Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars: Baked Sunday Mornings

Just a little bit of pumpkin cheesecake heaven here. 

Creamy deliciousness!

Recipe here.

You have to try these!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Not really sure what urged me to make these...hmmm...

I suppose the devil made me do it!

They were very good, the cake turned out a little too moist...kinda reminded me of a huge cake ball with a strawberry on top.  The original recipe used a chocolate cake instead of strawberry...I just thought strawberry would be good so I went with it!  I filled them with something that I normally don't use... that whipped frosting in the can.  

It was actually good.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cakes

Recipe from Recipe.com 

Servings: 12

Yield: Makes 12 cupcakes

Prep Time: 50 mins

ingredients

1/2   cup   butter

1    cup   sugar

1/3   cup   unsweetened cocoa powder

1      egg

1    teaspoon   vanilla

1    cup   all-purpose flour

1/2   teaspoon   baking powder

1/4   teaspoon   baking soda

1/8   teaspoon   salt

3/4   cup   milk

1/4   cup   strawberry jam

1    recipe  Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache

12      medium strawberries

3    ounces   bittersweet and/or milk chocolate curls

Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache

1    cup   whipping cream

10    ounces   bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3    tablespoons   butter

directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour or line with paper bake cups twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups; set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat. Let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in sugar and cocoa powder until combined. Add egg and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, beat lightly just until combined.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to chocolate mixture, beating by hand after each addition. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centers comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Using a knife, loosen the edges; carefully remove cupcakes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

If cupcakes don't have paper liners, trim a thin slice from top of each cupcake so they will sit flat. Turn bottom side up. Place cupcakes 2 inches apart on wire rack set over waxed paper. (For cupcakes in liners, peel liners down but do not remove.) Spread 1 teaspoon of the strawberry jam over each cupcake.

Prepare Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache. (below) Spoon ganache over cupcakes, making sure to coat all sides. Place a strawberry on top of each cake. Drizzle each strawberry lightly with ganache, letting the strawberry show through. Top cupcakes with chocolate curls. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache

In a medium saucepan, bring the whipping cream just to boiling over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add the bittersweet chocolate, chopped (do not stir). Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until ganache is smooth.

Make Ahead Tip

To Bake Ahead: Prepare as directed through step 4. Place cooled cupcakes in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw cupcakes, if frozen. Continue as directed in step 5.

The cake recipe I used...

Southern Strawberry Cake

from Nothing But Delicious

Crusty Apple Hand Pies: ABC

Apple is one of my very most favorite flavor of pie.  And one with a good crust is even better!  The recipe for this pie was for a full size free form kinda pie sans the pie pan.  We were hosting our annual pig roast so I decided to make the recipe into individual hand pies.  

The result was lovely!  A nice cinnamon spiced apple filling,  I just wish there was a little more in each one.

 Butter and cream cheese were cut into the flour making the 

most beautiful crust... 

Flaky and tender

and good to the last bite!

A beautiful step by step tutorial for this pie here.

See what the other bakers did here.

Next up for the ABC bakers are Cinnamon-Swirl Pumpkin Rolls.

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles: Baked Sunday Mornings

 Who doesn't like a snickerdoodle?  Especially one made with brown butter

I was afraid when I saw the picture in the cookbook that these cookies would be rather cake-like.  But oh no!  These snickerdoodles are just as  
 I like ...chewy on the inside and a nice crisp crunch on the outside. The brown butter and brown sugar brought a wonderful richness
and nice depth of flavor.  I had a favorite go-to snickerdoodle recipe already but these just may takes it's place!  You can't eat just one!

Now isn't that a sexy lookin' snickerdoodle?

Nice one Baked!  Two thumbs up from me!

Recipe here

Next up for Baked is Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars...a nice Halloween treat:)

Orange Almond Ricotta Cheesecake: Baked Sunday Morning

I love a good cheesecake and as much as I like ricotta cheese I have never made a cheesecake using it.  This cheesecake reminds me of my Nana's ricotta pie and brought me back to my childhood and back into our kitchen with Nana cooking once again.  One of my most favorite places to be

There is a hint of orange and amaretto in this creamy, not overly sweet, creamy goodness.  I loved the crust but next time I think I will use amaretti cookies or biscotti instead of graham crackers.  I halved the recipe (I am getting good at that) so I wouldn't have a huge cheesecake hanging around.  Way, way too tempting!  And I did something else that I am quite proud of....I made my own ricotta! (see below) Everything was quite easy from making the ricotta to making the cheesecake!  Takes really no time at all.

