Category: Desserts

Desserts

Upsidedown Apple Pecan Pie

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

I have joined a new recipe club that is just out of this world. When I saw this recipe, I knew it would become a favorite so wanted to share it with you….The new Recipe Club is “Just a Pinch” and I highly recommend that you check it out. The recipes there are so good and are quickly becoming ones that I am serving to company.
upsidedown apple pecan pie
Added by francine bryson [frannie] on Jun 24, 2010
francine from pickens, SC (pop. 17,837) says:
this is the pie i won the nc state grand prize apple cook off with . is looks like alot of a steps but its more simple than it sounds Cook time: 1 Hr Difficulty: MEDIUM
Prep time: 20 Min Serves: 8

Ingredients
– 2 store bought pie crust
– 6 c cored and sliced apples
– 1 1/2 c pecan halfs
– 1 stk butter, softened
– 1 1/8 tsp cinnamon, ground
– 1/2 tsp nutmeg – 1 1/2 c brownsugar
– 1/2 c white sugar
– 2 Tbsp lemon juice, fresh
– 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
– 1 Tbsp apple pie spice
– 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
1. rub soft butter on bottom and sides of deep dish pie pan , place pecans round side down till cover whole inside of pan, spread brown sugar till all nuts are covered , place one pie crust on top of nuts press till forms the bottom of pan set aside

2. in bowl place lemon juice, flour, spices, vanilla mix well, add sliced apples and toss till coated, pour into piecrust making as even as u can cover with other pie crust, fold over sides crimp together dont worry about looks this is the bottom of your pie poke holes at random with fork for steam

3. place in 450 oven for 10 mins reduce heat to 350 for 45 mins

4. remove from oven, let sit till the bubbling stops ( importiant = u must flip this over to serve while its still hot the pecans are the top of your pie should be very shiny and all pastry is covered serve warm with ice cream

Desserts · Fruit

Emergency Fruit Crostatas

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

WHen you hear that friends might be dropping by for a cup of coffee and you don’t have anything in the freezer, you can whip up these crostatas in a matter of minutes and they will think you have been under the direction of Paula Deen herself, all week…….This recipe actually comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Pastry Queen, which comes from the Hill Country of Texas. I have used this cookbook over and over and the recipes have never failed to bring anything but highest raves from our family or friends. This recipe works well with almost any fruit you might have on hand, fresh, canned or frozen, but if you are using frozen, you need to defrost and drain thoroughly before placing them on the dough. Top with ice cream or whipped topping when serving and it makes a most wonderful addition to a cup of coffee, tea and great conversation.

1 cup sugar
2 cups flour (not self-rising)
1/4 teas salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled butter, cut into small pieces
4 tables ice water
1 cup fruit
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or butter baking sheet generously. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse together 1/2 cup of the sugar with the flour and salt. Add the butter and pulse 3 to 5 times, until mixture is crumbly. Pour the water through the feed tube, 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse until the dough begins to hold together. Remove the dough, shape it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (*if you are in a huge hurry, freeze the wrapped dough just long enough to prepare the fruit filling. It will be a little harder to work wtih, but its an acceptable trade-off when time is short).

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Use your hands to press the dough into 1/4″ thick rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Each round should be about 6 in in diameter. Open a can of fruit pie filling of your choice, peach, apple or cherry and spoon 1/4 cup fruit into the center of each of the crostatas, leaving an edge all around. * If using the peach or apple pie filling, I also sprinkle lots of cinnamon over the fruit and sugar. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 sugar evenly over the fruit on each crostata. fold the dough edges toward the center, making 3 searate flaps. With your thumb and forefinger, firmly pinch together the seams beteween the folds.
Bake the crostatas for 12-14 min until brown around the edges. Cool the crostatas on the baking sheet for no more than 10 min or they will be difficult to remove whole. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cakes · Desserts

Strawberries & Creme Cupcakes

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

I have missed writing on the blog since last Wed, but we had friends visiting from Texas and we played Tour Guide and Bed & Breakfast for some of our sweet friends we have known for over 30 years…..But….now back to routine and baking. Several ladies are coming over for lunch tomorrow so I wanted to make something new. After thinking about the heat (well, for here it is hot, 91 degrees) and how good strawberries always taste so good in the summer, I wanted to try something a little different. We are having a salad luncheon, so made homemade chicken salad and will put those into a cut tomato, beside spinach salad and grape salad (which is already on the blog). For dessert, we will have chocolate dipped strawberries alongside a french vanilla cupcake with strawberry glaze in the middle. Below is the recipe and they are delicious, already had to try one.

