This cake has all the elements of a mounds candy bar. Rich chocolate cake layers with creamy coconut filling, coconut buttercream icing and topped with dark chocolate truffle ganache. Who could ask for more? Chocolate Mounds Bar Cake Cake: 1 … Continue reading
My aunts, Katharyn Noble and Vorita Isaacs, didn’t have any children of their own. They loved all their niece’s and nephews as their own. We became who we are as a result of their love. They were safe to talk … Continue reading
This is probably the best carrot cake I have ever tasted! It is from my dear friend Jane Howell. She says grating whole carrots instead of purchasing them pre-grated makes this cake exceptional.
Carrot Cake
3 cups grated carrots
2 cups granulated sugar
1 and 1/4 cups canola oil
4 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon iodized salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Garnish: 1/2 cup chopped pecans toasted 300ºF
for 7 minutes and cooled for top of cake
Preheat oven to 300ºF. Grate carrots with a box grater using large holes or with a food processor using grater disc, then chop strips of carrot with metal blade. Set aside. With a mixer combine sugar, oil, and eggs. Combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Mix. Add carrots and pecans. Mix.
Pour batter into a 9 X 13-inch pan.
Bake 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven. Cool completely. Ice with Cream Cheese Icing. Garnish with toasted chopped pecans. Slice cake cold and serve at room temperature.
Cream Cheese Icing
8 ounces regular cream cheese, not Neufatchel or low fat, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 (16 ounce) box powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Mix cream cheese and butter together 3 minutes with a mixer on medium speed. Gradually add powdered sugar on low speed mixing 3 minutes or until icing is light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again.
Variation: Divide cake batter into three 9-inch round pans that have been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake layers 300ºF for 40-45 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool on wire racks. Ice with Cream Cheese Icing between layers and on top and sides. Decorate with a ring of toasted pecans around top edge of cake. Refrigerate. Slice cake cold. Serve at room temperature. Makes one, 3-layer, 9-inch cake. Enjoy!
Umami, or savory is one of the five basic tastes. Sweet, Sour, Bitter, and Salty are the other four. Umami rich sauces such as soy sauce, fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce add savory flavor to this marinade. When acidic ingredients, … Continue reading
I am a huge coconut fan. These cookies are crisp on the edges and soft in the middle. For extra decadence re-heat individual cookies in the microwave for 10 seconds to re-melt the chocolate chips! Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies1 and … Continue reading
Many people around the world celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, or La Festa di San Giuseppe. The feast’s roots date back to the Middle Ages, when Sicily, Italy underwent a major drought with a massive famine. The locals prayed … Continue reading
This recipe slightly browns the carrots on the range andfinishes cooking them in the oven.Total cooking time: 10-12 minutes. Easy-Peasy. Roasted Carrots– 6-8 servings 2 teaspoons unsalted butter2 teaspoons extra light tasting olive oil1 teaspoon kosher salt½ teaspoon freshly ground … Continue reading
Sometimes the easiest recipes are the very best, and ones that involve kitchen “power tools” are even better! My kids’ favorite appliance in the kitchen was the blender! It’s no wonder that my son, Bill, became a bartender to earn extra money in college. One of their favorite recipes to make in the blender was (as we say in the south) choc-lit-puddin’.
This recipe takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and is perfect for young cooks. I mean, really, who needs to spend more than 5 minutes to make a yummy dessert? A note of caution is advised here… the first time my kids made the recipe without supervision they didn’t put the lid on the blender. Needless to say there was chocolate everywhere, even on the ceiling!!
Now let me warn you of the dangers of this pudding…. Once you taste it you will guard it with your life. If others try to touch it or heaven forbid eat some of your precious pudding, words of shock and disdain will spew out of your mouth! In other words, it would be best to let your family know in advance that your pudding is off limits and advise them to make their own!!
I cannot even begin to recount how many accusations and fights ensued over this pudding in my house. As a result, it was eaten hot, right out of the blender. No one’s personal bowl ever made it to the refrigerator for fear of losing one precious bite!
Chocolate Pudding
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup pasteurized egg whites in a carton
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/8 teaspoon iodized salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Heat whipping cream in the microwave just to the boiling point (it will be steaming but not boiling). In the blender place the egg beaters, chocolate chips, salt and sugar. Blend for 20 seconds on high speed.
Remove the screw top cover from the center of the blender lid to expose the hole in the blender lid. (The hole you can pour liquids through.) With the blender running, slowly pour the hot cream through the opening in the lid (this is where my kids made their big mistake… they took the whole lid off not just the cover in the center)!
Turn the blender off. With a spatula, scrape chocolate bits off the sides of the blender downward into the pudding. Add the vanilla then blend a few more seconds to combine all the ingredients. Pour the chocolate pudding into coffee cups or ramekins for individual servings. Mmmm….
Each year as winter ends Doc and I anxiously wait for hummingbirds to return to our woods. In April we hang the feeder outside the kitchen window in hopes attracting migrating birds. The spring wildflowers are in full bloom underneath … Continue reading
This recipe is from my friend and mentor, Mary Wood. In college, Dorothy Bedor and I would come home from school in the spring to hike. We walked the trails of Roan Mountain looking for wildflowers. Mary would spoil … Continue reading
Volunteerism. Home town. Johnson City. Good books. Random thoughts.
Bartlett TN Family & Children Photographer
Mary Duke Cooks! 