A two-layer chocolate cake with a rich fudge frosting!
Yield: 

12 servings
Ingredients: 

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Frosting ingredients:

2 cups white sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions: 

1. To make the cake, cream the sugar, butter, and eggs with an electric mixer on high until well-beaten.
Stir in flour, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Batter will be thick, like brownie batter.

2. Grease and flour a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan (baking pan with
1-inch sides). You could use two 8- or 9-inch cake pans instead, if you
wished. Spread batter evenly into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25
minutes, or just until cake tests done with a toothpick or fork.

3. Place cake (in the pan) on a cooling rack, cover with a clean towel, and allow to cool completely.

4. Cut cake in half, trimming sides if necessary, so that the two pieces can be stacked on a serving tray or platter.

5. Make frosting by combining frosting ingredients in a sauce pan and
heating over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring mixture to a boil
and then boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and allow to
cool for about 5 minutes.

6. Using an electric mixer, beat frosting on high until it starts to
thicken to a frosting consistency. The frosting will continue to thicken
as it continues to cool, so don’t beat it too long.

7. Once it is spreadable, spread half of the frosting over the first layer of the cooled cake, working quickly. Place the second piece of cake on top and insert a few toothpicks if desired, to keep the cake layers from shifting. Finish frosting the cake.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A soft and spongy lemon poppy seed muffins with the perfect balance of sweet and tart!
Yield: 

12 muffins
Ingredients: 

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 egg
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest (the zest from ~two large lemons)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/4 cups kefir (or buttermilk)
Instructions: 

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

2. In a smaller bowl, combine egg, sugar, andlemon zest, stirring well. Add butter and kefir (or buttermilk) and stir.

3. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir just until moistened. Do not over mix. The batter will be fairly thick.

4. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Divide batter evenly into 12 paper-lined
or greased muffin cups. Bake muffins on rack in the middle of the oven
for 20-25 minutes, until muffins test done. (Ours are usually done in
17-19 minutes; over-cooking seems to make them unnecessarily dry.)

5. Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A flavorful moist carrot cake with sweet cream cheese frosting
Yield: 

18 servings
Ingredients: 

Cake Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups finely grated carrots*
1/4 cup well-drained crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Icing Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Ground cinnamon and ground walnuts, for dusting (optional)
Instructions: 

1. In a large mixing bowl, blend sugar and oil. Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, soda, and baking powder. Fold into the batter in the large bowl.

3. Stir in carrots, pineapple, and walnuts to make a thick batter.

4. Pour into a greased 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for
55-60 minutes, until cake tests done. Cool in pan on a wire rack,
covered with a thin clean towel.

5. To make icing, mix ingredients in order listed, using an electric mixer. Spread over cake and dust with cinnamon and walnuts if desired. Enjoy!

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A fluffy moist chocolate cake mix recipe — better than Duncan Hines!
Yield: 

12-16 servings
Ingredients: 

Cake mix ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening

To make the cake:

1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
Instructions: 

1. Make the cake mix by combining the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

2. Using an electric mixer or a food processor, blend in the
shortening until no lumps remain. (Using the mixer on this makes a dusty
cocoa mess, so I prefer the food processor!) This is the dry cake mix
part, and you can store it in an air-tight container for several months.

3. Finish making the cake by adding the water, oil, and eggs to the
cake mix in a large bowl. Mix on low speed until moistened, and then
beat on medium for about 2 minutes.

4. Pour batter into greased and floured pans (one 9×13-inch pan, two
9-inch round cake pans, or cupcakes) and bake at 350 degrees.

9×13-inch pan: 35-38 minutes
9-inch cake pans: 30-33 minutes
cupcakes: 19-22 minutes

Combine this recipe with Deluxe Chocolate Frosting and you are good to go!

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Rich, creamy chocolate frosting that’s simple to make and absolutely delicious!
Yield: 

~2 cups (see additional notes below)
Ingredients: 

1 cup butter, softened*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
Instructions: 

1.
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. gradually
beat in the vanilla, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar. Beat in enough
milk to achieve a spreadable consistency.

2. Spread frosting on cake right after making the frosting. If you wait too long to spread the frosting, it will lose some of it’s light airy fluffiness when you spread it.

This frosting goes great on Homemade Deluxe Chocolate Cake Mix!

