Bailey's Chocolate Poke Cake

We have been in some weird chocolate deficit state. This was an attempt to alleviate that. Overall it was good. Better than most cakes you buy, even a Whole Foods cake. We got a chocolate mousse whole foods cake shortly after making this and we must say, that this is way better. It is relatively easy to make and tastes way better than any store bought one! We didn't have mini chocolate chips so we just used a Trader Joe's dark chocolate bar we had and used the shavings off of it instead. It might have even turned out better than with chocolate chips! :) 

Here's the original recipe:  https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/2018/02/26/baileys-chocolate-poke-cake/

Ingredients:

Cake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup Baileys Irish Cream, divided
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Frosting:
2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Spray a 9×13 inch cake pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a Kitchanaid mixer bowl.
3. Add eggs, milk, vegetable oil, 1/2 cup of Irish cream and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Slowly pour the water into the batter, mixing well.
5. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and poke holes all over.
7. While the cake is still warm, add the chocolate chips to a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
8. Add the sweetened condensed milk and remaining 1/2 cup of Irish cream to a microwave safe measuring cup. Heat heat the milk and cream until they begin to boil, then pour over the chocolate chips.
9. Whisk the chocolate until smooth, then immediately pour over the cake, spreading it into the holes. Don’t let the mixture sit before pouring it over the cake or it’ll start to thicken and not soak in the holes as well.
10. Set the cake in the fridge to cool and soak.
11. When the cake has cooled, add the ingredients for the whipped cream topping to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
12. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake. Top the cake with mini chocolate chips and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

What we liked:

It was really fun to make and try!

What we didn't like:

It is better on day 2, after it's had time to soak and cool rather than right after making it. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He was a little suspicious.

Next time:

Make in advance. 

Update

Well, it's been a while since we were last here. We have slowed down a little in cooking and trying new recipes since we have had a new baby boy in early May! But, we're starting to get back into things.
Our green house is doing good - more of an update on that later - we got Tobacco Hornworms, totally gross, and they decimated our tomatoes in just a matter of two days it seems like.
We are in the process of raising new chickens. We ordered day olds from a hatchery online and these cute little day old chicks came in the mail. We got 18 and lost three of them, but now at almost three weeks (on Wednesday) we still have 15. They are starting to get their feathers in and we really need to work on getting the coop completed so they can go out when they are ready!

almost 3 weeks old

tobacco hornworms

Tobacco Hornworm aftermath - day 2!

Roasted Garlic Asparagus

We thought we had asparagus figured out with the pre-steaming trick we started doing which resulted in all asparagus being cooked evenly. Then, we decided to try this recipe and now it's our new favorite for asparagus. We only used thin asparagus for this recipe the both times that we have made it, but it has come out absolutely perfect both times.

Here's the original recipe: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-garlic-asparagus-364212

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons fresh finely chopped parsley
2 pounds thin asparagus, ends trimmed
Fleur de sel or coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Prepare a cookie sheet with a silicon mat. Spread the asparagus (chop off about 1-2" of the end) in a single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. In a small pot, heat the oil, garlic, onion powder, and parsley on medium-low heat. Cook for 3 minutes, until the garlic mixture is fragrant but not browned.
4. Drizzle on the garlic-oil mixture.
5. Roast for 8-10 minutes, until the asparagus are bright green; do not overcook.
6. Transfer to a platter and serve hot.

What we liked:

This turned out perfect! We served it as a side to mashed potatoes and salmon and it was delicious!

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was great!

What Kaspian thought about it:

He gave it a try. 

Next time:

No change

Ranch

So, we had some pizza that we bought from Costco and we were home and we thought, it'd be really nice to dip it into some ranch. We did have some ranch from the grocery store, Kraft brand in our fridge...but after eating Dion's ranch, it really just didn't do it. So, we thought, well, let's see what goes into ranch and it so turned out that we had all the ingredients! So, we made some. And now I don't think we could ever go back to anything else. Super easy to make and very delicious. It does taste better on the second day once the spices have had some time to permeate through though. This shouldn't stop you from enjoying it immediately though!

Here's the original recipe: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/homemade-ranch-salad-dressing/

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk or regular milk
3/4 - 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon finely cracked pepper
freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste approximately 1-3 teaspoons, adjust to taste

Directions:

Mix everything together for a super delicious ranch dressing!

What we liked:

So simple and good!

What we didn't like:

Why didn't we decide to do this sooner!? 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He's not really a dipping sauce child... Astrid enjoyed it though :) 

Next time:

Adjust spices as you see fit!

Breadsticks

These were SOOO easy to make and turned out great both of the times we have made them. They are fun, fast and delicious! They pretty much get eaten instantly by the children.

We got the original recipe from here: https://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/02/olive-garden-breadsticks/

Ingredients:

1½ cups warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
3½ cups all purpose flour, add more or less as needed
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 Tablespoon salt

Topping to smother them with:
½ cup butter
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix and let stand for a few minutes.
2. Add flour and melted butter. Mix with dough hook attachment until thoroughly mixed. Add more flour if needed.
3. Knead dough for a few minutes just until dough is smooth and all flour is incorporated.
4. Prepare two cookie sheets with silicon mats.
5. Divide the dough in Half. Then, each half into 6 pieces. Roll out into strips (6 for each cookie sheet).
6.  Cover the dough with a towel and let sit in a warm place for about an hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
8. Bake the bread sticks fro 6-7 minutes.
9.  While bread sticks are cooking, microwave ½ cup butter, 2 teaspoons garlic powder and 1 teaspoon salt.
10. After bread sticks have cooked for 6 or 7 minutes, brush the bread sticks with half the butter mixture. Then continue to bake for 5-8 more minutes.
11. After removing bread sticks from oven, immediately brush the other half of the butter on the sticks.

What we liked:

Better than olive garden's!

What we didn't like:

A little too much butter. For the second time, we did closer to 1/2 a stick of butter (1/4 cup) for the basting sauce rather than a full stick. That seemed to work out better. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He LOVED them. 

Next time:

Continue with less butter. 

Beef Bulgogi - Costco prepared meal

We got this prepared meal from Costco. It was a beef bulgogi, that just needed to be fried and served over rice. We prepared the rice and were so excited to try it. It was very disappointing. The dish was SOOOO sweet. Definitely will not be getting it again.

Chocolate Tipsy Bundt Cake

This was a very dense chocolatey cake. It turned out very yummy.
The original recipe was from The Costco Connection Magazine October 2017.
It was not too tedious to make and definitely satisfying.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting the pan
1 cup freshly brewed coffee
1/2 cup rum
1 cup unsalted butter, cut in pieces
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
2 tablespoons rum

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F
2. Spray the bundt pan with oil and dust with cocoa powder
3. Place coffee, rum, butter and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk until butter is melted.
4. Remove from heat and add sugar until dissolved. Set aside to cool.
5. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
6. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. When the chocolate mixture has cooled, add it in to the stand mixer. Add in the flour mixture until well incorporated. 
7. Pour the  batter into the bundt pan and bake for 40- 50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
8. Place on wire rack to cool.

Icing:
1. Melt chocolate in a double broiler. Add butter, milk and rum and simmer for 5 minutes constantly stirring. Add more milk or cream if needed to reach proper consistency.


When the cake has cooled, invert it onto a wire rack over parchment or wax paper. Dust with powder sugar (optional) and drizzle with chocolate rum icing. 

What we liked:

It was great and chocolatey!

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was great. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He wasn't into it. 

Next time:

No changes.