Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

Chocolate Dream Cake

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There is a new site that is giving dozens of recipes on FaceBook called Thinkarete. Just seeing the pictures has made me wish I were 35 again so I would have more time to test them all. But at my age, I’m pretty sure that I will be hearing from the Dr. “now you know you don’t need to be eating any salt sugar or anything that doesn’t taste like cardboard”. But until I actually hear him say that to me, face to face, I am going to pack in as many sweets as I can. This recipe will be one of the first and since we have kids here for the next two weeks, I’m sure that lots of desserts will be consumed.

Cake
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup plus 1 tables cocoa powder
1 tables baking soda
1 1/2 teas baking powder
1 1/2 teas salt
3 eggs, at room temp
1 1/2 cups milk, plus 2 tables vinegar to sour the milk
1 1/2 cups strong black coffee (warm, not hot)
3/4 cup melted butter, not hot
4 1/2 teas vanilla extract

White Frosting
3/4 cup butter, at room temp
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup half & half (more or less for desired spreading consistency)
2 teas vanilla

Chocolate Frosting
3/4 cup butter at room temp
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup half & half (more or less for spreading consistency)
2 teas vanilla

Chocolate Ganache
4 oz dark chocolate
2 tables butter
1/4 cup cream (whipping cream)

Garnish *if desired
2 cups mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chocolate sprinkles
2 oz grated dark chocolate shavings

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease 3 (8″) round cake pans, line bottoms with parchment paper, grease and lightly flour the paper and sides of pans.
Measure out the milk and vinegar and mix. Set aside.
In large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, using mixer on medium, mix the eggs, soured milk, coffee, melted butter and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix for 2-5 min with mixer, scraping down the sides until all is well combined.
Divide the batter between the 3 pans equally. Bake for 30 min or until cake tests done in middle, about 30 min. Test cake but do not over bake. You do not want a dry cake.
White Frosting
Using mixer, cream the butter, adding the vanilla and the powdered sugar alternately with the cream, in increments until you reach a good spreading consistency.
Chocolate Frosting
Using electric mixer, cream the butter, adding the vanilla and cocoa. Add powdered sugar with the cream until you have a good spreading consistency.
Chocolate Ganache
Over low heat, or in microwaveable bowl, melt the chocolate and the butter. Mix in the cream and stir until the sauce is thick and smooth. Let cool before drizzling onto the cake.
On a cake platter, alternate the cake layers with the white frosting, but leaving the top layer without. Frost the sides and top with the chocolate frosting.
Garnish with the sprinkles, chips and shavings and drizzle the ganache over the garnishes.

Daily Thoughts

Father’s Day in July

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Happy 4th of July to everyone. I am making fried pies to take to a dinner party tonight. But while I wait for the pie crust to chill I thought I would share the story that had us laughing this past week.
Randy’s birthday is July 2nd and this year he received a great present…a new granddaughter, Payton, given to him by Cameron and Mandy. What a sweetheart. She makes up for all the spilled Dr Peppers in the car on the way to Destin (Cameron, I wont mention any names), all the loads of laundry that he used to bring home from college and all the brownies and cookies that I made during those college years. Yep…he is the golden boy right now. Mandy, we are not forgetting you, we are just as appreciative to you as we know that you played a big part in giving us Payton also. We just don’t have anything to throw up in your face. Give us a few years to think of stuff that we can hold against you, since you are the newest member of the family, we will give you a break.
Tuesday, July 1st, Randy came in from retrieving the mail. He walked in the door and held up an envelop and said, “you won’t believe what I just got” He shoved it in my face and pointed out that the return address was listed as “the Duprees”. Both of us just kinda stared at it for a few minutes. Jodi, our daughter, has finally grown up. We couldn’t believe that she actually remembered to mail Randy’s birthday card and he was receiving it one day early. Surely the rapture is on the horizon. For Jodi to remember to buy the card, buy the postage stamp and actually get it to the PO so he would get it in the same month as his actual birthday. Well, let’s just say that we had a moment of silence and just relished the moment. He sat down beside me and tore open the envelop. There it was, a sweet caring card telling Randy how great he was, with all the kids signature. Tears came to our eyes. All those years of harping about being thoughtful, they were finally beginning to catch on. But then our eyes went to the bottom of the card, instead of the printed words saying Happy Birthday, they said, Happy Fathers Day…all we could do was laugh. Had we really truly allowed our selves to go there? That his birthday card would really arrive in the same month as the actual event, much less a day early? Ok, this is what we are used to. He called Jodi and told her that if she would have written “also, Happy Birthday” she could have saved herself the cost of another card and a trip to the PO. We hope to receive his birthday card around Halloween. When he called her, all of us acknowledged that we really couldn’t expect what our minds almost had us believing. So there in the midst of all the birthday cards sits a Fathers Day card…we told her that he will put in aside and keep it for next year as he likes to think that she is just way ahead of next years Fathers Day. But we have to give her some credit, at least he received it in the month that is right next to Father’s Day. She was so proud of that.

