Orange-Nutella Layered Cheesecake

My Dad and I have birthdays that are exactly two weeks apart (his being March 20th, and mine being April 3rd). Since he lives about an hour away, we usually celebrate our birthdays together, and this year the deal was that he would pay for dinner if I supplied the cake.

He told me this about a week or two ago, and I spent some time looking through recipes on my bookshelf, my Pinterest, on baking blogs, and everything else you can think of. Everything seemed either too expensive, or just not quite right. I pretty much knew I wanted to make a cheesecake, but not much else.

After enough searching, I decided that I wasn't going to find the right thing.

My mind kept, for some reason, going back to a day in December when my boyfriend made us some hazelnut hot cocoa with orange peels boiled in, to make a delicious and rich orange-y, chocolate hazelnut goodness. Something about the combination of these things really stuck with me, so much so that I decided to make a cheesecake that would combine these flavors.

My 2nd inspiration for this cake was a cheesecake recipe on tablespoon.com. I used the recipe for their rainbow cheesecake a little over a year ago for my friend's birthday. I loves combining colors and making layers, and it seemed like orange and brown would go really well together (although, there was no dye in this cheesecake, so it's actually a brown and off-white, but a girl can dream.

I made this cheesecake, and it went over SPLENDIDLY.It's very rich and creamy, and the layers look beautiful stacked on top of each other. The orange compliments the subtle hazelnut flavor perfectly, and it's just right for a spring birthday.

Most of the credit for this cake comes from this recipe at Tablespoon.com, I pretty much just added the orange and nutella flavors. The guys over there really know what their doing, because this cheesecake is seriously gigantic and delicious.

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 cups finely crushed graham crackers
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Filling

• 4 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 large eggs
• 1 (13 oz.) container of Nutella
• 3 TBS orange juice concentrate (thawed)
• Zest from one orange

Directions

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Before you get started with the crust, make sure your 9 inch springform pan is water tight. I do this by carefully wrapping a few layers of foil on the outside of the pan, so water cannot get into the pan. Be careful not to rip the foil or water will get into your cake and ruin it!
   
   
2. Mix crushed crackers, 2 tablespoons sugar, the cinnamon and salt together in a bowl. Then mix in butter with your clean fingers, until crumbs are pea sized. 
   
   
3. Press all of the graham cracker mixture into the prepared springform pan. Press it down firmly in the pan.

4. Bake the crust for 10 minutes on a low oven rack. Remove from the oven, and cool completely before continuing. Turn oven temperature down to 325 degrees.

5. To make filling, cut cream cheese into pieces and add to a mixing bowl. Whip until smooth, maybe 4 minutes. Then add 1-1/3 cups sugar, and continue to beat until smooth again, another 4-5 minutes. Next, add vanilla, salt, sour cream and heavy cream; beat until smooth. Add in 1 egg at a time, beating briefly between each egg.
   

6. Once the mixture is well combined and very smooth, divide evenly into 2 bowls. In one bowl, add the orange zest and orange juice concentrate and mix well, set aside. In the 2^nd bowl, add the nutella and mix well.
   
7. Starting with whichever flavored batter, pour some directly into the center of the cooled crust, then a little more of the opposite flavor. Continue alternating batters by pouring them directly in the center, this will create layers so each slice has equal(ish) amounts of both flavors. Then, to make my design I just ran a butter knife across the top a few times to give it the 'spiderweb' effect
   
8. Place cheesecake into a baking dish on oven rack, and fill baking dish (or a deep frying pan!) with boiling water about 1 inch up the side of the springform pan.
   
9. Bake at 325 degrees in the water bath for 1 hour and 40 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes or until set but still jiggles slightly 2 inches from the edge. If cheesecake begins to brown on top, cover loosely with foil during last 5 minutes of baking.
   
10. Turn off the oven, open the oven door a crack, and let the cake cool in the oven for 1 hour. The slow cooling will help it not crack.
    
11. Loosely wrap the dish in foil so the foil isn't touching the top of the cake and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
    
12. When ready to remove cake, run a clean narrow knife around the edge of the dish, remove the foil, unlock the spring, and carefully lift off the outer ring.
    

Enjoy!

Gay Elephant Cheesecake!

My friend's birthday was back on February 18th, and I wanted to make her the perfect thing. She is the best person to make gifts for, because she's one of those people who talks about the things she loves, and loves loving the things she loves. Among all of the things I could have made, I decided to marry cheesecake, rainbows and her absolute favorite animal: elephants, together into one amazing giant cheesecake.

The happiest birthday girl!

I used the Rainbow Cheesecake from Tablespoon.com, and it's amazing. Not only does it walk through how to make the rainbow, but it also holds up as just a regular cheesecake. With 2 pounds of cream cheese, a cup of both heavy whipping cream and sour cream, you just can't go wrong. I've made a couple cheesecakes in the past, but I have to say that this one blew the other ones out of the water. I also feel as though I received the best compliment a person could receive, when unbeknownst to me, Mishan decided she was going to split up the cake and give some to all 20 or so people at the party.

