Butterscotch Pudding

My family and I always go out to lunch after church almost every Sunday. Recently, we went to the local California Pizza Kitchen and my sister had ordered their Salted Caramel pudding. It was so rich and decadent and it got me thinking of trying to make a homemade version. I figured that the pudding was nothing more than a butterscotch pudding, so off I went in search of a good butterscotch pudding and it lead me to this recipe from one of my favorite blogs, the Brown Eyed Baker.

If you've ever made caramel before, you know how tricky it can be with watching the temperature of the sugar as you cook it. This recipe is almost the same concept. Its tricky, but its quite simple. Once done, I placed the pudding in individual mini mason jars, topped them with my homemade salted caramel sauce and sprinkled a little Fleur de Sal to top it off. It was just as rich and decadent as the pudding we had at CPK. I think this was sister-approved.

3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 1/4 cup whole milk, divided
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tsp. vanilla extract
caramel sauce to top
Fleur de Sal (optional)

1)  Bring butter, sugars, water, corn syrup, lemon juice, and salt to a boil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir occasionally until sugars and butter melt. Continue boiling until temperature reaches 240 deg F using a candy thermometer, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.

2)  Immediately lower the heat to medium-low and gently simmer with a steady stream of bubbles, stirring frequently until temperature reaches 300 deg F with the candy thermometer, about 12-16 minutes longer. The color should resemble dark peanut butter and has a burn smell.

3) Remove from heat and carefully add 1/4 cup of the heavy cream. Swirl to incorporate (the mixture will bubble and steam). Allow the bubbles to subside then whisk vigorously, scraping down the sides of the pot until mixture is completely smooth, about 30 seconds.

4)  Return pan to medium heat and gradually whisk in the remaining heavy cream until smooth. Whisk in 2 cups of the milk until smooth, making sure to scrape the sides of the pan to remove the remaining bits of caramel.

5) Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of milk in the microwave for 45 seconds (it should be simmering). In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and cornstarch until smooth. Slowly whisk in  the heated milk into egg mixture until smooth. Set aside.

6)  Increase heat of the pot to medium-high heat and bring to a rapid boil, whisking constantly. Once mixture begins to boil rapidly and beginning to climb to the top of the pan, immediately pour into the yolk mixture in a single motion (do not add gradually). Whisk thoroughly for 10-15 seconds (it will thicken after a few seconds). Pour pudding through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Stir in vanilla extract.

7)  Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding to prevent it from forming a film on top. Refrigerate until cold and set, about 3 hours. Whisk until smooth before serving. Top with caramel sauce sprinkled with Fleur de Sal.

Pecan Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake

Last year, I was asked if  I made pumpkin cheesecakes. Cheescakes were not really a specialty of mine. And I didn't really eat cheesecakes too often, so I said I didn't. But I promised to try to make it this year. Well, I'm always good on my word, so I made it a mission of mine to look for theee best Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe and I think I've found it from I am Baker. This is her version of the Cheesecake Factory's Pumpkin Cheesecake. However, I decided to switch it up and make a ginger snap and pecan crust, which I think took this recipe over the top.

Baking a cheesecake is pretty tricky. Bake it too long and you'll end up with cracks in the middle of your cheesecake. So I searched for different tricks on how to bake it and I toyed with different baking methods using straight baking and water-bath baking. Although I really liked the texture and appearance of the cheesecake after water-bath baking, I often ended up with a soggy crust due to the water seeping into the springform baking pan. Straight baking made the outer edges of the cheesecake look darker, but they always came out consistent. So its all in your preference. There is also a lot of cooling time for cheesecake. Properly cooling it will help prevent the cracks from forming.

There is a lot of work and effort into baking a cheesecake but there is no doubt that it will be delicious. The caramel sauce totally makes this cheesecake decadent. This definitely made me a pumpkin cheesecake lover. But only MY pumpkin cheesecake. lol. Hubby took one bite and I had him in the palm of my hand. He was definitely proud of this dessert of mine. I had him take some to work and I immediately had some people order for their Thanksgiving celebrations. This will definitely be made frequently in our household.

Crust
32 pieces of ginger snap cookies
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted

1) Finely crush cookies in a food processor. Mix in butter, sugar and chopped pecans.

2) Generously grease a 9-inch springform pan or spray with a non-stick cooking spray. This is important to make sure your cheesecake releases nicely from the pan. Press the cookie mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan and set aside.

