Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake

I have been searching for a chocolate cake that left me with the desire to make it again, and I have finally found it. 
I came across this Chocolate Coca-Cola cake in a novel I was reading and gave it a try.  I made my own alterations, of course.
The recipe called for 1-1/2 cups of miniature marshmallows, but since I didn’t have minis, I just threw a bunch of big ones in the pot.  I also had to substitute the buttermilk for 1/2 cup almond milk with 1/2 Tbl lemon juice (vinegar will also do) in it-let sit for 5 minutes.  Also the frosting gets poured over the cake while it is still hot. I poured it while it was merely warm and the frosting settles like a fudge. I did pour the frosting while the cake was still hot once --the frosting crystalized on the bottom of the pan under the cake and the frosting slid off the top of the cake.  I didn't like, but the next person will. To each his own. Flambo!


If you are looking for low fat-low calorie, this is not it.

Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup Coca-Cola (I use caffeine free as a personal preference)
1/2 cup Canola oil (Extra light olive oil is great, also)
3 Tbl cocoa powder (Hershey dark cocoa powder is great, also)
2 cups mini-marshmallows

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Icing
3 Tbl cocoa powder (Hershey dark cocoa powder is great, also)
1/2 cup margarine
6  Tbl Coca-Cola
1-1/2 lb powdered sugar 
1 tsp vanilla

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 

In a medium sized saucepan, combine coca-cola, oil (2 sticks of margarine may be substituted) cocoa powder and marshmallows.  Heat and stir until marshmallows are melted and mixture is well combined. Let cool a few minutes then add to the flour mixture.  

Add buttermilk, eggs, applesauce and vanilla, beat for 2 minutes.  Pour into a greased 13 x 9 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

For frosting:  combine cocoa powder, margarine and coca cola in a saucepan. Heat, stirring frequently until margarine is melted.  Mix with powdered sugar until it makes a thin paste (pourable, I went for a little thicker).  Add vanilla.  The original directions say to drizzle over the cake while it’s still hot from the oven. I pour when the cake is cooler/warm.  I prefer that frosting consistency.
Let cool. Serve and enjoy a square of wonderfulness.  This went fast in our household.

Southwest Chicken Brown Rice

This is an old favorite that I found on the back of a box of Instant Brown Rice.  I have since lost the recipe, but since we know our way around the kitchen and can read labels, I make do.  Flambo!!

In this recipe, I prefer to use Diced Tomatoes.   Substituting a can of Rotel for one of the cans of tomatoes would be great, but I didn’t have one today.  This recipe serves more than my family of 5, which includes 1 insatiable teenage son.

Southwest Chicken Brown Rice

3 Boneless Chicken Breasts, cut into small pieces
1 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp ground Pepper
1 large Onion, chopped 

2 15-oz-ish cans tomatoes,drained, reserving juice~ you need it 
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups Salsa (your favorite)
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

4 cups Instant Brown Rice
1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed 
1 cup grated Colby Jack cheese (opt)

Cut chicken breasts into small pieces and place them in a small bowl. Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper.  Mix well and allow to marinade for a few minutes

In a large skillet pour about 1/4 cup oil and turn on the heat.  When it’s hot, add the marinated chicken and cook for a few minutes.

Stir to keep from burning and sticking, turning down the heat as necessary. Add the onion and continue cooking until tender and chicken pieces are no longer pink inside.

Meanwhile, drain the tomato juice into a bowl, squeezing the juice out of the tomatoes, also, to get 2 cups (add water to measuring cup if necessary). Set juice aside. Reserve the squeezed tomatoes in a bowl and we’ll get back to those later.  Drain and rinse the black beans.

When the chicken and onions are done, add the tomato juice, water and salsa.  Bring to a boil and the rice. Return to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add the reserved tomatoes and black beans.

Mix well. Top with cheese (opt).  Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve and enjoy! 

Corn Muffins

Oh what does one do with Vanilla sugar? Add it to Corn Muffins!  Oh, this changed everything.  Flambo!!

