Irish Cream-Chocolate Cake with Irish Whipped Cream

We have people over almost every Saturday for Magic the Gathering (a trading card game), and typically order pizza for dinner. Well, for St. Patty's Day, I wanted to do a themed night more friends might attend, so we had a general "board game" night and potluck for themed dishes! As you may already have realized...I LOVE baking! So I wanted to find a delicious cake recipe that held to the "Irish" theme. And found this one on Pinterest!

When it came time to actually baking it....I couldn't find my regular smaller cake pans for doing a layered cake. So I used my larger springform cake, which still turned out delicious, but I ended up with a LOT of whipped cream for the outside of the cake, since I couldn't do a layer filler (unless I sliced the cake in half). My whipped cream also didn't seem as thick as in the recipe's pictures, so I could have probably added more sugar. But still yummy! ^^

Original recipe here

Servings: 12
Calories per serving: 543

Cake Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa, unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 large egg
2/3 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Irish Cream liquor*
1 cup black coffee

Frosting Ingredients:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup Irish Cream liquor
1/2 cup chopped milk chocolate (optional)

Cake:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F.
Step 2: Grease springform cake pan.
Step 3: Beat the egg, oil, buttermilk, Irish Cream liquor, and coffee together.
Step 4: Mix dry ingredients together in separate bowl.
Step 5: Add dry mixture to liquid mixture.
Step 6: Beat for 2-3 minutes.
Step 7: Pour into greased cake pan.
Step 8: Bake for 35-50 minutes, or until a wooden stick comes out clean.**
Step 9: Cool completely. This takes about 3-4 hours, depending on your ambient temperature. My house is usually 66-72 degrees and it took close to 4 hours.

Frosting:
Step 1: Beat all ingredients together until cream holds it's shape (keeps peaks) and is the desired consistency.
Step 2: Frost cake.
Step 3: Sprinkle with chopped chocolate, if desired.

*I did not have Bailey's, but had another brand of Irish Cream liquor. I don't think it really matters. Also couldn't really taste it in the chocolate cake, so this might be unnecessary (or maybe just needs more?).

**Original recipe says to bake for 25-30 minutes, but since I was using a larger cake pan, I kept adding on time until a wooden chopstick came out clean. It ended up being about 48 minutes (but if you don't keep opening the oven like I did, your time should be shorter).

As a note, I typically do not sift anything even when a recipe calls for it. Because I'm lazy. It still turned out good without sifting. :)

Recipe time: Prep = 20 minutes, Cooking = 25 mintes. Cooling not estimated.
My cooking time: Prep = 30 minutes, Cooking = 48 minutes, 3-4 hours cooling.

The cake turned out delicious! I can definitely see where it'd be good to have a filling layer, because the cake is pretty dense. But still soooooo good! I piled on the whipped cream, so it was a bit much for some people (but not for me ^^), but everyone who had some enjoyed it. Some of us even had two pieces by the end of the night...... All-in-all, very good recipe!

Cake Ingredients

Cake - Step 3

Cake - Step 4

Cake - Step 6

Cake - Step 7

Cake - Step 8

Frosting Ingredients (plus cake)

Frosting - before mixing

Frosting - after mixing

Sliced cake (some of the whipped cream is drooping down in the middle)

Moist Pumpkin Bundt Cake

So I've already failed at trying to post a new recipe once per week..... byebye New Year's Resolutions lol. Maybe I'll change it to at least once a month? Anyways.... I (we) got a bundt cake pan as a wedding gift, and I was super excited to use it over the holidays. And I LOVE pumpkin desserts, especially baked goods! Found what turned out to be a SUPER AWESOME recipe on Pinterest. ^^ I made it three or four times between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So delicious! And surprisingly easy to make. I was a little nervous since I've never made bundt cakes before.

Original recipe here

Servings: 24*
Calories per serving: 206

*24 slices worked out perfectly with my bundt pan. Some shapes/designs may not cut as easily into 24 servings.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
Confectioners' (powdered) sugar, for dusting

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°.
Step 2: Grease bundt cake pan with either butter or spray Pam. Do not use liquid oil, it beads and pools in the pan, rather than evenly greasing it. I made this mistake my first attempt.
Step 3: Dust greased pan with flour.
Step 4: In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil until blended.
Step 5: Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Step 6: Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves in separate bowl.
Step 7: Add flour mixture to egg mixture alternately with pumpkin, mixing well after each addition.
Step 8: Transfer batter to greased & floured pan.
Step 9: Bake 60-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Step 10: Cool 10-20 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Remove pan and cool completely. Step 11: Once cooled, dust with confectioners' sugar.

Recipe time: Prep = 10 minutes, Baking = 1 hour. Cooling not estimated.
My cooking time: 15 minutes for prep, 1 hour cooking. 3-4 hours cooling.

