Take a Megabite

Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

I ran out of eggs! It’s ok though because this cookie recipe is the kind that keeps it real without them. Basically these little ice cream sandwiches were meant to be.

These are really good. Even though the chocolate chips didn’t want to stick to the ice cream on the sides and fell sprinkling the floor on the walk to the freezer. And maybe some of the cookies were too warm when I sandwiched them and the ice cream tried to make a run for it. And maybe there was one odd cookie left over and I had an open-faced ice cream sandwich, standing over the sink, while mini chips sprinkled my dinner plate, water glass and spatula.

Don’t worry guys. I plan on mastering ice cream sandwiches at some point in my life. Maybe I’ll go back to school and major in it. But until then, I’m totally down with the imperfect, tasty version I can do right now. Time to go have another one.

Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (makes about 14 ice cream sandwiches)
Recipe for cookies adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

oatmeal cookie -

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 stick (8T) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• sprinkling of cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup + 6 T all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t baking soda
• heaping 1/4 t kosher salt

filling -

• vanilla ice cream or whatever other flavor to fill*
• mini chocolate chips

* I used up a half gallon of vanilla ice cream minus 3 root beer floats worth.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, butter, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in remaining cookie ingredients.
2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. On ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (if you have it) place balls about 3 inches apart. Flatten cookies slightly with bottom of a glass dipped in water.
3. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown at the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the wire rack for two minutes-ish until they can be transported easily to a wire rack. When cooled match them up by size.
4. Meanwhile set ice cream out on the counter to soften slightly for easy sandwiching. Or if it’s a soft ice cream you’re all set. Scoop a couple tablespoons between two cookies at a time. Smoosh together until ice cream reaches the edges of the cookies. Roll the edges through mini chocolate chips and place in the freezer on the baking sheets for at least 2 hours, or until firm. Either eat immediately or wrap individually in plastic wrap until time to eat. I found they were nice and frozen over night.

P.S. The oatmeal cookies stay nice and soft when frozen. Which is necessary for easy biting, right?

Nervous about having 14 ice cream sandwiches chillin’ in the freezer?
Pack them up and bring them to work for some post-lunch goodness.

Red + White + Blue Stuffed Strawberries

So you guys should probably know that I single-handedly ate an entire watermelon in 2 days. I miss it already. With that said, I just can’t get enough summer fruit in my life, in my belly or in my desserts. So, I figured I’d tell you Happy Fourth of July with some patriotic berries!

Don’t bother considering these a dessert. Consider them a fruit-filled snack and eat a lot of them, ok?

Red + White + Blue Stuffed Strawberries
Recipe from The Family Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 20-25 strawberries
• 20-25 fresh blueberries
• 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
• 3 T confectioners’ sugar
• 1 t vanilla (I used half a vanilla bean.)

Directions:

1. Wash and dry strawberries and blueberries. Set blueberries aside. Using a small paring knife cut a cone shape into the top of the strawberry removing the stem and leaving a little nook inside. Cut the tip of the berry off so that it can stand up on a plate or tray.
2. Using an electric mixer beat together the mascarpone, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Using a pastry bag or using a small plastic bag with the tip cut off, pipe the mixture into each berry and top with a fresh blueberry. Store in the fridge until time to serve.

Check out this group of berries just hangin’ out being patriotic and stuff.

Cheesecake Bites

I’ve been trying to wake up early and go to the gym. I’ve been trying to go to the gym AND walk Elliot. But sometimes my ipod’s battery is dead and sometimes it’s pouring rain. So, you know what? I’m going to eat a cheesecake bite. Maybe I’ll even have 2. All those gym intentions are making me hungry.

Sometimes when it’s somebody’s birthday that you think is super cool and they love cheesecake you have to make these. And sometimes you have to just eat things and not think twice.

I used that honey twirler down there to press the crumbs into a crust in the bottom of the muffin papers. For some reason it reminds me of my painting class in college. I was using a c.d. case for my paint palette. My teacher saw it and held it up for the class and said “Everyone, everyone. Buy better supplies than this.” And so there you go. I was the example of what not to do.

