Chocolate Butter Cake

This is another delicious cake recipe from Cake Love by Warren Brown. It makes a delicious chocolate cake--that you can spruce up with the frosting of your choice. So far I have tried it with the Coconut Buttercream and the Pecan Crunch Buttercream. The picture above was taken as I was assembling the cake with Pecan Crunch Buttercream.

Dry Ingredients:

• 7 ounces (1 ¼ cups + 2 T.) flour (high altitude: 7 ¼ ounces; 1 ¼ cups + 3 T.)
• 2 ounces (1/2 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder (high altitude: 2 1/8 ounces; ½ cup + 1 T. + ½ tsp.)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder (high altitude: 1 tsp.)

Liquid Ingredients:

• 1 cup half-and-half (high altitude: 1 cup + 2 ½ T.)
• 1 T. vanilla extract

Creaming Ingredients:

• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 14 ounces (1 ¾ cups) extra-fine granulated sugar (high altitude: 13 ounces; 1 ½ cups + 2 T.)
• 4 eggs, room temperature (high altitude: 5 eggs)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (335 for convection oven). Set the rack in the middle of the oven.

Measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Measure the liquid ingredients into a separate bowl and whisk to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (using the paddle attachment), cream together the butter and sugar on lowest speed until it starts sticking to the sides of the bowl. (This is a very important step. Be sure to do it on the lowest setting. It takes about 5 minutes for this step.) If using a vanilla bean, scrape out seeds and add to the creaming butter and sugar.

With mixer still on lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time followed by the yolk. Allow to fully incorporate after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape sides of bowl.

With mixer still on low speed, add the dry ingredients and liquid ingredients alternating, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. This should take about 60 seconds in total (3 to 5 steps of alternating adding). Don't wait for the ingredients to be fully incorporated before adding the next.

Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix on medium speed for 15 to 20 seconds.

Prepare the pans. For 9-inch-round cakes, grease and flour only the bottom of the pans; do not spray the sides. For cupcakes, grease or use cupcake liners (also lightly spray the top of the cupcake pan to help release any overflowing crowns). Deposit batter equally into each 9-inch round and smooth with spatula (for cupcakes, fill cups ~2/3 full). Bake 9-inch rounds for 28 minutes (high altitude: 35 minutes); cupcakes for 22 minutes (high altitude: 20 minutes). Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into center of cake. Cake is done when there are just a touch of crumbs clinging to the toothpick. The cakes edges may pull away from the pan. Allow to cool to room temperature, 25-30 minutes, before carefully removing from pan. May be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 5 days prior to frosting (not necessary, but if you are cutting it into a four-layer cake it will be much easier to work with when cold).

Coconut Buttercream

I used this Coconut Buttercream with the Chocolate Butter Cake recipe to make a German chocolate cake for my dad's birthday. I put Chocolate Pastry Cream between two of the center layers of the cake. All recipe's are from Cake Love by Warren Brown.

Milk Mixture:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 ounces (1/2 cup) unsweetened coconut flakes
• 7 ounces (3/4 cup + 2 T.) extra-fine granulated sugar

Yolk Mixture:

• 6 egg yolks
• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) extra-fine granulated sugar
• 3 T. potato starch
• ¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Flavorings and Butter:

• 3 ounces (1/4 cup) muscavado or dark brown sugar, packed
• ½ tsp. imitation coconut flavor (to taste)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

Separate the yolks into a large bowl. Add the 2 ounces of sugar and the potato starch and whisk to combine. Add the 2 ounces of butter, but do not stir in. Set aside.

Measure the milk mixture ingredients into a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let the mixture steep for 10 minutes.

Return the milk mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Once it reaches a simmer, slowly pour it into the yolk mixture, whisking slowly in small circles at first and ending with broader strokes until fully combined (it may be helpful to put a damp towel underneath the bowl or to have someone hold it to prevent it from sliding while you stir). Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly but not rapidly, for about 4 minutes (high altitude: 3 minutes). The key is to keep the pastry cream moving so it won't scorch on the bottom of the saucepan. When you begin to see lava bubbles—large, slowly forming bubble that burp steam—reduce the heat to the lowest setting and whisk briskly for 1 minute to pasteurize the pastry cream.

Pour the pastry cream into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire ship attachment. Add the muscovado, coconut flavor, and vanilla extract. Whip the pastry cream on high speed until it's cooled to room temperature, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Whip on medium speed until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Note: This frosting is called BUTTERcream for a reason—it has lots of butter. The butter makes it thicker, but you can get away with adding less butter. I recommend experimenting with it to see what you like best, as far as consistency and flavor. I think you could get away with adding 3 sticks of butter instead of 4 (maybe even less).

