CRUMB TOPPED APPLE PIE

   Hello everyone it has been awhile I know.  I had hurt my back right after Valentine's Day and that lasted for about a month and then I had the Flu, but I'm all better now.  I hated being down that long and not being able to bake or anything.   

   

    My father, son and  husband having breaking my chops for the last 3 days to get back to work.  They told me they were gonna go to the bakery and buy dessert if I didn't start baking for them again...lol... So I decided to bake an Crumb Topped Apple Pie with a vanilla sauce.  

    It was really cute today my youngest nephew had come over for a little while after school.  He looked at the fruit bowl on the table and said "wow Aunt Nee~Nee thats a lot of apples, can I have one? I told him yes of course you can, and I told him why I had so many apples.  So after I told him I was gonna make an apple pie for dessert, he said " guess what, I'm gonna eat the first piece ok ".  Unfortunately, he had to leave before I started baking so I have a piece put a side for him.  

                                    Crumb Topped Apple Pie 

What you will need:

1 (9 inch) pie shell

6 cups thinly sliced apples

3/4 cup sugar or splenda 

2 tbsp flour 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

crumb top

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 tbsp butter 

a pinch of cinnamon

          1)   Preheat to 375 degrees.

          2)   Place sliced apples in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, mix together sugar/splenda, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Sprinkle mix all over apples.  Toss until well coated.  Spoon apple mixture into pie shell.

          3)   In a small bowl mix together flour, brown sugar and pinch of cinnamon.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle mixture over the apple filling.  

                                          

           4)   Cover with foil but not to tight. Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes.  Cool on cooling rack.

    Well it was time to take this bad boy out of the oven, and after almost an hour of smelling the most amazing smell I ever smelled in my life...lol... OMG.... Letting it cool down was a pretty hard challenge to accomplish.  

    In the meantime my husband and I had whipped up some Vanilla Sauce to along with it.  It was finally time to dig in and boy we could not wait to dig in.  It was so good I was pretty impressed with myself on this one.  Everyone said it was delicious.  I made it with splenda instead of sugar for my mom.  Not bad for my very first pie. 

If you need the recipe for the vanilla sauce it is on my blog page under Baked Apples w/ Vanilla Sauce.  I think I might just have to go get another small piece of pie now.

So for now be safe, Be Happy, Be Loved!!!

     

German Apple Cake

  Sorry this blog is coming up with the wrong date the date should read Friday, February 18, 2011. 
  
     Hello again everyone, it's been awhile.  I had to bake for my son's school party, then there was Valentine's day and then my husband and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary on Tuesday.  Since then I have been layed up on the couch with terrible back pain.  Well the pain is still not any better but I must persevere to achieve my goal.  So here I am and ready to get back to work cause I haven't baked in awhile.  I also wanted to say that I will only be baking 3 days a week from now on.  The expense involved is getting to be to much on me to do this everyday.  I do apologize to those of you who do follow my blog, It is just going to take a little longer for me to accomplish my goal.  Now on to better things...


    This is gonna be a fun and interesting project  Considering,  I am a little limited with mobility and bending today so I will be needing a helper.  So beings my loving hubby who kept torturing me to make this German Apple Cake for weeks now might just be getting drafted for this task.  


    Okay so my awesome husband was a great help to me with getting everything I needed together for the cake.  He got out all of the ingredients and set them out on the counter and even peeled, cored and diced the apples for me.  If I had to stand up for 10 minutes to mix everything together that was long...lol... He really is my knight and shining armor as always, I really did marry an amazing and loving man and for that I am truly blessed.... I love you more Baby!!!!!!


    So what you will need:


    GERMAN APPLE CAKE    


    4 eggs
    1 cup vegetable oil 
    1 1/2 cups sugar
    2 cups flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda 
    2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
    1 teaspoon salt
    2 teaspoon vanilla 
    4 cups apples (peeled, cored, diced) Red Delicious Apples 
    1/2 cup brown sugar
    


      1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan with Pam non stick baking spray (i love the smell of it, it smells just like butter) lol.  In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. ( set aside)


      2.   In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar and brown sugar.  Beat until foamy.  Add in the flour mixture and beat well.  Add in the vanilla and stir in diced up apples.  Pour into the pan.


