Thursday, June 30, 2016

Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe From Homemade Decadence Cookbook



Pound cake is one of those good old-fashioned desserts that everyone seems to love. I always think of homey comfort when I think of pound cake, whether it's a slice with a cup of tea, or the basis of strawberry shortcake.

As much as I love regular pound cake, when I found this recipe for Chocolate Pound Cake from the cookbook Homemade Decadence from Joy The Baker, I knew I had to make it.

It's filled with chocolate chips, and has a deep rich chocolaty flavor, and made with coffee in it. The addition of coffee to a chocolate cake recipe just really brings out the chocolate flavor. Joy made her recipe with a chocolate glaze on top, but I wanted to top mine with whipped cream and raspberries, so I left it off.

Every time I bake with buttermilk I'm always reminded of how much goodness it brings to baked goods. It just really improves the flavor and richness of almost every recipe.



A sweet neighbor of ours came over with lots of delicious raspberries to share, so I've been using them up in recipes and smoothies. That's definitely one of the things I love about summer, all the luscious berries available.

I'm adding this recipe to my favorites list and I can't wait to make it with the glaze on top of it. I added the recipe for the glaze too, yum!


Recipe for Chocolate Pound Cake from Homemade Decadence

Ingredients:

Cake:

1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/3 cup hot coffee
1 3/4 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
3 to 4 tablespoons milk or water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Put a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.


2. For the cake, in a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot coffee.


3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.


4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Add the cocoa-coffee mixture and beat well. Beat in the buttermilk. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.


5. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, with just a few crumbs, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before inverting the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.


6. Meanwhile, for the glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, salt, milk, and vanilla.


7. Once the cake has completely cooled, drizzle the chocolate glaze on top. Let set for 30 minutes before serving.


8. The cake will keep, well-wrapped and at room temperature, for up to 4 days.


Makes one 9 x 5-inch loaf.


Patricia



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Monday, June 27, 2016

My Favorite Healthy Muffin Recipe and Help From TENA® Products

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #TenaTips #CollectiveBias



My mother's generation and the ones before her were never able to talk openly about any kind of female heath issues. Women may have discussed them, but only in hushed tones and with shame or embarrassment. I find that so sad.

I'm very grateful that my girlfriends and I can pretty much talk about any of the health issues or problems that we may face, and sometimes even with laughter when we start comparing notes as we are all entering our fifties and sixties. One of the topics that seems to come up more frequently these days is incontinence.

It can be an issue for women at many stages of life, but in my circle of women friends, age seems to be the determining factor. I sometimes feel as though we already face so many issues as we age that incontinence is just downright unfair.

Fortunately, TENA® Overnight Underwear lets you wake up feeling dry and confident about any accidents that may happen. Knowing that you can have leakage protection both day and night lets you live your life without compromise. TENA® Lets You Be You.


Yesterday was my birthday. I'm so lucky that I was able to celebrate the day with dear family and friends. I'm blessed in many ways for sure, but that doesn't stop me from worrying and being concerned about the challenges I face as I get older in life.

So I'm trying to make small but smart life changes for myself that as a whole, should add up to a healthier me.

For instance, I adore chocolate. Who doesn't, right? Well, I knew I was eating too much of it and tried to completely cut it out of my life. That lasted about two days, and then I was back to overindulging in my beloved chocolate. But then I found this recipe for Skinny Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins.

It's low calorie, packed with healthy ingredients like yogurt, bananas, whole wheat flour, and honey. And best of all, it has chocolate in it!!

Let me just say that these muffins are super delicious, and perfect for breakfast or a midafternoon snack. I love eating them in the morning with my tea, and some fresh fruit.

They are also a big favorite when my girlfriends come over, too. We love having our chocolate fix but also eating muffins that are actually good for us.


Dealing with a weak bladder and possible leakage can effect women in a major way. It's a blow to your confidence and can often prevent you from living a full life. But you shouldn't let it, and using TENA® lets you do the things you love and not miss out on opportunities to live an active life.

Designed for comfort and performance, TENA® makes a whole line of products for women who experience incontinence.

You can shop for these products at your local CVS drugstore, or at CVS.com.


Now, on to my yummy recipe for these Skinny Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins. I always try to use really ripe bananas because they give so much flavor to any banana muffin or banana bread recipe. And I've even froze these muffins to use at a later date, and they are just as delicious after you've let them thaw out at room temperature.


I always try to gather all my ingredients before I start a baking project, it's just easier that way. First you're going to mix together all the wet ingredients in a large bowl. I love the great flavor that honey gives to these muffins, yum!


After you've mixed the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients, which includes whole wheat flour, together. Stir in the chocolate chips.


Line a cupcake pan with paper liners and divide the batter evenly. This recipe will make 12 generous muffins.

Recipe for Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 12-count muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, add bananas, honey, vanilla, oil, egg, and yogurt. With a hand mixer, mix together for 1 minute until well blended. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Fold in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly into muffin liners and bake 20-25 minutes.
Remove muffins from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.




Look for TENA® Overnight Underwear and other TENA® products in the Bladder Control aisle at CVS.

And make sure you take advantage of the Ibotta rebates offered on Pads/Liners/Underwear, and on Overnight Underwear too.

