Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Wow!  This is such a delicious and easy frosting.  It easy makes plenty for a two layer round cake.  This icing is so fluffy!  Thank you Cooking Classy for the great recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) butter, at room temperature (I like to use 1 cup unsalted and 1/2 cup salted)
• 3 3/4 cups (448g) powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup (68g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 - 5 Tbsp half and half
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• In a the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter on moderately high speed until very pale and fluffy. Sift in cocoa powder then add in powdered sugar, 3 Tbsp half and half, and the vanilla and mix on low speed until combine, scrapping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in up to additional 2 Tbsp half and half to thin as needed. Increase mixer to medium-high speed and whip until fluffy.

Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate ganache can used on top of cake or many other desserts.  It also makes desserts look expensive and fabulous.  Thank you Rose Bakes for the recipe.

Ingredients:

4 oz semi sweet chocolate (by weight)½ cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. First, warm the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering. While it's heating, chop the chocolate into small pieces if you're using bars or bricks) and place in a glass bowl. When the cream is heated, pour it over the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate it melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool and thicken. {Note: you can also allow this to completely cool and whip it to use as a filling or frosting for piping.} I stuck mine in the frig for about 10 minutes to speed up the process!
2. I've also added in ¼ cup of corn syrup (for added shininess) and vanilla (for extra flavor) but these are not necessary!

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

My husband loves chocolate cake but I will not buy a box cake anymore because of the tons of ingredients that I can't even pronounce.  I have made several chocolate cakes but this one is moist, delicious and so easy to make.  Thank you Rose Bakes for the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare two 8" or 9" round pans (or I've also used a 9"x13" sheet cake pan). Make sure to grease and flour the pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed, then stir in the boiling water.
4. Pour into the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then flip them out on a wire rack and let completely cool before frosting.

Chocolate Cake

This is a great recipe!!  It is is easy and tastes great, and can be made into any shape cake or cupcakes.  The cake will rise bigger if the batter is chilled a little while in the refrigerator before pouring into the pan(s).  I can credit Food Network for this great recipe.

Ingredients

Prepared pan (greased and floured)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch process)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 9-inch-round cake pans, one 9x13 pan or 24 cupcakes.
Whisk the cocoa powder and 1 1/2 cups boiling water in a medium bowl until smooth; set aside. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until combined. Add the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream and vanilla and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the cocoa mixture in a steady stream until just combined, then finish mixing with a rubber spatula. (The batter will be thin.)

Divide the batter between the prepared pans (if making two cakes) and tap the pans against the counter to help the batter settle. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely.

 

Frost with your favorite icing or use my Buttercream Icing recipe.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

If you know me, you know that I do not like Oreos at all.  Everyone makes fun of me, but that is okay.  I am who I am.  I was looking for a recipe to make treats for others for Christmas, and I came across this recipe from Our Best Bites.  Their recipe was for a peppermint middle (I wanted it peppermint but my family did not) but I made it vanilla by adding extra vanilla instead of peppermint extract.  They were very easy to make, and were delicious!!  They were way better than the mass produced Oreos.  I hope you enjoy them like my family and friends did.  These are sort of like a whoopie pie cookie, and you can choose to make them small or big.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled (don’t scoop!)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons real butter
1 tablespoon water
1 large egg lightly beaten

Frosting Ingredients

1/2 cup real butter (1 stick)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 - 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
milk, as needed for consistency
optional: red or green food coloring and sprinkles or crushed candycanes


Directions
To make cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. heat chocolate chips, brown sugar, 5 tablespoons butter and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted and smooth (there will still be grains of sugar though). Transfer mixture to a large bowl and beat in egg. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Don’t overmix.

If dough is too soft to work with, let it sit at room temp for a few minutes to firm up, or place in the fridge for a few minutes. Gently roll balls, either 1 tablespoon full for large cookies, or about 1/2 inch balls for silver dollar sized cookies. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies until just puffed in teh middle and edges are set but centers are still soft. About 8-9 minutes for large cookies, and about 5 minutes for small ones. If using 2 cookie sheets, rotate them half way through baking. Cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

To make filling, beat all frosting ingredients together, adding peppermint extract to taste. Add milk by the teaspoonful until a spreadable, but not too soft consistency is reached. Add food coloring if desired. Place frosting in a zip-top bag and cut off a corner. Pipe onto one side of cookie and place another on top. Roll edges in sprinkles or crushed candycanes if desired.

Yield: If you use a tablespoon of dough, it will yield 1 1/2 dozen large sandwiches. If you use a quarter of a standard cookie scoop (about a rounded teaspoon) it will yield 4-5 dozen.