Margarita Cheesecake, My Kinda Birthday Cake

Yesterday was America's birthday and mine. I hope you all had a fantastic 4th! I had a great one. My husband flew in on a red eye from a shoot so we could spend the day together, I got to take a nap with my baby in the morning and watch him eat (inhale) scrambled eggs for the first time at our favorite place, Elizabeth Street, before we spent the day with friends and family.

This was the cake I made to celebrate my 37 years on earth. I made it gluten free by using gluten free ginger snaps in the crust and no one was the wiser. But feel free to use regular ginger snaps or graham crackers. The filling is a classic key lime cheesecake filling but since it was my birthday I had to step it up a notch.

Enter the topping: a tequila infused whipped sour cream situation. You two should get to know one another.

Margarita Cheesecake with Tequila Whipped Sour Cream
Makes one big ass cheesecake.
*Takes a few prep bowls and steps, but worth it. Like all cheesecakes this MUST be made 1-2 days ahead and kept chilled in fridge for it to achieve the right consistency.

Crust:
2 cups crushed ginger snap cookies (I used one 8 oz box Mi-Del Gluten Free Ginger Snaps), vanilla wafers or graham crackers
4 tablespoons salted butter
pinch kosher salt
zest of a small lime

Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temp
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream (I used light)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch kosher salt

Topping:
1 pint heavy cream, very cold
heaping 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon tequila
pinch kosher salt
zest of 1 lime
1/3 cup sour cream (I used light)
slices of lime, for garnish (optional)
whole strawberries, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 (I used convection bake setting.) Lightly butter a 9 inch round springform cheesecake pan, coating all sides and bottom. Use a large piece of aluminum foil to 'wrap' the base of the pan (just to prevent leaks) tucking it up and around the sides. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs, melted butter, salt and lime zest until well blended. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the buttered pan and just slightly up the sides. Use a lighter hand when doing this or it will be brick-like after being baked.

Bake for 8-12 minutes until edges are golden. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile in a standing mixer or big bowl with hand held mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add in the sugar, mixing until very well blended and being sure to scrape along bottom/sides for any hiding clumps.

Add egg yolks, one at a time blending after each addition just until yellow disappears. Add in the sour cream, juice, zest, vanilla extract and pinch salt. Mix well, scraping down sides and bottom once again.

In a separate (clean and dry) large bowl, whip the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form at the end of a beater when the beater is turned off but mixture is not dry (meaning there's still a little shine to them but they are no longer liquid.)

Gently fold the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture, until just mixed. Pour into the prepared crust and bake for one hour. Gently slide the tray the cake is on out and watch how the cake moves. If the entire thing is still jiggly/watery, bake another 10-15 minutes until JUST the very center is quivery. The center being loose is the goal - not the entire cake.

When just your center is jiggly, shut the oven door and shut the oven completely off. Leave for 15 minutes. Then crack the door and leave another 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. It's a big cake and will take a while so be patient.

Cover and chill over night or at least 8 hours.

Meanwhile, make your topping (topping can also be made several hours ahead or even overnight and put on the cake before serving.)

Using a standing mixer or large bowl with hand held mixer, beat the cream on high until it forms soft peaks, gently add in the confectioners sugar and continue to whip until you achieve classic whipped cream texture. Add in your extract, tequila, salt and zest and beat again just until incorporated. Make sure no little clumps of lime zest are lurking. Finally fold in the sour cream.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

To assemble, remove the cake from pan. Spread the whipped topping evenly over and decorate with lime slices, strawberries and more lime zest or strips of lime zest if desired.

Mocha Heath Bar Bundt Cake (Can't Stop Won't Stop Cake)

Got to co-host the cutest sweetest baby shower last weekend for my new friend Jess who is due very soon with her first baby. My co-hostess with the mostess Krystle organized a fun project for us all to do painting onesies for Baby Gaffney which was really cute. Gurls got all crafty up in here! My backyard looked like a Pinterest board. Didn't think I was the crafting type but give me some wine and apparently I'll do anything. Except run.

Krystle also made an insanely delicious savory tomato cobbler which I'll post next as well as lots of other goodies. I also had grand plans to make a lot of food but with Kris out of town and the baby now crawling, I was just lucky to pull off this cake.

