Streusel in the middle Pumpkin Bundt (with caramel icing)

I went in search of a good pumpkin bundt cake, and was dismayed to find that most of them started with a mix or used a pudding packet. Not quite what I was looking for. But then allrecipes.com came to my rescue with this little gem. I made a different icing on a whim, but I'm sure that the original one would be just as delicious. I also made some minor modifications to the spices. The best part of this cake, hands down, is the gooey sugary cinnamony ribbon of filling running through the middle. The batter is quite thick, so it was easy to create a little canyon to sprinkle the sugar mixture in. You want to make sure that it is completely encased in batter - no leaking out against the pan allowed.

Cover it all over, put it in the oven, walk away for nearly an hour...

...and voila! Cake! The instructions said to let it cool in the pan for 30 minutes before flipping it out onto the rack. I was skeptical, but it proved to work perfectly. It was initially a little bit stuck, but once it sat and steamed a bit in it's own heat, it popped right out.

Puddles of caramely glaze -yum!

Streusel in the middle Pumpkin Bundt (with caramel icing)

Streusel:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 T. butter (softened)

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. allspice

pinch of cloves

Cake:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 T. cinnamon

1 t. ginger

1/2 t. each cloves, cardamom and nutmeg

2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup butter, softened

4 large eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

8 ounces sour cream

2 t. vanilla

Glaze:

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 T. butter

1/3 cup cream

2 T. milk

1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bundt pan by spraying generously with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix the struesel ingredients together until well combined.

In a medium bowl combine the dry cake ingredients and set aside. In another medium bowl, beat the sugar and butter until creamy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla, then gradually beat in the dry ingredient mixture.

Spread 1/2 of the batter mixture evenly around the bottom of the bundt pan, creating a "canyon" in it. Sprinkle the struesel in the canyon, evenly distributed, making sure that the sugar mixture doesn't run into the wall of the pan. Then spread the rest of the batter around the top of the sugar mixture.

Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to rest on a wire rack for 30 minutes before removing from pan.

To make the glaze: in a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and stir in the brown sugar and cream. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the sugar is well dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in the milk and powdered sugar. Immediately drizzle over the cake.

PW's Best Ever Chocolate Sheet Cake

Any recipe that incorporates an entire pound of butter into a pan of cake has to be good. OK, I lied. This uses 3 and 3/4 sticks of butter, so it's technically a mere 14 ounces of butter, but booooooooy golly is it good. It's buttery chocolately heaven, and because it's so thin, you can eat a good size slab of it and not feel too guilty. If you haven't discovered the Pioneer Woman's website yet, now's your chance. I love her recipes and her photography and photo editing advice, and am salivating over her new cookbook. I haven't gotten my hands on a copy...yet...but am contemplating doing a giveaway soon on my main blog of one so that I'll just have to buy one. A girl can never have too many cookbooks, after all, but I digress. If you need an easy to put together goof proof and utterly delicious chocolate cake to take to an event, this is your recipe. For personal consumption, I'd be worried about the state of your arteries by the time you get to the bottom of the pan, so I definitely recommend sharing. With me.

Pioneer Woman's Best Ever Chocolate Sheet Cake

Cake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 t. salt
4 heaping T. cocoa powder
2 sticks butter
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 whole beaten eggs
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla

Frosting:
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (I left them out, but I'm sured it'd be tasty with)
1 3/4 sticks butter
4 heaping T. cocoa powder
6 T. milk
1 t. vanilla
1 pound minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar (not sure why the minus 1/2 a cup - I just dumped it all in and it came out fine)

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the cocoa powder and stir together. Add boiling water and allow the mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off the heat. Pour over the flour mixture and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into the butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into a sheet cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop the pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add the cocoa powder and stir to combine, then turn off the heat. Add the milk, vanilla and powdered sugar and stir together. Add the pecans, stir together and pour over warm cake. It can be eaten right away and will be totally delicious but a bit sloppy. Let the icing set up for 30 minutes or so and it's perfection in a pan.

