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Simple Rich Chocolate Cake
I’ve been looking for a simple chocolate cake recipe, so that I could begin to avoid the convenience of box cake mixes without making my life too complicated, and something delightful happened. I found a simple chocolate cake recipe, yes, but even better: this cake is one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had in my life. Admittedly, I am not a chocolate-aholic, and in fact I am not much of a cake lover, but this cake has me reconsidering…
It’s got a straight-on intense chocolate flavor without being too sweet. It’s a cake, but moist like a mousse or cheesecake. Just six ingredients, you mix them all in one bowl with one whisk, and cook them in one pan. It doesn’t rise much, it cooks low and slow, and the resulting cake can be eaten unfrosted or sprinkled with powdered sugar or simply topped with some whipped cream or ice cream. I sprinkled it with crytal sugar topping which looked very pretty. The recipe is from Treat a Week, which used a recipe from Ina Gartner.
- Butter - 1 stick, at room temperature
- Sugar - 1 cup
- Eggs - 4, at room temperature (oops, I just noticed this temperature requirement)
- Chocolate Syrup - 1 16-oz. can or 1 1/3 cups (I used Hershey’s Special Dark, which comes in a 22-oz. bottle, and discovered that it did not translate into cups as I expected.)
- Vanilla Extract - 1 Tblsp.
- Flour - 1 cup, all-purpose
- Powdered sugar or other topping, optional
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees .
- Butter and flour (or use parchment paper) an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until it’s fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, and beat after each one is added.
- Add the chocolate syrup and vanilla and blend well.
- Add the flour and blend until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until the cake is set in the middle (it shouldn’t jiggle at all in the middle).
- Let cool to room temperature and remove from pan.
- Optional: Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar or other topping.
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- Curry Chicken and Cauliflower in a Crock-Pot
This is a simple and delicious slow-cooker meal using prepared curry powder as the main spice. You could substitute other vegetables (potatoes would work well), and/or omit the chicken for a vegetarian meal, but keep the cauliflower as it tastes delicious bathed in curry.
- Chicken Breasts - 2-3 lbs, cut up into bite-sized pieces
- Cauliflower - 3 cups, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3/4 head)
- Celery - 1 cup (3 stalks), sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
- Carrots - 1 cup (3-4 medium-sized), sliced 1/4 inch thick rounds
- Bell Pepper - 1 medium, cut into bite-sized pieces
- Chicken stock - 1 cup
- Curry powder - 2 tsps.
- Salt - 1/2 tsp.
- Pepper - 1/8 tsp, or to taste
- Spray the slow-cooker with oil.
- Add all ingredients to the pot and stir until blended.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-10 hours.
Serve as is, and/or with rice or chapathis (simple Indian flat bread).
Tags: cauliflower, chicken, crockpot, Indian
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Pecan Pie/Tart
I made this pecan pie for Thanksgiving, and for Christmas I am going to make 2! Sorry pumpkin pie, but you’re going to have to share the spotlight with my new favorite pie, which is almost more of a tart - and well, you know how I feel about tarts: cherry cream cheese, plum with cream cheese and apple.
This pecan pie/tart is all about the pecans and less about a sugary filling. The filling is spare, simple and not too sweet, allowing you to really taste pecans. The crust, made with 1/3 cup of cream cheese, which keeps it moist, light and flaky. You use a tart pan instead of a standard pie pan, so the pecans and filling are well-balanced to the delicious crust.
Recipe adapted from Rose’s Celebrations by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
Crust
- Crust - make your cream cheese crust, or use a prepared pie crust (but you’ll have to roll it out a bit to fit into a tart pan).
- When ready to roll the dough out, let it sit at room temperature for about 5- 10 minutes. Then use a floured rolling pin to roll it out on a well-floured surface.
- Roll it out to 2 inches larger than your tart pan, so that you have enough extra crust to double the sides. Trim the crust before you place it in the pan, and fold the sides down.
Pecan Filling
- Pecan Halves - 1 1/2 - 2 cups
- Egg yolks - 4
- Corn syrup - 1/3 cup (I used light, but the recipe called for dark corn syrup or refiner’s syrup for deeper flavor)
- Brown sugar - 1/2 cup, packed
- Butter - 4 Tblsp., melted
- Heavy cream - 1/4 cup, cold (plus 1 cup more, to make optional but highly recommended whipped cream)
- Salt - pinch
- Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp.
