beat until light and fluffy.  Add additional cream
    or milk to achieve desired piping consistency.
    Separate into bowls and tint as desired.
    I tinted most of mine tan with a little bit of sifted cocoa powder.  A small part I added a lot more cocoa
    powder  (plus a little more cream) to make the dark mouth area, and added some black food coloring
    to part of that to make the ears, eyes, and nose.

I always freeze my cakes so they're easier to carve without falling apart.  I used 1-1/3 of this recipe to make my cakes. It's a delicious and moist cake that is also fairly sturdy and doesn't crumble too easily.
 
So here's how you cut it.

Take one of the round cakes and carve out sections to shape ears and the face.

From your square cake, carve out a niche for the head to rest into.  Cut a little off the corners to make rounded shoulders.

Use the other round cake to carve out the legs and paws.  I didn't do perfectly with that and ended up having to stick some scraps to the cake to make the shape I wanted....but when it was frosted, nobody was the wiser.

I just used a basic star tip (Wilton # 17, I think) to pipe all over the cake.  I didn't even bother with a crumb coat.  I used a small round tip to pipe the outlines of the legs with the dark brown frosting. 

For the nose area, I piped lots of extra frosting to mount it up more 3D like - it's kind of hard to tell from the photo. 

Sooooo......onto the rest of the party.  

I made a double batch of Puppy Chow and saved part for the party, but packaged the rest up in little cellophane bags to put in the goody bags for the guests.  Annika cut out some little bones and we stapled them onto the bags.  Cute!

In the goody bags, I also included some Sugar Cookie Dog Houses  (there were Dog bones as seen above in the cake photo for eating at the party), a ball, and some random candies that Annika picked out. 

I dressed up some white paper bags with a little bit of dog paw scrapbook paper before writing their names on them. 

Probably the funnest activity of the party was the Treasure Hunt.  I wrote little riddle clues and printed them out on dog paw graphics and hid them in their proper places around the yard (under a picnic table, behind the grill, in the playhouse, in the mailbox, etc).  Each clue led them to the next one - and the final clue led them back inside to find their goody bags hidden under the dining table.  :)  The girls LOVED it. 

I found this Photo Collage Banner idea from this blog - and absolutely adored it. She gave perfect instructions on how to do it - I'll be making more for my other kids' birthdays.  I wish I had taken a picture of Annika's face when she came downstairs and saw this on the wall - she was soooooo delighted.  

The cake table - also decorated with dog bones that we used for a "Musical Bones" (instead of musical chairs) game.  I taped them on the floor and when the music stopped, the girls had to get on a bone.  Nobody got eliminated, but as I removed the bones each time, the girls had to cram onto the remaining bones.  It got pretty funny by the end when there was only 1 bone left. :) 

Annika got baby pug (Otis Jr) that morning before the party - and she decorated a box for his doghouse and set both of her pups on the table with some of the bone cookies.  So cute!

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl! 

Our middle child, Annika, turned 6 earlier this month.

Yikes!  How did that happen?

Although she had given me numerous ideas for what kind of cake she wanted, I knew there was really only one choice.  A Pug Cake.  Annika has adored pugs ever since she watched "Milo and Otis" a couple of years ago.  Her favorite birthday gift last year was a Webkinz pug, whom she named Otis, and he's her most cherished stuffed animals (of many).

So I didn't want to make a fondant covered cake or just draw a picture of a pug, although the latter did cross my mind.  Nope, when I saw this cake, I  knew it was the one I had to try.  I don't think mine turned out as cute, to be quite honest, but it's all good.

So here's the breakdown.

You'll need:
2 9" round cakes
1 8"square cake
Buttercream frosting 
  *2 cups butter, softened
  *8 cups powdered sugar
  *1/4-1/2 cup cream or milk
  *1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  *1/4 tsp. almond extract
  *dash salt
  *Cocoa powder and food coloring (I use Wilton)

    Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth.  Add powdered sugar gradually.  Mix in
    1/4 cup cream, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt.  Beat until light and fluffy.  Add additional cream
    or milk to achieve desired piping consistency.
    Separate into bowls and tint as desired.
    I tinted most of mine tan with a little bit of sifted cocoa powder.  A small part I added a lot more cocoa
    powder  (plus a little more cream) to make the dark mouth area, and added some black food coloring
    to part of that to make the ears, eyes, and nose.

I always freeze my cakes so they're easier to carve without falling apart.  I used 1-1/3 of this recipe to make my cakes. It's a delicious and moist cake that is also fairly sturdy and doesn't crumble too easily.
 
So here's how you cut it.

Take one of the round cakes and carve out sections to shape ears and the face.

From your square cake, carve out a niche for the head to rest into.  Cut a little off the corners to make rounded shoulders.

Use the other round cake to carve out the legs and paws.  I didn't do perfectly with that and ended up having to stick some scraps to the cake to make the shape I wanted....but when it was frosted, nobody was the wiser.

I just used a basic star tip (Wilton # 17, I think) to pipe all over the cake.  I didn't even bother with a crumb coat.  I used a small round tip to pipe the outlines of the legs with the dark brown frosting. 

For the nose area, I piped lots of extra frosting to mount it up more 3D like - it's kind of hard to tell from the photo. 

Sooooo......onto the rest of the party.  

I made a double batch of Puppy Chow and saved part for the party, but packaged the rest up in little cellophane bags to put in the goody bags for the guests.  Annika cut out some little bones and we stapled them onto the bags.  Cute!

In the goody bags, I also included some Sugar Cookie Dog Houses  (there were Dog bones as seen above in the cake photo for eating at the party), a ball, and some random candies that Annika picked out. 

I dressed up some white paper bags with a little bit of dog paw scrapbook paper before writing their names on them. 

Probably the funnest activity of the party was the Treasure Hunt.  I wrote little riddle clues and printed them out on dog paw graphics and hid them in their proper places around the yard (under a picnic table, behind the grill, in the playhouse, in the mailbox, etc).  Each clue led them to the next one - and the final clue led them back inside to find their goody bags hidden under the dining table.  :)  The girls LOVED it. 

I found this Photo Collage Banner idea from this blog - and absolutely adored it. She gave perfect instructions on how to do it - I'll be making more for my other kids' birthdays.  I wish I had taken a picture of Annika's face when she came downstairs and saw this on the wall - she was soooooo delighted.  

The cake table - also decorated with dog bones that we used for a "Musical Bones" (instead of musical chairs) game.  I taped them on the floor and when the music stopped, the girls had to get on a bone.  Nobody got eliminated, but as I removed the bones each time, the girls had to cram onto the remaining bones.  It got pretty funny by the end when there was only 1 bone left. :) 

Annika got baby pug (Otis Jr) that morning before the party - and she decorated a box for his doghouse and set both of her pups on the table with some of the bone cookies.  So cute!

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl! 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Strawberry Dream Cake

Announcement: I finally created a facebook page for my blog - the little link is directly to your right under my "About me" section.  I'd love to connect with you there, so come over and visit!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our family was recently invited to some friends' house for dinner.
It was the first time since we moved that someone other than my parents was brave enough to do so.
I mean, having a family of 7 over is no joke!
Not many people are willing to do it.
This particular family has 7 kids of their own, so I think they knew what they were doing. :)

I offered to bring something and was of course thrilled when our hostess said I could bring dessert.

Hurray!  Time to try out a new recipe!!
(Grant thinks I'm such an adrenaline junkie for doing that.....trying out new recipes on other people. But I know I'm not the only one.....y'all do it too, right????)
Well, I actually tried out two new recipes - the other one will be coming soon.  And it involves lots of chocolate.  So stay tuned!

If you like strawberries at ALL, this is a must-make before strawberry season ends.  Well, okay, strawberry season is over here in Arkansas, but we're still getting some beautiful berries from California, so they'll do just fine.

I really can't recommend this cake highly enough.

Perfectly strawberry without any food coloring or artificial colors or flavors. My kind of cake.

It's got frozen berries pressed of their juice, which is added to the cake, while the pulp is added to the frosting.  There are sliced fresh berries sandwiched in the middle and garnishing the top - and the delightfully from-scratch cake is covered with a cream cheese frosting reminiscent of strawberry ice cream.

Yeah, I know.

Who wouldn't want a piece of this?

Strawberry Dream Cake
adapted slightly from Galley Gourmet

Originally from Cook's Country, July 2011

*Note: If you don't have cake flour, you can use 2 cups of flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch.  Sift together several times.

Cake:
10 ounces (2 cups) frozen whole strawberries
3/4 cup whole milk
7 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour*
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt (if you use unsalted butter, increase salt to 1 tsp.)
12 Tbsp. (6 oz) salted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened

Frosting:
10 Tbsp. (5 oz) salted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
12 ounces cream cheese, cold and cut into pieces
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pulp from frozen berries in cake
8 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and lightly spray with non-stick baking spray. (Or just butter and flour the pans really well).
Put frozen berries in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until the strawberries are soft and have released their juice, about 5 minutes.  Place the berries in a fine mesh strainer set over a small saucepan.  Firmly press fruit dry (juice should measure 3/4 cup); reserving strawberry solids.  Bring juice to a boil over medium-high heat; cook stirring occasionally until syrupy and reduced to 1/4 cup, 6-8 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in milk.

Whisk strawberry milk, egg whites, and vanilla in a bowl. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until blended.  Add butter, one piece at a time and mix until only pea-size pieces remain.  Add half of the milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.  Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining milk mixture and beat just until incorporated, about 30 seconds.  Give the batter a final stir by hand.

Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake until the cakes are lightly golden, about 20-25 minutes. Cool cakes in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove the cakes from the pans, discarding parchment, and cool completely, about 2 hours.  (Cooled cakes can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days)

For the frosting:
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter and sugar on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds.  Increase speed to medium-high and beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add cream cheese one piece at a time and beat until incorporated.  Add reserved strawberry solids, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until combined.  I had to remove a few stringy pieces of strawberry pulp.
Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to use for up to 2 days.

