Spicy Kicks

This little snack packs a big kick and is a sinch to whip up! It's a slightly modified version from December/January 2007 Taste Of Home.

Spicy Cashews:
1 large can cashews
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Blend
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/3 cup sugar

Whisk egg whites and water.
Add cashews and toss to coat.
Pour cashews in strainer and let drain for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix all spices and sugar together in large bowl.
Pour cashews in spices and mix.
Spread flat on a greased baking pan.
Bake at 250 for 60 minutes, turning half way through.

While I general enjoy and little bit of sweet with my saltly, I think there's a little to much sugar in the mix. Next time I make these, I'll cut the sugar in half.

Chocolate ZigZag Cake and Books Go Together

This past January my friend Melissa decided to get a bunch of girls together and start a book club. Coincidentally, I'd had my eyes on several different cakes from a couple of cooking magazines that had just come in the mail. So, on a cold day in January a group of girls got together to discuss Katherine Min's Secondhand World and enjoy Chocolate ZigZag cake, Cheesy Horseradish Dip, candies, wines, and drinks!

Since I couldn't decide which cake, I picked two, and modfied each a teensy little bit, then combined! I figured why not, I have a knack for not following recipe directions anyway! Chocolate ZigZag Cake is a adaptation of Taste of Home's "Chocolate Ganache Cake" and with a frosting from Food & Family's "Black Forest Delight".

Chocolate ZigZag Cake
For The Cake:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
1 cup buttermilk ***
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Droste cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Calypso Hot Pepper Sauce

*** Buttermilk:
1 tablespoon vinegar
heavy cream
milk

Add Vinegar to 1 cup measuring cup.
Add Heavy Cream to the 1/3 cup mark.
Add Milk to the 1 cup mark.
Whisk together and let sit on counter for at least 10 minutes prior to adding to cake.

For The Ganache Filling:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
4 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate

For The Frosting:
3/4 cup sour cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar
8 oz cool whip, thawed
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

For The Decoration:
1 oz Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chocolate

Putting It All Together:
The Cake -
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg and vanilla.
Beat for 2 minutes.
Combine buttermilk and sour cream.
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
Add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beating well after each addition.
Butter 2 9-in. round cake pans.
Dust pans with cocoa.
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

The Filling -
Melt chocolate with cream over low heat.
Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.
Chill until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. (I left it in the fridge overnight!)
Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Chill until mixture achieves spreading consistency.

The Frosting -
Mix sour cream and powdered sugar.
Stir in whipped topping.

The Decorating -
Melt chocolate.

The Building -
Slice the rounded tops off of each cake. (Place toothpicks around edge of cake as markers so the cake ends up even with sliced!)
Place one cake layer on a serving plate.
Spread with ganache filling.
Place second layer of cake on top of filling.
Crumb coat the cake with frosting.

Let crumb coating dry for several hours.
Frost the cake!!

Pipe chocolate onto the cake.
If you don't have decorating bags or are looking for easy clean-up, spoon into plastic sandwich bag and snip off small corner.
Twist the bag and squeeze to drizzle!

To make the chocolate lace for the top of the cake, pipe chocolate onto wax paper.
Place in freezer till set (About 20 minutes.)
Peel wax paper from chocolate and add to cake!

Goes well with good friends and good books!

I enjoyed spending some relaxing time in the kitchen making this cake! My poor old hand mixer wasn't quite up to the job of mixing a batter this heavy, but it was worth the effort anyway! What an excellent cake which I'm sure I'll use in the future with various combinations of frosting and fillings. While the cake was moist, I think next time I'll use all of the ganache filling. I held back this time because I was worried about the layers slipping before the ganache had time to set. So for this first attempt, I only used half of the filling. I think 3 or 4 smaller layers may help to solve this issue as well as provide the frosting to cake balance I was looking for.

Are you wondering what I did with the leftover cake tops? Of course you are! Anyone who loves chocolate as much as I do wouldn't let them go to waste. I made a trifle by cubing the cake and layering it with the remaining ganache filling. I topped with the remaining frosting!