Red Velvet Cheesecake

This was a biggie, it was for my own birthday and it was oh so delicious, and not even that hard to make, just a little time consuming. The icing made with this recipe is kinda sticky at least it was when I made it I mean it tasted great it was just kinda hard to work with, also I didn't have as much icing as I thought I did so I kinda had to do that border on the fly because I didn't have enough icing to do the design I originally intended to do but it still turned out nice and I am happy with it. I gave out a lot of pieces of this cake at school and it was a big hit, in fact I am making this same cake for my friends birthday next week because she loved it so much. Anyways, as usual I found the recipe on tastespotting it is from 17 and Baking and it is quite scrumptious. 

CHEESECAKE:

Ingredients:

-20 oz full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
-2/3 cup white sugar
-Zest of half a lemon
-1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
-1/4 tsp salt
-2 large eggs, at room temperature
-1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
-1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Directions:

I started the cheesecake the day before. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and set a kettle of water to boil.
     Grease a 9″ springform pan, and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Wrap the outside of the pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, and set the pan into a larger pan (for the waterbath.)
     In the bowl of a mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon and beat in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. Add eggs one at a time, making sure they are combined but not overmixing. Add the sour cream. Stir in flour and gently mix just until combined.
     Pour the batter into the greased pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan halfway up the cheesecake. The aluminum foil should protect the cheesecake from seeping water. Bake until the cheesecake is just set in the middle, about 40 minutes. Run a knife around the sides and let the cheesecake cool completely. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the cheesecake and refrigerate overnight.

RED VELVET:

Ingredients:

-2 1/2 cups cake flour
-1 1/2 cups white sugar
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tbsp cocoa powder
-1 tsp salt
-2 eggs, room temperature
-1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
-1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 tsp white distilled vinegar
-Red food coloring, as desired

Directions:

I made the cake the day after I made the cheesecake, so it had rested overnight in the fridge and was sturdy enough to flip.
    For the red velvet, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9″ pans.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and vinegar until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and as much food coloring as you like. Beat until well combined, about two minutes.
     Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake 25-30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for five minutes, then run a knife around the edges. Invert them onto cooling racks and cool completely. (I like to make the frosting at this point, while the cakes cool down.)

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

Ingredients:

-12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
-6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp almond extract
-3 cups sifted powdered sugar (sift, and then measure)

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer until very smooth and lump-free. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Then stir in the powdered sugar a cup at a time until very smooth.

ASSEMBLY:

Use a cake leveler or serrated knife to level the tops of the red velvet cakes. Put one of the layers, cut-side up and parchment paper removed, on a serving plate. Spread with a very small amount of frosting, just enough to cover the cake in a thin layer.
     Take the cheesecake out of the fridge. Open up the springform pan and peel off the plastic wrap. The cake should be pretty sturdy. My cheesecake was still attached to the bottom of the springform pan. I simply used one hand to hold it, and gently flipped it over onto the red velvet. I lifted off the bottom of the springform pan and peeled off the parchment paper. Piece of cake.
     My cheesecake was wider than the red velvet. I just gently sawed a knife around the edges and trimmed the excess.
     Spread another very thin layer of frosting on the top of the cheesecake. Flip the remaining layer of red velvet, cut side down, on top. Peel off the parchment paper.
     Use about a third of the cream cheese frosting to cover the whole cake with a crumb coat. Basically, you want to frost the cake with as little frosting as possible, picking up all the red crumbs and sealing the cake. Refrigerate the cake for half an hour, or until the crumb coat is hardened.
     Then frost the cake with the rest of the cream cheese frosting.  Keep the cake in the fridge. It can stand at room temperature about half an hour before serving, if necessary.