Pat the strawberry slices dry with a paper towel.
Place one cooled cake on a serving plate.  Spread 3/4 cup frosting over the top of the cake.  Press 1 cup of the strawberries in an even layer over the frosting and cover with another 3/4 cup frosting.  Place the second cake on top and spread remaining frosting over the top and sides of cake.  Garnish the cake with the remaining strawberry slices.  Cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

Linked to Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Announcement: I finally created a facebook page for my blog - the little link is directly to your right under my "About me" section.  I'd love to connect with you there, so come over and visit!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our family was recently invited to some friends' house for dinner.
It was the first time since we moved that someone other than my parents was brave enough to do so.
I mean, having a family of 7 over is no joke!
Not many people are willing to do it.
This particular family has 7 kids of their own, so I think they knew what they were doing. :)

I offered to bring something and was of course thrilled when our hostess said I could bring dessert.

Hurray!  Time to try out a new recipe!!
(Grant thinks I'm such an adrenaline junkie for doing that.....trying out new recipes on other people. But I know I'm not the only one.....y'all do it too, right????)
Well, I actually tried out two new recipes - the other one will be coming soon.  And it involves lots of chocolate.  So stay tuned!

If you like strawberries at ALL, this is a must-make before strawberry season ends.  Well, okay, strawberry season is over here in Arkansas, but we're still getting some beautiful berries from California, so they'll do just fine.

I really can't recommend this cake highly enough.

Perfectly strawberry without any food coloring or artificial colors or flavors. My kind of cake.

It's got frozen berries pressed of their juice, which is added to the cake, while the pulp is added to the frosting.  There are sliced fresh berries sandwiched in the middle and garnishing the top - and the delightfully from-scratch cake is covered with a cream cheese frosting reminiscent of strawberry ice cream.

Yeah, I know.

Who wouldn't want a piece of this?

Strawberry Dream Cake
adapted slightly from Galley Gourmet

Originally from Cook's Country, July 2011

*Note: If you don't have cake flour, you can use 2 cups of flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch.  Sift together several times.

Cake:
10 ounces (2 cups) frozen whole strawberries
3/4 cup whole milk
7 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour*
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt (if you use unsalted butter, increase salt to 1 tsp.)
12 Tbsp. (6 oz) salted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened

Frosting:
10 Tbsp. (5 oz) salted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
12 ounces cream cheese, cold and cut into pieces
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pulp from frozen berries in cake
8 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and lightly spray with non-stick baking spray. (Or just butter and flour the pans really well).
Put frozen berries in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until the strawberries are soft and have released their juice, about 5 minutes.  Place the berries in a fine mesh strainer set over a small saucepan.  Firmly press fruit dry (juice should measure 3/4 cup); reserving strawberry solids.  Bring juice to a boil over medium-high heat; cook stirring occasionally until syrupy and reduced to 1/4 cup, 6-8 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in milk.

Whisk strawberry milk, egg whites, and vanilla in a bowl. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until blended.  Add butter, one piece at a time and mix until only pea-size pieces remain.  Add half of the milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.  Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining milk mixture and beat just until incorporated, about 30 seconds.  Give the batter a final stir by hand.

Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake until the cakes are lightly golden, about 20-25 minutes. Cool cakes in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove the cakes from the pans, discarding parchment, and cool completely, about 2 hours.  (Cooled cakes can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days)

For the frosting:
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter and sugar on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds.  Increase speed to medium-high and beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add cream cheese one piece at a time and beat until incorporated.  Add reserved strawberry solids, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until combined.  I had to remove a few stringy pieces of strawberry pulp.
Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to use for up to 2 days.

Pat the strawberry slices dry with a paper towel.
Place one cooled cake on a serving plate.  Spread 3/4 cup frosting over the top of the cake.  Press 1 cup of the strawberries in an even layer over the frosting and cover with another 3/4 cup frosting.  Place the second cake on top and spread remaining frosting over the top and sides of cake.  Garnish the cake with the remaining strawberry slices.  Cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

Linked to Finding Joy in My Kitchen

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Perfect Chocolate Party Cake

If you've been around here for awhile, you know that I am a dedicated baker of the Hershey's Especially Dark Chocolate Cake - it is truly my favorite chocolate cake just for eating.  That being said, I don't make it for cakes that I intend to stack and frost for a birthday for a couple of reasons - first, it's a very moist cake that could crumble easily and not be the most sturdy; second, it can be pretty crumby - which makes frosting it with a white or light frosting very difficult.

I have tried several different chocolate cake recipes in search of a favorite for decorated cakes -
and this is the winner. Not only is it nice and sturdy, not super crumby, and easy to bake, it's still moist and absolutely delicious.

I've made it twice now - the first time was for the rather large cake seen above, made for my niece Christine's 14th birthday.  Since I was expecting about 22 people at the party and certainly did not want to run out of cake, I made a double batch of this recipe - for a grand total of 18 cups of batter - to fill two 12" round pans.  (I actually made an additional chocolate cake mix for the heart on top and some cupcakes - another niece can't eat dairy and I wanted her to have cake too.  She ate unfrosted cupcakes)   That cake ended up stretching further than I thought - it provided dessert for at least 16 people twice and there was still a huge hunk left over.

The second time I made it was for my nephew Jonathan's birthday, seen below - this time I made two 13 x 9" layers, so I made 1-1/3 this recipe, to make 12 cups of batter.  It was filled and frosted with chocolate buttercream and was wonderfully scrumptious.  He was absolutely delighted with it, and again, it really did feed a lot of people.

I'm so happy to have found this recipe - it's just perfect for party cakes. If you have a chance to make it, let me know how it turns out for you!

Chocolate Party Cake

from Kitchen Simplicity

Makes Three 8-inch cakes (9 cups of batter)

For 6-inch cakes fill each cake tin with 1.5-2 cups batter and check for doneness earlier then the suggested time.  For 10-inch cakes fill with 5-3/4 to 6 cups batter and bake for longer than the suggested time.

3 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 Tbsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/3 cups sour cream

1-1/3 cups boiling water

Cream together brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla; turn beaters to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy.  Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in three additions, alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.  Stir in water until evenly blended.  Pour into three 8-inch round cake pans buttered and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° F. for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off the parchment paper.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

If you've been around here for awhile, you know that I am a dedicated baker of the Hershey's Especially Dark Chocolate Cake - it is truly my favorite chocolate cake just for eating.  That being said, I don't make it for cakes that I intend to stack and frost for a birthday for a couple of reasons - first, it's a very moist cake that could crumble easily and not be the most sturdy; second, it can be pretty crumby - which makes frosting it with a white or light frosting very difficult.

I have tried several different chocolate cake recipes in search of a favorite for decorated cakes -
and this is the winner. Not only is it nice and sturdy, not super crumby, and easy to bake, it's still moist and absolutely delicious.

I've made it twice now - the first time was for the rather large cake seen above, made for my niece Christine's 14th birthday.  Since I was expecting about 22 people at the party and certainly did not want to run out of cake, I made a double batch of this recipe - for a grand total of 18 cups of batter - to fill two 12" round pans.  (I actually made an additional chocolate cake mix for the heart on top and some cupcakes - another niece can't eat dairy and I wanted her to have cake too.  She ate unfrosted cupcakes)   That cake ended up stretching further than I thought - it provided dessert for at least 16 people twice and there was still a huge hunk left over.

The second time I made it was for my nephew Jonathan's birthday, seen below - this time I made two 13 x 9" layers, so I made 1-1/3 this recipe, to make 12 cups of batter.  It was filled and frosted with chocolate buttercream and was wonderfully scrumptious.  He was absolutely delighted with it, and again, it really did feed a lot of people.

I'm so happy to have found this recipe - it's just perfect for party cakes. If you have a chance to make it, let me know how it turns out for you!

Chocolate Party Cake

from Kitchen Simplicity

Makes Three 8-inch cakes (9 cups of batter)

For 6-inch cakes fill each cake tin with 1.5-2 cups batter and check for doneness earlier then the suggested time.  For 10-inch cakes fill with 5-3/4 to 6 cups batter and bake for longer than the suggested time.

3 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 Tbsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/3 cups sour cream

1-1/3 cups boiling water

Cream together brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla; turn beaters to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy.  Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in three additions, alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.  Stir in water until evenly blended.  Pour into three 8-inch round cake pans buttered and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° F. for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off the parchment paper.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Quick Lemon Cake - SRC

Welcome to summer!

We finished up school a couple of weeks ago, just in time for our visit from Grant's parents (all the way from California).  This was their first visit to my home state of Arkansas and we had a great time exploring around, boating on a couple of area lakes, touring museums, and even taking a short vacation to Branson.  It was a terrific way to kick-start our summer break.

For my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month, I had the pleasure of perusing Jane's Adventures in Dinner, where Jane, who was trained as a chef and is now a teacher, has an amazing collection of scrumptious sounding recipes......like Smoked Chicken and Cheese Popovers, Slow cooker Chicken Parmesan, and  Oven Fried Onion Rings among many others.

But I just couldn't resist the appeal of this quick and easy Lemon Cake.  One of the flavors that just screams "Summer!" to me is lemon.  Creamy lemon bars, ice-cold glasses of lemonade, lemon cookies.....everything bright and fresh. Well, if you can stand heating up the oven to bake, a lemon cake is a wonderful treat to enjoy.....pretty much any time.

Jane calls  it a "Two Minute" cake.....not because it is fast to whip up, but because it disappears in about two minutes.  I enforced portion control and managed to make it last over two meals - but I'm sure my kiddos would  have devoured the whole thing in a single sitting if I had let them.

It's a dense cake - with the surprising addition of cornmeal.  It has no oil or butter - but is made moist by lots of yogurt.  I just used plain, but I'm sure you could use vanilla or even lemon yogurt with great results.
My favorite part was the glaze - bursting with flavor from the lemon zest and juice....it just complements the cake perfectly.

