Tiramisu Cake with chocolate ganache filling!

This recipe is actually one of the very first recipes I made after beginning the blog, and accordingly, I didn't take very many photos, and the ones I did get are not nearly as high in quality as some of the later photos. But, I promise that the recipe is so delicious, it makes the lack of nice pictures a moot point. You will be way too busy eating your cake to worry about pictures. Or, maybe, you'll take some of your own, and post them to our facebook wall! Please do!

A few quick notes. This is essentially a yellow cake. But, not just any yellow cake. This has become my go-to cake recipe, that I make ANYTIME I want a delicious cake, that's guaranteed to turn out perfectly, and taste amazing. Then, there is a chocolate ganache between the layers, that is reminiscent of the cocoa grated on top of tiramisu. The icing is a buttercream, flavored with instant coffee, and although it's a little bit "slippery" in terms of the texture for my liking, it really does evoke the creaminess of tiramisu.

One of the BEST things about this cake is the fact that it includes one of my absolute FAVORITE ingredients. Buttermilk! I love buttermilk, the smell alone is enough to awaken feelings of nostalgia, and peace, and take me to my own, personal happy place. Unfortunately, prior to the discovery of from-scratch cake-baking, the only recipe in which I utilized this deliciousness was biscuits. Which meant that I often found myself throwing out left over buttermilk that I was unable to use before its expiration. This made for a very sad Kelley. Now, this recipe, along with several other cake recipes provides me another way to experience my love of buttermilk.

Now, if you're dying to make this cake, and don't happen to have any buttermilk on hand, or you've been to Wal-Mart on a Sunday evening when they are out of virtually every item you need, you can mimic the action of buttermilk with this little tip. Take a 1 cup measuring cup, and place 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in it. Then add enough whole milk to fill to the 1 cup line. Mix well, let stand for 10-15 minutes, and voila. It's not going to smell as delicious, and homey as the real thing, but it can be used in a pinch! And now you can't say I never taught you anything useful!

The first time I made this cake, The Husband, being the sweet man that he is brought me home a dozen roses, just because! I'm not sure there are any centerpieces that decorate a table more beautifully than a homemade three-layer cake, and a dozen red roses.

Hallelujahs:Delicious, Amazing, Versatile cake recipe you can combine with just about any icing/filling combination for a foolproof addition to your recipe binder. Really tastes like tiramisu. VERY impressive looking, being three layers!
Hellfires:As I stated in above information, the icing consistency is a little slippery, but it works in this recipe. I have not yet perfected the art of making frosting though, so if you have any tips, be sure to let me know!

Tiramisu Cake with Chocolate Ganache Filling


Ingredients

Cake:
3 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 1/3 cup buttermilk
5 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Buttercream: (halve this recipe if you will be covering the cake with fondant)
6 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoon instant coffee

Ganache:
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

Combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and 1 1/4 cup of the buttermilk. Mix on low speed briefly to blend; then raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.



In a smaller bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and the remaining 1/3 cup buttermilk until well blended. Pour one-third of the egg mixture into the cake batter at a time, folding it in completely after each addition. There will be 9 cups of batter; our 3 cups batter into each pan.

Bake for 26 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.



Allow cakes to cool for about 20 minutes, and then wrap them in plastic wrap, COMPLETELY covering them. You're going to then place these in the freezer while you make your ganache, and buttercream. Placing them in the freezer is a really important step. It helps TREMENDOUSLY when you're icing your cakes. You can skip it if you're feeling really impatient, but it does make it much easier to work with when it comes time to ice them!

To make buttercream, combine the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 5 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer, and whisk on high speed until mixture is completely cooled and stiff peaks form, about 6 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, on low speed, mixing well after each addition. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Stir instant coffee into warm water until dissolved. Add, 1 teaspoon at a time, to buttercream, mixing well after each addition, until you’re satisfied with the strength of the coffee flavor (I added about 2-3 tablespoons).

To make ganche, place chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl. In a heavy saucepan set over medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the stove and pour over chopped chocolate. Let stand 2 minutes and then stir until fully combined. Let cool until just firm enough to spread onto cake layers.

