So I became a mom, right? And I bake and bake and bake…this one hates coconut, this one only likes vanilla, this one hates nuts. But when does Mama get a cake of her own, I’d like to know!? This is the first year I’ve baked MYSELF a cake. I think I broke some unwritten Mama law in that I made a cake that ISN’T anyone else’s favorite. It’s mine. And you see all that frosting, 800 calories per spoonful and worth every stinkin’ bit of it! It’s only once a year.

“It’s My Birthday” German Chocolate Cake

4 oz. bar of sweet dark chocolate (try not to eat this raw…you’ll need it)
2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla

FROSTING (THE GOOD STUFF)
12 oz. can evaporated (NOT sweetened condensed) milk
1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
4 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
7 oz. package of sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans

Grease 2 (9″) round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (I use a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water.) Stir until melted. Sift flour, baking soda and salt.

Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (you know, like Snuggles, the fabric softener bear). Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beating well after each addition.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter.

Bake at 350° Farenheit for 30-35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes and remove from pans.

THE BEST PART:

Place evaporated milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Stirring constantly, cook on medium heat for 10-12 minutes until it turns golden brown and thickens slightly. Take off heat and add coconut and pecans. Let cool until it’s a frosting consistency, about 15 minutes. Slather it on the cake or just sit down with the bowl. It’s YOUR birthday, right?

See, I love blogging but food costs a lot of money these days so when my blog makes money to pay for that food, I’m happier than Bill Clinton at a Girls Gone Wild party. And the more hits I get, the more pennies I make. Yes, I have a point. Be patient.

So I’m looking over the graphs of how many hits I’ve gotten for various posts…the ones y’all are submitting to Digg and StumbleUpon, the ones where lots of people comment, and here’s the thing - the more gooey, sugary and fatty-licious the food, the more the hits go through the roof. (see Exhibit A below.)

Exhibit A

See what I mean? The more hits per post, the more generous my advertisers are with money to buy more food for this blog. You get my dilemma. I’d like to know what y’all think in the comments.

But while we’re here, here’s a little present from me to you. You’re welcome.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream with Cinnamon Sugar Wontons

1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 can Dulce de Leche
4 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. honey roasted peanuts
Canola oil

Most people would just buy Dulce de Leche ice cream, but I like to control the ratio of caramely-goodness to ice cream.

Soften the ice cream. Mix in the Dulce de Leche with a spatula. Sprinkle in about 2 Tablespoons of the cinnamon. Mix in about 1/4 c. of the peanuts (I like to chop mine in the food processor first, but it’s your call.) Put the ice cream back into the freezer to harden.

Mix the sugar and remaining cinnamon and a pinch of salt. (Trust me on the salt. Just trust me.)

Heat the oil to about 325° Farenheit. Cut the wonton wrappers into triangles and drop into the oil, turning once with tongs to brown evenly. Watch ‘em because they brown quickly. Drain them about 1 minute then sprinkle well with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Serve it up with a scoop of the ice cream, a couple wontons and a sprinkle of the honey peanuts. Go into a closet and shut the door so no one will hear you moan while you eat.

I’m a member of Great Cooks Community, a great blogroll of cooks ranging from hobbyists to pros run by my friend, Jill McKeever. If you like cooking, you need to go join this phenomenal group of people from all over the world who love to share their recipes.

In case you’re also crazy creative enough to try this, here’s what you’ll need:

• Cupcakes (betcha didn’t see that one comin’, did ya?)
• Fondant
• Food coloring
• Mini M&M’s
• Pink coloring gel
• Chocolate melting wafers (I used yellow, milk chocolate and dark chocolate)
• Wax or parchment paper

Break off a piece of fondant and add the food coloring. I found this one called “Flesh” at the cake decorating store (imagine how strange it felt buying something you can eat called “FLESH.”) Add just a bit at a time and knead the fondant (it’ll get more pliable with the warmth of your hands) until the color is well blended. I found I could adjust the skin tone by adding more.

I used marshmallow creme to attach the fondant to the cupcakes but frosting would work fine.

See how it’s on parchment paper? You could use wax paper or a Silpat. Just don’t pour the chocolate directly in your mouth. It might be fun but it won’t accomplish your task. (Although I admit the chocolate squirt bottle makes it too tempting…kind of like those pressurized squirt cans of whipped cream.)

I used more royal icing to attach the hair. One thing I learned from this is that my cupcakes tops were CURVED while my hair had dried on a FLAT surface. Next time I might fill the cupcakes less or shave the tops flat before putting on the fondant.

I can’t say that they’ll recognize themselves. These cupcakes looked much better in my mind (kind of like my life!) But they’ll certainly laugh about them (or at me…not sure which.)

