Easy Peasey Cake

Hope this finds you all well and happy after a wonderful weekend.  The weather here was glorious and there are definite signs of spring everywhere (even though it seems a bit early).  Trees are flowering and daffodils and quince are blooming and the grass is starting to get some green patches in it.  We will be mowing and trimming before you know it.

Dan and I had a very lazy Sunday after a rather busy week of helping out with our new grandson and having the older grandsons for an overnight.  Saturday morning we had to get up bright and early (and I do mean early) to help our daughter with the baby and her two year old while her husband worked at a medical conference.  It's just a bit too soon to try several flights of stairs with a 10 day old and a 2 year old.  So, we breezed by the coffee shop on our way over and spent the day helping out wherever needed.

When Sunday rolled around, we were both exhausted.  Needless to say, we didn't do a lot most of the day.  We did run a few errands and enjoyed the sunshine.  I wanted to watch the Academy Awards last night so I prepared a simple supper of chicken and noodles and made the killer cake in the picture just so we would have something elegant to enjoy while watching the awards.  I have to give a shout out to Meryl Streep for winning best actress.  Way to go Meryl!

Let me tell you, this cake is SUPER easy to make and is soooooooo good.  The recipe comes from my St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights cookbook and I have been making it for years.  Anybody out there remember jelly rolls?  Did you ever eat a jelly roll as a child?  I happen to be a huge fan of jelly rolls - delicious sponge type cake with a layer of raspberry filling rolled up in it.  YUM!   This recipe is reminiscent of those and way easier than making a jelly roll.

Here is what you will need:

1 Sara Lee frozen pound cake, 16 oz
1 jar raspberry all fruit spread
12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

That's it!  Easy peasey.

This cake is perfect for all of you with a baking phobia or little time to make a dessert.  Everyone will think you slaved for hours in the kitchen.  We will keep this secret between us (wink wink)!

Slice the cake while it is mostly still frozen because it slices easier.  Try to get 5 layers of cake, sometimes I can only seem to get 4.  Works fine either way.   Hold the cake perpendicular to the cutting board and slice very thin slices top to bottom using a good bread knife.  When you get to the third or fourth layer, you may have to set the cake on the cutting board and cut from right to left or vice versa depending on which hand you use to cut.

Now, use a couple tablespoons of raspberry fruit spread on the first layer.  Put the next layer on top and repeat until you come to the top layer.

Now it's time to make the fabulous chocolate icing.  Again, easy peasey.  Melt the 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a sauce pan over medium low heat, stirring constantly so they don't scorch.  When all the chips are melted, remove the pan from the stove and stir in the cup of sour cream.  When all the sour cream is incorporated, add one tsp of vanilla and REFRAIN from eating it all before you ice the cake.  Oh my goodness it's so good.

Ice the sides of the cake first, and then the top.  There is lots of icing for this cake, so at this point I cut the corner off a zip lock bag, put a star tip in and fill the bag with the remaining icing and pipe the remaining icing around the cake just to fancy it up and not waste any of the icing.  This is how your cake will look when you slice it.

Look at those layers of raspberry between the yummy, buttery pound cake covered in fabulous chocolate icing.  Now, how much easier could that possibly be and how much tastier?  I just don't know.  It is very reminiscent of those delicious childhood jelly rolls that we used to have,  but this is all doctored up with incredible chocolate icing.

You may have shied away from some of the other recipes that required measuring and mixing and baking, but you really really need to give this one a try.  Everyone will think you are amazing!  Remember, it's our little secret.   They will think you are a regular Betty Crocker.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with abandon or not at all.”
-  Harriet Van Horne, Vogue 10/1956

The Best Fudge Recipe I've Ever Made!

Christmas Day has come and gone and we survived our first celebration here in the little yellow cottage. We had 4 out of 5 grandsons present, two daughters, one son and two sons in love celebrating together!  What fun we had.  It was a bit crowded, but so what?  We were together and that is the most important thing.  Our older son, daughter in love and grandson live in New York City, and John had a show on Christmas Day so they were unable to join us this year.  But, we did spend time Skyping and got to watch our grandson open his gifts.  THAT is the amazingly fabulous thing about technology!  Being able to see each other face to face, talking like we were in the very same room.  Thank you to whomever invented Skype!

The holiday seasons for us are all about fun, fellowship and good food.  Our oldest daughter and her family moved to Nashville the week before Christmas and it was a wee bit hectic, trying to help them get enough things unpacked to be able to live for a few days AND get their Christmas shopping done all at the same time.  We watched our grandsons a couple of days to help her out and I didn't get my usual amount of baking done this year  - which is okay because there is usually waaaaay too much.   But, I did try some new recipes and made enough gluten free things that our son in love could also enjoy treats with the rest of us.  All in all, it was a very successful holiday.  

This fudge is fantastic - best recipe I have ever tried.  Candy is so cantankerous to make that I have sort of given up the last few years except for a couple of really reliable, easy things that I can count on.  You have to use a candy thermometer, the humidity affects the outcome, it's too hard, or too soft and on and on.  It is really frustrating.  Well, this year I found this recipe on Pinterest and it said it was a winner at the state fair.  Okay, I'll give it one more shot.  My husband LOVES chocolate and he LOVES fudge, but you know how fudge can be.  Sometimes it's grainy and sandy and I don't like that.  Or it's too hard or too soft.  Boo on that too.  I hate wasting time and ingredients on something that really isn't good.  But, this recipe is the best fudge recipe I have ever made bar none!  It is creamy, chocolaty, made a huge pan full and was worth the effort.  Think I will stick with this recipe from now on.

Here is what you need:

2 sticks of butter (use real butter)

6 cups of sugar

1 can evaporated milk

1 jar marshmallow cream

1.5 (18 oz) packages chocolate chips (1 -12 oz bag and 1 -6 oz bag)

2 tsp vanilla

a jelly roll pan (approximately 11 x 15), butter bottom and sides of pan

a large dutch oven

1 wooden spoon

In a large dutch oven, melt the butter, sugar and evaporated milk on medium heat until boiling.  Once it boils, set timer to 6 minutes.  After 6 minutes, remove pan from heat and add marshmallow cream and chocolate chips.

Mix thoroughly with wooden spoon until all marshmallow cream and chocolate chips are melted and the contents are a nice even chocolate color.  Add vanilla and  continue to stir until fudge thickens and no longer runs quickly off the spoon.  It will be very glossy and  the fudge will kind of collapse off the spoon in big clumps.  That's how you know it's done.  The whole process took about 30/35 minutes.  Don't get in a hurry.

Pour the fudge onto the buttered jelly roll pan and spread evenly over pan.  Looks like this. (Are you drooling?)

Let the fudge sit about 30 minutes and it's ready to slice.  I cut it in about 1 inch squares and it makes TONS!  It is rich, sweet, chocolaty and just the right texture for my liking.  Dan has declared it the best!  He is a connoisseur of all things chocolate, so consider that confirmation of it's goodness.  : )

If you have more holiday parties to attend or are having a New Year's Eve Party, this is a wonderful treat for your guests.  It would also make lovely little treat bags for everyone to take home.  

Hope you will give this recipe a try, because the best part is you get to lick the spoon when the fudge is done and poured in the pan.  MMM, MMM, MMM, MMM.

Takes you back to childhood doesn't it?  Everyone likes to lick the spoon.  Yummm.  Enjoy this fabulous recipe.  Just one little square of this delicious fudge is so good with a cup of coffee.  Best dessert ever.  

Everyday Donna

Things to remember:

Go ahead, lick the spoon.  It's the best part!