My New Go-To Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Okay, okay, I know, I know. Thanksgiving was a WHILE ago. But I desperately need to share this pumpkin pie recipe anyway. It's the best one I've ever made...SO...GOOD...so yum. This made enough filling for a 9-inch pie, with a bit extra that I baked alongside it in a ramekin (to test taste just in case!). I served it with vanilla ice cream, but any whipped cream would work well, and it tastes delicious on its own!

I had to bake this a lot longer than what's suggested, but could have baked it a little less. Make sure you mix it COMPLETELY! I put this in Dorie Greenspan's Good-For-Almost-Anything Pie Dough (you can find the recipe here), which was a little flakier than expected but I just pressed it into the pan and it worked amazingly well. Definitely making this again next year!

Pumpkin Pie
Recipe from Linzers in London

1 1/2 cups pumpkin
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
2 cups whole milk
2-3 tablespoons brandy


Mix all ingredients except eggs, milk and brandy, then add lightly beaten eggs and milk.

Gently swirl in brandy, then pour into prepared 10 inch pie shell.
Bake at 425 (218 c) for 20 minutes, then turn down to 350 (176 c) for another 25 minutes or until custard is set.

Baked Cinnamon Donuts

I just went on vacation to Hawaii earlier this month. I miss vacation already. About a month before that, I went to Boston with Adam, and got to eat delicious Dunkin Donuts. When will it come to San Francisco! So dying for the delicious vanilla-frosted nommy-ness...the iced coffee was super good, too. So strange.

I decided to bake up some donuts on my new donut pans to enjoy with my Dunkin Donuts coffee mug (I love buying mugs that remind me of places I've been that I loved!) shortly after my trip. I got the recipe from my mom, who made these the last time I visited home.

Baked Cinnamon Donuts
Recipe by Ina Garten

Baking spray with flour, such as Baker's Joy
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 doughnut pans well.

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the baking pans, filling each one a little more than three-quarters full. Bake for 17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then tap the doughnuts out onto a sheet pan.


For the topping, melt the 8 tablespoons of butter in an 8-inch saute pan. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip each doughnut first in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar, either on one side or both sides.

Green Tea Matcha Cheesecake

I don't know why I've delayed from sharing this for so long. I made this for Valentine's Day dessert because my boyfriend doesn't like many sweet things, but really likes things that are green-tea flavored--and has ordered yummy green tea cheesecake in restaurants before.

This was pretty easy (although finding affordable matcha took me a while). I adjusted the original recipe for a heart-shaped pan...but I don't have pictures because unfortunately I left my cheesecake in the oven a little too long and it cracked! It was super delicious though! The matcha flavor was very subtle but perfect.

Green Tea Matcha Cheesecake
Recipe adapted from Dodol & Mochi

1.5-2 packs honey (plain) graham crackers
.75-1 sticks unsalted butter, melted and let cooled slightly

(A)
20 oz cream cheese, softened
6.60zcaster or granulated sugar

½ cup heavy cream
1.5 medium-size egg, at room temperature
2 ¼ tablespoons cake flour, sifted

(B)
4.5 teaspoons matcha powder
4.5 teaspoons caster or granulated sugar

2 ¼  tablespoons cherry brandy, or, kirschwasser (I couldn’t find it so used vanilla extract).

Lightly grease the sides of a 9-10 inch springform pan, and line with parchment; line the base of the pan with aluminum foil. Secure the ring (i.e. sides) to the base of the pan. Then wrap two layers of aluminum foil on the outside, around the base and sides of the pan. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place the graham crackers into a Ziploc bag, press to force the air out of the bag, and seal the bag tightly. With a rolling pin, bash the biscuits into fine crumbs. Alternatively, a food processor will help you do the job. Mix in the melted butter, then press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan to get an even layer. Chuck the whole thing into the fridge to chill.

In the meantime, using a hand mixer, cream together (A) till smooth and creamy. Then, stir in the heavy cream, and followed by the egg, in two to three times to avoid curdling of the mixture. Next, mix in the sifted flour. Whisk together (B), and stir into the batter to combine. Lastly, mix in the liqueur.

