Easy Tres Leches Cake

This was one of the many delicious desserts that my mother-in-law made on Christmas Day.  I loved it as soon as I tasted it.  Then she told me how easy it was and I loved it even more!

1 yellow cake mix

1 can evaporated milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup whipping cream or half/half

*Make cake according to package directions.  After it has cooled, poke holes all over the top.  Mix the three milks together and pour over the cake.  Let it soak in.  Chill in fridge until ready to serve.  Serve with real whipped cream on top.

Carrot Sheet Cake

I married into a family loaded with good cooks/bakers.

My husband's immediate family, plus his relatives on both sides, are excellent with food.  His Cunningham side of the family put together a family cookbook about 14 years ago and it is a treasure.

So many good recipes that we love.  This cake recipe is from his Grandma Cunningham and I had never tried it before until this weekend.  We loved it!

Cake:

4 eggs

1 cup oil (I used canola)

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups shredded carrots

2/3 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

Beat eggs, oil and sugar until smooth.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Stir in carrots and nuts.  Pour into a greased cookie sheet (jelly roll pan) and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Cool before frosting.

Frosting:

1 pkg 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

Beat together until smooth.  Spread over cooled cake.

Chocolate Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Filling

My sister-in-law, Jen, is an amazing cook/baker.  Everything she makes is good.  Our whole family gets excited to see what she is going to bring to our gatherings.

She made this cake for my nephew's birthday and it was DELICIOUS.  The frosting, the filling, the cake...it was all perfection.

Cake:

2 cups flour

2 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups water

2 Tbs. white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottoms and sides of four 8-inch round cake pans.  Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper.  Butter the paper.

*Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk to combine.  Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend.  Gradually beat in water.  Blend in vinegar and vanilla.  Whisk in eggs and beat until well blended.  Scrape down sides and make sure batter is well mixed.  Divide evenly among the 3 pans.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let cool in pans for 20 minutes.  Invert onto a wire cooling rack, peel off paper liners and let cool completely. (Cakes are very soft so you might want to freeze them for 30 minutes before assembling).

For the Toasted Marshmallow Filling:

16 large marshmallows

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (7½-ounce) jar Marshmallow Fluff

For the Malted Chocolate Frosting:

2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

¾ cup Ovaltine Classic

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

8 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate chocolate, melted and cooled

½ cup heavy cream

Make the Toasted Marshmallow Filling: Place the marshmallows on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place on the lowest rack of oven, and broil marshmallows until nice and brown on top, keeping an eye on them the entire time so they don't burn. Remove pan from oven and gently turn the marshmallows over, and broil until the other side is golden brown.

Beat the butter and powdered sugar on low speed until blended together, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract and increase the speed to medium-high; beat for 3 minutes. Stop the mixer, add the Marshmallow Fluff and toasted marshmallows, and mix on the lowest speed for about 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Make the Malted Chocolate Frosting: Beat the butter and powdered sugar on low speed until blended together, about 1 minute. Add the Ovaltine, vanilla and salt, and continue to beat on low until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream and beat on medium-high speed for another minute.

Assemble the cake by layering cake and marshmallow filling and frosting with chocolate frosting.

*Cake recipe from Becoming Betty and frosting/filling recipes from Brown-eyed Baker.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Buckle up folks.  This cake is intense.

We are talking richer than rich, moister that moist, and beyond delicious.  I don't drink milk, but if I did, I would have wanted a big glass of it to go with this cake.

Our beautiful and extremely talented sister-in-law, Jen, made this the other night for my cute nephew's second birthday.  She got the recipe from her friend and neighbor, Heidi, whose husband, Jason, makes this cake for his family.  I am so happy that this cake has found it's way into my life.

(Jason also does an awesome job cleaning carpets and you can check that out here).

Cake:

2 cups flour

2 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups water

2 Tbs. white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans.  Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper.  Butter the paper.

*Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk to combine.  Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend.  Gradually beat in water.  Blend in vinegar and vanilla.  Whisk in eggs and beat until well blended.  Scrape down sides and make sure batter is well mixed.  Divide evenly among the 3 pans.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let cool in pans for 20 minutes.  Invert onto a wire cooling rack, peel off paper liners and let cool completely. (Cakes are very soft so you might want to freeze them for 30 minutes before assembling).

Frosting:

10 ounces cream cheese at room temp.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temp.

5 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter

*Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.  Gradually add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly and scraping down the sides.  Beat for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add peanut butter and mix until blended.