Cheesecake
3 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
prepared whipped cream
caramel sauce

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

2) In an electric stand mixer, cream together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract until well combined.

3) Add pumpkin, eggs and pumpkin pie spice and continue beating until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

4) Pour filling into prepared pan.

5) Place in the oven (or place on a roasting pan filled with water and place in the oven). Bake for 50-55 minutes. The center should still be jiggly after baking time.

6) Turn the oven off (and remove from the roasting pan if you are water-bath baking). Allow the cheesecake to cool inside the oven with the oven door slightly ajar. This will cool the oven down and allow the cheesecake to cool slowly, which will help prevent the cheesecake from cracking. This may take a couple of hours.

7) Once the oven has cooled down, remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow to completely cool at room temperature.

8) Once the cheesecake has cooled to room temperature, refrigerate overnight. Top with prepared whipped cream and drizzle caramel sauce.

Zucchini Bread

For the past month or so, I had been seeing a lot of zucchini recipes on Pinterest. I guess because it was zucchini season. It sounded weird to me that zucchini was a main ingredient for something sweet. I always thought it to be used in a savory dish. So I wasn't too interested in any of the different versions of zucchini bread that popped up all over Pinterest. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE zucchini. Just not in a sweet form.

Well one day, an old co-worker brought in some freshly baked banana and zucchini breads for her last day in our office. She suggested I try the zucchini bread. I hesitated a bit, but I went for it. Let's just say that I went back for thirds and fourths. It was delicious. Not too sweet and you don't even taste the zucchini! It was just like eating a spice cake. And since I had been seeing a lot of zucchini bread recipes lately, like this one from Oh My! Sugar High, I decided to give it a go. I wanted to make this for my family, especially for my girls, to try out. Its a great way to sneak in some of their veggies. And they LOVED it. In fact, my older daughter has asked me to make more. I also gave some for my folks and they also loved it. This will definitely be made frequently at home. Serve it warm with some butter, or at room temperature. Yum!

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (with some of the liquid squeezed out)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1) Preheat oven at 350 deg F. Grease and flour 2 8-inch or 9-inch loaf pan and set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg (if using). Set aside.

3) In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients and beat until well combined. Batter will be thick.

4) Fold in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour in prepared loaf pans and bake for 40-60 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes. Then cool completely in a wire rack.

Copycat Coco Puffs

If you don't know, you better ask somebody.

A few years ago, I posted about our first visit to the Liliha Bakery in Hawaii and our first time having their famous Coco Puffs. I had heard about them from an episode of Hawaii Five-0 and decided that we had to visit the bakery when we went back to Hawaii. From then on, we always make it a point to visit Liliha Bakery for their puffs every time we're on the island. Well, its been a couple of years since we've been back and I hella miss my coco puffs. What to do, what to do....

Recently, hubby's cousin in Hawaii posted a picture of some coco puffs she had made on Facebook. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking to myself that one day I would try making them. Well folks, THE TIME IS NOW. So I did a search on Pinterest and found this recipe from Just Jenn Recipes. Coco puffs are these little pillows of pastry (Choux pastry) filled with chocolate pudding and topped with a sweet Chantilly frosting. I decided to modify my vanilla pudding recipe and came up with my own Chocolate Pudding to fill the pastry with. The outcome was almost as good as coco puffs. It was a huge hit with hubby. In fact, he's asking me to make more! These, by no means, will ever replace the original. But its pretty damn close.

If you don't know about these yummy pastry treats, you better ask somebody how good they taste. Or better yet, go to Hawaii and visit them yourself. Or even better is to try making them yourself like I did.

prepared chocolate pudding (homemade or boxed instant pudding mix)

Choux  pastry
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
pinch of salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs

1) In a medium pot over high heat, bring water, milk, butter and salt to a boil.

2) Carefully add flour in the pot and stir. Continue stirring until the dough begins to pull away from the sides. Cook for another minute or so to cook the flour out. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Line 2 cookie sheets with silpat or wax paper.

3) Place dough in a bowl of an electric mixer. On low speed, add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Do not over beat.

4) Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing them enough to fit 12 puffs in a tray. Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350 deg F and allow to bake for another 10  minutes. Turn the heat off and keep the puffs in the oven for another 10 minutes for them to dry out. Remove from the oven and cool completely in a wire rack.

