Chocolate Slice

Another one of my favorite treats growing up was this chocolate slice. It had been a long time since I had eaten it and while looking through a cookbook I recently remembered it and so called my mum for the recipe. I had forgotten how quick and easy it was to make. This is the perfect throw together slice to take to friends or family or for a special lunchbox treat.

Chocolate Slice


250 gms butter plus more for greasing pan
1 cup sugar
1 tab Golden syrup- light corn syrup can be substituted
2 tab cocoa
1 tsp vanilla essence to taste
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup coconut (I used sweetened flakes as it was all I could find)
2 cups of flower

Place butter, sugar, golden syrup, cocoa and vanilla essence in a pot/saucepan and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add baking powder, coconut and flour and mix
Place in greased dish 13x9. Bake for 10 mins only at 350 F. When cold ice with your favorite chocolate frosting. You really need to give this a few hours to set up before cutting it. If you don't it will be very soft and though delicious will not cut into neat squares.

Fathers Day/Birthday Cake

On Fathers Day we went over to my in-laws for family dinner. My food assignment was dessert and since we were combining a birthday and Fathers Day I made this cake. It was a Chocolate Black Out Cake (recipe follows). I found the idea online (can't remember where) for the decorations and thought it looked like a fun cake. It was a hit with everyone and we all enjoyed devouring it.

I know I have posted this cake recipe before, but this one is worth mentioning again. The cake layers are moist and slightly fudgy and the pudding used to fill and frost the cake is sheer heaven. To date this is my favorite chocolate cake recipe.

Chocolate Blackout Cake
America's Test Kitchen


Serves 8-10 -Easily!

Pudding
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whole milk
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cake
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. FOR THE PUDDING: Whisk the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan and slowly whisk in half-and-half and milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the chocolate and cook, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth, about 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla. Transfer the pudding to a large bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Refrigerate the pudding until cold, about 4 hours.

2. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the over to 325 degrees. Grease two 8-inch cake pans, then dust with cocoa powder and line the bottoms with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 3/4 cup of the cocoa and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off the heat, whisk in the coffee, buttermilk, and the sugars until dissolved. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then slowly whisk in the flour mixture until no streaks remain. (The batter will be very loose.)

4. Give the batter a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure it is thoroughly combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, smooth the tops, and gently tap the pans on the work surface to settle the batter. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through backing.

5. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of the cakes, then flip them out onto a wire rack. Peel of the parchment paper, flip the cakes right side up, and let cool completely before filling and frosting about 2 hours.

6. Line the edges of a cake platter with strips of parchment paper to keep the platter clean while you assemble the cake. Slice each cake into two even layers using a long serrated knife. Crumble one of the cake layers into medium-sized crumbs.

7. Place one of the cake layers on the platter. Spread 1 cup of pudding over the cake right to the edges. Top with a second layer of cake and spread with another 1 cup of pudding. Place the remaining cake layer on top and press lightly to adhere. Frost the cake with the remaining pudding. Sprinkle the cake crumbs evenly over the top and press them onto the sides of the cake. Remove the parchment strips from the platter before serving.

*** To decorate the cake, I frosted it with the pudding and then used just about 4 large packets of kit-kats for the border and 4 packages of M&M's to sprinkle on top.***

Super easy moist chocolate bundt cake

I found this recipe on http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/ quite a while ago and have made it more than once. I can't believe I hadn't posted it until now. This may not be the fanciest chocolate cake out there but when you have a hankering for a moist and fudgy chocolate cake and you are pinched for time or as this weekend had it energy in my case this is a great go to chocolate cake recipe. I put this together in a snap and it was nice to have when people dropped by to visit this past weekend. My little man had lots of fun helping me make it too. As you can see from the pictures below he also enjoyed helping me "clean" the beaters.

Super Moist Fudge Bundt Cake
from Erin W. and Melanie C.


1 devils food cake mix
1 4-serving instant chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream (not low-fat or fat-free)
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Stir down sides. Continue to mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared (i.e. greased and floured) bundt pan. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 20 minutes. Invert onto serving platter. I dusted mine with powdered sugar but my cake was still warm so it eventually melted into the cake.



MMMMMMMM


Look at those eyelashes!

Such a cheeser! I don't know what it is but pretty much anything that touches the hands always seems to end up rubbed on the face and in the hair.


