Cherry-Chocolate Coffee Cake

The Recipe 
I bought the Stoneware Inspirations cookbook from Pampered Chef and found this recipe (pg 85) and thought it would be great to try.  Even though the cookbook is to be used on all the stoneware, it is also possible to make the recipes on regular pans.

Doesn't that just look yummy?

Making the Recipe
Because I don’t know own the Pampered Chef baking dish (yet that is….), I simply used one of my 9x13 pans.

I used a 21oz Krusteaz Cinnamon Crumb Cake mix for the streusel mix stated in the recipe.  I have used the mix in the past for just making the crumb cake and it is fabulous.  It does not have a glaze like mix in the recipe refers to either.

 

Disregard the ingredients used for the crumb cake package and mix it up with the quantities listed in recipe.  I used a generous half a cup of chocolate chips when I mixed them in.

When draining the cherry pie filling, simply make sure that most of the sauce is drained off.  There will still be some on the cherries but that is fine.  It is now my mission to find a recipe to use the pie filling sauce in so stay tuned for that in the future.

To keep things simple, I just scattered another generous half cup of chocolate chips over the cherries and batter rather than going through the time to mix it in with the cinnamon topping.  I also skipped out on the pecan halves as I am not a fan.

Then I spread the topping and made sure it was even over all the batter.

The Result
Overall it came out great.  I cut around the edge not too long after taking it out of the oven to reduce how much the caramelized topping would stick to the edges.

I may have tried serving the cake up before it had cooled enough and as a result, it was falling apart quite a bit.  That just means its really moist!! J  It smelled way too good to wait any longer though.  It still tended to fall apart some after it cooled as well but not as bad.

Guinea Pig Reviews
As many of my friends are finding out, when I try a new recipe, those in the vicinity gain the right to be my little guinea pigs.  Muah-ha-ha!  Here are some comments that were floating around the room once it was all dished up and after.

--I don’t normally like fruit and chocolate together but this is REALLY good.
--Its got just the right amount of cherries
--Its got just the right amount of chocolate
--I actually ate it as breakfast and highly enjoyed it.  I am not a huge chocolate fan, but it was just the right mix.  Very moist and delicious!

Would I make this again/recommend it?
You bet!  This recipe is quick and easy and gives a delicious result.

Pasta Pie

Welcome all to my new blog.  Since I love trying new things in the kitchen, one of my friends mentioned that I start a blog telling about my experiences.  Well that is exactly what I am going to do!  Haven’t you ever seen a recipe and wondered if it will REALLY come out the way they say it will?  I am here to find out.  When I travel, I will be able to post all the new and unique foods I come across too.  As an added bonus, I will also throw in some tricks and tips I learn along the way.

Let’s start the fun off with a Pasta Pie.  You can check the recipe at http://noblepig.com/2009/03/18/when-the-moon-hits-the-sky.aspx.  When I originally stumbled across this site, I knew I just had to try it and I finally have!

Making the recipe

Overall the recipe is pretty simple but just takes a while to make.  As I made the sauce, it already seemed thick once I added the tomatoes but I let the garlic and meat flavors blend together and simmer while I stood the noodles up in the springform pan.

Looking at the package, I wasn’t sure if the 1lb of noodles was going to be enough but I ended up with about 20 extra noodles.  As I was stuffing the noodles into the springform pan, I discovered two things: 1) The noodles stand up a lot easier if you put the pan on a slight angle, and 2) Not all noodles are the same length!  Once the pie is complete, the different heights didn’t really matter but I also tried to space out the short ones.  Once all the noodles were in the pan, there was extra parmesan cheese left that didn’t stick so I sprinkled it around in some of the noodles (can’t go wasting good cheese!)

One thing that is different from how you may normally cook it is that I prepared everything the night before but filled the noodles with the sauce the next day.  I heated up the sauce to make it easier to stuff, and as a result didn’t notice any major delay in cooking times because the noodles were cold.  One way to get the sauce to make its way down the noodles better is to gently tap the pan on the counter.  I didn’t end up with any leftover sauce but I also didn’t any up with any craters like are shown in the original recipe page.  I also highly recommend putting the springform pan on a cookie sheet as it tends to leak out the bottom a little bit.

The Result

The pie came out great!  Here is a picture of how mine turned out.

Here is one after it has been cut along with the rest of our dinner.

The pie had a lot of good flavors going on especially the garlic added in.  The garlic had a definite presence but was not overwhelming by any means.  The parmesan around the noodles made for a excellent crust on the outside.  I had some friends over to help me taste test the final product and they all agreed that it was fabulous as well.

Would I make this again/recommend it?

YES!  Not something for a quick dinner in a hurry but would be excellent for a dinner party as a way to spruce up a spaghetti dish.  It would probably be a big hit with kids as well.