Catch up on all my fun baking!

My food blog has been dormant for a while, but now I am back to it! I will post pictures of the yummy things I have been making in the past couple of years, and hopefully keep it up to date from then on!

This cake is a cookies and cream cake. I made it from the cupcake recipe from Paula Dean. It was probably better as cupcakes, though!

Chocolate Strawberry Tall Cake

This cake is fantastic! My step-mom sent it to me, having had it at my brother-in-law's mom's house. The recipe is from recipezaar.com. It is super easy if you use a cake mix, but I found a perfectly chocolate chocolate cake recipe that I usually use instead.

Ingredients:

1 package chocolate cake mix

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

3/4 c milk

1 (3 1/2 oz) package vanilla instant pudding mix

1 (8 oz) carton frozen whipped topping, such a Cool Whip, thawed (I use a 12 oz carton though)

2 c strawberries, sliced or chopped

confectioner's sugar

1. Prepare the cake according to package directions, using three greased and floured 9 in round pans (I use only two, otherwise it has a tendancy to slide around, especially if traveling)

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

3. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely

4. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy

5. Combine milk and pudding mix, then add to cream cheese and mix well.

6. Fold in whipped topping and strawberries.

7. Reserve a large dollop of filling for garnish

8. Place one layer of the cake on a serving plate.

9. Spread with half of the filling. Do not cover sides of cake, just the toop as this is made to look like a torte, not a frosted cake.

10. Repeat layers

11. Top with remaining cake, then dust with confectioner's sugar

12. Mound the reserved filling in the center and put a fanned whole strawberry on top

13. Store in the refrigerator.

*Don't make this too far ahead of time with the strawberries. The berries will bleed into the filling and become mushy. It will taste great, but look strange.*

*You can also use raspberries*

Since I only use two layers, I eliminate #11 and 12. You can see from the picture how it turns out for me!

Grilled Corn with Chipotle-Lime Butter

This recipe is from EatingWell.com

Ingredients:
4 ears of corn, husked
2 T butter, softened
1/4 t freshly grated lime zest
1 t lime juice
1/2 t minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce plus 1/4 t adobo sauce or 1/4 t ground chipotle pepper
1/2 t kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat grill to high. Wrap each ear of corn in foil and cook, turning frequently for 10 minutes. Remove from grill and let stand in the foil while you prepare the butter. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. Unwrap the corn and serve with the butter.


This was a hit at one of my dinners! Super easy too!

Texas Sheet Cake

Recipe: (This is exactly how I have it written down, so please forgive me if it is not in proper recipe format)

Mix:
2 c flour
2 c sugar
1/4 t salt

Melt:
2 sticks margerine
1 c boiling water
3 T cocoa

Mix over low heat until well mixed. Add to dry mixture.

Add:
2 eggs
1 t baking soda dissolved in 1/2 c buttermilk
1 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon (I like the cinnamon, so I add a tad more)

Mix well and pour into a sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.


Frosting:
1 stick margerine
3 T cocoa
2 T buttermilk

Heat and whisk until combined, then remove from heat.

Add:
1 box powdered sugar (I normally use a little less. I like it to taste a little more buttermilk-y than powdered sugar-y)
1 c nuts (optional, and I NEVER add these!)

Wait for it to cool a little bit, but pour on the cake while the cake is still warm and the frosting is still a little runny.

I hope that you all enjoy this cake as much as my family does! Good luck!

TWD-Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars

Ok, party people. I am back! After having a very hectic holiday season, I am finally able to continue with Tuesdays with Dorie! Yay!

The Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars are fantastic! I made these late last night, so I must confess that I had one for breakfast this morning. They are rich and a little chewy and a little crunchy and just plain amazing! I didn't put the raisins into the chocolate layer, just added more peanuts instead. The bars didn't look very pretty, but Dorie says you are supposed to be having fun, right? So I just dropped the oatmeal mixture on the top and called it good!

I will post pictures later today, as my daughter has been using my camera again (!) and now I need to charge the battery. That kid has her own camera! Why does she keep using mine?

Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart-Take 2

I am a little more rested now, so hopefully what I am going to say will make sense. Crusts are worrisome to me. I have never felt that I can make a great crust, be it pie, tart, graham cracker, etc. I was grateful that I didn't have to roll out this one, though. It turned out ok but I think that I could have gotten it a little more even in spots.

The caramel was next, and I think I had the heat too high for my sugar. It all turned solid at first and I thought that, for sure, I had ruined it. Well, I waited a little bit longer and it did melt, so I continued. By the time I was done with my ganache, the caramel had become very stiff so I followed the directions and warmed it a little in the microwave. I just knew that I had ruined that part with all of the heat.

The ganache was the easiest part for me. I have gotten pretty good at making it, I think.

I put it all together, let it chill and then ate a piece. It was good! Very, very rich, but good! I think maybe a little less chocolate and a little more caramel with the honey roasted peanuts would have been terrific. I used an eight inch pan, so I think my layers were a little thicker (well, maybe just my ganache layer, the caramel layer seemed like it showed in the picture in the book).

Overall, this was fun! All of the melting and bubbling of making the caramel was a hoot! I will probably do it again when my husband gets home, and maybe when a lot of company comes over so that we don't have to eat the whole thing. Time to go share with the neighbors! Thank you, Carla of Chocolate Moosey, for picking this this week!

TWD- Chocolate Crunchy Caramel Tart

Sorry y'all. I am too tired to post about the recipe tonight. I will do it first thing tomorrow.