Quick Lemon Cake
adapted slightly from Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Cake:
2 cups plain yogurt
Zest and juice from 1 large lemon
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup cornmeal
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze:
Zest and juice from 1 large lemon
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350°.
Butter and flour a bundt pan - set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine yogurt, lemon zest and juice, eggs, and sugar.  Stir well.  Add in the baking powder, baking soda, cornmeal, and flour.  Fold gently until combined.  Don't overstir.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then loosen edges and remove from pan to a platter.
Use a toothpick to poke little holes all over the top of the cake.
In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and zest with powdered sugar.  Pour slowly over warm cake.  The glaze will sink in and basically disappear....but don't worry, you'll still taste it!

Welcome to summer!

We finished up school a couple of weeks ago, just in time for our visit from Grant's parents (all the way from California).  This was their first visit to my home state of Arkansas and we had a great time exploring around, boating on a couple of area lakes, touring museums, and even taking a short vacation to Branson.  It was a terrific way to kick-start our summer break.

For my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month, I had the pleasure of perusing Jane's Adventures in Dinner, where Jane, who was trained as a chef and is now a teacher, has an amazing collection of scrumptious sounding recipes......like Smoked Chicken and Cheese Popovers, Slow cooker Chicken Parmesan, and  Oven Fried Onion Rings among many others.

But I just couldn't resist the appeal of this quick and easy Lemon Cake.  One of the flavors that just screams "Summer!" to me is lemon.  Creamy lemon bars, ice-cold glasses of lemonade, lemon cookies.....everything bright and fresh. Well, if you can stand heating up the oven to bake, a lemon cake is a wonderful treat to enjoy.....pretty much any time.

Jane calls  it a "Two Minute" cake.....not because it is fast to whip up, but because it disappears in about two minutes.  I enforced portion control and managed to make it last over two meals - but I'm sure my kiddos would  have devoured the whole thing in a single sitting if I had let them.

It's a dense cake - with the surprising addition of cornmeal.  It has no oil or butter - but is made moist by lots of yogurt.  I just used plain, but I'm sure you could use vanilla or even lemon yogurt with great results.
My favorite part was the glaze - bursting with flavor from the lemon zest and juice....it just complements the cake perfectly.

Quick Lemon Cake
adapted slightly from Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Cake:
2 cups plain yogurt
Zest and juice from 1 large lemon
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup cornmeal
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze:
Zest and juice from 1 large lemon
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350°.
Butter and flour a bundt pan - set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine yogurt, lemon zest and juice, eggs, and sugar.  Stir well.  Add in the baking powder, baking soda, cornmeal, and flour.  Fold gently until combined.  Don't overstir.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then loosen edges and remove from pan to a platter.
Use a toothpick to poke little holes all over the top of the cake.
In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and zest with powdered sugar.  Pour slowly over warm cake.  The glaze will sink in and basically disappear....but don't worry, you'll still taste it!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake

I had a birthday last Friday......and I am now officially 35.  That's still young, right?   Right???

Grant surprised me with a bouquet of pink roses on the Monday before my birthday.....flowers to enjoy for the whole birthday week.  They were so beautiful and I just loved seeing them brighten our dining table.

On my actual birthday, he got goodies from Panera Bread for the family to share and he and Corban made scrambled eggs to accompany them.  Then Corban made me a birthday crown and the kids insisted that I dress up like a queen.....so I went all out and donned the bridesmaid dress I wore in my sister Sarah's wedding (11.5 years ago), high heels, and bright lipstick....oh, and I can't forget the fancy jewelry.....
the children were so delighted!  I have to admit, it was really fun to be a queen for a morning.

This was the first birthday I've gotten to celebrate with my family (parents and some siblings) since we moved to Virginia 9 years ago.  Although my mom and sister offered to make my cake, I insisted on doing it myself.  It's all part of the fun.....deliberating for at least a month ahead of time on what to bake.....and then actually doing it.  

So salted caramel is all the rage right now....you can find it everywhere.  And for good reason - it's fabulous.
But.
Let me just tell you something.
Anyone who tells you that making homemade caramel sauce is "easy" is either incredibly lucky, incredibly talented, or just wants to make you feel like an idiot.
I am a pretty decent baker - and I have failed at caramel sauce five times over the past year.  And each time, I convinced myself for at least a few days that I would never attempt it again.  But of course, I just had to try "one more time".
Cooking sugar is a finicky business.  Cook it too fast, you get crystallization.  Hard lumps. Giant mess, not fixable. Cook it too long, just seconds too long....and it's burnt.  Not fixable.  I've done both.  Ick.

I found that following Mel's instructions were very helpful.....although the first time with this caramel sauce, I failed miserably again.  I might have shed a tear.  But I decided to give it one more shot.....lo and behold, when I cooked the sugar at a lower temperature in the first stage, it worked out so much better.  The sauce was perfection. I almost hated to make buttercream with it because it was so darn good by itself.
But I didn't regret it.

The original recipe called for a Swiss meringue buttercream, which I'm sure would have been delicious, but I went with a traditional buttercream because it doesn't take as long and I thought the caramel flavor would be more prominent.  It turned out even better than I imagined.  I just wanted to eat it by the spoonful.

But the chocolate frosting is also amazing.....it is so silky and smooth, rich and dreamy......like having a truffle melt in your mouth.  I can't even tell you how amazing this frosting is.  Paired with my favorite chocolate cake and the caramel buttercream - it was a match made in heaven.

I could seriously eat this cake every day and not get tired of it.

Oh, so the cake is humongous.  I made 1-1/2 times the original recipe of cake (change is reflected in my recipe) so it would be 3 layers instead of 2.  You could easily just make a 2 layer cake and fill and frost it with the caramel buttercream and leave off the chocolate frosting altogether, and it would be a great cake.  Or you could just decrease the amount of frosting and filling if you wanted a smaller cake. Personally, I don't mind having extra frosting around the house.   You can always find something to do with it.

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake

Cake:
3 cups sugar
2-1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Special Dark)
2-1/4 tsp. baking powder
2-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup oil (I use expeller-pressed coconut oil)
1-1/2 cups boiling water
2 tsp. instant coffee granules (optional)

Filling: 
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla

1-1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
5-6 cups powdered sugar

Frosting:
12 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used 8 oz. Bakers semisweet, 4 oz. Ghiradelli bittersweet)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup very hot water
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt

Fleur de sel, for garnish (optional)

To make the cake: 
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour three 9" round cake pans and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder (sifted), baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add eggs, milk, and oil and stir on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Add coffee granules to boiling water if desired (it enhances the flavor of the chocolate but isn't necessary) and pour slowing into the batter, mixing on low speed.  Batter will be very thin.
Distribute evenly between the three cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the filling:
In a heavy saucepan, slowly combine the sugar and water, taking care to not let any of the mixture splash up onto the sides of pan.  Set the pan over low heat and stir the mixture gently until the sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes.  Don't stir vigorously or the syrup will splash onto the sides of the pan and cause crystallization later, which is very bad.  Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved before letting the mixture come to a boil.
Once the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat to medium-high and bring the syrup to a boil.  Cover the saucepan and let the syrup boil for 2 minutes.  Uncover, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to boil, without stirring, until the edges turn golden brown.  Then carefully and gently swirl the pan until the syrup turns a dark amber color.  Do not scrape the sides of the pan.
Remove from the heat and add the butter.  Gently stir until the butter is melted. Stir in the cream.  Mixture will foam up, so be careful.  If the sauce becomes lumpy and isn't whisking together, set the pan over the still-warm burner and stir until smooth.  Stir in the vanilla and salt.  Strain through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any lumps if necessary.
Pour into a bowl and cool to room temperature.  Use the fridge or freezer to help you out if you're in a hurry, like I was.

Once it's room temperature, place 1-1/2 sticks of butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add caramel sauce and slowly add powdered sugar, beating until the frosting is desired consistency.

To make the frosting:
Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  Set aside and let cool to room temperature.  In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and water and stir until smooth.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, powdered sugar, and salt.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, gradually blend in the melted and cooled chocolate until well incorporated.  Blend in the cocoa powder-water mixture until smooth.

To assemble the cake:
Level the cake layers if necessary.  Place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving platter.  Top with a little more than 1/3 of the caramel buttercream and smooth in a thick, even layer.  Place a second cake layer on top and smooth an equal amount of buttercream on it.  Place the final cake layer on top.  Cover the top and sides of the cake with the chocolate frosting and smooth with an offset spatula.  If desired, use additional caramel buttercream to pipe decorative accents on the cake.  Before serving, sprinkle with fleur de sel, if desired.

Sources: Cake adapted from Hershey's, inspiration and frosting from Annie's Eats, Caramel Sauce from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

I had a birthday last Friday......and I am now officially 35.  That's still young, right?   Right???

Grant surprised me with a bouquet of pink roses on the Monday before my birthday.....flowers to enjoy for the whole birthday week.  They were so beautiful and I just loved seeing them brighten our dining table.

On my actual birthday, he got goodies from Panera Bread for the family to share and he and Corban made scrambled eggs to accompany them.  Then Corban made me a birthday crown and the kids insisted that I dress up like a queen.....so I went all out and donned the bridesmaid dress I wore in my sister Sarah's wedding (11.5 years ago), high heels, and bright lipstick....oh, and I can't forget the fancy jewelry.....
the children were so delighted!  I have to admit, it was really fun to be a queen for a morning.

This was the first birthday I've gotten to celebrate with my family (parents and some siblings) since we moved to Virginia 9 years ago.  Although my mom and sister offered to make my cake, I insisted on doing it myself.  It's all part of the fun.....deliberating for at least a month ahead of time on what to bake.....and then actually doing it.  