And I'm so glad I did because it just may be one of my favorite things I've ever made. After harassing Jess' hubby for details on what kind of treats she likes, we got the lowdown that she's a Heath Bar/mocha/toffee ice cream kinda gal. So Krystle made Heath bar coffee ice cream (to die for) and I made this chocolate mocha bundt cake that got drowned in a mixture of condensed milk and coffee after baking THEN caramel sauce and toffee bits. Mmm hmm. You heard me.

Next time I make it I'm going to soak it in the suggested Kahlua mixture and see what kind of party that leads to. I suspect a fun one.

Lastly I can't take credit for its new official title - Can't Stop Won't Stop Cake. That was all the mama-to-be.

Mocha Heath Bar Bundt Cake (Can't Stop Won't Stop Cake)
From Allrecipes, submitted by alijmorris
* For a nonalcoholic version, replace the kahlua with 3/4 cup chocolate syrup mixed with 1/4 cup warm water.
* When I made this the first time, I used the chocolate syrup/water mixture for the Kahlua substitution in the cake but mixed a can of condensed milk with some hot coffee to pour over the cake instead of mixing the other half with confectioners sugar which worked well. But I suspect the more Kahlua, the better.
* This cake gets better the more it sits soaking up the glaze. Make it at least the day before you want to serve it but do not apply the caramel sauce/Heath Bar bits until closer to serving or it will drink it up and not look as pretty.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup salted butter, room temp (1 1/2 sticks), plus extra for buttering pan
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting pan
4 eggs, separated and at room temp
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee (can use decaf)
1 cup coffee flavored liquor (kahlua), divided (if subbing see above note and divide prepared mixture)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
tiny pinch salt

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar mixed well with 1/2 cup Kahlua OR 1/2 can condensed milk mixed with 2 tablespoons hot coffee

Topping:
1/2 jar store bought caramel sauce (like for ice cream)
1 cup Heath Bar bits/toffee bits

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325.

Butter the inside of a 10 inch bundt pan then 'flour' liberally with cocoa powder. Tap out excess and set aside.

In a large measuring cup, dissolve baking soda in water, stirring well. Add in coffee, 1/2 cup of the coffee liquor (OR chocolate syrup mixture if subbing) and vanilla.

In a large bowl or standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy (will be a little stiffer than other butter/sugar combos but be sure to scrape bottom to get any sugar sticking to the bottom.) Beat in the cocoa, then egg yolks one at a time. Alternately beat in the flour and coffee mixture just until incorporated along with a pinch salt.

In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly but carefully fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain.

Pour batter into pan. Bake for 55-6- minutes until a tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Meanwhile prepare glaze (either 1/2 cup Kahlua with 1 cup confectioner sugar OR 1/2 can condensed milk with 2 tablespoons hot coffee.)

Let cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a wire rack lined with wax paper (so you can move it later.) Pierce warm cake all over carefully with tester or fork and drizzle the glaze over until it soaks it all up (careful - makes a mess!)

Let cake cool all the way and either wrap well in plastic wrap or transfer to a cake keeper until ready to serve. An hour before serving, drizzle liberally with warmed caramel sauce (microwave for a few seconds so it pours easily) and sprinkle Heath bar bits over the top.

Simply Perfect Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. No one has to know it's Paleo.

So here's my thing with Paleo desserts so far. They're actually pretty good. You don't miss the refined sugar because real maple syrup and/or honey do a fine job providing the sweet. You don't miss the fat because you don't have to worry about using low fat nonsense. But the texture can be tricky. The initial product is often great but gets soggy after a few hours because almond flour is so rich and dense.

This carrot cake changed my tune. It's honestly authentically carrot cake like. Moist and rich, yes. Soggy no. Even my husband had no freaking clue I'd sabotaged a perfectly good Easter tradition with something sans refined sugar, flour or weird preservatives. And he's a PICKY dessert eater. Like crazy picky.

Anyway I know I just shared the oh so exciting news that my baby is over his dairy issues and therefore I could have gone ahead with a traditional full fledged carrot cake recipe with loads of butter, flour and sugar but honestly I think I'll have a hard time doing that sort of recipe unless it's a holiday from now on. Okay fine - Easter is most definitely a holiday - if not the mother of them actually but I mean a more fun holiday. Like Halloween or Christmas which is just a lovely excuse to eat badly (awesomely) for a month. You know what I mean.

