Chocolate & Peanut Butter Swirl Bundt Cake

Oh yes, I'm bringing the bundt cake back. Honestly I have a hard time finding things wrong with bundt cakes. For starters, the cake pan does most of the work. And if it looks or tastes bad, you can smother it with a glaze or frosting. Bundt cakes always seem to feed more and go farther than others. Mixing chocolate and peanut butter seemed the right approach to me, and hence this beautiful gem was born (borrowed).

A fairly straight forward recipe here, nothing much to it. And I bet most of you have the ingredients in your cupboards this very moment. As with most things I bake, I ate my small share (i.e. tax) and quickly gifted the rest away before I engaged in too much crumby behavior. 

Just in case you haven't been by his website page yet, Burt the Cat is doing great and getting into his pesky kitty phase. He's becoming quite the ham! Feel free to swing by and check out his plans to slowly take over the world (and drive me insane). 

Enjoy the baking, everyone! 

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Swirl Bundt Cake
Borrowed From: Hungry Couple

• 2 Cups all purpose flour, divided
• 2 Teaspoons baking powder, divided
• 1 Teaspoon baking soda, divided
• 1/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 Cups sugar
• 3 Eggs 
• 2 Sticks unsalted butter
• 3/4 Cup water
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 1/2 Cup peanut butter

In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and eggs.  Add the butter and continue beating.  Add the water, vanilla and salt.  Divide the mixture evenly into two bowls.

Add the peanut butter to one bowl, beat until smooth and fold in the first bowl of flour, baking powder and baking soda.To the second bowl, fold in the flour mixture with the cocoa powder.

Butter and flour a 12 cup bundt pan.  Add half the peanut butter batter to the pan, followed by half the chocolate batter, followed by the second half of the peanut butter batter and topped off with the final half of the chocolate batter.  Using a butter knife, gently swirl the batters together but do not over mix.  

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Allow to cool very well before removing from the pan.  Makes approximately 10 servings.

Cinnamon Rolls & Bert

If you are in any of my circles, you will likely know who Bert is by now. Just in case, this is Bert. Also goes by Bertie, Meow Meow, and some 7 year old gibberish name I am unable to pronounce. I could go on and on about the various reasons he is awesome, but I will let pictures do most of the talking for me.

His ability to go with the flow is amazing for a 10 week old kitten. Whether it be a pair of rough hands poking and prodding him, the two cattle dogs nosing him around like a soccer ball, or the abyss that is the staircase...he goes with the flow. Mellow fellow. Super chill. We love him. 

The day before we picked up Bert, in celebration of an upcoming feline addition to the household and end of class term for folks, I baked up a batch of cinnamon rolls. Let's just say I have another weakness to add to the nutella list. I can only make these for special occasions and then immediately leave the premises to ensure there are rolls remaining for others to eat. I'm learning that a lady can have many forms of kryptonite in this life. 

I blame the frosting for my weakness, which is nothing more than buttery goodness drizzled over hot cinnamon buns. As far as cinnamon rolls go, this recipe I found over at Sally's Baking Addiction is super easy. I made my dough and formed the rolls in the pan the night before, then brought the pan back to room temp, letting the rolls rise again, before I attempted any baking. The wee taste testers loved them and I plan to explore some nuttier version in the near future. Now, it's time to do some eating. Happy almost summer! 

Cinnamon Rolls
Borrowed from: Sally's Baking Addiction

Rolls

• 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 package Red Star Platinum Yeast (1 packet = 2 1/4 tsp)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup milk (cow's milk - I used skim)
• 2 1/2 tsbp unsalted butter
• 1 large egg

Filling

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Coffee Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp milk or cream 

Make the dough: Set aside 1/2 cup of flour. In a large bowl, toss the remaining flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together until evenly dispersed. Set aside.

