Host An Unforgettable Book Club

Steamed pudding is more like a dense ultra moist cake, rather than the creamy pudding most Americans are accustomed to. This wonderful recipe is simple and meant to be served straight from the oven. Top each serving with cream or a favorite vanilla or rum sauce.

This is a recipe that is in the book How To Bake a Perfect Life. This recipe is so easy and my kids had a blast making it. I made my Pain Au Chocolat with special dark chocolate chips which went well with the puff pastry.

Making a cake with barley was new to me and it turned out fabulous! It did taste a little more grainy than with all-purpose flour, but I actually liked the taste more. I could not find barley flour at my store, so I bought pearl barley and used my blender to grind it, which could explain the grainier taste.

A camp out and gooey S’mores go hand-in-hand, but since Texas (at the time of this post) is currently under an open fire ban due to drought conditions, traditional S’mores prepared at the camp fire were out for our recent camping trip. Unfortunately, nothing can be done about the camp fire until we get some rain, but S’mores bars can be prepared ahead of time in your own kitchen for that yummy chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker taste.

Florentines are a thin almond and candied fruit cookie with a chocolate coating on the bottom. These are nutty and chewy at the same time and remind me of a praline.

This pie really does taste like a chocolate milkshake.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Chow Mien Noodles together make these bird nests a scrumptious treat.

This Chocolate Espresso Martini Recipe makes a delicious rich martini with a nice caffeine jolt.

These mini chocolate chip apples make quite an impression at a party and everyone loves them!

Black and white popcorn is delicious and easy to make.

These chocolate mice were made with devil’s food cake and a ganache icing.

The Dobos Torte was first presented at the National General Exhibition of Budapest in 1885. It was prepared by famous Hungarian confectioner József C. Dobos.

It is believed that Rigo Jancsi, a turn of the century Hungarian gypsy violinist, created this cake for Princess Klara  of Belgium, with whom he had a scandalous affair and later married.   The marriage didn’t last, but the cake remains a popular Hungarian dessert.  A stand mixer is recommended for this variation of the Rigo Jancsi cake (unless you don’t mind beating batter with a hand-held mixer for 15-plus minutes.)

I believe hurricane cake gets its name from its appearance. Hurricane cake is rich in flavor and super moist. No icing needed on this cake.

This bananas foster cake was adapted from a recipe from Nestlé Toll House.  The original recipe called for a package of Devil’s Food cake mix and a package of chocolate pudding mix, but I used a homemade chocolate cake recipe instead.   The sprinkling of the chocolate chips on the cake batter prior to cooking gives this cake a rich flavor. The banana flavor is subtle and I think next time I make it I am going to add another banana to the recipe.