Pumpkin Roll

Another pumpkin recipe!  These pumpkin rolls are much easier to make than they look.  They are moist and a great dessert to make if you want something that looks special.  You can also make them in advance and keep them in your freezer for spur-of-the-moment guests.  Recipe from Libby's Pumpkin.

Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients

CAKE

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

FILLING

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Directions

FOR CAKE:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:

BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

COOKING TIP:

Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

Thunder Cake

I think each of my children have brought this recipe home from school at some point.  They read the story at school and then come home wanting to try the recipe.  We've made it a couple of times, but it had been awhile.  Lauren just brought it home, so we made it for FHE on Monday.  Wow!  I had forgotten how deliciously moist this recipe is.  Pair it with Chad's mom's chocolate frosting and you've got one of my all time favorites.  The kids get a kick out of it because it has tomatoes in it.  Enjoy!

Cream together, one at a time:

1 c shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs, separated (Blend yolks in.  Beat whites until they are stiff, then fold in.)
1 c. cold water
1/3 c pureed tomatoes

Sift together:
2 1/2 c cake flour (I just use regular)
1/2 c dry cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Mix dry mixture into creamy mixture.  Bake in two greased and floured 9 inch round pans at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.  Frost with chocolate butter frosting.  Top with strawberries.  (I didn't.  Never have.)

Chad's Mother's Delicious Chocolate Fudgy Frosting

1 cube butter
2/3 c cocoa powder
3 c. confectioners' sugar
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter and stir in cocoa powder.  Alternately add the confectioners' sugar and milk and beat until smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  If it is too stiff, add milk by teaspoonfuls.  A little goes a long way.  Makes 2 cups.

The BEST Carrot Cake

I got this recipe from a blog called A Feathered Nest.  She claims it's better than Cheesecake Factory's Carrot Cake.  I've never tried theirs so I can't tell you if that's true...but this IS very tasty!  I love the pecans in it.  It's actually called Dr. Frederick's Carrot Cake I guess.  But whatever it's called, it's good.  And her pictures made it look so good.  So I had to make it.  Definitely check out HER pictures.

Dr. Frederick's Carrot Cake

4 eggs

1 1/4 c. vegetable oil (or 3/4 oil and 1/2 c. applesauce)

1 c. granulated sugar

1 c. brown sugar

3 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

3 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. ground nutmeg (fresh ground is best)

3 c. grated carrots - (coarse grate, not fine grate)

1 c. chopped pecans

8 oz. drained crushed pineapple (I drained the pineapple and measured 8 oz. - or 1 c.)

FROSTING:

1/2 c. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. chopped pecans

pinch of salt  (I added this in - I've found that if I add just the tiniest pinch of salt to my frostings, it makes the flavor pop.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 x 13" pan or two round cake pans.

*Note: Using a food processor with the grater blade attachment, you can grate your carrots in no time.  I started dropping handfuls of baby carrots into the opening of the lid and had 3 cups of grated carrots in seconds.  You can also chop your nuts in the food processor, as well.  Save yourself some time.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl (I used my Kitchen aid mixer), beat together eggs, oil, applesauce (optional), sugars, and vanilla.  Mix in flour mixture.  Slowly stir in carrots, pineapple, and nuts.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  (baking times may vary)  Let cake cool in pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  

For the frosting:

Beat everything together except the nuts until it's smooth and creamy.  Fold in pecans.  Make sure your cake is completely cooled before you frost it.

Cheesecake

This is the cheesecake recipe I grew up with.  My Mom made it often.  My Dad always requested it for his birthday or Father's Day.  It has a yummy sour cream topping on top.  So delicious!

Cheesecake

Crust:
2 cups graham crackers, crushed
1/4-1/3 cup butter

Pat into sides and bottom of spring form pan.

Filling:
3 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat until smooth.  Pour into crust and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until set.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Turn oven up to 450 degrees.

Topping:
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix until smooth.  Pour over filling.  Bake another 5 minutes at 450 degrees.  Cool and refrigerate for half a day at least.

*Also makes 36 cupcakes.  Use 1 vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cupcake liner for "crust".  Bake filling for 15 minutes at 375 F.  Then add sour cream topping and bake 3-5 minutes at 450 F.

Apple Pudding Cake

This cake is from my Grandma.  It is sooo good!  Make sure you have some vanilla ice cream on hand!

