Black Forest Cake

  Hello again. Yes, thats right, two posts in one day. This one is even better than the last. But first, a question, who likes chocolate cake? Because I happen to LOVE chocolate cake; with black forest being in second place for the best cake in the world.

  This black forest cake is a very simple cake to mix together. It's the stacking that's hard. If you're easily frustrated, I would reccomend making this cake on a day that you're in a good mood. For me just trying a new recipe puts me in a good mood, so this isn't a problem for me. But if you are easy to anger, then wait until you are in a blissful mood.

  This cake is mostly simple flavours layered to create a more complex taste. it's best served as an afternoon snack or a dinner dessert. No whipped cream required (there's enough in there already).

 

  Ingredients:

1 box dark chocolate cake mix

1 container cool whip

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 can cherry pie filling

Glaze:

6 squares semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup half and half cream

 

  Directions:

1. Bake cake according to package directions. In two, 8 inch, round cake pans.

2. Cut each cake in half. Making 4, thinner cakes.

3. When the cake is cooled, mix together the cool whip and icing sugar. Set aside one cup of this for garnish.

4. Add the cherry pie filling to the remaining cool whip.

5. Place the first layer of cake on a plate and smooth about a cup of the cherry cream onto it.

6. Repeat for the remaining layers.

7. To make the glaze, heat the chocolate and cream on medium high heat until fully incorporated.

8. Let the glaze cool until it's slightly pourable.

9. Pour the glaze over the cake, letting some run down the sides.

10. Let set.

11. Garnish with whipped cream and marachino cherries.

 

  I have no tips for this recipe, but please comment. Oh my gosh. I sound so desperate! Please, though. I don't know if anyone is even reading enjoying these foods, so please say something.

  Also, almost 100 views! WOO!! You guys are awesome. I will be making something special for the 100 views mark. I just don't really...know...what its going to be yet. Hehehe. Maybe you guys can comment on what you want it to be.

Banana Muffins

    Why, hello. And how is't? That sounded retarded, I know, but I felt like it would be fitting to use a greeting from the century this recipe originated. The 18th century. That was a while ago wasn't it? Beside the point. The point is that this is the greatest recipe for banana muffins you will ever taste.

  These muffins are perfect for school and work lunches, breakfasts, or just for snacking on whenever. If baked properly, they are very moist and chocolatey.

  These muffins have always been one of my favorite sweets and it is actually my genuine pleasure to share this recipe with you. I hope you all come to enjoy these muffins as much as I do.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed bananas (2 bananas)

1 egg

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

 

Directions:

1. Mash bananas and add sugar and egg.

2. Add the butter and mix well.

3. Add the dry ingredients and stir until no lumps remain.

4. Add chocolate chips and spoon into greased muffin tins. (Or use muffin liners)

5. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

 

Makes 12 muffins

 

  Little tips from me:

For extra chocolatey muffins, add another quarter cup of chocolate chips per recipe.

Also, serve with a glass of milk and a ripe banana for optimum enjoyment.

Chocolate Pudding

  OH MY GOBSTOPPERS!!! 70 VIEWS! I don't know who's reading this, or if you've even tried the recipes, but I love you! I would love to have more feedback though. Cause what good are the views if no one comments? Just a thought.

  Just a shoutout to anyone who doesn't like to do a lot of reading; this is a long one. So if you don't want to read my pointlessly long blog post, no hard feelings and you can just go ahead and scroll down to the recipe.

  Anyways, I'm sure you guys remember the Pumpkin Pie recipes, right? Yeah. So when I was making pie I made too much pie crust dough. So I used the extra dough to make an empty pie shell. Because, you know what tastes better than pumpkin pie? Chocolate pudding pie! Yes, thats right. Fellow chocolate lovers REJOICE!!

  Also, does anybody remember my younger sister Jessie? She first made an appearance in the Divine Mud Pie post. Well, she had never made chocolate pudding. Now when I say chocolate pudding, I do NOT mean the store bought stuff that comes in the handy dandy little packages. Add milk and stir. No! I mean the messy, cocoa covering the floor, stir until your arm falls off kind of pudding

  Well Jessie, still living in the bliss of childish naivety, thought it would be great fun to make chocolate pudding for the first time. Typically I would say no, not because I love making pudding (duh), but because I just love to cook anything that has suagr in it. But I guess deja vu had softened my heart. I was about to say no until I remembered that my first time making chocolate pudding from scratch was also for a pie.