Everyone liked the cake at the parties I took them too. It was still good after a couple days. I brought some to my coworkers after the weekend, and they enjoyed it. :)

Ingredients

Step 2

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Mini Cheesecake with Oreo Cookie Crust

So it's been a while since I've updated this blog. Things got more hectic (and really, I got more lazy) the closer we got to the wedding. But that was all done with in November and now I want to start updating this again! I do cook new recipes fairly regularly, so I'm hoping to have a new recipe to post at least once a week or so. Here's hoping I can stick to the plan! :)

I've posted a mini cheesecake recipe before, but that was more of an ultra-mini (bite-size) cheesecake! I've made mini cheesecakes that are 2-3 bites (or could still be one bite if you want), with both original Nilla wafer crust and Oreo cookie crust. I wanted to make a dessert in honor of the Deadpool movie, since I was seeing it with a group of friends, so I decided to go with Oreo cookie crust this time. This is based off a very simple recipe from Philadelphia (cream cheese company). These are pretty hefty calorie-wise, but I didn't make any modifications to try and cut calories this time.

Original recipe here

Servings: 12
Calories per serving: 229

Ingredients:
2 pkg (8 oz each) Philadephia cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar (white, granulated)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 Oreo cookies (whole, do not crush)
Red food coloring, optional*

Step 1: Heat oven to 350F.
Step 2: Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended.
Step 3: Add eggs (and red food coloring); mix just until blended.
Step 4: Place 1 Oreo cookie in each of 12 paper-lined muffin cups.
Step 5: Top with cream cheese mixture.
Step 6: Bake 20 minutes or until centers are almost set.
Step 7: Cool completely, then refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Recipe time: 4 hours 10 minutes
My cooking time: 40 minutes for prep and cooking; I left my cheesecakes in the fridge overnight.

*Food coloring is optional. I made them red to go with the Deadpool theme (red and black). I added a lot of red food coloring, and it still turned out more pink than red. I don't usually dye my food, so have not perfected getting the right colors.

This recipe is super easy and has few ingredients. I still need to perfect getting the cheesecakes more flat after cooling (mine were inflated like muffins immediately after baking, then had a pretty sunken center after cooling and refridgerating). But they still taste delicious! They were a hit! And it's definitely hard to have just one...... <( ^^ )>

Ingredients

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Jell-O Art

I love Jell-O. Who doesn't?! The fun colors, the fruity tastes, the delicious dessertness.... And easy to prepare! I actually found this recipe while looking for alcoholic jell-o recipes.... This one does NOT contain alcohol but still looked yummy! Can you guess why I chose those particular Jell-o flavors? *waves flag*

Original recipe here

Servings: 48
Calories per serving: 56

Ingredients:
4 to 6 three oz boxes of Jell-O in desired colors (use 4 boxes if you want the top to be mostly smooth)
One 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp of unflavored gelatin
Boiling water
Cold water

Step 1: Prepare Jell-O as per package instructions. Refrigerate for several hours (I left mine overnight).
....
Step 2: Cut Jell-o into cubes.
Step 3: Lightly oil a 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish. Place cubes into casserole dish, rotating colors so they are mixed up and pretty!
Step 4: In a bowl, sprinkle gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. Let sit for 1-2 minutes.
Step 5: Add 1 1/2 cups boiling water to gelatin mix, stirring until disolved.
Step 6: Add condensed milk to gelatin mix. Stir and cool. (I set mine in the fridge for about 30 minutes; don't leave in fridge too long and make sure to check on it so it doesn't get too cold and solidfy. I also put my Jell-o cubes back in the fridge during this time.)
Step 7: Pour cooled mixture over Jell-o cubes. Refrigerate overnight.
....
Step 8: Once the new Jell-O/milk mixture is fully set, use a sharp knife dipped in HOT water to slice into desired portions (squares/cubes/rectangles). Keep dipping knife into hot water between cuts to have cleaner cut lines.

Recipe time: not listed
My cooking time: Less than 15 minutes active time (but a lot of waiting/cooling time--2 days)

This dish looks so cool! And tastes even better! It was soooooo easy to put together, you just have to make sure you plan in advance if you want to make it for an event, because there is a lot of "fridge time". AND it's inexpensive to make! I picked up the Jell-O and condensed milk at Walmart for a total of ~$4. The gelatin I had on hand already, but I think it would add only another $1-2 if you bought envelopes of gelatin too. Will definitely make again!!

Ingredients (minus water :P)

Step 1

Step 3

Step 4

Step 6

Step 7

Green Chocolate-Vanilla Trifle

It's been a long time since I've posted... been slacking in trying out recipes! This one is one I actually made for St. Patty's Day, and realized I never posted. I found this one through Pinterest, like I do most of my recipes nowadays. This is from a blog called Kroma Design Studio. It sounded simple and delicious! I changed it a little bit for my tastes.

