Math Cake

My friends in my math class and I had been joking about a cake with the unit circle on it and one of my friends was quite insistent in suggesting that I make this cake so I caved but was feeling really lazy and didn't want to make the cake and icing from scratch, so I cheated and even though it went against all of my baking beliefs, I made this cake from a box and used canned icing. However, it still tasted totally awesome and the class loved it!

Slutty Brownies & Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these puppies for my AC lab one day and boy were they popular! However, the corner pieces ended up being very crunchy because I wanted to make sure that the brownies were fully cooked and not gooey(even though they are totally delicious gooey) because I was cutting them up to hand out at school, so if I were to make this again, which I most certainly might, I would not cook it for as long so that the cookie on the bottom is softer and less crunchy. If you like the edges crunchy and non gooey brownies then i suggest you bake them for extra time like I did. The cookies made from the excess dough were quite delicious, my dad claims they are the best ever, especially because I doubled the recipe because I was making it for school so my mixer could barely handle the amount of dough that the chocolate chips all sort of stayed at the bottom of the bowl so when I made the cookies from the later half of the dough it had a massive amount of chocolate chips which made them very chocolaty. As I mentioned before, I doubled the recipe and it made ALOT of goods so the recipe below will not make as much as is shown in the pic above.

INGREDIENTS:

Brownie Layer:   

-10 tbsp unsalted butter

-1 1/4 cups white sugar
-3/4 cup cocoa powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-2 large eggs
-1/2 cup flour

Oreo Layer:

-1 package double stuff oreos

Cookie Layer:

-1 cup unsalted butter (at room temp)
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1 1/2 cup white sugar
-2 eggs
-2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-2 1/2 cup flour
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Brownies:

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the sugar and cocoa powder once the butter is melted. Whisk to combine and remove from heat. Add the salt, vanilla and eggs and continuously whisk until the eggs are combined. Add the flour and continue to mix. Set batter aside.

Cookie Dough:

Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set dough aside.

Assembly:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan with tin foil and then spray the tin foil with a layer of baking spray.  Layer 1/2 of the cookie dough on the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan, pressing down to form the bottom of the slutty brownies. Reserve the remaining cookie dough to be used to make cookies later in the day.  Layer as many oreos that will fit on top of the cookie dough. No need to overlap. One single layer will do.  Pour the brownie batter on top of the oreo layer and make sure it's evenly layers on top.  Bake for 30-35 minutes. Test with a knife to see if the center is done. If the knife comes out clean, let the brownies rest before serving. If the knife comes out with batter still on it, allow the brownies to bake about 5 minutes more.  Serve with ice cream :)

For Cookies:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, spoon left over cookie dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Pop in oven and bake for 7-10 min or until golden brown and delicious. Transfer to a wire rack, cool, and enjoy!!

Cherry Delight

I made this yummy little dessert for Easter at my Aunt Margaret's request, as usual, it was quite a hit with the fam. Personally, I would make whipped cream cherry cheesecake because it is the same sort of idea but tastes way better and is really not that difficult. Cherry Delight in my opinion is a poor boy version of cherry cheesecake that is good if you need a quick sugar fix. However, this recipe from cooks.com is quick and easy that anyone could do it. 

CRUST:

Ingredients:

-2 pkgs graham crackers

-1/2 cup sugar

-2/3 cup butter

FILLING:

Ingredients:

-2(8oz) cream cheese

-2 cup powdered sugar

-4 cups whipped topping

TOPPING:

Ingredients:

-2 cans fruit (pie filling)

DIRECTIONS:

Crush graham crackers and mix with sugar and butter. Press into 9 x 13 pan. Mix filling all together and put on top. Top with favorite fruit. Do not bake.

Pizza

I am a major pizza lover. I could eat pizza everyday for the rest of my life and never get sick of it. This recipe is one I modified from my FACS class in 8th grade. I only made two toppings but you can use as many or as few as you desire. This pizza is without a doubt delicious and well worth the effort you put into it. 

DOUGH:

Ingredients:

-2 cups flour

-1 pkg yeast

-2 T olive oil

-1 tsp salt

-2 tsp white sugar

-1 cup warm water

-dash garlic powder

-about 1 T butter

Directions:

In a small bowl dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour, oil, salt, sugar, and the yeast mixture. Cover and let sit in a warm area for 30 min.

