TO DIE FOR Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing

Listen party people. This is my all time favorite dessert (and I only discovered it a year ago after moving to Hershey, PA). I can not begin to describe the deliciousness of this cake. For all of you that have had chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting at the Hershey Pantry - you know what I am talking about. And you know life will never be the same. For those who haven't - stop what you are doing and make this cake! I don't know who came up with such a brilliant combo - maybe it was someone here who was smelling Reese's in the air. But we gotta get the word out. Here we go.....

Chocolate Cake

• 2 C sugar
• 3/4 C oil
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 C cocoa
• 1 1/2 C boiling water
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 C flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together sugar, oil, and eggs.

Add cocoa, baking soda and powder, and water. Mix until combined.

Add flour and vanilla.

Place in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. (I baked in two 9 inch round pans for 25 minutes.)

Peanut Butter Icing

• 1 1/2 C crisco
• 3/4 C peanut butter
• 1/2 C butter
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla
• 1/4 C + 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 1/2 lb. powdered sugar

In a mixer, cream together crisco, peanut butter and butter.

Add vanilla. Beat until smooth.

With the mixer at low speed, carefully add milk and powdered sugar.

When sugar is fully incorporated, beat icing on high speed, until fluffy.

Chocolate Ganache

• 1/2 C chocolate chips
• 1/4 C heavy whipping cream

In a saucepan, stir chocolate chips and cream together over medium heat until smooth.

Pour over top of a frosted cake and spread so that ganache drips evenly over all edges of the cake. Let cool until firm.

Pizza pizza pizza

I love pizza so here comes the recipe to my pizza crust - very simple

1 cup milk (you can also use water)

1 tbsp dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

3 cups Wheat (if I'm feeling extra healthy I mix it with whole wheat)

1 tbsp olive oil

salt

If you can let the dough rise for approx. 1 hour

I've recently discovered Giada for Target - she makes great tomato and basil pasta sauce which I love to use as pizza sauce and the huge jar is only $2.99

Then top the pizza with all your favorites or whatever you have in the fridge.

Personal favorite pesto chicken, peppers, tomato, zucchini, red onions, mushrooms, basil, oregano and mozzarella.

If you have a pizza stone or a plate you can put on the grill that's the best - grill it for 5-7 minutes - just be careful the crust burns easily.

Coconut Cake

This is another amazing recipe from Jana F. Thanks Jana for reminding us that one should always look for occasions to eat cake! It brings back such good memories of the perfect picnic on the perfect PA afternoon!

Coconut cake

4 eggwhites

200 grams sugar

mixed very well - (until it's smooth)

200 grams coconut

baked for approx 50 minutes on 350 farenheit

chocolate cream topping

4 eggyolks (that's the red right!!)

60 grams confectonaries sugar

mixed together until smooth and light

50 grams margarine

50 grams semisweet chocolate

melted together and then mixed with the yolk&conf.sugar blend

put it over the cake while the mix is still warm