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The Ultimate Gooey Caramel Brownie Mug Cake Sundae

The Ultimate Gooey Caramel Brownie Mug Cake Sundae

Thanks to Werther’s Original® for sponsoring this recipe post!

I secretly love making resolutions at New Year’s. Really, I love resolutions all the time. I love GOALS! They make everything seem so clear, concrete, focused. You know that feeling when you get to check tasks off your to-do list as you complete them? Every check is so satisfying — even if it’s just the first item (and even if that item happened to be, “Make a to-do list.” You know you do that, too!)

I even love all the little logistical details that come along with goals. I love tracking progress, measuring my advances in various ways, keeping track of data, adjusting my efforts based on data. Oh man. I just get this nerdy thrill out of it. It’s the same nerdy thrill I get in an office supply store. You guys get that, right? Tell me you get that, please.

The Ultimate Gooey Caramel Brownie Mug Cake Sundae

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think it’s part of what makes me an effective teacher and part of what helps me grow as a person. I also think the resolutions and goals we set for ourselves can become a distraction — a way of procrastinating on the real, hard, nebulous work we need to do.

I bet you know what I mean. Do you ever clean your kitchen to avoid doing the laundry? Dust your bookshelves to avoid going to the store? Plenty of otherwise productive things can be used to avoid our real needs. I sometimes tell my students, “Don’t ‘study’ to procrastinate from studying. Don’t ‘read over your notes’ when you know you should be doing math problems to really understand concepts. Don’t spend an hour making pretty flashcards when you know you should be quizzing yourself for most of that hour. Don’t lie to yourself.”

The Ultimate Gooey Caramel Brownie Mug Cake Sundae

Goals are fun because we can tell ourselves to eat fewer sweets when we really need to find a way to love ourselves, to change our whole outlook and lifestyle. We can tell ourselves to read a certain number of Bible chapters a day when we really need to make time to commune with God again — that quiet space where we sit with Him in humility and openness. We can tell ourselves to spend less money when we really need to examine our priorities, look at our possessions with new eyes, and change how we value things.

Don’t get me wrong. Eat fewer sweets (uh, start after this mug cake, though. Trust me.) Read the Bible. Spend less money. Those are all great goals if they’re right for you. But also value yourself enough to be vulnerable to big, real changes in your perspective. What’s been knocking on the door to your heart or conscience lately? Let it in and listen.

The Ultimate Gooey Caramel Brownie Mug Cake Sundae

Here are some things I’ve been considering resolving:

1. Practice mindfulness: sit with feelings for longer, observing them and seeking to understand them fully before reacting to them. To accomplish this, I can picture myself going outside more each day, observing my surroundings more than I do now, talking less than I do now. I imagine more baths, more music, and more time spent throwing my dog’s rubber squeaky toy. Just being where I am.

2. Start living a more humane life. I want to think about the food and other items I buy and how they affect the environment. I especially care that the food I’ve purchased for so long has caused undue suffering to animals. While avoiding any perfectionism or obsession, I want to make better choices, buying meat and produce from places I trust. It might hit me in the pocketbook, but I’ll pay more to know I haven’t participated in unethical practices.

3. Listen with a totally open heart to God. This means being willing to abandon doctrine I’ve grown up with my entire life if it conflicts with what I know about freedom in — and willing service to — Christ. This is something that’s been in the works in my heart for years, and indeed, this past year I feel like I’ve made great strides. Christ didn’t die so I’d follow a set of rules and it hurts real people — real souls — if we as a Church keep pretending like He did. I’m sure I’ll write more on this in coming posts. It’s weighing on my mind.

The Ultimate Gooey Caramel Brownie Mug Cake Sundae

I can’t decide if those goals are distractions or if they’re the real life work I need to do this coming year, but either way, they’re a good start for me. I’m hoping for more discernment as the year unfolds. I also want to break down this year’s goals (whatever I end up settling on!) into a few things I can do monthly (I got this idea from the unsteady), so I can keep track of my progress and make sure my goals are meaningful. Oh, is my nerd showing again? Lemme just tuck that back in and move on to the cake!

OH BOY, what a cake! Imagine you’re home in your jammies and a dessert craving hits. You could just have a bowl of vanilla ice cream. You could have a handful of chocolate chips. OR YOU COULD GATHER UP A FEW THINGS FROM YOUR PANTRY AND HAVE THIS CHOCOLATE MONSTROSITY.