Pour the batter over the crust, and place the whole pan into another larger baking pan that comes with sides taller than those of the springform pan. Prepare the bain-marie by filling the baking pan with boiling-hot water. Place the assemblage into the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes, till almost cooked through and the cake’s surface begins to spring back when gently touched. Turn off the oven, leave the oven door opened ajar as you let the cheesecake cool to room temperature in the oven.

Remove the cooled cheesecake from the oven, the bain-marie, and then the layers of aluminum foil. Refrigerate for at least at least three hours, preferably overnight, before slicing to serve. Cheesecakes, including this one, keep real well in the fridge.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We celebrating St. Patrick's Day yesterday in the beautiful, clear-blue-sky, sunshiny weather, on a boat. Such perfect weather! We had a little barbecue, had a lot of fun, and I got to make cupcakes for the occasion. These were FANTASTIC! I'm always in the mood to bake cupcakes for people and this was my first time having a filled cupcake. These cupcakes have a Guinness chocolate cake base, filled with Jameson chocolate ganache, and topped with Bailey's buttercream. SO GOOD. SO SMOOTH. SO YOU MUST MAKE THIS NOW. Pretty sure my friends thought this was the best cupcake I have ever made.

This recipe easily made 12 cupcakes. I was afraid that there wasn't enough frosting, but there definitely was. Man that frosting is good.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Recipe from Better With Sugar

Cupcake:
1/2 C Guinness Stout
1/2 C unsalted butter, chopped
1/4 C + 2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
1 C all purpose flour
1 C granulated sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/3 C sour cream

Ganache Filling:
2/3 C semi sweet chocolate chips
1/3 C whipping cream (or heavy cream)
1 TBS butter, room temperature
1 tsp whiskey

Frosting:
1/2 C butter, room temperature
2-1/2 C icing sugar
3 TBS Irish Cream

Preaheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

Make the cupcakes: Heat the Guinness and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it's simmering, or the butter is melted and it just begins to bubble a bit.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the cocoa and whisk until it's smooth. Set aside to cool a bit.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In another separate, large bowl, beat together the egg and sour cream.

Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, and beat just to combine.

Beat in the flour mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake tin. Bake for 21-22 min, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool on a rack.

Make the ganache: Heat the cream until simmering over low-med heat, then pour it over the chocolate chips. Let it sit for a minute, then stir it until smooth using a rubber spatula.

Add the butter and whiskey and stir until smooth again. Let the ganache cool until it has thickened up a bit but it still soft enough to be piped or spooned.

Cut out the centers of the cupcakes. I do this using the big open end of my 1M decorating tip. You could also use a sharp knife to cut a hole, going about 2/3 of the way down the cupcake.

You can either pipe the ganache into the holes in the cupcakes using a piping bag, or just spoon the ganache in.

Make the frosting: Using an electric mixer, whip the butter on med-high speed for a couple minutes. Add about 1/3 of the icing sugar and 1 TBS Irish Cream, beat on low. Repeat until all of the icing sugar and Irish Cream is mixed into the butter. Whip the frosting on med-high for another couple of minutes.

** Store in the fridge

Chocolate Bread Pudding For Two

Why has this recipe been sitting around waiting for me to post it? I made this back in AUGUST! I made this for my boyfriend's birthday--he loves bread pudding and I have never been a huge fan (I always want it to taste as magical as stuffing on Thanksgiving, but it's always a little too soggy or a little too crunchy and overall a little too disappointing for me). I decided to try to make it for him and it baked up wonderfully. It was perfectly cooked, tasted even better with ice cream, and this is a 2-person recipe! Okay, halfway through the dessert both of us realized we could probably have just split one it was so dense (could have also been that I cooked him a pretty big dinner).

I might try to make this again but given there are SO MANY bread pudding flavors and ideas and recipes out there, it might be a while.

Chocolate Bread Pudding For Two

Recipe from The Craving Chronicles

2 cups (5-6 slices) 1/2-inch cubed challah bread

2/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 tablespoon Bailey’s Irish Cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Ice Cream or whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, or until toasted.

