Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

This post is way late, like almost 2 months late! I made this cheesecake for Thanksgiving this year! It was quite yummy!

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 box of chocolate wafers crushed

2 tablespoons of sugar

6 tablespoons of butter, melted

For the filling:

1 1/2 pounds of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

1 cup pumpkin pie mix

4 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 cup milk chocolate baking chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap bottom and sides of spring form pan with cooking spray.
2. To make the curst, mix together cookie crumbs, sugar and butter. Press over bottom and partially up side  of spring form pan. Refrigerate while making filling.
3. For the filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugars, cornstarch and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Beat in pie mix and eggs. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup batter.
4. Microwave chocolate for 30 seconds, stir and microwave another 15 seconds. Stir again and mix into reserved batter, microwave an additional 15 seconds.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Dollop tablespoons of the chocolate mixture  over top of cheesecake, swirl with a small knife or spatula. Place in roasting pan, adding enough hot water to come halfway up side of foil.
6. Bake at 350 for 70 to 80 minutes, until just set. Run a knife along the edge of pan. Cool on rack.  Cover, refrigerate overnight.

Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I’m warning you now, be prepared for lots of pumpkin post coming up in the next month or so.  I love FALL. Love it, we got married in the fall, it’s just the best season there is. The yummy food, pumpkin, honey crisp apples, apple cider, peach cider, apple cider doughnuts, the changing color of the leaves.  I could go on and on and on why I love fall, but I won’t. I’ll just get right to this moist, flavorful bundt cake.

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil until blended. Add eggs, beat the batter well after adding eggs.
2.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pudding puree; add to egg mixture, again beating well, so it is well incorporated.
3. Pour batter into a greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove from  the pan and cool completely. Shake some confectioners’ sugar over the top.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Sing For Your Supper

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TWD: Perfect Party Cake

For our final recipe in June, Carol of Mix, Mix, Stir, Stir picked the perfect party cake!

I really liked this recipe and it was quite easy and not that time consuming like other TWD recipes can be, but of course even if they are time consuming they are worth it!! I love the raspberry jam that was in the middle of each layer. As you can see I didn’t frost the back of the cake because I thought the layers looked pretty.

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Coconut Cake with Blueberry Jam

I am so proud of this cake! This was one of my grandmother’s recipes, unfortunately she was one of those bakers who didn’t like to share her recipes or write them down in that matter! My mom sort of remembered this recipe so I played it by ear as I did it and it came out JUST like my grandmother’s.  She would be so proud of me.  She currently lives in a nursing home and is suffering from Alzheimer’s. I wish I could share a piece with her.  Adding the blueberry jam wasn’t something she included in the recipe, but I had a lot of blueberries and thought it would be a nice surprise to bite into.  My family loved it!

Ingredients:

Cake:

3 cups of cake flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup(2sticks) of unsalted butter, soft

1 1/2 cups of sugar

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract

1 can (13.5) ounces of coconut milk

1 cup sweetened flake coconut

Frosting:

1 package (8 ounces) of cream cheese

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, soft

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 box (16 ounces) of confectioners sugar

1/2 cup of blueberry jam

1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 8 inch cake bans with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla and coconut extracts, beat until combined.
4. On low speed, beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with coconut milk. Beat well after each addition. Fold in chopped coconut. Divide batter equally between the two cake pans.
5. Bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes depending on your oven. Cool pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans and cool completely.
6. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, beat in confectioners sugar until smooth.
7. Trim cake layers if crowned. Place one cake layer on a plate. Spread the top with the blueberry jam. Add remaining cake layer. Spread top and sides of cake with icing. Gently press shredded coconut onto sides of cake. Refrigerate one hour before slicing.

Enjoy!