1 box Duncan Hines French Vanilla cake mix
1 box (4 oz) french vanilla instant pudding
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
Beat all ingredients until well blended, about 2 mins. Pour about 1 tablespoon batter into paper cupcake liners.
Place about 1 teas of Marie’s Strawberry glaze for strawberries (it comes in 14 oz tub alongside the fresh strawberries in the produce department) in the middle of the batter and then cover this mixture with enough batter to fill 3/4 full. Bake according to cupcake directions on box and then cool. Frost with the follow: and store in fridge after frosting, covered in tupperware or plastic tray

1 (1 lb) box powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 to 1/4 half and half or whipping cream (enough to get frosting to where it is of spreading consistency)
1 teas almond extract
Beat until smooth and frost cupcakes. When serving place chocolate covered strawberry beside cupcake on small plate and drizzle more of the strawberry glaze over the cupcake after removing it from the paper container.

Desserts

Lemon Fling

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Served this for dessert the other night when we had friends over and they really loved it. It is a great summer dessert, light and cold and we ended our Spaghetti and Meatballs dinner with it. It was a hit!
Ingredients for Crust:
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 sticks margarine

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Filling:
• 1 (8 oz. each) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 3 cups whipped topping
• 2 boxes (4 serving size) instant lemon pudding
• 3 cups milk
Preparation:
Crumble flour and butter together. Blend together and add the nuts;  press in bottom of a 9x13x2-inch pan. Bake 15 minutes at 375 °; let cool.
Cream confectioners sugar and cream cheese together. Add 1 cup whipped topping. Whip together and spread on cooled crust.
Mix 2 boxes of lemon instant pudding with 3 cups milk (do not follow the directions on pudding box). Pour over second layer and top with whipping cream*
Beat 2 cups heavy whipping cream with 1 cup powdered sugar and beat until thick. If you want the whipping cream sweeter, add more powdered sugar.

Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts

Exercise and Haupia Cake

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

As you know, since we moved to California from Texas, we are living in our first condo and to say that we are pressed for space doesn’t really quite tell the whole picture. When you are used to those “big Texas houses with lots of storage” and move to a condo with one closet for the both of you, no pantry and sparce space for storing anything but cans of tuna, this was truly an “attitude adjustment” move. After selling everything we owned that was larger than a postage stamp, (well, not everything, I kept Randy and he kept me), we have had to be “creative” in how and where to store our necessary items for everyday living. We have crockpots and big serving dishes under beds and all the rubbermaid is in the utility closet, which also houses our washer and dryer, stackable of course. There is now the entire length of our hallway, shelves, full of cooking pots, pitchers, cookbooks, ice buckets, well, you get the idea. This all came to a head when the other night, with a housefull of guests (that was actually 4, which is all we can get in this place without making anybody sit on the potty, just to be able to sit during dinner) we were sitting down to eat, we discovered that I had not put out napkins. One of my sweet guests offered to go get napkins when I yelled, “NO NO” let me get them….I just didn’t have the heart to send her into the bathroom to look in the cabinet under the sink to obtain the dinner napkins. I was afraid that as she was digging through the rolls of toilet paper to get the napkins that she would discover the huge cans of tomato sauce that won’t fit into the cabinets in the kitchen, due to their height. So I ran to retreive the napkins, all the while smiling and saying, “oh my gooness, I needed to run to the “pantry” to get the new jar of parmesean cheese anyway, so I am glad to get the napkins”. As we finished dinner, the guests offered to help me clean up the dishes so we could play farkle (which is a whole other story sometime), but I didn’t want to tell them that they needed to be in great shape and were of the age that getting back up from being on their bellies on the floor, all the while pushing pans to the middle of the floor uner the bed, might be a little bit of a problem, so I just said, “oh no, lets not waste our precious time together, Randy will just help me later”. So we all gathered around the table and ended the evening with this great cake. The Haupia Cake. Bet you wondered how this story was going to finally get to the Haupia Cake, but we are almost to the recipe. I found this old recipe while going through some of our important papers, like wills, birth certificates, and old Southern Living magazines when I came across this recipe from years ago. It is such a moist, delicious coconut cake and you can leave in in the fridge a few days and it just keeps getting better and better. After I went to the garage to get my Kitchen Aid mixer out of the trunk of the car, I made this cake as a surprise for Randy, knowing he would love to have it as a dessert that night. He has been waking up at 5 every morning to go out walking. He and our friends loved the cake. He was so excited that in one sitting, he was able to put on the 5 lbs he had lost since walking. But what are cakes for? Since we are getting ready for out of town company, I need to go and move my cookie sheets out of the guests bed. Keeping them between clean sheets keeps the dust off very nicely and leaves me a little more room in my 2 kitchen cabinets for dishes I don’t have room for under the beds or in the bathroom. Need to leave a little space in there for the towels. So don’t ever let me hear you say you don’t have room to have people over for dinner. It just takes a little creativity…..and a cabinet in the bathroom!
Haupic Cake
Preheat overn to 350 Grease a 13 by 9″ pan
Prepare a yellow cake mix according to directions, baking it in the 13×9 pan. Cool completely and slice in half long ways to make two layers.
Prepare filling:
In a saucepan, mix 6 tablespoons cornstarch with 1 1/2 cups sugar. Stir in 3/4 cup water and a 12 oz. can of coconut milk. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Add 1 teas almond extract and 1 cup shredded coconut. Stire until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Spread filling between cake layers and on top of cake. Cool cake until the filling becomes firm.
When ready to serve, beat 1 cup heavy cream with 6 tables powdered sugar until it becomes stiff. Frost cake with the whipping cream and sprinkle shredded coconut over top. Refrigerate cake, keeping it covered.

