Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I pray you have a wonderful time of celebrating the Savior's birth. I'm including one of the most beautiful Christmas carols ever written for you to enjoy. :)

Pumpkin Dump Cake

So today I want to share another recipe I recently picked up from my mom. She didn't make it while we were growing up, but I wish she had! It is called Pumpkin Dump Cake. I would describe it as something like pumpkin pie cobbler. :-) I've never been a big fan of pumpkin pie, but this, I like. I want to incorporate it into our Thanksgiving tradition to replace said pie, but the Professor is too big of a fan of the pie. I can't eradicate it completely. HOWEVER, he is also a very big fan of this cake and I think he's going to be willing to let us rotate back and forth from year to year. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Happy baking!

Ingredients
1 large can (appx. 29 oz) of Pumpkin
1 can (12 oz.) of Evaporated milk
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups of Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 yellow Cake mix
3/4 cup melted Butter or Margarine

Steps
Lightly grease 9 x 13 pan
Preheat oven to 350*
Combine all ingredients except cake mix and butter. Pour into pan.
Sprinkle cake mix lightly onto mixture. (The mixture can be thin, so if you plop too much at once it could very well sink in.)
Drizzle butter all over the top (also do this carefully, for the same reason as the last step.) The butter will mostly cover the top of the cake.
Bake at 350* for 60 min or until done.
Allow to cool enough for the pumpkin mixture to set.

Is good to serve both warm or cool. Tastes good with cool whip on top. Enjoy!

Cake Mix Doctor - Stacy's Chocolate Chip Cake

Sorry for the posting break. I was knocked out with a cold for several days and then the Thanksgiving celebrations got a little busy. My presence might be scarce for the rest of the Christmas season as well. We will see. But for today....

I want to share with you a super duper yummy recipe. I got a terrific cook book from a friend called The Cake Mix Doctor. When you open it, there are pages in the front with pictures of ALL the delicious recipes and looking through those is enough to inspire a week-long baking spree. :) I have not normally been much of a fan of cake, but the kinds this book turns out are terrific because they are embellished with all kinds of good ingredients. :)


Today's recipe is Stacy's Chocolate Chip Cake.

It doesn't look all that impressive in it's picture, and it wouldn't have been my first choice to make, but it was the only one I had all the ingredients for one day. WOW, I was surprised at the incredible outcome. Made it twice and it is delicious! It's not super sweet, so it almost reminds you of a muffin, but yummier. Everyone who's had it so far loved it and usually needed a second slice. :) So here it is. Enjoy!

Serves: 16

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes

Baking Time: 58 - 60 Minutes for a Tube Pan; 50-52 Minutes for 8 in. loaves

(I've actually made mine in a bundt pan, following the tube pan guidelines. Worked fine.)

Items Needed:

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan

Flour for dusting the pan

1 bar (4 oz.) German Chocolate -I've used all kinds of chocolate

1 pkg .(18.25 oz) plain yellow cake mix

1 pkg. (3.4  oz) vanilla instant pudding mix

1 cup whole milk -I've used 2%

1 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower.

4 large eggs

1 pkg. (6 oz; 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips. -I follow this guideline casually. More chocolate is always better. :)

Steps:

1. Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly mist a 10-inch tube pan (or three 8-in. loaf pans) with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.

2. Break the chocolate bar into four pieces. Grate the bar using a food processor or hand grater until the bar is finely grated. (If you are using a food processor, insert the steel blade and drop the chocolate pieces into the processor one at a time.) Set the grated chocolate aside. -I also grated a regular Hershey's almond bar once. Another time I just used already shaved chocolate that is for super good hot-chocolate. It worked great and was easy. I've seen it particularly in the check-out aisles at places like Marshalls HomeGoods or TJMaxx.

3. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.

Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute.

-Stop the machine, fold in the grated chocolate, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

-Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping sides as needed.

-Fold in the chocolate chips. The batter should look well blended and the chocolate chips should be evenly distributed.

-Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan (or divide equally among the loaf pans) smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

4. Bake the cake at 325* until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 58-60 min. for tube pan (50-52 min. for loaf pans). Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool 20 min. for a tube pan (5 min. for a loaf pan).

-Run a long sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack, then invert it again onto another rack so that it is right side up. (I just do whatever is pretty)

-Allow cake to cool completely, 30 min. more, then serve. (Cool loaves out of the pans on their sides.) I have followed these directions, and the cake is usually still warm. It makes it a little crumblier when you're cutting it, but the taste is LOTS better. I actually recommend warming it up just touch -maybe 7 seconds for a slice- any time you are going to eat it. The warmth brings out the flavor alot better.

Store the cake covered in aluminum foil or plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 1 wk. (I've also used a plastic cake holder with a snap-on lid and it worked great, cake stayed moist.) Or freeze it, wrapped in foil for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.