5) Once cooled, poke a small hole on top of the puff and fill them with prepared pudding, using a piping bag or a sandwich bag.

Chantilly frosting 
1 (12 oz can) evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
pinch of salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1)  In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients over medium low heat. Whisk constantly until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate until mixture turns into piping consistency for a few hours, or place in freezer to cool faster.

2) Pipe or spoon frosting on top of prepared puffs. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

There's a new recipe that I'm going to be testing in a while which requires chocolate pudding. Rather than using the boxed pudding mix that the recipe calls for, and being the do-it-yourself er that I am, I decided to modify my original Vanilla pudding recipe and make my own chocolate pudding. There's nothing better than homemade chocolate pudding. You can totally taste the difference between the boxed stuff and homemade. Yum!

3/4 cup sugar

4 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/8 tsp. salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 cup heavy cream

2 1/2 cups milk

3 egg yolks

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 

1) In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cocoa powder. Whisk in cream, milk and egg yolks. Whisk thoroughly to dissolve the cocoa powder (it may take a while). Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes, or until mixture has thickened.

2) Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract. Strain through a sieve to remove any lumps. Place plastic wrap directly on the pudding to prevent a film from forming. Refrigerate.

Cookie Dough Dip

I love anything that has to do with cookie dough. Whether it be cookie dough it its raw form whenever I make my Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies. Or my Cookie Dough brownies. Or my Cookie Dough cupcakes. Or my Cookie Dough truffles. I just love cookie dough. So when I found this Cookie Dough Dip recipe from Love and Prayer via Pinterest, I knew I had to add it to my collection of cookie dough recipes.

I decided to make this for a pre Mother's Day lunch with hubby's side of the family last month and it came out really good. I served it a few neutral flavored cookies and crackers like Vanilla wafer cookies, Graham crackers, and honey wheat pretzels. I loved it most with the pretzels. So yummy.

1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips

1) Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to bubble. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, whisk in vanilla extract.

2) In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and confectioner's sugar. Slowly add cooled brown sugar mixture. Mix until combined.

3) Fold in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for an hour before serving. Serve with vanilla wafer cookies, graham crackers, or pretzels.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

I know I've somewhat neglected this blog for a while. Having a six year old with tons of activities at school and a 1 year old needing attention will make me do that. I'm not complaining though. I'm so blessed and thankful to have healthy children and a busy household. But now that I have another daughter to look out for, I really needed to get back to my food blogging so both my children can benefit from this. I want to start creating memories with her in the kitchen like I did with my 6 year old. I can't wait to have both my girls with me in the kitchen. Its what I've always dreamed of.

I had been craving something lemony to make one day. But I had a huge batch of blueberries that I bought from Costco that needed to be used up. So in search of a great recipe, once again, turned to my favorite Pinterest and found this recipe from Notes from the Heartland.

This had just the right amount of tartness I was looking for and not overly sweet. I brought this to work and my co-workers really enjoyed it. Its a great way to use up those blueberries.

1 1/2 cup, plus 1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

2) Sift dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to combine.

3) Mix the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour with the blueberries, being careful not to crush the blueberries. Gently fold blueberries into batter just until combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan.

Lemon syrup
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

1) Dissolve sugar and lemon juice in a small pan over medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

2) Remove from heat. Place blueberry bread on a plate. Poke with a fork or wooden skewer several times. Brush the bread with the lemon syrup.

Lemon glaze
1/2 -  1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1) Stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice until well combined.

2) Pour glaze over blueberry bread.

Chocolate Pistachio Cupcakes

Its been a while since I've made any new cupcakes. I'm usually making my staple cupcakes of Red Velvet, and Banana cupcakes. But I wanted to replicate a Chocolate Pistachio cupcake I get from my local cupcake shop that I love so much. So I searched my ever-so favorite site, Pinterest, and found this recipe from The Little Kitchen. 

I used my new favorite Chocolate Frosting. However, I feel like this frosting was too rich and it overpowered the Pistachio flavor of the cupcake. The cupcake was delicious. It had just the perfect amount of pistachio flavor. I may play around with the frosting to match the cupcake a little more. Stay tuned....

Pistachio Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sat
3.4-3.5 ounce box of instant Pistachio pudding
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 egg white
1/2 cup milk

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and instant Pistachio pudding. Set aside.

