Funfetti Cookie Dough Brownie Layer Cake

Let's talk cake. Let's talk about how I am super intimidated by layer cakes. Let's talk about how I get the courage to brave making one, only to find out I don't have three 8-inch cake pans, I have 1 and two 9-inch pans. Let's talk about the admiration and jealousy I have for people who make beautiful homemade cakes.

I'm talking homemade from scratch cakes, that are fluffy and have whipped creamy frosting. Not fancy cakes with fondant or anything like that. Just cakes you can make from your pantry. Yeah, those cakes.

The original recipe for this cake is a three-layer cake. Mine is a two layer due to my mix-and-match cake pans. If this had been a three-layer cake, I don't know if anyone could eat a piece by themselves. It's ridiculously thick and decadent and full of sugary goodness. It should be required that you enjoy this cake with a glass (or four) of milk. Mine did not come out as pretty as the original recipe, but I'm still new to cake baking. I don't think I've actually made a layer cake. I've made just single layer cakes, which are still great, but don't have the aesthetic appeal layer cakes have. This cake is for celebrating. A big 'ol slice of this cake is going to work tomorrow for a co-worker's birthday. What's a better way to say happy birthday and thanks for being awesome than a nice slice of holy-chocolatey-sugary-happiness? Layers of chocolate brownie, funfetti cookie dough and chocolate ganache sounds like a great birthday gift to me.

Funfetti Cookie Dough Brownie Layer Cake
adapted from Live, Love & Sugar

For the brownies:
1.5 cups vegetable oil
3 cups sugar
3 tsp. vanilla extract
6 eggs
1.5 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

For the cookie dough:
1.5 cups butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1.5 tsp. vanilla extract
2 (15.25 oz) boxes funfetti cake mix
1 and 1/3 cups flour
5-6 tbsp. milk
a small handful of chocolate and white chocolate chips

For the ganache:
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided

Chocolate frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp. milk
sprinkles for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans, by either lining with parchment paper and greasing the sides or using a baker's non-stick spray.
2. For the brownies, mix together the oil, sugar, a vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well until combined.
3. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Divide evenly between cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a couple of crumbs on it.
4. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
5. Make the ganache by placing half of the chocolate chips into a large bowl. Heat half of the heavy cream in the microwave until boiling (about 1 minute) and pour over chocolate. Let sit for 3 minutes, then whisk until smooth and combined.
6. For the cookie dough, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in one box of funfetti cake mix and one and a half cups of mix from the second box. Mix until well combined.
7. Add in one cup of flour and mix. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time until you get a good consistency that is thick, but spreadable.
8. Stir in chocolate chips and extra sprinkles if desired.
9. To assemble the layers, spread 3-4 tablespoons of ganache over the top of one of the brownie cakes. Top with a very thick layer of the cookie dough. Top the cookie dough with another layer of 3-4 tablespoons of ganache. Place second brownie cake on top.
10. Heat the remaining half cup of heavy cream in the microwave until boiling and pour over remaining chocolate chips. Let sit, then whisk. Let it sit for another 3-4 minutes and then pour over the top of the cake spreading out and allowing to drip down the sides.
11. For the frosting, beat the butter and shortening until combined. With the mixer on low, add in the powdered sugar in half-cups at a time. Add in the cocoa and mix until combined. Add the milk and beat until smooth and fluffy. Pipe onto cake as desired and top with sprinkles.

 

Yep, I broke one of the brownie cakes, but it magically healed itself while cooling

Chubby Hubby Cupcakes

Just when things wind down from the wedding and I'm enjoying my days not being a bit of a whirlwind, my cheer teams goes and wins their Emass Championships yesterday and keeps us in the running! This may sound like a complaint, but it's not. I'm so super proud of them and can't wait to keep improving the routine and see what they bring to New England Regionals in two weeks! We now face the battle of finding gym space. With the weather getting colder and winter sports on the horizon, gym space in the schools dwindles, and we get the bottom of the waiting list. This week we have early practices, which is nice to come home and make dinner at 5:30 instead of trying to make it at 4:30 or 8:00. I also get time to bake at night, which I've been trying to get back to.

