Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting

What has more sugar than flour, four sticks of butter and over a pound of dark chocolate and is good for you? This. . .


Actually it is good for the spirit; I don't know about the rest of you though.

When I am melancholy or miserable {today quite miserably cold}, I crave chocolate. And today I wanted a really chocolaty cake. I have made the Hershey's cake in the past, and it completely satisfied. But today I wanted a smooth and creamy frosting that was worthy of the name Chocolate Frosting. I found it. And these two, Hershey's Chocolate Cake and Dark Chocolate Frosting, have the perfect marriage.

And basically that is all I am saying because I am in a non-thinking, antisocial mood. But maybe after a few bites of this, that will change. Chocolate cures all ills. Am I correct?


Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting
cake recipe from Hershey's
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1 recipe Dark Chocolate Frosting {see below for my adaption}
1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare two round cake pans with oil.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed two minutes. Add boiling water and stir. Scrape sides and stir again. {The batter is extremely thin but produces a delicately sponging cake.}
3. Bake 30-35 minutes. Allow cakes to cool in pans for 5 minutes. Turn out onto cooling racks and allow to completely cook before frosting. Once cake is frosted, press mini chocolate chips into sides of cake with fingers.


Dark Chocolate Frosting
adapted from Martha Stewart
1/2 c cocoa powder
1/2 c hot water
2 1/4 c butter, at room temperature
1/4 c confectioner sugar
1 lb dark chocolate {recommend Trader Joe's Pound Plus Belgium Dark Chocolate}
2 c semisweet chocolate chips

1. Melt dark chocolate and semisweet chocolate chips in double boiler {an aluminum mixing bowl over a small pan of boiler water works fabulously}. Stir and scrape sides of bowl while melting. Set to the side and allow to cool.
2. Mix cocoa powder and hot water till smooth. Set to side.
3. In mixing bowl beat butter and sugar until fluffy. {Cut each stick of butter into about 6 large pieces before placing in bowl.}
4. Add melted chocolate to fluffy butter. Mix well, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add cocoa-water mixture. Stir well.
This will provide ample frosting for one cake.



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Loaded Potato Bites

Tired of the same old potato skins? Looking for something new but just as scrumptious and savory? So was I, so I tried something new. These are like potato skins but in a smaller size and a bit easier to make. In addition to being delicious, they are fairly simple. Dough lines muffin tins and is filled with mashed potatoes and topped with cheese and bacon. Serve with sour cream and chives.

Potato Bites
Ingredients
1/3 batch bread dough {recipe follows}
1 1/2 c mashed potatoes
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
6 slices of bacon, crumbled
sour cream
green onions {for garnish}

Directions~ Preheat oven to 375F
1. Roll dough out to 1/4" thickness. Use a round cookie cutter to cut 12 circles. Fit dough into greased muffin tins. Press down lightly to fit into muffin tin.
2. Fill each dough lined muffin tin with a heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes. Bake potato filled dough for 10 minutes. Top with shredded cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
3. Allow to cool in pan for a few minutes. Remove to serving platter. Top with crumbled bacon and sliced green onions. Serve with sour cream.



Some Tips~
*make dough ahead of time and keep in refrigerator till ready to use {1-2 days is fine}
*use whipping cream in mashed potatoes for extra fluffiness and creaminess
*refrigerated biscuits may be substituted to save time {but won't be as tasty}
* this will make 12, use the whole batch for 36

Bread Dough {this is the base recipe for so many things I make that are my family's favorites}
1 c of milk
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp yeast
2 eggs, whisked
1 stick {1/2 c} butter, melted
5 c flour

1. Heat milk in microwave for 45 seconds. The temperature should be warm, between 100-115F. Add sugar to milk and mix well. Add yeast and stir. Let set and yeast proof for 5 minutes.
2. Place milk mixture in mixing bowl. Add eggs and two cups of flour. Mix well. Add melted, but cooled butter and mix well.
3. Change mixer attachment to dough hook. Add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well with dough hook between each addition. After final addition of flour, knead for 2-5 minutes.
4. Allow dough to rise in warm place for one hour {an oven with the light on works well}. Punch down and use or refrigerate until ready for use.

Colossal Meatballs and Spaghetti

We watched it in the theater. We watched it at on dvd. We even celebrated with it. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a fantastically fun movie. The weekend we saw it in the theater, I made a dessert for the children which was inspired by the movie. The fun did not stop there. Once out on video, I decided to make a dinner the family could enjoy, something like a party.

The colossal meatball was the centerpiece of the dinner. Most children are finicky eaters and like simple flavors. Keeping with simplicity, I used few ingredients. But building on the idea of BIG food, I made the meatballs HUGE.


Each meatball is a quarter of a pound, a meatball Flint Lockwood would be extremely proud of, and without the danger of a food storm. To thoroughly cook a meatball of this size, you need to simmer it for a while in sauce. Once done, serve atop buttered noodles.

Colossal Meatballs and Spaghetti
2 lb ground beef
1/2 c grated parmasan cheese
1/4 c Italian bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 c marinara sauce
1 lb spaghetti, prepared and buttered

Combine all ingredients. Shape into 8 quarter pounds meatballs. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meatballs on all sides. Pour marinara sauce over meatballs and cover pan with lid. Simmer for 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Place noodles in bowl and top with a colossal meatball.

Along with the spaghetti we had, what we have now come to call in our house, Cloudy Cups. These are made of pudding that has been mixed with freshly whipped cream to make a lighter pudding. Then they are topped with gummy bears and candy sprinkles.


I am certain one of the children will want a Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs themed party. So anyone else thinking along these lines, here are a few ideas.
Food~
*Colossal meatballs with buttered noodles
*Sardine drink~ blue punch mixed with gingerale with Swedish fish and a cocktail umbrella added
*Cloudy Cups {as described above}
*Cucumber Boats~ cucumbers hollowed out and filled with cream cheese mixed with chopped carrots

Decorations~
*Blue tablecloths and plates, utensils and napkins
*Cloud placemats~ cut white poster board
*Hanging clouds from ceiling or taped on walls.
*A few colorful umbrellas here and there

Games~
*Food eating contest~ whipped cream pies or spaghetti with no hands
*Build a burger~ like pin the tail on the donkey, but everyone gets a different piece of the burger {made from paper} to tape on the wall in a designated spot
*Make clouds see link for this easy and neat activity

Party Favor~
*Fish in a bowl
*Tornado Tube
*Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett
*A book about weather here is a recommendation

Any other ideas? Share them in the comments.