The Best Chocolate Cake

This recipe is from McClure United Church 30th Anniversary Cookbook - Come for T. It is so simple and so good that the same recipe was submitted by two different people.  I wrote it out on a recipe card since I have tried a lot of different chocolate cake recipes, but wanted to make sure I remembered that this one is my favourite. The card was so well used that I could barely make out the writing on it anymore.

The last time I used the recipe card, it didn't get put away and was misplaced. I spent about an hour looking for it before we found which cookbook it was from. As a result of that search, I am putting it here so that it won't be lost again.

The recipe doubles well. I don't know yet if it freezes well. It doesn't last long enough in our house!

2 eggs
2/3 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups boiling water
2 2/3 cups flour
2/3 cups cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 pan.

Beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla for 4 minutes. Sift together remaining dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt). Alternate adding dry ingredients and boiling water to beaten mixture.

Pour batter into pan and bake approximately 30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Notes: 
I sift the dry ingredients together through a strainer. It adds air and takes out any lumps in the flour and cocoa.

While we enjoy the cake warm from the oven, we like it better the next day. We store it in a Tupperware container once it is completely cool. Then it is really moist. 

I have thought of adding chocolate chips but haven't tried that yet. 

Banana Cream Pie

Banana is currently my daughter's favourite word. Recently we tried this recipe for the first time, and our family loves it. It comes from The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes. We realized how old this recipe is when reading the instructions it said, "... then remove the custard from the fire and add the butter and vanilla." We didn't have any fires on our stove while making it, which is a good thing.

6 Tablespoons sugar
5 Tablespoons flour 
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs - separated. Beat whites until dry
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 medium sized bananas
1 baked pie shell
whipping cream (optional)

Mix together sugar, flour and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Scald the milk in the top of a double boiler. While milk is heating, use a whisk to stir the milk. Slowly add sugar, flour and salt mixture to scalded milk while stirring constantly. If you have difficulty sifting the dry ingredients into the hot milk, reserve part of the cold milk to moisten them with. But if you are careful and do this gradually, you can sift them in and there won't be a single lump.

Add the beaten egg yolks and cook 2 minutes longer, then remove the custard from the heat and add the butter and vanilla. Let this cool.Once cooled, fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.

Slice one banana into bottom of pie shell. Spoon half of custard into shell. Then slice the other banana onto the custard in the pie shell and cover with remaining custard. Chill thoroughly.

Optional: Once chilled, cover top with whipping cream, or serve individual pieces with a dollop of whipping cream.

I had put slices of a third banana on top of the custard before putting it in the fridge to set. I wouldn't recommend this as the bananas turned brown and were harder to cut through after. Next time we will try just putting the whipped cream on top.

English Muffins

I got this recipe off the internet from watching Todd's Kitchen video. My daughter has really enjoyed that I can make these in the morning and doesn't have to rely on our buying them at the store. They don't take a long time to make and even on a hot day we can enjoy them since English Muffins are fried, not baked. 


 1 Tablespoon yeast
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg
2+ cups flour 
2 Tablespoons melted butter
pinch salt
corn meal to coat

Mix together yeast, water and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes or until foam forms on top.  Beat egg in bowl. Add flour, butter, salt and yeast mixture. Knead for 10 minutes, adding more flour until dough is only slightly sticky. Cover in air tight container or wrap with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour or until double in size.* Turn out of bowl and knead 1 or 2 minutes. If dough is still sticky, knead on floured surface. 

Divide dough into 16 even pieces. Make into small balls and pat down into circles. Dip the dough on both sides in corn meal. Place on cookie sheet that has slight coating of corn meal on it so the dough will not stick to the sheet. Preheat cast iron pan and then cook each side until golden brown (approximately 4 or 5 minutes each side). 

*Note: I put my dough in a Tupperware container with the seal but had to burp the seal every 5 or 10 minutes. 
 

The dough will rise a little in your pan as the muffins are cooking.

Don't cook the muffins at too high a heat or the middle won't cook through. As I cooked more of the English Muffins, my pan was hotter, so I had to turn my heat quite low so the later ones wouldn't burn.  

 I used a Classico lid to form my muffins so they would be the same size and shape. To keep the dough from sticking in the lid, I rolled the balls of dough in the corn meal first.

