BAKE 52

SPICED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

AND

RED VELVET LAYER CAKE

Okay, here's the thing.  You know how I've been having camera issues?  Well I couldn't get my pictures to download last week, so I COMPLETELY forgot about posting last weeks recipe!  So here's the scoop on the red velvet layer cake:
LOVED IT!  Actually, I fell in love with the cake and the frosting.  I think I have a new favorite cream cheese frosting now!  It was so, so, good.  I could have eaten the whole bowl of frosting.   Combine that with the cake and it was just dangerous all around.  Janet was the host for last week and you can get the recipe HERE.

On to the cheesecake:
Like I've said before, I could bake the rest of the year with pumpkin recipes, and since I have never tried pumpkin cheesecake before, I was all for this one.  Aside from my texture issues, I loved the flavor and crust.  I must admit, I can be a lazy baker and cheesecake is time consuming, but for the sake of fall, Thanksgiving, or just delicious-smelling kitchens, go bake some spiced pumpkin cheesecake.  Amanda was our host and you can get the recipe at her blog HERE.

BAKE 52

APPLE DUMPLINGS

Uhhh...Talesha, your picture is blurry and where are the dumplings?  

Good question. 

First, my camera broke and so now I get to use my cell phone to take pictures.  Lovely.  

Second, you know when your just to lazy to check what the recipe for the week is so you ask your friend and she tells you it's apple turnovers and then you guys realize you could use that recipe to serve at book club and get all crazy with fun Halloween recipes and turn the apple turnovers into bloody intestines?
  Good, then you know what happened to my dumplings! 

I still want to try the apple dumplings, but I must say, those intestines were delicious!  And they looked really cool too!  (See Michelle's blog for a much better picture). 

Check out Emily's blog for the apple dumplings recipe.  They are so cute and look scrumptious! 

BAKE 52

CREME CARAMEL

Creme caramel sounds much better than plain old custard, but that's pretty much what this is.   Except with caramel, but I didn't think it improved the flavor any.  I'm not a custard fan due to texture, look, and taste, and after this recipe, I'm still not.  However, it was a really cool process with the caramel because it set up like a hard sucker on the bottom of the ramekin, but after baking it seeped into the custard so that when you turned the custard out it had a beautiful dark golden color on top that was just as soft as the custard.  It also left a liquid caramel that drizzled over the surface, but I didn't love the taste of it (which is weird because I love caramel).

     Oh, and one more thing about the caramel.  When a recipe says to be careful handling the caramel because it gets extremely hot--heed the caution.  Otherwise, you end up with a beautiful blister like this:(

     If you like custards, give this a try, and if you don't, it's still fun to make and you can take it to a neighbor.

 Michelle was our host this week and you can get the recipe over at her blog HERE.

BAKE 52: WEEK 42

OATMEAL SCONES

This was the first time for me making "real" scones.  The "fake" scones I make for dinner are more of an Indian fry-bread, but I was raised calling them scones and scones they will always be.  These "real" scones reminded me of biscuits and they are just as easy and simple to make.  I usually borrow a food processor since I don't have one (gasp, I know!), but I just made it with my handy dandy KitchenAid and they turned out fine.  I thought they would be dense and heavy, but they were actually very soft inside and very filling.  I served them for lunch with honey and jam and a big glass of milk.
Overall, I thought them quite lovely to photograph and fun for a change, but it's not something I think I will be craving.  Jennifer O. was our host this week and you can get the recipe at her blog, HERE.

BAKE 52: WEEK 41

PUMPKIN SHEET CAKE

I'm so glad my fellow bakers are liking pumpkin right now too!  I seriously think I could finish off the year with a pumpkin recipe each week--given the book had that many pumpkin recipes and I supplemented with chocolate on even days:)
Needless to say, I loved the pumpkin sheet cake.  The cake was light and moist and the cream cheese frosting was smooth and tangy.  I thought 3 cups of frosting was a bit much so I cut the recipe in half and that was perfect.  Also, I don't know about anyone else, but sheet cake to me means baking in a big ol' cookie sheet not a regular 13 by 9-inch baking pan, so that's what I did--and I ain't even Texan.  We had lots of yummy cake all day long and you could have seconds without the guilt (thirds and fourths didn't feel bad either!).  Betsy was our host this week and you can get the recipe at her blog, HERE.

BAKE 52: WEEK 39

SPICED PUMPKIN BREAD

The only good thing about summer ending is the beginning of fall!  Not the middle or end, just the the beginning, when the days are still warm and the mornings and evenings are comfortable in a sweater.  When I can bring out the candle scents I've been craving since last fall.  When the sun light is softer and the house is quieter and I feel like baking every scent I'm burning.

  No other season brings out the baker in me like fall (although every season requires a good amount of baking!).  So what better kick-off to this season than a yummy spiced pumpkin bread?  And since I really felt like celebrating, I took the bread and my family on a picnic dinner in the mountains.  We were at Sundance, surrounded by the beauty of fall leaves, but it was the pumpkin bread that all eyes were on for the few minutes of its delicious existence.  We (even the fussies) absolutely loved this bread! This will be my go-to recipe now for pumpkin bread.  

I loved how much actual pumpkin was in the loaf and that it was moist without being sticky, which sometimes happens with pumpkin bread.  I omitted the nuts and cranberries since I'm not a huge fan of either, and threw in some mini chocolate chips instead.  Chocolate really is a must in pumpkin bread for me, but I think this bread would have been delicious plain too.  This bread just might become a staple this fall for my family.  

Even if you have a recipe you love, give this one chance!

SPICED PUMPKIN BREAD (p. 50)

Makes one 8-inch loaf

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 taspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin (unsweetened)
1 cup sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (4 ounces) pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse
1cup (5 ounces) dried cranberries (optional)

1.  Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch pan.

2.  Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger together in a large bowl.  

In a medium bowl, whisk the pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla together until smooth.  Gently fold the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined (do not overmix).  Gently fold in the pecans and cranberries (if using).  The batter will be very thick.

3.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

4.  Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn our onto a wire rack and let cool for 1 hour before serving.

BAKE 52: WEEK 38

Make Ahead French Toast Casserole

I love a breakfast dish that I can make the night before and throw in the oven the next morning.   So, I was excited to try the Make Ahead French Toast Casserole, hoping to add a new recipe to my breakfast casseroles.
Unfortunately, this recipe did not make the cut.  The name sounds yummy, the taste not so much.  It was more of a quiche than anything, and even though I mostly like quiches, I don't when they try to pass off as french toast.
I'm not really sure what I was expecting, something amazing I guess.  Even the buttery brown sugar topping didn't do much for me.  The whole thing was bland and yet, oddly enough, too heavy and rich (if that can even happen) and too many calories to even justify (and I am the queen of justifying calories).     

It's always fun to try new things, though, and find what works for your family.  Valerie was our host this week and you can get the recipe at her blog, HERE.