Better Than Sunshine Cake

I know what you are thinking, you've made this before. But alas, you probably haven't. This is Better Than Sunshine PUMPKIN Cake. So good.

Better Than Sunshine Pumpkin Cake
1 white or yellow cake mix
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil (can substitute applesauce for part of the oil)
4 eggs (Can use egg whites only, but be sure to use more eggs)
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Topping:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar caramel or fudge ice cream topping
1 container of cool whip
chopped nuts - optional
shaved chocolate - optional

1. Heat over to 350. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl beat cake ingredients together. Pour into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until done. Remove from oven.
3. Immediately poke the top of the cake with a handle of a cooking spoon. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake. After it absorbs, next pour either caramel or fudge topping over the cake. (the fudge may needed to be warmed before pouring)
4. Place cake in the fridge for a few hours until well chilled. Once cooled, frost with cool whip. Sprinkle cake with nuts or shaved chocolate and a little of the caramel or fudge if desired.

Fudge topping cake:

Caramel topping cake:

**I like the caramel the best, but that might be because I don't eat chocolate. Although, the hubby like the caramel as well, but a friend of mine liked the chocolate one better. Try them both!

Strawberries & Cream Cake

I made an awesome cake for Bo's birthday, if I do say so myself. It was inspired by the cakes that my work used to buy for birthday. I believe they were made by the Safeway Bakery.

First I cooked a white cake. A vanilla cake could probably be used if wanted. Cook the cake as directed on the box. Allow the cake to cool. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and cut it in half like this:

Return the bottom piece to the pan and then frost the bottom piece with cool whip or whipped cream. Then layer it with fresh, sliced strawberries. **Now here is where I would make a change, the middle needed more "juice", so when I make this again, I will add some sugar/stevia/sweetener to the strawberries with a little water to make a little syrup to add to the layer.

Carefully add the top layer back on. This was the hard part, it took some "finesse", and mine didn't turn out pretty, I had to do a little repair.

Frost the top with more whipped cream. Then more strawberries if desired. (Since I'm off of chocolate, I didn't, but I thought it would be pretty/artistic/yummy to shave some chocolate on top)

A view from the side. Refrigerate leftovers.

And it was SUPER good! Mmmm... I wish I had some fresh strawberries...

St. Patricks Day Recipe Ideas

I found these on one of the blogs I read and thought I'd share in honor of St. Patricks Day. Find the original posts here, here and here (they have pictures).

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 cans chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped (I'm not a big onion fan, so I just used about a tbsp. of dried onion flakes)
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups milk
3 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
Broccoli florets, steamed & chopped (I used 4 broccoli crowns, steamed them until they were tender but not too soft, then cut them into bite sized piece)

Directions: Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15 minutes in a covered saucepan, until onions are soft. (Because I just used dehydrated onions, it didn't have to heat so long) Heat the milk in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. In a large stockpot, melt the butter. Add the flour and pepper, whisk and cook together for a couple of minutes - it will be thick but just keep stirring. Whisk in warmed milk. Continue to stir and cook until the soup starts to thicken. Next add the chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add the cheeses and steamed broccoli.

**This soup is SUPER good, and I'm not really a fan of soups. I served mine in bread bowls - so yummy! Also, I tend to be a salty person, but next time I make this I will probably add some salt to the soup before serving, maybe 1/2 to 1 tsp. salt.


Rainbow Cupcakes

Mix a white or Vanilla cake mix as directed (I used the egg white only version to save a couple calories). Divide the batter into separate bowls (I used 6 bowls for all the colors of the rainbow). I used food coloring to color the batter, it took about 10 drops each color. Then layer each of the colors into every cupcake liner. You can try to perfectly push each color to the edge of the liner, but bare in mind that you can only fill the cups 2/3 of the way full or they overflow when baked. Bake and frost.

**This was a really fun activity for my daughter, she enjoyed frosting them and decorating them and of course also eating them.

Key Lime Pie

Crust:
1 pkg. graham cracker crumbs
3 TBS sugar
1 stick melted butter
¼ tsp. sea salt

Filling:
4 egg yolks
1 can (14 oz.) Key Lime juice
1 lime, grated zest
*green food coloring if you want the pie to be actually green.

Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Crush graham cracker crumbs with pastry roller. Add the sugar and melted butter. Work together and then press in the bottom and sides of a pie dish. Bake for 10 min. Allow the crust to cool. While the crust is resting, use a mixer with whisk attachment to whip the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until fluffy, 5 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to whip until thick, 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice until incorporated. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, or until the filling has set. Cool on a wire rack and then chill for 30 minutes, plus.

Soft Pretzels
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 TBS. brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups flour
2 cups water
2 TBS. baking soda
(Any toppings you want or dips)

Directions: Dissolve yeast in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve. Add the flours and knead the dough for a few minutes. Cover the dough and let it rise for at least a half hour. After it has risen, break of pieces and roll into thin ropes. Shape into pretzels (or any other shape). Dip it into a bath of 2 cups warm water and 2 TBS. baking soda. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover the dough pretzels and let rise another half hour or more. Bake at 450 degrees from 7 to 10 minutes until slightly golden on top. Brush with melted butter and add toppings (salt, parmesan, cinnamon & sugar, etc.)

**These were AWESOME!! My dough took longer to rise so I just let it keep rising until it doubled in size. I also let them rise on the cookie sheet longer as well. Needless to say they are a bit time consuming. I coated mine in cinnamon and sugar and they were so SO good, Bo ate most of them as soon as they were done.

