Sticky Toffee Pudding Cheesecake

I briefly mentionined this cheesecake a while ago, and now am finally posting it! I made it for Christmas dinner's dessert and everyone, including myself, loved it. (And so you can see why it all looks a mess as I was more concerned with just serving it to everyone versus it being beautiful. Though it is still beautiful to me.)

There's a graham cracker crust which goes up the sides of the cheesecake, a layer of cheesecake, a layer of toffee sauce, a layer of sticky toffee pudding cake, topped by another layer of toffee sauce, broiled and THEN topped with more toffee sauce. Delicious delicious. It's a great special event dessert and though it takes a bit of time to make, it's not difficult.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Cheesecake Pops
Lemon Cheesecake
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cheesecake
Slightly adapted from Willow Bird Baking who used Food Network’s pudding recipe

Makes 12 servings

Cheesecake
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Sticky Toffee Pudding
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup pitted dates, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toffee Sauce
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup packed light brown sugar

Make the cheesecake: Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9" springform pan. In a bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and butter, making sure to moisten all the crumbs. Using a flat-sided glass, press into a thin layer covering the bottom and sides of your cheesecake pan. The crumbs should come up the side of the pan 2.5 inches. Bake the crust for 6 minutes and let it cool as you make your cheesecake filling.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until well blended. Beat in the flour. Beat in the vanilla until well incorporated. (Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.) Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Pour the filling into your crust.

Bake until the top is lightly browned, puffed and cracked around the edges, and the center moves only very slightly when the pan is lightly shaken (about 40 minutes). Check while baking periodically and put a pie shield (or strips of foil) around the top of your pan to protect the crust edges if they’re getting too dark. (If you do this, make sure the shield/foil doesn't touch the cheesecake.) Let cheesecake cool at room temperature for at least 3 hours, then put in the fridge to chill overnight or for 8 hours.

Make Sticky Toffee Pudding: In the meantime, grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Place a parchment paper round in it to line the bottom.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. In a separate small bowl, mix the dates, boiling water, and baking soda. Set this aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add in the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Gently fold in the date mixture with a spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the pudding is set up and firm, about 35 minutes (jiggle the pan and watch the middle). Let the pudding cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before inverting it onto a parchment paper lined plate. If you are going to assemble the cake right away, after cooling put the cake in the freezer to firm up, otherwise put it in the fridge overnight (covered with plastic wrap).

Make the Toffee Sauce: In a small saucepan, combine the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Turn the heat down to medium low, and boil gently for about 8 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened.

Assemble the cake: Preheat the broiler. Spoon about 1/3 cup of toffee sauce onto the surface of your cheesecake to serve as a “glue” and gently place your sticky toffee pudding layer on top, pressing to adhere. Top this layer with about 1/3 cup of the toffee sauce and spread this around evenly on top. Place the cake under the broiler until the topping is bubbly, about 1 minute (keep a close watch and rotate for even bubbling if necessary). Carefully remove the sides of the springform pan. Serve slices with extra toffee sauce, and whipped cream or ice cream (if desired).

Hummingbird Cake

It's been so long since I've posted a cake recipe!! And I forgot to take a picture of the whole cake, oops.

I made this for a family dinner and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The cake has banana, pineapple and pecans, and then it's covered in a cream cheese frosting. It is my firm belief that you can never go wrong with cream cheese frosting. The cake mostly tasted like banana and I was disappointed to not taste the pineapple. But I suppose the cake can be forgiven for that as it was really moist and soft.

I'm glad I tried it and would recommend it if you like banana cakes, but for me I'd rather try a different cake next time.

If this sounds good you might also like:
Rustic Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Cake
Apple Walnut Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Toasted Pecan Eggnog Ring
Maple-Walnut Cake

Hummingbird Cake
Adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups canola oil
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas
1 eight-ounce can crushed pineapple in unsweetened juice, drained
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Frosting
2 eight ounce packages cream cheese, softened slightly, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened slightly, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325F. Prepare two 9"x2" round cake pans by lining the bottom with parchment paper and greasing the sides with butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the work bowl of an electric mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment), add the oil and sugar. Beat on medium until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until light, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, bananas and pineapple. Then add the dry ingredients in thirds, beating after each addition until smooth. Fold in the pecans.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

To make the frosting: In the work bowl of an electric mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment), add the cream cheese and butter. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract. Gradually add the sugar and beat until well incorporated.

When cake has cooled, spread some of the frosting between the layers, then frost the top and sides of the cake with the cream cheese frosting.

Perfection Pound Cake with Lemon Curd

For my brother's birthday (way back in May, wow I'm behind) he requested pound cake with lemon curd and whipped creme fraiche. I've made this Cream Cheese Pound Cake before and while I loved it, I wanted to try a regular pound cake. When we were in Mykonos, they offered pound cake at breakfast every morning and I always had a slice. It's not something I usually think to make (or eat) but I really love it. So soft but dense, and not overflavoured. Just delicious.

Anyway, so this pound cake was good though I would recommend making it the day before you intend to serve it as the edges were crisp on day 1 (which I love actually). Leaving it overnight would allow everything to soften. The lemon curd I made to go with it was really good too. As for the whipped creme fraiche, I didn't really know what I was doing. I tried to whip it like whipped cream and added a touch of sugar. It didn't hold very well though - maybe it needs to be mixed with a bit of whipped cream? Anyway overall the combination was nice, though the pictures are a bit of a mess as they were kind of an afterthought taken at my mom's house. I think it was my sister in law who had a brilliant idea for how to serve it. A slice of cake on it's side, with whipped creme fraiche in an oval shape, and a circular dollop/ball of lemon curd in the middle, so it looks like an egg.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Cream Cheese Pound Cake and Strawberry Sauce
Tres Leches Cake
Plum Sour Cream Kuchen
Sweetened Condensed Milk Cake

Perfection Pound Cake
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

2 cups all-purpose flour or 2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325F. Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan or an 8"x4" loaf pan. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy for 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes after each egg goes in. As you’re working, scrape down the bowl and beater often. Mix in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

Put the cake into the oven to bake, and check on it after about 45 minutes. If it’s browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. If you’re using a 9×5 pan, you’ll need to bake the cake for 70 to 75 minutes. The cake is done when a thin knife inserted deep in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven, transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 30 minutes.

