026: better than sex cake

yes, i know, i know, another cake.  but look at the name of it!  how can you not want to know more??  well, i assure you it's quite simple, and i took it to a girls' night party, and it went quickly and got rave reviews.  no, it's not an original recipe, but i did make a few modifications here and there.  prep time is about 5 mins and total time around 2 hours.

equipment:
9 x 13 glass baking pan
medium bowl for mixing
liquid measuring cup
2 gallon-sized ziplock style bags
hammer
toothpick


ingredients:
1 box german chocolate cake mix (though you could also feasibly use devil's food if you were so inclined) and everything the box mix says you need to make the cake (usually oil, eggs, and water)
1 can (14oz, though you won't use the whole thing) sweetened condensed milk
caramel sauce (i bought a 12oz container, and only used about 8oz of it)
1 container (8oz) of whipped cream (i used the publix version of cool whip)
1 bag of fun sized heath bars or 8 king sized heath bars
chocolate sauce (you'll only need a bit, so the smallest size is fine if you don't have any ice cream to put the rest on)


steps:
1.) make the cake according to the directions on the box.

2.) while the cake is baking, unwrap the heath bars, put them into one of the bags and that bag in the 2nd.  on a safe surface use a hammer (or something equivalently hard) to crush them into small pieces.

3.) let the cake cool completely.

4.) poke holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick almost all the way down the height of the cake.

5.) generously pour the caramel and sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake (it's going to seep down into those holes you just made).

6.) frost it with whipped cream.

7.) sprinkle crushed heath bars over the top of the whipped cream and drizzle chocolate sauce over the top.

time: 5 minuets prep, about 2 hours total bake, cool, and top time
difficulty: 1 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦1/2◊ (4.5 out of 5 stars)
suggestions for variation: mess around with the toppings you use.  maybe try twix instead of heath bars?  different kinds of cake?  fudge instead of or in addition to caramel, sweetened condensed milk, and/or chocolate sauce?  have fun playing around with it!

enjoy!
-kl

025: baked sweet potatoes

look!  real, non-birthday festivity food!  this is my mom's baked sweet potato recipe with my own personal spin.  it's easy to make, and pretty much delicious.  prep time is about 10-15 mins, and bake time was probably around half an hour to 45 minutes.  the sweet potatoes are the dish on the left, and the cranberry recipe is coming up as soon as i revise it a little bit.

equipment:
vegetable peeler (optional)
knife
glass baking pan (i used a 9x13 for 4 potatoes)
small mixing bowl

ingredients:
as many sweet potatoes (yams) as people
butter (melted)
cinnamon
cayenne pepper
ginger
nutmeg

steps:
preheat oven to 350 degrees.  wash and peel each sweet potato.  then cut them into 1/4 inch thick slices so that they resemble chips or disks (see picture above).

mix together the topping, which consists of cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and ginger.  i also added a few grates of fresh nutmeg.  for 4 potatoes, i used about 2 T. of cinnamon, about 3/4 t of cayenne pepper, and 1/4 t. ginger as well as the nutmeg.

place the sliced potatoes in rows (almost like fallen dominoes) in a glass baking pan.  the drizzle the melted butter over the top of the potatoes (this ensures that the topping will stick).  sprinkle on the topping, and bake until the potatoes are soft.  honestly, i think it's impossible to overcook a sweet potato, and i wasn't paying attention to how long i left them in the oven, but it was probably somewhere between half an hour and 45 minutes.  let them cool a bit before serving, but do serve them warm. 

time: 10 minuets prep, 30-45 minutes bake
difficulty: 1 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦1/2◊ (4.5 out of 5 stars)
suggestions for variation:  play around with the exact mix and proportion of your spices to best suit your tastes.  i, for example, love cinnamon, but am not a big ginger gal, so my proportioning might be a little off for your tastes.

enjoy!
-kl