Chocolate Pound Cake with Fudge Glaze

This is such a yummy chocolaty cake with or without the glaze. I don't really like most icings, so I like the cake "naked", but the fudgy glaze takes it off the charts on the chocolate-lovers scale. The recipe came from Southernplate.com. Check it out - Christy has lots of wonderful southern recipes.

Chocolate Pound Cake W/Fudge Glaze

3 - sticks (1 1/2 cups) butter (ouch!)
3 - teaspoons vanilla extract
3 - cups sugar
1/2 - cup baking cocoa
5 - eggs
1/2 - teaspoon baking powder
3 - cups all purpose flour
1 - cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour bundt or angel food cake pan (12 cups size), set aside. Cream butter  or margarine in large mixing bowl. Add sugar, beat until light and fluffy. 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, and baking powder.

Measure milk and stir vanilla into it. Add milk and dry ingredients alternately, mixing after each addition. Pour into pan and bake for one hour and twenty minutes. 

Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing. Remove cake and cool completely on a baking rack before adding the glaze. 

Fudge Glaze: 

1 1/2  - cups sugar
7 - tablespoon milk
1/4 - teaspoon salt
2 - tablespoons shortening
1 - teaspoon vanilla
2 - tablespoon butter 
1/2 - cup baking cocoa

Combine sugar, cocoa, milk, shortening, margarine or butter, and salt in heavy saucepan. 

Bring to a rolling , stirring constantly. Once it reaches a boil, allow to boil without stirring for two minutes, no more. 

Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Stir until cooled just slightly. Spoon over cooled cake.

While the cake sits on the baking rack place a plate under the rack to catch the glaze so it doesn't pool around the cake.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cake with Broiled Frosting

This cake came out of a Shreveport, LA cookbook I received as a wedding present 43 years ago. Its yummy and I make it sometimes for a potluck desert and I double the recipe.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cake W/Broiled Frosting

1 - cup oatmeal (old fashioned or quick oats)

1 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 - cup regular granulated sugar

1 - cup light brown sugar

2 - eggs

1 - teaspoon vanilla extract

1 - teaspoon baking soda

1/2 - teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 - teaspoon ground cinnamon

dash of ground nutmeg

Coconut - Pecan Broiled Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) real butter

2 - tablespoon evaporated milk

1 - cup light brown sugar

1 - cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 - cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch square baking pan or. Place the oats in a medium bowl and add 1 1/2 cups hot water, lightly mix and set aside so the oatmeal can absorb the water. 

In a large bowl or kitchen aid using the paddle attachment; add the butter and sugars and mix until creamy and well blended.

Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until blended. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Give the oatmeal a gentle stir. The mixture should resemble a thick bowl of cooked oatmeal.  

Add half of the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture; add half of the oatmeal and mix well; Add the remaining flour and oatmeal. 

Mix until everything is combined.  Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 inch prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

While the cake is baking prepare the broiled coconut frosting. Add the butter, evaporated milk, brown sugar, coconut and pecans to a medium saucepan. Let the mixture come to a boil and then boil for 1 minute; remove from heat. 

Remove cake from the oven. While the cake is still hot spread the coconut topping evenly over top of the cake. Broil under your ovens broiler for about 2 minutes or until the topping is lightly golden brown. 

Watch closely, because the topping can burns easily, so don't walk away.  If you want to be evil you can double the frosting, because it's worth it!!!! 

Note: For a  9 x 13 inch cake I double the frosting. If you want a thicker cake bake in a 8 x 8 inch square baking pan and do not double the frosting recipe. 

Cheryl's Apple Pie

Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees. Unroll and place one pie crust on the bottom of a 8 or 9 inch pie plate. Peel and cut apples into 1/4 inch size chips (see below) and place in a large bowl.

In separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and add to the apples. In a small bowl combine all the the liquid ingredients. 

Pour the liquid ingredients over the apples and toss the apple mixture to combine. Spoon the apple mixture into prepared pie crust.

Place the second crust over the apples and press both pie crusts together to seal edges. Fold the edges over towards the middle of the pie and then crimp the edges with your fingers. Cut a few slits on the top with a knife so the steam can escape. 

