Moist Chocolate Cake with Favorite Icing

Early in 2016, I made this cake to bring to Mom's for her usual Saturday night with her grandkids. It was a full house, just about all the kids were there: Tim, Ryan, Amanda, Ava, Patrick, Lorelei, Delilah, and even Mike stopped by for a bit (but, sadly for him, Mike did not stay to try this cake). The cake was a hit. I had been wanting to try this cake out for a while, but was afraid to make it when MDS and I would be the only ones to eat it. If I had been left alone with this cake, I know that I would have eaten it all myself. So, if you ever have to feed a full house, this cake should work just fine.

This cake is delicious and could be made for any occasion. I baked the cake in a pan instead of as a layer cake, which was called for in Mom's recipe. I think cupcakes would also be terrific. So, whatever size pan that you use, just adjust the baking time a bit. For example, Mom's recipe calls for nine-inch round pans and baking for 25 to 30 minutes; I used a 9x13 pan and baked the cake for about 40 minutes. The frosting takes a little more work than some frostings, but is worth the effort. But, I still need to work on the frosting texture because, although the resulting frosting still tasted delicious, it did not quite have the creamy texture that bakery cake frostings have. Interestingly, the recipe calls for a cup a coffee, but you do not taste the coffee in the cake.

Moist Chocolate Cake

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup hot coffee
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Sift the dry ingredients. Add oil, coffee and milk. Mix at medium speed for two minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat two more minutes. The batter will be very thin. Pour into two greased and floured 9X1 1/2 round pans. Bake at 325 for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans. Cool on wire racks.

Favorite Icing

• 1 cup milk
• 5 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Combine milk and flour in a saucepan; cook over medium heat until thick. Cover and refrigerate . In a mixing bowl, beat butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add chilled milk and flour mixture and beat for 10 minutes. Frost the cooled cake. Enjoy!

Grandma's Cheesecake

In celebration of Megan's "39th" Birthday, I made this cheesecake. I found this recipe among Grandma's recipes. As I have said before, Grandma loved cheesecake, as you can see from some previous recipes. I also love cheesecake, so I was happy to try these recipes. The cheesecake was a hit with the adults, Tim and Amanda. This particular cheesecake has a certain tartness that might be difficult for kids to like.

Because I know Meg loves strawberries, I made a simple strawberry sauce that could be used on top of the cheesecake. Simply bring 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 cups chopped strawberries, 1 tablespoon corn starch to a boil for about two minutes. Then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Also, instead of using graham crackers for the crust, I used plain vanilla cookies. Megan suggested that golden Oreos would make for a good crust. Maybe next year.

Grandma's Cheesecake 

• 20 graham crackers, rolled to crumbs
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla, divided
• 1 cup sour cream

Make the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and 1/4 cup sugar. Press the crumb crust into a pie pan. Bake at 375 for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, make the filling by blending together the cream cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Pour filling into the crust.Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes. Mix together the sour cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour over the top of the cheesecake and smooth over with a spatula. Bake at 475 for 5 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Ryan's Peppermint Patty Whoopie Pies

Guest Blogger: Ryan Buckley 

This is another recipe from Giada's show on the Food Network. I really like whoopie pies and the chocolate flavor and the subtle peppermint flavor. The use of peppermint patties in the cookie filling seems very unique. My cousin Tim is not a fan of peppermint but he even liked these. Not everybody likes candy canes so we only did a few with the crushed candy canes. I would really want to make these again.

Ryan's Peppermint Patty Whoopie Pies

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 
  
• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 10 chocolate-coated peppermint candies, such as York Peppermint Patties, chopped
• 5 candy canes, crushed, optional

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate and 1 stick of the butter over medium heat in a double boiler. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Set aside. To the bowl with the melted chocolate, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisk to combine. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the yogurt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture being careful to avoid over-mixing. 

Scoop 1-tablespoon mounds of the batter on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1-inch between each cookie. Bake the cookies for about 9 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through. Slide the cookies on the parchment onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

 Meanwhile make the filling. In a medium bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the remaining 2 sticks butter and the confectioners' sugar; mix until light and fluffy, starting on low speed to avoid splatter and work up to medium speed, 3 minutes. Add the peppermint extract, salt and peppermint candies. Beat on medium speed until the candies are broken apart and evenly distributed, 2 minutes. Spread the filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies. Roll the edges in the crushed candy canes if using and serve immediately or store in an airtight container until ready to serve.  Enjoy!

Ryan's Pizza Grilled Cheese

Guest Blogger: Ryan Buckley 

I really like grilled cheese and pizza so it is the perfect combo in one. I was watching the Giada De Laurentiis show on the Food Network and I thought that I needed to try out this recipe. This recipe is really easy to make. Using the method of two pans, you can make a whole bunch of pressed sandwiches at once. The people who tried it included my mom, sister, grandma, cousin Tim, and aunt, and they all loved it. Even picky eaters me and MDS love it.

