Recipe of the Week: Spicy Pumpkin Ooey-Gooey Cake

Yes, it's pumpkin time around here.  Last week was sour cream pumpkin bread.  

This week's recipe is a takeoff on Paula Deen's "Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake" (which is known in some parts as a "dump cake" or "ooey-gooey cake.")  I tried this recipe on for size last year around this time. I recommend using a spice cake instead of the yellow cake mix listed to give it a more authentic "pumpkin pie" flavor.

On PD's website, a round cheesecake-looking dessert is shown as the final result of the recipe, but her directions (and dump cake protocol) call for a 9x13 pan.  However, it would make for a more sophisticated presentation to make it in the round.  If you have a large (10-inch or larger) springform pan, go ahead and give it a whirl. It's not like you were going to use that pan for anything else this week, right?

One word of caution:  this is a very rich and sweet dessert, so I strongly recommend cutting it into small slivers (if you use said springform pan) or petite 2-inch squares from a rectangle.  Your guests can always have seconds if they are so inclined.

(Note:  To pie purists, this is not in the same league as  traditional pumpkin pie, but if you're serving a crowd, it could do in a pinch, especially with good whipped cream on top.)

Spicy Pumpkin Ooey-Gooey Cake

Crust Ingredients:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow spice cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted (don't substitute margarine)

Filling Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To create the crust, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.  Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Happy eating,


P.S. Up next week is...you guessed it, another pumpkin recipe. Hope you like 'em.  If not, I am betting I'll give you so many ways to fix pumpkin, you'll have to like one of them.  We'll continue exploring this pumpkin patch as the countdown to Thanksgiving continues.

Day of rest week 6: It was a busy day

For the past six Sundays, I have consciously and deliberately tried to avoid shopping or eating out.  (Well, except when we were on vacation a couple weeks ago.)  Yesterday was no exception, and if swimmer girl had remembered earlier that she needed yarn and knitting needles for a group project, it would have been totally successful.  But I did my part.

I spent an enjoyable but busy afternoon in the kitchen.  First up was my first attempt at cassoulet.  I got everything browned and sauteed, then layered it in the crockpot to simmer while I turned my attention to all things pumpkin.

First up was a trial run of double-chocolate pumpkin cake.  The recipe made two small cakes, so we can enjoy one here and I'll take one with me to Bunco tomorrow night. Stay tuned for an assessment of the final product.

I also tested out another pumpkin bread recipe. The plan was to divide it into two loaves (since the recipe indicated it would make two loaves), with one sporting nuts and a streusel topping, while the other got an infusion of cream cheese filling and cinnamon glaze.  The result was a full-size loaf with a very runny cream cheese filling, and a miniature loaf of streusel-topped nut bread. Either I seriously misjudged the amount of batter I placed in the first pan, or the ingredients need tweaking.  (I'm leaning towards the latter.)

Regardless, the resulting loaves were good and I'll showcase them in an upcoming recipe-of-the-week.   I also took step-by-step photos of assembling the cassoulet, and since it also received a thumbs-up from the family, I'll outline my experience soon.

Our weather today was pitch-perfect:  it was warm and sunny, with a hint of coolness on the breeze.  If I hadn't been keeping close watch on the oven timer, it would have been a gorgeous afternoon to spend outdoors.  So how did you spend  your Sunday?  I hope it was restful, relaxing and enjoyable!  If it was also free from consumerism, all the better.

Happy Monday,

Birthday Week: Basking in the aftermath

After all three birthday cakes were consumed (a big thank you to Mr. Official's co-workers who helped us with that last hurdle) and the special cake plates and servers were put away, I had one remaining loose end:  take middle child back to the store to swap out some shorts he got.  Bad me, I bought soccer shorts instead of basketball shorts.  Who knew?

While he was looking for satisfactory replacements, I wandered around the home section and what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a miniature....no, not a sleigh or any tiny reindeer.  Christmas has taken over Hobby Lobby already, but not at Marshall's - at least not yet.

It was even better than that.

It was....

a miniature cake pan!

Meet the baby pan

This pan is almost 8 inches tall but only 3 3/4 inches across, compared to the typical cake pan, which is 2 inches tall and 8 inches wide.  Almost completely reverse proportions.  See why I was so excited?

See how tall and small it is?

No?

Really?

Keep reading...maybe you'll catch the cake pan fever.

When I saw it, I snatched it off the shelf before anyone else could.  (And I had some women eye-balling it as I strolled by.  Sorry ladies - I saw it first.)

This is quite possibly the cutest cake pan ever.  And it was a whopping $5.99.

The bottom comes out, but it's not a springform cheesecake pan - I have a set of those, of course... 

The cheesecake trio

What a fun time I can have now, trying my hand at some old-fashioned chiffon cakes and other recipes that need the taller shape.

Angelfood...yum

And I can test a small batch of batter without worrying about who's going to eat all that cake, like I do with my big ol' angelfood tube pan.

I bet I know what you're thinking.

Because I'm thinking it too.

Given that this is only a sampling of my collection of cake pans, and does not count all the square and rectangle, metal and glass cake and jelly roll pans, or my (rather extensive) collection of cupcake tins and silicon liners (big and small, I got 'em all), I think I need to find a Baker's Anonymous meeting and go introduce myself.

"Hi, my name is Terry and I really like to bake."