Cakes · Desserts

Red, White and Blue Cheesecake

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

One of the most wonderful gifts from above is cheesecake. Any flavor, any style, dessert just doesn’t get better than cheesecake. This recipe came from Taste of Home and is not only so delishious, but makes such a striking presentation. It is so worth the time it takes. Do not be afraid of making cheesecakes, they are not hard, just follow the steps and you will be so rewarded when you set this on your table at all the “wow’s, youu made that?”
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 cup cold butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 vanilla
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar and lemon peel. Cut in cold butter until crumbly. Whisk egg yolks and vanilla, add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball.
Press onto the bottom and 3 in up the sides of a greased 9 in springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 5-8 min or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
FILLING
5 packages softened cream cheese (8 oz size) Yes, it has that much cream cheese, why do you think this is so good?
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup half and half cream
3 tables flour
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk
1 cup creshed strawberries
1 cup creshed blueberries
Assorted berries, to top the cheesecake
For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the cream, flour, lemon peel, salt and vanilla. Add eggs and yolk; beat on low speed just until combined.
Divide batter in half. Fold crushed strawberries and crushed blueberries into half of the batter. Pour into crust. Top with remaining batter. Return pan to baking sheet.
Bake at 400 for 10 min. Reduce heat to 300 and bake 60-70 min longer or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire raack for 10 min. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan to serve. Garnish with assorted berries. I also bought the Maria’s strawberry glaze to drizzle over the top.
*Even if your cheesecake cracks a little on top, no one will know because of all the fresh berries that top it.

Chocolate · Desserts

Dark Chocolate-Cherry Cookies

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Paula Deen does it again, where does she get thesegreat recipies? Do you think she just lays in bed at night and comes up with more delicious ways to use butter? No matter where she gets them, they are always delicious and this one even has dark chocolate in it, so I feel better about eatting the cookies, saying that, “I am only eatting them because they are healthy. They have fruit and dark chocolate in them, which makes them healthy” Are you on board with me on this?
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teas baking powder (if you are a new baker or cook, you will discover that cookies with baking powder instead of baking soda tend to be a little more softer than ones baked with baking soda. The ones with the baking powder bake up fluffier (is that a word) than the ones made with baking soda, which tend to spread more on the cookie sheet and get a little more crispy)
1/4 teas salt
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teas vanilla
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped unsweentened dark chocolate
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in cherries and chocolate and chill 1 hr or until firm.
Preheat oven to 350. Drop dough by tablespoons 2 in apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11-14 min, depending upon your oven or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely on wire racks. (I don’t do this, I cool cookies on paper towels as I think cooling them on the wire racks makes them more crispy than I like them. I love soft fluffy cookies so if you do also, cool them on paper towels. You may also substitute bittersweet chocolate for the unsweetened chocolate if you prefer.