3) In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add oil and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Add eggs and egg white, one at a time until completely incorporated. Scrape the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

4) Add dry ingredients and incorporate with a rubber spatula until most of the dry ingredients are moistened. Its okay if there is still some unincorporated flour. Add milk and mix on the mixer over low speed for about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and continue mixing on low for another 30 seconds until batter is smooth.

5) Fill prepared liners with the batter about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or toothpick test comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

9.5 oz chocolate chips (bittersweet, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate chips)

6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

4 Tbsp. cocoa powder

pinch of sat

2/3 cup sour cream

1) Melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over pot of simmering water (double boiler). Set aside to cool until just barely warm.

2) In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter over medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Gradually add in confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Beat in melted and cooled chocolate and then sour cream. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and well blended. Frost cupcakes immediately before chocolate hardens and frosting sets.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

I've had this recipe pinned on Pinterest from Recipe Girl for a while to make for today. I absolutely love anything that has to do with Red Velvet. And what's more festive than having a red dessert for Christmas? And a cheesecake at that. If you've ever eaten at the Cheesecake Factory and you love red velvet like I do, then I'm sure you know all about their Red Velvet Cheesecake. And so for this special day, I decided to make it for our families as one of our desserts.

This desert requires quite a few steps, and possibly 2 days to make because you have to freeze the cheesecake first, and do a crumb coat for the frosting. Then I used my own tried and true recipe for recipe for the red velvet cake part. Labor intensive, but the result was amazing. I first made this a few weeks ago to test out the recipe. Obviously, hubby and I couldn't finish the whole cake, so I sent half of the cake with hubby to work and it seemed to have gone over well with them. This is definitely going to be a repeat recipe for a special occasion like today.

Merry Christmas everyone. Have a blessed day full of love with family and loved ones.

Cheesecake
2 (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Place a roasting pan on the lower third rack of the oven. Heat 4-6 cups of water to a boil in the microwave or a kettle on the stove. Grease a 9-inch spring form pan and place parchment paper at the bottom of the pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with a double layer of foil to prevent water from entering the pan. Set aside.

2) In a bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in sugar and salt, and continue blending for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in sour cream, heavy cream and vanilla and blend well until smooth.

3) Pour batter into prepared pan and place in the roasting pan inside the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan enough so that it reaches about an inch on the side of the cheesecake pan. Bake for 45 minutes until the cheesecake is set and no longer jiggly.

4) Cool cheesecake on a cooling rack for at least an hour. Once cooled, place cheesecake in freezer until completely frozen, or overnight.

Red Velvet Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp. (1 oz bottle) red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white distilled vinegar

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease and flour 2 9-inch  round pans and set aside.

2) Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, red food color, vanilla extract and vinegar in a large bowl of an electric mixer until well combined.

3) Slowly add dry mixture into wet mixture and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then completely cool on a cooling rack.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese frosting 
1 1/2 cups butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

4-6 cups powdered sugar

2-4 Tbsp. milk, depending on consistency

1) Cream the cream cheese with an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Add butter and beat for 1-2 minutes, until well incorporated.

2) Add brown sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated.

3) Slowly add 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat well. Continue adding powdered sugar and alternating with the milk until desired consistency.

To assemble the Cheesecake

1) Unmold the frozen cheesecake from the spring form pan. Place in between the two layers of cake. Apply a thin layer of frosting to act as a crumb coat on the layered cake. Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes for the frosting to set.

2) Complete frosting the cake with a thicker layer of frosting and decorate as needed. You can decorate with white chocolate shavings. Keep cake refrigerated until serving.

Pumpkin Dream Cake

I've noticed that I haven't done any new pumpkin recipes this fall. But I did stock up on some pureed pumpkin that I've roasted and pureed. Its sort of been my tradition every year ever since my older daughter was born - to buy loads of pumpkin around Halloween and then roast and puree them for later use. I use them to make my now famous Pumpkin Cake Roll that I make a ton of around the fall, as well as Pumpkin soup, and Pumpkin Spice Pancakes.