After leveling cake layers as necessary, place one cake layer on a cake plate, flat side up. Spread the buttercream over the top, followed by the buttercream. Repeat with the second cake layer, Top the cake with the third layer. You can choose to place more ganache here, or not. I tend to think that you can never have enough ganache, but for some reason the day I made this, I chose not to add more ganache to the top layer. C'est la vie.

To decorate the cake, I just chopped up some of the same semi-sweet chocolate I used for the ganache, and sprinkled it in a circular pattern around the edge of the cake. I even let Landon get in on some of the action, and he thought it was great.



Plain Text Recipe
Tiramisu Cake with Chocolate Ganache Filling


Ingredients

Cake:
3 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 1/3 cup buttermilk
5 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Buttercream: (halve this recipe if you will be covering the cake with fondant)
6 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoon instant coffee

Ganache:
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

Combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and 1 1/4 cup of the buttermilk. Mix on low speed briefly to blend; then raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and the remaining 1/3 cup buttermilk until well blended. Pour one-third of the egg mixture into the cake batter at a time, folding it in completely after each addition. There will be 9 cups of batter; our 3 cups batter into each pan.

Bake for 26 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow cakes to cool for about 20 minutes, and then wrap them in plastic wrap, COMPLETELY covering them. You're going to then place these in the freezer while you make your ganache, and buttercream. Placing them in the freezer is a really important step. It helps TREMENDOUSLY when you're icing your cakes. You can skip it if you're feeling really impatient, but it does make it much easier to work with when it comes time to ice them!

To make buttercream, combine the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 5 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer, and whisk on high speed until mixture is completely cooled and stiff peaks form, about 6 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, on low speed, mixing well after each addition. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Stir instant coffee into warm water until dissolved. Add, 1 teaspoon at a time, to buttercream, mixing well after each addition, until you’re satisfied with the strength of the coffee flavor (I added about 2-3 tablespoons).

To make ganche, place chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl. In a heavy saucepan set over medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the stove and pour over chopped chocolate. Let stand 2 minutes and then stir until fully combined. Let cool until just firm enough to spread onto cake layers.

After leveling cake layers as necessary, place one cake layer on a cake plate, flat side up. Spread the buttercream over the top, followed by the buttercream. Repeat with the second cake layer, Top the cake with the third layer. You can choose to place more ganache here, or not. I tend to think that you can never have enough ganache, but for some reason the day I made this, I chose not to add more ganache to the top layer. C'est la vie.

To decorate the cake, I just chopped up some of the same semi-sweet chocolate I used for the ganache, and sprinkled it in a circular pattern around the edge of the cake. I even let Landon get in on some of the action, and he thought it was great.

Original Recipe can be found HERE

S'mores cupcakes, Four Ways!

Is there anything more quintessentially American than sitting around a fire pit with some good friends, and making some delicious s'mores? Who would have thought that three things as simple as graham crackers, marshmallows, and Hershey bars, could combine to make something so amazing as a s'more?

And combining a s'more with a cupcake? Genius. Really. Right up there with Einstein, and his theory of relativity. Now, there are several schools of thought on how to best turn a s'more into a cupcake. Chocolate cake, with marshmallow frosting, and crumbled graham crackers, graham cracker cake with chocolate frosting, and marshmallow filling, graham cracker cake with marshmallow frosting, and chocolate filling...The list goes on, and I decided to try them all!



Now, originally, I was planning on posting all of the recipes for the cupcakes here, in detail, but then I served the cupcakes to The Family, at Sunday dinner, and one version was such a far and away winner that it seemed almost silly (and LONG) to share the others. Want to know the funniest thing about it? The winner was the cupcake that I didn't make from scratch! The chocolate cupcake with marshmallow frosting, and crumbled graham crackers. At the end of the post, I'll provide a link to the from-scratch graham cracker cupcakes, and a few general tips, but mostly, I'll cover the winning version. I tried this version two ways, one with graham cracker crusts pressed into the bottom of each cupcake liner, and one without. The one with the graham cracker crust was definitely better!

