Bake Me More

This cake originates from a cake mix that is doctored to produce a wonderful breakfast dessert. The recipe comes from Duncan Hines Cake Mix Magic Cookbook that a friend loaned me. I prepared the cake this morning because I was bored… actually I woke early and decided to bake. Plus I thought it would be a nice Father’s day treat. The cake is dense, yet moist. I didn’t have almonds so I used recently picked Georgia Pecans.

Incidentally, I am excited to use my new cupcake plate. I actually painted it myself during a recent visit to a local pottery store with my youngest. I love the way it turned out!

Cinnamon Brunch Cake

Duncan Hines Cake Mix Magic, page 82

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup fine chopped almonds (pecans)
• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 box instant vanilla pudding (4 serving size)
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil (see note)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tsp almond extract (I used vanilla)

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 350. Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan with baking spray.

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon, set aside. Sprinkle nuts evenly in the bottom of the Bundt pan. Combine the remaining ingredients and beat for two minutes.

Spread half of the batter in the pan and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over batter. Pour remaining batter into pan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool about 15 minutes and remove from pan.

Glaze cake if desired. To prepare glaze, combine 1 cup of confectioner sugar with 1 – 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir until desired pouring consistency.

Note: To reduce some of the oil, I suggest using 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup of oil, and 1/2 cup of water. Or any combination of this reaching 1 1/2 cups of liquid. The applesauce renders a moister crumb.

Today I came across a wonderful cake that incorporates a little bit of this and that. While surfing for a cake to prepare for a birthday party I found this recipe at Picky Palate. I love Jenny’s site and her recipes. I had nearly all of the ingredients so after a quick trek to the store, I was off to bake. The differences that I made were not using the brownie layer (more on that in a minute) and adding a layer of cherry pie filling under the cheesecake layer. For the frosting I prepared a chocolate buttercream frosting from Recipezaar. With over 300 positive reviews I knew I could count on this recipe. I doubled it for this cake.

Now as for the brownie layer in the cake, I had to omit it due to the massive size of the cake. I’m sure that it would make a wonderful addition, but next time I will bake the brownie layer in two pans, so I can easily only use a layer of 1/2 the height. So I am going to make brownie pops tomorrow with the brownie batch.

So, now for the how to:

• 2 – 8 oz packages softened cream cheese
• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 brownie mix 9×13 inch size (I baked but didnt use in this cake)
• 1 chocolate cake mix
• Chocolate Frosting Recipe, prepared

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese and sugar into a stand or electric mixer bowl. Beat until softened. Beat in the eggs until smooth. Pour into a wax paper lined and greased 9 inch springformpan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until middle is set and not jiggly. Remove and let cool completely. Refrigerate overnight or for 2-3 hours. Carefully remove sides and transfer to wax paper. **I placed the cheesecake in the freezer for about 30 minutes before removing from pan.

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and divide evenly into a wax paper lined and greased 9 inch cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool completely then carefully turn over onto wax paper; set aside.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions and pour into 2 wax paper lined 9 inch cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool completely then carefully turn over onto wax paper; set aside.

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tbl vanilla
• 1/2 – 2/3 cup milk
• 5 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Cream the butter in stand mixer. Add the cocoa and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and milk alternately ending with the sugar. depending on the consistency you are looking for, you may not need 2/3 cup of milk, so don’t dump it all at once.

Putting it all together: (without the brownie layer)

Trim domed part of both cakes. Place one layer of cake, trimmed side down on serving plate and frost. Place a thin layer of the pie filling on top of frosting then top with cheesecake layer. Add another layer of pie filling then a layer of frosting. Place other cake layer cut size down, on top of the cake and finish frosting completely. Refrigerate to set the cake. Keep leftovers refrigerated.

Baking is one of the few things (if not the only) where I find myself indecisive. That is to say that I have bookshelf of baking recipes (cakes, bars, cookies…) on my ever-growing ”to do” list. This recipe was no different. Oh yeah, plain and simple aren’t in my repertoire. What starts quick and easy often escalates to something bigger and better. Enough rambling. I made these for my daughter’s 9th birthday party. There was no real theme to this party, so my decision wasn’t eased any.