This year, I'm so excited to finally get a chance to make this Pumpkin Dream Cake from one of my favorite blogs, The Novice Chef. I've had this recipe saved up ever since I first saw it on her blog last year. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it then because I was in my first trimester of my 2nd pregnancy, suffering from a bad case of morning sickness. So no pumpkin puree or any pumpkin recipe in the fall of 2012. But I vowed that it would be my first pumpkin recipe to try out. And boy was it worth the wait.

I never used to like anything that had to do with pumpkin. But I discovered that it was the spices associated with pumpkin that I didn't like: nutmeg, ground ginger, all spice, cinnamon. Don't get me wrong. I love all those spices. Just not all together with pumpkin. I guess that's why I don't like pumpkin pie or pumpkin spice latte that's been all the rage lately. I'm pretty selective with the spices and flavorings I use with pumpkin in my recipes. This cake hardly has any of the traditional spices in the cake. Which is why I absolutely love this cake. And its so moist and fluffy. After testing this recipe out, hubby has asked me to make it for his family's Thanksgiving luncheon. And I was happy to oblige.

Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups pumpkin puree (or 1- 15 oz can puree)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk

Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
12 oz (1 1/2 packages) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (optional, because I didn't have any)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 cups confectioner's sugar

1) Preheat oven to 300 deg F. Grease 3-8 inch pans. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin and vegetable oil. Slowly beat in flour, alternating with the milk. Continue beating until well combined.

4) Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes until toothpick test comes out clean. Remove pans from the oven and immediately place in the freezer to cool for 45 minutes. This will keep the cake moist by immediately stopping the baking so the cake does not continue to bake when you remove it from the oven.

5) For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese over medium speed until smooth. Beat in maple syrup (if using), vanilla and cinnamon. Slowly add confectioner's sugar on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth.

6) Assemble the 3 layers with a thick layer of frosting in between each layer. Then apply a thin crumb coat on the top and the sides. Place in the freezer to harden the crumb coat for about 10 minutes.
Then apply one thick layer of frosting around the outside of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

I've had this Brown Sugar Pound Cake recipe pinned on Pinterest from Lady Behind the Curtain for quite some time. And I finally had a chance to make it. What really caught my eye was the caramel drizzle and using toffee chips in the batter. This came out to be a rich, dense cake. Perfect with a cup 'o Joe or hot chocolate.

Cake
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1 (8 oz) bag toffee bits
1 cup pecans, chopped

Caramel Drizzle
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg f. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3) In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy. Slowly add sugars and continue beating until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4) Gradually add flour mixture into butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk, ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Stir in toffee bits and pecans.

5) Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 75-85 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean.

6) Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

7) For the caramel: In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.
Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract.

8) Drizzle hot caramel over cooled cake. (note: be sure that the caramel is hot, or else it will harden once cooled). Allow the caramel to harden on cake and serve.

S'mores Cookie Bars

My older daughter has been asking me to make something that uses marshmallows in the recipe. And what's a better use of marshmallows than s'mores? I love roasting marshmallows and sandwiching it between chocolate and graham crackers, then eating its ooey-gooey goodness. Something about it is just so comforting. 

I found this recipe for S'mores Cookie Bars on Pinterest from Lovin' in the Oven. It uses a graham cracker cookie crust and marshmallow fluff that accomplishes the gooey part of a traditional s'mores. This definitely satisfies my S'mores craving.

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff (not melted marshmallows)

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light in color. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and continue beating on low speed until combined.

4) Press half of the dough in an even layer on the bottom of prepared pan. Place chocolate bars on top of dough. Spread marshmallow fluff over the chocolate bars. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the marshmallow fluff (the easiest way to do this is by flattening the dough into small shingles and then laying them together).

5) Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Carmelitas

This recipe for Carmelitas from Lulu the Baker has made its rounds on Pinterest several times and so I figured I should give it a try. It looked easy enough and I had some caramels left over from when I made Samoa brownies. I was able to make this during another one of my baby girl's naps because it was pretty easy to make. And they came out ooey-goey delicious and so easy to make. I'll definitely be making these again.