Lemon Cream Dream Bundt Cake

I made multiple modifications to this recipe, enough that I'm comfortable calling it my own. It came out totally amazing - the tart lemon glaze on the outside gives way to a mellow lemon interior and a ribbon of mild lemon cream cheese filling swirled through it. It travels well, is easy to serve and definitely appeals to the masses - there was not a crumb left of this cake even though there were several other treats to choose from as well.

Cake:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
2 eggs
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
zest of one lemon
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 cup milk

Cream Cheese filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
zest of one lemon
3 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar

Glaze:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan generously with cooking spray or grease and flour it. Prepare the cream cheese filling by beating the cream cheese until smooth, then beating in the remaining ingredients. In another medium mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, then the vanilla, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Beat the flour and milk in alternately. Pour half the batter into the bundt pan, then spoon the cream cheese mixture in, avoiding the edges of the pan. Pour the remaining batter on top, making sure to cover the cream cheese completely (otherwise it'll bust through the crust of the cake and cause leaking in the oven).

Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. The crust will be deeply golden, and that is just what you're looking for. Cool for 10 minutes, then invert on a wire rack. In a small bowl, mix the glaze ingredients and brush over the cake, making sure to completely coat it, until it is used up. Cool for another 30-45 minutes, then refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving. May be served chilled or at room temperature, and it is most excellent with berries on the side.

More chocolate than I can count bundt cake

This is what I consider to be a "cheater" recipe, since it starts with a cake mix, but it's pretty dang good. And I redeemed it by not using a tub of frosting on top like the original recipe called for. I made one other modification from the original by leaving out an additional 1/2 cup of sugar. We all thought it was plenty sweet the way I made it. The best part? This stores well - I made it a day in advance and just put the frosting on right before serving - and it travels well. I stewed over what to make that could tolerate sitting in the car during a graduation ceremony for several hours before serving, and this fit the bill nicely. Without further ado:

1 Duncan Hines devil's food cake (I really think DH makes the best mixes. Spend the extra buck.)
1 small instant chocolate pudding mix
8 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup water
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs

Beat the cream cheese in a mixing bowl until creamy, then add cake mix, pudding mix, oil and water. Mix until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each, then stir in the chocolate chips. Grease a bundt pan well (either spray generously with PAM or slather in Crisco then flour it). Pour batter in and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Let cool about 5-10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. If you like to get solid pieces of chocolate in your bite of cake, store it in the fridge and pour warm frosting over it. Otherwise, store and serve at room temperature.

Frosting:

1 8 ounce brick of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips, melted
1 cup powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese, then beat in the melted chocolate chips and powdered sugar. It'll be warm and a bit soupy. Using a large soup spoon, carefully pour the frosting over the cake, letting it ooze down the sides. Let the frosting set up for about 30 minutes prior to serving, and store any leftovers in the fridge.

Itty Bitty Carrot Bundt Cakes

Special occasions call for fun food. I found this fun pan and immediately thought of making mini carrot surprise cakes for a tea party I hosted. I mixed up the batter and the filling without any modifications from the original recipe I posted. I sprayed the pan well with cooking spray, attempting to get all of the crevices coated. I then poured the batter into a gallon ziplock bag and cut the corner off so that I could pipe half the batter into each cup in a controlled manner.

Next, I piped the filling in with a pastry bag.

Then I repeated a layer of batter, leaving a little headspace at the top for batter expansion. I baked them at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, until they were uniformly golden, allowed them to rest in the pan for about 10 minutes, then loosened them with a toothpick to remove them to a rack to cool.

Last of all, once they were totally cooled, I whipped up a small batch of frosting out of 4 ounces of cream cheese, 2 T. butter, 1 t. vanilla and 1 cup powdered sugar, and piped it on top of the cakes.