Sans elephants. Surprisingly symmetrical!

Having never made this cake, I found myself very nervous, but after receiving compliments from every single person present, I could not have felt better about the way things turned out. Even the small slice I had made me feel satisfied, and the next day I had people tell me they had dreams about my cake! Could not have been happier about this.

Although the outside looks like silly concentric circles, the inside is an explosion of color. Every piece had a ton of all 6 colors of the rainbow, although I don't have a decent picture of the inside, unfortunately.

This was fantastic, and fun, to make. It also wow'ed an entire party of people I hardly knew, and even myself. I would certainly encourage everyone to make this at some point. Even if you don't like the rainbow part Or the elephant part...), it makes a perfect cheesecake nonetheless.

Holiday Confections Part Two: Buckeyes

Buckeyes are a strange thing for me. I know it's rare to relate something BAD to something as delicious as a buckeye (It's peanut butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar...covered in chocolate...what's so bad about it, right?), but somehow, I managed to have that happen to me.

When I was younger, I had more step-family than family, and I was certainly not a favorite at family gatherings (or in my case, step-family gatherings). I had a step-grandma who lived in Ohio and when she came down, everyone seemed really happy to see her, but I absolutely hated her. She was mean to me, rude to me, put me down, and hurt me (emotionally and physically). And you know what she always made as a treat? You guessed it. Buckeyes.

They were good. Damn good, actually. Probably the only good thing about her, in all honesty. I ate these things year after year, finding some odd kind of relief to her visits in these little peanut buttery truffles, and it wasn't until this year that I realized that she was the only thing I related to these treats.

Here I am, trying to make something delicious and nice for my co-workers, and I find myself grinding my teeth, holding my hand mixer so tightly my knuckles are turning white, and an inexplicable lump is forming in my throat, and as desperate as I am to think of something, anything, else, she is all I can think of. I thought I had buried the hatchet long ago, but apparently deciding to make something beautiful and delicious was enough to open that can of worms again.

I felt annoyed once again, that even in absence (and in death), this woman is still getting the last laugh.

So, I decided to make these every year until the price of peanut butter is just too damn high for my budget.

These are so good you guys, SO good, and I refuse to think of her when I make, and subsequently eat, these. I want to think about my own Christmases, holidays and friends, and my own moments, in my own life, with my boyfriend and maybe someday my kids and grandkids (and hopefully said grandkids will not think of me the way that I think of her). I want this to be something I can make with a smile on my face, a flutter in my heart, and a twinkle in my eye as I salivate thinking about how impossibly good these are.

I know my photography has been lacking lately...but will return to somewhat normal soon!

So without further ado, here is the recipe to the most insanely, impossibly and beautifully delicious thing I have made in a long time. Something so amazing, that I am unearthing issues long dead so I can eat these and have absolutely perfect moments when I do (and I hope you will, too).

Buckeyes

Ingredients:

-1/4 Cup Cream Cheese (softened)
- 1 1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
- 1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 1/4 Tsp. Salt
- 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 10 TBS. Unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
- 12 Oz. Dark chocolate (60 - 75%) coarsely chopped

How to do it:

For the filling:

1. Beat cream cheese and peanut butter until combined.
2. Add Graham cracker crumbs, beat 10 seconds.
3. Add sugar and butter. Mix on lowest speed until nothing in floating in the butter, then increase speed until ingredients are combined.

For the coating:

Melt chocolate in microwave according to package directions. Cool until tepid.

For assembling:

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Scoop out roughly 1 TBS of filling, and use hands to form into a ball.

The balls can sit close to each other, but make sure they don't touch.

3. Using a spoon, roll each ball in the chocolate until it is covered.

4. Refrigerate or freeze.

5. Indulge.

 

I'll be back soon with another recipe!

Holiday Confections Part One: Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Hey everyone! I know it's been a few weeks, but I haven't been absent for a lack of creating.

Quite the opposite, actually.

I've been making so many things for the last month, but since ALL of them are Christmas presents, I can't post them without ruining the surprise for my friends. So, after Christmas, prepare to be so sick of my posts that you wanna vomit, while simultaneously thinking I'm really impressive. It's okay, I won't judge.

Anyway, I'm here today with one of 5 recipes I'm making for Christmas day.

 

These brownies are really delicious. Rich, but not too heavy, and the apple cider vinegar really comes through in the brownies subtly enough for some interesting flavor, while still being plenty chocolate-y and covered in a thick layer of cream cheese. 

The recipe I'm providing is for enough brownies for a 9" x 13" pan, but if you half the ingredients, you can make it in an 8" x 8" pan, like brownies are generally made in (I just needed a lot of brownies!)