So salted caramel is all the rage right now....you can find it everywhere.  And for good reason - it's fabulous.
But.
Let me just tell you something.
Anyone who tells you that making homemade caramel sauce is "easy" is either incredibly lucky, incredibly talented, or just wants to make you feel like an idiot.
I am a pretty decent baker - and I have failed at caramel sauce five times over the past year.  And each time, I convinced myself for at least a few days that I would never attempt it again.  But of course, I just had to try "one more time".
Cooking sugar is a finicky business.  Cook it too fast, you get crystallization.  Hard lumps. Giant mess, not fixable. Cook it too long, just seconds too long....and it's burnt.  Not fixable.  I've done both.  Ick.

I found that following Mel's instructions were very helpful.....although the first time with this caramel sauce, I failed miserably again.  I might have shed a tear.  But I decided to give it one more shot.....lo and behold, when I cooked the sugar at a lower temperature in the first stage, it worked out so much better.  The sauce was perfection. I almost hated to make buttercream with it because it was so darn good by itself.
But I didn't regret it.

The original recipe called for a Swiss meringue buttercream, which I'm sure would have been delicious, but I went with a traditional buttercream because it doesn't take as long and I thought the caramel flavor would be more prominent.  It turned out even better than I imagined.  I just wanted to eat it by the spoonful.

But the chocolate frosting is also amazing.....it is so silky and smooth, rich and dreamy......like having a truffle melt in your mouth.  I can't even tell you how amazing this frosting is.  Paired with my favorite chocolate cake and the caramel buttercream - it was a match made in heaven.

I could seriously eat this cake every day and not get tired of it.

Oh, so the cake is humongous.  I made 1-1/2 times the original recipe of cake (change is reflected in my recipe) so it would be 3 layers instead of 2.  You could easily just make a 2 layer cake and fill and frost it with the caramel buttercream and leave off the chocolate frosting altogether, and it would be a great cake.  Or you could just decrease the amount of frosting and filling if you wanted a smaller cake. Personally, I don't mind having extra frosting around the house.   You can always find something to do with it.

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake

Cake:
3 cups sugar
2-1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Special Dark)
2-1/4 tsp. baking powder
2-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup oil (I use expeller-pressed coconut oil)
1-1/2 cups boiling water
2 tsp. instant coffee granules (optional)

Filling: 
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla

1-1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
5-6 cups powdered sugar

Frosting:
12 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used 8 oz. Bakers semisweet, 4 oz. Ghiradelli bittersweet)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup very hot water
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt

Fleur de sel, for garnish (optional)

To make the cake: 
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour three 9" round cake pans and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder (sifted), baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add eggs, milk, and oil and stir on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Add coffee granules to boiling water if desired (it enhances the flavor of the chocolate but isn't necessary) and pour slowing into the batter, mixing on low speed.  Batter will be very thin.
Distribute evenly between the three cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the filling:
In a heavy saucepan, slowly combine the sugar and water, taking care to not let any of the mixture splash up onto the sides of pan.  Set the pan over low heat and stir the mixture gently until the sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes.  Don't stir vigorously or the syrup will splash onto the sides of the pan and cause crystallization later, which is very bad.  Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved before letting the mixture come to a boil.
Once the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat to medium-high and bring the syrup to a boil.  Cover the saucepan and let the syrup boil for 2 minutes.  Uncover, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to boil, without stirring, until the edges turn golden brown.  Then carefully and gently swirl the pan until the syrup turns a dark amber color.  Do not scrape the sides of the pan.
Remove from the heat and add the butter.  Gently stir until the butter is melted. Stir in the cream.  Mixture will foam up, so be careful.  If the sauce becomes lumpy and isn't whisking together, set the pan over the still-warm burner and stir until smooth.  Stir in the vanilla and salt.  Strain through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any lumps if necessary.
Pour into a bowl and cool to room temperature.  Use the fridge or freezer to help you out if you're in a hurry, like I was.

Once it's room temperature, place 1-1/2 sticks of butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add caramel sauce and slowly add powdered sugar, beating until the frosting is desired consistency.

To make the frosting:
Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  Set aside and let cool to room temperature.  In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and water and stir until smooth.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, powdered sugar, and salt.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, gradually blend in the melted and cooled chocolate until well incorporated.  Blend in the cocoa powder-water mixture until smooth.

To assemble the cake:
Level the cake layers if necessary.  Place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving platter.  Top with a little more than 1/3 of the caramel buttercream and smooth in a thick, even layer.  Place a second cake layer on top and smooth an equal amount of buttercream on it.  Place the final cake layer on top.  Cover the top and sides of the cake with the chocolate frosting and smooth with an offset spatula.  If desired, use additional caramel buttercream to pipe decorative accents on the cake.  Before serving, sprinkle with fleur de sel, if desired.

Sources: Cake adapted from Hershey's, inspiration and frosting from Annie's Eats, Caramel Sauce from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Carrot Cake

There's nothing like grating a pound of carrots by hand to make you wish you had a food processor. 
I can't believe that with all the baking and cooking I do, I still don't have one.
Thankfully, my birthday is coming up and I just might be getting one.  Any recommendations on brand and size?

Well, even with all the time and effort those carrots took, this cake was totally worth it.

I love carrot cake....I really do.  Although I am always drawn to chocolate first, whether in a restaurant or at home, when I take that first bite of carrot cake, I'm hooked.

Quick side story: When Grant and I were on our honeymoon (nearly 12 years ago) in Montana, Grant ordered  Huckleberry Carrot Cake at a Mexican restaurant...(you can pretty much get huckleberry anything in Montana...yum!) and it was so amazing.  I wish I could re-create that.  

I know there are some definite preferences when it comes to carrot cake - whether or not to add pineapple, raisins, nuts, and coconut.  Some recipes use jarred carrot baby food, some cook the carrots and puree them, and most just use grated carrots like this one.
I'm not going to say that this is the BEST carrot cake, because that is completely subjective and I haven't tasted all there is out there, but I will say that this is pretty wonderful.  Even Grant enjoyed it tremendously, and he is rarely crazy about desserts without chocolate.

I took a recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, which I'm sure is marvelous exactly as written, and changed it up a bit to make it slightly healthier and added some pineapple and coconut.  I substituted 1/2 cup of applesauce for 1/2 cup of the oil, which lightened up the calorie count a little but still left the cake moist and delicious.  Oh, I also upped the powdered sugar called for in the frosting because my frosting was just too runny - maybe my butter and cream cheese were too soft.  Even with an extra cup of powdered sugar, the frosting was still soft and was certainly not too sweet, so I think it worked out fine.  My changes are reflected in the recipe.  

I added some chopped toasted walnuts (was out of pecans) to the top of half of the cake for my extended family - my own kiddos and Grant don't like nuts on baked goods.

The cake brought rave reviews by everyone who graced our table on Resurrection Sunday - my parents, sister Anna, brother Joseph, and his girlfriend Ginny.....not to mention my own crew.

I can't wait to make it again....once I have my food processor!

Carrot Cake
(adapted slightly from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Cake: 
2-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. carrots, peeled and grated (should be about 3 cups)
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup oil (I used expeller-pressed coconut oil)
1/2 cup applesauce
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup shredded  coconut (I used sweetened)

Frosting: 
2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, room temperature
10 Tbsp (1 stick plus 2 Tbsp) butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp. sour cream, light or regular
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3-1/4 cups powdered sugar
Chopped toasted walnuts or pecans for garnish, optional

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a large bowl.  Set aside.  Shred carrots in a food processor or by hand.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl and using a hand-held mixer), beat granulated and brown sugars and eggs on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds.  Reduce speed to medium; with the mixer running, add oil in a slow steady stream, being careful to pour oil against inside of bowl.  Increase speed to high and mix until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to a minute longer.  Turn off mixer and stir in carrots, pineapple, coconut, and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.

Pour into prepared pans and bake for about 32 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then invert them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
(At this point, once the cakes are cooled, they can be wrapped in plastic wrap and put in a ziploc bag and placed in the freezer for up to 2 months.  Thaw at room temperature before frosting.)

When the cake is cool, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla at medium high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until well combined.  Add powdered sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1 minute.

I decided to torte the layers, just for fun.....to do so, carefully cut each cake layer in half using a large serrated knife.  It's totally not necessary, I just like the look of extra layers.

Frost and eat!

I stored the cake in the refrigerator but allowed it to come to room temperature before serving.

• 
  

There's nothing like grating a pound of carrots by hand to make you wish you had a food processor. 
I can't believe that with all the baking and cooking I do, I still don't have one.
Thankfully, my birthday is coming up and I just might be getting one.  Any recommendations on brand and size?

Well, even with all the time and effort those carrots took, this cake was totally worth it.

I love carrot cake....I really do.  Although I am always drawn to chocolate first, whether in a restaurant or at home, when I take that first bite of carrot cake, I'm hooked.

Quick side story: When Grant and I were on our honeymoon (nearly 12 years ago) in Montana, Grant ordered  Huckleberry Carrot Cake at a Mexican restaurant...(you can pretty much get huckleberry anything in Montana...yum!) and it was so amazing.  I wish I could re-create that.  

I know there are some definite preferences when it comes to carrot cake - whether or not to add pineapple, raisins, nuts, and coconut.  Some recipes use jarred carrot baby food, some cook the carrots and puree them, and most just use grated carrots like this one.
I'm not going to say that this is the BEST carrot cake, because that is completely subjective and I haven't tasted all there is out there, but I will say that this is pretty wonderful.  Even Grant enjoyed it tremendously, and he is rarely crazy about desserts without chocolate.

I took a recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, which I'm sure is marvelous exactly as written, and changed it up a bit to make it slightly healthier and added some pineapple and coconut.  I substituted 1/2 cup of applesauce for 1/2 cup of the oil, which lightened up the calorie count a little but still left the cake moist and delicious.  Oh, I also upped the powdered sugar called for in the frosting because my frosting was just too runny - maybe my butter and cream cheese were too soft.  Even with an extra cup of powdered sugar, the frosting was still soft and was certainly not too sweet, so I think it worked out fine.  My changes are reflected in the recipe.  