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Lemon Cake

This local coffee shop and also Starbucks often have this awesome lemon cake. I always wanted to find the recipe to make at home, but I just did not take the time.  So when I saw on the Smells Like Home Cooking Blog, that she had made a lemon cake that look so similar to the ones I’ve seen at the coffee shops, I knew I had to try it.  This cake was very good, don’t get me wrong, but it was my first baking fail, well not a total fail.  This recipe was suppose to make two cakes, well I only ended up with one cake! The second one just wasn’t done being cooked and I turned it over to re-vert on a plate before it was cool and it went ker-plunk. But the one that did turn out was great! It wasn’t exactly like the coffee houses, but pretty similar.  The recipe I’m sharing with you makes 2 cakes!

Ingredients:

2 sticks of  unsalted butter, at room temperature

2-1/2 cups of granulated sugar, divided

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup of grated lemon zest (6 large  lemons)

3 cups of  flour

1/2 teaspoon  of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of  baking soda

1 teaspoon of  kosher salt

3/4 cup of  freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided

3/4 cup of buttermilk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze ingredients:

2 cups of confectioners’ sugar, sifted

3 1/2  of tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour 2  loaf pans.

2) Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.

3)Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

4) In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla.

5) Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour.

6) Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

7) Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over them. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

8- For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

Enjoy!

Adapted from Ina Garten.

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Chocolate Molten Cake

Chris’s birthday was Sunday, but unfortunately on Sunday we were driving home from a great weekend in Boston, so he had to wait till Monday night to get his birthday dinner and his birthday cake! He is a chocolate fanatic and loves desserts that are all chocolate, so what better to make him them a Chocolate Molten Cake!  This is pretty easy to make and doesn’t take much time at all, about 15-20 minutes from start to finish.  This recipe will make two individual molten cakes!

Ingredients:
2 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or bars, cut into bite-size chunks
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon flour
2 extra-large paper muffin cups
1/4 cup unsalted butter

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; remove from heat. Beat eggs, sugar and salt with a hand mixer in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Beat in flour  until just combined.

3) Line a standard-size muffin tin 2 extra-large muffin papers. Spray muffin papers with vegetable cooking spray. Divide batter among muffin cups.

4) Bake until batter puffs but center is not set, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift cakes from tin and set on a work surface. Pull papers away from cakes and transfer cakes to dessert plates.

5) Sprinkle with some powered sugar and chocolate syrup and serve with vanilla ice cream!
Enjoy!

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Brownie Cheescake

I got this recipe off of one of my favorite blogs Smitten Kitchen. This recipe is a little involved but not that bad at all! Plus I got to use my brand NEW Cuisinart stand mixer. The only thing with this recipe is that I didn’t make my own crust, because Chris was making ribs and needed the oven, so I bought an already made one. Next time I will definitely make my own, it’s just not the same! I’m going to post the recipe though as you would be making your own crust. I’m also going to post this one a little differently. I’m going to post it into steps.

First Step:
One Bowl Brownies

Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
(1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.
3)Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted.
4)Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
5)Stir in sugar.
6)Blend in eggs and vanilla.
7)Add flour and salt; mix well.
8)Spread into prepared pan.
9)Bake 30 to 35 minute or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do not over bake.
10) Cool in pan on wire rack.
11) Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles.
12) Cool brownies, then cut them into 3/4- to 1-inch squares for use in the cheesecake.
13) Add about half of the brownies to the mix or how many you would like.

Part Two:
Crust

Ingredients:
1/2 cups finely ground cookies such as chocolate wafers, or Chocolate Teddy Grahams.
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1)Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 24-centimeter springform pan.
2)Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

Part Three:
Cheesecake

Ingredients:
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Beat cream cheese with an mixer until fluffy.
3) Add eggs, one at a time.
4) Add vanilla and sugar, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.
5) Fold brownie cubes in very gently and pour mixture into prepared pan.
6) Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan.
7) Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken.

Part Four:
Ganache Glaze

Ingredients:
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken up, or 1/2 cup chocolate morsels
2 oz. butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

Directions:
1) Grind the chocolate into powder in the food processor.
2) Scald the butter and cream in a saucepan.
3) With the machine running, pour the hot cream/butter mixture slowly through the feed tube onto the chocolate.
4) Blend until completely smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides once or twice.
5) Add the extract and sugar and process until smooth.
6) Spread over cheesecake while ganache is still warm.
7) Chill until ready to serve.

