Bake 14 to 15 minutes or until cakes are firm around the edges but soft in the centers. (Centers should be oozy.) Let stand 1 minute. Run a small knife around cakes to loosen. Carefully invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Sprinkle lightly with additional powdered sugar and garnish with a fruit, such as raspberries. Drizzle with hot fudge or add to the side.
Serve immediately, best when warm.
Sunset Pumpkin Bars
Submitted by: Liz Kreider
Fargo, ND
BAR INGREDIENTS 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 can (15-oz) pumpkin
2 cups flour 2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt
1
3 teaspoon cinnamon
FROSTING INGREDIENTS
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
1 cup powdered sugar
Mix bar ingredients together and bake in a 9 x 13-inch pan at 350° for 20-25 minutes. Let cool. Mix frosting ingredients together and frost before cutting into sunset bars.
Chocolate Cherry Bars
Submitted by: Peggy Barker
Suquamish, WA
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 3 DOZEN
My grandmother used to make these yummy bars. She died in 1997 and I just recently found the recipe again. They are even better than I remembered them.
BAR INGREDIENTS 1 package fudge cake mix
1 can (21-oz) cherry pie filling
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs, beaten
FROSTING
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoon butter (no substitutions)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 (6-oz) package chocolate chips
Grease and flour 13 x 9-inch pan. In a large bowl, combine first four ingredients. By hand, stir until well mixed. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
In small saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk. Boil, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate chips until smooth. Pour over bars.
Dark Chocolate Tapioca Pudding with Strawoerries
Submitted by: Amanda Brown
Utica, MI
MAKES 8 SERVINGS OF 1/2 CUP EACH
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Minute tapioca
3 1/2 cups milk
2 squares of DARK baking chocolate 1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large strawberries (cut into slices)
Beat egg lightly in medium saucepan with a wired whisk. Add sugar and tapioca. Mix well and gradually add milk, beat well after each addition. Let stand 5 minutes. Add dark chocolate. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until chocolate is completely melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool 20 minutes. Then stir. It starts to thicken as it cools. Serve warm or chilled. Put a few slices of strawberry on top of each serving of pudding.
Dark Devil Chocolate Cheesecake
Submitted by: Franny Armstrong
Brighton, Ontario, Canada
This cake is very rich and will make about 10 servings. You'll definitely want to «sink your teeth» into this one!
FILLING INGREDIENTS
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar pinch of salt
1 tablespoon chocolate liqueur (having a drink of it on the side is optional)
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup whipping cream
CRUST INGREDIENTS
1 (8-inch) chocolate Oreo crumb crust mix
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
DECORATE WITH
whipping cream cherry pie filling shaved dark chocolate
Preheat oven to 325° F (165° C)
1. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, liqueur and lemon peel together.
2. Beat egg yolks into mixture one at a time.
3. Beat in the flour.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form.
5. Fold whipping cream into the mixture.
6. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until they are stiff.
7. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar into the egg whites, 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep beating until stiff and glossy.
8. Fold the egg-white mixture into the cream cheese mixture only until mixed. Do not overwork it.
9. Oreo crust: melt the margarine or butter and mix with the crumbs.
10. Using either an 8-inch springform pan or a Bundt cake pan, grease the pan and press
the Oreo crust mix into the bottom. Leave the greased sides of the pan clean.
11. Pour filling over crust and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
12. Cool and let sit for about 4 hours before serving.
13. Spoon the whipped cream or use a cake decorating kit to create a circle on the top of the cheesecake. Spoon the cherry pie filling in the center and shave dark chocolate over the whipped cream.
Carpathian Moonlight Blood Fruit Pizza
Submitted by: Elaine Kollias
Castro Valley, CA
This unusual and gorgeous dessert is not too heavy and terribly easy to make. When made with all berries, it sparkles like a ruby or garnet jewel, or perhaps even like Carpathian blood in the moonlight!
CRUST INGREDIENTS 3/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons powdered sugar 1 1/2 cups flour
FILLING INGREDIENTS
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla assorted fruit: raspberries, strawberries, cherries (pitted and halved), blueberries, and/or sliced bananas, kiwis, peaches, and grapes (halved)-fresh preferred.
