Bready or Not: Hunter’s Cake
It’s April. We’re overdue for a cake recipe, yes? How about some Hunter’s Cake?
This is a cake that’s designed for some fantasy-style questing. The crumb is tender to eat but dense, so it doesn’t crumble much.
There’s no frosting, no fussiness. Wrap up slices of this cake to go in a lunch box, a picnic basket, a backpack, or Hobbit’s leather pouch.
Use whatever kind of chocolate you want. I used milk chocolate, because that’s what I tend to keep around. Whatever kind you use, be sure to coat the chocolate chips in flour before you add them to the batter. That will prevent them from sinking.
This cake is perfect to eat right out of hand. No fork required.
Modified from Rescued Recipes by Jan D’Atri in the Arizona Republic.
Bready or Not: Hunter's Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 eggs room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces chocolate chips any kind
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt pan, tube pan, or angel food cake pan.
- In a large bowl, beat together the shortening, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add eggs one at a time until smooth, followed by most of the flour.
- In a small bowl, stir together the chocolate chips and remaining flour; this is important, as it will keep the chips from sinking in the batter as it bakes.
- Stir the floured chocolate and walnuts into the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55 minutes and use the toothpick test to check for doneness; bake longer if necessary. The top of the cake will be golden brown and will likely develop cracks.
- Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack to completely cool. Store covered at room temperature. Cake is great to slice and pack for adventures!
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Loaded Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Hey, it’s been a few weeks since I featured chocolate, so let’s indulge hardcore with some Loaded Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies.
There are a lot of similar pudding-based chocolate chip cookie recipes on food blogs. Some use terms like double, triple, or quadruple chocolate. Me, I’m calling them LOADED.
Use whatever chocolate you want. Mix ‘n match chocolate chips. Chop up some holiday candy bars. Throw in two cup’s worth, and these cookies will be good to go. In your mouth.
I’ve used pudding mix in other cookies and cakes before, with reason. It creates tender, delicious dough that also keeps well. In this case, it makes fat chocolate cookies. You’ll want to squish the dough balls, because they won’t spread much when they bake.
The result is a cookie that will make chocoholics flail in delight. These things are thick, luscious, and, well, loaded with chocolate.
Bready or Not: Loaded Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3.9 ounce instant chocolate pudding 1 box, NOT Cook N' Serve or Sugar-Free
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bars, any kind
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add the pudding mix powder.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Fold in the chocolate.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and tuck into the fridge to chill for several hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Use a tablespoon scoop to dollop the dough onto a cookie sheet. The cookies won’t spread much, so flatten them a bit. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until the cookies are set. Let them settle on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to completely cool.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Chili Spice Chocolate Brownies
This recipe, originally posted at the Holy Taco Church, adds a kick to regular ol’ brownies.
If you’ve browsed the candy aisles of late, you noticed that gourmet chocolate bars are all the rage. Take advantage of this when it comes to baked goods. Flavored chocolate adds an extra level of nuance to brownies and cookies.
For these Chili Spice Chocolate Brownies, I chopped up a combo of Green & Black Spiced Chili Chocolate and World Market’s Dark Chocolate Chipotle, but any type of amped-up chocolate will work here.
Note that I can’t handle really hot stuff–hello, burning skin and inability to breathe and feeling like a taun-taun kicked me in the intestines–but these brownies aren’t spicy in THAT way. There’s an occasional zing of chili here and there, but the main flavor is of the cinnamon and the milder chocolate.
Modified from Cinnamon-Spiced Chocolate Brownies at King Arthur Flour.
Bready or Not: Chili Spice Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter two sticks, melted
- 2 1/4 cups white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups baking cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa, sifted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 bars spiced chocolate bars 3 ounces, such as chipotle or chili, chopped
- 6 ounces milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet
[toggle the chocolates to be more or less spicy based on your tastes, but equal 12 ounces total]
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and grease the surface.
- In a medium-sized saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar. Stir to combine. Heat the mixture briefly, just until it's hot throughout; it'll become shiny as you stir it. Set on a cool burner or trivet.
- Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, cinnamon, and vanilla.
- Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth. Add the flour, again stirring until smooth. Fold in the chopped spicy chocolate and mild chocolate.
- Spoon the batter into the pan, spreading it to the edges. It will be extremely thick and lava-like.
- Bake the brownies for 34 to 36 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and just barely set in the center.
- Remove from the oven. Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Five-Minute Spicy Mexican Fudge
I am here today to preach about fudge inclusiveness as I share a recipe for Five Minute Spicy Mexican Fudge.
I do not sneer at some fudges as being “better” or “real.” To me, it does not matter if the fudge is produced on stove top with a candy thermometer, or with a jar of marshmallow cream, or melted in the microwave.
When it comes to fudge, what matters is this:
Does the fudge taste good? Is the texture pleasing to the palate? Does it make me mutter, “Calories be darned to heck,” and reach for another piece?
That is the criteria by which fudge should be judged.
That said, I present to you a fudge that is zapped in the microwave and assembled all of five minutes. Let it set in the fridge for a few hours, and ta-da! You have a fudge that will keep well for days. It also holds up well at room temperature if you’re serving it at a party.
The Mexican spice element comes from cinnamon and cayenne pepper. I used the minimal amount of pepper, 1/8 teaspoon, which provides complexity but absolutely no discernible heat. Tweak the scorch level to your personal taste. Do, however, sprinkle coarse salt to add some lovely contrast.
Originally featured at the Holy Taco Church. Recipe adapted from Wine and Glue.