*To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large plate.  Spread 2/3 cup of the frosting evenly over the top.  Repeat with the next layer.  Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with remaining frosting.

Chocolate-peanut butter glaze:

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 Tbs. smooth peanut butter

2 Tbs. light corn syrup

1/2 cup half-and-half

*In a double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, corn syrup and half-and-half.  Whisk continually until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

*Pour glaze slowly over cake so that it coats the top evenly and drips down the sides in big drips.  Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes and then remove 1 hour before serving.

Better Than Everything Cake

So here's the thing about the lions.

I made this cake on Monday night for dessert.  There was some leftover.  The next day was our Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet and each cub scout had to bring a dessert having to do with one of their favorite scripture stories.

Well, since we already had cake and I didn't really have time to make another one, we used the leftover cake to make a lion's den.  You know, Daniel and the lion's den.

When I sat down to post this recipe, I realized that this is the only picture that I took of the cake.  So there you have it.

The moral of this story is...this cake is heavenly and you should make it.

1 chocolate cake mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar caramel ice cream topping
1 pint whipping cream
Heath Bar pieces

*Make chocolate cake in a 9x13 according to package directions.  Let cool for a few minutes, but not completely.  Poke holes all over the cake using a fork or knife.  Make sure holes go all the way to the bottom of the pan.  Pour sweetened condensed milk over the cake.  Let it soak in for a few minutes.  Pour caramel topping over the cake.  Let it soak in for a few minutes.  Whip up your whipping cream until stiff, adding a little sugar and vanilla to taste.  Spread over cake and sprinkle Heath Bar pieces on top.

You could also use Cool Whip, but you know how I feel about Cool Whip.

The salted caramel sauce from Trader Joe's is way better than Smucker's.

HOT FUDGE PUDDING

I love this dessert.  It was my dad's favorite--miss him lots! It's easy and delicious and you always have the ingredients on hand.  Hope you like it too.  I usually put pecans in it but if you prefer; leave them out.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 c. sugar, divided
1 c. flour
7 T. cocoa, divided
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. melted butter
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 c. VERY hot water (not boiling)
1 c. chopped pecans (optional)
Whipped cream or ice cream

Heat oven to 350.  In medium bowl, stir together 3/4 c. white sugar, flour and 3 T. of cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  Blend in milk, butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Add pecans if desired.

Pour batter into 8 or 9 inch square baking pan.

In seperate bowl, stir together remaining 1/2 c. white sugar, the brown sugar and remaining 4 T. of cocoa powder.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over the batter.

Slowly pour the hot water over the top of the batter and sugar mixture.  During baking, the water will make a pudding and sink to the bottom and the cake will rise to the top. 

Bake 35-40 min. just until set.  Let stand for 15 minutes.  Serve warm by spooning into dessert dishes, spooning some of the "pudding" on top.  Add a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.

SOUR CREAM CUPCAKES with MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

It's a well known fact...I LOVE CUPCAKES! Yesterday I flew to L.A. with my friend Kelly to make some arrangements for a dinner for the upcoming wedding of our son.  We went to the Sprinkles in Beverly Hills because they have a CUPCAKE ATM!!!!  It is the coolest thing ever!  You just make your selection on the screen, pay and the cupcakes come out in a neat little box!! I bought 4!  In honor of this little discovery, I am posting this delicious recipe for vanilla cupcakes with milk chocolate frosting. They taste REALLY close to the vanilla with milk chocolate ones that Sprinkles make.  If you go to L.A. be sure and go check out the ATM.  And I heard they are putting one (or already have) at the Sprinkles here in Scottsdale!

SOUR CREAM CUPCAKES with MILK CHOCLATE FROSTING

3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2/3 c. sour cream
1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. pure vanilla
1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
4 egg whites

Heat oven to 350.
In a small bowl, stir together the milk, vanilla and sour cream.  In another bowl stir together the flour, salt and baking powder.  Set aside.  In mixing bowl cream butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Gradually add the sugar and beat until fluffy.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the eggs and egg whites until blended.  With the mixer still on add half  the flour, salt and baking powder mixture and mix until blended.  Add the milk mixture and mix until blended.  Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until blended, scraping down the sides of bowl if needed.  Spoon batter in to cupcake pans with liners (2/3 full) and bake for 22-25 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Cool and frost with:

MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 c. butter
1/4. c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c. powdered sugar
3 T. heavy cream

Place butter, cocoa and powdered sugar and cream in bowl.  Mix with mixer until creamy. Add more cream if necessary. Frost cooled cupcakes

Orange Cakes

Why has nobody ever told me that you can bake a cake inside of an orange?!  Seriously, I've lived 35 years without this knowledge.

