Chocolate Chip Coconut Carrot Cake

Today is National Carrot Cake Day! I've always loved carrots, and growing up I was called Rabbit by some family members. This is a great 1928 vintage ad from the Ladies' Home Journal, but not the recipe for this carrot cake. I had to add chocolate: cocoa and chocolate chips. All the great food groups in this one, especially with the cream cheese frosting!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COCONUT CARROT CAKE

Ingredients
1 cup sweet butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
2 tbsp DARK cocoa
1/2 cup water
1 tsp Madagascar vanilla
2 c. shredded carrots
3/4 cups chopped nuts
1/3 cup coconut
3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips

Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sweet butter, room temperature
1 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time; beating well after each addition.
Sift dry ingredients together; add to creamed mixture alternately with water and vanilla.
Fold in carrots, nuts, coconut and chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate pieces)
Pour into 9"x13" baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes. 
Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.

For Frosting
Combine cream cheese, butter and vanilla and mix until blended.
Scrape down bowl and add sifted powdered sugar.
Mix until smooth.

Heavenly Hash Cake

Today is Heavenly Hash Day. Of course, I'm not talking about the Hash in the Vintage Advertisement. Heavenly Hash can be lots of things: a fruit salad held together with sour cream or whipped cream, or it might be a chocolate candy or chocolate cake filled with marshmallows and nuts. Some ice cream makers have a variety of chocolate ice cream called Heavenly Hash (kind of like Rocky Road).

Since I'm into Chocolate, I'm posting a Heavenly Hash Cake recipe to celebrate the day. Warning: this is very sweet, but it's really good since it has three layers. It's also simple to make!

HEAVENLY HASH CAKE

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
4 tbsp. cocoa
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 cups nuts, chopped
1 tsp Madagascar Vanilla
1 bag mini marshmallows
Dash of salt.

Directions
Melt butter and cocoa together.
Beat eggs and sugar.
Add flour, salt and vanilla.
Fold in butter and cocoa mixture. Mix well.
Fold in nuts.
Pour into a 13 x 9 inch greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
Remove from oven.
Distribute marshmallows evenly over warm cake top.
Return to oven for 5 minutes (just until marshmallows puff a bit)
Let cool.
Top with chocolate icing layer (this can be thick-take one pass over the cake and add rather than swirling)

ICING:

1/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 lb confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat milk and butter together. Beat in confectioners sugar, cocoa and vanilla.

Super Bowl Chocolate Guinness Pretzel Truffles

Here's a great recipe for Super Bowl Sunday. I've posted this recipe before, but it deserves a repost because it's perfect for  Super Bowl Sunday. It contains all the football food groups: Chocolate, Beer & Pretzels (or nuts).  These Chocolate Beer Truffles are rolled in Crushed Pretzels, but you can use crushed peanuts or crushed beer nuts. If you're a purist, you can always roll them in cocoa!

I know this Guinness Ad isn't for the Super Bowl or even for U.S. Football, but I love it!

CHOCOLATE GUINNESS PRETZEL TRUFFLES

Ingredients
3/4 cup Guinness
1 pound dark chocolate (65-75% cacao)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Crushed salted pretzels

Directions
Melt chocolate in top of a double boiler  or a saucepan over a saucepan with simmering water.
Stir in cream.
Slowly add Guinness, stirring to blend.
Cover and chill overnight.
Shape mixture into 3/4 inch balls using small scoop or melon baller or your hands- using about a tablespoon of ganache for each.
Roll in crushed Salted Pretzels (or crushed peanuts or beer nuts).

Brandy Alexander Pie: National Brandy Alexander Day

Today is National Brandy Alexander Day. A Brandy Alexander is a sweet, brandy-based cocktail that became very popular in the early 20th cntury. It was supposedly created for the wedding of Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood and Viscount Lascelles, in London, in 1922.  The Brandy Alexander is based on an earlier, gin-based cocktail called simply an “Alexander”.

From the Brandyalexander website comes the history that Movie Stars have consumed Brandy Alexanders on sets of movies and TV shows and during celebratory events throughout  the last century.  Among the famous drink calls are by Jack Lemon in Days of Wine and Roses. In one scene Lee Remick receives a Brandy Alexander and is impressed with the chocolate flavor, yet smooth taste of the drink. In the pilot of the Mary Tyler Moore show, Mary calls for a Brandy Alexander when asked if she would like a drink at her job interview, and Peggy on a blind date in an episode of Mad Men, Indian Summer orders a Brandy Alexander. 

So for this exciting alcoholic Food Holiday today, break out the Brandy and Creme de Cacao! 

Check out last year's post for a recipe for the Brandy Alexander and for Brandy Alexander Brownies.

Brandy Alexander Pie
from the New York Times Magazine, January 18, 1970

Ingredients
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup cognac
1/4 cup creme de cacao
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
I substitute a 10 inch chocolate wafer crumb crust for the graham cracker crust in the original recipe
Chocolate curls for garnish

Directions
1. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a saucepan. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar, the salt and egg yolks. Stir to blend.
2. Heat over low heat while stirring until gelatin dissolves and mixture thickens. Do not boil.
3. Remove from the heat, and stir in the cognac and creme de cacao. Chill until mixture starts to mound slightly.
4. Beat the whites until stiff. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar and fold into the thickened mixture. Fold in 1 cup of the whipped cream. Turn into the crust. Chill several hours or over night.
5. Garnish with remaining cream and chocolate curls.