Welcome to day 3 of #Choctoberfest! I hope you have been able to find some yummy, fun recipes that you want to make! Today I made a Chocolate Mini Cake all dressed up in colorful frosting to celebrate Halloween! I made This cake was made on a mini waffle maker, and if you have never made a waffle cake, you will want to try it asap! They are very easy, and so quick to make. Plus they are fun! They follow the back of the box recipe, and the fun comes in decorating the cake in all the seasonal colors and candy compliments!
5 Layer Chocolate Autumn Cake (one mix makes 2-3 mini cakes) (printable recipe at end of page)
1 box Duncan Hines Cake 1 1/3 cup Water 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil 3 Eggs
Frosting 3 ounces Warm Water 2 1/2 tablespoons Meringue Powder 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar 1 pound Confectioner's Sugar Orange and Yellow Decorating Color Small selection of Candy Corn and Pumpkin Candy
Mix the water and vegetable oil into the cake mix. Add the eggs and mix well.
I used a mini waffle maker for this small cake! Follow the directions for the waffle maker you are using, and cook your layers.
Let the layers cool while you make your frosting.
In a large bowl, pour in the warm water and the meringue powder. Mix it with a whisk for approx. 30 seconds. Add the cream of tartar and mix for 30 seconds more. Pour in all the confectioners sugar at one time, and using a paddle attachment on low speed, mix for 10 minutes. The icing will become thick and creamy.Keep this frosting covered to prevent it from drying out.You won't need all the frosting for this cake. You will need approximately 1 cup or less. Remove a cup from the frosting and thin it with water, a teaspoon at a time, until you are happy with the drizzle. Divide the frosting into 2 separate bowls. Tint one with orange and one with yellow color.
Start building the layers, drizzling on and over each layer. I used 5 layers.
Decorate the cake on top and around the bottom.
Enjoy your 5 Layer Chocolate Autumn Cake!
Don't forget about our huge giveaway, which I posted on Monday!
#Choctoberfest is an annual recipe-sharing event. I'm joining other food bloggers from around the world to create delicious chocolate recipes. This year, over 70 bloggers are joining together for a week full of chocolate cakes, pies, cookies, puddings, tarts, candies, and more. You can follow along by searching for the hashtag #Choctoberfest on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. Or, simply follow any of the participating bloggers listed below.
We also have some awesome sponsors, who make #Choctoberfest possible every year. Our sponsors have banded together to put together a delicious prize pack worth over $400! Here's what you get if you win! (Scroll down to enter.)
Candy Gift Pack from blog host Triple Chocolate Kitchen, which includes 180-pack of Lindt LINDOR Chocolate Truffles (dark, milk, and white). Triple Chocolate Kitchen organizes #Choctoberfest, as well as posting chocolate recipes throughout the year.
Chocolate and Cocoa Gift Pack from Divine Chocolate, which includes a variety of high-quality fair trade chocolate bars, cocoa powder, and Divine Chocolate swag. Divine Chocolate's baking line consists of three premium quality flavors ranging from 55% to 100% cocoa for a wide variety of delicious desserts. Their chocolate products are made with 100% cocoa butter and are non-GMO and Vegan Society Certified.
$100 Nordic Ware Gift Card and 40 Pounds of Granulated Sugar from Imperial Sugar. They are currently hosting their annual Scary Scramble, featuring delicious fall-inspired recipes using Imperial Sugar's high-quality sweeteners. Imperial Sugar has been a kitchen staple for over 175 years!
Collagen Fuel™ Drink Mix Gift Pack from Primal Kitchen. The ingredients in these drink mixes help support hair, skin, and nails. Their chocolate version has organic, fair-trade cocoa and coconut milk powders, with no wheat, soy, or dairy ingredients.
Cracker Gift Pack from Mary's Gone Crackers. The lucky winner will get to try a variety of crackers, many of which pair well with chocolate (check their recipe page for ideas!). Mary's products are vegan, cruelty-free, and organic.