My final decision for this cupcake was made just a few hours before the party. It was a last-minute epiphany that originated from recipes of Kraft and Betty Crocker magazines. The recipe uses a standard cupcake and frosting, but makes it bigger and better with a few marshmallows and some sprinkles. I was more than pleased with the result.

What you need:

• 24 prepared cupcakes
• Frosting, any of choice
• 24 large marshmallows
• Sprinkles
• Jelly Beans or other round candy for the center
• Here’s how to do it:

Frost the cupcakes, I colored mine green to match the tablecloth. Cut the marshmallows into 4 slices. Cut on the width, not the length of the marshmallow. Dip the sticky side of the marshmallow into sprinkles and place on top of the frosting. Arrange on top of frosting and place a jelly bean in the center. I suggest you refrigerate the cupcakes until the frosting has set completely, or the marshmallows may slide (depending on the consistency of the frosting).

You can create a more 3-D look by using 5 cut marshmallows and overlapping them on the cupcake top. That’s what I started doing, but they kept slide down the side and I didn’t have a lot of room to place the candy in the middle, so I dropped to 4 slices on each cupcake.

I really didn’t plan the heart on the cupcake, but it turned out to be my favorite one. These cupcakes are easy to prepare and once baked, require no additional steps, other than eating it of course. This is another cake mix creation that has a long history in internet recipes. Some of the recipes include a cake baked from scratch and many from a basic cake mix. I would love to prepare the from scratch cake, but time did not afford that today.

This “cupcake”, may also be considered a cheesecake, or perhaps it is even muffin-like. No matter what you consider it to be, it is still a rich, luscious dessert that will meet any choco-holics expectations. I recommend a tall glass an ice cold milk in accompaniment. The cupcake itself starts with a basic devil’s cream cake base then a couple dollops of a cream cheese mixture are placed in the center of the batter. The end result are these beautiful decadent mini cakes. Hope you enjoy them!

Black Bottom Cupcakes (AKA Cheesecakes)

• 1 box of Devil’s Food Cake Mix, or a homemade recipe like this one (at CookieMadness.com)
• All ingredients as listed on the cake mix
• 1 block (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (or any size desired)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 (or as directed by the recipe). Place 24 cupcake liners in a regular size muffin/cupcake pan(s).

Prepare cake mix as directed. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. If you fill each one evenly, you should have the perfect amount of batter with none leftover.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and egg and mix until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Using a small ice cream or cookie scoop (about 1 tsp), drop 1 – 2 rounded teaspoons of cream cheese mixture into the center of the cupcake batter. I ended up with 2 tsp in each cupcake.

Bake according to directions for regular cupcakes. Remove and allow to cool. Serve warm, or refrigerate until ready to serve. Because of the cream cheese, you should store these in the refrigerator.

Photo Source (Betty Crocker)

I don’t often post about entrée’s here, however I thought this one was worth sharing. For all the health food critics out there, this is not a health food, so I’ll just leave it at that. I do normally strive to provide healthy, nourishing meals to my family, and this one was, as long as you don’t look at the processed side of it!

For dinner tonight I stepped out and tried something a little different. I have always wanted to prepare fish taco’s. I had some Mrs. Paul’s Crunchy Fish Sticks (better than some, still not the most nutritious choice), some 6″ tortillas and some broccoli slaw. I did a little research and found a fish taco recipe at Betty Crocker.com. I made my own version, but used the recipe as my base.

I think this kicker was the slaw. It was quick, easy and very tasty. The original recipe called for cabbage slaw, but I almost always substitute broccoli slaw instead. Here’s what it used:

Mexican Slaw for Fish Tacos

• 1 package broccoli slaw
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• 2 – 3 tablespoons milk (skim)
• 1/2 package prepared taco seasoning

Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to prepare tacos. *Add milk to desired consistency (mine appeared a little dry).

Truthfully, the list of ingredients aren’t half bad. For the rest of meal, I baked the fish sticks and to prepare the tacos, I warmed the tortillas in an ungreased skillet on medium for about 30 seconds, then folded the sides together to make more of a burrito look.

The tacos went over so well I didn’t even have time to take a photo. The picture above came from the Betty Crocker web site. I definitely will make these again, but will get a picture before they are devoured!