Do You Believe in Magic?

I wish I could say that I made this luscious, chocolatey cake from scratch but that would be a lie. Yes folks, it’s a boxed cake mix and canned frosting. Sorry, but I couldn’t let you go on imagining me slaving away with my apron on, in flour up to my elbows. That just wasn’t the case here. Now I rarely make any baked good out of a box anymore since I discovered how easy baking can be and how much more rewarding the results are when you know you made something from scratch. I do however make an exception for this cake. What makes this cake different? Well it’s a magic cake! AND, it’s baked in the microwave for 12 min. Doesn’t get much easier. I was first introduced to this cake a few weeks ago when I had a Pampered Chef party at my house. I had been told about this magic cake, but wasn’t too sure about how it would come out. But boy was I impressed! My guests and my husband were impressed too. In fact, my husband who knows nothing about baking, unless you count break and bake cookies stated, “I think I can make that cake,” after seeing how simple it was to make. And not only is the cake simple and impressive, it actually tastes really good. Not like “good to be made from a boxed mix” but really, really good! And what makes it magic you may be wondering. Well read the recipe and find out!

Magic Cake

1 boxed cake mix (any kind you like-I used devil’s food)
1 can frosting (not whipped-I used milk chocolate)
Pampered Chef stoneware fluted pan

Mix the cake mix as directed on the box using a whisk. Grease the fluted pan with vegetable oil. Pour the batter into the pan, making sure it’s even. Scoop the frosting on top of the batter. Put the pan in the microwave and cook for 12-13 min. Remove from the microwave and let set for 20-25 min. Turn the cake out onto a platter and watch the frosting ooze over the cake.

*It is best to use a microwave that has a turn table so the cake cooks evenly. If your microwave does not have a turn table, stop the microwave every 3 minutes and turn the pan a quarter turn to be sure the cake does cook evenly.

*The frosting cooks down through the cake batter and when you turn the cake over onto a platter, it frosts itself!

Source: Pampered Chef

Puttin’ on the Pounds

I told myself that this holiday season I would not gain any weight. Well, here it is, only the middle of November and I’ve already been in baking overdrive. Now, this wouldn’t be such a problem if I could resist eating all of the things I bake. I’ve tried and tried each year to have a little will power and have failed. So, I’ve finally decided that the only logical answer is that I have to work out to counteract my over indulgence of sweets during the last few months of the year. Tonight was not a holiday or special occasion, but I decided I wanted to bake anyway. I had made this pound cake once before but it wasn’t in my blog. This cake isn’t a soft pound cake but a little more “bread like” and dense. It has a really good flavor though. I really chose to make it because it was quick and easy, and I just wanted some dessert tonight. So here it is. The pound cake that will ultimately be the beginning of me putting on the pounds this year. Hopefully I can talk myself into getting on the treadmill tomorrow to avoid that. We’ll see. ; )

EASY POUND CAKE---------------

2 c. sugar2 c. flour1 c. butter6 eggs1 tbsp. flavorings (almond, vanilla and butter)(I just use 1 Tbsp vanilla)

When all ingredients reach room temperature place togetherin large mixing bowl. Blend for 10 minutes at medium speed.Pour into greased and floured tube pan or 2 loaf pans. Bakeat 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Source: Unknown

Happy Birthday Sis!

Another mission accomplished…my first carrot cake! I’ve been wanting to make a from scratch carrot cake for a long time now. I finally found a recipe on Peabody’s blog that looked perfect so decided to make it this weekend. Now a lot was depending on this cake being good since I was making it for my little sister’s birthday. She and my mom were up for the weekend so I thought it would be a great time to make this cake. I was a little concerned, not about the recipe, but about my ability to make a wonderful carrot cake and frosting from start to finish. But thankfully, this turned out so great. My sister, mom, and husband loved it! I sent most of the cake home with my mom and sister so they could eat some later and take some to my dad. My dad just called tonight to say it was the best carrot cake he’s ever had. This recipe is a keeper!

Check out more great baking recipes at culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com

Solid Gold Carrot Cake (with my alterations)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh nutmeg
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup whole milk
1 TBSP vanilla extract
2 TBSP finely chopped crystallized ginger (I didn’t have any so used 2 tsp ground ginger)
3 cups firmly packed shredded carrots
1 cup walnuts, chopped (I used chopped pecans)

1. Preheat to 350F. Butter and flour two 9-inch pans or mini muffin pans.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
3. Beat eggs and sugars together on medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes. At low speed, add the oil, melted butter, milk, vanilla, and ginger and mix until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the flour mixture in three additions, mixing until just blended. Add the carrots and walnuts and mix until blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it evenly.
4. Bake cakes for 25-30 minutes until they are dark golden brown. For mini cupcakes, it took 15 minutes.
5. Invert cakes onto racks and cool completely. Frost with your choice of frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup butter
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
PREPARATION:
Directions for cream cheese frosting
Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl; beat well until smooth. Makes enough cream cheese frosting for a 2-layer cake.

Source-cake: Tish Boyle’s the Cake Book

Source-frosting: Adapted from Tish Boyle’s the Cake Book, 2006

My sister about to blow out the candles. If you look closely, you will see someone else eyeing the cake.

Chess Cake?

I had decided I wasn’t cooking dinner tonight because I just wasn’t feeling well today. The change in the weather has affected my allergies and I’ve just been feeling yucky the past couple days. But after dinner tonight, which was leftover beef stew, I was feeling a little better. My husband has been asking me for a while now to make this cake that he loves, so I decided I felt up to making it tonight.

The cake I made is the first dessert my husband ever baked for me while we were dating. Actually, now I that I think about it, it’s probably the only dessert he’s ever baked for me aside from break and bake cookies. The original recipe was one that he got from his roommate’s grandmother. Of course he doesn’t have the recipe now so I had to look it up online. Well I finally found a recipe for chess cake. I’m not sure this should really be called a cake, though. It’s more like a cream cheese bar or square to me. Whatever you call it, it’s a very rich and very sweet dessert. Not a pretty “cake”, but still very delicious.

 

Chess Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 x 13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, 2 eggs, and 1/2 cup melted butter. Put into prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, Beat cream cheese until smooth. Blend in 1/2 cup melted butter and 2 eggs. Gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar. Pour over the crust mixture already in the pan.
4. Bake for 1 hour. Cool.

Cut into squares.

Original Source: All Recipes

My first homemade chocolate cake!!

This was my first attempt at homemade chocolate cake and it was a success!! I was worried about it being dry, sticking in the pan, or falling apart. But thankfully everything turned out great! It was very moist and the frosting recipe I used was the perfect compliment to it. It’s not the prettiest cake but it tastes awesome which is what really counts!!

Dark Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 – 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

*I used a bundt cake pan instead of 3 round pans. It took about an hour to bake.

Chocolate Frosting

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, beat margarine and cocoa together until combined. Add milk and vanilla; beat until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Adjust with more milk or confectioners’ sugar if necessary.

*After reading the reviews on the website I got the recipe from I made a couple alterations. I used 3 cups confectioners’ sugar and 3/4 cup cocoa powder. It made a great frosting!

Original recipes from allrecipes.com
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Dark-Chocolate-Cake-I/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Frosting-I-2/Detail.aspx