Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake

For those of you who aren't braving the Malls today, here is a fun cake to make.  This is a recipe that I haven't made in years.  I don't know what made me think of it today, but fortunately, I had all the ingredients so I didn't have to make a mad dash to the store.

What makes this cake so fun is how it turns out - it is a pistachio cake with a chocolate center - how cool is that!!  AND it is so easy to make!  Only takes a few minutes to whip up - my favorite type of cake to make!

Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake

Isn't this a pretty looking cake!
Ingredients

1 Package Yellow Cake Mix
1 package Instant Pistachio Pudding
1 c water
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil (I used sunflower oil today because that is all I had)

Grease and flour a bundt pan
Blend all ingredients to moisten, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed with your electric mixer.

Isn't that pretty!!
Pour half of the batter into the floured bundt pan.

Add 3/4 cup Chocolate Syrup (I used Hershey's Chocolate Syrup - YUMMY!) to the remaining batter.  Mix well.
Pour the chocolate batter over the green batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes until you insert a toothpick and it comes out dry.  Remove from pan and cool.  Sprinkle cake with confectioner's sugar.

The outside of the cake will be pistachio with a chocolate center!  What a fun cake!  And it tastes so good!  The cake is nice and moist!  I bet this would be good with ice cream.  Oh come on, WHAT won't be good with ice cream!!

Enjoy!

Streusel Pumpkin Muffins - OH MY!!

Oh boy!  Did I ever stumble on a good recipe this time!  This is another recipe from the "famous"  Internet folder.  (For those of you who don't know about the "FAMOUS INTERNET FOLDER" - it is a folder of recipes that I have printed off the Internet over the last several years.  I have no idea where I found the recipes or why I printed them.  But every once in a while, I will get bored and search in the folder and find a fantastic recipe.   Of course, there have been some recipes that get thrown out and never heard from again!)

Back to today's recipe . . . oh my, this is definitely a keeper recipe - perfect for your Thanksgiving breakfast or brunch (for those of you that do "brunch.") 

Streusel Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:


Streusel Topping

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 C granulated sugar
3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Muffins

1/2 C (1 stick) butter, melted  (I used unsalted butter)
3/4 C pureed pumpkin (or squash, can use canned pumpkin but don’t use pie filling)
1/2 C yogurt or sour cream - I used sour cream because that is what I had on hand
2 large eggs
2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp each ground ginger, ground allspice, ground cloves, ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F and line muffin tin or grease well.
. For the streusel, combine all ingredients using your fingers until crumbly. Can also use a fork.

. For the muffins, stir together the butter, pumpkin, yogurt/sour cream, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl; in a large bowl, sift together remaining ingredients, then stir the medium bowl contents (liquids) into the large bowl.

(Isn't that such a pretty color!!).  Ok, back to the recipe!!  Scoop the dough into muffin tins/papers and top with the streusel topping.

. Bake for 16-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

. Cool on a rack.

Verdict

These are very moist.  I enjoyed them.  Haven't had the other "food critics" (my family) try them yet.  But, this is definitely a keeper recipe.

Enjoy!  And, Happy Thanksgiving!

Baking Day

Another typical dreary Ohio day.  Sometimes in November, we get lucky and will actually see the sun, but mostly we get overcast and sometimes rainy days like today.  Fortunately for me, I have to do a lot of baking so the weather is cooperating and making it a perfect baking day!! 

Today I am making Peanut Butter cookies and my "award-winning" Apple Pie for my husband to take to work.  His fellow employees are having their "Thanksgiving Party" tomorrow and he was told to bring his wife's apple pie.  PLUS earlier this week I baked him Peanut Butter cookies for his lunch (I pack his lunch every day).  Apparently the cookies were a HUGE hit.  I hate to admit it but they are good!  Here is the recipe, they are from the JIF website, though I didn't use JIF peanut butter in the recipe (don't tell them that I used Skippy!!).

Jif's Irresistable Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter (or whatever brand you have handy - but you didn't hear that from me!)
1/2 cup Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening  (I use the butter flavored Crisco)
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the  oven to 375°F.

Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.
Add egg. Beat just until blended.
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2-inches apart onto greased baking sheet.
Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to cooling racks to cool completely.

OK, let's see if anyone knows this answer.  Do you know why peanut butter cookies are always marked with the tines of fork?  Have you EVER seen a peanut butter cookie without the crossed fork imprint?  Well, the answer is to flatten the cookie to make it crisper. A good peanut butter cookie has a crisp edge and is soft in the center.  The flattening  of the dough actually helps to keep the cookie dough together and uniformed. Otherwise, it may just crumble apart while baking.   Also it helps the cookie to bake more evenly, too.

Today's Adventure - German Rye Bread

Beer and sauerkraut - can't get any more German than that!  Well, those are two of the ingredients in this recipe - sounds intriguing doesn't it!  I thought so, too!  The two just go hand in a hand - beer and sauerkraut, makes me want to go out and pet a dachshund! 

Back to the recipe . . . perfect day in Cincinnati for baking.  Another cold, dreary and rainy Cincinnati day.  Nothing better to do than bake (I guess I could always clean the house - yeah right!). 

I found this recipe on the Cookingbread.com.  Boy, does this website have some really neat bread recipes.   Here is the recipe:

Savory German Rye Bread

Makes 2 loaves

3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups flour (I assume all purpose flour - it doesn't say)
1/4 cup cocoa (yep, cocoa - like for hot chocolate!)
3 t caraway seeds
2 t salt
4 t instant yeast
12 oz. can of dark beer (must be DARK beer like an ale - sorry Budweiser won't work here)
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup oil (guessing vegetable oil or olive oil)
1 egg
1 cup sauerkraut, well drained
3 cups light rye flour

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the white flour, cocoa, caraway seeds salt and yeast,  Mix together.
In a sauce pan pour in beer, milk, molasses and oil.  Heat to 110F.  Stir because the oil will float to the top.

Pour the liquid into the flour mixture and add the egg.  Mix for 3 minutes.
Add in drained sauerkraut and enough rye flour to create a stiff dough.   (Here I just added the sauerkraut - at the point, the dough almost looks like brownie mix!)

Knead for 8 to 10 minutes.
Place dough in a greased bowl and allow to raise for 1 hour.**
Punch down dough and divide into 2 loaves. 
Shape into round loaves and place on a greased cookie sheet.  I used parchment paper instead greasing the cookie sheet.  It is your choice, either works fine.

Cover with saran wrap and a clean dish towel.  Let rise for 45 minutes.
Heat oven to 375.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes.
Cool.

ENJOY!!

**If it is cool or cold in your house, a good place to let your dough rise if you don't have proofing box is in your oven with the oven light on.  Just make sure you remember that you have bread in there and don't turn the oven on to bake something else!


NOTES

Your house will smell like sauerkraut! 

I got good rises out of this bread.  I haven't tried it yet.  Waiting for my husband to come home since I made this bread for him.  He is the "rye bread" lover in our family.

The bread doesn't seem heavy.  Alot of the rye bread recipes I have made turn out like bricks.

Final note - My husband liked the bread.  I didn't.  Too much chocolate taste, no rye tasate.  Not sure I would make it again unless he really wanted.  Maybe I will do it again and eliminate the cocoa.  If you make it, please post your comments on what you thought.