Oreo Chocolate Cheesecake

I made this for a friends birthday a few months ago and have been meaning to post the recipe ever since. When I asked my friend what he wanted for his birthday treat he decided on an Oreo Chocolate Cheesecake. I realized when I started looking for recipes that there weren't any good recipes for one so I naturally had to create one!

Cookie Crust:

6 tablespoons Butter softened

30 Oreos

Cheesecake:

3 packages (8oz) cream cheese soften

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate (melted and cooled to room temperature)

10 Oreos crushed into pieces

Cookie Crust:

Place softened butter and Oreos in a gallon freezer bag and mash until mixture looks sandy and wet. Press mixture into a 9-inch springform pan and then refrigerate while making the filling.

Cheesecake:

Melt semi-sweet chocolate in a double broiler till creamy then set aside to cool.

In a large bowl beat cream cheese with a mixer until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until well combined then add sour cream and vanilla and mix.

Add melted chocolate and whip 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Then gently stir in crushed Oreo.

Spread the filling evenly over the crust. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 3-4 hours.

Note: For clean slices when cutting run knife under hot water and wipe dry before making each cut.

Inspired by: No-Bake Creamy Chocolate Cheesecake and {No-Bake} Oreo Cheesecake

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Ganache, Berries, and Cream

Last week I was looking for a recipe that would serve a crowd, but would still be Sunday worthy.  I generally think desserts Sundays should be a step up from the ordinary.  Now is the tail end of zucchini is in growing in gardens and cheap in the stores, so it is the perfect time of the year to make this cake.  My sister told me she is generally disappointed in the texture of zucchini cakes, because the end up almost gummy and gelatinous.  (Is that even a word?)  This cake was nothing of the sort.  The cake was moist and the crumb was tender.  I'm pretty sure the combination of tender zucchini cake, ganache, berries, and cream was a match made in heaven.  Fun little fact, the plate below is part of my great grandmother's china set.

Cake:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup boiling water

2 cups grated zucchini

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

2. In an electric mixer, add eggs and lightly beat.  Add sugar and vanilla mix until well combined.  With mixer running, slowly add oil and buttermilk.

3. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

4. Fold in grated zucchini.  Add hot water and mix until combined.

5. Pour into a greased jelly roll pan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Ganache:

8 ounces of good quality semi sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup cream

1. Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl.

2. Heat cream on medium low heat until it is almost boiling.

3. Pour cream over chocolate chips and stir until all the chocolate chips are melted.  If they don't completely melt, microwave for 10 seconds at a time, stirring between each interval.

Cream:

3 cups cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons powdered sugar or pure maple syrup

The cream is good either just drizzled on top of the berries and cake or whipped. 

If you choose to whip it, whip the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and sweetener.  Whip until cream forms stiff peaks.

If you choose to drizzle the cream, just mix in the vanilla and sweetener and serve in a pitcher beside the cake.

Berries:

3-4 cups fresh raspberries or diced strawberries

To assemble the cake, cut the cake into squares, top with berries, and drizzle or dollop cream on top.  Enjoy!

Recipe simplified and adapted from Simply So Good.

Banana Cream Pie

Often when I think of making pie I think of a long time intensive dessert.  Pies aren't hard to make, but they take longer than whipping up a batch of cookies or a pan of brownies.  I love pie, but don't often have the time to make one.  This pie is almost more "assembly" than "cooking".  The boxed pudding makes this come together in a snap.  I rarely buy boxed mixes, but I think the cook-and-serve pudding is pretty tasty and sometimes you need to take the short cut.

I am pretty particular when it comes to banana cream pie.  I usually don't like store bought ones and although I love bananas, I don't like things with fake banana flavor.  I really prefer vanilla pudding in this pie.  Graham cracker crusts are so tasty, because they have butter!  This one has just a hint of cinnamon, which adds a subtle dimension to the pie, that is fantastic.  If you want to get all fancy, feel free to pipe the whipped cream on, but I just spread it on the top and called it good.

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/3 cups crushed graham crackers (I crushed them in the blender)

1/3 cup sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix together until well combined.  Press into a 9 inch pie plate along the bottom and up the sides.  Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes.  

Filling:

1 large box cook and serve vanilla pudding, prepared and cooled

3-4 bananas, sliced

1 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

The rest of the pie is mostly assembly.  Whip the cream until thick, add vanilla and sugar and whip until soft peaks form.  Slice 2-3 bananas into the bottom of the crust. Pour pudding on top, then spread whipped cream on top.  Slice and add the last banana on top.  Serve immediately.

Crust recipe adapted from my cousin Emily.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite treats, but they take a little more time than I am willing to invest on a regular basis.  I first tried a version of this when I was staying with a friend in Arizona and I thought it was wonderful!  I have made it a few times since then for different events, slightly adapting it each time.  I love that it has normal ingredients that I always have on hand.  The first time I made it, I thought it was way too sweet and had a little too much butter (and I love butter).  I have cut down the sugar and butter a bit and think it is just about perfect.  The cinnamon shines through and it is still plenty sweet.  Every time I make this, it is always well received.

Cake:
3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping:
14 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9×13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

While warm drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Adapted from Your Home Based Mom.

