Black Bottom Cake

I remember having this cake when I was a kid and have been thinking about it for a few months, but didn't get around to making it until about 3 weeks ago. It was as good as I remembered, nice and gooey.
The lack of eggs in the cake batter is not a mistake, I did a double take when I was reading through the ingredients, then cross referenced the recipe on-line and found that it really is supposed to be that way. It still turns out nice and moist and not at all crumbly.
Cake:
3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. baking cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. water
2/3 c. oil
2 Tbsp. vinegar
2 Tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt

Topping:
8 oz. cream cheese sofetened
1 egg
1/2 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
6b oz. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9X13-inch baking pan.
2. Mix all the cake ingredients and pour into pan.
3. Beat all the topping ingredients with a hand mixer; drop by spoonfuls over the cake batter.
4. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Praline Crumb Caramel Cheesecake Bars

I made these for the first time just recently and love-love them. I am a huge fan of cheesecake so anything that makes it easy to do is a-okay with me! You can find the toffee bits in the baking section of most grocery stores.

1 pouch (1 lbs 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix
1/2 c. cold butter or margarine
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. toffee bits

2 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 c. caramel topping
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Heat oven to 350. Line a 9X13 inch baking pan with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. In a medium bowl cut butter into the cookie mix, until it resembles coarse meal. Reserve 1 1/2 c. for the topping. Press remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese, sugar, flour 1/4 c. of the caramel, vanilla and egg with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooked crust. Sprinkle with remaining cookie mixture, pecans and toffee bits. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes then refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, lift foil out of the pan, cut cheesecake into squares and drizzle with remaining 1/4 c. caramel.

Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Apple Crisp

This is my mother-in-law's recipe and it is delicious. Just the right balance of salty and sweet. The topping even stays crunchy on the leftovers when reheated in the microwave. Serving it with vanilla ice cream makes it near perfection.

4 c. sliced green apples
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. water
3/4 c. sifted flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. butter

Butter a 10X6X2 baking dish. Combine the apples, cinnamon, and water. In a small bowl, combine water, flour, and salt. Crumble in the butter to resemble coarse bread crumbs. Spread over the top of the apples. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 40 minutes.

Cheddar Cheese Soup with Zucchini, Broccoli, and Carrots

This was so simple to make and delicious. I used the frozen, shredded zucchini that we had leftover from our summer garden.

2 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium zucchini, grated
1 carrot, peeled and grated (I chopped mince since I like the texture of onion)
1/2 onion, grated
1 head broccoli, chopped into mini florets
3 c. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 c. milk
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

In large saucepot, melt butter. Add garlic, zucchini, carrots and onion. Saute until veggies are tender. Stir in broccoli and broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender. Meanwhile, in another large pot, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook for a minute or two. Whisk in milk until smooth. Simmer until thickened. Whisk in cheddar cheese. Incorporate vegetable mixture into cheese sauce, whisking until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Blackberry, Lemon and Gingersnap Cheesecake Pudding

I made this for a baby shower and it was very pretty and very tasty. I loved the gingersnap crumbs, they gave it an unexpected spice that was fun because it was different from the usual graham cracker style crust in a lot of recipes. I used frozen berries since it wasn't berry season when I made it, and it turned out just fine. I also added a little bit of sugar to the whipping cream.

Lemon Curd
6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. finely grated lemon peel
1 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks

Blackberry Compote
2 c. fresh blackberries (about 12 ounces)
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. finely grated lemon peel

Assembly
4 ounces gingersnap cookies (about 16)
1 1/2 c. chilled heavy whipping cream
1/3 c. mascarpone cheese
pinch of salt

Lemon Curd:
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, cream and pinch of salt. Add eggs and egg yolks whisk to blend. Cook over medium-low heat until thick enough for mixture to leave path on the back of a spoon when finger is drawn across, stirring constantly, 6 to 7 minutes (do not boil). Strain into medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly atop lemon curd. Chill at least 8 hours or overnight.