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Grandbabies & Gluten

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In the last few days I have learned several things. First of all I learned that you cannot substitute gluten free pasta when making one pot pasta casseroles. They end up like a pot of mush. Secondly, yesterday we learned that no matter how many grandkids you have, there is always room in your heart for another. Our son and his wife gave us the most beautiful little girl last night and I just keep looking at the pictures over and over. She has already stole our hearts. Since we have to share with the other grandparents we came home and I just took a banana cake out of the oven to take to the daughter-in-law that is now first in our will for giving us this precious little bundle. When our daughter, Christi saw that I was baking Mandy a cake, she quickly informed me that she had given me a precious little girl 3 years ago and I didn’t bake her a cake. So I had to promise her that a cream cheese pound cake will be waiting for her when she walks in the door on Saturday. I told her that if they would move our sweet little Kenley from Florida to Texas, we would bake her all the cakes she wants.

This banana cake that I am posting was posted on Face Book the other day and it caught my eye. It really is delish. I did add cream cheese frosting to it. Everything is better with cream cheese frosting, right? The cake is light and has a mellow banana flavor with a crumb topping.

Preheat oven to 300 and grease a 9×13″ baking pan.

Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teas baking powder

1 teas baking soda

3/4 teas salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup buttermilk, divided

2 eggs

1 teas vanilla

2 ripe bananas, mashed

Topping

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup dark brown sugar (I only had light, and it worked fine)

1/2 stick butter

To make the cake, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Blend in the melted butter until mixture is moist. Pour in 1/4 cup of the buttermilk and stir until well combined. Mix the 2 eggs and vanilla with the remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk and then pour over flour mixture. Beat for 1 minute. Pour into greased 9×13″ baking pan.

For the topping, combine the brown sugar, flour and cold butter. With pastry cutter, blend in the cold butter until mixture resembles crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake cake for 32-38 minutes in preheated 300 degree oven.

As soon as the cake came out of the oven I drizzled some of the cream cheese frosting over the cake. When cake cooled, I poured the rest of the frosting over the cake and spread evenly over cake.

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correction for Tunnel of Fudge Cake

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Yesterday when I posted the tunnel Of fudge recipe I inadvertently left out the two and one half cups of all-purpose flour.  please make the correction in  yesterdays recipe. So sorry!  

 

Daily Thoughts

Taking Back My Kitchen

Chocolate Castles5 Comments

I remember it like it was yesterday, the day Randy retired. Sure it sounded like a great idea at the time. We had plans to take cooking classes together, drive in to Sonic every afternoon at 3 to get a buy one-get one free-cherry cola, watch movies until midnight, all cuddled up eating popcorn and feasting on the homemade brownies that we would bake together in the early evenings, right before our stroll, hand in hand through the neighborhood.

Those were the plans 6 months ago. Today, well, let’s just say that plans have changed.  By early afternoons, we are barely speaking. Driving to Sonic would actually make us ride closed up in the same car, which is not going to happen any time soon. I made sure that the guns we had in the house have been sold on Craig’s Lists. Just didn’t want to take any chances.

