Banana Bars with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

I made this cake because I needed to use overripe bananas and this was something new to try.  It was amazing!  It makes a ton so I delivered some to neighbors and friends, and every single one of those people came to me later and demanded the recipe.  Its such a light, fluffy, delicious "cake".  It was easy to make and the flavors are perfect together.

courtesy

• Banana Bars with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
• Mel's Kitchen Cafe
• 
  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I used three ripe bananas)
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar (you can use either granulated sugar or confectioners’ sugar – the confectioners’ sugar tends to dissolve better and not be as grainy but either one works fine)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. For the banana bars, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 x 15 inch jellyroll pan or one 9X13 pan and an additional 8X8 pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan(s). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.
2. For the frosting, in a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside. In another medium bowl, beat whipped cream until stiff peaks form (it helps to use a chilled bowl and chilled beaters). Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Frost to your heart’s delight!

Grasshopper Mint Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

I made these for a party a couple of weeks ago and I LOVED them.  They are very rich and delicious- but also a little more fussy than a regular cookie because your'e making two different cookie toppings.  It was worth it, trust me.

courtesy

Grasshopper Mint Cookies
From Six Sisters Stuff

Cookie bottom:
1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together (don't follow directions on back of cake mix).  Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes (do NOT overcook).  Let cool completely.

Peppermint Frosting:
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 Tbs. milk
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. peppermint extract
Green food coloring (I added about 8 drops to get a good color)

Mix together all the ingredients- adjust for desired consistency.  Spread on top of each cooled cookie.

Chocolate topping:
2 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup butter

Melt chocolate chips and butter together in a double boiler or microwave (for 30-second intervals, stir and repeat until fully melted).  Spread melted chocolate on each cookie using the back of a spoon to smooth.

White Texas Sheet Cake

Pic Courtesy of The Girl Who Ate Everything

I made this cake way back in July- for the 4th of July, actually. It was a kind of "Welcome to Texas" for us.:) Just kidding. Anyway, it reminded me so much of that white cake we used to eat at the school cafeteria growing up. I know- not to appetizing, but trust me- it was REALLY good. I could have eaten the whole thing myself.  And, no boxed cake mix necessary!! It came together really easily and was super moist and almond flavored (Need I say more?).

White Texas Sheet Cake

Source: AllRecipes via Life as a Lofthouse
Serves 24

                                                                                                      
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup water
2 cups all-purpose four
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup milk
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


In a medium saucepan bring butter and water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl add flour and sugar and mix. Then add in eggs, sour cream, extract, baking soda and salt. Slowly pour in the boiling butter/water mixture. Stir with a spatula until well combined and smooth.  No need to use an electric mixer. Batter will be very thin.

Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Your cake will be flat and not very tall (it's a sheet cake). Cool for about 10 minutes. You still want your cake a little warm when you add the frosting so that it spreads well.

For the frosting: In a large saucepan, combine butter and milk. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, and then stir in the powdered sugar and extract. Stir until smooth and all combined. Spread immediately over warm cake. Decorate cake with sprinkles, if desired.

Classic Chocolate Bundt Cake

Pic courtesy The Sister's Cafe

I made this cake last night for Julie's baby shower and so many people raved and requested the recipe, so here it is! It's so moist and chocolate-y but not too rich. Julie made this for a dessert contest and won second place. And, the lady that won first place was a professional baker. So, pretty impressive.

Super Moist Chocolate Bundt Cake
submitted by Melanie of The Sister's Cafe

1 devils food cake mix (Dry–don’t make it according to directions on the box)
1 -4 serving instant chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
½ cup warm water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups milk or semisweet chocolate chips (I like milk)

Place all ingredients except chocolate chips, in a large mixing bowl. Blend with electric mixer 1 minute.
Stir down sides. Continue to mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan.
Bake 45-50 minutes at 350. Cool 20 minutes. Invert onto serving platter.

