Easy Chocolate Cake

This is the easiest cake recipe I have ever used. Even better - it is dairy free. The buttercream frosting is not dairy free, but the cake is. It is delicious!

Cake:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cold water

Beat all ingredients together. Pour into cake pan (suggested 9"x13", but any size works, just adjust time when baking).

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Mostly I make these into cupcakes. They are a great recipe to bring to a party. I normally get 24 cupcakes out of this recipe.


Buttercream Frosting:

3/4 cups butter
1/4 cup shortening
1 pound confectioner's sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
2 tabelspoon water

Mix butter, shortening, water, and vanilla together. Slowly add powdered sugar until completely mixed in. To create a thinner consistency, stir in small amounts of water until desired consistency is reached.

Enjoy!

Peppermint Patties

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1.5 tbsp softened butter
• 2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp cream
• 8 ounces (about 1-1/3 cup) dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 tbsp vegetable shortening

Preparation:

1.Prepare a cookie by lining it with aluminum foil or waxed paper.
2. In a blender, cream together the sugar, butter, extracts, and cream on low speed. Once combined, raise speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes until mixture holds together very well and is creamy, not powdery. I added a little extra cream until I got the right consistency.
3. If your kitchen is warm or your candy is too soft to roll, place it in the refrigerator to set for about 20 minutes.
4. Using a teaspoon, roll the candy into small balls and flatten them on the waxed paper with the palm of your hand. Repeat for remaining candies.
5. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.
6. Melt the chopped chocolate and the shortening in the microwave or over a double boiler, and stir until fully incorporated.
7. Using dipping tools or two dinner forks, dip the patties into the chocolate one by one. Drag them across the lip of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate, and replace them on the cookie sheet. Once all chocolates are dipped, put them in the refrigerator until the chocolate is set.

Holiday variation: To make a lovely Christmas presentation, try using food coloring to dye some centers red and some green.

Divinity Candies

Here's the first successful candy recipe I made that involves cooking. It almost tastes like marshmallow fluff. It's delicious!

2 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup water

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup broken nuts (optional)

Stir sugar, corn syrup, and water over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Cook, without stirring, to 260 degrees on candy thermometer (or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a hard ball).

In mixer bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Continue beating while pouring hot syrup in a thin stream into egg whites. Add vanilla; beat until mixture holds its shape and becomes slightly dull. (Mixture may become too stiff for mixer). Fold in nuts. Drop mixture from tip of buttered spoon onto waxed paper.