Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

I really love pumpkin and since it has been rainy and colder, I have been feeling like baking something with pumpkin, what could be better than a pumpkin chocolate cake? This cake is moist and filled with chocolate, not overbearingly sweet. This cake received rave reviews from four different friends, all saying it was one of the most delicious cakes and that they didn't want to share! Perfect review I think! I baked this cake in a Rose Bundt pan to show off the pumpkin, chocolate and pecans in a beautiful design. I think it is a show stopper.

This cake is very moist and rich, I used Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Bittersweet Chocolate Chips for this recipe.

Here is what you need: butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, baking chocolate ( I used both Ghiradelli chips and Ghiradelli baking chocolate), vanilla, pumpkin, pecans, cinnamon ( not shown).

Beat butter, add sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.

Mix dry ingredients. Add to mixed butter, sugar and eggs, then add pumpkin.

Add pumpkin to batter.

 

Grease Bundt pan well.

After dividing the batter in half, add melted chocolate. Mix well.

Sprinkle chopped pecans to the bottom of the greased bundt pan.

To the other half of the batter add chocolate chips, mix well.

Pour pumpkin batter with chips on the bottom layer, sprinkle a layer of pecans, top with chocolate batter, sprinkle pecans to the top. Bake 60-70 minutes, test with a knife that it comes out clean. This cake took about 10 minutes longer to bake, the knife did have melted chocolates on the knife, so it doesn't come out perfectly clean. Let cool for 15-20 minutes, my cake stuck in one spot, I eased it out and put it together where it had come apart, it still looked beautiful.

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

 Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 cup (6 ounces) Bitterwseet chocolate chips
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans, divided

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; add to the creamed mixture alternately with pumpkin, beating well after each addition. 
• Divide batter in half. Stir melted chocolate into one portion. In a well-greased 10-in. fluted tube pan, sprinkle 1/2 cup pecans. Spoon chocolate batter over pecans; top with pumpkin batter. Sprinkle with remaining pecans.
• Bake at 325° for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. This recipe was inspired from Taste Of Home.This post has been linked up to these fabulous blogs!
  
  
  
  

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie

My gal pal and one of my favorite foodie's and Chef, Frankie Poe Harvey from The Elegant Gourmet, has asked me to be featured on her incredible blog. I am thrilled and honored that she has asked little ol' me. Not only is Frankie a talented and incredible Chef and TV celebrity, but she has a huge heart. When I was suffering from terrible migraines, Frankie would send me sweet supportive notes and then she sent me an incredible care package with grits, I was so touched by my dear friend, nothing says, " I hope you feel better" better than food. I have been blogging for a little over 11 months. I really can't believe that a year has flown by. I have been cooking and baking since I could reach the kitchen counter, maybe earlier helping my Mom, Grandma's and Great Grandma's in the kitchen. My family is from the south and food and cooking is a really big deal. We would talk about what we were going to make and everyone would have a say in the matter and what would go with each dish and who was coming for dinner. It was like that every day. Everyone had their specialty. I had my vegetarian phase and everyone went along with it as I created dishes and used all of my family members as guinea pigs, some delicious, some tasted like wood chips, but no one ever complained, every one was so supportive of every one's creations. I was so inspired one day when I read a fellow blogger describing her pain because of a tragic event that had occurred in her life, her husband had a heart attack at a very young age. I was heart broken reading her post. I cried and cried. She described how her husband just loved Peanut Butter Pie. Suddenly, hundreds of fellow bloggers started sending photos and notes of their rendition of Peanut Butter Pies for Mikey with a sweet note and story. I get chocked up even now thinking about it. I wanted to be a part of this amazing group of food bloggers. I was welcomed with love and support unlike anything I had ever seen before. I was overwhelmed. I was blogging about something that I absolutely love and I was supported by thousands. I never would have met Frankie Poe Harvey had it not been for my food blog. I love simple and delicious home made food with no fuss. I really have a difficult time saying no to sweets and potatoes, I really may have to go to Potatoes Anonymous. My game day staple would be anything chicken or pasta. Nothing says love like a gorgeous bowl of pasta or pie or chocolate chip cookies. I do have one kitchen quirk, my kitchen must be clean before I can bake or cook. I just can't concentrate in a messy kitchen. I love growing Basil, Oregano, Tarragon and Mint and Tomatoes. I can not grow a sunflower to save my life, I grow hundreds of flowers in my garden, but this one stumps me, WHY?? I can't live without my Kitchen Aid, I am in love with it, Especially when Baking!! Yes, I have used my Kitchen Aid for one of my favorite recipes: The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie.This really is the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie. It is so important to use very good quality chocolate chips. I have been making chocolate chip cookies for over 40 years, now I understand why kids are so crazy about cookie dough ice cream, one taste of this cookie dough and I could hear angels singing. Taking a bite into a warm chocolate chip cookie is the ultimate dessert for me, warm chocolate chips, vanilla, pecans and brown sugar perfection! I made a double batch to bring to Cape Cod for eight delightful Girl Scouts, let me tell you, these cookies were a smashing hit!!

In a large mixing bowl, cream sugars and butter.

Keep mixing on medium speed until creamy.

Add your best Vanilla, I love Penzey's Spices Pure Vanilla Extract Double- Strength.

Add 2 large eggs to creamed sugars and butter.

Beat at low speed until eggs are incorporated.

This looks perfect.

Cookie dough looks firm but creamy.

In a separate bowl,sift flour with baking soda and salt, gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture.

Best cookie dough, what a dream!

So happy that I have made 4 dozen, these babies go quick when there are ten kids!!

Add a good quality chocolate such as Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips!

Gently mix in chocolate chips.

 

I added chopped pecans, why? Because I love pecans in chocolate chip cookies!

This cookie dough would be perfect in ice cream too!!

Smile for the camera you hunk of burning love cookie dough, come to Mama!!

Drop by tablespoon on un-greased cookie sheet.

I didn't photograph it here, but I used a Silpat, makes a light golden brown cookie, you won't have to worry about burning edges.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 

4 dozen cookies

Ingredients: 

11 ¹/₂ ounces Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup butter, softened
³/₄ cup sugar
³/₄ cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 ¹/₄ cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¹/₂ teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375ºF.
Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color. Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto un-greased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.
Note: The 11 ¹/₂ ounces of Bittersweet Chocolate Chips can be substituted with any variety of chip flavor (i.e.- Milk Chocolate Chips, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, etc.)  Nettie This post has been linked up to these Fabulous Blogs! ...