This idea is brilliant.  Not to mention perfect for camping.  Which is why I came across this idea...because I am going to Girls' Camp with our church in a few weeks and we had to certify the girls in outdoor cooking last night.

We made Dutch oven pizzas (thanks to our amazingly-talented-camp-cook, Tylene) and then we made these little cakes.  You bake them in the campfire!  How much easier could this be?  I love everything about this.

Here's what you need:

medium-large navel oranges
yellow cake mix
1 cup water
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
heavy duty foil

*Mix cake mix with water, eggs and oil and stir well until the lumps are gone.  Set aside.  Wash your oranges.  Cut the top off (about 1/2 inch).  Scoop out all the middle like a pumpkin.  Now you have a hollow orange-bowl.  Spoon cake mix into the orange until it's 3/4 full.  Put the top back on and wrap tightly in the heavy duty foil.  Make sure you know where the top is.  Place in the hot coals of a campfire (not the flames).  Let cook for 15-20 minutes.  Remove from fire with tongs and let cool for a minute before unwrapping and enjoying with a spoon.  The cake is really moist and yummy with a hint of orange flavor.

*I'm dying to try this with different flavored cake mixes and different citrus.  Endless possibilities. 

Cake Bites

 My beautiful friend, Stephanie from BS Recipe, came over today to make cake bites.  She made the cake and frosting ahead of time, so we just mixed it together, cut out the shapes then dipped them in chocolate.  It was so much fun and easy to do!  Such a cute Valentine's Day treat! 

1 cake mix (we used coconut)
1 package of vanilla oreos, blended until resembles crumbs
1 container of frosting or homemade frosting (we used homemade coconut frosting)
dipping chocolate
sprinkles

Make cake according to box directions and bake.  When cooled, crumble completely and mix with frosting and ground oreos.  Mixture should be thick.  Form into balls or roll out to desired thickness cut out shapes using small cookie cutters.  Chill in fridge for 20 minutes.  Melt chocolate then dip cold cake bites into chocolate.  Make sure to cover completely with chocolate and tap any extra chocolate off.  Place on wax paper and top with sprinkles.

*When using vanilla, yellow or coconut cake mix - use vanilla oreos.  When using a chocolate cake mix - use regular oreos.

Gooey Butter Cake Variations

I posted a recipe for Gooey Butter Cake a while back and just recently, I found out that there are lots of variations to this rich and delicious dessert.  

We had a Relief Society meeting last Thursday and they passed around a sign up sheet the Sunday before asking for women to help make the desserts.  One of those easy gigs where they bring you all the ingredients and you just have to make it.  Don't you love organized organizations?  I was excited to try out a new dessert recipe, so I signed up for the peanut butter version of the gooey butter cake.  Here's the sad part of the story...I made it and smelled it baking and couldn't wait to try it, but then ended up not being able to make it to the meeting.  So I had no idea if it was even good, although my nose told me it was.  Well, I couldn't stop thinking about it so I went and bought the ingredients and made it on Sunday for our dessert.  Here's the happy ending to the story...it tasted so good and gooey and we loved it!  Hooray for happy dessert endings!

Original Gooey Butter Cake:
Crust
1 package yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 cube butter, softened to room temp
Filling
8 oz. cream cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cube butter, melted
1 16 oz. box powdered sugar

*Combine ingredients for crust and press into a 9x13 or a round, spring form pan.  For filling, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Add butter and mix again.  Add powdered sugar and beat really well.  Spread the filling over the crust.  Bake the cake at 350 until it is golden brown but the center is still jiggly.  This takes about 30-40 minutes for a 9x13 and longer for a spring form pan.  Cool for at least an hour, but it's even better if you can refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight.  Top with fruit and whipped cream or just enjoy it in all it's buttery glory.

