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)!