      3.   Bake for 40-50 minutes.  Take out put and put on cooling rack.  Let cool fully.


     Serve as is or you could use a caramel glaze, vanilla sauce or even a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side sounds pretty good.



     Now there are a few little footnotes you may want to keep in mind when making this cake. The actual recipe called for 2 eggs so I did everything the way I was supposed to and I was just about to stir in the apples.  I realized at that point that the batter was thick like a cookie batter and I started to panic, so I added another 2 eggs and it made it a little easier to work with but not much.  I then stirred in the apples and poured batter into the pan.... So do not panic when the batter comes out like a cookie batter but using the extra 2 eggs helped not burn out my mixer...lol... After adding the apples the pan will be very heavy so make sure when putting it in the oven you careful.  While the apples are baking they will release their natural juices which will in turn thin out your batter to make for a moist and delicious cake. 

       This is the only picture I took beings I am still on the lookout for a good deal on a camera. So my dad let me use his phone to take the picture.  My phone takes worse pictures then my camera if you can imagine that... lol... 


       So after about 2 hours of smelling the wonderful aroma of apples and cinnamon throughout the house.  The family was ready to dig in for their taste test, even my mom who could only have a little sliver.  I only tasted a forkful of my husbands piece and it was delicious.  My husband said it was well worth the wait and that the taste was amazing.  My mom and dad said that it was perfect in taste and in moistness.  So I guess I did it again, I really didn't think I was going to pull this one off, feeling as awful as I have been feeling and then of course when I noticed it looked like a cookie batter...lol.... But another one down and a whole lot more to go!!!!! 


     Okay I have to go rest now I will talk to you all tomorrow.


     Until the next time, be safe,be warm and most of all BE HAPPY :) !!!!!


       

Orgasmic Double Layer Chocolate Cake w. Chocolate frosting

       Good morning everyone,  sorry I did not post last night but I was extremely tired after baking this scrumptious cake, and the tiny disaster that had taken place in my kitchen (will get into more detail later)  that I totally fell asleep.  So here I am in this early hour of the morning writing to you now.


       As I said in my last post, with Valentines Day quickly approaching I am trying out nice romantic desserts for that special person in your life, whether it be your child/children, husband, or your significant other. 


       Yesterday I was talking to my sister on Facebook and trying to figure out what to bake at the same time.  So I asked my sister do you have any ideas on what I should make tonight?  Kiddingly, she replies a 5 layer chocolate cake and then bring it to me.  After joking back with her and telling her wait I'm running... There is a 100 mile distance between my sister and I...lol... Would have been a pretty far run thats for sure...  


     So with that in mind and chocolate always on my mind, my decision was made, well not 5 layers of course.  Instead of 5 layers I only used 2. Two is great, especially for a romantic Valentines day dinner.   However if you are throwing a Valentines Day get together, you may want to make a 5 layer cake. That would be totally up to you....


Orgasmic Double Layer Chocolate Cake

What You Will Need:


ORGASMIC CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE


2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup boiling water
1 3/4 flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoon vanilla


1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray (2) 9 inch round silicone pans with non-stick vegetable baking spray. Spray a light even coat all around pans (the Pam baking spray already has the flour in it).


2. Stir together in a large bowl sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water, this will then make the batter thin. Pour batter into pans.

3. Bake 32 minutes; Let cool for 10 minutes on cooling racks(use the cooling rack to place over top the cake to transfer then remove from pans(or there will be a mess) (see below) and place cakes directly onto wire racks. Cool completely and frost accordingly!!!! Serves about 10-12 people.



  ORGASMIC CHOCOLATE FROSTING RECIPE


   1/2 cup butter
   2/3 cup cocoa 
   3 cup confectioners sugar
   1/3 cup milk
   1 teaspoon vanilla


           Melt butter, stir in cocoa, alternately add confectioners sugar and milk beating to spreading consistency ( you could even add mini chocolate chips if your feeling a little funky that day lol) Stir in vanilla.... If needed you may add a additional small amount of milk if you feel it necessary.  Recipe should make somewhere around 2-2 1/2 cups of frosting....

 HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM


   1 cup whipping cream (heavy cream)
   1/4 cup confectioners sugar 
   1 teaspoon vanilla 


         Chill metal bowl for about 20 minutes.  Add heavy cream to to the bowl and beat until stiff peaks are about to form, add in sugar and vanilla and mix together, but be very careful not to over mix because you don't to turn it into a butter consistency.

