Extra Creamy Hot Chocolate!

When the weather turns cold, I really enjoy a nice cup of cream hot chocolate!  I like my hot chocolate rich and decadent and even though I can drink the stuff you make from an envelope or a pod, I really like to make it homemade.   Homemade, meaning on the stove top with real cocoa and real milk!  

 My mother always made her hot chocolate from scratch, on the stove with cocoa, sugar and milk and it was always so good.  This recipe takes that concept and kicks it up to a whole new decadent level.  If you are thinking, this must be a lot of trouble, it's really not.

Here is what you will need::

1  (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. vanilla flavoring

pinch of salt

1 cup white chocolate chips

4 cups milk  (you can use whole milk or 2%

mini marshmallows

whipped cream

Place a large sauce pan on the stove top over medium heat.   Add the sweetened condensed milk which is like Eagle Brand, not evaporated milk,  and the 1/3 cup cocoa powder.    Add 1 tsp. vanilla and a pinch of salt and whisk until it's well blended and any little clumps are gone.

Add the 1 cup white chocolate chips and the 4 cups of milk.   Stirring continuously starting bringing it up to a boil.  You start to see small bubbles forming on the top.  As it begins to roll to a full boil, turn the heat to low or off.   BE CAREFUL, because if your pan is not large enough this can boil over.  

After you bring it to a boil and then turn the heat down and let it simmer a few minutes, it will start to thicken up a little, but not too much!!!   Now it's ready to pour!

I like to top it with mini chocolate chips and whipped cream!   This makes about 4 nice size cups of hot chocolate!!!  If you don't use it all, you can pour it in a jar and reheat it the next day for another treat!!!   

 This is decadent and delicious!!!  Enjoy!!! 

Coca Cola Cake...It's a Southern Thang!

It seems like almost every other day now I get someone asking about the Coca Cola Cake recipe and there is a good reason for that... it's delicious and it's a southern thang!    I love to use Coke to cook with and if you have been reading my recipes long, you will have noticed that.  The carbonation, sweetness, cola and acid in Coke products just do good things to some food....barbeque, sweets, sauces, and even congealed salads.  My mother has been replacing the water in cakes with Sprite for years now.  It's a family secret...so shhhh,  don't you dare tell anyone!

There are several different variations and recipes for the classic "Coca Cola Cake" and while they are all good, this recipe turns out better than any of them.  It is not hard to make and it is one of the most moist chocolate cakes you will ever bake.  If your family is like mine, you have to have something chocolate for the holidays and this is just the cake to have. Make this cake and take it to dinner, wherever your dinner is this year,  and you will be the star, I guarantee it!   Here is what you need:


2 cups unsifted all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter
3 Tbs. cocoa
1 cup Coca Cola
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups miniature marshmallows

Icing
1 stick butter, melted
3 Tbs. cocoa
7 Tbs. Coca Cola
1 box confectioner's sugar
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  In a saucepan, heat butter, cocoa, and the Coca Cola until it boils.  Pour hot mixture over the flour and sugar.  Mix well.  Add the buttermilk, eggs, soda, vanilla and marshmallows and mix well.   The marshmallows will rise to the top and the batter will seem thin, but that's ok.   Pour into a 9"x13" baking pan that has been sprayed with nonstick baking spray.   Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or just until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, make the icing.  Place the butter in a saucepan on medium heat with the cocoa powder and Coca Cola.  Heat until the butter is melted and it is all well blended.  Pour over the box of confectioner's sugar and mix until it's smooth. If you are adding nuts, stir them in.  Spread the icing over the cake while it is still warm.  That's it, now pour a big glass of milk and cut the cake!  Wasn't that easy!



Coca Cola Cake!

Dr. Pepper Cake!

This cake recipe uses a favorite southern drink, Dr. Pepper, to make it exceptionally moist and yummy!   Dr. Pepper is a soft drink that you either love or can't stand it seems.  I like a good cold Dr. Pepper every now and then myself.   I think it's good to cook with, not only because of the carbonation, but because of the slightly peppery bite it has.   If you are not a Dr. Pepper fan, don't worry. because this cake doesn't end up tasting much like Dr. Pepper.  The Dr. Pepper just gives it a really nice light and moist texture and a good flavor.   

