Archive for the ‘Cakes’ Category

I have had a serious cheesecake making obsession lately. I think it started when I tried to make cheesecake for the first time in my new oven, the day before 30 family members came over for Christmas Eve. The cake tasted alright, but the appearance was an utter disaster. I ended up scraping the darken/burnt edges off the top of  my cheesecakes and adding a whipping cream border around the top outer edge to hide the hideousness. Still the top (of a new york cheesecake) was a shade of medium brown, with more than one crack in the center and a slightly sunken appearance. Truthfully, it was an embarrassment… I’m sure my family could attest to that. I suppose it serves me right for trying something that requires a somewhat delicate process in a new oven for the first time when expecting guests! Alas. At least it was for family and they are obligated to love me despite my food related flops.

At any rate, I went through a short period of “I’m never making cheesecake again,” to a more recent desire to figure out what went wrong and to perfect my cheesecake making technique. I’ve made about half a dozen cheesecakes since Christmas, and done quite a bit of reading on the subject. I’ve learned a lot, and each cheesecake has come out better than the one before it. Hooray for that! The last three (New York, Blueberry Swirl, and now Peanut Butter Cup) have neared perfection… Cheesecake Nirvana! 🙂

This particular cheesecake was made for a family dinner last night to bid farewell to my sister and her husband as they are moving out of state. I think it was a hit… Did I redeem my self dear family?

The recipe is adapted from this one, this one, and this one.

Crust

-6 oreo cookies
-20 graham cracker squares
-1/8 c. dry roasted peanuts
-2 Tbsp of coca powder
-1 Tbsp granulated sugar
-8 Tbsp. butter, melted
-1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

In a food processor combine cookies, crackers, peanuts, cocoa powder, and sugar. Process until fine.
Add melted butter and stir with a fork until well combined.
Press into the bottom of a 9″ spring form pan.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Remove crust from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.
Warm the peanut butter in the microwave until very spreadable (about 30 sec).
Spread softened peanut butter over the crust, within 1″ of the edges.

Filling
*All ingredients should be at room temperature *

– 1 Tbsp melted butter
-20 oz. (2 1/2 packages) cream cheese
-1/2 cup sour cream
-1/2 cup sugar
-3/4 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy, depending on preference)
-1 egg
-1 egg yolk
-1/3 cup half and half.
-1 tsp. vanilla

Double wrap the bottom and sides spring form pan tightly in aluminum foil and prepare a water bath.
Using a pastry brush, coat the sides of your pan with melted butter. (This will help prevent cracking as the cheese cake settles)

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and peanut butter until creamy.
Add remaining ingredients just until combined, scrape sides of the bowl as needed, and do not over beat.

Set aside 3/4 cup of the filling, and pour the remaining over the prepared crust.

-6 coarsely chopped reses peanut butter cups
-1/2 cup hot fudge (ice cream topping)

Sprinkle the top of the cheesecake with the chopped peanut butter cups.
In a small bowl warm hot fudge in the microwave until easily stirred (about 3o sec). Add reserved cheesecake filling. Stir.

Layer the fudge filling over the peanut butter cups.
With a knife, carefully marble the fudge layer into the cheesecake just  a bit.

Bake cheesecake in the water bath at 350 for 15 minutes.

Reduce the temperature to 250 and bake an additional hour.

Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in for one more hour.
Resist the temptation to open the oven door. Keep it closed.

Remove from oven and from water bath and place on a cooling rack.

Topping

2/3 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup sour cream

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and stir constantly until chocolate is melted.
Pour over the prepared cheesecake.

Refrigerate until set and ready to serve.

Garnish with additional chopped peanut butter cups if desired.

I had my first ever experience using fondant the other day. I wanted to make a cake for my husband’s birthday that looked like the logo for the Dharma Initiative (nevermind what that is, unless you are a LOST fan). The point is, I needed fondant. I’d heard horror stories about the yucky taste of the Wilton fondant and how hard it is to work with. I’d also heard that homemade fondant tastes better, but most of the recipes I’d found used ingredients like glucose or glycerin. Being new at this, I was feeling just a bit intimidated.

But then I came across the blog of a friend of mine. She makes cakes and had a recipe posted for a Marshmallow Fondant. I talked to her about it and she mentioned that it was pretty easy and reassured me that I could make this without too much trouble.

So I took the plunge.

Her recipe noted that chocolate (dark, milk, or white) could be added to make a chocolate fondant. That seemed interesting, but I was making a Carrot Cake, so I was wondering if I could add a cream cheese flavoring to the fondant. My google searches came up empty. But I risked it anyway (figuring marshmallows are cheap if I screw up).

So I modified her recipe to include a small amount of cream cheese.

The resulting flavor was very subtle, but it worked well with the cake. The fondant was also a bit stickier, but adding a bit more powdered sugar worked well.

So, first is the original recipe from Camille’s Cakes (slightly reworded). Then, my modification, Cream Cheese Fondant.

Marshmallow Fondant
8 oz. mini marshmallows
1 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 – 1 3/4 c powdered sugar
Crisco

Place marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl and add the water. Microwave in 20 seconds increments until they “puff up.” Go slowly. Stir in with a spoon until it’s all “soupy.” Add the powdered sugar. Knead it with the spoon until it’s all mixed well. Then you can knead it on a lightly greased (with Crisco) surface.

If you want to add color or flavoring to the fondant do so at the “soupy” stage.

Keep covered in an air-tight container so it doesn’t dry out. If it’s too hard to work with, stick it in the microwave for a few seconds (ten or so) and it softens right up, like playdough!

Variations:

Chocolate:
add 1 oz. melted chocolate
1 t. cocoa powder to basic recipe

White Chocolate:
add 1 oz. (maybe 1 1/4 oz.) good quality white chocolate, melted to basic recipe.

And this is my modification:

Cream Cheese Fondant
8 oz. mini marshmallows
1 Tbsp. water
1 oz. cream cheese
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups (approx.) powdered sugar
Crisco

Place marshmallows, vanilla, and cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and add the water. Microwave in 20 seconds increments until they “puff up.” Go slowly. Stir in with a spoon until it’s all “soupy.” Slowly add the powdered sugar. Knead it with the spoon until it’s all mixed well and no longer sticky. Then knead it on a lightly greased (with Crisco) surface until smooth.

*Note: The cream cheese seems to make this recipe a bit more sticky, thus the need for additional powdered sugar.

Store extra fondant in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature, microwaving a few seconds at a time as needed, before use.

Please note, I do not claim to be any type of fondant authority. This is just what worked for me.

On the Carrot Cake I made, I first frosted it with traditional cream cheese frosting, and then covered it with the cream cheese fondant. It taste of the fondant was sweet and a bit sugary and it blended well with the frosting layer beneath it. I don’t think that it would hold up as a cream cheese flavored topping on its own, but it didn’t detract from the carrot cake/cream cheese frosting flavor.

Also note: In the images above I used a chocolate fondant for the decal on the cake. I didn’t like the chocolate flavor with the cream cheese/carrot cake, so we ended up pulling off those pieces when we ate it. In retrospect I think I should have simply colored the cream cheese fondant. Next time.

Last but not least, I imagine at some point in my future I will try other types of fondant recipes just so I have something to compare, but in the meantime I think this is a great recipe worth trying and using. Thanks again Camille.

(I also came across a website with a similar – though slightly more complex – recipe. But they also have some good tips on covering the cake with the finished fondant.)

A few years ago I found a recipe for Carrot Cake that I LOVE! It’s pretty easy to make and very moist and yummy. I think that the addition of crushed pineapple is especially fabulous. The original recipe came from AllRecipies.com (Marc Boyer). I only changed a couple of things to suit my liking… pecans instead of walnuts, use of a different pan size — the cake really doesn’t need modifying. Its super delicious as it is.

Thanks Marc, for the fabulous cake!

My Favorite Carrot Cake

2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup flaked coconut
1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup chopped pecans (original recipe called for walnuts)
1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour pan(s) — 9×13 inch or (2) inch pans. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk.

Stir in carrots, coconut, vanilla, and pineapple. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; gently stir into carrot mixture.

Stir in chopped nuts. Spread batter into prepared pan(s).

Bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

In a medium mixing bowl, combine butter or margarine, cream cheese, vanilla, and confectioners sugar.

Blend until creamy.

Cake can be removed from pan, or frosted while still in the pan as desired.