Hallelujahs: Amazing, Easy (a boxed mix, could it get any easier than that?), ADORABLE!
Hellfires: Very sweet. The frosting is more sugar, and less marshmallow that I had expected, but regardless, it is DELICIOUS. However, you can definitely only eat one at a time. Unfortunately, it also requires a graham cracker crust. See Cheesecake post for my thoughts on those.

When something involves these ingredients, how can it NOT be good?


-Note: Okay, yes, I cheated, and used a boxed mix. But, when something tastes this good, who cares?! Also, give me a break, I was making 4 different kinds of cupcakes. I needed a little helping hand, and Betty is my right hand woman. She's always there when I need her. Betty Crocker, that is.

S'More Cupcakes

Graham Cracker Crust
1 package of graham crackers, crushed (3 packages per box, only use one package)
1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup of sugar

-Combine the crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter.

-Press about 1 tbs of the mixture into each cupcake liner

-Place in oven at 350* for about 5 minutes, to pre-bake the crusts, and prevent them from getting soggy.
-And if you hate making graham cracker crusts as much as I do, be smart about this. Put your two favorite men to work, and make them do it for you! (Aren't I a lucky woman?)


Cupcakes
1 box of Chocolate Cake Mix, prepared as directed
-I used a Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge Mix, which called for some oil, water, and 3 eggs.
-Mix up your cupcake batter, and pour into pre-baked liners.
-This is where we'll highlight another must-have tool we've talked about before. Remember way back in the peanut butter cookie post? We introduced the pampered chef scoop? Well, there are two sizes of that scoop. The larger size is PERFECT for cupcakes. 1 full scoop perfectly fills the cupcake tins 2/3 full. Seriously, I LOVE these things!

-Once your cupcake liners are full, place in the oven, and bake, following the directions on your cake mix.
-Tip: I always set the timer for my cupcakes at least 5 minutes earlier than the box tells me to. There's nothing more frustrating than dry, burnt cupcakes.
-Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Marshmallow Creme Frosting
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
14 oz of marshmallow cream
-Mix all ingredients in your stand mixer
-Place into Ziploc bag, cut off the tip, and pipe onto cupcakes. Or, if that's not your style, grab a knife, and ice them the old fashioned way.

Decoration
-Once your cupcakes are frosted, dust with crushed graham crackers, and 1 rectangle of your Hershey Bars


Recipe for Marshmallow Creme frosting can be found here: http://sewdarncute.typepad.com/sew_darn_cute/2007/04/smores_cupcakes.html

Okay, if you decide you MUST try the other variations with the graham cracker cupcakes, instead of chocolate cupcakes, here are a few tips.
1) I found the recipe for the graham cracker cupcakes from here: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1255031
2) A note about from-scratch cake batters in general. They are MUCH thicker than boxed mix recipes. Don't be alarmed, it makes for a much denser, more delicious, cake. See how it sticks to the mixer paddle, here? MUCH thicker, and that's okay!

3) For variations, I tried these 2 ways. For the first 12, I inserted a square of a Hershey's bar into the center of each before baking:

They were iced with the Marshmallow creme frosting listed in the winning recipe, and then drizzled with chocolate ganache for artistic effect (you'll see why I'm a pre-med major, and not an art major).

-For the second option, I baked them with nothing in the center, and then when they were cooled, I cut out a section in the middle of each cupcake, and filled with plain, marshmallow creme (NOT the frosting). Then, I frosted them with chocolate ganache.


-And one more quick note about the ganache. Normally, I make my ganaches with semi-sweet chocolate because I love that deep, slightly bitter flavor to them. However, in this case, it just did not work with this recipe. I think next time I make this recipe, in order to stay true to the inspiration (the s'more) I will use Hershey's milk chocolate in order to make the ganache.

Good Luck with your s'more cupcakes! I hope they turn out beautifully!

Plain Text Recipe

S'More Cupcakes

Graham Cracker Crust
1 package of graham crackers, crushed (3 packages per box, only use one package)
1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup of sugar


-Combine the crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter.
-Press about 1 tbs of the mixture into each cupcake liner
-Place in oven at 350* for about 5 minutes, to pre-bake the crusts, and prevent them from getting soggy.

