Tag Archives: Food

Jan28

Candy Bar Stash Chocolate Cake

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This Candy Bar Stash Chocolate Cake starts with a rich chocolate cake with a tender, moist crumb and is topped with a sweet chocolate buttercream made with butter, cocoa powder and cream.

If that isn’t enough, take it up a notch and add your favorite chocolate candy bars. Once the cake is frosted, top it with a variety of candy bars making sure to do it right away as the frosting acts like a glue once it sits. It’s fun to give dimension to the cake by using Kit Kat, Crunch Bars, or even full-size candy bars that stand up on the cake.

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Ingredients

  • Chocolate Cake:
  • 1¾ cup Flour
  • 1¾ cup Sugar
  • ¾ cup Cocoa (high quality)
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • ½ cup Oil (canola or coconut oil)
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 cup Buttermilk
  • 1½ teaspoons Vanilla
  • 1 cup Hot Water
  • Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
  • 1½ cups Butter, softened
  • 1 cup Cocoa
  • 5 cups Powdered Sugar
  • ⅓ cup Cream, Half n Half or Milk
  • Candy Bars:
  • Kit Kat
  • Crunch Bar
  • Snickers
  • Reeses Peanut Butter Cup
  • Twix
  • Milky Way
  • Butterfinger
  • M & M’s
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. If you have a flour sifter, sift all dry ingredients.
  3. In mixing bowl, beat oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla for 1 minute. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. Pour in hot water and mix together.
  4. Spray two 8 or 9 inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. You can also use three 8 inch cake pans for this recipe. Pour batter evenly into each pan. Bake at 22-27 minutes. Place toothpick or cake tester in the center of cake to check if it comes out clean.
  5. Let cool before frosting.
  6. To make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
  7. In mixing bowl, cream together Butter, Cocoa, Powdered Sugar, and Cream until light and fluffy. You may want to add more cream or milk depending on consistency. Once cake has cooled and has been removed from pans, frost each layer with frosting.
  8. Top with your favorite chocolate candy bars — Kit Kat, Crunch Bar, Snickers, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Twix, Milky Way, Butterfinger, and M & M’s.
  9. This is one baked good that gets even better the next day, if covered.
  10. *If you would like to make a triple layer cake, 1½ times the recipe and use three 8 or 9 inch cake pans
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Jan25

Mini Triple-Chocolate Pound Cakes

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You’ll hardly be able to bake these little gems before they’re devoured!  Enjoy!


Ingredients

CAKE
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 cups butter, softened at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons instant espresso
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate morsels
Shortening

CHOCOLATE GLAZE
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

BUTTERMILK GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 Tbsp. buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Prepare Cakes: Preheat oven to 325°.

  1. Whisk together ingredients.
  2. Beat 1 1/2 cups butter in a medium bowl at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
  3. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
  4. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yolk disappears.
  5. Combine 1 1/4 cups buttermilk and next 2 ingredients.
  6. Add flour mixture to egg mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
  7. Beat at low speed after each addition. Fold in bittersweet chocolate morsels.
  8. Pour batter into 2 lightly greased (with vegetable cooking spray) 12-cup Bundt brownie pans, filling each about three-fourths full.
  9. Bake at 325° for 26 to 30 minutes.
  10. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely.
  11. Prepare Chocolate Glaze: Combine semisweet chocolate morsels, 3 Tbsp. butter, and 1 Tbsp. corn syrup in a microwave-safe glass bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50% power) 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until morsels begin to melt, stirring after 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Stir in 1/2 tsp. vanilla.
  12. Prepare Buttermilk Glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp. buttermilk, and 1/4 tsp. vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. Add up to 1 Tbsp. buttermilk, if desired. Drizzle warm glazes over cooled cakes.
Nov20

Gooey Chocolate-Caramel Fantasy

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This luscious dessert includes a chocolate crumb crust and caramel-pecan filling crowned with melted chocolate.

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter, melted
2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (about 38 wafers)
30 vanilla caramels
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
2 cups chopped pecans
1/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
1/4 cup whipping cream

Directions

1.In a medium mixing bowl, stir together chocolate wafer crumbs and melted butter. Press onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Cool slightly on a wire rack.

2. In a heavy medium saucepan, melt caramels in caramel ice cream topping over low heat, stirring often. Stir in the first 1/4 cup whipping cream. Remove from heat; stir in nuts. Spread over crust. Cool; cover and chill for 1 hour.