I also have to give a shout out to the cutest, smartest, cleverist, kindest, sexiest birthday boy. Today my husband turned the big 28! I love you honey and hope you have a special day.

Chocolate Ripple Cake/Log aka Chocolate Icebox Cake

Growing up this was one of my most favorite desserts. I remember eating this as a kid and begging my mother to make it. Last week when I was planning my Mothers Day dinner menu I remembered this dessert and wondered if there was any way I could make it here in the states (you will see why). Once I had in my head that I wanted to have this dessert for Mothers Day there was no stopping me.

In Australia this dessert is made with a cookie/biscuit called a chocolate ripple biscuit (hence the name). You can't get chocolate ripple biscuits here in the US and I had had no luck finding a substitute that would work at any of my local grocery stores. I couldn't even find a recipe to make the cookie from scratch to use in this dessert. I spent a good part of Thursday and Friday last week online trying to find a substitute for the cookie I needed. At last I had found it. Now if only I could find this cookie in the stores. I read countless stories from people online who could not find this particular cookie as Nabisco doesn't widely sell them anymore and MOST grocery stores don't keep them on the shelf. I thought this was an Australian/New Zealand dessert until I started my online research. It turns out that this cake actually originated in America. I was lucky enough to find this pricey cookie at an Albertsons in downtown Salt Lake City. When I did find them I almost cried. I was so excited to make this childhood favorite. It was everything we remembered it to be and my Mothers Day dessert was a success!

A little history: An icebox cake (American), zebra cake (British), or chocolate ripple log (Australian) is a dessert consisting of whipped cream and chocolate wafers. The back-of-the-box recipe on Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers indicates that the wafers are stacked to form a log with whipped cream cementing them together, and then the log is laid on its side. A second log is formed and the two are set side-by-side and more whipped cream covers the exterior. The cake is then left overnight in the refrigerator (or "icebox)." The wafers absorb moisture from the whipped cream and the whole can be served in slices. The dessert is usually served by cutting it into slices at a 45 degree angle, so bands of chocolate and cream are visible across each slice. The traditional wafers are the Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers, but they can be hard to find so other cookies are often substituted.

Chocolate Ripple Cake/Log aka Chocolate Icebox Cake


1 box of Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers - pictured below
2 Cups of heavy whipping cream - whipped
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

Method:
Add vanilla to cream and whip. Once cream is whipped use a knife or spatula and spread each wafer with a generous amount of cream. Stand the biscuits on edge on a tray, pressing them together to form a log.



Cover the whole lot with cream. I also crushed some oreos and sprinkled them on top.





Place in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight (overnight is best). You have to allow enough time for the cream to soften the cookies for a cake like consistency.
Cut on an angle to serve. This dessert is VERY rich so I chose to serve mine with some fresh strawberries.

This is the cookie that is used in this dessert in the US.


An image of the US version of the dessert- Chocolate Ice Box Cake. I love the shape and design of this cake. Though I think visually it is more appealing, I wonder about the consistency of the cake. I would think that if the cookie isn't completely covered in cream it wouldn't soften.

Best EVER Chocolate Sheet Cake- Texas Sheet Cake

This is hands down the best sheet cake I have ever tasted. Super moist and fudgy and just plain delicious. I won't bother trying any more sheet cake recipes- this is the one. I made this last Sunday for a family get together and everyone enjoyed it. I like it best served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream but it is wonderful served alone too. I ommitted the nuts as I don't like them.

Texas Sheet Cake
Cooks Country
Serves 24


Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs plus 2 yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate , chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Chocolate Icing

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup toasted pecans , chopped

1. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 18- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Whisk eggs and yolks, vanilla, and sour cream in another bowl until smooth.

2. Heat chocolate, butter, oil, water, and cocoa in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk chocolate mixture into flour mixture until incorporated. Whisk egg mixture into batter, then pour into prepared baking pan. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to wire rack.

3. For the icing: About 5 minutes before cake is done, heat butter, cream, cocoa, and corn syrup in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Off heat, whisk in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Spread warm icing evenly over hot cake and sprinkle with pecans. Let cake cool to room temperature on wire rack, about 1 hour, then refrigerate until icing is set, about 1 hour longer. (Cake can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Cut into 3-inch squares. Serve.

