Easter Basket Brownies

Easter is upon us. I'm all about the chocolate mini eggs. After the success of the Cream Egg Cheesecake I wondered what else I could do with all these yummy little Easter treats. The Easter Basket Brownie was born!

A fudgey brownie with a mini cream egg sunk in the middle of each one and topped with mini egg cream cheese frosting. I used Betty Crocker products for this cause they're quick (I've got Easter eggs to fill yo!), I had them in my pantry, and I enjoy them, but if you want to use your favourite brownie recipe go for it. I've made them from the box once and from scratch once and both were delish.

They're decadent, they're chocolately, they're Easter Bunny approved! Make these to take to your family Easter Dinner or on Monday to "help" your kids "get rid of" their chocolate haul.

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Easter Basket Brownies

1 box Betty Crocker Chocolate Lover's Brownies
water, oil and eggs according to package directions
1 tsp vanilla
18 cream filled eggs
18 mini chocolate eggs
1/2 c crushed mini eggs
1 can Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Pop the cream eggs into the freezer.
2. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
3. Grease an 8" x 12" pan.
4. Prepare the brownies according to package directions and add the vanilla.
5. Pour into your pan and spread to make sure it's even.
6. Sink the frozen cream eggs into the pan evenly spaced.
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the brownie part comes out mostly clean.
8. Mix the crushed mini eggs into the frosting.
9. Once the brownies have cooled, cut them into 18 squares and top with a spoonful of frosting and a whole mini egg.

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enjoy,

Amanda

No Bake Cadbury Cream Egg Cheesecake

I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves for a sec...

oh yes I did!

look at the fluffy lusciousness...

OH YES I DID!

cause that right there ^ is what it's all about.

I had never had a Cadbury Cream Egg... until a few days ago. I know, crazy right? The look of white and yolk pouring out of a chocolate shell, even yolk made of icing, creeped me out. For the last month or so on Twitter about half of the tweets I read in my timeline are about cream eggs. I'm pretty sure my friend @sarahjcarter has them for breakfast every day. So I decided to try one. My review: it was... okay.

You're looking at your screen with a look of shock bordering on abject horror aren't you? I found it a little too sweet, which is a saying something coming from me! While I won't be rushing out to create a stash for myself in preparation of them disappearing from stores until next Easter, I understand and appreciate how most of civilized society craves these little chocolate balls of gooeyness (How the heck do you spell that? Gooiness? Gooieness? Is it even a word? Whatev!).

I'm not exactly sure where my twisted mind went when I dreamt up this combination, I guess I was wondering if the tanginess (tangyness? Oh my God I suck at this adding "ness" to the end of words thing!) of cheesecake would balance the sugary-sweetness of the eggs, but whatever I was thinking it was genius! I was overwhelmed with the response to the No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Squares I posted earlier this month so I decided to go with a no bake cheesecake recipe (I listen to my fans!) for this. I borrowed Jamie's recipe from My Baking Addiction (go visit her site, it's amazing!) and tweaked it ever so slightly.

We were headed to our good friends' house (Hi Laurie!) and I knew they would die twice for this dessert so I whipped it up and brought it over. After our amazing rib dinner we pulled it out and started snapping pictures with Laurie's camera (COVET). I wanted to get a picture of a slice on a plate but as you can see that didn't work, as soon as slices hit plates they were gone!

So if you're eating cream eggs like the end of the world is near, give this a try, it's a total foodgasm!

