Chocolate Whiskey Cake Recipe (2 versions)

I will (shamefully) admit... I'm not a chocolate person. Chocolate cake? My least favorite type of cake.

Oh, and I'm not a whiskey person, either.

But this cake is in my top 3 cake recipes ever (fyi, number one being Betty Crocker Rainbow Chips, but that's another story).  It's just so moist and delicious. The flavor of the whiskey, rich chocolate cake, and the crunch of the semi-sweet chocolate chips all work together so nicely.  I think I love it so much because the cake has more of a dark, semi-sweet chocolate taste rather than a typical chocolate or milk chocolate-y taste. I really quite like dark chocolate.

So while I obviously like this cake, the real reason I make it is for my husband, Brad. He LOOOOVES it.

I started making this cake years ago, before we even got married. I think I remember finding the recipe in a magazine (not sure which one it was exactly).
Anyway, it's a winner. I used to make it every Christmas for the fam's get-together, but when we started hosting Christmas at our place and were already cooking so much and getting the house together, it sort of fell off the menu since it does take a bit of time to make from scratch.

The good news is that I actually found a version using store-bought cake mix and frosting which actually tastes JUST as good! I was skeptical, but I did try that version of the recipe out a while back and I could not tell the difference.  I did modify the recipe a bit. I replaced a few ingredients and nixed the pecans, because neither Brad nor I are fans, and I think it's perfect!

Anyway,  I still make this yummy treat for Brad for special occasions to surprise him. Most recently for Valentine's day! So since I got so many requests for the recipe on Instagram, here is my original version...

Chocolate Whiskey Cake (scratch version)

• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 1/3 cup whiskey
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 cans (16 oz/ each) chocolate frosting  **you can make your own, but this is just as good and cuts a lot of time
• more mini semi-sweet chocolate chips for garnish

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter 2 (9") round cake pans (or heart-shaped ones like I used if you're feeling fancy). Line pan bottoms with wax paper; butter and flour. Combine milk, eggs, and vanilla; reserve.

In a bowl combine next 6 ingredients. At low speed gradually beat in butter until coarse and sandy. Gradually beat in egg mixture. Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Gradually beat in water then whiskey until combined. (Will make a thin batter.)

Divide batter between pans; sprinkle tops with measured chips. Bake 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean (keep in mind, it may not come out completely clean because of the melted chocolate chips in the batter). Cool on racks 20 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on racks.

Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. *I like to sprinkle more chocolate chips over this middle layer of frosting. Top with remaining cake layer.  Spread tops and sides with remaining frosting.  Use remaining chocolate chips for garnish.

Not the simplest of recipes. But still worth it if you have the patience.

Usually, you can tell a huge difference between something made from scratch and something, well, not completely made from scratch. This version below using store-bought cake mixes is seriously just as good. After making both and comparing them (I had to make the scratch version one more time just to make sure I wasn't crazy), it is seriously the same. I'll probably make this "short-cut" version from here on out.

Chocolate Whiskey Cake (my short-cut version)

• 1 box (around 16 oz.) Betty Crocker "Super Moist" Devils Food Cake mix
• 1 cup buttermilk (I used low fat)
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup whiskey (I added just a splash more, and used the Jack Daniel's "Tennessee Honey")
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 cans chocolate frosting

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour 2 (9") cake pans. Combine cake mix, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and whiskey with a mixer on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat another 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter between the pans and bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (keep in mind, it may not come out completely clean because of the melted chocolate chips).  Cool on racks in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on the racks.

Frost one layer of cake on a serving platter (I sprinkle more chocolate chips into the middle layer of frosting before putting on the top layer of cake), then add the top layer and frost completely. Sprinkle on more chocolate chips on top for decoration.

So that's my yuumy cake recipe!! I hope you guys love it if you make it! Let me know how it turns out!!

Our Christmas Dinner... With Recipes

Hello and Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you guys had a wonderful holiday filled with lots of time spent with family and friends. We really did this year!
So to celebrate this year, we had family over for Christmas dinner at our house on Christmas Eve. We usually go out for a nice dinner on Christmas Eve, then do Christmas dinner mid-day on Christmas day. This year, I really liked the new tradition. To me, Christmas Eve is so special and having a late night dinner followed by lots of time together, presents, and sweets made for a pretty perfect night.

