Pumpkin Spice Cake

This cake is light, fluffy, and full of pumpkin flavor. It really was delicious!

Pumpkin Spice Cake (The Novice Chef)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a bundt pan. In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; set aside. In a large bowl combine eggs, sour cream, pumpkin, and oil. Beat well with a hand mixer (or use a stand mixer), scraping down sides with a spatula, until everything is well blended. Add flour mixture a little at a time, beating well after each addition, until everything is well combined. Scrape down sides, then blend in the vanilla extract.

Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan and bake in the center of a 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack for ten minutes, then invert cake onto wire rack and let cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar immediately before serving if desired.

Pumpkin Blondies

I've never made blondies before, so when I saw this recipe, I really wanted to try it. Anything pumpkin usually is a big hit, however while I enjoyed these, I still prefer pumpkin bread.

Pumpkin Blondies (From Annie's Eats)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar (or brown sugar, I used brown)
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips (I skipped this)
1 cup butterscotch chips
½ cup chopped, toasted nuts (optional, I skipped)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree. With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips (and nuts, if using) with a rubber spatula.
Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.
To serve, lift the cake from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Peel off the foil and using a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.

Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd and Mascarpone

Honestly, the cake part of this recipe sucked. I actually made it twice and it still was dense as a rock. Maybe thats how it was supposed to be. It also had a very strong eggy taste. In a last minute move, I ended up using a box white cake mix and the cake was fabulous! Loved the filling and frosting. If I were to make it again, thats the route I would go. Plus, its a lot easier :)



Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd and Mascarpone (epicurious.com)

Ingredients:
Lemon curd
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Cake
6 large eggs, separated
14 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 cups sifted cake flour (sifted, then measured)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Filling and frosting
2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
3 8-ounce containers chilled mascarpone cheese*

Directions:
For lemon curd:
Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water). Whisk constantly until thickened and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 160°F, about 10 minutes. Remove bowl from over water. Add butter; whisk until melted. Transfer 1 cup curd to small bowl for spreading on cake layers. Reserve remaining curd for filling. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of both curds. Chill overnight. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

For cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line bottom of two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides with parchment paper (do not grease pans or parchment). Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 7 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until mixture is very thick and slowly dissolving ribbons form when beaters are lifted, about 4 minutes. Using clean dry beaters, beat whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Add remaining 7 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff and glossy. Fold half of whites into yolk mixture, then sift half of flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt over and gently fold in until incorporated. Fold in remaining whites, then sift remaining flour over and fold in just until combined, being careful not to deflate batter.

Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool in pans on racks.

Run knife around edge of pans to loosen cakes. Invert cakes onto 9-inch-diameter cardboard rounds, tapping on work surface if necessary to release cakes. Cut each cake horizontally in half (layers will be thin). Peel off parchment.

For syrup:
Place sugar in small metal bowl. Add 1/2 cup boiling water; stir to dissolve sugar. Stir in lemon juice.

For filling and frosting:
Beat whipping cream and sugar in large bowl until peaks form. Add mascarpone to lemon curd in medium bowl; whisk until blended. Fold whipped cream into lemon-mascarpone mixture.

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Brush with 1/4 of syrup. Spread 1/4 cup lemon curd over, then 1 cup lemon-mascarpone filling. Top with second cake layer; brush with 1/4 of syrup and spread with 1/4 cup lemon curd and 1 cup lemon-mascarpone filling. Repeat with third cake layer, syrup, lemon curd, and filling. Top with fourth cake layer. Brush with remaining syrup, then spread remaining lemon curd over. Spoon 2 cups lemon-mascarpone filling into pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch star tip (to be used for rosettes). Spread remaining lemon-mascarpone filling as a frosting over sides of cake. Pipe small rosettes of frosting over top of cake, covering completely. Cover cake with cake dome; refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.

Coffee-Chocolate Layer Cake with Mocha-Mascarpone Frosting

For my husbands birthday I made him two cakes (yes he is really lucky!). This cake is really delicious because of the mocha mascarpone filling and frosting. If you don't want to go to the trouble of making the cake itself, you could easily use a box cake mix and then use the filling as described below. Enjoy!



Coffee-Chocolate Layer Cake with Mocha-Mascarpone Frosting (epicurious.com)

Cake:
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
3 large eggs
11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 3/4 cup hot water

Frosting:
1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 8-ounce containers chilled mascarpone cheese*
Bittersweet chocolate curls (optional)

Directions:
For cake:
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°F. Generously butter two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch-high sides; dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper.

Sift 2 cups cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions, beating just until blended after each addition. Gradually add hot espresso-water mixture, beating just until smooth.

Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 15 minutes. Run small knife around sides of pans to loosen cakes. Invert cakes onto racks; lift pans off cakes and remove parchment. Place wire rack atop each cake; invert again so top side is up. Cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap each cake in plastic and store at room temperature.

For frosting:
Sift cocoa powder into large bowl; add espresso powder. Bring 1 cup cream to boil in small saucepan. Slowly pour cream over cocoa mixture, whisking until cocoa is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup cream and sugar; stir until sugar dissolves. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; keep chilled.

Add mascarpone to chilled cocoa mixture. Using electric mixer, beat on low speed until blended and smooth. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until mixture is thick and medium-firm peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 2 minutes (do not overbeat or mixture will curdle).

Using pastry brush, brush off crumbs from cakes. Place 1 cake layer, top side up, on platter. Spoon 13/4 cups frosting in dollops over top of cake. Using offset spatula, spread frosting to edges. Top with second cake layer, top side up, pressing to adhere. Spread thin layer of frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill 10 minutes. Using offset spatula, spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake, swirling decoratively. Top with chocolate curls, if desired. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; chill. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes before serving.

Dinner Party - Part 4

Part 4 covers the dessert course of my dinner party.

Bruschetta w/White Beans, Sun Dried Tomatoes & Basil

Spinach, feta, raspberry, candied nut salad w/ raspberry vinaigrette

Chicken with Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Sauce

Saffron Rice and Red Pepper Pilaf

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

This tart was wonderful and tasted delicious. It was a great end to a wonderful meal!

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart (Gastronomer's Guide)

Ingredients:
2 pounds strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
12 ounces mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Remove stems, hull, and halve or quarter strawberries depending on size. In a large bowl, combine strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to macerate.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, mascarpone, vanilla extract, and confectioners sugar. Mix thoroughly until silky smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the glaze, strain the macerated strawberries over a small saucepan. Add balsamic vinegar and heat over medium-high until liquid is reduced by more than half. It should foam and thicken to a syrup. Let cool to room temperature.

Spread chilled mascarpone mixture in tart shell. Arrange strawberries on top. Brush with glaze. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 slices.

Tart Shell

Tip: A small portion of whole-wheat pastry flour in the dough makes the tart shell extra crispy. If not at hand, use all-purpose flour.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (I used APF)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, and salt. Mix together with a whisk to aerate

Add butter and work with a pastry blender until mixture resembles course meal.

In a small bowl, beat together egg yolk and 3 tablespoons ice water. Drizzle liquid mixture into dry ingredients. Mix until dough comes together. If too dry, 1 tablespoon ice water can be added.

Form the dough into a flat disc and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour before rolling.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out tart dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to fit a 10-inch fluted tart pan. Carefully lay dough over pan. Press dough up into the sides. Remove excess dough by running rolling pin over pan. Fill any holes or cracks with excess dough.

Chill shell for 10 minutes. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the pan all over. Line the inside of the pan with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove pie weights with foil. Continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Mascarpone Brownies

Wow.. these brownies are amazing. They are super rich though, so be prepared to get some help to eat them all. I've made lots of brownies from scratch and have always preferred the box kind. Not anymore. These are the best brownies I have ever had.



Mascarpone Brownies (Kerri's Recipe Blog)

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quality unsweetened cocoa (I used Hershey's)
- 3 oz finest dark chocolate, finely chopped (I used Trader Joes brand)
- 2 sticks (1 cup, 1/2 lb) butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 4 oz mascarpone (softened to room temp)

Ganache Ingredients
- 6 oz finely chopped finest dark chocolate
- 3 T butter
- 6 T heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325. Butter 8 inch square glass baking pan. Put 3 oz chocolate in large glass mixing bowl. Melt butter in saucepan, bring to boil (I used the microwave to melt the butter). Immediately pour butter over chocolate, allow to stand for 30 seconds before mixing to combine melted chocolate and butter. Add mascarpone, sift in sugar and cocoa, combine thoroughly. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Carefully fold in salt and flour until completely incorporated. Pour mix into prepared pan, bake in oven for 35-40 minutes until inserted knife comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes.

Then make ganache. Put 6 oz chocolate into a medium glass mixing bowl. In a saucepan, bring 3T butter and 6T cream barely to a boil (heated in the micro too). Pour immediately over chocolate. Allow to sit 30 seconds, then mix well to combine. Spread ganache on top of brownies, allow another 15 min to set before eating.

Molten Lava Cakes

I've wanted to make these for years and years and I finally did. They are super easy and so delicious! You will find a ton of different recipes out there for them. This one worked really well for me and I will definitely make them again for a special occasion.