Cupcakes
1 box of Chocolate Cake Mix, prepared as directed

-I used a Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge Mix, which called for some oil, water, and 3 eggs.
-Mix up your cupcake batter, and pour into pre-baked liners.
-Once your cupcake liners are full, place in the oven, and bake, following the directions on your cake mix.
-Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Marshmallow Creme Frosting
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
14 oz of marshmallow cream

-Mix all ingredients in your stand mixer
-Place into Ziploc bag, cut off the tip, and pipe onto cupcakes. Or, if that's not your style, grab a knife, and ice them the old fashioned way.

Decoration
-Once your cupcakes are frosted, dust with crushed graham crackers, and 1 rectangle of your Hershey Bars

New York Style Cheesecake, Blackberry Sauce, and a correction!

First things first, in going through my last post, I realized there was a typo on the chicken alfredo recipe.  It should have read 2 tablespoons of cream cheese, instead of 2 ounces of cream cheese.  This is not a huge gaffe, and really won't have too big of an effect on your sauce, as 2 tablespoons of cream cheese equal 1 ounce of cream cheese, and I usually add a little over one ounce, but I just wanted to be sure I had all of the correct measurements on the blog.  So, I've changed the post, and highlighted the new amounts in yellow.  Sorry for the confusion!

Now, onto the REAL reason you've come to this blog today:

Seriously is there anything that isn't better in New York?  Pizza, shopping, and DEFINITELY cheesecake.   I have never even been to New York, and I already love it.  With all of the dining options, late-night menus, pizza, and cheesecake (and shopping!) I think we could be very happy together.  But, I'd have to live outside of the city on a ton of land, I'm a country girl at heart.  The only thing I can't figure out, NY style pizza is thin, and crispy, as opposed to Chicago's tall, deep-dish variety.  But NY Style cheesecake, is tall, and deep, like Chicago's pizza.  Random, huh?

Cheesecake and I get along VERY well.  Just ask my hips, and my thighs.  The four of us (Myself, my hips, my thighs, and my cheesecake) are thick as thieves.  Which brings us to an important point.  The two T's of cheesecakes. A perfect cheesecake should be tall, and thick.  The taller, the better.  This particular cheesecake, from Smitten Kitchen, almost overflowed my springform pan, which is just how it should be.  A perfect cheesecake should also be thick, and dense, not gooey, like the stuff you buy in a tub at Wally World.  This particular cheesecake fits the bill for both categories.  It's tall, and thick, and dense, and delicious!

A couple of notes about this cheesecake recipe.  The recipe calls for the oven to start at 550*, and to brown the top of the cheesecake for 10-12 minutes at that temperature.  However, my cheesecake was more than brown after only 5 minutes, and  even after reducing the oven temperature to 200*, it still got a little more brown than I would have preferred.  So, you may want to play around with your oven a little bit to find the sweet spot.  All that really means is more cheesecake, and who can argue with that?

Personally, I'm a naked cheesecake kind of girl.  Yes, I said naked.  Go ahead, take a second, and do the Beavis n' Butthead laugh, I'll wait.  Got it out of your system?  Good.  Now, back to the task at hand.  I happen to like naked, unadulterated cheesecake.  It allows you to get the full effect of the sweet, tangy, creamy goodness, without interrupting the smoothness by some other concoction on the top.  However, many in The Family prefer to make their sweets include a 'healthy' serving of fruits and vegetables (carrot cake, anyone?  I mean really, carrots in cake?!), and this blackberry topping by the Pioneer Woman was so beautiful, I was inclined to oblige.  And it couldn't have been easier to make!  Considering my brother-in-law, Keith, was eating it alone, after he'd finished his 2nd piece of cheesecake, I think it's safe to say it was a huge success!

New York Style Cheesecake

from: Smitten Kitchen

Note:  I prefer an intense, cream cheese taste in my cheesecakes.  Because of this, I like a VERY light flavor of citrus in my cheesecake.  Just kind of a hint of it in the background that makes you go, 'hmmm, what's that?'  Accordingly, I adjusted the amount of orange/lemon zest when I made the cheesecake.  I used maybe 1/4 teaspoon of each.  But, I will list the original measurements here, in case you prefer a more 'in your face,' citrus flavor.