I made this one for Mike in just a few minutes, snapped some photos (which involved Mike drizzling chocolate while I said, “More. More. A little more. Still more.”), and bam! he was digging in to a decadent dessert à la mode.

What are you considering for your New Year’s resolution?

One year ago: Spiced Crispies (Chivda, or Indian Snack Mix)
Two years ago: Brown Butter Cookie Dough Pretzel Bars
Three years ago: Magic Bars
Four years ago: Taco Stuffed Crescent Rolls

5 from 1 reviews

The Ultimate Gooey Caramel Brownie Mug Cake Sundae

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

I took an already-great mug cake from one of my faves, America’s Test Kitchen, and pumped it up! I added some espresso to deepen the chocolate flavor and a slew of my favorite toppings from my pantry to create a dessert as decadent as one it takes hours to make. Throw this together at home when you want a special dessert but don’t want to get out of your jammies! I used a big espresso mug for this cake, but you can use any regular size coffee mug that’s microwave safe. Different microwaves may require different cooking times, but your finished cake should look set up but very moist.

Author: Willow Bird Baking, adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Serves: 1

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chocolate chips (half bittersweet and half semisweet)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 square of your favorite dark chocolate bar

Topping Ingredients:

3 Werther’s Original® Baking Caramels
2 teaspoons milk
melted chocolate chips
vanilla bean ice cream or gelato
crushed toasted nuts
crushed cookie
whipped cream

Instructions

Place butter and chocolate chips in a coffee mug and heat on half power for 15 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until melted (about 45 seconds total). In a separate small bowl or ramekin, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate small bowl or ramekin, whisk together the egg, vanilla extract, and espresso powder. When the chocolate is melted in your mug, stir in sugar and cocoa powder. Stir in the egg mixture. Stir in the flour mixture. Stir well to eliminate lumps.
Microwave the mug on half power for 30 seconds (I set mine on a plate just in case there’s spillover). Stir. Microwave on half power for 35 seconds (the cake will rise over the top of your mug like a giant soufflé, but stay calm.) Press the square of chocolate bar down into the center of the cake (I broke mine into two pieces), being careful not to burn your fingers. Microwave on half power for 40 seconds. Let the cake cool in the mug for 2 minutes while you prepare your toppings.
Melt the chocolate chips by heating on half power for 20 second intervals, stirring between each, until melty. Melt the Werther’s Original® Baking Caramels by placing them in a small bowl with the milk. Heat on 30 second intervals, stirring carefully between each, until melty. Top your mug cake with a big scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, crushed toasted pecans, a crushed cookie (I used a Biscoff cookie), and the kitchen sink. Just kidding about the sink. Enjoy!

December 31, 2013 by Julie Ruble | 40 Comments

cakes, other, pies and tarts

Willow Bird Baking’s 13 Best Recipes of 2013

Willow Bird Baking's 13 Best Recipes of 2013

Happy New Year! My head is spinning with thoughts of resolutions and responsibilities for the upcoming year, but let’s relax first and just enjoy some edible reflection, shall we? You guys have good taste. Here are Willow Bird Baking’s 13 Best Recipes of 2013, as chosen by your visits. At the end, I’ve included a few recipes that didn’t make the “Most Popular” list but are actually some of my favorites from the year!

Want to gather lots of amazing recipes from other blogs, too? I’ve just created a Best of 2013 Recipes Pinterest board where you can see “Best of” posts from some of my favorite blogs. This is one of the best times of the year to gather top eats from around the internet! While you’re there, make sure you follow me on Pinterest. I’m kind of a food lover, in case ya didn’t know. My pins are gonna make you hungry.

Without further ado, Willow Bird Baking’s 13 Best Recipes of 2013:

1. Lemon Cheesecake Morning Buns

These things totally deserve their “Most Popular” title. They are absurd.

2. The Ultimate Moist, Fluffy, Ridiculous Coconut Cake

YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT COCONUT.

3. Pumpkin Cheesecake Pillow Popovers

These use premade crescent dough! So easy.

4. Key Lime Pie Cheesecake with Sky-High Meringue

Tangy, sweet, and stunning! Such a show-stopper.

5. Gooey Chocolate Coconut Cream Skillet Cake

DID I MENTION HOW I FEEL ABOUT COCONUT.

6. Strawberry Coconut Cream Pie

CO.CO.NUT.

7. Boozy Icebox Cake

It’s like regular icebox cake, but (duh) better!

