Chocolate Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce

Chocolate, caramel and salt go so well together. Anytime I see a treat with these ingredients featured, I must taste it. (And yes, I even got the glazed doughnut from 7/11 one day that was topped chocolate glaze, drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with sea salt. It was so good and so bad for me! I couldn't resist) Forget I told you that. If I see a recipe I must make it. My husband and I both love this flavor combo and have been addicted to a Fleur de sel caramel ice cream we discovered one day at the grocery store. Fleur de sel is a potent and delicious sea salt.


I think the first experience I tried where I actually fell in love with this flavor combination was when my husband made these Espresso Caramel Bars for my birthday one year. His favorite chef is Giada De Laurentiis so most of his dishes are using her recipes. Wow, they were amazingly delectable and addictive. Beware and be prepared when you make them. Your friends and family will request them from you often.


This cake is easier to make in my opinion. If you haven't had the awesome experience to try the chocolate-caramel-salt combo, you're missing out. Take the leap and enjoy!


Chocolate Bundt Cake
1 c brewed coffee
1 c butter, unsalted
1/2 c Guinness Beer
1/2 c cocoa powder, plus some for dusting the pan
1 1/2 c sugar
2 c flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Caramel Sauce
1 c sugar
1/4 c water
1/2 heavy cream, warm
2 tbsp butter, unsalted, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coarse sea salt to sprinkle over top of cake

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.


Brew 1 cup of coffee. Set aside. Butter the bundt pan and sprinkle in a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder and shake around to coat the pan evenly to prevent sticking.


In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the coffee, Guinness and cocoa powder stirring with a whisk. After the butter is melted, incorporate the sugar and whisk until dissolved. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.


In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a smaller separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Whisk the egg mixture into the cooled chocolate mixture.


Slowly add the flour to the chocolate mixture and whisk until all ingredients are combined.


Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.


When cake is done, let cool for one hour before attempting to remove from pan. Run a rubber spatula around the edges to loosen from pan and gently flip pan over onto a wire rack. It should remove easily.


While cake is cooling, make the caramel sauce. To a medium saucepan, add sugar and water over medium-high heat. Place cream in a separate small saucepan and heat until warm.


Stir the sugar and water until sugar has melted. Let the sugar it without being stirred. The caramel will start to boil and turn a golden brown color. When the coloring happens, remove from the heat. Stir in the warm cream and whisk. Add salt, vanilla and butter and continue to whisk until everything is combined. Set aside to cool for about 5 minutes. Drizzle caramel sauce over the cake and sprinkle the sea salt. Enjoy!

Whoopie Pie Wednesday

Cakeballs are fabulous.  Cupcakes are fabulous.  Anything with frosting is fabulous.  Whoopie Pies have now been confirmed by me as fabulous!  I've been wanting to try these out for a while now.  I finally caved.  I made Red Velvet and Devil's Food. Ohh emm geeee!!   Babe, you're taking these to work for the guys to devour.  I've had one of each flavor and I'm going to have to let them go far away from me or I'm gonna have to call in sick tomorrow just so I can stay home to stuff my face with this sweetness in private!

Cookies
1 Box Cake Mix (any flavor)
2 eggs
1/2 c butter (1 stick)

Beat ingredients in a mixer until combined.   Using cookie scoop, place them on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-11 minutes.  Let cool in pan about 5 minutes transfer to rack to cool completely while you make the filling.  Or you could just enjoy them as cookies.  They're very moist! But why wouldn't you want frosting?!

Cream Cheese Filling
1 pkg cream cheese, room temperature
2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat all ingredients in a small bowl until combined.   Add powdered sugar in increments of 1/2 c to thicken if needed.  Spread about 2 tablespoons of filling on the flat surface of cookies and sandwich together.  Makes 16 cookie sandwiches.

Cinco de Mayo en Mi Cocina

I wanted to celebrate Cinco de Drinko er Mayo at home with the hubby so I planned to have something festive for dinner.  Oh and cheap as well.  So I created a Taco Mac, paired with chips and salsa as well as a margarita and boom!  You have a tasty full course meal.  Dessert was a Mango Cake with lime glaze which reminded me of this margarita cake I use to make.  It's so fluffy like a spongecake and sooooo good!  It's semi-homemade but still delicious.  I hope you enjoy it all as much as we did.

 
TACO MAC

1 lb ground beef
1 (15oz) can of dice tomatoes (I used Italian style for more flavor)
1 c frozen corn
1 packet taco seasoning
2 c uncooked pasta (I used Campanelle but any will do)
2 1/4 c hot water
2 c Taco or Mexican flavored cheese

Cook ground beef in big skillet over medium-high heat until browned.  Drain if necessary.  Add tomatoes, corn, taco seasoning, pasta and water.  Stir together and bring to a boil.  Stir once more, cover and turn down to medium-low heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender.