Anyway if you're curious about Paleo or just want to try something a little different with your baking experiments I heartily recommend this recipe. Obviously not calorie free but undoubtedly better for your than the old school version.

Simply Perfect Carrot Cake
*slightly altered from the recipe by She Cooks He Cleans

Ingredients:
small amount of butter or coconut oil for buttering pans
small amount of coconut flour for dusting pans
1/2 cup walnut or grape seed oil
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup coconut palm sugar
5 eggs, room temp
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups blanched almond flour (I use WellBee)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (I use fresh ground)
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (I use Let's Do Organic)
3 cups shredded carrots (preferably organic)
3/4 cups raisins (preferably golden) or chopped dates or even dried pineapple
3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans or even slivered almonds
Zest of a medium orange, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F (I used convection bake.)  Line two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with parchment paper and butter bottom and sides with either butter or coconut oil. Lightly dust with coconut flour and tap out excess in the sink.

Using electric mixer,  beat oil, palm sugar, and honey until well mixed.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well between eggs. Mix in vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, mix together almond flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and shredded coconut.  With mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.  When it has all been added, beat until well blended.  Stir in carrots, raisins, toasted walnuts and orange zest if using.

Divide batter between cake pans.  Bake at 325 for 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.  Cool cakes in pans for 15 minutes.  Run a small knife around the edge of the pans to loosen the cakes, then invert carefully on a cooling rack; cool completely.

Maple Cream Cheese Icing (*some additions NOT Paleo, but optional - I also use more sweetener than original recipe called for as I found it not sweet enough but feel free to start with 1/4 cup maple syrup and adjust accordingly)

2 (8 oz) packages organic cream cheese, room temp
1 stick salted organic butter, room temp
*1 tablespoon orange liquor
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
small pinch kosher salt or sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey or 2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar, or to taste, OPTIONAL

3/4-1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened) for decorating, optional OR chopped toasted nuts

Cream together cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer.  Add liquor if using, vanilla extract and pinch salt and mix well. Gradually add maple syrup and beat until well-combined and fluffy. Taste for sweetness then mix in additional honey or palm sugar if desired (palm sugar will dissolve into icing if mixed long enough.)

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on cake platter.  Spread approximately 1 cup of frosting over the layer.  Top with the second cake layer, flat side down.  Spread remaining frosting over the top and sides of cake.  Top with coconut or chopped nuts (optional). Refrigerate, if possible (I don't.) Serve at room temperature.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

I am a sucker for Halloween themed cookbooks. Most of these impulse purchases end in disappointment, the books full of gimmicks and fluff. All filler and no substance.

But over the summer I came across 'Ghoulish Goodies' by Sharon Bowers at Half Price Books and have been happily surprised recipe by recipe. These Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars, which I baked in an 8x8 inch ceramic dish to make them more cake-like, are honest to God delicious.

She sells them as being adult oriented with the whole wheat flour and spices. I sell them as one of the best coffee cakes I've ever had. Even my husband who is VERY annoyingly picky when it comes to baked goods has eaten them like they were running away from him.

So tis the season for pumpkin and things that go bump in the night and baked goods that help you get through a 3 am feeding followed by another at 4 am and 5:30 am. Did I mention my baby is a vampire?

One last thing. I added toasted walnut pieces which I think turned these up to 11. You know you're getting old when you're tempted to add nuts to about every baked good. I can remember being little and wishing like hell my mom had left them out!

Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Bars (or Coffee Cake)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I was out so used more nutmeg)
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 (12 oz) package (2 cups) semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup to 1 cup lightly toasted walnut pieces, if desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. For bars, grease a 9x13 baking pan and set aside. For coffee cake, grease an 8x8 ceramic pan with nonstick spray and see my tip below.

Combine the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a medium bowl.

Beat the butter, two sugars, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin puree until well combined, then add in the flour mixture in about 3 parts, beating each time until just combined. Use a wooden spoon to fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts then spread the batter which will be a bit on the thick and dry side evenly into the pan.

Bake for 35 minutes, until lightly golden and set.

Alisa's Tip:

For a cake like consistency instead of bars, Bake in a well greased 8x8 ceramic or glass pan at 350 for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 and bake another 10-15 until the sides begin to turn dark but the middle is still quivery. Reduce heat to 300 and bake another 15 or until middle is set, entire 'cake' has risen and a cake tester comes out clean. 