Snickers Cake

I'm not a huge Candy fan and I really can do without it but every now and then when I have a hankering for something chocolate a Snickers sounds good. A lady I work with has a bowl of mini bite size Snickers bars on her desk and I am definitely guilty of swinging by there from time to time to grab one to satisfy my sweet tooth.

That being said when I stumbled across this recipe online for a Snickers Cake I was interested. Sadly enough though this cake didn't quite turn out as I thought it would. You can see from the pictures how flat and gooey it looks. It tasted wonderful but there didn't seem to be enough cake. The recipe says to pour half of the cake batter on the bottom and then you top the cake with the remaining half of the batter. I think I poured too much cake batter on the bottom and didn't quiet have enough for the top. I also think that almost halving the caramel layer in the middle would make this cake less gooey and more cakey. To my surprise I also didn't LOVE the peanuts in the center. I think as the recipe suggests, next time I'll omit the nuts and make it a Milky Way cake instead. I served this warm with vanilla ice cream and it was delicious but I feel like I still need to play with this recipe to get my desired result. I'll keep you posted. I'm not giving up yet! Please pardon the crappy photos!

Snickers Cake

Ingredients

1 - 18.25 oz. package German chocolate cake mix with pudding
1 - 14 oz. package of caramels, unwrapped
1/2 C. butter
1/3 C. milk
1 C. dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
3/4 C. milk chocolate morsels

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9" pan. Prepare cake mix according to package instructions. Pour half of batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350° F. for 10 minutes. Take cake out of oven and cool cake on wire rack for 10 minutes. CAKE WILL NOT TEST DONE!
Meanwhile, combine unwrapped caramels, butter and milk in a saucepan over medium heat, cooking until caramels melt, stirring often. Spread mixture over cooled cake. Sprinkle chopped peanuts and chocolate morsels over the caramel mixture. Spread remaining cake mix batter evenly over top.
Bake at 350° F. for 20-25 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. Can leave out peanuts if you like and it could be a Milky Way Cake.

Homemade Oreos

I love love love homemade Oreos. Wait... I love any and all Oreos. What can I say?

Here is a recipe for homemade Oreos that I love. They are so easy to make and are always a crowd pleaser. They are definitely my quick go-to cookie recipe when I need to whip something up pronto.

I love how you can play with the frosting colors when making these. In the past for the 4th of July I have made Oreos with red, white and blue frosting, for Valentines Day I have used pink frosting, for Christmas I have used red and green frosting. Anyway you get the idea. Let your imagination run wild!

Homemade Oreos

1 Box of Betty Crocker devils food cake mix (I have used other chocolate varieties and this is just the best)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1- Simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. (Yep its that easy)

2- Take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into small balls. The size of the ball depends on the size of the cookie. I just eyeball it. If I had to guess I'd say just smaller than a golf ball size. You want to make sure that all of your cookie balls are about the same size so that they match up when you frost them and put them together.

3- Place cookie balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and cook at 350 degrees for exactly 8 minutes. The cookies will be very soft and easily breakable until they have cooled completely.

4- Once the cookies have cooled completely, simply take two of the cookies, place the desired about of frosting (see below) on one of the cookies and then put the two together.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz cream cheese
1 Tbsp butter melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 Cups powdered sugar

Soften the cream cheese (I usually just do this in the microwave). Add the melted butter, vanilla and the powdered sugar and using a hand beater mix until the desired consistency is reached.

Personally I love these even more the next day. I like to make them and then store them in an air tight container. These will stay good for up to 4 days if kept in an air tight container. That's if you can resist eating them all the first day you make them!

Wacky Cake- America's Test Kitchen

Another recipe from my America's Test Kitchen cookbook. This recipe for Wacky Cake caught my eye when I noticed that it didn’t contain eggs, milk or butter. It also has a very interesting method of preparation (see picture below). One of the things I love about my America's Test Kitchen cookbook is that with some of it's recipes it gives a little history of how the recipe came to be. This one was of particular interest to me.

This is what my book said:
While the name implies comical roots, Wacky Cake was actually born out of the seriousness of wartime rationing. At various times during the world wars, eggs, butter, sugar, and milk were all in short supply, so inventive home cooks and home economists did their best to create dishes with limited ingredients. Wacky cake is a moist chocolate cake prepared, miraculously enough, without eggs or butter.

