Happiness Project Recipe #20: Southern Mama Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake!

October 30, 2012 Leave a Comment

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Coca-Cola in cake?? Yes, please! Why though have I never before indulged in this sweetened, chocolaty delight?? Perhaps, because before now, I had never heard of such a lovely cake! So for the 1st time since recovering from my surgery (and after being horribly sick for the past 2 & a half weeks), I finally felt well enough to be up and about in my kitchen, trying out this new recipe. Oh kitchen, how dearly I’ve missed thee! Regardless of the fact that I generally stay as far away from soda as I can (considering how truly disgusting and tragically unhealthy the drink itself is), I was very intrigued by the idea of combining coke with chocolate and was not disappointed with the end result. So here it is, my soda loving friends! Come and get your fix on!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup cocoa (I swear by the Ghirardelli brand)

1 cup Coca-Cola

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Icing

1/2 cup salted butter

1/3 cup Coca-Cola

3 tablespoons cocoa

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

*1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional) or 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream per serving

Preheat your oven to 350F

In bowl #1, combine the flour, baking soda and sugar. Blend well. In a medium saucepan, throw in the butter, marshmallows and chocolate chips. Cook over medium heat until everything is nicely melted and bubbling slightly in the pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa. Set aside and let cool slightly. Now add the Coca-Cola, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla to the dry ingredients (bowl #1), stir until just combined. Slowly add the slightly cooled butter/marshmallow/chocolate chip/cocoa mixture and mix until combined.

Pour the batter into a greased or sprayed 9X13 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the cakes center comes out clean. Set your cake aside to cool slightly while you’re preparing the icing.

For the icing, combine the butter, Coca-Cola, cocoa and powdered sugar in another saucepan, heating on high until just boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Now comes the very important part. Quickly and evenly pour the hot icing over your slightly cooled cake. The faster you pour the hot icing over the cake, the less likely it will start hardening up (a lesson I learned the hard way today). Now, if desired, sprinkle with pecans. Although this cake is best when served warm, it will still taste quite flavorful when fully cooled as well.

*Don’t want to use a pecan topping? How about a scoop of lovely vanilla ice cream on each serving instead!*

So go grab that pack of tempting, unused soda and do something creative with it! Tis a very yummy, sweet and fun cake, if I say so!

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Happiness Project Recipe #19: “Love, Baby” Vanilla Sprinkle Donuts!

October 2, 2012 Leave a Comment

Oh lovely, yummy, drool worthy donuts! How dearly I heart thee! Besides my weekly cravings for peaches, pizza and curly fries, lately donuts have set my taste buds a wildly a-spinning as well! However, for the sake of my baby’s fast developing health, this is one craving which I will not so easily cave in to. Why? Just because I happen to be an obsessive dessert junkie, does not mean I want my little one to become one as well! Very soon, I shall begin experimenting with more fruit based recipes versus my usual sugar and cream based desserts, which will be a fascinating new (and exciting) adventure for me! There’s never a better time than the present to change some of my rather “unhealthy” eating tendencies, right? Right! So for those of you who are still hankering for a yummy, sprinkled dessert, you must try this recipe! Due to the lack of needing to oil or fry anything (like you would with a traditional donut), anyone, no matter what level of baker you are, can very easily re-create this cake-like donut recipe! And you will love it! Yes, you will! Ready? Set? Go!

Donuts:

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

one large pinch of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon kosher salt

12 tablespoons low fat buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons melted, salted butter

A handful of rainbow sprinkles for garnish

Vanilla Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 tablespoons whole milk

Preheat your oven to 325F. Lightly coat a donut pan (I bought mine at Sur La Table) with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. There’s no need to break out your trusty stand mixer with this recipe though! You can easily do this by hand. Pour in the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter and stir until just combined. Your batter will be very sticky and will resemble a thick, dough like consistency.

For this next part, there are two different methods you can use to distribute your batter. You can either use a professional icing bag with a round decorating tip of any size or you can create a make shift piping bag with a Ziploc bag (by cutting an opening in the bottom corner to form a tip) to pipe out your batter. Divide your batter evenly among the donut wells: this recipe will make you around 8 to 10 donuts, depending on how thickly you choose to pipe them out. Bake for 8-9 minutes until the donuts spring back to the touch. Let your donuts cool completely on a wire rack before you ice them with the vanilla glaze. To create the glaze, in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar with the vanilla extract and whole milk. Stir with a spoon until smooth and glossy. With that said spoon, you can now drizzle the glaze over the donuts or if you’re feeling adventurous (and comfortable with getting messy), dip the top halves of your donuts into the actual glaze. Oh, such messy fun! To finish it all off, top with those rainbow sprinkles.

