Brown Sugar and Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

From Bon Appetit

Another good, dense cake. 

Ingredients

12 Servings

CAKE

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1

12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips

3

cups all purpose flour, divided

2

teaspoons baking soda

1

teaspoon baking powder

3

/4 teaspoon salt

1

cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1

1/2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar

2

1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1

teaspoon maple extract

4

large eggs

1

cup buttermilk

GLAZE

1

cup powdered sugar

2

tablespoons pure maple syrup

2

tablespoons (or more) whipping cream

Preparation

CAKE

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 12-cup Bundt pan. Spray pan generously with nonstick spray. Dust pan lightly with flour. Mix chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons flour in medium bowl. Sift remaining flour with baking soda, baking powder, and salt into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract and maple extract. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chip mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan, spreading evenly.

Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely.

Hint: Mixing the chocolate chips with a little flour before adding them to the batter helps the chips stay evenly suspended in the batter and evenly distributed throughout the baked cake (otherwise, they may sink to the bottom).

GLAZE

Combine powdered sugar, maple syrup, and 2 tablespoons cream in medium bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding more cream by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to drizzle. Spoon glaze decoratively over top of cake; let stand at room temperature until glaze is firm, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and let stand at room temperature. 

Cheesy Potato Frittata

Hands-On: 40 mins

Total: 1 hr 10 mins

Yield: Serves 8

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 5 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (4 cups)
• 1 tablespoon plus 2½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 12 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 12-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces Manchego cheese, grated (2 cups), divided

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in upper third. Place potatoes in a large pot and just cover with water; stir in 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork, about 3 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

• Step 2

  Heat oil and butter in a large cast-iron or oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium until butter foams. Add onion and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add potatoes and toss to coat. Cook, undisturbed, until potatoes are golden in spots, about 3 minutes. Gently stir; cook for 3 minutes more.

• Step 3

  Meanwhile, whisk eggs, cream, bell peppers, black pepper, half the cheese, and remaining 2 teaspoons salt in a large bowl until well combined.

• Step 4

  Slowly add egg mixture to potato mixture in skillet and cook, stirring gently and smoothing around edges with a rubber spatula, until eggs are scrambled in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer to oven and bake until center is just set, 16 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven and increase temperature to broil. Top frittata with remaining cheese. Return to oven and broil until cheese is bubbling and golden, 2 to 4 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Frittata can be made up to one day ahead and stored once cooled, covered, in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature and reheat, if desired. 

• From Real Simple

Chef's Notes

Make it a day ahead and refrigerate!

Ann's Banana Cream Pie

This pie has a custard base that makes it extra good-no comparison to the jello pudding variety. Ann says to make sure you give it several hours to chill and set. Thanks for sharing.

Ingredients 

Baked Pie Shell
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
3 cups whole milk
5 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp butter - cut up
2 tsp vanilla
4 ripe medium bananas
3/4 cup whipping cream

     In 3-quart saucepan, stir cornstarch, salt, and 1/2 cup sugar.  With wire whisk, beat in milk.  Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils - stirring constantly.  Boil 1 minute. Remove saucepan from heat.
     In small bowl, with wire whisk, lightly beat eff yolks. In thin steady stream, whisk about 1/2 cup hot milk mixture into yolks.  Gradually whisk yolk mixture back into milk mixture - stirring rapidly to prevent curdling.  Cook over low heat until mixture is very thick and coats the back of a spoon well or temperature reaches 160*, stirring constantly. Remove saucepan from heat.
     Stir in butter and vanilla until butter melts. Transfer custard to medium bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface. Refrigerate until cool - about 30 minutes.
     Slice 3 bananas and arrange half of bananas in bottom of baked crust. Spread with half of custard. Repeat with remaining bananas and custard.  Press plastic wrap onto surface; refrigerate until filling is set - at least 4 hours or overnight.
 
     To serve - in a small bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat whipping cream with remaining 2 Tbsp of sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread over filling. Slice remaining banana and arrange on top of pie. 

Chocolate Trifle

An easy dessert that tastes rather decadent. It is from a neighbor - Diana Evans - who is a fantastic cook.
The Skor Bars are the expensive part so make it when they go on sale or buy and freeze the bars.

Chocolate Trifle

Brownie Bites - pkg from the store or make brownies and cut up into small cubes

1/2 of a #10 Can Chocolate Pudding ( Can Get for Sam's club)  or it equals 5-6 cups of pudding

1 pint whipping cream , whipped and sweetened

8 Skor Candy Bars, crumbled


Layer twice in a glass bowl, if you have it, so people can see the layers