Combine milk, sugar, cocoa, Irish cream, vanilla, cinnamon and egg in a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Add toasted bread cubes and toss until coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat the inside of two 7-ounce ramekins with cooking spray. Divide half of the chilled bread mixture evenly between the two ramekins. Top with half of the chopped chocolate. Divide the remaining half of the bread mixture between the ramekins, then top with the remaining chocolate.

Place ramekins in an 8-inch pan and add about an inch of hot water. Bake, uncovered, for about 35 minutes or until set.

Serve warm, topped with ice cream or whipped cream.

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

Okay, okay. I haven't been very consistent with posting. I just do picture-dumps occasionally when I have some time and upload my photos and realize that hey, I actually took pictures of things I cooked or baked or whatever! I should upload them in bulk (and possibly forget about them)! I made this a while ago when my college roommate Lucy came to visit me in SF. She's not a fan of cake with frosting, and I know she's made angel food cake before, so I decided to give it a try.

I don't think I even know what angel food cake is supposed to taste like, but this didn't really fulfill my expectations. It was decent, but there was something about it (maybe the lack of a huge pile of frosting?) that made it not my ideal cake.

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

Recipe from u Try.it

Preheat oven to 325 degree F.  Place un-greased angel food cake pan on the baking sheet.  

In a large mixing bowl, sift cake flour, cocoa powder and 3/4 cup of sugar together.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites, water, cream of tartar and salt together until foamy.   Then, add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a steady stream. 

Add coffee mixture and vanilla extract, beat until stiff peak forms.

Sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the dry ingredient mixture onto the egg white mixture.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredient into the meringue.  Be careful not to deflate the foam.

Pour batter into a 9 1/2-inch un-greased angel food cake pan. A 10-inch pan would work just as find if that's what you've got.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake and comes out clean.  Then, invert cake pan on a wiring rack too cool for at least one hour, or until completely cooled.  This step is to ensure the cake stays nice and tall in the cooling process.

Dorie Greenspan's Fresh Fruit Tart

I think I made this in September.  It turned out pretty good--my mom went out and got the fruit for me and the fruit was absolutely gorgeouss. A very easy, delicious recipe! The recipe can be found in Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours, which of course is my go-to recipe book for impressive desserts! Her recipes are always beautiful and delicious and easy to follow, although sometimes time-consuming (and definitely not low-cal...but this one wasn't so bad, I mean, the majority of the sugar was natural fruit-sugar!).

Key Lime Pie

I'm not even sure when I made this. I think it was late August--man, I'm behind on posting! And not really baking anything new, so I thought I'd share some of these delicious recipes I've made and never had the chance to share. Pretty sure this was delicious. I'd never made key lime pie before and was a little scared that it was undercooked at first--baked it a little longer than the directions, but in the end, so long as it's solid when you take it out of the oven, I think the key lime pie is baked.

Key Lime Pie

Recipe from Kitchen Runway

1¼ C graham cracker crumbs

¼ C sugar

5 Tbs melted butter

1 14oz can of condensed milk

1 whole egg

1 C lime juice (key lime juice can be used but keep in mind key limes are tarter and more bitter than regular limes.  You can cut the amount of juice down to ½ C for the recipe)

zest of 1 lime

Whipped Cream:

1 C heavy whipping cream

3-4 Tbs of powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

1 tsp vanilla

lime zest and lime slices

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter.  Press the mixture into a 9 inch pie or tart pan.  Place pie pan on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let crust cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together condensed milk and egg until smooth.  Add lime juice and zest and whisk until combined and smooth.  Gently pour filling into cooled pie shell (on baking sheet) and bake on the middle rack for 15 to 18 minutes until center of pie has set.  Remove from oven and cool pie on rack and then chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Top with whipped cream and garnish with lime zest and slices.

Whipped Cream:

In a large, deep bowl, add heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Using an electric hand mixer whip the ingredients together on medium high speed for 7 to 8 minutes until it begins to hold stiff peaks.

