Tag: Desserts

Cakes · Desserts

Paula Deen Ooey Gooey Butter Layer Cake

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The fireplace is on, and all I want to do is stay home and bake. I love the Ooey Gooey Cake that Paula gave us the recipe several years ago and when I saw this, I knew I would have to try it. It has to be scrumptious. It is from Paula, it is ooey, gooey and it has butter in it. How could it not be good?

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

2 1/4 cups sugar

5 large eggs

1 teas vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tables baking powder

1/2 teas baking soda

1/4 teas salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 cup sour cream

Ooey Gooey Butter Filling

Cream Cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350

Spray 3 (9″) round cake pans with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

In another large bowl, whisk together flour and next 3 ingredients. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until combined after each addition; stir in sour cream. Spoon batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 18-22 min or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 min. Remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Ooey Gooey Butter filling between layers; cover and freeze for 1 hour. Spread cream cheese frosting on top and sides of cake.

Ooey Gooey Filling

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

4 large eggs

1 (8 oz) cream cheese

In the top of a double boiler, melt butter over simmering water. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, orange juice and eggs until mixture is smooth. Return double boiler to heat and cook, whisking constantly for 10-15 min or until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat and whisk in cream cheese until smooth. Let cool for 30 min.

Spoon mixture into a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing wrap onto surface of mixture to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or for up to 3 days.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 tables vanilla

6 cups of powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla with mixer on medium speed. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until all is smooth.

*Note-the cake layers can be made ahead of time and frozen up to 2 weeks. Wrap slightly warm cake layers in heavy duty plastic wrap and freeze in large resealable plastic bags. Let the cake layers thaw overnight in the fridge before assembling

Chocolate · Cookies · Desserts · Holiday Fare

Red Velvet Cookies (Thank you Duncan Hines)

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This is an infomercial! I thought since most of us are in a time crunch, but are still desiring to bake Christmas cookies, this would come in handy. I have heard of the cookies made from cake mixes, but until two nights ago, I had never really liked the ones that I had tasted. A friend came by with snickerdoodles which were awesome. When I told Peggy how good they were, she said, “glad you liked them, I made them from a cake mix”. I was shocked. So today, I stopped and bought a Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix and am making the cookie recipe on the side of their box. Am making one little change. I am making them into thumbprint cookies and filling the indention with my cream cheese frosting. Am so excited that I can whip up a batch of cookies that taste like homemade, in less than 5 min…I thought it would be fun to color the cream cheese frosting green so, wa-la, Christmas cookies that taste like red velvet and it was really so easy. The picture below is a plate of the original directions on Duncan Hines, each ball dipped in Powdered sugar, the ones on the outside are the ones I ended up just baking as balls and then added colored cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. Merry Christmas from my heart to yours…tkbakesalot2014-12-21 14.04.58

If you happen to have a box of red velvet cake mix that doesn’t have the recipe on the side, here it is:

1 box red velvet cake mix

6 tables softened butter

2 eggs

Mix until well blended with mixer on low to medium speed. Drop 1″ balls into powdered sugar and onto lightly greased cookie sheet if you are not using Parchment paper or coated cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for about 9-10 min. If you use the cream cheese frosting, do not roll the balls in the powdered sugar. Just drop the balls onto the cookie sheet and using a Thumbie or your thumb, make an indention in the center of each cookie. The indention will almost disappear when cookies are baked, but don’t worry about that. Fill in with frosting of your choice.

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Raspberry Thumbprints Cookies

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This Friday I am giving an open house for my neighborhood ladies for a Cookie Gingerbread Open House. We are new to the neighborhood and I thought it would be a great way to meet some of the neighbors. This recipe goes with me where ever I go…it is our favorite little thumbprint cookie and reeks of butter with the delicious flavor of the raspberry jam in the center. So easy to make (especially using the Thumbie to make the indentions).

2014-12-10 13.49.59

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teas salt

2 teas vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup of raspberry jam or preserves (love Trader Jo’s brand)

Combine butter and sugar and beat until well combined about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt and beat on medium for about a min. Add the flour and mix in until all is incorporated with butter mixture. Form 1″ balls and place on baking sheet.

Make indention with thumb or the Thumbie (which can be purchased from Etsy shop, “Chocolate Castles for $3.00). Put about 1/4 teas of raspberry jam in center of indention. I also sprinkled red colored sugar over the top of the cookies before baking.

Bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 10-12 min. Let cool and keep in air tight container. Makes 4 dozen

Chocolate · Desserts

Praline Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

Last evening we were invited to a birthday dinner for my BFF here in Dallas. One of Cora’s favorite things is to stand in my kitchen and eat my praline frosting with a spoon straight out of the pan. She also loves chocolate cake, so I thought about it and decided to combine her two favorite flavors into one big chocolate cake with praline frosting. The inside layers of frosting were the praline and the outside was covered with a great chocolate cream cheese frosting. The results were amazing.

