Texas Sheet Cake

This is a longstanding family favorite! For a while there, we would have it at every family gathering! This is a very moist chocolate cake. You frost it while it's warm and then some of the frosting melts into the cake and makes it sooooo yummy! The original recipe calls for 2 C of regular sugar, but I find using half brown sugar gives the cake some extra depth of flavor (my secret trick!).

Mix in Bowl:

1 C Sugar

2 C flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

In separate bowl, Mix:

1 tsp. Vanilla

3/4 C Buttermilk

2 Eggs

1 C Brown Sugar

Melt together in pan:

2 sticks butter

4 Tbls Cocoa

1 Cup Water

Combine the first two mixtures then slowly mix in the pan mixture and pour into a greased (I like using coconut oil, but you can also spray it.) cookie sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25? minutes until done.

Frost cake while still warm (I frost it right out of the oven.)

Frosting:

1 Stick of Butter

2 Tbls. Coco

6 Tbls. Milk

16 oz. Powdered Sugar 

Beat and Frost while cake is hot! It makes it ooey gooey!

Chocolate Brownie Pudding Cake

(Not actual picture, but this is what you can expect)

If there is a sinful dish of wickedness that can drag you straight down to... well... This dish is IT! Or at least one of them! Oh my goodness! It's everything you would dream of in a brownie/warm melting cake/decadent chocolate custard all in one and a little bit more! And it's incredibly easy! :) Let me just warn you, though- you will eat all of this! That or eat yourself sick. But one of those will happen. It is incredibly rich, and so you will be wanting vanilla ice cream (might I suggest Breyer's Vanilla Bean?) , or at the very least, fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!

Bring to a boil in a sauce pan:

1/2 C Brown Sugar

3/4 C Water

2 Tbl. Cocoa

Combine in bowl:

2 1/2 C Brownie mix (half of a 21.5 oz pkg.)

1 Egg

1/4 C Peanut Butter

1 Tbl. Butter

1/4 C Water

1/4-1/2 C Chocolate Chips

Spread brownie mixture evenly in the bottom of a buttered crockpot. Pour boiling mixture over top of brownie batter. Cover and cook on high for 1 & 1/2 hours. Spoon over dessert dishes while warm. Serve with whipped or ice cream!

You can find this recipe here:
http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotdessertrecipes/r/bl82c1.htm

Peppermint Frosting

Oh Wow! Yes, I know I say that a lot, but it's usually the "wow" recipes that inspire me to put them on here! I found this mint frosting on pinterest; it goes with browinies (which I've never used because I love the "Best Brownies" that are on my blog). This frosting is fabulously wonderful! I make homemade butter cream mints that are incredibly exquisite, and the flavor of this frosting reminds me of these! It's a different texture for frosting, it is very thick and more moldable than it is spreadable. That's ok, flatten it out and set it on there! I've topped it off with chocolate frosting for brownies; with or without, it's perfect! Today I am making this frosting to put on homemade oreos! I CAN'T WAIT TO TASTE IT! I found this recipe here-
 http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/05/27/chocolate-mint-brownies/

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons half and half

1/8 teaspoon peppermint oil (NOT flavoring, unless it's real candy flavoring, but it should be potent)

 In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the melted butter, powdered sugar (aka confectioners’ sugar), half and half, and peppermint oil until smooth.

Strawberry Flop Cake

This is a cake that I don't make very often.....
Because I EAT IT AAAALLLLLL!!!
It is luscious and delicious! (Even though I think I say that about all the recipes I put on here... It's TRUE! That's why I put them on here. Recipes too good to lose! :) It's a dense, moist, summery cake with a hint of banana flavor that, surprisingly, I don't mind (you can omit the banana if that doesn't tickle your fancy, but DON'T! You might be surprised. The banana helps add to the smoothness of the texture and instead of tasting like banana, it rounds out the flavor! Oh, Love!). It's refrigerated, so on those hot summer days, it's a cool, little bite of delection (yes I made that word up. It was worth it!)!  On top of all this wonderment, it's also very easy to make! It's actually....a....... cake mix! SSHHH! Don't tell! They'll NEVER know! And neither will you once you taste it! (personally, not a fan of cake mixes, so trust me on this one! However, you will NEVER hear me complain if you make me something "cake mix". I will just be happy you made me something :)

White Cake Mix, follow box ingredients EXCEPT for Oil, and add:

1 banana (mashed)

8 sliced and smashed Strawberries (or how ever many you want!)

1/2 C Sour Cream

1 Cube softened, unsalted butter

Oven: 350

Grease and Flour 2 layer cake pans (I prefer using parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and just grease the sides. Guaranteed to come out clean every time!) Mix as directed above, pour into prepared pans and bake for 33-36 minutes (You know how to tell when a cake is done! Just NEVER over bake! It's far better, in my opinion, to have a little bit of gooey, than a dry, offensive, confection! ;) Let it cool.  The cake will sink a little when you it's cooled, that's why it's called flop cake (it just allows for more sweet creamy frosting in the middle! :)

Strawberry Frosting:

1/2 Cube softened Butter

5 Sliced Strawberries (I add more!)

1 tsp. Vanilla (or you could try Almond or Strawberry extract)

1 bag of Powdered Sugar

1-2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

Combine ingredients in a heavy mixer until creamy. Be careful not to over mix! I have had the frosting separate on me! If it does, don't worry, it still tastes good, it just doesn't look as pretty. Garnish with Strawberries and if you need, Whipped Cream. Ah! L'amour!

 Refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

Hedgehog's Yellow Cake

This cake isn’t anything AMAZING per se (I just wanted to put it on here so I could throw the dumb paper away! But you will notice, I did think it was worth keeping! ;). It’s a recipe, supposedly from "back in the day" (makes it a little more fun) that my Brenna brought home from school and she MADE me make it!! It’s a very simple, not too sweet yellow cake. Extremely EASY to make and hey! Not bad. Would be good with a glaze on top. Last time I made it for a little treat for the children while we went out, and I put blueberries in it which we enjoyed. Bottom line: probably wouldn’t have this recipe if I didn’t have kids, easy, not too sweet and they like it.

3/4 C. Sugar

1/2 C. Butter

3 Eggs

1&1/4 C. Self-rising Flour

1tsp. Vanilla (or any other flavor you would like this to have :)

Pre-heat: 350

Butter 9 in. round pan. Whip butter and sugar, add eggs one by one and vanilla. Mix in flour, put in pan, bake for a half hour or until done. Serve with a warm glass of milk :)