Cheesecake Bites
Recipe adapted from a phone conversation with my Mom

Ingredients:

crust -

• 18 vanilla wafers worth of crumbs

cheesecake -

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• scant 1/2 cup sugar

topping -

• melted chocolate + cocoa powder
• strawberry jam, melted and strained

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Line mini muffin pan(s) with 24 mini paper liners. Crush vanilla wafers using the “put them in a big freezer bag and roll over it with a rolling pin until they are crumbs” method. Or whatever method you want. Divide crumbs a teaspoon at a time between all the paper liners. Press the crumbs to the bottom of the pan. I used my honey dipper.
2. Make cheesecake. Using an electric mixer or some speedy whisking, mix together the cream cheese, vanilla, egg and sugar. Divide between the paper liners over the crust. Bake for 15 minutes or until center are set.
3. Cool on a wire rack in the fridge before topping. If topping with chocolate simply melt chocolate and drizzle over the cheesecakes. Sprinkle them with cocoa powder. If topping with strawberry jam, melt the jam in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and place a little taste on top of each bite. Promptly sample. Store in the fridge between snacking.

Marshmallows

I can’t wait to meet more flavors of marshmallows. If they are all as nice as these, then I’m going to consider marrying into the family.

Check it out: boiling sugar-ness and patient slipper feet. …and my open cupboard because I always leave them open. Perfect for tripping and exclamations.

I’m going to be honest and say that these didn’t really take that long. They were surprisingly painless despite my months of putting them off. They are a nice light dessert that I’d like to keep around forever.

Powdered sugar sprinkling is one of my skills. It’s on my resumé.

I’d like to take a nap on that marshmallow down there. I’d like to do that right now.

Marshmallows
Recipe from Gourmet via Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

• About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3 1/2 envelopes (2 T plus 2 /2 t) unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup cold water, divided
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 T vanilla*

*Alternately  1/2 of a scraped vanilla bean, 2 t almond or mint extract + food coloring

Directions:

1. Oil the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 x 2 inch rectangle baking pan and dust the bottom and sides generously with confectioners’ sugar.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water and set aside to soften.
3. in a 3-quart or medium heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spooon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240ºF, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
4. With a standing or hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick and nearly tripled in volume, about 6 minutes using a stand mixer or about 10+ minutes using a hand-held mixer.
5. In a separate medium bowl with clean beaters beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring and food coloring , if using) into sugar mixture and beat until just combined. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Sift 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallows, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours and up to one day. (I might’ve chilled them covered. And they turned out fine.)
6. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife cut marshmallows into squares. Roll through confectioners’ sugar and shake off excess before putting back in you now empty baking pan. Cover and store in an air-tight container at cool room temperature for up to 1 week.

Pile these guys on a little cake stand. Serve them up as dessert.
Daydream about s’mores and hot chocolate.

Woodgrain Cake + Fudge Frosting + Meringue Mushrooms

I brought this cake two and a half hours away to be the post-bbq dessert on Memorial Day. All of the mushrooms survived the trip. I thought that was nice of them.

I’ve been wanting a reason to make meringue mushrooms ever since I knew they existed. This woodgrain cake gave me the motivation to finally do it!

Would you care to have this piece? I’d totally share if Jake and I hadn’t finished the last two pieces after our pizza last night. But you should know that this cake is dense and dreamy. And the frosting is dark chocolatey and fudgey and just the perfect accent to the cake, I’d say.

Woodgrain Cake
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 t vanilla or 1/2 a vanilla bean
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 3 T Dutch process cocoa

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9″ x 2″ round cake pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl (using a hand mixer) or in the bowl of a stand mixer, blend the sugar and eggs until lightened, about 2 minutes. On a low speed, blend in the oil, milk and vanilla until well combined and smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk to remove any lumps. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients. Combine on medium speed for a couple minutes or until the batter is smooth and lump free. Be sure to scrape down the bowl.
4. Remove 2 cups of the vanilla batter and place in a 2 cup measuring cup. Sift the cocoa over the remaining batter and stir to combine.
5. Now to get your woodgrain on. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of vanilla batter into the center of the cake pan. Next, spoon 3 tablespoons of the chocolate batter into the center of the vanilla batter. This causes the vanilla batter to spread out. Continue alternating batters, in bulls-eye fashion until all the batter is used. You will now have thin rings of each batter on the outer edges of the pan, thicker rings towards the center (like below).
   
6. Bake the cake in the center of the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the cake is lightly browned and a small sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean. The top will probably crack, don’t worry about it. Test inside the cracks to be sure it’s done. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Frost with fudge frosting!

Check out the woodgrain! I think if this was a real tree it’d be 10 years old.

Fudge Frosting
Recipe from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 T milk
• 1 t vanilla

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, beat powdered sugar and cocoa powder into the butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and slowly add the milk. Beat until it’s smooth and fabulous.
2. Frost that cake! Make meringue mushrooms!

