White Cake Strawberry Shortcake

This was a quick dessert to pull together. I've been hunting for a great white cake recipe, I tried this one. I thought it was going to be different but actually worked much better for a strawberry shortcake anyway. I thought it was going to be incredibly moist and have those tender crumbs just falling away from it. But actually, it was more of a cross between angel food cake and a dense white cake. It was not too spongy but still had alittle bounce to it. I'm glad it kept a firm shape which is great for layering- thus, perfect for filling with strawberry pie filling and topping with fresh strawberries and fresh cream.

Finally a vanilla cake that doesn't taste like pancakes!

Note: I halved the recipe, not sure if that had anything to do with the results. Also, my butter may have been too soft and I think I overmixed the batter. Next time, I would just add all the milk/eggs in at the same time instead of in two parts because thats when the batter looked thicker. I probably overbaked it too, which is bad for vanilla cakes!!

White Cake Strawberry Shortcake
Adapted from: Piece of Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, softened but still cold
1 can strawberry or cherry pie filling (optional, for filling)

Directions
To make the cake, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

In a large measuring cup, whisk together the milk, egg whites and vanilla. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt at low speed. With the mixer running on low speed, add the butter pieces one at a time until the mixture resembles fine, even crumbs. Stop the mixer and add all but about 1/2 cup of the wet ingredients. Beat the batter at medium speed until it is pale and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. With the mixer running on low, slowly pour in the rest of the wet ingredients, then crank the speed back up to medium and beat for 30 seconds more. Scrape down the bowl and beat for 30 more seconds.

Divide the batter equally among the two cake pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean–do not overbake. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment and cool completely, right side up.

White Chip Lemon Streusel Bars

Revisited this recipe. Now I can add some pictures.

They were less lemony as usual and I think that's because I use bottled lemon juice instead of squeezing fresh lemons. I'll make the extra effort from now on.

<3

White Chip Lemon Streusel Bars
Adapted from: Hershey's Kitchens

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Premier White Chips, divided
2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups regular rolled or quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup toasted pecan pieces*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon shortening

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Combine sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and lemon peel in medium bowl; set aside. Measure out 1/4 cup and 1/3 cup white chips; set aside. Add remaining white chips to lemon mixture.

Beat butter and brown sugar until blended in large mixer bowl. Stir together flour, oats, pecans, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, blending well. Remove 1-2/3 cups oats mixture; set aside. Add egg to remaining mixture, blending until crumbly. Press egg/crumb mixture on bottom of prepared pan. Gently spoon lemon mixture on top, spreading evenly. Add reserved 1/3 cup white chips to reserved crumb mixture. Sprinkle over lemon layer, pressing crumbs lightly.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on wire rack. Place remaining 1/4 cup white chips and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 30 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Drizzle over bars. Allow drizzle to set; cut into bars. Makes about 24 bars.

*To toast pecans: Heat oven to 350°F. Spread pecans in thin layer in shallow baking pan. Bake 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown; cool.

Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes

My new mini muffin tin wanted me to bake these. I'm happy I found key limes too. I think they are a bit fruiter than regular limes.

So only two things went wrong. I'm guessing the lime juice helps cook these cheesecakes because the first couple of batches came out too tough. The last batch I was careful not to overbake- and the texture came out better. I tried baking the last of the batter in a ramekin (yes, I had to google the spelling) and it came out even creamier. So I think this recipe is actually better not in mini form. Hmmph.

Secondly, I wanted to top it off with lime swiss meringue buttercream. I was very careful not to overcook the egg whites. I was careful to keep whipping past soft peaks to fully stiff peaks. I made sure my butter was completely at room tempature and added it in, a half tablespoon at a time. It was beautifully smooth- the butter didn't make it soupy this time. And then, I added the lime juice. The buttercream curdled. I kept mixing but it didn't come together. Next time, I think it may be best to use lime extract, lime curd, or lime pudding or anything thats not too liquidy.

Last note: I didn't make the cheesecake healthy. I used regular fatty cream cheese and 3/4 regular sugar. But I didn't add any sugar in the crust- does that count? Again, don't over bake. I would bake it at 325 degrees for 45 minutes if using a springform pan and at 300 degrees for only 18 minutes in a muffin tin.

Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes
Adapted from: Taste of HomeCrust
3/4 cup graham crackers crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a springform pan.

Filling
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, cubed
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/3 cup key lime or lime juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons grated lime peel

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheeses, sugar substitute, sugar and flour until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the sour cream, lime juice, vanilla, and lime peel. Pour filling onto crust.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Chill overnight. Refrigerate leftovers.

Lime Swiss Meringue Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
Pinch of coarse salt
1½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (important, cannot be cold at all)
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

Directions
To make the frosting, combine the sugar, egg whites, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer (or a heatproof mixing bowl) and set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the sugar has dissolved. If you rub the mixture between your fingers, it should feel smooth and not gritty.

