Chocolate Cake with Buttercream (like you've never eaten before!)

I love to experiment with cooking and baking, which I'm sure is quite clear from this blog.  However, last week I had a failed experiment in adapting my go to cake recipe into a strawberry cake.  I had made the cupcakes and then I made a strawberry buttercream to go on top.  The cupcakes turned out not so great and the frosting was ok.  As not to waste the frosting, I decided to make some chocolate cupcakes.  The last time I made chocolate cake from scratch, it was dry and not so tasty.  By chance, I chose a recipe that called for boiling water at the end, which I thought, "hey, if it does not turn out well, then you find something later that does."  Well, this chocolate cake recipe (with my adaptations-half brown and half white sugar and sour cream instead of oil) turned out to be delicious! My husband, a cake hater (I'm working on that), loved this cake.  It is a bit more dense than I had thought, but its down right delicious.

So, last night the husband said, "can you make more of those cupcakes?" Not in the mood, I said I'd make a 9x13.  Also noticing that we had no frosting he requested more.  However, I did not have enough confectioners sugar to make enough buttercream to frost a 9x13 cake.  Then I remembered I had found a recipe on Pinterest for a buttercream that uses white sugar and flour.  That's right, flour.  Always a skeptic, I thought again, if it does not turn out then I know for next time.  I was wrong.  This is literally the best buttercream I have made.  It's light, fluffy and delicious.  Now that I've got you craving chocolate cake and vanilla buttercream, here are the recipes!

Chocolate Cake

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream 

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour pans, or use cupcake liners. (I use a bit of butter or skip this step all together)

2. In a large bowl, stir together sugars, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add eggs, milk, sour cream and vanilla.  Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed.  Stir in boiling water last.  The batter will be very thin, but do not worry, it is supposed to be.  Pour into pans or cupcake liners.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes for 8" rounds, about 35-40 for a 9x13 and 15-18 for cupcakes. (This was for my oven, which is not very good at retaining heat and is often much too warm so adjust to your oven)

Buttercream

5 Tbsp. flour

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar (not confectioners!)

1. In a small saucepan whisk flour into milk, stirring constantly, until it thickens.  It needs to be thicker than brownie mix, mine had a nice gruel like consistency, but that's ok!  Remove from heat and let cool completely.  I put mine in the fridge until I was ready for it.

2. Once cool, stir in vanilla.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar.  This took about 5 minutes on medium speed because you want all the little granules of sugar to be gone (don't worry if a few are left because they'll disappear in the next step).

4. Add the flour, milk and vanilla mixture.  Beat together until it looks like whipped cream.  It took me about 5 minutes on medium high to get there.

5. Frost your cooled cake and ENJOY!

P.S. Sorry I do not have pictures for this one! How boring is taking a picture of a 9x13 cake still in its pan :/

Curried Chicken and Lentil Chili (Vegetarian/Vegan Modifications too!)

What do I do with all of these ingredients?

 Ingredients

1 lb. ground chicken

1 lb. lentils, rinsed (I used brown lentils)

64 oz. chicken broth (you can use stock)

1 15oz. can diced tomatoes

1 15oz. can tomato sauce

2 large potatoes, peeled and diced

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 Tbsp. curry powder (depending on your taste)

2 tsp. cumin

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. ground ginger

1 t. garam masala (optional, if you have on hand)

2 t. chili powder

Directions

Brown chicken (I usually throw in some salt and pepper) in a Dutch oven and drain excess grease.  Return chicken to the pot and add all of the other ingredients.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook 25-30 minutes until lentils are tender.

Vegetarian/Vegan Modifications

Finished product! 

Omit chicken and substitute vegetable broth/stock for the chicken.  Add all of the ingredients to a Dutch oven.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook 25-30 minutes until lentils are tender.  You could add some more vegetables such as, peas.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups (12-ounce package) semisweet chocolate chips

Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Put the butter, peanut butter and the sugars in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer or a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again. Add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and beat on low speed until well blended. Add the chocolate chips and mix thoroughly.

Using a teaspoon as a guide, scoop a portion of the dough and, with your hands, roll each portion into a ball. Place the balls on each cookie sheet, about 16 on a sheet. Flatten the balls with the heel of your hand or the tines of a fork so that they spread to about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake each batch, one cookie sheet at a time, for about 10 minutes. The cookies will be firm to the touch and just beginning to brown.