Happy Halloween Cake

I made this cake for my sister Julie's birthday as she loves Halloween. It was supposed to be a rotting skull buried in dirt with pus oozing out of it. But decorating a cake and 7 week olds don't mix so I ended up over heating the icing which began to ooze instead of hold pustule shapes and before I knew it I had to call it a 'doo-rag' and make him a charred dirty pirate instead.

I used a chocolate cake recipe from Nigella that never fails me. I love it because it breaks every baking rule you've ever learned about keeping the dry and wet ingredients separate and painstakingly adding the wet slowly into the dry. You just dump everything into a food processor, give it a whirl and call it a day.

And it turns out EVERY time - moist and rich yet fluffy and light - and as a bonus it fit the skull pan perfectly. The pan can be found on sale right now at Williams Sonoma by the way and is worth every penny if you're a pan hoarder like myself. I sprayed it with nonstick spray and dusted it with cocoa powder before pouring the batter in and the cake released easy-peasy.

The cool thing is (yes I said cool thing in relation to cake baking - I'm five) is that you'll need to slice the inner halves of the skull after baking and cooling to make them flush and flat (so that when pressed together to make a skull it's not kattywompus.)

But this excess cake isn't wasted. You can crumple this bit of cake up with your fingers to make the 'dirt' for the skull to sit on. I had bought a packet of Oreos to grind up to use and found I didn't need to - I had delicious cake dirt!

The icing is where I took a major shortcut with Marshmallow Creme that actually suited my purposes just fine but I bet Pinterest or any other nerdy site could hook you up with an icing that is more profesh if desired.

Well my baby's up from his nap and ready to eat. Until next time - Happy Halloween y'all!

Halloween Skull Cake (Mint Chocolate Chip Cake)
Altered from a recipe by Recipe by Nigellas Lawson, Nigella's Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake

Cake:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa, plus extra for dusting pan
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks soft unsalted butter (I use SALTED)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon good-quality vanilla extract
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
1 cup Andes mint chocolate pieces or semisweet chocolate chips or morsels

Glaze for decorating/icing:
1 teaspoon cocoa
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 (7 oz) carton Jet Puffed Kraft Marshmallow Creme
Black food coloring, or other for coloring the pirate's 'doo rag'
Red food coloring, for blood
colored sprinkles for decorating doo rag
1 candy eyeball or a round peppermint candy for an eyeball
1 silver or gold dragee for center of the eye (use a dot of icing for the glue onto the candy eyeball)
An old steak knife, for stabbing through one of the eyes
Gummy worms, for planting in the 'dirt'

Special equipment: Halloween skull pan, found at Williams Sonoma


Directions
Take whatever you need out of the refrigerator so that all ingredients can come room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, putting in a baking sheet as you do so.

Spray both sides of the skull cake pan well with nonstick spray, then lightly but thoroughly dust with cocoa powder. Place the pan on a sturdy flat cookie sheet for stability.

Put the flour, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into the processor and blitz until a smooth, satiny brown batter. Scrape down with a rubber spatula and process again while pouring the boiling water down the funnel. Blend again, add in peppermint extract and give a final whirl. Switch it off, then remove the lid and the well-scraped double-bladed knife and, still using your rubber spatula, stir in the Andes chocolate pieces or chocolate chips or morsels.

Scrape and pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and put into the oven for 25 minutes. Carefully rotate the pan to the other side then bake for another 10-15 minutes until the cake has risen all the way and 'puffed' but is no longer jiggly in the center. You want to be careful not to over bake this cake as all the detail in the sides can darken the edges and make them crispy if over baked. Using a cake tester or a strand of spaghetti is good insurance if you're iffy.

Remove the cake and let cool on a wire rack completely then carefully invert onto another greased wire rack. When you're sure the cake has cooled all the way, use a serrated bread knife to 'slice' off the undersides of the skull halves ,making them flat. Save these scraps to crumple into 'dirt' onto whatever plate or cake plate you're constructing the cake on making a nice bed for it.