Still, for seven year olds, these are probably cool enough.

If you think I’m crazy enough to warrant a vote at the Great Cooks County Fair cookoff, please be sure to drop a vote here. Voting starts June 1.

You should already know because of the title but:

You’ve seen this in your produce section, right? I keep mine in the freezer and grate it as needed.

So these cookies require two kinds of ginger.

(For those of you born after 1980, that’s Tina Louise.)

CANDIED GINGER COOKIES

3/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. white sugar
1/4 c. molasses
1/3 c. water
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. minced crystallized ginger.
Turbinado sugar (for rolling)

Preheat oven to 350 Farenheit. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses and mix well. Stir in water.

In separate bowl, combine, flour, salt, spices and baking soda.

Add gradually to the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Roll into 1″ balls and coat well with Turbinado sugar (regular sugar’s fine…just not as pretty.)

Cook on ungreased sheet at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Tops will be cracked.

Apparently, however, she saw this:

Now, I know cupcakes have been in vogue lately.  Like so many simple things from my childhood, they’ve been “Martha Stewart-ized.”  Oh no…simple chocolate cupcakes like our moms made are no longer sufficient.  Now a simple cupcake can be a major production with vanilla bean from Madagascar, French rose water and gold dust.  Like this from Dozen …which comes with the following description:

The Emily

Named for a wonderful friend, our buttery yellow cupcake is topped with a Tiffany inspired blue royal icing with a hint of lemon and finished with delicate white non-pareils.

I’m not sure when cupcakes started being named like shoes or described like designer couture. Don’t get me wrong. I cleaned my computer screen with my tongue while viewing their cupcakes. But it just sets the standard so high for normal people like me.

As you can tell, I’m not really thrilled with the whole “designerization” (I just made up that word) of simple home cooking.  (I know…cupcakes that look like dogs aren’t really gourmet….it’s just the idea.)

But anyhoo, said Eleven Year Old hardly ever asks for anything so I really wanted to give her this one thing.  But a cake designer, I’m not.

Nevertheless, we rallied the troops and started decorating.

And like all kids who start out excited about something, they bored of it about 20 minutes in and started backing away slowly and quietly so as to avoid my attention as they made their escape. When I looked up to talk to them, they were long gone.

So I finished them myself.  And like all loving mothers who do things for their beloved children, I thought,

“I HOPE she remembers and appreciates all this when she’s 50!”

As I recover from being sick the entire month of March, I’m gearing up for the one thing scarier than Tom Cruise when you ask him for a recommendation for a good psychologist…that scariest of scary events…the slumber party!  (Ominous organ and thunder crashing.) My eleven year old has invited eight of her bestest friends to celebrate.  It brings back memories of my slumber parties.    Sigh.  I remember laying there with my preteen friends, quaking with terror as I tried to fend of falling asleep to avoid having my hand dipped in warm water,  being slathered with shaving cream, or having “I love Scott Baio!” drawn on my forehead with the-world’s-most-permanent marker.   Ahh, good times.  Good times.

Now that my daughter is wanting her own parties, I think the fear level is greater.  We are talking about preteen girls here.  I’m going to have pizza on speed dial, high density ear plugs for my husband and LOTS of chocolate. I’m starting with these cookies….perfect pillows of chocolate decadence guaranteed to soothe even the most dramatic preteen.

Here’s how:

4 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 Tablespoons of butter
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped walnuts

• Melt chocolate and butter over hot water. Cool.
• Beat eggs in mixer until foamy then slowly add the granulated sugar.  Beat in mixer until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
• Pour in the cooled chocolate.
• Add flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Stir in vanilla and nuts.
• Roll into balls and drop onto greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper).
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
• Cool before eating.  You’ll burn your tongue because you won’t stop eating.  Then where would you be, huh?

Now, I must save some for myself as I recuperate the next morning.

Outside, we just got dumped with about, say, 18″ of snow. Sigh. So I’m dreaming of spring…the season of singing birds, blooming daffodils and butt-whomping allergies. To help with my cabin fever and longing for sun, here is my ode to spring in Lemon Meltaways.

COOKIE PIECE (AKA FROSTING HOLDER):
1 1/2 c. butter, softened
2/3 c. confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. cornstarch

LEMONYISH FROSTING:
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
3 oz. cream cheese

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioner’s sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in lemon juice. Combine the flour and cornstarch and gradually add to the creamed mixture. Shape dough into 2 logs and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours (just until firm.)

Unwrap and cut into 1/4″ slices. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350º for 8-12 minutes or until firm to touch. Remove to rack to cool. Careful, they’re tender little buggers until they cool off (kind of like my husband.)