Hallelujahs: Delicious, Tall and Thick, and difficult to mess up!
Hellfires: Graham cracker crust. I love the taste, but pressing graham cracker crusts into the bottom of pans is my absolute LEAST favorite baking chore ever. It's like the seventh circle of hell. But this was delicious enough to make it worth it. Also, waiting for it to cool before eating is torture of the worst kind! I mean, really, some cheesecake recipes call for 12-18 HOURS?!?! Of course, I couldn't wait that long, I only waited 5 hours, and it was still delicious. Don't tell the cheesecake gods, though, okay?

Crumb Crust:
15 sheets of Graham Crackers
1 stick of melted butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt

-Crush graham crackers into crumbs. Most people use a food processor. I happen not to own a food processor, so I tried several methods of this. First, I placed some graham crackers into my magic bullet:

-This did NOT work very well. It was loud, and left LOTS of large chunks. I do not recommend this method.
-Then I tried just crushing them with my fingers. Again, not very useful.
-Finally, I placed them in a ziploc bag, and used that handy marble rolling pin I told you about. This worked the best.
-Once your graham crackers are crushed, mix all ingredients, and press into bottoms/sides of your springform pan.
-Note: It really is important for a cheesecake to use a springform pan. I bought mine at good, old Wally World for around $10. So, while it's necessary to have a springform pan, it is not necessary to have a $30 or $40 Williams-Sonoma springform pan.



Cheesecake
(5) 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened 
1 3/4 cups of sugar
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon each, lemon zest, and orange zest
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla


-Preheat oven to 550*.
-Cream together cream cheese, flour, sugar, and zests until light and fluffy:





-Add Vanilla.
-Add eggs, and yolks, one at a time.
-Scrape down bowl between eggs/yolks to be sure there are no stripes of unmixed cream cheese in there.
-Pour into springform pan.



-I had a ton of batter left over that just wouldn't fit in my springform pan. And you just KNOW I couldn't let that goodness go to waste. So, if you happen to have some leftover batter, and some left over graham crackers, this is a very good way to make use of them (recycle, recycle!):



-Place springform pan on cookie sheet with lip in order to catch any drips.
-Brown at 550* for 5-10 minutes
-Turn down oven temperature to 200* (I left my oven door open for about 5 minutes to reduce the temperature), and bake for about 1 hour.
-Note: even when done, your cheesecake will still jiggle. The top will be firm to the touch when done, but will still jiggle, all in one piece, like Jello, when done. So don't leave it in there until it's not moving at all, or it will be overdone.
-Allow cheesecake to cool completely on a baking rack before placing in refrigerator.


-Note: I have NEVER had a cheesecake not crack. Water bath, or no water bath. Just tell your type-A self to stuff it, and enjoy the goodness without worrying about the cracks. Just call it "homey, and old-fashioned," and all will be right with the world. Or, just pour the blackberry sauce all over the top, and no one will be the wiser!
-Chill in your fridge for 6 hours before serving. If you can wait that long. If not, I won't tell!

Blackberry Sauce

Hallelujahs: Fast, easy, only three ingredients, delicious
Hellfires:None.

2 packages of blackberries (mine were 12 oz each)
A couple of handfuls of sugar (to taste!)
5 or 6 tablespoons of water


-Place all ingredients in a saucepan, and bring to a boil.



-Allow to boil (while stirring) for about 4-5 minutes.
-Remove from heat, and serve.
    -Note, the original PW recipe calls for completely cooling the blackberry sauce, but really, who can wait for that?  I mean, I suppose if you were efficient and made it right after placing the cheesecake in the fridge, you'd have no trouble.  But, if you're a procrastinator like me, and you make it after the cheescake's ready, and 5 hungry faces are staring at it, like ravenous wolves, you can go ahead, and serve it hot, right off the stove.  Think of it like hot fudge on ice cream.
     -Oh, and speaking of ice cream, if you have some of this leftover (of which I had a TON), save it, place it in the refrigerator, and pour it over your ice cream, when you need a treat later in the week.  Because there won't be any cheesecake left over.  At all.  It's just too good.




