S'mores Brownies

S'mores Brownies (Graham Cracker Crust, Baked Brownies, Mini Marshmallows Topping)

Best of 2010

Seeing everyone's best of 2010 posts this week inspired me to take a trip down memory lane myself.  For my year end round up, I decided to feature a few of your favorites as well as a few of my favorites for 2010.

Fans Favorite Five Posts

1. Oven Baked Apple Donuts

2. Hello Kitty Cake

3. Best Brownies

4. Chocolate Cupcakes - Two Ways

5. Banana Pudding Pie

My Five Favorite Posts

1. Chocolate Peppermint Whoopies: Chocolate and peppermint is one of my favorite dessert pairings.  This post was only my second tribute to Whoopie Pies.  I definitely need to tackle more Whoopie Pies next year.


2. Little Mermaid Cake: This cake led the way into cake decorating for me.  I knew nothing about how to stack a cake, how to fill a cake, nor how to work with a timeline when I cranked this cake out from start to finish in less than 24 hours.  It's crazy to think about how much I have learned and am continuing to learn since then.


3. Pralines and Cream Ice Cream: Receiving an ice cream maker for my birthday along with the Perfect Scoop changed my life.  Pralines and Cream was the house favorite but I've made everything from Mint Cookies and Cream to Rocky Road to Horchata Ice Cream.


4. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie:  After discovering the best pie crust ever, I finally tackled my first fruit pie.  It was the most amazing thing ever.  I couldn't stop making fruit pies for a straight month, almost.  I can't wait for next summer!


5. Lego Cake: This was one of my favorite Cake4Kids.org cakes.  Looking forward to more cake requests through Cake4Kids for foster children and children in need.

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

I have never tasted an authentic Junior's cheesecake slice but if what I'm producing from the book is any indication, I am truly enamored.

However, I did make my own graham cracker crust as last year, no one cared too much for the Junior's signature sponge cake layer.

Love the contrast between the vanilla bean specks and the cheesecake batter.

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love Thanksgiving as I get to do a lot of baking! So far, I've made not one but two double layer pumpkin cheesecakes.  One for my sister and one for my brother to take to separate dinner parties this weekend.

Instead of buying a prepared graham cracker crust, I adapted the recipe from my Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book.

Mix 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon together

Add 6 tablespoons melted butter

Press mixture into a 9-inch pie pan

Bake for 4-6 minutes at 375 degrees
Happy Thanksgiving!

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
from All Recipes

2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (9in) graham cracker crust - prepared or homemade
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch nutmeg 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). 

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside. 

Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

Place the pie in a roasting pan.  Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the pie plate.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Remove pie from the water bath.  Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Chocolate Cupcakes - Two Ways

After last week's hectic schedule, making cupcakes two different ways came together a lot faster than I anticipated.  I was planning to take two days to bake and then frost but finished them while watching Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Using a devil's food cake (from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes) as the main base, I made s'mores cupcakes and cream-filled chocolate cupcakes.

The s'mores cupcakes had a graham cracker crust (adapted from Annie's Eats) baked underneath the devil's food cupcake which was then topped with chocolate ganache and seven-minute frosting.

The cream-filled cupcakes were filled with a marshmallow cream (from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes) using the cone method and then covered with chocolate ganache.  I used the left over cream to pipe on the swirls.

This picture was too cute to leave out.  Patches wanted to see what I was doing.