Author: Frances

Pumpkin Spice Madeleines

One day while brainstorming for pumpkin dessert ideas I thought to myself that Pumpkin Spice Madeleines would be a nice treat. Then a few days later while I was at Starbucks ordering my usual Venti Black Tea Lemonade Sweetened guess what I saw next to the register… Pumpkin Spice Madeleines. I didn’t purchase them as I am partial to their regular madeleines and since I was planning on making a version myself I didn’t want their flavor to cloud my judgment as to how mine should taste.

Originally I was planning on tweaking the recipe I used for Vanilla Madeleines to make a Pumpkin Spice version, but then I came across a recipe that required less ingredients and less time. Both are always a plus. Although I did have my doubts. Especially since the ingredient list did differ greatly in the basics – the amount of eggs, oil vs. butter, the amount of flour and so forth. Thankfully those doubts were futile, these madeleines were a hit! An 8 year old who initially make a yucky face when I told her what they were enjoyed them. And the day after I made them I got a request for more. And I recently made a third batch. So, what do they taste like? Well, I’ll say this, if you like pumpkin bread you’ll love these madeleines. They are made with actual pumpkin purée as well as the spices that make up the notorious pumpkin spice flavor – cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

Pumpkin Spice Madeleines

  • Servings: 24 Madeleines
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Ingredients:

3/4 cup pumpkin purée

2 eggs

3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray your Madeleine pans with cooking spray or grease with butter or oil.

In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together the pumpkin, eggs, sugar and oil until smooth. In a medium bowl combine the remaining dry ingredients, except for the confectioners’ sugar, and whisk together.

With the mixer on low speed add half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until smooth.

Spoon a tablespoonful of the batter into each cavity of the madeleine pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until they are puffed up and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes in the pan and the transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and then dust with confectioners’ sugar.

*If you only have 1 madeleine pan wipe it clean after the first batch and then re-grease it before filling the cavities with the remaining batter.

Recipe from The Yellow Table

Mummy Cake

Are you looking for an easy Halloween cake to make? Well, this Mummy Cake might be the one. It’s simple, doesn’t take a lot of time and you don’t need any fancy cake decorating skills to make it. I got the idea and directions from The Cake Girls. They have an online shop with a bunch of cool baking supplies, recipes and step-by-step tutorials with detailed pictures. I first came across their website on a blog I follow, The Cake Blog. A blog that has an array of wonderful recipes and cake decorating ideas and instructions from various bakers and cake designers.

I purchased a skull pan from The Cake Girls website to create the mummy. Now, if you are a good cake carver you could simply bake a box cake mix (or your favorite cake recipe) in a 9×13 inch pan and then carve out the shape of a skull. Or, if you already own one here’s a new idea to put it to good use. I own quite a few shaped pans that I’ve only used once, but I won’t part with them just in case.

   

To begin, I sprayed the cake pan with baking spray and then poured my cake batter (I used a box cake mix) into the pan. I placed the pan on a baking sheet and baked it in a 350 F preheated oven until a cake tester inserted in the middle came out clean. I let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes and then inverted it onto a cake board to cool completely. Don’t worry if your cake has a small dome on it and doesn’t lay completely flat. You will be able to hide this minor imperfection with the frosting design. Once the cake was cool I lightly wrapped it in plastic wrap and placed it in the freezer overnight. Having the cake cold makes frosting it much easier. This was my first time freezing a cake and while I know bakeries and a lot of home bakers do it all the time I have always been apprehensive to do so because I fear the cake will end up having a weird taste/aftertaste once it defrosts. But, I am happy to say that this was not the case.