  So basically what I just wasted ten minutes of your time trying to lead up to, is that I let my sister mix the pudding. Big mistake.     

  Jessie must've misread the recipe, because after the pudding was poured into the pie and let sit for 3 hours, then let sit for another hour in the fridge; it still hadn't set. Yes. Thats right. No one was really supervising her, because she said she wanted to do it all by herself, so we don't really know for sure what happened, but we're pretty positive that she didn't put in enough cornstarch.

  So all this pointless explaining is to,

1. Teach you about cornstarch (make sure you have enough!),

2. Provide you with a slightly amusing story,

And 3. To inform you as to why the picture looks so terrible.

  Yes. This was all to explain why my piece of pie looks like chocolate water topped with whipped cream.

  But now no more stalling. On to the recipe. This is probably the simplest chocolate pudding recipe in the world (I am not joking. You would have to be seriously hard pressed to find a simpler one. Just kidding. There isn't one.). It's very smooth if done right, and can be served on top of pancakes and waffles, poured into a pie shell, or just eaten plain with some graham crumbs and Nutri Whip (Yes I use fake whipped cream. And I regret nothing!).

 

Ingredients:

3 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cornstarch

1/4 cup cocoa

 

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a pot that's big enought that stirring won't make a huge mess.

2. Cook on a medium heat, stirring constantly, until it boils.

3. Remove from heat and stir for about another 5 minutes.

 

Little tips from me:

Do NOT stop stirring at any cost. It will stick to the bottom of the pot and burn. If it burns you have ruined the whole batch.

 

  So let me know how your pudding turns out. Dont be shy, becausw I guarantee you, it will not be as bad as my first attempt. I'm talking an inch of baked on pudding at the bottom of the pot. Hehehe. Tell me though, is it possible? Was your fail more spectacular than mine?

Pumpkin Pies

  Hello again. This post is a bit out of place I guess, given that Thanksgiving was on Monday. But my mom didn't buy a pumpkin until tuesday. And so, since I've only ever tasted it once; and even then it was a rather awful, I decided it was about time I tried making my very own, good old fashioned, home baked, pumpkin pie.

  My mom has a recipe for pumpkin pie that she got from her mother, but I wasnt sure how much I would like it. From the recipe it sounded pretty flavourless. So I went and found a different recipe in one of my moms old recipe books. Just to try it. After I found one, I started on the pumpkin.

  I've decided to have mercy, and spare you the gorey details of my one and a half hour long battle with a pumpkin; so we'll start at the moment I first tasted it. I literally just took my first bite. As I am writing this. This is a spiced pumpkin pie recipe. Its very good. Served best with a dollop of whipped cream.

  I will also add my mothers recipe for pumpkin pie in this post for anyone who prefers a more mild pumpkin pie, and her recipe for pie crust because, lets be honest, the frozen store bought  ones taste like crap.

 

  PIE CRUST

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lard or vegetable shortening

2 cups flour

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt

 

Directions:

1. Put the first two ingredients into a bowl and rub with a fork until crumbly.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and kneed until you have a dough stifff enough for rolling. (When you lift it up, your fingers should not poke holes into it). More flour may be added if necessary.

3. Roll out until nice and thin and place gently into whatever sized pie plate you are working with. (This recipe will nicely fill two 8" round pie plates).

 

  SPICED PUMPKIN PIE

 

Ingredients:

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 cup solid packed fresh pumpkin

1 tbsp molasses

3 eggs

1 cup whipping cream

 

Directions:

1. Mix the first eight ingredients in a bowl.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until completely combined.

3. Pour into a 9" pie shell. (It can be a frozen crust but I would recommend using the pie crust recipe thats enclosed in this post.)

4. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes or until the centre is set.

 

MOM'S PUMPKIN PIE

 

Ingredients:

1 quart fresh pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in medium sized pot. (keep the egg whites seperate!!!)

2. Cook on high heat stirring constantly until it thickens.

3. Spread into a 8x8 pie shell.

4. Beat egg whites with about 1 tbsp sugar, until it forms stiff peaks.

5. Spread on top of uncooked pie and sprinkle with a cinnamon/sugar mixture made up of: one part cinnamon and two parts sugar.

6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

 

Little tips from me:

  Serve the spiced pumpkin pie with a HUGE amount of whipped cream. You can never have too much.

  Also when Iwas making it, I put the filling into a blender on high speed for about 5 minutes to get a smooth texture.

