National Chocolate Cake Day – Oh yummy!

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By Chef Diane

Recently the boss celebrated his 29th birthday (again!) and for his celebratory cake his lovely wife baked his favorite - a delicious chocolate cake using his grandmother's recipe.   I was unable to squeeze this secret family recipe from him; however, chocolate cake is the number one in cakes.  It is also my father's favorite cake, and one year I attempted to make one, like the one pictured on the front of the cake mix box.  They never turn out the same as the picture though.

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In 1948, Pillsbury introduced the first chocolate cake mix.  Today, the most popular kind of cake is chocolate. There are many different types, including Black Forest, Devil’s Food, Flourless, Fudge, Ganache, German Chocolate, Lava, and much more.

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Today is National Chocolate Cake Day.  I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to bake a delicious cake, or buy one from your local bakery.  You can buy a chocolate cake mix, and whip one up in no time, but for a tasty homemade cake, I found this recipe on momswhothink.com.  So treat your family to some delicious cake today!

Triple Layer Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

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Cake Ingredients:

1 cup cocoa powder

2 cups boiling water

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2-1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans.

2. In a medium bowl, stir the boiling water into the cocoa until smooth, and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and set aside.

4. At medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. Turn mixer down to low speed. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

7. Stir in the vanilla, and do not over-beat.

8. Pour an equal amount of batter into each of the three prepared pans.

9. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

10 Cool in pans set on racks for 10 minutes. Invert pans on racks, remove pans, and allow layers to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:

1 6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup half-and-half

3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 sticks)

2-1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Chocolate Frosting Directions:

1. Combine the chocolate chips, half-and-half and butter in a heavy saucepan.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate chips melt. Remove from heat.

3. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, stirring well.

4. Set the saucepan in a large bowl filled with ice, and beat at low speed with an electric mixer until frosting begins to lose its gloss and holds its shape. If necessary, add a half-teaspoon or so of half-and-half to achieve perfect spreading consistency.

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Enjoying Peanut Butter Fudge

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By Chef Diane

Last week we told you that November is Peanut Butter Lover's Month.  Well today is specifically for Peanut Butter Fudge.  I have lived a sheltered life.  I never had peanut butter fudge until I met my husband.  Before that the only fudge I ever had was my grandmother's famous Christmas fudge that was the best thing I ever tasted.

We have a gift shop in town that makes all type of flavors of fudge, and when my husband and I were looking around one day, he spied all the different types, and chose the peanut butter flavor.  We purchased a block of it, and he shared it with me.  It was very creamy and peanut.

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I have never made this type of fudge; I prefer to just buy it one piece at a time.  But for those of you who like to cook, I found this recipe for you on allrecipes.com.

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Original recipe makes 1 - 8x8 inch pan

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Stir in brown sugar and milk.
3. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.
5. Pour over confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl.
6. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8x8 inch dish.
7. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

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This recipe is fast and easy to make, no candy thermometer required, and great for sharing around the holiday.  However, if you want to make the kind of fudge I eat, then visit this site - they ship anywhere!: http://www.darbysfudge.com/fudgeshop.html

Bittersweet Chocolate Day

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By Diane Forrest,

When I was a young girl I can remember watching my grandmother making her special fudge, in a thick black iron skillet.  She would then pour it out on a piece of aluminum foil and wait for it to cool and harden before cutting it into squares and placing it into metal tins.  She would always let me scrape the bottom of the skillet; trouble was there was barely any left when she got through.

Now I am the family fudge maker, along with all the other goodies that come at Christmas time.  This year I made 3 batches of my granny's fudge to send off to friends and family who were not able to be here.  Trying to save money on postage, I mailed my cousin's fudge along with is parents, my aunt and uncle.  I asked him to deliver it to them when it arrived.  He said he would be glad to, so I waited to get the word that the fudge had made it there without any problems.  This being the south, it is usually warm at Christmas, and has a tendency to melt together.  I finally heard from him and he was telling me how delicious it was when I asked how his folks liked it.  After a long silence he asked." was I supposed to take them some?"  He had forgotten to take it, and ended up eating it all!  Well of course I said I was gonna tell on him, but ended up sending more out to them, everyone should have fudge on Christmas.

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The fudge recipe I use is made with bittersweet chocolate squares.  Bittersweet is chocolate that does not have milk in it.  It is a darker chocolate, and research has sown that is very beneficial in lowering blood pressure.  It contains antioxidants and flavonoids that help to protect the heart.  Of course that is the main reason that I eat chocolate, to help my heart.

Today is Bittersweet Chocolate Day, so why not help your heart too, and here is my recipe for fudge that is just the ticket.

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Fantasy Fudge

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup) (Do not use sweetened condensed milk.)
• 1-1/2 pkg. (12 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
• 1 jar (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme
• 1 cup chopped PLANTERS Walnuts
• 1 tsp.vanilla

Directions:

1. LINE 9-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to full rolling boil in 3-qt. saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 4 min. or until candy thermometer reaches 234°F, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
2. ADD chocolate and marshmallow crème; stir until melted. Add nuts and vanilla; mix well.
3. POUR into prepared pan; spread to cover bottom of pan. Cool completely. Use foil handles to lift fudge from pan before cutting into squares.

National Chocolate Day

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By Diane Forrest,

Even though Christmas is over, the warm happy feelings still linger, along with visiting family and after Christmas sales.  Another thing to linger is the candy left in my stocking from Santa.  I got chocolate kisses and peppermint bark, not to mention all the fudge I made.  This year I tried to make sure all of my family had some chocolate for the holidays.  I made 3 batches of fudge and send to all of my relatives out of town. By the time I got to the last 4 tins to send out, I went to the post office, and they only had 3 boxes left.   Since my cousin lives in the same area as my aunt and uncle, and I knew he would be spending Christmas with him, I asked if I mailed theirs to them, would he please deliver it for me.  He said that wouldn't be a problem, so I sent it on.   It had been a few days, and I still hadn't heard if they got it, then I finally got a message from my cousin.  He thanked me and told me how delicious it was, and I asked if he had taking his folks their tin.  He replied…no, was I supposed to?