9.5 ounces (about 32 squares) caramel
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

2) In a small microwave safe bowl, place caramel and cream and microwave for 1 minute. Stir and return to microwave in 30 second increments until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

1) In a large bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, flour, oats and baking soda until well combined. Pat half of the mixture on the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

2) Remove pan from oven and top with chocolate chips. Pour caramel over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over chocolate chips. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Boston Cream Icebox Cake

Have you ever heard of an Icebox Cake or Refrigerator Cake or No-Bake Cake? They're different names, but are all the same. I've heard of them, but I can't say I've ever had them. One of my nieces had mentioned that she wanted to make a Refrigerator Cake one day and I finally asked her what it was. She described it as crackers layered with a filling or some sort of custard and then refrigerated overnight for the crackers to soak up the custard. I decided to pass it up because I'm not a big fan of soggy crackers. Its textural thing. But then I've been seeing different versions of them all over Pinterest and it piqued my attention. So I decided to give this recipe a shot for a No-Bake Boston Cream Pie Strata from The Kitchn.

I used my Vanilla Pudding as the filling for this Icebox Cake. This dessert came out quite good, to my surprise. And it was so easy to make. The graham crackers turned into to this moist cake. Who would've thought that I would end up loving soggy crackers??? I may try the other versions of no bake desserts. Stay tuned.....

2 sleeves of Graham Crackers
2 cups prepared vanilla pudding
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. milk
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Line the bottom of an 8x8 inch pan with graham crackers, breaking them in half if necessary to fit the pan. Pour 1 cup of prepared vanilla pudding on top of the graham crackers. Place another layer of graham crackers and pour the remaining vanilla pudding. Place a final layer of graham crackers on top and set aside.

2) In a small saucepan, melt butter with the cocoa powder over medium-low heat and bring to a light simmer, whisking occasionally for about 1 minute. Whisk in milk and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in confectioner's sugar until smooth. Add vanilla extract. While mixture is still warm, pour on top of graham crackers and smooth with a spatula or hot knife. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight.

Avalanche Bars

I absolutely love Pinterest. They have such great ideas, and most importantly, such great recipes. Which is where I found this recipe for my favorite Avalanche Bars from Cookies and Cups.

Avalanche bars are supped up versions of a Rice Krispies treat. I used to buy a lot of these whenever we go Outlet shopping, because that's where we always find the candy shop that sells them. Goes to show you how often I used to go outlet shopping. I don't outlet shop as often anymore, nor do I buy these sweet treats as often. But I sure do miss them. So I was so excited to find this recipe and made them immediately. They taste exactly as I remembered them. These were so easy to make that I was able to whip these up while the baby took her nap. The best part of it was that I spent the same amount of money to make them as it costs to buy one bar at the candy shop. So there was more for me eat. Yum yum!

1 (12 oz bag) white chocolate chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 mini chocolate chips

1) Lightly grease a 9x9 pan. Set aside.

2) In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir and continue to melt in 30 second increments until chocolate has melted and is smooth.

3) Stir in peanut butter until well incorporated. Add cereal and stir until well coated. Allow to slightly cool, about 15-20 minutes.

4) Add marshmallows and chocolate chips and stir until well combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing lightly with the back of the spoon. Do not compact too much as it will become hard once the chocolate sets. Once cooled and the chocolate has set, cut into squares.

Samoa Brownies

So I've been holding out on you guys. I've been MIA for 2 months, partly because I had been on bed rest since the end of March and was put on a strict diabetic diet at the end of my pregnancy. So my menu consisted of boring, protein-filled meals that I didn't need to share on this blog. Not much going on in the kitchen. However, the main reason I have been away was because I had finally given birth to another beautiful baby girl at the end of April. We're all pretty much still adjusting to the new little person in our household, but we couldn't be happier. My eldest daughter is the most excited to finally have a little sister.

I was previously warned that having 2 kids was going to be a lot different than it was when I only had 1. They were right. Aside from my own recovery after giving birth and the sleepless nights, there is so much more to juggle. But because I was so restricted with my diet for the past 2 months, I couldn't wait to get back in the kitchen and eat normally again. And you best believe that I have been saving up a ton of new recipes to try out. I have recently got into Pinterest and found great ideas from there, including this new recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff. It was the first thing I wanted to try out and I'm so glad I did. I love the Girls Scout Samoa cookies. In fact, I tried another version of a Samoas Bar when I first started this blog. So when I saw a brownie version of a Samoa, I had to give it a shot.

I used the brownie recipe from my Salted Caramel Pecan Brownies and they came out so good. You can also use a boxed brownie mix, but you know me and making things from scratch. This recipe was quite easy and I'm definitely going to make these again.

prepared brownie
1 3/4 cups shredded coconut
1 (14 oz) package caramels, unwrapped
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. milk
1-2 oz semi sweet chocolate chips, melted

1) Prepare brownies according to instructions. Cool completely.

2) Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Place coconut on a baking pan. Bake for 2-3 minutes. Stir coconut. Bake for another 2-3 minutes until toasted. Watch closely to ensure it doesn't burn.

3) In a large, microwaveable bowl, add caramels, salt, and milk. Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, about 45-60 second increments. Continue heating until caramel is melted and smooth.

4) Stir in toasted coconut. Spread over cooled brownie. Drizzle melted chocolate chips over brownies and refrigerate for 4-5 hours or overnight. When you're ready to cut, allow to sit at room temperature for about an hour to soften the coconut topping.

Key Lime Pie

Welcome back to me! I know, I know. Where have I been, right? MIA for 2 months and no explanation whatsoever. Shame on me. Well, I have a very good reason as to why I've been gone for so long. First, we just got back from our trip to Hawaii for one of my cousins' wedding. But more importantly, the main reason I haven't been on this blog was because I haven't been able to stand being in the kitchen due to morning sickness. You got it right, folks. Hubby and I are expecting our 2nd child, due in early May. It was a pleasant surprise and hubby, my daughter and I are so excited.

My last blog post was of this recipe for Taiwanese Spaghetti. Then that same Labor Day weekend, we found out that I was expecting. How appropriate that it was "Labor" Day. lol. But since then, I've been hit with the worst case of morning sickness ever. I experienced morning sickness with my daughter 5 years ago that lasted 7 months. But it wasn't as bad as this pregnancy. I'm nauseous all day long. I throw up almost all day long. So many smells trigger my nausea. Especially the kitchen. Which totally kills me. Because we all know how much time I spend in the kitchen. So I haven't been cooking much in these past 2 months and have avoided the kitchen like the plague. Sometimes, I can muster up some energy and cook a real simple dish. Like some sort of Fried Rice. Holding my breath the entire time I'm in the kitchen.

I worry, sometimes, that because I throw up so much, I may not be getting in enough nutrients for the baby. I haven't gained much weight, but I haven't lost weight either. My doctor says that not gaining weight is okay, as long as I don't lose weight. Everyone tells me not to worry because the morning sickness will be gone after my first trimester. That's what everyone told me with my last pregnancy, and it lasted 7 months. They also say every pregnancy is different. I guess only time will tell. I just hope it somehow subsides soon. Because I really miss my kitchen.

I've noticed that the only things I can make in the kitchen are desserts. Because the ingredients don't emit odors like onions and garlic do. Our lime tree has been growing tons of limes and hubby wanted me to start using them up. So I was thinking Key Lime Pie. I've always loved the Key Lime Pie at California Pizza Kitchen, so I did a quick search which lead me to this recipe from the Examiner. The ingredients and recipe was quite simple and the pie tasted tart and sweet. To offset the sweetness, I topped the pie with some homemade whipped cream and it came out really good. A great recipe to break my funk.

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Filling
4 large egg yolks
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice (regular or key limes)
2 tsp. lime zest

Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
5 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.

2) First make the crust: In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crust, sugar and melted butter. Stir until well coated. Press crust onto a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 9-10 minutes, just before crust begins to brown. Allow to cool.

3) For the filling: Beat egg yolks over medium-high speed until they begin to thicken and turn to light yellow, about 5-7 minutes. Stop mixer and add condensed milk. Continue beating over low speed and add lime juice. Slowly add lime zest and continue beating until well incorporated. Pour filling into prepared crust and bake for 11-13 minutes until set. Allow to cool completely before topping with whipped cream.

4) For the topping: With a whisk attachment, beat heavy whipping cream over high speed until soft peaks form. Continue beating at high speed while slowly adding confectioner's sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Top on to prepared pie.

King's Hawaiian Chocolate Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

I've never had bread pudding before. It is one of those so-called comfort foods that never used to appeal to me. I hated mushy bread whenever I ate a sandwich, so why would I eat mushy bread as a dessert? The mere thought of that mushy texture in mouth used to make me cringe. Then I saw a show on the Food Network that was featuring food trucks. This was a time before the food truck craze went rampant. They featured a bread pudding truck that served chocolate bread pudding. And it actually looked really good. But I didn't want to try making it myself for fear that I would only cringe at eating mushy bread and it wouldn't be worth the effort to make.

