Rich Chocolate Cake Bars

 (Picture and recipe taken from allrecipes)

 
This week I've had the wonderful problem of needing to use up all the chocolate in the house before we move in a few days. I found a recipe that uses up 16oz of chocolate syrup and FOUR eggs. Considering we still have almost 2 dozen eggs this recipe made a good dent in my stash. I also doubled the butter called for, quite by accident. But since the idea here is to use EVERYTHING up, it was probably a good idea in retrospect. The recipe posted is for the original amount of butter. These came out great and were extremely fast and easy to make. I wasn't sure we could eat this much chocolate cake... but with the stress of moving we seem to be making good headway :D

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (16 ounce) chocolate syrup
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• GLAZE:
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large mixing, cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in syrup. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture an mix well. Stir in nuts. Pour in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. For glaze, combine the sugar, milk and butter in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 1 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat. Add chips and vanilla; beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Spread over warm bars. Cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Sandy's Chocolate Cake

Sandy was the winner of the Hershey's Chocolate Cake challenge a few years ago at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. I think she should just re-submit this cake every year as I can't imagine any could top this recipe! If you don't want a giant seven pound three layer cake you could cut back the recipe 1/3 for a 2 layer cake or in half for a 13x9. It's best with ice cream of course. Oh, and if you don't use all the frosting called for you really ought to add more ;) A certain lucky little boy had this cake for his second birthday.

• 3 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream
• 1 1/3 cups boiling water
• FROSTING:
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
• 5 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream brown sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with sour cream to creamed mixture. Mix on low just until combined. Stir in water until blended. Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. For frosting, in a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Cool several minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Frost cooled cake. 

EDIT: I've made this cake three times now. Most recently it baked in only 25 minutes. I'm not sure if the oven was just running hot that day or if I made a mistake setting the timer, but you might want to check the cake 10 minutes early just in case.

 This is also good with a vanilla whoopie filling in between the layers, like the filling found here...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/whoopie-pies-vii/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=whoopie%20filling&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e13=A%3aSearch%20Results-List%28control%29&e7=Recipe

Blueberry Coffee Cake

This is a very dense, almost like a pound cake, and absolutely delicious recipe! I use frozen blueberries which means you should bake it longer at a lower temperature. That way the inside has plenty of time to bake without the outside getting too dark. If you are baking it in a bundt pan you should get some of that amazing cooking spray with the flour in it so your cake falls out of the pan without breaking. You can also make this recipe in loaf pans.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream or cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (175 degrees C). spray bundt or loaf pan with cooking spray plus flour.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Fold in blueberries.
3. Bake for about 70-80 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the crown of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invert onto a serving plate, and tap firmly to remove from the pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving. 
4. It will be done faster if you are using fresh blueberries, so adjust time accordingly!