A Birthday cake made just for...

ME!

Yup, today is my birthday. Nothing special. Just another day.
Now, don't get me wrong... it was a GREAT day. Exactly what I wanted.

And here's the cake I made for myself:

Chocolate Blackout Cake.
Recipe comes from CooksCountrytv.com -- well DANG! I'm glad I printed it off and saved it earlier! I just now found out you can't get recipes for free from them anymore! No fear, I'll post any that I have! lol.

Chocolate Blackout Cake

Ingredients:

Pudding-
1 1/4C sugar
1/4C cornstarch
1/2tsp. table salt
2 C half and half
1C whole milk
6oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2tsp. vanilla extract

Cake-
8TBS unsalted butter (1stick), plus extra for greasing pans
1 1/2C all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting pans
2tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2tsp. salt
3/4C Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1C brewed coffee (yes, I am LDS... I traded this ingredient for 1C Nestle Chocolate Milk -- yum!)
1C buttermilk
1C packed light brown sugar
1C sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Instructions:
1. For the pudding: Whisk sugar, cornstarch, salt, half and half, and milk in large saucepan. Set pan over medium heat. Add chocolate and whisk constantly until it melts and mixture begins to bubble, 2-4 minutes. Stir in vanilla and transfer to large bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 1 day.

2. For the cake layers: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-in pans. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in bowl.
3. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in cocoa and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in coffee (milk chocolate), buttermilk, and sugars until dissolved. Whisk in eggs and vanilla, then slowly whisk in flour mixture.
4. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool layers in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Cool to room temp. at least 1 hour.
** after greasing/dusting pans, cut a piece of parchment/wax paper and place in bottom of pan and then grease and dust it also. Helps the bottom of your cake not stick!! **

5. To assemble the cake: Cut each cake in half horizontally. Crumble one cake layer into medium crumbs and set aside. Place one cake layer on serving platter or cardboard round. Spread 1 C pudding over cake layer and top with another layer. Repeat with 1 C pudding and last layer. Spread remaining pudding evenly over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over top and sides of cake, pressing lightly to adhere crumbs. Serve. Cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.



Side Note:
For some reason, both times I've made this cake my pudding DID NOT set right. The first time, I had time I was able to fix it. But this last time I didn't have time to do so. I used 8 Snack Pak Chocolate Pudding cups instead - 2 cups for each layer, and 4 cups (probably could've used 5) for the top and sides. It tasted close to the same and worked out just as well! This is why I don't like to bake... unless it's from a box! lol.

Sunday Dinner AND Dessert: Herb-Roasted Citrus Chicken w/ Root Veggies AND Peaches 'n' Cream

It's Sunday, it's a special day. Which calls for a special meal! Tonight's menu includes a whole herb-roasted Chicken with roasted sweet potatoes, carrots and onions.
Plus, a yummy dessert of Peaches 'n' Cream. Enjoy!!

Herb-Roasted Citrus Chicken

The chicken recipe is a mixture of Ming Tsai's Cranberry-Glazed Chicken, Jamie Oliver's Herb-Roasted Chicken, and a little of my own ideas.

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken (can also use 4 chicken breasts, cooking time will vary)
8 Cloves Garlic, minced (or pressed is my favorite) and separated
thumb-size piece of fresh Ginger, minced
Olive Oil
Juice of 1 lemon (keep rind to place inside cavity) and 2 limes
Fresh Parsley (I used 3-5 ice cubes - check under Herbs for info on that)
2 TBS Rosemary
1TBS Red Chile Flakes
2 Bay Leaves
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
2 Yellow Onions, diced
2-3 Sweet Potatoes, diced
sm. bag of baby Carrots (or 2 Fennel/Anise bulbs, cored and sliced)

Instructions:

1. Combine all herbs and spices- except Bay Leaves, half the minced garlic, oil, lemon and lime juices into food processor/blender. Blend well. Pat chicken dry and carefully poor marinade mixture all over. Starting at the neck, lift up the skin to break it apart from the meat and gently stuff a little marinade inside. Pour remaining marinade inside cavity, and add lemon rinds. Allow to sit at least 4 hours, or over night.

2. Pre-heat oven to 500-550 and pre-heat roasting pan. Once heated, place chicken in pan, place bay leaves on top, and brown 15-20 minutes, turning pan around half-way through. In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine potatoes, fennel/carrots, and onions. Drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once chicken is browned, reduce heat to 350 and cover with foil. Roast for 45-55 minutes.

3. Uncover and add the veggies to the pan. If you can, lift up the chicken a little so the veg can fall underneath. (Once again, I don't like my veg soggy, and I've found this it the best way to fully cook everything without OVER-cooking anything). Recover with foil and allow to cook another 50-60 minutes, depending on size of chicken (you're looking for a temp of 160-165). Take it out and place it on a cutting board and lightly tent with foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving it. Spoon the veg into a bowl.

Enjoy!

Peaches 'n' Cream - Grandma Style

Three simple ingredients and 20-40 minutes is all it takes for this delicious recipe, brought to you by my own mom!

Ingredients:

Peaches (1-2 per person)
3TBS white Sugar (per serving)
Half and Half


Instructions:

1. If you prefer, you can place the peaches into a pot and barely boil them, then dunk them into cold water and peel them. Or you can skip this step and just cut them up.
2. Cover with sugar. Lots. Of. Sugar. Allow to sit at least 20 minutes, until a "syrup" forms.
3. Dowse them in half and half.

Just a side note: I. Love. Half and Half. Yum! This recipe also works with strawberries. When I make it with strawberries, I add about 1/4 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (remember I like texture!) to my bowl, and not as much sugar.

Enjoy! I know I just did!!