Frosting:
8 Tbsp butter (not margarine)
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup evaporated milk (I used 2%-it worked great)
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Whisk in cocoa and milk. Bring mixture just to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Beat in powdered sugar with electric mixer until thickened and smooth. Pour warm frosting over warm cake. This recipe makes a lot of frosting.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake

Pic courtesy of allrecipes.com

I first got the idea for this cake from Bake or Break, but I wanted an easier, less dense version. So, I went the trusty, old allrecipes.com route and found this highly ranked beauty. Note: My cake looked nothing like picture above. I kind of mixed the Bake or Break recipe with the allrecipes.com one and came up with something totally new and scrumptious. It was like having cake that tasted like my favorite cookie.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake
adapted from allrecipes.com

1/2 c creamy peanut butter
1/2 c butter, softened
4 eggs
1 (18.25 ounce) package butter cake mix (I just used a yellow cake mix with great results)
2/3 c water
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 and grease a 9x13, bundt, 2 9-inch rounds, or whatever you want to use. Combine 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/2 cup butter or margarine. Cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each one. Add cake mix alternately with the water. Stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 min., or until cake tests done. Cool.

Optional: I put a chocolate ganache over mine, but I think it would be good plain, or with some rich or milk chocolate frosting, or even with peanut butter frosting. Most of these recipes can be found on the blog.

Pumpkin Cream Trifle

Mom sent me this recipe- they made it for Thanksgiving dinner. It sounds delicious and looks amazing. You can't go wrong with pumpkin and cream cheese.

Pumpkin Cream Trifle

1st Layer:

1 pkg. spice cake

1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding

1 c. canned pumpkin

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. water

3 large eggs

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and blend with electric mixer on low for one minute. Scrape down bowl and blend at medium for two minutes. Spray 9X13 pan and pour batter into it. Bake for 32-39 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool completely. When ready to assemble trifle, cut into 1-inch cubes.

Second Layer:

1 large pkg. instant cheesecake flavored instant pudding

2 cups cold milk

2 cups freshly whipped cream (unsweetened)

1 bag Heath Toffee bits (by chocolate chips in grocery store)

Combine pudding with milk and blend with whisk until it starts to thicken. Fold in whipped cream.

To assemble the trifle: Place 1/3 of cake into large bowl, followed by 1/3 cream mixture and then 1/3 toffee bits. Repeat two more times. Refrigerate.

Texas Sheet Cake

This recipe is another original from our sister's cookbook- submitted by Jessica. I've made it twice now and its amazing! It feeds a crowd and is great warm or cold- with or without ice cream. Plus, you should have most of these ingredients in your pantry/fridge. Next time you need a crowd-pleaser for a big crowd, put this one on your menu.

courtesy

Texas Sheet Cake

Jessica Sedgwick

For the Cake:

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1 cup butter

4 Tbs. cocoa

1 c. water

1/2 c. buttermilk

2 eggs

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix flour and sugar in large bowl. Mix butter, cocoa, and water in saucepan. Bring to boil. Turn off heat and stir into flour and sugar mixture. Add buttermilk, eggs, soda, salt, and vanilla. Stir until well mixed. Bake in greased jelly roll pan (cookie sheet) for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove cake from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips (see below) evenly over cake. Let stand about one minute- don't spread. Pour frosting evenly over all. Enjoy!

For the Frosting:

1 stick butter

4 Tbs. cocoa

6 Tbs. milk

1 lb. box powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 bag chocolate chips (use 1/2 milk or 1/2 semi-sweet, or 1 whole bag of each)

Melt all ingredients, except sugar and vanilla and barely bring to boil. Shut off heat and add sugar and vanilla. Consistency should be to pour, not spread over chocolate chips.

Chocolate Oreo Cream Cake

Photo from realmomkitchen.com

Eek! Just look at this and try not to drool! Jake made this for me for my birthday back in July and it was way too good not to share... all of my favorite things wrapped up in a very pretty package.

