Chocolate Dump-It Cake

This is the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. My husband Hank heard about it on NPR and looked up the recipe. Sort of time consuming to make, but worth every minute. Here is the recipe, and there are a few helpful hints at the end.

Chocolate Dump-It Cake
Adapted from Judith Hesser

My mother did all of her baking late at night, after we were in bed. Around one in the morning, the aroma of this cake would begin wafting up to our bedrooms. Then we'd watch her frost it while we ate breakfast.

2 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/4 pound unsalted butter (1 stick), plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon semi-coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sour cream, at room temperature

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and place a baking sheet on the lowest rack, to catch any drips when the cake bakes. Put the sugar, unsweetened chocolate, butter and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir occasionally until all of the ingredients are melted and blended. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. Grease and flour a 9-inch tube pan. (If you prefer, you can grease it, line it with parchment and then grease and flour it. This is not necessary, but parchment does make getting the cake out easier.)

3. When the chocolate in the pan has cooled a bit, whisk in the milk mixture and eggs. In several additions and without overmixing, whisk in the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and whisk once or twice, to blend. "Dump" the batter into the tube pan and bake on the middle rack until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a rack. (This can be tricky, so if someone is around, enlist them to help. Place a ring of wax paper on top of the cake so you have something to grab onto when turning it out.) Let cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, then let cool to room temperature. It is very important that the chocolate and sour cream be the same temperature, otherwise the icing will be lumpy or grainy. (Test it by stirring a little of the sour cream and chocolate together in a bowl; if it mixes smoothly, it's ready.) Stir in the sour cream, 1/ 4 cup at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Taste some! It's good.

5. When the cake is cool, you may frost it as is or cut it in half so that you have two layers (when I do this, I use 2 cups chocolate chips and 2 cups sour cream). My mother uses any leftover icing to make flowers on top. She dabs small rosettes, or buttons, on top, then uses toasted almond slices as the petals, pushing them in around the base of the rosette.

Makes 10 servings. (My mother kept it in the fridge, and it is sublime even when cold.)

Hank's Helpful Hints
*Your batter will ooze over the edge of a 9-inch springform like hot lava. That cookie sheet on a lower rack is a good idea.
*If you don't have a double boiler, make your own by nestling one small saucepan into another.
*Go ahead and use two cups of chips and sour cream even if you're not going to layer the cake. Nobody will complain if your cake sits under a full inch of decadent icing.
*Good luck equalizing the temperature of the sour cream before the chocolate hardens. Don't fret if the icing turns out lumpy-your cake will be ugly but still dang delicious.
*If you forget all about the eggs, pray real hard and everything should be all right.

Cappuccino Muffins

My college suitemate made these when we visited them in Oklahoma. They were yummy!

Espresso Spread-
4 ounces cream cheese--cubed
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Muffins-
2 cups All purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons instant coffee
1/2 cup butter or margarine melted
1 egg-beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

In a food processor or blender, combine the spread ingredients; cover and process until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until serving. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl stir milk and coffee granules until coffee is dissolved. Add butter, egg and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingrediens just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups two thirds full. Bake at 375 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until muffins are done. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve with expresson spread.

Makes about 14 muffins and 1 cup of spread

Lasagna

This is a great recipe to make up ahead of time and freeze - it doesn't have to be frozen, but the flavor is better after freezing. It will make one very large pan or can also be divided into smaller portions before freezing. The recipe says to cook the noodles before adding them, but I don't - you don't even have to buy the "no cook" noodles - just add a little extra water.

Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. italian sausage (Hillshire Farms is best)
1 c. chopped carrots
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped celery
2 16 oz. cans tomatoes (I use Del Monte w/ garlic & onion)
1 6 oz. tomato paste (I use Contadina Italian Paste w/ roasted garlic)
2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 T. parsley
1 c. cottage cheese
3 eggs
1 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 c. grated mozzarella cheese
Small box of lasagna noodles, cooked

Saute carrots, onion and celery with ground beef and sausage. Drain. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste and spices. Combine cottage cheese and eggs. Layer ingredients in pan as follows: Sauce, noodles, cheese (mozzarella & parmesan), sauce, noodles, cottage cheese, sauce, cheese. If you didn't precook the noodles, add a little bit of water. Cover and freeze. When ready to cook - thaw slightly and cook at 350 for about 1 1/2 hours. Enjoy!

Lemon Pesto Chicken

My sister told me about this recipe and I finally got around to making it tonight. It is simple and tasty.

For starters, buy the Knorr Creamy Pesto Sauce Mix envelope. The recipe is on the back. I added a can of mushrooms and a cup of broccoli to it for a little more substance, but other than that I just followed the recipe as is. The kids liked it and so did the adults.

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb chicken breast, thinly sliced (I seasoned w/ salt, pepper & garlic powder)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cup milk
1 package Knorr Creamy Pesto Sauce Mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
8 oz. pasta, cooked (I used a whole wheat corkscrew pasta)

Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat and brown chicken, stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon juice and cook 1 minute. (This is when I added the mushrooms and broccoli). Stir in milk and sauce packet and bring to a boil. Stir in cheese. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 3 minutes. Toss sauce with hot pasta.

Crockpot Beef Stew

Hello Mamas! In case some of you are thinking WHO IS AMY? I am Bonki's younger sister. Thanks for letting me share some of your recipes. They are very tasty. I have made this beef stew twice now so I thought I would share it with you guys. My little Lola loves it and begs for more (okay, so she's a dog...maybe not the most discerning audience, but I think it's delicious!) ENJOY!

From the Better Homes and Gardens Crockery Cookbook

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound beef or pork stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes (I've used beef both times)
2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 1/4 cups cubed, peeled potatoes
2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
2 1/2 cups vegetable juice

1. Place flour in a plastic bag. Add meat cubes, shaking to coat meat with flour. In a large skillet brown meat, half at a time, in hot oil. Drain off fat.

2. Meanwhile, in the bottom of a 4 quart crockpot layer potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion. Sprinkle with bouillon granules, garlic, basil, and thyme; add meat. Pour vegetable juice over meat.

3. Cover; cook on low setting for 7-8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 1/2-4 1/2 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.
Makes 4 servings. For an easy meal, serve with biscuits and a mixed green salad.

Baja Bites

Bonki had asked me for this breakfast casserole recipe. They are super easy and a little different. I made them for Whitney's shower back in March.

Baja Bites

5 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup grated colby cheese
4 oz can chopped green chilis
1 cup grated monterey jack cheese

In large bowl, beat eggs and add other ingredients. Pour into greased 8" square pan. Bake 30-40 minutes in 350 oven until firm in the center and slightly brown. Cool and cut into 1" squares for a bite-size (no fork needed) appetizer. This recipe easily doubles and then make it in a jelly roll pan.

Caramel Corn

Here is the Caramel Corn from Angie's Shower. Enjoy!

3 large bags microwave popcorn
2/3 c. Karo
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. butter (use real butter, not margarine)
2 c brown sugar
1 tsp soda

Pop bags of popcorn according to instructions on bag and remove all loose kernels. Divide popcorn in ½ and put into 2 large roasting pans (disposable ones work great!)

In a large saucepan combine Karo, salt, vanilla, butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add soda. Mix well and pour ½ of mixture over each pan of popcorn. Stir. Bake at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Once it’s finishes, stir a few more times until it is completely cooled.