Reese's Peanut Butter Bars

This is part three of three of Mike's care package: Reese's Peanut Butter Bars. Okay so I LOVE making these because they are so easy it is ridiculous! Plus, they taste EXACTLY like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups this recipe is scary accurate. So when I made these I was transporting them to another state so I cut them up into squares and wrapped each individual one in plastic wrap and kept them in the fridge to keep the chocolate from melting but even if you aren't planning on traveling with these I still think its a good idea to wrap them individually because it seems more convenient and you can pack them in your lunch or take one on the go.  So the recipe cake from Let's Dish and it is excellent and easy!

REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER BARS:

Ingredients:

-1 cup butter melted
-2 cups graham cracker crumbs
-2 cups confectioners' sugar
-1 cup + 4 tablespoons peanut butter
-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares. And as I would recommend wrap each square in plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.

Oreo Cheesecake Bites

This is part two of Mike's care package: oreo cheesecake bites, now I did not have one of these for myself but according to Mike they are delicious so I will take his word for it because they certainly look it. The recipe calls for 42 Oreos and I discovered that oreos come in packs of like 25 or 30 so I bought two packs and used a couple of the left over ones and crushed them up for a crumb dust topping on each of these little cakes. If you are a total overachiever you could whip up some heavy cream and top these puppies with fresh whipped cream. Also, the title is oreo cheesecake "bites" implying that they are small but they are the size of regular cupcakes. Anyways the recipe is from The Family Kitchen, it makes 30 cupcake size oreo cheesecakes. 

CHEESECAKE BITES:

 Ingredients:

-42 Oreos (30 whole, 12 chopped)
-2 pounds cream cheese (4 8-ounce packages), softened
-1 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-4 large eggs, room temperature
-1 cup sour cream
-pinch of salt

Directions:


Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Line muffin tins with 30 paper liners (white is fun to see the cookie on the bottom after they’re baked), and then place one cookie in each of the cups.
     Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add in sugar and vanilla and beat to combine. Scrape the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between eggs. Mix in sour cream and salt and stir in the chopped cookies.
     Divide the batter between the 30 muffin cups, filling each cup nearly to the top. Bake at 275 degrees F for 22 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time. Remove pans from the oven and allow to cool in the pan. Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.

    If desired you can crush a few Oreos in a zip lock with a rolling pin until very fine and sprinkle them over the tops of each of the cakes for a little added Oreo taste. 

Coffee Cake

This I made as part one of Mike's care package and it turned out really good. Even though I had to bake it in the convection microwave because the control panel part of our oven broke and it won't let you do anything. So I had to bake it in the microwave and so apparently even though the microwave says its preheated at 350F its really cooler than that so instead of baking it for 45-55 minutes it baked for more like 70 minutes. Another mishap I had with this was since I thought my microwave was cooking at the correct temperature when I took it out after about 50 minutes I stuck the toothpick into the center and it appeared to come out clean and I did it a few more times just to be sure and it kept coming out clean so I let it cool for half an hour then cut it into squares, then when I went to take the squares out the entire inside of the cake was of batter consistency so I had to re preheat the microwave and bake it for another 20 minutes meanwhile realizing that the thick crumb coating on the top of the cake CLEANED OFF the goop that indicates when the cake isn't done! So make sure that your cake is actually baked before you cut it up and eat it. I found the recipe as usual through tastespotting it is from Fake Ginger.

CRUMB TOPPING:

Ingredients:

-1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
-1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter
-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass 9×13 pan. You can use a metal pan, but the edges may get a bit crispy.
     To make the crumb topping, mix both sugars, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and whisk until combined. Fold in the flour until it is absorbed. Spread out a large sheet of parchment paper on the counter and spread this mixture out on the parchment paper to dry while you make the cake mixture.