Alkaline Water Pack from Perfect Hydration. Wash down all those delicious chocolate desserts with Perfect Hydration water. This 9.5+ pH alkaline water helps to effectively restore and rebalance the body to optimum pH levels. This water goes through a 9-stage filtration process, has no added sodium, chlorine, or fluoride, and is packaged in recyclable BPA-free bottles.
Kitchen Conversions Chart and Etsy Gift Card from Moonflower Mountain. Winner chooses the colors for this flower-adorned conversion chart, which makes it easy to double any recipe or convert from cups to tablespoons.
Don't forget to enter to win! Ok, let's get started with Choctoberfest2019!!!
These Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls are the perfect treat to add to your gift giving boxes and tins this holiday season! They are easy to make, and they can be frozen, so if you are interested in making things ahead of time, you will want these in your gift baskets! I used a vegan peanut butter, a vegan powdered sugar, and a bittersweet baking chocolate from the sponsor of todays post, Divine Chocolate! #MakeSomethingDivine This bar is seriously good! It is made with all natural ingredients, no artificial flavors, and 100% pure cocoa butter. Find out more about them at @DivineChocolateUSA on Facebook and Instagram and @DivineChocUSA on Twitter! Also check out the Divine Chocolate web site for recipe, stories, and business info!
Chocolate Vegan Peanut Butter Balls (makes 1 dozen ) (printable recipe at end of page)
1 cup Vegan Peanut Butter 1 cup Sugar 1 5.3 ounce Divine Bittersweet 70% Cocoa Bar
Take 1 cup of granulated sugar and place it in a blender. I used a brand that is vegan. Beat the sugar for at least 2 minutes. Stop and check for grittiness. You are making powdered sugar from the granulated sugar, so there is no gritty feeling aloud. Beat again for at least another minute, then check again. Mine took approx. 3 minutes. It will look just like above.
Stir in the 3/4 cup of powdered sugar with the 1 cup of Vegan Peanut Butter.
It should look like this when you are done. Cover and refrigerate. You can even freeze it if you want quicker results.The peanut butter being cold is your friend in this recipe. It really helps with handling the peanut butter.
Chop the Divine Bittersweet Baking Chocolate into small pieces so it will melt quicker and evenly. Heat on low heat to melt.
Once melted, add 1 tablespoon of the powdered sugar and mix, then taste. I added 2 tablespoons for this recipe, but you might like it differently. Mix sugar and chocolate together.
Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, make the peanut butter and powdered sugar into a ball. Place on wax paper and freeze for a few hours or overnight.
Dip peanut butter balls into melted chocolate and powdered sugar mix. Place on tray with wax paper and freeze.
Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar before serving. Enjoy! This is the first vegan recipe I have every made, so if I have made an error in the vegan area, please kindly let me know.
Here are some interesting facts about Divine Chocolate that you will want to know: I used the bittersweet chocolate to cover my Peanut Butter Balls, but Divine Chocolate's baking line consists of three premium quality
flavors ranging from 55% to 100% cocoa for a wide variety of delicious
desserts. Check them out by clicking the link above. Also, as a baker, I love that because Divine Chocolate is made with with 100% pure cocoa butter it has an amazing melting point! It melts beautifully and evenly and it is a pleasure to work with! I encourage you to use their products. You will love them! Scroll down for a printable recipe, and don't forget to join the giveaway fun! Good luck!
Chocolate Vegan Peanut Butter Balls
Yield: 1 dozen
Author: The Freshman Cook
ingredients:
1 cup Vegan Peanut Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 5.3 ounce Divine Bittersweet 70% Cocoa Bar
instructions:
How to cook Chocolate Vegan Peanut Butter Balls
Take 1 cup of granulated sugar and place it in a blender. I used a brand that is vegan. Beat the sugar for at least 2 minutes. Stop and check for grittiness. You are making powdered sugar from the granulated sugar, so there is no gritty feeling aloud. Beat again for at least another minute, then check again. Mine took approx. 3 minutes. It will look just like above.
Stir in the 3/4 cup of powdered sugar with the 1 cup of Vegan Peanut Butter.