Run a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan and transfer the cake to a wire rack. Cool to room temperature.

Lemon Curd
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Makes 2 cups

8 large egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan; whisk to combine. Cook over low-medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 8 to 10 minutes, and registers 160F on an instant read thermometer. (My stove seems to run a bit hot, so you might need to increase the temperature to medium.)

Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl and cover tightly (ex. with a fitted lid or plastic wrap). Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

I made this cake last March for my stepdad's birthday. It sounded like it would be really yummy with 3 layers of chocolate cake, and layers of chocolate sour cream filling and raspberry jam. But it was just okay. I really like sour cream frosting, but if you don't know this is sour cream frosting and take a bite, I'm not sure if you'd like it. (It tastes a bit sour, shockingly!) I like this sour cream frosting better though. The cake was quite dense, and is best at room temperature so it can soften a bit and isn't quite so crumbly.

Fresh raspberries would have been nice on top, but at the time they weren't very available so I went with the red berry candy. I seem to have lost my desire to make layer cakes like this so this may be the last one you'll see for a while! (Though I haven't been posting layer cakes very often anyway.)

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Black Forest Mousse Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cake
Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake

Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Adapted from The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book

1 1/2cups butter, softened
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup thawed raspberry cocktail concentrate
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sour cream

Filling and Icing:
1 lb (454 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate , chopped
2 1/3 cups sour cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam

Preparation
Grease sides of three 9-inch (1.5 L)round metal cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.

In large bowl, bet butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then raspberry concentrate and vanilla. In separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt ; sift again. Stir into butter mixture alternately with sour cream, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of sour cream. Scrape into prepared pans, smoothing tops.

Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until tester inserted in centre comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans on racks for 20 minutes. Turn out onto racks; let cool completely. Remove paper.

Filling and Icing:
In large bowl over saucepan of hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Whisk in half of the sour cream; whisk in remaining sour cream until smooth. Whisk in sugar and vanilla.

Brush off any crumbs from cake layers. Place 1 layer on flat cake plate. Spread top of layer with 1/3 cup icing. Spread jam over bottoms of remaining 2 layers. Place 1 layer, jam-side down, over icing.

Spread 1/3 cup icing on top of second layer; top with third layer, jam-side down. Spread remaining icing over side and top of cake. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Black Forest Mousse Cake

Looking back over my archives, I haven't posted a cake recipe since last October! I don't make cakes very often, as you can see. I seem to be leaning more towards making healthier baked goods now. But birthdays are another thing, so for E's birthday I made this black forest mousse cake, which combine two of his favourite things - black forest cake and mousse. I was happy that he really loved it and so did everyone else.

The cake is really moist and soft, and it's not your typical black forest cake that I always find to be sickly sweet and have too much cherry. The cherry flavour wasn't too strong as I used a smaller jar of cherries than called for (due to what my grocery store had) and omitted the kirsch. While we enjoyed it this way, I'd like to try it with the recommended cherry amount and kirsch too. Another thing I'd try is doing a whipped cream middle layer, instead of 3 layers of mousse.

Usually I don't ever use icing tips/bags for decorating cakes - I like to keep things simple. But this time I decided to try. It doesn't look fancy (the cherry I drew on top is kind of silly) but I had a lot of fun! Trying to get the chocolate shavings on the side of the cake was also a challenge. Methods I tried included pressing it in with my hand, throwing it at the cake, and putting the shavings on parchment and then pressing them onto the cake. (I found the last method the best.)

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cake
Apple Walnut Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
Strawberry Cream Cake

Black Forest Mousse Cake
Adapted from The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book

I used a 500 mL jar of sour cherries since that's what the grocery store had but would recommend using the full 796 mL for more cherry goodness. I also didn't use any kirsch, but if you have it I would use it. (Add 1 tbsp to cherry syrup, 2 tbsp to chocolate mousse.)

1 jar (28 oz/796 mL) sour cherries
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 4oz oz(113 g) (113 g) semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Mousse
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups whipping cream

Chocolate Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Grease sides of two 8-inch (2 L) springform pans or two 8-inch (1.2 L) round metal cake pans; line bottoms with waxed paper. Set aside.

Chocolate Cake:
In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in vanilla. In separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With wooden spoon, stir into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of buttermilk. Spoon into prepared pans, smoothing tops.

Bake in 350°F oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool in pans on rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pans; let cool completely on rack. (Make-ahead: Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours or overwrap in heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks.)

Meanwhile, in sieve over bowl, drain cherries, pressing lightly; reserve 1/3 cup (75 mL) of the juice. In small saucepan, bring 1/3 cup of the sugar and reserved juice to boil; boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

In heatproof bowl over saucepan of hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate. Pour into foil-lined 5-3/4- x 3-1/4-inch (625 mL) loaf pan. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Unmould; let stand until slightly softened, about 10 minutes.

Holding chocolate with foil, slowly draw vegetable peeler across narrow side of block to make curls; with toothpick, transfer to waxed paper–lined baking sheet. (Make-ahead: Lightly cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

Chocolate Mousse
Place chocolate in large heatproof bowl. In saucepan, bring cream just to boil; pour over chocolate, whisking until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Beat until soft peaks form. Cover and set aside.

Slice each cake layer in half horizontally. Brush each cut side with 2 tbsp of the cherry syrup; let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, whip cream with remaining sugar and vanilla.

Place 1 cake layer on cake plate; spread with 1 cup of the mousse. Arrange 3/4 cup of the cherries over top. Repeat for second and third layers; top with remaining layer. Spread reserved whipped cream over top and side. Decorate with remaining cherries. Gently press chocolate curls onto side. (Make-ahead: Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

Apple Walnut Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm back! Thanks so much everyone for the good wishes for our vacation. We had a really good time relaxing, watching the nightly shows, exploring the Alaskan cities, and I have a new addiction to slot machines (since I now understand the way the buttons work haha).

The Hubbard Glacier, which looks small but we're just a distance from it in this photo.

And we ate way too much. There was a buffet and one restaurant, where we ate dinner almost every night. But buffets are seriously dangerous. You don't wait to eat until you're hungry, you wait to eat until there's room in your stomach. So while I can't wait to see what you guys have all been up to and what you've been cooking, I've been a little wary of looking at lots of food photos right now. I'm sure I'll get over it soon though! It was nice not having to cook, but I'm happy to be back to my regular food.

