Martha Stewart Living Radio: The Radio Blog

It's time for our the weekend cooking challenge!  The cooking challenge begins on Saturday, June 12 at  2 pm ET,  11  am PT but you can cook earlier or later than this time. We'll be indulging the sweeter side of life with a Double Dessert Challenge.  Why two desserts?  Many of us enjoy "cooking ahead" during the weekend for the rest of the week.  In times past, home cooks took the time to make the desserts for the week -- ahead of time -- so they could be enjoyed after dinners and served as special treats when company stopped by for a visit.  This is quite a time saver and guarantees dessert is always standing by.

Make sure to join our special Facebook group, Mario's Weekend Cooking Challenge so we can post photos, share ideas, and chat back and forth while we cook!

We'll be making my recipe for  Mexican Chocolate Cake and Magnolia Bakery's famed Banana Pudding.  These  desserts keep really well for the rest of the week, offer a choice of chocolate and vanilla, and one is baked and the other is "made" in the refrigerator! You have a choice to either make both or choose one.

Here's a photo of my Mexican Chocolate Cake. This is the cake  that I baked for Martha Stewart herself when I interviewed for my job as host of Living Today!  Martha loved it and I hope you will too.

Mexican Chocolate Cake -- rich in buttermilk, pecans, cocoa, butter, vanilla and cinnamon.

Magnolia Bakery will be joining the Facebook group and answering questions about their legendary Banana pudding as we prepare this delightful treat. Quick note:  If you choose to make the Banana Pudding you do need to start the vanilla pudding element the night before.

It looks AND tastes amazing!

I am really looking forward to cooking with you again!  Remember, we get started at around 2 pm ET,  11  am PT, on Saturday! Get the recipes for each sweet treat below! And join the Weekend Challenge Facebook group.

Download Recipe: Mario Bosquez's Mexican Chocolate Cake

Download Recipe: Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding

Tags: Baking, banana pudding, bananas, buttermilk, Cake, chocolate, cinnamon, cocoa, dessert, heavy cream, Magnolia Bakery, mexican, pecans, pudding, refrigerator, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla
Posted by Mario Bosquez on June 8, 2010 in Entertaining, Food, Living Today, Recipes