Archive for September, 2009
Surprise Cake
Would You Be Able To Guess The Secret In This Moist Cake?
On a recent trip back home to visit my family I had a lot of time on my hands. Of course, my favourite thing to do with free time is experiment with new desserts that are easy and quick. This one that I found on Allrecipes.com intrigued me. It’s called Surprise Cake and it has a secret ingredient that your family will never guess…well at least mine didn’t. The secret ingredient is…..cayenne pepper. I was surprised too! In fact, if I didn’t know it was in there, I wouldn’t have guessed it myself. Although you can taste a hint of heat, it’s not overly noticeable so it’s fun to make everyone guess what’s in it. Besides the appeal of using a secret ingredient, it was nice to find out that the cake itself is actually moist, chocolaty and delicious. I turned mine into cupcakes. I think you’re going to have fun with this one! Enjoy!
SURPRISE CAKE
2 cups white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup water
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup butter, water and 3 tablespoons cocoa to a boil. Remove from heat. Add to flour mixture and beat until smooth.
In a separate bowl, Mix sour cream, eggs, baking soda and cayenne pepper. Add to the cake batter. Blend well. Pour batter into 9×13 inch pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
For the Frosting: Melt 1/4 cup butter, add 1/3 cup cocoa. Add confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth and free of lumps.
Spread frosting on the cooled cake. Cut into squares and serve. Ask your company if they can guess what is in it, they never will.
Easy Mound Bars
6 Simple Ingredients Make These Coconut & Chocolate Bars!
My favourite chocolate bar is Bounty (or Mounds which tastes the same). I just love the creamy coconut filling wrapped inside the chocolate coating. So when I found this recipe for Mound Bars on Allrecipes.com I just had to try it, all the while hoping it would at least resemble the delicious flavour combination of my chocolate bar. This recipe begins with a graham cracker crust, which of course differs from the original bar…hmm I wondered how that would taste. Then comes a layer of coconut, sweetened condensed milk and chocolate. And finally it was time for my taste test. The result was a delicious crumbly crust, the sweet taste of chocolate and the best part…the creamy coconut flavour that I love! If you enjoy the mix of chocolate and coconut together like I do, you’re going to love this easy and quick dessert. Enjoy!
EASY MOUND BARS
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups flaked coconut
1 (12 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 Tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter or margarine. Mix and pat into the bottom of one 9×13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle flaked coconut over hot crust then pour the condensed milk evenly over the top. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes.
In a pan, melt butter together with chocolate then spread over the top of the cooked bars. Let cool and cut into squares.
No-Bake Creamy Strawberry Mini Pies
These Cute Pies Take Minutes to Assemble & A Few Hours To Freeze!
Summer’s not over yet! So while I’m holding onto the last few good-weather days, I’m looking for desserts that are easy and quick and that remind me of picnic season. I found a recipe for Frozen Creamy Strawberry Mini Pies from FoodsUnion.com that doesn’t require slaving over a hot stove. The best part, besides being super easy, is that it contains some of my favourite pie ingredients like cream cheese and whipped topping. Yum! Plus who doesn’t love strawberries? Please let me know if you experiment with other berries in this pie. So put on your sun screen and enjoy these adorable mini pies!
FROZEN CREAMY STRAWBERRY MINI PIES
8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg (3.4-oz) vanilla flavor instant pudding mix
1 1/2 cups thawed frozen whipped topping
20 vanilla wafer cookies, coarsely broken into pieces
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup strawberry ice cream topping
Beat cream cheese until creamy in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer. Gradually beat in the milk. Add the dry pudding mix and beat 2 minutes. Stir in the whipped topping, vanilla wafers, and strawberries. Swirl in the ice cream topping.
Spoon filling mixture into 12 paper-lined muffin tins. Freeze 4 hours. Remove paper liners before serving. Feel free to top with sliced strawberries for a pretty presentation.