    I showed you a picture of the cake so you can see it completed.  Also, then I wanted you to be able to see the layer of whipped cream inside so after we had cut into it I took another photo... Again I must apologize for the awful photographs I have been posting lately.  This time I used a cell phone and it was not much better.... I NEED A NEW FREAKING CAMERA ASAP...... lol....


    Okay like I said earlier in this blog I had a slight disaster take place in the kitchen... It was my own stupidity... It said to allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the cake pans on the cooling racks, which i did ( i think i actually let them cool for over 25 minutes).  I go to take the one layer out of the pan and instead of putting a plate or something over top the pan and then trying to flip it, I instead stupidly used my hand.  I have used the hand method successfully before but this time I was very unsuccessful.  I placed my hand over the cake and flipped it over well the cake was so moist (which is a good thing) and apparently still a little to warm.  Well anyway it got stuck to my hand and while i was trying to figure out what to do the cake broke into 3 large pieces... With that I start yelling and my husband Chris comes running to my rescue.  So needless to say I did not even bother trying to remove the second  layer until it was totally cooled down....


     Okay so what I did was I put the broken layer as the bottom layer and put it back together the best I could or as I should say my hubby Chris put it back together because I was in the middle of a tiny nervous breakdown...lol.... Thank God for that man I wouldn't know what I would do without him, I love you MORE baby!!!!   Anyway,  I slathered on the homemade whipped cream generously all over the top of the bottom layer of the chocolate cake.  Then placed the second layer on top, once I had 2 layers I then started my crumb base frosting which is the first frosting ( thanks to my mother in law for teaching me that).  What the crumb base does is locks in all the crumbs that fall off while frosting a cake.  However, I think the cake actually looked more amazing and professional with just the first frosting, but again the was my fault... I wanted to slightly heat the frosting up in the microwave for about 5 seconds,  so it would give it a smoother look the second time around and be easier to spread.  But I was very tired and completely forgot.... So if you decide to make this cake I have just given you a few little hints to help you out!!!!!


     Now for my family's reactions to this unbelievable cake.  My father said it was very scrumptious and tasted like MORE, My mother who can not eat it said it looked and smelled amazing, she actually is the one who came up with its unique name.  My awesome little boy who melts my heart and makes me feel on top of the world everyday when he tells me how proud I make him :)  I asked him this morning when he had his first piece on a scale of 1-10 what would you rate this cake... He said " Momma you broke the darn scale.  I laughed so hard I was literally crying.  My husband says " It was delicious, moist and rich.  The whipped cream was very light and airy (better then any store bought he's had) and the chocolate frosting was like a rich, creamy and delicious fudge frosting....My brother in laws description was that the cake was super moist and rich and filled with tons of goodness... God I love my family they are the best!!!!! I love you all more then you all more then any of you will ever know. You have all been the best support system for me through out this whole thing, and I just wanted you and everyone else in the world to know that too!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Like my mother in law said move over Julia here comes NEE~NEE....


Until later, stay safe, stay warm and most of all Be HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Valentine's Day Treats Massacre

      Hello again, twice in one day...lol... So with Valentines Day approaching rapidly I have decided to start making some holiday appropriate treats and desserts.  With that in mind, my son came home from school yesterday and told me they are having a Valentines Day party at school.  He requested the cheesecake brownie cake in a heart shape...  Okay no problem I tell him.  I had just bought this metal heart shape tube cylinder cake pan/bread pan at Odd-Lots the other day that I figured they would be perfect.  

      When I woke up this morning I started to think about how I was going to make this perfect for my little boy, he deserves nothing but the best.  Also, considering the fact they will given to each and every classmate in his class, therefore I must make these brownie cakes better then before.  My brother in law says to me maybe you should do a test run to see how the pan works because you don't want to run into any problems or disasters the night before the party.  I thought about and I totally agreed with what he had said, besides I don't think anyone here would mind brownie cake again...lol...

      Okay, so now I'm in the kitchen and every thing is mixed and I realize that there are absolutely no directions for this pan.  So I fill it up half way and I lay it on it's side on top a baking sheet.  There was still a lot of brownie batter left over so I improvised I used small individual silicone teddy bear, heart and moon shaped cake pans for the rest of the batter.