Our cruise ship with the tender boat. I had no idea what tendering meant before!

Anyway, sorry to be so mean and withhold the cake recipe from you! So here it is. The cake has diced apples, walnuts apple liqueur and cinnamon. The icing has homemade caramel (so addictive), cream cheese and butter. Uh can an icing get any better than that? I halved the recipe and unfortunately forgot to half the amount of caramel in the frosting so my frosting was way more liquidy than it was supposed to be, but delicious nonetheless! My family and I really enjoyed this cake and I'll definitely make it again.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Tres Leches Cake
Maple Walnut Cake
Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake
Applesauce Spice Bars

Apple Walnut Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Makes 1 two layer 9 inch cake

Note: The caramel needs time to cool completely so it would be best to make it the day before.

Caramel
Makes 1 3/4 cup (you will have about 1/2 cup leftover)

1/2 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature

Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups (3 large) golden delicious apples, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3 tbsp apple liqueur or apple brandy

Frosting
1 pound (2 eight ounce packages) cream cheese, softened slightly, cut into pieces
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened slightly, cut into pieces
1 cup cold caramel

Garnish
Caramel
Walnuts

To make caramel:
In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Set over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves (about 3 minutes), making sure no sugar is sticking to sides of pan. Increase heat to high and boil without stirring, until the syrup becomes a deep amber colour, about 15 minutes. To prevent the syrup from becoming grainy, use a pastry brush dipped into cold water to brush down any sugar crystals sticking to the sides of the pan. Swirl the pan occasionally for even browning.

Once the syrup turns deep amber in colour, immediately remove from heat. Slowly and carefully add the cream to the syrup (mixture will bubble vigorously), whisking constantly, until cream is incorporated.

Return the pan to medium-low heat, stirring until sauce is smooth, about 1 minute.

Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature before refrigerating. Can be stored for up to one month in refrigerator.

To make cake:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease two 9x2 inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the oil with the sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until light, about 1 or 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, beating after each addition until smooth. The batter will be extremely thick and dough like. Fold in the apples, walnuts, and apple liqueur until just blended. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

To make icing:
In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and the butter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the caramel and beat until well incorporated.

To put the cake together:
When cake has cooled, ice between the layers, then ice top and sides of cake. Drizzle remaining caramel over top of cake. Garnish with walnuts.

Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Bars

I remember when I was younger, I used to take my neighbour's dog for a walk and would get paid 50 cents. (For a long time I thought their dog's name was "U-ey" but actually it was Huey. Makes a lot more sense.) I'd take my 50 cents and rollerblade up to the corner store and buy myself an ice cream sandwich. Those were exciting times!

Now I rarely eat ice cream sandwiches, and while I do go through times of ice cream obsession (like if there's some coffee flavoured Haagen Dazs in our freezer), ice cream is the easiest dessert for me to turn down. But E loves all things ice cream, and my friend was coming over for dinner who also loves ice cream so I thought I'd try these out. I loved them, a lot. The cookie part was so addictive and I must admit that I loved eating it with ice cream!

I had a couple of issues with these ice cream bars, but neither were the recipe's fault. The first was that I used chopped milk chocolate on top of the bars and I think my milk chocolate is old so wouldn't melt very well - I ended up leaving it in the oven longer to try and get it to melt but it just started to dry out and be strange. The other problem was the ice cream. I let it soften too much, so that when I put the sandwich together, the ice cream oozed out. It was a delicious mess though!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Cowboy Cookies
Monster Cookies
Peanut Butter Squares with Milk Chocolate and Oats
Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Bars
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

I made these as ice cream sandwiches but you could just eat the cookies as they are too.

For the base
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 ounces mini semisweet chocolate chips

ice cream, softened so that it's spreadable (I used vanilla)

For the topping
6 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped (next time I'd use bittersweet chocolate)
3/4 cup toffee pieces (I used Skor, in the US they're Heath)

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly butter a 9x13 inch baking pan, line the pan with foil and butter the foil. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

Make the base: Whisk together the flour, espresso powder, salt and cinnamon.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until the mixture is light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla, then turn off the mixer. Add all the dry ingredients, cover the stand mixer with a kitchen towel (so you and your kitchen don't get showered with flour) and pulse the mixer on and off on low speed about 5 times - at which point a peek at the bowl should reveal that it's safe to turn the mixer to low and mix, uncovered, just until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and mix only until the dry ingredients disappear. If the chocolate isn't evenly mixed, finish the job by hand with a spatula. You'll have a heavy, very sticky dough. Scrape the dough into the buttered pan and, with the spatula and your fingertips, cajole it into a thin, even layer.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the base is bubbly - so bubbly you can almost hear it percolating - and puckery. It will look as though it is struggling to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the pan to a rack and turn off the oven.

To make the topping: Scatter the chopped chocolate evenly over the top of the hot base and pop the pan back into the oven for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chocolate is soft. Remove from the oven and immediately spread the chocolate over the bars, using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the toffee bits over the chocolate and press them down lightly with your fingertips. Place the baking pan on a rack to cool to room temperature.

If, by the time the bars are cool, the chocolate hasn't set, refrigerate them briefly to firm the chocolate.

Carefully lift out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut about 26 bars, each about 4 inches x 2 inches. (Next time I'd cut the bars when the cookie is a bit warm because my cookies cracked when I cut them at room temperature.)

To make the ice cream bars: Working with half of the squares, leaving them frosted side up and working on a baking sheet, spread them with a thick layer of softened ice cream. Top with the other half of the bars, frosted side up, and slide them into the freezer to firm up again. If you need to keep them for a while, double wrap each bar in plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake

Thanks everyone for all the congratulations on our engagement. =) Very sweet of you all! We're still trying to pick a date, which is kind of hard to do with my school schedule but I'm sure we'll figure something out soon.

