Tag Archives: Chocolate

Double Chocolate Rum Cake

Desserts, Uncategorized, , , , ,

A few years ago hubby and I took a trip to Puerto Rico and it was wonderful. We often talk about revisiting the island to hit all of the spots we missed. It broke our hearts when the island was devastated by a terrible hurricane. Slowly but surely, things are starting to show signs of recovery and more tourist.

One of the things we enjoyed the most in Puerto Rico was the food. Back then I could eat shrimp and managed to recreate a shrimp appetizer that was absolutely delicious and I put in on the blog. Check it out Prawns and Avocado. Another favorite was a Double Chocolate Rum Cake which was right up my alley since I love dark chocolate. This cake is so easy to make and comes out moist and chocolaty. I have said for a long time that I am not a true baker but I can make a few desserts that family and friends really enjoy. I finally decided to try out the Double Chocolate Rum Cake recipe I saved from a postcard we found in Puerto Rico. I imagined it was the same or similar to the dessert we had one night at dinner so I kept it tucked away in my recipe journal.

I must say the cake I was pretty close to the cake I had in Puerto Rico. Hubby was my initial taste tester for the cake since I figured he would remember the wonder dessert we shared. After a few seconds of smacking his lips he said “It’s moist and I’ll keep you”’ Whenever he says I’ll keep you.” I know I have a winner for the blog.

For those folks that want to bake a tasty easy dessert, try this cake. If I can make it, anyone can make it.

Double Chocolate Rum Cake

Ingredients:

4 large eggs beaten

1 box Dark Chocolate Cake mix

1 3 oz box instant chocolate pudding mix

¾ cup milk

¾ cup semisweet chocolate bites

½ cup dark rum

½ cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp almond extract

pinch of cinnamon

Glaze

½ stick of butter

½ cup sugar

¼ cup rum

¼ cup water

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10” tube pan or Bundt cake pan. Set aside. In a large bowl mix together the cake mix, chocolate pudding, cinnamon, milk, oil, eggs and almond extract. Do not over beat! Fold in chocolate chips. Evenly pour batter into the cake pan. Lightly beat the bottom of the cake pan with your open palm to help release air bubbles. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes depending upon your oven. To test whether the cake is done insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes then flip onto a wire rack (flip so the top of the cake is showing) and let cool for 10 – 15 more minutes.

While the cake is cooling prepare the glaze by melting the butter and water over low heat. Stir in the sugar, rum and vanilla. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat. Once the cake is cooled poke holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick or fork. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. You can use all or ½ of the glaze depending on how moist you want the cake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

P.S. You can use your favorite cake icing or cherry pie filling instead of powdered sugar to top your cake.

Chocolate Coconut Bars

Desserts, Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

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I have not been keeping up with my blog lately because of so many family events in recent months. Between my mom moving, my son getting ready for college and just interacting with family I have not had much time to spare.

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I figured I needed something to give me a kick start and would be very easy to pull together. Chocolate Coconut Bars turned out to be a quick recipe that gave me the kick start I needed. I decided to be daring and made a batch for my team at work to see if the Chocolate Coconut Bars would be a hit outside of the family. By the time the day was over there were nothing but crumbs left in the container and I had thumbs up messages throughout the day. I have to admit that it is a good feeling when others appreciate the food you make. I think I now have a new set of guinea pigs besides my family to test out recipes on.

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My Chocolate Coconut Bars are just a different version of an old time favorite. I remember having them years ago at a friend’s house or maybe it was an office party. Either way, they were a tasty treat but a little too sweet for me. I think because the hostess used sweetened coconut, raisins and only sweet chocolate in the recipe. I changed it up a bit to cut down on the sweetness and added a bit of tartness to the bars. Instead of sweet coconut flakes I used unsweetened shredded coconut. I also added craisins instead of raisins for the contrast of sweetness and tartness.

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For those folks that are not a fan of coconut you might be surprised at how subtle the taste of coconut is in this recipe. There were a number of folks on my team that said they really do not like coconut but the combination of the unsweetened coconut with the chocolate, craisins and walnuts made the bars taste delicious. Over the years there have been a number of foods I thought I did not like but I was convinced somehow to try them again. I found that when certain foods were combined with some other food or was seasoned differently I really did like it. I often say to my son Don’t knock it til you have tried it”.

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Chocolate Coconut Bars

 Ingredients:

15 – 20 graham crackers crushed

1 14 oz can condensed milk

1 stick of butter melted

1 ½ cups shredded coconut (unsweetened)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

½ cup craisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl add crushed graham crackers and melted butter. Stir until well combined and graham crackers are moistened. Spread graham crackers evenly onto a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.

Add chocolate, coconut, walnuts and craisins to the large bowl and mix well. Spread mixture evenly over graham cracker crust. Drizzle condensed milk over chocolate mixture. Place baking sheet in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes. Check after 20 minutes to make sure coconut does not burn.

Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes then cut into squares.