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

Red Velvet Layer:

- 2 Sticks unsalted butter, melted

- 2 Cups sugar

- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

- 1/2 cup cocoa powder

- A pinch or two of salt

- 2 Tablespoons red food coloring

- 2 tsp. Apple cider vinegar

- 4 eggs

- 1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

Cream Cheese Layer:

- 16 oz. Cream cheese, softened

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 2 eggs

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9" x 13" pan.

Brownie Layer Instructions:

1. Add melted butter to large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring and vinegar, mixing after each addition.

2. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl, and stir into cocoa mixture.

3. Fold in flour until lightly combined.

4. Pour batter into prepared baking pan, saving 1/2 cup of batter for the top.

Cream Cheese Layer Instructions:

1. Blend together all ingedients in a bowl.

2. Spread cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Drizzle the remaining batter on top, and use a knife to drag through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes.

Drizzle batter back and forth like so

Drag knife through in opposite directions to make this pattern

Halloween Reflections, and Halloween Project #9: Pumpkin Seeds

Happy Halloween-Eve, everybody! Can anyone else feel the magic in the air? I know I can. I went to the grocery store today to pick up some things for a get-together I'm having tonight, and there were little kids dressed as bumble bees, Spiderman, unicorns...all kinds of fantastic and cute costumes, and I was overwhelmed by the power of this holiday. My windows are open and I have pumpkin seeds baking in the oven as we speak, and more than ever I wish I had the ability to stop time and live in this day for awhile.

I haven't always loved Halloween the way I do now, I used to hate it, in fact. I was a pretty pudgy kid, and I was certain that there wasn't a single costume in the world that would fit me. I was awkward, and I always forgot about Halloween until the last minute, and would be forced to come up with my own costumes (which for about 4 years straight was a shirt and skirt with the same pair of Fairy Wings), and one year I wore a devil mask and one of my Dad's suits...I was the Devil going to work, of course. Pretty clever, but no one would leave me alone about it. “Why are you wearing mens clothes?” They would ask.

What I should have said is “Because it's Halloween, and I can be anything I want to be. There are no rules here, and I want to be the mother fuckin' Devil, going to do his mother fuckin' job, and my mask is fuckin' AWESOME!” But I didn't. I stammered and stuttered and made up excuses about how Halloween was dumb, trying to cover up the fact that I was really just awkward, and I didn't have any imagination when it came to costumes (the costume was my Dad's idea, after all, I just thought it was quirky).

And then there were those 3 or 4 awful years where I was too old to trick or treat, too young to have a party. So I either tried to trick or treat in my makeshift costumes, old women sneering at my 'lack of effort' and turning me away from their free candy. Bah! Why even bother. I focused on the magic of Halloween, the beauty of Autumn, the colors, the spirits and the supernatural. I read ghost stories and learned about what the Wiccans and Pagans do for Halloween, I tried talking to spirits, I visited graveyards. It wasn't what I wanted out of Halloween (because I never met a spirit who gave me free candy), but if it weren't for that, who knows how I would feel about Halloween nowadays.

Then, about two years after I moved out, something hit me. Myself and my roommate decided to host a Halloween party, both dressed as pirates, and it was fantastic. I got drunk, I ate lots of candy, and at one point I was trying to steer my house from my porch. It. Was. Perfect. Halloween started running in my veins, and I immediately couldn't wait for next year. The next year, I spent about $150 on a fairy costume, and felt like a million bucks. Halfway through the night at the party I was hosting, myself and my at-the-time-friend Gabe went outside and confessed our feelings for each other. Tomorrow is our two year anniversary.

There is much more to Halloween for me, I could certainly write for hours about it. But it's something that I grew into, something that found it's way to my heart in every single aspect that a holiday can. For me, it's beautiful, spiritual, romantic...and of course, there's candy. I don't think there's another day of the year that makes me feel exactly the way Halloween does.

As a simple, delicious recipe, here's what I've decided to use to cook my pumpkin seeds this year. I wish I could give you my tried-and-true traditional Halloween baked good, but as I said, halloween isn't tried-and-true, it is always evolving for me.

What You'll Need:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons margarine, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

How To Do It:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
2. Combine the margarine, salt, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place evenly only a baking sheet
3. Bake for 1 hour, or until crunchy, stirring occasionally. 
   
   
   
   
   

Hope you all have a fantastic Halloween!

Halloween Project #8: Ghost and Skull Cake Pops

I am learning a TON about white chocolate this week. Here are the two most important things:

- If you overheat your chocolate, it will scorch and become absolutely useless.
- Melting/melted chocolate can't get wet! If this happens, it will have the same reaction as overheated chocolate: it will get very stiff and absolutely useless. Bonus annoyance: This means you can't add food coloring to your white chocolate! Perhaps they make a dry food dye, but that's certainly not what I have, and it's something I learned the hard way.

