Week 19: Chocolate-covered cherry cake

I buy a jar of cherry pie filling every November when we are up in Door County (they're known for their cherries).  I always dream of baking a cherry pie, but I never get around to it.  And twice now, I've ditched the pie plans to make a chocolate-covered cherry cake.  I despise chocolate-covered cherries, but I love this cake. 

The icing has a lovely chocolateyness to it.  Choclacality?  It tastes like chocolate because it's made from chocolate.

Lessons learned and recipe thoughts:

1. A very simple cake recipe.

2. Despite the simplicity, I managed to foul it up a bit.  The jar of pie filling I buy in Door County is 32 ounces, but the recipe calls for 21.  Last year I just eyeballed it.  This year I decided to get fancy and spoon it into my pyrex measuring cup, which has handy ounce markins on it.  I told Chuck that I thought the Door County folks lied about the pie filling because it took more than 2/3 of it to get to 21 ounces.  Then he asked me if the recipe called for fluid ounces or actual weight.  Sigh.  The extra pie filling appears to have had little impact on the recipe, though.

3. I like to toss dried cherries over top the icing.

A New Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake by the Cake Mix Doctor


Cake:
Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) chocolate mix with pudding
3 large eggs
2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly mist a 13x9" baking pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust it with flour.  Shake out excess flour and set the pan aside.

2. Place the cake mix, eggs, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on medium speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber sptatula. Add the chocolate chips and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides down again if needed.  Add the cherry pie filling and beat on medium speed ntil just blended, 20-30 seconds.  The batter will be thick.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

3. Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack, and let the cake cool slightly while you prepare the icing.



Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 package (6 ounces, or 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

Place the sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips. When the chips have melted and the glaze is smooth, pour it over the warm cake so that it covers the entire surface. The glaze will be thin but will firm up. Cool the cake for 20 minutes more before cutting it into squares and serving.



NOTE: Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze the cake, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Week 18: Sprinkle habit

Chuck and I travelled up to Door County last weekend to celebrate our 5-year anniversary.  We stayed in the same suite at the same B&B we've been going to every year since our honeymoon.  If you're heading up to northern WI, I highly recommend checking out the Chanticleer Guest House.

So why am I talking about all of this on my baking blog?  Our travels meant that I didn't bake anything this week (insert gasp here).

To make up for not baking last week, I decided to bring out the big guns and make a double batch of sugar cookies with buttercream frosting this coming weekend.  And that means one thing...SPRINKLES!!!!  I decided to take stock of my sprinkle collection tonight to make sure I had enough to get me through the weekend.  Here's what I found:

Chuck suggested I build a tower of sprinkles.  So I did.

I wasn't very happy with the stacked arrangement, so I decided to organize them by holiday.  Halloween - over to the left.  Christmas - you head to the right.  Easter - I've never used you, so you're heading to the back.  Hey there, chocolate jimmies & white nonpareils - you work with every season, so front & center with you.

And now it's time for my shocking confession: I am a sprinkle-holic.  There.  I said it.  I openly admit that I have and will purchase every new holiday-themed sprinkle I happen across.  It does not matter that I have dozens of different types of sprinkles in my cupboard.  Seriously...dozens.  Check out all these bottles that have 6 varieties in one bottle. SIX!

After reviewing the photographic evidence and shuffling the non-Christmas sprinkles back to the cupboard, I turned to Chuck and said, "I really thought I had more sprinkles than this.  This isn't so bad."