Cute, eh? They were tasty, though different in texture and taste from a batch cooked in a large bundt pan. This was due to the larger proportion of "crust" and less of the soft stuff in the middle. Also, I felt like the amount of cream cheese filling was wimpy and next time I'll pipe more in. I wound up using about half the batter to make 12 of these, and 1/3 of the filling amount. The remaining filling and batter I simply baked in a round pan. I think they'd make delightful filled cupcakes as well. I ate a couple of them the next day and felt like the flavor was even better. Be sure to store these in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Cake Roll

My favorite hubby had a birthday this week. I'll be posting what I made for his dinner in a little bit. I think it's healthy to start with dessert first : ). His request was a pumpkin cake roll. It's one of those things that kind of intimidated me, but I made it last year successfully so I felt empowered to do it again. And because we all know that pumpkin is fabulous when paired with chocolate, I added mini chocolate chips.

First things first. You need to prepare the pan. Grease it, line it with wax paper with a little tail hanging over the end, then grease and flour the wax paper. Believe me, you really need to do it all, otherwise you'll have a mess on your hands when you go to flip it out. I was lazy and just used PAM spray and it worked fine. Turn on the oven to 375.

Next, whip up your batter. It comes together quickly.

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. each cinnamon and cloves

1/4 t. salt

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)

3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips.

Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. In a medium bolw, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and pale yellow. Beat in the pumpkin, then the dry ingredients, and last of all, the chocolate chips. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. It will be a pretty thin layer. Bake for 13-15 minutes,, until golden and the top of the cake springs back when you touch it lightly.

Sprinkle a tea towel liberally with powdered sugar while the cake is baking. As soon as you remove it from the oven, carefully flip the cake out onto the towel, then peel the wax paper off. Roll up in the towel and leave on a rack to cool completely.

For the filling, beat together 8 ounces of cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar, 6 T. softened butter and a teaspoon of vanilla. In my experience, it is best to soften the cream cheese at room temperature rather than to microwave it. Otherwise your frosting or filling turns out soupier.

Unroll your cooled cake and slather the filling all over. Re-roll it (sans towel...duh) and wrap it in saran wrap. Chill for at least an hour. I chilled mine over night and it held up nicely.

Stick a few candles in the top and you've got yourself a party on a platter. Yes, I'm aware that it's a Christmas platter. I'm rather limited in my selection of serving pieces for this shape of cake. And yes, he's older than 6. 33 candles would have been a little much for that cake - more like a porcupine!

Happiness on a plate. Both kids gave it a thumbs up, and Alan hoarded the last piece until the next day.

Luscious Lemon Layer Cake

I love lemon and I love raspberry, so what is more logical than to put them together in a sweet creation? I made this for my friend's birthday earlier this week and it was a big hit. It takes some planning, since the lemon curd needs to chill for a few hours, but it is not difficult to make and is well worth the effort. The frosting was deemed "the best ever" by several of the ladies I served it to.

Lemon curd is one of my favorite dessert bases. I use it by itself or whipped with some cream cheese as a tart filling, as a frosting base, as sandwich cookie filling, on sourdough toast or fresh scones, straight out of the bowl with a spoon...it's really delicious and versatile. I use the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, you know, the red and white checkered cover one that you probably got for your wedding like I did. It has never failed me.

Lemon curd:

1 cup sugar

2 T. cornstarch

3 t. finely shredded lemon peel

6 T. lemon juice (freshly sqeezed!)

6 T. water

6 beaten egg yolks (reserve the whites for the cake)

1/2 cup butter, cut up into pieces

In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon juice and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Stir half of the lemon mixture into the egg yolks, then return the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more, then remove from heat.

Add butter pieces, stirring until melted. Cover surface of the curd with plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour, or for up to 48 hours. May be stored tightly covered in the fridge for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 2 months. For the purposes of this recipe, chill at least 2-3 hours.

White cake:

1 Duncan Hines white cake mix

water, oil and egg whites as called for on the box

1/2 cup sour cream

zest of 1 lemon

Beat all ingredients together until smooth and pour into two greased and floured 8 inch round cake pans. Bake as indicated, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. These may be made in advance and stored with wax paper between the layers until ready to assemble the cake.