I added some chopped toasted walnuts (was out of pecans) to the top of half of the cake for my extended family - my own kiddos and Grant don't like nuts on baked goods.

The cake brought rave reviews by everyone who graced our table on Resurrection Sunday - my parents, sister Anna, brother Joseph, and his girlfriend Ginny.....not to mention my own crew.

I can't wait to make it again....once I have my food processor!

Carrot Cake
(adapted slightly from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Cake: 
2-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. carrots, peeled and grated (should be about 3 cups)
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup oil (I used expeller-pressed coconut oil)
1/2 cup applesauce
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup shredded  coconut (I used sweetened)

Frosting: 
2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, room temperature
10 Tbsp (1 stick plus 2 Tbsp) butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp. sour cream, light or regular
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3-1/4 cups powdered sugar
Chopped toasted walnuts or pecans for garnish, optional

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a large bowl.  Set aside.  Shred carrots in a food processor or by hand.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl and using a hand-held mixer), beat granulated and brown sugars and eggs on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds.  Reduce speed to medium; with the mixer running, add oil in a slow steady stream, being careful to pour oil against inside of bowl.  Increase speed to high and mix until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to a minute longer.  Turn off mixer and stir in carrots, pineapple, coconut, and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.

Pour into prepared pans and bake for about 32 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then invert them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
(At this point, once the cakes are cooled, they can be wrapped in plastic wrap and put in a ziploc bag and placed in the freezer for up to 2 months.  Thaw at room temperature before frosting.)

When the cake is cool, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla at medium high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until well combined.  Add powdered sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1 minute.

I decided to torte the layers, just for fun.....to do so, carefully cut each cake layer in half using a large serrated knife.  It's totally not necessary, I just like the look of extra layers.

Frost and eat!

I stored the cake in the refrigerator but allowed it to come to room temperature before serving.

• 
  

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Classic Chocolate Layer Cake

It's my blogiversary!

Five years I've been at this blogging thing.....it's really hard to believe.

I know I don't have the most beautiful pictures, the most frequent postings, or the snazzy features of the popular food bloggers, but I enjoy my blog and the few minutes I carve out each week to post about one of the new recipes I made and actually got a chance to photograph.  And I appreciate each and every one of you who stop by and check things out, leave sweet comments, and maybe even give one of my recipes a try.  Truly I do.

So this cake wasn't really for my blogiversary.....it was actually a belated birthday cake for my sister Sarah, who lives in Tennessee and is visiting this week with her precious girls.  Her birthday was last week and so I thought it fitting to have a little family celebration, complete with a dark chocolate cake.
I was going to go all fancy and add a raspberry mousse filling.....but I just ran out of time for the extra shopping that would have required.

But Sarah didn't mind.  This cake is incredibly rich and decadent, with the frosting/filling reminding me of a truffle.  Creamy, intense, and so delicious.  Even the chocoholics among us had to stop with small pieces and savor each bite slowly.  Oh, except for Miranda (17 months), who couldn't shovel it down fast enough.  And then move on to mooch off someone else who still had some on their plate.  Girl after my own heart, that one.  

So here's to many more birthdays for my sister, and to many more years of blogging for me!

Classic Chocolate Layer Cake
adapted slightly from Annie's Eats

Cake:
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting the pans
2 tsp. instant espresso or coffee powder
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature (I used salted)
1-3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting
10 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used a full package of Ghiradelli 60%)
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. cocoa powder, sifted
2/3 cup sour cream
2-3 Tbsp. heavy cream or milk (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Butter the edges of two 9" round cake pans and dust with cocoa powder, shaking out the excess.  Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, coffee powder, and boiling water.  Whisk until smooth; set aside to cool slightly.  When cooled down a bit, whisk in the sour cream and vanilla.  Set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth.  Gradually blend in the sugar and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the eggs one at a time.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; whisk to blend.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the chocolate mixture, beating each addition just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Bake the cake layers for about 23- 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack in the pans for at least 30 minutes before inverting onto the rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Set aside to cool until just barely warm.  In the bowl of  a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.  Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate and then the sour cream.  Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and well blended.  If frosting is too thick, add cream or milk to get the proper spreading consistency.

To assemble the cake, place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving platter.  Spread an even layer of the frosting over the top of the cake.  Top with the second cake layer.  Frost the top and sides.  You can do a crumb coat and then refrigerate for 30 minutes before doing the final coat if you want, but I didn't find it necessary.  The cake wasn't crumby at all.  Use an offset spatula or spoon to get a soft, billowy appearance if desired.

Note: I stored this cake at room temperature and it was fine.....but you might choose to refrigerate it.  I would recommend letting it come to room temperature before serving it, though. 

It's my blogiversary!

Five years I've been at this blogging thing.....it's really hard to believe.

I know I don't have the most beautiful pictures, the most frequent postings, or the snazzy features of the popular food bloggers, but I enjoy my blog and the few minutes I carve out each week to post about one of the new recipes I made and actually got a chance to photograph.  And I appreciate each and every one of you who stop by and check things out, leave sweet comments, and maybe even give one of my recipes a try.  Truly I do.

So this cake wasn't really for my blogiversary.....it was actually a belated birthday cake for my sister Sarah, who lives in Tennessee and is visiting this week with her precious girls.  Her birthday was last week and so I thought it fitting to have a little family celebration, complete with a dark chocolate cake.
I was going to go all fancy and add a raspberry mousse filling.....but I just ran out of time for the extra shopping that would have required.

But Sarah didn't mind.  This cake is incredibly rich and decadent, with the frosting/filling reminding me of a truffle.  Creamy, intense, and so delicious.  Even the chocoholics among us had to stop with small pieces and savor each bite slowly.  Oh, except for Miranda (17 months), who couldn't shovel it down fast enough.  And then move on to mooch off someone else who still had some on their plate.  Girl after my own heart, that one.  

So here's to many more birthdays for my sister, and to many more years of blogging for me!

Classic Chocolate Layer Cake
adapted slightly from Annie's Eats

Cake:
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting the pans
2 tsp. instant espresso or coffee powder
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature (I used salted)
1-3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting
10 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used a full package of Ghiradelli 60%)
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. cocoa powder, sifted
2/3 cup sour cream
2-3 Tbsp. heavy cream or milk (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Butter the edges of two 9" round cake pans and dust with cocoa powder, shaking out the excess.  Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, coffee powder, and boiling water.  Whisk until smooth; set aside to cool slightly.  When cooled down a bit, whisk in the sour cream and vanilla.  Set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth.  Gradually blend in the sugar and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the eggs one at a time.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; whisk to blend.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the chocolate mixture, beating each addition just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Bake the cake layers for about 23- 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack in the pans for at least 30 minutes before inverting onto the rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Set aside to cool until just barely warm.  In the bowl of  a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.  Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate and then the sour cream.  Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and well blended.  If frosting is too thick, add cream or milk to get the proper spreading consistency.

To assemble the cake, place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving platter.  Spread an even layer of the frosting over the top of the cake.  Top with the second cake layer.  Frost the top and sides.  You can do a crumb coat and then refrigerate for 30 minutes before doing the final coat if you want, but I didn't find it necessary.  The cake wasn't crumby at all.  Use an offset spatula or spoon to get a soft, billowy appearance if desired.

Note: I stored this cake at room temperature and it was fine.....but you might choose to refrigerate it.  I would recommend letting it come to room temperature before serving it, though. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

SRC: Eggless Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

I am very thankful that none of my children have food allergies.  A couple of my older brother's children do and it can make things rather challenging.  This cake, for example, would be a no-no because of the peanut butter frosting.  However, the cake unfrosted would be a great option for my niece Eva, since she's allergic to dairy and eggs....and this cake has neither.  That's really hard to find in baked goods.

That's why I chose this recipe to make for the Secret Recipe Club this month.  The blog I was assigned is called This Mama Cooks, where Anne-Marie's mission is to help busy families get on the road to living a more healthy lifestyle by sharing good-for-you recipes and lifestyle tips.  She even covers health topics like vitamins and nutrition, dental health and braces, skin products, exercise, and weight loss.  

I found several recipes I want to try, like Chicken, Sweet Potato and Apple Skillet, Slow Cooker Machaca Beef , and Huevos Rancheros.... but I just couldn't resist trying an eggless cake.  I made one about 10 years ago and remember really liking it......but for some reason hadn't made it again.  So I figured it was about time I gave it a shot again.  

I really like this cake.  Now, I'm not gonna lie, it won't replace Hershey's Dark Chocolate Cake as my favorite go-to chocolate cake recipe,  but it is a delicious alternative and sure does accommodate people with allergies better.  And even if you don't have allergies, it's great to make if you're having that cake craving and don't have an egg in the house.  

I did change up the frosting recipe, by using my favorite peanut butter frosting from Ina Garten......one that I also used on my birthday cake last year.  But really you could use whatever frosting you like.  

Eggless Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
(Cake from This Mama Cooks, frosting from Ina Garten)

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
9 Tbs. cocoa, sifted (1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs)
2 cups cold water
2 Tbs. white vinegar
3/4 cup oil (I used expeller pressed coconut oil)
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer.  Combine well, but don't overbeat.
Pour into a greased 13 x 9 baking pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting: 

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 Tbs. unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Grated chocolate for garnish, optional

Place the sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work.  Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday

I am very thankful that none of my children have food allergies.  A couple of my older brother's children do and it can make things rather challenging.  This cake, for example, would be a no-no because of the peanut butter frosting.  However, the cake unfrosted would be a great option for my niece Eva, since she's allergic to dairy and eggs....and this cake has neither.  That's really hard to find in baked goods.