After reading this I couldn't help but be grateful for all of the wonderful ingredients we have at our disposal. Despite these hard economic times, we truly are lucky and things really could be worse. I also thought about how amazing those women must have been to survive such a hard time cooking for their families when necessities weren't readily available to them. I think it is so cool that even though this cake was born during wartime that the women still took the time to invent a chocolate cake they could make. I like to think they did it to lift the spirits of their families. I can see this being a favorite birthday cake back then.


Wacky Cake (moist chocolate cake)
America's Test Kitchen cookbook


(this is a picture from http://itsdinnertime2.blogspot.com)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon vinegar
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup cold water

Preparation:
In the 8x8 pan mix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt. Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one well put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil. Pour the cold water over the mixture and stir until moistened.



Bake at 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it springs back when touched lightly.

Though this cake is usually served without frosting, I made a simple chocolate frosting to pour over the cake as soon as it came out of the oven. Just a little butter, vanilla, cocoa, icing sugar and milk. I just make it to taste. This cake is so incredibly moist and much to my pleasant surprise was just as moist- if not more so the next day. Though I have been craving this since I made it on Friday night I don't think I'll be making it any time again soon. Brad and I ate the whole cake ourselves over the course of two days. YIKES. It really was that good though!

Chocolate Blackout Cake

I made this cake for dessert to go with our potato soup on Thursday night. I had watched the experts make it on America's Test Kitchen more than once. Every time I watched it I would get more and more excited about making it. I hate to say though, that I was a little disappointed when the big tasting moment arrived. However, in the same breath let me say that it was to no fault of the recipe but my fault alone.

There were 3 things I made that I will be sure not to repeat when I make this next time. 1. This recipe calls for 1 cup of strong brewed coffee and I think I may have made it a little too strong. 2. When purchasing the unsweetened chocolate for the pudding I wasn't too sure what to buy. I noticed at the store that they had 60% cocoa unsweetened chocolate and 100% cocoa unsweetened chocolate. Not knowing which one to get I went with the 100%. For me this made the pudding too rich and so next time I'll go for the 60%. 3. I thought that my cake pans were 8 inch, but it turns out that they were 9 inch. Not a big deal with some cakes but with this one it was. Each baked cake is supposed to be cut in half once cooled for layering purposes and because I used 9 inch pans, my cakes were thinner and this presented a challenge not only when cutting the cakes but also when layering.

That being said, the cake was still delicious and I will definitely make it again. It was just a little too rich. I am always on a quest to find moist cake recipes. For me what makes a cake is how moist it is and this one delivers. The cake itself without the pudding is rich, dense and oh so moist. I am not claiming defeat yet!

Chocolate Blackout Cake
From Cooks Country

Serves 8-10 -Easily!

Pudding
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whole milk
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cake
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. FOR THE PUDDING: Whisk the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium saucepan and slowly whisk in half-and-half and milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the chocolate and cook, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth, about 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla. Transfer the pudding to a large bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Refrigerate the pudding until cold, about 4 hours.

2. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the over to 325 degrees. Grease two 8-inch cake pans, then dust with cocoa powder and line the bottoms with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 3/4 cup of the cocoa and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off the heat, whisk in the coffee, buttermilk, and the sugars until dissolved. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then slowly whisk in the flour mixture until no streaks remain. (The batter will be very loose.)

4. Give the batter a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure it is thoroughly combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, smooth the tops, and gently tap the pans on the work surface to settle the batter. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through backing.

5. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of the cakes, then flip them out onto a wire rack. Peel of the parchment paper, flip the cakes right side up, and let cool completely before filling and frosting about 2 hours.

6. Line the edges of a cake platter with strips of parchment paper to keep the platter clean while you assemble the cake. Slice each cake into two even layers using a long serrated knife. Crumble one of the cake layers into medium-sized crumbs.

7. Place one of the cake layers on the platter. Spread 1 cup of pudding over the cake right to the edges. Top with a second layer of cake and spread with another 1 cup of pudding. Place the remaining cake layer on top and press lightly to adhere. Frost the cake with the remaining pudding. Sprinkle the cake crumbs evenly over the top and press them onto the sides of the cake. Remove the parchment strips from the platter before serving.