So I didn't get a ton of photos around the actual house since I already shared all of our Christmas decor in my recent Christmas decor video and blog (you can check that out here if you missed it), so I focused mainly on the food.

SO much yumminess! We spread all the food out on the island in the kitchen, which was really easy so that everyone could grab exactly what they wanted. 

Before dinner, as everyone was arriving, we had a few snacks out. This is my FAVORITE dip/spread ever. Everyone likes it and it's super tasty. 

It's called "Pinecone Dip".  I first had it at my bridal luncheon given to me by my mother in law. So this recipe is all thanks to her.

Pinecone Dip

1 1/4 cup sliced, roasted almonds

1 (8oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayonnaise

5 slices crispy bacon

1 T chopped green onions (I always add just a bit more)

1/2 t dill weed

1/8 t pepper

Combined softened cream cheese & mayo. Add bacon, onion, dill, & pepper. Mix well. Chill overnight. Form into a "cone" shape and cover with almonds. 

*You can also roast whole almonds yourself, or use whole, roasted almonds (store bought). Then, when you add them, you overlap them around the dip which is where the "pinecone" name comes from. I don't like chewing into whole almonds, so I used sliced, but you can use whatever you want.

On the other side of the kitchen, I set up sort of a drink area and a little dessert area.

My mom put together this really easy and yummy punch she's been making since I was little. It's so simple. Just lime sherbet and ginger ale. Delish spiked too. ;)

I also put out some Chex to snack on. I didn't bake it like usual. I just grabbed a bag of spicy, and a bag of bold party mix and put it together. 

Oh, and some little clementines of course.

For desserts, I set out some mint sugar cookies my mom made, some little candies, a turtle cheesecake (store bought, frozen... was pretty delish), and a chocolate Coca-Cola cake my mom made.

For dinner, we had ham and turkey, cornbread dressing, squash and broccoli casserole, green beans, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, and sweet potato casserole.  We also had cranberry sauce, but I had that on the table.

I made the sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and broccoli casserole. Here are the recipes for those if you're interested...

Broccoli Casserole

2 bags frozen broccoli florets (cooked and drained)

2 cans celery soup

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups mayo

4 eggs beaten

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup of chopped onion

Topping: Plain or seasoned bread crumbs (whatever you prefer)

small amount of butter for drizzling over the bread crumbs
Cook broccoli as directed. Mix cheese, soup, onion, eggs, mayo, s&p in a large bowl. Fold in broccoli gently. Put in buttered casserole dish. Cook at 400 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle bread crumbs over top and drizzle with a bit of melted butter. Bake another 30-40 minutes until brown.

Sweet Potato Casserole (My Grandma's recipe) 

3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (I use Bruces canned yams)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup evaporated milk 

1/2 cup butter (melted)

Combine mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk, & butter. Beat with mixer until smooth. Spoon into a greased 2 quart shallow dish.

Topping: Combine 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 cup all purpose flour, 1/3 cup melted butter, 1 cup chopped pecans

Sprinkle topping over top of casserole and bake at 350 preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let cool a bit before serving.

For my mashed potatoes, I really don't go by any recipe. So here's my non-specific recipe I just pulled out of my head...

Mashed Potatoes

8 medium-sized gold potatoes (peeled and chopped into chunks)

1 1/2 stick of butter

milk

chopped garlic or garlic powder

salt and pepper

Boil potatoes for about 12-15 minutes. Drain and transfer to a big serving bowl. Add a stick of butter. Mash them with a potato masher (I don't like my potatoes super creamy, I like a smooth-slightly chunky consistency). Add more butter as needed. Add a splash of milk here and there as you mash, until you get the consistency you like. I added at least a cup. Add garlic and salt and pepper to taste. I don't add too much garlic (as I don't want these to be "garlic mashed potatoes"), I just add a small bit for taste.

As far as the actual set-up, most of the serving bowls and platters are my everyday Mikasa "Italian Countryside" dishes, Pyrex, and Corning Wear.  The deviled egg dish is by Wilton  and the little copper three-tiered stand that the bread is on was a great find at World Market years back.  

The little wooden risers are from Pottery Barn a few years back. I found some similar options below.
My "Christmas dishes" with the pretty silver snowflakes are from Target. I got mine a few years back, but they still have the serving dishes.
I think when you have this many dishes grouped together, adding some height is important. Saves you some space, plus it just looks pretty!