Chocolate Oreo Cream Cake
Recipe from realmomkitchen.com

1 pkg chocolate cake mix (I used triple chocolate)

Ingredients needed to make the cake (check the back of the box)

Filling:

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups Cool whip (I used the extra creamy kind)

12 oreo cookies, coarsely crushed

Frosting:

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder

6 Tbsp. butter, softened

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

5 to 6 Tbsp milk (or more if needed)

Prepare cake mix according to package directions for two 9-inch cake rounds. For easy removal, grease the bottom of the pan, then line it with a piece of parchment that has been cut to fit the bottom of the pan. Place the parchment in the pan and then grease the parchment and sides of the pan. Bake cake according to package directions. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan. Allow cake to cool completely.

Once cakes are completely cooled, prepare the filling by beating the cream and sugar together with a hand mixer until well blended. Fold in the cool whip until almost blended then fold in the crushed oreos. In another bowl, make the frosting by whisking together the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Then add the butter, vanilla, and milk. Blend with a mixer until smooth. Add additional milk, if needed, to make the frosting a spreadable consistency.

Now it’s time to assemble the cake. With a serrated knife, cut off the domed top off each of the rounds to make the cake even and level. Save the parts you cut off for another use. Place one round on your serving platter or cake plate. Top with half of the filling mixture; spread evenly. Place the other cake on top. Now use the remaining filling to fill in the center filling section of the cake so that the filling layer is completely even with the cake layers. You may not need all of the filling. Then cover the top and sides of the cake with the chocolate frosting.

Eggnog Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce

Pic courtesy of Sister's Cafe

This has to be one of the richest desserts I've ever eaten. And, all you have to do is look at the ingredient list to see why. I browsed all my favorite recipe sites for days looking for the perfect Christmas Eve dessert and decided to go with this one and I'm so glad I did. Everyone loved it. Even I loved it which is saying a lot because 1) I detest the taste of eggnog and 2) I detest the taste of nutmeg. But, not only did it turn out beautifully, but the caramel sauce did the perfect job of subduing the strong nutmeg flavor of the cake. I know it's a little late for a Christmas cake, but this would also be fabulous for New Year's!

Eggnog Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce
from Sister's Cafe

1 yellow cake mix (preferably with pudding in the mix)
3 T. flour
2 c. eggnog
¼ c. butter, softened
2 eggs, slightly beaten
¼ tsp. rum extract
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Beat until smooth and creamy. Pour into greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Dust lightly with powdered sugar for presentation (optional, I didn't do this).

Caramel sauce:
½ lb brown sugar (~1 1/8 c.)
½ lb butter (2 sticks)
½ lb powdered sugar (~2 cups)
½ T. cinnamon
½ qt. rich vanilla ice cream

Add all ingredients to a medium sauce pan and melt together over medium heat. Pour warm over individual servings immediately before serving.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Coulis

Pic courtesy of Annie's Eats

It's strawberry season! I first baked this little piece of work a couple months back for a friend's birthday. I just topped with a sugar glaze and it was divine. However, this last week, I was in Utah for a Demarle party I was giving, and I decided to go all the way and make the strawberry coulis (don't worry- it's just a fancy word, not fancy making) and wow, wow, wow- I was in heaven. Do yourself a favor- bookmark this, make it, and never look back.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Coulis
adapted from Annie's Eats

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, at room temperature (I used Neufchatel cheese)
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract (You can use more if you like almond flavor, but I want to taste the cream cheese!)
3 cups all-purpose flour (can use half and half cake flour)
1 tsp. salt

For the strawberry coulis:
2 cups quartered, hulled strawberries (about 12 oz.)
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a bundt pan or tube pan (line the bottom with parchment if using a tube pan). Combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, at least 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Add in the flour and salt and mix until just incorporated.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 65-75 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and allow to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

To make the strawberry coulis, combine the strawberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in a food processor or blender. Puree until very smooth, then press through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. You'll probably have to use a scraper or spoon to "push" the strawberry juice through the sieve and there'll be quite a bit of seeds mixed with a little juice in the sieve that'll kind of stop it up so you'll have to dump out the seeds and do 2-3 rounds of this. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Serve with slices of pound cake.

Trifle Spectacular

recipe from Miko Baca

1 pkg. chocolate or white cake mix prepared
1 14 0z. can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. cold h2o
3 oz. vanilla instant pudding
2 c. fresh sweetened whipped cream
2 T. orange juice, divided
2 1/2 c. sliced fresh strawberries, divided
1 pint fresh raspberries, divided
2 kiwi, peeled, sliced, and divided
1 1/2 c. cool whip, thawed for garnish
mint leaves for garnish (opt.)