So today, I have some plain white ghost and skull cake pops for you. They're rather easy, and super tasty.

What you'll need:

-Cake, of course! I used a box cake, because I'm lazy. And this isn't teribly important, as this will be crumbs in no time.
- Black Decorating gel
-White Chocolate
-Flavored Creamer of your choice (I used White Chocolate Macadamia Nut)
- Lollipop sticks
-Foam block, or a makeshifted ghetto rigged contraption to keep your pops upright after they've been dipped in chocolate (Mine was foam board and a couple books taped together...)

1. Bake your cake according to package/recipe directions. After it has cooled completely, break it apart into chunks and put them in a large mixing bowl. Using a fork, break apart the chunks until your cake has been turned into crumbs.

2. Add your creamer. I think I end up using somewhere between 1/4 - 1/2 cup, but what I really look for it that it's moist, and that the cake crumbs stick to each other.

3. Shape your cake crumbs into triangles and ovals. Make sure your triangles are thick enough so they won't break once you put them on the lollipop stick. Cover a baking sheet in aluminum foil and place the triangles and ovals onto foil. Freeze for 20 minutes, or refrigerate for an hour.

4. Melt a little white chocolate, and stick the lollipop sticks in the white chocolate, and then insert into the cake pops about 1/3rd of the way through, if not halfway. Refrigerate for about 15 - 25 minutes.

5. Melt the rest of your white chocolate, and dip the cake pops into the white chocolate, placing them in your foam block, or makeshifted ghetto rigged contraption. Refrigerate or freeze one last time to be sure the chocolate has hardened.

6. Give the triangles ghost faces, and the skulls skull faces! Om nom away.

I was really hoping to make some pumpkins, but my heart was broken when I added the food coloring to my chocolate and it completely seized. I like these guys, though. They came out very nicely, and I'm very pleased :)

Gabe is almost finished with his assignment, which is what these are for. He still has some loose ends for some of these projects to tie up, and as they are tied up, more projects will be provided! I have some days off work soon, so hopefully I will be able to manage to do these, and be ready for NaNo come November 1st. I am so nervous! There's no way I'm ready....but I still look forward to writing that victory post!

Halloween Project #7: Ghost and Gravestone Cupcakes

I'm buckling down, really. But Gabe's homework requires Halloween crafts, and he asked for my help, and I can't just let him down, now can I? This week has been crazy, though. What started out as "Maybe I could get some photographs of things you've already made", turned into "You should bake a bunch of great things!". It's not that I didn't want to, but there was certainly quite a bit of work required for everything I did. Other projects will be posted this week when they're all put together properly.

Anyway! Our project for today is actually rather simple, and I didn't do anything homemade, but you can make your own frosting and cake if you should desire. With just a few ingredients you can have a haunted graveyard!

What you'll need:

- Cake! I used a chocolate box mix, but what you choose to use is not important to this project.
- Nutter Butter Sandwich cookies
- White Chocolate (24 oz should do the trick), divided into 2.
- Black food coloring (I used Icing Coloring for this one)
- Green food coloring
- Black Decorating Gel
- Hot cocoa powder (Optional)
- 16 oz. Can of white frosting, divided into 2.

1. Bake your cupcakes in white cupcake liners according to box/recipe instructions.

2. While your cupcakes are baking, melt half the white chocolate (be sure not to overheat it, or your chocolate will seize and will be ruined. Melt for 1 minute in microwave, then in 15 second increments until it is smooth. If a few chips remain unmelted, just stir until it is smooth). Cover a baking sheet in aluminum foil. Dip Nutter Butter cookies into white chocolate, and place on aluminum foil. Refrigerate or freeze.

3. Melt other half of white chocolate the same way, slowly add in your food coloring until your chocolate is gray. Once again, dip the Nutter Butters in on both sides, and laying down on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Refrigerate or freeze.

4. With your frosting divided in two separate bowls, dye one half green, and the other half black. To get a good BRIGHT green color, I added some yellow drops until it was less bluish green and more like grass.

5. After your ghosts and gravestones have hardened, remove from the fridge/freezer. Write "RIP" on the gravestones, and give the ghosts faces with the black decorating gel.

6. Frost your cupcakes, half in green, and the other half in black. Sprinkle hot cocoa powder over the green ones to be 'dirt'. If you'd like, you could make all of the frosting green, so as to make a 'haunted graveyard', but there are plans for haunted house cupcake liners in the near future so the ghost will have a place to haunt. It is entirely up to you, of course, as making cupcake liners will be a lot more work.

When you frost the grass, be sure to make the frosting very 'rough' so as to mimic grass, and keep the black very smooth so as to mimic a floor.

7. Using a spoon, dig a small sort of 'ditch' in the center of your cupcakes (this will prevent the cupcakes from cracking in half), then place the graves and ghosts in their appropriate cupcakes.