These mushrooms are fun. Half of the ones I made turned out cute and were useable and the rest were practice and some were weirdos so I didn’t use them. Pictured are the ones that had potential to be toadstools. So there you go. It was the perfect amount!

Swiss Meringue Mushrooms
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

meringue -

• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 t vanilla extract

equipment -

• a candy thermometer

mushroom assembly -

• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
• 1 ounce white chocolate

sprinkling -

• cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Make meringue! Combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl of a standing electric mixer; set over a pan of simmering water. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the bowl. Cook, whisking constantly by hand, until the mixture registers 140ºF and the sugar is dissolved (it should feel slippery and smooth when rubbed between your fingertips), about 5 minutes. (I had trouble getting my candy thermometer to reach the mixture so I just kept taking the bowl off the water and tilting the bowl to see what temperature it read. It worked though!)
2. Transfer bowl to a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to high speed, mix until the meringue is completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), and forms stiff, glossy (but not dry) peaks, about 10 minutes. Mix in the vanilla.
3. Bake! Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Transfer swiss meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip (#6 for small mushrooms like I made).For caps, pipe dome shapes in various sizes onto prepared baking sheets. Flatten tips with a damp finger. Pipe stems onto baking sheets, releasing pressure halfway and pulling up to form a peak. Make one stem for each cap. (The stems take practice…)
4. Bake the meringue shapes for 1 hour, rotating halfway through. Reduce oven temperature to 175ºF. Continue baking until meringue is completely dry to the touch but not taking on any color, 30-45 minutes longer.
5. Assemble! Melt bittersweet chocolate carefully in the microwave. Using a small offset spatula, spread a thin layer of bittersweet chocolate on the bottom  cooled caps. Cool until set. Melt white chocolate carefully in the microwave. Spread over the bittersweet chocolate.
6. Using a paring knife, make a small hole in the center of the coated cap. Dip one end of the stem into the remaining white chocolate and insert into the hole; place on a plate and refrigerate until set. Top the frosted woodgrain cake. Sprinkle with cocoa powder.

So now you know how I spent my Sunday.

Raspberry Granita

Sometimes Jake gets so hot that he requires ice cream to live. Elliot’s the same way, but ice cream of the doggie variety. I’ve realized that what I require are granitas.

I used half of a vanilla bean in the whipped cream. I figured whipped cream should have more freckles in the summer, since I do.

What do you think of the color? I’m infatuated. I want to hug every raspberry I see based on the color of this dessert. Would ya’ mind telling the grocery store employees not to bother judging me?

Raspberry Granita
Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 heaping cup fresh raspberries
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 t vodka (optional)
• whipped cream*

*Beat 1/2 cup heavy cream + vanilla beans or extract + 1T powdered sugar until fluffy.

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan heat water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add raspberries and cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat. Stir and break up the raspberries a little.
2. Once raspberries are softened, pour the raspberries and liquid mixture into a blender. Pulse and blend until berries are broken down into a puree. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain puree into a bowl or the original pot used. Discard seeds.
3. Add lemon juice and vodka (if using) to the fruity mixture. The vodka helps the mixture not freeze so solid, but isn’t entirely necessary.
4. Pour mixture into a 9×13 rectangular dish and place in the freezer. Set timer for 1 hour. After 1 hour, scrape any ice crystals that have formed toward the center of the dish. Set timer for another hour and again scrape the ice crystals towards the center of the pan. Continue freezing until all of the liquid has formed ice crystals.
5. Serve with soft whipped cream and cool down on a hot day, because jeez louize, it’s a scorcher out there.

Give me fresh fruit and a freezer, please. One bite of this and I’ll say “heat shmeat”.

Peaches {cookies in disguise}

Maybe someday I’ll live somewhere where my cactuses can live comfortably and not shiver on my windowsill. They are really mad it’s not summer. I’m kinda mad it’s not summer. Especially when I want to make a peachy fruity dessert of my dreams.

Don’t worry though guys, it is really possible to have super delicious peaches despite the cold. While they may be cookies disguised as peaches, they are pretty and summery in a way that’s making my cactuses really jealous. AND they are filled with nutella instead of a wriggly pit.

I happen to love these cookies. I maybe wish I had some marzipan leaves and teeny stems to make these even peachier, but I do think that these guys look just peachy enough without a leafy accessory.

So what are you waiting for?! Make some cookies that look like fruit, but taste like a dream!

