Candy Cake

What's your family tradition when it comes to dessert? Most holidays, there is the pie of choice. I wanted to do something different, especially with Easter focusing on all those candy treats from the Easter Bunny. This candy cake is easily customized to your taste preference. Use some Cadbury Mini Eggs, or MnMs or even Reeses. Perhaps you'll do a combination!  Nevertheless, you now can have your cake with candy too!

Candy Cake

Ingredients:
3 1/2 c. flour             1 tbsp. baking powder            1/2 tsp. salt           2 sticks unsalted butter 2 c. finely chopped candies (snickers, almond joy, reeses, etc.)         1 1/2 c. sugar
4 large eggs, separated  2 tsp. vanilla extract         1 1/4 c. milk         1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Icing:          4 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped           1/2 c. heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Butter and flour a nonstick Bundt pan.
3. Sift 3 c. flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, toss candies with remaining 1/2 c. flour.
5. Using an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat butter and sugar until light (3 minutes).
6. Add yolks, one at a time.
7. Beat in vanilla.
8. Beat in a 1/3 of flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of milk.
9. Repeat, ending with flour mixture - do not overmix.
10. In a clean, dry bowl using dry beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.
11. Stir candies and 1/3 of egg whites into batter.
12. Fold in remaining whites.
13. Spoon into bundt pan.
14. Bake until toothpick comes out clean (50-60 minutes).
15. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold cake.
16. Icing: Place chocolate in a bowl.
17. Warm cream in a pan over medium heat until just boiling.
18. Pour over chocolate and let stand for 1 minute.
19. Whisk until smooth.
20. Let cool slightly, then pour over cake, allowing excess to drip over sides.

Make sure you are stocked up on your breakfast supplies. I'll be offering up a pancake recipe tomorrow morning that you won't want to miss. It could become your new Easter tradition! (Hint: have ingredients normally a part of a pancake recipe plus bacon and cheese) As always have fun!

Happy Anniversary

I love celebrations, mostly because it's a good excuse for me to cook and/or bake. Like I really need a reason, right? Saying you'll come over for dinner is enough for me to plan a full out meal. I remember having our friend Brian Craw for dinner and making cornish game hens. He was a typical bachelor and had never seen them before. He certainly never left our house hungry!

Anyway, today's recipe is honor of another really special person, my cousin/little sister/friend/mini me Danielle. It's her and Berto's anniversary today so I asked her what she likes - cheesecake! Of course, I can never just make a simple cheesecake. That just wouldn't be me!

Tiny Cherry Cheesecakes

Ingredients:
1 c. flour                   1/3 c. sugar                 1/4 c. baking cocoa           1/2 c. cold butter       
2 tbsp. cold water     6 oz. cream cheese    1/4 c. sugar                        2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla             1 egg                           1 can cherry pie filling

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar and cocoa.
2. Cut in butter until crumbly.
3. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until a ball forms.
4. Shape into 24 little balls.
5. Place balls in a greased mini muffin pan.
6. Press dough to bottom and up the sides of each cup.
7. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
8. Beat in milk and vanilla.
9. Add egg and beat on low just until combined.
10. Spoon about 1 tbsp. into each cup.
11. Bake at 325 for 15-18 minutes.
12. Cool on wire rack for 1/2 hour. 
13. Remove from pan and finish cooling.
14. Top with pie filling and store in the refrigerator.

What's your favorite sweets to share  with your sweetie pie? 

As always, have fun!

Easy Root Beer Cupcakes

It's time to circle back and do another dessert recipe. I picked this one for those who don't fancy themselves as bakers.  I, as you all know, love to do everything from scratch. I've made my own candy, pudding etc. I just love to put that level of detail into everything. That's why when I do a trifle, it usually turns into hours long. I'm just that crazy.

Sometimes, you just don't have the time to do it though. That's where this wonderfully sweet recipe comes in. You can pair these cupcakes with vanilla ice cream and it's almost like having a root beer float!

Root Beer Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 pkg. golden cake mix          4 tsp. root beer concentrate, divided          1 carton cool whip

Directions:

1. Prepare and bake cupcakes according to package directions, adding 2 tsp. of the concentrate when mixing.
2. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
3. In a small bowl, mix cool whip and the other 2 tsp. of concentrate. 
4. Spread over cupcakes. 