Here is what you will need:

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Devils Food)

1 (3.4 oz.) box instant vanilla pudding

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

10 oz. Dr. Pepper

1 tsp. vanilla

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

3-4 Tbs. Dr. Pepper (just enough to make the glaze thin enough to drizzle over the cake

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the cake mix, vanilla pudding, eggs, oil, Dr. Pepper and vanilla.   Mix just until all well combined.  Don't over mix.   Pour into a well greased Bundt pan.   Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes then invert onto a cake plate.

Stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla and just enough Dr. Pepper to make a glaze.  Drizzle over the cake.  Then sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the top.  





Chocolate Lasagna!

 

If you have followed my blog for long, you know I love chocolate, you also know I love Italian food so just the sound of "Chocolate Lasagna" is intriguing to me and makes my mouth water!   I was not disappointed in the least.   This was delicious! 

This is a layered dessert that is no-bake, which makes it perfect for summer!   However, I also see this as being a great dessert for the Fall and Winter holidays!  It's fairly easy to make and you can make it day or two ahead of your gathering which is always a winner for the busy holiday season!

Here is what you will need:

1  (19.1 oz.) pkg. Family size regular Oreo Cookies,  crushed

1/2 cup or 1 stick butter, melted

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 cup whipped cream (like Cool Whip)

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups milk

1  (3.9 oz.)  instant chocolate pudding mix

1  (3.9 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix

16 oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed (minus the one cup you used in the cream cheese layer)

1/2 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips

maraschino cherries  (optional)

First crush the Oreo cookies to fairly fine crumbs.  You can do this two ways.  You can put them in a food processor and process them or put them in a large ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin or I use the bottom of a heavy mug.   I prefer this method, because it leaves them with a little more texture and crunch.  Sometime my food processor makes things like this too fine.

Remove them and add the melted butter and combine.  Press the mixture into a 9"x13" baking dish.   

Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat it with an electric mixer until it's fluffy.  Beat in 1 cup confectioner's sugar.  Add the whipped topping and 1 tsp. vanilla.  When this is smooth, spread it over the cookie crust!

In a large bowl beat the 3 cups milk with both the chocolate and vanilla pudding mixes until they thicken.   Spread evenly over the cream cheese layer!

Like this!

Spread the rest of the whipped topping on top evenly.  Sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips and garnish with maraschino cherries!!!    Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours before cutting and serving.   I think overnight is even better!

It's so yummy!!!  The chocolate lovers will be so happy!!! 

Martha Washington Candy!

This delicious chocolate covered coconut candy has been made for years during the holidays in southern families.   My own mother has made them every year that I can remember for as far back as I can remember.  She has always called them "Coconut Bonbons." They are very close in comparison to an Almond Joy or Mounds Bar, but better, because they are homemade, of course, and much fresher! 

The origin of the  name "Martha Washington" candy or balls, as some call them,  seems to be up for some debate among foodies and little can really be found about it.  I sort of doubt that  Martha Washington had anything to do with it though.   What I did find was that there was a chain of candy stores named  "Martha Washington Candies" that was started in the 1890's.  They sold ice cream and candy confections of different varieties.  At their peek in the 1920's they had hundreds of stores all across the country and were doing quite well.   Then along came the Depression and it hit them hard.  Folks could barely buy food, much less candy and ice cream. 

 The founder, a candy maker named Elie Sheetz, died in 1932, and most all of the stores closed shortly thereafter.   Just a few lingered until the forties.   They were considered dowdy and a thing of the past at the time though and eventually were gone also.  I am pretty sure the candy is tied to the Martha Washington Candy stores and got their start there.  The more I research food history, the more I realize a lot of it is very sketchy and incomplete.  It's an area that needs expanding! 

So here is what you need for this delicious Martha Washington Candy:

  

1 (14 oz.) bag of sweetened flaked coconut

1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk

1  (1 lb.) box of powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans (optional, could add chopped cherries)

1  (12 oz.) bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

4 oz. paraffin (for candy making)

Mix the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar and vanilla until well combined. Fold in the pecans and mix.  The mixture will seem too loose, but don't add more sugar.  As it chills it will tighten up. These are best when you don't add too much sugar to the mixture.