8. Bailey’s Hazelnut Chocolate Tiramisu

Bailey’s makes any dessert totally nuts.

9. Chocolate Poke Cake with Whipped Coconut Icing

COCONUT, Y’ALL (and my new favorite frosting in the universe).

10. Biscoff Spread Gooey Butter Cake

I don’t know what got into me, but I have no regrets.

11. White Sheet Cake with Fluffy Whipped Icing

Just like those awesome sheet cakes you buy at the store (with the fluffy frosting, not the weird crusty stuff).

12. Lasagna Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Hearty, delicious meal.

13. Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

Pumpkin and Tres Leches: two of my faves combined.

…And a few of my personal favorites from this year:

1. Samoa Monkey Bread with Ganache Dipping Sauce

It’s a crime that this recipe didn’t go viral. It’s nuts!

1. Buttery Coconut Almond Pull-Apart Bread (with Heavenly Coconut Cream Glaze)

Coconuttttt.

1. Flan Tres Leches Cake

For when you can’t decide between making flan and making tres leches cake, and also you’re feeling a little crazy. So good.

1. Limoncello-Spiked Shortbread Icebox Cake with Fresh Raspberries

The shortbread makes all the difference here! And the Limoncello, obv.

1. The Ultimate Sausage Breakfast Buns

Pure decadence. Don’t skip the syrup drizzle.

1. Gooey Carmelitas

Gooey, chocolatey masterpiece.

1. Lemon Raspberry Gooey Butter Cake

Bright, springy, fresh! I love lemon.

1. Sausage & Corn Chile Con Queso Taco Ring

Again, HOW did this recipe not go viral? TASTE IT. JUST TASTE IT. It’s like the best thing I’ve ever eaten.

1. Dutch Roomboter Banketstaaf (Flaky Pastry with Almond Filling)

This is also the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Don’t question me.

Don’t forget to see what others have cooked up on my Best of 2013 Recipes Pinterest board. Happy happy happy almost-2014!

December 30, 2013 by Julie Ruble | 4 Comments

cakes

Brown Butter Pecan Gooey Butter Cake with Spiked Whipped Cream

Brown Butter Pecan Gooey Butter Cake with Spiked Whipped Cream

Thanks to Werther’s Original® for sponsoring this recipe post!

When I moved to Raleigh, there seemed to be no time to make friends before school started and I was immersed in planning my new curriculum. No complaints, since that’s one of my very favorite things to do (my dream job is one where I plan curriculum and have a grading assistant — all the teachers out there, gimme an “amen!”) but I did feel pretty isolated. However, since I’m the world’s most committed introvert, I can’t quite rely on my own motivation to get out of the stuck-at-home rut — someone usually has to invite me somewhere or otherwise intervene. But there wasn’t much possibility of that in a brand new city.

Brown Butter Pecan Gooey Butter Cake with Spiked Whipped Cream

Thankfully, there was some divine intervention. Out of the blue, my online-friend-of-several-years Meghan moved back to the triangle area from NYC and invited me out to dinner immediately. We turned out to be just as perfect for each other in real life as I’d suspected we would be from the internetz. And then, in another bizarre twist, I found out some of my very best friends from college, Kristen and Bill, lived in the area.

Brown Butter Pecan Gooey Butter Cake with Spiked Whipped Cream

Kristen and Bill felt like a “Welcome Home” party in a place that decidedly did not feel like home yet. We had dinner and it felt like being back at Davidson, laughing and talking like we’d never been apart. They also told us about their church, and since we’d been visiting around looking for one, we decided to try it. After our first dinner together, several weeks passed with us visiting the church but never seeing Kristen and Bill — we figured they must go to the late service, and we always went to the early one. We kept talking about making more plans with them, but again, I’m so bad at reaching out.

Brown Butter Pecan Gooey Butter Cake with Spiked Whipped Cream

Again, divine intervention — this time in the best way! Mike and I were at their church one Sunday, not expecting to see them, when suddenly, the pastor announced that he had a baptism scheduled. I love watching baptisms because to me, it’s the absolute most poignant moment — where a person shares an inward revolution of heart with their church family. Imagine my surprise when I realized that it was Kristen on stage! I just cried. I couldn’t believe that God not only brought me back to Kristen and Bill so long after college, but also ordained that I’d get to spend this special moment with my friend.

In a city where I wasn’t sure how to build a new life, God gave me one of those life moments that I won’t ever forget.

(We also watched Catching Fire together last night and that was awesome too. Baptism still wins, though!)