8. Indulge!

I didn't realize how fantastic this was going to be until I got to eat one of the gravestones that broke in half. Apparently Peanut butter + White chocolate is ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD. I was very pleased, and the fact that there is a moist chocolate cupcake to go along with it makes things even better.

Coming up this week I have stencils, my first cake -pops- and a haunted house to put that ghost inside. While I am rather tired, I can't wait to see how everything turns out!

How To Impress People Without Actually Being Impressive IV: Truffles!

There's something about the words 'white chocolate' that really impresses people. It's not like it's any different, or more expensive than other chocolates, but there's something about it that makes people think of fancy occasions and baked goods that you can only find in bakeries, made by people who went to college to get some kind of white chocolate degree.

Certainly these were not made in a kitchen, or photographed in a living room!

And then, you follow 'white chocolate' by the word 'truffles' and suddenly people are really waiting to hear you speak. Their ears perking up at the idea of gourmet truffles, and their brains working at full capacity trying to figure out what kind of rich and genius person you are.

The secret is: white chocolate is just like any other chocolate, and truffles are really, really easy to make.

What You'll need:

- 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 24 oz. chocolate chips (I used white chocolate, but any kind will do)
- 20 oz. Melting chocolate (I used vanilla flavored almond bark, but as long as it's chocolate, and you can melt it, it will work)
- Miniature cupcake liners (optional)
- Optional add ins (Liquor, nuts, etc....I omitted these things but simply added some sprinkles)

How To Do It:

1. In a sauce pan, bring your heavy whipping cream to a simmer.

2. Slowly whisk in chocolate chips. after chocolate is melted, now would be the time to add any add ins, if you want.
2a. White chocolate is slightly different than other chocolate in that it will not be as thick as, say, milk chocolate ganache right off the bat. If using white chocolate, put in fridge for about 60 - 90 minutes, stirring it with a fork or whisk occasionally.

3. Leave your ganache in the fridge for about 2 - 3 hours until it's cold and able to be molded.

4. Using either gloved/washed hands or a melon baller, roll your ganache into balls. Leave these in your fridge for at least 4 hours (overnight would be ideal).

5. Melt your chocolate, and using a spoon, roll each truffle in the chocolate. Place either directly on your miniature cupcake liners (if desired) or wax paper. If you are adding sprinkles, nuts, or whatever else as decoration, add it on while the chocolate is still a little warm.

6. Cool in refrigerator for 15 - 20 minutes to solidify the chocolate.

7. Truffles can be served cold, but are best at room temperature!

Although these are somewhat time consuming with refrigeration, they're a great dessert, and you're certain to impress everyone. Enjoy!

How to Make Cake Truffles Without Using Frosting (How To Impress People Without Actually Being Impressive III)

If you're anything like me, you've had a Starbucks addiction since there was one digit in your age (yes, I know I'm showing my age :P). Maybe it started with their hot chocolate, or those chocolate-covered graham crackers next to the register, and soon it was frappuccinos and Coldplay CDs when you were young and full of angst, then one day you had a paper due the next day and you sucked down that black coffee for hours until they closed. Then one day, even further down the line, you realized you're a grown up and you're sitting by their fire place drinking a half-caff mega galactic whatever-ma-bob mochaccino with your New York Times, and one of their muffins and you think "Oh Dear God. I have to kick this habit."

So you stay away. You start brewing coffee at home, and soon you're looking at prices of espresso machines at 2 A.M. and Googling "How do I make a blueberry streusel muffin like Starbucks?" because it's been like two whole weeks since you've had one, but you're so close to overcoming your addiction. And then one day, word gets to you. They have cake truffles. On a stick.

How can you compete? What does that even mean? How can cake be a truffle?

Let me tell you, you can stop googling "Cake Pop + Starbucks", because I've beat the competition. With three ingredients and almost no time at all, you can make cake pops better than those guys, and impress everyone you know.

Most cake truffle recipes call for frosting, which to me, sounds too sugary, too distracting, and doesn't let the cake reach peak moisture for optimum enjoyment. By using flavored creamer, not only can you add diversity to your truffles, but you can turn around and have matching-flavored coffee (or a latte, if you bought that espresso machine at 2 A.M.). A lot of truffles are also covered in just plain melted chocolate, but I used ganache instead because, well, it's tastier. If you're feeling adventurous, you could always cover your layer of ganache with a layer of chocolate...who could say no to that?

If you made my Oreo Cheesecake, then you already have some of the stuff you need, if you didn't, here's the whole recipe.

What you'll need:

I already have ganache made, but if you don't, it's very easy!

-A cake (I used a Dark Chocolate Box mix)
-Ganache (Heavy Whipping cream + Chocolate Chips)
-Flavored creamer

How to make it:

1. Break your cake up into chunks and place in a large mixing bowl.

2. Using a fork, break it up into crumbs. This will take awhile, so I would recommend putting on an episode of your favorite sitcom to make things a little more interesting as you do so.