Turn off heat and add 1 cup cheese and stir.   Serve sprinkled with remaining cheese and a dollop of sour cream if desired.   Enjoy!

EASY MANGO-RUM CAKE


1 box french vanilla cake make
1/2 c rum
1/3 c water
3 eggs
1 c peeled mango, cubed
1/4 c butter, melted
1/4 c finely chopped mango

LIME GLAZE
1 1/2 c powder sugar
2-3 tsp milk (or water if no milk on hand)
1 1/2 tsp lime juice

Spray bundt cake pan or 9x9 baking dish with vegetable spray.  Place cubed mango on the bottom of the pan.   Blend cake mix, rum, water, eggs and finely chopped mango in a large mixer bowl and mix at low speed until moistened.  Then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. (scraping down sides of bowl if needed)

Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes our clean.  Cool in pan for about 15-20 minutes.  While cooling, start the glaze.

Mix together all ingredients until smooth.  Add more milk or water for thinner consistency or more powdered sugar for thicker glaze.  Taste test to see if it has the right amount of lime and add more as you wish.

Loosen edges and put cake onto serving platter.   Pour glaze over whole cake. Slice and enjoy!!

White Russian Cupcakes

It was a co-workers birthday Tuesday and I decided to make something different.  I hope Paul had a great birthday!  I didn't have time or energy to make anything other than what ingredients I had in my house.   As I was going through some cookbooks to get ideas I came across "White Russian Cupcakes".  I love to drink one once in a while as well as some people I know.  It's one of those drinks that just 1 or 2 will do the trick.  Plus, the Dude loves them!! :-) So I had to try this out.  I think the batter and/or frosting could use more chocolate or Kahlua.   But this is the recipe I used so feel free to adjust as you see fit.  

Cake:

1 plain yellow cake mix

1 pkg vanilla instant pudding mix

1 c vegetable oil

3/4 c whole milk

4 large eggs

1/4 c vodka

1/4 c plus 2 tbsp Kahlua

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Kahlua Whipped Cream:

1 c heavy whipping cream

2 tbsp confectioners sugar (powdered)

1 tbsp Kahlua

2 tbsp semisweet chocolate shavings for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.   Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.  Set the pans aside.

Prepare the cupcake batter: place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, vodka, 1/4 c Kahlua and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.  Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds.  Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a wooden or rubber spatula.  Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed.  Spoon 1/3 c batter into each lined cupcake cup or use a cookie scoop, filling three quarters of the way full. I put 2 scoops in each and it came out perfect for 24 cupcakes.  Remove any empty liners and place pans in the oven.  

Bake until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 15-20 minutes.  Remove the pans from oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes.   Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the remaining 2 tbsp of Kahlua.  Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes to cool before frosting. 

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.  Place a large, clean mixing bowl and electric mixer beaters in the freezer to chill for 1-2 minutes.  Remove them from the freezer.  Pour the cream into the bowl and beat with mixer on high speed until the cream has thickened, 1 1/2 minutes.  Stop the machine and add the sugar and Kahlua.  Beat the cream on high speed until stiff peaks form 1-2 minutes more.  

Place a heaping tablespoon of the whipped cream on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a spatula or spoon.  Garnish with chocolate shavings.    Store in a cake saver or covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Shower of Cakes

A friend at work has enjoyed my baked goods so much that she asked if I could make something for her sister's bridal shower. We went back and forth for a couple of weeks on ideas for desserts and flavors and finally early the week of the event she asked if I could make 3, 9-inch layered round cakes. I told her SURE! She wanted vanilla with vanilla frosting, chocolate with chocolate frosting and strawberry with strawberry frosting. It sounded easy enough. I went on a search for recipes to use and found the ones to use for all three and of course added my own flair to them. The process of making the cakes and frostings went really smooth. I only had one frosting not turn out and I had to redo it. Otherwise, everything went really well. I started right after work around 6:30 and finished everything around 11:30ish. I was really proud of how they turned out. I tasted the scraps of the cakes and the frosting and they seemed to be flavorful enough to me. She confirmed the following Monday at work that they were a hit and really moist. I was glad to hear it!

Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIFMO!!


I whipped up some strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for TifMo (friend at work). I didn't realize that I haven't actually made homemade strawberry cake or cupcakes before. The thought of fresh strawberries made my mouth water so I had to try it. I love when you try a new recipe and it turns out great the first time around. Disasters are no bueno, especially late at night when you're ready to go to bed. I've got my cream cheese frosting down. It's always delicious when I make it. Not too sweet and you can taste the cream cheesey-ness! Yum!














HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES - makes 36 cupcakes

3 c self-rising flour
2 c granulated sugar
3/4 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 c pureed strawberries (I used about 2 cups or one 16 oz. container of fresh strawberries)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest
4 large eggs, beaten
red food coloring, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put cupcake liners in cupcake pans and set aside. Hull strawberries to remove stems. Rinse with water and pat dry with paper towels. Then pulse in food processor until pureed. I like small chunks mine.

In a large bowl add flour, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest and eggs. Stir all together with a wooden spoon until combined. If you wish, add red food coloring to give it a little more pink color. I added 5 drops.

Divide batter evenly in each cupcake liner. I used 2 cookie scoops of batter in each. They barely rose above the liner so I would add an extra 1/2 cookie scoop of batter in each if you like them to mound up a little.

Bake for 20 minutes and check with toothpick to see if center is done. If not, put back in and check in 2 minute intervals until toothpick comes out clean.

Put pans on wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Remove from pans directly onto wire rack to cool completely while you make the frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz pkg cream cheese frosting, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
Approx 3 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar in 1 cup batches until desired sweetness. I used 2 1/4 cups for mine. Stir in vanilla.

Valentine's Day Treats

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

I decided to try and win the love of my new co-workers with some homemade treats for Valentine's Day. And it worked! Everyone enjoyed the goodies. Chris sent me a website with a recipe for homemade thin mints. These were a little time consuming in my opinion but so worth it. I would still buy the box of them from Girl Scouts just to have instant gratification.

The cake balls are a required holiday treat I share. Everyone seems to love them. They're so moist and delicious you can't have just one. They're very versatile so you can make shapes and try different cake mixes. Making homemade cake just for these cake balls seems like a waste of time and good ingredients so the boxed mix is definitely the way to go.






















THIN MINTS

2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk (any kind) I used evaporated milk since I had it on hand.
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 peppermint extract

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Put the mixer on low speed and add the milk and extracts. Gradually add the flour mixture until incorporated.

Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours until dough if firm.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a sharp knife, slice dough into rounds no more than 1/4 thick. If they are too thick they will not be crisp. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Cookies will not spread very much so you can put them close together. Bake for 12-14 minutes until cookies are firm at edges. Cool cookies completely on wire rack before dipping in chocolate.

DARK CHOCOLATE COATING

10oz dark or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

In microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high in microwave stirring every 45-60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating.

Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, using a fork turn to coat and give a little shake to remove excess chocolate. Place on parchment or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes or until chocolate is dry.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

RED VELVET CAKE BALLS

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13x9 cake)
1 tub cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 pkg chocolate bark or baking chocolate (regular or white)
wax paper

After cake is baked and cooled completely, crumble in large bowl. Mix thoroughly with the whole tub of cream cheese frosting. I use a sturdy spoon or rubber spatula. Using a cookie scoop, make balls of the mixture and lay onto cookie sheet. (should make 45-50.) Chill in the freezer for a couple of hours or until firm. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package. Using a fork, turn balls in the chocolate and tap off excess. Then lay on wax paper until dry.

Guinness Cupcakes

Superbowl Sunday is a day for beer and food. So I put the two together to make a delicious treat called Beer Cupcakes (to be more specific, Guinness Cupcakes).

I took a batch over to a friend's house to share with everyone. There's always so much food at John & E's so I figured we'd have some left over. So I have a few to take to my new co-workers tomorrow. I'll just put them in the kitchen and let them devour on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Cake:
1 1/2 cups Guinness
1 stick, plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter (chopped into chunks)
3/4 cup unsweetened special dark cocoa powder
2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Glaze:
8 oz cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put paper liners in 2 muffin tins or great them up if you don't want to use liners.

Combine the Guinness and butter in a small saucepan, and heat to melt the butter. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa and brown sugar. In a large bowl, mix the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla. Then add the beer mixture and mix. Sift together the flour and baking soda and fold into the batter. Fill muffin molds 3/4 full (about 3 cookie scoops full). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers come out clean. Check it at 20 minutes to make sure you don't overbake. Let cool in tins for about 5-10 minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely while you mix ingredients for glaze.

Using a mixer, whip cream cheese until smooth. Sift in sugar and beat. Add milk and beat until smooth. Spread over cooled cupcakes.

*To create a thinner glaze, use more milk. To make thicker, use more powdered sugar. Either way, add a little sugar or milk at a time and mix to desired consistency.

Batter makes 24 cupcakes.