Banana Cake

This is the best banana cake.  It is moist without being too dense.  I have tried several recipes for banana cake and while they are usually good, they aren't anything to write home about.  The first time I made this cake, my friend Kelsey requested that I use this her family's recipe for this banana cake for her birthday.  It is a Howell family classic, with good reason!  The Howells are great cooks, so it was no surprise that this cake was fantastic! I have made it several times since.  The recipe has been slightly adapted (I can't help myself), but no matter how I make it, where ever I bring it, it is a hit!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups mashed banana
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1.  Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and grease a 9x13 cake pan.

2. With and electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.  Add dry ingredients to butter mixture.  Mix until partially combined.  There should still be a few dry streaks.

4.  Add lemon juice while mashing bananas and once mashed, add with butter milk to the batter.  Mix until just combined.

5. Pour batter into cake pan and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.  Sounds crazy to bake it at such a low temperature, but it works.  You will know it is done, when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Soften cream cheese and butter.  Beat together until fluffy.  Add vanilla and powdered sugar.  Beat until well combined.  Spread on top of cooled cake.

The Best Apple Cake with Warm Vanilla Sauce

Valerie was the first one to make this cake.  She brought it to a family gathering a few weeks ago.  Since then I have made it twice.  We had an iron chef competition with my local neighborhood congregation as a Monday night activity.  Our group's secret ingredient were apples.  When I had made this cake a week before and a few people in my group had tried it, so when I suggested we make it, they all agreed it would win.  We got the whole thing mixed up and baked in 45 minutes and everyone loved it.  I have tried a few other apple cake recipes before and this is by far the best.  It is moist, has the right level of spice, and the perfect crumb.  The sauce is butter, cream, and sugar.  Can you go wrong with that?

Cake
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups white flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups grated apples (plus any accumulated juice)*

Beat sugar and butter together with an electric mixer until well combined.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix until light and creamy.

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg). I'll explain why this is important at the bottom if you are interested.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until just combined.

Stir in grated apples with any accumulated juices and mix until combined.  Do not over mix.

Spread the batter evenly into a greased 9x13 or two 9 inch cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, which is about 30 minutes if using a 9x13 or 25 minutes if it is in two pans.

*I can't remember what kind of apples I used, but I think they were fuji or gala apples.  I left the skins on to make it slightly easier and healthier, Valerie peeled the apples when she made it.  I didn't notice a difference in taste, but the cake did look la little nicer without the apple skins.  So you choose convenience or appearance!

Vanilla Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

While the cake is baking combine the butter, cream, and sugar in a small saucepan.  Bring the mixture to a low simmer and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is combined.  Simmer gently for 10-12 minutes, stirring often.  Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and keep warm until ready to serve.

Cut the cake into pieces and drizzle with the warm cream sauce.  The sauce is what really make the cake!

Notes: So, for those of you who are interested in the science behind mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately, here it is.  I used to think it was just so the baking soda, salt, etc were evenly distributed.  This is only a small part of the reason.  When flour comes into contact with the wet ingredients it starts to activate the gluten.  The more it is mixed, the more it becomes like bread, hence all the kneading when you make bread.  We are going for the small, delicate crumb that we all love in baked goods.  Also, when baking powder/ baking soda gets wet it starts to make things rise.  If it is mixed too much, all of its rising power kind of fizzes out and the cake won't rise enough and will be on the denser side.  Moral of the story, if you like tough, dry, dense cake, mix away!

Slightly adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Galettete Pérougienne

This recipe stems from the delightful cookbook A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse by Mimi Thorisson.  This isn't your average cookbook.  It is filled with charming stories about Mimi and her family getting used to life in the country after moving suddenly from Paris and the amazing food they cook.  Mimi's husband is a photographer so all the photos are breathtaking.  Most of the food looks so elegant and divine, but way to fancy and time consuming for my working life.  But this recipe caught my attention.  It was simple, yet looked absolutely divine.  And I already had all the ingredients.  So after drooling all afternoon at beautiful French cooking, I decided to go home and make this one for the husband and I.

It was even better than I expected.  The buttery dough infused with lemon would be amazing on its own, but with caramelized sugar on the top, it is to die for.  Though it takes time to let it raise, the rest of the process is very simple and worth every effort.  I'll be making this one again.  Maybe even this weekend now that I've thought of it...

We ate it plain, but I think it would be delicious topped with fresh berries.  It definitely tastes best fresh, so enjoy it right away.

Galettete Pérougienne 

3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup lukewarm water
12 tablespoons of butter at room temperature (I used unsalted)
1 large egg
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Pinch of fine sea salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

Mix the yeast in the lukewarm water in a small cup. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to dissolve.

In a large bowl, mix together 8 tablespoons of the butter with the egg, lemon zest, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Add the yeast mixture and then gradually add the flour, mixing until you have a soft and elastic dough.  (I did this in my kitchen aid, but you could certainly do it with a spoon.)

Shape the dough into a ball, put it in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven, 450°F and butter a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

On a parchment-paper-lined surface, roll the dough into a 10-inch circle about 1/2 inch thick. Fold over the edges to make a raised edge.

Sprinkle the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar over the dough and dot with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.

Transfer to the baking sheet and bake until golden and caramelized, 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve warm.