3. I did not measure out my creamer, I put it in slowly, and moistened all crumbs with a fork. I put in enough that it's almost like wet dough (If I were to guess, I'd say close to 1/4th of a cup for one 9" round cake). It should be moist enough to stick together, but not puddle-y. Add slowly, and stop when it seems right. For me, I thought 'this is just a tad too wet!', and they were perfect.

4. If you're looking for perfect proportions, ou can use a melon-baller, but I just used my hands to roll the gooey crumbs into balls.

5. Freeze for 60 - 90 minutes.

6. When your truffles are in the freezer, make some ganache. To do this, use a 1:3 ratio of Heavy Whipping Cream:Chocolate (I used 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can make more or less). Heat the heavy whipping cream in a sauce pan until it's simmering, then slowly add the chocolate chips. Stir in with a fork or whisk until a thick, frosting-like substance is formed. This is ganache. Know it. Love it. It is your friend. If you already have leftover ganache, microwave for about a minute.

7. With the help of a spoon, roll your truffles in the ganache.

8. Decorate if desired (rainbows for me, of course!)

9. Keep refrigerated until serving. They will get a little melty, so be sure to keep them cold.

The insides will be moist and gooey, and the outside will provide a wonderful thick chocolate shell. I used french vanilla and dark chocolate and they turned out wonderfully! Some other good combinations would be amaretto cream with chocolate cake, or hazelnut with chocolate, caramel with white cake, or you could get adventurous! I use a lot of flavored creamers, and I can tell you that they have white chocolate macadamia nut, butter pecan, chai, toffee...so many to choose from, and combine with different kinds of cake!

Experiment, and impress people with this simple recipe, and tell Starbucks to fuck off once and for all.

How to impress People Without Actually being Impressive Part II: Oreo Cheesecake Cake.

I know it's been a long hiatus, but with moving, and then trying to come up for air from all the drowning I've been doing for this year's Camp NaNoWriMo, I haven't had much time to focus on anything else. I'm still rather behind in my novel, but nonetheless, I look forward to making a victory post on September 1st.

So I'm not here regarding writing, I'm here regarding cheesecake! I know cheesecake intimidates a lot of people, but it's actually really easy. I think this is another one of those things that people assume is difficult because it's delicious. It's not as difficult as it is time consuming...it's actually rather difficult to mess up. What I've made today is my 2nd cheesecake ever, and my 2nd ever Double Decker cheesecake. It's an invention of my own inspired by a cheesecake I made for my Dad's birthday, but instead of red velvet, it's Oreo!

This cake cuts a lot of corners, which is why it's really impressive, but wonderful for beginners. Here's what you're going to need, and alternatives with be in Italics

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

- 32 Oreos processed into crumbs (Or About 2 cups of packed Oreo crumbs). Even more alternatively, if you don't have a food processor or Oreo crumbs at your disposal, double bagging them, and using a rolling pin and all of your patience will work, too (I should know, it's what I did).
- 5 1/3 TBS melted butter

For the Ganache:

 - 1 Cup (1/2 Pint) Heavy Whipping Cream
- 24 Oz. Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

For the Cake:

- I used a Pillsbury Box Cake (I used 'Dark Chocolate'), but if you are opposed to this and looking to make a cake from scratch, I recommend this recipe.

For the Cheesecake:

- 3 8 Oz. Packages Cream Cheese (Room temperature)
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 1/2 TBS. All Purpose Flour
- 2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 3 Large Eggs.
- 10 Oreos, Diced

Topping (Optional)

-  7 Oreos (cut 6 in half, one whole one in the middle)
- Oreo Frosting (I found some pre-made in the grocery store, otherwise a buttercream frosting with Oreo bits in it will also work)
- Melted White Chocolate (Approximately 3 - 4 Oz.)
- Any remaining Ganache

So here's what we will be building:

It's got an Oreo Crumb crust, followed by a layer of ganache, with an Oreo cheesecake on top of that, a chocolate cake on top of THAT, the sides of said cake are frosted with Cookies N' Cream frosting, which is then covered with white chocolate, then drizzled with ganache, and for the final touch you will adorn it with Oreos.

If this is not what you want, turn back now. You are in Sweet Tooth territory.

How to Make It:

Cake:

1. Make your cake, either according to the package directions, or the directions of the AllRecipes link I have provided. If you are making a box cake, you will make two 9" cakes. Save the other cake, I will tech you how to make truffles with it this week :).
2. After your cake(s) have baked, let them cool completely, then put them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Crust and Ganache:

1. To make the crust, butter a 9" Springform pan and place on baking sheet. Combine the melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl.
2. Toss with a fork to moisten all crumbs. Press into a thin layer, covering the bottom and 3" up the sides of the springform.
3. In a sauce pan, heat the whipping cream to a simmer, then ad chocolate chips. Whisk until a smooth ganache has formed.
4. Pour 1 - 1.5 cups of the ganache over the bottom of the crust.
5. Freeze until the ganache is firm (About 30 minutes). Reserve the remaining ganache. Keep at Room temperature.

