Caramel Cake

DSC_0022-2An oldie with a mild caramel flavor. This 50’s Betty Crocker recipe has been revised just a bit. The natural flavor is wonderful. While not a special occasion cake exactly it’s great for a weekend dinner. The icing is creamy and the secret here is to beat until it reaches the correct consistency. This pretty much requires an electric mixer for best results.

When you’re not into chocolate and want something with a little flavor beyond a yellow cake this is the recipe for you.

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Pumpkin Pound Cake

DSC_0015It’s a birthday cake for a special friend! He’s so into “The Surprise Cake.” And Tomato Soup Cake is what he usually gets. This year I’ve been changing up everyone’s birthday cake. My bad! I came across this pound cake recipe, Land O’Lakes, and it just sounded so amazing. Land O’Lakes dairies are pretty prevalent around here, Tulare County. And my special friend’s mother only used Land O’Lakes Butter. Seemed like good reasons to give myself a pass and move forward. It was perfect! He loved the texture and the spicy pumpkin pie taste. And believe it or not it gets more moist with time. Did I say it has lots of butter! Give this Land O’Lakes Pumpkin Pound Cake Recipe a try. My only revision suggestion: Fold in 2/3 cup each raisins and chopped walnuts at the end of mixing. Happy Birthday Friend!

Try my spicy cake recipes:

Apple Spice

Apple

Spice Cake

Pumpkin

Banana Spice

Banana

Chai Cake

Chai

Mix Makeover


Chai Cake with Pecan Topping

Chai Cake with Pecan Topping White cake to Chai! And because I wasn’t satisfied with the height, after all, this was  for someone’s special birthday, spiced nuts in caramel sauce were added. It was an absolute hit!

Friends and Family Blending Palettes! A little wine and fine (fun) painting … this cake, a platter of Italian meats and more … It was a perfect evening.

Chai Cake, Chai Candied Pecans, Caramel Sauce and Buttercream … all here!

Chai Cake

 

 

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No Cook Lemon Cheesecake Pie

No Cook Lemon Cheesecake PieSweetened condensed milk leftover from ice cream making was an incentive to creating this pie. Can’t let food go to waste! Have you ever given thought to what’s in sweetened condensed milk. It’s really not that scary. In fact, you can make it yourself right on your stove top. Only two ingredients. How about vegan condensed milk? It’s easy. Check out these great recipes, here.  Yep, this whole pie can become vegan in a second. There are no eggs! Use vegan whipping cream, here. And well, the cream cheese can be eliminated … making the pie more chiffon-like. Vegan cream cheese? Yep, bet you can find a recipe for this too.

About the pie crust, make it graham cracker, chocolate, cookie, or meringue shells. All work!

This is a recipe with very few ingredients. Let’s get started.

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Filippo’s Tiramisu

Filippo's Tiramisu

 

Today’s my Daughter-In-Law Ann’s birthday. Happy Birthday Ann! Her husband’s (Ian) birthday is later this month and since this is a virtual birthday cake (They live states away.) I’m hoping they’ll share. Filippo is a friend of theirs. They met him while in the University of Illinois graduate school; or was it the graduate students Catholic group? Filippo and his bride have since moved away but Ann & Ian, both great cooks, have filed this recipe among their most favorites. Thank you for sharing. And thank you Filippo!

This is the second of two tiramisu recipes I’ve posted. Both recipes are from Italy. Here’s the first. They’re amazing yet different. Today I seem to gravitate to this recipe a bit more. I’m not sure if it’s the Bailey’s Chocolate Cherry or the creamy coffee taste. I have to admit I was a little too generous with the coffee & milk and didn’t refrigerate long enough before sampling … Not giving the ladyfingers enough time to absorb the liquids.

PS After a few hours in the refrig the dessert had the prefect texture. And it just got better the next day.

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Chocolate Cheesecake Dessert

Chocolate Cheesecake DessertThe Perfect Dessert for tonight! We’re having a little family for dinner, my spaghetti & meatballs, and this delicious dessert. Will’s favorite pie is my chocolate, here. But I’m thinking this is going to be a favorite too. I’ve hung onto this recipe for some time but never tried it. It’s a Ghirardelli. Mildly chocolate and a pretty simple bake. More chocolate can be added if you’re into a pretty heavy chocolate taste.

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Coconut Pound Cake

Just for Spring

Coconut Pound CakeYou gotta love coconut! Here’s a great dessert for that Spring gathering. Don’t tell anyone but I love this with my morning coffee. Works perfectly for brunch. This is not a family recipe but one I found, in a Country Door catalogue, … not that I didn’t tweak it a bit. Shopping on line is a must and what this means … I receive every imaginable catalogue out there, no matter what! The home decorating catalogues give me good ideas without me spending a dime. Yes, I move my home furnishings around a lot. Ha! And yep, they often have recipes sprinkled in. As for clothing catalogues … I’d rather rely on my daughter instead, Sapphire Diaries. Now for that recipe.

Here is another recipe you may enjoy, too! Coconut Cake with Caramel Rum Sauce

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Tomato Soup Cake

Tomato Soup CakeSpice Cake made with applesauce I can understand. Or Pumpkin, here. But with Tomato Soup! I’m not sure who decided this was a good idea decades ago. But if it becomes your birthday cake at 10 and you long for it each year and you’re now 71 I’d say that’s a pretty good indication Tomato Soup Cake is tasty. The question is, are all Tomato Soup Cakes alike. Nope! While many can say they can’t taste the soup I’m not sure I can’t in certain recipes. In this recipe the spices are healthy measurements. Yes, I believe certain spices are healthy too. Here I mean plentiful. Enjoy this spice cake recipe. Add nuts and raisins or not. We prefer it that way but it holds up if your pantry is bare.

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Apple Spice Cake with Caramel Topping

Apple Spice CakeLate Summer and Fall is Birthday Season here, one birthday after another. My guys definitely have favorite cake or pie requests. My daughter, not so much. I’m always on the lookout for new recipes that just might satisfy everyone. One birthday celebration and one birthday cake might work for all. They’re aging nicely <smile> and sharing is now a really good thing. Everyone agrees my apple pie is pretty hard to beat for any occasion. So, an Apple Spice Birthday Cake sounded like an excellent substitution. I’ve been saving this Bake From Scratch Fall 2015 Issue. Yep, the cake on the cover became my choice! Let me tell you a bit about this recipe. It’s simple, few ingredients … Great presentation … Great spice and apple taste! The downside … The cake is a bit heavy. I’ve only baked this recipe once and I must admit I was a bit distracted by a sweet little 3 year old. So, were the measurements right on? Hmm. As for the frosting it’s tasty and rich. For two 9 inch layers it’s much more than enough. This Apple Spice Cake with Caramel Topping is definitely worth a try!

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