The South (South Eastern United States) is covered in a blanket of white this morning.
Cast iron plant
Nandinas
Palmetto
Butia palm
Gus is always sniffing around…
The back garden.
Gus has decided to take the day off!
Xx
The Deep freeze and chocolate cake…
The temperatures have been freezing! Too cold to work in the yard and to do the usual hardscape maintainance I like to do during the Winter! The days have been in the low 30s or even upper 20s with the night temps in the low twenties and a few times down to about 10f! Just crazy.
So my thoughts turn to cooking. I set my internet radio to Amsterdam Dance Radio or put a Depeche Mode CD in!
I have been looking at the label recipes of the Hershey’s Cocoa package and decided to make the chocolate cake recipe and the frosting recipe, too!
HERSHEY’S “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING (recipe follows)
Directions
-
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
-
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
-
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.
The two layers cooling in the pans. The middle cooked slower then the side so next time I will cook them on the lower shelf and not on the top shelf.
And
“PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
- 2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Soften butter at room temperature. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
- Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.
Hmm, chocolate buttercream frosting!
And the final product! Hmm, I don’t think I would be a good sculptor or mason as I am very messy!
But it all taste the same in the end!!
Of course, later in the day we headed to downtown Raleigh (http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/) and The Borough restaurant (http://theboroughraleigh.com/) for my favorite drink: “How do you Q?” Pretty, isn’t it?
xxx
Filed under cooking, Food, General Gardening
Arancini (rice balls)
I have wanted to try to make Arancini, which are Italian fried rice balls, for a while now and I had some left over rice from a previous meal.
Most recipes call for bread crumbs and eggs to bind the rice and make a ball. I didn’t have any bread crumbs so I substituted flour to help the egg bind the rice. You can also try different types of cheese depending on the flavor you wish.
They were great with a sweet and cheesy flavor! I am not a frying fan because of the mess and smell in the house so I tried baking a few, too. The baked Arancini were just as good but didn’t have the crispy shell that the fried balls had. I will have to play around with the recipe more in the future!
Arancini (fried rice balls)
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup shredded cheese ( I used mozzarella)
1/4 cup flour
2 eggs
Place a heavy pot on medium high heat and add enough oil to about 4 inches deep for frying. If you have a deep fryer that would work, too.
Combine the ingredients until just mixed. Form into a ball of about two inches. You can use an ice cream scoop. Fry until they are browned to your liking. Be very careful to use a slotted spoon or spatula to slowly place them in the oil and carefully remove them when they are done. Allow them to cool on paper towels before eating.
Tip: Oil your hands to prevent the mixture from sticking your hands.
The below Arancini were baked at 400f for about 20 to 30 minutes but they never became as crispy as the fried arancini but were just as cheesy and flavorful.
xxx
Arthur in the Garden! 