I doubt my kids will ever eat plan banana bread after eating this. Is it a dessert or a breakfast food? Who cares – it’s just good.
If you want to try it for yourself, I got the recipe at http://www.chef-in-training.com/2011/10/nutella-banana-bread/
Sweets
Cake Balls
Extra cake, frosting, and some chocolate – why not make some cake balls? Last week, I made a multi-layer birthday cake. Each layer, must be leveled (slicing off the top of each cake so that top and bottom are perfectly parallel). This is essential to making a cake look “professional.” While it is one extra step in the process, it’s one that my kids most appreciate – the extra cake that is. Usually I just let my kids snack on the extra cake. Because I had actually baked 6 layers of cake there was a LOT of extra cake. In fact, there was so much cake that I took five of the “tops of cake” and made an entire extra layer cake. Okay, it looked terrible, but my kids didn’t complain while eating it. I still had an extra full layer of chocolate cake and a bit of chocolate frosting left over. I threw the extra cake in the food processor and mixed it with the extra frosting. I chilled the mixture and formed small balls. After popping the balls in the freezer for a bit, I coated them in chocolate coating (I had a lot of chocolate left over from the cake, too). I realize that the cake ball craze is pretty much over, but they still are a great treat. Unfortunately, they are very labor intensive, which makes them expensive to purchase and a pain to make. This was an ideal time to make the cake balls. I had all the ingredients on hand and I would hate to be wasteful.
Thus, one man’s trash is a dessert lover’s treasure.
Blackhawks Birthday Cake
Just made this for my best friend’s birthday. Inside the cake are 5 layers of cake that match the frosting on the outside: red velvet, white, and midnight black cake. The logo and letters on top are all done in chocolate.
As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I’m originally from St. Louis. Needless to say, I am NOT a Blackhawks fan. However, my best friend is a HUGE Blackhawks fan; she never misses a game. I considered hiding some blue and yellow frosting in the center of the cake, but I managed to refrain. However, on the back of her birthday card, I included a picture of the St. Louis Blue’s logo. And, I wore a blue shirt while delivering the cake.
Time will tell which city hosts the better hockey team.
Peanut Butter Fudge
Fudge is a deceptive dessert. It doesn’t look very special – simply cut into cubes of some sort. You can’t always tell whether it is soft or hard by just looking at it. But when it is perfectly smooth and the balance of flavor and sugar is ideal, fudge is heavenly. Tonight, it turned out superb. (Which was a good thing, because last week’s fudge was a disaster) Whether the fudge is yummy or nah, baking with my daughter is a heartwarming occasion.
Nanaimo Bars – A Canadian Dessert
I first found this recipe during the 2010 Winter Olympics in British Columbia. Oddly enough, I had a recent request to make the bars again. They are a great textual blend of sweets. The base is a mix of graham, chocolate, coconut, pecans and sugar. It is dense and a bit nutty. The middle layer offers a smooth creamy vanilla compliment. It is then topped off with a thin layer of chocolate. If cut into bite size portions, one can enjoy all the flavors at once.
Warm Cookies or Cookie Dough?
Which do you prefer: warm chocolate chip cookies or chocolate chip cookie dough? It is an even split in my house; two prefer the dough and two prefer the warm cookies. In order to appease all the members of family, I baked one tray of cookies and placed cookie size portions of cookie dough in a sealed container in the freezer. That way my cookie-dough eating daughter can grab a chunk of cookie dough when she so chooses. And, I can pop a tray of dough in the oven when the males in the house want some warm and gooey chocolate chip cookies but I don’t have time to whip up a new batch. Hopefully, when I dig in the freezer, I won’t find an almost empty container of cookie dough. 🙂
If you are a fan of cookie dough, my daughter found the following cookbook. These recipes do not use eggs. So, you don’t have to worry about any bacteria issues.
See my other posts with desserts from this book:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
Triple Cookie Dough Cheesecake
I probably love cookie dough as much I do romance books. In Mystery Man (Book #1 Dream Man Series by Kristen Ashley) the main character, Gwen, is a fan of cookie dough, too. Hawk, Gwen’s fat-free-eating perfectly sculpted boyfriend, loves Gwen’s cookie dough curves.
Kristen Ashley is a fabulous author; I recommend both her Chaos Series and Dream Man series.
Chaos: Own The Wind
Tough biker dudes were a bit hard to warm up to, but once I did – oh my my. A great exploration of balancing of whether you can like someone in spite of their faults. Now that I’ve developed a greater understanding of the biker world – can’t wait to read more of Kristen Ashley’s books.
Dream Man: Mystery Man, Wild Man, Law Man, Motorcycle Man
Badass Commando, sexy DEA Agent, honorable police officer, and righteous biker make for some hot tales. It is very difficult for me to decide which highly protective character should win the most desirable. However, in Wild Man, Brock’s appreciation for Tessa’s cupcakes (not a euphemism) earns him my vote. Gotta love a guy that has a sweet tooth and an amazing body.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Buckeyes
Chocolate and Peanut Butter is almost always a good thing. These are definitely good-to-eat treats. But what in the world is a buckeye?
Just what exactly is a buckeye and why is it Ohio State’s mascot?
“In preparation for Monday night’s national championship game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oregon Ducks(more on that in another story), it seems appropriate to clear the confusion up.
According to folklore, the Buckeye resembles the eye of a deer and carrying one brings good luck. It has been the official Ohio State nickname since 1950, the website says, but it had been in common use for many years before that.”
See the full article at
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/01/what_exactly_is_a_buckeye_and.html
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on January 12, 2015 at 5:45 AM, updated January 12, 2015 at 9:06 AM
Valentine’s Heart Pound Cake
This was my Valentine’s gift to my family – a pound cake in a pound cake. The pink (vanilla) cake stayed remarkably moist after being baked inside the chocolate cake. My kids really liked snacking on the extra leftover pink cake. My daughter is a true chocolate lover and she doesn’t believe that chocolate cake actually is an acceptable form of chocolate. She prefers ganache and fudge to chocolate cake. However, she appreciated the fun look of the cake and enjoyed a few slices. Less than 24 hours later, all the cake is gone (the pink scraps and the one with the heart inside).
Peppermint Patties
February 11, 2015 is National Peppermint Patty Day. The cool taste of peppermint seems fitting for a cool winter day. However, next year I think I would prefer to make this at Christmas time. I would top it with red and white chocolate. This is also a good recipe to add to a gluten free diet.
Lemon Curd and White Chocolate Cupcake
This recipe centers around, both literally and figuratively, a lemon curd filling. The lemon curd filling was a lucky recipe find. I was on a hunt for a new angel food cake and I came upon a rolled-up angel food cake with this lemon curd filling. I tried the recipe and the filling was amazing. I knew it would also be great inside a cupcake. The cupcake is topped off with a white chocolate Lindt Truffle cream cheese frosting. All together, it’s rich and delicious.
I need to find other recipes to use this lemon-curd. I personally enjoyed eating the filling by the spoonful (it’s gluten free).
Indulge in Life's Guilty Pleasures 