Today is Almond Butter Crunch Day, and you can celebrate by either picking up a canister of Almond Roca (which will always remind me of my mom!), or make your own!

The “plain” butter crunch day is in January, and though I’m not sure why almond butter crunch gets its own special day five months later, I’m not going to complain.

Buttercrunch toffee is a delicious, indulgent treat that is a bit softer than regular toffee and is an American invention. Not only do you get toffee, but you get chocolate and nuts with it as well. Just watch your fillings!

Chocolate Almond Buttercrunch

1/2 lb. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. blanched almonds, chopped
1/2 lg. bag chocolate chips

Place chopped almonds, butter and sugar into a large pan. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the almonds turn brown and the mixture forms a hard ball in cold water. Immediately pour onto a large, flat cookie sheet or baking pan. Let cool slightly.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips and allow them to melt; using an offset spatula smear the melted chocolate around. Chop the rest of the nuts fine and sprinkle over warm chocolate. Press in lightly. Let cool thoroughly. Break into irregular pieces.

[images and recipe: flickr]

It’s National German Chocolate Cake Day (really!) so I dug out one of my favorite ways to play with German Chocolate Cake.

It’s called Better Than Sex Cake, and the first time I heard the name I did a double-take - did they really just say what I thought they said? Yep! And I’ll admit, this is some really darn good cake, and the first time I tried it I understood how it got its name. But you’ll have to decide for yourself how much you like it!

…

Better Than Sex Cake

1 (18.25 oz) package devil’s food or German chocolate cake mix
1/2 (of a 14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
6 oz caramel ice cream topping
3 (1.4 oz each) bars chocolate covered toffee (Heath, Skor), roughly chopped chopped
1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Bake cake according to package directions for a 9×13 inch pan; cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Make slits across the top of the cake or use the non-spoon end of a wooden spoon to make holes, making sure not to go through to the bottom.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly pour the warm topping mixture over the top of the warm cake, letting it sink into the slits or holes, then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm.

Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping. Refrigerate and serve right from the pan!

[image: allrecipes]