German Chocolate Cake

trust in kim - german chocolate cake

I made this beautiful cake for my good friend Angela’s birthday this weekend.  It’s moist and chocolatey, and the topping is nutty and sweet without being too sweet.  It got rave reviews at the party, and several requests for the recipe, so here it is!  Apparently the true name is German’s Chocolate Cake, which comes from the U.S., not Germany.  All  I know is… yum! I just used semi-sweet instead of sweet chocolate.

If you don’t want to make a German Chocolate Cake, you could use the cake recipe and make a different frosting – it’s a good moist cake.

I got this recipe from an amazing cake book  that I’m working my way through, and loving every recipe so far: All Cakes Considered by Melissa Gray.  And my friend Justin Cathcart took the beautiful photo.

What you need:

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup boiling water

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

For the filling and topping:

1 & 1/3 cups pecans (plus 5-6 nice halves for a garnish)

1 & 3/4 cups coconut, unsweetened

1-14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup water

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

What you do:

1.  Put the chocolate in a bowl, pour in the boiling water and stir until the chocolate has dissolved.

2. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed.

3. Cream the butter, then gradually add the sugar.

4. Add the egg yolks and beat thoroughly.

5.  Beat in the chocolate and vanilla.

6. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.  Add half of it to the batter and mix in.  Add half the buttermilk and mix in.  Repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk.

7.  Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter.

8.  Pour the batter into 8 or 9-inch round pans that have been lined with parchment paper rounds.

9. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake sit in the pans for 10 minutes before removing.  Then run a knife around the edges and invert onto a rack.  Let them cool before frosting.

10. For the topping grind the pecans and coconut in a food processor until it is moderately chopped.

11. Put the condensed milk, water, and egg yolks in a double boiler.  Stir until it thickens.  When it has thickened, add the butter and vanilla, continuing to stir.  Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts. (I didn’t let mine thicken enough, so I put it in the fridge to thicken before I used it.

12. When the cake is cooled place one layer on a plate and spread half the topping over the top.  Put the other layer on, and spread the rest of the topping onto that.  Garnish with some pecan pieces.

You could also add a chocolate frosting around the sides of the cake it you want to sweeten it up a bit or make it fancier.

Brown Rice, Veggies and Ground Turkey- Meal in a Bowl

I made way to much rice the other day, so I bought a bunch of veggies to cook up with the leftover rice to make a great new meal.  I love making a big meal and then having leftovers for lunch for a few days, and this works perfectly for that.  It’s easy to make, and the only part that takes a bit of time is letting the onions brown, which is key to the flavour in this dish.

I took this picture before adding the kale; it’s really good without kale too, but I added it because it’s so good for you.

What you need:

leftover brown rice, about 2 cups (okay, you can use white if that’s what you’ve got)

400 or so grams of ground turkey (or not, for a veggie option)

one large sweet or red onion, sliced

1 leek, thinly sliced

3-4 garlic cloves, sliced

red bell pepper, thinly sliced

carrot, grated

a bunch of kale, finely chopped

olive oil

pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne, unless you like it really hot, in which case add more

soy sauce

What you do:

1.  Slice the onion into strips that are just less than 1cm wide.  In a large frying pan, heat the oil on medium high, then add the onions and cook them until they are slightly browned.

3.  Cut peppers into strips similar in size to the onions.  Add to the onions, along with the sliced garlic and leeks, and cook for a few minutes.

4.  Grate the carrot and add to the other veggies.  Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the peppers are soft and the onions are quite brown.

5.  Place the veggies in a bowl, then cook the ground turkey until it’s not pink any more.

6.  Add some olive oil to the pan, then add the cooked rice to the turkey and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan, for several minutes.  Now add the veggies, the chopped kale and some soy sauce to taste, and cook for a few minutes.  Season with lots of pepper.

Mushroom Ravioli and Grilled Zucchini Appetizer

 

Here’s a super easy appetizer; you just need to be able to find some great mushroom pasta for this.