That's why I chose this recipe to make for the Secret Recipe Club this month.  The blog I was assigned is called This Mama Cooks, where Anne-Marie's mission is to help busy families get on the road to living a more healthy lifestyle by sharing good-for-you recipes and lifestyle tips.  She even covers health topics like vitamins and nutrition, dental health and braces, skin products, exercise, and weight loss.  

I found several recipes I want to try, like Chicken, Sweet Potato and Apple Skillet, Slow Cooker Machaca Beef , and Huevos Rancheros.... but I just couldn't resist trying an eggless cake.  I made one about 10 years ago and remember really liking it......but for some reason hadn't made it again.  So I figured it was about time I gave it a shot again.  

I really like this cake.  Now, I'm not gonna lie, it won't replace Hershey's Dark Chocolate Cake as my favorite go-to chocolate cake recipe,  but it is a delicious alternative and sure does accommodate people with allergies better.  And even if you don't have allergies, it's great to make if you're having that cake craving and don't have an egg in the house.  

I did change up the frosting recipe, by using my favorite peanut butter frosting from Ina Garten......one that I also used on my birthday cake last year.  But really you could use whatever frosting you like.  

Eggless Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
(Cake from This Mama Cooks, frosting from Ina Garten)

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
9 Tbs. cocoa, sifted (1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs)
2 cups cold water
2 Tbs. white vinegar
3/4 cup oil (I used expeller pressed coconut oil)
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer.  Combine well, but don't overbeat.
Pour into a greased 13 x 9 baking pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting: 

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 Tbs. unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Grated chocolate for garnish, optional

Place the sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work.  Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes

I have a never ending list of desserts I want to try, just because I love desserts.

And I'm a food blogger, so I always want new material to write about. 

Considering those two facts, there are many fabulous desserts that I have made once and

absolutely adored, but rarely (if ever) get around to making again.

That will not be the case with this dessert.

I can't even tell you how amazing it is.  

So rich and chocolaty, with a slightly firm and chewy exterior and edges, and a

warm, decadent, fudgy center just oozing out to coat every bite......

Grant's words as he sampled his first bite:

"You have GOT to be kidding me!"

He was simply astonished that a dessert so simple could be so delicious.

I think the best way to prepare it is to make the batter and pour it into the ramekins ahead of time. While 

you're eating dinner, pop them into the oven. When they're ready, everyone should be finished with dinner and ready for dessert.  And believe me, when you smell these baking, you'll find room for dessert, no matter how full you are. 

Oh, and I have a confession.  I actually made them with the wrong amount of chocolate and didn't realize it until I was in bed last night, thinking about the recipe. 

See, it calls for 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, and 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate. 

The Ghiradelli bars of bittersweet chocolate are only 4 ounces, so I had decided beforehand to use 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate instead of buying another bittersweet bar and only using half of it.  

Well, when I was actually baking it, I forgot to add the extra 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, so my end result was 2 ounces of chocolate short.  

And you know what?  

You never would have known. 

 I can't imagine them being any better than they were.  

But hey, maybe next time I'll add that extra chocolate just to see. 

I did not use any liqueur in my recipe - but I can't wait to try the raspberry version.  I'm sure it's just fabulous.

Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes 

(adapted slightly from Glorious Treats, originally from Paula Deen)

Yield: 6-8 cakes

6 (1 oz) squares bittersweet chocolate (I used 4 - a Ghiradelli bar)

2 (1 oz) squares semi sweet chocolate (I used Bakers)

10 Tbs. butter (salted)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 large eggs

3 egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbs. orange or raspberry liqueur (optional)

Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°F. 

Grease 6 (6 oz) or 8 (4 oz) custard cups/ramekins.  

Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave or in a double boiler.  Add the flour and sugar to chocolate.  Stir a few times.  Add the eggs and egg yolks and stir until smooth.  Stir in the vanilla and liqueur if using.  

Divide the batter evenly among the ramekins.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 14 minutes if using 6 dishes, 12 minutes for 8 dishes.  The edges should be firm but the center will be jiggly or runny.  

Cool for a couple of minutes, then eat directly from dish or run a knife around the edge to loosen and invert cakes onto dessert plates.  

Dust with powdered sugar before serving, or dollop with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  

Linked to Crumbs and Chaos - Seasonal Inspiration and Trick or Treat Tuesday

I have a never ending list of desserts I want to try, just because I love desserts.

And I'm a food blogger, so I always want new material to write about. 

Considering those two facts, there are many fabulous desserts that I have made once and

absolutely adored, but rarely (if ever) get around to making again.

That will not be the case with this dessert.

I can't even tell you how amazing it is.  

So rich and chocolaty, with a slightly firm and chewy exterior and edges, and a

warm, decadent, fudgy center just oozing out to coat every bite......

Grant's words as he sampled his first bite:

"You have GOT to be kidding me!"

He was simply astonished that a dessert so simple could be so delicious.

I think the best way to prepare it is to make the batter and pour it into the ramekins ahead of time. While 

you're eating dinner, pop them into the oven. When they're ready, everyone should be finished with dinner and ready for dessert.  And believe me, when you smell these baking, you'll find room for dessert, no matter how full you are. 

Oh, and I have a confession.  I actually made them with the wrong amount of chocolate and didn't realize it until I was in bed last night, thinking about the recipe. 

See, it calls for 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, and 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate. 

The Ghiradelli bars of bittersweet chocolate are only 4 ounces, so I had decided beforehand to use 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate instead of buying another bittersweet bar and only using half of it.  

Well, when I was actually baking it, I forgot to add the extra 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, so my end result was 2 ounces of chocolate short.  

And you know what?  

You never would have known. 

 I can't imagine them being any better than they were.  

But hey, maybe next time I'll add that extra chocolate just to see. 

I did not use any liqueur in my recipe - but I can't wait to try the raspberry version.  I'm sure it's just fabulous.

Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes 

(adapted slightly from Glorious Treats, originally from Paula Deen)

Yield: 6-8 cakes

6 (1 oz) squares bittersweet chocolate (I used 4 - a Ghiradelli bar)

2 (1 oz) squares semi sweet chocolate (I used Bakers)

10 Tbs. butter (salted)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 large eggs

3 egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbs. orange or raspberry liqueur (optional)

Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°F. 

Grease 6 (6 oz) or 8 (4 oz) custard cups/ramekins.  

Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave or in a double boiler.  Add the flour and sugar to chocolate.  Stir a few times.  Add the eggs and egg yolks and stir until smooth.  Stir in the vanilla and liqueur if using.  

Divide the batter evenly among the ramekins.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 14 minutes if using 6 dishes, 12 minutes for 8 dishes.  The edges should be firm but the center will be jiggly or runny.  

Cool for a couple of minutes, then eat directly from dish or run a knife around the edge to loosen and invert cakes onto dessert plates.  

Dust with powdered sugar before serving, or dollop with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  

Linked to Crumbs and Chaos - Seasonal Inspiration and Trick or Treat Tuesday

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

I can hardly believe we've been in Arkansas for 4 weeks already.  So much has happened and it all seems a bit of a blur.

We are looking forward to closing on our new home at the end of the month and hopefully moving in the first week of January - whenever our household good get delivered.  We can hardly wait to get settled into our own space and start feeling like we're really "home".

This past weekend, my older brother and his family (wife and six kids) were in town.  They actually just moved from here to the Houston area last May.  My brother completed his PhD. in educational philosophy at the University of Arkansas this year and his wife just completed her nursing degree, and their graduation ceremonies were on Saturday.   We had a little graduation party for them on Saturday evening and I jumped at the opportunity to make these cupcakes that I had been thinking about for months.
(who thinks about cupcakes for "months" anyways?)

These are for the true chocolate lover, there is no question.  Incredibly rich, they're chocolate cupcakes filled with a dark chocolate ganache and topped with an amazing cream cheese chocolate frosting that is made even more smooth and delectable by the addition of sour cream.

A cup of chilled milk or red wine (if that's what floats your boat) makes a perfect accompaniment for these decadent cupcakes.
While I used bittersweet chocolate in the ganache filling and thoroughly enjoyed it, I think I would prefer semi-sweet chocolate even more.  I wouldn't change a thing about the frosting - it's just wonderful.


Triple Chocolate Cupcakes  (adapted slightly from Annie's Eats)
Yield: 36 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1-1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter
2-1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Filling:
8 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Ghiradelli chips)
1 cup plus 2 T. heavy cream
4 T. butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature

Frosting:
14 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Ghiradelli chips again)
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
11 T. butter, room temperature (1 stick plus 3 T.)
3 cups powdered sugar
6 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 T. sour cream

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line standard cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and sugar over medium heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally to combine, until the butter is melted.  Remove the mixture from the heat and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-low speed for 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is cooled.  Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and beating well after each addition.  Mix in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture and beat until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, beating just until combined.

Pour into prepared cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 full.  Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate.  Let stand about 1 minute.  Gently stir until smooth, then whisk in butter 1 piece at a time until incorporated.  Place bowl in freezer or refrigerator to chill and thicken the ganache a bit.  Whisk every 5-10 minutes to help it cool evenly.  Once it is slightly thickened and no longer runny, you are ready to fill the cupcakes.

To assemble the cupcakes, cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake with a small paring knife.  Cut off the pointed end of the cone and set aside, so you are left with a cap of cake to cover the filling.  Drop a spoonful of ganache into the center of each cupcake and recover the hole with the cap.

To make the frosting, melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Set aside to cool until just barely warm.  With an electric mixer and the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.  Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate and then the sour cream.  Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and well blended.  Frost cupcakes using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (I used a Wilton 1M).

Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday,  Crazy Sweet Tuesday, and Finding Joy in my Kitchen

I can hardly believe we've been in Arkansas for 4 weeks already.  So much has happened and it all seems a bit of a blur.

We are looking forward to closing on our new home at the end of the month and hopefully moving in the first week of January - whenever our household good get delivered.  We can hardly wait to get settled into our own space and start feeling like we're really "home".