Ryan's Pizza Grilled Cheese

• 1 cup ricotta
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella, plus for decorating 
  
• 1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup diced pepperoni, plus 12 large slices and 4 slices for garnish
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 12 slices rustic white bread
• 3/4 cup jarred marinara sauce, plus more for dipping

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, using a rubber spatula, mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, the diced pepperoni and the basil until well combined. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Working buttered side down, spread each slice with 1 tablespoon of the marinara. Divide the cheese mixture among 6 slices of the bread, and sandwich with the remaining slices. For each sandwich, sprinkle the top piece of bread with 1 tablespoon of the remaining Parmesan. Flip, and sprinkle the other side with an additional tablespoon of Parmesan. To make all of these sandwiches at once, heat 2 baking pans in the oven for 10 minutes. Spray the bottom of one of the pans with cooking spray, and place the buttered and Parmesan-ed sandwiches in the pan. Spray the underside of the second pan, and place it on top of the sandwiches. Bake until golden brown and crispy, and the cheese is melted, 10 minutes. Serve with marinara for dipping if desired. Enjoy!

Aunt Paula's Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Every New Year's Day, MDS and I enjoy a special breakfast. Just about every other day of the year, we have oatmeal for breakfast, but on the first day of the year, we make something unique. This year, we enjoyed this delicious breakfast casserole. When we visit Michigan, we usually stay with Aunt Paula and Uncle Zach. Breakfast at the Holmes's house is always a special treat. Aunt Paula often makes a delicious breakfast casserole or other tasty main dish that is served up with all sorts of side dishes. Uncle Zach is efficient in keeping the coffee cups filled. We enjoy lingering around the breakfast table before we hit the road to return to Chicago.

Aunt Paula gave us this recipe a few years ago after MDS and I picked several pounds of blueberries during a summer visit to Michigan. Previously, I had posted about this delicious blueberry coffee cake. This breakfast casserole is another winning recipe. Because it is the middle of winter, I used frozen blueberries, and I don't think it made any difference that the blueberries were frozen. The recipe calls for the crust of the bread to be removed, but I left it on. The casserole made a delicious start to 2016.

Aunt Paula's Blueberry French Toast Casserole 

• 6 slices day old bread
• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 3 Tbsp. maple syrup

Cut the bread into one inch cubes. Place half the bread in a greased 8x8x2 baking dish. Cut cream cheese into one inch cubes and place over the bread. Top with blueberries and the remaining bread. In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, and syrup. Mix well. Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture. Cover and chill overnight. Remove from refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 covered for 25 minutes. Then, remove the cover and bake for 25 to 30 minutes more until golden brown and the center is set. When the casserole is almost done, prepare the sauce.

Sauce:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. corn starch
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup blueberries

In a saucepan, combine the sugar and corn starch. Add water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for three minutes while stirring constantly. Stir in blueberries. Reduce heat and simmer for eight minutes or until blueberries burst. Pour the sauce over servings of the casserole. Enjoy!

Sesame Christmas Cookies

I don't specifically remember Mom making these cookies, but they are delicious. This cookie is similar to ones that you might find in an Italian bakery. There may be variations in the dough, shape and other garnishes, but you will find a cookie coated in sesame seeds. The cookies are not too sweet, as you might guess based on the relatively small amount of sugar used. But like so many Italian cookies, try dipping them in coffee for a tasty treat.

The combination of almond, sesame and strawberry create a delicious cookie. I followed Mom's recipe, but other flavors could easily be substituted. For example, you could use anise extract instead of almond. You could use cherry or apricot preserves instead of strawberry. Or, you could leave out the preserves entirely. I created the round shape that the recipe called for, but often, these cookies are often made into the shape of logs to make dipping into coffee easier.

Sesame Christmas Cookies 

• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups flour
• sesame seeds (about 1 cup)
• strawberry preserves

Preheat the oven to 400. Cream the butter and sugar. Blend in the almond extract and salt. Add flour; mix well. Shape tablespoons of the dough into balls and roll in sesame seeds. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Indent the center of each cookie and fill with preserves. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pinwheels

These are among my many favorite Christmas cookies. I remember making them when I was a kid, but I did not remember that rolling the dough would be so challenging. If all had worked out just so, the cookies would have a better swirl pattern. But, for some reason, my dough was a bit dry which made it break as I tried to work with it. Although these cookies did not look perfect, they were delicious. The cookies are not too sweet and have a nice balance of chocolate and vanilla. But, a certain niece with a serious sweet tooth thought that the cookies were too plain. She may be right, but the simplicity of these cookies is what makes these cookies just right.

Chocolate Pinwheels 

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Cream butter; gradually add sugar, continuing to cream until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture a small amount at a time, mixing well after each addition. Divide dough in half. Blend  chocolate into one half.

Roll each half between wax paper into a 12x8 rectangle. remove the top sheet of paper. Invert the plain dough onto the chocolate dough. Remove remaining wax paper. Roll up as for jelly roll, starting with the longer side. Wrap in wax paper. Chill until firm enough to slice, at least 3 hours in the refrigerator or 1 hour in the freezer. Cut into 1/4 inch slices. Place each slice on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until cookies just begin to brown on the edges. Cool on wire rack. Enjoy!