It should look like this when you are done. Cover and refrigerate. You can even freeze it if you want quicker results.The peanut butter being cold is your friend in this recipe. It really helps with handling the peanut butter.
Chop the Divine Bittersweet Baking Chocolate into small pieces so it will melt quicker and evenly. Heat on low heat to melt.
Once melted, add 1 tablespoon of the powdered sugar and mix, then taste. I added 2 tablespoons for this recipe, but you might like it differently. Mix sugar and chocolate together.
Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, make the peanut butter and powdered sugar into a ball. Place on wax paper and freeze for a few hours or overnight.
Dip peanut butter balls into melted chocolate and powdered sugar mix. Place on tray with wax paper and freeze.
Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar before serving.
Welcome to the last day of our #FlavorsofFall celebration. My last recipe for the week is a simple dessert parfait with a lot of fall flavor! Today's recipe is sponsored by Door County coffee, so I infused my whipped cream topping with their Caramel Apple coffee for a flavor that will make you love fall even more! These Caramel Apple Autumn Spice Parfaits are stuffed full of chopped apple pieces, yogurt, apple butter, caramel and loads of flavor!
Caramel Apple Autumn Spice Parfait
(printable recipe at end of page)
(makes 4)
2 tablespoons Door County "Caramel Apple" Coffee
1/4 cup Heavy Duty Whipping Cream
6-8 ounces of Caramel Bits
3 tablespoons Heavy Duty Whipping Cream
1 1/2 cup Apple Butter
1 Honey Crisp Apple, peeled and chopped small
Brew the Door County Caramel Apple Coffee, and let 1/4 cup cool. Mix the heavy whipping cream on medium speed. As it is coming together, add the coffee and continue to whip until stiff. Refrigerate.
Melt the caramel bits in a double boiler. For a smooth melt of the caramels, add approx.3 tablespoons of warm heavy duty whipping cream to the melting caramels. This will make your caramel sauce. Reserve 12 caramel bits for the top of the parfaits.
Place 1-1/2 tablespoons of apple butter into the bottom of each serving glass.
Add the chopped apples to the top of the apple butter.
Place the coffee infused whipped cream in a decorating bag with tip #1M. Top the chopped apples with the whipped cream.
Drizzle caramel to make the next layer.
Add another layer of apple butter, a layer of chopped apples, and the coffee infused whipped cream. Top with three of the caramel bits on each glass. Enjoy!
Thank you for stopping by for the last day of #FlavorsofFall! I hope you found lots of recipes you want to try! Keep scrolling down and check out what everyone else in the group made for today! Don't forget to enter the giveaway !
Welcome to Flavors of Fall where we celebrate all things associated with fall like squash, apples, pecans, sweaters, football; you get the idea! Ellen from Family Around the Table and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures have gathered 24 bloggers who have over 100 recipes they’re sharing this week in celebration of cool weather and sweatshirts. We hope you find many must make recipes so get your pinning, tweeting, and sharing fingers ready!
Founded in 1993 in Door County, WI, Door County Coffee and Tea Company is a small family owned business. Roasting a variety of flavors for 26 years, one winner will receive three full pot bags of all of their fall flavors. 21 bags in all! Their mission through the years has been to produce high quality, best-tasting coffee using only Specialty Class 1 Arabica coffee beans. Combine that with superior roasting technology and you get a wonderfully even and perfect roast every time and that means the perfect pot of coffee. A $40 value.
Originally founded as the West Texas Pecan Nursery in the late 1800's, Millican Pecan is now in 5th generation ownership. Located in San Saba, TX, the family continues the tradition of pecan farming while also branching the business into the online world. The family also enjoys educating people about pecans. One winner will receive The Tower of Treats Gift Tins. The tower includes 3 decorative gift tins stacked on top of each other. The bottom tin includes our 2 lb. Chocolate Pecan Sampler, the middle tin is our Flavored Pecan Sampler and the top tin is a 8 oz. tin of Milk Chocolate Caramillicans (similar to Turtles). An $80 value.
