It's German Chocolate Cake Day!

So it's German Chocolate Cake Day huh? who knew there was such a holiday? Certainly not this girl.  It took way less convincing than I thought to talk Granny into making a German Chocolate Cake.  I know I'm not the only one in the family who is glad she broke from tradition and made this cake on a June day.  Usually Granny only makes this cake in January -- as a birthday cake for my mom and aunt.
The hardest part about making this cake was finding THE recipe.  Granny apparently cuts out the recipe from the Baker's German chocolate box and places it in her recipe box each time she makes this cake (although she denies it). At some point I even wrote it out for her , but she didn't want to follow that one because I may have written it wrong (hmmm... it didn't match any of the thirty-eleven that were in her box).

Granny finally decided which one was THE one. So we made German Chocolate Cake using the recipe below.
CLICK HERE for a printable version.

German Sweet Chocolate Cake

2 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 c. buttermilk 

1 pkg. (4oz) Baker’s German’s Sweet chocolate

4 eggs (yolks & whites separate) 

½ c. water

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. salt

Heat oven to 350° F.  Line bottoms of 3 round cake pans (9 inch) with wax paper. I can't believe this is actually on the recipe.  Granny lines the pans for almost every cake she makes.

Microwave chocolate and water in large microwavable bowl on high 1 ½ - 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring halfway through heating time.  Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. 

Beat margarine and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition until smooth. 

Beat egg whites in another large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. 

Gently stir into batter. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched in center. Immediately run spatula between cakes and sides of pans.  Cool 15 minutes; remove from pans. Remove wax paper. Cool completely on wire racks. Granny likes to have her cakes cool on a clean dish towel.

We started making the cake at her house, but since we were going to dinner across the county in my neck of the woods we packed it up and took it to my house to make the frosting. Granny was feeling a little out of her element in my kitchen. 

She threatened to leave me to finish up on my own, but she was afraid I would tear up her already fragile cake. But she stayed and it all came together (and stayed together) in the end.



Oops, I started eating before I remembered to snap a picture! Oh well it can't be helped with this cake.



Asian Inspired Salad

Somethings Granny will never cook. 
"I'm not buying all of that extra stuff just for 1 recipe!"
That's usually the response I get when I try to persuade her to make something new.  But I have a feeling Granny is going to add a few things to her list once she gets a taste of this super yummy salad.
My recent trip to Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney was the inspiration behind the salad.  So of course I headed to Pinterest to see what I could pin.
I'm so glad I found the dressing for the salad from The Pioneer Woman. She uses it for her Asian Noodle Salad.

I knew I wanted to add a bit of chicken (and no noodles) to my salad so I went back to Pinterest and found Honey Ginger Chicken Wings from Leanne Bakes.Instead of using chicken wings I used chicken breasts so I could slice it up and top off my salad.

Throw some crispy romaine, red & green shredded cabbage, carrots (ok, so really I just bought a package of cole slaw), tomatoes, and a few crispy wonton strips into a bowl [I always eat my salads from a bowl when I eat at home, pretty sure that's not normal] and top it off with Leanne's honey ginger chicken and toss it with Ree's super yummy Sesame Ginger dressing...don't forget the cilantro! Of course any favorite salad ingredient could be added to individualize the salad.  Most Asian inspired salads I see have mandarin oranges, but since I'm not really a fan of those I left them off. 

I was almost ready to join Jeff Houck's Plate Licker's Club, almost! I think the only reason I didn't is because I forgot to add the sprinkle of sliced almonds that would have surely sent my tongue into overdrive and straight for my bowl.
In the meantime I'm going to pack up my leftover dressing and drive it to Granny's so she can see what she's missing out.