Cook cake in two 9" round pans. Cool and cut one layer into 1" cubes. Freeze other layer for later use. Combine and stir milk and water in large bowl. Add pudding and beat. Chill 5 min. Fold whipped cream into pudding mixture.

Assembly:
Spread 2 c. pudding mix into a 3 qt. tall trifle dish. Arrange half the cake cubes over and then sprinkle with 1 T. orange juice. Layer with 1 c. strawberry slices, half the raspberries, and 1/3 of the kiwi slices and assemble to make the sides of the dish decorative. Repeat layers. Top with remaining pudding mixture. Garnish with cool whip and remaining fruit and mint leaves. Beautiful and impressive! * The picture shown has different fruit and lady fingers decorating the side. That's the beauty of a trifle---make it however you please!

Glazed Poppyseed Bundt Cake

Pic courtesy of My Kitchen Cafe

So, my Rendez-vous last night was a huge success. Thank you to all who attended. We had such a great time (well, at least I did:)). It was seriously so much fun talking about all the amazing Demarle products. Anyway, so I made this cake last night and EVERYONE loved it. It's seriously one of the most moist, flavorful cakes I've ever eaten. Enjoy!

Glazed Poppyseed Bundt Cake
from The Sister's Cafe

1 yellow cake mix
1 (3.5 oz) box of instant vanilla pudding
1 tablespoon poppyseeds
1/2 cup pinapple or orange juice (I used pineapple)
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sour cream (I use reduced fat)
4 eggs

Mix yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding and poppyseeds. Add juice, oil, and sour cream and mix. Add 4 eggs one at a time, mix well. Grease and flour a bundt or cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes (don't overbake).

When the cake is about 10 minutes from being done start the glaze.

Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter (1 cube)

Bring ingredients to a boil and keep bubbling until ready to pour over cake. You can either pour the glaze over the cake while it is in the pan or turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and pour the glaze over the cake that way. It is really like syrup that soaks in. (Some commenters have said that glazing the cake in the pan makes it hard to remove because the glaze gets sticky. I glazed it out of the pan and it worked great.) Give it a few minutes to soak in and then turn it out onto a cake plate. Optional: dust top of cake with powdered sugar.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Can I say Mmmm?  So rich and delicious!  Reminds me of the chocolate molten cake at Chili's.  Mmm.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

From My Kitchen Cafe Blog

*Makes an 8X8-inch pan

1 cup sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Whisk ½ cup sugar with ¼ cup cocoa powder and set aside.

Whisk the flour, remaining ½ cup sugar, remaining ¼ cup cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk milk, butter, egg yolk, and vanilla in medium bowl until smooth. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips (the batter will be stiff).

Using a rubber spatula, scrape batter into prepared pan and spread into corners. Sprinkle reserved cocoa and sugar mixture evenly over the top. Gently pour boiling water over cocoa. Do not stir.

Bake until the top of the cake is cracked, sauce is bubbling and a toothpick inserted into cakey area comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 22-24 minutes. Cool on rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

We can thank Martha for this one. Jake requested it for his birthday. It was good, but it's not the easiest recipe in the world. I guess a man can make a tough request for his 30th birthday!

Red Velvet Cake
Martha Stewart, submitted by Emily Hutchings

(Makes one 8-inch cake)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted, plus more for pans
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 one-ounce bottles liquid red food coloring
3 tablespoons lukewarm water
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, and butter again. Dust with flour, and tap out the excess; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, cocoa, and baking powder; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 15 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, salt, food coloring, and water; beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until well combined. Add reserved dry ingredients in additions, alternating with the buttermilk; beat on low speed until well combined. In a small bowl, stir together baking soda and vinegar; add to batter. Beat on medium speed for 10 seconds. Be sure not to over beat. Divide batter between prepared pans, and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove pans from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack; let stand until completely cool. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes so surfaces are level. Place a layer on a cake stand or cardboard round, and spread about 1/3 of the frosting over top. Place the second layer on top, and spread with the remaining frosting over the tops and sides of assembled cake. Transfer to refrigerator, and chill until ready to serve.