Chocolate Pastry Cream

This recipe is from Cake Love by Warren Brown. It is very sweet, but very good. If you feel the need/desire to add chocolaty sweetness to a cake, this will do it! I used a layer of this in making german chocolate cake (Chocolate Butter Cake with Coconut Buttercream).

Milk Mixture:

• 2 cups whole milk

Yolk Mixture:

• 3 eggs
• 7 egg yolks
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

• 24 ounces (3 cups) extra-fine granulated sugar
• 2 ounces (1/2 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup potato starch
• 2 T. flour

Butter:

• 8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled

Separate the eggs and yolks into a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract and whisk to combine; set aside. Mix the dry ingredients into a separate bowl, whisk to combine, and set aside.

Measure the milk into a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat but keep the saucepan on the stove. Meanwhile, combine the yolk mixture and the dry ingredients.

Return the milk mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Once it reaches a simmer, slowly pour it into the yolk mixture, whisking slowly in small circles at first and ending with broader strokes until fully combined (it may be helpful to put a damp towel underneath the bowl or to have someone hold it to prevent it from sliding while you stir). Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly but not rapidly, for about 4 minutes (high altitude: 3 minutes). The key is to keep the pastry cream moving so it won't scorch on the bottom of the saucepan. When you begin to see lava bubbles—large, slowly forming bubble that burp steam—reduce the heat to the lowest setting and whisk briskly for 1 minute to pasteurize the pastry cream.

Pour the pastry cream into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Cover with plastic pressed against the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Immediately refrigerate for at least 3 hours before using.

Pecan Crunch Buttercream

I made this cake for my grandma's birthday. It is the Chocolate Butter Cake topped with Pecan Crunch Buttercream. Both recipes are from Cake Love by Warren Brown. People seemed to really love this buttercream. It's natural flavor and color comes from real pecans.

Milk Mixture:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 ounces (1 cup) unsalted pecan halves
• 7 ounces (3/4 cup + 2 T.) extra-fine granulated sugar

Yolk Mixture:

• 6 egg yolks
• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) extra-fine granulated sugar
• 3 T. potato starch
• ¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Flavorings and Butter:

• 3 ounces (1/4 cup) muscavado or dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 T. honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

2 ounces (1/4 cup) extra-fine granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Separate the yolks into a large bowl. Add the 2 ounces of sugar and the potato starch and whisk to combine. Add the 2 ounces of butter, but do not stir in. Set aside.

Measure the milk mixture ingredients into a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let the pecans steep for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, strain the pecans and capture the flavored milk in a large bowl. Set pecans aside.

Return the milk mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Once it reaches a simmer, slowly pour it into the yolk mixture, whisking slowly in small circles at first and ending with broader strokes until fully combined (it may be helpful to put a damp towel underneath the bowl or to have someone hold it to prevent it from sliding while you stir). Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly but not rapidly, for about 4 minutes (high altitude: 3 minutes). The key is to keep the pastry cream moving so it won't scorch on the bottom of the saucepan. When you begin to see lava bubbles—large, slowly forming bubble that burp steam—reduce the heat to the lowest setting and whisk briskly for 1 minute to pasteurize the pastry cream.

Pour the pastry cream into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire ship attachment. Add the muscovado, honey, and vanilla extract. Whip the pastry cream on high speed until it's cooled to room temperature, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Whip on medium speed until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the drained pecans with ¼ cup sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Place on an ungreased cooking sheet. Toast for 5 to 10 minutes (high altitude: about 15 minutes). Be careful not to burn.

Let the pecans (pralines) cool completely; then break into chunks. Add them to the buttercream and mix on low speed until the nuts are fully incorporated. (You can also save some of pralines to decorate the top of the cake.)

Note: This frosting is called BUTTERcream for a reason—it has lots of butter. The butter makes it thicker, but you can get away with adding less butter. I recommend experimenting with it to see what you like best, as far as consistency and flavor. I think you could get away with adding 3 sticks of butter instead of 4 (maybe even less).

Vanilla Pound Cake

The two main varieties of cakes described in Cake Love by Warren Brown are pound cakes and butter cakes. This is the basic pound cake recipe. It can be eaten alone or served with ice cream, whipped cream, fruit (e.g. strawberry shortcake), etc. It is pictured above served with raspberry puree and whipped cream.