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No Bake Cadbury Cream Egg Cheesecake

1 1/2 c finely ground oreo crumbs
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 pkgs cream cheese; room temperature
1/3 c plus 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar
1 vanilla bean pod, seeded*
3/4 c heavy whipping cream, whipped
40 mini Cadbury Cream Eggs

Instructions:
1. In a bowl, mix together the oreo crumbs with melted butter and the 3 tablespoons sugar.
2. Press into a 6" springform pan making sure to come up the sides a bit. Put in refrigerator until ready for use.
3. In a bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/3 cup of the vanilla sugar.
4. Split and scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean pod and add to the cream cheese.
5. Whip the cream with the 3 tbsp of vanilla sugar, and fold into cream cheese mixture.
6. Cut 20 of the cream eggs in half (or beak apart if they’re soft) and fold into the cream cheese mixture.
7. Spread into pan making sure to cover all the cream eggs with the cream cheese mixture so the top is smooth.
8. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
9. Top with the remaining cream eggs.

* The vanilla bean is purely optional, I had one that needed to be used so I added it, but it would be just as good without.

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enjoy!

Snicker Squares

Nougat. Say it with me, Noooooougat. It's a funny word. I've never really given it much thought either. Caramel, I enjoy. Chocolate, I obsess over. But Nougat? Meh. Ranks up there with eating soda crackers or watching football in my books (What are "things I don't usually enjoy doing unless necessary" Alex?").

But then I came across a recipe that changed my opinion, dare I say my life (Praise Nougat!) and now I will share with you my new love. Home made Nougat! Oh. Mah. Gawd. Nougat in commercially prepared chocolate bars, or candy bars if you will, tends to be chewy, and sometimes hard. Home made nougat is the stuff angels sing of. It's fluffy and rich and melts on your tongue. (is it getting hot in here or is it just me?) This recipe very closely rips off pays homage to a very popular chocolate bar that is totally satisfying (hee hee!).

You must try the Nougat. Just try not to eat the whole pan yourself, I'm pretty sure nougat isn't low-fat...


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Snicker Squares adapted from Taste of Home Best Holiday Recipes 2009 edition

Base layer:
1 c. milk chocolate chips (I used 1/2 chips, 1/2 PC Mini Fudge Melts)
1/2 c. butterscotch chips
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

Nougat:
1/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. marshmallow fluff (if you buy Kraft it's the whole jar)
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. chopped salted peanuts

Caramel layer:
1 package (14oz) caramels
1/3 c. heavy cream

Top layer:
1 c. milk chocolate chips (I used 1/2 chips, 1/2 PC Mini Fudge Melts again)
1/4 c. butterscotch chips
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

Instructions:

1. Spray a 9" x 13" pan with cooking spray (or grease with butter).
2. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter together.
3. Spread the melted chips and peanut butter mixture over the bottom of our pan and refrigerate until set.
4. For the filling, in a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and the milk and bring to a gentle boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the marshmallow fluff, peanut butter and vanilla. Add peanuts and stir to incorporate.
6. Spread nougat over chocolate base and refrigerate until set.
7. For the caramel layer, in a double boiler, combine cream and caramels and melt until creamy and smooth. Spread caramel over nougat layer and refrigerate until set.
8. For top layer, in a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter together. Spread over caramel layer and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
9. When ready to serve, remove from the fridge and allow to warm up for 10-15 minutes. Cut and serve immediately. Store in the refrigerator.

It's a lot of steps but totally worth it!

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enjoy!

Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake

I have no idea know what to write here. I seriously contemplated just letting the name of this cake speak for itself. Chocolate. Cavity. Maker. Cake. 'Nuff said? No? Okay.

I was puttering around online looking for a dessert to make to take my mind off my husband painting the nursery. I'm the painter in the family but my husband has banned me from paint fumes and any sort of physical activity greater than making dinner (thinks with his stomach!) so as not to go into premature labour. I hate not being in charge of this project, especially considering he's never really painted anything and I keep hearing things like "I suck at this." and "Oh crap!" coming from upstairs. I was going insane. So I thought baking was the way to distract myself. I was considering a recipe when I started reading the reviews and the name of another recipe jumped off the screen like it was on fire. Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake. I couldn't Google fast enough. I swear, the 2.3 seconds it took to do the search felt like 35 years. And there it was, in all it's perfectly simple, fudgey, delicious glory. I got excited and hit the print button about 7 times and ran to the store (okay, I drove, it's far) and was making this cake about 17 minutes later.