Chocolate · Desserts

Nutella Cheesecake Bars

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

I admit it, I have copied this recipe right off another person’s blog. But they are absolutely delicious and wanted to share this recipe with you. It comes from the Moonbakers Blog (I think that is the correct name) These are so simple and so tastefully delish that you will bake them over and over……

Nutella Cheesecake Layer Bars

– 8 Chocolate Graham Crackers

– ½ Stick Unsalted Butter, melted

– 16 oz. Cream Cheese, at room temperature

– 2 eggs, at room temperature

– ½ C. Granulated Sugar

– ¼ + 1 Tbsp. Heavy Cream

– 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

– ¼ C. Nutella

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Butter an 8 x 8 baking pan and line with parchment paper, making sure that the parchment is well pressed in the corners. Set aside.

In a food processor, pulse chocolate graham crackers until they become crumbs (like bread crumbs). Add in melted butter and pulse until moistened. Press graham cracker mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake crust in the center of the oven until set, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Clean out the food processor. Add cream cheese, eggs, sugar, ¼ C. heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Pulse until smooth. Put 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture in a bowl and set aside. Add Nutella and 1 Tbsp. of heavy cream to remaining 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture in the processor. Pulse until smooth.

To assemble, spread the vanilla cheesecake mixture over the cooled graham cracker base, being careful not to disturb the crust. Pour Nutella cheesecake layer on top of vanilla layer and spread evenly. Bake on the center rack of the oven for about 35 minutes, or until the center jiggles slightly. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

When ready to serve, lift bars out of the pan by lifting up the parchment paper (it should release easily). Slice into 16 squares and serve.

Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

German Chocolate Cheesecake Style Cake

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Oh My Gosh, I just read this and cannot wait to try it. It was on the Paula Deen Website and was sent in from one of the readers. It sounds just marvelous. Am going to bake it as soon as I can….

Servings: 16 servings
Cook Time: 75 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients Add to grocery list
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) German Chocolate cake mix

Cream Cheese Filling:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Frosting:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, cubed (not margarine)
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups flaked coconut
1-1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Prepare cake batter according to package directions; set aside. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Gently pour cream cheese mixture over batter. Gently spoon remaining batter over top; spread to edge of pan. Bake at 325° for 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. For frosting, in a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks .Cook and stir over medium-low heat until thickened and a thermometer reads 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla; fold in coconut and pecans. Cool until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake. Refrigerate leftovers.

Cakes · Desserts · Fruit

Punch Bowl Cake

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

I had forgotten all about this recipe until I was searching for a Banana Cake recipe and came across an old favorite. This cake is so pretty served in an antique punch bowl or a pretty glass bowl that is about the same size as your standard punch bowl. You can substitute French Vanilla pudding if you do not like banana and still get the same great results. Tomorrow, will post the chocolate version….let me know if you make this and your thoughts. It really is so pretty to serve and tastes so fresh and light.
1 pack (18.25 oz) plain yellow cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 packages (3.4 oz) banana instant pudding *or french vanilla
4 cups whole milk
2 cans (21 oz ea) cherry pie filling
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
4 ripe bananas, sliced 1/2 in thick *Once again, if you do not like bananas, substitute any fruit that goes well with cherries or pineapple, such as kiwi or blueberries
1 container (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, such as Cool Whip (yes, I am going to let you get away with Cool Whip, but just this once)
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Spray a 13×9 cake pan with Pam.
Place cake mix, oil and eggs in mixing bowl. Blend with mixer on low speed for 1 min. Stop the mixer and scrape sides and continue beating for about 2 min, increasing the speed to medium. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the spatula. Place the pan in the oven. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back with your finger in the center, approx 30 min.
Meanwhile place the pudding mix and milk in large bowl and blend according to directions. Set aside.
Remove the cooled cake from the pan and crumble in into 1 inch pieces with your hands. Place half of the crumbles in theh bottom of the large glass punch bowl or salad bowl.
Top with 1 can cherry pie filling, half of the crushed pineapple and half of the pudding. Add half of the banana slices (or other fruit) and half of the whipped topping, then half of the pecans. Repeat the layers, beginning with the remaining cake crumbles and ending with the pecans. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in fridge for about 4 hrs before serving.
Serve up portions of the cake with a large spoon.