german chocolate cake

From my favorite baking book: Baking Illustrated

German Chocolate Layer Cake with Coconut-Pecan Filling

German Chocolate Cake:

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans

1/4 cup non-alkalized cocoa, such as Hershey's

2 tsp. instant espresso or coffee powder

1/3 cup boiling water

1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Coconut-Pecan Filling

4 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted

2 cups lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut

1. For the cake: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease two 8-inch round cake pans and cover the pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper or waxed paper. Grease the parchment rounds and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.

2. Mix the cocoa and instant espresso powder in a small bowl; add th boiling water and mix until smooth. Cool to room temperature, then stir in the buttermilk and vanilla.

3. Beat the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar; beat until the mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.

4. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. With the mixer at the lowest speed, add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter, followed immediately by about a third of the cocoa mixture; mix until the ingredients are almost incorporated into the batter. Repeat the process twice more. When the batter appears blended, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Return the mixer to low speed; beat until the batter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. With a rubber spatula, spread the batter into the pan sides and smooth the tops. Bake the cakes until they feel firm in the center when lightly pressed and a toothpick or thin skewer comes out clean or with just a crumb or two adhering, 23-30 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks; cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of each pan, invert the cakes onto the racks, and peel off the paper liners. Re-invert the cakes onto additional racks; cool completely before frosting.

6. For the filling: Mix the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a medium bowl; beat in the butter, then gradually beat the cream and vanilla into the mixture. Pour into a medium, non-reactive saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is puffy and just begins to thicken and the temperature reaches 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 15-20 minutes. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and cool to room temperature. Stir in pecans and coconut.

7. To assemble: Use a long serrated knife to cut the cakes in half horizontally so that each cake forms 2 layers. Place 1 of the cake bottoms on a serving plate. Spread about 1 cup filling over the cake half. Place another halved cake round over the filling. Repeat this stacking an spreading process with the remaining filling and cake, ending with a final layer of the filling.

This cake was easier than it sounds and really good. The filling is way better than what you can find ready-made. I omitted the espresso powder altogether. I also found that the filling took longer than 20 minutes on low heat, so I'd heat it up a little more and keep an eye on it. Seriously, really good and worth a try.

father's day cake

Yes, that is a peanut butter cake with chocolate frosting and crushed peanut butter m&ms all over. They're even between the layers. Can't go wrong with a cake like this for my husband, but I'm pretty sure my dad was grateful he was half-way across the world when this was served. He does not like peanut butter and chocolate together. It's one of his weird mutations.

This is my most recent birthday cake experiment. Inspired by Martha and the whisk kid blog. It's a fun one!

easy and delicious dessert

I have made this dessert twice in the last month and I love it. It's super easy: just make your favorite brownie recipe and let it cool completely. Then mix up a box of chocolate pudding and pour it over the brownies and refrigerate until set up. Then top with cool whip and garnish with chocolate shavings or crushed m&m's (Easter colors are pretty) and refrigerate until ready to serve. It's a nice change of pace from plain brownies or plain pudding and it's yummy. My mom used to make it when we were growing up. Mmm...

cheese enchiladas

This recipe is easy, pretty cheap, tasty, and vegetarian. It's pretty kid-friendly because of all the cheese and their not spicy. I love them with a lot of shredded lettuce, some extra sour cream and chopped tomatoes. I've made them with low fat and fat free cheeses before and it worked out fine.

Cheese Enchiladas

from Betty Crocker

2 cups shredded monterey jack (8 oz.)

1 cup shredded cheddar (4 oz.)

1/2 cup sour cream (light and fat free work fine too)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)

2/3 cup water

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/4 tsp ground cumin

2 whole green chilies, seeded and chopped, optional

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

8 corn tortillas (I use flour because that's what I like and I usually use about 12)

1. Heat oven to 350

2. Mix cheeses, sour cream, parsley, pepper and onion; set aside.

3. Heat remaining ingredients except tortillas to boiling in 2 quart saucepan, stirring occasionally; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Pour into ungreased pie plate.

4. Dip each tortilla into sauce to coat both sides. Spoon about 1/4 cup cheese mixture onto each tortilla; roll tortilla around filling. Place seam side down in ungreased rectangular baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas.

5. Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until bubbly. Garnish with additional shredded cheese, sour cream, and chopped onion if desired.

update

The cutting boards are in and they are heading your way this week. Be prepared! Again, thanks for being patient. And sorry about the shortage of posts lately. We'll see if I can't correct that this week too.

sorry!

So, I can't seem to find those cutting boards in stores anymore. Sorry about the delay. I will get them to you as soon as I can. Thanks for being patient!