What you need:

mushroom ravioli

one small zucchini

olive oil

finely grated parmesan

salt and pepper

large toothpicks or small skewere

What you do:

1. Boil water for the pasta and grate the cheese.  Slice the zucchini thinly.

2. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan.  Fry the zucchini until both sides are slightly browned; alternatively, you can grill them on the barbecue after brushing with olive oil.

3. Cook the pasta, then skewer each ravioli along with one slice of cooked zucchini.

4.  Arrange the skewered pasta and zucchini on a platter and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and salt and pepper.

Leek, Prosciutto and Gruyere Toasts

 

I made this yummy appetizer for my mom’s birthday, and it was a big hit.  I used the leek recipe from here, but then changed the recipe a bit by adding the prosciutto and switching the brie for gruyere.  The brie would be amazing on these, but we already had one appy using it, so I wanted to use a different cheese.

You can make the leek part ahead of time, and then make them up just before you need to serve them.

What you need:

3 tablespoons butter

6 cups leeks, sliced thinly

2/3 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup parmesan

salt and pepper

100 grams or so of prosciutto

grated Gruyère cheese (or pieces of Brie)

1 loaf sourdough baguette (Terra Bread makes a great one)

What you do:

1. Heat the butter in a frying pan, then add the leeks.  Cook for about 15 minutes, until they are soft, but not browned.

2. Add the cream and bring it to a boil, then cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in the parmesan, salt and pepper.

3. Slice the bread in half lengthwise and put it on a baking sheet.  Spread the leek mixture onto the bread.

4.  Put some prosciutto on the bread, then top with some grated cheese.

5. Bake at about 400F for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling a little.

6.  Slice the bread and serve right away.

Another Beautiful Veggie Platter

 

I’ve posted once before about making a veggie platter, but I thought I’d do another, since this one features an idea from my friend I-Wen, her pepper bowls.  You just cut the tops off of some bell peppers and use them for bowls for the dip and other veggies.  This one also has some edible flowers on it; they look pretty, but I tasted them just to see what they were like, and I can’t say I thought they tasted very good.  But they are safe to put on your platter, in case anyone does want to try them.

What you need:

several large bell peppers, in a variety of colours, preferably with flatter bottoms so they can stand)

assorted veggies, such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and more peppers (I never buy the pre-cut mini carrots because I find they don’t taste like much, and I’ve heard that they rinse them in bleach to keep them from turning white)

radishes with greens still on

edible flowers, such as chrysanthemum, violet, snapdragon, or marigold (I found a package at a produce store)

your favourite dip

a large platter

What you do:

1. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds.  If you need to, cut a little off the bottom of the peppers so they are level and can stand up.

2. Cut the other veggies and put some of them into the pepper bowls; I found carrot and pepper sticks work best for this.

3. Fill one of the peppers with your favourite dip, and put a small spoon in it for serving.

4. Arrange the veggies around the platter, and put a few flowers on top.  Keep some veggies on hand to refill the platter as parts of it get eaten up.

So pretty you almost don’t want to eat it!

Awesome Ouzo Prawns

For my mom’s 70th birthday party last weekend we made many appetizers, but I think this was my favourite.  The sauce is really yummy, and the prawns were so fresh and huge that they popped when bitten into.  Even if you don’t like ouzo, you’ll probably still like these, as the anise taste is quite subtle.

I served these as an appy, so I just put a toothpick in each one.  They would also work great on pasta.  Mmmm, makes me want to make them again!

What you need:

about 1lb fresh prawns, cleaned and shells removed

3 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic, finely diced

1/3 cup cream

1/4 cup ouzo or sambuca

salt and pepper

What you do:

1.  Cook the garlic in the butter for a minute or so, but make sure the garlic doesn’t brown.

2.  Add the cream and cook for a few minutes, stirring, until it has thickened up a bit.  Add some salt and pepper.

3.  Now you have two options:  you can either add the ouzo to the cream and cook it off, then cook the prawns, which is the way I did it.  Or,  you can cook the prawns, then add the ouzo to them and set a flame to them, then add the cream mixture.

4.  If you chose the adding the ouzo to the cream choice, you may now heat some butter in a large frying pan, add the prawns and cook on each side only until they turn pink.  Over-cooking will turn them into tough, unpleasant things.  Once they are cooked, add the cream and ouzo sauce, give it a good stir, and serve.