Well my jaw hit the ground... I reminded him of the long conversation we just had about him delivering it, but he forgot, and ate both tins.  Then went on to say how much of a compliment it was to me because he ate it all.  Men!  After I told him I was gonna tell on him to his parents, he promised to make some and deliver it to them.  I can say with total certainty that is never going to happen.

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My second fudge mishap happened when I ran into my parent's neighbor at church on Christmas morning.  Whenever I get in my baking moods I will take some and drop off at their house.  I will stick it in their mailbox, because they have large dogs that run loose outside, and I wasn’t want to be jumped on when they go after the food I’m bringing.  They always get it, and whoever is the lucky one to find it will usually hide it from the rest of the family.  I found a tin that had 4 snowmen on the top, so I made a label with each of their names and put under each snowman.  When I asked him if he got it, he replied no, and began to think that maybe the postman thought it was for him, and took it.  Since I am done baking for the year, and I’m not going to be parting with any of my fudge, they will have to wait til next year for some delicious chocolate, Valentine's Day will be a great time to make some more.

My third chocolate story happened when I mailed some to my stepson.  His wife doesn’t like chocolate, weird right?  So I sent her some divinity, and made the fudge for him.  He must have given some to his two year old daughter, because not long after they got it, I got a short video of her dancing up a storm after eating a piece!

Today is National Chocolate Day, of course every day is chocolate day for me.  Check your Christmas stocking and see if there is a piece left for you, or even drink some hot chocolate, or a cold chocolate shake.  Any way you have chocolate is a good way, and Im sure since it is chocolate day, the calories won’t count!

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Peanut Butter Fudge Day

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By Diane Forrest,

My husband loved peanut butter.  He ate peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter crackers, peanut butter cookies even peanut butter milkshakes!  He loved Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and he really loved peanut butter fudge.  We have a shop in town that makes all kinds of fudge flavors, but his favorite was peanut butter.  He would get a box full, about a quarter of a pound, and it would be unusual if it would make it through the night. In fact, when I was looking up the history of fudge, the shop in our town, Darby's, was at the top of the list.

It seems that a batch of caramels was somehow messed up, hence the name, fudge, as in Oh Fudge!  In 1886, fudge was sold at a local Baltimore grocery store for 40 cents a pound. This is the first known sale of fudge. A letter, found in the archives of Vassar College, written by Emelyn Battersby Hartridge reveals that Emelyn wrote that her schoolmate's cousin made fudge in 1886 in Baltimore and sold it for 40 cents a pound.

In 1888, Miss Hartridge asked for the fudge recipe, and made 30 pounds of fudge for the Vassar Senior Auction. The recipe was very popular at the school from that point forward. Fudge became a new confection after word spread to other women's colleges of the tasty delight. Later, Smith and Wellesley schools each developed their own recipe for fudge.

To try some of Darby's famous fudge, http://www.darbysfudge.com/fudgebybox.html   , or to make your own, try the recipe below from allrecipes.com and have a great Peanut Butter Fudge day!

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter

•  2 1/4 cups brown sugar

• 1/2 cup milk

•  3/4 cup peanut butter

•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•   3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl.
4. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8x8 inch dish. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

National Fudge Day

by Diane Forrest

I just love days like today, not only do I get to write about chocolate, which as many of you know is one of my favorite things...but I also get an excellent excuse to indulge in my passion!  Of course I just  had to whip up a batch so I could take a picture for you...ok well I'm sure there are plenty of pictures of fudge out floating around in cyberspace…but why pass up a perfect opportunity to make some for me? 

When I was a young girl ( a couple of years ago)  We only had fudge at Christmas.  My grandmother would get out the big black iron skillet put in some sugar and butter then sit at the table and chop up pecans while the butter melted.  She would then go back to the stove and stand over the skillet adding the rest of her magical ingredients and then slowly stirring the wonderful candy.  The smell that permeated the whole house was indescribably incredible.  She would then get a cup of water and drop some chocolate to see if a ball would form.  Then she knew it was ready to pour out.  She would spread a sheet of aluminum foil across the counter and pour the fudge across it to allow it to cool.  Then she would give me the stirring spoon to lick.

Once the candy cooled, she would cut it into small ( Too Small!) pieces and placed them in a foil lined metal tin to set on the counter along with all the other Christmas goodies.  Then I believe she stood guard over it so I couldn't sneak a piece or 3 before dinner!  

As the years went by she did more supervising instead of cooking, so I took over the candy making tradition.  As most of our family is no longer able to travel I will send it to them.  That's why it is best done at Christmas time, while the weather is cool and the candy doesn't melt.  Even though we may not always be able to be together, just sharing a bit of the Christmas fudge somehow brings us closer together.

I have changed recipes and now use this one, it's not quite as good as Granny's, but it never fails!  So...have some fudge today, and enjoy!  Oh, and no, I didn't keep all the fudge, I shared it with friends and family, Chocolate always tastes better when you share it with the ones you love!

Fudge:

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk

1 jar ( 7 ounces) marshmallow cream

12 squares semi-sweet Baker's chocolate

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

Bring sugar, butter and milk to a boil and a large saucepan.  Stir constantly until the temperature reaches 234 degrees.  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate squares and marshmallow cream until mixed well.  Add vanilla and nuts.  Pour into foil lined pan and allow it to cool.  Cut into pieces and store in air tight container.  

Don't forget to lick the spoon!