Tag: chocolate

Mocha Cake & Cupcakes

Mocha Cake & Cupcakes: If you want to be a blue ribbon baker, bake this Minnesota State Fair 1st place winning recipe. The batter has both freshly brewed coffee and espresso powder in it, plus cocoa powder. As a result, the cake’s flavor is out of this world. The thick, rich and creamy buttercream frosting is phenomenal as well.

Plated Mini Mocha Cake & Cupcakes

Dahna Jacobson, a repeat winner in multiple divisions, absolutely loves this mocha cake recipe, originally a cupcake recipe from the Brown-Eyed-Baker. She adapted it into a layer cake.

Mocha Cake & Cupcakes

The mocha chocolate cake immediately became Dahna’s go-to recipe and she went on to win multiple Minnesota State Fair ribbons with it, including one in 2023. Ten years in – 2014 was her first year competing – and she already has 12 ribbons total, including 3 blue ribbons, mostly for various cakes, but also quick breads. Dahna keeps photo boxes celebrating her achievements, like this one.

About her state fair baking experiences, Dahna shared, “I’m most proud of my first ribbon because I entered a single cake that year and really didn’t expect to win. I had never entered any baking competitions prior. Also, my first blue ribbon has a funny story. When I arrived at the fairgrounds, my white cake had shifted and was smushed on the side… I rushed home and made a fresh batch of buttercream and re-frosted the cake and it ended up winning first place!

TV News Appearance

We invited Dahna to showcase this favorite mocha cake recipe of hers on KARE 11 News (NBC-Minneapolis St Paul), live at the fairgrounds. Here’s a link to her appearance. Find it here.

This mocha cake & cupcakes recipe makes one double layer cake, 32 cupcakes, or about 64 miniature-sized cupcakes. You simply adjust the pans and baking times for the different versions.

Put this is the must-make pile for your next home-baking adventure. It’s a winner!

-Cyndi

p.s. Love the buttercream? Try these, also cupcakes, or type in “buttercream” as a search option for numerous more options.

 

Best Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

For holiday baking – or any time of year – these “Best Chocolate Orange Cupcakes” are a sure-fire favorite. Seriously. Total crowd pleaser!
8 plated Best Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
The batter has vegetable oil and buttermilk in it, creating a rich, fudgy cupcake that practically glows.
Batter in cupcake pan
Best Chocolate Orange Cupcakes - Mid Frosting
With a thick citrus buttercream frosting and festive chocolate orange section on top, you get an eye-catching dessert everyone will love.
Decorated Best Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
Baker Tips:
  • Use a high-quality cocoa powder for a rich chocolate flavor to the cupcake. We used a combo of Dutch cocoa powder and black cocoa and loved the results.
  • Stock up on Terry’s Chocolate Oranges when you find them. They’re seasonal and can be hard to find
  • Because the orange extract goes in both the batter and the frosting, use a high-quality brand for a natural tasting citrus flavor. We like these citrus oils from the King Arthur Baking Company. Fresh juice and zest is key also.

Frosting

Winner at Minnesota State Fair

These best chocolate orange cupcakes are an award-winning creation from Colleen Jensen.
She had a big win with them at the 2022 Minnesota State Fair. Out of 75 entries, these placed third, bested only by this show-stopper winning cake (1st Place) and a Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake (2nd place) we hope to make at some point. That’s essentially a second runner up or a “bronze medal” Olympic win. =)
Colleen titled her contest entry “Merry’s Chocolate Orange Cupcakes.” The name is a play on the “merry” holidays and the popular Terry’s brand that makes the festive candy that the cupcakes feature.
Terry's Chocolate Orange Popping Candy
Terry’s Chocolate Oranges are quite an experience. Gifting them to family and friends is a long-time tradition in the U.K. The whack/crack way of opening the candy is delightful.
Chocolate Orange Candy
If you don’t have first-hand knowledge of the “tap it and unwrap it” process, be sure try it out soon.
These Chocolate Orange Cupcakes are a “must-bake” for anyone who loves chocolate or citrus sweet treats. Enjoy!
-Cyndi

Splenda Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

This Splenda Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake Pie won first place in the Splenda Magic Baker “Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair. The recipe comes from Barb Lutz.
To get started, decide if you’ll make your own crust or buy a premade one. You’ll want a 9-inch round pie plate or slightly larger. You do two bakes. The first one is the raspberry/crust layer. The second layer – for which you lower the heat – is the chocolate cheesecake layer made with cream cheese, eggs, Splenda Magic Baker, dark chocolate baking bar, and sour cream. Once that’s baked, while the Splenda Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake Pie is still hot, you spread a sour cream layer/sweetener layer that soaks into the chocolate layer. After it’s chilled, you finish it with fresh raspberries and a chocolate drizzle.
2023 Splenda MN 1st Pl from above EM
You are going to delight in making and eating this award-winning chocolate dessert. Enjoy!
-Cyndi

Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread

This Elvis-inspired “Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread” is a divine creation that features sweet and salty elements and great texture contrasts. It bakes perfectly too, coming out tender, yet firm enough to put on a stick. Among the judge’s comments: “very clever idea, delicious, and so state fair like.” We 100% agree.

Divine Elvis on a Stick

 

This recipe won first place in the Blue Ribbon Banana Bread Contest at the 2021 Minnesota State Fair. Karen Cope created it for the competition, trying several variations and testing them on neighbors before settling on this entry.

Karen is a perennial winner who took home her first county fair blue ribbon when she was just 9 years old. She wins a $100 King Arthur Baking Company gift card.

Step By Step Recipe Overview

The toothsome treat is fun to make with kids and is easier than you think.