I recently came across the King's Hawaiian website. I skimmed through the recipes and found their recipe for Chocolate Bread Pudding and it was calling out to me. I figured that maybe I never liked bread pudding because it wasn't prepared right. So I thought maybe I should finally face my fear of this dessert. It was quite simple to make. The bread pudding truck that I saw on the Food Network served their bread pudding with some sort of vanilla sauce. So I paired this with this vanilla sauce from My Recipes and it came out really well. It didn't even seem like mushy bread, but more of a custardy dessert that I really enjoyed. Hubby enjoyed this dessert a little too much because he had 2 servings in one sitting. Word of caution, however: this dessert uses a lot of heavy cream, so it isn't diet friendly. Therefore eat with caution. But enjoy this classic dessert warm.

2 1/2 cups Half & Half
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
6 cups lightly packed cubed King's Hawaiian bread (rolls, loaf or whatever you have)

1) Heat half & half in a saucepan over medium heat until it starts to bubble at the edges. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Mix until completely melted and incorporated. Cool slightly.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Temper the eggs by slowly whisking in 1 cup of the chocolate mixture until well incorporated. Whisk in the remaining chocolate mixture. Pour custard mixture over cubed bread and slowly stir until bread is well coated. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

3) Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Lightly apply a non-stick spray on a 8x8 baking dish, or six 6-oz custard cups.

4) Place cups or baking dish on a baking sheet. Spoon soaked bread. Bake for 45-50 minutes for the baking dish, or 35-40 minute for the baking cups, until knife inserted in center comes out nearly clean.
Serve warm with chocolate or vanilla sauce.

Vanilla sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 large egg
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1) In a saucepan, whisk together sugars, flour, nutmeg, egg and cream until well incorporated. Add butter and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until thickened, about 10-12 minutes.

2) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Coconut Macadamia Nut Bars

I came across this recipe for Coconutty Macadamia Nut Bars from Cooking Hawaiian Style. It almost got buried among all the recipes I had saved up during my Fat Flush Diet last week. I saved several recipes a while ago from Cooking Hawaiian Style. I figured I'd better start making them. Especially this one, because I still have a couple of bags of macadamia nuts I've been wanting to use from our trip to Hawaii last October.

The recipe was really quite simple and used simple ingredients. The outcome was reminiscent of Pecan Pie. It also reminds of the macadamia tart I had at a luau that we went to last October.

Crust
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour

Filling
4 large eggs
3 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups chopped macadamia nuts
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan. Set aside

2) In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar over medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour and continue beating until crumbly. Press dough on the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool slightly.

3) In a large mixing bowl, stir together all the ingredients for the filling. Spread mixture evenly on top of prepared crust. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Biscoff Cupcakes

In continuing with my birthday celebration week, I said that I had made 2 new cupcake recipes for my special day. I made Fluffernutter Cupcakes and these Biscoff Cupcakes from The Three Little Piglets.

I jumped the Biscoff bandwagon almost a year ago and have become obsessed with Biscoff spread. The first and last time I've used Biscoff spread in a recipe, however, was when I made Biscoff Cookie Dough Balls. Those were so addicting. And it had been a while since I've made anything with Biscoff spread, I thought it was time to use this yummy, but better alternative, to peanut butter again.

If you can't find Biscoff spread, you can find Cookie Butter at your local Trader Joe's which works just as well. These cupcake were delicious with the hint of Biscoff in both the cupcake and frosting. Definitely the favorite among the two cupcakes I made for my birthday.

Cupcakes
6 oz. melted unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cake flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. Biscoff spread

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line cupcake pan with 10 paper liners.

2) Allow butter to cool until it begins to solidify, but is still pourable.

3) In a bowl of an electric mixer, cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, gradually add melted butter and cream.

3) Add vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time. Mix just until combined. Add Biscoff spread and continue mixing until well incorporated.

4) Evenly distribute batter into cupcake liners about two-thirds full. Bake for 17-20 minutes until toothpick test comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before cooling completely on a cooling rack.

Biscoff Buttercream frosting
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. Biscoff spread
crumbled Biscoff cookies for garnish (optional)

1) Cream together butter and confectioner's sugar. Add vanilla extract and milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in Biscoff spread. Frost cooled cupcakes.