Tag Archives: cream cheese

Whoopie – it’s fall!

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pumpkin whoopie pies cream cheese maple dessert fall

Obligatory pumpkin post? No way. Are you kidding me? I love this stuff!

Well it’s officially fall now. It’s chilly and dark and warm apple cider is necessary to survive an apartment with the air conditioning still on. While I’ve started to enjoy my tall boots and chunky sweaters – I’m really for some actual fall. No more of this rain business. I’m looking for a crisp day full of sunshine and golden leaves…a day just like this one last year.

pumpkin whoopie pies cream cheese maple dessert fall

I’ve done pumpkin cupcakes and pumpkin cheesecake so I wanted to try something different this time around. Whoopie pies have all the flavors of a cupcake that I love but just with a little twist. Also they were easily portable (lined up in a little box) to bring to work. I halved this recipe but that was just silly because it only made nine pies and of course that’s not enough.

What’s your favorite, go-to fall recipe? Pumpkin recipe? Let’s share!

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Nothing is perfect

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flourless chocolate cake imperfect messy cream cheese swirl

It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.

You know that phrase. You’ve probably heard it way too many times.

I’ve been bad though. I’ve forgotten about it over and over. I’ve been so focused on destinations recently. What do I want to do? Where do I want to go? I’ve had this compulsive urge to figure it out. And figure it out quickly.

But nothing is perfect. And I can’t know exactly where life with take me. As a compulsive planner this is very difficult for me grasp.

Trying to remember this while planning/not planning my life of course stresses me out. And so of course that makes me want to get in the kitchen and bake something delicious and comforting. Ah. My need to control things. Ah. It all makes sense now.

Anyway…late one night last week I had this urge to bake something warm and gooey and chocolatey. I was running low on flour but I had a block of cream cheese I wanted to use so I found a recipe for a flourless chocolate cake with a cream cheese swirl.

It didn’t all go as planned though. I didn’t have semi-sweet chocolate, just milk chocolate chips. I think I put way too much espresso in the mix. And the whole thing stuck to the bottom of the pan, so I had to rip out chunks of it piece by piece.

It wasn’t the perfect chocolate cake I wanted. It didn’t look pretty. It didn’t photograph the way I invisioned. But it was really good. It was really good right out of the oven when I couldn’t wait for it to cool. It was really good the next day when I brought the entire plate of cake into bed with me. And I think it will continue to satisfy when I dig into the pieces I wrapped up and put in the freezer so I can keep it just a little bit longer.

Not everything in my life can be picture perfect. I don’t always know how things will turn out. I can mess something up and it can still turn out great. Nikki: remember this about everything else in your life.

flourless chocolate cake imperfect messy cream cheese swirl

Just a little life lesson learned in the kitchen and with chocolate stuck all over my fingers. (The best kind, I think.)

Recipe (kind of) from here.

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Nutella Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

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Hello friends. I’ve been missing blogging terribly. Life just gets in the way sometimes. I know we all feel that every once in a while. I don’t have time to tell a long story now, but boy I wish I could. But even posting this is indulgent enough for me. How about you? What have you done recently to feed your soul and add a little oomph to your life? How about making some decadent brownies? I started with my basic brownie recipe here…but then added a cheesecake element and then why not throw in some nutella too? Sometimes we just need a little indulgence….

 

Nutella Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

Cream Cheese Topping

  • 4 oz Philly Cream Cheese
  • 2 tbs softened butter
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbs flour
  • 1/4 cup Nutella

Brownie Batter

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 6 oz semisweet baking chocolate
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup hot cocoa powder mix (I didn’t have regular cocoa powder and this worked just fine)
  • Mini chocolate chips (as many as you want!)
  1. Heat oven to 350º and spray an 8′x8′ baking pan with nonstick spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix all the cream cheese topping ingredients together. Set aside.
  3. Microwave the butter and chocolate squares in a bowl for 1 minute, stir, heat for 30 seconds longer and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
  4. In a mixing bowl, mix together the sugar and chocolate until completely combined. Add the vanilla and eggs.
  5. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder. Add flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir until completely combined.
  6. Mix in the walnuts.
  7. Spread evenly into an 8′x8′ baking pan. Bake for 40 minutes.

Be back soon in full force I promise!!

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Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

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Obviously, this post is a little late. Oops!

Valentine’s Day night I got very sick for a few weeks so forgive me. (I was really excited for it too, do you remember?) I did want to post this sweet little raspberry cupcake recipe though so, enjoy…

This cupcake is so light and fresh. The recipe uses fresh raspberries, which add a wonderful sweetness and fun color. I topped these with my cream cheese frosting…with the two together the cupcake tasted like raspberry cheesecake. Perfect! Topped with some fun sprinkles and candies, these were a great non-chocolate V-Day dessert. But they’ll work anytime in early spring too, (or whenever you can find fresh berries) if you want to try them out now.

Raspberry Cupcakes (from Martha Stewart)

  • 2  1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
  • 2  1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1  1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1  1/4 cups whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2  1/4 cups sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 containers (6 ounces each) raspberries, 1 container pureed, 1 container coarsely chopped
  • Gel-paste food coloring, in Tulip Red
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with baking cups. (Mine actually made more than this…)
  2. Whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add sugar in a slow, steady stream, and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl, and beat until smooth.
  3. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in pureed and chopped raspberries and a small drop of food coloring.
  4. Divide batter among baking cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks for 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes, and let cool completely.

My Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 eight-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4-5 cups confectioners’ sugar
  1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth
  2. Add the vanilla extract
  3. Gradually add the sugar and beat until incorporated
  4. Stick your finger into the bowl and lick away
  5. Just kidding… maybe… spread on cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

And the whole (maybe a little over the top) Valentine’s Day table…

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Pumpkin Cupcakes

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pumpkin is everywhere.

I know you’re probably on pumpkin blog overload. I totally understand. But really, it’s fall and we only get to do this a few weeks a year. (Don’t you remember this happened with asparagus and strawberries too?)

Anyway, yes, this post is about a great pumpkin cupcake recipe. But it’s also about a little announcement too….

I really do love this recipe. The cupcakes were a big hit with everyone who I shared them with too. I know it sounds like it’s getting old, but when you bite into one of these and it tastes just like fall, you won’t find it cliché. It will just be delicious.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

(Adapted from Ina Garten in House Beautiful)

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 cups canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, pumpkin, sugars, and oil. Slowly add the flour mixture until fully combined.
  4. Divide batter into cups and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool.

My favorite Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 eight-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4-5 cups confectioners’ sugar
  1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth
  2. Add the vanilla extract
  3. Gradually add the sugar and beat until incorporated
  4. Stick your finger into the bowl and lick away
  5. Just kidding… maybe… spread on cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

And finally, a little announcement. I will be baking 100 of these cupcakes for the Colonials Club at the GW basketball game on 10/6. 100!

I’ll get to do it in a big kitchen and in one large batch so this will be an exciting baking adventure. (I’ve never made more than 36 at a time.) Hopefully it all goes well. If you have any advice on baking in large batches, please help me out!

Happy pumpkin-y fall!

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