Variations
*Peanut Butter:  Use a chocolate cake mix for the crust.  Add 1 cup peanut butter and 1 extra egg to the filling.
*Chocolate:  Use a chocolate cake mix for the crust.  Add 2 Tbs. cocoa and 1 cup nuts (optional) to the filling.
*Lemon:  Use a lemon cake mix for the crust.  Add 1/2 cup lemon juice, zest of 2 lemons, and 1 extra egg to the filling.
*Coconut:  Use a white cake mix for the crust.  Add 1 cup unsweetened coconut to the filling.  You could also add a little coconut oil flavoring or extract to the filling.
*Pumpkin:  Add 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin and 1 extra egg to the filling.  Top with pecans and whipped cream when serving.
*Carrot Cake:  Use a spice cake mix for the crust.  Add 1 cup chopped nuts and 1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots to the filling.
*Chocolate Chip:  Use yellow or chocolate cake mix for the crust.  Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup nuts on top of filling before baking.
*Banana:  Add two ripe bananas and 1 extra egg to the filling.

***Thanks to my friend, Marie, for passing on these fun variations on such a great dessert!!!!

Sprinkles Strawberry Cake

Two questions for you:

Have you been to Sprinkles?

If so, have you tried the strawberry cupcake?

I know they are most famous for their red velvet cupcakes but my two favorites are strawberry and coconut.  I'm fruity like that.  Get it?  Fruity?

A couple of years ago, the founder of Sprinkles shared her recipe for strawberry cupcakes on Oprah.  I doubled the recipe and made a cake for Wyatt's 5th birthday.  We all know he would have been perfectly happy with a cake mix cake, but if I'm going to be eating leftover cake all week, I want it to be good.

Well folks, that cupcake lady knows her stuff because it was really good and it tasted even better the second and third days.  This recipe is a keeper.

Cake:
1 1/3 cups fresh strawberries
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 cup whole milk, room temp
2 tsp. pure vanilla
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temp
4 egg whites, room temp

*Place strawberries in a food processor and process until pureed.  You need about 2/3 cup pureed.  Save any extra for the frosting.  In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl, mix together milk, vanilla and strawberry puree.  In your mixer, cream butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add eggs and egg whites until blended.  With the mixer still on, add half the flour mixture and mix until blended.  Add the milk mixture and mix until blended.  Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until blended, scraping down sides if you need to.  Pour batter into a greased 9x13 and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely in pan before frosting.

Frosting:
3 Tbs. strawberry puree
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly cold
pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla

*Mix butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Reduce mixer to low and slowly add powdered sugar and mix until combined.  Add vanilla and strawberry puree.  Mix until blended.  Do not overmix or frosting will get too much air in it.  Frosting should be creamy like ice cream.  Spread over cooled cake before serving.

Confetti Cake

What do you do when your 7 year old birthday boy asks for a confetti cake and you don't have a confetti cake mix and it's Sunday???

You take out a regular yellow cake mix and while mixing up the batter, you throw in about a half a cup of sprinkles.

Voila...confetti cake!!

Boston Cream Cake

This recipe came out of a cake mix cookbook that I was looking through at my Aunt Annette's house.

Who knew you could do so many fun things with a cake mix?

I am a big fan of anything with a cream filling so this grabbed my attention right when I saw it.

Plus chocolate frosting.  Yum and yum.  

1 yellow cake mix
1 cup milk
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
1 small carton whipping cream
Chocolate frosting

*Make yellow cake batter according to package directions and bake in two round cake pans.  Cool completely when done.  Make vanilla pudding with the 1 cup of milk and set aside.  Whip the whipping cream until stiff, adding a little sugar and vanilla to taste.  Combine pudding and whipped cream.  Stack the two cakes on top of each other with the filling in the middle.  (I had to slice off the top of one cake to make it flat).  Top with your favorite chocolate frosting.  (I used the recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa).

Gooey Butter Cake

Leave it to Paula Deen to come up with something so easy, yet so amazing.

The name says it all.

It's gooey, it's buttery, it's rich, it's practically life-changing.

This dessert is guaranteed to satisfy the sweetest sweet tooth out there.

It's well worth the extra 30 minutes on the treadmill. Ok, maybe an hour.

Bottom layer:

1 yellow cake mix

1 egg

1 cube butter, melted

Filling:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cube butter, melted

1 (16 oz.) box powdered sugar

*Combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of a greased 9 x 13. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, and butter. Beat well. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake batter and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Top with whipped cream if you're feeling crazy.

Vanilla Crockpot Cake

My sister, Rach, made the chocolate crockpot cake for us a while ago and we all fell in love with it. So last night, I was reading through the cookbook I purchased for my mother-in-law and came upon a recipe for vanilla crockpot cake. Since I love the chocolate one, I knew this one had to be good too! And, let me tell you, it was delish in every way! I served it with strawberries and ice cream. Everyone devoured it!