    Preheat the oven to 350F. Knead and roll out dough on a well floured surface. Roll onto a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet in a circle. Melt butter and add garlic powder then spread over the crust of the pizza and set aside.

SAUCE:

Ingredients:

-1 small can (8oz) tomato sauce

-1/4 tsp oregano

-1/4 tsp garlic powder

-1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and spread evenly across pizza. 

CHEESE:

Ingredients:

-2 cups mozzarella 

-2 slices provolone 

Directions:

Spread mozzarella evenly over pizza and tear provolone into pieces and spread over pizza ( I added the provolone on top of the toppings to bind it all together).

TOPPINGS:

Ingredients:

Whatever you want!

I used pepperoni and Italian sausage.

Directions:

Depends on what your making

Pepperoni:

place in between two paper towels and microwave for about 30 sec to prevent gross amounts of grease on your pizza. Then spread evenly over pizza. 

Sausage and/or vegetables:

Fry in skillet, chopping into small chunks with spatula while cooking. (For veggies, chop/dice before frying) Drain grease in colander and spread over pizza.

BAKE!!

Bake on low rack in oven for 25-30 min until crust is fully cooked and cheese is fully melted. Cut into slices and cool before eating. Enjoy!!

French Silk Pie

I was wanting to make this delicious pie for a couple months and what better reason than pie day? I made this wonderfully scrumptious pie for my math class and it was devoured in the blink of an eye. This was also the first time I made my own pie crust and, although I though I did, I did not have a pastry cutter at the time so instead I followed my wise cooking teachers instructions and used to knives to literally "cut-in" the fat into the flour mixture. Also, while mixing the chocolaty goodness the recipe tells to mix until it reaches mousse texture, well I didn't exactly know what mousse texture was so when I reached it I didn't know and thought it was supposed to be thicker and the recipe said I could mix for up to five minutes so I did and big mistake! it turned by chocolate mixture soupy. However, it still turned out delicious, the chocolate thickened into a sort of pudding that was very tasty. But a word to the wise, don't mix too long when the chocolate doesn't run off of the beater it's done!

PIE CRUST:

Ingredients:

-1 c. flour
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/3 c. shortening (or butter)
-3-5 tbs. cold water

Directions:

Combine salt with flour. Use pastry blender to incorporate fat into flour. The fat should be broken down into pea-sized balls or larger. Do not mix it in too much or you will not end up with a flaky crust. Add cold water one tablespoon at a time and fluff into flour with a fork. Form dough into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.

      Preheat oven to 425 F. Lightly flour rolling pin and rolling surface. Roll dough out lightly in all directions and place in pie pan. Since there will be no filling at this point, puncture the bottom and sides of the dough to prevent air pockets from forming between the pie pan and dough. Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. The high temperature will cause the butter to melt and turn the water into steam, creating a nice flaky crust. Remove from oven and cool while you make the filling.
 

FILLING:

Ingredients:

-1 c. butter (typically 2 sticks)
-1-1/2 c. sugar
-2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled (Bakers Square)
-2 tsp. vanilla extract
-4 eggs

Directions:

Prepare the pie filling by first beating sugar and melted butter until thoroughly combined and no longer grainy. Mix in melted chocolate and extracts.
Add eggs two at a time, beating for about 3-5 minutes after each addition until the filling has a rich mousse texture.
Pour filling into cooled pie crust.

WHIPPED CREAM:


Ingredients:


-1 pint heavy whipping cream
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp almond extract

Directions:


 Prepare whipped cream topping by beating heavy cream until soft peaks form then mix in remaining ingredients and beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe pretty decorations over the top of the pie (if lazy you can just spread the whipped cream over the pie; either way it tastes the same). Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours until set. Cut into slices and enjoy!!

Basket of Flowers Cake

I made this cake for Christmas at my grandma's house and it was quite popular. The cake and icing themselves are very simple and so is the decorations they just look complicated. 

CAKE:

Ingredients:

- 12 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large egg whites 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour two 9 x 2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.

To make the cake: In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour in three parts, alternating with the milk and the vanilla extract, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, on the high speed of an electric mixer, beat the soft egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter, making sure no streaks of white are showing.