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Chocolate Cake Parfait with Lemon Sauce

Desserts, , , , , ,

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Whenever I have leftover cake but I don’t have the heart to toss it out I change it into a new dessert. The other day I had leftover chocolate cake and decided I could cut up the cake and make a parfait. For me, a parfait has to have something creamy in the middle. Checking out what I had in the frig I came up with a light cream sauce. I also found some cherry pie filling I had recently used to try out another dessert.

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Viola! I had all I needed to create a chocolate cake parfait with lemon cream sauce topped with cherries. The blending of the sweet chocolate with the tart cherries and lemon sauce worked very well together. Who knew leftovers could be made new all over again.IMG_6343_1

 

Chocolate Cake Parfait with Lemon Sauce

 Ingredients:
1 cup cubed chocolate cake
½ cup Greek yogurt
½ cup cherry pie filling
2 tbsp lemon curd
whipped cream for topping (optional)

Mix together Greek yogurt and lemon curd in a small bowl. Place a small amount of lemon sauce in the bottom of a parfait glass. Add 4 -5 cubes of cake to the glass. Drizzle lemon sauce over the cake. Add a few more cubes of cake to the glass then drizzle more sauce over the cake. Spoon cherry pie filling over the lemon sauce and top with whipped cream if you desire.

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Chocolate Crunch Bars

Desserts, , , ,

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Anyone who really knows me knows I love good dark chocolate. It is the one sweet treat that is hard for me to pass up. I was looking through an old magazine recently and saw a recipe for a classic treat made with saltine crackers. I did not remember ever experiencing crunch bars but the picture looked wonderful.

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I was inspired to try making this tasty looking treat because of the dark chocolate and nuts. Of course I put my own spin on the recipe. I like saltines but I don’t like a lot of salt. I am one of those folks that scraps all the salt off of soft pretzels before I eat them. So, to make this treat I substituted graham crackers for the saltines.

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I also mixed up the nuts just because I like both walnuts and pecans. The two of them mixed together along with the dark chocolate gave the treat a nice rich flavor.

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Decedent, nutty and not too sweet. Chocolate Crunch Bars are a light treat that will satisfy any sweet tooth without a ton of calories.

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Chocolate Crunch Bars

Ingredients:
12 whole graham crackers
1 semi – sweet baker’s chocolate bar chopped
½ cup pecans chopped
½ cup walnuts chopped
1 stick of butter
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ tsp cayenne (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large rimmed cookie sheet with foil and set aside.

Heat butter and brown sugar over low heat until butter is melted and blended with sugar. Bring to a low boil for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour mixture evenly over graham crackers. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate over hot crackers to melt. Spread chocolate over graham crackers with the back of a spoon then sprinkle with nuts. Let cool completely. To speed up the process, cover with wax paper and let chill in refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes. Separate bars and store in a plastic container in the refrigerator.

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Chocolate Cherry Bomb

Desserts,

Chocolate Cherry Bomb Fini 4

 

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As a kid, I remember watching my mom having fun cooking and baking for anyone with an appetite. One of my first ventures into “cooking” was making chocolate pudding. Not the instant chocolate pudding most folks get to cut down on time but the slow cooking chocolate pudding from Jello. I think Jello was a staple in our house and may still be found on my mom’s kitchen shelf. I loved standing over the stove and stirring the milk and pudding mix until it was thick and creamy. The best part was licking the spoon after filling several little flowered juice glasses with the pudding. Sometimes my mom would let me get real fancy and put whipped cream on top of the chocolate pudding.

Chocolate Cherry Bomb Fini 1

My chocolate cherry bomb dessert is the grown up version of my fancy childhood chocolate pudding. Chocolate pudding is still the star of the dessert but it is supported by cherries and cookie crumbs. Sometimes when my husband and I have a few friends over for dinner we like to get them involved in the kitchen. Preparing this dessert is an easy way to do that since it takes less than an hour to make and you can create an assembly line to pull each layer together. This dessert is sure to bring back lots of memories of sticky chocolate covered faces and laughter. Whether you serve this dessert chilled or warm it will get a thumbs up!

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Chocolate Cherry Bomb

Ingredients:
1 can cherry pie filling
1 chocolate graham cracker crust
1 large box chocolate pudding cook & serve
1 cup cold heavy cream
8 ounces Italian Mascarpone cheese
½ cup sugar
¼ cup coffee liqueur
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
8 individual dessert glasses

Prepare chocolate pudding according to the package. Let cool slightly. Crumble graham cracker crust in a bowl. Place a layer of crumbled graham cracker in the bottom of each glass. Press down lightly to create a crust. Spread a layer of chocolate pudding over each crust then add a layer of cherry pie filling over the chocolate pudding.

In a mixing bowl combine the heavy cream, mascarpone cheese, sugar, coffee liqueur, cocoa powder and vanilla. Combine mixture on a low speed then gradually increase speed until firm peaks are formed. Top each dessert with the whipped cream. Garnish with any remaining graham cracker crust, chocolate shavings or chocolate covered cherries. Cover with clear wrap.  Serve chilled or warm.

Optional:
Try flavored liqueurs with hints of orange, nuts or cherries.