I come from a cooking family…my mother is a wonderful cook…my Gran was a talented baker…my Aunt Ruby…well…she could make just about anything taste good! As a result…these three family members are the inspiration for my love of cooking!
As a mother of three kids of my own I tried to pass that along to each of them. When they were very young and spent lots of time alone at home while I worked they cooked for themselves. They were so young that at first I wouldn’t even let them cook when I was at work. They weren’t allowed to turn on the stove. We never ate much prepared food but I taught them to bake a potato and scramble an egg along with a few other things they could prepare in the microwave oven.
A few years later I’ll never forget being at work and my middle daughter calling me to ask how to make fudge icing for the chocolate cake she had baked while I was at work. They were responsible enough and were a little older so I had gradually let them use the stove while I was at work. She might have been 10 years old…and she’s asking how to make cooked fudge icing. Something I had only mastered as a young adult when I was newly married! She had already found the recipe in my recipe box so I explained all the steps and came home to find a wonderful chocolate cake with fudge icing that she cooked from scratch! Even my son would bake chocolate chip cookies and brownies.
So now I have four little granddaughters and I’m hoping to inspire each of them to learn and love to cook. My oldest stays with me 4 days a week and she is becoming quite the little baker following in the footsteps of her mother who is a wonderful cook. She’s already telling me she wants to be a “cooker” like me and she will only be 4 years old in January. Nothing makes her happier than to give her a measuring cup with something in it to pour or a bowl with something to stir! She loves to help me in the kitchen!
We made Halloween cupcakes earlier this week and had lots of fun decorating and eating them when they were finished. It only takes a few minutes to spend a little time with your kids or grandkids and is really worth the effort to see them have so much fun in the kitchen!
This is an old family recipe that I always use anytime I want chocolate cake. I use it for birthdays, weddings, sheet cakes, layer cakes…anytime I need a chocolate cake. I’ve tried lots of recipes but never found one as good as Red Devils Food Cake. I’m not sure where the recipe originated but it’s the one my mother and Gran used all my life.
You start by mixing the butter until it is very light and fluffy. Then add the sugar and let it mix at high speed until it is very light and creamy.
While that is mixing for several minutes…measure out all your dry ingredients and mix well with a whisk.
Mix the hot water with the cocoa and whisk until smooth.
Add the eggs to your butter mixture thoroughly mixing after each one and add the chocolate mixture. Pour in your vanilla and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk. Mixing until all flour and milk is incorporated in the batter. Do not over mix.
I use an ice cream scoop to measure the batter into my cupcake liners. Fill each one 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes at 350º. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool on a baking rack.
While the cupcakes are baking you can mix up the frosting. I used Cream Cheese Buttercream for the cupcakes.
Mix the butter and cream cheese until light and creamy. Add vanilla, salt, and mix well. Add confectioner’s sugar about a cup at a time with mixer on lowest speed. Mix until smooth after each cup. I usually add about ¼ cup milk or cream to get it to the exact spreading consistency.
I decided I wanted these cupcakes to be filled in the center with frosting so I used my apple corer and hollowed out each one saving the plugs of cake to push back in to the cupcake after filling. It’s really probably better to fill with vanilla and frost the cupcake with chocolate but I used the same frosting for both on these…actually…JR ate my baking chocolate!
I filled a large pastry bag with frosting and used an oversize star tip and filled the cupcakes. After placing the plug back into the top I used the pastry bag to frost the cupcake. Then we added Halloween sprinkles!
Fun and yummy…!
Here’s your printable recipe…
Red Devil’s Food Cake
1 cup butter
1 ¾ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup hot water
½ cup cocoa
1 teaspoon soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups flour
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
Beat butter until light and creamy. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix hot water and cocoa and stir until cocoa is dissolved. Add to butter mixture mixing well.
Stir together flour, salt, and soda. Mix alternating with buttermilk to batter. Starting and ending with dry ingredients.
Fill cupcake liners two thirds full with batter. Bake at 350° for 2o minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pan and cool completely on baking rack.
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
1 package cream cheese (8 oz.)
1 cup butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag of powdered confectioners sugar (2 lbs.)
2 Tablespoons – 1/4 cup milk or cream
Let cream cheese and butter soften to room temperature. Mix until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and salt and mix well. Slowly add powdered sugar to mixture a cup at a time thoroughly mixing after each cup. Add milk or cream as needed to make consistency for frosting.
Happy Halloween and have some fun baking with your kids and grandkids!
Love to you all from my kitchen to yours….Leah
