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A quick note to my friends and followers with children:

As someone who is currently assembling Amazon-bought flat-pack furniture for herself and with no time limit, listen to me: you do not have enough time to assemble a piece of Amazon-bought flat-pack furniture in the time between when the children go to bed on Christmas Eve and when they wake up on Christmas Day. I don't know what the correct solution is to allow you to have this built on Christmas day without your children finding out, but you do not, I repeat do not, have time to do this at night on December 24th

I also suspect that the answer of giving up assembling the flat-pack furniture and telling the children that they get nothing for Christmas because they are bad is not an answer that seems appealing to you right now, but is an answer that will seem increasingly more and more valid as you approach 6:00 a.m. on December 25th. Save yourself.

#Not egl #Christmas tips

RECIPE: Fudge Cake with Caramel-Bourbon Buttercream (from Christmas with Southern Living 2022)

This swoon-worthy layer cake is a chocolate-lovers’ dream!

Serves 16

Active: 1 hour

Total: 3 hours, 10 minutes

FUDGE CAKE

1½ cups bittersweet chocolate chips

½ cup butter, softened

1 (1-lb.) pkg. light brown sugar

3 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. table salt

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 (8-oz.) container sour cream

1 cup hot strong brewed coffee

1 Tbsp. (½ oz.) bourbon

CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup heavy cream

¼ cup butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch pieces

1 cup butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

½ tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. table salt

4 cups unsifted powdered sugar

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

8 oz. semisweet baking chocolate (2 [4-oz.] baking chocolate bars), chopped

6 oz. bittersweet baking chocolate (from 2 [4-oz.] baking chocolate bars), chopped

1½ cups heavy cream

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENT

Shaved bittersweet chocolate

Prepare the Cake: Coat 2 (9-inch) square cake pans with cooking spray; dust with flour. Preheat oven to 350°F. Microwave chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl on MEDIUM (50% power) until melted, about 2 minutes, stopping to stir every 30 seconds. Stir until completely smooth.

Beat butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer on medium until combined, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating until just combined.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add to chocolate mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating on low speed to blend after each addition. Gradually add coffee, beating on low. Stir in bourbon. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

Bake cake layers in preheated oven until a wooden pick comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans; transfer to wire racks to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Prepare the Buttercream: Place sugar and water in a saucepan; cook, stirring, over medium-high, until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Bring to a boil over medium-high. Cook, without stirring but swirling pan occasionally, until deep amber, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cream in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Stir in chilled butter until smooth; transfer to a bowl to cool, about 1 hour.

Beat softened butter and cream cheese in bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer on medium until creamy, 3 minutes. Stir in vanilla and salt. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating on low until smooth, 2 minutes. Add caramel; beat on medium until combined, 2 minutes. Beat in remaining 2 cups powdered sugar on low to combine.

Prepare the Chocolate Ganache: Microwave semisweet and bittersweet baking chocolates and cream in a microwavable bowl on MEDIUM (50% power) for 1 minute. Remove and stir. Microwave until melted, 3 to 3½ minutes, stopping to stir every 30 seconds.

Assemble Cake: Place 1 cake layer on a platter; pour half of ganache on top, allowing some to drip over edges. Freeze to set, about 5 minutes. Spread half of buttercream to edges. Top with remaining layer; repeat with remaining ganache and buttercream. Garnish with shaved chocolate.

From the editors at Southern Living, warm and welcoming holiday recipes and creative ideas for decorating, entertaining, and handmade gifts

Discover fun and creative new ways to decorate, entertain, and handcraft gifts for the holidays. Sparkling menus and easy décor ideas, along with more than 100 brand-new recipes from the professionals of the South's most trusted kitchen, make entertaining a breeze for celebrations of all sizes. Inside, the editors of Southern Living reveal their favorite cooking tips and make-ahead secrets that take the pressure off hosting and put the focus on family and friends. There is also a special gifts-from-the-kitchen section with recipes for treats to wrap and share. More than 200 photographs show off dazzling holiday decorations and table settings to try, plus inspired designs for holiday wreaths, trees, centerpieces, and mantel arrangements. Christmas with Southern Living is the go-to resource for everything you need to make your holiday bright.

For more information, click here.