We had dinner in the dining room, which looked pretty similar to the home decor tour. I just set out some red cloth placemats, a red holiday candle, and called it done. :)

I was SO surprised to receive these beautiful flowers the day before. They are from my sweet friends, Andrea and her mother, Michele. So thoughtful! They looked perfect in the kitchen. We're still enjoying them.

So that's it! I hope you all had a great holiday! I do have an upcoming "What I Got For Christmas" video in the works! It should go up Friday night, maybe Saturday. Since you guys really enjoyed last year's version, I thought I'd continue the tradition. Or should I say, start a new tradition?

Merry Christmas, Loves! I'm so thankful for you all... For all the support and how wonderful YOU guys make the blog and my videos. This has been such a happy and wonderful place to be and thing I've been able to do the past almost 6 years. It is SO much fun to do and to be able to share my life with you guys. Seriously, thank you. :)
Love you guys.

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Favorite Fall Candles, Fall Home Decor Tour, & Homemade Applesauce

Hello Loves! So today I'm bringing you the "home" installment of my Fall Trends video series! This video was so fun to do...

So you'll get the scoop on all my favorite Fall candles, a peek at all the Fall decor in my home, and I'll even take you into my kitchen to whip up a super easy homemade applesauce recipe (seriously, easiest and yummiest stuff ever). 
Hope you guys enjoy it!
Also, be sure to check out the fashion and beauty installments of my Fall Trends series below!!

Fall Trends Vol. 1: Fashion, Haul, Wishlist, & OOTD
My Boot Picks for Fall, OOTD, & Fall Trends Vol. 2
Fall Trends Vol 3: Beauty Picks for Fall & OOTD

So we'll make the applesauce together in the video, but here's the recipe in case you want to see it written out...

Easy Slow-Cooker Applesauce

10 apples (I used Honey Crisp apples), peeled, cored, and sliced

3/4 cup sugar

cinnamon

Put apples in the cooker, put sugar and cinnamon over the top (I sprinkled enough cinnamon to cover the top of the apples in the pot).

Cook 5 hours on high, and stir them up when done.

**You can also make apple butter by adding a stick of butter to the recipe

**You can make mini apple pies by taking the finished applesauce and spooning just a bit into a flattened, raw, canned "refrigerator biscuit" (like Pillsbury Grands), folding the biscuit over, sealing the edges, and cooking according to the biscuit can directions.

Easy Chicken & Dumplings Recipe

Months ago I tweeted that I was making Chicken & Dumplings in the Crockpot.
...or "Chicken n' Dumplins" as we call it in the south (they taste better if you say it like that, FYI).
Lots of recipe requests followed and have continued to this day. I figured I would put it on my blog so I could reference this post (and so obviously you guys could too) instead of me having to retype the recipe a million times through twitter or having to search back through MONTHS of tweets. No bueno.

So here it is! My super easy recipe for the ultimate comfort food, Chicken & Dumplings. I've made them the "southern" homemade way before (all southern grandmas know this skill and if you have the chance, get one to teach you sometime...haha), but I swear, this way is tastier. Sorry, grandmas.  And who can resist a good Crock Pot recipe?
You will DIE at how good this stuff is. It's one of my husband's all time fav dinners.

If you're a bit perplexed as to what the heck this stuff even is, it's super simple. Chicken and biscuits (cooked into a broth with the chicken to make yummy chewy dumplings). It's THE BEST.  Around our house, we eat it in a big bowl by itself. Sometimes, I'll make a veggie to go with it. It's delish with green beans or cooked carrots.  It can go with anything really.
But prepare for a dumplin'-induced food coma after this.  I warned you.
Ok enough gushing about how much I love this stuff... here's the goods.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings
(about 4 servings)
3-10.5 oz. cans cream of chicken soup (condensed, just the soup, don't add the water)
1-15 oz. can chicken broth
add about half a small can (about 5 oz.) of water
1 small onion, diced
3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
sprinkle of parsley
salt and pepper 
1 can refrigerator biscuits (not flaky layers), about 8 biscuits

Add all ingredients (except biscuits) to the Crock Pot. Cook on high for 5 hours. Chicken should fall apart by this point, but you can gently break it up with a spoon or fork. Cut up biscuits into pieces and throw them into the mix. Make sure to "reset" the Crock Pot (turn it back on) to high and cook biscuits for about 40 minutes. 

So eat up, buttercups! It's delish stuff.  Hope you love it!