A Repeat and a Random Favorite

I had a meeting tonight at CCCC to get ready for fall classes.  I can’t believe the summer has come to an end and it is time to start teaching again.  I have 2 classes this semester and am looking forward to fewer papers to grade than the past few semesters!  I wasn’t going to get home until late, so we planned something quick and easy.  Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper Cayenne Sauce is a recipe we made for the first time a few months ago and we really enjoyed it.  It is very easy to make, and toss a few chicken breasts on top and you’ve got a complete meal.  It is ready super fast, too.  It took less than 30 minutes altogether.  Take that Rachael Ray.

 

Here’s the link to the original blog I wrote about it. 

 

For something new, this is a recipe I have been craving.  As soon as I get a bundt pan, this is going to be the first thing I bake in it.  My Mom used to make this cake all of the time.  I remember so many evenings smelling it baking in the oven and feeling my excitement rise.  Nine times out of ten, I would be crushed to find out that it wasn’t for us, it was to be taken to work or a PTA luncheon or something like that.  That was the worst. 

 

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cake is the perfect combination of so many things.  The sour cream makes it dense and moist, the chocolate chips add the chocolate that is necessary in any wonderful dessert, and the cinnamon and sugar add just the right amount of sweetness.  It is different than any other common cakes, but simple to make and always a crowd pleaser.  The BEST part, by far, is the cinnamon-sugar-chocolate chip chunks that form on top.  Whether it was being made for us or for someone other than our family, Kara and I would get in trouble for sneaking into the kitchen at night and picking off the chunks on top, when the chips were still just a teeny bit melty from the oven.  It’s just a little piece of heaven.  If you bake this cake, you must treat yourself to picking off a chunk.  It might not look as pretty afterwards, but it is so worth it.

 

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cake

1 stick butter

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

2 c flour

8 oz sour cream

 

Filling:

1 package chocolate chips

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c cinnamon

1/2 c nuts (I personally do not care for nuts in my baked goods, so I would never add these, but the real recipe does call for them).

 

Mix all batter ingredients together.  Fill greased bundt pan with 1/2 of the batter.  Spread with 3/4 of filling, then rest of batter.  Top with remaining filling.  Press gently with a spoon.  Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350.

 

Aaaaaahhhhhhhh.  So good.