by Dana | Feb 9, 2018 | Desserts, Recipes
This rich chocolate cake recipe will have your friends and family asking for this recipe, guaranteed! Is there anything better than chocolate cake? I think not! This homemade chocolate cake recipe is one of the best I have ever tasted! You might find there are a couple ingredients you wouldn’t expect in a chocolate cake, but trust me, it is so good!! This chocolate cake is rich, moist, and decadent. If you don’t like chocolate, this is not the recipe for you! I have to be honest, layer cakes and I have not always been besties. I’ve had many a failed layer cake in my kitchen, I am not embarrassed to admit it. What I have finally come to find out, is that you need about double the amount of frosting you think you need. Having some leftover frosting is way better than not having enough then having to make another batch of frosting. At that point, I always just gave up and said the heck with it! But, now that I learned from my mistakes I can pass that wisdom on to you. You’re welcome. 😉 Ugh, you can just tell from the photos how rich and moist this chocolate cake is. You can obviously decorate it however you want, but I wanted this cake to just scream chocolate at you so that’s why I added the candy bars on top, totally optional. Best Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever Directions: First, make the cakes in advance. Bake, and let cool completely. You have to make sure they are completely cooled before frosting. Once they are...
by Dana | Feb 7, 2018 | Desserts, Recipes
Creamy rice pudding is one of those staple classic recipes you need up your sleeve, this version is sweet, creamy, and studded with raisins! If you love creamy desserts, this is the post for you! Super creamy rice pudding with warm spices and raisins, you can’t go wrong! This is the best rice pudding recipe I’ve ever made! It’s super easy too because you can use leftover rice. I love making rice pudding with cooked rice because that is one step already done for you and more than half the cooking time cut in half, score! I used long grain white rice to make this recipe but basmati rice works well too. What makes this version the best rice pudding recipe? It’s the addition of regular and golden raisins along with a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon. Warm spices really make this easy rice pudding shine! Alternatives and Add-Ons: Experiment with dried fruits like dried cherries, apricots, or even mango in place of the raisins. If you are using dried fruit that is bigger than a raisin, make sure to chop them up first. Also, mixing up the spices will make it your own, try chai spice in place of the cinnamon! You can also stir in some nuts right before serving to add a nice textural element. I suggest walnuts or chopped almonds! Don’t have cooked rice on hand? No worries, bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small pot. Add 1/2 cup rice, stir, cover, reduce to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Now, on with the rest of the...
by Dana | Jan 30, 2018 | Desserts, Easy Recipe, Recipes
White Chocolate Truffles are one of those decadent desserts you don’t have very often. I have made this easy version so you can make them at home whenever you want! With just four simple ingredients… (including the sprinkle exterior), these truffles couldn’t be any more simple. Just butter, white chocolate chips, and sweetened condensed milk. Boom, done! Truffles are traditionally made with ganache. I make a microwavable ganache that I use on all sorts of desserts. Making them into truffles is just a super simple way of using ganache, but they are so good and easy you will want to make them all the time! Easy White Chocolate Truffles Recipe Directions: Place butter in the bottom of a microwave-safe bowl. Place white chocolate chips on top, and pour the condensed milk over everything. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Let sit one minute. Stir until everything is melted and combined, this might take a few minutes. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. You want to leave this in the fridge until the ganache is set, that will take about 2-3 hours. When the ganache is set, take about 2 to 3 teaspoons of it at a time and roll into balls, immediately roll into sprinkles of your choice and place on a sheet tray. Enjoy! You see these really can’t get much easier! Now that you have the easy white chocolate truffle base down, you can add all kinds of things to them to make it your own! I suggest dipping them in melted...
by Dana | Jan 22, 2018 | Desserts, Recipes
Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake, red velvet cake with a swirl of cheesecake throughout, topped with cream cheese frosting and crushed red velvet Oreos… basically the best cake EVER! This red velvet cheesecake cake recipe is THE BEST CAKE I HAVE EVER MADE. There, I said it. Am I sorry? No. Just stating facts here people, it’s the best. Period. If you follow my blog, you know I like to name drop my husband, Jeremy quite often. I do this a lot because a lot of the food I make I cater to his tastes. Because that’s just what you do with people you love, make things you know they will like. I really wanted to surprise him with an epic cake… just because… so I came up with this beauty! Jeremy’s two favorite desserts are red velvet cake and cheesecake. So, why not mash the two together?! Well, I did a good job because he LOVED it. (And, so did I… I mean WOW!) The cake stays super moist from the cheesecake filling swirled all through it. Top it with an epic cream cheese frosting and a garnish of crushed red velvet Oreos and you’re in Heaven! The Oreo garnish is optional of course, I just like to have a little something on top of all my cakes for a little decoration. They do add a nice textural element as well. Also, I cheated and used a box cake mix for this. Okay, hear me out, I’m lazy. LOL. But, no seriously, when you are in a crunch they are just easy and...
by Dana | Jan 18, 2018 | Uncategorized
Simple french toast should be a recipe everyone has in their arsenal, this one is a super easy baked version! Who doesn’t love a vanilla french toast?! Crispy on the outside, custardy on the inside, and dripping with maple syrup, you can’t go wrong! The only thing I don’t like about french toast is having to make it. I know, you’re probably like, Dana has finally lost her mind! I love to cook, don’t get me wrong but mornings… let’s just say I don’t do mornings very well. So, we don’t get a breakfast that is too involved around these parts. Unless it is a slice of sour cream coffee cake from the day before, most likely we are just having coffee. And, you will take it or leave it cause that’s all this Mama is making. But, now overnight recipes I can get behind. I like our Sunday mornings to be special so, if taking 10 minutes out of my Saturday night to have this easy french toast bake in the morning… I can handle that. This cinnamon french toast recipe couldn’t get any easier. All you do is lay our slices of cinnamon bread, top it with your custard mixture, cover it with plastic wrap, and pop it in the fridge. The next morning you sprinkle some pecans and an amazing cinnamon crumble on top. Put it in the oven and 45 minutes later you can enjoy this warm french toast with your morning coffee. We like a drizzle of maple syrup around here… the good stuff. Or, if you are...