Cheesecake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Beat in the flour. Add in the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Beat in eggs one at a time.
3. Dice up your 10 Oreos into small chunks and add them (I added the filling and everything)
4. Pour filling over cold ganache in the crust. Bake until the top is lightly brown, puffed and cracked at the edges (my original recipe said about an hour, it took mine an hour and a half).
5. Cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then transfer to refrigerator and let cool for about 3 - 4 hours.

Toppings, and putting it all together:

1. Take your cake out of the freezer and place it on a smooth surface (like a cutting borad, or I personally used a baking sheet) Frost the sides of the cake with your Cookies n' cream frosting. Using a spatula and all your natural graces, lift the cake and place on top of the cheesecake.
2. Melt your white chocolate, and spread over the top of your cake with a butter knife.
3. Heat up your ganache slightly and drizzle over the white chocolate layer. If you have a ton left, keep it at room temperature. you can use these for cake truffles (which i will write a tutorial for this week, as stated earlier).
4. Place in freezer for 15 - 20 minutes to let the white chocolate and ganache harden.
5. Make 12 gobs of cookies n' cream frosting along the edge of your cake, place 1/2 an oreo on each one.
6. Place one last gob of frosting in the center, and place an entire Oreo.
7. FEAST.

I would recommend taking this cake out of the fridge for about 15 - 20 minutes before cutting, otherwise it's very difficult to cut through all the layer gracefully (my first piece was more like a crumb cake..), but it's so good! Each bite has a different amount of everything in it and is like a different cake every time. my cheesecake came out a little under-sweet, but it compliments the over sweetness of everything above and below it. All in all, a very decadent treat. I hope you guys like this, because I know I did! ;)

I will be back sometime this week to show you how to make cake truffles (so don't waste your money on Starbucks cake pops!), and like I said, am looking forward to returning here on September 1st to tell you all that I finished my 3rd novel.

Would You Like Fries With That?

My Dad loves food. My Dad eats whatever he wants, however he wants, and doesn't feel bad about it. Growing up with a Dad like this is a blessing and a curse. While I am the same way with my eating, I tend to be less healthy because of it. I've finally started figuring out that it's okay to eat healthy, even if my Dad gives me a hard time about it.

Almost every occasion I can, I make my Dad food. It's usually dessert, and I think I do this because he really does love ooey gooey in-your-face fattening high-cholesterol extra grease never-ever-low-fat AWESOMENESS. It also gives me an opportunity to partake in said awesomeness, as well. So when I found a book of crazy cupcakes, I guess it somehow turned into a Father's Day tradition.

So last year I made my Dad Chocolate Moose for Father's Day. No, not a typo. They were chocolate cupcakes that looked like moose. So this year, to keep the tradition going, I decided to do another kind of crazy cupcake. These are  much simpler, but still have that 'wow' factor.

I know you're thinking "How is putting french fries on top of cupcakes 'wow-ing'?" Well, that's just it. They're not fries! They're pound cake!

I got the idea from "What's New, Cupcake?", and it's so simple. Not only that, but this is the 5th idea I've taken from that book, and all of them have been fun and easy. I highly recommend this book.

What You Need:

- Box of cake mix (I used Pillsbury Golden Butter Recipe)
- Frosting (I used the canned stuff. For this one I used a 12 oz. can of "Whipped Cream" frosting and I loved it! Easy to use, and you can do a lot with a little). If you do make your own, you'll need 12 - 16 oz.
- 1 pound of thawed pound cake (It will be in the frozen section. Yes, get the big one.)
- Crinkle cut vegetable cutter.
- Red food dye.
- Both regular size and mini cupcake tins.

How To Make This:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


2.. To make an extraordinary box cake mix, ignore the directions on the back. Use 4 eggs, a cup of buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, use a cup of milk, a tablespoon of lemon juice, stir and wait 10 minutes), and however much oil it calls for on the package (usually 1/3rd cup). Stir it all together.

Golden buttery goodness.

3. Make your cupcakes! Mine ended up making 17 regular size and 8 mini.


4. Cut off the ends of your pound cake using your crinkle cutter. Cut your pound cake into 1/2" thick slices, then cut the pound cake crosswise into 1/2" strips. Put your "fries" on 2 greased baking sheets.

5. Preheat your broiler to high. Toast the poundcake strips under the broiler until golden (about 20 - 30 seconds). Turn the pieces and continue toasting until all sides are golden brown (I just used my fingers. Tongs were kind of awkward, and the poundcake isn't actually all that hot). Repeat with the other tray. Let them cool.