     Well here is where it gets interesting and the massacre takes place so to say..lmao...  So apparently a test run was the way to go because after the 30 minutes were up I take it out and the little silicone ones were so cute and perfect.  I take the lid off the heart shape cylinder and the brownie batter exploded all over me and all over the counter.  I laughed to hold back the tears cause I tend to get a little emotional sometimes lol.  So now that half of the batter is now all over the place I decide to try this again with what is left inside the pan.  I closed it back up, stood it up horizontally in the oven and did not put it on a baking sheet, I put it directly on the oven rack itself for another 30 minutes.

     Well after an explosion, disaster and an hour of baking I finally managed to get it right.  Now that is what i call determination...lol... There are no perfect people in this world. Even the top chefs and bakers out there have had anywhere from a minor kitchen disaster to some of the most major kitchen disasters ever.... lol.... I am going to go and practice my decorating now on the brownie cakes and I think I am going to frost the tops with the cheesecake topping and then with whats left over I might add some red food coloring and accent with pink for Valentines Day.. Like I said I want to know exactly what I am going to do for his party on Monday and they must be absolutely perfect. Nothing but the best for my little guy... :) 

      Until tomorrow stay warm, safe, and happy!!!!

Cheesy Biscuits

     Good afternoon everyone, hope your all having a good day.  I apologize for not writing last night but it was a very busy day for me.   Okay first lets start off by saying that the cheesecake topped brownie cake from my previous blog was a major success.  My husband and I had tasted it that night and it was amazing.  The next morning my father, and brother in law had some and were already telling me I better be making more real soon... 


    Later in the afternoon, I had decided to whip up another one of those Sugar Free Cheesecakes that I had previously blogged about for my mother.  She really can't eat much of what I make because of the diabetes so i figured I would make her something nice.  So while I'm in the kitchen doing all of this the kids had come home from school and see that i'm baking something.  They seen the cake dish and start cutting away at whats left of the cake... The next thing you hear " Mommy this is amazing, this is the best brownie ever, Aunt Nikolle, this is delicious, Aunt Neenee, next time i just want the brownie" thats the little guy, he's a cutie,lol....He didn't like cheesecake part.... My mother in law came by to pick up my nephews and we sent a piece home for her, she called up and instantly said baby girl there good enough to sell... So i think enough said on that. 


      So after the cheesecake was made my husband put a nice pork roast in the oven, I thought you know what cheesy biscuits.  So instead of baking something sweet to blog about I choose nice yummy biscuits.  


What You Will Need:


       2 cups flour
       2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
       1/8 teaspoon salt
       1/3 cup margarine 
       3/4 buttermilk
       1 cup shredded cheddar 
     




   
       In bowl, combine flour, cheddar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut in butter until crumbly (you will know when you see it i can't explain it but you will know it).  Stir in the buttermilk just until moistened.  Knead on a floured surfaced for 1 minute.  Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness, cut with 2- 1/2 in cutter.  place on a greased baking sheet.   I used a star shape cookie cutter.  




      Bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  My father loved them he had to have eaten about 15 of them at dinner.  Sorry I do not have any photos posted but my camera has seen its last day, so now i have to save up for one, so I promise within the next week I will have a camera!!!


     I will be back tonight with something yummy, if you have any ideas for me please send me a comment either on here or on facebook and I will be more then happy to give it a try!!!!


     Until later stay safe, Stay warm and stay happy:)


        

Cheesecake Topped Brownie Cake

    Good evening everyone, I am so sorry it has been awhile since my last post.  I came down with the flu and as you all know when you are sick you really do not feel like doing to much of anything.  Besides I really would not want to eat anything a sick person baked anyway...lol...  Well enough about the flu I spent way to much of my time and energy on that this past week, on to bigger and better things...


    Today my mom was dying to get out of the house and go for ride to Odd-Lots for a few odds and ends.  My family has been really great to me with my newly found hobby, and acquiring all the baking pans and gadgets I need to become a great baker.  So today I was like a giant kid in  a candy store at Odd-Lots. We bought mini silicone cake pans in a heart, teddy bear and bunt shapes, two 10 inch round silicone pans, cake decorating set, and a bunch of other stuff.  It was great I had a ball 


     So anyway, on tonight I decided to bake Cheesecake Topped Brownie Cake  yum yum yum....  I had to of course like the big kid I am use the round 10 inch silicone cake pan we bought today and the decorating kit.  