Turtle Cheesecake

This was another dessert Bo's aunt made for the blessing, and this one was too good. Ya know, like the kind of good that you eat 4 pieces and regret it the next day, but you can't feel too bad because it tasted too good! Yeah, that's this dessert - Heavenly yet sinful all in the same dessert.

TURTLE CHEESECAKE

2 Cups Vanilla Wafer Crumbs
1/2 Cup Butter/Margarine, melted
1 Pkg, (14 oz.) Caramels
2/3 Cup Evaporated Milk
2 Cups Chopped Pecans, Toasted, Divided
4 Pkgs. (8 ox. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 Cup Sugar
2 tsps. Vanilla Extract
4 eggs
1 Cup (6 oz.) Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips. melted and slightly cooled
Whipped cream, optional

Combine crumbs and butter; blend well. Press into bottom and 2 inches up the sides of a 10 inch springform pan. Bake at 350F 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the unwrapped caramels in evaporated milk. Stir until smooth. Cool 5 minutes. Pour over crust. Top with 1-1.2 cups pecans. In mixing bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Blend in cooled chocolate. Carefully spread over pecans. Bake at 350F for 55-65 minutes until filling is almost set. Cool to room temperature. Chill overnight. Garnish with whipped cream and remaining nuts.

Burnt Sugar Candy Bar Cake

One of Bo's aunts made this for the baby blessing this past weekend. It was amazing! I wish I would've taken a picture of it before it got eaten. But trust me, it looks amazing and tastes even better!

BURNT SUGAR CANDY BAR CAKE

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 Cup Hot Water

3 Cups All-purpose Flour
1-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda

2/3 Cup butter, softened
1-1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
2 tsp. Vanilla

2 Egg Whites

1 Recipe Browned Butter Frosting

1-1/2 Cups Finely Chopped Assorted Candy Bars (Hershey's, Mars, Nestle', etc.)


Grease and lightly flour three 8x1-1/2 inch round baking pans (if you only have two just save the batter for the third layer until after the first two are done and then bake it and it turns out fine.) or two 9x2 inch pans. In a large skillet cook the 3/4 cup sugar over medium-high heat until the sugar just begins to melt. Do NOT stir. Reduce heat; cook until sugar is a golden brown syrup, about 3-5 minutes more, stirring constantly. Carefully stir in hot water. (It will steam and turn brittle.) Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat. Continue stirring until mixture is dissolved and free of lumps. Remove from heat. Pour syrup into a large glass measuring cup. Add additional water to equal 1-3/4 cups liquid. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl or sifter mix together flour, baking powder and baking soda. In a large bowl beat together the 2/3 cup butter, 1-1/2 cup sugar, egg yolks and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Alternately add flour mixture and sugar syrup to egg yolk mixture just until combined. In a medium bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, Fold into batter. Divide batter into baking pans; spread evenly. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted near the center. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans onto wire racks. Cool completely. Prepare Browned Butter Frosting (below).

To Assemble: spread 1/2 cup Browned Butter Frosting over bottoms of two of the cake layers. Sprinkle each frosted layer with half of the finely chopped candy bars. Stack these layers on cake plate, frosted sides up. Place the third layer (unfrosted) on top, rounded side up. Spread remaining frosting on top and sides of cake. Garnish with the coarsely chopped candy bar pieces. Makes 12-16 servings.


BROWNED BUTTER FROSTING
In a small saucepan heat and stir 1/2 cup butter (Use butter only. Margarine or other spreads will not yield same results and could keep the frosting from setting properly.) over low heat until melted. Continue heating (it foams) until butter is a nut brown color. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. In a large bowl beat together two 3-oz. packages of softened cream cheese with 3 tablespoons butter until combined. Beat in about 2 cups sifted powdered sugar. Beat in the browned butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Gradually beat in 4-1/2 cups more powdered sugar and 2 to 3 teaspoons milk until frosting is spreading consistency.

Crazy Cocoa Cake

At our Enrichment Activity the other night a lady in our ward make this amazing cake. I got the recipe from her, so I thought I'd share. The cake reminded me of the cake on the movie Matilda, ya know, the big one that the boy has to eat. That cake looked so good, so I'm glad to have the recipe now to make my own cake! ☺

Crazy Cocoa Cake
3 cups flour,
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2 cups Sugar
1/3 Cup Cocoa
1 Tbsp Vanilla
¾ cup Oil
2 Tbsp Vinegar
2 cups water

Sift together flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Sugar and Cocoa. Make 3 wells in the dry mixture, in the first put Vanilla, the next put Oil, and the last put Vinegar. Pour water over all of it and stir until well blended. Pour into a sprayed 9x13 pan and bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Topping:
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp Cocoa
1 cup Sugar
¼ tsp Salt
1 cup Water
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Tbsp Butter

In a heavy saucepan mix cornstarch, Cocoa, Sugar, and Salt. Slowly add Water and stir while cooking over medium heat. Mixture will thicken. Take off heat and add Vanilla and Butter. Pour onto cooled cake while topping is hot. Cool cake and serve.

Better than Sunshine Cake

Better than "Sunshine" Cake
1 German Chocolate Cake Mix
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 jar of caramel topping
1 tub of cool whip

Toppings:
Heath bar - chopped
Nuts - chopped
Shaved chocolate

Bake cake as directed on box. Poke holes in warm cake with the end of a spoon or fork. Pour sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping over the warm cake. Let cake cool, when cooled, frost with cool whip. Sprinkle topping over the top of cake.