Apple Streusel Cheesecake

Crust
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup flour

Filling
3 apples
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 (250 g) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 lemon, juice and zest

Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust:
Cream butter and sugar thoroughly, blend in flour. Press onto the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a a greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly golden.

For the filling:
Peel, core and cut the apples into 1/3 inch thick slices. In a frying pan, melt sugar with butter over medium heat, cook apples for 3-5 minutes or just until tender (and lightly browned) but not mushy. Add cream and cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat cream cheese with brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time until just blended. Beat in sour cream, lemon zest juice.

Using a slotted spoon arrange apples over crust,cover with cheese mixture.

For topping:
Mix the ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. Bake 45 minutes or until centre is just set. Cool thoroughly at room temperature. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.


This recipe is also linked to...

Food on Friday: Desserts
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays: Apples
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Cast Party Wednesday
Sweet Treats Thursday
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday
This Week's Cravings: Apples

It's a Blog Party's Fall Fest Apple Recipes 2011

Cocoa Buttermilk Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Countless amounts of miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups, smashed or cut up.

Peanut Butter frosting recipe follows



DIRECTIONS:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until it is thoroughly blended into the butter. Add the eggs one at a time, then the yolks one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk; add the dry ingredients in 3 portions and the buttermilk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); mix only until each new batch is blended into the batter. Scrape down the bowl and add the melted chocolate, folding it in with a rubber spatula. Divide the batter between the cake pans.

Bake for 26 to 30 minutes, or until the cakes feel springy to the touch and start to pull away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (Once the layers are cooled, they can be wrapped airtight and left at room temperature overnight or kept frozen for up to 2 months.)

To Assemble the Cake: Place one layer top side up on a cardboard round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Frost the top of the layer, and sprinkle the smashed up peanut butter cups inside. Be careful to not overload the inside with peanut butter cups or else it will look uneven when you place the top layer.

Next, cover with the second layer, top side down. Frost the sides and top of the cake, either smoothing the frosting for a sleek look or using a spatula, knife or spoon to swirl it for a more exuberant look. Press the remaining peanut butter cups around the sides of the frosted cake, and if you want you can sprinkle them on top too.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour (or for up to 1 day, if that’s more convenient) to set the frosting, then bring it to room temperature before serving.



Peanut butter frosting:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tspsalt
1/3 cup whipping cream


DIRECTIONS:

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in a bowl and mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

NOTE: Next time, I’ll double the frosting recipe so that I can frost the sides… although I have to say that the naked sides do look pretty cool.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Crunch

INGREDIENTS

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 (16 oz) jar creamy peanut butter
3 cups rice crispy cereal
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups confectioners’ sugar


DIRECTIONS

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, melt half of the chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter over low heat. Remove from the heat; stir in 1 cup peanut butter, then 2 cups rice cereal. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan; refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. Wash out the saucepan.

In the saucepan, combine the remaining cup butter and the salt; melt over medium heat, stirring. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining peanut butter and the confectioners’ sugar. Spread half of the peanut butter mixture over the cereal layer. Top with the remaining 1 cup cereal.

In a small bowl, microwave the remaining chocolate at medium power until melted, 1 1/2 minutes. Stir into the remaining peanut butter mixture. Spread evenly on the cereal-topped peanut butter layer; refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes. Cut into 16 pieces.

Awesome Banana Muffins

INGREDIENTS

3 or 4 Large bananas, mashed (the more bananas the moister, so I use 4)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 slightly beaten egg
1/3 cup melted margarine or butter
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your muffin tin or use paper liners.

Mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg and margarine together. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.

Mix wet and dry ingredients all together! Pour into greased/lined muffin tins, and bake for approximately 20 minutes. Enjoy!


NOTE:These are much more flavourful the next day, and they freeze very nicely too!

NOTE: Also, if you like walnuts, you can throw a handful of those in there as well for some added flavour and texture, or try adding chocolate chips, or better yet, BOTH! Yum!


This recipe is also linked to...

Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays: Yellow

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

INGREDIENTS

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed very well
3 large eggs
3 Tbsp oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided


DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil or coat an 8 x 8-inch baking pan or dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Place the black beans in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth. Add 1/2 of the chips and pulse a few times until the chips are incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 of the chocolate chips.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing into 2-inch squares.

Pulled Pork with Root Beer Sauce

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2-3 pound pork sirloin roast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 cup root beer *not diet

Sauce:

1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 cups root beer (two 12-ounce cans or bottles) *not diet
1 cup bottled chili sauce
8-10 hamburger, hoagie, french bread buns or rolls



DIRECTIONS

Trim fat from the meat. Sprinkle on both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Brown on all sides in hot oil. Drain off fat.

Transfer meat to slow cooker and add the 1 cup of root beer. Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

30 minutes before serving, make the sauce:

In a medium saucepan combine the 3 cups root beer and the chili sauce. Bring to boiling and reduce heat. Boil gently uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes or until mixture is thickened and reduced to about 1 1/2-2 cups.

Transfer meat to a cutting board or serving platter. Discard juices.

Using 2 forks, pull meat apart into shreds.

Put meat and sauce into a large bowl and mix.

Serve on a bun.

This recipe is also linked to...

