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.

Hashbrown Cheesy Casserole

This casserole is amazing! It's creamy and cheesy and delicious and a perfect addition to a regular meal, a special meal, a potluck, or a holiday meal. I love potatoes in pretty much every way possible, and this recipe does not disappoint. This is supposed to be a copy of Cracker Barrel's hashbrown casserole, and I found two recipes that were just slightly different, so I made my own decision on how to prepare this.

26 oz bag frozen hash browns
1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (10 1/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 pint (16 oz) sour cream
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Colby cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine melted butter, cream of chicken, onion, and sour cream. Stir until well blended.

Stir in potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Pour hashbrown mixture into baking dish.

Bake for about 45 minutes until top is golden brown. Enjoy!