Chocolate Chickpea Cake

Ok... I know the name sounds disgusting.  Just trust me - it's actually one of the best chocolate cakes EVAH!

Chocolate Chickpea Cake

Note: It's Gluten-free!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1 (19 oz) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
4 eggs
3/4 C. White Sugar
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tbsp. 10X Sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350*.  Grease and flour a 9" round cake pan.
2. Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.  Cook in the microwave for about two minutes, stirring every 20 seconds after the first minute, until chocolate is melted and smooth.  If you have a powerful microwave, reduce the power to 50 percent.
3. Combine the beans and  eggs in the bowl of a food processor.  Process until smooth. Add the sugar and baking powder, and pulse to blend.  Pour in the melted chocolate and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides and corners to make sure chocolate is completely mixed.  Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan.
4. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.  Dust with 10X sugar just before serving.  Can top with cool whip or ice cream.

Inside-Out Cake... OH YES!!!!!

Never heard of it before???  Well, let me introduce you to moist, chocolate-y, ooey-gooey deliciousness.

Need more convincing? I think this is probably the EASY-est cake to make in the Universe!

Ok... here comes the recipe

• 1 pkg Cake Mix (any flavor your little heart desires... or whatever you have on hand!  Mine is Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge)
• 1 pkg Instant Pudding (any flavor... I used generic brand chocolate - yes, generic is ALWAYS an option for me!)
• 1 pkg (12 oz) chips (any flavor... I used a mix of butterscotch, white chocolate, and semi-sweet chocolate)
• 2 Eggs
• 1 3/4 C. Milk

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350*
2. Grease and flour a Bundt pan
3. Mix all ingredients together by hand. Put into the bundt pan
4. Bake for 50-55 mins.

Note: An inserted knife will probably not come out clean because of all the chips, just make sure it seems set and is not TOO gooey in the middle!

Enjoy this easy and delicious treat with cool whip or ice cream!

Some Changes

Over the past few weeks, MaKenna and I have decided to branch out and start our own blogs.  However, we love this blog and still feel a desire to keep it going.  So we have decided to make Two Lumps of Sugar our cooking and baking blog.  Since the blog title fits we will be able to use this to share our favorite recipes, and keep our new blogs for just about everything else!

Our new blogs:
MaKenna - Life In {Parentheses}
Holly - Life [Unfolding], The Book Garden
We also started a blog for our accessory business, AppleJuice {HM}.

We can't wait to start sharing our favorite recipes with you all and hope you will find them as delightful as we do!

Holly DeVore

Year of the Pie - 4

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese                                                  1 cup milk

1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed                1 1/2 cups 10X sugar 

1 cup peanut butter                                                                          1 graham cracker crust (see here)

Directions:

1. Beat together cream cheese and 10X sugar.  Mix in peanut butter and milk.  Beat until smooth.  Fold in whipped topping.

2. Spoon into prepared graham cracker crust; cover; freeze until firm.

(Sorry, no pictures!)

Year of the Pie - 3

Oh my goodness! I can't believe it's been so long since we posted for Year of the Pie... time flies when you're having fun, I guess!

Double Pie Crust

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups fresh milled soft white flour (or 2 cups all-purpose flour)        2/3 cups + 2 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. salt                                                                                                          7 tbsp. cold water

Directions:

Combine flour and salt. Cut in butter. Add water and mix.  If the dough is too wet add a little more flour.  Divide dough in half and roll out on floured surface.  Makes 1 double pie crust.

*We make our crust in a food processor, first combining the flour, salt, and butter, then the water. Also, to get the water cold, the put some in a small bowl and then add a few ice cubes until they stop melting.  

**For the recipe below, roll out half the dough for the bottom of the crust.  Roll the other half out and cut into strips; this will go on the top of the pie to make a lattice top. 

Deep-Dish Blackberry Pie

Ingredients:

6 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, thawed and drained                    1 cup sugar

4 tbsp. cornstarch                                                                                  1-2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon                                                                                 1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Place blackberries in a bowl.  Combine sugar and cornstarch; sprinkle over berries.  Add lemon juice and cinnamon; toss to coat.  Spoon into a pie crust (see recipe above).

2.  Roll out pastry; cut into strips and make a lattice crust over filling.  Crimp edges.

3. Bush with milk; sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 375* for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cool on a wire rack.

Indulgent {Chocolate} Party

Last Friday night, the girls of POA youth got together at Denell Yadon's house for an "Indulgent Chocolate Party"!  Friends. Fellowship. And the most amazing assortment of chocolate goodness!

Amber - such a ham!

Chocolate Fountain - yum!

Kelley, Lauren Ashley, and Amber

The POA youth staff out did themselves!  All of the food was excellent!

(Thanks Mackenzie for letting me borrow your hands!)

CHOCOLATE. that's all.

Priscilla: "This fridge is 7 of me!"

Decadent Chocolate Cake - *heavenly*

Oreo truffles - delish!

Sisters

Chris Ann, Kelley, Amber, LA

Susan and Marmee

Playing a game

The Year of the Pie - Week 1

After hearing about "The Year of the Pie" from another blog, MaKenna and I fell in love with this delicious idea!  Each week (or every other week - we are working out the kinks as we go!) we will choose a different type of pie in which we will blissfully indulge!  If the recipe proves to be as amazing as it sounds, we will share it here with you!  Hopefully, you will enjoy these treats as much as we do!

Homemade Graham Cracker Crust 

(you will never go back to store bought after trying this!)

18 squares (1 package) graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar

6 tbsp. butter, melted

Pulse graham crackers in the blender, until you have fine crumbs.  Combine all in a small bowl.  Press into a 9" pie plate.  Chill about 1 hour or bake in a 375* oven for 6-9 minutes, or until edges are brown. 

*Note: If using a 9"X13" dish, double the recipe.

**Additional note: I didn't chill or bake mine since the recipe I was using this for called for the whole thing to be chilled.

Pineapple Millionaire Pie

Ingredients:

First Layer

2 cups powdered sugar

1 stick of butter

2 large eggs

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Second Layer

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups crushed pineapple

1/2 cup pecans

1 (8 oz.) container of whipped topping

Cream ingredients of the first layer and pour into a 9" pie shell (I used a graham cracker crust.  Originally, the recipe calls for a regular, baked pie shell, but no need to bake if you use a graham cracker crust).  For best results, cream ingredients for at least ten minutes (yes - I learned this the hard way!).  Chill 1 hour.  Meanwhile, mix the first three ingredients of the second layer, then fold in the whipped topping.  Spread onto the chilled base mixture, and chill well.    

What's on the menu - Muesli

We have discovered a new favorite breakfast - Muesli!

Muesli, similar to soaked oats, is healthy, hearty, and oh so good!!  There are many variations of Muesli, but they all include a mixture of rolled oats, other grains, ground nuts, seeds, and fruit.  

Here is how we prepare ours:

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup Amaranth
• 1/4 cup Buckwheat
• 1/4 cup Millet
• Kefir
• Water

Mix together oats, amaranth, buckwheat, and millet.  Add enough water and kefir to wet it**Note: Don't add too much kefir or it tastes sour!**  Refrigerate overnight.  In the morning, add strawberries, blueberries, bananas, or other seasonal fruits.  We also add nuts(almonds or pecans), honey, ground flax seed, almond or soy milk, and cinnamon.

**You can also choose not to soak it and it is more like granola.**

We LOVE this recipe - it fills us up and gives us energy, and it is not too sweet, but so good!