I will be adding the pictures for both pie recipes in this post. The one in the 9x13 pan is my moms (we made a double recipe). The slice one is the spiced pumpkin pie. For your viewing pleasure.

Special K Squares

  Hello again my fellow internet bakers, creepers, and stalkers. So I see view count is climbing. Has anyone tried these recipes? Please comment. I'm dying for your feedback.

  ANYWAY. My baking story isn't terribly exciting this time. It's actually incredibly boring. My mom has wanted me to make these Special K squares she found in one of her older recipe books for a while now, so she has something to put into my dads lunch.

  We've made these squares before and they are actually pretty good. They taste mostly of peanut butter and chocolate. With just enough coconut to give it depth. These squares are great for any time of day and work perfectly in school/work lunches.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 cups Special K cereal

1 cup coconut

1/2 cup chocolate chips

 

Directions:

1. Combine the corn syrup and brown sugar in a pot and cook over a medium heat until it bubbles.

2. Remove from heat and add the peanut butter, coconut, Special K, and chocolate chips.

3. Press into a 8x8 pan and let cool completely.

 

Little tips from me:

If you have the thing my mom has; where your teeth hurt if you have to much sugar at once, then I would recommend downing a glass of milk after eating one of these.

Also, you don't have to use Special K. You could use unsweetened cornflakes or Fiber 1 cereal

Brownies

  Hello!! Its me again. How's it been?

  So I work at this adorable little coffee shop and one time my shift was on a Saterday. Saterday is the slowest business day, and this time it was particularly slow; so the manager said to bake something yummy (we bake everything fresh). So we baked chcolate chip cookies. And they were delicious. I was planning to make them at home today, but sadly my mother wasnt in the mood for cookies. So I made brownies instead.

  PLOT TWIST!! I bet you all thought I was about to give you the recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted. Nope! Instead let me give you the recipe for the best brownies in the world.

  This is a third generation family recipe. My great grandmother on my moms side was the original writer of the recipe and I guarantee that no one else has made a better one.

  These are moist, buttery, brownies. Best served as an evening dessert or for night lunch.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, melted

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

6 tbsp cocoa

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until no lumps remain.

3. Pour into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for exactly 30 minutes.

 

Little tips from me:

Spread one whole container of Betty Crocker Chocolate Icing on top.

OR serve warm with vanilla icecream and caramel icecream topping

CheeseCake

Hey humans of the internet. Hows it been? Sorry I havent posted anything in so long. Ive been busy. Ish. Anyway...

  So yesterday we ran out of sweets so I decided to bake something again. My mom was in the mood for cheesecake and I love cheesecake. So, no surprise here, I baked some.

  This cheesecake is a simple new york style cheesecake with your choice of canned fruit topping. Its creamy and moist and tastes best with a large dollop of whipped cream on top.

 

Ingredients:

  Crust:

2 1/2 cups graham crumbs

1/2 cup margarine

1/4 cup sugar

  Filling:

2, 8oz pkg cream cheese

2 eggs

2 tbsp margarine

1 cup sugar

1tsp vanilla

 

Directions:

  Crust:

1. Mix graham crumbs, margarine, and sugar together in a bowl.

2. Press into a 9x13 pan.

  Filling:

1. Mix together cream cheese, eggs, margarine, sugar, and vanilla.

2. Beat with an electric beater until no lumps remain. This can take up to 15 minutes .

3. Spread into crust and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

4. Cool and spread with  your choice of fruit topping.

 

Little tips from me:

  Serve with a huge helping of whipped cream.

  This dessert works at any time of day.

Divine Mud Pie

So when I was 10ish my parents got me and my older sister a miniature baking set. This baking set came with mini cupcake tray, a mini springform pan, a mini bundt pan, and a mini loaf pan. Its also came with a set of recipe cards. All of which my eccentric preteen self wanted desperately to make. But I was sadly never allowed to make any of them on account of my mother wouldve needed to watch me and never had time for that between watching my 2 younger siblings and cooking and cleaning.
But 5 years later (holy crap! Its been five years!?) my younger sister Jessie wanted just as desperately as I had, to make this adorable little icecream brownie cake. Even now that I'm 15 I still wanted to make my own icecream cake. So I volunteered to help her make it.
OH MY GOSH!!!!!! I dont think I've ever made a cake that was such a pain! Seriously. If you don't like meticulous things in baking, dont make this. Because dude, I've never worked with icecream before. Its almost as bad as peanut butter. You all know what I'm talking about.
This dessert is a classic brownie crust, with vanilla icream, chocolate fudge topping, and served with whipped cream. I haven't had this before today, but I think it would be best served as an evening dessert.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine melted
2 tbsp + 2 tsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp + 2 tsp cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1egg
1/2 cup nuts chopped (optional)
4 tbsp chocolate fudge topping
1 1/2 cups vanilla icecream
Whipped cream to serve with

