Apple Dapple Cake

Along with this years Thanksgiving cheesecake (Skor – which was not awesome) I made Apple Dapple Cake.  To me Thanksgiving just screams apples and cinnamon, it seems to be a fall thing.  With my horrid past in pie making, I thought I would take a different approach with an apple dessert.

I found this recipe on Pinterst, it is from Southern Plate.  Great website, check it out. When I saw all the photos I knew I had to try it.

Adapted from Southern Plate

3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups raw
apples, peeled and chopped fine

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Prepare a bundt pan – I greased and floured

3. Mix oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla.

4. Sift together flour, salt, soda. **I added cinnamon – must have cinnamon with apples

5. Add to first mixture.

6. Fold in pecans and apples.

I have some people who can’t eat nuts so I did half and half

7. Bake in tube pan at 350 for 1 hour.

Sauce:

1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup milk
¾ cup butter or margarine(1 -1/2 sticks)

1. Combine all ingredients

   

   2. Bring to a gentle boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

   

   3. Pour over hot cake while cake is still in pan.

   

   We tried the sauce once cooled a little from the pot. OMG! Forget the cake, just make the sauce and eat it with a spoon.  Heavenly!

   

   Slowly starts to soak in…

   

   

   Let cake cool completely before removing.

   

   Looks amazing

   

   

   

   

   Everyone said they liked it, but I didn’t.  I was quite disappointed, only finished a couple bites.  It was quite dry and flavourless. I thought it would be moist and almost gooey with all that sauce that soaked in.  Nope, heavy, dense, blah!

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Carrot Cake Cheesecake

I am very behind on my posts, but I am back at it!  Let’s back up to Easter…yes that long ago.

This years Easter cheesecake I went with something I had seen before, but was very hesitant to try.  Carrot Cake Cheesecake combines both the cheesecake and real cake. It looked amazing but I was very nervous about how the 2 would bake together.

from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Cheesecake:

2 (8-ounces each) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

For the cheesecake

1. In a medium bowl using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and flour until smooth.

   2. Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix just until blended. Set aside.

   

Carrot Cake:

3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound finely grated carrots (1 cup or so)

1. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the oil, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth.

   

2. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until the mixture is light creamy and light.

   

   3. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt until just combined.

   

3. Mix in the carrots.

   

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

6. Lightly grease a 9- or 10-inch spring-form pan with cooking spray.

7. Spread half of the carrot cake batter into the bottom of the prepared pan.

**I did add a Graham Cracker crust, I can’t imagine a cheesecake without that crust!

8. Dollop half of the cheesecake batter on top of the carrot cake layer in large spoonfuls. Don’t spread or swirl together. Just dollop.

9. Dollop the rest of the carrot cake batter on and around the spoonfuls of cheesecake batter. Again, don’t spread it out. If the lumpiness is stressing you out.

10. Spread the last half of the cheesecake batter on top of all the layers and spread with an offset spatula into an even layer. Tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to get rid of any air bubbles.

**I baked mine in a water bath, as I usually do.  Bake yours as you wish

11. Bake the cheesecake for 60-70 minutes (check earlier if using a 10-inch springform pan; it won’t bake as long as a 9-inch pan), tenting the top of the cheesecake with foil the last 20 -30 minutes of baking if it is browning too quickly. The cheesecake will puff a great deal in the oven thanks to the leavening in the carrot cake and it might even crack. That’s ok. It will settle after it cools and will be covered with frosting so the cracks won’t matter. Take care not to overbake the cheesecake or the carrot cake bottom and sides will be dry. It’s a fine balance between taking it out before it’s overbaked but not so early that the cake batter is still raw. Keep in mind that each oven can vary in temperature so watch closely as it gets to the 60 minute mark. The top center part of the cheesecake (just about a 2- or 3-inch diameter circle) should still be slightly soft and jiggly when you take it out.

Let the cheesecake cool completely on a wire rack in the pan.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

**I did not use this Cream Cheese Frosting, I used my own

3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sour cream

12. While it cools, make the frosting by whipping together the cream cheese and butter until creamy and smooth. Mix in the powdered sugar a little at a time until the frosting is well-combined with no lumps. Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix well.

13. When the cheesecake has cooled, spread the frosting evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Cover with tin foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled before serving. The cheesecake can be made up to two days in advance.

Look at that!

This cheesecake tastes every bit as good as it looked

Huge success!  Everyone loved it!  I thought the cake part was a little under-cooked or too moist, it seemed a little wet.  Everyone disagreed.

