Pumpkin Cake with Eggnog Cream

I realize it's not the season for all these holiday themed treats, but I figured I'd keep going as long as I started in on Christmas treats.

This one doesn't have to be used for Christmas, but is more of a fall/winter dessert. After all, you have to be able to buy eggnog for it! I found this recipe a couple of years ago, but just got around to making it this year. My in-laws all seemed to enjoy it, and it also looked really pretty. :)

Here is the recipe:

Cake:
1 16-oz. can pumpkin (not pie filling), (the recipe recommends using name brand)
3 c. sugar
1 c. oil
3 eggs
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger

Icing:
2 c. powdered sugar
milk (a few teaspoons)
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Garnish (optional):
nutmeg
1/4 c. toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped (I used chopped almonds)

Cream:
2 c. heavy cream (I used regular whipping cream and it worked fine)
1/2 c. eggnog (Light didn't work well when I tried it. Sorry, you've got to use the full-strength stuff here.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease and flour a bundt pan. (Or spray thoroughly with Pam with flour.) Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, and eggs together thoroughly in a large mixing bowl. Stir flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger together in a separate bowl. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until smooth. pour batter into prepared pan.Bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Don't over bake or it will become dry.) Gently shake cake in pan or tap on counter to loosen. Turn out onto cake plate to cool.

Place powdered sugar into bowl. Add milk 1 tsp. at a time until you reach a thick "gravy" consistency. Add a pinch of salt and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Drizzle over top of cooled cake and garnish by sprinkling lightly with nutmeg and nuts before glaze sets, if desired.

Beat heavy cream until quite stiff. Fold in eggnog to make soft peaks. Serve slices of cake with a generous dollop of the eggnog cream.

You can also use the cake recipe to make pumpkin muffins. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

This. Is. So. Good. Chocolate and peanut butter are one of those made in heaven combinations. If you're not a peanut butter fan, you'll want to move on from this one. But if you like peanut butter and chocolate, TRY THIS! You won't be disappointed.

Last Christmas, my cousin Julie gave me a little recipe book that was sold as a fund-raiser for the Jordan High School girls' soccer team. I just recently got around to trying this recipe from that book, and I shouldn't have waited so long! It is definitely a new favorite! I have tried many "from scratch" chocolate cake recipes, and this is by far the best I've tried. Keep in mind, I like dense, not dry cake. (I'm not allowed to use the "m" word; my husband doesn't like it. But hopefully you know what I mean by "not dry".) If you like super light, fluffy cake, this might be a little dense for you. You can always substitute your favorite chocolate cake recipe and use it with the frosting below.

Here you go; your new favorite dessert recipe!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

1 cup water
1 cup butter (Yes, a whole cup. And more in the frosting. I didn't say this was good for you...)
6 T. cocoa
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
Peanut butter cups, chopped

In a small saucepan bring water, butter, and cocoa to a low boil. Remove from heat. In a large bowl combine the flour, soda, and salt. Pour the sugar on top of the flour mixture. Pour the boiling mixture on top of the sugar. (This creates a fudge like reaction as the two combine.) Add eggs and sour cream and mix until combined. Mixture will be thin.

Grease a 9x13 pan or grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees: 35-40 minutes for 9x13 or 25-30 minutes for round cake pans.

This cake is not as good if baked too long. Start with the shortest time, and increase only if needed. When it looks almost done, tap lightly with two fingers. It should slightly dent in and barely spring back. If not, bake a few minutes longer.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
4 T. milk or cream
1 tsp. vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar (I used about 3)

Cream together butter, peanut butter, milk or cream, and vanilla. Slowly add in powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

I actually added a layer of chocolate frosting (I just used Betty Crocker) on top of the cake, before adding the peanut butter frosting on top. If I made it with round pans, I would tort the cake and alternate chocolate and peanut butter frostings between layers. Top the peanut butter frosting with the chopped peanut butter cups.

If you frost it warm, the frosting will melt and start to separate. It does taste really good warm, though. My suggestion is to let it cool before frosting, but warm it up just a little in the microwave before eating. Mmmm...

Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake

Wow, I've been a slacker. I haven't posted in months! Well, I'm finally back.

I made this cake last week for the first time. It was delicious, (our friend Josh went back for seconds), and as he said, it looks like a "retauraunt quality" cake. I took this from "Our Best Bites". Here is the link to the original recipe, complete with pictures. I'll also share it here, with the couple of slight variations I made.

Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake

1 package Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake (Or other favorite chocolate cake recipe. I used this one, baked in two round pans.)
1 recipe (give or take a little) chocolate ganache (here is the link to their "Super Easy Chocolate Ganache" recipe)
Crushed Heath bars or a bag of chocolate-covered Heath bits
1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
1 Tbsp. cold water
2 Tbsp. boiling water (just heat in a small bowl in your microwave)
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Bake cake according to cake mix/recipe directions in two 8-inch round pans. Allow to cool and set aside. This can be done several days in advance; just freeze the cakes when you're done.
In a small bowl, combine gelatin and cold water and allow to stand for about 1 minute. While gelatin is softening, bring 2 Tbsp. water to boil in the microwave. Whisk into the softened gelatin and allow to cool slightly.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, cocoa powder, whipping cream, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until medium-stiff peaks form. Mix in gelatin mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Prepare ganache (if you haven't already) according to directions.
With a serrated knife (or cake leveler), carefully slice the dome-iest part of each cake layer off so the layers are level. Place one layer on the serving plate and spread about 1/2 (I used a little more) of the chocolate mousse over the cake. (I spread a layer of ganache over the bottom layer before putting the mousse on.) The rest of the mousse can just be eaten right out of the bowl :) Sprinkle with Heath bits.
Place second layer on top of Heath bits.
Spoon ganache over the top layer, allowing it to drip down the sides. (They give more instructions on this on the Our Best Bites blog link above.) Sprinkle with additional Heath bits and refrigerate until ready to serve.

