Pumpkin Caramel Ice Cream Cake

This year for my recipe testers birthday I decided to use the cake I made last year (since it was such a big hit) but really take it up to the next level by making it a ridiculous ice cream cake (yes I know it's winter). This cake was absolutely phenomenal and so impressive looking. It took a good amount of work but your mistakes are easy to hide (via the crumb topping and trimming the cake) and it's definitely a tasty show stopper. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Caramel Ice Cream Cake:
Pumpkin Cake: Recipe Follows, Originally Posted Here
2 quarts of Vanilla Ice Cream (you will have some left over)
Caramel Sauce: Recipe Follows, Orginally Posted Here
20 Ginger Snap Cookies, processed into crumbs

After cakes cool, freeze cakes for 20 minutes, to firm up, then slice each cake in half to create 2 square layers. Line a square pan with parchment leaving a long overhang. Place one cake layer on the bottom, and spread with 1/2 a container of ice cream, drizzle with caramel sauce, top with another cake layer and freeze for an hour. Mix the other 1/2 of the container of ice cream with half the caramel sauce and spread over cake. Top with half the cookie crumbs, and another layer of cake, freeze for 1 hour. Spread 1/2 the second container of ice cream over the cake and top with remaining layer of cake, using a pastry brush, brush with remaining caramel, and coat top with cookie crumbs. Freeze until firm, or overnight. Before serving, trim sides to make the cake even and pretty. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cake:
2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened slightly
2 cups of white sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of canned Pumpkin
1 cup warm of half and half
3 1/3 cups of flour
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of ground cloves
1/2 tsp of ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat together the butter and both sugars in a large bowl, until well combined and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until well incorporated. Add in pumpkin and half and half and stir until just combined. Add in cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, salt, baking powder, baking soda and 1 cup of flour. Mix until just combined. Add in an additional cup of flour and mix in. Add remaining flour and mix until just combined, do not over mix. Grease two 9 inch square cake pans, and pour batter evenly between them. Bake until a fork inserted in one comes out clean, about 50 minutes to an hour.

Caramel Sauce:
1 1/4 cups of dark brown sugar
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of heavy cream

Stir the sugar and butter in a small pot, over meduim heat until butter melts, whisk in cream and stir until sauce is smooth and combined, about 3 minutes.

Happy Eating.

Mini Pumpkin Pies

I can't believe I am about to say this, but Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I feel like summer barely ended, and we are halfway through November. But that's ok, because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is the best food (and family time) around and I can't wait for all the festivities to start. So, I got started a little early, with some yummy mini pumpkin pies with a graham cracker crust.

Crust:
12 graham crackers
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
3 tbsp of light brown sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 375. Line muffin tins with paper liners and spray lightly with non-stick. In a food processor, blend graham crackers until you have crumbs with no large chunks. Add salt, cinnamon and brown sugar and pulse to combine. With processor running, stream in the butter and mix until incorporated. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of 18 muffin liners. Bake until just fragrant and slightly toasted, about 5 minutes.

Filling:
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 can of evaporated milk
3/4 cup of light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tbsp of corn starch
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1/4 tsp of ground cloves

Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees. In a large bowl mix all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tins, a little less than 1/4 cup per muffin. Bake until set but slightly wobbley in the center, about 25 minutes. Rotate once half way through. Let cook and then refrigerate overnight or until firm. (adapted from Martha)

Happy Eating.

The Baked Brownie

I have wanted to try this recipe forever. It always looked like the ultimate celebration of chocolate, and I've heard it's the best brownie around. But, something more glamorous came across my computer screen to try, or someone really wanted cookies and it got pushed aside. Finally, enough was enough and I just had to bake it. Wow! These are the most insanely rich, intensely, deep chocolate brownies I have ever tasted. They are just beyond words amazing. Now that I have finally tried them, I'm not sure I'll be able to stop baking them.

The Baked Brownie:
11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks of butter
1 tsp of instant coffee
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
11/4 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Stir in coffee and put in the freezer for a few minutes to cool. Stir in the sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until just combined. Stir in the flour, salt, and cocoa powder, and mix until just combined. Line a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with parchment paper and spray with non stick. Pour batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until set in the middle, and a for inserted has only a few crumbs. About 40-50 minutes, it is very difficult to tell if they are done or not, so make sure you check the middle of the brownies. Let cool before slicing. (adapted from Brown Eyed Baker).

