Posts Tagged ‘chocolate’

Sugar, butter, chocolate, Dr. Pepper…

Nuf said?

Almost.

My daughter is a big Dr. Pepper fan, so I had to try my own version of the chocolate cakes I’ve seen here and there with either Coke or Dr. Pepper added. And boy am I glad I tried it. This cake? It’s a must do. Rich and moist, and oh, so easy – there’s no excuse not to try it at least once. Just make sure you’ve got a group to bake it for, ’cause it’s dangerous to have leftovers hanging around.

Look giant chocolate cake. Ooooooh. Ahhhhhh. Ohhhhhhh.

One of the things I like about this cake is the ease at which it comes together. Seriously simple. It bakes in 20-25 minutes – it’s gone in 10. All ingredients are combined in a saucepan and poured directly into a 13×9x2″ baking pan. Speaking of ingredients, see the brown sugar pictured?

I’ve baked this cake a few times, both using 1 c. brown sugar + 1 c. regular ‘ole white sugar, as well as all 2 c. of white sugar and I couldn’t tell the difference. Maybe I’m missing something, but if you need to combine, or just want to, go ahead. Just make sure at least 1 cup of the sugar is white. You probably would be able to tell a difference if all sugar used was brown. But I dunno.

Also, for both the cake batter and frosting, I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa powder. It’s good stuff. Hope you can find some.

Begin by combining the Dr. Pepper, oil, butter and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat.

When it comes to a simmer, mix well and turn stove off.

Mix dry ingredients together (sugar, flour and baking soda), add to saucepan and mix well.

You don’t need to beat the heck out of it. It will be a little lumpy at first but just mix well until combined.

In a separate small bowl lightly beat the eggs and buttermilk together then add them to the saucepan.

Combine batter well and pour into a greased baking pan and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake.

(Extreme cake bokeh – sorry folks.)

The frosting works the same way. Combine butter, cocoa powder and milk together in a saucepan, over medium heat, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Add in the powdered sugar a little at a time, combining after each addition until smooth.

Pour over warm cake. Yuuuum.

While the frosting is mighty yummy, I think the cake is quite tasty without it, or maybe just with a little dusting of powdered sugar and a tall glass of milk.

So what are you waiting for? Go grab a Dr. Pepper and get to work!

Dr. Pepper Chocolate Cake Recipe
(makes one 13×9x2″ baking pan)
(adapted from “Cracker Barrel Double Fudge Coca-Cola Cake Recipe” found at thatsmyhome.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup Dr. Pepper soda
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 stick salted butter (8 tablespoons)
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder (again, I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350° F and grease or spray with cooking spray a 13×9x2″ baking pan.

- Begin by combining the Dr. Pepper, oil, butter and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat. When it comes to a simmer, mix well and turn stove off.

- Mix dry ingredients together (sugar, flour and baking soda), add to mixture in saucepan and mix well. Don’t over beat.

- In a separate small bowl lightly beat the eggs and buttermilk together, then add them to the saucepan and combine batter well.

- Pour into a greased baking pan and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake.

Chocolate Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 stick salted butter (8 tablespoons)
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 8 tablespoons milk
• 4 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

Directions:

- In a saucepan, combine butter, cocoa powder and milk together over medium heat, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth.

- Add in the powdered sugar a little at a time, combining after each addition until smooth.

- Pour over warm cake.

- Lock all the doors, draw the shades, don’t answer the phone and get the milk.

Enjoy! And let me know how it turns out.

I want to be a baker.

And not even a professional baker. Just a confident baker at home doing her thing. Right now I’m kinda so-so.

Yesterday I was talking with a sweet blogger friend and expressed my desire to be a better baker. She tried to reassure me that it was no biggy and that there are so many other things to cook. She’s right. And I do cook a wide variety of things that I don’t think twice about whipping up, but when it comes to baking I tense up.

I have to have everything just so. Clean. Organized. Solitude for no interruptions. I get a little anxious. It’s crazy really. It’s just butter, flour, sugar and other simple ingredients but there’s something about the exactness of it all that makes me clinch my butt cheeks a little too much.

There’s no rushing when baking either. It takes a certain amount of time. There’s usually no budging involved. The funny thing is that I was a chemistry major for a short period.

Very short.

Minute even.

But still, measuring, mixing and adding heat shouldn’t throw me. Maybe I need a Bunsen burner to work with.

Anyway, to combat my short-comings with baking, I recently purchased Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours. No messing around here folks. I’ve got a can do attitude and that, along with tight cheeks, can work magic.

