Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone! Today is always a big day in our house,
and we are celebrating with~what else? FOOD!
So, it’s Corned Beef and Cabbage, Irish Creme Cupcakes,
and Chocolate Mint Cakes! Come on over!
Corned Beef and Cabbage
I cooked the entire meal in my crock pot.
I really like the idea of the crock pot, but for some unknown reason,
I hardly ever use it. I rubbed the seasoning
packet all over the beef, and then placed it in the crock pot,
and covered it with water. I cooked it on high for a
total of 10 hours.
About 3 hours in to the cooking, I cut up my potatoes,
and added them to the pot.
I added the cabbage about 9 hours in to the cooking.
I cut the corned beef very thin.
It was so juicy and delicious. Such a great flavor!
Yum!
My favorite way to eat corned beef?
On rye bread with mustard. Such a treat!!
St. Paddy’s Day Chocolate Mint Cakes
This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found in a cookbook called Entenmann’s Big Book of Baking. They called it Double Chocolate Mint Cake. I made a few changes, and came up with this chocolate decadence for St. Paddy’s Day! 1 1/4 cup flour 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 1 tablespoon baking Powder 3/4 cup Butter 1 cup Sugar 3 Eggs 1 tablespoon Milk 1/2 cup Andes Creme De Menthe Chips (ignore the pic of the chocolate chips) 
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I used this pan, and greased and floured it. 
To make the batter, mix together the flour, cocoa,and baking powder. 
Add the butter, sugar, and eggs to the same bowl, mixing well.
Stir in the milk and the mint pieces. Pour into pan and cook for approx. 18-20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool. 
Let’s make our ganache! 1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream 1/4 – 1/2 cup Milk Chocolate Chips 1/4 cup Andes Creme De Menthe Chips Shamrock Mix Sprinkles 
Make a double boiler. Place about 2 cups of hot water into a saucepan, and place your chocolate chips into a different saucepan. Put the saucepan with the chips on top of the pan with the water. Make sure the top saucepan does not touch the water in the bottom pan. Heat the water, and as you do, the chocolate chips will begin to melt. 
As this starts to happen, add the whipping cream,
and mix until thoroughly stirred.
Place one of the cakes on your plate. Top with a heavy spoonful of ganache, and sprinkle with mint pieces. 
Place another piece of cake on top and drizzle ganache over the cakes. 
Sprinkle top with shamrock mix.
An inside look~Yummy!
Enjoy!
Chocolate Irish Cream Cupcakes with
Chocolate Irish Cream Frosting
I adapted this recipe from Anne Byrn’s book The Cake Doctor. I love using the cake mix recipes from her book. Not only are they slightly quicker to put together, but they are consistently moister. I have made many cakes from scratch, but I have yet to find cakes that turn out as moist as these. 
1 package Duncan Hines Devils Food Cake 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/3 cup Baileys Irish Creme Coffee Creamer 1/2 cup Corn Oil 3 Eggs 1 teaspoon Vanilla 
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Mix on low for 1 minute, then stop, scrape the bowl, and continue to mix, this time on medium for 2 minutes. 
Place cupcake wrappers in a cupcake pan and fill them with batter. Cook at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. 
After checking to make sure if they are done, remove cupcake pan from the oven, let them cool for 5-10 minutes, then remove cupcakes from the pan, and let them cool on a cooling rack. Now, let’s make our frosting!
Chocolate Irish Cream Buttercream Frosting
8 ounces softened Butter 3 cups confectioners Sugar 1/3 cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder 3-4 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream Coffee Creamer 
Mix all the above ingredients together until smooth.
Cover your cupcakes with the buttercream, and add sprinkles. 
May your blessings outnumber The shamrocks that grow, And may trouble avoid you Wherever you go. Hope you are having a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