I seem to be making a lot of bundt cakes recently - which I think means that I'm justified in buying another bundt pan like the rose shaped Nordic Ware one, don't you agree? This cake turned out quite soft, so for me it wasn't perfect (I prefer dense cakes to fluffy ones) but everyone else loved it. The cake tastes like a Terry's chocolate orange so if you like those you will definitely like this! The cake itself has orange juice and zest, as well as chocolate chunks. (I hate when I forget to zest the orange before juicing it and then have to try to zest a squashed rind.) Then it has an orange syrup that's put on shortly after coming out of the oven (which soaks into the cake) and then a chocolate ganache is spooned on top. It's quite the cake!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Orange Cream Cheese Muffins
Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake
Orange Berry Muffins
Lemon Lust Cake

Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs, room temperature
Zest from 4 large oranges
3 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (I used 420 g.)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

Syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Ganache
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the orange zest.

3. Sift together 3 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks with 2 tablespoons flour and add to the batter. Pour into the pan, smooth the top, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cake from the pan, set it on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely.

5. For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Easy Nectarine Cobbler

The colours in this photo are kind of weird because I was playing (unsuccessfully) with settings on our new camera. (Not a fancy new camera, just a point and shoot.)

This cobbler is really yummy and easy to put together. The top is like those perfect crunchy muffin tops, and the bottom is buttery and gooey. When I made this recipe, I halved it and baked it in a 5 inch round pan instead of an 8 inch square pan. I made this a while ago and I remember thinking that I had messed up somehow so I ended up making the recipe again immediately - which means I made the whole recipe, in two halves. And I couldn't fit all the nectarines in there - I only ended up using 1/2 cup for 1/2 the recipe (when I was supposed to use 1 1/2 cups nectarines for 1/2 the recipe). Despite my confusion with what I was doing, both halves ended up turning out the same and a delicious time was had by all.

Note: I think this cobbler is different than what's typically thought of as a cobbler (with fruit on the bottom and pieces of biscuit on top). But whatever you call it, it's good!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Cocoa-Nana Bread
Plum Sour Cream Kuchen
Strawberry Cream Cake
Strawberry Lemon Sunflower Seed Muffins

Easy Nectarine Cobbler
Adapted from Joy the Baker who adapted from The Pastry Queen

If you want you can add whipped cream or iced cream but we ate it without and it was delicious.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of cloves
3/4 cup milk
3 cups sliced nectarines, skins left on
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F. Melt the butter in a medium saute pan set over medium high heat until it bubbles and turns a nut brown color. Watch the butter closely, as it can go from browned to burnt in just a few seconds. The butter will have all sorts of browned bits in it.

Pour the butter into an 8-inch or 9-inch square or round baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder and spices. Add milk and stir.

Pour the mixture on top of the melted butter. Do not stir. Without mixing, arrange the fruit evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle with brown sugar.

Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top turns golden brown.

Caramel-Pear Tart with a Graham Shortbread Crust

I went to Caprial's Desserts to look up the recipe for this tart that I made, and I discovered that I hadn't written any notes on it! Whenever I make something, I always (or so I thought) write on the recipe any modifications I made, what I thought, if I'd make it again, etc. I used to hate the idea of defacing a book in such a way but now I love it. I love flipping through a cookbook and seeing all the writing on the recipes. So with this one, I will have to try and just dredge it up from my less than stellar memory!

I made this pie for Canada Day back in July. Ever since I got this cookbook I've wanted to make this pie - pears poached in 5 cups of wine, caramel filling with pear brandy, and a graham shortbread crust. Sounded irresistible. The result was good but it tasted more like a fairly regular apple pie, and less like the amazing thing I had hoped for. I think what ruined it for me was the nutmeg in the caramel filling - only 1/2 teaspoon but it killed the delicate flavours of everything else. I bet this pie would be much closer to my high expectations without it. The caramel filling did not taste like pear brandy! Sob. Well maybe a little bit but not distinctly (damn nutmeg). The crust turned out kind of soft, but I think that's partly due to the fact that I didn't have time to let it cool completely before taking it to dinner.

I've made another pear pie from this same cookbook, and what I can conclude is that pear pies taste like apple pies, they just sound fancier. Oh and the recipe says to reserve the poaching liquid for another use - what could you possibly use it for?

Hope all the Canadians have a good Thanksgiving!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pear Pie
Pecan Tassies
Apple Pie with Brown Sugar Streusel Topping
Coconut Cream Pie

Caramel-Pear Tart with a Graham Shortbread Crust
Adapted from Caprial's Desserts

The recipe recommends a 9 or 10 inch tart shell, and I used an 8" one. I had caramel filling and LOTS of pears leftover. I think I used about 3 1/2 or 4 pears, but they were quite huge. You can bake the extra caramel and pears together in ramekins.

Poached Pears
5 cups white wine
1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
1 (1 inch thick) slice of fresh ginger
5 or 6 firm pears, peeled, halved and cored (Ashley note: I think this is 5 or 6 small pears, and probably about 3 or 4 large ones.)

Graham Shortbread Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup graham flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, diced

Caramel Filling
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup pear brandy
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I'd definitely omit this next time.)

Poach the pears:
Combine everything but the pears in a large heavy saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, add the pears, lower the heat to medium, and poach until fork-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool the pears in the liquid and refrigerate until ready to use. (For the best flavour, refrigerate them in the liquid overnight, if possible.)

Make the crust:
Preheat a standard oven to 375F.

Place everything but the butter in the bowl of a food processor. With the motor running, slowly add the butter and process until the dough forms a ball on top of the blade. Remove the dough from the food processor; if it's too soft to work with, refrigerate until it's easier to handle. Press the dough into a well-greased 10" tart pan. (The easiest way to do this is to first press it into the sides of the pan, then finish with the bottom of the pan.) Bake just until set but not brown, about 10 minutes; let cool completely.

Lower the oven temperature to 350F.

Make the caramel filling:
Meanwhile, to prepare the caramel filling, place the sugar in a large saute pan with sides or a heavy saucepan. Gently moisten the sugar with the water, being careful not to splash the water and sugar onto the sides of the pan. Cook the sugar mixture over high heat, without stirring, until you see any part of it turning brown, then swirl the pan to even out the colour. Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. Carefully add the cream to the hot sugar, taking care to pour it in slowly because it will bubble up very violently. Add the brandy and cook, again without stirring, until the caramelized sugar has liquefied again and the mixture is very smooth and a deep golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Let cool until tepid, then whisk in the egg and nutmeg.

To assemble:
Cut the poached pears into 1/4 inch thick slices, reserving the poach liquid for another use. Arrange the pear slices in concentric circles in the cooled tart shell, pour the caramel filling into the shell, and bake until the filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

Serve warm.