Transfer the bowl to your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.
Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (don’t worry, it will come together, though it may take a long time!)  Add the lime juice and mix until fully incorporated and smooth.

Mini Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecakes

I had this recipe saved on my favorites list for a few months. I was excited all week to make them and thought they'd be cute for brownie halaqa. Unfortunately it was cancelled but had so much fun at Sabrin's and was happy I still got to share them. :)

We didn't have cooking/baking spray so I lightly greased the bottom of the muffin tin and baked the first batch. The recipe says to bake the crust first (which I normally don't do for cheesecakes even if it says to) but I did it anyway to be sure the cheesecake came out easily from the tin. Well, the crust smelt and tasted burnt. I don't know if it's because of the crisco or because it was baked first and then baked again with the cheesecake batter so the next batch I washed the pans, did not grease it, and did not prebake the crust. Much better. And it still comes out easily from the tin. Just cool them and separate them from the pan with a thin knife.

I loved the ganache used as the icing - after it chilled up, it was so dense and smooth.

Adaptations: 

• No need to add sugar to the crust. Oreos are sweet.
• Don't grease/spray the pan.
• Don't prebake the crust. 
• It says to use 2-3 teaspoons of crumbs for each cheesecake. I found that you should only use one teaspoon for a better ratio of cheesecake to crust.
• Keep it simple and just add 2 eggs (or 3 eggs if you double the recipe like I did)
• Fill each cheesecake to the top of the pan. They will rise when baking, and collapse flat when cooled.
• After the ganache cooled to room tempature, I whipped it to add volume and then piped it.  

Rich Cheesecake Bars

Another recipe from that Taste of Home cookbook/magazine. I think I just wanted to try these because it was cake- but it had the word cheesecake in the title. Two birds. One stone.

Actually I made these with the thought that the cream cheese topping was going to seep into the cake batter as it baked, making these incredibly moist and gooey. Unfortunately, no seeping action occured.

I doubled the recipe because I've only seen cake mix come in 18 oz. boxes and made it in a 13x9 inch pan. I baked it for 30 minutes like the recipe says to but forgot that I used a larger pan so I think I overbaked it alittle.

It didn't taste like cheesecake and I wasn't expecting it to- the cream cheese is just used to make these into a gooey, buttery treat but they probably would have been a little softer if I didn't brown the edges so much. I think they taste like pound cake- but sweeter. Honestly, I probably won't make them again because they aren't exploding with chocolate but these bars would be great for a brunch dessert.

Black Forest Cream Cheese Cake

Still eager to experiment from that Taste of Home magazine, I was very happy to try this recipe out for my friend's son's class and fortunately they came out decent enough. Of course I like how this dessert puts a spin on the classic black forest cake by adding cream cheese. After baking these up into swirled cupcakes they came out so pretty that I didn't want to hide them with cherry pie filling. I even made a cream cheese icing thinking that cupcakes just aren't complete without icing but couldn't bring myself to cover these up.

The only suggestion I would make for this recipe is to use melted chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder because that will add more flavor and let's face it- more fat. The chocolate cake lacked a deep chocolate flavor and an indulgent moist texture. If it wasn't for the cream cheese, these would have been just plain dry. Even if you just add chocolate chips, that would add much needed richness. I hope the kids liked them!

Chunky Peanut Butter Squares

These taste better than Reeses. Because they are homemade! They’re thicker, chunkier, and you can cut yourself a bar and feel like you’re eating something special instead of just buying it off the shelf. I like to use all natural chunky peanut butter- no hydrogenated oils. It comes out tasting the same or better than Jif so might as well make it healthier for you!

These are not as salty as Reeses. The peanut butter taste doesn’t taste roasted, but more natural- though still sweetened. I love semisweet chocolate on these rather than milk chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate is pretty tasty too. The peanut butter is already sweet so a darker chocolate gives it balance. If you blend your graham crackers yourself, don't worry about those stray larger pieces that don’t break up- they’ll act like peanuts and give your taste buds a surprise. I’ve also tried it with creamy peanut butter if you want it smoother and with one cup less graham cracker crumbs and sugar if you want it even smoother. 

Peanut Butter Squares

1 cup butter
1 cup chunky peanut butter (go natural!)
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening

Place butter and peanut butter in a 2-quart glass bowl. Cover with a paper towel, and microwave at HIGH 1 ½ minutes. Stir in graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar.

Press into an 11 x 7 x 1 ½ inch OR an 8 x 8 inch baking dish.

Place chocolate and shortening in a 1-cup or 2-cup glass measuring cup. Microwave at medium (50% power) for 2 minutes. Stir well- the chocolate will melt. Spread over peanut butter mixture. Cover and chill until firm, about 45-60 minutes. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

I had to save this recipe to my favorites list because of Break or Bake’s incredible photos. That’s what you call food porn!

I’m sure you’ve tried double or triple chocolate cheesecake but how about triple vanilla cheesecake? I made some adjustments to this recipe to get just that. The crust and cheesecake filling both use vanilla sugar (ingenious) but I also infused the heavy cream with Madagascar vanilla beans for extra indulgence.

