Midnight Madness Recipes

NANNY'S BLACK MIDNIGHT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl, dissolve cocoa powder and cayenne with hot brewed coffee and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream oil and sugar until well combined.
• Add eggs and beat until light and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. This process beats air into the mixture. Scrape paddle and bowl and beat once.
• Slowly add in coffee/cocoa mixture, buttermilk and vanilla and beat until batter is smooth. Scrape paddle and bowl and beat once.
• In a separate bowl, sift flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet and beat on low speed to incorporate. Scrape down bowl and mix just until all ingredients are combined, do not over mix once flour is in.
• Butter the bottom and sides of two 9-inch cake pans and place a round parchment circle in each. Butter the top of the parchment then sprinkle the whole inside of the parchment and pan with cocoa powder, shaking out excess. Pour batter evenly between two pans and place in center of oven. (note, aluminum baking pans are by far, the best for baking cakes. Non-stick and dark colored pans can change the cake by browning it more than it needs to)
• Bake 30-35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Depending on your oven, you may need to rotate cake pans half way through. During our baking, one cake was done in 30 minutes and the second in 32 minutes. Do not over bake.
• Cool pans on wire racks for ten minutes then carefully invert out of pan onto rack to cool further.
• Sift cocoa powder with confectioner's sugar in a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and cocoa powder mixture along with buttermilk and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy. Add additional buttermilk or whole milk if frosting is too thick.
• Place a small dollop of frosting on a cake dish to hold the cake from sliding and place one cake on the frosting. Frost the top of that layer. Place the second cake on the first and frost the entire cake, top and sides.

MIDNIGHT MINT BARS

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, heat the butter, cocoa and sugar over low heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring often.
• Remove from the heat.
• Stir in a small amount of hot mixture into egg; return all to pan.
• Cook and stir until mixture coats a metal spoon and reaches 160.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in cracker crumbs, coconut and walnuts.
• Press into a buttered 9 inch square pan; set aside.
• For filling, in a small mixing bowl, beat butter, confectioners sugar, milk and extract until smooth.
• Tint with food coloring if desired.
• Spread evenly over bottom layer; set aside.
• For topping, in a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat until blended and smooth, stirring often.
• Remove from heat.
• Cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
• Spread over filling.
• Cover and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
• Cut into bars.
• Store in the refrigerator.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups or spray with cooking spray. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for cupcakes, using water, oil and eggs. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Spoon frosting into medium bowl; tint with purple food color. Frost cupcakes. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Top with rock candy. Cut out each snack cake to look like crescent moon. Garnish cupcakes with moon cutouts.

CHOCOLATE MIDNIGHT MADNESS

Steps:

• In a large bowl with the mixer at moderate speed, beat cream cheese and the all-purpose cream until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in chocolate and vanilla until smooth.
• Pour into the pie crust; place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 300° C in an oven 30 to 35 minutes or until set.
• Chill 4 hours. Serve cold. Drizzle with the peppermint syrup, if desired.