Lemon Lust Cake

I made this cake for my mom's birthday (almost 2 months ago now - I'm so behind with blogging about what I've made that I look at the photos and have no idea what it is, well that's only happened with some muffins I've made). Anyway, she loves lemon and buttercream icing (and lots of it), so I thought this cake would be a good choice. It's a lemon cake brushed with lemon syrup, filled with lemon cream cheese (cream cheese, whipped cream and lemon curd mmm) and iced with lemon buttercream. You can see why this is called the lemon lust cake! And yes of course the cake was very lemony. The star of the cake was definitely the lemon cream cheese filling, and the cake itself was pretty good but the lemon buttercream on the outside was, well, very very buttery. It's the kind of buttercream that's just butter plain mixed with stuff (in this case, lemon curd). If you eat the cake straight out of the fridge the icing is quite solid (as butter is). I much prefer Swiss meringue buttercream so I'd switch it for that next time.

Now that I'm looking at the photos of the cake I'm thinking I could've fancied it up a bit with some candied lemon slices. But I'm moreso the type to not care too much about how it looks as long as it tastes good. Though candied lemon slices might be delicious - I should make them one day. Looking at the pictures of the slice of cake, it makes me think of those old cars that have long hoods and front ends that stick out on top.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Strawberry Cream Cake
Creamy Coconut Cake
Lemon Cheesecake
Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake

Lemon Lust Cake
Adapted from The Cake Book

Split the lemon curd evenly for the filling and the icing.

Lemon Cake
3 cups (342 g) cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks/8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup whole milk

Lemon Curd
8 large egg yolks
1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch of salt
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces (113 g) cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 recipe lemon curd

Lemon Soaking Syrup
1/3 cup (80 mL) water
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Lemon Buttercream
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 recipe Lemon Curd
Pinch of salt

Make the lemon curd:
1. Set a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl and set aside. In a medium heavy nonreactive saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, and sugar until blended. Stir in the lemon zest and juice, salt, and butter and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, 7 to 10 minutes (do not let the custard boil, or it will curdle). The mixture should leave a path on the back of a wooden spoon when you draw your finger across it. Immediately strain the mixture through the sieve, pressing it through with a rubber spatula.

2. Set the bowl containing the lemon mixture in a large bowl filled about one-third of the way with ice water (be careful that the water doesn't splash into the lemon mixture). Stir the mixture frequently until it is slightly chilled, about 15 minutes. Put the curd into an airtight container with a lid and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the cake:
3. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of two 9 inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

4. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar and beat at high speed until well blended and light, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and mixing until blended. Beat in the lemon zest and lemon juice until blended. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the milk in two additions and mixing just until blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it evenly, and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

6. Bake the cakes for 22 to 25 minutes, until they are golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes.

7. Invert the cakes onto the wire racks and let cool completely.

Make the filling:
8. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream at high speed until firm peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a smaller bowl, cover and refrigerate.

9. In the same mixer bowl (no need to wash it), using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until very creamy, about 2 minutes. On low speed, beat in the vanilla extract. Add the lemon curd and beat at medium speed until well blended and smooth, about 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and, using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream until almost completely blended. Cover the bowl and refrigerate while you make the syrup and buttercream.

Make the syrup:
10. In a small pot, combine the water, lemon juice, and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside at room temperature.

Make the buttercream:
11. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy and light, about 2 minutes. At medium speed, gradually add the lemon curd, a large spoonful at a time, then add the salt and beat at medium-high speed until creamy and light, about 1 1/2 minutes. Set aside at room temperature while you assemble the cake.

Assemble the cake:
12. Using a long serrated knife, trim off the domed tops of the cakes so that they are even (save any cake pieces and crumbs for snacking). Cut each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Reserve one of the flat bottom layers for the top of the cake. Place another layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or flat serving plate. Generously brush with some of the lemon syrup. Spoon a scant cup of the filling onto the cake and, suing a small offset metal spatula, spread it into an even layer, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge of the cake. Top with another cake layer and brush it with more syrup. Top with another scant cup of filling. Repeat with another layer, more syrup, and the remaining filling. Brush the cut side of the reserved cake layer with the remaining syrup. Place the layer cut side down on top of the cake.

13. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the buttercream. Serve the cake or refrigerate it. If it has been refrigerated, let stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes before serving.

Plum Sour Cream Kuchen

Ever since I heard the word kuchen, I've wanted to make one. Though apparently kuchen is just the German word for cake - so really, I've already made many kuchens! But I still love how it sounds. I randomly came across this plum sour cream kuchen on a blog somewhere and since I have the cookbook it came from (The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book) and it looked pretty easy, I decided to make it for a simple dessert at a family dinner. Plus it uses one of my favourite fruits! And speaking of plums, I was just reading about how "one relatively inexpensive plum contains about the same amount of antioxidants as a handful of more expensive blueberries." (Source)

This kuchen would be great as an afternoon snack, breakfast, anything really. It was wonderfully dense and moist - I should've taken a picture of a slice of it to show you the gorgeous inside. And I love how the plums look on top. You could easily use whatever fruit you want, or even omit the fruit. This cake would make a great base for all sorts of experimentation. Maybe add some earl grey tea leaves or chocolate chunks or a caramel swirl.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Strawberry Cream Cake
Applesauce Spice Bars
Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake
Sweetened Condensed Milk Cake

Plum Sour Cream Kuchen
Adapted from The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book

I used a 9 inch springform pan so only used 3 plums, but if you want to use a 10 inch pan, you could fit 4 plums. If you want you can put a glaze of apricot jam on top but I opted not to.

3 large plums (about 3/4 lb)
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (Ashley note: I used 300 g.)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Grease and flour 9-inch springform pan; set aside.

Pit plums and cut into 1/4-inch (5 mm) thick slices. In bowl, toss together plums, brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter with granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange rind and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In small bowl, stir sour cream with oil. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with sour cream mixture, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of wet ingredients. Scrape into prepared pan; smooth top. Arrange plums in concentric circles on top, leaving about 1/2 inch (1 cm) between circles.

Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. (Ashley note: Check at 1 hour.) Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove side of pan. (Make-ahead: Let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap (or put in a plastic container) and store at room temperature for up to 24 hours or freeze in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)

Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake

Not surprisingly, this cheesecake was extremely delicious. But I have yet to meet a cheesecake I didn't like! Well there was the Godiva chocolate cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory but I think I still ate that. (Which made me think I didn't like chocolate cheesecake but then I made this rich chocolate cheesecake that convinced me otherwise.) Anyway, this cheesecake is really creamy and luscious. It's like apple pie in cheesecake form, and since I'm not a big fruit pie person I would definitely go for this over apple pie any day! I will definitely be making it again.

The recipe suggests you cut the apples into eighths but I found the slices too fat (they weren't able to soften enough) so I'd just suggest slicing the apples a bit thinner. And to make it look prettier, I'd put additional apple slices on top of the cheesecake next time like Confections of a Foodie Bride. Also, make sure not to over bake the crust. I always want to bake it for longer than it says but this time it resulted in a super hard crust which I couldn't cut through very easily. I took this cake to serve at Easter dinner with my boyfriend's family (an indication of how far behind I am in posting food I've made!) and the slices ended up a mess because I couldn't get the crust to go with it. Once I got it home I was able to figure things out and chop through the hard crust though.

Abby loves sleeping behind the computer monitor. And yes we have our monitor propped up on the yellow pages!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Cinnamon-Apple Scones
Lemon Cheesecake
Apple Pie with Brown Sugar Streusel Topping
Applesauce Spice Bars

Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

For the Crust:
30 gingersnaps
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

For the Apples:
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
3 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
2 tbsp (packed) light brown sugar

For the Filling:
3 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
6 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp apple juice
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy cream

To Make the Crust:
Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. (I think I used a 9 inch springform pan.)

Put the gingersnaps in a food processor and whir until you have crumbs; you should have a scant 2 cups. (If you are using graham cracker crumbs, just put them in the food processor.) Pulse in the sugar and cinnamon, if you're using it, then pour over the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Turn the crumbs into the springform pan and, using your fingertips, firmly press them evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan as far as they'll go. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F.

Remove the pan from the freezer and wrap the bottom tightly in aluminum foil, going up the sides. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is set and lightly browned. Transfer to a rack to cool while you make the apples and the filling. Leave the oven at 350F.

To Make the Apples:
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, toss in half of the apple slices and cook, turning once, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the apples with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and cook them, turning, just until coated, another minute or so. Scrape the apples onto a plate, wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining apples. Let the apples cool while you make the filling.

Getting Ready to Bake:
Have a roasting pan large enough to hold the springform pan at hand. Boil a kettle of water.

To Make the Filling:
Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed, scraping down the bowl often, for about 4 minutes, or until it is velvety smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes. Beat in the cider, vanilla, and cinnamon. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Finally, beat in the sour cream and heavy cream, beating just until the batter is smooth.

Pour about one third of the batter into the baked crust. Drain the apples by lifting them off the plate with a slotted spoon or spatula, and spoon them into the pan. Cover with the remaining batter and, if needed, jiggle the pan to even the top. Place the springform pan in the roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours (I baked mine for 2 hours), covering the cake loosely with a foil tent at the 45-minute mark. The cake will rise evenly and crack around the edges, and it should be fully set except it will jiggle slightly in the center. Gently transfer the cake to a cooling rack, remove the aluminum foil and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least 6 hours; overnight is better.

Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the crust, open the pan's latch and release and remove the sides.

Coconut Crème Brûlée

First off I want to mention Caitlin's Operation Beautiful. It's about "ending fat talk one anonymous post-it at a time" by "leaving positive messages on the mirrors of public restrooms" like "you are beautiful". How awesome is that? Check out her post to see all of the wonderful notes people have left, and some of their experiences. I want to go leave some notes around too now. I love the positive impact the blog world can have!! Okay now onto the food.

Usually I post about things in the approximate order I've made them, unless there's some particular reason to post about it sooner (like taking advantage of strawberry season, a blog event, or in this case a request from a friend). I made this coconut crème brûlée for a potluck we hosted a couple of weekends ago. Originally I wanted to make this rootbeer float cake but due to the hot weather, thought a cold dessert might be better.

This crème brûlée was rich and creamy (well okay what crème brûlé isn't?) with a hint of coconut. I'd like to try making crème brûlée (I'm getting tired of copy/pasting that!) with all coconut milk (and no cream) for even more coconut flavour next time! I can never get enough coconut. And I've been dying to make earl grey crème brûlée, but I know not everyone loves the flavour of earl grey so I haven't made that one yet. Maybe white chocolate earl grey crème brûlée, mmmm. I know some people think crème brûlée is difficult to make but it's really not. In fact it's one of the easiest desserts to make I think, provided you have some whisking skills!

And now for a photo of Abby, reaching up to get one of her new toys. I love how her little back feet look - it reminds me of puss 'n boots for some reason.

If this sounds good, you might like:
Creamy Coconut Cake
Coconut Cream Pie
Coconut Madeleines
Coconut Shortbread

Coconut Crème Brûlée
Adapted from Caprial's Desserts

I think my ramekin cups are 6 ounces so I got about 10 ramekins out of this recipe. I also found the suggested 1 tbsp of sugar on top too much so scaled it back to 1/2 tbsp.

2 1/4 cups heavy cream
400 mL can (1 3/4 cup) coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
8 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 to 1 cup superfine sugar

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Place the cream, coconut milk and vanilla in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring just to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk 1 to 1/2 cups of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture to temper it, or bring it up to the same temperature. Whisk in the remaining cream,a nd then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Skim any foam from the surface.

Divide the custard among six 8 ounce ramekins. Set the ramekins in a shallow roasting pan, and fill the pan with enough hot water to reach about haflway up the sides of the remakins. Carefully set the pan in the oven and bake just until set, about 1 hour. To tell if the custards are set, gently shake one; if it moves as one mass, it is done. Remove the ramekins from the water bath. let cool until tepid, the refrigerate until well chilled, about 4 hours (overnight is even better if you have time).

To serve, sprinkle each custard with 1/2 tbsp of superfine sugar. Using a propane torch (or th ebroiler), caramelized the sugar. Serve immediately.