Now, the best part. Combine the butter, confectioner’s sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and cream cheese. Beat until smooth, licking beater every two seconds (be sure to turn off mixer first.) Scrape down frosting with a spatula. Keep this on the side for licking as you frost the cookies.

There you have it. Springtime without the sneezing.

1. Black and White Chocolate Cake at Culinary Conconctions by Peabody
2. Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes at Our Sweet Life
3. Chocolate Espresso Cake at Eat Drink Live
4. Gâteau au Chocolat Aérien, Glacé Ganache at Chocolate and Zucchini
5. Chocolate Espresso Mousse Cake at David Lebovitz
6. Hot Fudge Pudding Cake at Nook & Pantry
7. Flourless Chocolate Cake with Espresso Whipped Cream at Erin Cooks
8. Heirloom Chocolate Cake with Ganache at Gels Kitchen Blog
9. Black Forest Cake at Lily’s Wei Sek Hong
10. Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cake with Chocolate-Ginger Mousse at The Personal Bee
11. She Ain’t Heavy Chocolate Cake at Good Eats ‘n Sweet Treats
12. Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake at My Cake Wardrobe
13. Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Marscapone Cream at I Heart Cuppycakes
14. Baci Kiss Cupcakes at Couture Cupcakes
15. Mochachino Cupcakes at Not Quite Nigella
16. Chocolate Macaroons with Cognac Ganache at Ice Cream Ireland
17. Fudge Brownie Cookies at The Cookie Life
18. Chocolate Almond Biscotti from sugarlaws
19. Chocolate Macaroons at The Laughing Gastronome
20. Homemade Samoas at Baking Bites
21. Chocolate Cashew Espresso Biscotti at Culinary in the Desert
22. Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies from The Kitchen Sink
23. Chocolate Marscapone Brownies at Bake or Break
24. Espresso Fudge Brownies from Simple Daily Recipes
25. Cream Cheese Brownies at Cooking in a Southern Kitchen
26. Triple Espresso Brownies at Cookie Madness
27. Kahlua Truffles at Delicious Days
28. Chocolate Chili Truffles by VegCooking
29. Pistachio Black Currant Truffles at A Mingling of Tastes
30. Spicy Aphrodite Truffle at Brownie Points
31. Raspberry Chocolate Truffles at Cherrapeño
32. Espresso Donut with Ganache Glaze at Pretty Taste Cakes
33. Sea Salt Caramel & Chocolate Fudge Hearts with Fleur de Sel at The Passionate Cook
34. Chocolate Fondue for Two at Coconut and Lime
35. Cranberry Chocolate Tart at What’s For Lunch Honey?
36. Raspberry Ganache Pie at Ideas Come from Brownies
37. Mint Chocolate Cheesecake at Sugar Plum
38. Chocolate Love at Cream Puffs in Venice
39. Cafe Mocha Tart at Sweetnicks
40. Cappucino Love Bites by Annie’s Eats
41. Individual Mocha-Toffee Crunch Cheesecakes at Culinary in the Country
42. Sogooditshouldbeillegal Triple Chocolate Nutella Semifreddo at Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy
43. Strong Hot Chocolate Perfection at Cookie Baker Lynn
44. Mousse au Chocolat at Just Hungry
45. Death by Chocolate at Lifeflix
46. Amaretto Spiked Chocolate Mousse at 101 Cookbooks
47. Caramel Pecan Chocolate Tart at The Domestic Goddess
48. Almond Joy Martini at The Delicious Life
49. Soft Centered Chocolate Tortini at Milk and Cookies
50. Dark Chocolate Tart at Lex Culinaria
    

Sitting on my stove right now is a ‘panful’ of heaven. Undoubtedly the best fruit crisp I have ever made. I love pears so I added them to my apple crisp recipe and took some notes from Ina Garten’s fruit crisp using orange juice and lemon juice mixed with some flour, sugar and seasonings for the “sauce.” The result was ‘citrusy’ fresh like spring but hearty enough for winter (yes, I just realized that sounds like an Irish Spring commercial.)

And the crisp crust part? Words cannot describe how much I love this stuff. I found myself wondering if I could just make a pan of this and eat it alone. I’m not kidding. I topped it with a scoop of Dulce de Leche ice cream but plain ol’ vanilla would be just as good.

APPLE AND PEAR CRISP

4 ripe Bosc pears
4 Granny Smith apples
Zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar or Splenda
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

TOPPING:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 Tbl. slices

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and add the zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch oval baking dish.For the topping:
Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and butter in a food processor or use a pastry cutter until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

Place the baking dish on a sheet pan and bake for an hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Top with ice cream.