See? I told you it was this easy! So go get that donut fix on! I dare you!

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Happiness Project Recipe #18: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars!

September 8, 2012 Leave a Comment

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In all of my 34 years, one of the things I’ve learned most about myself is that once I set my mind (or heart) to doing something, I do it. With 110% of my entire being. And I tend to like to do things on my own, without needing to rely on the help of anyone else (yes, I can most definitely be quite the stubborn perfectionist at times). But since becoming pregnant, I’ve had to re-learn the importance of asking for a little bit of assistance every now and then, particularly in regards to certain physical activities, like carrying full bags of groceries or moving my trusty (& quite heavy) Kitchen Aid stand mixer from one counter to the other (thanks be for a wonderfully helpful husband!). There are, after all, certain things that a pregnant woman should not be doing on her own, as I’ve been repeatably (& lovingly) reminded. So after gathering up all of the paint supplies I needed for re-painting our master bedroom this weekend, my sister threw another pregnancy “No, No” my way. When pregnant, there will be absolutely NO painting! Of any kind! Which pretty much threw my whole “I will paint the entire master bedroom on my own (by choice) this weekend,” plan askew. Therefore meaning that my Imzadi would have to do the entire bedroom on his own, without me. The catch, you ask? I happen to really LIKE painting whereas my Imzadi most decidedly does not. Hence the dilemma. So what did I do as soon as I got home & was able to freely & legally text again? I issued a “need help” plea to some of our closest friends. And true to form, these friends rallied selflessly to the cause. So as a THANK YOU to our wonderful friends for volunteering to help my Imzadi paint our bedroom tomorrow morning, I did what I do best whenever my cup runneth over. I baked up a little something special, just for them. My THANK YOU recipe? Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars! Because who doesn’t like some peanut butter with their chocolate?? I do! Yes, yes, I do!

2 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (either light or dark)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Grease or spray a 9X9 inch baking pan with butter. Dust lightly with flour, gently tapping out the excess (preferably over a sink to alleviate a potentially messy cleanup). Preheat your oven to 350F.

In a stand mixer (or by hand, if you’re prepared to use some elbow grease), beat the eggs and both sugars until smooth. Add the peanut butter and continue mixing until well combined. Beat in the vanilla and butter and mix until thoroughly incorporated.

Once you’ve measured out the flour, baking powder and salt, sift all three directly into the batter. Mix gently on a low speed until well combined and no trace of the dry ingredients remains. With a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

Now, using a rubber spatula, pour the dough into the prepared pan and spread out the entire batter by gently pressing and finessing. The batter will be quite sticky so keep pressing until you reach a desired evenness. Bake for 23-25 minutes until the edges start to brown slightly and the center is springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes to 1 hour before cutting up into bars. Quick tip: using a serrated or small pairing knife is ideal when cutting up even shaped bars.

This will make you approximately 12-16 bars.

If not consuming immediately, you can store them in your fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Aren’t thank you’s delicious? *wink, wink*

*Recipe adapted from “Fat Witch Brownies.”

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Happiness Project Recipe #16.5: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars!

August 17, 2012 Leave a Comment

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Have you ever walked through a grocery store & come face to face with a certain food item that put your knickers in a twist? A few nights ago, after unsuccessfully attempting to fend off a ruthless craving for granola bars, I was faced with a rather odd food dilemma. I could have very easily just cheated by buying a package of pre-made granola bars but nooooooo, the invisible pastry chef sitting so snugly next to my ear (much like the devil on one shoulder & the angel on the other) refused to let me succumb to such unusual laziness. “Why buy when you can make your own?” she asked. So with a tiny bit of grumbling, I did. Hence this now perfect opportunity to share my favorite granola bar recipe with you!

½ cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1 egg

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

½ cup brown sugar

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup peanut butter chips

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl (either in a stand mixer or by a hand held mixer), beat the peanut butter, honey, egg, oil and vanilla until blended. In another mixing bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar & salt and mix together with a spoon (or by hand, if you want to add a little extra fun to your day). Now pour the dry mixture into the wet (peanut butter) mixture and mix well. Make sure your entire batch is nicely, evenly coated. Gently stir in your peanut butter chips & chocolate chips. Your batter will now be very, very sticky (and will smell quite divine!).

Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Since the batter is quite sticky, with your fingers, gently & tightly press the mixture into the edges of the pan until evenly spread throughout. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven & let cool on a wire rack for about 30 to 45 minutes to let the granola harden properly. Once the granola is cooled & set, take a serrated knife & gently cut up into however many bars you would would like (I like to cut up longer bars so I usually end up with around 12). I also tend to like a crisper granola bar versus a chewier one, so after initially cutting up each bar, I drop my oven temperature down to 300F, spread out my 12 bars onto a second sprayed cookie sheet & pop them back into the oven for another 5 minutes. So whether you want to go crispier or chewier, it’s all a matter of preference. You’ll be happy with the end result, either way.

Fun, right? Now every time you too come across your own grocery store dilemma, you won’t be haunted in the least by that ruthlessly nagging little pastry chef on your shoulder. Granola bars from scratch? Why yes! Yes, indeed!

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Happiness Project Recipe #16: Honey-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!

July 20, 2012 Leave a Comment

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The funny thing about near constant nausea & ones inability to get any real sleep at night because of it, is how it makes you yearn for things you don’t usually have cravings for. Point in case, I’ve never been a big fan of oatmeal. Be it bars, cereal or cookies, oatmeal is just NOT my thing. I like my classic peanut butter. Or chunky chocolate chip. Case closed. Until now. Thanks to Martha Stewart, the cookie monster (within me) has awoken! And is hungry. Very, very hungry. Fortunately, for a few short hours, my roller coaster of a body decided to slow down enough for me to take a well earned breather. So, as usual, where was the first place I headed to? The kitchen. I wanted my cookies & I wanted them now! Got it? Good!

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup honey crunch wheat germ (I found a glass jar of this at Target)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or 1 cup raisins (for oatmeal raisin cookies)

Preheat your oven to 350F. Stir together the oats, honey wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.

Mix your butter and sugars (granulated & brown) in a bowl on your electric mixer until pale & fluffy (about 4-5 minutes).  Mix in the eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated. After reducing your mixing speed to low, gradually add in the oat mixture until just combined. Stir in your chocolate chips or raisins by hand.

Using either a small ice cream scoop or gently rolling by hand, drop dough balls onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet, placing them a good 2 inches apart (for expansion).

Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, until lightly golden & just set. Let cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. You can store your cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days (so eat them now!)

Moral of the story? If I can get my cookies this easily, then you can too! Happy baking, my friends!

* Recipe adapted from “Martha Stewart’s Cookies.”

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Happiness Project Recipe #15: Celebration Sprinkle Cake Pancakes!

July 14, 2012 Leave a Comment

All I’ve been yammering about for the past 7 days is my near constant craving for cake batter pancakes so after my husband & I discovered something rather miraculous last night (Patience, my friends! You’ll have to wait & see!), I decided that even with all the cramping & nausea, I had to whip up a batch of this yummy, sprinkle pancake recipe. And let me tell you, these pancakes are very, VERY pretty little things! Who doesn’t like a little burst of rainbow happiness on a Saturday afternoon?! I do! Best of all, they’re super quick & relatively easy to create too! So no, you now have NO excuse not to whip up these tasty morning treats! None! *wink wink*

Pancakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup yellow cake mix

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups vanilla almond milk

handful of jumbo sized sprinkles

Glaze:

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon whole milk

1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

First, whisk together the flour, cake mix, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Combine your milk, eggs and vanilla extract into another small bowl. Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and stir with a whisk or wooden spoon to combine. Next, fold in your jumbo sprinkles, as many as you would like.

With a preheated skillet over medium heat (lightly buttered up with a non-stick cooking spray), use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to portion out the batter into the pan. After 4-5 minutes, flip the pancake over and cook on the second side until nicely golden. Repeat with as much of the batter as you intend to use.

Once you’ve cooked up all of your pancakes, stir together the milk, vanilla extract and powdered sugar for your glaze until it’s consistency is smooth & glossy. Drizzle or drop in small spoonfuls over your rainbow pancakes! And then top with MORE sprinkles, if you’d like! There’s no such thing as too many sprinkles, I say!

See? Easy! So get yourself into that kitchen & get cooking! Life is all about celebrating the sweet & simple things! Especially when there’s sprinkles involved!

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Happiness Project Recipe #14: Husband-Hero Cinnamon Oat Muffins!