1 box vanilla cake mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1 cup water
3/4 cup oil
1 cup white chocolate chips

Put all ingredients in a bowl except for the white choc. chips. Mix until smooth. Then, stir in white chocolate chips. Pour into a greased crockpot. Cook on low for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Serve warm.

Coffee Cake

One thing I love about my husband is that he loves baking. If he is craving something, he will just look up the recipe and make it. He usually talks me into helping him, not because he needs my help but he likes the company. We made this over conference weekend and again since. Its suppose to be for breakfast but lets be honest- its about as healthy as dessert.

Ingredients:

• Topping:
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• Cake:
• 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Topping. In small mixing bowl, combine topping ingredients. Blend with fork until crumbly. Set aside.

Sift 1 1/2 cups sifted flour with baking powder and salt into a bowl. In a medium bowl, beat together beaten egg and 3/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup melted butter. Add milk and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture and mix well.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square or 9-inch layer-cake pan. Sprinkle topping crumb mixture evenly over batter. Bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cake tests done. Partially cool in pan on wire rack. Cut coffee cake into squares while still warm.

Lemon Bundt Cake

My sis-in-law, Kristi, made this a while ago for dessert at one of our family gatherings. I was a little hesitant to have some because I'm not the biggest fan of lemon. BUT, I rarely say no to desserts, so I gave it try. Wow! It was so good! The cake was moist with just the right amount of lemon flavor and the sauce is to die for. This is the perfect Easter dessert because it is light with a refreshing flavor.

Cake:
1 yellow cake mix
1 small pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup oil

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool. Slice and serve with sauce.

Sauce:

1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients and stir until smooth.

Favorite Bundt Cake

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

I love my ward cookbook.

Love, love, love it.

Sometimes I curl up on the couch with a blanket and read it like it's a novel.

I mark all the recipes I want to try and then I make a list of what I need to buy.

That is how I found this gem of a dessert.

My husband especially loved this cake because he doesn't like desserts that are too chocolatey (is that even possible???). Because of the yellow cake mix, this has a nice chocolate flavor, but it's not too much, if you are not a chocolate lover.

1 yellow cake mix

1 small package instant chocolate pudding

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup water

4 eggs

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

*Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Pour into a greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

One night, a few months back, Holly brought me a plate of goodies from a get together she had been at with her friends. Some serious goodies. One of them being this cupcake. It had chocolate frosting on it, so it just looked like a chocolate cupcake. Holly hadn't tried one, yet. After she left my house, I took a bite of the cupcake. Oh my word. Cheesecake in the middle. I called Holly and asked her if she knew there was cheesecake in the chocolate cupcake. She did not. I told her we needed the recipe immediately. She said her friend Ali made them. I said call her right now.

(I took the picture before I frosted them so you could see the to-die-for center of the cupcake).

Cupcake:

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 3/4 c. flour

1 cup Nesquik

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

*Beat ingredients together and then add One cup of hot water. Set aside and make cheesecake center:

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

6 oz. milk chocolate chips

*Mix together first three ingredients until smooth and then add chocolate chips.

*Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full with cake batter. Then drop a spoonful of cream cheese mixture in the middle of each. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes. Once they are cool, frost with chocolate frosting.

Frosting:

1 cube butter, melted

2/3 cup cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Aunt Nanette's Cranberry Orange Pound Cake

I will give you a hundred bucks if you can eat this cake without saying it's one of the best things you've ever eaten. Trust me on this one...this cake goes above and beyond goodness. Brett's aunt makes it every year for Thanksgiving and occasionally for baby and bridal showers, if we're lucky. I almost skipped the turkey dinner this year so I would have more room for this cake. Sherri and I even thought about kidnapping the cake and hiding it before anyone noticed it was on the dessert table. If you want to impress your friends and family, this is the recipe for you.

2 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 tsp. orange peel

1 tsp. vanilla

6 eggs

8 oz. sour cream

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

1 1/2 cup chopped nuts

2 chopped apples

*Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in orange peel and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in sour cream. Fold in cranberries, nuts and apples. Pour batter (it's really thick) into a greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 65-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake, comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Then drizzle on the glaze.

Glaze:

1 cup sugar

1 Tbs. flour

1 cube butter

1/2 cup half and half or canned milk

*In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar and flour. Stir in butter and half/half or milk. Cook over medium until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly. Drizzle over cake while still warm.