Carrot Cake Cheesecake

I love carrot cake, and I usually hate (for the most part) cheesecake. The combination of the carrot cake and cheesecake works well together because usually you see cream cheese with carrot muffins, cream cheese frosting on carrot cake, so why not cheesecake with carrot cake? This was a big hit at Easter, and if you don't have a large quantity of people that you are serving, it freezes really well. Many recipes that combine a cheesecake with a cake often frost the entire thing. In my opinion, everything is so sweet already that I don't think frosting the whole thing would add anything that would otherwise feel like it was missing. If you needed to decorate it for a birthday or special occasion, however, it would always look nice with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting on just the top of the cake, and a decoration piped out.

Cheesecake Ingredients:

2 blocks (116 oz.) cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. sour cream, lite

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with baking spray with flour, and set aside. In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and flour together until smooth. Add in the vanilla and sour cream and stir by hand. Set aside.

Carrot Cake Ingredients:

3/4 c. oil (veggie)
1/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large carrots, grated

In an electric mixer, mix together the oil and sugars together until smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla and stir to incorporate. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until just combined, and add in the grated carrots.

Spread half of the carrot cake batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Dollop half of the cheesecake batter on top (do not spread!). Dollop the rest of the carrot cake batter on top of the cheesecake batter. Spread the remaining cheesecake batter on top with a spatula to even the top layer out. Pat down the cheesecake to remove all of the air bubbles.

Bake for 70-75 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the middle slightly springs back when you lightly press down. Let cool in the pan before removing the springform edges and serving. 

Pistachio Pudding Cake

This is a very simple cake using a box cake mix and pistachio pudding that everyone in the family is sure to love!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. instant pistachio pudding mix
4 eggs
1 c. Sprite
1/2 c. oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium size bowl, mix the above ingredients together.

Mix all of the ingredients until they come together. Do not worry about any clumps in the batter, they will cook out.

Spray a bundt pan with non stick cooking spray and pour the batter into the pan. Smooth out the top in an even layer. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown on the outside. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool before slicing and serving.

Zucchini Cake

This zucchini cake recipe is so soft and packed with zucchini that you can practically cut it like butter. The cream cheese frosting adds a nice tang to it, and cinnamon is my favorite spice so the additional dusting brings these over the top. Although you need the mixer twice for this recipe, it is a very easy one to make. And even if zucchini isn't in season, you can use frozen shredded zucchini and just squeeze out most of the liquid.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. applesauce
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (plus extra for top)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 c. shredded zucchini

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with non stick cooking spray and set aside. In an electric mixer, beat the eggs, oil, applesauce, sugars and vanilla together. Add in the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the zucchini and stir until everything is well incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread the top in an even layer. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Frosting:

1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese, 1/3 less fat
1/4 c. butter (I use salted), softened
3 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

While the cake is cooling slightly, beat together the frosting ingredients in an electric mixer. Spread over the top of the cake and sprinkle with cinnamon.

King Cake Mini Bites

If you love the flavor of King Cakes but don't like working with yeast, like myself, this is the perfect choice. The gooey cheesecake filling and loads of cinnamon and powdered sugar glaze makes these an amazing sweet little bite.

Ingredients:

1/2 pkg (4 oz.) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
Ground cinnamon
2 (8 oz) cans refrigerated crescent rolls, reduced fat

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice together until well mixed. Unroll the crescent roll onto your work surface. Separate the crescent tubes into 8 rectangles. Sprinkle cinnamon on the insides of each crescent rectangle. Spread approximately a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture down the middle of each rectangle. Bring both sides, lengthwise, of the dough over on top of the cream cheese. Cut each into 8 small pieces and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

While the king cakes are cooling, combine the glaze ingredients which include 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of milk together. When the cakes are cooled, drizzle the tops of each with the glaze and sprinkle with green, gold and purple edible glitter (or sprinkles). Let the glaze cool fully before stacking or packing.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 plain yogurt, reduced fat
1/4 c. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. zucchini, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13x9 pan with non stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.

Stir in the remaining ingredients with a spatula. Spread in the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool before adding your favorite topping, such as Cool Whip or whipped cream.

Banana Poppyseed Cake

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. butter (I always use salted), room temperature
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. sour cream, light
1 egg
2 bananas, very ripe, mashed
1/2 c. poppy seeds
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with non stick cooking spray, line with parchment paper, and set aside. In an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and sour cream together. Add in the egg, bananas and vanilla. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the poppy seeds. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out. Bake for 25 minutes until the edges are golden brown.

