Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Cake, Chocolate, Desserts, Food

The Very Best Chocolate Cake Ever

This cake is dense and full of chocolate flavor… our very favorite chocolate cake recipe!

Best Chocolate Cake Ever

FOR THE CAKE:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups water

2/3 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FOR THE CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

1 cup cold milk

1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix

1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Beat on medium for 1 minute. Pour into a greased 13×9” baking pan. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

For frosting, in a mixing bowl, beat the milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Beat in thawed whipped topping. Spread evenly over cooled cake. Refrigerate.

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Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Bread, breakfast, Brunch, Cake, Food

Blueberry – Pineapple Coffee Cake

It’s blueberry picking time and this is my new favorite recipe. Super moist and delicious…. I hope you give it a try!

COFFEE CAKE

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
2⁄3 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, well-drained


BLUEBERRY TOPPING

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1⁄2 cup pecans, chopped
1⁄2 cup brown sugar, packed
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13×9” baking pan; set aside. In medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
In large bowl, stir together sugar, brown sugar, oil and eggs. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, stirring after addition. Fold in pineapple. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
For blueberry topping: Stir together all ingredients; sprinkle evenly over batter.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on wire rack for 45 minutes.

Optional: Drizzle a glaze over the top of coffee cake after completely cooled.

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Bread, breakfast, Cake, Food

Yummy Cake Mix Banana Muffins

Freeze your overly ripe bananas and pull them out for this delicious recipe!

Yummy Cake Mix Banana Muffins

3 overripe bananas, mashed
3 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 (15 oz) box yellow cake mix
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional: 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with muffins liners (or spray with nonstick cooking spray) and set aside.
In a large bowl combine the bananas, eggs and oil/butter until mixture is smooth. Add the cake mix and gently mix until combined. DO NOT over mix. Optional: fold in chopped nuts
Scoop batter into the muffin pan filling the cups 3/4 of the way full (use an ice cream scoop for ease). Top each with a sprinkle of streusel crumble and tap lightly into batter.
Bake for 18 – 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.


Streusel topping –
1 ¼ cup
½ cup light brown sugar tightly packed
⅓ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
6 Tbls.cold butter, cubed

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk or stir together flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. Use a fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients to make course crumbs. Scatter evenly over muffins, pie, or coffee cake before baking. Store left-over streusel in fridge or freezer for future baking projects.

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Cake, cookies, Food

Gooey Bars

Here’s a traditional gooey bar that uses a cake mix for its base. I’ve added pecans to the cake mix layer as I love the texture of cheese cake with an added crunch.

Gooey Bars

  • 1 package yellow cake mix
  • ½ cup butter, melted
  • 4 large eggs, divided
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
  • 1 cup pecans, chopped
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
  • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 eggs. Pat into a 9×13-inch pan. Evenly press chopped pecans into batter.

In a clean bowl, mix cream cheese, remaining 2 eggs, and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer. Slowly beat in confectioner’s sugar. Pour over cake layer.

Bake 35-40 minutes; cool completely before cutting.

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Cake, cookies, Desserts, Food

Chewy Cake Mix Brownies

Even though I have plenty of made-from-scratch brownie recipes, this is my “go to” for a quick, easy, and tasty bar. It’s a jiffy of a recipe and one of my favorites.

Chewy Cake Mix Brownies

1 (15 oz) box chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 7×11” baking pan. Combine cake mix, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl; mix until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Transfer the batter to a greased 7×11” or 8 X 8” baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Bread, breakfast, Brunch, Cake

Easy Maple Glazed Donuts

My daughter works in the healthcare industry and we all know how busy healthcare workers are right now. I thought it would be fun to bake up a batch of mini-donuts for the folks that work in her department. I’m told these were a big hit.

These couldn’t be any easier to make. The maple glaze is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

I found the recipe here:

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, breakfast, Brunch, Cake

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake

While the blistering summer temperatures have risen to well above 90 degrees, I’m itching for cooler weather. I couldn’t resist making this delicious fall coffee cake while the kids were home this weekend. K whipped up the recipe and we sliced into the warm cake during Sunday breakfast. So good!

Cake
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 package yellow cake mix
1 package instant Pumpkin Spice Pudding
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream

Crumble
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Glaze
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 to 3Tablespoons milk

Grease a 9×13” pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the topping: In a small bowl, toss together the topping ingredients until mixed well; set aside.
To make the cake: In another larger bowl, mix the eggs, water and cake mix together until blended and smooth.
Add the dry pudding mix, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, oil, and sour cream; mix until combined.
Put half of the batter into the pan and then add half of the mixed topping. Carefully spread the rest of the batter on top and finish the cake off with the rest of the topping.
Bake the cake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until the cake tests done with a toothpick inserted in the center. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack.
When the cake is no longer warm, mix up your glaze. Whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Add two tablespoons of milk. Drizzle the glaze over cake.

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Brunch, Cake, Chocolate, Desserts, Uncategorized

Hazelnut Dump Brownies

We had a very snowy 2021 Valentine’s Day. The light and fluffy flakes had been coming down for days and my yardstick inserted in the snow was clocking in at a whopping 17”. We had intended to go out for dinner but decided to settle in at home. I made a batch of these Hazelnut Dump Brownies to have with a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
Everything is basically dumped into a bowl, mixed together and tossed in a greased baking pan. Then, the mini chocolate chips are sprinkled over the top… easy enough! This is a super simple recipe with extraordinary results.
PS. It’s still snowing! ❄️❄️❄️

Hazelnut Dump Brownies

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hazelnuts, chopped
1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, mix in the first 8 ingredients. Pour into a greased 13×9” baking pan. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.
  2. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Bread, Brunch, Cake, Uncategorized

Sausage and Apple Breakfast Bake

This one our most flavorful breakfast casseroles. The mixture of apples and breakfast sausage, teamed up with a light batter and homemade maple syrup make this a winner in our household.

Sausage and Apple Breakfast Bake


1 or 2 pounds bulk pork sausage
2 cups biscuit/baking mix
1-1/3 cups skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 medium apples, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Maple syrup


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9” baking pan; set aside. In a large skillet, cook and crumble breakfast sausage until no longer pink; drain. In a medium mixing bowl, combine biscuit mix, milk, extracts, eggs and oil until blended; stir in cooked sausage. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar. Transfer biscuit mixture to a greased 13×9” baking dish. Evenly top with apples; sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake until set, 30-40 minutes. Serve with syrup.

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, breakfast, Cake, Food, Uncategorized

Easy Cinnamon Crumble Coffee Cake

If you are looking for an easy coffee cake recipe that you can get to the table in no time at all, this is it! The base of the batter uses a boxed baking mix to add to the ease to which this coffee cake comes together. Great for the holiday season as you might have a few early morning guests in the house. It’s a winner!

Easy Cinnamon Crumble Coffee Cake


Cake:
2 cups baking mix
⅔ cup milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 egg
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
⅔ cup baking mix
⅔ cup brown sugar 4 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a deep 9-inch pie pan. Combine baking mix, milk, sugar, egg, cinnamon, and vanilla in bowl; mix well. Spread into the bottom of the prepared pan.
For topping, in a medium sized bowl, combine baking mix, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and walnuts. Using a fork or pastry blender until crumbly. Spread topping mix over cake batter.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. (Optional: Drizzle with powdered sugar/water glaze.