Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Adapted from Southern Living September 2011

The first time I made this cake was for a Culinary Club meeting. It was fall and wanted to make something seasonal; flipping through the magazines at home, I found this cake, which looked amazing. The cake was a huge hit at the meeting. One boy even had 3 or 4 slices! I made this cake again for a “Ñoquis del 29” meeting, an Argentine tradition. It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and again I wanted something seasonal, either autumn-y or more Christmas-y. With help from my mom, I decided to make this wondrous cake and it proved an unsurpassable success.

Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 (8-oz) package of cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Beat the first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth.
2. Add the egg, flour and vanilla and beat until blended.

Apple Cake

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup grimly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ lbs Gala apples, peeled and finely chopped
• Cream Cheese Filling (recipe above)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (177C).
2. Stir together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and allspice in a large bowl.
3. Add the eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Stir in the apples.
5. Spoon two-thirds of the apple mixture into a greased 14-cup Bundt pan. Spoon the Cream Cheese Filling over the apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges of the pan. With a paring knife, swirl the filling through the apple mixture. Spoon the remaining apple mixture over the Cream Cheese Filling.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely (about 2 hours).

Frosting the Cake

Ingredients:

• ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup butter
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup Confectioner’s sugar
• Prepared apple cake (recipe above)

Directions:

1. Bring the brown sugar, butter and milk to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
3. Gradually whisk in the Confectioner’s sugar until smooth.
4. Stir gently for 3 to 5 minutes until the mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly.
5. Immediately pour over the cooled cake.

 

Comments: This is a great cake if you have to feed many (or few). It is large and will satiate anyone’s sweet tooth. The tricky part is adding the Cream Cheese Filling to the apple batter, but don’t fret too much over it. Make sure to use a large Bundt pan because it truly is a big cake. A large pan will also make the addition of the filling easier.

Lemon Bar Cheesecake

Adapted from Southern Living Vol. 48 No.2

 Doesn’t it look amazing? It is amazing and so much more. The shortbread crust with the creamy cheesecake filling and the gooey lemon curd…the perfect blend of sweetness and tartness. I made this cake for my mom’s birthday last year because 1) it looks amazing, and 2) she loves lemony things. Note: you have to start one day in advance.

The Crust

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup cold butter, cubed
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 to 2 tbsp ice-cold water

Directions:

1. Pulse the first 3 ingredients in a food processor 3 or 4 times until just blended.
2. Add the butter and pulse about 6 more times until crumbly.
3. Whisk together the egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of the ice water in a small bowl. Add it to the butter mixture and process until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add up to 1 tablespoon of the remaining ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if necessary.
4. Shape the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill 4 to 24 hours.
5. Roll out the chilled dough into a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Fit the dough into a greased 9-inch dark springform pan, gently pressing on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim and discard the excess dough. Chill for 30 minutes.

The Cheesecake Filling

Ingredients:

• 4 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Beat the cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until smooth.
2. Gradually add the sugar, beating until blended.
3. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

The Lemon Curd

(very easy and cooked in the microwave!)

Ingredients:

• 6 lemons
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs

Directions:

1. Grate the zest from the lemons to equal 2 tablespoons. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup to equal 1 cup.
2. Beat the butter and the sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Gradually add the lemon juice to the butter mixture, beating at low speed until just blended after each addition. Stir in the zest. Transfer the mixture to a 3-quart microwave-safe bowl.
3. Microwave at high for 5 minutes, stirring at 1-minute intervals. Microwave, stirring at 30-second intervals, 1 to 2 more minutes or until the mixture thickens, coats the back of a spoon and starts to mound slightly when stirred.
4. Place plastic wrap directly on the warm curd to prevent a film from forming. Chill for 4 hours or until firm. Stir in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Assembling the Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• Crust (recipe above)
• Cheesecake filling (recipe above)
• Lemon curd (recipe above)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F (163C).
2. Pour two-thirds of the cheesecake filling (about 4 cups) into the prepared crust. Dollop 1 cup of the lemon curd (about half) over the cheesecake filling in the pan and gently swirl with a knife. Spoon the remaining cheesecake filling into the pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes until the center is just set. Turn the oven off. Let the cheesecake stand in the oven, with the door closed, for 15 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and gently run a knife around the outer edge of the cheesecake to loosen from the sides of the pan. Do not remove the sides of the pan yet. Let it cool completely in the pan (about 1 hour). Cover and chill for 8 to 24 hours.
4. Remove the sides of the pan and transfer the cheesecake to a serving platter. Spoon the remaining cup of lemon curd over the cheesecake and top, if desired with candied lemon slices (recipe below)

Candied Lemon Slices

Ingredients:

• 2 small lemons
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ¾ cup water

Directions:

1. Cut the lemons into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Discard the seeds.
2. Stir together the sugar, lemon juice and water in a large skillet over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon slices and simmer gently for 14 to 16 minutes until slightly translucent and rinds are softened. Keep the slices in a single layer and turn them occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and, using tongs, place the slices in a single layer in a wax paper-lined jellyroll pan. Cool completely (about 1 hour).
4. Cover and chill for 2 hours to 2 days.

 

Comments: My mom was extremely happy with her birthday cake. When our extended family saw the pictures, they were all very jealous. It is the perfect combination of lemon bars and cheesecake in one. The lemon curd, usually a long process, is very easy to make and completely foolproof. I made the cheesecake the day before and just topped it with the remaining lemon curd before serving. Indulge!

Yummy, gooey-ness!

 

Vegan Strawberry Fields Forever Cake

Adapted from Veganbaking.net

On Tuesday, August 12, 2014, I was extremely excited for the arrival of our new KitchenAid electric beater, something I’d always wanted. I obviously had to bake something, and what better than a cake? Even better, this cake is named after a Beatles song.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of puréed strawberries
• 1 medium, mature banana
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 2 ½ tsp baking poder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 ½ cups of non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F (177 C).
2. Purée strawberries and banana and lightly mix togehter.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. (I combined the ingredients in the bowl of my electric beater.)
4. Add the strawberry and banana purée, vegetable oil and non-dairy milk to the bowl containing the dry ingredients. Mix well with an electric beater.
5. Pour the batter into a greased bundt pan and bake for about 40 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness; it should come out clean.

 

Comments: I love vegan baking and this cake did not disappoint me. It is extremely moist, light and very good. Even though the recipe calls for 1 banana, it gives the cake a touch of flavor. After letting the cake cool for a while in the bundt pan, my cake did sink a little, but this only made it more even.