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes

If I'm making another vanilla buttercream in my life, it's going to be this frosting. SO. SO good. The cupcakes were great too--the frosting and cupcakes went perfectly together. It tastes best on the first day (after you refrigerate it the frosting hardens a bit) but is still delicious no matter what! A great alternative to storebought funfetti!

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes
Recipe from Annie's Eats

1 cup whole milk, divided
6 large egg whites
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
2¾ cups cake flour, sifted
1½ cups sugar
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. (¾ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup multi-colored sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a liquid measuring cup, combine ¼ cup of the whole milk, egg whites, vanilla and almond extracts.  Whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Mix briefly on low speed to combine, about 30 seconds.  Add in the butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles wet sand, about 30 seconds.  Mix in the remaining ¾ cup of milk, then increase the speed to medium and beat for about 90 seconds more.  With the mixture on low speed, add the egg white mixture in three additions, mixing for about 20 seconds after each addition.  Scrape down the bowl as needed.  Gently fold in the sprinkles with a spatula.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds of the way full.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes.  Let cool in the pan briefly, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Prepare the vanilla buttercream.  Add the buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip.  Frost as desired.  Garnish with additional sprinkles.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Recipe from Annie's Eats

1½ cups plus 2 tbsp. (3 sticks plus 2 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)
2 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar to the bowl and mix on medium-low speed just until incorporated. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean pod (if using) into the bowl and add in the salt. Continue to beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Mix in the heavy cream and vanilla on low speed just until incorporated. Increase the mixer speed and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed, about 4-5 minutes.

Individual Tiramisu

On Father's Day I asked my dad what his favorite desserts were. One of his top favorites was Tiramisu, so a few days later I made this for dessert. I like the idea of having individual desserts, and didn't want to use raw eggs, so when I found this recipe I knew I had to try it. It was a very easy tiramisu recipe--I do want to try making a large sized tiramisu with raw eggs to see how they compare, though--and super dense and creamy and delicious.

One fun fact about people here back home: I went to Safeway to find the ladyfingers (didn't want to make them from scratch since I was already cooking a dinner I'd never tried before), and everyone was so much nicer than I'm used to. I was walking around and people just asked if I needed help and were super happy about giving me help, and even when multiple people had to be asked to find the ladyfingers, everyone was very sweet. Even at checkout the lady and bagging-boy were so friendly. So not used to that, but it was a good change from the usual grumpiness back where I went to college!

Individual Tiramisu
Recipe (slightly adapted by me) from Foodiebride

Soaking Syrup
1/2 cup strongly-brewed coffee or espresso
1 Tbsp sugar

Filling
8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese
8 oz mascarpone
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp strongly-brewed coffee or espresso
2 Tbsp milk

Assembly
6 5/6-oz clear cups
24 ladyfingers, purchased or homemade
1 oz semisweet chocolate, grated

In a small bowl, mix espresso and sugar, stirring until the sugar has disolved. Set aside to cool.

With your mixer, cream the mascaropone, cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar on medium-high for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. The mixture should feel smooth (not gritty) when rubbed between your fingers.

Remove half of the mascarpone mixture and transfer it to a smaller bowl.

Add 2 Tbsp of espresso and mix well.

Add 2 Tbsp milk to the remaining filling and mix (this is just to thin the filling, the type of milk - whole, skim, etc - does not matter) well.

Trim the ladyfingers so that they come just below the top rim of the cups. Reserve the excess pieces. (The trimmed ends of the cookie are "the bottoms," the rounded uncut ends are "the top.")

Working with one ladyfinger and one serving at a time, quickly dunk the top half of the cookie into the soaking syrup and place in the plastic cup coffee-end (top) up.

Repeat with 3 more lady fingers, arranging them around the cup (if your ladyfingers are thin, you might need to use more than 4).

Place one of the reserved trimmed ends of the cookies into the bottom, followed by a spoonful of the espresso filling, the plain filling, and top with more ladyfinger pieces (when you run out of trimmed pieces, tear additional ladyfingers into small pieces to fit the next layer). Repeat 2 more times to fill the cup.

