Triple Fudge Fantasy Cake

I got this recipe from my daughter in law and it is on her private blog so I had a request from my daughter to post it here for easier access.  This is the best chocolate cake I have ever had and it is a popular birthday cake at our house.  Enjoy!

1 pkg. Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 4 oz. box instant chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 c. sour cream
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl.  Blend with an electric mixer 1 minute.  Stir down sides and continue to mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour batter into a prepared bundt pan.
Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees.  Cool 20 minutes.  Invert onto a serving platter.  Do not over bake the cake.  At the end of 50 minutes, you will not think that the cake is done but trust me it is.  You cannot use the toothpick test with this cake.  Just have faith and take it out.  You won't be sorry.

Glaze:
8 T. Butter
4 T. cocoa powder
1/3 cup evaporated milk or cream
4 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.  Whisk in cocoa and dissolve.  Then add milk and bring the mixture just to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add to the powdered sugar with an electric mixer and beat until thick and smooth.  Add 1 t. vanilla.  Pour warm glaze over warm cake.

Denver Cheesecake

AKA my birthday cake today!  I don't usually have a birthday cake, but decided to do a cheesecake this year.  This recipe is from my sister, Trina.  It's a lot of cream cheese and you need to plan ahead, but it is SO GOOD!

Crust:
1 12-ounce box of vanilla wafers, crushed
6 Tblsps of butter, melted

Filling:
40 oz cream cheese, softened (5- 8 oz packages)  Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat) works great
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 Tblsps flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
6 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream

In a small bowl, mix together wafer crumbs and butter.  Press into the bottom and half-way up the sides of a 10 inch spring form pan.  Chill while preparing filling.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add sugar, flour, salt, lemon zest, and vanilla.  Beat well.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.  Blend in cream.  Pour into crust.  Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes and then at 225 degrees for an additional 70-80 minutes.  Filling will be almost set.  Cool at room temperature.  Regfrigerate for 8 hours or overnight before serving.

I used frozen mixed berries in Danish Dessert for the topping.  I used some left over lemon zest, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar to make the whipped cream for the top.  Yummy!

Molten Chocolate-Nutella Pudding Cakes

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. Nutella

Peheat oven to 350. Mist 6 6 oz. ramekins with cooking spray. Place a roasting pan in oven; pour in 1/2 inch of hot water. In a bowl, whisk flour, cocoa and baking powder.
Combine chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl; cook on high, stirring once or twice, until almost melted. Stir until smooth.
In a bowl, with a mixer on medium high, beat eggs, vanilla, sugar and salt until pale yellow, about 5 miinutes. Beat in melted chocolate mixture. Stir in flour mixture. Spool half of batter into ramekins. Drop 1 tbsp. of Nutella into center of each. Cover with remaining batter.
Transfer ramekins to roasting pan. Bake until cakes have risen and are cracked on top, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve warm with whipped cream.
If you want something rich and chocolatey this is the dessert for you. They were yummy. I found this recipe in my All You magazine.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

I found this recipe on thecooknextdoor.blogspot.com. It was delicious. Trust me!

1 cup butter, melted
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 individual Reese’s Cups, chopped

For the filling:
1/4 cup peanut butter, heated in microwave at 10 second intervals for easy spreading

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray 2 (8-inch) round pans and line with parchment paper and spray again.
2. In a medium bowl combine the 1 cup melted butter and cocoa and stir until the cocoa is dissolved.
3. Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and mix well. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla, flour and salt and combine until the flour is no longer visible. Fold in the chopped peanut butter cups and divide the mixture between the pans.
4. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Run a knife around the edge of each pan and turn out onto a work surface.
5. Put 1 cake layer on a cake plate or a round platter. Spread the 1/4 cup of peanut butter over the first layer and top with the second layer. In a bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and heavy cream until a glaze forms. Add more half and half, if needed, to achieve desired thick glaze consistency. Pour the glaze on top of the torte, spreading it out with a small knife allowing it to drip over the sides. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler and drizzle over the glaze.

Fresh Apple Cake

This is a great recipe to try with apple harvest almost here. Janet and I made this today and lets just say it made a great lunch. Enjoy!


Mix thoroughly:
1 cup chopped nuts (we left these out)
2 eggs well beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups sugar

Then add:
4 cups diced fresh apples

Then add:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt

Bake in greased 9 x 13 pan at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix thoroughly and add 2 cups boiling water slowly. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick (It won't get that thick). Add 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 tbs. butter.

Add sauce to each individual serving. Serve hot with whipped cream.

Mom's Coffee Cake

This coffee cake doesn't really have a name but my Mom made it for us when we were kids so I have made it for my family and it has always been a favorite. We have tried other recipes similar to this one and they say this is the best. It is great to eat the leftovers for a snack the rest of the day.

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
4 T. oil
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt (I leave this out because I am on a low sodium diet and it tastes fine)
4 tsp. baking powder

Combine eggs, sugar, milk and oil. Add flour with salt and baking powder. Mix well and pour into 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with Pam.
Sprinkle with the mixture of

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. flour
2 T. melted butter
1 cup chopped nuts (I usually leave these out because I have a few people who don't like nuts!)

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until brown around the edges. Enjoy!