This is also a nice cheap recipe to replicate. I bet you could do it as a full cake if you wanted.

As always, have fun!

Sweets that aren't so sweet

I write today's blog in honor of my mother, who tried a new recipe yesterday and it ended up being an epic fail. It was a bread pudding that she kept putting off trying and then just had to because it sounded so good. Unfortunately, it was far too sweet for her palette. I know a lot of people like that - who love sweets but they just can't be too sweet. My husband is another one. Favorite desserts include a good old fashioned cherry pie, a simple cheesecake and, when he gets adventurous, his Grandma Welker's sugar cream pie. So in the spirit of sweets that aren't too sticky sweet, I bring you hot milk cake.

Hot Milk Cake

Ingredients:
4 eggs     2 c. sugar    2 1/4 c. flour     2 1/4 tsp. baking powder     1 tsp. vanilla     
1 1/4 c. milk                10 tbsp. butter

Directions:

1. Beat eggs on high until thick, about 5 minutes.
2. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
3. Combine flour and baking powder.
4. Add to batter with vanilla.
5. Beat on low until smooth.
6. Combine milk and butter in a saucepan until butter melts, stirring occasionally.
7. Add to batter, beating until combined.
8. Pour in a 9x13 pan.
9. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

With two cups of sugar in this bad boy, you'd think it would be a lot sweeter than it is.  I'm here to tell you this is one of the best cakes I've found out there. It absolutely does not require frosting. In fact, I think frosting it would take away from its flavor. What's your favorite dessert? Are you sticky sweet or more subtle?

As always, have fun!

Wishing for Summer Treats

Though this winter hasn’t been as bad as it could have been, I’m ready for some warm weather. I just find cold to be a bit depressing all the time.  On the other hand, I love a good cold dessert on a hot summer’s day! I think this has a lot to do with my birthday tradition growing up. Ice cream cake! Those of you from Waltham – remember Dean Dairy? I LOVED picking out my ice cream cake every year there. I think my favorite was the unicorn cake with the lollipop horn.

In this vein, I have another super easy crowd pleaser. In fact, I made this for my boss’s retirement party in May and got rave reviews. Typically, for my work functions, I never repeat a recipe. This is a rule I instituted so that there would always be an element of surprise to what I brought in. Plus, it guaranteed I could always try something new! I had so many requests for this recipe that I made another one for a group in July.

No Bake Oreo Cream Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 c. hot fudge     1 tub cool whip     1 pkg instant chocolate pudding

2 c. chopped oreos     12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Directions:

1. Whisk hot fudge with 1 c. cool whip.
2. Add dry pudding mix.
3. Stir in 1 c. cookies.
4. Arrange a layer of 4 ice cream sandwiches on a plate.
5. Top with the cool whip mixture.
6. Repeat layers.
7. Top with remaining sandwiches.
8. Frost with the rest of the cool whip.
9. Cover with the remaining cookies.

As always, have fun!

Pseudo-Cheesecake?

People often say you are either a baker or a cooker, but not both. I can safely say I am both. I love to cook and experiment with flavors and combinations of food. But, I also love baking. I have always found baking as a great relaxer. I bake every Christmas for everyone and get rave reviews.

I know not everyone loves to put the time and detailed attention in that is required by baking. In that spirit, I give you today’s recipe – Cheesecake Crescent Rolls. All the flavor and fun of cheesecake and less work.

Cheesecake Crescent Rolls

Ingredients:

2 cans crescent rolls    16 oz. cream cheese, softened     1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. sugar     1/4 c. butter     cinnamon & sugar, to taste

Directions:

1. Unroll & spread one can of crescent rolls in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
2. Combine cream cheese, 1 c. sugar  and vanilla.
3. Spread on top of the crescent rolls.
4. Unroll and spread the 2nd can on top.
5. Drizzle melted butter and cinnamon sugar on top.
6. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

See? What did I tell you? Quick and delicious. So, tell me, do you prefer cooking or baking? Why or why not?

As always, have fun!