Sprinkle grated chocolate over the top.

Repeat the process for the remaining servings.

Loosely cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Lychee Sorbet

 I finally decided to try out my mom's ice cream maker and she suggested a lychee sorbet recipe. This one is super simple--just two ingredients and it'd probably be fine if you didn't use the lime! My ice cream maker finished this super fast, and I think using 2 cans of lychees would have been a little better for the mixing. This also got really cold really fast and when trying to scoop it, it was mostly ice shavings. It was still great though! Looking forward to playing more with the ice cream maker!

Lychee Sorbet
Recipe adapted by me from Uncomplicated Recipes

1 can of Lychee
Juice of 1 lime

Strain lychees, saving the syrup.

Set 8 lychees aside. Place the remaining lychees in the blender with 1/2 cup of the syrup. Blend until pureed.

Mix the blend with the remaining syrup and qqueeze the lime juice into the mix.

Follow instructions on your ice cream maker. Chop up the 8 remaining lychees and add them to the ice cream maker when it is almost complete.

Banana Pudding

Look delicious? I think this is one of the best things I've made. I cheated with the whipped cream and used store-bought, but next time I'd definitely whip my own because I realized nothing beats homemade whipped cream. I also bought Nilla Wafers for this. The original recipe said I could make 8 small servings or 4 large. I put the pudding into 6-oz glasses and it made 4. I think next time I'd add ,more bananas and maybe a center layer, but it was fine the way it was, too. Definitely try this if you get a change! Homemade pudding is delicious!

Banana Pudding Parfaits

Adapted by Me from Annie's Eats

Yield: 4 servings

1/6 cup all-purpose flour

3/8 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cups milk

1 1/2 tbsp. butter, at room temperature, divided

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-2 ripe bananas, sliced

Vanilla wafers (mini if you make parfaits)

For the topping:

whipped cream

In a medium saucepan, combine the flour, sugar, and salt.  Whisk in the egg yolk, then the milk. Place the saucepan over medium heat. Add in 1 tablespoons of the butter. Cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture bubbles and thickens significantly. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the vanilla and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of butter.

Layer individual serving dishes (4-5 oz) with vanilla wafers and banana slices.  Fill each dish with some of the pudding until all pudding is gone, nearly to the top of the serving dishes. Crush up several vanilla wafers and layer it on top, finishing with another layer of banana slices as desired. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill until well set, at least 2-3 hours.

Garnish with whipped cream and additional vanilla wafers.

Asian Fruit Cake 2

Remember THIS? Yeah, well, I did it again. And this time it didn't turn out half as well. Yes, I made the cake 2 days before graduation. Yes, I assembled the cake the day before graduation. But still, I could have done better. I forgot the vinegar, and I'm blaming that for why the cake didn't rise, though I didn't buy new baking powder and used the one that I got in August, so that could have been a problem too. Then I didn't have the appropriate storage stuff to keep the cake from drying out overnight before I frosted it, so the plastic wrap didn't really work and the cake got a little hard on the bottoms of each layer. Kind of annoying. But apparently my grandma kept on thinking about this cake after she ate it, and it was really alright, though not light (the day I baked it it was light, because I ate a little piece that fell off, but the next day it was a little more dense).

That being said, still try this recipe! It's beautiful! But eat it the day of, and make sure if you're storing it, you store it properly!

Andes Mint Cake

I made this cake for my friend Steven's birthday--the last birthday everyone celebrated at college, and the last time we all got together to party. It was a great time. I spent most of the day making it (it was also somewhat for my boyfriend, whose birthday was after graduation) and it was really worth it. The party was a surprise party for Steven: I was planning it for a while and some of my friends said they'd help out, so we got a handful of people invited to a Facebook event, but of course Steven has tons of friends so there was well over just a handful of people there. It was a funny surprise story though: we convinced him to come over but it took way too long to actually come because he was watching YouTube videos. My apartment was overheated and everyone was dying. We thought Steven might have a feeling we were doing a surprise party, so we shoved 2/3 of the people into my roommates' rooms, and when he got there about 7 of us yelled "surprise" and told him we were playing Birthday Settlers (of Catan). We started the game and then I "had to go to the bathroom", and instead of me coming back, one of Steven's friends who wouldn't have been in my apartment came out instead, and tricked Steven into being blindfolded. While blindfolded the rest of the guests came into the room, and when Steven took off the blindfold, somehow we had been quiet enough that he was really surprised to see everyone! So it was really successful--pretty proud of that surprise working out!