Dry Ingredients:

• 13 ½ ounces (2 ½ cups + 3 T.) flour (high altitude: 14 ½ ounces; 2 ¾ cups + 2 T.)
• 1 T. potato starch
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. baking soda

Liquid Ingredients:

• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 2 T. heavy cream (high altitude: 2 T. + 1 tsp.)
• 7 T. whole milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Optional: 2 T. finely grated lemon peel ("lemon zest"). If you like a hint of lemon flavor, this is delicious. If you want a completely vanilla pound cake, leave this out.

Creaming Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 24 ounces (3 cups) extra-fine granulated sugar (high altitude: 21 ounces; 2 ½ cups + 2 T.)
• 5 eggs, room temperature (high altitude: 6 eggs)
• 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 1 vanilla bean (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (335 for convection oven). Set the rack in the middle of the oven.

Measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Measure the liquid ingredients into a separate bowl and whisk to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (using the paddle attachment), cream together the butter and sugar on lowest speed until it starts sticking to the sides of the bowl. (This is a very important step. Be sure to do it on the lowest setting. It takes about 5 minutes for this step.) If using a vanilla bean, scrape out seeds and add to the creaming butter and sugar.

With mixer still on lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time followed by the yolk. Allow to fully incorporate after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape sides of bowl.

With mixer still on low speed, add the dry ingredients and liquid ingredients alternating, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. This should take about 60 seconds in total (3 to 5 steps of alternating adding). Don't wait for the ingredients to be fully incorporated before adding the next.

Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix on medium speed for 15 to 20 seconds.

Prepare the pans. This can be made into cupcakes or baked in a Bundt pan. Spray very well with nonstick cooking spray. Fill Bundt pan about ¾ full. Level the batter with spatula. (Cupcake cups should also be filled about ¾ full). Bake Bundt for 50-55 minutes (high altitude: 70 minutes); cupcakes for 15 minutes (high altitude: 30 minutes). Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into center of cake. Cake is done when there are just a touch of crumbs clinging to the toothpick. Allow to cool until you can hold the pan in your bare hands (5-10 minutes) and then remove cake and allow to fully cool.

Raspberry Puree

This is a very simple recipe for making a raspberry puree that can be used to flavor (and add color to) the base Italian Meringue Buttercream. It can also be used as a topping itself (e.g. cake, ice cream, waffles, etc.) or any other way that you can dream up. It is from Cake Love by Warren Brown.

• 12 to 16 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) sugar

Thaw a package of frozen raspberries in the bag (do not strain the juice). Combine the raspberries and their juice with the sugar in a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Gently bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and promptly remove from heat. Carefully strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Try to capture all of the raspberry seeds in the strainer. Transfer the puree to an airtight container. Store in refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Italian Meringue Buttercream

If you want a cake that tastes like it came from a professional, this frosting is a great place to start! It is much easier to make than I had originally thought. The recipe here is the "base" recipe, that can then easily be flavored in a variety of ways (I list some of them below). The cake above is my 4th of July Cake. I made a batch of the base and flavored half with vanilla and half with raspberry.

• 5 egg whites
• 10 ounces (1 ¼ cup) extra-fine granulated sugar, divided
• ¼ cup cold water
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter

Separate the egg whites into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment. Measure 1 cup sugar and the water into a 1-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Gently stir to combine. Measure the remaining ¼ cup sugar into a small bowl and set aside. Cut the butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and set aside in a medium bowl.

Make the sugar syrup by heating the 1 cup of sugar and the water in the saucepan over medium-high heat. Partially cover with a lid to capture the evaporating water—this helps to moisten the sides of the saucepan to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Use candy thermometer to monitor temperature.

As syrup is heating, begin whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks. When the peaks are stiff, you have a meringue. Keep the mixer running and pour the ¼ cup of sugar into the meringue.

Raise the heat under the sugar syrup to bring the syrup to 245°F, if it is not there already. When the syrup is at 245°F, remove the thermometer and slowly pour the syrup into the meringue (while the mixer is still running on high speed). After 1 to 2 minutes reduce the mixer speed to medium for 3 to 4 more minutes, or until the meringue is cooled. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the mixer speed to high for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the butter is fully incorporated.

Note: This frosting is called BUTTERcream for a reason—it has lots of butter. The butter makes it thicker, but you can get away with adding less butter. I recommend experimenting with it to see what you like best, as far as consistency and flavor. I think you could get away with adding 3 sticks of butter instead of 4 (maybe even less).

