Tag Archives: chocolate cake

Caramel Turtle Bundt Cake

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Ruthanne

Swirls of caramel and chocolate cake, topped with caramel sauce and pecans, make this a beautiful and decadent dessert!

I love bundt cakes. They are just so pretty and fun to serve. This one is a combination of caramel and chocolate in a memorably beautiful and tasty display of yumminess!

This uses cake mixes and Kraft caramels, so it is a quick and easy dessert to put together, and it serves a ton of people, 14-16 at least.

Here’s how we made it: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One box of chocolate cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
One box of caramel cake mix- I use Duncan Hines- (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
32 Kraft Caramels (unwrapped)
1 can (14 oz.) of sweetened condensed milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter
Whole Pecans (as many as you want to sprinkle on top)
Mini chocolate chips (as many as you want to sprinkle on top)
I also added some Kraft caramel bits as sprinkles because I had them and they sounded fun- those are the little round caramel bits you see in my photos.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Make up both cake mixes according to package.
Alternate pouring them into a well-greased bundt pan. Fill the pan only 3/4 full. You will have a little cake mix left at the end, since both mixes don’t fully fit in the pan.
Place on a cookie sheet (just in case of overflow) and bake for 40-50 minutes. A cake tester or skewer should come out clean when cake is fully baked.
Allow cake to cool for 5-10 minutes in pan, and then tip onto a wire cake rack to finish cooling.
While cake cools, make caramel.
Place unwrapped caramels into a medium saucepan with sweetened condensed milk and butter.
Heat on medium/high, stirring constantly, until caramels are completely melted and smooth.
Place cake on serving plate.
Pour caramel sauce over the bundt cake, allowing it to run down the sides.
Immediately sprinkle with nuts and chocolate chips. If you wait these will not stick to the caramel as it hardens.
Allow topping to cool and firm up before cutting.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: This is such a moist cake, and if you aren’t a big fan of frosting this is perfect- no frosting at all- just a soft caramel. It’s a perfect fancy dessert that is so quick to make, and fun to serve!

One more…

Other yummy caramel desserts you’ll love (just click on photo to be taken to recipe):

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Posted in Cakes and tagged best, bundt cake, cake, caramel, caramel bundt cake, caramel cake, caramel sauce, chocolate cake, chocolate cake mix, chocolate chips, dessert, easy, elegant dessert, Kraft caramels, pecans. chocolate, recipe, turtle bundt cake. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Chip Cake

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Ruthanne

This delicious chocolate chip cake recipe is a tried-and-true family favorite and a go-to for a winning bake-off recipe!

This recipe is my grandma’s, but my mom made it a lot when I was growing up. She didn’t tell me her secret ingredients until I loved it too much to care that there were dates in it. Man, do I hate dates. I’m not sure what happens to them in this recipe though- they are magically transformed into chocolatey goodness that doesn’t resemble dates in the slightest!

It’s an ugly cake. I mean, it’s just a plain old chocolate cake, and it’s sweet enough without frosting. I was hoping my photos could adequately convey how delicious it is. My mom used to lay paper lace doilies on top, just before serving, and sprinkle it with powdered sugar. When she removed the paper lace it really was pretty. Plus it routinely won our church bake-offs each year… I love beautiful desserts, but for this one it truly is the inside that counts! Plus it is ridiculously easy to make. Here’s how: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of pitted and chopped dates
1 cup of hot water
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup of margarine
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini- chips because it was all I had- and they worked great!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees and spray a cake pan with non-stick spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the dates, water and baking soda, and allow the dates to soak while you put the rest of the ingredients together.
Cream together margarine and sugar. Add eggs and blend together.
Add dry ingredients (except for chocolate chips) and blend well.
At the end, add date and water mixture. Blend well and add chocolate chips.
Pour into cake pan and bake 40-50 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Enjoy!

Our family recipe made me smile. Oleo (??) is margarine… and bake “til done” is nice too. Gotta love the way grandmas bake! This is my mom’s recipe card and she graciously added “40 minutes” at some point in the history of making this cake for us.

My thoughts: Well, I love this cake. It is so moist and sweet (probably from those dreaded dates!) and it genuinely doesn’t need frosting. (As a frosting addict, that is saying something!) This is SO easy to put together and it is great served warm with a little ice cream! Yum… I hope you get a chance to try it and make it one of your family favorites! Enjoy! ~r

Other family tried-and-true recipes~ just click on a picture to see the recipe:

Need a fun and unique gift idea? Easybaked has adorable boxed sets of notecards. They have an Easybaked dessert photo on the front and a recipe on the back! The come in a cute box and the best part? They are ON SALE for Christmas, include free shipping and the site that is hosting them offers $10 off a $50 purchase! Enjoy!!! (Click on photo for more information)

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Posted in Cakes and tagged best, cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate chips, dates, easy cake recipe, family recipe, holidays, recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Strawberry Layer Cake!

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Ruthanne

Such an easy and refreshing dessert! If you need something beautiful but quick, this is your recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed chocolate cake mix (with water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
One (8 oz) container of Cool Whip
One (7 oz) container of Jet Puffed Marshmallow fluff
One tub of ready-made chocolate frosting
About 25 ripe strawberries.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake according to box and bake in 2- 8 or 9 inch round pans.
Cool cakes, trim off tops to level each cake and cut each cake into two layers
Mix Cool Whip and marshmallow fluff together until smooth.
Spoon frosting into bowl and heat for about 30 seconds in microwave. Stir. It should be a hot fudge consistency.
Wash and slice strawberries lengthwise (I used an egg slicer to make this easier).

