Caramel Cake

There are a few desserts that I just completely associate with the South. Chess pie, banana pudding, and caramel cake are a few of those desserts. Personally, I can live without banana pudding, although I have to make it for my mom and grandpa every now and then, but I can definitely get with the program for a slice of chess pie or caramel cake. Caramel cake is a truly decadent, rich, amazing dessert, and if you've never had a piece, then you definitely are missing out. Just be sure to take any diabetes medication before you bite into a slice, because it is so sweet and rich. This recipe I found on Pinterest for Southern Caramel Cake makes a moist, tender crumb cake and a beautifully whipped, smooth, crazy rich and sweet caramel frosting. You should make this cake for your next potluck... your friends, coworkers, family, or church will thank you.

For the Cake:

3 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Caramel icing, recipes below
3/4 cup of finely chopped toasted pecans, or whole pecan halves, optional

For the Caramel Icing:

2 cups of granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 tablespoons of white corn syrup
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1/2 cup of vegetable shortening
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Have everything at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottoms of three 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray. Cut rounds of parchment paper to place into the bottoms of each pan and grease or flour the pan and paper, or spray with Baker's Joy; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

With a mixer, cream the butter first on medium speed, then add the sugar a little at a time, beating well for about 6 minutes total. 

Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each in before adding the next one. 

Start adding the flour and alternate adding in the flour and the milk, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. 

Add the vanilla and mix well.

Equally divide the batter among the three pans and level the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes back clean, shifting the pans around halfway through. Don't overcook it or it will be dry, so check at about 20 minutes. 

Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

For the icing, combine all ingredients except vanilla in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it reaches the desired caramel color. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Use a hand held mixer to beat it until it cools and becomes thick enough to spread. Spread thinly on each layer, on the top and along the sides. Sprinkle the nuts on top before icing sets, or decorate the top and sides with whole pecan halves.

Mounds Cake

Oh. My. Gosh. This cake was soooooo very decadent. Just pure chocolatey, coconutty, delicious decadence. I ran across the recipe for Mounds Layer Cake on Pinterest, and it looked like something my daughter would love, so I pinned it. It's not exactly a simple cake to make, but it's definitely worth the work. The cake had so much delicious chocolate flavor that it's difficult to describe. It was so moist and just... delicious. If you like Mounds bars and coconut, then you definitely need to try this cake the next time you have friends or family over for dinner.

Filling

14 oz bag sweetened, shredded coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Filling: In a large bowl, combine coconut and sweetened condensed milk. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cake

2 cups sugar
1 cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three 9-inch round pans. It's a good idea to use parchment paper in the bottom on your pans, but not required. If you only have two pans, just fill one pan a little more than the other. You will split the taller cake in half.

Cake: In the bowl of your mixer, combine sugar, cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Add eggs, oil, and buttermilk and beat on medium speed for two minutes.

 

Scrape sides of bowl and stir in boiling water. Divide batter into cake pans (batter will be thin) and bake for 30 minutes or until tops spring back until lightly touched. Allow cakes to cool in pans for about 5 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

Ganache

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup (you can use honey if you are opposed to corn syrup)

Ganache: While cake bakes, in a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and heavy cream. Microwave for about 2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to stir until smooth. 

Stir in corn syrup and refrigerate until slightly cooled and thickened.

Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, slightly softened
1/3 cup cream of coconut (I buy this in a squeeze bottle with the drink mixers)
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 cups powdered sugar

Frosting: While cake bakes, in the bowl of your mixer, beat butter, cream of coconut, and heavy cream on medium speed until smooth. With the mixer set on low, slowly add powdered sugar. Once the powdered sugar is just barely mixed in, increase speed to high and beat for one minute until fluffy.

Spread coconut filling between 3 layers. 

Frost with coconut frosting.

Spoon ganache on top to the very edges of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.

 

Garnish with a scoop of coconut filling if desired. Let ganache set, and then prepare for a bite of heaven.

Beef Kabobs

These are delicious!!! Whether you're on a high protein diet or are just a meat lover, then you really should try these kabobs. There's so much flavor in these, and the ones I made were so tender. I found the recipe on Pinterest: Low-Carb Marinated Beef Kabobs. The best part about these kabobs is how easy they were to prep and grill. They might have been a little better had they been cooked on an outdoor grill with that lovely smokey flavor, but my little indoor grill definitely did a good job.

2 pounds lean beef cut into 2 inch cubes (Tri-tip, London broil, top sirloin, or top loin are good choices. If you marinate longer you could use tougher cuts of meat.)
2 Tbsp beef stock or red wine
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp steak seasoning
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
black pepper to taste
2 bay leaves

Trim most of the visible fat from the meat and cut into 2″ cubes. 

Stir together the beef stock (or red wine), balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, steak seasoning, dried thyme, dried oregano, black pepper, and add bay leaves. 

 

Put meat cubes into the smallest Ziploc bag (or plastic container with a snap-tight lid) that will fit all the meat, then pour in the marinade. 

 

Marinate meat at least 4-6 hours in the refrigerator (or longer is fine if you’re gone all day.) When ready to cook, first soak wooden kabob skewers for at least 30 minutes. Drain kabobs while you preheat grill to medium-high. Put meat tightly on skewers and let it come to room temperature while the grill heats. Grill kabobs to desired doneness, turning as soon as you get some nice grill marks on the first side. 

 

Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the meat and how hot the grill is, but approximate times would be about 8-10 minutes for rare, 10-12 minutes for medium rare, or 12-15 minutes for medium. 

Let the kabobs rest about 5 minutes before serving.