- Arrange the pecans, rounded side up, in the pan, on top of the crust. I was anal-retentive and made a concentric circular pattern, but you can just place them randomly or create another design. Don’t get too attached to your design as the pecans kind of float a bit when you add the filling.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and blend well so that it’s smooth and the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the filling over the nuts, slowly.
- Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and the filling is puffy and fairly solid.
Serve topped with whipped cream.
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Cream cheese crust (with pecan pie)
Despite its name, you really don’t taste the cream cheese in this crust. Instead, the cream cheese lends a richness to the flavor, and the crust is flaky and light.
- Butter - 8 Tblsp. (1 stick) - cold and cut into slices or cubes
- All-purpose flour - 1 cup plus 2 Tblsp.
- Salt - 1/4 tsp.
- Cream cheese - 3 oz.
- Ice water - 1 Tblsp. plus 1 tsp.
Note: this is easy to make with a food processor, but you can also make it by hand, but mixing it with your (clean) hands instead. Wherever it says “pulse” below, just use your fingers in a rough fast mixing motion, and double the time.
- Place the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to combine.
- Add half of the butter and all of the cream cheese and process for about 10 seconds.
- Then add the remaining butter and pulse another few seconds, until the butter in the mixture is the size of small peas. Do not over process or the crust will not be flaky (but it will still taste fine.)
- Add the ice water and pulse about 4 times. The dough will be coarse and should hold together when pinched.
- Pour the entire mixture into a plastic bag. press the dough together and then knead it for a minute or so and form it into a ball.
- Flatten it into a disc shape a little more than an inch thick, wrap tightly in the plastic and chill it in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or up to 2 days. You can also freeze it.
- When ready to roll the dough out, let it sit at room temperature for about 5- 10 minutes. Then use a floured rolling pin to roll it out on a well-floured surface.
- To place it in the pan, fold the rolled-out in half, or hang it from the rolling pin.
- If the dough sticks to the surface, use a floured spatula all around to loosen before lifting it up.
Adapted from Rose’s Celebrations by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
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Cheese Ball appetizer
This is an elegant, kind of retro, appetizer that’s easy to make and tastes delicious. It’s made of cream cheese and grated Parmesan, with horseradish for a bit of zip. Chopped up vegetables such as carrots, onions, celery or peppers add the crunch and a healthy twist. Cover it with nuts such as chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds and serve with crackers.
- Cream cheese - 1 8-oz packages, softened
- Mayonnaise - 1/4 cup
- Parmesan Cheese - 1/3 cup, grated
- Onion - 2 Tblsp., finely chopped
- Horseradish - 1 tsp.
- Carrot - 2 Tblsps., finely chopped
- Celery - 2 Tblsps., finely chopped
- Other vegetables can be added or substituted, such as red and/or or green bell peppers, finely chopped - to make it more colorful and/or to add a holiday color scheme.
- Salt - 1/2 tsp.
- Chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds - 1- 4 Tblsps., optional topping
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the nuts.
- Blend well with an electric mixer for about 1 minute, till the cheese is fluffy.
- Place the cheese mixture on a large piece of plastic wrap and gather the warp at the top, shaping the cheese into a ball shape.
- Place in a small round bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- To add optional nuts, make sure the ball is firm and then unwrap and roll in a medium bowl filled with nuts. Presslightly so they adhere and cover evenly.
- Serve with crackers.
From Rose’s Celebrations by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
Tags: cheese, Holiday, party, retro, Vegetarian
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Easy overnight cinnamon rolls
I like recipes where you do just a little bit of preparation the night before and the ingredients do most of the work while you’re sleeping. This is one of those recipes, and the results are amazingly delicious for such a little bit of effort. All you have to do is put frozen rolls in a pan, make a simple sauce (butter, cinnamon, sugar, pudding mix and optional pecans), pour the sauce over the frozen rolls and cover them overnight. The next morning, pop the pan in the oven and your home will be filled with the delicious smell of bread and cinnamon. Your reward is home-made cinnamon rolls — warm, puffy pull-apart rolls covered with the gooey topping — addictive with tea, coffee, milk … anything really.
They are also quite beautiful on a plate — in the few nano-seconds before they are devoured — so these rolls are great to serve guests you want to impress (and fatten up.) If they do cool off, microwave them for a few seconds for best taste. And don’t feel guilty abut the second one — or the third or fourth; it is impossible to stop at one.
This recipe is from Grand Rapids Dessert Examiner.
