Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake As Mini-Cupcakes
Unless you have made these yummy treats you have no idea how delish they can really are. What you see here is the result of turning Pioneer Woman’s Chocolate Sheet Cake recipe into mini cupcakes which were perfect for the party we went to last night and the July 4th celebration we’re going to on Sunday with some of our expat community. It was the first time I’ve made them in mini-cupcake form and the success was clear by the clean serving trays we came home with after watching my cupcakes disappear into the mouths of a mostly (except for me) group of Brits.
Several people asked as they complimented my bite-size cakes if they were an American speciality to which I gave credit where it’s due and said, ” Yes, but not a family recipe of mine. ” I told them it belonged to this wild woman out West who went by the name of Pioneer Woman.
Okay … so maybe I embellished a little with the wild woman comment, but as most Brits seem to think they’ve mastered an American accent if they sound like John Wayne when imitating us, (likely having learned their technique as my John did from old western black & white films) I thought wild woman out west would fit the image many seem to have of us as a tough talking, gun-toting, straight shooting, slightly unruly lot.
Passing by the dessert table or puddings, as all desserts are sometimes referred to here was a teenage girl who overheard me give credit to PW and turned to me and said, ” Oh, I read her, did you see what she said about iPad on her blog? ” I have to admit that PW seems to be moving farther abroad than she may realize. Thanks to the internet, not only has she young American followers like my daughter reading her, she’s picking up teen readers in rural England as well.
While PW appears to have a tidy kitchen when making her varied goodies, I must admit that my prep area looks a bit different.
Not Pioneer Woman's Kitchen
Thank goodness for lots of counter space or work-tops as John would refer to kitchen counters.
Messy Cooking With Elizabeth Harper
Gone, these are all gone now.
I call the cupcake closest to you, ” The Half and Half ” for half nuts/ half not … neat huh? Okay, so I ran out of the frosting with nuts and had to use some without. I bet no one even noticed at the party last night. Creativity is key in marketing. I think I like that … Half and Half … I wonder what I could call my other kitchen mishaps.
My daughter once referred to my turkey meatloaf as looking like cat food, I must say years after that high recommendation by my then seven-year old, it’s one of the things I do best now. (Pssst, I’ll be making my cat food/turkey meatloaf for some American visitors this weekend) I promise I really do use ground turkey … no cat food involved. Cross my heart.
Remember what I said earlier about messy … I wonder who’s going to help me with these dishes!
Maybe I could do a reality show for messy cooks … how about you, are you messy or neat when whipping up family favorites?
Gifts Of The Journey 
Who cares about messy!! Pass the delish please!! Ohh yummy-oh!
Was it fun making them though? ..
Happy 4th of July to you Elizabeth!
Keep Flying! :o)
I am a messy one even though I try and clean up as I go cos I hates the pile of stuff to wash at the end. And I’m a terrible cook – or more accurately a non-cook. If I follow a recipe it comes out fine, but I guess I’ve not cooked for enough people to make it feel like it was worth the effort on an ongoing basis. I suspect in this new life this will change, as cooking is a wonderfully social thing to do. I will happily eat other people’s prepared food and do the washing up afterwards, be it lots or little…I guess I’m schizoid??!
Happy 4th of July – can’t wait to see your pics for that. Rain predicted here…sadness. Camera is at the ready!!
I am a clean as you go person. I just can’t deal with the aftermath if I don’t. Those look amazing! I have not made PW’s sheet cake yet. I keep meaning to. Happy cooking and your guests appreciated them for sure!
Oh Lord, if only I could reach through the screen and grab a couple of those lovely cakes…..they look so amazing my mouth is watering!
I found Pioneer Woman’s book in the library. It’s a great summary of her blog and tells you how she got where she is, out in the middle West. I love how she writes.
I laugh when Pioneer Woman has a contest and there are 36,000+ entries. My granddaughter stood in line for 4 hours in Minneapolis, Minnesota to get me an autographed copy of her cookbook for Christmas. I have been reading her almost from the beginning of her blog.
Messy! But worth it! Thank goodness for dishwashers….
Yep, your kitchen looks like mine when I’ve been working 🙂
When my sister-in-law was visiting, she remarked about my nestled stainless steel mixing bowls. There are 9 of them.
Then she watched while I made applesauce and apple crisp and apple coffee cake.
I usually get all the goodies done and cooling, come over and check a few things on the Web, then go back to tackle clean-up. Dishwasher is a great invention.
Having an empty nest, I’m not looking into extending my cookbook collection. But I love all the writings about Pioneer Woman. She’s famous !! and I hope she’s getting rich.
If this cake is what I think it is, those of us from Tennessee referred to it as “Mississippi Mud.” If you’ve ever seen the Mighty Muddy Mississippi you will know exactly how this dessert will look and the weight of it when you pick it up. Yum. Brings back memories. I’ll have to look this on up in my very own copy of the cookbook. I’m headed that way right now………….wish I had some of the cake to eat while I”m flipping the pages. ……..
Happy 4th of July to you and John.
These look fabulous. We have a trick with all chocolate recipes that gives them added zing – put in a teaspoon of almond extract, and a teaspoon of coffee. That’s how we make brownies and they’re fabulous.
My kitchen looks a lot more like yours than PW’s!
Well I must admit that I am a member in good standing of the Elizabeth Harper school of totally messy cooks! It drives Ed nuts as he is the one in the family who enjoys a clean house! I suppose it’s true – opposites attract!
i’m a clean as you go sort of cook most of the time. Taylor on the other hand is not. But I do appreciate her cooking so I clean her dishes.
My mom used to make chocolate sheet cake for my birthday every year. love it. i like your idea of the cupcake style . they look delicious to me.
my trouble is my table and counter-tops are usually way too cluttered. I like to clean as I go when I cook but there usually is a lot of mess anyway. Like my husband says, Proverbs 14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
In other words if nothing gets done there is no mess : )
I must say I guess I am messy but if I am cooking a lot i do clean up as I go. No room otherwise!
I have made that yummerific chocolate sheet cake myself and I am a clean as I go, make a mess as I go, leave it for the next day or whatever kind of cook. depends on my mood. But as to your messy, in the midst of creating deliciousness kitchen I say…thanks for keepin’ it real, girl. I hope your 4th was fun and yes, I love Pioneer Woman too and glad to see she is appreciated across the pond. She is a positive example of an American woman, or just woman period. Very nice kitchen by the way..
I need to make that! Those! I keep meaning to make that cake. I have her cookbook, and often make a few things– the enchaladas, the husbands favorite sammy, and the potatoe leek pizza. Oh my.
🙂