Homemade Strawberry Shake

Our family has made shakes at home occasionally using ice cream and milk and sometimes adding other ingredients. I am trying to watch what I eat to keep it dialysis and kidney friendly, and also to try to lose weight. So today, while my family made shakes with ice cream, I tried something a little different. I really enjoyed it and feel a lot better about having the shake!

2 cups frozen strawberries (cut up)
1½ cups milk
2 heaping teaspoons icing sugar

Blend in Magic Bullet or blender until all ingredients are well blended. You may need to stop and shake the blender if the strawberries get jammed or the thick part of the shake is stuck in the bottom.

Enjoy!

Aunt Leona's Bread

When I have time, I love making bread. I find this recipe really easy, although I have modified it a bit. It is from a family cookbook called Collections from Country Kitchens. 

I have found one of the keys to making bread is to make sure you knead it enough, but not too much. And as you make it, you will find the right consistency for the dough. I always think of the flour measurements as "suggestions" rather than set amounts. Also, keep your dough warm - I let mine rise in my oven with the oven light on.

Prepare 1 package or 1 Tablespoon yeast with ½ cup warm water in which 1 teaspoon sugar has been dissolved. Let stand 10 minutes

In a large bread pan* mix:

1 blob lard (the size of an egg)

1 or 2 Tablespoon(s) salt – the recipe calls for 2, but I use 1 because of my low sodium diet

4 cups warm water - I start off with hot and make sure it is warm when I add the yeast. I like that the lard melts in the hot water. But if you add yeast to hot water, you will kill the yeast

Add prepared yeast. Gradually mix in 6 cups flour, stirring thoroughly after each cup is added. Mix this well before adding about 5 more cups of flour, again mixing well after each cup is added. Knead this well adding extra flour if necessary, until dough is just slightly sticky. Grease dough generously, top and bottom, with butter or margarine. Cover and let rise 1½ hours; knead well. Let rise again 1 hour; knead well**. Cut dough into 6 equal pieces, shape and put into greased pans. To prevent air holes, use a fork to poke holes every ½ inch in the dough. Brush tops lightly with butter, then let rise for 1 to 1½ hours. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°. Brush hot loaves with butter again, when they are cooling.

 
*I use a Tupperware Thatsa Bowl - the dough doesn't stick to plastic as much as it does to metal.
** I only punch the dough down before putting it in the pans. I found otherwise I overworked the dough.

Note: I don't use margarine or butter to grease or brush the bread. If I use a metal bowl, it is cheaper for me to use canola oil to grease it so the dough won't stick. And I like the bread without brushing it with butter.  
Also: I sometimes substitute some of the white flour for whole wheat, but I don't use more than half whole wheat or my bread is too heavy.
 

Cheesed Cauliflower

The following recipe has become a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner staple in our home. It is from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (new in 1976).  I "borrowed" the cook book from my mom years ago and still love that I have it.

Remove leaves and trim base from 1 medium head cauliflower. Wash. Cook whole in boiling salted water 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Place on ungreased shallow baking pan. Sprinkle with salt. Mix ½ cup mayonnaise and 2 teaspoons prepared mustard; spread over cauliflower. Top with ¾ cup shredded sharp process cheese (we use medium or old cheddar instead of process cheese). Bake at 375˚ about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Note: we do not salt the water or sprinkle the cauliflower with salt since I am on a low sodium diet, and it still tastes great.

Fruit Crisp

This year our family has an abundance of frozen apples, rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries and mixed fruit. I thought one of the best and easiest ways for our family to consume all this frozen fruit was to make desserts. I don't have a lot of time, so was looking for fast and easy recipes.  I have a Lazy Day Cobbler recipe (which will hopefully make it onto this site eventually). The other fruit dessert I thought would be easy are crisps, but I couldn't find a good "crisp" topping. I have been experimenting and think I have finally come up with something we all enjoy, so I am putting it here for the next time.

Enough fruit to cover the bottom of a 9" x 12" baking pan (can use frozen fruit, but do not use canned fruit)
corn starch (optional)
Topping
1 cup (cold) margarine
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups quick oats
approx. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
*I added ground cloves when I used strawberries and blueberries. You could also use ground allspice or nutmeg, if you like.  Add as much or as little as you like.

Preheat oven to 350°.  Place fruit on bottom of pan.* If using frozen fruit, sprinkle corn starch over the fruit if you do not want a runny crisp.