Apple Pudding Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup shortening (or butter)

3 eggs

3 cups flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped nuts

4 cups finely chopped apples (don't peel)

2 tsp. baking soda, dissolved in a little water

Mix sugar and shortening.  Add eggs.  Add dry ingredients.  Mix and add nuts and apples.  Add soda mixture and mix.  Bake in a greased 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  To serve, top with ice cream and pour warm sauce over it all.

Sauce

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup canned evaporated milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Simmer sugar, butter, and milk until thickened.  Stir in vanilla.

Chocolate Cherry Cake

This recipe is from my sister Heather.  It is super moist and the frosting is to die for.

Chocolate Cherry Cake


1 pkg. chocolate fudge cake mix
1 can of cherry pie filling
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Stir together by hand until blended. (Using a mixer will smash the cherries too much.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 min.
Cool for 1 hour and frost with the following frosting:

Frosting
5 Tablespoon butter
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. milk
1 c. *semi-sweet chocolate chips

In saucepan over low-med. heat, stir butter, milk and sugar until boiling. Boil for 1 minute. Take off burner and let set for 2-3 minutes then stir in chocolate chips.  (I have learned that stirring in the chocolate too soon, will cause the chocolate to separate because the mixture is too hot. Be sure to let it cool 2-3 min.) Stir until melted and satiny smooth. Spread on cooled cake.

*(Use a good chocolate chip brand. Hershey’s didn’t work for me, but Kroger works nicely and Ghirardelli.)

Strawberry Crown Tart

This is the recipe I used for Tory's birthday.  It was so good.  I love the hint of lemon in the filling and the red current jelly glaze and the crust tastes like shortbread.  For the birthday tart I put fresh blueberries and strawberries on top.  I recently was asked to make 150 servings of my favorite dessert for a women's conference for my church.  I decided to make this recipe.  I just doubled the crust and filling recipes and baked them in a sheet cake pan instead of a tart pan.  When they were done baking I cut them out to 1-1/2 inch diameter circles.  After they had cooled I dusted them with powdered sugar and placed half of a strawberry (cut side down) on each one and then glazed them.  Unfortunately I didn't get a single picture of the finished tarts.  That's too bad because when am I ever going to make 150 tarts again?  Just to give you an idea of how many there were, they were stacked side-by-side on a board that was 2 feet wide and 5 feet long!  It barely fit into the back seat of my car.  Wow!  Now that's a lot of tarts!  This tart is so easy to make and looks special.  Great to make when strawberries are in season!

Strawberry Crown Tart

FOR THE CRUST

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for handling dough

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

FOR THE FILLING

2 larg eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and cooled
1/3 cup melted currant jelly
2 pint baskets fresh strawberries, stemmed

powdered sugar for garnish

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form (this may take up to 1 minute). Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.

With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.  (I skipped this step.)

Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 10-15 minutes, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up.

Make the filling:  In mixer bowl beat eggs, sugar, lemon juice, peel and vanilla until thick and pale, about 10 minutes. Gently fold in one-third of the flour, then one-third of the butter. Continue folding in, alternating flour and butter until all has been incorporated. Do not over mix.

Brush bottom of tart shell with some of the jelly. Slice about 1/2 basket of the strawberries and arrange over jelly. Pour batter over strawberries (it will not quite cover).

Bake in 375°F oven 20 minutes until golden and filling is set. Cool on rack.

Dust with powdered sugar.  Arrange remaining whole strawberries, stem ends down, on top of tart. Brush with remaining melted jelly.

Makes 8 servings.

Blackberry Coffee Cake Crumble

This can be made a couple different ways.  You can make the batter and swirl the blackberry filling in and then drizzle with a powder sugar glaze or eat without glaze OR you can swirl the batter and blackberry filling and then top with a crumb topping to make it completely different.  Either way is good.  Serve it warm or cold, topped with ice cream or whipped cream, or right out of the pan.  In this picture we ate it hot out of the oven with whipped cream.  You could also substitute blueberry or cherry pie filling if you prefer.

Blackberry Coffee Cake Crumble

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can (21 oz.) Blackberry Pie Filling

Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs one at a time.  Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Spoon pie filling over top; swirl.  Sprinkle crumb topping over top if desired.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 min-without topping OR 50-55 min-with crumb topping.  Test cake with toothpick to make sure it's done.  Drizzle with a powder sugar glaze if desired (only if made without the crumb topping.)

Crumb Topping
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Combine all dry ingredients.  Mix in butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle over batter and bake as directed above.