* * *
Brown Butter Pecan Gooey Butter Cake with Spiked Whipped Cream

Speaking of friends, here’s one way to make some: whip up a Brown Butter Pecan Gooey Butter Cake with Spiked Whipped Cream and pull out some forks. This cake has All The Good Things in it: nutty brown butter; bloomed cinnamon and cloves; toasted pecans; and billowy, barely sweet whipped cream spiked with dark rum. I also used Werther’s Original® Baking Caramels to make the simplest caramel sauce known to man to top the cake without a lot of fuss. The result is a warm oasis of bliss in an otherwise icy winter day.

One year ago: Rosemary Thumbprints with Clementine Curd (and The Day I Went to Ina Garten’s Cookie Swap!)
Two years ago: Salted Caramel Chocolate Trifle
Three years ago: Browned Butter Pumpkin Croquemcake with White Chocolate Chai Mousse
Four years ago: Cannoli

Brown Butter Pecan Gooey Butter Cake with Spiked Whipped Cream

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 6 servings

This delicious cake has everything delightful in it: nutty brown butter, bloomed cinnamon and cloves, toasted pecans, a simple caramel sauce, and spiked whipped cream! It’s perfect for a holiday table, but easy enough for an anytime dessert.

Crust Ingredients:
1 cup cake flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup cold butter

Filling Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup toasted pecans*
icing sugar

Topping Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
20 Werther’s Original® Baking Caramels
2 tablespoons whole milk

Directions:
*NOTE: To toast pecans, spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for around 6-7 minutes, tossing occasionally, until fragrant. Chop while still warm.

NOTE 2: If you don’t have a skillet, I believe you can bake this in a greased 9-inch square baking dish (I’d use a glass one if you have it, and check it early and often. Remove when there’s some jiggle left.) Let us know how it goes if you try it this way for all the other skilletless people!

Make the brown butter: Cut the 1 cup butter into 1-tablespoon cubes. Place it into a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat and brown the butter, whisking often. The butter will melt, foam, and then begin to brown, and the whisking is important so that it browns evenly. Whisk in cinnamon and cloves. Pour your brown butter into a shallow, wide dish to cool for a bit before sticking it in the freezer to set up. After it’s set up, set it back out at room temperature to soften for use.

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together cake flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling together (I often use my food processor for this step, pulsing the cold fat into the flour). Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch cast iron skillet using a flat glass or the back of a spoon.

Make the filling: Cream together the softened brown butter and white and brown sugars until fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Mix in the egg until just combined. Alternate adding the flour and evaporated milk, mixing after each addition. Mix in the corn syrup and vanilla. Stir in the toasted pecans. Pour the filling into the crust and sprinkle the top with icing sugar.

Bake and assemble the cake: Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until cake is nearly set (mine was probably ready around 30). Some jiggle is fine — do not overcook! It’ll finish setting up as it cools. Let it cool in pan for 2 hours. Whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and rum to stiff peaks. Melt the caramels and milk together in a microwave safe bowl for 2 minutes, stirring often but carefully, until the hot caramel sauce is ready. Pour caramel sauce over cooled cake and top with a giant mound of spiked whipped cream. Serve from the skillet with a few forks or on plates, if you like things a little more formal.

November 24, 2013 by Julie Ruble | 9 Comments

cakes

Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

I don’t feel much like telling a story today. It’s dark outside way too early, colder than it should be, and altogether dreary. I do feel like listening to a story, though, or several. Get your Snuggie (you do own a Snuggie, right?! Doesn’t everyone?) and some hot tea and let’s share some of our favorite memories.

Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

One of mine is when my mom offered to buy me any patchwork bear I chose at the Southern Christmas Show one year. I picked a cream and pink one and I believe I still have it under my bed somewhere.

Another is when a kind lady held my hand as our plane took off when I was 8 and going to the Bahamas with my family. She didn’t know me from Eve, but she knew I was terrified to fly and made it her business to comfort me.

Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

One that always makes me smile is the memory of driving home from Carolina Poodle Rescue with Byrd sleeping on my lap, wondering what she was like and how we’d get along. Do you know for about the first 3 months after I got her, I felt unsure about my decision to get a dog? Looking back, I don’t know why (except that very characteristic sense of worry I always have) and I can’t quite believe I was so nervous. She’s certainly one of the best things to ever happen to me.

Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

One last one is actually a recurring memory. One of my favorite times in my classroom over the past few years is choice project time, when my students propose their own project to convey their understanding of changes in the novel, Flowers for Algernon. During those workdays, my classroom was filled with kids planning, playing guitar, sculpting, composing piano pieces, filming, writing, and painting. We always ended up marveling over the creativity and sheer variety of the finished products at the end. I can’t wait to see how my current students will tackle the challenge.

Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

What are your favorite memories? Share a few with me and let’s brighten up the dark evenings, shall we?

In the meantime, here’s a really fun — and really easy — cake to bake up. If you love pumpkin and you love tres leches cake, you’ll love this combination. A pumpkin sheet cake soaks up a delicious three milks mixture before being topped with my favorite fluffy whipped icing.

Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

One year ago: Broiled Southern Pimiento Cheese
Two years ago: Quick Dinner: Garlicky Peanut Noodles with Crunchy Vegetables
Three years ago: How to Make 27+ Cheesecakes and Look Awesome While Doing It
Four years ago: Barefoot Contessa’s Carrot Pineapple Cake

Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking using a pumpkin sheet cake recipe adapted from Taste of Home
Yield: 20 servings

A pumpkin spice sheet cake meets a tres leches cake! The whipped icing on this delicious, custardy cake is one of the best parts.

Cake Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Tres Leches Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1/2 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

Whipped Icing Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup milk
7 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 7/8 cups granulated sugar (not powdered sugar; note: 1/8 cup = 2 tablespoons)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 15-inch x 10-inch x 1-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, cream together sugar, pumpkin, oil, and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cloves. Gradually whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack (keep in the pan). Poke holes in the cake with the back of a wooden spoon.

In a medium bowl, whisk together whole milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk. Pour this mixture over the cooled cake. Chill the cake overnight.

To make the frosting, heat the milk, flour, and granulated sugar together over medium heat, whisking constantly. Once it starts to boil, continue whisking and heating it for around 7 minutes or until it’s very thick, like cake batter consistency. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Remove the mixture to a shallow pan and let the mixture cool completely (after a bit, I stuck mine in the fridge to hurry it along). Once the mixture is cool, beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until soft and fluffy. Add the completely cooled mixture and beat on high until you have fluffy frosting the consistency of stiff whipped cream. Frost your chilled cake.

November 3, 2013 by Julie Ruble | 44 Comments

cakes

Chocolate Poke Cake with Whipped Coconut Icing

Chocolate Poke Cake with Whipped Coconut Icing

Cooking is very enjoyable to me, obviously, but when I started out, it felt like I was all thumbs in the kitchen. Recipes took hours longer than they seemed to take other people and I always ended up with a huge mess. So I completely understand why some people hate to cook – or want to like to cook but get turned off quickly.

Periodically I share insights for making cooking more enjoyable, and I thought I’d do that today. Cooking for my tiny family (just me and Mike) has seemed exponentially harder than cooking for just myself, but I’ve found some tips that make it satisfying and manageable.

Tips for Cooking Smarter & Simpler

Prep your kitchen in general:

1. Rearrange your kitchen. This is killing me right now, because my new apartment’s kitchen layout is cramped and not working for us! But I know what we need to do because I’ve done it in many apartment kitchens before this one. One weekend, rearrange your stuff! Put the items you use most in the front of your cabinets without any stacking. The items you use least can be stacked in the back or even in a storage closet. Clean out your fridge and freezer. Try to keep counters clear by hanging up pans, buying a utensil jar, and putting away infrequently used appliances. Create extra workspace with an over-the-sink cutting board or a portable island. If money permits, visit the store and get the shelving, cabinet and drawer organizers, and caddies that you need to make your space really functional for the recipes you want to start making.

The goal here is simple: it should feel fun and relatively easy to use the space in your kitchen. I’ve found places like Ikea and The Container Store help me to “think outside the box” when it comes to arranging my (limited!) space.

Chocolate Poke Cake with Whipped Coconut Icing

When you’re ready to cook:

2. Start with clear counters and a relatively empty dishwasher. It takes a couple of minutes to clear your counters, wipe them down, and empty the dishwasher before cooking, and you may be anxious to just dive in to your recipe. I understand that. But I also understand how discouraging it can be to realize your sink is filled to the brim and there’s nowhere to set your hot tray of cookies midway through your process.

Starting with clear counters means you have lots of tidy workspace. Starting with an empty dishwasher means that as you use each dish, you can toss it in. By the end of your recipe, your dish duty (and your blood pressure) will be manageable. It feels better to work when you have space to do it in.

