Mississippi Mud Cake

For years I have seen this cake in magazines, and on Food Network, and I have always thought it looked delicious. This is the first time I have made this cake, and that is probably a good thing because I have to tell you I could not stop eating once I cut a piece.

The recipe is very easy and makes a really rich, delicious treat that you will love. The cake part has the texture of a brownie, and then the marshmallows are creamy and soft and  the frosting is literally the icing on the cake. Now, I will warn you, if you do not like sweet and sugary desserts than this is not the recipe for you.

The Ingredients are as follows:
recipe adapted from Southern Living "Comfort Food"

11/2 cups of flour
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of butter, melted
4 eggs slightly beaten
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
3 cups mini-marshmallows


Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan and set aside. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add butter, eggs, vanilla, and pecans, stir until smooth. Pour into pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean. Immediately sprinkle marshmallows  and bake for another 2 minutes. Carefully spread frosting over the top. Cool and cut into squares.

Ingredients

Chocolate Frosting:

1/2 cup melted butter
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 16 oz package of powdered sugar

Beat all ingredients with a whisk or electric mixer until spreading consistency.

Note: I found that you need to add extra milk to get this to be a little more thin than it turns out, otherwise you cannot really spread the frosting over the marshmallows.

More Chocolate Art

The Chocolate Man

I found this piece on the New York Public Library image site. You can browse online all of the images that they have from maps, to photos, to art work, etc. It is a really great site and very user friendly.

Happy Father's Day!

"To her the name of father was another name for love."
~~By Fanny Fern.~~

Choco-holic Cake

Delicious!

This recipe is so easy! You can whip it together in about 10 minutes, and that includes locating all of the items in your pantry. I found this recipe in an old Nestle Toll House book.  The ingredients are as follows:

1 Box mix Chocolate cake, any brand

1 Box of instant pudding chocolate

1/2 cup sour cream

4 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

2 cups of chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients, except the chocolate chips with a mixer on low for 1 minute, and then on high for 2 minutes. Then add chocolate chips and optional nuts and stir with a wooden spoon gently.

Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes, then un-mold cake and let cool completely.

Frosting recipe:

2 1 oz squared of unsweetened Bakers or Nestle chocolate

3 tablespoons of butter

1 1/2 cup of powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons of water

1 tsp vanilla

In a medium size pan heat butter and chocolate until melted, add powdered sugar and stir, add a little water to thin out the frosting. Continue to add water to desired consistency, then add vanilla and drizzle over cooled cake.

Ingredients

Finished Product



I could not locate my Bundt pan, I think I donated it when I moved because I seldom used it. Instead I used a spring form pan with a bundt insert. In full disclosure, I would not use it again because the cake stuck in the pan, even though I doused it liberally with Pam baking spray. I was fearful at one point that this was all going to be a waste. But in the end I did manage to salvage the cake, and remember frosting can hide a lot of mistakes. Also, when you make the glaze it has to be a good pouring consistency otherwise it gets a little gloppy looking like mine and looses a little shine. I do not know how this tastes because I took it to a friend and have not heard back yet. Hope you have a great weekend,

Chocolate Art



Matisse Still Life of Chocolate Pot

Vintage Chocolate Advertisements

I found these great vintage advertisements on Vintage Printables. There are so many great images on there that are free to use for DIY, crafting, or just to browse.  Check them out today.

Images above via Vintage Printables.

National Chocolate Ice Cream Day and Taste Test



via Doveicecream.com


Today, June 7th is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, who knew? I wonder where they come up with these things? Is there some sort of lobbying that goes on for these special days?

In any case, since it is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, I would be a little remiss if I did not comment on my favorite chocolate ice cream.

Drum role please....it is, Dove Unconditional Chocolate, it use to be Godiva Belgian Dark but they took that off the market. So, in the quest for a delicious, rich, creamy ice cream, this is my choice. It is chocolate ice cream, with little chunks of chocolate, and chocolate swirls and if that is not enough chocolate for you, it it caped off with a layer of dark Dove Chocolate, sort of like a wax seal that they use to put on home made jelly.