Remove from the oven and cool on the sheet for about 3 minutes. Then transfer them with a spatula to a cooling rack. Let the cookie sheet cool for 1 or 2 minutes more before reusing so the dough doesn't melt. Store in an airtight container.

Homemade Pizza

This past weekend my sister, cousin and I went to the Wisconsin Dells for a girl's getaway.  We found a really good deal on Living Social for a resort (one bedroom, with Jacuzzi, full kitchen...nice location!), four lift tickets to Cascade Mountain and four indoor waterpark tickets to Mt. Olympus.  Needless to say, we had a blast!  We decided in order to keep the trip cost effective that we would cook most of our meals.  I had made homemade pizza dough a few weeks ago and froze some.  I ended up bringing it along and my cousin brought the toppings. What resulted was some very delicious pizza.

Whole Wheat Crust

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon white sugar
  1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  1 tablespoon olive oil
  1 teaspoon salt
  2 cups whole wheat flour
  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  
  
  Directions
  In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
  
  
  Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  
  
  When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
  
  
  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
  
  
  Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Chocolate and Vanilla Swirl Cream Cheese Frosting

Another pin I've added also comes from Your Cup of Cake, but again, I have slightly adapted the recipe.  I must say, these cupcakes are the moistest, most delicious cupcakes I've ever made.  I will be following this simple box mix preparation in the future!

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Vanilla Cake:

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

¾ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup sour cream

Vanilla Cake Mix (not white cake mix)

Cookie Dough Filling:

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 ¼ cup flour

7 oz sweetened condensed milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Buttercream:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with 20-22 cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, gently combine eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix in sour cream.  Add cake mix and mix until smooth.

     

      Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

      Filling: Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy and smooth.  Add flour and let mix.  Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.  Stir in Chocolate chips.  Place in a small Tupperware and let refrigerate until ready to use. 

Cookie Dough filled cupcakes

     When cupcakes are out of the oven, cut a cone shaped piece from the top of each cake. 

      Remove the filling from the refrigerator and stuff about 1 ½ -2 teaspoons of filling into each hollow cupcake. 

      Buttercream: Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add vanilla and powdered sugar.  Adjust the consistency using milk if it is too thick.  Remove half of the buttercream from the bowl (this will be the vanilla).  Add cocoa to the remaining half and beat well. 

      Fill your piping bag by filling one side with vanilla and one side with chocolate.  It is a little tricky, but it can be done! Pipe over cookie dough hole and top with mini chocolate chips or chocolate chip cookies (I left mine plain, because the frosting was so beautiful!) 

Cupcakes are frosted!

Cross section!

Nutella Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream

I've become a Pinterest addict over the past couple of weeks and I keep pinning recipes that I hope to make at some point.  Yesterday, I made two such recipes and I have to say, they turned out pretty well.  This first post is for Nutella cupcakes with a Nutella buttercream.  I adapted the recipe from Your Cup of Cake.

Nutella Cupcakes

Yield: 18-24 cupcakes

Nutella Cakes:

2/3 cup butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ¼ cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ cup sour cream

½ cup Nutella

Nutella Buttercream:

¾ cup Nutella

¼ cup butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line muffin tins with cupcake liners. (I got 18 cupcakes from this recipe, but I am sure you can get 24)


Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  On slow, add eggs one at a time.  Waiting until each one is fully incorporated before adding the next.  Add vanilla.

Nutella & Cookie Dough Cupcakes

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder.


Add ½ of the flour mixture, then add sour cream, then the rest of the flour.  Again, waiting for the flour or sour cream to fully mix in before adding the next.  Finally, add ½ cup of Nutella and gently incorporate. (You kind of want a swirl effect going on)


Fill cupcake liners ¾ full  and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.


Nutella Buttercream: beat Nutella and butter.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla and whipping cream.  Adjust as needed using more powdered to thicken, or more whipping cream to loosen.  (Also, if the batter is too light in color, you can always add some unsweetened cocoa.)  Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and you can use chopped hazelnuts roasted in the oven to top, but I just left them plain on top.