Listen to Lena

Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

dessert

Chocolate Chocolate Cake with Chocolate

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As a self-professed baker extraordinaire, I like to challenge both my skills and taste buds with a variety of sweet, scrumptious goodies.

However, sometimes I just want my cake, and I want to eat it too. And I want it to be effortless. And I want it NOW. That’s why I’m not opposed to using packaged mixes from time to time. They’re cheap, quick and always produce moist and flavourful results. I simply put my IPS (Inner Pastry Snob) on the back burner and savour the sugary, velvety goodness.

(And then I re-start my diet.)

For the richest, most chocolatey cake you’ll ever sink your teeth into, you must try this Chocolate Chocolate Cake with Chocolate. It combines a packaged mix with moistening agents such as sour cream and pudding to create a sinfully divine result. I can feel a cavity forming just thinking about it!

(Recipe adapted from Eat at Home Cooks) 

1 package devil’s food cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs and water. Stir in mini chocolate chips and pour batter into a greased and floured 12-cup bundt pan or 9×13 cake pan.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake in pan at least two hours before inverting onto a plate.

If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar, or frost with vanilla icing. Normally, I’d say be like Elvis Stojko and go for the quadruple – that is, add chocolate frosting to the mix – but I really do believe that there can be too much of a good thing. To tell the truth, I like diving into this cake as is. Chocoholics unite!

Kindergarten Confidential: Carrot Cake Muffins

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Waving Hello Peeps!

As I’m off on the ##FPPlayAmbassador press trip – you know, cruising around the Western Caribbean – I asked some of my favourite bloggers to help keep my blog fresh while I’m away.

Today’s guest post is courtesy of one of my very favourite bloggers: Shauna MacKenzie from Kindergarten Confidential. Whether you’re a mommy looking for well-balanced, nutritious (and delicious) snacks – or just trying to find inspiration to get out of a food rut – you’ll want to follow her blog for sage advice, tips, and meal ideas everyone can make. Her recipes for Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches, Baby Bok Choy and Mini Cheesecakes are in heavy rotation chez moi!

Blog Blurb: “When my son came home from Kindergarten with a list of nut-free snack ideas suggested by the school, I was disgusted by the amount of junk food listed. Do hot dogs really belong in a young child’s lunch bag? If the thought of preparing healthy, nut-free school snacks makes you cringe, worry not! I’m here to help with snack & lunch ideas, easy recipes, and tips to simplify this part of your busy life. Open your mind to delicious, healthy food that will stay with your busy bees throughout the day!”

Click here to visit Kindergarten Confidential.

Today Shauna so sweetly shared her recipe for Carrot Cake Muffins. Is it a muffin… or cake? You decide!

We all know that carrots are a delicious, über healthy vegetable that we should all be consuming daily. The convenience alone is good reason for daily snacking, along with high sources of fibre and vitamins.

We all know, as well, that children are easily bored by eating the same foods week after week. They may be tired of eating carrots raw with dip, or steamed and served with dinner. Get your little ones ready with their aprons and wooden spoons, and bake up a batch of Carrot Cake Muffins! I am ready and willing to share the absolute best carrot cake recipe EVER, given to me by my mother long, long ago. She still has the original Toronto Star newspaper clipping and this recipe has been passed along to family and friends with great results!

The recipe below is for a traditional carrot cake, cream cheese icing included – yum! I have provided instructions on making muffins. I ice the muffins for dessert or to treat my co-workers. For Aidan’s school snack I leave them plain, slicing into three portions. The muffins are very moist, full of flavour and they do not fall apart. He never misses the icing, but I sometimes spread a little in between the slices for an extra special treat….

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Last Minute V-Day Treats from Life Made Delicious

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I don’t have a romantic bone in my body.

(Wait, that’s not strictly true. I bawl like a baby every time I watch A Walk to Remember.)

Let’s just say that I’m less about the “stuff” and more about “substance”. For example, I would scream if my husband ever spent $97 on Valentine’s Day roses, but at the same time, I expect to spend the day with him and cuddle together at scheduled intervals. So maybe I am romantic – I’m just not commercially romantic. Or maybe I’m just cheap.

Regardless, I’m a huge fan of homemade treats for Valentine’s Day. Breakfast in bed; hand-drawn cards, heart-shaped cookies, and of course, a large supply of cinnamon hearts. This year (just like every year) I’ve left Valentine’s Day until the last minute, so I’ll be baking up a storm tomorrow to show my love for my husband (and cake).

Since we already indulged in pie last week, I’m thinking these Valentine Parfait Cupcakes are just the ticket. And because the special day is celebrated by our two little guys as well, I love that the cupcakes are a kid-friendly option!