Heat the water, milk, and butter together in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot to touch. About 125F-130F degrees. Stir the butter mixture into the flour mixture. Add the egg and only enough of the reserved flour to make a soft dough. I used nearly all of it, but you may not need to. Dough will be ready when it gently pulls away from the side of the bowl and has an elastic consistency.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 5-6 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl (I used non-stick spray) and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Make the filling: After 10 minutes, roll the dough out in a 14x8 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter on top. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle it all over the dough. Add more cinnamon/sugar if desired. Roll up the dough tightly. Cut into 11 even pieces and place in a lightly greased 9-inch round pan. I used a pie dish, lightly sprayed with nonstick spray. Loosely cover the rolls with aluminum foil and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 60-90 minutes. Here is what I do: heat the oven to 200F degrees. Turn oven off. Place rolls inside oven and allow to rise.

After the rolls have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 375F. Bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. I covered the rolls with aluminum foil after 15 minutes to avoid heavy browning.

Make the glaze: Right before serving, top your cinnamon rolls with glaze. Mix the powdered sugar and milk or cream together until smooth and drizzle over rolls. To thicken the glaze, add more powdered sugar and then add salt to cut the sweetness, if desired.

Yellow Butter Birthday Cake with Buttercream Frosting

I have a confession to make. I have food guilt. Of various sorts. This may sound funny to you, but I am being sincere here. I. Have. Food. Guilt. What does this mean exactly? Well, it means that when I make a delicious meal or bake a creative cake or indulge in something smothered in nutella (a substance I have to limit in my house due to my addictive personality) I experience a period of guilt directly related to the food I just made/baked/consumed. I suppose it is a form of an eating disorder, if one could be related to second generation Irish-Catholic guilt, however it is one I readily and wholeheartedly indulge in on a regular basis. Such as indulging by enjoying this yellow butter birthday cake I recently made.

You likely guessed it; another birthday. I seem to have an affinity for surrounding myself with people who have a birthday within the second quarter of the calendar year. For this week's lucky birthday boy, a helpful bird chirped that he had a long standing hankering for yellow butter birthday cake and homemade buttercream frosting. Being the baker I am, I obliged and surprised the fellow with this buttery goodness.

So yeah, the food guilt thing. Strange, right? That a baker have food guilt. And the funny part is my guilt isn't just associated with consuming too much or overeating, it also has to do with having the guilt of enjoying amazing cuisine when others fight for morsels of food. The guilt is multi-layered, and maybe its presence is merely to remind me to be grateful (which is good if so), but at least it isn't debilitating. I equate my baking to ongoing therapy which is slowly helping me accept my humanness. Or that is the train of thought I often find my brain heading in when standing over the mixer, pouring batter ingredients into a glass bowl. Baking (like running) is a very zen endeavor and meditation when done in the right frame of mind. And with that...namaste from a baker's heart!

Yellow Butter Birthday Cake 
Adapted from:

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, yolks separated and slightly mixed
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter (or Pam) two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter (or Pam) parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. Into a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside. I did mine a second time for good measure. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

In a separate bowl, using a handmixer beat the separated egg whites until frothy. Set aside. 

Into the butter mixture beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, then beat in vanilla. Next, gently mix in the whipped egg whites. 

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition.

Divide batter between the prepared pans, and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto the rack; peel off the parchment. Reinvert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.

Buttercream Frosting
Borrowed from: My Baking Addiction

• 4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• pinch of fine grain sea salt
• 1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
• 2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 4-6 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy add in salt. Slowly add in confectioners' sugar, and continue creaming until well blended.

Add salt, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

This recipe will make enough frosting to generously frost 24 cupcakes or one 9 inch layer cake.

You can easily adjust the consistency of this recipe by simply adding in more heavy cream or milk.

If you are a fan of shortening in your buttercream. simply omit one stick of butter and replace with 1/2 cup shortening.

Clear vanilla extract is used in this recipe to keep the frosting nice and white. If you don’t mind a slight color change, feel free to use pure vanilla extract, but decrease the amount to 2 teaspoons.

Covered and refrigerated frosting can be stored for up to three days. Simply bring it to room temperature and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. You may need to add a couple of teaspoons of heavy cream or milk to revive the consistency.

