Ina Garten's Reese's Cupcakes

Chocolate and peanut butter are a truly wonderful combo- as you are probably aware. Of course I've been dying to make some cupcakes like this for some time, but I was waiting for the right occasion.

A friend's birthday party came up and so I decided to make these - the only condition was that I could not take any home with me! The result? Success! :) Ina Garten is a genius!

I only had one- at the party. My craving was satisified and these received RAVE reviews. Everyone thought it was the perfect combo. Choppped reeses cup make the perfect topping, if you can resist snacking on them... :)

Oreo Cookes & Cream Cake

 

My mom got this amazing Oreo cookie pan from Williams Sonoma last year. I don't even remember when- I think sometime over the summer? How sad it that! I can't believe I waited this long to use it. I think what deterred me was that you can't ice the top of the cap since you would cover up the "cookie" part.

It was really yummy though with double the icing in the middle- just like a double stuff Oreo! :) Did I mention how I think this would make a fab ice cream cake too? I think I'll try that next time. This is definitely a crowd-pleaser and perfect for your favorite Oreo lover. Or yourself. I think I may be my favorite Oreo lover- is that allowed? Good. :)

The pans come with a recipe, but I really wanted to make a cookies and cream cake, so I used this one I found on My Recipe Finds Online. I followed it to a T and it was really good. The birhtday boy said this was his favorite cake EVER and said how moist and tasty it was. He also commented on how delicious the frosting was with the crunchy oreos. The oreos do soften up the next day, but I think its better that way myself. I never use cake mixes and I try not to use a lot of oil in my recipes, so I thought that although the cake was very moist, something tasted a little off. Next time I would use a mixture of oil and butter or maybe some unsweetened applesauce to try to cut the oily taste, but it was still very good.You could always use your favorite moist chocolate cake recipe, but you really do need to try this frosting. :)

2 Minute Mug Chocolate Cake!

Say what? Say yes! I had a mad dessert craving the other night and did not need/want to bake an entire cake. I had heard of this before, so I did a little googling and less than 10 minutes later I had already over-indulged. :) Amazing, eh? This recipe could use a little tweaking, and there are so many variations out there, but I did not have time for that. Next time I would sub melted butter for the oil, and maybe cook a little less to make it more "lava" like. YUM! Can't really beat a cake in 2 minutes though!

Root Beer Chocolate Bundt Cake

*UPDATE*- I made this again for my friend Danielle's birthday in the big bundt. The icing worked much better this time. I just globbed it on and swirled it around a bit. Do not try to spread it like normal icing. Isn't it cute with the pink sprinkles?
I packed it in a cake box and tied with a pretty pink ribbon! (Sorry for the tiny iphone pic!)



I knew I needed to make this cake after I saw it on my friend Erika's blog.The original recipe is from here. Mmmm I love root beer, I love chocolate, and I love cake. Match made in heaven right? Right. :) Just a few hurdles to overcome before I could get this bundt in my oven.

My first obstacle- no bundt pans. No problem! I hopped on Amazon last week and ordered these babies. One baby bundt and one momma bundt for $16.95 to be exact.

Second obstacle- root beer made with cane sugar.


No problemo. I got off work early on Friday and hit up Central Market (yes, I know...how lame of me...) and picked up a six-pack of this Hansen's version, along with these gorgeous Japanese orchids (they're from the bf, he just didn't know it...)- Thanks honey! :)

I can't help showing off my adorable etched vase- $8 from Marshalls!

OK. So those were basically all my obstacles... Phew! I decided to make half of this recipe since we certainly didn't need a whole one. Besides, I knew a baby bundt would look super cute on my never-been-out-of-the-cupboard mini cake stand. Ding ding ding- sooo right! OK don't make fun of my icing job...I had some issues as I note at the end of this post...Let's focus on the good stuff.


The cane sugar in the root beer really makes this cake so sweet, moist and extra delicious! I really didn't think you could taste the root beer, but I wouldn't have minded either way. After I made this cake I handed a piece to the bf who dug in- "This is delicious! So moist!" he said. Then right after the next sentence left my mouth, "It's root beer chocolate cake!" I remembered... He hates root beer! His face dropped. "Eww! This is disgusting! It tastes like root beer!" Hmmm... he totally had NO clue, and I ruined it for him. I started cracking up. "Fine. More for me!" :) He really wanted to like it every time he saw me eating it, so he tried it again a couple days later. He asked if I could switch the frosting for him..."Umm do you want me to wash it off?"... He thought the frosting tasted too "root beery." The frosting did not taste like root beer (my half portion had 1/8 cup of soda), but it did have a little zing to it- delicious in my opinion- especially warmed up! Extra bonus about this recipe- it's easy- no mixer needed! :) I think I'll make this again soon with Coca Cola made with cane sugar instead. I bet its equally delicious and the bf will be oh-so-happy!

Surprisingly Quick Root Beer Bundt Cake
Makes one 12 cup bundt cake

Cake

• 2 cups root beer (made with cane sugar)
• 1 cup dark, unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 cups AP flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
  

Frosting

• 2 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup root beer (made with cane sugar)
  
• 2/3 cup dark, unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 325. Butter and flour bundt pan (I use the baking spray that does both for you). In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until butter is melted.

Add sugars and whisk until dissolved.

Remove from heat and let cool ( I put mine in the fridge for 5 minutes). In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs until just beaten and whisk into cooled cocoa mixture until just combined (make sure cocoa mixture is cool enough that it doesn't cook the eggs).

Gently fold flour mixture into cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy- that's OK-do not over-beat or the cake will be tough.

Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and set onto larger baking pan (to avoid burning).

Bake 35-40, rotating halfway through baking time (Hmm I think I forgot this part and mine turned out fine). Make sure small knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing. *If you want to make a baby bundt like mine, just halve everything and bake 30 minutes.

For the frosting, melt the chocolate over low heat on the stove (or in micro). Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Take mixture off heat and allow to cool in fridge for 2 minutes. Whisk cooled mixture and make sure its stiff enough to frost.

OK. So I had some trouble icing this cake. MAYBE I didn't wait until it was cool enough, but does anyone have tips for icing a bundt?

Mmm so rich and delicious!

Oops- looks like I didn't mix my flour in enough... I honestly did not notice while chowing down though...

-Marissa