Strawberry Cake

This is not my picture of this cake but this is what it looks like.  Mine was a giant strawberry shaped cake and somehow I never got a picture of the inside.  But this is the recipe I used so I'm going to get it down here in case I want to make it again.  It was really good and "strawberry-ish".  I think it would be great with my favorite Cool Whip Cream Frosting (but I think everything is good with that frosting!)  For the strawberries you can use fresh or frozen.  I baked my cake in a circle and a square pan.  To make the strawberry shape I cut the circle in half, placed the square on my surface at a diagonal, and put on half-circle on each side of the top of the diamond.  It looked like a heart.  I frosted it red, colored some coconut green and sprinkled it on the top for the leaves and made a stem with the green coconut.  To finish it off I used chocolate chips and put them pointy side down in the cake for the "seeds".  Of course you could also make this with two 8" or 9" rounds, a 9"x13", or cupcakes.

Strawberry Cake

1 (18.5 oz.) box white cake mix
1 (3 oz.) box strawberry jell-O
1/4 cup flour
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup strawberries, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease pan(s) and dust with flour.  Combine cake mix, jell-O, and flour.  Beat in eggs, water, and oil.  Stir in strawberries.  Pour into cake pan(s) and bake for 30 minutes (for two 9" circles).  Let cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pans.  Cool completely before frosting.

Two 8" rounds-30-35 min.
Two 9" rounds-25-30 min.
One 9"x13" pan-30-35 min.
20-24 cupcakes-20-25 min.

Caramel Cake

I found this recipe on Our Best Bites and made it for Father's Day.  It was good...but I didn't care for the "cake mix" cake.  I even doctored it up like they did but it just seemed really greasy and not that great to me.  Just couldn't mask that cake mix flavor.  Next time I think I would make a homemade yellow cake recipe.  However...the frosting was wow!  I guess the frosting recipe came from Southern Living Comfort Food.  It was very thick and very sweet and about the consistency of fudge!  Whew!  One slice goes a long way on this cake!  They do suggest making it in a 9x13.  It would be very hard to frost a cake with sides with this frosting!

Caramel Cake

Cake:
1 Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 8-oz. container of sour cream
1 c. oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. butter flavoring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract

Frosting:
1 c. butter
2 c. firmly packed DARK brown sugar
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
About 1 c. toasted, chopped pecans

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the cake ingredients and beat on medium-high for 3 minutes. Pour the batter into a 9x13" pan and bake according to the times on the cake mix box. When the cake is finished baking, remove from heat and allow to cool. While cooling, prepare the caramel frosting.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Carefully stir in the whipping cream and vanilla (be careful of splatters because they'll be HOT!) and then bring this mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 1/2 hour. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and sift in the powdered sugar. Beat on high for 2-3 minutes or until creamy and fluffy. Spread the icing over the cake and sprinkle with toasted chopped pecans.

Cooked Frosting

I've been seeing this recipe all over blogland for awhile now and decided to try it out.  It's been awhile since I made it.  My kids and I made some Easter cupcakes and used this frosting.  I have to say it was very delicious and definitely not as sweet as most frostings.  That was a definite plus!  It was smooth and creamy and easy to work with for decorating.  The crazy part is that there is NO powdered sugar but there is FLOUR!  If you're looking for a good frosting recipe that isn't sickly sweet...give this one a try!  I've found the recipe on multiple sites so I'm just going to type the one I have written in my recipe notes.  This recipe can easily be halved.  Just use 3 T. flour and half of everything else.  As good as this recipe was, our family decided we still like our favorite Cool Whip Cream Frosting the best.  But this one is definitely up there! :)  Give it a try!

Cooked Frosting

5 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup butter (no substitutes)
1 cup sugar (not powdered sugar)

Pour milk into small saucepan.  Whisk flour into the milk and heat, stirring constantly, until thick.  Remove from heat and let it cool completely.  (Very important!)  When cool stir in vanilla.

While the other mixture is cooling...cream butter and sugar together in mixer until light and fluffy.  Use your whisk attachment on your stand mixer.  Add the cooled milk/flour mixture (make sure it isn't warm at all!) and beat on med-high until it all combines and resembles whipped cream, about 7-8 minutes.  It seems like forever but in that amount of time it turns from a lumpy mixture to a fluffy, light frosting.  Spread onto cooled cake.  Store at room temperature in a sealed container.

