Sunday, November 14, 2010

German Chocolate Cake

Well, it was Devin's birthday, and he wanted a German Chocolate Cake. In years past I have made a german chocolate cake, but it has been from the box... and I wanted to make it from scratch. So I did. It was not a hard cake to make. Just a little time consuming, but OH SO WORTH IT! :) I got the recipe from the back of the Baker's Sweet Baking Chocolate.
 German's Sweet Chocolate Cake 
1 pkg. (4 oz.)Baker's German's Sweet Baking Chocolate
1/2 C. water 
2 C. flour
1tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 C. sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
1 C. buttermilk**
4 egg whites

** I just made my own buttermilk.. Really easy 1 Tb. vinegar or lemon juice per 1 c. milk. Put in vinegar or lemon juice first. Add milk up to the amount needed. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. 

Directions: Heat oven to 350 Degrees F. Line bottoms of 3 (9 in.) pans with wax paper. Microwave chocolate and water in large microwavable bowl on high 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring half way through heating time. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition until smooth. Beat egg whites in another large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently sit into batter. Pour into prepared pans. 

Bake 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched in center. Immediately run spatula between cakes and sides of pans. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pans. Remove wax paper. Cool completely on wire racks. Spread Coconut Pecan Filling and Frosting between layers and over top of cake. Makes 12 servings. 

Note: This delicate cake will have a flight slightly sugary top crust which tends to crack. 


Now for the delectable frosting:

Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting
1 can (12 oz.) Evaporated Milk
1 1/2 C. sugar
3/4 C. (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
4 egg yolks slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (7 oz.) coconut (about 2 1/3 C.)
1 1/2 C. chopped pecans 

Stir milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks, and vanilla in large saucepan. Stirring constantly, cook on medium heat 12 minutes or until thickened and golden brown. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut and pecans. Cool to room temperature and of spreading consistency. Make about 4 1/2 cups.  


This is an extremely long post and I apologize for the length, but I need to add a few more things... 
I did toast my pecans. Just put them in a pan and let them heat up on the stove. Stir occasionally on low heat. I also let my frosting cook on the stove until it started to boil. 
I didn't notice that my cake cracked, so if it does or doesn't it will be wonderful.It is also really important that the frosting cools. I didnt make my frosting with enough time to cool, so I made it work, and it turned out great, but it would stay better if the frosting was cooled all the way. 
 Good luck and happy baking! 

Friday, October 29, 2010

Another Pumpkin Treat


Tonight, I made a dish that I remember having as a young girl during Halloween! The name of the dish is "Dinner in a Pumpkin" It turned out really well and it was yummy! It took a bit of time to prepare, but it was worth it. Thanks Mom!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 small to medium pumpkin
4 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
1 10-oz. can cream of chicken soup
2 Tbs. Vegetable Oil
1 8-oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. ground beef
1 1/2 C. cooked rice
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
2 Tbs. Brown Sugar

Directions: Cut off top of pumpkin; clean out seeds and pulp. In a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender; add meat and brown. Drain drippings from skillet. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms and soup; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionaly. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin, with filling on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour @ 350 degrees in oven or until inside meat of pumpkin is tender.
Put pumpkin on a place; remove top and serve. For your vegetable, scoop out cooked pumpkin and serve!
Serves about 6-8 people

I hope you enjoy it! Have a wonderful Halloween!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

A Traditional Fall Flavor

Oh how I love smelling pumpkin mixed with spices during Autumn. This was the first pumpkin recipe I made of the season and I will be coming back to this recipe lots. 


This weekend I got online and found a DELICIOUS recipe for Pumpkin Cupcakes. I am sorry that I forgot who's blog I received this great recipe, but thank you! For any of you who do not know me... I think that cupcakes are one my favorite things to bake! In this area I am learning how to tweak and adjust ingredients quickly. (But mostly with the frosting) Tonight I will share with you the recipe and pictures to go along with it. I must admit, I did not take the pictures. My husband did and they look great. He is more skilled in the photo department than I am. (I know little to nothing about lighting and the settings on my tiny digital camera) Thanks Devin for helping me out!

Pumpkin Cupcakes
2 1/4 C. flour, sifted
1 1/3 C. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 C. butter, softened
2 eggs beaten
1 C. canned pumpkin (about half of a 15 oz. can)
3/4 C. milk
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners (this makes about 18 reg. size)
In a large bowl, sift dry ingredients together and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in pumpkin. Alternate stirring in the dry ingredients and the milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl and stir until blended. Spoon into liners and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 

Cream Cheese Frosting (Adapted from Cynthia Cockriel)
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 T. milk
6 T. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 C. powdered sugar
Cream together cream cheese, milk, butter and vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar. You can add chopped nuts if you so desire. ( I would assume it is delicious and it would add wonderful texture.)

I have decided to bake wonderful things, you don't necessarily need all of the fancy equipment. I put the frosting on by placing it in a ziplock bag and cutting the tip. I just squirt it out in a circular motion. There isn't a need for a pastry bag. This is where your creativity can come in, have fun and decorate however you desire. 
When I made this recipe, I made miniature cupcakes. It made 36 small cupcakes and 6 regular sized cupcakes... I probably could have made a couple more regular sized cupcakes, or 6 to 12 more miniature cupcakes because some of them were a little larger than others, but they turned out great! I will definitely go back to this recipe throughout the years.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Friday Night Classic

Pizza is a Friday night classic dinner. I made it the other night... It was not on a Friday, but I decided that Pizza is not just for Friday nights. I remember my mom making homemade pizza often. We usually had pepperoni with cheese. I love pizza. 
On Wednesday I made a combination of toppings. I wanted to put mushrooms, onions, and green pepper on the side with the olives and hamburger... but we didn't have any of those things, so I made do with what we had. It turned out great. 




 Pizza Dough From: Annie Hamrick
1 Pkg. active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp) 
1 C. warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 TB vegetable oil
2 1/2 C. flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in remaining ingredients. Beat vigorously 20 strokes. Let rest 5 minutes. Roll dough out into a square. Put toppings of your choice on top. Bake on a cookie sheet. Cook until golden brown @ 425 Degrees about 20 min.

**The toppings that I used are as follows:
Half a can of tomato sauce
Italian Seasoning Sprinkled on sauce or on top of pizza
Canned Pineapple
Canadian Bacon
Canned Olives
Hamburger Meat
Mozzarella Cheese 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Today Is the Day

Hello Everyone!!
Today is the first day that I start my Food Blog. On this blog I hope to use and try recipes from my families. I will also find new recipes to cook for my dear family and friends! I hope that you enjoy reading the cooking family traditions that I will create as well as try out the recipes that I post. Please enjoy and feel free to comment if you have any suggestions or comments about the food. :)
I will also be posting some webisodes of things I cook.