Since my last post, which was the Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie Cupcakes, I made a few dishes, and if I find some more time, I'll get around to posting the recipes for them. However, these cupcakes are way better than those recipes, so they get the spotlight for this post. This recipe comes from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Annie's Eats. She makes amazing cupcakes (well, amazing everything) and I've used some of her recipes in the past and always had great results. This is a great play off of Chubby Hubby Ice Cream, a Ben & Jerry's favorite. It has a malted vanilla cake filled with chocolate ganache and chopped up milk and dark chocolate covered pretzels, and topped off with a fluffy peanut butter buttercream frosting. I'm not a huge malt fan. I've made some chocolate malt cupcakes before, and they're yummy, but malt is just a flavor I'm done with after a few bites. These cupcakes are great because the peanut butter and chocolate mix in well so the malt isn't overpowering.

Chubby Hubby Cupcakes
 slightly adapted from Annie's Eats

for the cake:
3 cups cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup malted milk powder
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature

for the filling:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup coarsely chopped pretzels (or chocolate covered pretzels)

for the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4.5 cups powdered sugar
pinch of coarse salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. heavy cream

chocolate covered pretzels for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake tins. Mine made 28 cupcakes, so I lined 4 more in a smaller tin.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add in the sugar, about a quarter cup at a time, mixing between each addition. Blend in the malted milk powder. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl, and mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixture on slow speed, add the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
4. Divide the batter between the cupcake liners. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
5. For the ganache, heat the heavy cream until scalding. Pour over the chopped chocolate and let sit for a few minute. Mix together until chocolate is melted and smooth. Mix in the unsalted butter. Let sit and firm up while cupcakes cool.
6. When cupcakes are cool, cut out the centers and fill with ganache. Sprinkle with chopped pretzels.
7. For the frosting, beat together the butter and peanut butter, for 4 minutes until fluffy. Mix in the powdered sugar, in half-cup increments with the mixer on low. Mix in salt. Mix in vanilla and cream until just incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 4 minutes until light and fluffy. Frost cupcakes however you choose.

 

Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie Cupcakes

These cupcakes are legit. The only thing that would make them better would be some homemade butterscotch pudding or custard filling.

And if making them could be a full-time, high-paying job.

I have a semi-annoyed recurring pattern with bananas. I buy them still green, intending to eat them when they start to yellow, and intending to save a few for a recipe. I end up eating zero of them, forgetting I bought them for over a week, and then magically "discover" (if just seeing them in the fruit bowl on the open counter counts as a discovery) them again and then have to figure out a recipe for them within the next day. This happens every couple of months. I've made a few fun banana things in the past:

Kahlua Caramelized Banana S'More Bread

Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie (here's where the idea came from)

Red Velvet Banana Bread

Banana Caramel Cupcakes

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Chocolate Chip Banana Blondie Cake

Peanut Butter Truffle Banana Bread Muffins

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Maybe a little more than a few...

Banana things tend to be pretty sweet, so adding the sweet banana to cupcakes makes them doubly sweet in my opinion. These cupcakes get a nice cool freshness when you have the cold butterscotch pudding inside and FRESH whipped cream on top. I added a tiny hint of vanilla to the cream, and it could actually use a little more, but I like that fresh flavor of plain whipped cream.  This was the first time I got to use my whipped cream dispenser I got last Christmas. At first, when I read the instructions for the dispenser, I got a little nervous. Almost every step has a giant caution symbol next to it since you're using an N2O charger and everything is under pressure. They tell you to never stand directly over the dispenser be careful when taking the top, charger, and decorating tip off, etc. Basically, there's a fear that this thing is going to burst and seriously injure you.

I survived it though, and it's not that scary.


Anyways, back to the recipe. The cake is a great thick banana cake that holds up well around the pudding, but isn't so dense that one bite fills you up. The pudding is just a boxed instant pudding mix. One of these days I'll try to make some homemade pudding (I've made chocolate once), or a custard. This is definitely a keeper recipe.

In case you're not sure how good these are, let me tell you a secret: I ate two of them. For anyone who knows me, I don't eat sweet. I take a bite to make sure it's good, and then give the rest to Dan. I almost never eat a whole cupcake. And I had two (two!) of these.

Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie Cupcakes
adapted from Your Cup of Cake

Banana cake:
4 ripe bananas
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 and 2/3 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup buttermilk

1 box instant butterscotch pudding mix
2 cups cold milk

Fresh whipped cream:
1/2 pint heavy cream or whipping cream
1-2 tsp. vanilla extract (to your liking)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 muffin tins with liners.
2. In a small bowl mash the bananas with the lemon juice.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly in between. Add the vanilla and give another mix.
4. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add half the mixture to the wet mixture and mix on low.
5. Add the buttermilk and mix on low until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined.
6. Add in the banana and mix on low until just combined.
7. Fill liners 3/4 full and bake for 20-24 minutes.
8. Let cool completely.
9. For the pudding, whisk together the pudding mix and cold milk for one minute. Let sit for 5 minutes. You can refrigerate or leave at room temp until cupcakes cool.
10. Cut out the middles of the cooled cakes and fill with the pudding. I put my pudding in a piping bag and piped it in, you can spoon it in as well.
11. For the whipped cream, you can use a dispenser and follow the directions for the dispenser. If you don't have one, in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the cream and vanilla until fluffy peaks form. (You can add some sugar if you want it sweeter as well).

If you don't have a dispenser, make the whipped cream topping right before serving, as it doesn't last or stay fresh as long.

Can't go wrong with $1 liners!

Apple Cinamon Pancake Cupcakes

So happy to be baking again! My night has consisted of baking, preparing a new salad recipe for lunch, and the Bruins, it doesn't get much better than that.

Well, other than my HUSBAND just getting home from class. I really have to get used to calling him that. And I have to get used to my new last name. My students are having quite the tough time with it, all day I got, "Mrs. C...I mean Mrs. R!", Mrs. Ricker, Mrs. Crockter, Mrs. Richer, and "What's your name now?"

I don't exactly need cupcakes in my house right now. I have 3 large Tupperware containers full of leftover mini pastries from the wedding. And to think, I almost made a pie tonight too....maybe tomorrow night...

Having Monday off for the holiday and a professional development day yesterday, which was preceded by a busy, busy wedding weekend, and a busy, busy 3 days off before that, today did not at all register to be a Wednesday to me. I certainly got spoiled from that time off. I'm excited but not prepared that the weekend is a mere two days away.

I decided to leave the bacon out of these cupcakes. I love bacon, but the whole "bacon is the most amazing thing ever and I will put bacon with everything" needs to be placed in a closet and locked up for a little while. I want the focus of these cupcakes to be the apple, not the tiny pieces of bacon that should have been sprinkled on top. It is fall for goodness sake, and what screams fall more than apple?

Pumpkin. Pumpkin screams fall more than apple. BUT, I have a million pumpkin recipes I can bust out at any time. I really liked how the apple was grated for these. Grating them was a breeze with my little grate-top containers from IKEA. Plus, the Fuji apples are nice and soft, the grating took all of 1 minutes. The meringue buttercream is always a great choice, but I do hate that it takes more time than my standard buttercream. The simmering and constant stirring kept me in the warm kitchen, in my already warm house from this weird spike in temperature we're seeing. I haven't made a meringue buttercream in forever, so I sort of forget how well they will be holding up tomorrow. I also didn't have pure maple syrup, and certainly wasn't paying $8.99 for the smallest bottle in the store. I tried it with your standard maple syrup, and I think they came out just fine and perfectly yummy. The apply butter in the middle was a great call and gives it that extra apple it needs. I also almost always use vanilla bean paste instead of extract in my recipes.

Apple Cinnamon Pancake Cupcakes
adapted from Baking a Moment

1.5 cups cake flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
2.5 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
2 cups fresh apple, peeled, cored and grated (about 2 medium apples) (I used Fuji apples)

3/4 cup apple butter

3 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, but cool

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line about 18 muffins slots.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter pieces and mix until slightly crumbly. (I found using my pastry cutter got it done better than my mixer with the beater paddle).
3. Add each egg, one at a time, mixing between each. Add the buttermilk, syrup and vanilla and beat on medium speed until combined.
4. Fold in the grated apple with a spatula.
5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
6. Let cool completely.
7. Place the apple butter in a pastry bag or plastic sandwich bag and snip the corner. Cut out the centers of the cupcakes and squeeze apple butter into each.
8. For the frosting, whisk together the egg whites, sugar and syrup until just combined, in a small bowl that can used as the top of a double boiler. Place the bowl of a small saucepan with simmering water, over medium-low heat. Stir frequently for about 10 minutes, until sugar is dissolved and doesn't feel gritty when you rub it between your fingers.
9. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer, and with the whisk attachment, whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form and the meringue cools completely.
10. Add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating at high speed until it thickens back up and is nice and glossy. If it is too thin to frost with, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. If it curdles, keep whipping it, it will come together.
11. Frost cupcakes.