The following flavorings can be added to the base recipe for Italian Meringue Buttercream:

Vanilla: 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Chocolate: ½ cup melted bittersweet chocolate
Raspberry: ¼ to ½ cup raspberry puree (see separate recipe)
Lemon: 2 T. limoncello
Orange: 1 tsp. orange oil
Lime: 1 tsp. lime oil

Yellow Butter Cake

This is the first cake I made using the recipes from Cake Love by Warren Brown. We were having a 4th of July dinner at my grandma's house and I volunteered to bring a dessert. I wanted to be a bit creative and go with the patriotic theme. I made the Yellow Butter Cake and frosted it with Italian Meringue Buttercream (both vanilla and raspberry flavored). The cake was decorated with some raspberry puree and blueberries that Erin and I hand-picked at a farm earlier that morning.

Dry Ingredients:

• 7 ounces (1 ¼ cups + 2 T.) flour (high altitude: 7 ¼ ounces; 1 ¼ cups + 3 T.)
• 2 ounces potato starch
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder (high altitude: 1 tsp.)

Liquid Ingredients:

• 1 cup half-and-half (high altitude: 1 cup + 2 ½ T.)
• 1 T. vanilla extract

Creaming Ingredients:

• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 14 ounces (1 ¾ cups) extra-fine granulated sugar (high altitude: 13 ounces; 1 ½ cups + 2 T.)
• 4 eggs, room temperature (high altitude: 5 eggs)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (335 for convection oven). Set the rack in the middle of the oven.

Measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Measure the liquid ingredients into a separate bowl and whisk to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (using the paddle attachment), cream together the butter and sugar on lowest speed until it starts sticking to the sides of the bowl. (This is a very important step. Be sure to do it on the lowest setting. It takes about 5 minutes for this step.) If using a vanilla bean, scrape out seeds and add to the creaming butter and sugar.

With mixer still on lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time followed by the yolk. Allow to fully incorporate after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape sides of bowl.

With mixer still on low speed, add the dry ingredients and liquid ingredients alternating, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. This should take about 60 seconds in total (3 to 5 steps of alternating adding). Don't wait for the ingredients to be fully incorporated before adding the next.

Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix on medium speed for 15 to 20 seconds.

Prepare the pans. For 9-inch-round cakes, grease and flour only the bottom of the pans; do not spray the sides. For cupcakes, grease or use cupcake liners (also lightly spray the top of the cupcake pan to help release any overflowing crowns). Deposit batter equally into each 9-inch round and smooth with spatula (for cupcakes, fill cups ~2/3 full). Bake 9-inch rounds for 28 minutes (high altitude: 35 minutes); cupcakes for 22 minutes (high altitude: 20 minutes). Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into center of cake. Cake is done when there are just a touch of crumbs clinging to the toothpick. The cakes edges may pull away from the pan. Allow to cool to room temperature, 25-30 minutes, before carefully removing from pan. May be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 5 days prior to frosting (not necessary, but if you are cutting it into a four-layer cake it will be much easier to work with when cold).

Some more pictures, because I'm really proud of this cake:

Cake Love

Picture from Amazon.com

I recently got in a cake-baking mood. I think it came with my discovery of the book "Cake Love: How to Bake Cakes from Scratch" by Warren Brown. He is the founder of the Cake Love bakeries which are located in the Washington, DC area. Over the past month or so I have read the book and tested several of the recipes. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning to bake cakes. The book is full of great step-by-step instructions and photographs.

I will not post all of the recipes in this book on my blog. That would take way too long and I'm sure would violate some sort of copyright rules. Also, I only post recipes on this blog that I have actually made myself. It will take quite awhile before I have tested all of the great recipes in this book. I have tried a few of them so far and they were delicious. I'll post the ones that I've tried. Again, if you are excited about cake baking I highly recommend this book—you can find it at bookstores or on Amazon.com (or maybe even at your local library). There are lots of intriguing recipes in the book that I look forward to making in the future. The book contains many pointers, pictures and step-by-step advice that I can't include here.

Please also note that the recipes I record in this blog are adapted by me. There are some ingredients that I haven't been able to find or that I don't feel like I can afford (like vanilla powder, maple crystals, etc.). I have left them out and made some adaptations, but if you want the "real" Cake Love professional recipes, I encourage you to refer to the book. (The cakes I've made have tasted great, but I'm sure using vanilla beans—which are out of my price range for everyday use—and some of the other ingredients would make it all the better!)

