Wintery delights

I’ve been checking out my Pinterest boards for something yummy to create for our Friday Night Sew In…

and I had some prerequisites for choosing something for this month’s get-together-

1.  must be yummy

2.  must be quick and easy, leaving time free for sewing

3.  must be warm and luscious (well, we do only get together once a month….so once a month we can give ourselves permission to let ourselves go, surely?)

4.  must be chocolatey (well, we are all hormonal girls aren’t we?  but I am open to having males join our FNSI too…and having a few in the house, I know how much chocolate appeals to them too)

5.  must be foolproof (after all, I don’t want to be slaving away all for nothing)

6. must have been reviewed by others as super-delish (I checked the credentials on the blog!)

The recipe that stuck out to me was from Kathy at Sweet Tea and Cornbread…it’s the Slow Cooker Chocolate Pudding Cake, which I’ve reproduced from her blog for you below.  I’m so keen to try it.  She has loads of delicious recipes there…..well worth a visit.

By the way, if you haven’t signed up for FNSI yet, click on the button below to take you to sign-ups.  We wouldn’t like to stitch without you!

 

Slow Cooker Chocolate Pudding Cake!

(recipe and all photos courtesy of Sweet Tea and Cornbread)

This is one of the easiest, no fail desserts you will ever make.  If you have a slow cooker, a cake mix, and a few other ingredients, you have got this one.   It's a great dessert to make when you are cooking for a big crowd or have a lot of dishes to do, because it doesn't require a lot of fussing over and it stays nice and warm in the slow cooker until you are ready to serve.  You can serve just the cake topped with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or you can kick it up a bit by making the simple hot fudge sauce and pouring that over the ice cream and cake.  That really elevates this dessert to something very special.     Here are the ingredients:

Chocolate Pudding Cake:

• 1 box chocolate cake mix, any kind you prefer
• 1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups sour cream
• 3/4 cups oil
• 1  1/2 cups water ( I used Sprite, we always substitute the water with Sprite or ginger ale)
• 1 (6 oz.) pkg chocolate chips
• Chocolate Sauce:
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 4 Tbs. flour
• 2 cups milk
• 4 Tbs. butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• dash of salt

Mix all of the cake ingredients together in a bowl.  Spray the slow cooker really well with nonstick cooking spray.  Pour cake mixture in the slow cooker and set on low.  Cook for 5-6 hours depending on how fast your slow cooker cooks.  The newer ones cook at a littler higher temperatures and mine was done in 5 hours.   Try not to lift the lid of the slow cooker while cooking as this lets the heat escape and slows down the cooking process.

To make the chocolate sauce, mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  In a pan, mix the milk, butter and vanilla until butter is melted.  Add in the dry ingredients and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens.  Turn to low to keep warm.  If the sauce is a little too thick before serving, drop about a tablespoon of butter into it and whisk.  Don't heat it back to boiling but just warm it.  This is what some folks in the south call chocolate gravy and serve it for breakfast over biscuits.   If you are a chocolate lover, there is nothing better.

To assemble, place a piece of the warm cake in a bowl, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, top that with the chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a cherry!   Chocolate Pudding Cake!

 

I didn’t forget our friends in the Northern Hemisphere…..you might like to try something a little more summery from Kathy’s repertoire….

The recipe for these delights can be found HERE  (maybe I might just have to try those too!?)

Sugary hugs xox