GLAZE INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup pomegranate juice (for dark berry fruits) or orange juice (for lighter fruits)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1. Crust: Heat oven to 350°. Melt butter, add sugar and flour and mix well. Pat crust onto a 12-inch round pizza pan. Bake until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
2. Filling: Cream together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla and spread over the cooled crust. Slice the strawberries and arrange fruit/berries in concentric rings, alternating colors and textures for a striking design.
3. Glaze: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and boil until thickened. Cool before spooning evenly over entire fruit pizza. Chill 2-6 hours to set before serving. Cut into wedges with a pizza cutter and garnish with a sprig of fresh mint and optional shaved bittersweet chocolate.
Chocolate Cups
Submitted by: Jill Purinton
Lamar, MO
I used these for a baby shower. No leftovers. :(
dark chocolate cups key lime yogurt fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries or strawberries)
Fill chocolate cups with key lime yogurt. Top with fresh berries. Serve.
Delectable Darkness
Submitted by: Susan Schreitmueller
Elon, NC
CRUST INGREDIENTS
1 (8 1/2-oz) package chocolate cream-filled cookies, finely chopped (2 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons melted butter 1 teaspoon Chambord
Combine and press into bottom and 2 inches up sides of 9-inch spring-form pan. I usually use a food processor to crush the cookies.
FILLING INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
6 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped, melted and fairly cool
1/2 cup Chambord
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 large eggs
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup strained seedless rasp
berry jam
Beat cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, chocolate and liqueur and beat until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating each addition until just combined. Mix in cream. Swirl in seedless jam. Pour into crust. Bake in preheated oven at 350° until filling is almost set but center still moves slightly when pan is shaken (about 55 minutes). Place on a rack and cool completely.
TOPPING INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons Chambord
6 ounce melted/cooled chocolate chips
Chocolate curls or fresh raspberries rolled in cocoa with mint leaves (optional) Combine thoroughly and pour over completely cooled cheesecake and then chill to set.
Old Fashion Dark Fudge
Submitted by: Amy McKinney
Vincent, AL
MAKES 1 POUND
2 cups sugar 1/3 cup cocoa
1 small can (5-oz) evaporated milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract walnuts (optional)
1
In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, mix together sugar and cocoa. Add milk and cook over medium heat until mixture reaches Softball stage (236° on a candy thermometer), stirring as necessary to prevent sticking.
Take off heat and add butter, vanilla and nuts if desired. Put boiler in a pan of cool water and stir until it starts to firm up. Pour into a buttered pan. Cut into squares.
Chocolate Eclair Cake
Submitted by: Susan L. Farrell
Pine Grove Mills, PA
2 small packages of Vanilla Jell-O Instant Pudding 1 tub of EZ-Spread Chocolate/Fudge frosting 1 (16-oz) tub of Cool Whip
3 cups milk graham crackers 9 x l3 x 3-inch pan (a pan this deep lessens the loss of the frosting)
1. Mix packets of pudding and milk. (Easier if done with mixer, but whisking/stirring by hand works too.) Then slowly mix in Cool Whip.
2. Line bottom of pan with graham crackers. Pour half of mixture over crackers. Add another layer of graham crackers. Pour remaining mixture over crackers. Add final layers of crackers.
3. Remove foil from frosting tub. Microwave frosting tub 15-25 seconds. Spread frosting over final layer of crackers.
4. Cover and refrigerate for four hours or overnight for best results. Enjoy!
Christmas Mice Submitted by: Susan Maluschka
Houston, TX
YIELDS 70 MICE
1 package chocolate almond bark 1 large jar cherries with stems, drained 1 bag Hershey's Kisses 1 small bag almond slivers
1. Put water in the bottom of a double boiler.
2. Spread out foil on the countertop next to stove.
3. Break chocolate almond bark into pieces and melt in double boiler.
4. Pat cherries dry on paper towels and unwrap the Kisses.
5. Hold cherries by the stems and dip in chocolate until cherry is covered. Lay cherry on its side on the foil (forms body and tail).
6. After dipping 4 or 5, prop up a Kiss with the flat part of the Kiss against the bottom of the cherry (forms head with pointed nose).