Stuffed Pasta Shells and Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

Stuffed Pasta Shells from http://itsdinnertime2.blogspot.com

½ C parmesan cheese
24 oz ricotta cheese
3 C mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 T basil (I was out of basil so I used some Italian seasoning I had)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I love Bertolli) add cooked ground beef

Mix cheeses, basil, salt, pepper. Add eggs. Pour ½ sauce in 9x13 pan. Stuff shells with cheese mixture. Put in pan. Pour over remaining sauce. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

For the three of us, I halved this recipe (except the sauce) and used a smaller dish. It was perfect. Just enough for us all to eat dinner and Brad to have left over’s for lunch the next day.

I made these for dinner last night. It was good, however when I make this dish again there are some things I will do differently. First of all, this recipe says to add ground beef to the pasta sauce. I thought about omitting the meat as I love to really taste the sauce, pasta and the ricotta, but because Brad prefers the meat I added it in. I added just less than 1 pound of hamburger meat to the sauce and for me it was way too much. I felt like I could only taste the hamburger. The next time I make it, I think I will leave out the meat all together and should I happen to make it with hamburger again I would only use about a quarter of a pound. I found that using as much meat as I did made the sauce too thick and chunky and I didn't love that about this dish.

The original recipe also suggested baking this for 40 minutes but I found that I need to bake mine for closer to 55 minutes.

All in all I did like this recipe. It was easy to make while Gabe was confined to his high chair eating breakfast. I love meals I can make in the morning when I have energy, pop in the fridge and then just put in the oven later on in the afternoon to cook in time for Brad to come home.



Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding- from http://whowantsdinner.blogspot.com

1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided into 3/4 cup and 1/2 cup
1 cup all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons cocoa, divided into 3 tablespoons and 4 tablespoons
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 & 1/2 cups hot water
Preheat oven to 350°.

Stir together 3/4 cup sugar, flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, butter, and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Pour into an ungreased 8-inch square glass baking pan.

In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, and 4 tablespoons cocoa. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour hot water over the top. Do not stir.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Let stand for 15 minutes, then serve. Use the chocolate sauce in the bottom of the pan to spoon over servings. Garnish, if desired, with ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes 6 servings.

My mum would make a version of this dish growing up. I am not the hugest chocolate pudding fan, but this one is yummy and is so good when paired with a dollop of whipped cream or some vanilla ice cream. Note - This recipe doesn't call for eggs. I didn't notice that until I was almost done making it and thought I'd forgotten something. I was worried that it was a typo on the recipe but the pudding worked out wonderfully. It was the perfect end to our evening. Cuddling up on the couch with my Brad, eating a yummy dessert while Gabe was tucked in bed asleep. Ahhhhhhhh!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares

I made these yesterday for a family Christmas Party. Everyone loved them. They are very easy to make and are OH SO moist and yummy. A definite crowd pleaser! They are the type of slice you need to take somewhere after making it, otherwise you can easily end up eating them all yourself. My all time favorite cookie is my sister in law Elizabeth's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I have tried making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies twice and both times they weren't as moist as I wanted them to be so I was thrilled when I found this recipe on the Martha Stewart website. There is just something about the combination of chocolate and pumpkin that is heavenly. ENJOY!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. (I don’t do this. I just grease the pan with cake release or non-stick spray. It works fine)
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
• Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

Moist, Gooey, Warm Chocolate Bundt Cake

Yet another recipe from "My Kitchen Cafe". This cake is moist, dense, rich, and delightful. Some of the chocolate chips in the cake even seemed a little chewy. Probably my favorite chocolate cake recipe to date. It was incredibly easy and fast to make...a must have recipe.

Please pardon the presentation. This baby was on its way out the door along with dinner, to some people in our neighborhood who just had twin baby girls.

Super Moist Fudge Bundt Cake
from Erin W. and Melanie C.

1 devils food cake mix
1 4-serving instant chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream (not low-fat or fat-free)
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Stir down sides. Continue to mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared (i.e. greased and floured) bundt pan. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 20 minutes. Invert onto serving platter. I usually dust mine with powdered sugar for an elegant look before digging in. Today there was no powdered sugar to be found in the pantry so I used a little granulated sugar just for texture.

Note- I also sprinkled my cake with some powdered sugar but then decided to pretty it up a little more I'd melt the remainder of the chocolate chips and drizzle it around the center. The photos don't seem to do it justice.