Dump Cake

At the moment, the most delicious smell is wafting through the house. I just talked to Lucas and told him if he found me on the kitchen floor when he gets home from work, it is because I have just eaten an entire cake and cannot move. Seriously, this thing is dangerously good smelling. And also, dangerously awful for you. After just posting about how we are eating healthy and cooking with non-processed ingredients, I am completely contradicting myself with this post. None of this cake is from scratch. It took maybe 3 minutes to assemble. I don't even want to ask about the nutritional value. But, I haven't eaten it since college, and I have never made it myself, so it isn't like this is a normal occurrence (although maybe it should be...). And, I am further justifying it by the fact that it isn't for us (not all of it, anyway). In about an hour, if I haven't eaten the whole thing by then, it will be traveling to a friend/coworker's home, where she and her husband will join us in our self-destructive behavior. We are actually taking a whole meal over, as they are the proud new parents of a new baby girl, who we get to meet for the first time tonight! The Dump Cake was a last minute addition to the meal, because I had forgotten to plan a dessert. As previously mentioned, Dump Cake is super fast to make, so it was easy to through together in the last few hours before we head over there. I am hoping it is just as good as I remember, and judging by the smell, I think I'm in luck!

Dump Cake
ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix
1 can sugar free cherry pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple in water (don't drain)
1/2 c. butter, thinly sliced into pats

(I know, 4 ingredients, how can that even be considered cooking? Well, friends, deliciousness apparently is more concerned with quality, not quantity.)

directions:
1. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray, or coat with butter.
2. Open can of cherry pie filling and spread over bottom of pan with spatula.
3. Open can of pineapple and spread over pie filling, mixing together.


(for those of you who are asking yourself, "Aren't those pineapple tidbits? I thought the recipe called for crushed pineapple!", congratulations on being so observant! That will pay off when you are at the store and looking at pineapple cans--be sure to look for the word "crushed." I obviously was not so observant...hence the tidbits in my cake above.)

4. Sprinkle cake mix over top of fruit mixture in an even layer.


5. Place cut butter pats across top of cake mixture.


6. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees, or until top is golden.
7. Try to hold off eating until you are actually at the dinner party (good luck with that).


I like to console myself by thinking that there are 2 types of fruit in this dessert. That totally counts as a serving of fruit. Let's forget that I plan to top this with a generous dollop of whipped cream, and can't completely rule out second helpings...mmmm.

Chocolate Brownies

When we first moved to Texas, Lucas started his job right away but I had the summer free until school started up in August (a benefit of working for the schools...). When not house hunting with Maria (our Realtor), I spent a lot of time baking. Back in Colorado, I attended a cooking workshop on holiday baking and the chef recommended a cookbook called A Passion for Chocolate by Maurice and Jean-Jacques Bernachon, translated by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The book is out of print, but I was able to find one at a used bookstore in Denver. I have tried many of the recipes in the book (repeatedly), and one of my favorites is the Chocolate Brownies. The recipe forward says they are the best brownies you'll ever eat, and I would have to agree with that with one addendum: provided you use a good quality butter. I tried using a cheap, no-brand butter once when I was in a hurry, and the quality was noticeably different. So, go for the good stuff!

These brownies are moist and thick. I have tried doubling the recipe and baking it in a 9x13 pan. They are slightly thicker this way, because of the way the volume difference is between the 8x8 and 9x13 pans, but still delicious.

Chocolate Brownies
from A Passion for Chocolate (1989)

Ingredients:
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate
6 T. unsalted butter
1.25 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. plus 2 T. superfine sugar
2 extra-large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper (if you intend to remove the brownies to cool), then grease and flour it.
2. Break chocolate into squares and place in the top of a double boiler with the butter over hot water. Stir until it starts to melt and remove from heat before completely melted. Continue to stir off the heat until completely melted, then allow to cook to lukewarm.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
4. Add the sugar, eggs, and then the flour mixture to the lukewarm chocolate, mixing well until combined.
5. Scrape batter into pan and bake 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean (still slightly moist).
6. Remove to a cooling rack, if desired, or allow to cool in pan.
(optional: add 1 scant cup walnuts to batter. I never do.)
Yields about 16 brownies.