Two (2) winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. Bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. Winners have 24 hours to respond once notified by email, or they forfeit the prize and an alternate winner will be chosen. The #FallFlavors bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members living in the household cannot enter or win the giveaway. Entries will be verified. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Open to US Residents only. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter the giveaway. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #FallFlavors posts or entry. Thank you to our sponsors Millican Pecan and Door County Coffee and Tea for providing prizes.
Caramel Apple Autumn Spice Parfait
Yield: 4
Author: The Freshman Cook
ingredients:
2 tablespoons Door County "Caramel Apple" Coffee
1/4 cup Heavy Duty Whipping Cream
6-8 ounces of Caramel Bits
3 tablespoons Heavy Duty Whipping Cream
1 1/2 cup Apple Butter
1 Honey Crisp Apple, peeled and chopped small
instructions:
How to cook Caramel Apple Autumn Spice Parfait
Brew the Door County Caramel Apple Coffee, and let 1/4 cup cool. Mix the heavy whipping cream on medium speed. As it is coming together, add the coffee and continue to whip until stiff. Refrigerate.
Melt the caramel bits in a double boiler. For a smooth melt of the caramels, add approx.3 tablespoons of warm heavy duty whipping cream to the melting caramels. This will make your caramel sauce. Reserve 12 caramel bits for the top of the parfaits.
Place 1-1/2 tablespoons of apple butter into the bottom of each serving glass.
Add the chopped apples to the top of the apple butter.
Place the coffee infused whipped cream in a decorating bag with tip #1M. Top the chopped apples with the whipped cream.
Drizzle caramel to make the next layer.
Add another layer of apple butter, a layer of chopped apples, and the coffee infused whipped cream. Top with three of the caramel bits on each glass. Enjoy!
This blog post is part of the #FlavorsofFall event.
This event is sponsored, although this particular post is not.
On my sponsored posts all opinions are mine, and I may have received
product for writing the post.
One of my favorite #Flavors of Fall is not one flavor at all, but several yummy ones, that when put together, make a caramel apple! What about you? For some reason apples taste better in the fall months, although I eat them year round. The same with caramel. Caramel becomes a necessity for me in the fall, and although I try to limit the amount of it that I eat, when fall appears, the apples and caramels seem to jump right into my shopping basket!
Today I took my two favorite fall flavors and tossed in some chocolate, and came up with these Chocolate Apple Crisp Hand Pies! They are bursting with caramel apple flavor and it all comes together in a chocolate crust! I hope you like these!
Apple Crisp Hand Pies (makes 6 pies) (printable recipe at end of page) 1 box store bought refrigerated pie crust rolls 3-5 teaspoons Cocoa Powder 4-6 teaspoons cold water 3 tablespoons granulated Sugar Seasoning 1/2 cup granulated Sugar 1 teaspoon Nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon 3 strips of Lemon Zest 4-5 Granny Smith Apples Crisp Filling 1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar 2 tablespoons Butter 2 tablespoons Flour 2 tablespoons Oatmeal Caramel Filling/Dough 15-20 Caramel Squares 1-2 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream 1-2 teaspoons melted Butter
Unroll the refrigerated dough. Bring it to room temperature.
I started to mix the dough with my hands, but that was not going to work for me. You can do it this way if you want. Just place some of the chocolate on the dough and start kneading it until it becomes all together. I used a food processor, and it was much easier on my hands. As you are incorporating the cocoa powder, add the sugar. You may want to add more sugar than I did.
If you make this the night before it is an easier recipe. Just wrap the dough and set it in the fridge overnight.
When you are ready to pull this all together, start mixing the sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and lemon zest together in a bowl. You could mix this together the day before also.
Peel and chop the apples. Mix the seasoning with the apples.
Mix together the crisp filling ingredients.
Roll out the chocolate dough. This is not a picture of the dough for this recipe. For this recipe I made the dough 3x4". I rolled the dough to 1/4" thick.
Use a double boiler to melt the caramels.
