Double Chocolate Bundt Cake

Chocolate and cake- can life get any better? Of course it can, but rarely does dessert get any better than the two of these put together! Unless you add some peanut butter, but that would be a whole different recipe.

Of course my first contribution to The Cooking Wives Club had to be something baked! Desserts are my weakness and my specialty in the kitchen! As soon as I get a new cookbook or food magazine, I head right to the cakes, cookies, and pies section!

While tearing through some old cooking magazines in search of paper to make mosaics with, I came across this recipe from Cooking Light, a magazine I have subscribed to for years. The corner was folded down, indicating that I wanted to try this recipe, but I never actually did. It was a reader recipe contest winner. A few days later, my husband invited a friend over for dinner, which always warrants a homemade dessert. Last time I only had Oreos to offer. What kind of cooking wife am I to offer Oreos? So this cake got it's test run in my kitchen.

Double Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe

Cake:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

6 TBSP softened butter

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups low-fat milk

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

powdered sugar

Glaze:

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup hazelnut syrup (or any that you prefer)

2 TBSP butter

Although the original recipe gives fussy instructions for how to properly mix the cake batter, my rule of thumb is this: measure and dump. Wet ingredients first, then add the dry. Mix till smooth. Coat one bundt pan liberally with cooking spray and add 2 TBSP flour to coat the pan. Pour in batter and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes

Meanwhile, make the glaze in a medium saucepan. Combine all ingredients and heat over medium-high heat until it boils and it is smooth. Allow to cool. As soon as the cake is done cooking, pour the glaze over the cake while it is in the pan. I was a little afraid of this, but it easily soaked in. Dust with powdered sugar.

The results? A tasty and fairly fuss free cake that looks impressive. The glaze gives it a taste that's a bit more special and adds just the right amount of sweetness. I would definitely make this recipe again for a quick dessert.

Roast Beef with Potatoes and Carrots

A classic Sunday dinner, but I made it on a Monday. Very simple but very delicious. I didn't use as many spices that I normally use, I wanted a natural beef flavor to take over the meal.

Ingredients: 1-5 lb Beef loin sirloin tip roast (pretty big can use smaller one)
salt and pepper
Goya Adobo seasoning
parsley(fresh or dry)
water
3-4 large carrots cleaned, peeled, and cut (blunt cuts)
5-6 potatoes cleaned, cut, peeled if desired (blunt cuts)

Preheat oven to 325, put roast in roasting pan, put salt, pepper, and Adobo on it. Add about 1/2 cup water to pan. Put in oven and let cook about 1 hour. Take out and add around 2 cups water to loosen any meat drippings. Put potatoes and carrots around roast in water. Add a little more salt to veggies only. Put foil over roasting pan and cook for 2-3 hours depending on how well you like your beef. When finished remove from oven let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Add some parsley to the veggies for taste and color. This is an old recipe from my step mom Carol. My family seemed to like it John made sandwiches out of the meat.(He loves sandwiches) I take no offense to this, half my kids devoured the meat the other half devoured the veggies. I ate it like a pro!