Strawberry Cream Cake

I mentioned before that I made my boyfriend two cakes for his birthday - one was chocolate mousse layer cake and the other was this strawberry cream cake. I was convinced that I'd like the chocolate mousse cake better because I don't usually like baking with fruit (waste of fruit! I like eating it fresh) and I also don't like the sourness and mush that fruit can add to baked goods. BUT, this cake was outstanding. I must make it at least once a year, maybe more. It is absolutely worth sacrificing some delicious strawberries for.

The cake that's used is like a sponge cake, that is then layered with a strawberry sugar filling in the middle and halved strawberries around the edge, then on top of that goes the most amazing whipped cream concoction in existence - and the layers continue like so. The whipped cream is mixed with cream cheese, which is really brilliant. If you haven't tried this before you must, whether it's with this cake or another or just on top of something else or just in a bowl even. And on top of that, the cake is pretty easy to make.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Raspberry and White Chocolate Pie
Creamy Coconut Cake
Lemon Cheesecake
Perfect Party Cake

Strawberry Cream Cake
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated May/June 2006 (found on Simply Recipes)

Cake
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs (2 whole and 3 separated), room temperature
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 tbsp water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Filling
2 pounds fresh strawberries (medium or large, about 2 quarts), washed, dried, and stemmed
4-6 tbsp sugar
Pinch table salt

Whipped Cream
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 cups heavy cream

Bake the cake:
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a round 9x2 inch cake pan or and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and all but 3 tbsp of the sugar in mixing bowl. Whisk in 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks (reserving whites), butter, water, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

2. Using a mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat remaining 3 egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 60 to 90 seconds. Stir one-third of whites into batter to lighten. Add the remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert cake onto wire rack; peel off and discard parchment. Invert cake again; cool completely, about 2 hours.

Strawberry filling:
3. Cut in half 24 of best-looking berries and reserve. Slice or quarter remaining berries; toss with 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar (depending on sweetness of berries) in medium bowl and let sit 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The sugar will macerate the strawberries, making them soft, and generating liquid. Strain the juices from berries and reserve (you should have about 1/2 cup). Put the strawberries in a bowl and mash them; set aside.

In small pot over medium-high heat, simmer reserved juices until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour reduced syrup over macerated berries, add pinch of salt, and toss to combine. Set aside until cake is cooled.

Whipped cream:
4. When cake has cooled, place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in slow, steady stream; when almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes more, scraping bowl as needed (you should have about 4 1/2 cups).

Assemble the cake:
5. Using large serrated knife, slice cake into three even layers. Place bottom layer on cardboard round or cake plate and arrange ring of 12-20 strawberry halves, cut sides down and stem ends facing out, around perimeter of cake layer. Pour one half of puréed berry mixture (about 3/4 cup) in center, then spread to cover any exposed cake. Gently spread about one-third of whipped cream (about 1 1/2 cups) over berry layer, leaving 1/2-inch border from edge. Place middle cake layer on top and press down gently (whipped cream layer should become flush with cake edge). Repeat with 12-20 additional strawberry halves, remaining berry mixture, and half of remaining whipped cream; gently press last cake layer on top. Spread remaining whipped cream over top; decorate with remaining cut strawberries.

Serve immediately, or keep chilled. If the whipped cream warms to room temperature it will be harder to keep stable while cutting. Serves 8 to 10.

Chocolate Volcanoes

Since I discovered that my boyfriend loves chocolate lava cake, I've told him about this one that I made a long time ago and how good it was. But I never made it for him. Not very nice of me but it's hard to go back to old recipes when there are so many new ones out there! Well finally I did remake the lava cakes (though they're called Chocolate Volcanoes in this recipe) and I was really happy that he loved them!

There are a couple of really great things about this recipe. One is that you can make the batter ahead of time because they have to be frozen at least overnight. The other is that because they're baked from frozen, you're pretty much guaranteed a gooey delicious centre. The recipe calls for serving them with a raspberry coulis, which I've made before and is good (so I've listed it below), but this time we just ate them with ice cream. Nothing wrong with that!

I was happy to see all of your comments about wanting to see more Abby pictures! =) And I wouldn't want to disappoint you all, so here's another one. She's laying in front of her favourite plant pot to dig in.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
German Chocolate Cake
Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars
Rich Chocolate Cheesecake
Chocolate Chunk Malt Cookies

Chocolate Volcanoes
Adapted from The Rest of the Best and More (From the Best of Bridge Series, 2)

1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
1 tbsp boiling water
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking powder
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs

Raspberry Coulis:
10 1/2 oz pkg frozen raspberries, thawed
1/3 cup sugar

To Make Volcanoes:
Dissolve coffee granules in boiling water. Set aside to cool. Grease 6 - 4 oz. ramekins.

Using a whisk, combine flour, cocoa and baking powder in a small bowl. Reserve.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Add butter and sugar and stir until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Using as electric mixer, beat in eggs 1 at a time on medium speed. Add dissolved coffee and flour mixture and continue beating until fully mixed. Raise mixer speed to high and beat for 6 more minutes. Pour batter into ramekins and tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight or up to 2 weeks.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Take ramekins out of freezer and remove plastic wrap. Bake volcanoes for 18 minutes - no longer! Cool on rack for 5 minutes. The outsides will be crusty and the centers will be gooey - sort of like your average volcano. To serve, drizzle individual plates with raspberry coulis. Invert each ramekin onto a plate and add a small scoop of ice cream.

To make raspberry coulis:
Combine raspberries and sugar in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a sieve (or a clean j-cloth) to remove seeds. Store in refrigerator.

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

I immediately fell in love with this chocolate peanut butter cake when I saw it on Smitten Kitchen. Serious drool. I had to make the cake and I had to get Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes! This is the only cake I've made from this cookbook so far but check out The Cake Slice Bakers who are working their way through it, one cake a month.

So is this cake as good as it looks? For the most part, yes. It's a very rich cake, as even my sugar/chocolate addicted sister in law (who I made this cake for) admits. Overall people liked it, but it wasn't a personal favourite of mine. The cake was extremely moist and soft, and really easy to make - though I like my cakes more dense. Both the amount of peanut butter frosting and chocolate-peanut butter glaze might have been a bit too much (as you can see by the mass amounts of chocolate on the top and sides of the cake!) I'd use less next time. And I preferred eating this cake cold.

