Chocolate Guinness Cake

During our trip to Ireland we had lunch in this amazing little café right at the bottom of Dun Aonghasa. We followed up our lunch with a piece of the most amazing cake ever. Before we left Alex asked for the recipe and the happily gave it to us.  When we later talked to our host she just raved about the cake and how popular it was with everyone on the island. She mentioned that she makes this cake for pretty much every special occasion. I thought it would be the perfect recipe to post here on St Patrick’s day!This is one of the most incredible cakes I’ve ever had. It is dense, moist and very chocolaty. The light cream cheese frosting on top pairs so incredibly well with the cake you’ll think you’ve gone to heaven. This is the perfect cake for any sort of St Patrick’s Day celebration. I’ve used the Guinness Extra Stout for this recipe. However, we were told in Ireland that you can pretty much use whatever Stout you have on hand, but it’s better with Guinness!As you’ll notice below, I’ve left this cake in weight measurements. This is because you can get excellent, repeatable results with baking by weight. I actually prefer baking this way since the results are so absolutely predictable. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, or don’t want to bake by weight a simple google search on conversions will let you change the recipe.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:181]Source: Adapted from Nigella Lawson

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bars

I had a friend over for the weekend and we found this recipe and decided we absolutely HAD to make it. It combines to amazing things, snickerdoodles and pumpkin cake! This cake is full of pumpkiny goodness and topped with cinnamon sugar. This is definitely a must try dessert this fall. You could also divide the batter into cupcakes and adjust the baking temperature for personal servings of this great dessert.Everyone who tried these absolutely loved them. They all remarked that is was a super unique dessert that combined flavors they wouldn’t have thought to combine. The recipe just calls for cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top, but I’ve toyed with the idea of sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Making this change would amp up the pumpkin flavor and really give it an extra boost.I’ve used fresh pumpkin puree in my recipe. If you use canned pumpkin it will change the moisture content. If you find the batter too think you always add some water or decrease the amount of flour used. I found the batter to be a very runny cake type batter. You will want to try and keep it at this consistency.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:111]Source: Adapted from Averie Cooks

Gluten Free Zucchini Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cake

My second guest post is up on Poverty Luxe today! I’ve created a gluten free recipe for Ginger Mango Cupcakes with Ginger Mascarpone Frosting. You should definitely check it out! If you’ve journeyed over to my blog from Poverty Luxe, welcome! This week I have five different gluten free recipes for you to check out. I look forward to sharing them with you.This recipe is amazing. Growing up my Mother would make this recipe every year when the zucchini were fresh out of her garden. I decided this was the year to turn this recipe gluten free so I could have it again! The cake is light and fluffy. It has incredible chocolate flavor and will satisfy your sweet tooth.Using fresh zucchini will get the best results for this cake. I used a medium zucchini fresh out of a friend’s mother’s garden to make this. However, I’ve used frozen (and then thawed) zucchini. Simply make sure you use the water/juice that is in the container if you defrost it.Instead of a frosting on this cake we have always sprinkled it with powdered sugar. This gives is a wonderfully light taste without the heaviness of a frosting. If you want to add a frosting anything with a vanilla base would complement the cake nicely. I have to honestly say though, don’t add a frosting. The cake is pretty much perfect without it.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:91]

How to: Make any boxed cake mix taste like it was homemade!

I’m sure we’ve all been there, we have people coming over soon, and they’re expecting a delicious homemade treat, and you have NO time to make anything yummy from scratch. I ran into this a couple weeks ago. We had people coming over the next day and it was 11 at night. I needed a delicious dessert but I had absolutely no time to make anything.I decided to make a boxed cake mix (gasp, I know!). I never make cake mixes because they are never as good as anything I can make from scratch. However in this instance I needed an amazing dessert and I needed it quickly so I could go to bed.I’ve done this several times in the past when I didn’t have time to make anything. The final result is a moist delicious cake that people will never believe came from a box mix! It simply takes a few alterations to the recipe to take it to the next level. This will work with just about any cake mix you might have in your pantry. I’ve placed the recipe below for the box I used this time around so you can get a feel for what a finished recipe looks like. Don’t hesitate to experiment on your own with the basics below.

