Chocolate Quadraphonic Delight

Four, yes... four layers of yummy chocolaty goodness coming at you! My mom has been making this recipe for years with a homemade pecan sandie cookie type crust. Around here, we love chocolate so I figured why not make this with an Oreo crust. That'd be awesome!

Now I know I normally post a pic of the finished item, but this one turned out kinda ugly. I did a bad thing and didn't let my Cool Whip thaw completely and then, I stirred it. You should never, ever stir partially thawed Cool Whip. It does something bad to the Cool Whip and makes it get runny. Learn from my mistakes people and thaw your Cool Whip in the fridge ahead of time (like it says on the container).

Anyways, the dessert still tasted awesome. Just didn't look so pretty.

Ingredients:

1 package Oreos, crushed up
6 Tbs butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs milk
12 oz tub of Cool Whip
2 packages chocolate pudding
3 1/4 cup milk

1. Crush your Oreos. I used the food processor, but you can put them in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
2. Melt your butter. Combine the butter and crushed cookies. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 pan.
3. Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, 2 Tbs milk, and 1/3 of the Cool Whip. Beat with a mixer until light and fluffy. Spread over the crust. Place in the fridge to chill.
4. Make the pudding using the 3 1/4 cup milk (yes, this is less than the package calls for). Let thicken for 5 minutes or so.
5. Spread the pudding over the cream cheese layer. Place dish back in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes to let pudding set.
6. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Cover and chill.

I've found it's best to make this the day ahead of time. You can cut everything in half to make a 8x8 dish if desired.

Cafe Latte Turtle Cake

I love chocolate cake... love it! This past week, someone handed me a recipe while I was at the Veterans Hospital with my fiancee and it looked amazing. So, I decided to make it for our Easter celebration. His family had the celebration a week early this year, so it was yesterday.

The cake was a huge success, they ate the whole thing. I love it!! So good. The frosting is like eating fudge and the layers were very moist and chocolaty  without being too chocolate or too rich. This might be the chocolate cake I always make going forward! 

Cafe Latte Turtle Cake: 

Cake Ingredients: 

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup buttermilk

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 cups all purpose flour

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 TBS baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

1. Grease 3 9 inch cake pans with Crisco. Then dust them with cocoa powder as if you were flouring the pan. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and vegetable oil.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. 

4. Gradually beat the egg mixture into the flour. Your batter will have a brownie like consistency at this point. Scrape down the sides of your bowl. 

5. Gradually beat in the hot coffee. This will make your batter much thinner. Be sure to scrape the bottom of your bowl and the beater(s) and mix again to get all the thicker batter incorporated. 

6. Pour into your prepared pans and bake at 350 for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted the center comes out clean. The batter will appear somewhat shallow in the pans. 

7.Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove the layers from the pans to cooling racks to cool completely. 

8. Build your cake, by layering cake, frosting, and caramel sauce as desired. Nuts would be a great addition to this cake. 

Caramel Sauce recipe here. 

Frosting recipe here. 

Chocolate Cake

So, yesterday was St Patrick's Day and I wanted to make a festive desert for the occasion. I looked around for awhile and all the recipes I found were either mint, lime, pistachio or contained alcohol. My fiancee hates mint and lime, so those two were out. We don't keep liquor in the house, so that was out as well.

So, I decided to make a chocolate cake with green frosting. Simple and still festive. Warning... I do not make beautiful cakes, but I make very tasty ones!

 Chocolate Cake:

3/4 cup butter softened (I use unsalted)
3 eggs (at room temp)
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup milk

1. Bring all ingredients to room temperature. This step applies to all baking. Cold eggs can shock your batter and change to texture of your cake.
2. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. I use Crisco and flour for this step.

3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. This step ensures the cocoa is evenly distributed through the batter and makes for a fluffier cake.

4. Cream the butter in a bowl using an electric mixer (I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but you CAN do this with a handheld mixer.)
5. Gradually add the sugar to the butter, beating on a medium speed until the butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and beat again.
6. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until everything is just mixed before adding the next egg.
7. Add the vanilla and beat until mixed.
8. Add the flour and cocoa mix to the batter (about 3/4 cup at a time), alternating with milk (about 1/2 cup at a time), beating on slow until just mixed after each addition. You should start and end with flour.
9. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly.
10. Pour into your prepared cake pans and bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

I use Wilton Cake strips when baking my cakes. These are strips of fabric that you soak into water and wrap around the cake pans. The make your cake level because they slow down the baking of the outside of the cake. You can find these on Amazon.

11. Once the cake is done, cool in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes. Then remove from pans and cool on a wire rack until completely cooled.

Frost as desired. I made Light Chocolate Buttercream and dyed it green for the holiday.