My bug and I spent the morning making sugar cookies for preschool and had plenty left for us to decorate. Usually if the kids are decorating cookies I crack open a can of frosting for them to make their goopy creations. That said, if I'm going to be doing some of the eating, I prefer to make a bowl of cream cheese frosting. There is no real magic with making good frosting, just a little planning. Butter and cream cheese should be at room temperature. I don't recommend using a microwave to expedite this because it will invariably melt something a little too much. Just pull the butter and cream cheese out of the fridge in the morning and a couple hours later you'll be ready to make the frosting. Also, it really makes a difference to add things one at a time and make sure it is well-mixed (including scraping down the sides of the bowl) before adding more things.
*4 oz. butter *4 oz. cream cheese *2 tsp. vanilla *2 c. powdered sugar
In a bowl with a mixer beat butter until nice and creamy, add cream cheese and beat at a med-high speed until light and fluffy. If you still see lumps of cream cheese, it might have been too cold, let set at room temp a bit and beat some more. Add the vanilla, then the powdered sugar and you've got some tasty confection at your fingertips.
When I was younger my grandma would often make chocolate cake, and we could always count on her using the leftover frosting to make a very yummy treat for us. I figured everyone had grown up on these, but if you haven't tried these, you really should. Keebler makes a close second with their chocolate covered grahams. As you'll see the ingredient list isn't overwhelming and my 4-yr-old loved making them as much as she loves eating them.
*graham crackers *chocolate frosting
Spread frosting liberally on a graham cracker. Place another graham cracker on top. Repeat. Eat. Repeat.
I love chocolate. I keep all sorts of chocolate in the pantry, and am not afraid to admit that I'm the kind of person who will eat chocolate chips straight from the bag if that is all I can find. That said, compared to my hubby, I don't know anything about chocolate. Every year I get the same request, "Could you please make my favorite chocolate cake for my birthday present?" And since baking a chocolate cake is much easier than shopping for a guy who has just about everything, I always agree.
This cake was actually my dad's favorite dessert, and I got the recipe from my grandma, who got it from Mrs. Klenke (of the local Klenke Floral family). I assure you the taste and texture are nothing like you'll get from a box mix, so even though it takes a titch more time, it is worth it!
*1/2 c. margarine, soft (not melted) *1 1/4 c. sugar *3 squares baking chocolate, melted *2 eggs, beaten *1 c. milk +3 TBSP. vinegar (this thickens the milk, but makes me a bit queasy, so I use 1 c. sour cream instead) *2 c. flour *1 c. boiling water + 1 tsp. baking soda *1 tsp vanilla *1/8 tsp. salt
Grease and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans or a 9x13 pan. I grease the whole pan (you could use the spray stuff, but I like to grab a paper towell with a good amount of shortening on it and wipe the pan down...make sure to coat it well), put a cut piece of parchment paper in the bottom (get the circle by folding a square into a triangle, then in half 2 more times and cut off the tip) grease the top of the parchment and then flour the whole thing (do this by dumping 1/8 c. or so of flour into the center of the greased pan. Over the sink gently tap the sides of pan and you turn it until all sides are completely coated). For this cake I usually use cocoa powder instead of flour, but flour will work just fine. Set pans aside and preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, cream together margarine and sugar. Add chocolate and stir in eggs. Alternate adding milk (or sour cream) and flour. Mix until well-blended. Stir baking soda into boiling water and slowly add to chocolate mixture. Add vanilla and salt. Pour into pans and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, rotating pans after 10 minutes. Test cakes with toothpick before removing and if the toothpick shows done (comes out clean) remove them from the oven and let cool in pans for 20 minutes before removing to cooling racks (be careful, this is a very soft cake). Let cool completely and frost. Get some good vanilla ice cream or a tall glass of milk and ENJOY! Chocolate Frosting (Since I always make this to frost 2 rounds, I make 1 1/2 of this recipe and use the leftover frosting to smear between two graham crackers for a yummy treat!) *3/4 cube butter, soft *3 squares baking chocolate melted *3-4 TBSP. evaporated milk, warmed *3-4 c. powdered sugar *1 tsp. vanilla
Cream together butter and chocolate. Add milk and blend well. Slowly add powdered sugar until fully incorporated. Stir in vanilla and frost the cake! Our 4-yr-old was pretty intent on having sprinkles, so I shaved some chocolate on top for a grown-up version.