Give it a try....you just might kiss that New York cheesecake bye bye!

So delicious....so old world....love it!

To get the recipe click here.

Next up is Brown Butter Snickerdoodles!  Can't wait!

Until then....

Mangia!

I have been wanting to try this for a long time now!  The process was actually very simple and fast.  I only made half of the cheesecake recipe so I only needed a half gallon of milk, 1 cup of cream and 6 tablespoons of lemon juice.  I used organic whole milk and organic cream and put that in a large pot and brought it to 180 degrees.  Do not let it boil!  It is then taken off the heat and lemon juice is added and almost immediately curds start to form.  You let that sit for 20-25 minutes and the curds are all on the top of the mixture the whey is a yellowish color underneath.  Your spoon off the curds and put them in a cheesecloth lined colander that is placed on a large pot.  Once the curds are all scooped out you let them sit for a minute or two and then gently gather up the cheesecloth and tie with a string or rubber band it at the top.  Then let it hang until the whey stops dripping.  I let my hang for about 2 hours but you can have a nice soft beautiful ricotta in about 30 minutes or so.  I don't think I will ever buy ricotta again! The texture is so creamy and it tastes far superior to anything you can buy at the store!

I used the tutorial below....

ABC: Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I am very late with this post, but I was busy with inventory at work when this was due.  So here it is....better late than never I suppose!

This month's Avid Bakers Challenge is Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread from King Arthur Flour!  I love the moistness that zucchini gives to a quick bread and this one was very moist and chocolaty.  It not only has cocoa powder it also has chocolate chips. I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil but everything else was followed to the letter.  I couldn't wait for it to cool off all the way so I sliced off a piece while it was still warm.  So delicious!  Next time some toasted walnuts will be added in.

Ohhhh Yea!

So quick and easy...
there is no excuse not to try this while zucchini is bountiful!

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2 large eggs 1/3 cup honey 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional 1/3 cup King Arthur All-Purpose Baking Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa 1 2/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini, gently pressed 1 cup chocolate chips Directions 1) Preheat the oven to 350°F; lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan. 2) In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, oil, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. 3) Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder, cocoa, and flour, mixing until well combined. 4) Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. 5) Pour the batter into the prepared pan. 6) Bake the bread for 65 to 75 minutes, until the loaf tests done (a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center will come out clean, save for perhaps a light smear of chocolate from the melted chips). 7) Remove the bread from the oven, and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack. 8) Cool completely before slicing; store well-wrapped, at room temperature. Yield: one 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf.

Key Lime Pie for Christian

My son lives more 2000 miles away from me.  I miss him something awful. I don't get to see him much, the last time I saw him was almost 3 years ago.  So when he comes home I like to make some of his favorite foods.  Key lime pie is one of them.  I had a recipe I always use and this one is very similar but the ingredients are almost doubled and the graham cracker crust has ground almonds in it.  Yum.  This, I think, is the first time I actually squeezed all those little key limes myself...not and easy task but one so worth the effort!  This pie was the best key lime pie I have ever made.  So creamy and just the right amount of tartness.  We loved it!

I got the recipe at Epicurious. It will now be my go-to key lime pie recipe.

Key Lime Pie

Gourmet  | March 2009

Adapted from Town Hall Restaurant in San Francisco, CA

Makes 8 to 10 servings

active time 25 min

total time 10 hr (includes chilling)

An almond-spiked crust and twice the amount of filling you'd find in most Key lime pies are the secret here.

ingredients

For crust:

7 (5-by 2 1/2-inch) graham crackers, broken into small pieces

3/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

For filling:

2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

Grated zest of 2 Key limes

1 cup fresh Key lime juice (from about 2 pounds fresh Key limes)

4 large egg yolks

Accompaniment: sweetened whipped cream

preparation

Make crust: 

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch pie plate.

Pulse together graham crackers, almonds, and sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and up side of pie plate. Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely. (Leave oven on.)

Make filling and bake pie: 

Gently whisk together filling ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth and pour into crust. Bake until just set in center, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cool completely (filling will set as it cools). Chill pie, loosely covered, at least 8 hours.

cooks' note:

Pie can be chilled up to 2 days.