Thursday, May 28, 2015

Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread
When Andrew was younger, we tried putting styling product in his hair to make it stay put for a picture (in case you were wondering, it didn’t work).  When David said “let’s put some mousse in your hair,” Andrew gasped “Daddy, don’t put a moose on my head!”  Being older and wiser, he just smiled and chuckled when I told him that we were having monkey bread for breakfast (later he did ask “why do they call it monkey bread?”)

Monkey Bread - it didn't last long
The bundt love continues.  When Susan sent me this recipe I thought, wow – this decreases the per use cost of my new bundt pan even more.  And who wouldn’t enjoy biscuits rolled around in cinnamon-sugar and covered in melted butter.  I baked it in a bundt pan – Krista uses a loaf pan.  Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.  But if you do make it in a loaf pan, halve the recipe - 1 can biscuits, half the sugar, etc.

Ingredients
  1. 2 cans of Grands biscuits (flaky layers or homestyle)
  2. 1 c sugar
  3. 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  4. 1 stick butter (8 Tbsp)
Remove biscuits from the can.  Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Roll the cut biscuit pieces in the cinnamon-sugar mix.  Grease the pan and place the sugar-coated biscuit pieces in a greased bundt or loaf pan.  Melt one stick of butter, pour in the remaining cinnamon-sugar mix and mix.  Pour over biscuits in the pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.


Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake

It is nearing the end of May which means that in about 2 weeks, I am totally screwed.  I have not scheduled any camps which means “Mom, I’m bored” is going to echo through these halls.  Today I am simply focused on making it through final tests and presentations, recitals, baseball games (most of which have been rained out), etc. etc.

Since I am now the Iron Chef of bundt cakes, I made another one using Krista’s recipe.  Yum!  Except that the first time I made it, I turned it over too soon and the pan didn’t release the cake so it broke in half and David affectionately named the blob on the platter the doo-doo cake (but it tastes really good).  Nice – good role modeling.

Ingredients  

  1. Chocolate box cake mix, like Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines 
  2. 8 oz sour cream
  3. 12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, like Nestle Toll House
  4. Chocolate pudding mix (i.e., Jell-O chocolate instant pudding and pie filling, 3.9 oz.)
  5. Vegetable oil
  6. Eggs
  7. Powdered sugar

Follow directions on chocolate cake box (this time I used Betty Crocker Super Moist cake mix so this included adding water, vegetable oil and eggs) and then add in pudding mix (only the powder mix – don’t actually make pudding), sour cream, chocolate chips.   

Bake at 325 (or 350 – depending on your cake pan – refer to the cake mix box) for 50-55 minutes.  Test for doneness.  Allow to cool before inverting bundt pan to release the cake. Generously sprinkle with powdered sugar (or ice with cream cheese frosting)

Sunday, May 10, 2015

White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake

I came.  I saw.  I (finally!) kicked some bundt cake a**.  Yep – took me 3 tries until I decided to purchase a new bundt cake pan.  It is all about the equipment.  Mind you, we did not throw away the other 3 cakes.  They were all consumed - they were delicious - they just weren't pretty.

Since we are under a flash flood warning in Dallas, this is not the day to spend at the Arboretum eating my favorite lobster rolls.  So this Mother’s Day is all about the raspberry (and a 9 year old's basketball game).  Started with raspberry French toast casserole and will end it with this cake from Favorite Family Recipes. 

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."  Abraham Lincoln

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone who loves, inspires, teaches, shapes, develops, hugs and giggles with a little one (or two or more)!!

Happy birthday Hannah!

Ingredients
White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake
For the cake
  1. 1 pkg. white cake
  2. 1 (5 oz-ish) pkg. instant white chocolate pudding (although Hershey’s instant White Chocolate pudding is 3.56 oz) or vanilla pudding if you can't find white chocolate
  3. 1 c (8 oz) sour cream
  4. 4 large eggs
  5. ½ c water
  6. ½ c oil
  7. 1½ c (12 oz) white chocolate chips, chopped into smaller pieces (I did mine in the mini food processor)
  8. 1 c raspberry pastry or pie filling (I found "Solo" brand pastry/cake filling at Central Market or you can use raspberry pie filling too)

For the icing
  1. 2 (8 ounce) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
  2. ½ c butter, softened
  3. 3-4 c powdered sugar
  4. 2 tsp vanilla extract

Grease and flour a bundt pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix first six ingredients together with a beater. Fold in white chocolate chips.

Fill prepared bundt pan with half of the batter. Spoon half of the raspberry filling in separated spoonfuls over the batter (so it looks like separate clumps of filling over the top). Using a knife swirl the filling through the cake. Do not overdo it! Only swirl around 2-3 times.  Pour remaining batter in evenly and spoon in remaining pie filling, repeating the "swirling" process above.

Cook in oven at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.  Check for doneness (toothpick, skewer, etc.  If it does not come out clean, place the cake back in the oven for 3-5 min at a time until it does.

Remove from oven. Let cool for 20 minutes.  Flip over the pan and remove.  (Favorite Family recommends putting the cake on a serving plate, wrapping it well in Saran Wrap, and letting it sit overnight in the refrigerator before frosting and serving.)

To frost: in a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar (start with 2 cups then keep adding more until it is nice and thick).  Fill a Ziploc bag with the frosting and cut off the bottom corner depending on how big you want the "frosting strips." Frost cake by squeezing out the frosting from the outside of the cake toward the middle.