July 12, 2012 Leave a Comment

It’s been an emotional week (to say the least) & whenever my body forces me into round-the-clock bed-rest, I tend to become either very depressed over it or very contemplative. Last night, as I lay exhausted in bed, listening to my beautiful red dog snoring softly from the floor & my husband’s slow, steady breathing beside me, I was nearly overwhelmed by how deeply grateful I am for the people who care for & love me so unconditionally, especially my husband. It’s not an easy thing to live in an environment frequently dominated by (my) pain, moodiness & depression. It takes immense strength & courage to walk with me down this turbulent path of strife & uncertainty. Yet through it all, he does, quietly & softly. Even within this trying time, there has never been a day where I have not believed in the love of my husband. In our 7 years together, he has taught me & continues to teach me that as long as we’re together nothing else matters. In the end, as long as we have each other, everything will be okay. Love will pull us through. So this muffin recipe is dedicated to my husband, who loves all things cinnamon. He is my knight in shining armor. My Imzadi. My hero. My world is a better place with him in it. Always.

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Filling:

3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

5/6 teaspoons water

Muffins:

1/2 cup melted butter

3/4 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

2 tablespoons corn starch

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

4/5 tablespoons whole milk

Preheat your oven to 375F. Butter 12 muffins cups or line 12 cupcake tins.

First, mix all your Topping ingredients together with a fork until nice & crumbly. Set aside.

Now, mix all your Filling ingredients together with a spoon until the consistency is similar to that of frosting. Set aside until later.

For your muffins, in a large bowl (by hand) whisk together the butter, milk & eggs until well combined. In another bowl, stir together your flour, oats, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and white chocolate chips. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet one & stir until just combined.

Now, to get messy! Fill each muffin cup or cupcake tin with 2 tablespoons of batter. Then drop 2 teaspoons of filling on top, in the middle of the batter. With your remaining batter, drop another 2 tablespoons of batter on top of the filling. Lastly, sprinkle your crumbly topping evenly over each muffin.

Bake for 18-20 minutes for cupcake tins or 20-24 minutes for muffin cups. As your muffins are baking away, you’ll notice that the cinnamon filling will start to bubble up from around the edges of the batter & that’s okay. It’s supposed to do that.

For your Glaze, combine the butter, sugar and milk, stirring with a spoon until the glaze is smooth & shiny. If you think the glaze is too sugary (I personally like a sugary glaze), add another tablespoon of milk to thin it out.

Cool your muffins completely before drizzling on the glaze (I have not yet drizzled on my glaze, hence the naked muffin photo above).

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Happiness Project Recipe #13: The BEST Chocolate Chip Muffin!

July 5, 2012 Leave a Comment

Gooey, gooey chocolate!

Lately, finding the best of all muffin recipes has become an all consuming obsession (besides my nuttiness with collecting beautiful cake stands) & since I’m such a sucker for the classics, I had to create the BEST Chocolate Chip Muffin! Had to! After consulting a vast variety of cookbooks, I finally found “the one.” With my own cinnamon twist, of course. So here’s what I created…

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup low fat buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350F. Butter 12 muffin cups or line 12 cupcake tins with paper liners.

In a medium sized bowl (you can easily do this with a hand-held mixer), beat together the butter, buttermilk, egg & vanilla until just smooth (for about 1 minute.) If your batter is visibly very clumpy, it was over beaten & you will need to start over with a new batch.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and optional cinnamon (if using). With your hands, make a shallow well in the center of the flour mixture, add in the buttermilk mixture, and beat until smooth and well mixed, 1-2 minutes. Using a large silicone spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Do not over mix, or the batter will fall flat (& won’t rise correctly when baking). The desired batter should be relatively thick (similar to that of cookie dough) & very sticky. Spoon the batter into each muffin cup or cupcake tin, filling it nearly level with the rim.

Bake your muffins for 20-24 minutes for standard size muffins or 18-20 minutes for standard size cupcakes. They should be lightly golden & springy to the touch when removed. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

After bringing home the left-overs last night from a friends 4th of July party, I discovered a catch. I didn’t & still don’t  want to share any of them. That’s how much I adore this recipe. You will too!

*Recipe adapted from “The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book”

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Happiness Project Recipe #11: Saturday Morning Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins!

July 1, 2012 Leave a Comment

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Considering how up & down I’ve been with the pain this week, I was damn near frothing at the mouth this morning for something super moist & fluffy. Something that didn’t involve any chocolate for once. I know, I know, who AM I, right?? *wink* So this super moist & fluffy “something” ended up incorporating my 2nd all time favorite dessert flavor: lemon. Luscious, luscious lemon! Whenever I think of weekends, the idea of muffins always seem to come to mind, so with this being said, I decided to tinker with a recipe I’ve never done before: Lemon-Poppy Seed! Though I will forever be a cupcake girl, the muffin is the 2nd closest thing to it, so why (oh, why) have I never made any before?! Fortunately, my Williams-Sonoma Baking Book saved the day (or morning, to be precise). A little bit of soft butter spread also created that extra burst of flavor to a rather good Saturday baking adventure as well. For all of my lemon loving friends (I know who you are!), here’s the recipe..