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Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

I know this sounds gross, but it’s actually really good and VERY moist. My great grandmother used to use mayo in her cakes as well. You don’t even get the “mayo” taste.

Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.
3) Sift all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa together.
4) Whip mayonnaise, white sugar, cold water, and vanilla together until mixed thoroughly.
5) Add flour mixture slowly and beat at medium speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes.
6)Pour batter into cake pan.
7) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Frost with your favorite frosting.

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Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake

This has been by far probably the most complicated recipe I have done so far. But it was well worth it. The cheesecake it’s self is amazing. I got this recipe from http://crumblycookie.wordpress.com, who got the recipe from a website called Tuesdays with Dorie. I changed it slightly. It also called for something I never did before, and that was to put the springform pan in a roaster with boiling water around it. So get your kettle ready and start boiling water.

Ingredients:

For the Crust:
30 spice wafers chopped up into crumbs, should have 2 cups
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick of melted butter

For the Apples:
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
3-4 Large Apples, whatever you want, I used Macintosh
2 tablespoons of packed brown sugar

For the Filling:
Three 8 ounce cream cheese packages, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of apple cider
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

For the crust:
1) Butter the bottom of a springform pan, any size you want the cake to be
2) Put the spice wafers in a food processor and blend till you have crumbs, 2 cups. Pulse in the sugar and cinnamon, then pour over the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Put the crumbs into the springform pan and firmly press them evenly over the bottom. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.
3) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4) Wrap the bottom of the pan tightly with aluminum foil, going up the sides. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until the crust is set and lightly brown. Transfer to cool.

For the apples:
1) Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large non stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, toss in half of the apple slices, turn once and cook till brown.
2)Sprinkle the apples with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and cook them, turning, just until coated, another minute or so.
3) Scrape the apples onto a plate and repeat with the remaining apples. Let the apples cool while you make the filling.

For the filling:
1) With a mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed, scraping down the bowl often, for about 4 minutes, or until it is velvety smooth.
2) Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes.
3) Beat in the cider, vanilla, and cinnamon.
4)Reduce the speed to low and beat in the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in.
5) Beat in the sour cream and heavy cream, beating just until the batter is smooth.
6) Pour about one third of the batter into the baked crust.
7)Drain the apples by lifting them off the plate with a slotted spoon or spatula, and spoon them into the pan. Cover with the remaining batter and, if needed, jiggle the pan to even the top.
8)Place the springform pan in the roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
9) Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 to 45 minutes, covering the cake loosely with a foil tent at the 45-minute mark.
10) The cake will rise evenly and crack around the edges, and it should be fully set except, possibly, in the very center-if the center shimmies, that’s just fine.
11) Gently transfer the cake, still in the pan, to a cooling rack and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least 6 hours; overnight would be better.
12) Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the crust, open the pan’s latch and release and remove the sides.

Enjoy!!

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Pumpkin Cake

Since the wedding is over, I now have time to finally cook/bake again and post what I make!

Friday I made a few things and one of them was this pumpkin cake with a whiskey whipped cream icing. We actually used it Sunday morning cut the cake in half and then put cream cheese in the middle and fried it for some pumpkin cream cheese french toast. Anyways, on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of whiskey
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 stick of softened butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup canned pumpkin puree

Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2)Spray 9 x 13 inch pan with baking spray
3)Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
4)Add butter to a mixing bowl and beat. Add sugar and beat. Add in eggs 1 at a time, beating after each egg.Add yogurt and pumpkin and mix gently until just combined.
5)Add flour mixture in increments, beating until just combined
6) Pour batter into pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set.
7)Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

When cake is cool, make Whiskey Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream, very cold, 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar2 tablespoons whiskey
Combine ingredients and begin mixing immediately, mix till it is a whipping cream texture.

Enjoy!

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