These came out… well, with great vanilla flavor, of course, but what pulls it together is the crust too. It’s a butter cookie that adds alittle crunch and then melts in your mouth. I doubled the recipe to make into a springform pan but the original recipe makes these into bars.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Vanilla Sugar and Vanilla Cream
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 vanilla beans
½ cup heavy cream

Crust
1/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Filling
1 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 cup vanilla cream
4 (8-oz) packages plain cream cheese, room temperature
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

Begin this recipe a few days or a few hours in advance, by making the vanilla sugar and vanilla cream, preferably a few days in advance as the flavor will deepen with time. Place the heavy cream into a sauce pan over low heat. Split open one vanilla bean and scrape out the black vanilla specks. Place the specks and both beans (the pitted one and whole one) into the cream. Heat until it slowly simmers, for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool and then refrigerate until ready to use. Take out the beans from the cream. Place the sugar in a plastic container. Scrape out the whole bean and place the specks into the sugar. Combine well. Place the pitted beans into the sugar, cover with a lid until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, cream together the vanilla sugar and butter, until smooth and fluffy. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is like a cookie. Press evenly into a springform pan and bake for 15 minutes.

While the crust bakes, combine vanilla sugar and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in vanilla cream. Do not over mix. Add in vanilla extract and eggs one at a time, do not over mix.

Pour the filling over the hot crust when it has finished baking. Return pan to oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is just set in the center.  

Cool completely before slicing (don’t be alarmed if the cheesecake appears to deflate somewhat as it cools). Refrigerate.

Pear and Raspberry Crisp

The first time I made this with peaches and blackberries. The anise flavor went incredible with the peaches and I was sure that earthy flavor would go even better with pears. Turns out, I actually like it better with peaches! Maybe it just tasted better in good company- I really need to bake with my girlfriends more often.

None the less, this pear and raspberry crisp was still addictive- I can’t say no to fruit covered in flour and butter. So yes, the crisp was my favorite part. However, I have to say I cooked the pears perfectly so every bite of sweetness was like heaven in your mouth. The raspberries provided a great contrasting tartness.

Normally I would say don’t skimp around when it comes to ingredients. I even bought pears from Green Fields market that were outrageously good but waited too long to make this- those were gobbled up. When we tried this crisp the first time with star anise, it was very flavorful. So of course the day I want to make this our HEB, Walmart, Target, AND Sun Harvest have no star anise in sight. I bought the anise extract but to my relief found the star anise at another HEB. But again, I don’t know why I didn’t really taste it so maybe the extract would have been fine.  

Pear and Raspberry Crisp

6 large pears
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp cold water mixed with 1 tbsp cornstarch
3 star anise
1 cup raspberries
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup oats (one minute cooking oats)
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, cut in cubes
vanilla ice cream, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Peel, quarter, and core the pears. Then cut each piece in half lengthwise.
3. Combine pears, sugar, water, and star anise into a large saucepan. Cover and bring to boil.
4. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fruit is tender but still holds its shape.
5. Add cornstarch mixture and cook for a minute until it thickens.
6. Discard the star anise, and pour into a 8x8 inch baking dish.
7. Sprinkle the raspberries over the pears.
8. Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and butter in a bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
9. Sprinkle over the fruit, then bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
10. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve with ice cream.

Sticky Chocolate Brownies

There hasn’t been a brownie halaqa in like two months so I just couldn’t wait any longer. I needed some baked goods. These brownies are from Chocolate Box. They use dark brown sugar so that’s what gives these their sticky texture. When you melt the ingredients, the brown sugar doesn’t dissolve and it’ll look like seized chocolate. But not to worry, it tastes good. They bake up with a smooth, crackly top and you’ll know they’re done when they separate from the sides of the pan. I was obsessive and measured 125 grams on our little chef scale. It’s pretty close to just measuring out the chips in your glass measuring cup to 5 ounces.

Like most brownies, these taste better the next day. Unless you eat an oven warmed brownie with ice cream, try to restrain yourself. Cool them. Store them in a plastic container with a lid. Eat them tomorrow. It’s worth it! They set up more and become chewier.  

Sticky Chocolate Brownies

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ cup sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

4.5 oz/125 grams semisweet chocolate

1 tbsp corn syrup

2 eggs

1 tsp chocolate or vanilla extract

¾ cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

½ tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease with butter or shortening an 8x8 inch cake pan.

Place the butter, sugars, chocolate, and corn syrup in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the mixture is well blended and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool.

In a separate bowl, beat together eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture.

In another bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder, then fold carefully into the gg and chocolate mixture using a rubber spatula.

Spoon the prepared batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the top is crisp and smooth, and the edge of the brownies begin to separate away from the sides of the pan. The inside of the batter will still be quite heavy and soft to the touch.

Let the brownies cool completely in the pan, dust with cocoa powder if desires then cut into squares and serve.