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, separated (into egg yolks & egg whites)

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Zest of 2 grated lemons

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup low fat buttermilk

2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350F. Butter 10 standard size muffin cups or line 12 cupcake tins with paper liners.

Gather up your ingredients & necessary baking equipment. You’ll need 3 separate medium size mixing bowls for this recipe.

In your 1st mixing bowl, on a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. While this is creaming together, separate your 2 eggs. I use two small bowls to keep the egg yolks separate from the egg whites. Add the yellow egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition until well blended.

In your 2nd mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, grated lemon zest & salt. Quick tip: After you gather your ingredients, zest your 2 lemons with a stainless steel grating zester (which you can find at any local Bed, Bath & Beyond, Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table store) BEFORE you begin the process of mixing together your ingredients. Preparation is key to creating a quicker, easier & cleaner (yes, cleaner!) baking experience. Now, using the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture (bowl #1) in 2 additions, alternating with the buttermilk, then the lemon juice and then the vanilla. Beat until just smooth (for approximately 1-2 minutes).

For the next step, if you don’t have 2 separate stand mixers (I certainly don’t but wish I did), pour the entire mixture into another medium sized bowl & set aside. At this point, you’ll need to thoroughly wash & dry the bowl that you’ve just emptied (bowl #1).

Once clean & completely dry, use this bowl again in your stand mixture, using a balloon whisk to beat your egg whites just until they form a soft white peak (beat on high for 2-3 minutes.) Do NOT over beat your egg whites! Keep in mind that they need to be a soft peak consistency not a stiff one so keep a close eye on them while in the process of whisking. Using a large silicone spatula, gently (no elbow grease required!) fold the egg whites into the batter until just blended.

Spoon your batter into each muffin cup or cupcake tin, filling them three-fourths full. Bake until golden brown and springy to the touch (20-24 minutes for standard size muffins, 18-20 minutes for standard size cupcakes.)

Cool on a wire rack for 5 to10 minutes before serving. And don’t forget to add some of your favorite butter spread to them as well! A properly dressed muffin is always the perfect muffin, I say!

There you have it! Quick & easy! So if you too have a napping husband & therefore a little extra time on your hands, prepare yourself (and your kitchen) for the sudden appearance (and resulting disappearance) of these soft, tangy, lemon filled creations! Huzzah for Saturdays!

*Recipe adapted from “The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book”

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Happiness Project Recipe #10: White & Dark Chocolate Cake Brownies!

June 29, 2012 Leave a Comment

Oh. My. Word. You don’t know the meaning of true decadence unless you’ve tried this oozing concoction of cake brownie heaven! Considering how much of a chocolate connoisseur I am, I’ve rarely come across a dessert that is simply TOO much for me to handle. Until now.

This recipe nearly sugar-shocked me into complete chocolate withdrawal. That’s how good it is! Plus, once the flavors have settled in a bit, it tastes even BETTER the day after (I think so, at least). So here it is, in all of it’s sticky, gooey greatness!

1 box devil’s food chocolate cake mix

½ cup butter, softened at room temperature

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 to 3 tablespoons cold brewed coffee

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 can (14-ounces) sweetened condensed milk

½ cup (4 ounces) cream cheese, softened

½ teaspoon clear vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare a 9×9 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and then spraying it with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, egg & vanilla and mix with electric beaters. The batter will be very thick & difficult to combine at first, so adding the coffee will help create a softer consistency. Start pressing the dough into the prepared pan & prepare yourself for incredibly messy fingers. Even though it will be a bit sticky, keep pressing & spreading it until it’s evenly laid out.  Once you’re happy with the cake layer, sprinkle the white and dark chocolate chips over the top (fun, fun!).

In another mixing bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, cream cheese & ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, stir until well combined and pour milky mixture evenly over the cake dough. Bake for roughly 24 to 26 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown and pull away from the sides of the pan. Remember, you can always use a small pairing or serrated knife to cut off the browned edges. The middle will still be quite soft & jiggly upon removing from the oven but never fear, this will continue to set up more after they are cooled. Cool completely on a rack for about 30 to 45 minutes before carefully slicing them up into bars. If not serving immediately, store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

So what say you? Think you’ll be able to handle the craziness of this glorious lip smacking concoction? You might want to have a tall glass of milk handy when you do! *hint hint* Good luck!

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