One day last week, while I am in the kitchen making frosting for a cake, unbeknownst to me, as I am scraping the cream cheese just to be sure I got every last drop of it (as I am constantly reminded that we are now on a retirement budget), he comes right beside me and proceeds to unwrap the butter and ask me if it goes in the same bowl as the cream cheese. Really? I can no longer make frosting by myself? What has happened to our glorious plans of how retirement was suppose to go? I have forgotten the way to WallMart because I never get to drive there myself. Shopping at Macy’s? Not anymore. I am told that with us being “retired”, how many blouses do I really need anyway? He even watches Ellen with me. Last week, he told me that he had been thinking that maybe he should get a pedicure just to see what they are like so would I make “us” an appointment for next week. He is now clipping Hobby Lobby coupons for me and has rearranged the garage so many times that my car doesn’t know which side to park when the garage door goes up.

He has shown me a much cleaver way to fold clothes. I never knew that how I folded them wasn’t “cleaver”.

We now make shopping lists since we don’t want to waste gas having to go back and forth to the store. That was my only way to get out of the house. Using the excuse that I had forgot to buy bread and cocoa. I am having to become a little more creative of why I need to leave the house. Please don’t tell him that 64 year old women don’t just, poof, start having periods again, since I used that excuse to have to run to the store the other day.

I now tell him that I didn’t have a check with me when I had a manicure so I need to run a check up to the salon. It is my little secret that I have started adding just a little “Benedryl” to his afternoon coffee so that  his normal 15 minute nap that he likes to take now, lasts an hour. Ah…an hour to myself. What do I want to do with my hour? Read, bake? The  excitement of all the possibilities of  the things I could do while he is asleep, wears me out and I usually end up falling asleep, only to wake up to him standing over me telling me that it’s time for us to watch Ellen and boy, wouldn’t a bowl of fresh popped popcorn taste good. It is so great that he doesn’t like to visit people in the hospital so that has become my new hobby. I visit people I don’t even know.

The golden years, isn’t that what they call this season of life? I guess that’s because the tape that is used to mark off our own territory in our homes is yellow,  Next time you are invited to a retirement party, forget the gift cards or the travel brochures to give the couple. Give them a roll of Yellow Duct tape. It might just save their marriage.

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Cinnamon Roll Cake

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This recipe was on Face Book the other day and just had to try it.  Tastes just like cinnamon rolls.

3 cups flour

1/4 teas salt

1 cup sugar

4 teas baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 teas vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 tables flour

1 tables cinnamon

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

5 tables milk

1 teas milk

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 glass baking dish with cookie spray. Set aside.

In a bowl, add the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs and vanilla. Once combined well, slowly stir in the melted butter. Pour into prepared pan.

For Topping:

In large bowl, mix the 2 sticks of butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together. until well combined and creamy. Drop evenly over the

batter by tablespoons and use a knife to marble through the batter.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until cake tests done.

Glaze

In a bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together with a whisk. Drizzle evenly over the warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate · Desserts · Fruit

Chocolate Tart With Glazed Berries

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

Recipe is in this issue of Paula Deen Magazine. It would be so easy to just open the pages and take a recipe from each page. This makes a beautiful July 4th dish. I truly love her recipes and they have never disappointed me.

1 pie crust (if using refrigerated pie crusts, you will only use 1 from the package of 2) At this season of life, when I get lazy I am hooked on the box mix of Betty Crocker pie crusts mix. Just adding water, it is flakier than the refrigerated and doesn’t taste as salty. Use half of the box mix if using box mix.

1 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 (12 oz) package semisweet chocolate chips

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

1 teas vanilla

1/2 teas orange zest

1/8 teas kosher salt

3 tables raspberry preserves

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Unroll pie crust and fit into a 10″ removable bottom tart pan, trimming off any excess dough from sides.

Prick crust with fork if you do not use pie crusts weights.

Bake for 15 min. Remove from oven and let cool completely. If you used the weights, you remove them and then bake crusts for about 5 more min to lightly brown the crusts.

Reduce oven temperature to 250.

In a medium saucepan, cook cream and chocolate over medium heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg and next 4 ingredients. Pour chocolate mixture into egg mixture in a slow steady stream whisking constantly to avoid the egg cooking. Pour mixture into cooled pie crust.