Place a medium mixing bowl (glass is best) and beaters in the freezer, and set out an 8 ounce brick of cream cheese to soften at room temperature. Split each cake layer in half to form a total of four cake layers. If the cakes are humped on top, trim the excess to ensure a flat layer. A serated knife works well for this task. Place the first layer on the serving plate and spread a thin layer of lemon curd, then layer the next cake and repeat until all four layers are stacked. This should take approximately half to 2/3 of the lemon curd. Reserve the remaining curd to make the frosting.

Frosting:

remaining lemon curd

1 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 8 ounce brick cream cheese

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Do NOT soften the cream cheese in the microwave. I have found this results in a sloppy slurpy frosting. Be patient and plan ahead enough to allow it to sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes. Beat the lemon curd and cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the powdered sugar. In the chilled bowl, beat the whipping cream until moderately stiff peaks form, then fold in the lemon curd mixture until well combined. You may wish to add a bit more sugar to taste.

Frost the top and sides of the cake and pipe a border if desired. Garnish with fresh raspberries, or with raspberry puree. I made my raspberry puree thick enough to pipe designs.

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (thawed)

1-2 T. sugar

1 T. cornstarch

Mash the berries, then press them through a sieve to remove the seeds. Whisk the cornstarch and sugar into the cold juice, then cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and chill until ready to decorate the cake.

A new twist on carrot cake

Our garden has been generous this year with a few things. Green peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, parsnips and carrots. Lots and lots of carrots. I like plain ol' carrots with my dinner as much as anyone, but I can never pass up the opportunity to make a tasty carrot cake. I found this recipe in a Taste of Home a few years ago and every time I've made it since, it's been a hit. I made a couple of additions from the original version, which I will italicize.

3 cups shredded carrots

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 cup oil

3 eggs

2 cups flour

2 t. baking soda

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. cloves

1/2 t. ginger

1 t. salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar (I made it with this amount yesterday, and in the future I think I'll increase it to 1/3 cup)

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup butter

2 t. vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat the wet ingredients for the cake. In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients except the nuts, and gradually beat into the wet ingredients until well combined, then stir in the nuts. Set aside. In a small bowl, beat the filling ingredients until smooth. Avoid beating too much air in or it will float to the top during cooking (found that one out the hard way...).

Grease a bundt pan and pour 3 cups of the batter in. Spoon the cream cheese filling in a ring on top of the batter, taking care to keep it centered and not touching the sides. Carefully pour the remaining batter on top, making sure it covers all of the cream cheese filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool ten minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Allow it to cool completely, then beat the frosting ingredients together. Put the cake on a nice serving plate, slather it with the good gooey stuff and eat to your heart's content. Store remaining portion (if there is any) in the refrigerator.

Shara's Super Duper Death By Chocolate Cake

**Disclaimer** This recipe does not include the above picture cute 5 year old boy.

Shara made this for Jacob's birthday a couple of weeks ago. It's deeeeeeeeeelicious, and guaranteed to add at least 2 pounds to your hips. Definitely a special occasion sort of a cake, but hey, every day is a special occasion, right?

1 pkg. devil’s food cake mix
1 (3.9 oz) pkg. instant chocolate pudding
1 c. sour cream
1 c. milk
½ c. vegetable oil
½ c. water
4 eggs
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
6 T. butter
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, milk, oil, water and eggs. Beat for 4 minutes, then mix in 2 cups chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the glaze: Melt the butter and 1 cup chocolate chips in microwave or double boiler. Stir until smooth and drizzle over cake.

Cherry Chocolate Cake

Over 10 years ago, my roommate's mom was in town and she made us a cherry chocolate cake. Ever since then, I've loved this tasty treat. A few night's ago, I decided to mix up a batch of this simple batter. I always add half a bag of chocolate chips. Rich & wonderful.