Chocolate Gingerbread Cake

This is the dessert I brought to our church Christmas party this year.  I saw the recipe earlier and REALLY wanted to make it but since Tory's not a big fan of chocolate and I didn't really want to eat it all by myself, I figured the party would be a perfect time to make it and taste it.  It was sooo good!  I forgot to take a picture before we headed out the door so this is a picture of the last couple slices.  I made mine in a bundt cake pan but you can also make it in a couple loaf pans.  I also forgot to bring the whipped cream to the party.  That would just about make this perfect I'm sure.  I found the recipe on My Kitchen Cafe.  Check it out.  She's got much better photos.  If you still need a holiday dessert I would definitely suggest this one if you like gingerbread and chocolate!

Chocolate Gingerbread Cake

*Makes one bundt cake or two 8 1/2 X 4 1/2-inch loaves*


2 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ cup butter at room temperature
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup dark molasses
1 cup very hot water
One 12-ounce package mini semisweet chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan or two loaf pans (8 1/2 X 4 1/2 inch).

-Whisk together 2 ½ cups flour cocoa and all remaining spices and soda.

-Toss chocolate chips with remaining 2 tablespoons flour in another bowl.

-Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed in a large, deep bowl, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

-Whisk together the molasses and hot water in a 4-cup glass measure or bowl. Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture alternately with the molasses mixture in 3 batches. Fold in chocolate chips.

-Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and is firm to the touch but not overbaked and dry. Cool in pan for 20 minutes. Invert and cool completely. Serve, lightly dusted with cocoa powder and/or with sweetened whipped cream.

White Chip Pumpkin Spice Cake

I've been wanting to try this recipe for awhile now.  I found it on Heather White's blog.  Tory had a group of young men coming over to do some woodworking and I thought it would be the perfect excuse to make it.  Guys need food right?  It was so yummy and very easy since it uses a cake mix.  The only thing that seemed different was her glaze seemed much "whiter" and thicker.  Maybe that's because she didn't have 3 little boys snitching the white chocolate chips.  Or maybe I put it on when the glaze was too warm?  Not sure.  But regardless of the lack of whiteness...it tasted so yummy!

White Chip Pumpkin Spice Cake
1 pkg. Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix
3 large eggs
1 C. pumpkin
2/3 C. evaporated milk
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1 C. white chocolate chips

White Chip Cinnamon Glaze:
3 T. evaporated milk
1 C. white chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup bundt cake pan. Combine cake mix, eggs, pumpkin, evaporated milk and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Beat at low speed until moistened. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes; stir in chocolate chips. Pour into bundt pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 25 minutes; invert onto wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle HALF of glaze over cake; serve with remaining glaze.

For White Chip Cinnamon Glaze:
Heat 3 T. evaporated milk in a small, heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat just to a boil; remove from heat. Add 1 C. white chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Stir in 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon.

Frosted Pumpkin Bars

This is a yummy pumpkin dessert to add to your Fall menu. I love anything pumpkin and I'm always looking for new ways to use pumpkin in my baking and cooking. My pantry always has canned pumpkin stocked up. This is a simple recipe that I usually have most things on hand for. It's nothing fancy but tastes great and is very moist. You can also add a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips if you're feeling wild (and if your husband actually likes chocolate chips in pumpkin desserts. Mine doesn't. *sniff, sniff*) or raisins if that's what you like. (I'm afraid I say "no thank you" on the raisins but that's what my husband loves. And this is why I normally make it without any add-ins. Ha.) I normally store the leftover cake in the fridge because it has cream cheese in the frosting.

Frosted Pumpkin Bars


1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
4 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 2/3 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon (sometimes I do 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda


Cream pumpkin, eggs, applesauce, oil, and sugar together. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Place in a greased 10x15 or sheet cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min. or until done. Cool cake completely and then frost.

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Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over cool cake.

Dump Cake

Love this cake! Nice and warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is best. Can't get much easier than this cake.

Dump Cake


1 box (18.25 oz.) white cake mix (or I've used yellow if that's all I have)
1 can (20-21 oz.) cherry pie filling
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup shredded coconut (or more if you like it like I do!)
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted (I usually just use 1/2 cup)


In a 9x13 baking dish, mix cherry pie filling with pineapple. Spread evenly in pan. Cover evenly with dry cake mix. Top with coconut and nuts. Pour melted butter evenly over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until the sides are bubbling and the top is browned.
Note: Let cool for about an hour before cutting. Don't forget your scoop of ice cream!