This past weekend, my older brother and his family (wife and six kids) were in town.  They actually just moved from here to the Houston area last May.  My brother completed his PhD. in educational philosophy at the University of Arkansas this year and his wife just completed her nursing degree, and their graduation ceremonies were on Saturday.   We had a little graduation party for them on Saturday evening and I jumped at the opportunity to make these cupcakes that I had been thinking about for months.
(who thinks about cupcakes for "months" anyways?)

These are for the true chocolate lover, there is no question.  Incredibly rich, they're chocolate cupcakes filled with a dark chocolate ganache and topped with an amazing cream cheese chocolate frosting that is made even more smooth and delectable by the addition of sour cream.

A cup of chilled milk or red wine (if that's what floats your boat) makes a perfect accompaniment for these decadent cupcakes.
While I used bittersweet chocolate in the ganache filling and thoroughly enjoyed it, I think I would prefer semi-sweet chocolate even more.  I wouldn't change a thing about the frosting - it's just wonderful.


Triple Chocolate Cupcakes  (adapted slightly from Annie's Eats)
Yield: 36 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1-1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter
2-1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Filling:
8 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Ghiradelli chips)
1 cup plus 2 T. heavy cream
4 T. butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature

Frosting:
14 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Ghiradelli chips again)
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
11 T. butter, room temperature (1 stick plus 3 T.)
3 cups powdered sugar
6 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 T. sour cream

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line standard cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and sugar over medium heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally to combine, until the butter is melted.  Remove the mixture from the heat and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-low speed for 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is cooled.  Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and beating well after each addition.  Mix in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture and beat until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, beating just until combined.

Pour into prepared cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 full.  Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate.  Let stand about 1 minute.  Gently stir until smooth, then whisk in butter 1 piece at a time until incorporated.  Place bowl in freezer or refrigerator to chill and thicken the ganache a bit.  Whisk every 5-10 minutes to help it cool evenly.  Once it is slightly thickened and no longer runny, you are ready to fill the cupcakes.

To assemble the cupcakes, cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake with a small paring knife.  Cut off the pointed end of the cone and set aside, so you are left with a cap of cake to cover the filling.  Drop a spoonful of ganache into the center of each cupcake and recover the hole with the cap.

To make the frosting, melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Set aside to cool until just barely warm.  With an electric mixer and the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.  Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate and then the sour cream.  Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and well blended.  Frost cupcakes using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (I used a Wilton 1M).

Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday,  Crazy Sweet Tuesday, and Finding Joy in my Kitchen

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Almond Cake

One of my big concerns about our move has been the sale of our home.  

What if it didn't sell?

What if we had to drop the price drastically and take even more of a hit?  (since we built it at the peak of the market, we've lost quite bit of appraised value in six years.)

The agent warned us not to be discouraged if there weren't even any showings in December, since it's not a popular month for buying a home.....that with the market being what it is, not to be surprised if it took 3-6 months to sell.

So it was listed last Monday.  

On Friday, we had an offer. (!!!!)

Not a full price offer, mind you, but not a terrible one, either.  

We counter-offered, they accepted, and the papers were all signed on Saturday.  

Extra confirmation that we are doing exactly what God had planned for us.  Wow!

We put in an offer on a home here on Sunday - we're still in negotiations with it. It's a lovely home that Grant had his eye on for a couple of months - he even got to look through it when he came out here for his interview.  He fell in love with it and it's been his top choice all along.  I really like it too....I think it's a great choice for our family.  So we'll pray and see what happens!

So about this cake.

We don't celebrate Halloween.  In the past, we've just had a candlelight dinner with the kids and watched a movie - they LOVE doing something different like that.  But last year, Miranda was just 3 weeks old and a friend from church asked if she could bring us dinner that night.  We happily accepted and she brought us a huge "Thanksgiving"ish turkey feast and their family stayed and ate with us.  We had so much fun!

This year, she asked if we could do it again - and another family joined us as well.  We had a turkey potluck again - which was especially nice for us, since we didn't really get a Thanksgiving dinner this year.
I was in charge of desserts.  I made Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Blondies - and this Almond Cake.

See, my precious friend sister Ellen was there....and almonds are one of her favorites.  She had given me a tube of almond paste to try out since I had never eaten it, and I wanted her to get to enjoy whatever I made.

This cake is very simple, like an almond pound cake really, but it's such a treat.  It's moist, rich, and dense, has a tender crumb, and a wonderful almond flavor.  It's actually great to make a day or two ahead of time, as the flavor develops over time and the cake maintains its lovely texture for several days.

You can serve it with berries and whipped cream, plain with the powdered sugar dusting, and it's also delicious with some Strawberry Freezer Jam drizzled over the top.

The most important thing to do in the baking of this cake is to really break up the almond paste as much as possible.  It's recommended to use a food processor, but since I don't have one, I used my Kitchenaid mixer and just beat it for about 10 minutes.  Large clumps of almond paste will decrease your chance of having a nice crumb in the cake - so you have to try to get the paste to about the consistency of sand.  Mine was still a little clumpy - a mixer can only do so much - but the cake turned out wonderfully, so I guess it was okay.

Note: You should use a 9 or 10" pan with at least 2" sides for this cake.  Standard layer cake pans will not be tall enough and the cake will probably overflow.  I used a 9" spring form pan with perfect results.  

Almond Cake (adapted slightly from David Lebovitz)

1-1/3 cups sugar
1 (7 ounce)  box almond paste (I used Odense brand)
1 cup flour, divided
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
6 large eggs, at room temperature
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Preheat oveo to 325°F.  Grease a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan with butter, dust it with flour, and tap out any excess.  Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor or a stand mixer, grind the sugar, almond paste, and 1/4 cup of flour until the almond paste is finely ground and the mixture resembles sand.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt.

Once the almond paste is completely broken up, add the cubes of butter and the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat until the batter is very smooth and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating a bit before the next addition.  Scrape down the sides as needed to make sure the eggs get fully incorporated.  After you add all the eggs, the mixture may look curdled.  Don't worry, it will come back together after the next step.

Add half the flour mixture and stir a few times - then add the rest, stirring until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.  Do not overmix!

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake the cake for 65 minutes, or until the top is deep brown and feels set when you press in the center.

Remove the cake from the oven and run a sharp or serrated knife around the perimeter, loosing the cake from the sides of the pan.  Let the cake cool completely in the pan.

Once cool, tap the cake out of the pan, remove the parchment paper, and set on a cake plate until ready to serve. (Tip: If necessary, warm the bottom of the cake pan directly on the stovetop for just a few seconds, which will help the cake release.)

Sift a little powdered sugar over the top before serving.

Storage:  This cake will keep for 4-5 days at room temperature, well wrapped.  It can also be frozen for up to two months.


Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday and Crazy Sweet Tuesday

One of my big concerns about our move has been the sale of our home.  

What if it didn't sell?

What if we had to drop the price drastically and take even more of a hit?  (since we built it at the peak of the market, we've lost quite bit of appraised value in six years.)

The agent warned us not to be discouraged if there weren't even any showings in December, since it's not a popular month for buying a home.....that with the market being what it is, not to be surprised if it took 3-6 months to sell.

So it was listed last Monday.  

On Friday, we had an offer. (!!!!)

Not a full price offer, mind you, but not a terrible one, either.  

We counter-offered, they accepted, and the papers were all signed on Saturday.  

Extra confirmation that we are doing exactly what God had planned for us.  Wow!

We put in an offer on a home here on Sunday - we're still in negotiations with it. It's a lovely home that Grant had his eye on for a couple of months - he even got to look through it when he came out here for his interview.  He fell in love with it and it's been his top choice all along.  I really like it too....I think it's a great choice for our family.  So we'll pray and see what happens!

So about this cake.

We don't celebrate Halloween.  In the past, we've just had a candlelight dinner with the kids and watched a movie - they LOVE doing something different like that.  But last year, Miranda was just 3 weeks old and a friend from church asked if she could bring us dinner that night.  We happily accepted and she brought us a huge "Thanksgiving"ish turkey feast and their family stayed and ate with us.  We had so much fun!

This year, she asked if we could do it again - and another family joined us as well.  We had a turkey potluck again - which was especially nice for us, since we didn't really get a Thanksgiving dinner this year.
I was in charge of desserts.  I made Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Blondies - and this Almond Cake.

See, my precious friend sister Ellen was there....and almonds are one of her favorites.  She had given me a tube of almond paste to try out since I had never eaten it, and I wanted her to get to enjoy whatever I made.

This cake is very simple, like an almond pound cake really, but it's such a treat.  It's moist, rich, and dense, has a tender crumb, and a wonderful almond flavor.  It's actually great to make a day or two ahead of time, as the flavor develops over time and the cake maintains its lovely texture for several days.

You can serve it with berries and whipped cream, plain with the powdered sugar dusting, and it's also delicious with some Strawberry Freezer Jam drizzled over the top.

The most important thing to do in the baking of this cake is to really break up the almond paste as much as possible.  It's recommended to use a food processor, but since I don't have one, I used my Kitchenaid mixer and just beat it for about 10 minutes.  Large clumps of almond paste will decrease your chance of having a nice crumb in the cake - so you have to try to get the paste to about the consistency of sand.  Mine was still a little clumpy - a mixer can only do so much - but the cake turned out wonderfully, so I guess it was okay.

Note: You should use a 9 or 10" pan with at least 2" sides for this cake.  Standard layer cake pans will not be tall enough and the cake will probably overflow.  I used a 9" spring form pan with perfect results.  

Almond Cake (adapted slightly from David Lebovitz)

1-1/3 cups sugar
1 (7 ounce)  box almond paste (I used Odense brand)
1 cup flour, divided
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
6 large eggs, at room temperature
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Preheat oveo to 325°F.  Grease a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan with butter, dust it with flour, and tap out any excess.  Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor or a stand mixer, grind the sugar, almond paste, and 1/4 cup of flour until the almond paste is finely ground and the mixture resembles sand.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt.

