The Best Simple Hot Choclate

For a while, we've been making our own chocolate sauce for ice cream and hot chocolate.  Recently, however, I wanted to try a Food Network recipe for "The Best Hot Chocolate."  It was good - but it was quite rich!  So the second time I made it, I tweaked the recipe.  The kids and Hubby LOVED it!  I did, too, because it was smooth, mild, and perfectly chocolaty.  Try it!

3 cups whole milk
1 cup half and half
1/8 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla (optional)

Heat milk and half and half in saucepan (don't boil).  Combine cocoa and sugar in a small bowl.  Spoon out some hot milk and mix with the cocoa/sugar until it's a nice slurry.  Add this into the saucepan and stir well.  Continue to heat and stir about 2 minutes until everything is incorporated.  Add vanilla, if desired.  This makes 4 good cups of hot chocolate, 5 if you have slightly smaller servings which is what we do.

Don't forget the smosh-mallows!  My little Eme calls them that, and I refuse to correct her.  :-)

Sweet Taste of Autumn Cake

Because it's September.  And for whatever reason, my self-control completely goes away when September hits.  No more waiting for the sweet taste of fall!  Bring on the PuMpKiN!!!

I had a can of pumpkin.  I had a box of white cake mix and a can of chocolate frosting on hand (which never happens...long story).  There had to be a way, right?




Sweet Taste of Autumn Cake

1 box white cake mix
15 oz canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp clove
1 can chocolate frosting (Choose your chocolate flavor!  We did chocolate fudge!)

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine cake mix, sugar, and spices; mix well.  Add eggs and pumpkin.  Beat on low speed 30 seconds to combine.  Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.  Pour batter into greased baking dish / cake pan / bundt pan / cupcake tin (because really...cake can take all forms).  Bake according to box directions based upon which pan you use.  Frost.  Eat.  Now you are ready to enjoy the best season of the year!  :-)

Ps 1 - Sweet Taste of Autumn because Autumn is my sister, and I love her.  And the chocolate/pumpkin combination always reminds me of her delish muffins she introduced us to years ago.

Ps 2 - Making this cake on a cloudy, cool, dank day will make you wanna break out sweaters and hot tea and boots and a cozy blanket.  Beware! :-)

Mexican Brownies

From my kitchen to yours!  My church had an international foods night a while back during one of our missions emphasis weekends.  I wanted to take something easy.  Something Mexican -- since I like Mexican and my last name fits that bill.  :-)  After looking at several recipes for "Mexican Brownies," I came up with something super simple with great results!

About the cayenne...  While I love Mexican and Tex-Mex foods, I can't really do a lot of spice.  Love me some mild Pace.  And I can do medium, but that is my limit.  Medium is like, "Woo, this is tasty ::sniff:: and kinda fun!"  The only reason I have cayenne is in my spice drawer is for the taco seasoning.  I've never used it in anything else except the brownies.  The first time I made the brownies (for the missions event), I think I used 1/8 tsp.  And they had quite the kick!  Almost too much for me.  (Or maybe just right since it would keep me from eating most of them...).  The second time I made the Mexican Brownies, I used maybe 1/16 of a teaspoon.  Basically a few sprinkles that I thought wouldn't make any difference and would probably be pointless.  I don't know what cayenne is on an atomic level -- but those few sprinkles were amazing!  It gave the brownies a depth of flavor that said "Mexican spice" without being spicy.  You could just add the cinnamon.  It'd still be tasty.  But the cayenne really does take it up a notch and makes it something special!

1 box brownie mix plus ingredients needed to make them
1 Tbs cinnamon
1/16 - 1/4 tsp cayenne

Combine brownie mix with cinnamon and cayenne.  Add wet ingredients and follow package directions for mixing and baking!  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Hot Fudge Cake

Dining on a Dime, p.232

This is a quick and easy cake to make, and you probably already have all the ingredients on hand. I made it two days in a row for a couple reasons: 1) it is really tasty and 2) I forgot to take a picture before I scooped it the first time. Yes, I did say scoop. When the recipe says there is a delicious fudge sauce in the center, it isn’t kidding! This is not a cake you cut and serve on a plate. I served it in bowls. It is quite sweet, and I think it would go great with a scoop of ice cream or a nice cup of coffee or tea. Since it's one of his favorite food groups, my Sweet Husband had some ice cream with it.  :)

A few notes... The recipe calls for flour, but I did not use all-purpose flour. I keep white whole wheat flour on hand, so that is what I used. "White whole wheat flour?" you ask.... Yes, that sounds like another, probably short, blog post. :) When I made the cake, the batter was very thick, more like the consistency of brownies; and there wasn’t a lot. I wasn’t sure what “deep casserole dish” meant, so I put it in a 1 quart soufflé dish which worked well.

The recipe was unlike any I had ever made before.... pour a cup of hot water over the whole thing then put it in the oven. Strange, but I guess that is how the wonderful fudge ends up in the middle. The recipe says it serves nine. I got eight servings of about a half cup each. You really don't need more than that because it is so rich. So here is the recipe!

CAKE

1 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbs. Cocoa

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbs. butter or margarine, melted (I used butter)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (I broke mine up with the side of a meat mallet)

TOPPING

3 Tbs Cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup hot water

Mix all the ingredients for the cake and pour into a buttered deep dish casserole dish. Mix cocoa and sugar for topping and sprinkle on top of batter. Pour hot water over top and bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes. This has a delicious fudge sauce in the center when baked. Serves 9

Batter with topping...

Hot water poured on top...

Ta-da!

Oh, a couple more things... Something kind of fun, especially for the grandchildren who were here...when the cake comes out of the oven, the fudge center is boiling so it makes the cake look like it is breathing. Also, this is really a bake and eat recipe. The second time I made it, I let it cool for a few minutes and the middle fell. It still tasted wonderful, and the fudgey center still was nice and fluid... it just looked ugly. I guess you could say it was a time where you didn't want to judge a book by its cover. :) I hope you will try this recipe; and, if you do, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!