Chocolate Doughnuts!

I made it just before May ended! Hooray! I really wanted to make these but thought I wouldn't have time so I made the pudding too. These probably aren't technically doughnuts because they are baked but I just couldn't handle dealing with a huge pot of oil. I don't know why I decided I wanted to make doughnuts but I did a search and found this recipe that contained ingredients I had. Of course they don't really taste like doughnuts but they look like them! They were really good too! Someday I'll make real ones...

Mascarpone Chocolate Toffee Bars

Our chocolate contribution!

Chocolate Pudding!

I always figured pudding was one of those foods that could never really taste as good as the kind you buy from the store. I'm happy to report that I was wrong! Not only is it just as tasty but it's incredibly easy. Who knew? We've been overrun with desserts here lately (no, I'm not complaining) so I didn't want to make anything too chocolatey or dense, even though I love both of those qualities normally. The recipe was from a cookbook called Betty Crocker's Cooking for Two but it's also online here. I made it all chocolate but I reserved a couple spoonfuls of vanilla so I could make a fun swirl on top. Also, I took the recipe at it's word but my bowl overflowed the second time in the microwave.


I didn't have any time to get a nice fancy picture so I'm including an action shot!

Task Four

Chocolate!
(I couldn't help myself, I needed to have it on record!)

Ice Cream Cake

Hi. It's Alex. Lisa's lazy, and, well, it was my birthday cake. We're putting it here as a kind of scientific report--that is, we wanted everyone to learn from our, ahem, my mistake.

So I had the bright idea to make ice cream cake like we used to get from Kroger so long ago--two layers (one chocolate, one vanilla) separated by a layer of crushed Oreos and caramel. Then we thought, "hey! We could make our own ice cream using our Cuisinart ice cream maker!" Brilliant. We halved the recipes for both vanilla and chocolate ice cream that come with the machine and lined a small bowl with plastic wrap. We poured in the vanilla, topped it with a hefty portion of crushed up Oreos, and topped those with some caramels we melted down. Once that was good and frozen, we topped it with the chocolate ice cream and froze it. Once the whole thing was complete, we put it on a platter, frosted it with Cool Whip (even using a pastry bag for edging), and threw some sprinkles on top. It was so pretty. After dinner that night, we pulled the cake out, and proceeded to cut into it. There was a bit of a problem--there was too much caramel. When I say "too much," I mean the stuff froze into an impenetrable barrier. Seriously. I had to use a knife and a hammer--that's how hard it was. Put it this way: trying to chew the little pieces you hack off is a hazard to your tooth enamel. Still, it was very tasty. I think I might go eat some now. (Mmmm, Ghirardelli chocolate ice cream and other stuff.)

So next time I think I'll put far less caramel (or maybe none at all), opting instead for more Oreos, which will be fine, I assure you. So go forth and make ice cream cake--just don't overdo the caramel.

This is Alex, signing off.

Cupcakes Transformed!

So when you fail at cupcakes you transform them into Cake Balls! Kim suggested I save the defunct cupcakes (and the vat of frosting I made) by making these. I was hesitant, because 'cake balls' do not sound appetizing, and I seriously thought that they were supposed to be the size of a baseball, and the thought of eating cake like an apple was not appealing to me. (That was the first 'ball' I thought of! I didn't feel so bad when my friend Melanie thought the same thing.) But about a week later I still hadn't eaten or thrown out the lemon cupcakes so I thought I'd give it a shot. (Plus it was Sunday and Nigel was away training for war, so what better time to bake?)

To make a long story shorter, I tasted one and I thought oh my gosh these are impossibly sweet! I will never eat these, someone at work will like them... And oh my gosh they did. People were raving in the hall (that's where the 'kitchen' is) suggesting to other coworkers to try one and oh my gosh did you try these they are so good. It-was-crazy!

This pic was taken with the cell phone, so it's not awesome. The first batch I just covered with white chocolate and dotted with chocolate frosting, you can see one in the back left corner. The second batch seen here was dunked in a melted white chocolate and strawberry bar.

Lisa's Birthday cake

Finally I get around to posting this (honestly though, there were several previous attempts which ended in frustration.)
Here is Carrot and Pineapple cake with a cream cheese frosting!