For the frosting:

4 oz. cream cheese, 1/3 less fat
2 Tbs. salted butter, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
2 c. powdered sugar
Milk (if needed, to thin icing)

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the butter until combined. Add the vanilla bean paste and powdered sugar and beat together until everything is mixed. If the frosting is too thick, add in milk by the tablespoon. Spread out onto the cooled cake, and cut into bars.

Tiramisu Cake

This is the cake that I made to celebrate my, well, without using numbers, my birthday this year! :-) I had a celebration using different kinds of cheeses for everything, so instead of making my go-to chocolate something covered in more chocolate, I went for the creamy coffee and more delicate type of cake, highlighting mascarpone cheese. I think I would honestly prefer this tiramisu version over the ladyfinger kind any day. It holds up better, and looks gorgeous on the inside!

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix (including water, eggs and oil on box)

3/4 c. strong brewed coffee
2 Tbs. brandy
2 Tbs. powdered sugar

3 c. mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbs. brandy
3 tsp. vanilla
1 c. whipping cream (cold)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 9 inch round baking pans with non stick cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Whip up the cake mix as directed on the box and pour the batter evenly into the three prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove gently using the parchment paper and let cool fully on a baking rack.

In a small bowl, mix the coffee, 2 Tbs. brandy and 2 Tbs. powdered sugar together. Set aside. In an electric mixer, beat the mascarpone, powdered sugar, brandy and vanilla together at medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Scrap into a bowl, wash the bowl out, and using the whisk attachment, whip the whipping cream on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.

To assemble, Brush the tops of each cake layer with the coffee syrup. Spread about 1 cup of the mascarpone filling on top of the bottom layer (syrup facing up). Add another cake layer on top. Spread another cup of filling on top of that layer, and place the remaining cake layer syrup side down on top. Use the remainder of the mascarpone frosting to spread on the sides and top of the cake (the consistency of this frosting makes that hard, but be patient!). Dust the cake with cocoa powder and decorate. You could even add chocolate covered coffee beans if you weren't using the cake for a themed party. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Buttercream Frosting

This moist and dense vanilla bean cake is absolutely divine! The vanilla bean takes this batter to a whole new level, while the sweet buttercream frosting locks in the flavor. Top with fresh berries or dust with powdered sugar and you have an amazing and gorgeous cake!

This recipe is for a triple layer 8 or 9 inch cake. Obviously I have two tiers of multiple layers in the pictures, but all I did was double the recipe (and yes, that makes for needing a LOT of butter!).

Cake:

3 sticks salted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 c. sugar
4 egg whites, room temperature
3 tsp. vanilla
1 vanilla bean, cut in half and seeds scraped out
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 8 inch round cake pans with non stick cooking spray (with flour, or use regular spray and parchment paper), and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until a paste forms. Scrape down the sides. Add the egg whites, vanilla and vanilla bean and mix until just combined. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and powder. Add 1/3 of the flour mix to the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. Add 1 cup of the milk and slowly mix. Add another 1/3 of the flour, followed by milk, and end with the remaining flower. Scrape down the sides again and mix once more if need be. Divide the batter evenly among the 3 pans. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the tops are golden and the inside is cooked through (comes out fairly clean with toothpick, very moist so you may still have some on the toothpick). Cool the cakes fully before frosting.

Frosting:

3 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 c. shortening
12 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbs. vanilla
6-7 Tbs. milk

(This will make enough for the cake in the pictures, if you are only doing an 8 inch 3 layer cake, cut in half.) Beat the butter and shortening in an electric mixer until combined. Add in 6 cups of powdered sugar and let mix together. Add the vanilla and 4 Tbs. of milk and mix until smooth. Add in the rest of the powdered sugar. Test for thickness, and add the remaining milk, 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary.

I went for more of a naked cake look, so I frosted about 1/3-1/2 inch frosting between the layers, and then put a very thin layer around the edges, scraping off the excess.

Wedding Deliciousness!

This past wedding I catered my second wedding, only this time instead of just making the food for dinner, I was in charge of the appetizer table, dinner buffet, dessert buffet, groom's cake AND the wedding cake! Not to mention, it was my first wedding cake, ever. It all turned out amazing, and I wanted to share some of the pictures that I took!

Appetizer Table

 

Dinner Buffet

Dessert Table

Groom's Cake

Wedding Cake

The cake was my favorite part of the whole wedding. It turned out beautiful. This naked cake trend sure is taking off!