Once the almond paste is completely broken up, add the cubes of butter and the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat until the batter is very smooth and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating a bit before the next addition.  Scrape down the sides as needed to make sure the eggs get fully incorporated.  After you add all the eggs, the mixture may look curdled.  Don't worry, it will come back together after the next step.

Add half the flour mixture and stir a few times - then add the rest, stirring until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.  Do not overmix!

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake the cake for 65 minutes, or until the top is deep brown and feels set when you press in the center.

Remove the cake from the oven and run a sharp or serrated knife around the perimeter, loosing the cake from the sides of the pan.  Let the cake cool completely in the pan.

Once cool, tap the cake out of the pan, remove the parchment paper, and set on a cake plate until ready to serve. (Tip: If necessary, warm the bottom of the cake pan directly on the stovetop for just a few seconds, which will help the cake release.)

Sift a little powdered sugar over the top before serving.

Storage:  This cake will keep for 4-5 days at room temperature, well wrapped.  It can also be frozen for up to two months.


Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday and Crazy Sweet Tuesday

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Fauxstess Cupcakes

Whew.  The election is over.  Can't say that I'm happy about the results.....state or national.....but at least I was able to take my kids with me to the polls and exercise my duty to vote. You can only imagine the spectacle we made, me with my gaggle of children, complete with an umbrella stroller holding the baby, maneuvering our way down the length the crowded hallway in the local high school to find our place at the end of the line.  Oh, and there was only a handful of Caucasians in the mix, so we attracted even more attention.  I got some *interesting* looks.  Thankfully, we only had to wait in line for 30 minutes, which is pretty good compared to a lot of people.  

The one upside.....I am more than happy that my phone will finally stop ringing with political calls.  I guess because Virginia was a serious swing state this election, we were completely inundated with calls for at least a month.  (I know, I know....ditch the landline already. We will soon.)  So that's over.  

So what do you do when you're down in the dumps or unhappy?  Do you do the smart thing and go exercise or vigorously clean your house?  Or are you like me and sit down and stuff your face with chocolate? 

My family didn't eat a lot of prepackaged things when I was young, although I do fondly remember the Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls making an appearance occasionally.  Did you know those are really good frozen? Try them sometime.  The filling almost tastes like ice cream.  Anyways.  I don't know if I have ever eaten a real Hostess cupcake, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that these are better.  

I mean, it's chocolate cake, with marshmallow buttercream hiding in the middle, and ganache.  And we can't forget the whimsical swirl on top - because cute food automatically tastes better. No contest with that package.  

I got the recipe from Annie's Eats - and made them for Annika to take to her Wed. night church class several weeks ago.  While they were a huge hit and everyone loved them, Grant commented that he didn't particularly like the cake part. I thought it was good.....but not my favorite. 

So when it came around for Marissa to take snack to her class a few weeks later, I decided to make them again and use a different cake recipe. We both liked them even better.  Of course, Annie has tons of positive reviews on her cupcakes, so maybe we're just the odd ones.....either way, you can't go wrong.  They're scrumptious. 

Wish I had some around to munch on today.  Guess I'll have to settle for chocolate covered peanuts. 

Fauxstess Cupcakes (cake from Food Network, filling and ganache from Annie's Eats)

Cupcakes:

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

12 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups plus 2 Tbs. sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1-1/4 cups water

1/4 cup milk

Filling and frosting swirl:

1 container marshmallow fluff

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Pinch salt

1/2 tsp. cream or milk

Chocolate Glaze:

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350°.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Increase the speed to medium-high and slowly add the sugar.  Continue beating until light and smooth, about 4 minutes.  Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl and add vanilla.  Beat on medium speed for 1 minute bowl.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

Combine the water and milk in a saucepan and bring just to a boil.  Remove from the heat.  With the mixer at low speed, add the flour mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time.  Carefully pour the hot liquid into the batter.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a large rubber spatula to finish combining the batter until smooth.

Fill paper-lined cupcake pans 1/2 full with the batter. I ended up with around 30 cupcakes.  Do NOT overfill.  I nearly always do that and I always regret it.  

Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, combine the marshmallow fluff and butter in a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed until smooth.  Blend in the powdered sugar and salt and whip until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes more.  Transfer the majority of the filling mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip, reserving 1/3 cup in the mixing bowl.  Blend in the cream to the reserved filling mixture to make it smooth for piping the swirl on top of the cupcakes.  Transfer this to another pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (Wilton #3 works well). Chill until ready to use.

Fill the cupcakes by inserting the pastry tip directly into the center of each cupcake and squeezing in a dollop of the filling. If excess filling comes out of the top, just scrape it off with a knife so the top of the cupcake is essentially smooth. If you overfill too much, the top of the cupcake will crack, so be cautious about that.  

Make the chocolate glaze by placing the chopped chocolate in a small bowl.  Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan or the microwave.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes.  Whisk together until a smooth ganache forms.  Let cool briefly, about 5 minutes.  Take the cupcakes one at a time and invert them, dipping the top into the chocolate glaze.  Transfer them to a wire rack or baking sheet and let the glaze set.  (You can speed up this process by chilling in the refrigerator.)  Once the glaze is set, use the reserved portion of marshmallow frosting to pipe a uniform swirl across the top of each cupcake.  Store in an airtight container until ready to serve. 

Yum.  The filling is my favorite.  

It tasted so good.....better take another bite.

Can't just leave a chunk of cupcake there....oh, the hazards of cupcake baking.  

Linked to Finding Joy in my Kitchen

Whew.  The election is over.  Can't say that I'm happy about the results.....state or national.....but at least I was able to take my kids with me to the polls and exercise my duty to vote. You can only imagine the spectacle we made, me with my gaggle of children, complete with an umbrella stroller holding the baby, maneuvering our way down the length the crowded hallway in the local high school to find our place at the end of the line.  Oh, and there was only a handful of Caucasians in the mix, so we attracted even more attention.  I got some *interesting* looks.  Thankfully, we only had to wait in line for 30 minutes, which is pretty good compared to a lot of people.  

The one upside.....I am more than happy that my phone will finally stop ringing with political calls.  I guess because Virginia was a serious swing state this election, we were completely inundated with calls for at least a month.  (I know, I know....ditch the landline already. We will soon.)  So that's over.  

So what do you do when you're down in the dumps or unhappy?  Do you do the smart thing and go exercise or vigorously clean your house?  Or are you like me and sit down and stuff your face with chocolate? 

My family didn't eat a lot of prepackaged things when I was young, although I do fondly remember the Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls making an appearance occasionally.  Did you know those are really good frozen? Try them sometime.  The filling almost tastes like ice cream.  Anyways.  I don't know if I have ever eaten a real Hostess cupcake, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that these are better.  

I mean, it's chocolate cake, with marshmallow buttercream hiding in the middle, and ganache.  And we can't forget the whimsical swirl on top - because cute food automatically tastes better. No contest with that package.  

I got the recipe from Annie's Eats - and made them for Annika to take to her Wed. night church class several weeks ago.  While they were a huge hit and everyone loved them, Grant commented that he didn't particularly like the cake part. I thought it was good.....but not my favorite. 

So when it came around for Marissa to take snack to her class a few weeks later, I decided to make them again and use a different cake recipe. We both liked them even better.  Of course, Annie has tons of positive reviews on her cupcakes, so maybe we're just the odd ones.....either way, you can't go wrong.  They're scrumptious. 

Wish I had some around to munch on today.  Guess I'll have to settle for chocolate covered peanuts. 

Fauxstess Cupcakes (cake from Food Network, filling and ganache from Annie's Eats)

Cupcakes:

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

12 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups plus 2 Tbs. sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1-1/4 cups water

1/4 cup milk

Filling and frosting swirl:

1 container marshmallow fluff

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Pinch salt

1/2 tsp. cream or milk

Chocolate Glaze:

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350°.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Increase the speed to medium-high and slowly add the sugar.  Continue beating until light and smooth, about 4 minutes.  Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl and add vanilla.  Beat on medium speed for 1 minute bowl.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

Combine the water and milk in a saucepan and bring just to a boil.  Remove from the heat.  With the mixer at low speed, add the flour mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time.  Carefully pour the hot liquid into the batter.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a large rubber spatula to finish combining the batter until smooth.

Fill paper-lined cupcake pans 1/2 full with the batter. I ended up with around 30 cupcakes.  Do NOT overfill.  I nearly always do that and I always regret it.  

Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, combine the marshmallow fluff and butter in a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed until smooth.  Blend in the powdered sugar and salt and whip until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes more.  Transfer the majority of the filling mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip, reserving 1/3 cup in the mixing bowl.  Blend in the cream to the reserved filling mixture to make it smooth for piping the swirl on top of the cupcakes.  Transfer this to another pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (Wilton #3 works well). Chill until ready to use.

Fill the cupcakes by inserting the pastry tip directly into the center of each cupcake and squeezing in a dollop of the filling. If excess filling comes out of the top, just scrape it off with a knife so the top of the cupcake is essentially smooth. If you overfill too much, the top of the cupcake will crack, so be cautious about that.  

Make the chocolate glaze by placing the chopped chocolate in a small bowl.  Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan or the microwave.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes.  Whisk together until a smooth ganache forms.  Let cool briefly, about 5 minutes.  Take the cupcakes one at a time and invert them, dipping the top into the chocolate glaze.  Transfer them to a wire rack or baking sheet and let the glaze set.  (You can speed up this process by chilling in the refrigerator.)  Once the glaze is set, use the reserved portion of marshmallow frosting to pipe a uniform swirl across the top of each cupcake.  Store in an airtight container until ready to serve. 

Yum.  The filling is my favorite.  

It tasted so good.....better take another bite.

Can't just leave a chunk of cupcake there....oh, the hazards of cupcake baking.  

Linked to Finding Joy in my Kitchen

reade more... Résuméabuiyad