Divide batter between the cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack. When cake has cooled, ice between layers, then ice top and sides of cake. Make sure you brush all crumbs off the sides of the cake layers and place the layers top side up on a level surface.

ICING:

Ingredients:

-3 sticks butter (room temp)
-2 lbs powdered sugar
-2 tsp. vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp. almond extract
-1/4 cup milk
-gel food coloring

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle cream the butter until smooth. Gradually mix in the vanilla, almond and powdered sugar until combined then add the milk turning the mixer on high until thick and smooth.   Dye 2-3 large spoon-fulls of frosting green and spread over the top of the cake. Set aside leftover green icing for leaves at the end. 

        Next, spoon white frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a basket tip to make the basket weave on the side of the cake. Starting at the bottom of the cake with the ridged side of the piping tip facing outward, pipe a line of icing as straight as you can eyeball it up the side of the cake. Then, starting at the top of the line you just piped, still with the ridged side facing outward, pipe a horizontal line about 1-1 1/2 inches long along the top of the side of the cake (make sure that your not piping on the top of the cake). Then make an identical horizontal line about 1/2 inch ish below the first line you piped (The gap between these lines should be about the width of the piping tip). Continue this until you reach the bottom of the cake (you can stop a little above the bottom to save room for a border). Then pipe another vertical line along the edges of the horizontal lines you made. Lastly, in the gaps left from the previous weave (you'll see what I mean when you do it) pipe horizontal lines that go over the vertical line and about an inch past it. Continue this pattern around the sides of the cake.

       Next, switch from the basket tip to a star tip on the white icing pastry bag and pipe a shell border along the top ridge and bottom of the cake. Then dye another 4-5 spoon-fulls of icing red (or as close to red as you can get) and spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a flower tip. Pipe one rose at a time and place strategically along the top of the cake covering as much surface area as possible without smashing flowers. Then spoon the remaining green icing into a pastry bag fitted with a leaf tip and pipe leaves in all the empty spaces around the flowers on the cake. 

I used the same piping technique on a red velvet cheesecake I made for
another Christmas party the next day

         

Maple Nut Chiffon

So this is not what you would call a pretty cake (or tasty if you were to ask my opinion) but it sure was popular. I made this along with the "Easy White Cake" for my grandma's 70th birthday party. She requested this cake because it is her favorite, her mom used to make it, my grandma also made this cake in her high school Home EC. class. Although this cake is not my flavor of choice everyone at the party seemed to love it especially the birthday girl. It is fairly simple to make the only tricky part would be the egg whites but if you follow the recipe they shouldn't be a problem. When I made this cake I actually forgot to add the nuts to the batter until after I had poured it into the pan but in the end I was able to stir them into the batter while keeping it into the pan. This cake has a unique flavor that's fun to make. 

CAKE:

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-3 teaspoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon salt
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup vegetable oil
-5 egg yolks
-3/4 cup cold water
-2 teaspoons maple flavoring
-1 cup (8) egg whites
-1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
-1 cup finely chopped, toasted walnuts
Directions:


Set oven at 325 degrees F. Sift flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl; stir in brown sugar. Make a well in dry ingredients. Add vegetable oil, egg yolks, water and flavoring. Beat until satin smooth.
Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in large mixing bowl. Beat until they form very stiff peaks (stiffer than for meringue or angel cake). Pour egg-yolk batter in thin stream over entire surface of egg whites, gently cutting and folding down, across bottom, up the side and over, just until blended. Fold in nuts. Bake in ungreased 10-inch tube pan in slow oven at 325 degrees F for 55 minutes; increase heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert pan; let cool thoroughly.

GOLDEN BUTTER FROSTING:

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup butter
-4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
-1/2 cup light cream
-1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons maple flavoring
-1 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped

Directions:

Melt butter in saucepan; keep over low heat until golden brown, watching carefully so it does not scorch. Remove from heat, stir in confectioners' sugar. Blend in light cream and maple flavoring. Place pan in ice water and beat until of spreading consistency (add more cream if needed). Frost top and sides of cake. Decorate with chopped walnuts. Yield: 1 10-inch cake.