Before removing my cake from the freezer I made the frosting. I decided to make the frosting that was recommended on The Cake Girls website, Brenda’s Bakery Buttercream. It involves using butter and Crisco, which I am sure some people will frown at, but, when I took the Wilton Decorating Classes a few years ago there go-to frosting recipe included Crisco and I recall it tasting great and holding its shape well when it came to decorating. Something else new I tried… Using chocolate frosting (store bought) to make black frosting. I recently read that making black and red frosting is easier to create when starting with chocolate frosting. I can attest that that is the case for black frosting, but, will have to test the theory for red frosting. Perhaps with a Christmas themed cake. Oh, one other thing I tried, Wilton’s new Color Right Performance Food Coloring, for some reason I thought it was only for chocolate (don’t ask me why) but after doing a little research I learned it can be used on frosting. I believe I saw a video on Instagram of someone using it and that prompted me to find out more about it. I must say, I definitely liked the dropper bottles a lot more than their usual gel color containers. I always seem to get the gel on my hands and they get all clumpy and what not after being opened. I think the dropper bottles are the way to go. They are also supposed to be more concentrated so you can get the color you want a lot quicker and can easily mix the colors to get different hues.

Okay, so once my frostings were ready it was time to get to work. I started by applying a thin coat of white frosting on the skull leaving the eye socket area uniced. I iced the socket area and the sides of the cake in that area with the black frosting. At this point I placed the cake in the fridge for a few minutes because I found that the black frosting wasn’t smooth as I was getting a lot of crumbs mixed into it. While the cake was in the refrigerator I prepped two piping bags with two different tips, Ateco #128 (an XL rose decorating tip) and # 45 (a flat decorating tip), and filled each with the white frosting. Also, I prepped the eyeballs for the cake. I purchased Styrofoam eyeballs from my local craft store and using a sharp knife sliced them in half so they would sit flat on the cake.

 

Once the cake had chilled for a bit I added more black frosting to the cake and was able to smooth the icing.

Now it was time to decorate…Starting with the larger tip, I began piping stripes of icing across the cake. Not just merely on top of the cake, but on the sides as well. I covered up some of the black icing, but, left enough of a gap to place the eyeballs. I kept piping until the cake was covered. Don’t worry about minor imperfections or the frosting not laying completely flat, you can cover up anything and everything with the next step.

Once the cake had been covered in the large stripes, I used the smaller tip to fill in any gaps and to give the cake more definition. To give it a more ragged look, I started these smaller stripes from different points on the cake, not just edge to edge. I also added some pieces to the sides of the cake on the cake board as well. And finally, I placed the eyeballs on the cake. I covered the back of them with the black frosting before placing them on the cake so there wouldn’t be the chance of any small Styrofoam pieces getting stuck to the cake and accidentally eaten. What’s really nice about this cake is that there is no right way or wrong way to decorate it. You could go crazy with adding the stripes to give it a real ragged look, or keep it clean and simple with the stripes. Either way, your cake will look perfect.

Slow Cooker Sunday: Cinnamon Almond Oatmeal

After the first time my dad got sick and returned home from the hospital I used to make oatmeal every morning for breakfast for him and I. I wouldn’t say I mastered making oatmeal, but, I got it down pat as to how much milk to oatmeal to sugar ratio I needed to make the perfect bowl of sweetness and creaminess. Funny thing is, now a few years later I struggle to make oatmeal for just myself. It either comes out too sweet, too blah, too thick or too watery. Somehow I have forgotten the magical combination. Maybe I’ve somehow blocked it out since I can’t have those morning breakfasts’ with my dad any longer. Our subconscious is a funny thing! Thankfully, my slow cooker is the answer and one of best things about it is that I don’t have to worry about walking away while the milk is heating up and ultimately boils over and leaves a mess on my stove. I cannot even count how many times that happened to me. And cleaning up warmed milk is no fun task.

After combining all of my ingredients in my slow cooker and letting it cook on low for a few hours I had a delicious breakfast. I topped mine with almonds, but since oatmeal is so versatile you can pretty much top it with anything. Have you seen some of the flavors they sell in the instant packets?

I’ve come to realize that I am not a big fan of cinnamon so I think I will reduce the amount I use the next time I make it, or omit it completely. I am sure the honey would provide enough sweetness for it.

One last thing, this was the first time I’ve made steel cut oats. My reason for using them… I thought they would hold up better in the slow cooker since they are not processed as much as much as old-fashioned and quick oats. They take longer to cook due to their texture, but taste just the same.

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Almond Oatmeal

  • Servings: 5 (1 cup each)
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Ingredients:

1 cup steel cut oats

5 cups almond milk*

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of honey

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon**

1/4 teaspoon salt

Sliced almonds, for topping

*I used vanilla flavored almond milk

**Feel free to use more or less to your liking

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except for the almonds, in your slow cooker and stir until well combined. Cool on low for 4 to 5 hours, or until desired consistency.