In separate bowl cut together margarine, brown sugar, oats and cinnamon until it looks crumbly. Evenly spread topping over fruit. Bake approximately 40 minutes or until done.

*If you want a sweeter dessert, you could sprinkle sugar over the fruit. You could also sprinkle cinnamon on the apples.

This crisp was approximately ¾ strawberry/blueberry and ¼ apple. Our kids both asked for 3 helpings after they already ate their supper. I didn't think it was too unhealthy, so I let them. 

Soft Tacos

Our family enjoys eating these as we can each make a custom taco by filling our shell with what we like best. I don't remember when I first thought of doing these. I don't think I ever saw it in a recipe book. I probably got the idea after eating at Taco Time.

Quick Tip: Grate cheese in advance and store in Ziplock bags. To keep from sticking, add corn starch or flour
Quick Tip 2: You can cut your lettuce so that it is shredded and keep it in a Ziplock bag for ease of use. Mine will keep for about a week in the fridge. I find our family will eat more lettuce if it is pre-cut.



1 pound Ground beef
½ Onion (chopped)
2 tablespoons Mexican Spice
*Note: the above amounts are only approximate. You will need to adjust amounts to your taste.

Tomato (chopped)
Green Pepper (sliced or chopped)
Lettuce (shredded)
Cheese (grated)
Salsa
Sour Cream
Tortilla shells

Brown ground beef with chopped onion and Mexican Spice. Place cooked ground beef with remaining ingredients on counter or table. Place tortilla shell on plate. Fill in layers across the widest part of the shell with desired ingredients. (Example: ground beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, salsa, sour cream) Fold in both sides then roll.

You can adjust the fillings to whatever you would like. We often use other coloured peppers than just green. My kids don't put much veggies in their tacos, but I put a lot. You can also make these ahead without lettuce or sour cream and then re-heat in the microwave.

Mexican Spice

Our family enjoys Mexican foods like Soft Tacos and Nachos. I used to buy the packages of spice mix from the store, but one day I thought it would probably be better if I made my own mix so that there wasn't so much sodium as three of us in our family have PKD (polycystic kidney disease). So now I have this recipe which tells me which spices to mix. Since we use it a lot, I buy the spice refill bags. Each spice is one bag (or jar, if it doesn't come in a refill bag). The amounts are what the container from the store says. I guess you could adjust it to your family's taste.

100 g Onion Powder/Salt
100 g Garlic Powder/Salt
85 g Chili Powder
80 g Paprika
50 g Cumin
20 g Oregano Leaves (can use ground oregano)
32 g Red Chili Peppers
approx 1-2 tablespoon(s) Salt (if using onion/garlic powders. Omit if using onion/garlic salt)

Mix all spices well in bowl. Store in airtight container.

These are the packages I used the last time I made this batch of spice. And the bowl I mixed them in.

I store my spice in a Tupperware Modular Mate. It is a long oval 1, which is the perfect size.

Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake

This recipe is from a Philadelphia Cream Cheese box. I think it must be a Kraft idea, because it is actually one of those kind of recipes that is basic with different sets of ingredients for you to make your favourite kind of cheesecake. They call this one Chocolate Lover’s Cheesecake, but I always think of it as Chocolate Amaretto or Chocolate Almond.

Base
1¼ cups chocolate crumbs
¼ cup melted butter

Filling
3 pkgs (250 g each) softened cream cheese
¾ cup sugar until smooth
3 eggs
6 squares semi-sweet chocolate (melted and cooled)*
¼ cup Amaretto liqueur

Topping
Enough melted chocolate to drizzle over top
Toasted almonds

Combine chocolate crumbs with melted butter. Press on bottom of 9 in. springform pan.

Beat softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until just blended. Stir in semi-sweet chocolate (melted and cooled) and Amaretto liqueur.

Bake at 350°F for 45-50 min. or until centre is almost set. Cool completely, then refrigerate 3 hr or overnight.

Add the finishing touch – drizzle melted chocolate and top with toasted almonds.

*Note: I usually use about 6 oz melted semisweet chocolate chips because that is what we usually have in the house at all times rather than buying the squares of chocolate. It still turns out nice.

My cake always cracks, but after I drizzle chocolate and add the almonds (and sometimes I drizzle more chocolate on top of the almonds) you can’t really tell until you are cutting into it.