Corn Muffins

2 eggs
1/4 cup Vanilla Sugar
1/2 cup extra light Olive Oil
1 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1/3 cup corn niblets (I cut off from left over corn on the cob)

2 cups Muffin Mix (see side bar)
3/4 cup cornmeal (color of your choice)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, oil, milk and corn niblets.  Mix well.  Add the muffin mix and cornmeal and stir till just mixed.  

Using a 12-muffin pan, pour about 1/3 cup into each cup. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes, depending on how your oven bakes, or until lightly golden brown.  Cool on wire rack and enjoy.

Blueberry Bagels

Wow. This was amazing. I made these because a friend wants me to teach her to make bagels. She wanted to make Blueberry ones. Well, I’ve never made fruity bagels so I figured I’d best try it out first. Not being a big fan of fruity bagels, I made them with an attitude of just testing it out, planning to have my Flambinas eat them. But, these were amazing.  Have I mentioned that?  The texture is different from a store bought, packaged bagel, and I think that made all the difference in the world.  I also used my Vanilla Sugar in the recipe.  Mmmmmmm.  We will make this again. Flambo!

 my directions will be for using a Kitchen Aid mixer. 

Blueberry Bagels

6 1/2-7 1/2 cups unbleached flour
i pkg yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp from the jar)
2 Tbl Vanilla Sugar ( plain sugar will do)
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups warm water
1 Tbl extra light Olive oil
4 oz package dried blueberries

2 Tbl Vanilla Sugar (for later use in boiling stage)
2 greased baking sheets

In a small bowl, proof the yeast with 1 tsp regular sugar and 1/4 cup warm water.

Meanwhile, combine 5 cups flour, Vanilla Sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.  When yeast mixture has bubbled up, add to the mixing bowl along with the remaining 2 cups of water and olive oil. Add blueberries. Add more flour as needed, using a spatula to scrape sides of bowl, to make a dough that is smooth, elastic, and not sticky.  The blueberries should be well combined with the dough.

Remove from mixing bowl, and place in an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour.


Punch down. Cut into 16 pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball until smoothed.

(this ones needs a little more rolling)

Poke a hole in the center of the ball of dough.
 
Place on greased baking sheet (I prefer baking stones~still grease them-I use a spray) 
 

Cover and let rise for about 20 minutes. They will get puffy.
 

After 10 minutes of the rising time have passed, start a large pot of water and 2 TBL Vanilla Sugar to boil (will probably take about 10 minutes to boil)

 
Poach bagels, about 3-4 at a time, for about a minute.  I drop them top down and then turn them over immediately so the bottom can set. Then I turn them top down again for about  30 seconds. Turn and boil bottom down about another 30 seconds. This sets the rising so they will not rise any more while baking.

Remove them from the boiling water (I use a skimmer~it’s like a big spoon with a screen for the dipper. The above foto is of a sundried tomato bagel. You’ll find the link for these in the archives for June 2010 ) and return to greased baking sheet. 

 
Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, until lightly golden brown.  Cool on wire rack

Fudge (no dairy)

We have milk allergies in our household, and are fudge lovers, so we modified recipes to come up with what works for us

Fudge

2 sticks margarine w/o milk (blue bonnet light is all we can get in our area)
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk (found in oriental food section in our grocery stores)
1 Tbl good quality extra virgin olive oil (to make up for "light" margarines)
4 cups sugar

Place margarine, milk, oil and sugar in a heavy pot, combine well, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer to soft ball stage, stirring frequently. I do not recall the temperature on a candy thermometer, but I start to test it when the mixture starts to thicken up a little and turns a golden color. In a small bowl of cold water, drop a couple spoonfuls of mixture , then shape it into a ball. If it holds, it's ready. I prefer to catch it early, just as a ball can form, so the fudge will be creamier and smoother.

Remove from heat. Add:
1 16-oz. carton of marshmallow creme
1 bag of semi-sweet Ghiradelli chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla (or 1/2 tsp butter and nut flavoring)

Mix well and pour into a lightly greased (sprayed with Pam) oblong pan. Refrigerate till set. Enjoy!!