3. Ferme your bouche and mise your place! (Apologies to France.) “Mise-en-place” is something I’ve harped on before. It’s a French phrase that just means prepping your ingredients and equipment before beginning to cook. Again, you may be excited to dive into cooking. Measuring out all your ingredients into prep bowls and getting out your pans may feel like an unnecessary hassle, but I bet you’ll be surprised at how easy-breezy cooking becomes when you do it!

First, mise-en-place requires you to read the full recipe before you begin, which has saved me many a time from getting halfway through a recipe and realizing I’m out of eggs. Reading the entire recipe also allows me space to visualize each step.

Secondly, mise-en-place separates cooking into two parts: the cathartic, mindless “idiot work” of chopping, measuring, prepping — and the action! This means I can relax through the prep and then confidently tackle the action because I know everything I need is right at hand. There’s never the stressful, rushed confusion that turns so many people off of cooking. Plenty of recipes would’ve burned if I hadn’t had my mise-en-place prepared. So invest in a set of prep bowls (I like ones like this) and give it a try.

4. The journey is the destination. Don’t make getting the product on the table your ultimate goal, if you can help it. Shoot for making the process peaceful and satisfying instead. Pour a glass of wine (or for me, Coke Zero), put on some music you love, tug on your favorite Kiss the Cook! apron, and enjoy yourself. Try to detach yourself from time pressures and the worries of your day. Be mindful about each thing you do — feel the food you’re working with, listen to the sound of the chopping and sizzling, smell the garlic or cinnamon (hopefully not both at once. Don’t get crazy.) The food will be a treat for someone else later — but for now, let the process be a treat for you.

* * *
Chocolate Poke Cake with Whipped Coconut Icing

Over and over again, I’ve said, “I know you want to dive in, but wait!” Well finally, at the very end of this post, here’s one thing you can just dive into: a piece of this amazing cake! It’s absolutely incredible, y’all. Rich, moist Texas Sheet Cake gets aerated and doused with chocolate glaze before being topped with the fluffiest, most surprising coconut whipped icing you’ve ever tried! This whipped icing, especially, is a new treasure for me, and you can bet I’m going to be slathering it on everything.

This cake is also great because it’s special but perfect for a beginning cook. The recipe has several steps, but each one is very manageable. It’s the perfect time to try out the techniques listed above! And you’ll be so richly rewarded.

One year ago: “Magic” Chocolate, Coconut, and Pecan Pastry Braid
Two years ago: One-Skillet Gooey Pumpkin Cookie Cake
Three years ago: Homemade Hot Chocolate & Marshmallows
Four years ago: French Macarons

Chocolate Poke Cake with Whipped Coconut Icing

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking with icing adapted from Missy Dew on Tasty Kitchen
Yield: 9 servings

Simply: one of the best cakes ever. A Texas Sheet Cake doused with chocolate glaze and topped with fluffy whipped coconut icing. You won’t believe the taste.

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
dash salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Sauce Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cocoa
3 tablespoons milk
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped Coconut Icing Ingredients:
1 cup milk
5 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (not powdered sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup coconut plus more for topping

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with a parchment paper sling (I cut two 9-inch wide sheets that are longer than the pan so they’ll hang over the edges a bit, making it easy to pull the cake out later. I then lay them in the pan, one horizontal and the other vertical). Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt together and set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the butter, vegetable oil, cocoa powder, and water to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove it from the heat and whisk in into the dry ingredients well. Mix in the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla. Pour into your prepared baking pan and bake at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

Poke holes in the cake with the back of a wooden spoon. While the cake starts to cool, make the sauce. In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, cocoa, and milk to a boil. Remove them from the heat and add the icing sugar and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over the warm cake and let it sit to soak up the chocolate sauce and cool completely.

To make the frosting, heat the milk, flour, and granulated sugar together over medium heat, whisking constantly. Once it starts to boil, continue whisking and heating it for around 7 minutes or until it’s very thick, like cake batter consistency. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Remove the mixture to a shallow pan and let the mixture cool completely (after a bit, I stuck mine in the fridge to hurry it along). Once the mixture is cool, beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until soft and fluffy. Add the completely cooled mixture and beat on high until you have fluffy frosting the consistency of stiff whipped cream. Mix in the coconut. Frost your completely cooled cake with a thick layer. Sprinkle more coconut on top.

October 28, 2013 by Julie Ruble | 30 Comments

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