To Die For Chocolate Cake

Seriously! All of you out of town-ers, host a party and make this cake. You are sure to impress because I have made it three times this month and every single time people have been amazed and asking for the recipe, just as the fam that was here for Easter!  Love that kind of feedback!! :) With six ingredients and no separating of egg whites, fluffing egg whites, and all sorts of other arduous tasks, this is seriously SOOOO easy to make! And the kids love to help too so its a bonus! Just a warning though, its rich, all chocolate, and like fudge. Oh and you might dream about this cake and become addicted as I (the chocolate NOT-lover) has. Don't say I didn't tell you! 

Here is the link and below is the recipe. 

Time: 20-30 min prep/melting,  50 min bake, 3 hours cooling
From: epicurious.com

Serves: 16 slices, sliced thin

Ingredients:

Cake
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar

9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, diced
18 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 large eggs

Ganache
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Lightly sweetened whipped cream (optional)

Frozen sweetened raspberries, thawed before serving

Directions:
For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment round; butter parchment. Wrap 3 layers of heavy-duty foil around outside of pan, bringing foil to top of rim. Combine 1 cup water and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk sugar syrup into chocolate; cool slightly. Add eggs to chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan.

Bake cake until center no longer moves when pan is gently shaken, about 45-50 minutes. Remove from water bath; transfer to rack. Cool completely in pan.

For ganache:
Bring whipping cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour over top of cake still in pan. Gently shake pan to distribute ganache evenly over top of cake. Refrigerate cake in pan until ganache is set, about 2 hours. Do not put any plastic or foil over the top of the cake. When the condensation builds and drips on the cake it will ruin (not taste wise) the ganache.

Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake; release sides. Cut cake into wedges and serve with whipped cream.

Notes:

So after making this a couple times I have learned that it is a MUST to use the extra wide foil. I have tried twice to use regular width foil but water always seeps in! With the double wide, no problem at all!

If using a glass pan you may have to cook it 5-10 minutes longer. 

I use bittersweet for the cake and semi-sweet for the ganache. 

The cake can be made ahead of time up to two days. Just keep refrigerated. 

Topped with raspberries, it is just divine!  

Use a high quality chocolate. I used an off brand one time and it didn't melt the right way. 

ENJOY!!

Tev's Skillet Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Tev's Skillet, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

-- Topping --

1/2 cupButter

1 cupBrown sugar; firmly packed

1 20-oz canSliced unsweetened pineapple rings,; drained and dried, reserving juice

-- Batter --

1 1/2 cupsAll-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoonsBaking Powder

1/2 teaspoonSalt

1/2 teaspoonCinnamon

1 stickUnsalted butter; (4 oz) softened

1 cupGranulated sugar

3 largeEggs; at room temperature

1 teaspoonVanilla extract

1/4 cupReserved pineapple juice

1/2 cupMilk; at room temperature Place oven rack in middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. To make batter: In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately in batches with the milk and pineapple juice, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and beating well after each addition. Set batter asside, and make topping. To make the topping:  For the topping, melt butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet placed in the hot or heating oven. When melted, remove skillet from oven, swirl to coat evenly with butter, then spread brown sugar evenly over the butter. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Pat pineapple slices very dry between several thicknesses of paper towel. Cut pineapple slices in half, reserving one whole slice. Place whole pineapple slice in center of skillet, then arrrange half-slices in spoke fashion around whole slice in center. Add batter as follows while skillet is still warm. Spoon, or carefully pour batter over brown-sugar-pineapple topping in bottom of skillet, and spread evenly. Bake until top is golden and toothpick inserted into cake center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cake cool in skillet on a rack for 5 minutes, run a thin knife around edge of cake to loosen from skillet. Place serving platter over skillet, carefully invert cake onto platter. Let stand for 1 minute before carefully lifting skillet off. Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet, scrape any remaining glaze from skillet onto cake. Cool on platter on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cake is best immediately after making, but can be placed in the refrigerator over night. Store left overs in the fridge as well. *You may bake this in a regular baking dish, but if you dont have a cast iron skillet, try to either buy or borrow one, as it really is much better that way! Makes one 10-inch cake, for 8 to 10 servings.

Tracy's Crepes

2/3 c flour. 1/2 teaspoon salt. 3 beaten eggs. 1 c milk. I usually double recipe. Sometimes triple. Combine flour, salt, eggs beat until smooth. Gradually add milk. Mix until very well blended. Make crepe a. Fill with deliciousness. Make sweet or savory.

Link to the best "around the world" cookies to celebrate St. Nicholas Day.

The vanilla cookies are the best!
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/cookies-other-traditional/#Serbian

Trevor’s Pumpkin Swirlies

Ingredients:

(Cake)
- 3/4 Cup Flour
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 Teaspoons “Pumpkin Pie Spice”
- 1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
- 3 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice (preferably fresh)
- Tablespoons Confectioners Sugar
(Filling)
- 1 (8 OZ) Package Cream Cheese (at room temp.)
- 1/3 Cup Softened Butter (salted)
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ Cup Confectioners Sugar
- Pinch of Salt
- Citrus rind (I use a small amount of Orange, but other citrus is good if preferred)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, Grease a cookie sheet (with edges), lay down a layer of wax paper, and grease wax paper as well. (It wont work w/o wax paper)
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in pumpkin puree, eggs, and lemon juice. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Spread the mixture evenly.
3. Bake at 375, for 15 minutes.
4. Lay a kitchen towel on the counter, sprinkle liberally with confectioner's sugar, and turn the cake onto the towel. Immediately, and carefully, roll the towel up (lengthwise) with the cake in it. Place the cake-in-towel on a cooling rack and let it cool for 20 minutes. (no longer than 25)
5. Make the icing: In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, sugar, pinch of salt, and citrus rind with an electric mixer.
6. When the cake has cooled 20 minutes, unroll it carefully, and spread icing onto it. Immediately re-roll (not in the towel this time), and wrap it with plastic wrap. Place the cake in the refrigerator, seam side down, and chill before serving. Before serving, dust cake with confectioners sugar, and slice thick.