Easy White Cake

I made this cake for my grandma's 70th birthday party and it was a big hit. This cake is easy and involves so little that its perfect for the lazy and forgetful who need a quick sugar fix. This is the first cake on which I used gel food coloring and since then I don't use anything else. The gel not only makes colors vibrant but it actually makes the reds red as opposed to pink. This "recipe" is one that I made up and is the only one that involves a boxed cake mix because personally using boxed mixes always feels like cheating but I was out of time and left with no alternative.

CAKE:

Ingredients:

-1 super moist white cake mix

-about 1-1 1/2 Tbsp. almond extract

Directions:

Prepare cake batter as directed on back of mix box but before pouring into greased pans add enough almond extract as desired (I added enough so that I could slightly smell it in the batter). Continue baking and cooling as directed on the box (like I said this is as easy as it gets). 

BUTTERCREAM:

Ingredients:

-3 sticks butter (room temp)

-2 lbs powdered sugar

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/4 tsp. almond extract

-1/4 cup milk

-gel food coloring

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle cream the butter until smooth. Gradually mix in the vanilla, almond and powdered sugar until combined then add the milk turning the mixer on high until thick and smooth.  Color with food coloring as desired. Spread/decorate on the cake as you so desire. 

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!

Gooey Double Chocolate Brownies

These are ooey gooey chocolicious brownies that are super good for any chocolate lover. When I made these I didn't quite cook them enough and didn't figure it out until they were cooled and cut which was kind of a bummer but they were still good. So make sure that you insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean so that you know they're really done before you turn off the oven let them cool. When you take these out of the oven they will be slightly gooey but when they cool they will turn more fudgey except if it's uncooked then it just stays the consistency of the batter. 

BROWNIES:

Ingredients:

-3/4 cup butter

-10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

-1/3 cup cocoa powder

-2/3 cup all-purpose flour

-1/2 tsp. salt

-4 eggs

-2 cups sugar

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 19x3 in. pan with foil allowing excess to hang over the edges of the pan, and spray the foil with cooking spray.

     Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water, add the chocolate and stir until melted and combined. Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl and set aside to cool. 

     Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla on a high speed until light and fluffy-about 3 minutes. 

     Whisk the cocoa into the chocolate batter. Add the flour and salt and whisk until incorporated then whisk into the egg mixture. The fold in half of the chocolate chips into the batter.

     Pour batter into prepared pans and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over the batter. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. The brownies should be soft and moist. Let the brownies cool in the pan before cutting and serving. 

before oven

finished product

       

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

These cupcake are awesome!! The icing especially is very good it tastes store bought. This icing is my new official buttercream from now on because it is seriously delicious. Along with the icing these cupcakes are scrumptious especially while they are still warm but they are delicate moist cakes perfect for anything. The amount of icing this recipe produces is a lot and if you're not a huge icing lover I would recommend  cutting the recipe in half. Also, I lined the cupcake pan with liners but you can also just butter the crap out of the pan and it works the same. 

CUPCAKES:

Ingredients:

-2 sticks butter

-2 cups sugar

Just out of the oven

-1 egg

-4 egg whites

-1/4 tsp. baking soda

-1 tsp. baking powder

-3/4 tsp. salt

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 1/2 cup milk

-2 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F and line two cupcake trays with liners. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and egg until white and very fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and beat just until incorporated. Pour batter into a large measuring cup and pour batter into lined cupcake tins. Bake in oven for 18-20 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting. 

FROSTING:

Ingredients:

-3 sticks butter

-2 lbs powdered sugar

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Using an electric mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly begin beating in powdered sugar and vanilla. Begin adding milk to mixture turning mixer on high. Add just enough milk so that the mixture is light and fluffy not runny. Continue beating frosting until light and fluffy. Then fit a pastry bag with a star tip and spoon icing into bag and pipe swirls onto the cooled cupcakes. 

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

These cupcakes are pretty awesome along with pretty much everything else I make. The cupcakes have bits of oreos in them and so does the icing. I swear this icing tastes exactly like the inside of an oreo! These cupcakes are actually not that hard to make either but they taste like they are. I was able to make about 22 cupcakes but I did put a little too much batter in some of the cupcake tins. I also ran out of cupcake liners in the middle of making them so I lined the pan with a HEAVY coat of butter, either way they tasted pretty much the same and the cupcakes with liners are obviously easier to transport and are better for events but you really have the option to do it either way. So here it goes, Cookies and Cream cupcakes:

CUPCAKES:

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

-1/2 cup cocoa powder

-1 1/4 cup sugar

-3/4 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp salt

-2 eggs

-1/2 cup vegetable oil

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-3/4 cup milk

-3/4 cup hot water

-one package of double stuffed oreos

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tray with baking cups (or an excessive amount of butter if that's what you prefer). Set aside 6 oreos for crushing for the icing later, and break the remaining oreos into smaller pieces and place evenly throughout the cups. 