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a small a bowl cream together sugar and buter.
3. Add the flour, cocoa, salt, vanilla, and egg. Stir until blended.
4. If youre adding nuts; this is when that happens.
5. Pour into a 7" inch spring form pan. (sadly we didnt use the mini one)
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Remove the crust from the oven and spread 2 tbsps of the chocolate fudge topping on it.
8. Cool completely.
9. Put the icecream on it and the other 2 tbsps of chocolate topping on that.
10. Freeze until completely hardened.
11. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the cake and release the sides of the pan.
12. Top with wipped cream and serve quickly before it melts.

Little tips from me: This cake melts really fast. A good idea would be to cut it ahead of time and refreeze it again. That way you dont have to serve melted icecream cake. Because thats just embarrassing.
Also let the icecream sit out until its almost melted and then spread it on the cake. It makes it so much easier.

I personally have definitely had better icecream cake, but I think the ten year old me gained a little recompense for never being able to make this. And thats better than nothing I guess.
And also I didnt think to get a picture of the cake before my family violently devoured it. So, I'm sorry but you will be stuck with this sad picture of a half-melted peice of icecream cake

Kraft Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hey everyone. If anyone is in fact reading this. Sorry its taken so long to post something. Ive been on the this special diet and couldnt bring myself to bake anything that I couldnt eat. But my diet ends tomorrow and I decided to make one of my all time favorite cookie recipes.
First, a little fact about my parentage; both of my parents were raised mennonite. And mennonites buy everything in big ass contianers. So my mom had this one margarine container full of 10 year old peanut butter, in the deep freeze. Yes, thats right. TEN YEARS OLD. And as much as I HATE working with peanut butter, I love peanutty food.
Now tell me, am I the only person in the world who actually reads the recipes on the back of Kraft Peanut Butter jars? If I am, then some of you are missing out. Because thats where I found this recipe. A recipe for soft, moist, peanut butter and chocolate cookies.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup butter melted
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Put brown sugar in a large bowl and pour hot melted butter over to break apart the lumps in the sugar.
2. Add the peanut butter, white sugar, and vanilla. Cream together into a smooth mass.
3. Combine the flour and baking soda and blend into mixture.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips .
5. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for exactly 10 minutes for perfectly soft cookies.
Little tips from me: Serve still warm and with a glass of milk. Also, add an extra quarter cup of chocolate chips per each recipe. I love chocolate, so I always do this.

Soft Cocoa Cookies

Hello again. This is going to be my first actual baking post. So if its incredibly dumb sounding or anything like that, let me know and I will try to fix the problems in my next post. But now onto the baking.
Today I'm baking Soft Cocoa Cookies. These cookies are soft and chocolatey. This is a simple recipe with very basic ingredients that everyone could find in their kitchen. These cookies are great for afternoon tea or just snacking anytime.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups margarine
3 cups brown sugar (or 2 for all you health nuts out there)
1 1/2 cups cocoa
3 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups flour
3 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups nuts (optional)
1 tbsp vanilla

Directions.
1. Melt the margarine in a small pot over low heat.
2. Put the brown sugar in a large bowl. And add the melted buter and beat with a fork until all the lumps are gone.
2. Next add the rest of the wet ingredients and stir with a whisk until completely blended.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Stir until no lumps remain.
5. Grease the cookie sheets with olive oil and scoop a tablespoon of dough into a three by four pattern on the cookies sheets.
6. Bake for 15 minutes and let cool.
7. Then immediatly move to an airtight container or they'll dry out.

Little tips from me:
Serve chilled with milk or tea.

Intoduction

This is my first ever blog. I figured people might be a little more comfortable reading a blog if they knew who was behind it. So heres alittle about me: Im 15, My name is Leaf. My favorite color is black,and I love baking.

Now about my blog. This is a baking blog. I will be posting about my greatest baking successes and failures. Along with posting the recipes of great cakes, cookies, muffins, you name it. I will also post pictures with the recipes so you can see how great the food looks. But finding out how great it tastes is entirely up to you. ;)

I will post a picture of me along with this post so you can know what I look like.