German Chocolate Cake with Ooey-Gooey Caramely Coconut Frosting

I know, I know -- I haven’t posted here in f.o.r.e.v.e.r.  But I want to get back to it, at least once in a while; if not to share recipes and adventures with others, but also to have a record of things that I want to do again (i.e. a place to easily find them).

And away we go….

This week, on Monday night in fact, I made a German Chocolate Cake for an awesome friend’s birthday on Tuesday night.  It was only the second or third time I’d ever made a cake from scratch at home.  I had hesitated to make scratch cakes because they just aren’t the same as boxed ones, and we (the collective we of society) have become so accustomed to what comes out of those boxes that the texture, and even the color, of homemade cakes can seem….odd.  Right?  But Jason reminded me that this is what cakes are *supposed* to be like, and being a food purist/snob/=P, I realize that this is the way I should have been making cakes all along, and it’s also how I *will* make cakes from now on.  From scratch.

The recipe looks complicated at first, but it really wasn’t.  A little time-consuming?  Yes.  But totally worth it.  And like I said to the group before we cut into this thing: “It isn’t the prettiest cake, but hell if it ain’t gonna taste good; between the cake and frosting it contains almost a full pound of butter!"

I Googled as I usually do to find a recipe that I thought looked good, and settled on this one because it calls for buttermilk, which we just happened to have some leftover from making pancakes with no real ideas in sight as to how else to use it up.

The very few inconsequential changes that I made to the recipe I have marked in red.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pkg.  (4 oz.) BAKER'S GERMAN'S Sweet Chocolate
• ½ cup  water
• 4 eggs, separated
• 2 cups  flour
• 1 tsp.  baking soda
• ¼ tsp.  salt
• 1 cup  butter, softened
• 2 cups  sugar
• 1 tsp.  vanilla
• 1 cup  buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:

HEAT oven to 350°F.

COVER bottoms of 3 (9-inch) -- I only used two -- round pans with waxed paper; spray sides with cooking spray. Microwave chocolate and water in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

BEAT egg whites in small bowl with mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form; set aside. Mix flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition.

ADD egg whites; stir gently until well blended. Pour into prepared pans.

BAKE 30 min -- I had to bake mine longer because I was using fewer pans -- or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Immediately run small spatula around cakes in pans. Cool cakes in pans 15 min.; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the frosting….

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 can  (12 oz.) evaporated milk
• 1½   tsp.  vanilla
• 1½  cups  sugar
• ¾ cup  butter or margarine
• 1 pkg.  (7 oz.) BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut (2-2/3 cups)
• 1-1/2 cups  chopped PLANTERS Pecans (I omitted the nuts due to a guest's allergy)

DIRECTIONS:

BEAT egg yolks, milk and vanilla in large saucepan with whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter; cook on medium heat 12 min. or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. (I found that I had to cook it for a lot longer than 12 minutes to get a good, thick consistency suitable for spreading as a frosting that wouldn't run off the cake.  I probably hit 25 minutes.  I also didn't stir it constantly, and alternated down to low heat during the times I wasn't actively stirring it.  But beware, it will build up hidden bubbles if you don't stir constantly, and then explode/splash very hot caramel sugar onto you when you being stirring again.)  Remove from heat.

ADD coconut and nuts; mix well. Cool to desired spreading consistency.

Finally, spread the frosting between the cake layers and onto top of cake.

This was a very heavy cake.  I was actually surprised at how literally heavy it came out, given that it seemed very fluffy (whipped egg whites) when it went into the oven.  I suppose a lot of the weight comes from the frosting.  Just beware when cutting slices -- go thin.  It's quite a substantial dessert.

Kitty Litter Cake

Are you in need of a tasty yet "festive" dessert for Halloween?  Do you think cat litter boxes are gross?  Well, look no further.  We have just what you need right here.  Essentially a "mud cake" but with different flavors, it's not an original recipe, nor one that I invented (you can find it all over Google)....but it's fun and easy.

You will need:

• A box of white cake mix, baked according to the package directions;
• A box of spice cake mix, baked according to the package directions;
• 2  packages of instant vanilla pudding, prepared according to package directions;
• One package of Vienna finger sandwich cookies, crushed until they look like sand (food processor or blender - working in batches - works well for this);
• Green food coloring;
• Tootsie Rolls;
• A small, brand new, never used, kitty litter box (washed several times, too); and
• A small, brand new, never used litter box pooper scooper (also washed several times).