*I cooked my oatmeal for a little less than 4 hours. I was planning on refrigerating it to eat for breakfast over a few days so I didn’t want to cook it to a point where it was super creamy, it was a bit watery since I knew that as it cooled it would thicken up.

Pumpkin Cannoli

If you visited my blog yesterday you saw my post for a Slow Cooker Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate (YUM!) and I mentioned these Pumpkin Cannoli in that post. Today I am sharing the recipe with you. Sometimes with one can of pumpkin puree you can enjoy 2 or 3 delicious treats.

Pumpkin Cannoli

Ingredients:

4 large cannoli shells

1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Fold the ricotta cheese, sugar, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice together in a medium bowl until well blended. Transfer the mixture to a large piping bag (or a gallon size resealable bag) and snip a half inch hole at the end (or corner) of the bag and pipe the mixture into both ends of the cannoli shells. Dust with confectioner’ sugar and enjoy.

Recipe from Rachael Ray Magazine

Slow Cooker Sunday: Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate

You may be wondering why I would take the time to make hot chocolate in a slow cooker when I could easily just make it on the stove. Well, I saw a video on Instagram one day for it and thought it would be a nice treat, which it was. It was also a good excuse to use some white chocolate chips I had and to use leftover pumpkin puree I had from making Pumpkin Cannoli. All pretty good excuses in my book!

In my slow cooker I added whole milk, white chocolate chips, pumpkin puree, cinnamon sticks, vanilla extract, ground ginger and freshly grated nutmeg. Trust me, it’s worth using freshly grated nutmeg as opposed to the powder form. Ground nutmeg can sometimes leave a pungent flavor, but, using freshly grated nutmeg eliminates that. After giving all of my ingredients a good stir, I set my slow cooker to low and let it cook for 2-3 hours. For the first hour, I gave the mixture a good stir every 10 minutes to make sure the chocolate was melting and to evenly distribute all of the ingredients. As an aside, is it still right to say cook when it comes to making hot chocolate? Or, maybe I should say simmer? Hmmmm???

I enjoyed it topped with whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg and a cinnamon stick as a garnish/stirrer. I actually used one of the cinnamon sticks that I added to the slow cooker. This is the perfect autumn warm-me-up beverage. Or, thinking ahead, an ideal complement to your Thanksgiving desserts. You could easily double or triple the recipe for a large group of people.

If you’re curious about the Pumpkin Cannoli recipe check back tomorrow!

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

4 cinnamon sticks, additional sticks for garnish

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for topping

Whipped cream

Directions:

Combine the milk, chocolate chips, pumpkin, cinnamon sticks, vanilla, ginger and nutmeg in a slow cooker and stir together.

Heat on low for 2-3 hours, stirring every 10 minutes for the first hour to stir in the melted chocolate. And occasionally after that.

Serve in mugs, topped with topped whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg. Add a cinnamon stick that can be used as a stirrer in case the pumpkin settles.

5-Layer Brownie Cookie Cheesecake

A couple of things you’re going to need to make this cake… Patience, patience and more patience. You bake a layer, then you refrigerate it, you bake another layer and then you freeze it and finally you bake the last layer and then you place it back in the refrigerator so it can chill before enjoying a slice. But don’t worry, the first bite is worth the time and patience!

To make things a little easy for myself I followed the directions and used store bought chocolate chip cookie dough and boxed brownie mix.

I began by lining a 10-inch springform pan with 2 pieces of plastic wrap long enough to hang over the sides. After bringing the chocolate chip cookie dough to room temperature I pressed it into an even layer on the bottom of the pan, folded the plastic wrap over it and then placed it in the freezer.