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A soft and fluffy pumpkin spiced quick bread with a cinnamon glaze drizzled on top! The best pumpkin bread ever!
Yield: 

8 mini loaves, 3 regular loaves, or 24 muffins
Ingredients: 

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves*
1 teaspoon ground cinnamoon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
1 teaspoon salt

Glaze ingredients:

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
~1 teaspoon water
Instructions: 

1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin, orange juice, and orange zest. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining dry
ingredients. Pour pumpkin mixture into bowl with dry ingredients, and
stir until no lumps remain.

3. Lightly grease and flour loaf pans or muffin pans. (This recipe
will fill about 8 mini loaf pans, OR 3 regular loaf pans, OR 24
muffins.) Fill pans or muffin cups 3/4 full.

4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes
(muffins), 20 minutes (mini loaves), or 25-30 minutes (regular loaves).
Check with a toothpick or fork (should come out clean).

5. Remove bread from pans and place on a wire rack to cool, covered
with a clean towel. While cooling, mix powdered sugar and cinnamon in a
small bowl. Add just enough water to make a glaze. Poke tops of bread
with a fork or toothpick, and drizzle the glaze over the warm bread.

Slice bread with a thin serrated knife and serve warm, or allow bread to finish cooling, and store in a sealed bag or container.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Sweet and chewy gluten-free brownies made with black beans (but you’d never know it from the taste)! So simple and amazingly delicious!
Yield: 

16 squares
Ingredients: 

2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can, rinsed and drained)
3 eggs
1/3 cup melted butter*
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup honey)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions: 

1.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor bowl or blender,
combine the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, vanilla, and
sugar. Pulse or blend until smooth (or as smooth as possible).

2. Grease an 8×8-inch glass baking dish. Pour the batter into the
greased dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts (if using) over the top
and use a spatula to push them down into the batter just a little (but
not too much; they will sink some while the brownies bake).

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, until brownies are set in
the middle. Watch the edges for excess browning if you’re not sure
they’re done. (Mine seem to take a full 50 minutes, and are still chewy
but not gooey.)

Cool and then chill before serving! Store in fridge.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A simple homemade ice cream using kefir instead of milk for a tangy, creamy treat! (What is kefir?) Yield: 

6 cups
Ingredients: 

2 cups kefir* (may substitute plain yogurt)
2/3 cup sugar**
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions: 

1. In a 4-cup measuring cup (or medium bowl) stir together the kefir and sugar, until sugar is dissolved.

2. Stir in the cream and vanilla. Pour mixture into your ice cream maker bowl and churn until thick and creamy! Enjoy fresh as a “soft serve” consistency, or freeze for later.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A
quick coffee cake with blackberries folded in and a cinnamon crumb
topping! This is the perfect use for ripe blackberries from the Pacific
Northwest; enjoy with coffee or hot tea for an amazing late summer
treat!
Yield: 

9 servings
Ingredients: 

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk
2 heaping cups of blackberries (fresh or frozen)

Topping Ingredients:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions: 

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. In another bowl, beat eggs until frothy. (We use an electric mixer for this.) Mix in oil and milk.

3. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and stir. Gently fold in blackberries.

4. Pour batter into a greased 9-inch square baking dish or an 8×11-inch baking dish*.

5. Mix topping ingredients together (should be coarse crumbs/lumps of topping) and sprinkle over batter.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until cake tests done in
the middle. Cover cake loosely with foil if the top starts browning too
quickly (I usually place foil over the cake after about 45-50 minutes).

7. Serve hot, or cool in pan.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

This
old-fashioned dessert has a sweet cake layer on top and a juicy plum
pudding filling beneath! It’s simple to make and a great recipe for your
extra plums!
Yield: 

9 servings
Ingredients: 

1 cup all-purpose or cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons oil
2 cups washed and halved plums (pits removed, too!)
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup boiling water
Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. Beat in the milk and oil. Spread mixture in an ungreased 8×8-inch baking dish. Layer the halved plums on top.

3. Whisk together the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the plum-topped batter. Pour the boiling water over everything!

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, until cake is browned on top. (The
top layer should test done with a fork with only a few crumbs, if
you’re unsure.)

Serve warm or cold. Perfect with ice cream or all by itself! 🙂

This recipe was taken from Tammy’s Recipes.