 

 

Cranberry Coffee Cake with Walnut Crumble

This is one of my all-time favourite cakes.  It is easy to make, and people love it.  The tartness of the cranberries balances out the sweetness of the walnut topping.  I sometimes make it in a big 9×11 pan, but often in two round or square pans so I can freeze one or give it to someone.  I also make this as a rhubarb cake, but only in the summer when I’ve got rhubarb coming up in my garden.  I often make this to bring to someone’s house when I don’t know what else to bring, because so far everyone who has tried it has loved it.  You can’t go wrong!

What you need:

1/2 cup butter

1 & 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plain yogurt (not no-fat)

1 & 1/2 cups cranberries, frozen or fresh

For the topping:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

What you do:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.

2.  Cream butter and brown sugar, then blend in egg.

3.  Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.

4.  Mix one-third of the flour mixture into the butter mixture with a wooden spoon.

5.  Add half the yogurt and mix until just incorporated.

6.  Mix in one-third more of the flour, then the rest of the yogurt, then the rest of the flour.  Mix until just combined or it will make a tough cake!

7.  Add cranberries, then pour into a buttered 9 x 13 inch pan (or two round or square 9-inch pans), smoothing the top a little.

8.  To make the topping, melt the butter, then stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Spread if over top of the batter.

9.  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Noodle Monsters!

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I made these noodles monsters for my niece and nephew, and they liked them so much that they helped make a second round of them.  The kinds’ noodle placement is way more creative than mine was, as is usually the way with kid’s art.

What you need:

wieners – veggie if you like them!

spaghetti noodles

ketchup and mustard for decorating

What you do:

1. Boil a big pot of water.

2.  Poke the spaghetti through the wieners – be creative!

3.  Throw the spaghetti/wieners into the boiling water and cook until the noodles are soft.

4.  Drain the spaghetti/wieners, then use ketchup and mustard to make faces on the wieners.

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Chorizo and Lime Appetizer

This idea comes from my good friend, Sarah.  It’s so simple and so delicious.  I bought the chorizo at Oyama Sausage at Granville Island; I particularly love the red wine chorizo.

What you need:

chorizo

lime

toothpicks

paper towel

What you do:

1.  Slice the sausage.

2.  Heat a frying pan.  Put the sausage in it.  Fry on each side until slightly browned.

3.  Use the paper towel to soak up the fat.

4.  Squirt lime over the sausages, then put a toothpick in each one.  I served them right out of the cast iron frying pan so they would stay hot.

Chocolate Rum Cake

I was invited to a birthday party for a one-year-old, and I wanted to make something for the adults to enjoy.  Loving the combination of chocolate and rum, I found this recipe for a moist cake, and so full of chocolate and rum.  There’s 1 & 3/4 cups of rum in the recipe, and 1/2 cup of it is not baked or boiled, so it ends up having a nice boozy punch to it.

I found the recipe on Food in my Beard.

What you need:

6oz semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

1 cup dark rum

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the glaze:

1/4 cup rum

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup more rum!

What you do:

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler with the rum and butter. Whisk in the sugars, then the eggs, one by one.

2. Sift the dry ingredients, then mix half of it to the liquids, and then the other half.

3. Pour the batter into a buttered and floured loaf pan that is 5 & 1/2 by 10 inches.  Bake at 350F for about an hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

4.  Just before the baking is complete, combine the butter, sugar and rum for the glaze in a pot, reserving the 1/2 cup of rum.  Bring to a boil, then boil, stirring for a few minutes.  Remove from the heat and add the remaining rum.

5.  When the loaf is baked, remove it from the oven and poke holes in the top.  Pour the glaze over top; it should soak right into the cake.

6. Put another loaf pan on top of the cake, and put a weight on top, like a bottle of rum, so the cake is squished. This will make the cake into a rectangular shape.

7. When the cake is fully cooled, invert it onto a cutting board and slice it thinly.

I served mine with whipping cream, but next time I would find some sour cherries to make a sweet cherry topping, maybe with a little bit of rum in it.

You can also make this into two loaves, and freeze one of them.  Just adjust the baking time accordingly.