6. Tint about 1/4 cup of your frosting red (I used a little more). Frost the mini cupcakes with the red frosting for the cups of ketchup.

7. Frost the regular size cupcakes with the white frosting.

8. Arrange your fries on top of your cupcakes.

9. Feast!

I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. I also highly recommend buying "What's New, Cupcake?" if novelty cupcakes sound like a hobby you want to pick up. I can definitely assure you that you will impress people every single time.

How to Impress People Without Actually Being Impressive: Part 1

I think about this a lot. People tend to be very impressed with me when I do very simple things. I don't know exactly what the "X" factor is that impresses people, but maybe I can figure it out if I write out the things that impress people.

First thing: Macaroni and cheese!

My most recent cheesy creation: Mac n' Swiss Cheese with diced ham.

I have made homemade macaroni a ton of times, and every time, people act as though I have just turned lead into gold. In all honesty, you probably have most (if not all) of the ingredients in your house right now, and get this: The recipe is on the back of boxes of elbow macaroni. I can't speak for all brands, but every box of elbow macaroni I've ever bought has had the recipe right there on it. You don't even need to look that far for this, but I'll provide the recipe here.

What you'll need:

16 Oz. package of noodles (I like to use rotini, or large elbow macaroni...but really: any noodle works)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper (I like pepper a lot, and use 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon, but really it's just to taste).
3 - 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (Or whatever kind of cheese. Protip: Buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself with a cheese grater, it'll be cheaper that way Protip again: Don't get supermegacheap cheese. It -will- taste funny. I have tried this before, and honestly, just spend the extra dollar.)
1 Cup breadcrumbs (Optional, and I personally do not use them)

How to do it:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).
2. Cook and drain noodles according to directions on package. Rinse with cold water and set aside.
3. Melt butter in large saucepan.
4. Add flour, salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir in until well blended.
5. Pour milk in gradually, stirring constantly.
6. Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
7. Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) for 10 minutes. By now your flour and milk should feel somewhat thick (not extremely, but just noticeably.). That means you're doing it right.
8. Add shredded cheese little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted.
9. Remove from heat.
10. Add noodles to saucepan and toss to coat with cheese sauce.
11. Transfer noodles to a lightly greased baking dish.
12. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs (if that's your sort of thing)
13. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

There. That's it. If I can give any advice, don't skimp on the salt and pepper, and don't buy cheap cheese (I restate it, because it's important) and people will be impressed in no time. I honestly can not express the amount of times people have been impressed with just the -idea- that I ca make homemade macaroni and cheese.

So go. Go make some nom noms.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

I'm having a very hard time writing about this. Not because I messed it up. Not because it wasn't good, not even because it was hard. But, rather, because I did it...successfully.


I see a lot of recipes day-to-day, especially ones for dessert. I seek them out and have more desserts bookmarked on my computer than anything else. I couldn't care less about making savory dinners, yet I am passionate about sweets. Making a dessert is like making a work of art every time for me, and after making this I feel like I've been finger painting my whole life and finally discovered a paintbrush, and can now properly do this form of art.

I did not have enough food dye!

This cake didn't start off on a good note. After putting all the ingredients out in front of me I realized: Crap. I've never made a cake from scratch. Or a cheesecake. Or a successful ganache. I ended up picking up my 2/3 cup instead of my 1/2 cup for adding the flour, and didn't realize it until the end. I used my instincts and added enough buttermilk until it seemed like a batter consistency. Then, on top of that, I didn't have nearly enough red food dye, and it turned into a bit of a mauve velvet cake.

Mauve-Tan Velvet cake?

When I started making the cheesecake, I realized I was short an entire 8 oz. of cream cheese. What, seriously? It worked out, though, since everything was in 3rd...I cut out a 1/3rd of all the other ingredients. It all ended up working out. I was so happy that I had overcome 2 real issues by now! On top of that, the cake baked quite beautifully. The crust burned a little bit, so I will have to figure that out, but my Dad didn't seem to mind.

The ganache was easy! I tried it once before, and ended up with a chocolate soup that sat in my fridge for days while I hopelessly thought "Please harden!"...and ended up throwing it away after all was said and done. This worked out really well, and I had a hard time not eating it as I was baking the cake.

First complete success!

My last hurdle was the frosting. I thought it would be easy, but I was making this 10 minutes before my Dad was arriving, and I guess I was too stressed, because it tasted like butter....and that was it. Butter. I ended up throwing all of it in the garbage and dumped the remainder of the ganache on top of the cake, along with some white chcolate, strawberries and BAM.

Beaut'

Happy Daddy :)

I made it. It was delicious. It was not the most successful cake ever, but I DID IT! I couldn't even believe it. I basically made 2 cakes, both of which had some issues, but I got through all of them with my own confidence and intuition. I made something that absolutely overwhelmed me, and it was wonderful. It was successful, and I'm looking forward to making a creation of my very own.