Once the pie crust pieces are cut, place some of the apples, the crisp filling and the melted caramel on top. Place a small line of melted butter around the edges.
Top with another piece of cut dough.Crimp the edges. The butter will help keep the dough together. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Drizzle with caramel!
These Apple Crisp Hand Pies are a fun recipe to make and enjoy, and a great way to celebrate fall! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Scroll down to
see what all my blogging friends made for today's
#FlavorsofFall celebration! Don't forget to enter the giveaway! You can find the entry form below!
Welcome to Flavors of Fall where we celebrate all things associated with fall like squash, apples, pecans, sweaters, football; you get the idea! Ellen from Family Around the Table and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures have gathered 24 bloggers who have over 100 recipes they’re sharing this week in celebration of cool weather and sweatshirts. We hope you find many must make recipes so get your pinning, tweeting, and sharing fingers ready!
Founded in 1993 in Door County, WI, Door County Coffee and Tea Company
is a small family owned business. Roasting a variety of flavors for 26
years, one winner will receive three full pot bags of all of their fall
flavors. 21 bags in all! Their mission through the years has been to
produce high quality, best-tasting coffee using only Specialty Class 1
Arabica coffee beans. Combine that with superior roasting technology and
you get a wonderfully even and perfect roast every time and that means
the perfect pot of coffee. A $40 value.
Originally founded as the West Texas Pecan Nursery in the late 1800's,
Millican Pecan is now in 5th generation ownership. Located in San Saba,
TX, the family continues the tradition of pecan farming while also
branching the business into the online world. The family also enjoys
educating people about pecans. One winner will receive The Tower of
Treats Gift Tins. The tower includes 3 decorative gift tins stacked on
top of each other. The bottom tin includes our 2 lb. Chocolate Pecan
Sampler, the middle tin is our Flavored Pecan Sampler and the top tin is
a 8 oz. tin of Milk Chocolate Caramillicans (similar to Turtles). An
$80 value.
Apple Crisp Hand Pies
Yield: 6 pies
Author: The Freshman Cook
ingredients:
1 box store bought refrigerated pie crust rolls
3-5 teaspoons Cocoa Powder
4-6 teaspoons cold water
3 tablespoons granulated Sugar
Seasoning
1/2 cup granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
3 strips of Lemon Zest
4-5 Granny Smith Apples
Crisp Filling
1/3 cup Light Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
2 tablespoons Oatmeal
Caramel Filling/Dough
15-20 Caramel Squares
1-2 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
1-2 teaspoons melted Butter
instructions:
How to cook Apple Crisp Hand Pies
Unroll the refrigerated dough. Bring it to room temperature.
I started to mix the dough with my hands, but that was not going to work for me. You can do it this way if you want. Just place some of the chocolate on the dough and start kneading it until it becomes all together. I used a food processor, and it was much easier on my hands. As you are incorporating the cocoa powder, add the sugar. You may want to add more sugar than I did.
If you make this the night before it is an easier recipe. Just wrap the dough and set it in the fridge overnight.
When you are ready to pull this all together, start mixing the sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and lemon zest together in a bowl. You could mix this together the day before also.
Peel and chop the apples. Mix the seasoning with the apples.
Mix together the crisp filling ingredients.
Roll out the chocolate dough. This is not a picture of the dough for this recipe. For this recipe I made the dough 3x4". I rolled the dough to 1/4" thick.
Use a double boiler to melt the caramels.
Once the pie crust pieces are cut, place some of the apples, the crisp filling and the melted caramel on top. Place a small line of melted butter around the edges.
Top with another piece of cut dough. Crimp the edges. The butter will help keep the dough together. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Drizzle with caramel!
Two (2) winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. Bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. Winners have 24 hours to respond once notified by email, or they forfeit the prize and an alternate winner will be chosen. The #FallFlavors bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members living in the household cannot enter or win the giveaway. Entries will be verified. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter giveaway. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #FallFlavors posts or entry. Thank you to our sponsors Millican Pecan and Door County Coffee and Tea for providing prizes.