I prepared the brownie mix per the directions on the box and then poured it into the 10-inch springform pan that I sprayed with baking spray after removing the cookie dough. I then sprayed the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan and pressed it in the center of the brownie mix until the batter reached about halfway up the springform pan. I baked this for about 45 minutes. I removed it from the oven after 35 minutes, per the directions, but felt that the brownie was a little too underdone so I placed it back in the oven for another 10 minutes. While the middle was still a bit undercooked, the outside was cooked. I think that if I make this again I will either cook it for 40 minutes, or reduce the oven temperature to 325 F and bake it for 45 minutes. While the brownie was still warm, I rotated the 8-inch pan into the brownie while carefully pressing it down to push the brownie further up the sides of the springform pan. I then refrigerated it for 30 minutes. I left the 8-inch pan in the brownie while it was in the refrigerator.

While the brownie was cooling I made the cheesecake batter by mixing together 3 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese with sugar, vanilla extract and an egg until it was smooth and no lumps remained. I set this aside. Once the brownie had cooled I removed it from the refrigerator and lined the bottom with Oreos.

And then poured the cheesecake mixture over it and baked it in the oven for 40 minutes and then placed it in the freezer, yes, the freezer, for 30 minutes.

Next, I arranged another layer of Oreos over the cheesecake…

And finally topped the whole thing with the frozen disc of chocolate chip cookie dough and placed it back in the oven for 20 minutes.

After letting it cool for a few minutes I placed it back in the refrigerator so it could chill.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a pretty picture of what the layers looked like when it was sliced (I made this for a birthday dinner and really couldn’t stop to take the all-important blog picture once we started slicing it) but I can tell you that it did get RAVE reviews. You might be thinking it would be overly sweet with all of the different layers, but, it actually wasn’t. It was more decadent than anything else and something you don’t need a huge slice of. I won’t lie, I was apprehensive to slice it because I had no clue if all of the layers had cooked properly, especially that brownie layer that seemed undercooked in the beginning, but, I needn’t worry. It probably would have been better if I had left the brownie a bit more undercooked in the beginning. I knew that I didn’t want to overcook it since it was going back in the oven 2 more times, but, I was just worried about putting a half cooked brownie in the refrigerator. I never know what can and cannot grow dangerous bacteria.

5-Layer Cookie Brownie Cheesecake

Ingredients:

16-ounce tube of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, at room temperature

2 18-ounce boxed of brownie mix, prepared according to box directions

3 8-ounce cream cheese blocks, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 package of Oreos

Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line a 10-inch springform pan with 2 pieces of plastic wrap long enough to hang over the sides. Place the chocolate chip cookie dough into the pan and press it evenly into the bottom of the pan. Wrap it with the plastic wrap and place it in the freezer.

Spray the 10-inch pan with baking spray and pour in the brownie batter. Spray the sides and bottom of a deep (at least 5-inches) 8-inch round cake pan with baking spray and then press it into the brownie batter until the batter reaches halfway up the sides of the 10-inch pan. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes and then let cool for 5 minutes. While rotating the 8-inch pan press it into the brownie so the brownie can come up higher on the sides of the 10-inch pan. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven to 300 F.

In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and the egg with a hand mixer on medium speed until it’s smooth. Set aside.

After the 30 minutes, remove the brownie from the refrigerator and line the bottom with a single-layer of Oreos. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the cookies and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the cheesecake is set, but slightly jiggles in the center. Let cool for a few minutes and then place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

After these 30 minutes are up, place a single-layer of Oreos on top of the cheesecake layer and then place the frozen chocolate chip cookie dough disk on top. Tucking in any edges and bake for 20 minutes.

Let it cool for a few minutes and then refrigerate for 2-3 hours before removing the ring and slicing. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and an Oreo on top.

**A quick tip… Instead of placing the Oreos in a single-layer, crush them. It would definitely make slicing the cake easier and less likely to fall apart.

Recipe from Tasty

Chocolate Roll Cake with a Pumpkin Mousse Filling

In my opinion chocolate and pumpkin go together as well as chocolate and peanut butter. I say this because I’ve made a few desserts that have used this combination and they all turned out delish – Pumpkin Brownie Swirl Pie and Chocolate Pumpkin Crepe Cake. There was also the Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies I made that tasted good but required a vast amount of ingredients and ended up being undercooked in the middle. I may have to revisit that recipe since it did taste good but just needed some tweaking. So, it should be of no surprise that I finally decided to make a simple chocolate cake with a pumpkin filling. Well, not completely simple, a Chocolate Roll Cake, which is easy to create but just looks fancier than your everyday layer cake.

