Treats to be Thankful For

I know...an UN-acceptable amount of time has passed since the last cake I created and i apologize .. but it's not entirely my fault. Cake making (well making these fun, detailed cakes) is not cheap and after the cost of the move to Vegas from NY and the cost of finally moving into our sweet apartment I haven't had much time or money for anything more than multiple banana breads, pumpkin breads and some truffles (which I of course did not take pictures of because, well, I don't know..but I didn't).

So this was my very first major holiday away from the family and let me tell you... BUMMER!!! It is funny how when your a kid all you want to do is shove that plate of food down your throat and get back to the neighborhood to hang with friends...but now all i wanted was for the family to come on over and taste some delicious cakes! I also missed the BIG FAT ITALIAN THANKSGIVING because nothing can compare to the holidays with a big fat Italian family and i really kinda missed that stuffing that I used to complain about as a kid...

Okay, enough about my sad holiday (it really wasn't sad since I had Andrew who always happily eats and tastes everything that comes out of my kitchen..or any kitchen for that matter, but I did have a broken toe and missed the fam so I broke even)

So ABOUT THE FOOD!!! For a while now I have been looking into a good chocolate cake and I love banana so when I found a recipe for Banana Foster Cake covered in Chocolate Ganache I knew I had to make it and add a few touches... I made a super yummy double chocolate cake with chocolate chips (3 layers)...then I made banana foster filling (chopped banana, rum, brown sugar and butter) some home-made cream cheese icing, and chocolate ganache (use your fav recipe but all are pretty much 1 part good chocolate and 1 part heavy cream and a pad of butter for shine) let everything cool a bit...then assemble.

Cake..then a thin layer of cream cheese frosting (you don't want it to be too sweet) then the banana foster then cake...repeat until you top it off with your third layer of cake. Then sit your cake on a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with waxed paper (this just makes life less messy) and pour the cooled ganache over the cake and put it in the fridge to chill... I sprinkled on some shaved coconut flavored white chocolate that I found (which is sooo good I think Lindt made it)...That is it..super delicious...next time i might just used fresh sliced banana and some strawberry instead of the foster. The best part of the cake was its yummy texture and that semi-hard chocolate ganache on the top and outside..LOVED IT!

I am not a huge Pumpkin Pie fan but I wanted to make a pretty pumpkin pie and I figured I would mix a few recipes together to make this pie WHICH WAS AWEEEEESOME!!!! SERIOUSLY this was the BEST pie I have ever had!It is a mix of fresh pumpkin pie and a NY style cheesecake mixed into this yummy concoction!!

I will post the recipe soon.

Start with a pie crust recipe or ... screw it and buy the Pillsbury stuff from the fridge (no one has to know)... Place it in a pie dish and bake it for about ten minutes (weigh the inside down with beans or something) then fill it with the pumpkin mixture all the way to the top (it will shrink back down..no worries) and bake until it stops looking like liquid ( a knife or toothpick inserted near the middle..not IN the middle will come out pretty clean) it is done let it come to room temp and then fridge it...I though it tasted better the next day straight out of the fridge!!!

To make the pretty decorations, I used a paring knife and just cut pretty leaves and stuck them on...simple but time consuming...but delicious!!

Now that I perfected this pie I just need to work on my cell phone blog photos...sorry!

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

These muffins are sooo yummy and totally taste like Fall. They are pretty easy to make too! I made these to fill an autumn basket and not only do they taste great they look delicious!! Here is what you need to make 24 muffins...and if you cant eat all of them they stay great in the freezer, just wrap in saran and store them in a ziplock!

• 4cups all purpose baking mix (like bisquick)
• 1cup chocolate chips (optional)
• 2/3cup quick/instant or old fashioned oats
• 3/4cup sugar
• 1tsp cinnamon (or more if you like)
• 1 can Pumpkin Pie mix (like Libby's)
• 2 large eggs

For the streusel topping you need:

• 2/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2/4 cup packed brown sugar or white sugar (whatever you have)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp cold butter

Preheat the oven to 400*F and grease 24 muffin tins or use paper liners.

Make your streusel by combining dry ingredients and cutting in cold butter with back of fork (or you can use your hands if it is easier) until it is crumbly. Done. Set it aside!

Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl. Combine eggs and pumpkin in another bowl and stir into dry mix JUST UNTIL MOIST!  Spoon into muffin cups and fill 3/4 of the way. Top with streusel mix. (You may have extra streusel..that's OK put it in the fridge in a 

container with lid and it will last weeks..use it on other delicious treats!)

Bake for 15 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

 

Here is the finished basket...cellophane and a wicker basket make it look store bought don't you think!!