Meanwhile put the syrup ingredients of cocoa, water and sugar into a small saucepan and boil for about 5 minutes, to give a thick syrup. Stir in the marshmallow creme and food coloring getting it to the color you like for the doo rag. Use about 1/4 of this mixture, a tablespoon at a time, to spread on the flat inner side of one of the skulls. This will be your glue to stick them together so don't use so much that it oozes out (though no big deal if it does) and add a little at a time.

Once the cake is together and the creme has set (should happen quickly, this stuff is like edible crazy glue) carefully set the skull into the center of the dirt.

Use the rest of the icing mixture to create either a doo rag or pus or whatever you like. If you let it cool a bit to where it's not so oozy, you can use a fork to drizzle 'brain matter' in little circles over the head. If the mixture gets too hard, gently heat it up over a low flame and stir again until it's smooth and oozy.

Finish decorating to your liking using a candy for an eyeball, more 'pus' in the other eye with a couple drops of red food coloring, and plant the worms in the dirt. Stab a steak knife in the empty pus filled eye socket if desired.

The 'Chocolate Cure' Cake

The 'Chocolate Cure' Cake

*Adapted from 'Too Much Chocolate Cake' on Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz) box devil's food (chocolate) cake mix

1 (5.9 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup warm water

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 (or more) cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes and make a well in the center. In another small bowl break the eggs up with a fork then add them into the well with the sour cream, oil, salt, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour in the water and stir until just well mixed.

Finally, stir in the chocolate chips then pour the batter into the cake mold. Place on a cookie sheet for stability and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake for 20 minutes before inverting and cooling the rest of the way. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

Pumpkin Rum Cake with Brown Sugar Icing

This rum cake is a labor of love compared to my 'go to' rum cake which starts with a mix and is the most beloved cake I've ever made. That said it's TOTALLY worth it. Like stop-looking-at-how-long-the-ingredient-list-is-and-just-make-the-damn-thing worth it.

Only then will you understand. Plus the upside is a sense of accomplishment that you likely haven't experienced since acing your high school chemistry test. Or birthing your first child. Or in my case...taking your Christmas tree down before February.

Pumpkin Rum Cake with Brown Sugar Icing
from Southern Living
*I always check my cakes for doneness before the suggested cooking time just because ovens vary so much.
* This cake is too gorgeous to risk burning and sticking so I grease my pan liberally with softened butter, then a little cooking spray, then sprinkle flour all over and tap out excess.
* This icing is maybe the best icing I've ever had and is easy to make but burns EASILY. Watch it like a newborn and be ready to remove it from the heat asap. The recipe called for boiling 3 minutes but I reduced this because mine scorched after that long.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted 
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, melted 
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (I use salted)
• 2 cups granulated sugar 
• 2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 5 large eggs 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin
• 1/4 cup dark rum 
• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (I use salted and even add a tiny pinch salt)
• 1 generous teaspoon dark rum 
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sifted powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; stir in 1/4 cup melted butter. Use fingers to pinch streusel into big clumps. Set aside.
2. Beat 1 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer about 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add 2 cups each granulated and dark brown sugar, beating at medium speed 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Pour in vanilla extract and beat just to incorporate.
3. Stir together pumpkin and 1/4 cup rum in a bowl. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with pumpkin, beginning and ending with flour.
4. Pour half of batter into a well-greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan. (We recommend greasing pan with shortening.) Sprinkle batter with streusel; top with remaining batter.
5. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 28 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan, and let cool completely.
6. Combine 3/4 cup brown sugar, whipping cream, and 1/4 cup unsalted butter in a medium saucepan along with a pinch of salt (optional). Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat, until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Boil for 60 seconds and IMMEDIATELY Remove from heat. Off the heat stir in a splash of rum (recipe calls for a teaspoon but hey - it's the holidays.)
7. Place powdered sugar in a bowl; pour brown sugar mixture over powdered sugar, stirring with a wire whisk 1 minute or until smooth. Let cool 20 to 25 minutes or until lukewarm. Spoon icing over cooled cake, and let stand until icing is firm.

Boo! Tres Leches Loco Cake.

I'm back! It's the tale end of my vacay and I took a break from it ALL - even my computer. I rode my horse every day and got outside and ate a lot of good food and road tripped a little. And now it's almost over. Scary, indeed.

Anyhow I have a lot to share with you - including some eleventh hour Halloween recipes. So buckle up and hang on!

