{recipe}The Most AMAZING Chocolate Cake…EVER

I have a dear friend Janeen, who makes the most aaaamazing Chocolate Cake EVER!!! It’s one of those cakes that leaves a lasting impression, it haunts you until you finally break down and beg your sweet friend to please share the recipe with you.  Then you beg some more to see if you can share it with the world.  Janeen my dear, the world is going to LOVE you and your aaaamazing cake!!

The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake…Ever!

1 Chocolate Cake Mix (any kind, I've used chocolate fudge, Swiss chocolate, milk chocolate)

1 C Mini Chocolate Chips

1 C Sour Cream

1 Pkg. of Chocolate Pudding (small box 3.5 oz.)

Prepare cake as directed on box and add sour cream,  pudding and chocolate chips.  Pour into 2 9-inch round pans.  Bake as directed on box (you might need to add a minute or 2 to the baking time because of the added sour cream and pudding).  Place on wire rack to cool.

Equally Impressive Chocolate Frosting

1 C butter at room temperature

3 oz. Ghirardelli 100% cocoa chocolate bar

4-5 C Powered Sugar

Milk

Chop the chocolate, then place in double broiler until melted (bowl over a pan of water on the stove).  Cream together butter, chocolate, and 4 cups of powered sugar, add milk as needed for desired consistency.  Combine until creamy, continue to add powered sugar and milk until it is the consistency and taste that you want.  Place one layer of cake on cake stand and frost the top, then add the second layer and frost the rest of the cake.

Garnish with chocolate curls.  I like to make bigger curls for this cake.  Melt some chocolate, get a 9 inch round cake pan and turn upside down and then spread the chocolate as a thin, thin layer.  Let cool until the chocolate is set and then get a cheese slicer or potato peeler and slice the chocolate into curls. 

Janeen made this Heavenly cake for our Bloggers Night Out {Vegas Style} this past weekend and blew everyone away!! Janeen you are a doll!!

{Choffy Recipe} Choffy Cake

Take all of your preconceived ideas of Coffee Cake and throw them right our the window!!  Choffy Cake is a creamy, light, moist, slightly sweet bit of heaven on earth.  Pair it with a warm cup of freshly brewed Choffy and my friends…you have a perfect afternoon treat!!

{If you are new to the world of Choffy click here to find out about this amazing new little treat to the culinary world!!}

Choffy Cake

2 1/2 sticks of butter {softened}

2 cups of sugar

4 large eggs

1/2 cup of sour cream

2 T of finely ground Choffy

2 cups of AP flour

1 1/2 cups of cake flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 cup of whole milk

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Take 4 tablespoons of Choffy and place in food processer, coffee grinder or small blender and grind into a fine powder.  Set-aside to incorporate into cake mix and streusel mix.

Cream the butter in stand mixer until smooth and light.  Add sugar and continue to mix until fluffy and fully incorporated.  Add sour cream and finely ground Choffy. Then add one egg at a time beating well after each egg. 

In a separate bowl mix both flours, baking powder and salt. 

In a wet measuring cup measure out milk and add the vanilla.  Add portions of the flour mixture and milk mixture to the electric mixer, alternating, starting and ending with flour mixture.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and pour half of the cake mix into the pan.  Sprinkle cake mix with streusel and add remaining cake mix on top of streusel layer.  Put remaining streusel mixture on the top of the cake batter.  Bake for 40-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Oven temperatures vary so cook until a cake tester comes out clean and the cake has pulled away from the edges of the pan.

Choffy Streusel

1/2 cup  light brown sugar

1/2 cup AP flour

2 T  finely ground Choffy

1/4 t salt

1 stick butter {cold}

Place light brown sugar, flour Choffy and salt into a small bowl.  Cut in cold butter until it forms a crumble. Set-aside to incorporate into Choffy Cake.

Choffy Glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar

4 T brewed Choffy

Place sugar into small bowl and add strongly brewed Choffy mix well with a small wire whisk or fork.  Drizzle over the top of the Choffy Cake once cooled.

Enjoy!

We’re linking up with…

• Tatertots & Jell-o

 

{Recipe} Red Velvet Cookie with White Chocolate Chunks

Okay, okay… our love affair with Red Velvet continues!  This time a Red Velvet cake mix is transformed into an amazing cookie.  The nice thing about these cookies are how simple they are to make!!

Red Velvet Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks

• 1 box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
• 1 cup of All-Purpose Flour
• 2 sticks of softened butter
• 1 egg
• 2 cups of White Chocolate Chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, add butter and mix until soft and fluffy.  Slowly add cake mix and flour. Once combined, add egg and mix completely.  Add white chocolate chunks, and mix for a minute or so until well combined.  Form dough into one inch balls, and place into the oven for 8-10 minutes. {Yields about 24 small cookies.}

Enjoy! I’m telling ya, these babies are to die for!!!  The combination of the red velvet and the white chocolate is aaaamazing!

{Recipe} Chocolate Torte

I am about to share with you the cake that changed my life. Literally, it did. I must tell you the story. I was living in a new area, roughly 6 years ago, I didn’t know a soul. A lovely sweet gal dropped by my home with this beautiful cake on my birthday. Not only was the cake delicious but it also started a beautiful friendship. And to this day, she is one of my best friends. In return, I like to share this cake and my friendship to continue this tradition. Now I encourage you to step out of your box, make this cake, and meet someone new. You never know you may meet a new friend.