Original Recipes can be found at: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/new-york-cheesecake/ and http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/blackberry-cheesecake/

Fruit Pizza, requests, and photography!

This is probably the absolute EASIEST recipe you will ever make, and it will garner RAVE reviews from your family and friends. Those are two things that I LOVE putting together, easy, and great. I even broke one of my cardinal rules for this baby, by following the recipe, and using pre-made, refrigerated cookie dough. Which I usually believe is DEFINITELY from the devil. I mean NOTHING beats homemade cookie dough. But in this case, it's all about the ease of this recipe, and nothing's easier than rolling out pre-made dough. It comes to you from one my culinary heroes, Paula Deen! I mean, really who DOESN'T love her? Everytime I see her on TV I just want to invite her over to hang out with me. I feel like she'd be the best friend you'd ever have, not to mention the goodies she's bring to the party! I could just see us being great friends, sipping on some homemade mint iced tea, watching Steel Magnolias, and eating something fried, and wrapped in bacon.

Also, this recipe is a request from one of my awesome friends, Tricia, and the last recipe (the fruit salsa) was a request from another great friend, Rene. If there are any recipes YOU are dying to try, but don't feel like wasting the ingredients if they suck, feel free to leave me a comment, and I'll be happy to try them for you. And I'll only send you a bill for 1/2 the ingredients! Okay, just kidding, I won't bill you for anything, but I will blog about here, so we can save the world from bad recipes, and shout it from the mountaintops for good recipes. Consider the comment box your all-night, request live station, and me, your cooky all night radio DJ. I'm excited to see what you guys come up with!

Also, I have just downloaded a copy of Photoshop Elements, so once I have time to sit down, and figure out how to use it, we should have some much more beautiful photographs on here! Now, onto the recipe!

Hallelujahs: Easy, delicious, beautiful
Hellfires: Not enough frosting, I would double the recipe next time, also 1 roll of cookie dough was not enough for my pan, I had to buy two, and had some left over of that 2nd roll, which is a hallelujah for my taste buds, but a hellfire for my hips!

**Note, the original recipe called for a green apple on the fruit pizza, but The Husband (a fruit pizza connoisseur) felt that it did not go with this recipe, so I left it out. I also used mandarin oranges, instead of a navel orange, because they are just so cute, and because in keeping with the theme of this recipe, they are MUCH easier than cutting a navel orange. In addition, I've adjusted the amount of white chocolate chips/chocolate syrup, because I had WAY too much left over, so much so that even I couldn't have eaten it all. Also, I'm going to list this with the doubled recipe for the frosting, and the cookie dough, because let's face it you can't have too much frosting, or cookie dough.**

Fruit Pizza a la Paula Deen

2 rolls refrigerated sugar cookie dough
2, 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar (aka confectioner's sugar)
1 large peach, sliced
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
6 ounces fresh blueberries
6 ounces fresh raspberries
1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1/4 cup chocolate syrup


-Preheat oven to 350*
-While oven is preheating, spray cookie sheet, or other pan (I used a stoneware cookie sheet), and roll cookie dough to form an even layer on the bottom. You can make this as thick, or as thin as you like, depending on your optimum crust to fruit ratio.
-Bake crust for 11-15 minutes, or until it is firm to touch. If you cook it too long, it will be hard, and very difficult to cut, and eat.
-While the cookie crust is cooling, combine the cream cheese, and powdered sugar in your mixer.
-Spread the cream cheese frosting on your cooled cookie crust.
-Artfully (not haphazardly, you didn't know you had to be an artist, here, did you?) arrange your fruits on the crust.
-Melt white chocolate chips.
-You can do this by making a double boiler on the stove, or by microwaving at half power in 20 second increments. Do NOT burn your chocolate. You will regret it, I promise.
-Add chocolate syrup to melted white chocolate, and stir.
-Drizzle chocolate mixture over your fruit pizza until it looks delicious!