Molten Lava Cakes (http://www.ourbestbites.com/)

Ingredients:
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 oz bittersweet chocolate*, melted
*8 ounces is about 1 1/3 C of bittersweet chocolate chips. Make the 1/3 cup a little over-full and you should be good
powdered sugar for dusting
sweetened whipped cream for serving
butter and sugar for preparing pans

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To prepare pans, spray ramekins with nonstick spray or coat with melted butter. Sprinkle in some granulated sugar to coat the entire inner surface and tap out any extra discard.

In a bowl with a mixer beat the 4 tbsp butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour and salt and slowly add it into the butter mixture just until combined. Stir in melted chocolate by hand, just until combined. Don't over mix.

Divide batter evenly among ramekins and then place them on a baking sheet. (If using ramekins you'll want them not quite 3/4 full).

Bake just until tops of cakes no longer jiggle when pan is lightly shaken, about 10-12 for ramekins. Remove from oven and let stand 10 min.

I topped mine with kahlua flavored whipped cream.

Pumpkin Pie

This is a great pumpkin pie. I even had a friend who hates pumpkin pie, declare it pretty darn good. Now thats a compliment!



Pumpkin Pie (foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
1 piece pre-made pie dough
Whipped cream, for topping

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Pie Crust (foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold
12 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the shortening and break it up with your hands as you start to coat it all up with the flour. Add the cold butter cubes and work it into the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter. Work it quickly, so the butter doesn't get too soft, until the mixture is crumbly, like very coarse cornmeal. Add the ice water, a little at a time, until the mixture comes together forming a dough. Bring the dough together into a ball.

When it comes together stop working it otherwise the dough will get over-worked and tough. Divide the dough in half and flatten it slightly to form a disk shape. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. On a floured surface roll each disk out into a 10 to 11-inch circle to make a 9-inch pie.

Sour Cream Lemon Pound Cake

I'm still trying to use up my lemons from my lemon tree. This cake was really delicious. The cake flour makes it very soft, light, and fluffy.



Sour Cream Lemon Pound Cake (Epicurious.com)

Ingredients:
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 cup sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease 16-cup tube pan. Dust pan with cake flour; tap out excess flour.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and beat 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and peel. Using rubber spatula, mix in dry ingredients. Mix in sour cream. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around cake in pan. Turn out cake.

Carefully turn cake right side up on rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Wrap in foil and let stand at room temperature.)

Lemon Bars

These lemon bars were super sweet and I didn't love the shortbread crust.



Lemon Bars (Epicurious.com)

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
hot shortbread base
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a bowl whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until combined well and stir in lemon juice and flour. Pour lemon mixture over hot shortbread. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. and bake confection in middle of oven until set, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan and cut into 24 bars. Bar cookies keep, covered and chilled, 3 days. Sift confectioners' sugar over bars before serving.

Shortbread Base

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut butter into 1/2-inch pieces. In a food processor process all ingredients until mixture begins to form small lumps. Sprinkle mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and with a metal spatula press evenly onto bottom. Bake shortbread in middle of oven until golden, about 20 minutes. While shortbread is baking, prepare topping.

Lemon Souffle

My lemon tree has a ton of lemons this year and I love getting to make different lemon desserts.

Our lemon tree:


One of my most favorite deserts is souffle and this lemon souffle does not disappoint. Souffles may seem hard to make, but they really aren't too bad. The hardest part is tempering the eggs with the hot milk, but just go slow and you should be fine. The other trick is to remove the custard (yolk/milk mixture) from the heat just as it starts to get thick. If you wait to long it will get too thick.



Lemon Souffle (Epicurious)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk (I used skim)
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
5 large egg whites

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat six 3/4-cup soufflé dishes with butter and sugar. Bring milk to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, and yolks in bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot milk. Return mixture to saucepan; bring to simmer, whisking constantly. Remove from heat. Whisk in lemon juice and peel. Cool.
Using electric mixer, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually beat in remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Continue beating until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/4 of whites into lemon mixture. Fold in remaining whites. Spoon mixture into prepared dishes, dividing equally. Bake until puffed and brown on top, about 18 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note: I used 4 larger ramekins. I baked 2 and then froze the other two. They cook up pretty well straight from the freezer.

Lemon Bars

We have a Eureka Lemon tree in our backyard and the lemons are ready for harvest. So today, I made us some delicious and easy lemon bars.



Lemon Bars (from alpineberry.blogspot.com)


Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/8 tsp salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Filling:
2 large eggs
1 cup superfine or bakers' sugar + 2 tablespoons (only add the extra tablespoons if you used eureka lemons like I did)
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp finely grated meyer lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.

To make crust:
Combine flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until the mixture is pebbly. Press evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake until lightly golden, about 18-20 minutes. Set aside crust.