{Chocolate Torte}

1 Devil’s Food cake mix

1C. Sour Cream

1 pkg. (3.5 oz) Instant chocolate pudding

3 Eggs

½ c. Oil

1 1/3c. Water

Combine cake ingredients and mix well. Grease two 8-in. round cake pans. Substitute cocoa for flour so you avoid the white film on your cake. You can also cut out circle rounds with parchment paper for easy removal of cake. Bake cake for 42-43 minutes. Test with a toothpick. Let stand 5 minutes in pan then turn cakes out onto a cooling rack. I prefer to chill the cakes for a little while before proceeding to cut. After cakes have cooled completely cut each cake round in half horizontally making 4 round pieces.

Frosting:

1 pt. HEAVY whipping cream (no exceptions)

1 (8-oz.) block Cream Cheese (full calorie, NO exceptions)

2/3 c. Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

½ tsp. Salt

In you mixing bowl whip your whipping cream until very thick. In a separate bowl blend together Cream Cheese, Brown Sugar, Vanilla and Salt. Now fold together the Cream Cheese mixture and the Whipping Cream.

Finally, put the cake together. Lay 1 cake round on a cake stand and frost. Next place another cake round on top of the frosting and repeat process.

Garnish:

I Large Hershey’s Chocolate Bar

Garnish the top with Chocolate curls.

{Recipe} Red Velvet Trifle

Okay, we know that everyone loves Red Velvet Cake, and who cannot resist a Trifle?  Add them together and you have a truly decadent dessert!

Red Velvet Cake

• ½ c. shortening
• 1 ½  c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa
• 2 oz. red food coloring
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 ½ c. cake flour
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and cream. In a small bowl, mix cocoa, food coloring, and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Sift flour and set aside. Mix vanilla with buttermilk and set aside. Dissolve baking soda in vinegar, then fold into buttermilk. Add flour and buttermilk alternately to the creamed mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes in a Bundt pan, 25-30 minutes in a 9x13 glass pan.

Cool completely and frost.

Icing

• 5 Tbsp. flour
• ½ c. milk
• 1 c. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. powdered sugar

Heat in a saucepan over low heat, milk and flour. (DO NOT BOIL) When just below boiling, remove from heat and add other ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake.

*For those of you who may not want to take the time to make a cake from scratch or those who tend not to have buttermilk on hand, there’s always the “box” cake option, even in the Red Velvet flavor. The true treasure in this recipe is the butter icing. My husband is such a fan, he insists on a double batch of frosting so there will be plenty of extra to drizzle on after the pieces are served.

Red Velvet Trifle Directions:

Follow cake and icing directions thoroughly. Allow both to cool completely. You may refrigerate them overnight if desired. Cube the cake into bite size pieces. Layer the cake and icing in a clear glass or jar. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

The whipped cream may also be topped with cake crumbs, or layer chocolate shavings in with the icing just for fun. Try white chocolate, fruit, maybe chocolate mousse.  I’d love to hear what other creative variations of this recipe you come up with.   

Add a little bobble at the bottom of the glass to class up the dessert even more!  I’ll have a tutorial how to make this bobble in the next couple of weeks.  They are super easy!!

Happy baking, and even happier tasting!

{Recipe}Banana Maple Oat Scone

I've always loved the idea of brunch; spending time with family and friends over a leisurely late breakfast. And to me nothing says "brunch" like a delicious scone. Seeing as they have been around for centuries, its no wonder there are numerous flavors and recipes for this wonderful quick bread. I'm also a huge Ina Garten fan, so I decided to let her take on scones inspire me. But of course I did my own spin on them, because everyone loves a personal touch. And among the changes, I added banana. Instead of mashing them up however, I diced them so you would have a nice warm chunk of maple flavored banana as ate your scone (take that banana bread!). And unlike many scone recipes you'll find, these are neither dry nor lacking in flavor. Give these a try, they make the perfect on-the-go breakfast.

Banana Maple Oat Scones:
(This recipe can easily be doubled)
Scones:
1 and 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Quick-Cooking Oats, plus some for sprinkling
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Sticks Cold, Unsalted Butter diced. (you want this really cold. I put mine in the fridge while gathering other ingredients)
1/4 cup Buttermilk
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
2 Medium Ripe Bananas, diced in small pieces (the riper the better)
2 Extra- Large eggs, plus one for egg wash(1 egg beaten with 1 Tb. milk)

Glaze:
1 Cup Confectioners Sugar(use pure confectioner's sugar, other brands have cornstarch added and can change the flavor)
1/3 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the first six ingredients. Add the diced, cold butter and mix on the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-size pieces. Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs together and add quickly to the flour-and-butter mixture. Add diced bananas and mix until just blended. The dough may be sticky.

Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough about 1 inch thick into a circle shape. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut like you would a pizza and make eight pieces. Carefully place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.

To make the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 10 to 15 minutes and drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of the glaze. I like to sprinkle some uncooked oats on the top, for garnish. The warmer the scones are when you glaze them, the thinner the glaze will be.

Enjoy and Happy Baking