Cream Cheese Frosting

(Makes 2 cups)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 (8-ounce) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
Place butter in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, and beat until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add sugar and vanilla, and beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Fold in walnuts.

Sedgwick Birthday Cake

This gi-normous birthday cake is a Sedgwick tradition. This is my first attempt at making it, however, in the 11+ years we've been married. I've always been too intimidated by the ice cream. This picture was taken after half of it had been eaten, and the ice cream was well on it's way to melting. But you get the idea of it's delicious-ness. I can't really call it a "recipe" because nothing is homemade, but here are the instructions for making it:

Birthday Cake

Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Devil's Food moist supreme)

1 1/2 tubs of fudge frosting (the more frosting, the better!)

Mint n Chip ice cream

Cool Whip

Bake the cake in two 8-inch round pans, cool, then cut each cake in half so you have four halves. Then freeze the cakes so they are easier to work with (wrap in plastic wrap or ziploc bags). You will only use 3 of the cake layers. Frost each layer of cake, then pull the ice cream out. You have to work fast now so the ice cream doesn't melt and make a big mess. Cut the ice cream into chunks until it fits nicely on top of the bottom cake layer (use the rounded corners for the edges so it looks prettier, but it's obviously not going to be a perfect circle). Do that for 2 layers, then put cool whip on the top layer of cake/frosting. I topped it all with chocolate shavings, but you can use whatever your little heart desires (maraschino cherries look nice). Wrap wax paper around the sides of the cake, and it will make it look nicer and keep it from dripping so much. Serve slightly defrosted so the cake is moist and not dry. Try not to eat more than one slice or you might get sick. :)

Red Velvet Cake Balls

These are intense! I actually didn't have any store-bought frosting on hand so I used homemade. I think the store-bought would be better. Mine was too moist and not quite rich enough.

Red Velvet Cake Balls
from Bakerella

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.) Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. Chill for several hours - make sure they are really firm. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.) Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra - two forks also works great if your chocolate is warm enough.) Drizzle with extra chocolate bark (I used melted semisweet chocolate to drizzle on top.)

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

photo courtesy of My Kitchen Cafe

I saw Paula Deen make these on the Food Network and I couldn't resist trying them. I love a good pumpkin recipe and these definitely fit the bill. They are so moist and delicious- definitely a holiday splurge! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (can substitute 1/2 cup applesauce for 1/2 cup oil)
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Cookie Stuffed Cupcakes

I found this recipe on All Recipes. It was really good! I used my co-op cookie dough instead of making their version. It was still delicious. I'd probably just do that again or use pre-packaged cookies. I used Rachel's rich chocolate frosting that she posted about on this blog.

Cookie Stuffed Cupcakes

1 1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 c butter, softened
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1 (18.25 oz) bow yellow cake mix
1 1/3 c water
1/3 c canola oil
3 eggs

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside. Beat the butter and sugars with a mixer until smooth. Add 1 egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls; place on baking sheet, and freeze until solid, about 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

3. Beat 3 eggs in a large bowl with a mixer. Add the cake mix, water, and oil. Spoon into the cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full. Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake.

4. Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool entirely on a wire rack.

Molten Chocolate Cake

A friend made this after I had Izzy---so YUMMY...and naughty! The most moist, rich cake ever!

Molten Chocolate Cake
Veronica Hunter

1 pkg. Devil's Food Cake Mix
4 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1 1/4 c. water
1 lg. pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix

Beat all ingred. for 2 minutes; Add 2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips. Grease and flour bundt pan; Bake 350 for 50-55 min.; Cool on rack 5-10 minutes and take out of pan. Place on serving platter and prepare topping.

Topping:

1 c. heavy cream
2 c. semi-sweet chips

Melt in double broiler on low. Melt but don't let it bubble. Let sit for 10 min. then pour over center and top of cake. Serve warm with a dopple of fresh whipped cream!