Using a devil’s food cake mix, I made the chocolate cake in a jelly roll pan. While it was baking I prepped a clean kitchen towel by sprinkling it with confectioners’ sugar. Once the cake was finished baking I immediately flipped it on to the towel and rolled the cake along with the towel from one short end to the other and placed it on a wire rack to cool for an hour.

While the cake was cooling I made the pumpkin spice mousse and refrigerated it. This is the same mousse I used as a filling for the spice cupcakes I posted about almost two weeks ago. Unfortunately this was my last box of Pumpkin Spice Jell-O pudding mix. I have searched and just haven’t been able to find it at any of my local supermarkets. I’m not giving up hope though. As an aside, if you’re not a pumpkin fan or can’t find the flavor by you as well use another flavor of Jell-O  pudding. The recipe and directions are the same. I went on their website and was surprised to learn of all the flavors they make that I have never seen in the supermarket – cheesecake, red velvet, coconut and strawberry crème just to name a few. Here’s a link to the complete selection.

Once the cake had cooled I unrolled it and spread the pumpkin spice mousse on it leaving a small border around the edges so the mousse wouldn’t spill out when I rolled the cake once again. I used most of the mousse. I then rolled the cake again (without the towel). Placed it on a serving dish and sifted confectioners’ sugar over it. Now, as you can see my cake did break a bit when I re-rolled it. If this happens don’t despair just position the cake on your serving dish with that side down.

And when I sliced into it you barely noticed the tear. The roll design was still visible and more importantly the cake and mousse tasted delicious and that’s what really matters!

Chocolate Roll Cake with a Pumpkin Spice Mousse Filling

Ingredients:
For the cake:

1 box of Devil’s food cake mix

6 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

For the Pumpkin Mousse:

1 3.4oz. package of Pumpkin Spice Jell-O Pudding Mix

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 F. Line the bottom of a 15x10x1-inch (Jelly Roll Pan) pan with foil or waxed paper, spray with baking spray.

In a large bowl beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high until the eggs are thick and lemon colored, about 5 minutes. Add the cake mix, water and oil and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 1 minutes. Pour about 2 3/4 – 3 cups of the batter into the prepared pan. Use the remaining batter to make cupcakes, or as you wish.

Bake 14 to 16 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. Turn the cake out on a clean kitchen towel sprinkled with the confectioners’ sugar. While the cake is still hot, carefully roll up the cake and towel together from one shorter end to the other. Cool completely on a wire rack for 1 hour.

While the cake is cooking make the mousse. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until thick and smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

After an hour, unroll the cake carefully and remove the towel. Spread the pumpkin spice mousse evenly over the cake and roll it up once again. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and enjoy!

Recipe for cake from Betty Crocker

Slow Cooker Sunday: Zucchini Bread

I recently started using my slow cooker again. Ideally it is the perfect appliance to use in the warm summer months to avoid turning on the oven, but, I just find that the meals it produces are bit heavy for the dog days of summer. Granted, I should have been looking for recipes for desserts as there’s never a bad time of year for a sweet treat. This recipe today, Zucchini Bread, is perfect for the summer months with the abundance of zucchini available at the supermarket and at your local farm stands, but, thankfully zucchini is one of those vegetables that is available year round and always seems to taste the same.

To start I made the batter. Using my food processor I grated two small zucchini and squeezed out the excess water. In one bowl, I whisked together the dry ingredients – flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl I whisked together eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. I folded in the zucchini and then whisked in the flour mixture. I then transferred the mixture to my 4-quart slow cooker that I brushed with oil.

I covered it and set it to cook on high. Now, the directions said to leave the lid slightly ajar, I did this and after about 2.5 hours my bread was still undercooked in the middle. So, I decided to completely cover it and let it cook and it was done in about another 20 minutes. I turned off the slow cooker and let the bread sit uncovered for thirty minutes. I carefully removed it and let it cool completely.

I then sliced and enjoyed a piece. It was good, but, I think next time I make this I may use less cinnamon.

Slow Cooker Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups grated Zucchini, about 2 small zucchinis

9 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Brush the inside of a slow cooker (4 – 6 quarts) with 1 tablespoon of oil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and the remaining oil until well combined. Fold in the zucchini. Add the flour mixture to the eggs mixtures and stir until just combined.