This cake's frosting didn't work perfectly. It was too soupy even after I put it in the freezer for a couple of hours. I think it was just way too hot in my apartment. I really want my cakes to turn out perfectly like the pictures the original maker posts, but mine always look lopsided...I guess they look more homemade, though. Even though people only got tiny slices of this cake (there were tons of people at the party!), I got lots of compliments on this one!

Andes Mint Cake
Recipe from mommiecooks

For the Cake:
1 8 Oz. Bag Andes Mints
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
3 Oz. Dark Chocolate
1 Cup Boiling Water
11/2 Sticks Unsalted Butter (12 Tbsp or 3/4 pd)
11/2 Cups White Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Mayonnaise
3 Cups Flour
11/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt

For the Frosting:
6 Egg Whites
11/4 Cup White Sugar
3 Sticks Room Temperature Butter (24 Tbsp or 1.5 pounds)
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
1/4 Cup Cream

Toss about 3oz. of the andes candies into a bowl along with the cocoa powder and dark chocolate.

Pour the boiling water over the top and allow the chocolate to melt completely.

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and the two sugars.

Mix in the eggs and vanilla.

Add in the mayonnaise.

In a separate bowl combine the flour baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Alternate adding the flour and then the liquid chocolate to the creamed mixture, mixing after each addition.

Pour batter into three prepared 9" cake rounds and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

For the frosting mix together the egg whites and the sugar.

Place into a double boiler and heat until the temperature reaches 160 degrees, whisking often.

Transfer to a mixing bowl and whisk on medium high until stiff, glistening and room temperature; about 5 minutes.

Cube up the butter and add it in a bit at a time while whisking on medium speed.

If your frosting separates, simply up the speed and give it a minute or two to come back together.

Add in the vanilla and almond extract.

Frost the cooled cake.

Reserving about 8 of the remaining mints, place the rest into a double boiler along with the cream.

Once melted, remove from heat and let rest about 5 minutes to cool down. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Chop the reserved mints and sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

First I was going to make this cake last year. Then a few months ago. Then finally, yesterday night, I made it for my apartmentmate, Marrisa's, 22nd birthday!!

It was easy and fun to make! I thought I'd screw it up with that whole marbling-with-the-knife step (I always do...I can never do it right!) but it turned out not to really be marbling it or swirling it at all. It turned out absolutely. PERFECT. It was soft and delicious and wow, exactly like cinnamon rolls (though yes softer) without all the yeast and the waiting and stuff. EVERYBODY loved it, and it was completely devoured by the end of the night. This cake got a better response than ANYTHING I've ever baked. Kinda surprised me.

So for Marrisa's birthday, I got Lucy to keep her awake til midnight (her birthday is today!) by making her play Settlers with some of the guys. Then I brought all my supplies over to Le's kitchen to bake the cake, and got some of Marrisa's good friends to meet us a little before midnight outside our apartment. It worked perfectly. Marrisa expected us to do something later in the day--not for a whole train of people to barge in right at midnight!!

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Recipe by The Girl who Ate Everything

Found on Lovin From the Oven

Cake:

3 cups flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ cups milk

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup (1 stick) real butter, melted

Topping:

1 cup (2 sticks) real butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped pecans, (optional) (always measure the nuts first then chop them)

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

5 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs and vanilla. Next, stir in the 1/2 cup melted butter. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Next, for the topping, mix the 2 sticks of softened butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and pecans until well combined. Drop evenly over cake batter by spoonfuls and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center.