Melt the butter and brush over the crust. Sprinkle a bit of sugar on top before baking. Place in oven and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. 

Remove pie from oven and cover the entire pie with foil (leaving center open, see above picture). You just want the outer edge covered to prevent it from burning. Reduce heat to 375 and continue baking for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown. Remove foil and cool completely before serving. 

Ingredients:
Double recipe of pie dough
7-9 apples (prefer a combo of golden delicious & granny smith), cut into thin chips
3/4 - cup sugar
1/4 - cup cornstarch
1 - teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 - teaspoon allspice
1/8 - teaspoon nutmeg
dash of salt
2 - tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 - cup apple juice or apple cider (started adding this and really like it. I use cider)
1 - teaspoon vanilla extract
1 - tablespoon melted butter

Pie Crust

Ingredients:
2 - cups all purpose flour
1/2 - cup butter
1/2 - cup shortening
1/2 - cup cold water
pinch salt

Directions:

Mix flour and salt. Using a pastry blender cut butter and shortening. It should be a bit crumbly with the chunks of dough about pea size. 

Add water 1 tablespoon at a time. Be careful because you do not want this to become too wet, so add 1 tablespoon at a time.

Mix until it forms into a dough. Form into a ball and flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour. You want this cold. Cut the dough in have and roll dough out and place in a pie pan. Roll out a second crust and place on top. 

I told you I was a pie girl - - making them and eating them!  

Sweet Cooked Granny Smith Apples

This is kind of like a chunky applesauce and so delicious. Tastes almost like apple pie.

Ingredients: 
5 - granny smith apples peeled, cored and sliced (semi - thick)
1/2 - cup granulated sugar
1/4 - cup water
2 - teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 - teaspoon nutmeg
2 - 3- tablespoons butter
1/2 - tablespoons cornstarch

Directions: 
Place apples in a 2 1/2 quart pot. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and nutmeg. Sprinkle over apples add water and dot with butter.

Cover and bring mixture to a slow boil, then turn the heat down on low and simmer until the apples are tender and the water has cooked down.

Gently mix so you don't break the apples up. You can adjust the spices and sugar to your tasting. I think I added a little more cinnamon and sugar as the apples cooked.

Breakfast Casserole

I found this recipe years ago in a Southern Living magazine and it has become my go-to for a brunch potluck or for a holiday morning. It's great served with fresh fruit on the side, or with a sweet role. I like to serve fried apples with it sometimes as well.

You can prepare this recipe the night before which saves on time, but I usually just do the prep the night before without assembling.

I just brown up the sausage and store it in the refrigerator, make sure my cheese is shredded and thaw my hash browns in the fridge as well. That way in the morning its a snap to throw together.

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees and brown and drain the sausage.

Arrange the crescent rolls on the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Make sure to seal the seams.

Place the ham or browned sausage on top of the crescent rolls. Beat the eggs and milk together; set aside.

Layer the hash browns over the meat, season with salt & pepper

then pour the egg mixture over the hash browns.

Top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 375* for 30 -45 minutes or until egg mixture is done. use a knife to check if casserole is completely cooked. Sometimes the middle can be a stickler when using a smaller dish.

If the egg mixture is still a bit runny lower the temperature a bit and cook a little longer that is why the cooking time can vary from 30 - 45 minutes.

Let cool and cut into squares.

Ingredients: 
1 - 8 oz. package refrigerated crescent roll dough or Pillsbury seamless crescent dough
2 - cups breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled or fully cooked chopped ham
6 - eggs, beaten
1/2 - cup milk
dash of salt and pepper
2 - cups frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 - cups Cheddar or Monetary Jack Cheese, shredded

Serves: 8.

Note:  Make sure to press the rolls together at the seams after unrolling the dough or use seamless crescent roll dough. If cutting the recipe in half use a 8 x 8 inch pan. You will have two crescent triangles left over. Use 3 eggs cut the milk to 1/4 cup. Use the same amount of sausage, hash browns and 1 1/2 cups cheese.