It's a Blog Party's Fall Fest Recipes 2011
Simply Delish Saturday

Raspberry Lemon Bars

Ingredients:

1 sleeve graham crackers, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups crumbs)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
2 egg yolks
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
juice of 3 large lemons (about 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons juice)
zest of one lemon
3 cups fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, etc.)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" square baking dish or a 9" springform pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, butter and lemon zest. Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely while you prepare the filling.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and condensed milk until blended. Whisk in the lemon juice and zest and continue to whisk for a few minutes until the mixture thickens a bit (it will feel lighter as you stir). Very gently fold in your berries and pour the filling into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the filling is just set, and cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge to chill for at least an hour before serving.

This dessert is prettiest the first day, but keeps well and tastes just as good the second and third day! (If there is any left that long, that is!)

Coconut-Lime Cupcakes

FOR THE CUPCAKES:

1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lime zest
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sweetened coconut


FOR THE LIME BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
1 cup butter
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 tsp lime zest


DIRECTIONS FOR THE:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pans with liners. Again, this recipe makes 18 regular cupcakes or 36 mini cupcakes.

In a medium bowl, mix vegetable oil and sugar. Add the coconut milk, milk, vanilla extract, and lime zest. Mix well.

Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until smooth.

Add the coconut and gently mix to incorporate.

Fill cups about 3/4 full. For regular cupcakes bake 20 minutes. For mini cupcakes bake for 16-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.


DIRECTIONS FOR FROSTING:

Beat the butter until fluffy.

Add the confectioner’s sugar and beat for 3 minutes.

Add the vanilla extract and lime juice, beat for another 5 minutes or until fluffy.

Add the lime zest and fold into frosting.

Chill until ready to frost.


This recipe is also linked on...

Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays: Cupcakes
Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays: Green

Pear Almond Tart

Ingredients

for Crust:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp cold milk or ice water
1/2 tsp of vanilla

for Filling:

3 small, firm but ripe pears, such as Bartlett or Anjou
6 Tbsp unsalted room temperature butter
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup ground almonds
2 tsp flour
1 tsp cornstarch
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract


Directions

for Crust:

Add the flour, confectioner's sugar, and salt together in a food processor and pulse once or twice to combined. Add the pieces of butter and pulse until the butter pieces are no bigger than a pea. Alternatively use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in the butter, or freeze the butter and coarsely grate it then use your fingers and rub the pieces into the flour. It is very important to keep the butter cold otherwise it will melt and make the crust greasy and you'll lose all the flaky layers.

Mix the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla together. Drizzle the mixture over the butter and flour mix in the food processor. Pulse again until the dough start to form large clumps. If it looks too dry add a little more milk.

Scrape the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and press the clumps together to form a disc. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and chill at least an hour up to overnight. Or store it in the freezer for as long as you want.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin and roll out the dough to into a large circle. Move the crust around often to make sure it doesn't stick to your work surface.

Transfer the dough to an 8 or 9 inch tart pan. To make this easier, drape the dough over the rolling pin and lay it over the pan. Lift the edges of the crust and gently press the dough down into the pan. Roll over the top of the pan with a rolling pin to trim any overhanging dough.

Prick the surface of the dough with a fork. Press a sheet of aluminum foil onto a crust and add pie weights, beans, or clean pennies on top. Bake the crust for 25 minutes lined with foil and weighted down with pie weights, beans, or pennies, then remove the foil and weights and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove the tart pan, keeping the crust in the pan, and cool the crust until it is room temperature.

For filling:

In a bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, flour, and cornstarch. Process the butter with the sugar in the food processor then add the dry ingredients and process until smooth. Then add the extracts and egg and blend until smooth. The cream can also be made with a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer. The almond cream can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 2 days or you can freeze it.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel and core them. Rub them with fresh lemon juice and then pat them dry. Slice each pear half and then cut each half into thin slices.

Spread the almond cream evenly in the tart crust. Lift the sliced pear half with a spatula, gently press down on it to fan it out, and lay it on the almond cream. The skinny part of the pear should face in. Repeat with the other 5 pear halves. The 6 pear halves will form spokes. Optional: decorate the tart with some almond slices.

Bake the tart for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the almond cream is puffy and brown. After baking let it cool until it is warm or room temperature to serve.


This recipe is also linked to...

Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays: Nuts
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Cast Party Wednesday
Sweet Treats Thursday
Sweet Tooth Friday
Saturday's Seasonal Inspiration
It's a Blog Party's Fall Fest Recipes 2011

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree


Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 butter, room temperature, in small pieces
1 1/2 to 2 cups confectioner's sugar


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway.

Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed.

Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese on medium speed for several minutes, until creamy. It's hard to get out all the lumps, but keep beating!

Add vanilla.

Gradually add butter while beating on medium speed. This will take several minutes. Turn up to high speed for 30-60 seconds; frosting should be smooth.

On low speed, add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. If the frosting is stiff enough to pipe, you can use it now, but depending on the temperature in your kitchen, you may want to refrigerate it before using.

If it's too stiff after refrigeration, just mix again for 30 seconds or so.

Frost the cupcakes once they're completely cooled.


This recipe is also linked on...

Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays: Cupcakes
It's a Blog Party's Fall Fest Recipes 2011
Food on Friday: Parsnips and Pumpkin