 Place in the refrigerator to chill.    Shape into balls about the size of a large marble.  Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.   Chill in the refrigerator overnight.   It's really better to freeze them before dipping for easier handling. 

Melt the chocolate with the paraffin in a double boiler and stir until smooth.  Keep the chocolate warm over the water while you are dipping the balls.   If you don't want to use the paraffin, you can use the chocolate bark for candy making instead of the chocolate chips.  The paraffin does give the candy a nice shine and makes the chocolate easier to work with.   It's found in the canning or candy making section of your store.   After you dip each piece, place them back on a parchment lined cookie sheet to cool and harden.  You need to move fast dipping these so that they don't warm up become impossible to handle.  If you have a helper for the dipping, that is great also!   If they get too warm, put them back in the freezer to chill again.

When they have completely hardened, store in an airtight container or tin in the refrigerator.

These make a wonderful addition to your holiday candy trays or place them in a decorative tin for a little gift for someone special!  





German Chocolate Cake!

  

Have you ever had a 'from scratch' German Chocolate Cake?  Not one made from a cake mix with frosting from a can, but a real, down home scratch German Chocolate Cake?  For a chocolate lover like me, there can't be anything much better as far as cake goes.  If you have never had one, you have to make this.

This cake is not German in origin, but is called the German Chocolate cake because of the chocolate  which was developed by an American chocolate maker whose name was Sam German.  He developed the chocolate for the Baker's Chocolate Company and the chocolate was named in honor of him...Baker's German Sweet Chocolate.  Much later in 1957, the recipe for German Chocolate Cake was sent into a newspaper by a Dallas, Texas homemaker.  The recipe became very popular and the sales for Baker's German Chocolate went up 73%.

 It's actually not a hard cake to put together and if you make it, everyone will be in awe of  your amazing baking skills. You can also look down your nose at people and say things like... "I only bake, 'from scratch' dear" and "Bless your heart, you used a cake mix"...lol.  Not that anyone who reads this blog would ever say such things to anyone.  I know you wouldn't, but it's funny to think of.  Ok, I might be exaggerating a bit, but you know I can do that at times.   If you want to try this cake, here is all you need:

1/2 cup boiling water
4 oz. Baker's German Chocolate bar
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
2  1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Frosting
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 egg yolks
1  3/4 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt chocolate in 1/2 cup boiling water.
Mix sugar and butter and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks.
Beat in the melted chocolate and vanilla.
Sift flour together with baking soda and salt.
Alternate adding the buttermilk and flour  to the egg, butter and sugar mixture ending with the buttermilk.  Blend together well, but do not over beat this. It's best to use a wire whisk for this. 

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are at the stiff peak stage.

Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter. Do not beat this, just fold to blend them in.

Place wax paper in the bottom of 2  9 inch cake plans.  With either shortening or butter, grease the sides of the pans and I even grease the wax paper a little. 

Evenly divide the batter between the pans.  Place in preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow them to cool completely before turning them out of the cake pans.   This cake can stick if you don't follow the instructions to use the wax paper and grease the sides of the cake pans well and also allowing them to cool completely. 

Frosting
Combine sugar, butter, milk, and egg yolks in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes, turn heat down and continue to cook and stir until it thickens.  This will take about a total of 12 minutes.   Add vanilla, coconuts and chopped pecans. 

Place a cake layer on a cake plate.  Spread frosting on just the top of that layer and then place the second layer on top of that.  



Pour the rest of the frosting right in the center of the top layer and then spread over the top of the cake.  You don't frost the sides of this cake, but if some of the frosting runs over and down the sides it's ok.  As a matter of fact, it will and it's all good! 



 German Chocolate Cake!



Milky Way Cake!

There is only one thing I can say about this cake...have mercy!  Also, forgive me if you are watching your calories!  This is one of the most decadent and wonderfully rich chocolate cakes I have ever made, but it's something you have to try, at least once.  I actually cut some of the sugar back in the original recipe.

The frosting really is a lot like the nougat filling in a Milky Way Bar and it's a great chocolate frosting to use for other cakes and even cupcakes.   Here is what you need for this cake and don't blame me, it's an old recipe I got years ago from someone else: 

7 Milky Way Candy Bars (regular size, 1.84 oz.)

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1  1/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

2  1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Frosting

2 cups sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

1 stick butter

1  (6 oz.( pkg. chocolate chips

1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream 1 stick of butter and the sugar and set aside.   