Bake for 40-50 min at 250 or until center is set.(You might need to cover the top of the sides of the crust with foil to avoid over browning at this point.  Let cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate until chilled. In a microwave safe bowl, heat preserves until melted. Gently stir berries into preserves until coated. Spoon berries over tart just before serving. Top with additional whipped cream if desired.

Beef · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Meats

Bacon-Cheddar-Ranch Meat Loaf

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What a great morning. My new Paula Deen magazine just arrived and thumbing through it, I immediately spotted a recipe that I am making for dinner this week. Last night, we had family over for pork roast with mashed potatoes and carrots, gravy, salad and green beans. It was a late invite so when I went to Trader Joes to pick up the roast, I looked through the desserts there and found a frozen box of miniature little pies which we had. They are Trader Jo’s Brand and the box simply says, Mini Pie Medley! Oh my gosh, we all just sat there and wished we had about 6 each. They come in a box of 6 and there are 2 strawberry, 2 peach and 2 blueberry. Bake at 325 for 8 minutes and you have a fantastic little pie which of course, we topped with Blue Bell..so when you are looking for something quick and delicious but do not have energy or time to whip up something, you can serve these little pies with great confidence. 

Back to the meat loaf. I love having individual loaf pans to serve company. If they have any left over, I simply wrap them up and send it home with them. You can buy the paper individual loaf pans now at several places, Michales, Hobby Lobby and Container Store for example.

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin

1 1/2 pounds ground pork

2 cups crushed French-fried onions

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

3/4 cup barbeque sauce, divided

2 large eggs, beaten

1 ( 3 oz) package real bacon pieces

1 (1 oz) package ranch dressing (dry) mix

2 tables Worcestershire sauce

1 teas ground pepper

1/2 teas salt

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tables Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 5 (5×3″) loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray

In a large bowl, stir together both meats, onions, cheese, 1/4 cup barbeque sauce and next 6 ingredients. Spoon mixture into prepared pans, packing down lightly.

Bake for 30 minutes. in a small bowl, stir together the ketchup, mustard and remaining 1/2 cup barbeque sauce and spread over the meat loaves. Bake an addition 10-15 mins or until meat is done in center (about 165 degrees in center). Let stand for 10 min before serving.

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Me

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I had said a couple of weeks ago that I would be posting a poem taken from a book of poems by my daughter, Jodi Dupree. Because we were out of town on Fri and I hadn’t thought to take the poem book with me, I failed to post one. So a few days late, here is the 2nd poem in the series.

Me….by Jodi Dupree

Sing to me…write to me

Let me lead you home

Leave your lie in My Hands

You are not alone.

Hold my Hand-Walk in Faith

Trust in me every day.

I have a plan, I love you dearly.

Continue to obey.

I gave you gifts, just right for you.

Don’t try to be someone else, I want you to be you.

As you are, as I’ve made you.

As I would have you be.

Oh ,my precious one

You were made to glorify Me.

Breads · Breakfast · Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

Chocolate Monkey Bread

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I guess you can tell from the latest posts that I am in a chocolate mode. We are just getting back from Corpus Christi where we go a few times a year to see my mom, who is 91. One of the first things I pack is the bag of peanut M&M’s, the bag of Hershey almond chocolate bars, Dove Chocolate with Toffee Chips and of course to wash the chocolate all down, my diet Dr Pepper. It is always good to be prepared in case we get stuck someplace and I want to always have plenty of chocolate. We got home Friday night and first thing Saturday after unpacking I went to the kitchen to make the caramel filled chocolate cupcakes that I posted last week. We had friends over Saturday night which enjoyed them. Last night we took them for dessert to our friends’ house where we dined on lobster and finished the evening with the cupcakes, They truly are divine. But today, this recipe caught my eye. Will be heading to the store to buy the biscuits.

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 tables unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teas cinnamon

1 cup butter, melted

2 (12 oz) cans refrigerated biscuits, cut into fourths

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 10-cup Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, cocoa and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, place melted butter. Dip each  cut biscuit in butter; dredge in sugar-cocoa mixture and layer biscuits in prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour, covering pan with foil to prevent excess browning, if necessary. Let cool in pan 10 min. Invert pan onto serving platter.

*If desired, drizzle cream cheese frosting over inverted bread before serving.