Okay so what you will need:


                                               Brownie Cake


         1 cup flour 
         1/2 teaspoon baking powder
         1/4 teaspoon salt
         2 cups sugar 
         3/4 cup cocoa powder
         1 cup butter 
         4 eggs 
         1 tablespoon vanilla




                            1.   Preheat to 350 degrees and grease and flour 10 inch silicone pan.  Mix flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl.  Mix sugar and coca in medium bowl. Set aside.

 2.  Melt butter, stir in cocoa sugar mix. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring until well blended after each.  Add vanilla.  Gradually stir in flour mixture till well mixed.  Spre




 3.   Bake for 35 minutes or until brownie begins to pull away from sides of pan.    In my oven it took about 45 minutes, but my oven has a mind of its own and times are always different in my oven then anyone else.  So check on it after 35 minutes.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Lift from pan.  

                                    Cheesecake Topping


        1 pkg cream cheese (softened)
        1 cup confectioners sugar
        1/4 cup butter (softened)         
        1 teaspoon vanilla




                 In mixing bowl, mix cream cheese and butter until creamy.  Mix in the vanilla then gradually mix in the confectioners sugar.   


          
         

            After the cheesecake topping was put on the brownie cake I added a little bit of chocolate sauce and topped with a cherry.  Finally it was the best past of the night, time to dig in. I have to say brownies are my favorite, they are weakness.  These brownies, OMG, there should really be a law against something being allowed to be this GOOD... Absolutely sinful...


         Well once again I am up way past my bed time and my eyes are winning the war. lol.. I hope you all had a good night! 


          Until tomorrow, stay safe, stay warm and stay happy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nee~Nee's Stuffed Chocolate Cupcake with a Cream Cheese Filling

   Hello all, I hope you all had a nice day today... So tonight I am not being a slacker... I went out earlier today with my father cause we were starting to run low on baking products.  So I picked up a few odds and ends that I needed to get me through the next few days.  While in the baking isle I realized I had been dying to make cupcakes but had not had liners for the pan.  So thats how I came up with today's tasty treat... My son is certainly happy, so that is a plus, chocolate and cream cheese are 2 of his most favorite things lol.. What more could the child ask for....lol... Well I am off to get started on our little baking adventure be back soon with the details and hopefully not disasters but you never know!!!


   Okay so my stuffed cupcakes go like this:


What you will need:


Nee~Nee's Chocolate Cupcakes
11/3 cups flour 
1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt 
3 tablespoons butter (softened)
11/2 cups sugar 
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup milk 


          1.  Preheat to 350 degrees.  Line muffin with cupcake liners. In medium bowl Sift together flour baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt.  Set aside.


          2.  In large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy not liquidy fluffy but kinda puffy.  Add one egg at a time beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla.  Add the flour mixture alternating with the milk beat well..

          3.  Fill cups 3/4 of the way full, bake for 20 minutes maybe longer depending on your oven..

Cream Cheese Filling
1 pkg cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup batter (softened)
1 cup confectioners sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla 


            1.   In a large bowl mix cream cheese and butter until creamy, mix in vanilla, then gradually stir in confectioners sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. 


            2.  Fill pastry bag with a tip to insert cream cheese filling into cupcakes.  


NOTE: If you do not have a pastry bag try using a plastic baggy.




   After I took the cupcakes out of the oven I let them cool for about 10-15 minutes then I inserted the tip of the pastry bag into the top of the cupcake and squeezed until some cream cheese came out the top 

   Well they came out pretty good taste wise I'm still working on presentation lol... The cream cheese filling was amazing and the cake was pretty good, they came out pretty moist.  The only problem that I came across was that I bought Reynolds cupcake liners and I DO NOT recommend them, the paper was ridiculously hard to get off the cakes... Here is one more picture of the best one I decorated..lol... I'm still trying to master that skill....

     Okay, now I am exhausted I think I need a good nights rest, because I have not been sleeping well... 


     Until tomorrow stay warm, safe and the ones you love!!!!!!!!!!