Original recipe

Ingredients:
2 boxes (4 serving size each) of JELLO vanilla flavor instant pudding
Green food coloring
3 1/2 cups cold milk
1 tub Cool Whip (8 oz.)
1-18oz pkg. Oreos, coarsely crushed*
A couple brownies, cut into small pieces (or crumbled)

Step 1: Pour milk into large bowl. Stir in food coloring to desired green-ness.
Step 2: Add pudding mixes and beat with a wire whisk until well blended. Let stand 5 minutes.
Step 3: Gently stir/fold in Cool Whip.
Step 4: In a trifle bowl, layer half of the crushed cookies and brownies in one layer. Then add pudding mixture layer. Repeat layers.
Step 5 (optional): Top with piped whipped cream if desired.
Step 6: Refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to serve (mine sat overnight).

*Remove the Oreo filling before crushing the cookies. I mixed the Oreo filling into the pudding mix, before adding the Cool Whip.

Recipe time: Less than 30 minutes
My cooking time: 40 minutes (including cookie crushing)

This recipe turned out great! I was a little impatient with the Cool Whip thawing, so the consistency was a bit off. But still turned out very tasty (just the top piped whipped cream didn't hold well). Will definitely make this again. Could actually use any other food coloring to make it appropriate for whatever type of party you're holding.

Ingredients

Step 1

Step 3

Step 4

Step 4 continued

Step 4 repeated

Step 5 (optional whipped cream topping)

Wine Gummies

I've been a little lazy about posting my trials lately. Chalk it up to busy weekends filled with wedding arrangements (and just plain lazy days). Here's something I made a few weeks ago... I love gummies! Gummy worms and bears especially! So when I found this recipe for WINE GUMMIES, I thought "YAY ADULT GUMMIES!". These are actually super easy to make, it just takes a little while for the initial gelatin powder to start dissolving.

Original recipe here

I apparently forgot to take pictures of the finished cut little gummies.....I guess I was too busy eating them!

Servings: 256
About 3-4 calories per piece

Ingredients:
2 cups wine (16 fl oz)
8 tbsp gelatin (unflavored)*
4 tbsp maple syrup**

*I used the same gelatin as the recipe-creator used.
**I didn't want to make it too sweet, so I stuck to the low-end of the amount of syrup.

Step 1: In saucepan, warm wine on low heat. Keeping the temperature down is very important, so the alcohol does not burn off.
Step 2: Add gelatin 1 tbsp at a time, stirring well before adding more. Finish adding all gelatin and stir until fully dissolved. Froth is OK, it just make some bubbles in your gummies.
Step 3: Add syrup, to taste.
Step 4: Pour mixture into greased 8 x 8 pan (or candy molds).
Step 5: Let cool. You can put in them in the fridge to set (I did); I left them for a few hours and they were fully set.
Step 6: Flip pan upside down on cutting board. You may have to bang the pan down a little to get the gel to slide out.
Step 7: Cut as desired. Because I doubled the original recipe, my gel was pretty thick, so I cut it into smaller pieces (16 x 16).

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 30 minutes (15 minute prep, 15 minutes cook) *this does not include cooling time

These turned out so good. And they're addictive. I sat there with a bowl in front of me and easily ate 30-40 pieces before I figured out I should stop. I made both red and white wine versions, and they both turned out well. I will DEFINITELY be making these again!

Ingredients (both red & white wine)

Step 2 (see frothing?)

Step 4 (white)

Step 4 (red)

Crispy Oven Roasted Chickpeas

I actually made this a couple weeks ago, but have been super busy wedding dress shopping and St. Patty's Day partying. :P I had a bunch of chickpeas (made from dry) that I needed to use fast, since they're only good a few days after you cook them. And I found a snack recipe for them! They turned out great. I actually took them on a Color "Run" 5k that my friend and I did, and these were a good pre-run snack while we were waiting for the run to start.

Original recipe here

Servings: 10
About 172 calories per serving  (~100g per serving)

Ingredients:
5 cups garbanzo beans/chick peas (canned or cooked from dry)
3 tbps olive oil
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cayenne pepper

Step 1: Drain and rinse chickpeas, if not already done. Lay out on paper towel to dry.
Step 2: Preheat the oven 400°F.
Step 3: Combine olive oil, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and salt in a bowl.
Step 4: Place chickpeas in a medium to large bowl.  Pour the spice mixture over the chickpeas and toss until coated.
Step 5: Spread chickpeas on a baking sheet (I lined mine with aluminum foil). Make sure they're not too tightly packed.*
Step 6: Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.  Carefully shake the tray a couple times between cooking.**
Step 7: Remove from oven. Serve hot or room temperature.

*I had to use two baking sheets to have them spread out. If you have too many on one sheet, they take longer to get crispy.
**I shook tray at 15 minutes in and 30 minutes in.

Recipe's time estimate: not listed
My total cooking time: 50 minutes (5 minute prep, 45 minutes cook)

As you can see, this recipe is SUPER easy. And so yummy. I ate a whole serving right when they came out out the oven. Sooooooooooooo good. They're still good after they've cooled, and even after a couple days (stored in ziploc bags), but they're the best right out of the oven.

Ingredients

Step 3

Step 5 - This tray took a little longer to get the peas crispy