Blackberry Compote:
Toss all ingredients in medium bowl to coat, lightly crushing some of the berries to release juices. Cover and chill until sugar dissolves and juices form, about 3 hours. Keep chilled.

Assembly:
Place cookies in large resealable plastic bag. Crush with mallet or rolling pin until largest pieces are about 1/2 inch. Using electric mixer, beat cream, mascarpone, and pinch of salt in large bowl just until peaks form. Arrange six 8-ounce parfait glasses or compote cups on work surface. Spoon 4 to 5 berries and some juices in bowl into each cup. Cover and chill remaining berries in bowl for serving. Spoon 1/4 c. mascarpone whipped cream over berries in each cup, spreading in even layers. Add generous 1 Tbsp. crush gingersnaps over. Repeat layering 1 more time with mascarpone whipped cream, lemon curd, and crushed gingersnaps. Top with remaining cream. Cover; chill desserts at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.
Uncover desserts. Spoon remaining berry mixture over and serve.

Yield:
6 servings

Toffee Apple French Toast

This was very, very good. The only change I would make to the original recipe next time would be to soak the bread overnight in the egg/milk mixture then when I’m ready to put it in the oven I would assemble it. When I made it, the bread didn’t look like there was enough of it, so I added more, then I ended up needing to add more egg/milk so it turned out slightly different than it was probably intended. Plus the bread on the top ended up being almost crouton-like, delicious, but still crouton-y. One of my concerns was that it would turn out too soggy, but I used day-old sourdough bread and it turned out very tasty. The knife that was supposed to test clean never did after about 45 minutes at 350° then another 10 at 400° so I just called it done and it was cooked through. The cream cheese mixture is very rich and buttery and using tart apples (I ended up using 3 instead of the 2 called for and sliced them instead of chopping them) makes this a perfect breakfast recipe.

8 c. cubed French bread (1 inch cubes)
2 medium tart apples, peeled and chopped
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
¾ c. packed brown sugar
¼ c. sugar
1 ¾ c. milk, divided
2 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
½ c. English toffee bits or almond brickle chips
5 eggs

1. Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 13X9 inch baking dish; top with apples. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugars, ¼ c. milk and 1 tsp. vanilla until smooth; stir in toffee bits. Spread over apples. Top with remaining bread cubes. In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs and remaining milk and vanilla; pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Yield: 8 servings

Cinnamon Roll Cherry Cobbler

I made this for the first time last night and it was good. I used cherry pie filling since I had it on hand and just stirred the red-hots into it, it turned out just fine. The cinnamon rolls are not a yeast dough cinnamon roll, they end up being more like a cinnamon pastry roll but they are very good. Our lemon glaze was pretty runny so it didn't look as appetizing drizzled over it and I'm not sure what it added to it, if anything. But I will keep this one around.

1 can (14 ½ oz) pitted tart cherries
½ c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
½ c. water
3 Tbsp. red-hot candies

1 ½ c. all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp. brown sugar, divided
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ c. shortening
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ c. milk
1 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/3 c. finely chopped pecans
½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ c. confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Drain cherries, reserving juice; set cherries aside. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, water and reserved juice until smooth. Stir in red-hots. Bring to boil, stirring constantly; cook 1-2 minutes longer or until thick and bubbly and red-hots are melted. Stir in cherries; heat through. Transfer to a greased 8” square baking dish.
In a bowl, combine the flour, 3 Tbsp. brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening until crumbly. Combine egg and milk; stir into crumb mixture just until blended. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3-4 times. Roll into a 14” X 10” rectangle. Spread with butter; sprinkle with pecans. Combine cinnamon and remaining brown sugar; sprinkle over top.
Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with short side. Cut into eight slices; place cut side down over cherry pie filling. Bake at 400˚ for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cobbler.

Yield: 8 servings