I have never had such a moist and fudgey cake. It is rich without being TOO sweet and has just the right amount of chocolate to make you weep. It doesn't need icing, a light dusting of powdered sugar, some whipped cream or some ice cream compliment this cake wonderfully.

Give it a try. You'll thank me later when you come out of your chocolate coma!

Look at how moist that is!

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Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake from allrecipes.com

1 (18.25 ounce) package dark chocolate cake mix
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup coffee flavored liqueur
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F . Grease and flour a 10" Bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil and coffee liqueur. Beat until ingredients are well blended.
3. Fold in chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Spoon into prepared pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until cake springs back when lightly tapped.
5. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn out and cool completely on wire rack.

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enjoy!

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting

My good friend Michelle sent me an email the other day. That's not out of the ordinary at all, except for the fact that it was a recipe. Michelle is not really known for emailing out recipes (pictures of her fun nights out, and more recently of her expanding belly yes, but not recipes). So immediately I knew it HAD to be good!

OH. MY. GOD. The name alone had me drooling. Chocolate. Coffee. Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur. Hello? Even my husband, who hates cake of any kind, was intrigued. He asked me to make these when he was on night shift this weekend so he could take them into work to help keep the guys awake. He's so funny.

These cupcakes taste like your favourite coffee blend. They taste like a chilly winter's night by the fire. They taste like... heaven. Give'em a try and tell me I'm lying!


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Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting

cupcakes:

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 c buttermilk, room temperature
3 heaping tbsp cocoa
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup coffee, hot
1 c sugar
1 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4 c icing sugar
1/4 c Bailey's Irish Cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp coffee, cooled

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolves the baking soda in the buttermilk.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter slowly over low heat and add the cocoa. Mix until combined and smooth.
3. Remove from the heat and add the coffee to the cocoa/butter mixture and stir.
4. In a seperate bowl sift together the flour, sugar and salt.
5. While slowly mixing add the cocoa mixture and egg to the flour mixture.
6. Next add the buttermilk and vanilla and continue to beat until smooth.
7. Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched.
8. Cream together the butter and icing sugar for the frosting.
9. Add the Bailey's, vanilla, milk and coffee and whip until combined and smooth.
10. Frost tops of cooled cupcakes and decorate with chocolate shavings, chocolate covered espresso beans or enjoy all on their own!

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Look at how moist these babies are!

enjoy,

Chocolate Toffee Coconut Squares

I'm not a huge fan of coconut. I'll have a small slice of coconut cream pie once or twice a year but other than I tend to avoid it. Until now. The past week I've been CRAVING coconut. I've actually toyed with the idea of buying a coconut and just going to town on that sucker while I watch TV after the kids go to bed.

Being too lazy to venture out to the store last night, I raided the pantry to satisfy my crazy pregnancy craving. I found 2 cups of shredded coconut and went hunting for a recipe. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that was a layered bar with a graham crust, creamy coconut filling and a chocolate coating. In getting the ingredients out of the cupboard I found an open, half-empty bag of toffee pieces and decided to use them up too.

Can I just say, even if you're not a coconut fan, these are a must try! The coconut/toffee/chocolate combination is just beyond yummy. I had a total foodgasm when I tried them! Just look at that filling... heaven!

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Chocolate Toffee Coconut Squares

2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. white sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 c. flaked coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. toffee pieces
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Instructions:

1. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter and press into a 9 x13 pan. I actually used a 9 x 9 cause I didn't check the recipe. They turned out great, just thicker!
2. Bake the crumb crust for 15 minutes in a preheated 350˚F oven.
3. Combine the condensed milk, coconut and vanilla and spread mixture over the cooked graham crust.
4. Bake for another 15 minutes.
5. In the last 2 minutes of cooking time sprinkle the top with the toffee pieces and the chocolate chips.
6. When you remove the squares from the oven use a spatula to spread out the melted chocolate chips.
7. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then put in the fridge for 20 minutes or until set.