- Frozen white dinner rolls - 15 – 20
- Vanilla pudding mix (not instant) - 1 package
- Brown sugar - 1/2 cup
- Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp.
- Butter - 1/2 cup
- Pecan pieces - 1/2 - 3/4 cup (optional but HIGHLY recommended)
- Grease a bundt pan (you could probably use any type of cake pan).
- Place frozen rolls on the bottom of the pan, so they are side by side (do not pile them).
- Sprinkle the rolls with the pecan pieces.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Lower the heat as low as possible and add the pudding powder, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Stir well, and then pour the warm mixture evenly over the frozen rolls. It looks pretty pathetic now, but the transformation will be dramatic; the yeast in the rolls will be hard at work all night while you are sleeping.
- Cover the rolls with a towel and let sit on the counter overnight.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove the towel and you’ll see that the dough has risen very high, all the roll are puffy and crowded together all cozy, and the topping has disappeared underneath the dough. Don’t worry; it’s still there and there’s plenty of it.
- Cook the rolls for 25 minutes or until they are medium brown on top.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes and then while still warm, invert the rolls onto a plate. (you may need to slide a knife around the edges first.)
Easy overnight cinnamon rolls
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Double Vanilla Mess Cake in a Crock-Pot
Even though I’ve made a few cakes and a bread in a Crock-Pot, it still seems like a gamble to me, and perhaps that is part of the excitement. The Triple Chocolate Mess Cake in a Crock-Pot is easily one of the most popular posts on this blog, and so I thought I’d follow up with a vanilla version, and the result was fantastic. I used vanilla cake mix and vanilla pudding instead of chocolate, and I didn’t add any kind of chips; otherwise, the recipe is exactly the same — but the taste is totally — well, yeah, you guessed it - vanilla!
This cake has a very intense vanilla flavor, and the texture is incredibly moist and dense, almost like a cheesecake. The edges brown up like a thick soft crust - really delicious. And the only messy part is the top - which is really just a little “unsmooth”.
- White or Yellow Cake Mix - 1 package
- Sour Cream - 16 oz.
- Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix - 1 package
- Canola Oil - 3/4 cup
- Water - 1 cup
- Eggs - 4
- Spray or rub the Crock-Pot with oil.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and blend thoroughly with a large wooden spoon.
- Pour the vanilla mixture into the Crock-Pot and turn on to Low.
- Place 4-8 paper towels (or 1 thick kitchen towel) on top and cover with the lid.
- Cook for 4 hours and check for done-ness by looking at the sides of the cake, which should be browning and separating from the sides of the pot. The top should be moist but firm-looking. You can also insert a knife or long skewer but it will always be a bit moist. If the top still looks gooey and the sides are still really light, it needs to cook some more.
- Let it cook for another half an hour and check again. I use an old 3 1/2 quart cylindrical Crock-Pot and the cooking time was 5 hours. The first Crock-Pot cake you make will require a bit of checking but once you have determined the timing on one cake, future cakes will be more predictable and easier (see below for more information on how to tell if your cake is done.)
- Cool for at least a half an hour or more. The cake stays warm for a long time.
- When you can’t wait anymore, slide a dinner knife around the edge to separate the cake from the pot.
- Center a serving plate on top of the pot and flip it over so that the cake falls onto the plate. You may need to jiggle it a bit, and when it has come out, slowly lift up the Crock-Pot.
- Your wonderful cake is ready!
Paul and I both thought this cake would taste good with fruit on it - I was thinking canned pineapple for some reason and he was thinking thawed frozen raspberries for another reason. The top wasn’t perfectly smooth so if you are serving guests you may want to sprinkle it with something like chopped nuts. sprinkles or a drizzled thin frosting (but the taste is so intense and rich, you don’t need much of anything).
About determining if your cake is done: Crock-Pots are inherently moist cookers and so the top will always be much moister that a typical oven-baked cake. But, the top will be the bottom once you flip it, so it doesn’t have to look perfect. And, the knife will probably never come out bone-dry, because Crock-Pot cakes are very moist. It’s important to make sure the sides don’t overcook, so doneness will be a combination of the middle being fairly dry and the side being well done but not over-cooked. Even if your cake is a little messy in the middle, it will still be delicious.