My favorite thing about the book is Warren's attitude about baking. He points out that your cake doesn't need to look like a masterpiece for people to love it. He encourages creativity and experimentation. Have fun with it!

I'll conclude this post by giving some basic pointers and tips that Warren emphasizes in his book:

Basic pointers:

• Measure ingredients (especially flour) with a scale.
• Use a sifter (crank sifter recommended) for flour.
• A good stand mixer (e.g. KitchenAid) is recommended.
  Set out all the ingredients and have them ready. If you do this, the actual cake baking part goes quite quickly.
• Cakes are most easy to frost when they have been refrigerated. I've been making cakes the night before, wrapping them in plastic wrap and storing in the refrigerator, and then frosting and eating the next day. We've even noticed that some of these cakes taste better the second or third day. They keep nicely for about 1 week in the refrigerator.
• Cake flour is not recommended. Warren uses unbleached all-purpose flour. I've been using bleached all-purpose flour.
• Potato starch is used in many of the recipes to decrease the amount of flour but maintain the structure of the cake. Warren calls it his "secret ingredient."
• All recipes from this book call for unsalted butter.
• Extra-fine (or superfine) granulated sugar is strongly recommended because it pulls air into the cake batter better than normal granulated sugar. Warren says that well-made cake batter can be thought of as "ingredients floating around a lot of air." Extra-fine sugar makes for a lighter, better textured cake.
• All recipes in this book call for large eggs.
• Some of the recipes call for whole milk. We usually only have skim milk on-hand. If you have half-and-half, you can use it to turn skim milk into whole milk by adding 1 part half-and-half to 3 parts skim milk (e.g. ¼ cup half-and-half + ¾ cup skim milk = 1 cup whole milk).
  

Coconut Pecan Yams

We first had this dish when the Edwards' family brought it to a church potluck. I've never been big on yams (I usually just take a little bit at Thanksgiving to be polite), but I absolutely loved these! As I said to Erin, "How can you ever go wrong when there's butter, brown sugar, coconut, and pecans?" Warning: If you follow this recipe exactly you will notice that it asks you to add a cup of sugar to the yams. It is VERY sweet. I think sweet potatoes are sweet enough on their own (hence the name) and so I would recommend leaving out the cup of sugar (unless, of course you are in a very sweet mood or would like to serve this as a dessert).

• 3 cups cooked, mashed yams
• 1 cup sugar (optional)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the above ingredients, mix well and spoon into a lightly greased 2-qt. rectangular baking dish.

Topping:

• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Combine the Topping ingredients and sprinkle over yams. Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Scotcheroos

I always love it when these are on the dessert table at potluck meals, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I made them for myself. They are super easy to make and everyone seems to love them. There are lots of recipes floating around for these, but the one I am posting here is directly from the Nestle website (so I guess that means you should use Nestle brand chips when you make them!). By the way, Erin always calls these "Snickeroos" and I like to tease her about it. (Maybe I'll have to try putting Snickers in them sometime!)

• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 6 cups toasted rice cereal
• 1 2/3 cups (11 oz. package) butterscotch chips
• 1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine peanut butter, sugar and corn syrup in large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Remove from heat. Add cereal; stir until thoroughly coated. Press onto bottom of prepared baking pan.

Microwave butterscotch and chocolate chips in large, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on 50% power for 1 minute; stir. If necessary microwave longer, stirring every 15-30 seconds until just smooth. Spread over cereal mixture.

Allow to cool until topping is firm (may refrigerate to speed things up). Cut into bars and enjoy!

Mexicorn Grits

Erin and I found this recipe in the Taste of Home magazine and, because of our love for Iowa corn, Erin's love of Mexican food my love of grits, decided that we had to try it. It was quick to make and we were very happy with the outcome. (Note: This recipe calls for Mexicorn which, I think is the Green Giant brand. A different brand we found calls it "Corn'n Peppers." It is basically just canned corn with some diced sweet bell peppers mixed in.)

• 4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup and 1/3 cup butter, divided
• 1 cup quick-cooking grits
• 2 eggs
• 1 can (11 oz. or 15 oz., depending on brand--either will be fine) Mexicorn, drained
• 1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Mexican cheese blend (or just plain cheddar is good too)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper (black works fine too)
• Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, bring milk and 1/2 cup butter to a boil. Slowly stir in grits. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 5-7 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. Stir a small amount of hot grits into eggs; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Melt remaining 1/3 cup butter; stir into grits. Add the corn, chilies, cheese, salt and pepper.

Transfer to a greased 2- or 2 1/2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Yield: 10 servings.