CAKE:

Ingredients:

-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-3/4 teaspoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter
-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
-2 large eggs
-1 1/4 cups plain (vanilla or honey flavor work too) yogurt
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

To make the cake, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
     Cream the butter until it is smooth and ribbon-like in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Scrape the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds. Add the yogurt and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, scraping down the bowl before each addition, beating only until it is just incorporated.
     To assemble the cake, pour the batter in the prepared pan. Use your hands to scoop up a handful of the topping and make a fist. The topping should hold together. Break off in chunks and drop them over the cake. Repeat to use all the topping. Remember, the topping layer will look very thick.
     Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Rotate the pan two times during the baking process. Cool the entire pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving.
     The cake will last for 3 days, tightly covered, at room temperature.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I made these cupcake for my girlfriends at my birthday party and they were a big hit. But warning these cupcakes are for hardcore cookie dough lovers only, they consist of cookie dough flavored cake, icing and have a secret cookie dough filling on the inside that is so sweet it will make your teeth hurt. As usual I found the recipe on tastespotting from The Sweet Art. They are fairly simple to make but slightly time consuming but well worth it when you sink your teeth into one of these puppies. 

COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKES:

CUPCAKES:

Ingredients:

-3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp.

-1 1/2 cups. light brown sugar, packed

-4 large eggs

-2 2/3 cup all purpose flour

-1 tsp. baking powder

-1 tsp. baking soda

-1/4 tsp. salt

-1 cup milk

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 cup chocolate chips (bittersweet or semisweet)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

     Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
     Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

FILLING:
Ingredients:


-4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temp.
-6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
-1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
-7 oz sweetened condensed milk
-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
-1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:


To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.
     To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.
FROSTING:
Ingredients:


-3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
-3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
-1 cup all purpose flour
-3/4 tsp salt
-3 tbsp. milk
-2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For decoration:
  Mini chocolate chips

Directions:

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.
     Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.

Cheesecake with Whipped Cream and Raspberry Topping

I made this cake for my dad's birthday, it is the same recipe as the whipped cream cheesecake but with an added raspberry topping at his request. For the recipe for the cheesecake refer to that post, it is light, fluffy, and totally delicious. The difference between this cheesecake and the last one I made, besides the topping, is that I took the left over whipped cream and whipped it up some more in my mixer to form stiff as opposed to soft peaks and used it to pipe a border. Initially, I piped a rosette border around just the top edge of the cake, but apparently the cake wasn't COMPLETELY cooled when I added the topping and it formed five deep cracks. To fix this I piped whipped cream into the cracks to seal them then piped another row of rosettes random little whipped cream tufts to fill the space between the original border and the topping. 

This is the border I ended up with after all of the repairs, not exactly the look I was going for but it didn't turn out completely ugly. So for the cheesecake refer to the previous post and as for the raspberry topping it takes ten minutes and its made in the microwave! I found it along with many many other things on tastespotting from  The Yummy Life. 

RASPBERRY TOPPING:

Ingredients:

-12 oz (approx. 3 cups) frozen raspberries

-3/4 cup brown sugar (or white brown is just better)

-2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (1 lemon should produce enough)

Directions:

In 2 quart microwave-safe bowl, stir together 2 cups of the raspberries, brown sugar and lemon juice. (Don't use a smaller bowl or the mixture may overflow as it cooks.) Microwave uncovered at full power for 8 minutes total, stopping and stirring after 4 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir remaining raspberries into hot mixture just until combined. Cool at room temperature, uncovered, for 30 minutes; sauce will thicken some as it cools. Cover and store in refrigerator. Keeps for at least 1 week.

topping before adding it to the cake

After I had added this to the center of the cheesecake I had some left over and placed it in the fridge with some left over whipped cream so that people could add it to things later.

Chocolate Doughnuts

I made these from a box that Hannah gave me for my birthday from kitchen conservatory and let me tell you they are good! I wouldn't really call them doughnuts however, they are more like chocolate cakes in the shape of circles, but no matter what you call them they tasted great. I ended up giving them away instead of taking them to school which didn't really matter because just having one was enough. The box made twelve doughnuts and it comes with a little powder packet for the icing/glaze that goes with it which really tops them off. So anyways if your interested the box for chocolate doughnuts and doughnut pans can be found at kitchen conservatory, they make for a great gift!