Other Crock-Pot cakes and bread you might enjoy:
Tags: crockpot
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Chicken and Artichokes in a Crockpot
I really really wanted to add cheese to this delicious dish, but I resisted the urge because the original recipe from CrockTease, lamented the common American tendency to “strangle” artichokes in cheese and butter. Not wanting to be an ugly American, I abstained from my cheese urge and I am glad I did.
In the light wine sauce, you can taste the wonderful distinct flavors of the artichokes, chicken and herbs. Combined, the taste is simple but intense, although I must admit I still have the urge to try this with just a little bit of Romano cheese.
- Chicken Breasts - 3-4
- Artichoke Hearts - 3 cups, frozen (or jarred, drained)
- Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
- Oregano - 1 tsp.
- Basil - 1 tsp.
- Chicken Broth - 1/2 cup
- White wine - 1/2 cup
- Lemon - Juice of 1/2 lemon (1 Tblsp.)
- Olive Oil - 1 Tblsp.
- Kalamata olives - about 12 (optional; I made it without because I didn’t have any, and it was fine but olives would be a nice addition.)
- Spray slow-cooker with oil
- Add all ingredients and blend lightly.
- Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.
Tags: artichokes, chicken
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Slow-cooker pot roast, sliced
This is a simple straightforward pot roast - delicious, moist, and about as easy to prepare as falling off a chair. Did I mention it makes its own gravy? Just add a pot roast with some beef stock into a Crock-Pot and walk away for 8 hours. You can add various sliced vegetables for flavor and a side — or not. It will taste good either way. The meat is done medium, but the long slow-cooking produces a roast that is just as flavorful and tender as a rare cut.
- Pot Roast - 2-3 lbs.
- Onion - 1 medium, sliced (optional)
- Celery - 1 -2 stalks, sliced (optional)
- Carrots - 2-3, sliced (optional)
- Beef Stock - 2 cups
- Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet - 1 tsp. (optional, see note below)
- Garlic Powder - 1 tsp.
- Spray the pot with oil and add the meat.
- Add onions, celery and/or and carrots.
- Mix the Gravy Master and/or garlic powder into the beef stock.
- Pour the stock over the vegetables and meet.
- Turn the Crock-Pot on low, cover and cook for 7-10 hours.
Note: Gravy Master comes in small bottles and is a mixture of caramelized sugar, spices and caramel color; Kitchen Bouquet is similar. I always use them for beef gravies, but you’d probably get a nice gravy (maybe a bit thinner) without them.
Here’s a picture with gravy poured on the sliced beef.
Slow-cooker pot roast with gravy
Tags: beef, comfort food, crockpot
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Apparently pumpkin and chocolate have been carrying on for quite a while and I didn’t know about it. They make a great pair, and this cake offers a delicious combination of slightly spicy pumpkin with chips of chocolate interspersed throughout. It’s a simple bundt cake with no frosting, so the taste of the 2 main ingredients takes center stage. With just a few modifications, this recipe is from Two Peas and Their Pod.
- Butter - 2 sticks, at room temperature
- Sugar - 1 1/4 cups
- Eggs - 3 large
- Flour - 2 1/4 cups
- Baking Powder - 2 tsp.
- Baking Soda - 1 tsp.
- Cinnamon - 1 1/2 tsp.
- Allspice - 3/4 tsp.
- Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp.
- Ginger - 1/4 tsp.
- Salt - 1/2 tsp.
- Pumpkin puree - 1 1/4 cups (I used canned)
- Buttermilk - 3/4 cup
- Vanilla - 1 1/2 tsp.
- Chocolate chips - 1 cup
- Powdered Sugar - 1-2 Tblsp. (optional topping)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 10 inch bundt pan with oil and then dust with flour.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add in eggs one at a time, and continue blending on low until everything is blended well.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices.
- In another medium bowl, blend the pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture to the large bowl, and blend, and then add the pumpkin and buttermilk mixture.
- When everything is just blended (don’t over mix), fold in the chocolate chips. I used dark chocolate, my favorite.
- Spoon cake batter into pan, and then smooth the top flat.
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until it springs back when touched or a toothpick comes out clean in the center of cake.
- Cool the cake in the pan, on a rack, for 15 minutes.
- As a precaution when removing from the pan, I slide a knife gently around the edges. Then place a serving plate over the top of the cake, and flip the pan and plate over. The cake will come out easily; if not, tap the pan gently.
- Let the cake cool completely. In fact, this cake keeps well and tastes better after a day.
- Before serving, dust the cake lightly with powdered sugar.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Tags: cake, chocolate chip, pumpkin