Happy Eating.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

Usually, when it comes to cookies, I err on the side of mini. I love bite size cookies. Cookies where you can eat a few and not feel too guilty. These are not those cookies. These are mammoth sized cookies, but they are so amazing, you won't even care about the guilt. They are crispy around the edges, and chewy inside and absolutely enormous. The perfect cookie for dunking in some milk or hot cocoa during all this rain (you may not currently be experiencing this rain, but the cookies are still delicious in sunshine, don't worry). They also look impressive because of their mammoth size, so whip up a batch for your next party, or your Sunday football marathon (I am so excited). Enjoy!

PS: I apologize for the smudge on the picture, I thought that was on my display screen, not on the lens. And don't forget to enter for your chance to win a jar of Coconut Peanut Butter!

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies:
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of dark brown sugar
1 1/2 stick of butter, melted
1 tsp of vanilla
1 egg + 1 yolk
2 cups of flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the sugars and butter, until smooth and well combined. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add in 1 cup of flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. Add remaining flour and mix until just combined, do not over mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non stick. Scoop cookies by heaping tablespoon (like really heaping, almost 2 tablespoons), shape into a round as best you can (the dough is very sticky) and flatten slightly. Space cookies wide, 6 per cookie sheet. Bake for 20-24 minutes until golden. Makes about 20 cookies. (adapted from Cook's Illustrated).

Happy Eating.

Peanut Butter Cookies

When I was little, I really disliked peanut butter. I was never a picky eater (and certainly am not now), but I can remember being at camp and demanding plain jelly sandwiches for lunch. Now, I eat peanut butter everyday, I love it and I can't get enough. Maybe because of my youthful aversion, I never really got into peanut butter desserts. But after how much I loved those Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies, I new I had to try some more peanut buttery treats. So, my expansion of the cookie horizon continued as I whipped up a batch of these peanut butter cookies. I baked the extremely delicious Malt Chocolate Chip Cookies for the same BBQ, but to my surprise it was the peanut butter cookies that I kept me running back to the cookie plate.

Peanut Butter Cookies:
3/4 cup of creamy peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1/3 cup of light-brown sugar
1/3 cup of sugar, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups of flour
Pre Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. In a large bowl, mix the peanut butter and butter on low speed until combined. Add the sugars and mix until smooth and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour and mix until just combined, do not over mix. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper, and spray with non-stick. Put some sugar in a small bowl for rolling cookies. Scoop dough by the tablespoon and roll into a ball, roll in the sugar and put on the cookie sheet. Space 12 cookies evenly throughout the sheet. Bake until cookies are golden brown, 15-17 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen. (adapted from Martha)

Happy Eating.

Deep Dish Berry Pie

Have I expressed my love of summer enough on here? Probably, but yet I can't seem to stop doing it. Maybe it's because my garden is in full bloom, and the veggies are budding, which means garden fresh deliciousness is right around the corner. Or maybe it's because the farmers markets are open, and the grocery stores have the most beautiful and cheap local produce. My once "expensive berry habbit" (as the boyfriend likes to call it) is now extrememly economical, so I decided to make a pie. A deep dish pie, so full of berries, they were literally oozing out the sides, bottom, and center. Yum.

Crust:
2 1/4 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp of sugar
2 sticks of butter, in pieces and chilled
1/4 cup of cold water

Filling
1 pint of blueberries
2 small containers of blackberries (12 oz)
2 cups of strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 lemon, juiced
3 tbsp of flour
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 egg
1 tbsp of half and half

In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture is crumbley. With processor running, add water and mix until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured piece of partchment paper and form into a disk, refridgerate for 30 minutes, in the mean time make filling: In a large bowl, mix the berries, sugar, lemon juice, flour and cinnamon until combined. When dough is chilled, roll out into a large circle, about 18 inches. Line an 9 inch spring form pan, or a deep dish pie tin with the dough leaving the overhang. Pour the filling into the crust and then fold the overhang back over the pie, leaving a small cirlce exposed in the middle. Refridergate pie until firm, about 30 minutes. Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees, and position rack in the bottom third of the oven.Whisk together the egg and half and half. Brush the exposed crust of the pie with mixture. Place tin on a cookie sheet coated in foil to prevent a mess. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and continue baking until juices are bubbling up, about 35 minutes more. Let cool before serving. If you used a spring form pan, run a knife around the edge of the pie to loosen, before releasing spring. (adapted from Martha)

Happy Eating.