Transfer the batter to the greased slow cooker and spread in an even layer. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours, until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Uncover and let the bread cool in the slow cooker for 30 minutes. Loosen the edges of the bread and then carefully remove using a large spatula. Slice and enjoy!

Recipe from Savory Online

Cookies and Cream Cake

If you love Oreos then this is the cake for you… A Cookies and Cream Cake that has crushed Oreos baked into the batter as well as folded into the buttercream.

I took the easy route and opted to use a box cake, a Duncan Hines Classic White Cake Mix to be exact. I made one minor adjustment to the batter, I added in an extra 1/4 cup of water so that the Oreo crumbs wouldn’t thicken the batter too much. Once the batter was ready, I then folded in a cup of Oreo crumbs. To create the crumbs I placed a bunch of Oreos in a Ziploc bag, sealed it and then rolled it with a rolling pin. I left some of the Oreos in fairly large crumbs so that the cake wouldn’t just be speckled with little pieces of Oreos, but have some noticeable pieces. I then divided the batter between two 8-inch round pans that I sprayed with baking spray and baked it in a350 F preheated oven until a cake tester inserted in the middle came out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. I let the cakes cool for a few minutes and then inverted them on wire racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, I made the frosting. My go-to frosting is a Fluffy Vanilla Frosting that I got from a Martha Stewart cookbook and have been using for quite some time now when it comes to decorating my cakes. It tastes good (not overly sweet) and holds up well to piping and tinting. If frosting is too soft when you tint it it will only get softer and when you try to pipe it it inevitably droops. While I love using the frosting, I am not a fan of making it. It involves adding the confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup at a time and raising and lowering the speed of my stand mixer. What ultimately happens, even though I cover the mixer with a kitchen towel, is sugar dust gets everywhere on my counter. I was also concerned that the recipe wouldn’t yield enough frosting to fill, frost & decorate the cake. So, while doing a little research for this cake – I couldn’t decide in the beginning if I should make the cake from scratch or use a box mix – I came across a buttercream frosting that incorporated crushed Oreos that I decided to try. I began by beating the butter in my stand mixer until it was light and fluffy and then added in confectioners’ sugar and heavy cream and mixed it on low speed until the sugar was incorporated and then slowly raised it to medium until everything was well blended. Using a rubber spatula I folded in Oreo cookie crumbs. You may be tempted to make the frosting in advance and then store it in the refrigerator. I suggest not doing that. Doing so will allow the cookie crumbs to soften and when you go to use it your frosting may end up looking more gray than speckled with Oreos.

Once the cake cooled I torte both to remove the small dome that formed during baking and then spread some of the frosting on one the cakes and then topped it with the other. I then crumb coated the cake and refrigerated it for about 15 minutes so the frosting could set and then finished frosting it. I had some remaining Oreo crumbs so I pressed them along the bottom of the cake.

Next, I made the chocolate ganache that I poured on top of the cake and spread around. Using a squeeze bottle I tried to create a chocolate drip around the cake. Unfortunately it was a bit warm in my house so the chocolate didn’t set well (even after refrigerating it for a few minutes) so it was a bit runny, hence the chocolate drizzle running down the sides of the cake. Oh well! Finally, using a Wilton 1M tip I piped dollops with the remaining frosting on top of the cake and place a mini Oreo in each one. A little tip, if you plan on piping frosting that has crumbs in it make sure your tip is large enough for the crumbs to pass through. I actually had a few instances of the crumbs getting stuck.

And there you have it… A Cookies and Cream Cake.

 

Cookies and Cream Cake

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

1 15.25 oz. white cake mix

3 large egg whites

1 1/4 cups water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup Oreo crumbs

 

For the Frosting:

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

5 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 1/3 cups Oreo crumbs

1/4 cup heavy cream

 

For the Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup (8 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate (can use chocolate chips or a baking bar chopped)

1/2 cup heavy cream

 

*You will need 1 package of Oreos and 1 small container of mini Oreos

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray or butter and flour.