If you choose to dye your frosting, go easy with the dye. Remember, you can always add more color, but you can’t remove it.

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

To bake or not to bake? That is the question most of us avid bakers face, especially during the holidays. When it became apparent I would be the lead baker for Thanksgiving dinner, I quickly set about trying to find stellar, deliciously tasting desserts to serve my family. Poking around the intronets I discovered a lovely blog called A Bit of Bees Knees and an awesome recipe for morphing boston cream pie into cupcakes. Who doesn't love cupcakes AND boston cream pie?!

Along with a basic pumpkin pie, I decided to go the boston cream pie cupcake route for our Thanksgiving Day dessert spread and am definitely happy I did. These cupcakes were amazing! Everyone who sampled one wanted more. The filling made these cupcakes extra special and the flavor was spot on.

My only change included using instant vanilla pudding as opposed to cook and serve, which didn't appear to make any big difference. Using this recipe and the vanilla pudding box instructions for pie filling as guides, I was easily able to assemble the pie portion of these cupcakes (and shovel a little pudding into my mouth in the process). If you are questioning what to make to accompany your next holiday dinner, try these babies out. Buon cibo! Buone Feste!

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes
Borrowed from: A Bit of Bees Knees

Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp each baking powder and salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

Filling

1 package (3 oz) isntant vanilla pudding

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze

8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup each sugar and water

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Heat oven to 350ºF. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until blended.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Beat in vanilla extract.

With mixer on low speed, alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until just blended.

Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup. Bake 18 to 20 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare pudding as package directs, using 1 1/4 cups milk and the pie instructions on the box for guidance; cover surface directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.

Place chocolate, sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, until melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter until it melts and mixture is smooth. Let cool.

Slice off top of cupcakes to come to top of paper liners. Spread cut surface with about 1 Tbsp filling. Top with cupcake top. Spoon about 1 Tbsp glaze onto top center of each, easing it over top. Set in the fridge for half an hour to let the chocolate set up. 

Spiced Green Tomato Cupcakes

With the onslaught of darkness and cold, most of us gardeners out there have likely spent the last few weeks turning our gardens from summer wonderlands of bountiful fruit into leaf-covered, compost piles that will yield happy soil come spring. Picking the last of the green tomatoes is always a favorite time of year for me as I use the opportunity to come up with spiffy new recipes for using them up. No wasting around here!

This time around I decided to make a batch of cupcakes with my green tomatoes. Using two recipes as a starting point, I eeked out a delicious cupcake akin to carrot cake. To top things off, I opted for a low-fat cream cheese frosting which made the cupcakes outstanding.

Hands down, these babies have been the most popular baked good I've made all year. As with most of the tasty recipes, I had to gift away as many cupcakes as possible to prevent devouring them all. I think I stopped myself after I had consumed six cupcakes in a row...

Now, I highly encourage all of you to grab those last few green tomatoes laying around the house or yard and make a batch of these for the upcoming holiday. As you sit there, licking your sticky fingers, smiling at the delicious goodness of these cupcakes...you can thank me. Enjoy! 

Spiced Green Tomato Cupcakes 
Inspired by: Spiced Green Tomato Cake 

• 2 1/2 cups pureed green tomatoes
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Puree the green tomatoes in a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Preheat the over to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

Cream together butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes in a mixing bowl, until well incorporated. Add eggs and beat until creamy. Next add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix. Finally, add the pureed tomato mixture and mix.

Sift together flour, spices, baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a separate bowl. Then add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, followed by the raisins and walnuts.

Pour the batter evenly into the cupcake pan, using 2/3 of a cookie scooper often works well.

Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to completely cool before frosting.


Low Fat Cream Cheese Frosting
Inspired by: Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe 

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 
• 1 8-oz package of low fat cream cheese, room temperature 
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until you get to desired sweetness and thickness.

Either spread on with a blunt knife or spatula, or spoon into a piping bag to decorate each cupcake. Refrigerate any leftover frosting for up to 4 days. It tastes especially delicious eaten by the spoon.