Peaches
Recipe from Cafe Chocalada

Ingredients:

cookies -

• 4 eggs
• 1 heaping cup sugar
• 1 t vanilla
• 250 ml vegetable oil
• 4 T flour + 2 cups flour (separated) (500 g)
• 2 t baking powder

filling -

• 2/3 cup nutella (the majority of the 2/3 cup container of Nutella)
• cookie crumbs from discarded centers of cookies

coloring and coating -

• 1 cup milk, divided
• yellow + red food coloring
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

1. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add oil, 4 tablespoons flour and baking powder. Mix well. Allow to sit at room temperature for an hour.
2. Fold in additional 2 cups of flour (500 g) gently with a rubber spatula until there are no patches of flour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a teaspoon make little cookie dough balls, and arrange on cookies sheets about an inch apart. Bake for about 9-12 minutes, rotating at 5 minutes. They should remain white in color. ( My first batch had a tan. Oops.)
4. When they are cool, use a small paring knife, gently “core” the cookies, cutting a shallow circular hole out of the flat side and digging a bit of crumbs out, keeping the discarded crumbs for the filling. Repeat with all the cookies as they cool.
5. Make filling. In a medium bowl mix together 2/3 cup nutella and all the discarded crumbs. Stir together until no longer runny at all. Fill the cookies with about 1/2 t on each side and gently press together.
6. Meanwhile divide a cup of milk between two bowls. In one bowl but 2-4 drops of red food coloring and in the other 2-4 drops of yellow food coloring. In another small bowl place about 1/2 cup of sugar. Dip each paired up cookie quickly in both colors of milk. Being careful not to soak them. Then gently roll them in the granulated sugar. Place in an airtight container or large ziploc bag. They are somehow even better the next day!

Pink and yellow milk makes for magical peach-like cookies.

Vanilla Macarons {a first attempt}

Tonight we got pizza for dinner so we wouldn’t mess up the clean kitchen. Then I made these macarons and a made a giant mess anyways. I’d say these are totally messy kitchen worthy.

AND one bite of these and you’ll consider being called “vanilla” a compliment.

I’ve been gazing at pictures of macarons for months and months, and now I’ve finally attempted to make them! The majority turned out pretty! Although, there were a few crackly, fragile ones that were promptly repurposed for sampling. I’m hoping to improve as I make variations in the near future.

I think i may have baked these guys a smidgen too long, but they still turned out delicious! I think when I make them again I will make a smaller recipe since I only have 3 cookie sheets and these guys filled up all three and I still had batter left over. On top of that, in my cookbook, it’s recomended to bake these on two cookie sheets layered, and I sure didn’t have one to spare!

The sanding sugar added a bit of magic to the top, don’t you think?

Vanilla Macarons {a first attempt}
Recipe from I <3 Macarons by Hisako Ogita

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup (3 ounces) almond meal
• 1 1/2 cups (5.25 ounces) powdered sugar
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 5 T (65 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste, or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
• Sanding sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the almond meal and powdered sugar through a medium-mesh sieve twice. Set aside.
2. In a stainless-steel mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), beat egg whites on high speed until foamy. Gradually add granulated sugar to the egg whites. Beat until opaque and thick. Gently stir in vanilla, then continue mixing on high until the eggs have turned into meringue that is stiff, firm and has a glossy texture. It shouldn’t move if you scoop some with a rubber spatula and hold it above the bowl.
3. Add half of the sifted flour mixture to the meringue, stirring it with a rubber spatula scraping it up from the bottom of the bowl. Add the rest of the flour mixture and lightly stir it in a circular motion.
4. It’s time for Macaronnage! When all the flour is added to the meringue, press and spread out the batter against the bowl’s sides. Scooping the batter up from the bottom. Folding it onto itself and back onto the sides of the bowl. Repeat this 15 times. When the batter is nicely firm and drips slowly from the spatula, you’ll know it’s done.
5. Line a large baking sheet or two smaller baking sheets with parchment paper and pipe 1 inch circles of batter onto the paper lined sheets about a half inch apart. (It helps to put the pastry bag in a cup and pour the batter in, somehow sealing the top, i might have used a chip clip, so that the batter can’t escape.)
6. Thump the baking sheet with the heel of your hand a few times, as this helps the cookies hold their round shapes and helps the foot or pied to form. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.
7. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Allow the batter to sit on the cookie sheets at room temperature for about 15-30 minutes or until the batter doesn’t stick to your finger when touched.
8. Bake in the center of the oven stacked on top of one other cookie sheet for 15-18 minutes until crisp and crackled on top. Rotating half way through bake time.
9. Allow to cool on a wire rack, then promptly fill! I filled these with just a little bit of strawberry jam, and it complimented the vanilla macaron delightfully.