Melt 1 stick butter with the 7 Milky Way Candy Bars either in the microwave or in a double boiler.  I just microwaved them for a total of 2 minutes, stirring at 1 minute intervals. 

Stir the candy bars and the butter together until smooth.

Add the eggs one at a time to the sugar and butter mixture.  Add baking soda, salt, buttermilk and vanilla,  then add candy bar mixture.  Add flour a little at a time.  Beat just until all is incorporated.  Fold in nuts.

Pour into a well greased 9"x13" pan. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. 

You can also bake this in 3 nine inch cake pans and stack the cake.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.  This cake is harder to frost as a stack cake though, because of the consistency of the frosting.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.  While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting.

In a heavy saucepan cook the sugar and evaporated milk until soft ball stage.  This requires boiling it for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn't stick or burn.  On a candy thermometer, soft ball stage is 235 to 245 degrees or you can drop a little in cold water and it will form a soft ball.

Once it reaches that stage, turn off the heat and add 1 stick butter, chocolate chips, and marshmallow cream.  Beat until smooth.   Remove from the heat and allow to cool before frosting cake.  While it's warm, it's too runny and will thicken and set as it cools, much like candy does. 

Spread the cool frosting over the cake.  It spreads really well once it cools.

  If you do a stacked cake, the frosting needs to be even cooler and more set so that it doesn't run off of the cake.





Death by Chocolate!

I call this "Death by Chocolate" because it is a chocolate lover's dream dessert.  There is a mixture of brownies, Oreos, white chocolate pudding, and chocolate chips.  

This also makes a really nice presentation and large amount of dessert so it's great for parties, cookouts and large family gatherings.  I made it for my families 4th of July get together and it was a hit! 

 Here is what you will need for this:

1 (18.3 oz.)  family size brownie mix (plus the ingredients called for to prepare them)

1  (14.3 oz.) bag of Oreo sandwich cookies, divided

2  (3.4 oz.) boxes of white chocolate instant pudding mix

3 cups of milk

1 8oz. cream cheese, softened

1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 (16 oz.) frozen whipped topping, divided

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Prepare the brownie mix according to the package directions in a 9"x13" pan.   Set aside after baking and allow to cool completely, then cut into 1 inch squares.

Set aside 12-13 of the Oreo cookies to garnish the top of the dessert.  How many depends on how big your trifle dish is.   Place the rest of the cookies in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin or I sometimes just use the bottom of  a heavy mug.  Don't crush them too much, leave them with some chunkiness to them. 

In a large mixing bowl, mix the instant pudding with the milk until smooth.

In another bowl, beat the cream cheese with the condensed milk until smooth.  Add in the vanilla. Add this mixture to the pudding mixture and beat until well blended.   Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.   Fold in the crushed Oreo cookies. 

Use either a trifle dish or a large glass bowl with high sides to assemble this in.  Even a small punch bowl will work.  

Place 1/2 of the pudding mixture in the bottom first.  Then layer 1/2 of the brownie squares over that.  Next, another layer of pudding mixture, then the rest of the brownies. 

You will finish the top with the other 1/2 of the whipped cream, but before you spread it on top, line around the top sides of the dish with the whole Oreos you reserved.   Now, finish with the whipped topping, then sprinkle with the mini chocolate chips and the chopped nuts.  

Place in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours before serving.  This can be made the day before and it holds up great. 

  

Serve and wait for the compliments!!!  







Aunt Millie's Tinker Cake!

This cake is my Aunt Millie's signature dessert recipe.  Aunt Millie is  my mother's sister and she is the oldest in a family of 11 children.

 Out of all six of the sisters in my mother's family, Aunt Millie will tell you cooking is not her most favorite thing to do.  She is a good cook and she does cook, but she would much rather do other things.   She is a expert seamstress, she loves to garden and grows some of the most beautiful flowers, and she is a wonderful quilter.  I could not tell you how many fabulous quilts she has made in her lifetime.  