CHERRY CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 pkg. chocolate cake mix 3 eggs 1 can (21 oz.) Wilderness cherry fruit filling Combine cake mix, eggs and cherry fruit filling. Mix well. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched.

Cinnamon Apple Snack Cake

This is a fairly low-fat cake because there's no oil.

1 pkg. yellow or spice cake mix
1 can apple pie filling
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 in. baking pan.
Mix together cake mix, pie filling and eggs. Pour 1/2 of the batter into prepared pan. Mix cinnamon and sugar together. Sprinkle half of it over the batter. Pour the rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes.

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach

Here's what we did for valentine's day. I always love an excuse to pull out the china. It belonged to Alan's grandmother.

First up on the menu was herb roasted cornish game hens, phyllo parmesan aspargus bundles and carrot basmati rice pilaf. For dessert I made a simple lemon cream and raspberry cake.

Here is the link to the rice pilaf, which I posted before.

Herb Roasted Cornish Game Hens

3 cornish game hens, thawed, rinsed and patted dry

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 T. minced fresh sage

1 T. minced fresh thyme

1 T. minced fresh rosemary

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

1 t. kosher salt

2 T. olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450. Mix the butter and herbs together in a small bowel. Carefully separate the skin from the breasts of the hens and spoon in 1/3 of the butter mixture into that space into each one, spreading it out evenly. Place the hens on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and a few generous grinds of pepper. Roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 40 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 170 when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken. Baste 2-3 times with the pan drippings during cooking. Remove to a platter and allow to rest for about 10 minutes, then use kitchen shears to cut each hen in half down the middle. Serves 6.

Parmesan Phyllo Asparagus Bundles

1 bundle of asparagus, rinsed, dried and ends snapped off

1 roll of frozen phyllo dough (package usually contains 2 rolls), thawed

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 stick of butter

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375. Carefully unroll the phyllo, remove one sheet, then cover the remaining stack with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap. Cut phyllo sheet in half lengthwise and brush each strip with butter. Sprinkle parmesan cheese down the length of it, as well as a dash of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Lay three fat or four skinny stalks of asparagus at one end of a strip and roll up. Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat until you run out of asparagus. Drizzle any leftover butter over the rolls on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the phyllo is golden and crispy and the asparagus is tender. Serve immediately.

Raspberry and Lemon Cream Cake

1 white cake mix, prepared according to package directions

2/3 cup lemon curd, divided

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup powdered sugar

seedless raspberry jam or pie filling

Bake white cake according to package directions and allow to cool. I used a Wilton heart pan, and one mix fit in it. Slice a thin layer off the top, just enough to flatten it. Spread a thin layer of lemon curd over the cut surface, about 1/4 of a cup. Beat the cream until semi-stiff peaks form, then beat in the powdered sugar and lemon curd. Frost sides and top of cake, reserving some to pipe a border. Pipe or spoon raspberry filling on top, then pipe additional cream around the edges.

Gingerbread cake with buttery raisin caramel sauce

I grew up eating gingerbread cake with whipped cream. I love it, especially on a cold day. Last weekend I made a batch that came out great. The cake was so moist and spicy, but not overly sweet. Instead of putting cream on it, I experimented around with making a sweet buttery raisin sauce to go on it and the result was fantastic. It got two thumbs up from all the taste testers in our household, and I found that over the next few days it reheats nicely for snacking. The cake portion of the recipe I pulled out of Taste of Home.

1/2 cup shortening
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup hot water
1 cup molasses
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugars. Add egg; mix well. Beat in water and molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture. Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 33-37 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Sauce:

3 T. butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 T. honey

1/4 cup cream

1 t. vanilla

1/4 cup golden raisins

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, honey, cream and vanilla and bring to a simmer. Add the raisins and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve a generous spoonful over a slice of warm gingerbread (it soaks in nicely if you pour it over the cut surface of the cake instead of on top).