3. For topping: In a heavy small saucepan, melt chocolate. Remove from heat; stir in remaining whipping cream.

4. Drizzle or spread over caramel-pecan mixture. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Makes 12 servings.

Nov13

Mini Chocolate Snowball Cakes

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For when a snack-cake craving (or nostalgia) strikes. Confession: Sometimes we get a little nostalgic for a classic Hostess snack cake, specifically of the Sno Ball variety. When the craving strikes, we turn to this recipe for mini chocolate snowball cakes.

Ingredients

Cakes

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup warm water 

Finishing

3 cups shredded coconut
2 2/3 cups whipped topping or whipped cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Make the cakes: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, and scrape the side of the bowl well after each is added. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cocoa powder, baking soda and salt to combine. Add about half of the flour mixture to the mixer, and mix on low speed to combine.

5. Gradually add the buttermilk and water to the mixer; mix to combine. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix to combine.

6. Scoop the batter (an ice-cream scoop works great) into 16 even mounds on the prepared baking sheets. Stagger the cakes, leaving at least 2 inches of space all around—the cakes will spread during baking.

7. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool completely.

8. Trim the uneven edges from the cakes by pressing a 3-inch circle cookie cutter (or the rim of a large glass) into the center of each cooled cake. You will end up with 16 perfect circles.

9. Spread the coconut into an even layer on a large plate or baking sheet.

10 .Build the cakes:  Scoop ⅓ cup whipped topping or whipped cream onto a cake and then place another cake on top. Press down on the top cake until some of the filling comes out the sides and then use a spatula to spread this excess all over the sides and top. Repeat with the remaining cakes and whipped cream.

11. Roll the cakes in the coconut to coat all over. Refrigerate the cakes until ready to serve. They will keep in the refrigerator, stored in an airtight container, for up to a week.

Nov6

Chocolate Cream Pie

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The filling of this chocolate-crust pie is luscious, but not too rich. (Think old-fashioned chocolate pudding.) A bit of sour cream in the whipped topping balances the chocolate perfectly.

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, chilled and cut up
3 -4 tablespoons ice water
1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate (6 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups whole milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Chocolate curls or grated semisweet chocolate

Directions

For crust: In a medium bowl, combine flour, 2 tablespoons cocoa, 4 1/2 teaspoons sugar and the salt. Using a pastry blender, cut shortening into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over part of the mixture. Gently toss with a fork. Continue adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all dough is moistened. Form dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface press dough into a disk. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Ease circle into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2-inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra crust and crimp as desired.
Prick bottom and sides of pastry with a fork. Line crust with a double layer of foil. Bake in a 425 degrees F oven for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 8 minutes more or until set and dry. Remove from oven and cool completely.

For filling: Place chopped chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Set aside. Heat milk in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat until steam rises from surface (do not let boil). Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup sugar, the yolks, cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (mixture will be thick).

Slowly whisk 2 cups of the hot milk into egg mixture. Add egg mixture back into saucepan. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Cook for 30 seconds more. Pour over chopped chocolate and butter. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add vanilla; whisk until chocolate and butter are melted and mixture is smooth.
Pour into cooled crust. Cover pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until set.
When ready to serve, prepare topping. In a large mixing bowl beat cream, sour cream and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed just until stiff peaks form. Spread over pie and top with chocolate curls.

Nov1

Chocolate Pecan Turtle Clusters

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WARNING – May cause a Turtle Addiction so DON’T shoot the messenger 🙂

CHOCOLATE PECAN TURTLE CLUSTERS!!!
These are so easy to make and a great gift idea!!! Thanks to my life long #friendsofTenaciousM, Freida Bookman!

Ingredients

2 1/2 C pecans
1/2 C butter (I use salted)
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C light corn syrup
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk (1/2 of a 14 ounce can)
1/2 t vanilla
1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips
1/2 t shortening (I use butter flavored Crisco)

Directions

1. Toss 2 1/2 cups of pecans into a large skillet. Toast them over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until they have darkened just a bit and smell fragrant and wonderful. Should only take a few minutes.

2. Find yourself 2 large cookie sheets. Line them with parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray. Arrange your pecans into clusters, three to a group works well. You want to leave some space (about an inch) between each cluster.

3. Make your caramel. Place 1/2 C butter into a medium-sized sauce pan. Melt it over medium high heat. Add 1 C brown sugar, 1/2 C light corn syrup and 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk to the pan. Increase the heat just a bit and stir it continually. Cook and stir until it reaches 235-240 degrees. I generally remove it from the heat when it reaches about 234 degrees. It will continue to rise in temperature just a bit even without the direct heat, making the caramel just the right texture.

4. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

5. Carefully drizzle about 1 1/2 teaspoons of caramel over each nut cluster. You’ll want to work quickly, as the caramel will begin to set up. Be sure there is caramel touching all of the nuts in your cluster. The caramel works like glue, sticking the nuts together.

6. In a microwave safe bowl pour 12 ounces of milk chocolate chips. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each cooking interval.

7. Add 1/2 teaspoon of shortening to the melted chocolate. Allow it to sit for a minute or two (so it can melt and make the chocolate chips more spreadable). Stir it all together.

8. Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons of melted chocolate over the top of the caramel and nuts. Swirl it around along the top making a pretty swoop with your spoon.

9. Allow the chocolate to set up. Once
it has hardened and cooled you can serve them immediately, or transfer them to an air tight container.

Enjoy!

Sep25

Chocolate of Course!! S’mores Icebox Cake

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It’s five layers of s’mores bliss. Loved more as this yummy cake was recommended by my lovely Goddaughter, Cassie.

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TOTAL TIME: 4:35
PREP: 0:30
LEVEL: EASY
SERVES: 8

Ingredients

2 3/4 c. heavy cream, divided
1 7-oz. jar marshmallow crème
1 1/2 c. Mini Marshmallows, divided
1 11-oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips
1 box graham crackers
Chopped chocolate, for garnish

Directions

1. Make marshmallow cream: Using a stand or hand mixer, beat 2 cups cream until stiff peaks form, 5 minutes.

2. Add marshmallow crème and keep beating, 3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup mini marshmallows and set aside.

3. Make ganache: Heat remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream until simmering. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl.

4. Let sit 5 minutes, then stir until combined and creamy.

5. In a 9″-x-9″ baking dish, spread a thin layer of marshmallow cream. Top with one layer graham crackers, then a thick layer of marshmallow cream, follower by a layer of ganache. Repeat layers until you reach the top (leave about 1/4″).

6. Garnish with remaining mini marshmallows, crushed graham crackers and chopped chocolate and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

6. When ready to serve, heat broiler. Broil 1 minute to toast marshmallows.

7. Freeze 5 minutes to let set and serve.

May21

Gluten-Free Pistachio Rosewater Brownies

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Treat your loved ones to something a little extra special this Sunday, and completely guilt-free. The combination of rose water and pistachio creates an elegant twist on an indulgent classic.

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 oz (100 g) organic, unsweetened dark chocolate (find out how to make the best choice here)
2 cups almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup crushed pistachios
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 eggs (or 1 tbsp ground chia + 1/4 warm water)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp rosewater
rose petals & crushed pistachios to decorate

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
  2. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
  3. Melt the chocolate over low heat or use a double boiler.
  4. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  5. Combine all wet ingredients in your food processor or blender.
  6. Add the melted chocolate and combine until smooth- should be creamy, not too dry.
  7. Mix wet ingredients into the dry, and mix well.
  8. Pour batter into the pan, smooth it out with a spatula & bake it for about 25-30 minutes.
  9. Insert a toothpick in to make sure cooked through. They should be firm when you press down.
  10. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
  11. Sprinkle with some extra crushed pistachios and rose petals, for an extra touch.
May4

Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes

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Ohhh, I’ve got it bad. Get ready for a flavor adventure! These amazing cupcakes starring dark chocolate and…wait for it…bacon! Strong brewed coffee and buttermilk are the other secret ingredients here that produce a moist, rich cupcake. Top with your favorite chocolate frosting, a sprinkling of crumbled bacon, and a dusting of cocoa powder.

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Ingredients

12 slices bacon

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 eggs

1 cup cold, strong, brewed coffee

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, coffee, buttermilk and oil. Stir just until blended. Mix in 3/4 of the bacon, reserving the rest for garnish. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter. Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting and sprinkle reserved bacon crumbles on top. Dust with additional cocoa powder.
May2

Paleo Homemade Dark Chocolate

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Homemade chocolate that melts in your mouth. Made without artificial ingredients or waxes, this wholesome treat is ideal for the health conscious individual who enjoys an indulgent treat. Sweetness can be tweaked to taste, and add-in ingredients and combinations are endless. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Gently melt coconut oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir cocoa powder, honey, and vanilla extract into melted oil until well blended. Pour mixture into a candy mold or pliable tray. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

2. Flavor by adding orange zest, peanut butter, dried coconut, chopped nuts, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, etc. to taste and consistency desired. Add after melting coconut oil, cocoa powder, honey, and vanilla together.
Maple syrup can be used in place of honey.

Number of servings depends on thickness of mold(s) used, as does set up time.
Not recommended for baking. Must be kept refrigerated.