German Chocolate Cake

I recently read a book by a baker who grew up in Germany who said that there is NOTHING German about coconut and pecans in a carmel frosting. Well, misnomer or not, German Chocolate is one of my husband's favorite flavors of cake. I'm actually not a huge coconut fan, so this is one of those recipes I make just for the benefit of others. I actually wish I liked coconut, because the cake looks so good, but I really just pick around the frosting when I eat this cake.

I'm not sure this is the perfect cake recipe, but I do think it's light, airy, and good. (I've mentioned in earlier posts that from-scratch cakes are sometimes a little dry for my taste. This one is better than some, but I've wondered if it needs a little fine-tuning. But it's still worth making.) I also put a layer of this frosting along with a layer of chocolate frosting on top of a single chocolate cookie from my Homemade Oreo Cookie recipe for a tasty German drop cookie. (Tasty at least to those of you who like pecans and coconut.)

German Chocolate Cake

1 (4 oz.) package German Sweet Chocolate
1/2 c. boiling water
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk, which I usually don't have on hand, you can put one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup, and fill it up to the 1 cup mark with milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and it will work as a substitute for buttermilk in your recipes.)

Melt chocolate in the boiling water; cool. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolks. Stir in vanilla and chocolate. Set aside. Mix flour, soda, and salt. Beat in the flour mixture, alternately with the buttermilk. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Pour batter into three 9-inch layer pans, lined on bottoms with waxed paper. (I use 8-inch because that's what I have. It's worked fine.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed in center. Cool 15 minutes in pans; remove and cool on rack. Spread frosting between layers and over top of cake. (I use the coconut frosting in between two of the layers and on top of the cake, but I use chocolate frosting in the middle layer and on the sides of the cake.)

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten (you won't use the whites from these 3 eggs)
1/2 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 c. angel flake coconut
1 c. pecans, chopped

Combine milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter, and vanilla in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened (about 12 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in coconut and nuts.

Chocolate Lava Cakes

I've had great chocolate lava cakes at restaurants, and wanted to try to make some at home. I found this recipe on the internet and decided to give it a try. These are rich, but oh so good. I love the chocolate that oozes out when you cut into the cake. Be aware, the filling needs to be made several hours in advance.

Chocolate Lava Cakes

Chocolate lava filling:
3 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (I just use bittersweet chocolate chips. Actually, I do 1/2 milk chocolate chips, because the bittersweet was a little too dark for my husband's taste.)
6 Tbsp. whipping cream
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cakes:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 c. hot coffee or water (I just use hot water)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened (I usually just use salted, because that's what I have on hand)
1/2 c. granulated sugar, divided
3 large eggs, separated

For the filling, line a plastic ice cube tray with a large piece of plastic wrap. With your fingers, gently poke the plastic down into eight of the cubes so they are fully lined with plastic.

Melt the chocolate with the cream and corn syrup; whisk until smooth. Add the vanilla extract; set aside to cool until tepid. Fill the eight lined ice cube cups with the chocolate; freeze at least 4 hours, or cover and freeze up to a month. (I usually try to make it at least 6 hours in advance; they haven't always set enough in 4 hours. If they're too soft, they melt into the cake while it bakes instead of staying separate from the cake.)

For the cakes, place rack in center of oven and heat to 425 degrees. Generously butter (I use Pam with flour) eight 4-ounce souffle dishes or ramekins. (I have small set of Pyrex bowls that I use.) Place them on a large cookie sheet.

Melt the chocolate with the hot water (or coffee). Set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Stir in vanilla extract. Cream the butter with 1/3 c. sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stop the mixer and stir in the chocolate mixture. Fold in the flour and salt with a spatula. Beat the egg whites with a clean mixer until they hold soft peaks. Add the remaining sugar, one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue beating until thick and glossy. Thoroughly mix one quarter of the beaten egg whites into chocolate batter; gently fold in the rest.

Fill each prepared souffle dish about halfway full with the chocolate batter. Gently bury a frozen chocolate cube in the center of each; add remaining batter, filling cups almost to the top. Bake until cakes are puffy and set, 18-20 minutes.

Gently loosen from the sides of the dishes with a butter knife (careful, they're hot), and invert onto serving plates. Serve warm. These are great with vanilla ice cream, real whipped cream, and a few raspberries or strawberries.

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Speaking of chocolate cake, why not start with that? I owe my sister Kathy for introducing me to this recipe. It has actually become my go-to cake recipe. I've used it for 9x13 cakes, round cakes, etc. It works for any of them, I just vary the baking time a little. This recipe doesn't call for frosting. Even though it's good without, it's also very tasty with. I've made it into a mint chocolate layer cake, alternating mint and chocolate frosting between the layers. Yum! You can also use this basic recipe for other flavors of cake as well. For example, use a white cake mix and vanilla pudding mix, and leave out the chocolate chips.

I've tried making cakes completely from scratch several times, but they've always come out more dry than this one. So why bother baking from scratch when I can add a few ingredients to a cake mix and have a delicious dessert? Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. warm water
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Grease and flour a bundt pan. Mix cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, water, and oil and beat well. Stir in chocolate chips. (Batter will be thick.) Pour into pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.