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist Devil’s Food cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
1 tub Betty Crocker* Whipped fluffy white frosting
1 cup (250 mL) semisweet or milk chocolate chips
2 tsp (10 mL) shortening
Valentine’s decorating sprinkles or candies

Heat oven to 350ºF (325ºF for dark or nonstick pans).

Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Bake cake batter as directed on cake mix box, using water, oil and eggs.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about 2/3 full). Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre come out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Spoon frosting into decorating bag fitted with large round tip. Pipe dollop of frosting on top of each cupcake. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and shortening uncovered on High 1 minute, stirring once halfway through heating. Drizzle melted chocolate over frosted cupcakes; sprinkle with hearts.

I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Show Your Love With Pie! Easiest V-Day Dessert Ever

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How much do I love thee? Let me showeth with pie.

For I shalt promise thou three things:

1) When the moon hits your eye like a 6-inch Tenderflake pie, that’s amore!
2) The easier the better; and this is fool-proof. I promise.
3) EVERYONE can make it. Yes, everyone.

Here’s the scoop. The good folks at Tenderflake suggested their Easy Pie! pie kits as the perfect solution for a quick, easy and delicious Valentine’s Day dessert. I love the idea of a pie made just for two – SO romantic! – and since everything you need is included in the kit (minus the fruit), literally anyone can whip up a scrumptious treat for their loved one in minutes. Now I don’t want to speak for others, but I’d take a homemade pie over roses any day… #justsayin’

To demonstrate just how easy it is to seduce your sweetheart the good ol’ fashioned way – with food, that is – I decided to bring a little V-Day celebration forward a week (for research and review purposes only, of course. It had nothing to do with the whole dessert-eating thing). Now pay attention because it goes by quickly; in fact, I only needed about 5 minutes in total to prep the dish. Since the Easy Pie! pie kit contains both a spice and crumble mixture, practically all the work is done for you. Remember: I promised you an easy, fool-proof dessert. …

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Celebrating Canada Day with LMD!

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I always tend to think of Canada Day as the “mid-point” of summer, even though school kids, eager to pack away their books for two months, would beg to differ. (School’s Out!)

And now, it looks like Canada Day is already upon us! This year, I wanted to pay homage to our great country by baking up a truly Canadian treat – Butter Tarts. It’s just one of the easy recipes I found at Life Made Delicious, of course!

My trusted Wikipedia has the following to say about Butter Tarts:

A butter tart is a type of small pastry tart highly regarded in Canadian cuisine and considered one of Canada’s quintessential desserts. Although primarily eaten and associated with the English speaking provinces of Canada, the history of the tart recipe has been traced back to the arrival of the filles à marier in Quebec during the 1600s, where the imported brides used maple syrup, butter and dried fruit to make a possible precursor to modern examples of the butter tart or the Quebec Tarte au sucre.

Translation: A whole lotta yummy.

Now I actually prefer the tarts sans pecans, and purists would agree that a simple combination of butter, raisins and maple (or golden) syrup usually does the trick. So as soon as the boys went down this evening, I whipped up a batch of Mom’s Best Butter Tarts. Normally I’d copy and paste the recipe, but since there are several detailed steps, please use the recipe link to check it out. FYI – I opted to bake the tarts in individual foil liners rather than use a muffin tin.

What I can tell you is that less than an hour later, I am seriously wondering how 12 of these sweet, delicious tarts will make it until Friday’s celebration. Yes, they’re sweet. And no, they won’t make it on anyone’s list of diet foods. But they’re one of Canada’s quintessential desserts, dammit! And thank goodness I have enough ingredients on hand to do it all over again!

For more easy recipes – including Canada Day-themed goodies such as Maple Cake, Maple Pecan Pie and more, be sure to visit Life Made Delicious!

I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Holiday Entertaining with President’s Choice!

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This past weekend, we rounded up the kids bright and early and hit Superstore at 8:00am on Sunday morning to shop for our annual Christmas fest. How wonderful it is to grocery shop when the store is mostly empty! I was in such a good mood, and I can only attribute it to the fact that I wasn’t bumping carts every 30 seconds. BLISS!

This year (as always) tons of goodies making it to our cart were items from the President’s Choice Insiders Report. PC, how I love thee! We were fortunate to receive several of their yummiest holiday treats for review, and trust me – they’re all exceptionally delicious! For example, we enjoyed:

PC Chocolate Fruit Fancies

Tickle your fancy! The Chocolate Fruit Fancies are a treat for mouths and eyes. They look like a smooth hard candy – complete with irresistible swirls of bright colours – but you won’t believe that they’re actually made with refined white or milk chocolate ganache. Each treat is filled with a real fruit purée (blueberry is absolutely TO DIE FOR) and I promise, you won’t be able to stop at one. I definitely recommend these little fancies for gift giving – at just $8 for a box of 25, they’re both indulgent and affordable. You’ll love them!

