Monday, December 20, 2010

Holly Jolly Blogfest


Monday's Writing Tip will return next week.  Today I'm blogging about The Holly Jolly Blogfest over at Through the Looking Glass!  I'm in the process of baking, but I'm taking a little break to post my Christmas cheer!

Melissa and Jen have asked that we post our Christmas tree, decorations and recipes of our favorite holiday drink and dessert.  For complete details, check out the link above and join the fun before the end of today!


My favorite dessert is German Chocolate Cake.  When I was growing up, my mom made it every Christmas!  I'm posting a recipe for it from allrecipes.com.  It's a rather labor intensive dessert, so needless to say, I've never made it myself!

My favorite holiday drink, eggnog of course! I love eggnog (non alcoholic, please), and there's nothing like it made from scratch.  See what I've posted from homecooking.about.com.  You'll find it below the German Chocolate Cake. 

Following the recipes you'll see my decorations.  But they'll be posted later--sorry!  Hubby's out and has the digital camera.

German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup water 4 (1 ounce) squares German sweet chocolate 1 cup butter, softened 2 cups white sugar 4 egg yolks 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk 2 1/2 cups cake flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 egg whites 1 cup white sugar 1 cup evaporated milk 1/2 cup butter 3 egg yolks, beaten 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut 1 cup chopped pecans 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon shortening 1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 3 - 9 inch round pans. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat water and 4 ounces chocolate until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks one at a time. Blend in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated.

In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain.

Pour into 3 - 9 inch pans Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto wire rack.

To make the Filling: In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, evaporated milk, 1/2 cup butter, and 3 egg yolks. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread.

Spread filling between layers and on top of cake. In a small saucepan, melt shortening and 1 ounce of chocolate. Stir until smooth and drizzle down the sides of the cake.  Yield: 1 three layer cake.

Eggnog

6 large eggs, plus 2 yolks
1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
Additional grated nutmeg for garnish

Combine eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3- or 4-quart pan, whisking until well-combined. Continue whisking while pouring milk in a slow, steady stream until completely incorporated. Turn on burner to lowest possible heat setting. Place pan on burner and stir mixture continuously until an instant-read thermometer reaches 160 degrees F. and the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Be patient. This should take about 45 to 60 minutes.

Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a large bowl to remove any accidental small cooked bits of egg. Add vanilla extract and nutmeg, stirring to combine. Pour into a glass pitcher, decanter, or container and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate this egg custard mixture to chill at least 4 hours or up to 3 days before finishing.

When ready to serve, pour heavy cream into a bowl and whip until it forms soft peaks. Fold whipped cream into cold custard mixture until combined.

Serve eggnog in chilled cups or glasses and garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

My decorations to come! Meanwhile, visit Melissa and Jen and everyone else participating today and make this a Holly Jolly Time!

As promised, decorations (finally)!




32 comments:

Sondrae Bennett said...

You know I've never actually had eggnog. I've had eggnog flavored drinks but never the actual nog. Maybe that's something I should do this year. The cake looks great! Have a great holiday!

Carol Riggs said...

Oh BOY, that is a positively scrumptious pic of that cake. I love me some German choc cake, yummers. I've never made eggnog from scratch, as you will see if you visit my Jolly blogpost today. I'm working my way down the list! It's long! but fun. Merry Christmas!

Nicole Zoltack said...

Awesome picture of the cake! I never tried to make eggnog before. Just might have to try. :)

Chris Phillips said...

German chocolate = gold. Merry Christmas!

Melissa said...

Eggnog and chocolate cake? YUMM!Sounds like I want to come over! I've ever had eggnog from scratch but I bet it would taste way better than storebought.

Thank you so much for participating in our blog fest!

Old Kitty said...

Oh wow!!! Lovely indulgent chocolate cake and eggnog!! Perfect for Christmas!! Thank you! Take care
x

Colene Murphy said...

Yum!!!! Awesome recipes! Thank you!!
Merry Christmas!!

RaShelle Workman said...

Wow, that german chocolate cake and the eggnog recipe looks, sounds amazing. Thanks!

Elizabeth McKenzie said...

Yum, I'm hungrey

Warren Baldwin said...

Cake and egg nog looks good!

Have a Merry Christmas.

wb

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Oh my goodness that German choc cake looks amazingly good!

Wishing you a very merry Christmas,
Lyn
W.I.P. It: A Writer's Journey

Katie O'Sullivan said...

I've never tried whisking up my own eggnog - I usually buy it from the dairy and just "make adustments" ;-)
I may have to try your recipe this year...
Merry Christmas!

Shannon said...

Stopping by for the blogfest!

The cake looks sinfully good!

Happy Holidays,

Shannon

The Words Crafter said...

That cake looks absolutely sinful!!!!! Merry Christmas!

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

German Chocolate Cake -- Mmmmmm!

What did we do before digital? I didn't take pictures that's for sure!

Happy Holidays!

Jemi Fraser said...

I think I gained a couple of pounds just looking at that cake! Looks delicious! :)

Kelley said...

MMMMMMM cake... i have been looking for a good chocolate one so thank you! Happy Holidays!

Anonymous said...

German chocolate cake is my hubby's favorite cake. I've never made it from scratch. I'll have to give this recipe a try. Thanks for sharing it!

Roxy said...

Both recipes look out of this world. I look forward to seeing your decorations. Merry Christmas!

Jennie Bailey said...

So delicious! I tried to make German Chocolate cake once for The Hubster. Once. He asked me to never do it again. Which is saying a lot because he loves everything I make. Maybe I'll try once more with this recipe. Have a Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

I love eggnog! Can't wait to try your recipe. I also can't wait to try the Thai Chicken from your previous post too. yum yum

Ellie Garratt said...

Emmm...that chocolate cake sounds divine. Happy Christmas!

Be Jolly By Golly

Norma said...

I love German Chocolate Cake!

Maria, as I write this, I am making a pot roast in my new crock pot. So far, it smells delicious....

Tara said...

Great recipe - thanks :)

Happy Holidays.

N. R. Williams said...

Yummy yums and nice pictures too.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author

Talei said...

Wow, I'm stuck between the German Chocolate Cake and those wonderful glasses of Eggnog! Both look so enticing. ;) Have a wonderful Christmas!

Lisa Potts said...

German chocolate cake and homemade eggnog? Both please.

Abby Minard said...

Yum, I love german chocolate cake! Your decorations are so cute! Merry Christmas!

Unknown said...

The chocolate cake and eggnog look delicious. Such a pretty tree too. I hope you have a lovely Christmas.

Donea Lee said...

That German chocolate cake looks divine!! Great decorations, too. Happy Holidays to you!

Lo Hughes said...

Thanks so much for your comment on my blogfest post! I made it to my final destination in spite of the weather, phew!

That eggnog looks fabulous! I am definitely going to try it. Merry Christmas!

Danette said...

Gotta love German Chocolate cake! Eggnog looks delicious too! You might as well just shoot the cholesterol straight into your veins but why when it tastes so delicious on the way down?

Be Jolly by Golly!