My family makes so much fun of me because I dissect my Snickers candy bars with a knife before I eat them. I have a really good reason for eating it this way though --- it tastes better! I like to slice off the chocolate on the sides and the top and eat that first. Next, I carefully cut off the nougat and peanut layer and eat that second. Finally, I am left with the caramel layer and I eat that with the bottom layer of chocolate - sooo good. I cannot possibly be the only person that eats a Snickers bar like this - right? When I ran across this recipe for a Snickers CAKE on browneyedbaker.com, I realized that it was the perfect excuse for EVERYONE to eat their Snickers candy bar with a knife and fork. (It really is better that way - trust me.) Snickers Cake For the Cake: 2½ cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 3 cups granulated sugar 1 cup + 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder 1 tablespoon baking soda 1½ teaspoons baking powder 1½ teaspoons salt 3 eggs, at room temperature 1½ cups buttermilk, at room temperature 1½ cups strong black coffee, hot ¾ cup vegetable oil 4½ teaspoons vanilla extract For the Nougat Filling: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup granulated sugar ¼ cup evaporated milk 1½ cups marshmallow fluff ¼ cup creamy peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1½ cups salted peanuts, roughly chopped Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting Milk Chocolate Ganache
Bake for 20 minutes and rotate the pans in the oven. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs), about 12 more minutes. Cool the cakes (in the pans) on wire racks for 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.
Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and add the marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, and vanilla extract, stirring until completely smooth. Fold in the peanuts. Let the nougat mixture cool to room temperature before using it in the cake. You can do this leaving it at room temperature or you can pop it into the refrigerator to speed up the process. Be sure to give a stir occasionally as it cools. Spread half of the nougat mixture over one cake layer and drizzle with a bit of salted caramel sauce. Repeat with another cake layer, remaining nougat and more caramel sauce. Top with the final cake layer. Frost top and sides with a thin layer of caramel buttercream. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Spread remaining buttercream on the sides of the chilled cake. Make a batch of chocolate ganache and spread over top of cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Decorate the cake with chopped Snickers Bars. Drooling yet? Me too.
Ciao!
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I'm half Italian and I'm embarrassed to say that I had no idea what an Italian Cream Cake was when I saw it in my Cook's Magazine. After doing some research, I learned that there's actually nothing even remotely Italian about this cake. It's more of a favorite in the American South than anywhere else. It didn't even originate in Italy so I'm not really sure where it got it's name from. I have to say that finding that out, eased my mind just a little because I felt like I had somehow shamed my Italian heritage by not knowing what in the world an Italian Cream Cake even was. Once I did my research and found out that this cake was loaded with coconut and pecans, I realized that I HAD to make one - not because I'm Italian - or because I live in the American South - but because I LOVE coconut and pecans. (and cake) Italian Cream Cake 2 1/4 cups sweetened coconut 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 3 teaspoons vanilla 3 1/4 cups cake flour 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 18 Tablespoons butter 6 Tablespoons shortening 2 1/2 cups sugar 8 eggs 1 cup toasted pecans
Bake 35 minutes at 350.
Frost sides and top of cake with a thin layer of frosting and refrigerate. Spread remaining frosting over cake. A peanut butter and banana sandwich - something Elvis made popular. I've never been a big fan but I know that there are people out there who just swear by that combination of ingredients. Perhaps adding a touch of honey or chocolate to the mix would make it a little more enticing. Apparently I'm in the minority because when I searched the internet for banana cake recipes, the banana peanut butter combination was everywhere! It appears that EVERYONE else in the world is a big fan of the banana, peanut butter and chocolate so apparently, I'm missing out. It's time I made myself a sandwich and gave it a try. Forget the sandwich, I want to try the flavor combination in cake form. I found a really yummy looking recipe on BonAppetit.com. It looked so good, that I just couldn't resist. Banana Chocolate Chip Cake 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar 3 large eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups mashed very ripe bananas 1 cup sour cream 1 10-oz. bag mini chocolate chips Frosting 2 cups creamy peanut butter 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Add dry ingredients alternating with sour cream.
Bake cakes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
Cover top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Decorate with remaining frosting and chocolate curls. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving. Turns out - the chocolate peanut butter banana lovers are actually onto something. This cake was really pretty good. I had some leftover batter so I made a few cupcakes and I was really pretty surprised that I liked it as much as I did. I think I've been missing out all these years. I've got some catching up to do - time to go make a peanut butter and banana sandwich.
Ciao! This summer has been anything but relaxing. Starting this spring with Ryan's graduation party, it has been non stop in this house all summer. Our busy schedule isn't necessarily a bad thing - it's partly due to the fact that we are squeezing in lots of family fun time. A beach vacation in Florida, college orientation, 2 trips to Virginia Beach, a trip to Ohio - all in less than 6 weeks. All four of us are working this summer too which means 4 different schedules to keep up with. As you can imagine, our dinner schedule has been anything but regular this summer. Easy, one-pan meals are my saving grace this summer because there is just no time for big formal dinners. I found this recipe on number-2-pencils.com. It is really tasty, super easy and mega fast! (The trifecta of a perfect summer meal.) One Pan Chicken Burrito Bowl 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces 3 tablespoon of olive oil 1/4 cup of diced yellow onion 1 cup of uncooked extra-long grain rice 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained 1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder 1 teaspoon of cumin 2 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth 2 cups of Colby jack, Monterrey jack or cheddar cheese kosher salt and pepper freshly diced tomatoes diced green onions avocado
Stir in black beans, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic powder, chili powder and cumin. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low.
Garnish with fresh tomatoes, green onions, olives and avocado. If you like, add your chicken burrito to a tortilla. Ciao!
I am completely obsessed with raspberries. I just love them. Fresh raspberry pie might be my all time favorite dessert. We used to visit near a raspberry farm when we lived in PA. They had the best fresh raspberries and the most heavenly raspberry desserts. I found a recipe for Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake on the BrownEyedBaker.com and naturally, I converted it to a Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake. I think the raspberries made it ten times better - but that's just MY opinion. Raspberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake For the Raspberry Swirl: 1 cup finely diced fresh raspberries 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons cornstarch For the Pound Cake: 1½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 3 cups granulated sugar 6 eggs, at room temperature 3 cups cake flour, sifted 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon salt
Let cool in pan then invert onto a cake circle. Ciao!
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