PC The World’s Best Jumbo Cashews
These cashews are – ahem – JUMBO, and they’re delicious. Roasted and lightly salted, I’ve already purchased two more jars to place on the appetizer table at Christmas dinner. The dry roasted jumbo cashews are from Brazil – specially selected for their remarkable size, rich sweetness and delicious crunch. They are a must for nut-lovers, and will be the star of the show if you’d like to combine them with other nuts for a snack mix.

PC Gourmet Belgian Chocolate Collection
Whether you need a gift for the teacher, the hostess, or you’d like to treat yourself this Christmas (and what’s wrong with that?), look no further than the Gourmet Belgian Chocolate Collection. It’s imported from Belgium and includes a deluxe assortment of six decadent flavours of premium quality chocolate (a generous 30 pieces in total). After indulging in just two of these premium chocolates, I sent the hubby out to pick up 5 more boxes for gift giving. They’re THAT good. Plus, at just $14 per box, the price is pretty impressive, too.

I’ll also give TWO THUMBS UP to PC 100% Hawaiian Fine Grind Coffee, PC Shortbread Cookie Mix, and PC Rich and Creamy Eggnog!

This past weekend, the following items literally flew into our cart:

PC Chocolate Hazelnut Rolled Wafers
I have a weakness for rolled wafers, and considering I’ve progressed so well with my weight loss, was hesitant to succumb to temptation. But, it IS Christmas, and I think a few wafers are well deserved! “Crisp toasted wafers with a rich, creamy chocolate hazelnut flavoured filling; enjoy them with desserts, ice cream or coffee.” Mmm… Chocolate Hazelnut… I can’t wait to crack open this tin. The wafers are also available in Dark Chocolate, which I believe was made to pair with a nice cappuccino :)

PC Club Pack Cracker Collection
A must for our holiday cheese tray – and for delectable spreads! There are six varieties included; all crisp, flavourful and perfect for snacking.

PC Cranberry Lime Cocktail
Doesn’t this sound yummy? Can’t wait to add it to our festive punches and martinis.

Um, do I really need to explain why this item came home with us? It’s the classic Red Velvet Cheesecake, reinvented. “This sinfully rich layer cake starts with a delectable chocolate cookie crumb crust topped with creamy cheesecake surrounded by moist, vibrant-red “velvety” cake, perfectly frosted with cream cheese icing – a truly grand dessert.” Yes please.

If your local grocery store does not stock President’s Choice, may I so boldly suggest you switch supermarkets. It’s going to be a PC fest chez Lena’s this year!

Very Cool, Yummy Things

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Ah, Pink Cake Box, you’ve done it again!

Check out this seriously cool pizza-box inspired cake! My jaw literally dropped open when I saw it. Who in their right mind would want to eat such a masterpiece? I’d grab it and run… and place in under a plexiglass showcase. But that’s just me.

Hmm… I wonder what flavour the cake was – cheesy chocolate? Delicious!

“We created this cake for a bride’s fiancé who is a “pizza freak”. The cover of the pizza box has special meaning to the couple since they met in Italy. We included cute flavors including cheesy love, saucy sausage, & puppy-love peppers.” – Pink Cake Box


Now that’s amore!

If you’re able to squeeze some pretty, yummy time into your Friday, don’t forget to check out the Pink Cake Box blog!

Pretty, Yummy Things

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Whenever I’m having a super busy day, I like to slow down for 10 minutes and look at pretty, yummy things. Sometimes I’ll jump onto Lotus’ blog for fashion inspiration; other times I’ll pan through a Williams Sonoma’s cookbook (while taking in their drool-worthy photos). These pleasantly inspiring moments take me far away from the not-so-pretty reality of applesauce on the hardwood, an overflowing clothes hamper and frizzy hair pulled back in a ponytail.

One of my tried and true pit stops is the Pink Cake Box blog, where they showcase pictures and descriptions of their latest jaw-dropping cakes. So pretty and yummy! I am constantly blown away by their talent and creativity, and have wished more than once that I lived in Jersey so that I could order a cake from them. Oh boy, I’d make up occasions if I had to :)

If you’ve got more than 10 minutes to spare, check out their Gallery of Celebration, Wedding and Children’s cakes. To die for!!!

Hope you’re able to squeeze some pretty, yummy time into your Friday!