For the glaze, mix powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth and pour over warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cookies and Creme Oreo Cake

It's my friend Jimmy's birthday today, so yesterday I made him this cake. Overall I think it was really delicious--I wish I'd used better quality butter because in the frosting it looked grainy, but it didn't taste at all grainy. I thought it'd just taste like chocolate cake in the end but it really tasted oreo-like! It was really good! I think I'd like to try making it with four 8-inch layers next time, and maybe make the cake a little more moist (or maybe splitting the layers would do that for me!) but I thought it was really good--the frosting was excellent, I think I'm really liking this flour-frosting recipes!

For this recipe I used two 9-inch cake pans and baked them for 3-5 minutes less. I think less oreos could be crushed, too.

Cookies and Creme Oreo Cake
Recipe adapted by Sunny Side Up in San Diego from Family Circle Magazine

Cake
1 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour
2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (or Hershey's Special Dark)
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
3 large Eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups Buttermilk

Frosting
Scant 1/2 cup Flour
1 1/2 cups Milk
2 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) Butter, softened
1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
25-30 oreos

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans with butter and flour.

Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, or a large bowl using a hand held mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated and scraping down sides as needed.

With mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mix until incorporated. Then add 1/2 of the buttermilk, mix until incorporated. Repeat until the last 1/3 of flour has been used. Mix until incorporated and then beat for 1 additional minute.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the sides begin to pull away from the edges. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the racks and allow the cakes to cool completely.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the frosting. In a saucepan, whisk together the flour and milk and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens (I would compare it to mashed potatoes). It is very important to whisk continuously so clumps don't form. This took me about 4-5 minutes, but it's best to go by texture.

Set milk mixture aside in an ice bath and allow to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, (or bowl of a standing mixture fitted with a whisk) beat together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Add the cooled milk mixture and beat on high for 3-5 minutes. If it looks separated, keep beating.

Cake Assembly
When the cakes are completely cool, cut each cake in half* horizontally. Use 1/3-1/2 cup of frosting to fill between each layer. When all the layers are stacked, set aside 1/2 cup of frosting then use rest to frost the outside.

Using a ziploc bag and a rolling pin, crush all but 6 of the Oreo cookies. Apply the cookie crumbs to the sides of the cake**.

Use the reserved 1/2 cup of frosting to create 6 swirls on the top of the cake, place a cookie in each swirl.

*If you don't have cake leveler tool, you can use a knife to score the cake half way up all the way around. Then place a clean piece of fishing wire or floss in the groove and slice away.

**I set my cake plate over a large piece of parchment paper to catch the extra crumbs. It can get a little messy.

Cream Puffs

I have always been intimidated by cream puffs, but when my boyfriend said he really liked them (with ice cream, which made it easy cuz I didn't have to make the cream), I decided to check out a recipe. And wow. For some reason, I always thought they were fried! These are THE simplest things to make, ever. And they don't look simple--I always thought they were so complicated! I never really liked them but with the vanilla bean ice cream I put inside, these were really good! Best the day-of, so next time I make them I'll try to make them for a crowd, because even with my roommates these couldn't be finished in a day.

You can make them any size, but I made a medium/large-size cream puff that's good for a single serving. Bite-size with different fillings would be fun, or even filling the ones I made with something to make it a mini-meal or appetizer would be fun!

Cream Puffs
Recipe from The Comfort of Cooking
Makes 12 cream puffs

1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray two baking sheets with nonstick spray and set aside.

Put the water, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Remove from heat. Add the flour all at once and stir well until the flour is completely mixed in.

Return the saucepan to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Scrape the dough into a large bowl.

With a wooden spoon, beat in the eggs one at a time until all four eggs are well-incorporated.

Spoon the dough into 12 rounded mounds onto the prepared baking sheet. Dip your finger into a little water and smooth out the edges to make sure that no small bits burn. Bake for 40 minutes, and let cool for 30 minutes before filling.

Once the cream puffs have cooled, fill with your favorite filling, or garnish with desired toppings.