These are sweet, just like you guys!

Mini Black and White Cookies

Sometimes cookies are all you need. Especially when you walk to your car in the parking structure only to find it with a flat tire. It’s at moments like that, that you call the handsome bearded man in your life for a ride home and promptly make mini black and white cookies. The combo of these little cakey delights and all that christmas spirit I know you’ve got, is just the thing to make you unconcerned about that flat tire. If only I could channel christmas spirit into that tire. Then it would stop being flat AND be a festive color, I bet.

This recipe is originally designed to make 8 large marge cookies! So, if you want to do that, it’s still totally possible. Just use 1/4 cup of dough per cookie and bake for 15 to 17 minutes instead of the perfect 7 minutes for these minis.

Mini Black and White Cookies
Recipe from epicurious

Ingredients:

cookies -

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/3 cup (5 1/3 T) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg

icings -

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 T light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 t lemon juice
• 1/4 t vanilla
• 1 to 2 T water
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Make cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
3. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down the side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
4. Scoop teaspoons of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the middle of the oven until tops are puffed and pale golden and cookies spring back when touched. About 7 minutes. Allow to cool on a cooling rack that’s lined with parchment paper. I’ve found that otherwise the criss cross shape of the cooling rack will leave a mark on the cookies, making the frosting less than perfect.
5. Make icings why cookies chill. Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half the icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to the same consistency of white icing.
6. Turn cookies flat side up, then spread white icing over half of each chocolate over the other half. Makes about 33 cookies.

Everyone loves these cookies because they’re Heaven.

Checkerboard Cake

The best cake mix and store-bought frosting combination is obviously funfetti with pink frosting, right? That knowledge directly contributes to why Jake wanted his checkerboard birthday cake to have pink frosting…I promptly told him that it is supposed to have chocolate frosting, but well… I did pink accents. So there you go. This was my first time making it so I wanted to follow the rules. Maybe next year it will have all pink frosting, who knows?

In other news, I wrote “happy birthday” on the cake too low. Rookie mistake! I had to put Jake’s name first… “Jacob, Happy Birthday”. Ridiculous! Now I know.

After dinner we sliced this cake and whoa and wow! Delicious and pretty. And we were super full and full. But there’s always room for cake!

Checkerboard Cake
Recipe from Chicago Metallic

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• 4 cups sifted cake flour
• 3 t baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 T vanilla
• 1 1/3 cups milk, room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with cooking spray.
2. Melt chocolate over hot – not simmering – water. Set aside to cool slightly.
   
3. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla.
5. Add milk and flour to butter mixture, alternating each until batter is smooth. Beat at medium-high speed for 30 seconds.
6. Divide batter in half (approximately 3 cups). Stir melted chocolate into one half of the batter until uniform in color.
7. Place checkerboard divider* into one prepared cake pan. Then pour the two batters (light and dark) alternately like below for all three layers cleaning the divider in between (if you have this lovely divider, it sure doesn’t go in the oven):
8. Place pans in the center of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until cakes spring back lightly when touched and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center. Rotate cakes half way through baking. Allow cakes to cool in pans, sitting on racks for 10 minutes. Loosen sides with a knife and invert onto greased wire racks to cool completely.
9. When cool, stack cakes so outside colors alternate. Use a very thin layer of frosting between layers so as not to distract from the checkerboard effect.

*If you don’t have this little kit with the divider you can carefully arrange the batter in the same manor by eye-balling it. It’s the way Fannie Farmer does it. She suggests filling it by making the ring around the outside then moving inward. Or tape parchment paper into rings? or different sized circle cookie cutters?

Chocolate Butter Icing
Recipe adapted from Chicago Metallic box

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. baking chocolate
• 6 T milk
• 4-5 cups powdered sugar
• 6 T butter, softened
• dash salt
• 1 T vanilla

1. Measure all ingredients.
2. Melt chocolate in the microwave and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Heat milk to boiling, remove from heat, add 3 cups of powdered sugar all at once, and beat until smooth.
4. Add melted chocolate and cool to lukewarm. Add butter and beat until combined.
5. Add salt and vanilla and beat vigorously.
6. Add remaining powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until consistency is thick and creamy and dreamy.
7. Frost the cakes! Remember to only lightly frost between the layers so the checkerboard stands out!

P.S. Remember how I told you I’m a mess when I stir? Here I am! With powdered sugar all over me: