Chocolate Cake

My friend loves the Broadway musical RENT, and yesterday was her birthday party. I said that I would make a cake. I used black m&ms to write RENT and sparkly green edible gel to write happy birthday. This recipe is amazing.

Chocolate Cake

from allrecipes.com

4 cups white sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tsp. baking powder

3 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. salt

4 eggs

2 cups milk

1 cup vegetable oil

4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups boiling water

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9x13" pans.

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

The best part of making a layer cake are the scraps that you can make into a mini cake :)

Peace and Dee Love,

Sophia

Butterscotch Blondie Pie

On Thursday, I was at Costco and there were a bunch of food magazines on sale. I decided to get Paula Deen's "Best Desserts" issue. I was looking through it yesterday and saw a bunch of recipes that I wanted to try (so there will be more coming:D). I wanted to surprise my parents with dessert, but I wanted something fast. This was what I decided on. It's very rich, so it will feed quite a few people. It is sort of like pecan pie with butterscotch chips. Enjoy!

Butterscotch Blondie Pie

Ingredients:

1 single pie crust (just the bottom), uncooked

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

3 large eggs

1 cup butterscotch-flavored morsels

1 cup toasted and chopped pecans (I didn't toast them)

Instructions:

Preheat oven 350F.

On a lightly floured surface, unroll pie crust. Roll pastry into a 12-inch circle. Press pie crust into a 9-inch pie crust, crimping edges if desired. 

In a medium bowl, combine sugars and flour. Whisk in melted butter, corn syrup, and eggs until mixture is smooth. Stir in butterscotch morsels and pecans. Spoon mixture into prepared pie crust. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until center is set. Cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting. Serve warm with butterscotch topping and vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Peace and Dee Love,

Sophia

Strawberry Torte

I know, I know, I haven't posted in a long time. I'm sorry. But that doesn't mean that I haven't been baking. This is a torte that I made with my mom on Saturday. The original recipe was from allrecipes. I followed one of the reviews for the sauce, but there are a few things that I think could be changed. The following recipe is what I think the recipe should be, so try it and let me know if it works! It should, so don't be scared    :)

Strawberry Torte (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients: 

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup minus 1 tablespoon white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (if you don't have this, use another teaspoon vanilla)

1 pint minus 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

2 12 oz packs ladyfinger cookies (you won't use them all, but 1 pack isn't enough)

1  1/2   16 oz. packs frozen strawberries

1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

3/4 cup white sugar

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

fresh strawberries

Instructions:

In a sauce pan, cook 1 pack frozen strawberries and 1 tablespoon cornstarch until strawberries are soft and sauce is thick. Remove from heat and puree with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. 

In a separate sauce pan, cook 1/2 pack frozen strawberries with 1/2 tablespoon corn starch. Puree with 1/4 cup sugar. 

Whip cream cheese, sugar (1st measurement given above), and vanilla together.

In a separate bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.

Arrange ladyfingers around sides and bottom of an 8 or 9 inch springform pan, standing ladyfingers lengthwise around sides of pan. I found that this was easiest by standing some one the side, then against them on the bottom, and repeating this until it was done. 

Pour 1/2 of the filling into the pan, then another layer of ladyfingers. Take the smaller batch of strawberry sauce and pour it over the ladyfingers.

Pour remaining filling over sauce. Mix gelatin into larger batch of strawberry sauce. Pour over the filling. 

Let cool for a little and decorate with fresh strawberries. 

Chill until serving.

Peace and Dee Love,

Sophia

Banana Muffins

I'm going to have a big bakesale around easter, but I decided that I would start baking. So yesterday I made banana muffins. I had to make 15, though, because if we sell 12, then my parents and I won't get to eat any. And you know, you just can't sell people bad muffins. :o)

Anyway, here's the original recipe. I got it off of Allrecipes, because I somehow lost my banana bread recipe :-(

Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 large bananas, mashed

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. 

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.

Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes (I made large, and they only took about 20 minutes, so watch out). Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

Makes 12 large muffins or 48 mini muffins.

Peace and Dee Love,

Sophia

Valentine's Day Cake

I know that this post is REALLY late, but I figured better late than never. This cake is pretty simple; the only thing that takes a long time is arranging the m&ms on top of it.

Directions:

Bake 2 layers of chocolate (or any flavor) cake in a heart shaped pan or carve it after baking in a rectangular pan.

Place one layer on the cake plate.

Cover the top with raspberry jelly.

Place the other layer on top.

Make a batch of chocolate icing.

Cover the sides and top of the cake with it.

Take valentine's day colored m&ms (you can buy them at target) and arrange them on the top of the cake.

Enjoy!

Peace and Dee Love,

Sophia

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Hey everyone! Today was my last day of school until next Tuesday! I got home and looked at a cookbook to try to find a cupcake recipe that looked good. I found a recipe for cupcakes that you could either flavor chocolate, vanilla or lemon. I decided to go with the lemon and found a recipe for a cream cheese frosting that took lemon too, from the same book. I died the cupcake batter orange because of Halloween, as I did with my marble cake. More proof that I am obsessed with Halloween. LOLz. If you wanna make the recipe, here it is:

Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temp

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs 

1 cup self-rising flour

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, grated zest of 1 lemon or 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (optional) (I used lemon)

a 12-cup muffin pan

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F, then line the muffin pan with paper liners. 

Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. You can do this either by hand, or using an electric mixer. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Sift over the flour, then fold in by hand. Stir in the milk and flavoring (if using) to make a creamy, spoonable mixture.

Spoon heaped tablespoons of the mixture into each muffin cup, then bake for about 17 minutes until risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool completely before decorating. 

Cream Cheese Frosting 

Beat 6 oz. cream cheese, 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, and 2 teaspoons lemon juice together until smooth and creamy. (add more sugar if needed. I needed to.) Swirl on top of the cupcakes.

Peace and Dee Love,

Sophia

P.S.

As you can probably tell, I used my halloween cupcake cups again :)

Chocolate Chip Blondies

HI! HI! HI! Ok, so today I got home from school and wanted to bake (whoa, so unusual. lolz.). I decided to make choco chip blondies. Quote from my dad after eating his second one "If there was only 1 of these left on Earth, and I had to kill my mother to get it, I'd say "Mom, I love you, but you're toast."" Creeeeeeepy. LOLz!!! Here's the recipe

Chocolate chip blondies

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

6 tablespoons light butter

1 1/2 cups unpacked brown sugar

2 large egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup mini choc. chips

1/3 cup water

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

In large bowl, beat brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg whites and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with water. Stir in choc. chips.

Spread into a foil-lined (or greased) 9x13" baking pan. Bake until golden, about 20-25 min. (it took 20 for moi)

Cool on wire rack. 

Remove foil and cut into 24 2-inch squares.