I tried a smaller tip than I would have liked to use and played around with them just for fun. It's not a way I'd frost again it came out messy and just not one of my best. Didn't change how tasty it was though!

Root Beer Sloppy Joes

I haven't posted in a while, but it's all for a good reason...


I am now, officially, Mrs. Richter!!

That's right! I'm hitched! I tied the knot! I said "I Do"!

Like most people, you're probably wondering why I'm here, posting to my blog, a few days after my wedding. The honeymoon isn't until next month. Just one more fun thing to look forward to!

Now that life is back to normal, with no more planning and last minute details to take care of, I can get back to cooking and baking. OK, well there is still some planning and last minute details to take care of...my cheer team advanced to Regionals in their competition Saturday morning, so there's that to plan for now too. That also cuts into my dinner-making since practice is usually at 6, cutting into prime dinner-making time.

Tonight, I had plenty of time to make dinner, but Dan has class on Wednesdays, so I tend to cook early so he can eat before he goes. I was fine with that since it gave me time to bake later on (look for that recipe soon!) I needed something quick and easy that could be made in under 30 minutes. Sloppy Joes it was. I really liked the sweetness that the root beer gives this recipe. I've had spicier sloppy joes and some that are too tomato-y. This had a nice balance of that tomato base, with some spice and a great sweetness. We liked to eat cheese on our joes, so toasted buns and a slice of cheese completed our quick and early dinner. It was so quick that I almost forgot to take pictures. I had to take a picture of my partially devoured sandwich on its stylish paper plate. Sorry for the horrid photos. Oh, and I also added a pinch of my sweet n' smoky rub that I add to pretty much everything!

Root Beer Sloppy Joes
from My Recipes

1 lb. ground beef
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 cup root beer
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add beef and crumble, cooking until mostly browned.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes until everything is cooked and heated through.
3. Toast some hamburger buns or bulkie rolls and enjoy!

Crab Rangoon Bites

Two weeks ago my little cousin turned 18. So...maybe not so little anymore, but I guess I'll have to deal with that. She had a family barbecue to celebrate yesterday, so I decided to make some appetizers to bring. After taking our cheerleading team pictures and running some errands, I needed something quick enough to make. I decided on these, because they were quick and easy, and I knew most of the family would eat them. I have to apologize before hand for forgetting to take more pictures. I got one at the start, but never took any of them after they had baked.

I thought these came out pretty good. They aren't as good as the filling of an actual crab Rangoon, but that's okay. I think the imitation crab stands out quite a bit, but it's far cheaper than real crab, and I put more in than called for, because in an actual Rangoon there's never enough crab. Check out the link to the original recipe if you're unsure of how to fold these. I forgot to take pictures of the process. Sorry again!

Crab Rangoon Bites
from Krista's Kitchen

2 cans seamless crescent roll dough
6 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used whipped)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 green onions, chopped
1.5 cups crabmeat, chopped
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Roll dough out into a neat rectangle. Cut it into 24 squares.
3. Combine all ingredients. Place a spoonful of mix onto each square. Pull two opposite corners in to meet in the middle and seal.
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, until dough is cooked and browned.

One Pot Chili Mac

Why is it almost 90 degrees out? It's going to be October in 3 days.

I'm behind on posting a few recipes, so I'm going to try and catch up as I make my favorite spaghetti sauce and do far too many loads of laundry. And then, wedding things.

I can't believe I'm under the two week mark. Thirteen days. Where did the last year go?

Friday I decided to make a chili mac that could feed us until today, and I knew I needed to make my sauce again, because I can't seem to go more than three weeks without having it. I may have a problem. The chili mac was good, but I wouldn't call it mac and cheese, like the original posting. When I think of mac and cheese, I think of creamy, cheesy, goodness. This was more like a chop suey type of dish. It was great, but it doesn't deserve the title of mac and cheese.

One Pot Chili Mac
adapted from Damn Delicious

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 onion, diced

1 lb. ground beef

4 cups chicken broth

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

3/4 cup canned white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 tsp. chili powder

1.5 tsp. cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

10 oz. pasta (any kind, I used medium shells)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

 

1. In a dutch oven (or large deep skillet), add the oil, garlic, onions, and ground beef. Brown the beef and crumble until mostly cooked through. Drain.

2. Add the broth, tomatoes, beans, chili powder and cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer.

3. Stir and pasta and bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat; simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13-15 minutes.

4. Stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Top with remaining cup of cheese, cover, and let the cheese melt, about 2 minutes. Serve.