Chocolate Sunday Mud Pie

Ok, is this pie beautiful or what?! Chocolate pie, fudge sauce, whipped cream, and cherries. How much better can you get?

Chocolate Sunday Mud Pie
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 teas. vanilla
1/4 teas. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup chopped nuts, optional
1/4 cup fudge sauce or fudge ice-cream topping
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
Maraschino cherries with stems

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a round pan, 8 x 1-1/2 inches, or a pie plate, 8x 1-1/4 inches. Mix sugar, margarine, vanilla, salt, eggs, flour and cocoa in a large bowl; stir in nuts. 

Pour into pan. 

Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted halfway between the center and the edge comes out clean. Immediately prick holes in pie. 

Next, pour and spread the fudge sauce over the top of your pie. Cool completely. Tip: Stick it in the freezer for a while

Beat whipping cream and powdered sugar in a bowl until stiff; spread over pie.  

Drizzle with additional fudge sauce...

...and top with cherries!

Ah, what a delicious blob of of fudge coated fluffed out cherry dazzled chocolate mud pie. 

Every last bite was totally worth it. 

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Three words. Soft. Peanut-buttery. Amazing. 

Mini Peanut Butter Cupcakes

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teas. vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teas. baking powder

1/2 teas. salt

1/4 teas. cinnamon

3/4 cup milk

Frosting

1/3 cup peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teas. honey

1 teas. vanilla 

3 to 4 tablespoons milk 

Mini chocolate chips for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.

Line mini muffin pans with cute papers, and fill two-thirds full. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Move to wire rack to cool completely. 

For frosting, cream peanut butter and powdered sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add the honey and vanilla. Beat in enough milk to achieve a spreading consistency. 

Pipe frosting on cooled cupcakes...

...and top with mini chocolate chips!

When I saw this recipe, I had no idea that these would be SO good! They are by far the best peanut butter cupcakes I have ever had!

Pizza for Dessert

Although it may seem like a random assortment of ingredients, this dessert pizza is not only fun and colorful, but it actually tastes quite yummy!

Chocolate Dessert Pizza

4 cups mini marshmallows

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 cup chocolate chips

6 cups chocolate crisp rice cereal

1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips

Maraschino cherries 

Gummy worms

Place marshmallows, butter, and chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl and microwave on high for one minute.

Stir in chocolate rice cereal.

Press mixture into a large greased round pizza pan or two small ones. Set aside.

Slice cherries in half and dice gummy worms.

Melt the white chocolate chips. 

Drizzle the white chocolate over the "crust," leaving a small plain edge.

Add the cherries for "pepperoni" and the diced gummy worms for "onions" and "peppers."

When time to serve, cut into wedge shaped pieces.

Enjoy!

Confetti Valentine Cupcakes

These cupcakes were easy and fun to make, and they turned out super cute!

Confetti Valentine Cupcakes

Strawberry cake mix

1 recipe creamy white frosting

Red, pink, and purple gel food coloring 

Valentine confetti or sequin sprinkles

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Line muffin pans with festive valentine cupcake liners. Like these...

Bake cupcakes, and place on a wire rack to cool.

Cool completely.

Prepare frosting and separate into three portions. Using the food coloring, color one portion pink, one portion purple and one portion red (ok, I know that doesn't look like red in the picture, but in real life it was red!). 

Put frosting into decorator bags and pipe frosting onto cupcake.

Now for the sprinkles!

                 

After piping on frosting, sprinkle cupcake.

Repeat.

My favorites were the pinks!

But the reds were nice...

...and the purples were pretty too!

Which color frosting do you think makes the cake?

Neapolitan

"Ah, an ice cream recipe" you might say. 

But no. 

This is not neapolitan ice cream, it's...

...a neapolitan cupcake! 

      

Neapolitan Cakes

Marbled Buttercake

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups self-rising flour

1/3 cup milk

pink food coloring

1/3 teaspoon strawberry extract (optional)

1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons milk, extra

Butter cream

1 stick butter, softened 

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons milk

pink food coloring

1/4 teaspoon strawberry extract (optional)

1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons milk, extra

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, vanilla, sugar and eggs in small bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and 1/3 cup milk. Divide mixture evenly among three bowls. Tint one mixture pink, and stir in the strawberry extract. Mix the cocoa and  extra milk into another mixture. Leave third mixture plain.

Drop alternate spoonfuls of the three mixtures into baking cups. 

Pull a skewer backwards and forwards through the mixtures for a marbled effect; smooth surface. 

Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove cakes to wire rack to cool.

Now for the fun part!

For the frosting, beat the butter in a small bowl until as white as possible; beat in powdered sugar and milk. Divide mixtures evenly among three bowls. Tint one mixture pink and mix in strawberry extract. Stir cocoa and extra milk into another mixture. Leave third mixture plain.

When cupcakes have cooled, frost them.

Frost one third chocolate...

...one third vanilla...

...and one third strawberry! 

And there you have it! Neapolitan cupcakes!

This marbled cake with scrumptious butter cream frosting creates a delicious twist on a classic ice cream favorite!