Recipe Monday - Chocolate Cake and Strawberry Frosting

Have you heard enough about my magnificent from-scratch chocolate cake and strawberry cream cheese frosting? Of course not! You need the recipes! Look, it's so awesome it glows...like an angel.

Okay, cake first: (and they weren't kidding when they called it rich. It is amazing, but if you only like angel food type cakes, it is not for you.)

1 cup cocoa powder 

2 cups boiling water
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans.

2. In a medium bowl, stir the boiling water into the cocoa until smooth, and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and set aside.

4. At medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar  for 4 to 5 minutes.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. Turn mixer down to low speed. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

7. Stir in the vanilla, and do not over-beat.

8. Pour an equal amount of batter into each of the three prepared pans.

9. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. (I used only two layers and had to bake for 45 minutes at least)

10 Cool in pans set on racks for 10 minutes. Invert pans on racks, remove pans, and allow layers to cool completely before frosting. (LIES! let them cool for way more than 10 minutes.)

Great. Ready for the frosting? Now my husband first called this 'interesting,' crushing my spirit and soul, but he's since changed his opinion to 'greatest thing ever to go in a mouth.' Seriously.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, from the refrigerator
• 2-1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 large strawberries, pureed
• 2-3 tsp. strawberry jam
• pinch of salt, optional

Instructions

1. Cream butter and cream cheese for about 2 minutes.
2. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add in jam and slowly add pureed strawberry until you get the desired consistency.
3. Chill before frosting

 

Recipe Monday - Easy Party Essentials

We had a birthday party for the girls yesterday. Now, I don't make cakes from scratch. I'll tell you it's because I don't have a proper mixer, which is true, but, more honestly, making cakes from scratch scares me. I'm sure I'll do it wrong.

I can, however, make a pretty kickin' frosting. I've done all types. This year, I made the babies a white cake with strawberry frosting.

Here's the easiest recipe in the world.

Strawberry Vanilla Buttercream

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

1 (16 oz) package powdered sugar (I only used HALF of this and it was still a bit too sweet, be warned)

1/2 cup of fresh strawberries, chopped

Beat the first three ingredients together until creamy.

Add the sugar and strawberries a little at a time, beating each addition in thoroughly.

Put it in the fridge for a while.

Then spread it over the cake just before the party.

(I'll explain the horrendous lettering in tomorrow's post.)

...

Another fabulous food to bring to any party at all is guacamole. For some reason people are always impressed by a good by-hand guacamole, and it's one of the easiest things to make, basically, ever.

You'll need:

two avocados

a red onion

garlic

salt

pepper

tomatoes

lime juice

Smash the avocados up. Mince the onion and chop the tomato. Mix all the ingredients together, adding the lime juice last.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the flavors mesh together. Everyone loves this when I make it, and it only takes a few minutes!

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