Triple choc choc chocolate (name that movie!)

My good friend is about to have a baby any day now and last week her husband had to go out of town for the ENTIRE week. So I was on call in case she were to go into labor. Anyways, we decided I should stay close by so we hung out literally every day (plus our boys are best friends) and she had mentioned how she LOVES chocolate cupcakes so I hunted down a recipe to try. These did not disappoint! Once again the amazing bakerella supplied the recipe so I highly recommend it and I think she says she uses the special dark cocoa by Hershey's and I didn't use it but I think I will next time. It was a nice chocolaty flavor but I think using the dark cocoa would really make it extra rich.

Chocolate Cupcakes

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 c milk, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare cupcake pans with 36 baking cups.
• With a wire whisk, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
• In a mixer, cream sugar and butter.
• Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides with each addition. Add vanilla.
• Add flour mixture to the creamed butter in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour)
• Bake for about 15 minutes or until done.
• Cool and frost.

Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa)
1 box (1 lb) confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-3 Tbsp milk

• Cream the butter and cream cheese with a mixer.
  
• Add the cocoa and vanilla.
  
• Add the confectioner's sugar in small batches and blend on low until combined. Scrape down sides with each addition.
• Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until you get the consistency you desire.

*Some notes-with the cupcakes I didn't have unsalted butter so I just used regular and didn't add the salt to the recipe. Once again, that was bakerellas recipe.

Ka-POUND cake! Okay that was lame...

This one I got from Bakerella so I'll just copy the recipe and mention what I did differently. I've never done a pound cake before but this one was really easy and SO delicious (notice I say that a lot? Well I wouldn't post a recipe to an "okay" dessert.) I took her advice and added strawberries to it but mine didn't turn out near as pretty as hers. I think it's because I tried to mix the strawberries in AFTER I had poured the batter into the bread pans....oops. But either way no one cared once we cut it up and drenched the slices in cream cheese glaze. Also, the recipe for the glaze is meant to be for TWO loaves....however Brian didn't realize this and while he was nice enough to prepare the plates, he used the entire batch of glaze on one loaf. It was intense to say the least, but I can handle it, I was raised for this kind of eating. :) Once again this is courtesy of Bakerella.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
3.5 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
Using a mixer, cream butter, cream cheesea nd sugar for about 6 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add vanilla and milk until combined.
Add flour mixture until completely combined.

Pour into two greased and floured 9 X 5 loaf pans.

Stir in 2-cups hulled and diced strawberries for each loaf if desired.

Bake for about 60 minutes or until done.

Update: Ummm… Forgot to mention… some of my strawberries sank to the bottom, You know I don't bake with fruit so much, but after reading up on it, I think this will help. Try lightly covering the fruit with flour. Let me know if it works for ya.

Cream Cheese Icing
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and milk until thoroughly combined.
Spread on top of cake.
Store in the refrigerator.

The amazing hunny bun

So my photography skills may be wanting and they certainly don't do justice to most of these desserts I make. But trust me, this one was heavenly! Brian and I inhaled it which is saying a lot since Brian is picky with his sweets. It's technically a coffee cake but I would make it for any old occasion...and maybe hide in the closet and eat it myself.


Hunny Bun Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1 C sour cream
3/4 veg oil
4 large eggs

Filling:
1/3 C honey
1/3 C packed light brown sugar
1 T ground cinnamon
1/2 C finely chopped pecans (optional)

Sugar Glaze:
2 C confectioners sugar-sifted
1/3 C milk
1 t. pure vanilla extract

1) Grease 9x13 baking pan and heat oven to 350.
2) Mix cake mix, sour cream, oil and eggs in mixing bowl. Blend on low one minute, scrape down sides, blend on medium for 2 minutes.
3) Pour batter into pan
4) Add the filling. Drizzle honey on top of the batter then sprinkle on brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Swirl with dinner knife till slightly blended. Place pan in oven.
5)Bake for 38-40 minutes or till golden brown.
6) For glaze, mix confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla till well combined. Pour over hot cake in pan.

*Okay some notes- I didn't follow the measurements for the filling. I just eyeballed it and sprinkled as much as I wanted, much easier than measuring it all out. I also didn't add the pecans b/c Brian doesn't like them but I think it would be awesome with pecans. I also made this in a cupcake form and added the filling individually to EACH cupcake and swirled it with a toothpick. Then I added a cinnamon cream cheese frosting, it was a ton of work but reminded me of a cinnabon mixed with a yellow cake.