German Chocolate Cake

I haven't done a food post in ages! I miss them but recently I haven't had the urge to bake, let alone take photos of it all. Since I was 'forced' to bake for my godfather's birthday, why not at least take a photo of what ended up to be a beautiful cake. Well, forced sounds horrible, I was happy to make the cake but it was however, under deadline... eek! 

To be honest, I'm not the hugest fan of German chocolate cake. I love chocolate cake. I love chocolate cream cheese frosting. I love coconut and I love pecans. But the combination of all of those things together just does not do it for me for some reason.

So when I tell you I didn't like this cake, please don't be discouraged or swayed away from trying this recipe! I made it for my dear Godfather's birthday and he loves German chocolate cake. That being said, he said this was one of the best ones he's ever had. I can't tell you if he was saying that to be sweet to me  or if it was true, but since he's a pretty honest man, I think it's probably true - whew! Let me just say though, the cake alone was fabulously moist and the frosting was deliciously smooth and tangy.

German Chocolate Cake

Yields: 24 cupcakes

Original recipe here.

For the chocolate cake:

1 box Devil's food cake

3 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup sour cream

For the German chocolate frosting:

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

For the chocolate buttercream:

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsn. milk or cream, if needed

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two muffin tins with liners, set aside. In a large bowl, combine the oil, eggs and vanilla. Sift about 1/3 of the cake mix and mix until combined. Add the buttermilk and stir until combined. Add another 1/3 of the cake mix, stir to combine. Add the sour cream, then the remaining cake mix and stir until combined. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

  

To make the frosting, over medium heat in a saucepan, constantly stir the evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks and butter until thickened (basically until it boils, about 15 minutes). Stir in the vanilla, pecans and coconut. Let cool. To make the chocolate buttercream, beat the cream cheese and butter for 4 minutes, add the cocoa, powdered sugar and vanilla. Let beat for 3 minutes. If it is too thick, add some milk. If it is too thin, add some more powdered sugar. Pipe the chocolate buttercream along the edges of the cooled cupcakes to create a barrier, then add a small scoop of cooled German chocolate frosting into the center. 

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

I think peaches have to be the ultimate summer fruit. Every time I think of a sweet, juicy, fuzzy peach it makes me think of sunshine, rainbows and happy, carefree days. These cupcakes live up to the same standards as the peaches they were made from, and are jam-packed with all kinds of tastiness.

Once I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, I bookmarked it immediately. First of all, peach cupcakes? Sold. It had me at hello. Plus, cream cheese frosting with brown sugar in it?! I had never heard of such a thing, but since brown sugar is one of my first loves, I knew it had to be one of the best things on the planet, and guess what? It was.

These cupcakes are beyond amazing. The cake is nice and moist and has great flavor while the frosting is seriously out of this world, especially if you have a hankering for brown sugar. The only strife I have is probably that the peach flavor isn't prominent enough. Actually, my friends said if they didn't already know it was peach they wouldn't have guessed it but that they were so delicious anyway, they could care less. I think that's a win if I ever did see one.

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

Yields: 12 - 14 cupcakes

Original recipe here.

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch of nutmeg

6 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 + 1/8 cup sugar

1/4 + 1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cups buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt

2 medium peaches, peeled, cored, and chopped small-sh

For the frosting:

3/4 cups light brown sugar

1/8 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, scraping down the sides and bottom after added. Then add the vanilla, and gently mix in the buttermilk/ sour cream/ yogurt. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the peach chunks. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tin, about 2/3 full. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting, in a small bowl whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop onto the cooled cupcakes.

Cinnamon, Pecan & White Chocolate Caramel Corn

Never have I ever. Or... never did I ever think that I would make my own caramel corn. It's up there with oreos, poptarts or bread. Those are some things that are in the "things I don't ever think I'll make." But guess what? I made it and it was delicious... no wait, amazing! And now I'm contemplating those other things on my list because well, I can do it!

This is how the mixture should look after the second round of microwaving:

Make sure to toss the mixture well!

Cinnamon Caramel Corn with Pecans & White Chocolate

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/09/cinnamon-caramel-corn-with-pecans-white.html

12 cups popped popcorn

1 cup roughly chopped pecans

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup Karo syrup or honey

1 stick or 1/2 cup butter

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

3 squares almond bark

Preheat oven to 250 F. Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside (and by large I mean twice as large as you really need to prevent splattered hot caramel). Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave safe bowl. Chop butter into chunks and place it on top of the sugar mixture, pour corn syrup over the top of everything. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and then stir to combine. Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes, remove and stir then microwave 2 minutes more and it should be nice and bubbly. Remove from the microwave and add the vanilla and baking soda, it should foam up and double in size. Pour over popcorn and pecans and stir well until everything is well coated.

Spread mixture onto a foil lined pan and place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, take out a piece and let it cool. Sample it and if it is still not crunchy enough, let it bake for another 5 minutes, repeat process until satisfied with crunchiness. When done, give it a final stir and let it cool while you melt the almond bark/ white chocolate. Use a fork to drizzle the melted bark over the popcorn, let it harden and enjoy!

A great movie/ tv snack!

Homemade Holiday Gifts

For a simple and super addictive holiday treat to your friends and family this year, try chocolate drizzled golden grahams! Kinda weird, I know, but one day as I was strolling through the vast amount of serve-yourself barrels at Sprouts the other day I came across these little munchies. I had a small sample and then wouldn't you know it, a couple minutes later, I found myself filling a bag up to bring home. My sister and I always make little snacks to give out for Christmas and I immediately knew I would be making these this year. They're super simple and a total crowd pleaser. And in addition, we added some of our annual goodies: chocolate covered pretzels. But this year we wanted to change things up a little so we sprinkled chopped nuts all over them. I really wonder why we hadn't thought of this earlier. TO DIE FOR, really though, I'm gouging my eyes out as I'm typing.

Chocolate Drizzled Golden Grahams:

Yields: Enough for 8 - 10

1 box of Golden Grahams

1 12 oz. bag of semi - sweet chocolate

In a double boiler melt the chocolate. On a cookie sheet, spread out a single layer of the golden grahams. Once semi - cooled but still melted, pour into a normal ziplock bag and push it to one edge on the bag. Snip the corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the layer of golden grahams. Repeat. Let cool until the chocolate hardens. Bag up for gifts and enjoy!

Nutty Crunchy Chocolate Covered Pretzels:

Yields: Enough for 8 - 10

1 medium bag of salted pretzels

1 12 oz. bag of semi - sweet chocolate

1 cup of walnuts (pecans or almonds would also be fine), chopped 

Over a double boiler melt the chocolate. Using a butter knife spread the chocolate on the pretzel (it doesn't matter how messy it looks). Repeat. Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle the chopped nuts all over. Let cool completely, bag, and enjoy!