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enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Our family Easter dinner was this past weekend and as usual I wanted to bring a dessert. My nieces and nephews all adore this cheesecake recipe so I made it again for them, cause you know, they didn't get enough chocolate already.

I got this recipe from Kraft years ago, but recent searches for it on their website fail to find it. Weird. Anyways, I have mentioned before how much I love chocolate and peanut butter so I won't bore you with that again, but seriously, this cheesecake is TO DIE FOR. It's very rich and creamy and tastes like heaven.

I like to garnish it with chocolate covered peanuts, peanut butter cups or, since it was Easter, I put some Reese Eggs on top. Give it a try for your next dinner party or book club meeting!

(Sorry about the less than stellar picture, The kids dug into it so fast I didn't have a chance to take any pretty pictures, I shot this one with my iPhone as the vultures were coming back for seconds!)

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Kraft

2 pkgs cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. smooth peanut butter
2 eggs
1 9" graham pie crust
4 squares Baker's chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions:

1. Beat the cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter until combined.
2. Add the eggs one at a time mixing in between.
3. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes or until the centre is set.
4. Heat cream and chocolate over low heat until the chocolate has melted.
5. Pour the chocolate ganache over top the cooled cake.
6. Top with whipped cream, chocolate covered peanuts, melted peanut butter, peanut butter cups or anything else you like!

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enjoy!

Amanda

Orgasmic Mars Bar Fudge

I heart sugar. For me there is no substitute. So when I find a way to add MORE sugar to something that is already basically pure sugar, I'm all over that like.... sugar on sugar! The Orgasmic Caramilk Fudge I (and some of you) have made before is one of the tastiest fudge recipes I've ever come across, so naturally I felt the need to mess with it.

I stood in front of a very large candy display and pondered which delicious chocolate bar would be improved by surrounding it in a delicate creamy-fudge layer. After several minutes of hmm-ing and haw-ing the Mars bar screamed out "pick me! pick me! I want to be wrapped in fudge! oh pleeeeease pick me!". So I scooped up 8 bars and ran like the dickens back to my kitchen. I adjusted some other flavours and voilà, a whole new fudge to make you scream out "Yes! Yes! Yesssssss!"

Orgasmic Mars Bar Fudge

2 c. packed brown sugar
1 can condensed milk
3/4 c. butter
1 c. icing sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
8 Mars bars
2 squares semi-sweet Baker's Chocolate, melted

Instructions:

1. Microwave sugar, milk and butter for 8-9 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.
2. Add icing sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and mix with a hand mixer for 4 minutes.
3. Be quick for next step, as mix hardens. Place 1/2 of the mixture into a well greased 8x8 pan.
4. Lay the Mars bars out to cover the fudge mixture
5. Pour the rest of the mixture on top and smooth with a spatula
6. Using spoon or piping bag (a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped works well too) drizzle the top with melted chocolate.

Set aside 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Amanda

Better than Sex Cake

I was on twitter the other day musing about how I should do more recipes with the word sex or orgasms in the title (since my posted fudge recipe is so popular), and thought "That IS a good idea!", so off I went in search of some pleasure inducing recipes. I came across this one and knew I had to try it out, cause I like cake, but the title makes some lofty claims.

Chocolate, caramel, Skor bar... hello? Have you slipped into a sugar-coma yet? It was TO DIE FOR. This cake comes together pretty quickly which is great cause we invited my in-laws over for an impromptu dinner and I was able to whip this bad boy up in an hour.

If you liked the fudge, this cake won't disappoint. Give it a try and let me know if you think it's better than sex?


