Chocolate-Mocha Layer Easter Cake with Marshmallow and Chocolate-Mocha Icing

This is the cake I made for our Easter dinner. I did modify it some from a Brown Eyed Baker recipe, as well as the frostings. It came out better than I could have imagined. This will now be my go-to recipe for chocolate cake or cupcakes.

Ingredients:

For the Cake:
2½ cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup + 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder (Vaharona, Calebut or otherwise)-I used Calebut from France
1 tablespoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
3 eggs, at room temperature
1½ cups of 1% milk
3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (into milk 10-15 minutes ahead)
1½ cups strong black coffee, hot
¾ cup vegetable oil
4½ teaspoons Bourbon vanilla extract

For the Marshmallow Icing:
1 bag powdered sugar
½ cup Crisco-Butter flavored (or can also use unsalted butter)
2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

1/2 cup half and half (thin to desired consistency)
1 package Cream Cheese-at room temperature
1/8 cup Monin Marshmallow flavored Syrup

For the Chocolate Mocha Frosting:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup Mocha powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
8 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate, melted and cooled
½ cup heavy cream (until desired consistency is reached)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease six 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper, grease the parchment, then flour the insides of the pans, tapping out excess; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk-with vinegar already added 10 minutes ahead), coffee, oil and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for an additional 20 seconds (the batter will be very thin).

Divide the batter evenly among six prepared pans (greased & floured). I use a 1 cup scoop, & add just under two cups to each pan, then divide what’s left over evenly. Bake for 20 minutes and rotate the pans in the oven. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs), about 12 more minutes. Cool the cakes (in the pans) on wire racks for 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely. I covered each cake with Saran wrap, & stored in the fridge to be iced the next day.

Marshmallow Icing: Beat the butter (shortening), cream cheese, and powdered sugar on low speed until blended together, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract and increase the speed to medium-high; beat for 3 minutes. Stop the mixer, add the Marshmallow syrup, continue to mix on a low speed until well combined, and light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl as necessary.

Chocolate-Mocha Icing: Beat the butter and powdered sugar on low speed until blended together, about 1 minute. Add the Mocha powder, and vanilla. Beat on low until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream and beat on medium-high speed for another minute.

Cake assembly: Place your first layer face-up on a cake plate and cover with one-third of the Marshmallow Icing. Place another cake layer face-up and cover with about ¾ to 1 cup of Chocolate-Mocha Frosting. Repeat, alternating marshmallow and chocolate filling layers, until you come to your cake final layer, which you will place face-down. Frost the entire outside of cake with the remaining
Chocolate-Mocha Frosting.

**Adapted from a Brown Eyed Baker recipe

 

Vanilla-Caramel Chews

What is better than a classic vanilla-caramel candy? Something that takes you back to you your childhood? Try this easy caramel candy recipe. Play around with the recipe & add orange extract, or rum to add variety.

Classic Vanilla-Caramel Chews

Ingredients:
1 quart heavy cream
½ cup sugar
¼ cup corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla or 1 vanilla bean

Directions:

Heat cream in a heavy saucepan on medium high until cream comes to a rolling boil. Boil cream, stirring often, until it reduces by half. Then transfer the cream into a heavy skillet, mix in sugar and corn syrup, and bring to a boil again, cooking (and stirring) until the cream and sugar mixture becomes thick and melted caramel-like in texture.

Add vanilla just after turning off the heat, and mix well. Scrape caramel into a buttered pan, and let it cool. Once cool, roll the caramel into a long log, slice it into pieces and wrap the individual pieces in plastic wrap. They can also be stored in the fridge, if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to a month.

**You can also do a variation by adding ½ teaspoon of Orange extract…Mmmmm.

Caramel-Rum Flan

Flan is one of the easiest desserts you can make. Plus, which is such a bonus, it can be made ahead, and placed in the fridge to chill until you're ready to serve. It's delicious the in traditional style, but you can add a few additional key ingredients, and make it the BOMB!

Caramel –Rum Flan

Ingredients:

1 cup and 1/2 cup sugar

6 large eggs

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 13 oz cans evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon dark Rum

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. You will need 6-8 ramekins and a large baking pan to place them inside.  

Pour 1 cup sugar in warm pan over medium heat. Constantly stir sugar until it browns and becomes caramel. Quickly pour approximately 2-3 tablespoons of caramel in each ramekin, tilting it to swirl the caramel around the sides. Reheat caramel if it starts to harden.

In a mixer or with a whisk, blend the eggs together. Mix in the milks then slowly mix in the 1/2 cup of sugar, then the vanilla & rum. Blend smooth after each ingredient is added.

Pour custard into caramel lined ramekins. Place ramekins in a large glass or ceramic baking dish and fill with about 1-2 inches of hot water. Bake for 45 minutes in the water bath and check with a knife just to the side of the center. If knife comes out clean, it's ready.

Remove and let cool. Let each ramekin cool in refrigerator for 1 hour. Invert each ramekin onto a small plate, the caramel sauce will flow over the custard.

Chocolate-Butterfinger Cupcakes

These cupcakes are the perfect balance between a cupcake, dessert & candy. Could it get any better? I don't feel as bad eating a cupcake as I do eating a couple of pieces of candy...nah, not so bad is it?

The candy melts into the cupcakes, and with the chocolate & butter flavor, you just can't go wrong!

Chocolate-Butterfinger Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

2 & 1/4 cups All-purpose flour

1/2 cup high quality Cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking Soda

2 teaspoons baking Powder

1 teaspoon kosher Salt

1 cup Buttermilk, shaken

2 sticks Butter-softened to room temperature

1 & ½ cups granulated Sugar

2 tablespoons Butter flavoring

2 large Eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure Vanilla extract

1 cup chopped Butterfinger candy (plus more for decoration)

For the Frosting:

2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature

8 ounces softened cream cheese

1 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon pure Vanilla extract

1 tablespoon whole cream-adjust upward to obtain the desired consistency

Directions: For the cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a medium sized bowl, and then set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter. Once well combined, add vanilla. Slowly add the buttermilk, eggs, and butter extract, mixing on low speed until combined.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, fold in the butterfingers, and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

3. Using a large scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells, filling each well 2/3 full. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and cool completely.

4. Finish by frosting with vanilla frosting.

For the Icing

In a large mixer, combine the sticks of butter, vanilla, cream cheese, and confectioners sugar gradually. Slowly add cream until you reach the desired consistency.

Banana Bread

2 & ¼ cup flour

1 & ¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 & ¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

½ bag crushed walnuts or pecans

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 sticks real butter softened

6-7 ripe bananas

**Combine all dry ingredients into a medium bowl-set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar, then add eggs one at a time, beat. Mix all wet and dry ingredients together and blend in bananas.

Grease 2 large loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 25 minutes.