Gran Gran's Chocolate Sheet Cake

This recipe is from my grandmother who we affectionately called Gran Gran. With a hint of cinnamon in the cake and thick, chocolaty icing on top...it definitely gets two thumbs up! Plus it only takes 30 minutes from start to finish-and that includes icing!

Chocolate Sheet Cake

In a small saucepan on stove:
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1/4 c. shortening (I usually just leave this out or substitute butter)
3 Tbsp. cocoa
1 cup water
--Heat until dissolved.

Combine the following in a separate bowl:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon

Add:
1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk with 1 Tbsp. vinegar. Let sit 5 min.)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
--Mix together and add saucepan mixture. Bake in a sprayed sheet cake pan for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Ice with icing while hot.

Icing:
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
3-4 Tbsp. cocoa
4 T. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup nuts, optional
3-4 cups powdered sugar
--Mix until very thick and creamy!

Molten Lava Cake

I made these individual Molten Lava Cakes for my family on Valentine's Day. They turned out so yummy! The only difference I made was in the chocolate. I didn't have any baking squares so I just used 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. It turned out good but I think the bittersweet chocolate would have been a little better. More chocolaty and not as sweet. But if you don't have any and just HAVE to make this...semi-sweet chocolate chips work just fine! I baked mine in little ceramic cups that I use on Christmas Eve for our Carrot Pudding. They seemed to be just the right size. If you didn't have any custard cups you could use muffin tins for the large muffins. Adjust cooking time if necessary. I found that mine did not need the entire 14 minutes it calls for.

Molten Lava Cake

6 (1 ounce) bittersweet chocolate squares

2 (1 ounce) semi-sweet chocolate squares

10 Tbsp. butter

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt chocolates and butter in the microwave or in a double boiler. Add flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Divide batter evenly among custard cups. Bake for 14 minutes. Edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edge to loosen and invert onto dessert plate. Top with ice cream or raspberry sauce. Enjoy!

Cool Whip Cream Frosting

I thought I should post this frosting recipe separately because it's definitely one I'm going to be using again in the future. I like it so much better than the super sweet regular cake frosting. And the great part...you can even decorate with it using cake decorator tips! Not to mention it is soooo easy to make! I'm hooked!

Cool Whip Cream Frosting

1 (12 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar with mixer until well blended. Add Cool Whip. Mix well. Spread on your choice of cake.

Lemonade Party Cake

"As refreshing as a glass of lemonade!"
I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker recipe site. I made it for my son's birthday today and it turned out really good. A nice change in flavor from the usual birthday cake. This recipe is meant to be a 9x13 cake pan but I baked it, removed from pan, cut it into my cake shape (a sailboat), and THEN poked the holes and put the lemonade glaze on. It turned out great! I just made sure that I poured the glaze on nice and slow so that it didn't run all over the place. I also frosted it with a Cool Whip Cream frosting instead of the heavy cake frosting. It was a perfect compliment I thought. This would be a fabulous cake for a shower, luncheon, or any occasion.

Lemonade Party Cake

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® lemon or yellow cake mix (I used lemon)

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

1/2 can (12 oz. size) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (3/4 cup)-I used about 2/3 cup because of some of the reviews I read saying it was too runny

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 container Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white or fluffy lemon frosting (I used Cool Whip Cream Frosting)

Yellow colored sugar, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Make cake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool 15 minutes.
2. Mix lemonade concentrate and powdered sugar. Pierce top of warm cake every 1/2 inch with long-tined fork, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking. Drizzle lemonade mixture evenly over top of cake. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.
3. Spread frosting over top of cake. Sprinkle with sugar. Store covered in refrigerator.

(Photo from Betty Crocker website)


Cool Whip Cream Frosting

1 (12 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar with mixer until well blended. Add Cool Whip. Mix well. Spread on your choice of cake.

Guittard Black Bottom Cupcakes

These are my most favorite cupcakes ever! Like having chocolate and cheesecake together! My favorite way to eat them is after they've been refrigerated so the chocolate chips are hard. But no matter how you eat them, I'm sure you'll love them!



Guittard Black Bottom Cupcakes

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/8 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1/3 c. sugar

Beat well, stir in 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Set aside. In separate bowl mix:

1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well. Fill cupcake tins with 18 paper liners. Fill each liner with "cocoa" mixture a little more than half full. Drop spoonful of "cream cheese" mixture on top of each. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Double the recipe to make 36 cupcakes. Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container to keep moist.