This Tinker Cake is a cake she has probably been making for at least 40 years.  If someone dies, the family gets this cake. If you have a baby when you come home you will get this cake!  If there is a family dinner or reunion this cake will be one of the things Aunt Millie will bring.  If you have a birthday and nobody to bake you a birthday cake, Aunt Millie will bake you a Tinker Cake to brighten your day. 

It is a delicious chocolate cake with just a hint of cinnamon in it.   There are three smells that I will always associate with Aunt Millie...White Shoulders perfume, Dove bath soap, and Tinker Cake!  I keep Dove soap in my bathrooms to this day, because I always loved the way it made Aunt Millie's bathroom smell and it reminds me of her.  Here is what you'll need for the Tinker Cake, don't let the many ingredients scare you off, it's not hard to make at all:

Buttermilk, all purpose flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, butter cocoa, vanilla, salt, confectioners sugar, water, milk, eggs, oil,  chopped walnuts.

First, sift the dry ingredients together...flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon...and mix together.

In a saucepan combine butter, water, oil, and cocoa and bring to a boil. 

Pour over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl.

Beat eggs slightly, add buttermilk and vanilla.  Mix together and add to the other ingredients in the mixing bowl.  Mix until all of it is incorporated, but don't over mix.  Just use a whisk for this. 

Pour the cake batter in a 9"x13" baking pan that has been liberally sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes.  If you use a glass dish as I did, decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

During the last 5 minutes of the cake baking, start the icing so that the cake can be iced while it's warm.  Melt the butter in a pan, add the milk and cocoa and bring to a boil. After it boils turn the heat down so it doesn't burn. Stir in the vanilla and the confectioner's sugar until it is smooth. 

Add the chopped nuts and mix until incorporated.

Immediately pour the warm icing on the warm cake and you have "Aunt Millie's Tinker Cake"!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup oil
4 tbsp. cocoa
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla

Tinker Cake Icing

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

4 tbsp. cocoa
6 tbsp. milk
1 box powdered sugar (4 cups)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Easy Peasy Butter Toffee!!!

I love butter toffee candy and if you do also, you won't believe how easy it is to make!  It's just a few simple ingredients and very little time!!!  This would be great for gift giving!!!  The trickiest part of this is not burning the toffee mixture!!! 

 Here is what you will need:

2 cups butter (do not use margarine)

2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla flavoring

1  1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts

2 cups milk chocolate or semi sweet chocolate  chips

Cover a large sheet pan with nonstick foil or parchment paper.  Sprinkle evenly with the chopped nuts.

In a heavy, large sauce pan melt the butter, sugar and salt together over medium heat.  Bring to a boil stirring constantly.  After it comes to a boil turn the heat down just a little so it doesn't burn and cook, stirring constantly until it turns the color of peanut butter.  If you are using a candy thermometer it should reach 285 degrees.  Once it thickens and turns the color of peanut butter, remove from heat and add the vanilla flavoring.   This will burn quickly at this stage so be sure to get it off the heat now.   Pour mixture over the chopped nuts and spread it out evenly.  It might seem thin, but that is ok.

Let it sit for a minute or two and then sprinkle the chocolate chips even over the top.

 Let the chips set for about 5 minutes to get soft.  

When they are melted, spread the chips like icing with knife.   Then place in the refrigerator and chill for about an hour or two.  Then peel it off the paper and break into pieces.  Store in an airtight container!

It doesn't get much easier or more delicious than this!!! 

Chocolate Chip Pie!

I have been making this pie for many years and it's still one of our favorites.  It's just like a big chocolate chip cookie in a pie form. It's best served a little  warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. 

 Here is what you will need:

1 unbaked 9" deep dish pie shell

2 large eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter (1  1/2 sticks), softened

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

1 tsp. vanilla flavoring

dash of salt

.  

Beat the eggs with an electric mixer until they are foamy.  Beat in the flour and the sugars until it's smooth, then beat in the butter and add vanilla.  Fold in the chocolate chips and the nuts.  

 

Place the pie shell in a pie plate or use a frozen pie shell and place the dish on a cookie sheet or pizza pan which aids the pie in cooking evenly and will catch any spills.   Pour the batter into the pie shell and place into a preheated 325 degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool slightly before serving.  Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!