Bacon Cooked, Reserved Bacon Grease

First off, you fry up the bacon crisp. Or leave it out if you’re not a fan. We’ve tasted it both ways, and both are phenomenal. Next you chop the bacon into small bits and set it aside as one of the toppings.

Bacon chopped for Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread

Next, prep your pans (grease, line with parchment), measure out your ingredients and set the oven to pre-heat to 350°F.

I love my stand-up mixture as it does the “heavy lifting” so well, an in blending ingredients smooth.

In this pic, I’ve already blended the bacon grease, butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar. I’m about to mashed my bananas.

I wish my bananas were more ripe than ^these^ ones shown above, but sometimes that’s all the grocery store has.

Perfectly Ripe Bananas for Banana Bread

In my opinion, this is the ^ideal ripeness^ for banana bread. You could even go a bit more ripe. The aroma is very banana-y at this stage.

Mashed Bananas for Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread

On this test run, I ended up doing a banana puree with an immersion blender with mine to eliminate bigger lumps. Once you combine the bananas with the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking soda, you only need to mix in the flour, and half your chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. (You are saving the other half for drizzling.)

Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread - Prepped IngredientsMix only until just combined. Divide mixture between the two prepared pans. Batter will be quite thick, so level it out in the pan.

Batter in Pan - Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until light golden brown and edges start to pull away from the sides. Tip: if you only have 8-inch cake pans, use them, and bake about 10 minutes longer. A toothpick inserted into center should come out clean, without chocolate. Cool on wire rack.

Toppings for Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread

The last step is fun. You cut the bread into 16 servings, insert the wide, wooden sticks (3/4 inch wide is ideal), then do your toppings.

  • Melted peanut butter chips (with shortening)
  • Melted chocolate chips (with shortening)
  • Chopped peanuts (Planters, honey-roasted)
  • Chopped banana chips (Trader Joe’s)
  • Bacon pieces

Tah Dah!

Elvis on a Stick

Now you have the best-ever banana bread to enjoy: Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread, Elvis on a Stick!

Happy noshing!

-Cyndi

 

Almond Joy Cookie Bars

These Almond Joy Cookie Bars will bring utter joy to any almond, chocolate, or coconut lover. With three decadent layers, these bars are thick, dense and delicious!

Top of Almond Joy Cookie Bars

Thanks to almond extract, whole toasted almonds, and sliced toasted almonds, these sensational sweet treats burst with almond flavor.  The shredded coconut filling, chocolate, and almonds altogether give them an addictive texture that’s crunchy, chewy, and rich, all at the same time. AND…they are super easy to make.

3 Easy Pieces

  1. Making these Almond Joy Cookie Bars, only takes three main stages. You par-bake a lush cookie crust made simply with butter, corn syrup, egg yolk, flour, baking powder, and salt.
  2. Next you mix shredded coconut and sweetened condensed milk with almond extract, then bake that mixture on top of the cookie crust as the filling. Check out the  gooey good look of the filling (image below).
  3. You finish these fabulous treats with whole almonds, melted semi-sweet chocolate chips, and sliced almonds.

Wilton Pan Coconut Filling Layer

Top Preparation Tip

Using parchment to line your pan will make removing the bars from the pan and cutting them easy peasy. Once they’re chilled, all you need to do is lift them out by the parchment edges. Here’s a shot of the bars once they’ve chilled. This time I made them, I didn’t add the almond slices until just before serving. Just look at how is golden brown the crust is and how jammed the bars are with almonds.

Chocolate layer Almond Joy Cookie Bars

Blue Ribbon Winning Sweet Treat

Recipe credit goes to Tammy Michalec of Leesville who won a KARO best recipe contest at her local fair, the South Carolina State Fair with this recipe.

Want More Almond Joyfulness?

Hey all you almond, coconut and chocolate lovers! If you love this recipe, be sure not to miss our Mounds of Joy Cake also. In January 2021, it was one of our #1 most popular recipe on the site.

Enjoy!

Cyndi

 

Guinness Chocolate Cookies

These Guinness Chocolate Cookies feature the notorious dark beer from Ireland and four different types of chocolate: cocoa powder, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

They are super easy to make, a bit like our spicy snickerdoodles, which I  also love. The hardest part about making these Guinness Chocolate Cookies is waiting for the dough to chill two hours. The chocolate intensity of these cookies make them a treat to eat. Every time I make these I think, why don’t I make these more often!

Plated Guinness Chocolate Cookies

Recipe credit goes to Lora Pelzek who won at the Wisconsin State Fair, in a Gold Medal Flour cookie contest (2016).

Bake these for any chocolate lovers in your life, or for yourself.

Cyndi

 

Double Chocolate S’more Sandwich Cookies

Double Chocolate S’more Sandwich Cookies: S’more inspired treats are so much fun. So decadent. So delicious.

Sheet pan full of cookies

Barrie Linberg at the 2013 L.A. County Fair won a blue ribbon for these sandwich cookies; 1st place, Gold Medal Flour best cookie contest. The young baker grew up baking with her mother, who is also a blue ribbon baker.

Barrie Linberg Blue Ribbon Cookie Home Baker

Barrie named her creation “S’Mookies” for S’more cookies. She said they were inspired by cupcakes she saw on TV. She took the concept and morphed it into an entirely new recipe. Barrie’s Double Chocolate S’more Sandwich Cookies are a delight to bake and taste.

Double Chocolate S'more Sandwich Cookies closeup

There is both cocoa and chocolate chips in the cookie dough. They end up soft and almost cake-like in texture, but also chewy. So delightful. Inside you have a rich marshmallow/vanilla cream and graham cracker crumb filling.

Double Chocolate S'more Sandwich Cookies in pan

Wow. Don’t miss out on making these tantalizing treats.

-Cyndi