To make filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Whisk in lemon zest and juice until well combined. Pour over crust (it's okay if crust is still hot). Bake until filling is just set, about 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

After 2 weeks without a fridge, I am finally back in business! Its amazing how much your life is dependent upon keeping things cold ;)

To celebrate our working fridge, I made a coffee cake. This is a sour cream coffee cake with a pecan-cinnamon streusel. It turned out really good and I highly recommend it. The cake was moist and the streusel added some great flavor. I doubled the streusel recipe and I recommend you do as well. Next time I make it, I would do more layers of streusel instead of just the bottom, middle, and top.



Sour Cream Coffee Cake (foodtv.com)

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream (I used fat free)
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel (this is doubled from the original):
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional (I used pecans)

For the glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. (I used a bundt pan)

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the nuts, if desired.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. (I put it on the bottom, middle, and top, but I think it would be even better with more layering.)

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

Oreo Cheesecake

I've made cheesecake in the past, but this was my first time with Oreo cheesecake. It tasted great but the crust was a bit hard. That was probably my fault, but regardless it tasted great. I would make it again.



Oreo Cheesecake (Kraft Foods)

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (1 lb. 4 oz.) OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided (I used reduced fat)
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted (I used butter)
3 pkgs. (8-oz.) cream cheese, softened (I used 2 regular and 1 low fat)
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream (I used light)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Whipped cream, for garnish
Additional OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, halved, for garnish (I didn't have any left)

Directions:
Finely crush 30 cookies and coarsely chop remaining cookies; set aside. Mix finely crushed cookie crumbs and margarine or butter in bowl. Press on bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan; set aside.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Blend in eggs, sour cream and vanilla; fold in chopped cookies. Spread mixture into prepared crust. Bake at 350°F for 55 to 60 minutes or until set. (If necessary to prevent top from overbrowning, tent with foil for the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking).

Cool on wire rack at room temperature. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Remove side from pan; garnish with whipped cream and cookie halves to serve.

Apple Crisp

I had some HUGE apples to use up, so I made this. I halfed the recipe and other changes noted below.




Apple Crisp II (AllRecipes.com)
This large 9x13-inch crisp is made hearty with cooking oats mixed into its sweet crumbly topping. Underneath are all the lovely things that compliment apples -cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. Serve warm with rum raisin ice cream or a big dollop of freshly whipped cream."
INGREDIENTS:
10 cups thinly sliced apples
1 cup white sugar ( I used brown sugar)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water

1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Double Chocolate Soufflé with Warm Fudge Sauce

Importing from old blog, this was originally made on August 11, 2006.

I was checking out the cooking light website a couple of weeks ago and they had an article about making souffles. I've been wanting to make a chocolate souffle for awhile, so I thought I would give this recipe a shot.



The souffle looks kinda gross in the picture above, but it tasted pretty good. I think the sauce was a bit too thick and a little too bitter. The souffle itself was good, but I messed up a bit by not beating the egg whites enough. However, it still turned out well. An added bonus was that I could freeze the extra souffles and just pop them in the oven when I wanted to bake them. That was wonderful since all souffle recipes make at least 4 servings. I would make this again but I will try out other recipes first.

Here is the recipe:

Double Chocolate Soufflés with Warm Fudge Sauce

You can prepare the ingredients ahead, spoon the batter into soufflé dishes, cover, and freeze until you're ready to cook them. They can go straight from the freezer to the oven. Make the sauce ahead, too, and simply warm it before serving. This recipe received our Test Kitchens' highest rating.


Soufflé:
Cooking spray
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
6 large egg whites

Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Position oven rack to the lowest setting, and remove middle rack. Preheat oven to 425°.

To prepare the soufflés, lightly coat 6 (8-ounce) soufflé dishes with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside.

Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add 1 1/4 cups milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk; remove from heat. Add 3 ounces chocolate; stir until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla and egg yolk.

Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; beat at high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Gently fold one-fourth of egg whites into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Gently spoon mixture into prepared dishes. Sharply tap dishes 2 or 3 times on counter to level. Place dishes on a baking sheet; place baking sheet on the bottom rack of 425° oven. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove soufflés from oven). Bake 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the side of soufflé comes out clean.

To prepare sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, and 1 tablespoon flour; stir well with a whisk. Gradually add 1/2 cup milk, stirring well with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat; add 1/2 ounce chocolate, stirring until smooth. Serve warm with soufflés.


Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 soufflé and about 2 tablespoons sauce)

CALORIES 315(26% from fat); FAT 9g (sat 5.1g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 9.1g; CHOLESTEROL 41mg; CALCIUM 79mg; SODIUM 153mg; FIBER 2.9g; IRON 1.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 51.8g
Cooking Light, APRIL 2006