Oreo Cake

This might be it. The chocolate cake that will end my search. It is moist, dense, oh sooo good and all the ingredients are already in the pantry. Seriously, what more could you ask for. The Oreo butter cream is a definite bonus. But this cake can stand on its own 2 feet, no frosting necessary. I have recently discovered the treasure trove that is MBA which is where I found this gem.

Cake
1 pkg. devil's food cake
1 (5.9 oz.) pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix (I used a small 3.something oz. pkg.)
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. sour cream
1 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 c. warm water
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips (I left these out)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the bottoms of 2 -9 inch round cake pans with parchment and grease pans thoroughly. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, pudding mix, salt, vanilla, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and divide batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 25- 35 minutes, rotating the pans half way through the baking time (yeah, I didn't do that and it was still awesome). Bake until the top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake for at least 30 minutes before inverting. Allow cake to cool completely on wire rack.

Oreo Butter cream
1 stick salted butter, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (I went with the salted, and it was still great)
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 lb. powdered sugar (I figured this was just over 5 1/2 c.)
3-4 Tbsp. very cold milk
25 Oreo cookies, chopped

Cream the butters in a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract and combine well. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk, one tablespoon at a time, combining well after each addition until you reach the desired consistency. Fold in chopped Oreo Cookies.

Strawberry Syrup

One major plus about living in the middle of nowhere is that you are surrounded by farms. Springtime + farms = yummy berries. So I have had my heart set on making freezer jam this year with all the abounding strawberries in season. And might I add that I have been putting off this venture for some time now because I was convinced it would would involve a week of standing over a giant pot of scalding hot fruit mixture that I would in the end have to throw out. This is not the case. I was able to make a batch start-to-finish (clean up included) in less than an hour. So don't fear freezer jam making, it is beyond easy. If you can stir, you can make it. Now back to the syrup. So I was truly clueless to how much 8 quarts of strawberries actually is. A LOT. After making the jam, strawberry daiquiris, strawberry frosting and the girls eating 2 quarts themselves I still had a good deal left. I remembered seeing a recipe for a syrup here and since they never disappoint I gave it a go. Wow, I think I could eat this on everything. The cinnamon gives it an incredible twist. A must try.

1 c. granulated sugar
1 Tb. corn starch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. thinly sliced and then roughly chopped strawberries (fresh or frozen)

Combine sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in saucepan; stir in strawberries. The strawberry juices will dissolve the sugar and make a wet mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Makes approximately 2 c. of syrup.

Pink Lemonade Butter Cream Frosting

This is a winner. My sister reminded me today that I never did post it, so here it is.

3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar

1 stick, unsalted butter, softened (I use salted)

1/8 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate, thawed (I usually end up using 3 -4 Tbsp)

pink food coloring

Add all ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mixer on low speed using paddle attachment until combined. Increase speed to med-high and continue to beat until butter cream is fluffy and uniformly pink.

Rainbow Cake

I've always wanted to try this one. Now I have. Probably will never do it again. Okay, maybe for a dear niece or nephew someday when I get to be there for a birthday. The cake itself wasn't bad at all. Of course I cheated and used a box mix which I'm sure saved me a good hour or so. The frosting was what had me nervous. There are certain things that just do not do well in my presence: yeast, living plants, egg whites and cooking sugar. But my dearest was tired of the plain ole' butter cream, so I risked the inevitable flop. And then the unthinkable happened, it worked! Somehow I pulled of the frosting and I was happy beyond belief. Be warned - the frosting ALONE contains a full pound of butter. That's 4, count them, four sticks of the glorious golden stuff. So be sure that you have a good number of people to feed this to. The original recipe called for another 1/2 recipe of frosting to allow for a crumb coat. I found that I didn't need it because the frosting went on so smooth that it didn't pull of any crumbs as I worked. You can find the original recipe at Martha's place.

Cake:

2 white cake mixes (you need 6 cups of batter, each cake mix yields about 4 1/2 c.)

Mix cake mixes as directed on the box. (I used the egg white directions to keep the batter white to make the coloring process easier.) Grease and flour 9" rounds. Cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom of each 9" round. Grease parchment paper and place in the pans. (You can use six disposable aluminum round pans or just bake in turns using regular 9" rounds.) Set aside. Using 6 separate bowl, place 1 cup of batter in each bowl. Color each bowl of batter (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple) with gel food coloring. Pour each cup of batter into an individual prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 -12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling rake for 5 -10 minutes before removing from pan. Allow each layer to cool completely, remove parchment paper from bottom the bottom, then wrap cake in plastic wrap to keep from drying out.

Lemony Swiss Meringue Frosting:

9 large egg whites

1 3/4 c. granulated sugar

2 c. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature

2 tsp. pure lemon extract

Cook egg whites and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. (This took me about 10-15 minutes) Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; mix on high speed until mixture is near room temperature and soft peaks form. (You don't want the egg white mixture so warm that it melts the butter.) With the mixer on medium-low, add butter, one piece at a time, mixing well after each addition. Remove whisk attachment and switch to paddle attachment. Increase speed to high and beat until butter cream comes together, about 5 minutes; beat in lemon extract.

Begin laying the cake, starting with purple, cover each layer of cake with frosting before adding the next layer. Frost top and sides of cake. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Store covered in fridge.

Chocolate Frosting

I have found it. The chocolate frosting to replace all other chocolate frostings. I despise the chocolate stuff in the tubs. Refuse to touch it, let alone eat it. So I set off to find a frosting that would save me from the pain and suffering of tub stuff. After a LONG indepth search I discovered this recipe on allrecipes.com. AHHHHHH (me singing praises), this stuff is so good! Super creamy and fluffy. But not too fluffy. Just the right fluffiness. It is amazingly good I tell you.

2 3/4 c. powdered sugar

6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

6 Tbsp. butter

5 Tbsp. evaporated milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistancy with more milk or sugar. Makes enough to frost a 9"x13" cake.

Vanilla Buttercream frosting

Found this little diddy on PW's Tasty Kitchen and it was awesome. I did double the vanilla because well that's just how I am, can't follow a recipe to the "T" to save my life.

4 – 5 c. powdered sugar, sifted

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 – 2 Tbsp. milk

¾ c. salted butter, softened
¼ c. vegetable shortening

Cream together butter and shortening in mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add ½ c. powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add another ½ c. Add vanilla. Gradually add the remaining sugar and add milk until you reach the consistency you desire. A little bit thicker for piping is best. If you are going to use a spatula to ice with, you can use a little less sugar and more milk for a thinner consistency to spread. Continue to mix on medium speed until smooth.