I’ve enjoyed drooling my way through the cookbook. Dorie makes it sound so simple, so common – of course, for her, it is. But when I saw her description for the Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake, “…it looks fussed over and yet it takes no more time, effort or talent to make than a batch of brownies,” I knew she was talking to me.

Plus there was no picture, which usually bothers me, but I figured no pressure to measure up to some gorgeous photograph. Perfect.

This cake was just as Dorie said it would be, simple ingredients and quick to put together, with yummy results. And, I know it’s trite, but if I can do it you can do it.

The cake is a dense, rich, dark chocolaty, yummy goodness with subtle ribbons of sweet raspberry flavor running through it. The cake is cut into three layers which are spread with raspberry or cherry jam or preserves. I used raspberry this time around. Then the giant sandwich is frosted with a dark chocolate, sour cream frosting. Yum.

Sour cream, which is used in both the batter and the frosting, gives the cake a special sumpn,’ sumpn.’

The cake is fairly basic. Start by sifting all dry ingredients together. I used Hershey’s Dark Cocoa Powder.

In a separate bowl beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy, then, one at a time, add the eggs followed by the sour cream. Next gradually add dry ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.

That is one thing I’ve learned so far, to not overmix batters, or you’ll end up with a tough cake – which is fine if you’re in the market for a door stop.

After mixing in all dry ingredients, pour batter into a greased and floured loaf pan and bake. When baking is finished and cake has cooled, the fun begins. The plan is to cut the cake into three layers length wise.

Mine weren’t perfect by any means but once it’s frosted who cares? Basically the top becomes the bottom and vice versa. Place the bottom layer (which is really the top) on the bottom, cut side facing up, and spread half of the jam/preserves over the layer. Jiggy?(Take note that my cake was not overmixed – hardly. Swirls of butter and sugar were showing but it didn’t matter to me – it was yummy.)

Add next layer and repeat with remaining jam/preserves. Now you’ve got a three layer giant chocolate sandwich.

The frosting is made by melting the chopped chocolate over a hot water bath.

Stir until smooth. Add the sour cream and stir again until smooth and shiny.

Frost the top and sides of cake however you like.

I went for a smooth and sleek finish because that’s how I roll.

A chocolate sauce, ice cream or whipped cream would be a great topper finish for this cake. But, most certainly, a tall glass of cold milk is a must have with this deliciousness.

I usually post the full recipe here when trying out a new recipe, but this time, I’m not. I know, bummer. Dorie can’t be duplicated, adapted or improved upon. Go buy her book or borrow it from your local library. Again, it’s called Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

It’s a sweet treat to behold. A real page turner.

So tell me, have you stumbled upon any new cookbooks that you’d recommend?

Or how about any good baking tips you can pass along?

You’re in for a treat. Instead of telling you all about how yummy this muffin recipe is, my husband, who I love so much, wrote a song about these muffins that he loves so much (he loves me too, very much). Never a dull moment around here folks.

For your entertaining pleasure, my husband, Randy…

Hope you enjoyed the little ditty. In our home we break out in song at the drop of a hat, but these muffins were definitely song worthy.

Start with some butter and chocolate…

Then add some of these…pistachios are so satisfying, certainly a flavor that can’t be duplicated.

And cranberries add a little zing to these muffins.

Mix it all up with some eggs, flour, sugar and a splash of vanilla and you’ve got yourself some muffins that’ll make you sing. Or at least hum a little.

So good.

For real.

Make ‘em and you can see for yourself. And maybe you’ll sing a little too.

This recipe came way through my friend, Ansley, from her mom who I’ve never met but I love like a mom too for this fabulous muffin recipe. Thank you Ansley’s mom. The muffins were originally called Traveling Muffins but since they inspired song they’ve been renamed. (Another reason I renamed them is because, as a traveling muffin, they wouldn’t last long in my car.) The original also called for raisins (instead of cranberries) and pecans (instead of pistachios).

They’ll Make You Sing Muffins (or at least hum a little) Recipe
(makes 10 jumbo muffins)
(adapted from Ansley’s mom’s Traveling Muffin recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of butter
• 3 squares (3 0z.) semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 cup cranberries (washed and dried)
• 1 3/4 cup shelled dry roasted, salted pistachios
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350°F.

- Grease muffin tin or use paper liners.

- In a small saucepan over low heat melt butter and chocolate.

- Add cranberries and pistachios. Let cool.

- Mix together flour, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Do NOT beat; just mix until combined.

- Fill prepared muffin tin with batter. For jumbo muffins, use ~1/3 cup batter per muffin.

- Bake 30-35 minutes (for jumbo muffins) or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Enjoy! What’s your favorite food that makes you sing?