Better than Sex Cake adapted from allrecipes.com

1 boxed devil's food cake mix (you can make a from scratch cake if you like, I was impatient!)
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg. Kraft Caramels
4 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, crushed
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Instructions:

1. Bake cake according to package directions BUT use only 1/2 the oil the recipe calls for.
2. Remove cake from the oven and poke several holes (like 15-20) about 3/4 of the depth of the cake all over with the handle of a wooden spoon.
3. In a bowl combine the milk and caramels and microwave until the caramels are melted. Mix well.
4. Pour the warm topping mixture over the top of the warm cake, letting it sink into the holes.
5. Sprinkle the crushed chocolate bars over the caramel while it's still warm reserving a bit for the top of the cake.
6. Let the cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping and melted chocolate.
7. Refrigerate until set (about 20 minutes) and serve.


Enjoy,
Amanda

While I was taking pictures, my 3 year old came wandering by and said "Ooooo, look mommy, chocolate!" and before I knew it she had scampered up on a chair and was reaching for a hunk of Skor bar as I was snapping a picture. Sneaky bugger!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip

When I want cheesecake I want it noooooooow! Cheesecakes take time, I make them for special occasions or to take to parties, but on a Friday night when I'm curled up watching a chick-flick and I start craving something sweet, this is my snack of choice.

I went to a baby shower a couple of years ago and someone brought a similar dip to the party. When I tasted it I thought I'd died and gone to buffet heaven. I tracked down who brought this luscious (perfect word to describe it!) dip and asked for the recipe. She vaguely mentioned that there was cream cheese and cool whip in it and then turned her attention elsewhere. A little later I asked again and she changed the subject. Okay, so it was a secret recipe, whatev, but that wasn't going to stop me. A little research online and some experimentation and I re-created the dip, but added in some chocolate chips (cause I like to rock the chocolate wherever possible) and a touch of vanilla cause I put it in everything. I serve fresh fruit, teddy grahams (the kiddos love these), chocolate covered graham crackers, and chocolate squares for dipping into the dip, but anything works, even your finger!

If you're craving cheesecake and don't have the time to put into baking one, or you want a lighter (hello, light cream cheese and low-fat cool whip, this is practically diet food!) version, try this out!

My favourite dippers

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Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip

1/2 pkg. Light Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. Light Cool Whip
1/4 c. mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Beat softened cream cheese with the sugar and milk until smooth
2. Add the vanilla and mix.
3. Gently fold the mixture into the cool whip.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips and put in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to rest.
5. Serve with various fruits, crackers, and chocolates for dipping.

It tastes just like cheesecake, just a little fluffier!

Ohhhh yeaaaahhhh

enjoy,
Amanda

(Orgasmic) Caramilk Fudge

My favourite chocolate bar of all time, hands down, is Cadbury's Caramilk Bar. I've enjoyed other bars, even loved some of them, but I always come back to the amazing milk chocolate & caramel combination that is Caramilk. I used to get one everyday after school in middle school on my way home from the bus. I can honestly say the majority of my babysitting funds in seventh grade went to the corner store.

I have no recollection as to how I stumbled upon this recipe, but I know I found it in a chatroom for wedding planning. This super easy microwave fudge will blow your mind. I am not even a fudge fan but I really have to restrain myself from lapsing into a sugar-coma with this stuff.

Try it and tell me it doesn't live up to it's name.
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(Orgasmic) Caramilk Fudge

2 c. packed brown sugar
1 can condensed milk
3/4 c. butter
1 c. icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
6 caramilk bars

1. Microwave sugar, milk and butter for 8-9 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes
2. Add icing sugar and vanilla and mix with a hand mixer for 4 minutes
3. Be quick for next step, as mix hardens. Place 1/2 of the mixture into a well greased 8x8 pan
4. Lay the caramilk bars out to cover the fudge mixture
5. Pour the rest of the mixture on top and smooth with a spatula

Set aside 30 minutes.

I suggest you cut this in pretty small pieces, it's is very sweet but totally yummy!

enjoy,
Amanda

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