Place one layer of cake on serving plate. Spread with a bit of melted frosting and a bit of the cream mixture.
Place strawberries along the edge with points facing out. Use small pieces to fill in the middle.

Do this with each layer and then top final layer with remaining cream and frosting.
Decorate as desired.
Keep refrigerated until serving.

My thoughts: I miss summer. I’ve been craving strawberries and this yummy cake did the trick! It is easy and delicious and you’ll impress everyone you serve it to! Enjoy!!! ~r

Other strawberry desserts you’ll love ~ click on the image to get to the recipe:

26 Comments

Posted in Cakes and tagged cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate cake mix, chocolate covered strawberry, chocolate frosting, cool whip, dessert, easy dessert recipe, fruit desserts, fun cakes, jet puffed marshmallow, layer cake, marshmallow fluff, ripe strawberries, slice strawberries, strawberry, strawberry dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Mini Heath Bar Crunch Cakes

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Ruthanne

These mini Chocolate cakes are filled with a creamy Heath Bar filling and covered in a chocolate glaze.

A few weeks ago I posted a Boston Cream Pie recipe using this fun little Mini Cake Pan. Again, this recipe would work just fine as a regular cake with the cream as a filling between the layers and the glaze poured over the top– but I chose cute over practical and used these pans. This is the second dessert I’ve done in them and they just turn out beautifully! Here’s the recipe- it is an easy one!!!

Ingredients:

One chocolate cake mix (with oil, water and eggs to make according to box)
2 c. Cool Whip Topping
2 1/2 c. crushed Heath Bars
2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c. unsalted butter
1 T. corn syrup

Directions:

Make glaze 1st: Melt together chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Place in fridge for at least one hour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Make cake mix according to box
Spoon about 1/2 c. of batter into each Mini Cake Pan
Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes
Tip baked cakes on to a cake rack and cool completely.
Repeat this process (one cake mix will make 4-5 complete cakes)
To make filling, combine Heath bars with Cool Whip topping.
Spoon filling in the cavity in each cake.

Tip one cake layer on to a second (keeping the fillings in the middle)
Remove glaze (it will be pretty thick) from the fridge and frost tops and sides of each cake.
Reheat remaining glaze and pour over the top of each cake to make a smooth outer layer (do this on a cake rack over a cookie sheet so excess glaze can drip through).
Sprinkle tops of each cake with remaining crushed Heath bars.
Chill until glaze is hard.

My thoughts: I’m a huge fan of heath bars and chocolate together, so this was a dream dessert in my book! I really like how the white filling is a “surprise” when you cut into the cake. These are VERY easy to make and put together- my only dilemma was the glaze. I tried it with the Boston cream Pie recipe and struggled with it then, but it was SO YUMMY that I used it again here. I didn’t get the smooth finish I was hoping for…sigh. If any of you have a good smooth glaze that you use– please share!!!! Enjoy!!! -r

NOTE: This recipe will be automatically posted for me as I will be out of the country for a few weeks. I will be unable to answer your questions or respond to your comments during this time– my apologies ahead of time! I will catch up with all of you when I return! -r

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Posted in Cakes and tagged baking, cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate glaze, chocolate heath bar cake, cool whip, dessert, heath bar filling, heath bars, mini cake pans, party cakes, party desserts, unique dessert, wilton cake pans. Bookmark the permalink.

Peanut Butter Cup Layer Cake

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Ruthanne

Chocolate cake filled with layers of fudge and whipped peanut butter- yum!

INGREDIENTS:

One chocolate cake mix (with water, eggs and oil to make according to box)
1 c. creamy peanut butter
8 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened to room temperature)
1/2 c. sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip topping
One tub of ready-made chocolate frosting (I used dark chocolate..mmmm…)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 2- 8 or 9 inch round pans with cooking spray.
Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of both pans and spray this with cooking spray.
Make cake mix according to package and pour evenly into two pans.
Bake according to package.
Tip cakes over onto a cake rack to cool completely.
Make filling by beating together peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar.
Gently fold in the container of whipped topping.
Make fudge sauce by spooning pre-made frosting into a microwave-safe bowl and heating in microwave for about 30 seconds (until smooth and creamy when stirred).
Prepare cakes by leveling the tops using a large serrated knife, then cut each cake into 2 layers using the same serrated knife or a Wire Cake Slicer .
Place one layer onto serving plate, top with 1/4 of peanut butter filling
Place second layer of cake on top of 1st, spread a layer (about 1/3 of the total amount) of frosting fudge over cake, top with another 1/4 of peanut butter filling.
Place 3rd layer of cake on top of 2nd, spread 1/4 of peanut butter filing over layer.
Top with final layer, rest of peanut butter filling and then pour remaining frosting fudge over the top, pushing it over the edges. Sprinkle with mini peanut butter cups and chill before serving.

My thoughts. Really easy cake and fillings. The hardest part is simply cutting the cake into layers. I really like this cake served cold…it doesn’t have to be…that’s just how I like it— chilled peanut butter cup cake- yum. Enjoy!!