7. Then go back and place two almond slivers between Kiss and cherry (forms ears). If the chocolate has dried too much already, put a little chocolate from the double boiler on the almond slivers and hold them in place until they stay.
Appendix 1
Carpathian Healing Chants
To rightly understand Carpathian healing chants, background is required in several areas:
The Carpathian view on healing The «Lesser Healing Chant» of the Carpathians The «Great Healing Chant» of the Carpathians Carpathian chanting technique
1. The Carpathian view on healing
The Carpathians are a nomadic people whose geographical origins can be traced back to at least as far as the Southern Ural Mountains (near the steppes of modern day Kazakhstan), on the border between Europe and Asia. (For this reason, modern-day linguists call their language, «proto-Uralic,» without knowing that this is the language of the Carpathians.) Unlike most nomadic peoples, the wandering of the Carpathians was not due to the need to find new grazing lands as the seasons and climate shifted, or the search for better trade. Instead, the Carpathians' movements were driven by a great purpose: to find a land that would have the right earth, a soil with the kind of richness that would greatly enhance their rejuvenative powers.
Over the centuries, they migrated westward (some six thousand years ago), until they at last found their perfect homeland-their «susu»-in the Carpathian Mountains, whose long arc cradled the lush plains of the kingdom of Hungary. (The kingdom of Hungary flourished for over a millennium-making Hungarian the dominant language of the Carpathian Basin-until the kingdom's lands were split among several countries after World War I: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Austria, and modern Hungary.)
Other peoples from the Southern Urals (who shared the Carpathian language, but were not Carpathians) migrated in different directions. Some ended up in Finland, which accounts for why the modern Hungarian and Finnish languages are among the contemporary descendents of the ancient Carpathian language. Even though they are tied forever to their chosen Carpathian homeland, the wandering of the Carpathians continues, as they search the world for the answers that will enable them to bear and raise their offspring without difficulty.
Because of their geographical origins, the Carpathian views on healing share much with the larger Eurasian shamanistic tradition. Probably the closest modern representative of that tradition is based in Tuva (and is referred to as «Tuvinian Shamanism»)-see the map
above.
The Eurasian shamanistic tradition-from the Carpathians to the Siberian shamans– held that illness originated in the human soul, and only later manifested as various physical conditions. Therefore, shamanistic healing, while not neglecting the body, focused on the soul and its healing. The most profound illnesses were understood to be caused by «soul departure.'» where all or some part of the sick person's soul has wandered away from the body (into the nether realms), or has been captured or possessed by an evil spirit, or both.
The Carpathians belong to this greater Eurasian shamanistic tradition and shared its viewpoints. While the Carpathians themselves did not succumb to illness, Carpathian healers understood that the most profound wounds were also accompanied by a similar «soul departure.»
Upon reaching the diagnosis of «soul departure,» the healer-shaman is then be required to make a spiritual journey into the nether worlds, to recover the soul. The shaman may have to overcome tremendous challenges along the way, particularly: fighting the demon or vampire who has possessed his friend's soul.
«Soul departure» doesn't require a person to be unconscious (although that certainly can be the case as well). It was understood that a person could still appear to be conscious, even talk and interact with others, and yet be missing a part of their soul. The experienced healer or shaman would instantly see the problem nonetheless, in subtle signs that others might miss: the person's attention wandering every now and then, a lessening in their enthusiasm about life, chronic depression, a diminishment in the brightness of their «aura,» and the like.
2. The Lesser Healing Chant of the Carpathians
Kepa Sarna Pus (The «Lesser Healing Chant») is used for wounds that are merely physical in nature. The Carpathian healer leaves his body and enters the wounded Carpathian's body to heal great mortal wounds from the inside out using pure energy. He proclaims, «I offer freely, my life for your life,» as he gives his blood to the injured Carpathian. Because the Carpathians are of the earth and bound to the soil, they are healed by the soil of their homeland. Their saliva is also often used for its rejuvenative powers.
It is also very common for the Carpathian chants (both the lesser and the great one) to be accompanied by the use of healing herbs, aromas from Carpathian candles, and crystals. The crystals (when combined with the Carpathians' empathic, psychic connection to the entire universe) are used to gather positive energy from their surroundings which then
is used to accelerate the healing. Caves are sometimes used as the setting for the healing.