First off I bring you Tres Leches Loco Cake. From the beloved Pioneer Woman who does wicked, magical things with a can of condensed milk.

What? This cake is ugly, you say? Well I never claimed to be a professional baker. But hell if I don't enjoy doing it!

Tres Leches Loco Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup All-purpose Flour
1-1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
5 whole Eggs
1 cup Sugar, Divided
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/3 cup Milk

For pouring over after baking, whisk together the following:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (5 fluid oz) evaporated milk
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
2 teaspoons rum, or to taste
dash of maple flavoring (maple extract) or vanilla extract

For the Icing:
1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping and 3 Tablespoons Sugar OR Cool Whip

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs.

Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.

Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool (I just cooled in the pan and served it from there - up to you.)

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, rum and extract in a small/medium bowl. When cake is cool, gently pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can. (USE THE LEFTOVER MIXTURE FOR SERVING OVER ICE CREAM - DELICIOUS! WILL KEEP UP TO 4 DAYS COVERED IN FRIDGE.)

Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable. Or use Cool Whip (works better for transporting.)

Decorate, or not.

The underated, under appreciated Carrot Cake

Last post from my beloved Texas trip - my nephew's birthday cake. As I mentioned before, we all looked at each other when he politely requested it for his birthday like, "Carrot Cake? What's wrong with this kid? What about chocolate or even a lemon cake?" But the laugh was on me when I nearly dove into it head-first, hours later, after dinner.

Maybe it's because I'm not a huge sweets person and the plethora of spices gave my mouth something to think about. Maybe it's because cream cheese frosting would taste good on a car tire. Or maybe I should just stop debating it all together, and accept the fact that carrot cake is my new part time lover.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
3 sticks, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temp
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Cream Cheese Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup drained canned pineapple
1 cup shredded coconut, to press on the outside

rind of one orange, cut into long strips and twisted into 'curls', presented in a fan on top to make a star shape

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 3 (9-inch) cake pans with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add the sugar, and beat. In a medium bowl or on a piece of parchment, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggs, beating well after the addition of each. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Add the carrots and beat on medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Fold in the coconut and nuts. Divide between the 3 cake pans and bake until set and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest in the cake pans for 10 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, remove from the pans, and let cool.

For the Frosting: In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly. Add the vanilla and pineapple.

When the cake is cool, place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or stand. Spread the top with cream cheese frosting and top with a second and third cake layer, spreading the icing between each layer. Spread the icing around the sides of the cake, gently 'press' in shredded coconut, and let harden slightly before serving. Garnish with orange rind and cut into wedges, to serve.

Butter Rum Cake for the New Year

Some people eat Black Eyed Peas for New Years. This year, I'm going to start my own tradition and eat rum cake.

When I went home to Texas for the holidays, I was determined to make a butter rum cake like my mom used to make for holidays when I was in high school.

I made one, thinking it would definitely come in third place behind the chocolate cake or fudge pie in the competition for crowd favorite (chocolate is very big in our house) and watched it disappear before the rum glaze had time to completely soak into the golden sponge. I had to make another one the very next morning.

There's something indescribable that happens when that buttery rum glaze goes swimming in that piping hot cake straight from the oven. It doesn't make the cake soggy as you would expect - if anything, it makes it more 'cakey' while forming its own luscious yet light on the tongue icing (kind of a sauce/icing hybrid.)

Besides I figure, if Black Eyed peas bring luck, butter rum cake has to do one better than that.

Butter Rum Cake

Cake:
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum (we just used Bacardi gold)

Glaze:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark rum (again - we just used Bacardi gold)



Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease (well!) a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Mix in the eggs, 1/2 cup water, oil and 1/2 cup rum. Blend or stir well. Pour batter over the brown sugar in the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by combining 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a medium pan over medium heat. Allow to come to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, to keep from boiling over (you may need to lower the heat a hair or take it off the burner for a few seconds now and then to keep it from boiling over.) Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup rum.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poor a third of the glaze over the hot cake WHILE STILL IN THE PAN. Let it soak for 10 minutes, then gently turn out onto serving plate. Carefully poor or brush the remaining glaze over top and sides (I just pour it all over the top then just dump the rest in the center to let it soak in on its own time.)

Ideally, let the cake continue to soak for several hours - and good luck with that... People were scooping the glaze out of the center and drinking it at my house.

But then again, we're heathens.