You don't have to let incontinence rule your life. Be confident, be active, be YOU.

Patricia





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Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Raspberry Crumble Bars Recipe



There are lots of recipes out there for crumble bars, and these yummy jam filled treats are ones that I really love making for family and friends.

There is something about them that reminds me of being a kid. Maybe it's because I ate a whole lot of jam sandwiches growing up that my mom made for me, and that's where the association comes from. Food can bring up so many memories of the past for us. And fortunately for me, I grew up in a house where my mother was a good cook and we never went without full bellies and treats after dinner.

Sometimes you take things for granted and don't realize until years or decades later just how lucky you were.

Now as a grandmother, cooking and baking for my family is something I truly enjoy doing, and I hope they remember all of it with the love and affection that is put into whatever I make for them.

Anyhow, this is Ina Garten's recipe from her cookbook, Foolproof. Everyone who knows me knows I adore Ina, she has been a real inspiration for me for years now.



Recipe for Barefoot Contessa Raspberry Crumble Bars

Ingredients:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
10 to 12 ounces raspberry jam
2/3 cup granola without dried fruit
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling if desired

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed just until combined. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla.
Sift the flour and salt together and, with the mixer on low, slowly add to the butter mixture, mixing until it almost comes together in a ball. Turn the dough out on a board. Lightly pat two-thirds of the dough evenly on the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan and about 1/4 inch up the sides.
Spread with the jam, leaving a 1/4-inch boarder. Mix the granola into the remaining dough with your hands. Break the dough into small bits and distribute it onto the top of the jam, covering most of the surface. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Bake the bars for 45 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool completely and cup into 9 or 12 bars. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar if desired.


The recipe is actually quite easy to make and other kinds of jam would work well here too. I love the crust on these bars, it's soft and a little chewy.

Be sure to let them completely cool before slicing them so that they don't fall apart. I cut into them too early and had this problem, and had to let them sit longer so they would be firmer.

If you're looking for a treat to take on a picnic or the beach, these are a great choice, and they travel well. And they are just so yummy!!

Patricia



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Friday, June 17, 2016

Usborne Passport to Adventure Summer Reading Club for Local Sacramento & Roseville Moms



My whole family has a love for books and reading. My son and I love to spend time reading books and making up stories of our own. With school out for summer vacation it is always nice to find creative ways to encourage summer reading. I was talking to a local Mom about summer reading and found out she is working with a few local Sacramento Charities and Usborne Books to promote not only summer reading but kids helping out other kids in need. I am not affiliated with Usborne Books but thought I would love to share what another local Mom is doing in our community.

It started June 6th but anyone who joins now can do it for a 10 day period up until June 29th and read for a minimum 200 minutes.

Here is some info on her Reading Club:

Join the Usborne Summer Reading Club!

During the summer it’s easy to let literacy and education fall to the side. Almost, all kids fall behind on their reading skills every summer, which can put them farther behind when the new school year starts.

The Passport to Adventure Summer Reading Club is designed to not only give the child rewards for their reading, but provides them an opportunity to give back to their community. It is open to children of all ages, including non-readers who are being read to.



This free program is being run by Waiyee Poon Jones and Ranin Zubi, Educational Consultants with Usborne Books & More. Local to Folsom and Sacramento we are working with charitable organizations in our area to provide books to children in need.

Readers will gather pledges for their reading. One part of the pledge goes back to the child in the form of books (of their choosing) and the other part will be donated to the selected charities. Once they sign up we provide the printables including pledge tracker and reading log.

People can ask for pledges how they like but we try to keep it simple with just a total pledge for completing the minimum (which is 300 mins over the 3 week period). The kids get 50% of the pledges and the other 50% is donated books.



The charities we are working with are 1) The Mustard Seed School 2) The Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento and 3) Love, Talk, Read 4) A charity of their choice which we can contact on their behalf.

Sign Up ASAP on this form below to get involved in this great reading event.

http://goo.gl/forms/dQNaMmJvrGhvCvif2 

Want to know more? Email us at UsborneReadingClub@gmail.com and we will tell you




Laura
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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding Recipe



I think there are two kinds of people in this world, those that love bread pudding and those that don't. I'm a bread pudding lover through and through, but most of my kids and grandkids don't care for it at all, which makes me sad that they don't love this homey and comforting dessert that is a favorite of mine.

But I guess that means that there's just more for me, ha-ha. This recipe for Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding is just beyond yummy. It's moist and rich, and tastes great warm or chilled.

Can you see that I made it extra fabulous and added a small scoop of chocolate ice cream? Of course it didn't need the ice cream, but I don't think you can ever have too much chocolate anything. It's a theory I'm sticking by!

You can also make this bread pudding in a 9x5 inch loaf pan if you want. I happen to like using my ramekins for individual desserts that I think are sort of special. And don't forget that good old whipped cream makes a super yummy topping for any kind of bread pudding you make.




Recipe for Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups cubed stale white bread
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray six 3-inch ramekins with baking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in bread and chocolate chips, let stand for 10 minutes for bread to absorb liquid.
Fill ramekins 2/3 full, and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until custard is set.
Serve warm from the oven or chilled. Top with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.



Patricia
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