     Mix the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl using a whisk. Then add the eggs, oil, vanilla, milk, and mix well until thoroughly incorporated. The batter should look like normal batter about the color of hot chocolate. 

     Then add the hot water and mix until combined. Now the mixture should be a much thinner liquid. Transfer the batter into a large measuring cup and fill each cupcake up until its about 3/4 full (when you add the batter you will see bubbles and the oreos will float to the top, the bubbles go away). Bake for 16-18 minutes. Repeat the baking process for any excess batter.

FROSTING:

Ingredients:

-1 cup butter (2sticks) softened, at room temperature

-1 Lb powdered sugar

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-3-6 Tbsp. milk

-4 Tbsp. oreo cookie crumbs (from cupcake recipe) 

Directions:

Put the 6 extra oreos (from the cupcake recipe) into a large zip lock bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the oreos until extremely fine and crumbled (if they are too big they won't go through the piping tip). 

     Beat the butter with a whisk (or electric mixer) until it is creamed. Add the vanilla. Then add the powdered sugar in increments, scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. Add 1 Tbsp. of milk at a time until you get the desired consistency. Add the 4 Tbsp. of oreo crumbs and mix until fully incorporated.

     Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a star tip and swirl the frosting on each individual cupcake. Lastly, sprinkle the extra oreo crumbs over the cupcakes and enjoy!!

finished product = awesome 

    

Red Velvet Cake

This picture above is of the first red velvet cake I made with the accidentally pink icing and it tasted really good. I made another red velvet for my mom's friend at work a couple weeks ago and although I never actually had a piece of it I heard it was pretty good. Below is the recipe I used for both of those cakes and the cream cheese icing that really tops it all off. (Enjoy Emma)

CAKE:

Ingredients:

-6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

-2 eggs, beaten

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

-3 Tbsp. cocoa powder

-1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

-Pinch of salt

-1 Tbsp. red food coloring

-1/2 cup buttermilk

-1 Tbsp. white vinegar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9in round cake pans.

     For the cake, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, then beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a separate bowl. Stir the food coloring into the buttermilk.

     Alternately add the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the creamed mixture. Stir in the vinegar, mixing well. Pour the mixture into the prepared pans, dividing it evenly. Bake in oven for 30-35 min, or until firm to the touch. Cool in the pans for 10 min, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

FROSTING:

Ingredients:

-6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

-8 oz. cream cheese

-1 lb powdered sugar

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

For the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese together in a bowl. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, mixing well. Sandwich the two cakes together with some frosting, then spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. 

cake I made a few weeks ago

Funfetti Cookies

I have made these cookies so many times and every time they are soo good and gone really quickly. The recipe is so simple that its only three ingredients and it tastes just like cake batter. You can ice these cookies and decorate them with sprinkles or just leave them plain they are amazing either way. I prefer to ice them but that's just me and each time I have used canned icing that I bought when I got the cake mix and it makes these cookies even better. You could always make buttercream with these cookies too it also tastes very good. I made a funfetti cookie cake for Mike's birthday which was double the recipe below baked in two 9 in cake pans and coated the cake in two batches of buttercream it was so sweet it made your teeth hurt, there's a picture below.

Ingredients:

-1 box funfetti cake mix

-1/3 cup oil

-2 eggs

-icing and sprinkles for decorating (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F and spray two baking sheets with nonstick spray.

     Dump the cake mix into a large bowl and add the eggs and oil. With an electric mixer (or just a spoon) beat the mixture until thoroughly combined. Place 12 one inch dollops of dough onto each baking sheet and bake in oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. (The cookies might look a little doughy, that's okay they will set when they cool.) Leave cookies on baking sheet for a minute or two then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, and ice and decorate if you so choose. 

funfetti cookie cake