Bready or Not: Five-Minute Spicy Mexican Fudge
Ingredients
- 3 cups milk chocolate chips about a bag and a half
- 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk can
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon Mexican cinnamon preferred
- 1/8 - 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- kosher salt or coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Line an 8 or 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Lightly grease it.
- Use a microwave or sauce pan to melt together the chocolate and sweetened condensed milk. If you're using the microwave, use short bursts of 20-30 seconds and stir well between each.
- Once the chocolate mix is smooth, pour in the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. (Note that 1/8 teaspoon provides a little flavor, not much heat, so add cayenne and taste to adjust to desired heat level.)
- Immediately pour the fudge into the prepared pan. Smooth out to edges and sprinkle salt all over the top. Let set in fridge at least four hours before cutting. Keeps in covered dish in fridge for upwards of a week.
- OM NOM NOM!
Giftmas Bready or Not: Cake Batter White Chocolate Fudge (Microwave)
I’m offering a holiday-favorite Bready or Not recipe again to help kick off Rhonda Parrish’s Giftmas Blog Tour. Rhonda lives up in Edmonton, Alberta, and she’s hoping to raise funds for the Edmonton Food Bank. I’m all about helping to feed people! Please donate if you can. Note that funds are listed in Canadian dollars.
Rhonda is also doing a giveaway as part of the tour. She’s making a crocheted throw. The winner gets to choose the color, and she is shipping it anywhere in the world!
Wander around to other stops on the tour over the next week. I’ll post another favorite recipe at Eileen Bell’s site on the 10th!
This is a sweet cause, so here’s a recipe to make something especially sweet: microwave fudge that uses cake mix!
Eating this fudge is like licking the paddle after mixing up cake mix batter. If you prefer savory over sweet, this recipe isn’t for you. This is for the people who love fudge and frosting and all things sweet.
I didn’t limit myself to sprinkles in this. I had some Christmas candies, the type for topping cupcakes and such, that had been sealed away for a year. It had been a great post-holiday clearance buy. I wanted the containers GONE, so I pretty much dumped the contents into this fudge. That’s why you see little light bulb shaped candies in there.
This is obviously a great Christmas recipe, but it’s an easy one to customize year round depending on the colors you mix in. Make fudge to support your favorite sport team, or pink and red for Valentine’s Day, or pastels for spring. Cake mix goes on sale all year round, too, making this a pretty cheap recipe to throw together.
Whatever you add in, I’m sure it will be pretty. And delicious. So very, very delicious.
Modified from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Bready or Not: Cake Batter White Chocolate Fudge (Microwave)
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 Tbsp white or yellow cake mix any brand, sifted
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1/2 cup salted butter cut into chunks (or use unsalted and add a pinch of salt)
- 1/4 cup milk almond milk works
- 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles/non pareils/jimmies
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside. Measure the white chocolate chips and the sprinkles in separate dishes so they are ready to add quickly.
- Mix sifted cake mix and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add milk and butter, without stirring, and microwave for 2 minutes.
- Promptly mix ingredients until the butter is fully melted and incorporated. The batter will be very thick. Fold in white chocolate. Add the sprinkles last and stir gently so they don't leak too much color.
- Scoop into prepared baking pan. Level it across the top. Chill the fudge in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before cutting into small blocks.
- Fudge will keep upwards of a week in the fridge, if it lasts that long.
OM NOM NOM
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Bready or Not: Maple Walnut White Chocolate Cookies
These Maple Walnut White Chocolate Cookies are light, crisp, and full of maple goodness.
Story prompts inspire stories. Cookbooks inspire new spins on already-great recipes. In this case, I found my inspiration in the cookbook MAPLE, which also provided the basis for my Maple Pear Galette and part of my Maple Apple Pie (aka Voltron Pie).
I loved the look of the original recipe, but right off the top, I knew I needed to make some adaptations. I don’t keep whole wheat pastry flour around. I decided to substitute with cake flour since it was also lower in gluten.
As a result, the cookies are surprisingly light and crisp. However, this also means they can overcook–and fast! Keep an eye on them as they near the end of baking time. Better to have them slightly underdone when you pull them from the oven, as they’ll finish cooking on the cookie sheet.
I also went with white chocolate rather than milk or dark chocolate. I find the mellowness of white chocolate better works with maple flavor.
Now, maple sugar can be pricy stuff at supermarkets, if you can find it at all. I buy it in bulk at Amazon. If you glance through my maple recipes, you’ll find plenty of ways to use it up!
Walnuts–and other nuts–are easy to roast in your oven. Line a rimmed pan with foil. Add the nuts in an even layer. Bake at 350-degrees for like 7 to 10 minutes, shifting them once sometime in there, until the nuts are fragrant. Let’em cool, then use them or eat them.
The combination of flavors here–maple, white chocolate, walnuts–makes these the perfect cookies for autumn.
… Except, well, if you know me, I believe in summoning up the goodness of maple all year round. Awesome things shouldn’t be confined to one season.
Bready or Not: Maple Walnut White Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup maple sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup walnuts roasted and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 375-degrees. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and maple sugar until creamy. Beat in the egg followed by the oil and vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk together the two flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mix until they are just combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Use a tablespoon scoop to dole out dough onto the prepared sheet pan, leaving space for each cookie to spread. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until cookies puff and are just turning golden--watch them carefully at the end, as they can overcook quickly! Let them cool on the sheet about ten minutes and then transfer to a rack to completely cool.
- OM NOM NOM!
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