Yeah, I'll get right on that - just as soon as I decide if I've got a submission-worthy recipe for this:

Oh and yes, in case you're wondering...the birthday boy found some shorts that will come down to his knees.  Everyone came home happy.

Happy caking,

Recipe of the Week: Saving the Turtle (Cake)

Dana Carvey in Master of Disguises

Turtle cake is:

a. an enigma,
b. a conundrum,
c. a non sequitur,
or
d.  all of the above.

Let's go with d: Turtle cake is not shaped like a turtle.  It isn't even tinted green.  It was not created by nor served at the Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles. (Like Dana Carvey, it may not even be turtley enough for the Turtle Club.  Uhhh, you'd have to see the movie to get the line, and it's about the only memorable line in the movie so I'm not recommending a viewing.) 

Turtle meat is not an ingredient in the cake and absolutely no turtles were harmed in the making of this cake.

Who really knows why the Hoopers thought calling a chocolate/caramel/pecan candy a "turtle" would make it appealing.  But strangely enough, their plan worked out well and most any confection that combines these three ingredients is now bestowed with the name "turtle" in its title.

What I do know is that turtle cake is decadent and delicious.   It's kind of like German chocolate cake with more gooey-ness and no coconut.  And it's fairly easy to make, as cakes go.  Our first exposure came from - you guessed it - an Oklahoma friend - -the same one who gave me this delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe .

And Middle Child wanted a turtle cake for his birthday last week.

But this is also a story of rescuing this poor cake from the jaws of disaster.  It started off innocently:  just cake mix, eggs, oil and water, plus the filling (caramels and evaporated milk.)

About an hour later, I pulled the finished cake from the oven and sprinkled milk chocolate chips over it, hoping to shortcut the frosting step since Swimmer Girl was going to be late for a dentist appointment otherwise.

On my way out the door, I instructed the Birthday Boy to GENTLY smear the chocolate chips when they softened.  Key word:  GENTLY.  He called me and said the chips were not smearing.  I advised him to microwave it for 30 seconds and try again.  Key words:  30 SECONDS. No. more. 

This is what I came home to find.

It actually looked worse in real-life.  Like crusty moon craters.

 Fortunately, this cake is forgiving and will adapt to a soaked-in glaze frosting. So I carefully scraped off the chocolate mess down to the cake.

Poor thing had looked like it had third-degree burns all over the top.

And placed said mess in the double boiler with some cocoa, butter, milk and powdered sugar.  Heated to boiling while vigorously whisking it to something fairly smooth, then poured it back over the cake to achieve a fudgy glaze.

Thank heaven (and mom!) for double boilers!

What lesson did I learn? Do not entrust my male family members with frosting the cake.  They do many, MANY things well, but making confectioneries are not their forte.

Happy birthday, birthday boy!

I also learned that turtle cake is just as delicious as I remembered.

Turtle Cake

Cake Ingredients:
1 box German chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 1/3 cups water

Filling Ingredients:
1 package caramels, unwrapped
4 ounces evaporated milk
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Have 9x13 pan greased and ready.  Preheat oven to 350.  Mix cake ingredients together at low speed for 30 seconds, then at medium speed for two minutes.  Pour half of cake batter into pan and bake for 20 minutes.

While the bottom of the cake is baking, melt caramels and milk in heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently.  As soon as cake springs back to touch, pour caramel mixture over the top, sprinkle with chips and then top with remaining cake batter. Continue baking for 20-25 minutes or until top layer is done.  Frosting is optional.  (Gilding the lily and all that.)

Note:  in my rendition, I saved the chips for the top of the cake.  When salvaging it, I made a glaze similar to the boiled frosting I use on chocolate sheet cake.

Happy baking and rescuing,

Let them eat cake.

And if it's your birthday, you really should eat cake!

It's time for the annual cake-a-thon.  It started with a lemon-berry 4th of July cake, then continued  last Saturday when I made a red velvet sheet cake, thanks to the recipe I spied on Pioneer Woman's blog. (I opted for traditional cream cheese frosting - I previously tried the "best-ever-frosting" she recommended and found it just so-so.  Maybe it's just me.)  Next Monday, I'll make a second red one to take to Secret Sisters.

It's much, much redder than it looks here.

Wednesday, I'm making a turtle cake for my "baby boy" who is turning a whopping 23.

Saturday is Memaw Katie's birthday. And that means...yes....another cake is coming up!

Sunday is our oldest son's birthday (he turns 26). As soon as he tells me what kind of cake he'd like, I'll make it, too.

I'm so glad I got the half-bowl and beater-thingy for my Kitchen-Aid. Looks like it's going to get broken in good this year!

Happy baking!

Recipe of the Week: My Favorite Chocolate Cake

It's my birthday, so I'm not making this cake today. (I think there's some law about making your own birthday cake.) But it is my all-time favorite chocolate layer cake recipe. The fine folks at Hershey's know chocolate and this recipe demonstrates that perfectly. Do we need an excuse to bake a cake? If you do, and you want to impress a birthday boy or girl, or dinner guests, give this recipe a try.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup boiling water
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:
Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer for two minutes. Stir in boiling water; batter will be thin. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool ten minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with your choice of frosting (cream cheese, chocolate buttercream, seven-minute or coconut pecan frostings are all good pairings.)

Happy baking,