Original Recipe found at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/fruit-pizza-recipe/index.html
(notice that Paula's pizza is MUCH more beautiful than mine, yet mine was still tasty...thus proving that you do NOT have to be an artist to make a delicious fruit pizza!

Enjoy! And keep those requests coming!

Peanut Butter Madness!

So, this week, both new recipes are desserts, and both new recipes involve peanut butter. Not sure why it happened that way this week, I just had one heck of a sweet tooth, and these two desserts just looked WAY too good to pass up. Both are courtesy of one of my two favorite food websites, www.smittenkitchen.com. (The other being the food queen herself, Ree Drummond of www.thepioneerwoman.com).

The first is a chocolate cake with peanut butter cream cheese frosting, and a chocolate peanut butter ganache that was TO DIE FOR. I mean, seriously, I could make buckets of this stuff, and eat it right out of the bowl. Heck, who needs a spoon? I'm not above sticking my face down in there, and licking it right from the bowl. Don't tell anyone, though please warn me if I have some on my nose. Seriously, if you make nothing else on this blog, MAKE THIS GANACHE. Spoon it over ice cream, put it on cupcakes, or brownies, or cheesecake, or a spoon, your lover, whatever floats your boat. It is DELICIOUS. I tried this recipe on The Family, and rave reviews followed. Nick, our resident ganache expert had two pieces. Without making cake soup by drenching it in milk. Which speaks VOLUMES for its deliciousness.

I must admit that I did not try the "from scratch" cake recipe on her website. Not because I'm lazy, or because I have MOUNTAINS of microbiology homework to do, only because I forgot the sour cream at the store. Am I the only one on the face of this planet who can go to the store with a detailed, organized list, and come home missing at least one item each and EVERY time I go to the grocery store? It's like a curse. Tell me I'm not alone. Anyway, I used a boxed, swiss chocolate cake from Duncan Hines, and the cake was still delicious. The cake is really just a vehicle for the frosting, and ganache, anyway. And even though I didn't make the from scratch version on her website, I know it's delicious, just the same way you know that your favorite Coach bag will always make you smile, or the same way you know that your little boy will have to go potty right AFTER you pass the last rest stop for 39 miles (or is that just my little man.) It just is. Trust me.

Now, her cake is MUCH more beautiful than mine. What can I say, I didn't level the cake correctly. Not because I'm lazy (again with the lazy, geez, give it a rest, would ya?), but because I happen to like the look of a nice, rounded top cake. Kind of homey, and old fashioned. And nothing speaks to a Southern girl like all things homey, and old fashioned. Unfortunately, this made my cake look a little lopsided, and allowed the ganache to run down the sides in a very uneven fashion. But, we have a saying in The Family about our Pampered Chef stoneware pans that fits pretty well in this situation, "the worse it looks, the better it cooks." Because let me tell you, all that extra ganache does beautiful, and magical things inside of your mouth. You won't even remember what the cake looked like anyway, because by the time you blink, it will all be gone.





I served this at the family Memorial Day BBQ, alongside these adorable red, white, and blue cupcakes that my son, Landon decorated. I think he has an eye for this already, don't you?




**Also important to note, that while it sounds, fancy, and inherently difficult, the ganache was a BREEZE to whip up. Probably the easiest thing I've ever made, and the most delicious, as well. So, don't be intimidated by it, it's not hard, at all.**

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake a la Smitten Kitchen
-I have to say that this name just doesn't do this cake justice. It should be something like "The most delicious, peanut butter chocolate ganache explosion you've every put in your mouth," but that just wouldn't fit very well on the recipe card, now would it?

The Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (Deb note: These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.)

4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. (Deb note 1: Making a crumb coat of frosting–a thin layer that binds the dark crumbs to the cake so they don’t show up in the final outer frosting layer–is a great idea for this cake, or any with a dark cake and lighter-colored frosting. Once you “mask” your cake, let it chill for 15 to 30 minutes until firm, then use the remainder of the frosting to create a smooth final coating. Deb note 2: Once the cake is fully frosting, it helps to chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze.)

5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ganache
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm


Here is the link to smittenkitchen's webpage, where you will find much more beautiful photography, and more expert advice than I could ever give!

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/