Chocolate Snack Cake with Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting

Are you looking for a moist, simple chocolate cake? Well I've got a cake for you! One great things is that there are NO EGGS in the entire recipe! This is my friend, Colleen's recipe and the frosting is from allrecipes.com. I am just simply passing on delishiousness from my kitchen to yours!

CAKE INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup cold water
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350 and grease a bundt pan. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients; flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Whisk until well blended. Add oil, water, vinegar and vanilla. Whisk again until well blended. Pour into pan and bake for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
2. Let the cake sit for 10 minutes then turn out to cool.


SOUR CREAM CHOCOLATE FROSTING:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 TBSP butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1-1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar

In a small sauce pan melt butter and chocolate chips; let cool. Blend in sour cream, vanilla and salt. By the 1/4 cup gradually add confectioners sugar whisking well after each 1/4 cup. Continue to add confectioners sugar by the 1/4 until you have the consistency of frosting; it will be no more than 1 1/4 cups. Frost the cake when it is well cooled.
Let sit on a covered cake stand on the counter or table for 2-3 days, then discard. Make sure you eat it and share with friends of course!

Avocado, corn and tomato salad

Simple and summery is what this is. This is a quick and easy side dish to any meal that tastes amazing freshly prepared.

INGREDIENTS:
3 corn cobbs, raw
1 heaping handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 avocados
3-4 scallions or green onions, diced
1 TBSP lime juice or 1 lime juiced
salt and pepper to taste
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 TBSP butter

1. In a medium bowl add quartered tomatoes, season with salt and let sit for 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile in a large skillet place butter. Stand the corn on end and cut the kernels off of the corn and into the pan. Over medium heat saute corn for 2 minutes. Add garlic, lime juice, and season with salt and pepper. Saute for another 2 minutes, but do not let the garlic brown. Take the pan off the burner and set aside.
2. Add scallions and corn to tomatoes and stir to mix well. Set aside. Just before serving add avocado and stir well. Waiting to add the avocado ensures it won't brown. This tastes great at room temperature.

Serves about 4 people.
Also feel free to add other things like cilantro and/or black beans to make it more hearty.

Tres Leches Cake

This cake will literally knock your socks off. It is SOOO good! Sometimes I read ingredients to recipes and think, ugh, just reading this is grossing me out. You may think that with this cake, but get past that and make it! It is worth making and eating at special occasions. You will begin to come with more and more special occasions in which you need to make this; I promise. I straight up stole my recipe off of Martha Stewart from Pinterest. I am claiming nothing amazing of my own. Here it goes...

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted and cooled butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk

WHIPPED TOPPING (you will not regret making this from scratch)
2 cups (1 pint) heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cut up seasonal fruit (1 peach and 1/2 a pint of blueberries was plenty)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan. In a small pot melt butter on the stove top, allow to cool. Meanwhile in a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl use electric mixers to beat eggs and sugar. Beat on high for 4 minutes, until pale and thick. (Mine never got thick, but it was fine.) Add vanilla and beat. With mixers on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat to combine.

Alex helping to poke holes

3. With a rubber spatula fold in cooled butter until incorporated. Transfer to baking dish and bake 30-35 min until toothpick comes out clean. Rotate half way through (this has got to be a Martha thing, but I did it too.)
4. In a medium bowl whisk three milks (tres leches) until combined. Once cake is finished, immediately poke holes throughout with a wooden skewer. Pour the milk mixture over the cake and let cool for 1 hour.
5. To make the whipped topping, combine heavy cream, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixers until thick, about 3-4 minutes. Spread on cooled cake and garnish with fresh fruit. Refrigerate until ready to serve.