In a large bowl combine the cake mix, egg whites, water and oil. Prepare according to box directions then fold in the Oreo crumbs. Divide the batter among the two pans and bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tested inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes and then invert them on a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cakes are cooling make the frosting. Beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the confectioners’ sugar and heavy cream and beat on low speed until incorporated and then raise the speed to medium and continue beating until well blended. Using a rubber spatula fold in the Oreo crumbs.

Once the cake has cooled, torte, fill and apply a crumb coat. Refrigerate the cake for about 15 minutes.

While the cake is in the refrigerator make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Warm the heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat until steaming and then pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes and then stir until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator and finish frosting. If you have Oreo crumbs remaining press them along the bottom of the cake. Once the ganache has thickened, transfer to a squeeze bottle and squeeze some of the ganache on the center of the cake. Using an off-set spatula gently spread the ganache towards the outside of the cake, careful not to let it spill over. Add more ganache is necessary. With the remaining ganache in the squeeze bottle drip the chocolate the chocolate along the sides of the cake. Place in the refrigerator so the chocolate can set.

Once chocolate has set use the remaining frosting to pipe dollops on top of the cake. Add mini Oreos to the dollops or cut larger Oreos in half and add those to the dollops.

Frosting Recipe from the Preppy Kitchen

Spice Cupcakes with a Pumpkin Mousse Filling & Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Fall! My favorite time of the year is upon us. Although, while in my kitchen the other day looking in my backyard I noticed that my least favorite part of the season had already begun… the falling leaves. I am not a fan of raking leaves. And since I have quite a few trees in my backyard that are a welcome blessing in the hot summer they become the complete opposite when the cooler temps of the fall roll in. Oh well! In honor of the first full day of fall I am sharing with you cupcakes that tie together the flavors of fall deliciously, a spice cupcake with a pumpkin mousse filling and topped with a cream cheese frosting. I actually made these cupcakes while visiting a close friend in Virginia who happens to enjoy pumpkin spice items as much as I do. We actually text each other different food items we come across in pumpkin spice flavor, come to think of it, we text each other for a lot of out of the ordinary flavors we come across… Especially with Oreos.

I began by baking the cupcakes…

As they were cooling I prepped the pumpkin mousse. Now, I cheated a bit to make the mousse. For most of my cakes I use Jell-O Instant Pudding Mix combined with a cup each of whole milk and heavy cream and beat it until it’s smooth and thick. I’ve done it with vanilla and chocolate flavored Jell-O and I finally tried it with their Pumpkin Spice flavor. You should be seeing it on store shelves soon as fall is right around the corner. I purchased a few boxes last year that haven’t expired yet. Now, the nice thing, you can actually eat this mousse as dessert all by itself, so if you choose to make the entire box of pudding you will have some extra to enjoy. If you don’t want extra, use half the pack and only 1/2 cup each of whole milk and heavy cream. You can also omit filling the cupcakes and just top them with the cream cheese frosting… They will be just as delicious.

Once the cupcakes had cooled I cored the center of the cakes and filled them with the pumpkin mousse and then topped them with a small piece of the removed cupcake.

Next, I whipped up some cream cheese frosting and piped it on top of the cupcakes. Finally, I crumbled some of the cupcake crumbs left over from coring and sprinkled them on top of the cupcakes.

Finally verdict… DELISH! Just might be the perfect cupcake for the fall!

Spice Cupcakes with a Pumpkin Mousse Filling & Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pumpkin Mousse:

1 3.4oz. package of Pumpkin Spice Jell-O Pudding Mix

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

4 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 12-cup muffin with liners.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and allspice and set aside. In a separate bowl whisk together the melted butter, both sugars, sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Whisk the flour mixture into the egg mixture until just combined.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups, about 1/4 cup in each. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a cake tested inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and the transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are baking and cooling make the mousse & frosting.

To make the mousse, combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until thick and smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the frosting, beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract and salt on medium speed until cream. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar on medium-low speed until smooth and then beat on medium-high speed until thick and fluffy. Set aside until ready to use. If not using immediately refrigerate until ready to use. You may need to bring to room temperature before using it.

Core the cupcakes and spoon the mousse to just about level and then top with the removed piece and then frost with frosting.

Recipe from Food Network