Cake:

1 box Duncan Hines Devils Food Cake mix

4 eggs at room temp (this is important as they whip up and allow the cake layers to be fluffier)

1 cup COLD water

1 envelope of Dream Whip (yes you can still find it on the shelves in baking isle of grocery)

Mix all ingredients, beating well for 4 min on medium speed. Bake in 3 prepared pans as directed on back of box. When you have turned the cake layers out on waxed paper allowing to cool, until you frost them, prepare the frosting.

Praline Frosting

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 teas vanilla

Combine the butter, brown sugar and whipping cream in a sauce pan to allow the sugar and butter to melt. Stir constantly and when mixture begins to bubble around the edges, pour over the powdered sugar which has been placed in a mixing bowl. Beat well until all powdered sugar is incorporated then add 1 teas vanilla and beat until spreading consistency. Add a little more whipping cream as needed to spread over the layers of cake. If frosting begins to get to thick while waiting to spread on 2nd inside layer, add a little more whipping cream. Place the bottom layer on a serving platter and spread half of the praline frosting over the cake layer. Place the 2nd layer on top and use the other half of the frosting (I saved about 2 tables to drizzle over the top of the cake) to spread over the layer. Then place the 3rd chocolate layer over the praline frosting but do not frost it until the sides of the cake have been frosted with the chocolate frosting. Then frost the top of the cake with the chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

1 (1 lb) box powdered sugar

1 stick of butter

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teas vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine the butter,  chocolate chips and cocoa. Stir until all is melted and combined well. Pour over the powdered sugar and add the softened cream cheese. Mix on medium speed until it is combine and no more lumps remain in the frosting. If necessary, you may use milk or whipping cream to thin frosting to spreading consistency. I did add just a touch of whipping cream. (about 2 tables). 2014-12-05 12.42.04 2014-12-05 19.52.41 Add the vanilla and blend in well. Frost sides and top of cake with chocolate mixture. I drizzled a little of the praline frosting over the top of the cake as well.

Chocolate · Desserts

Chocolate Creme Brulee

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Having just returned from Corpus where we go to see my mom, as usual, we stay with the friends who I have mentioned several times. They treat me like their daughter and Randy, well, Hal, who is 90 bends Randy’s ear about the oil field surveying business. Hal still goes to work everyday and Jane cooks non-stop. She is 80 and has so many of the best old cookbooks that I love to look through as we sit and talk in the evening. I copied several of the recipes that caught my eye. Frosty loves crème brulee and I love chocolate, so when I read this recipe, I couldn’t wait to come home and make it. Since we will be having pecan pie and piles of whipping cream piled on pumpkin pie this week, I think I had better hold off since this recipe has lots of heavy cream and 4 egg yolks. Do not want to spend our Thanksgiving in the hospital having our arteries unclogged.

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 teas vanilla or 1 vanilla bean

1 (4 oz) dark chocolate, chopped

4 egg yolks

t Tables sugar

4-6 Tables sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 300. Mix cream and vanilla together in a double boiler. Heat mixture for 10-15 min and stir in chocolate. Remove vanilla bean if that is what you used instead of extract. Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a mixing bowl.. Slowly pour chocolate mixture into egg mixture, continuously stirring.

Place bowl over simmering water (which was under the chocolate mixture) until cream mix thickens and coats back of spoon. This takes about 6-8 min. Pour into 4 (4 oz) custard dishes. Place in a large baking pan and add enough water to come up halfway to the sides of the custard cups. Bake until custard is set, about 1 hour. Remove from water and cool. Cover and refrigerate; sprinkle 1 tables of sugar over top of each cup and with a brulee torch, caramelize the top before serving.

Desserts

Texas Sheet Pumpkin Cake

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The Pioneer Woman just posted a recipe that she made by altering the Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake. It sounds delish and since the Pioneer Woman says it is wonderful, it must be, because if you can’t believe the Pioneer Woman, who can you believe?

So in case you don’t take her daily email here it is….Many of you have ask if we just have desserts for Thanksgiving since I do seem to post more desserts than any thing else. We do have other things on the table, like, brown sugar coated brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes with sugary marshmallow topping, ham with brown sugar-pineapple sauce and strawberry-pretzel salad,

So see, I can cook something besides desserts,  As long as the recipe has sugar in it.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

2 sticks butter

2 cups pumpkin puree (not the pumpkin pie filling)

3/4 cup boiling water

2 cups flour

1/4 teas salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 teas baking soda

2 teas vanilla

1/2 teas maple extract (opt)

Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 pound (about 3 1/2 cups) sifted powdered sugar

1 tables half and half or milk (might require a little more than this, add slowly)

Preheat oven to 350 Spray a sheet pan (jelly roll pan) with baking spray (such as Pam). Set aside

In a medium saucepan, melt 2 sticks of butter. Whisk in the pumpkin puree until it is totally blended. Whisk in boiling water until mixture is combined well. Set aside.

