The Best Cake I've Ever Made..

I tend to bake a lot of cakes - they're just fun for me. I don't know why but they are and I do.

That being said, this is by far the coolest combo I have come up with. While at my girlfriends, I was snacking on some mint flavored white chocolate morsels and thought, "Wow! what a good icing this would make!" 

Being already a huge fan of Ina Gartens Chocolate Cake, I checked that off the list as a possible canvas for this new awesome icing. Her recipe calls for a light and fluffy milk chocolate icing, but I was shooting for the more dense and think style. I already had it in the back of my mind that somehow I was going to work those white and red swirly mints into the picture, a al white chocolate holiday bark. I ended up using Ina's icing as the base, subbed in white chocolate for the dark, and added in peppermint extract. It turned out great!

I then got to have some fun swinging a zip top bag filled with mints into random appliances and counter tops. I then dusted the cake with the mint particles. I think it turned out great and is a perfect treat for the holiday season or whenever you're in mood. 

Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake (too good to mess with)

White Chocolate Peppermint Icing

 - adapted from Ina Garten

6 oz. good white chocolate

2 sticks of butter, room temp

1 and 1/4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1 egg yolk

1 to 1.5 tsp. pure peppermint extract, depending on how minty you would like it

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, heating in short intervals and stirring in between. Beat the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add in the mint extract followed by the egg yolk. Combine. Add in the chocolate and beat one last time. 

Ice cake once cooled. 

To finish this cake, take 5-8 red/white swirl mints and crush. Dust the cake as desired. 

The McLaughlin Files - Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This one is a goodie. Rumor is my grandmother developed this particular recipe for Sour Cream Coffee cake, and I'm sticking with that story. I understand why it is called coffee cake, it is sometimes served with coffee, but the name on the whole has never really made sense to me. Someone (maybe myself) needs to make a coffee, coffee cake. Maybe there is already one out there. Who knows? 

One thing I do know though is that this is a darn good cake. Nothing is better when its cold and rainy outside. My dad likes his with a big hunk of ice cream, but as for me - i am a purist. The only downside is that it does take a while to bake. All that means is you have an excuse to camp out by the oven and watch Opera or something. (That's what my mom does, so don't be ashamed.) 

Hope you enjoy my first post and this cake finds you happy and with a tall glass of non-fat, organic, triple ultra-high heat pasteurized milk. 

Betty's Sour Cream Coffee Cake - -

For the cake:

1/2 lb. Butter

2c Sugar

4 Large Eggs

2c Sour cream

2 tsp. Vanilla extract

4c Four

2 tsp. Baking powder

2 tsp. Baking soda

1/2 c Oil

One apple, sliced and peeled 

For the sugar:

1c Sugar

3 Tbs. Cinnamon or to taste

Procedure:

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs in one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix. Add in flour slowly in small amounts, followed by baking soda and powder. Add in oil and combine. 

Empty half of the batter into a greased bunt ban and then sprinkle with sugar mixture. Layer sliced apples on top of the batter. Cover with remaining batter and repeat with sugar and apples. 

Bake at 350 for one hour or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.