In order to make a boxed cake mix taste like a homemade cake you want to first replace the oil with melted butter. This will give you a better crumb to the cake. However if you are running short on butter or want less calories you can skip this step. If you skip this step the cake will still be incredible, just slightly less incredible. If I had to pick one step to leave out this would be it. If you do leave it out simply use the amount of oil the recipe calls for.The real way to take a boxed cake mix from drab to fab is instead of adding water to the mix is to substitute milk and sour cream. Take the amount of water call for in the recipe and halve it. Add that much both milk and sour cream. So if you recipe calls for ¾ Cup of water add ¼ Cup and 2 Tablespoons of both milk and sour cream.Add the exact amount of eggs called for in the recipe. Eggs help the structure of the cake to remain intact and so you need to make certain to keep that portion of their recipe the same. This will insure your cake has the correct structure, not to dense and not too crumbly.The final way to make these cakes amazing is to add a little bit of extract to the batter. This will fill out the taste of your cake. I chose to add vanilla extract to my chocolate cake. Depending on what type of box mix you start with you can choose the extract that will best compliment your cake. The same goes for chocolate chips. You don’t have to use them but if you do your cake just has a little more pizazz to it.I always love to bake cakes in a bundt pan. I feel like this really gives the cake a flair it doesn’t get with a regular pan and it also makes it look WAY prettier with minimal effort.  A lot of cakes baked in a bundt pan will be perfect if paired with powdered sugar as a simple dusting. Happy baking!

---

Homemade Tasting Boxed Cake1 Box Madhava Organic Chocolate Cake Mix½ Cup Sour Cream½ Cup Milk½ Cup Butter (melted)3 Eggs2 Teaspoons Vanilla ExtractWhite Chocolate Chips (optional)Powdered Sugar (for garnish)Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 12 cup bundt pan.

Mix together the cake mix, sour cream, milk, butter and vanilla. Stir until no lumps remain.Stir in the chocolate chips if using.Transfer to the prepared bundt pan.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.Sprinkle with powdered sugar once the cake has cooled.

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:48]

Gluten Free Chocolate Lava Cakes

These lava cakes are amazing! They are completely made from scratch and when you dig into them they have a rush of chocolaty goodness that just oozes out. In order to make these gluten free I used Enjoy Life chocolate chunks and King Arthur Gluten Free flour. If you aren’t eating gluten free you can substitute chopped chocolate and 2 Tablespoons of regular flour when baking.Using bakers sugar, it’s also known as super fine sugar, will give you a smoother cake. You can use regular sugar but you will have a grainier end product. I suggest investing in bakers’ sugar if you do a lot of baking. It will come in handy if you want super smooth finished products or if you ever make crème-brulee.

---

Gluten Free Chocolate Lava Cakes3oz Chopped Chocolate4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter2 Eggs1 Egg Yolk8 Teaspoons Bakers Sugar (Regular sugar will work ok too)1.5 Tablespoons Gluten Free Flour¾ Teaspoons Vanilla Extract1/8 Teaspoon SaltPowdered Sugar for sprinklingPreheat the oven to 375 and lightly butter two ¾ cup ramekins.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan until completely combined. Let cool slightly

Using an electric mixer combine the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until slightly thickened. Then add the flour.

Add the chocolate mixture, salt and extract.

Divide the mixture between 2 or 3 ramekins.

Place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the edges are set but the center is still shiny and moves slightly.

Remove from the oven, and after running a small knife around the edges invert onto a plate.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Perfect Valentines Cake

I know you’re looking for the perfect dessert to go with your Valentines’ day plans tomorrow. This cake is sure to impress your Valentine, and the best part is even the least experienced of bakers can create this elegant dessert.This cake is delicious and super easy.  You start with a basic chocolate bundt cake, you then cover it with a wonderful vanilla cream cheese frosting, strawberries and to top it off you cover the entire cake with chocolate ganache.  It not only combines the best flavors of the season it looks fantastic too!If you don’t have the option of using a bundt pan you can use  a couple of round cake pans and alternate layers of frosting and strawberries.

---

Chocolate, Strawberry and Cream Cheese Bundt CakeChocolate Cake:1 ¾ Cups Sugar2 Cups Flour¾ Cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder1 ¼ Teaspoon Baking Powder1 ¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda¾ Teaspoon Salt2 Eggs1 Cup Milk½ Cup Oil2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract1 Cup Boiling Water

Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a bundt panMix the eggs, sugar, vanilla, milk and oil in a large bowl.When well combined add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Mix well.Add the flour and mix well.Slowly add the boiling water and mix well, being careful not to splash the liquid around.Bake for 45 minutes until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.Let cool for 15 minutes then turn onto a cooling rack.Let cool completely before you ice, at least one hour.Cream Cheese Frosting:4oz Softened Unsalted Butter8oz Softened Cream Cheese2 Cups Powdered Sugar½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Cream the butter and cream cheese together until soft and creamy.With the mixer on low add the powdered sugar, making sure to scrape down the sides.Add the vanilla extract.Mix on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.Spread evenly over the cooled cake.

Chocolate Ganache:½ Cup Heavy Cream4oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

In a saucepan heat the heavy cream until just boiling.Remove from the heat and add the chocolate chips.Whisk vigorously until the chips have melted.Add the vanilla and whisk until combined.Pour over the iced cake.

---

Source:Cake and frosting recipes: Kiss my Bundt by Chrysta Wilson

---