Category Archives: Desserts

December 23, 2015 · 7:48 pm

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

Tunnel of fudge

This cake has made it back around the block!  Back in the day it was one of the most popular cakes around.  I have made and eaten my share.  Just the other week it came across my inbox from The New York Times, but it’s a little different from the original.  In the 1960’s this cake won 2nd place in the Pillsbury Bake-Off.  How did it not win first????   Anyway, its most famous ingredient was a box of Pillsbury Chocolate frosting.  When Pillsbury stopped producing the frosting there was an outcry from all the Tunnel of Fudge lovers so Pillsbury enlisted the help of a chemist-baker to come up with a Tunnel of Fudge from scratch.  In my book it is a 1st prize winner.

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November 23, 2015 · 3:37 pm

Carrot Cake

 

Carrot Cake

I saw this cake in Cook’s Illustrated a couple of years ago and was so intrigued with the method of putting it together.  I just had to try it because it makes serving cake so easy and the cake is so beautiful.  You could do this with any of your favorite cakes.  I can see it done with maybe a yellow cake with a beautiful fudge frosting or what about a coconut cake for the holidays?  The only problem that I had with this method is getting it out of the pan without tearing the layers. Only because I did not have large cooling racks.  If you have those then you are good to go.  If you don’t  I’ve  got that one covered for you.   Freeze the cake in the pan after it cools about 10 minutes.   After about an hour or when the cake is good and firm.  Place  a cutting board or a large cookie sheet over the frozen cake and turn it out.  Remove the parchment paper and cut into 4 equal pieces.  Then you are ready to frost it up.

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Snicker’s Brownie Cake

Chocolate goodness

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate makes everything better.  This Snicker’s Brownie Cake proves that even on a rainy day there is some sunshine.  I didn’t change a thing about it.  The recipe is perfect as it stands.  It might be the meringue you fold into the chocolate that makes this so heavenly, or the chocolate and butter  melted into one beautiful bowl,  or the 10 Snicker’s  fun bars  you sprinkle on the top .  Any one of these could put this over the top, but together it is a masterpiece to enjoy.  Put this at the top of your list to make during the holidays to impress your chocolate loving friends.  You will not hear the end of it.  It is without a doubt the best brownie I have ever had.

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November 19, 2015 · 12:00 pm
April 11, 2014 · 4:04 pm

Lemon Cake from Ina

Lemon Pound Cake

What do you do when you have a bag of lemons and a free afternoon?  You bake Ina Garten’s wonderful Lemon Cake that’s what you do.  Then step back snap a photo, slice  it up, and take it to all your friends!!!  This cake has been one of GI Joe’s favorite cakes for the past three years that I have been whipping it up.  The cake reminds me of the one that Starbuck’s sells by the slice.  Starbuck’s texture is a little more dense , but the flavors are almost identical.  Freeze by the slice and you will save yourself a boatload of money.     Today I made it in this new Wilton 16 in. x 4 in. loaf pan that my longtime friend Connie bragged about.   The cake came out lovely.  The only drawback is how to store it without cutting it in half.  If you have any ideas let me know!

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March 12, 2014 · 8:10 am

Cardamom Poundcake with Plums

YUM

Cardamom is my new favorite flavor!  I loved it in these cheesecakes and when I saw this pound-cake in Bon Appetit I knew that I had to make it.  Little did I know of the trouble that this seemingly simple recipe would cause.

Finding cardamom pods in Douglasville can be a little difficult.  I did find the pods at the Indian market.  The anise pods were a little more difficult.  Really the cake part was easy.  It was the plum sauce that seemed to be just out of my reach.  It took me several times to finally get the knack.  The first go round produced plums that were just way too mushy.  I did save that liquid and used the plums by pushing them through a sieve.  The next time I cooked more plums  using the liquid I saved.  I shortened the cooking time greatly which worked.

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September 16, 2013 · 8:15 pm

Lemon Cheese Danish with Lemon Icing

Lemon Cheese Danish

Here’s what we made in class on Friday our first lab of the year. The first time in the kitchen always makes for some interesting writing here. Just imagine 33 teens in a room with six kitchens all trying to get Danish in the oven, tables set, and kitchens cleaned in a mere 45 minutes. It is organized chaos!!! One group added their milk a day early and two groups got the Danish confused with the icing and added a heaping cup of powdered sugar to the dry ingredients. Another student used a pastry blender as a mixing tool. I haven’t figured that one out yet. After four hours and 124 students later I left feeling exhausted both mentally and physically. It was a great lab with only three wrong turns out of twenty-four that hit the nail on the head.

Here’s what I did to change it up and I loved the results and so did my family. Looking for something sweet, tart and very simple here it is Lemon Cheese Danish with Lemon icing.

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August 18, 2013 · 12:23 pm

No-Bake Cheesecake

No-Bake cheesecake

This Cheesecake is almost a miracle. From the top to the bottom it’s all no-bake.  It’s so easy that you can whip it up in the morning and serve it for dinner with very little effort.  The traditional cheesecake is delicious, but can be labor intensive and then fooling with that water bath can be intimidating for some of us.  Try this simple no-bake cheesecake and you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Easy!

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August 6, 2013 · 6:30 pm

Fudgy Rocky Road Bars

Fudgy Rocky Road Bars

Looking for something sweet that is super easy to make, feeds a crowd and is delicious?  Well, I found it for you.  As you can tell I am pretty much obsessed with Sarah Carey’s videos from Martha Stewart Everyday Living.  She is just so cute and I love her sense of humor.  She is just a natural in front of the camera and I  cannot wait to share her videos with my classes and discuss them.  It is going to add so much to their cooking experience that I cannot give them in 45 minutes.  But, there is a big downside.  These teens are going to want to eat the food!!!  I am sharing these bars with my classes on Friday as a first week treat.  Really I’m using it as a bribe to keep them from changing classes.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I really should be preparing something disgusting because I have 33 students in all four of my classes.  It is going to next to impossible to teach this many in a lab, but hopefully they will be all little angels and it will be a breeze.  I will keep you posted.

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June 19, 2013 · 2:53 pm

Strawberry Cream Cake

Strawberry Cream Cake

Strawberries are everywhere now and when I saw this yummy looking cake on Martha’s newsletter  I could not resist it. Who doesn’t love strawberries and whipped cream.  That is what I call a match made in heaven and then add a nice layer of yellow cake to soak up all that good strawberry juice.  I’m telling you that it is perfect!

I made three of these in one week that’s just how good they are.  Make a one layer cake and then split it, cut up strawberries,  whip up some cream and you have yourself a fancy dessert that is a show stopper.

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May 13, 2013 · 8:29 pm

Hershey’s Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Hershey's chocolate cake

I really had a lot of fun making this layer cake for my classes.  It is so easy to make and impresses everyone.  They think that I should be some master baker making wedding cakes for royalty!  Yes, that’s what a great recipe can do for you.  It can make you into something that you really aren’t.  This is the best chocolate layer cake ever.  You can do this trust me.

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