Chocolate Lava Cake

Folks-
It's been a long time since anyone made my mom's Chocolate Lava Cake. My kids didn't like it when they were younger, but like it now in their teens. I'm fixing a few measurements in this recipe to make it easier to follow, so here's the patched recipe:

Basic Cake Mix Ingredients

4 Cups Cake Flour

3 Cups Sugar

6 Teaspoons Baking Powder

¾ Teaspoon Salt

1 ¾ Cups Vegetable Shortening

In a bowl, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Cut in shortening until evenly distributed. Put in a large, airtight container. Store in a cool, dry place for up to several weeks.

Lava Cake Ingredients

1 Cup Basic Cake Mix

1/2 Cup sugar

4 Teaspoons Cocoa Powder

1/3 Cup Milk

2/3 Teaspoon Vanilla

1/2 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder

1 Cup Boiling Water

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Combine Basic Cake Mix, Sugar, 4 Teaspoon Cocoa, Milk, and Vanilla. Blend well. Pour into 8” square unbuttered baking pan. Combine brown sugar and 3 tablespoons cocoa powder in a small bowl. Sprinkle over top of cake mixture. Gently pour boiling water over cake mixture (Do not stir!) Bake 35-40 minutes until edges separate from pan. Cool in pan 15 minutes before serving.

Updated 11/1/2024: I just noticed the updated measurements didn't make it into the directions for mixing the cake, so I fixed that. I also updated the formatting a bit.

-Edly

Jim's Chili

Folks- 

Here it is--the second post of the week! Wow! Nothing for months, and then three in a two-week span! 

My dad had never written down his Chili Recipe until a couple of years ago when I wanted to learn how he did it. I still have to get his Lasagna recipe this way.

Without further ado--here's the recipe!

Jim's Chili Recipe

Ingredients

2 Cans (15 oz.) Tomato Sauce 

3 T. Chili Powder 

1 1/2 T. Ground Cumin Seed 

1/2 Large Onion, coarsely chopped 

1/2 C. Water 

1/8 t. Cayenne Pepper 

1 Bay leaf 

1 t. Salt 

3 C. dry pinto beans 

1 lb. cheap hamburger 

1/4 t. pepper 

The night before the Chili is to be served: 

Mix 1 can of the tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of the water with the chili powder, cumin seed, onion, cayenne pepper, and 3/4 t. of the salt and refrigerate. Soak beans with at least 1" of water covering the top. Change the water every 1/2 hour for the first 2 hours, and then leave to soak overnight. 

The day the Chili is to be served: 

Change the water in the beans again and drain. Soak the beans with at least 1 " of water over the top of the beans and simmer over a medium-low heat with the bay leaf for 1/2 to 1 hour. Brown the meat with the remaining salt and pepper. Drain the beans, saving the water. Add the sauce mixture from the night before to the meat and add in the second can of tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of water. Add the sauce/meat mixture to the beans and add in about 3-1/2 C of the water from the beans saved previously to the mixture. Mix and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally (every 5-10 minutes). Check several times while simmering to make sure it is seasoned correctly. 

Note: To give the Chili a fresher flavor, just before serving stir in a drained can of mild green chili peppers. 

That's it! One of the next posts will probably be one of the recipes from the cookbook I compiled about 20 years ago.

Ed's Truffles

Folks-
The main reason I'm writing this recipe blog is to keep track of the recipes I use and like. Since it's Christmas week, I'll post two today, and perhaps more later this week. I'll start by posting my Truffle recipe. I got it from the Betty Crocker's cookbook, and then started fiddling with it to make it my own. The secret is in the notes at the end (hint: This is a versatile recipe!)

Ingredients:

6 oz Chocolate (Semi-sweet, dark, or milk)
1/4 C Whipping Cream
2 T Melted Butter
1 C Chocolate Chips (Semi-sweet or milk)
2 T Vegetable Shortening

Melt the 6 oz of chocolate over a double boiler or in a glass bowl in a microwave oven (run the microwave starting at 30 seconds and then progressively shorter time periods, stirring between each heating cycle.) Mix in the melted butter and whipping cream until the mixture is smooth, and pour into a buttered baking pan. Refrigerate until hard, and then cut into 1" cubes. Melt 1 C chocolate chips and mix in shortening. Dip chocolate centers into the melted chocolate and fish it out with forks, placing them on an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until hard. Best served at room temperature.

Notes: This recipe is very versatile. You can change the flavor by changing the kind of chocolate, or by adding flavorings. One thing I have noticed is that white chocolate tends not to harden as well as other kinds, I recommend halving the amount of whipping cream and melted butter if using white chocolate.
Mocha Truffles: Use semi-sweet chocolate and add 2 T Instant Coffee crystals to the whipping cream.
Mint Truffles: Add a few drops mint extract to the whipping cream. Seal finished truffles in a container. DO NOT MIX WITH OTHER TRUFFLES! The flavor is so strong that it will overpower the flavor of other truffles and you can easily end up with your box of mixed truffles being a box of mint truffles.
Orange or Strawberry: Add up to 1/2 t flavoring to the whipping cream before mixing it into the chocolate.
Mexican Chocolate: Add 1/4 t Cinnamon and 1/2 T finely chopped almonds to the melted chocolate before adding in the melted butter and whipping cream.
Conversion tip: 1 Cup of chocolate chips is 6 oz. Feel free to use baking chocolate, eating chocolate, or chocolate chips in this recipe!
The coating for these truffles is so good that I use it for almost all candies that need a chocolate coating. I have never had it separate out or bloom.

I'll be posting my dad's Chili recipe soon, and then I'll start posting the recipes from the cookbook I compiled with my old co-workers (The Zap 190 L.O.S. Cookbook!)

-Edly

Clam and Cheese Chowder

Folks- It's been a long time since I updated any of my sites, and due to requests, I'm going to start updating this site more often. I've already gotten a few recipes backlogged, so I'll be able to keep going for at least a little while. I'm going to start to with a recipe that my mom started, and I modified. My kids claim it's the best they have ever tasted: Clam Chowder. This one is just perfect for cold weather, especially with fresh bread. -Edly

Eleanor & Ed's Clam & Cheese Chowder

Ingredients: 

2 T Butter

1 T Diced Onion 

2 Cubed Russet Potatoes 

1/2 Cup Water

2 Cans Minced Clams (Do not drain)

2-3 Strips Cooked Bacon, crumbled 

1 T Chopped Parsley

1/2 lb Cubed Whole Milk Mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese

1 Package of Onion or Potato & Leek Soup Mix, sifted for the onions or  3 T French Fried Onions

1 Cup Heavy Cream 

2 1/2 Cups Milk 

3/4 Cup Instant Potato Flakes

 

 

Directions: Melt the butter in a pot and add potatoes and diced onion. Add water, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add clams with the juice in the can, bacon, parsley, onion soup, and cheese and stir until cheese melts. Add cream, milk, and instant potatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Alternatives: 1. Use Monterey Jack cheese instead of the Mozzarella. 2. Use 1 1/2 Cups of Whipping Cream instead of the Heavy Cream, and 2 Cups of Milk instead of 2 1/2 Cups.