Once the cakes are cooled and the pudding is set, all you need to do is mix them together (you may want to chop the cakes into chunks first) with about half of the crushed cookies, then spread it all out evenly into the litter pan*.  Next, pop a few tootsie rolls into the microwave (unwrapped and on a plate) for just a few seconds until they are soft enough to shape into something your cat might deposit - lol.  Bury them throughout the cake wherever you wish.

All you should have left for ingredients at this point is half the cookie crumbs, green food coloring, and the rest of your Tootsie Rolls.  Using the food coloring, turn a bit of the remaining cookie crumbs green.  Spread the non-green crumbs over the top of the cake, and then sprinkle the green crumbs over that.  Make a few more Tootsie Roll poops and put them on top, too.

Serve it up with the pooper scooper.*  It's delicious, I promise!!!

* I think it goes without saying that these items should be brand new and super duper deep cleaned before using.

My own little episode of "Chopped" -- Dessert style

After dinner tonight (a marinated and grilled London broil with fresh potato salad, corn on the cob and steamed green beans), I decided that it was time to use up a small bunch of ranier cherries that were going to be trash before the next few days were over.

I had been thinking all day that maybe they should become some sort of dessert, so I looked around the kitchen to see what else was on hand, and played my own little game of Chopped.  This is what happened (all within a matter of about 20-30 minutes, the customary allotted time on the show)....

First, I got my oven warming to 350-degrees, because I knew that I'd be using a couple of cupcake cups of yellow cake batter than we had in the freezer.

As those were thawing out, I picked out the cherries with any kind of rot or mold, then pitted and chopped up the rest and threw them into a small sauce pot along with some juice and zest from the lemon that I had used to make a glass of lemonade with dinner.

Next, I added what I estimate to be about a quarter to a half cup of white grape juice from the fridge (bought for a rib recipe but always comes way too much in the bottle than we need for it) and maybe 5 or 6 teaspoons of sugar.

 
I tossed the cupcakes into the oven, set the timer for 20 minutes, and then came back to the cherry mixture which I brought to a boil and then turned it down to simmer.

At this point, I began thinking: "What else does this dish need?"  Chocolate sauce, duh.  Or....chocolate filling!  Back to the cabinet I went and grabbed a Hershey bar (leftover from a S'mores adventure).  I broke it up into a measuring cup and added a couple tablespoons of milk.  I set this aside and waited for the cupcakes and cherry sauce to be done.

This is where it all comes together.  I popped the chocolate into the microwave for 15 seconds, then stirred it to make sure it was all melted.  It turned out a little thin, so I plopped in a spoonful of cornstarch and put it back into the microwave for another 30 seconds (until it boiled).  Another few stirs and it was nice and thick like a ganache.

Time for plating!!!  I used my pastry bag with a wide tip to pipe the chocolate into the center of the now unwrapped cupcakes, piped some onto the plate, and spooned the cherry sauce both onto the plate and on top of the cupcake.  Presto:

It was gooooood!  And husband approved.  :)

Irish Flag Trifle

Looking for a last minute, easy, and festive St. Patrick's Day dessert?  Look no further.

I made this trifle (the recipe for which I got from my friend Chrissy S.) last year, but back then, I forgot the whiskey!  Oh, the horror!  ;) 

This time I made no such mistake.  Here's the easy process....

You will need:

• One box of white cake mix
• Two packages of banana cream flavored instant pudding
• Milk (to make the pudding with)
• A large tub of Cool Whip
• 6 Heath Bars
• Irish Whiskey (one nip, or approximately two shots)
• Green and orange food coloring (I use red and yellow to make my own orange, since I can't find orange in my market)

First, prepare the cake mix according to the package instructions, but also add as much green food coloring as you need in order to make it your desired shade.  Bake in two separate pans, according to the package directions.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the two packages of pudding, according to the directions on the boxes, but again, add as much orange food coloring as you need to in order to achieve the desired shade.  Also take your cool whip out of the fridge/freezer, so it comes to a more workable texture.  Finally, crush up all the Heath Bars in a plastic zip-top baggie.

When the cakes are done and cooled, it's time build your trifle.  The only non-obvious step that you will need to take is to trim off the sides of the cakes, so that the interior green color can shine through.

Layer it all into your trifle bowl....put in one of the cakes, drizzle it with half the whiskey, then a layer of pudding, then a layer of cool whip, and a layer of crushed Heath Bar.  Repeat the layering one more time, and then you are done.

You want to know the nutritional value on this?  No.  The don't ask, don't tell policy on this has not been repealed.  Just eat it, it's a holiday after all.  =P