It really tasted like a carrot cake.  All the spices came through.  The tang of the cream cheese blended perfectly. I am glad I added the Graham Crust layer, the crunch really gave a nice contracting texture.

I will definitely be making this again!

 

Thank you for sharing Mel, from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

 

 

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The Browniest Cookies

I am back at it, I have joined another Baking group.  I am the newest member of Avid Baker’s Challenge.  Check them out here.

This months challenge, The Browniest Cookies from The Smitten Kitchen.  I love the Smitten Kitchen!! I have made several recipes from that site, all of which were amazing.  You will not find the recipe on my blog.  These challenges post links to the original recipe encouraging you to visit their page.  Great idea!

I love brownies.  Honestly, I am not sure I have met anyone who doesn’t.  I have had many a brownie in my day, but my favourites are thick, chewy, dense, very chocolaty and topped with homemade icing ( Drooling, just thinking about it). This recipe is a brownie in cookie form!  When I saw the picture I was sold and could not wait to try.

The Browniest Cookies
The recipe can be found here – the smitten kitchen

In pictures

Disappointed on how much they fell!  They were not thick at all

So fudgy and moist

Spread a lot

Looks just like a brownie

These were delicious!  Though I was quite disappointed how thin they were, they tasted amazing!

I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but after the first bite I had one of those ‘paused for a moment, eyes closed, and think OMG’ before I even started chewing. They were very decedent. So moist, chewy, fudgy and oh so chocolaty, everything you imagine a brownie would be.  I will make these again and try to get the thickness that they are suppose to be.

Everyone loved them.  Even people who don’t enjoy ‘under-cooked cookie’ thought they were amazing.  Definitely recommend these!

Thank you Deb from the Smitten Kitchen

A New Look!

I have been neglecting my blog for the last while.  I keep saying I will be updating more, and haven’t.  I miss it!  I have been baking a bit in the last few weeks and I am back in the groove.

I thought my blog was a little dated so I gave it a bit of a face lift.  I didn’t change it drastically, just a little more modern.

Same site, same recipes and many more to come.

Stay tuned!

 

Princess Cake

A princess cake for Princess Violet’s 4th Birthday!

Monster Birthday!

I was asked to make Monster Cake and Cupcakes for two of the cutest twin boys 1st Birthday.   I love how the cake turned out.  The cupcakes, sometimes when I look I see the one-eyed, horned monsters and sometimes I see teddy bear faces.  At any rate they were a hit!  Happy 1st Birthday!

Butter Tart Tour – Two Dishes Cookshop

Stop #25 on the Butter Tart Tour was at Two Dishes Cookshop in Peterborough.  I did not make it into the Restaurant, I got the tarts from the Butter Tart Taste off.  I have heard great things about the Two Dishes Cookshop. Several of my friends have eaten there and loved it!

The Tart

First Impressions  – big, thick crust, filling was quite dark

The Verdict

– crust was hard, more cookie like than a curst
– filling was quite dark, a little strong, kind of a burnt taste
– 4/10

Not a fan of this tart.

*not to say others would not like it, just not what I am looking for in a butter tart

 

The Darning Baker Returns!

It has been a very long time since I have participated in the Daring Bakers Challenges, I’d say well over a year.  Life has been very busy and I wasn’t terribly fussy on the things that were being made.  There have been a lot of changes over at the kitchen.  New people have graciously taken over the task of running the site and have made some great adjustments.  One thing they did was reinstate the ‘3 strikes your out’ rule.  When I first became a Darning Baker you were only allowed to miss 3 challenges a year, any more than that and you were removed form the group.  Over the years this rule became a little lax, as did my participation.  This is a group I am proud to be part of and have been a member since 2009 and certainly do not want to be removed!  So, stay tuned on the 27th of each month for The Daring Bakers Challenges!

Check out a few of my favourites from the past

Biscuits

Sans Rival

Baklava – I hosted!!

Pasta Frolla

Nanaimo Bars

Looking forward to this years Challenges!

 

Back up and Running!

I’m baaaaack!

Finally, I am back up and posting!  It has been well over a month since I have posted, crazy!

I could not post because my blog was full!  I’ve made some upgrades, hopefully there will be no changes or glitches in the upgrade of space.

Looking forward to baking and filling up the much needed new space

Happy Baking 🙂

Business Card Cake

I was asked to make a cake that was a copy of a business card for a 25th Anniversary of a business.  It turned out exactly like the card.  I liked how this one came out.