I'm looking forward to trying other cakes from this cookbook, particularly the triple lemon chiffon cake, maple walnut cake, cappuccino chiffon cake, chai cake with honey-ginger cream, dulce de leche cake, and the Halloween sweet potato cake. And those are just my top picks!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
German Chocolate Cake
Rich Chocolate Cheesecake
Elvis Fluffernutter Cake
Tiramisu Cake

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Peanut Butter Frosting (recipe follows)
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper.

2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.

5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula or knife, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving. Decorate the top with chopped peanut brittle.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. While whisking, heat until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

Pear Pie

I've been trying to make more pies and tarts to improve my dough rolling skills. I'm not a huge apple pie fan but I thought that a pear pie sounded intriguing. As it turned out, you can't really tell that it's a pear pie versus an apple pie but regardless - it was delicious! The spices that were used were a bit different than what I'm used to in apple pies so that was a nice twist. The crust was yummy and flakey. The streusel topping was so good, but I think it's hard for streusel not to be. I'd definitely make this pie again. Plus, I discovered my favourite kind of pear is Anjou!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Mini Pear Loaves
Apple Pie with Brown Sugar Streusel Topping
Pecan Tassies
Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake

Pear Pie
Adapted from Caprial's Desserts

I didn't end up using all the streusel.

5 firm pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Pâte Brisée (recipe follows)
3 tbsp unsalted butter, diced
Streusel Topping (recipe follows)

In a large bowl, toss the pears with the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; let sit for about 15 minutes to give the pears time to get juicy.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

On a well-floured board, roll the dough out into a 10 inch circle. Fit the dough into a 9 inch pie plate, fold the edges under, and flute. Pile the pears onto the crust, dot with the butter, and top with the streusel. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the crust and/or streusel starts to brown too quickly, cover it with aluminum foil loosely. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

Pâte Brisée

Makes enough for a single-crust pie or a 9 to 10 inch tart.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp (39 g) shortening
1/2 cup (4 oz) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup ice water

Place the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to combine. With the mixer on low speed, add the shortening and better and mix just until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the ice water and mix just until the dough starts to come together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form it into a disk with your hands.

Streusel Topping

Makes about 2 cups

1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup flour
pinch of salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, diced

Combine the sugars, oats, cinnamon, flour, and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla extract and the butter, a few pieces at a time, and mix until crumbly. The streusel will keep refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

German Chocolate Cake

I've never tried German chocolate cake before but I knew I'd love the coconut pecan caramel filling. The traditional version has a coconut pecan filling and topping, but this version I made has a coconut pecan filling (no topping) and chocolate icing. I'm sure it's good both ways!

Some people have asked what the difference between German chocolate cake and regular chocolate cake is. Cookie Pie provided this information (thanks!): "German's was actually a type of chocolate made by Baker's Chocolate Co., and it was used in the original cake recipe in the 1950s, which was called German's Chocolate Cake. Over time the 's got dropped, and now everyone thinks the cake is German, but it isn't." (Source)

As far as I can understand, German chocolate cake was made with a sweetened chocolate that they called German chocolate. And the coconut pecan filling and topping is also unique to the German chocolate cake.

Everyone really liked this cake including those who don't usually like chocolate cake. As for me, I thought it was good but the cake itself wasn't my favourite. It was kind of "light" whereas I prefer cakes that are nice and dense. Ooo now I'm thinking of making German chocolate cupcakes with just the coconut pecan filling on top. Or maybe a slice of brioche toasted and spread with the filling.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Rich Chocolate Cheesecake
Tiramisu Cake
Elvis Fluffernutter Cake
Chocolate Cinnamon Cake

German Chocolate Cake
Adapted from The Cake Book

Makes one 9-inch cake, serving 12

The original recipe suggests to use the coconut pecan filling as a filling and also on top - if you want to do that then double the recipe. I'd also make a bit extra chocolate icing next time. Also, note that the coconut pecan filling needs to cool for an hour so I'd start making it once the cakes are in the oven, or after you take them out.

German Chocolate Cake
2 cups (228 g) cake flour
1/3 cup (27 g) natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz (113 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup (242 g) sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar, divided
4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Chocolate Frosting
3 ounces (85 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (113 g) confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Coconut Pecan Filling
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (125 g) granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/4 cup (2 oz) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup (85 g) sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (63 g) pecans, toasted and chopped

Make the Cake

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans. Dust the pans with flour.

2. Sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

3. Combine the chocolate and boiling water in a bowl and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool until tepid.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add 1 1/2 cup of the sugar and beat at high speed until well blended and light, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the tepid chocolate and mix until blended. If your mixer has a splatter shield attachment, attach it now. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the sour cream into two additions and mixing just until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and set aside.

6. In a clean mixer bowl, using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites at low speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and mix just until blended. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the whites are fluffy and begin to form soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Then increase the speed to high and whip the whites until they are glossy and smooth and form stiff peaks. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the chocolate batter one-third at a time. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the tops.

7. Bake the cakes for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on wire racks for 20 minutes.

8. Run a small knife around the edge of each pan to loosen the cake. Invert each cake onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Make the Frosting

1. Put the chocolate in a medium stainless steel bowl and place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove the bowl from over the pot and set the chocolate aside to cool until tepid.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat at high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the tepid chocolate a low speed, mixing until blended and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Increase the speed to high and beat until the frosting is lightly aerated, about 1 minute. Use the frosting immediately, or cover tightly and set aside at room temperature for up to 3 hours.

Coconut Pecan Filling

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, egg yolks, and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted and the mixture thickens and bubbles. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes longer.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, coconut, and pecans. Cool for about 1 hour, or until the mixture is spreadable, before using.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks; let soften at room temperature before using.

Assemble the Cake

1. If necessary, using a serrated knife, trim the sides of each cake layer, so that it is straight, not sloped. Place one of the layers upside down on a cardboard cake round or serving platter. Spread the cake with the coconut pecan filling. Top with the other cake layer, bottom (smooth) side up.

2. Using a small offset metal spatula, spread the frosting over the sides of the cake in a smooth layer, filling in any gaps between the layers (there will be plenty of frosting for this; if you have any frosting left over, you can put it into a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip (such as Ateco #6) and pipe a row of rosettes around the top edge of the cake). Spread the remaining filling on top of the cake. Serve the cake, or refrigerate; bring to room temperature before serving.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving.