Random Bakings of 2013

So we all know that I can't resist baking.  The kitchen just begins calling to me and I can't ignore it.  I actually will get agitated if I don't get in that kitchen and create something!  Luckily I seemed to have kept up with my photography of baked goods (even during my supposed non-baking period) so I will post some random sweet creations I produced during the end of my second pregnancy.  I will also try to post the recipes with the photographs in case anything looks so good that you must heed those kitchen callings and create a confection for yourself!  I made all the below deliciousness during November and December of 2013 - while I counted down the days to our new arrival!

Cookies and Cream Brownie Cupcakes

1 box fudge brownie mix
Oreo's

Preheat oven according to package directions and line cupcake pan with foil liners.  Cut nine Oreo's into four pieces, set aside.   Prepare brownies according to package directions.  Place one whole Oreo in the bottom of each cupcake liner.    Spoon brownie batter on top.  Add about three pieces of the quartered Oreo's on top, pressing lightly into the brownie batter.  Bake according to package directions, about 20 minutes.  Do not overbake!

Tuscaloosa Tollhouse Pie

1 frozen deep dish pie crust

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes

1 Tbsp. whiskey

3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1-1/4 cups (about 8 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and sugars together until combined.  Set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs on high speed until foamy, about 3 minutes.  Remove the whisk attachment and add the paddle attachment.  With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture.  Turn the mixer to high and beat for 2 minutes.  Scrape down the bowl and add the butter.  Beat on high speed until the mixture is combined.  Scrape down the bowl, add the whiskey, and beat the mixture on high speed for 1 minute.

Fold the walnuts and 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips into the filling.  Pour the filling into the frozen pie shell and spread out evenly.  Top the filling with the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes, then cover the edges of the crust loosely with aluminum foil and bake for another 25 minutes (this will prevent the crust from browning too quickly).  Test the pie by sticking a knife in the center of the filling.  If the knife comes out clean, the pie is done.  If the knife comes out with clumps of filling sticking to it, bake for another five minutes and test again.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool before slicing.  The pie can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 2 days.

Apple Fritter Cake

(from www.nerdybaker.wordpress.com)

Filling:

1 heaping cup of sliced apples (I cored and quartered and then sliced)

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

small pinch freshly grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons water

Plus:

1/2 cup brown sugar (I used a 1/4 cup each of dark and light)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cake:

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup Greek yogurt (you could use plain yogurt as well or sour cream)

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons milk

For filling:  Make your filling by combining apples, sugar, water, cinnamon and cornstarch in a small saucepan.  Cook on low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce is thickened and the apples are a bit soft.  Set aside to cool.  In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together until well combined and set aside.

For Cake:  Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour a 9×13 baking dish.  Set aside.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add applesauce and vanilla and mix till combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Sift the dry ingredients together.  Add the dry ingredients to the batter in three parts alternating with the yogurt in two parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Beat until just combined.  Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan.  Spoon the cooled apple mixture over the batter carefully and spread as evenly as possible.  Sprinkle 2/3 of brown sugar cinnamon mixture over apples and cover with the rest of the batter.  Sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar cinnamon mixture over the top.  Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

For Glaze:  While the cake is baking, make the glaze.  In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until the glaze is desired consistency.  When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately but carefully pour onto hot cake.  Try to pour as evenly as possible.  You might have to pick up the cake and tilt it to spread the glaze evenly.  I even poured some out that pooled at the corners and repoured that over the top.  Let the cake sit for awhile for the glaze to set.

 


These Cranberry-Pecan Coffee Cakes were the last  thing I baked before the birth of my second daughter!  The next thing that I took on after that was a very special baby "sprinkle" party for my wonderful sister-in-law.  My handsome nephew was born just two months after Brinley arrived!

My Little Pony Sprinkle Cake

In the fall of 2013, my oldest daughter decided that she wanted to have a My Little Pony birthday party.  I was in the middle of my pregnancy - one that was going much smoother due to my taking it easier this time around - so I decided to have a small family affair at my parent's house.  It was a great time with food, family and a few close friends.

On the agenda was making candy necklaces, a piñata (something my husband insisted on even though our daughter was terrified of them) and a sprinkle-themed pony cake.  It was the perfect little party to celebrate our little girl getting another year older.

The candy necklaces were a huge hit with the kids!  I got small cookies, pretzels, gummi rings and cereal for them to make their own creations.  I would really like to do this again once Lana starts having sleepovers.  How fun would it be to make them before they all crawled into their sleeping bags for a movie marathon?  And since they are custom made, each girl would have exactly what they wanted to munch on for film viewing.  Here are Lana and her friends with their completed creations.  What a bunch of cuties!

Lana really enjoyed this party.  She does a lot better with smaller parties.  She gets a bit overwhelmed as the guest list grows.  Her party for the following year was pretty extravagant, the mixture of a large group of children, heat and activity was really too much for her.  Of course this was the year we tried inviting a ton of kids from her pre-school class and we have now learned from that experience.  Enough about that for now though, I will post about that party at another time.  Here is a picture of my husband showing Lana how to hit a pinata.  She was terrified!  She has sat out of piñata participation at parties since.

So that sums up most of the party games, on to the cake!  Lana's cake seemed simple enough.  A two-tiered yellow cake with vanilla buttercream and completely covered in multi-colored sprinkles.  All seemed good and well until the sprinkles hit the floor - literally.  The night before her birthday, I was constructing the cake.  Stacking went well, icing went well, and then came time for the sprinkles.  As I was covering the cake, my elbow hit the large tub of multi-colored jimmies I had sitting on the counter and deposited them all over my kitchen floor.   The sound of hundreds pieces of candy colored sugar pieces hitting the linoleum was not a welcome sound.  I blame pregnancy clumsiness.

Luckily, most of the cake had been covered by this point and I had an extra tub of sprinkles in the pantry.  A little sweeping, a few more handfuls of sprinkles and the cake was finished.  We decided to use Lana's miniatures on the cake to reference the My Little Pony theme.  Can you tell if she liked it?

Well that wraps up Lana's fourth birthday!  One of the best parties we ever had and it was all due to my pregnancy forcing it to be a laid back small affair.  I really should have learned from this.  Instead I decided that her fifth party would be an over-the-top guest-filled extraordinary event.  How did that turn out?  Stay tuned to find out!