In a measuring pitcher, combine buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, vanilla, and maple extract (if using). Whisk together and set aside..

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Pour in the pumpkin mixture and stir until halfway combined. Pour in the buttermilk mixture and stir until combined. Pour into the pan and smooth until mixture is evenly distributed. Bake for about 20 min or cake tests done. Remove and allow to cool.

Frosting:

Mix together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar until well combined. Add half and half as needed to all the frosting to be of spreading consistency. It should be somewhat thick but thin enough to spread over cake.

Cut into squares to serve. Keep leftovers in the fridge, as frosting will get to soft if left out.

Desserts

Luby’s Millionaire Pie

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  Yesterday at the craft show, a friend ask me if I ever saw the recipe for her favorite pie at Luby’s Cafeteria. I told her I would find it and send it to her. So here it is, Betty Jo, enjoy and save one of the pies just for yourself…..
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
  • 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
  • 2 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crusts
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Directions

  1. Blend together the cream cheese and condensed milk; gently fold in the whipped topping.
  2. Stir in the crushed pineapple and pecans; pour into pie crusts and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
Cookies · Desserts

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

A sweet friend of mine, Susie, sent me this cake recipe the other day and I just made it today. I have to say that it is the best and most moist pumpkin cake I have had. I added Brown Sugar Frosting to it and served it to friends who came over tonight for dessert. Scrumptious!!!! So easy and best pumpkin spice cake ever!!!!

1 box Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix

1  cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/2 cup oil

2 teas cinnamon

3 eggs, room temp

1 small package vanilla instant pudding

1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients in mixing bowl and beat for about 2 minutes. Pour into a greased and floured Bundt pan for about 45 min or until cake tests done.

Let stand for about 15 minutes and then invert onto serving platter.

Frosting:

1 cup light brown sugar

5 tables butter

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 teas vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter with brown sugar and cream, stirring constantly. When mixture begins to boil, pour over powdered sugar and mix until no lumps remain. Add vanilla and if needed, 1 tables at a time, thin with whipping cream until mixture is right for pouring over the cake. Frosting will harden quickly so pour quickly over the cake.

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Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

2014-11-04 09.14.37

Taken from our Frisco Style Magazine I tore this recipe out and can’t wait to make these cookies. Our daughter from Phoenix is coming in for a few days on Thurs. I told her that in celebration of her sticking to a new exercise program and following a healthy diet plan, I will have cookies and pies ready to celebrate her weight loss. She didn’t sound very excited when I shared that with her on the phone just now…but maybe she just wasn’t fully awake yet.

Cookies:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed solid

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 cup pumpkin

2 cups flour

1 teas baking soda

1/2 teas nutmeg

1/4 teas round cloves

1/2 teas ground ginger

1/2 teas salt

1 tables ground cinnamon

Frosting:

3 table butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teas vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. With a mixer, mix butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined. Add egg and vanilla to the mixture and continue to mix until well blended. Next stir in the pumpkin until mixture is an even orange color. Set aside.

Now, mix flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, salt and cinnamon until well combined. Pour the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and mix well until dough is nice and smooth.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Using a spoon, make dough balls (I will use my medium sized dough scoop) and place them on the cookie sheet about 2″ apart. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 min. *(I made them into bite size yesterday and baking time was reduced to 7 min 30 seconds)

While cookies are baking, start on the frosting. Add butter, heavy cream and brown sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. After the frosting mixture begins to boil, remove it from the heat and let cool completely. Add the powdered sugar into the butter mixture and beat until no lumps remain. After cookies are cooled completely, frost with the finished frosting and use orange sprinkles or Autumn sprinkles. Keep in covered container

Desserts · Holiday Fare

Whipped Cream Pecan Pie

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2014-10-27 16.20.38

This is the first pecan pie recipe that has whipping cream in it. And trust me, it is outstanding. Made it for dinner tonight. My sister-in-law and brother -in-law came over and we all agreed that it was fantastic. A little fluffier than the normal pecan pie, not quite as sweet and simply great.

3 eggs

2 tables melted butter

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teas vanilla

1/4 teas salt

3/4 cup white karo syrup

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 cup pecans

Unbaked pie shell

Beat the eggs. Add remaining ingredients except pecans. Place pecans in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. Pour mixture over pecans. Bake at 450 for 15 min. Lower oven temp to 250 and finish baking, about 45 minutes. Cool and enjoy!