Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake with Orange Glaze

Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake with Orange Glaze

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups peeled and grated carrots*

Dry Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 cup pecans, finely chopped (I use my food processor) 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wet ingredients

4 large eggs 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt (regular or lowfat) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons orange extract

Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz. cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 tablespoons all purpose flour

Orange Cream Cheese Glaze

4 oz. cream cheese, softened 2 tablespoons butter, softened 2 tablespoons orange juice 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon orange extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Optional Decorative Garnishes

roasted pecans, roughly chopped orange zest

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Butter and flour a 10” bundt cake pan (or use nonstick-spray with flour in it). Set aside.**

To make the Cream Cheese Filling, beat the cream cheese and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in remaining Filling Ingredients until smooth. Set Aside.

In a large bowl, mix all of the Dry Ingredients together. In a separate bowl, gently whisk eggs then stir in remaining Wet Ingredients just until combined. Don't overmix.

Stir Wet Ingredients into Dry Ingredients just until moistened, then stir in 2 1/2 cups grated carrots until evenly combined (I use my clean hands to stir in the carrots).

Spoon 3 cups batter into prepared bundt cake pan. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over batter and gently smooth, but do not touch the sides of the pan. Top with remaining batter.

Bake at 350F degrees for 45 minutes, cover with foil then reduce heat to 325 and bake an additional 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the Orange Cream Cheese Glaze, using an electric mixer, cream together all of the Glaze ingredients EXCEPT the powdered sugar on medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth. Add sifted powdered sugar and beat until very smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.

When cake has cooled, drizzle Glaze over cake or individual servings, whisking in additional orange juice/milk if Glaze has become too thick upon standing. Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Notes

*To easily shred carrots, use the grater on your food processor. If you don't have the grater blade, you can also finely chop in your food processor. **When "flouring" my pan, I use cocoa powder instead of flour because the cake is brown. ***Your cream cheese layer may not be as thick as the picture all the way around - I chose the thickest slice smile emoticon

No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust-

- 24 chocolate cream cookies - 1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling-

- 8 oz cream cheese, softened - 1/4 cup butter, softened - 1/4 cup sugar - 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract1 cup semisweet chocolate chips - 8 oz heavy whipping cream

Method:

Crush cookies into crumbs—either in a food processor, or seal in a bag and hit with a rolling pin. Mix cookie crumbs with butter, and press into a pie dish. Refrigerate for 30 min. Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until it forms still peaks when you remove the beaters. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla until there are no lumps. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth, and add to the mixture. Fold in the whipped cream, and spoon into the pie crust. Decorate however you want (we used chocolate syrup and piped whipped cream), and freeze for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Fudge Brownies with Cheesecake swirl.

Fudge Brownies with Cheesecake swirl.

Prepare fudge browny mix per instructions on box. Or use the brownie recipe posted earlier.

Beat 8oz of cream cheese until smooth. Add 1/4 cup sugar and mix again until smooth. Add an egg and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated.

Spread the browny mix in a 9x9 pan. Dollup the cream cheese topping evenly, and swirl with the back of a spoon. Don’t over swirl.

Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes, until cheesecake topping is beginning to turn golden. Enjoy!!

Red Velvet Cheesecake

Red Velvet Cheesecake. 

Ingredients:

CHEESECAKE LAYERS:

2 (8-in.) round disposable aluminum foil cake pans 1 (12-oz.) package white chocolate morsels 5 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

RED VELVET LAYERS:

1 cup butter, softened 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar 6 large eggs 3 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 (8-oz.) container sour cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 (1-oz.) bottles red liquid food coloring 3 (8-in.) round disposable aluminum foil cake pans White Chocolate Frosting: 2 (4-oz.) white chocolate baking bars, chopped 1/2 cup boiling water 1 cup butter, softened 1 (32-oz.) package powdered sugar, sifted 1/8 teaspoon table salt

Method:

1. Make the Cheesecake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and then tightly wrap the outside with heavy duty foil. (I find that double-wrapping helps prevent leaks in a water bath.) Put a pot of water (or a tea kettle) on to boil.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute or so after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract, and beat until completely incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into the springform pan; place the springform pan into a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and pour the boiling water into the larger pan until the water comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan.

4. Bake until the cheesecake edges are set but the middle still jiggles a bit, about 45 to 55 minutes. Turn the oven off, but leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door closed for 1 hour. At this point, remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place the springform pan on a cooling rack to cool to room temperature. Place the cheesecake in the refrigerator until well-chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

5. Make the Red Velvet Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with a parchment round, butter the parchment paper, and then flour the pans.

6. On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and add the eggs one at a time, mixing for about a minute after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

7. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter and mix on medium speed until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

8. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining buttermilk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.

9. Again, reduce the mixer speed to low and add the salt, baking soda and vinegar. Turn to high and beat for another couple of minutes until completely combined and smooth.

10. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a thin knife or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove cakes from the pans and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely.

11. Make the Frosting (basic cream cheese frosting): Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese on high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip for a few minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.

12. Assemble the Cheesecake: If needed, level the tops of the red velvet cake layers with a serrated knife or cake leveler so that the tops are level and not domed. Next, slice the cheesecake in half horizontally to create two layers. Place one layer of the red velvet cake on your serving plate. Spread a very thin layer of the cream cheese frosting over it (it creates a type of glue so that the layers stick together and don't slide around). Top that with one layer of the cheesecake, and again top with a very thin layer of frosting. Repeat, adding the second red velvet layer, and then placing the second cheesecake layer on top, with a layer of frosting between them. Using the remaining frosting, cover the cake in frosting and decorate as desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve, and refrigerate any leftovers.

ENJOY!!

Baked Cheesecake Recipe

Baked Cheesecake Recipe:

INGREDIENTS FOR THE BASE:

75g/3oz digestive biscuits

40g/1½oz butter

25g/1oz sugar

FOR THE FILLING:

50g/2oz butter, softened

175g/6oz caster sugar

450g/1lb cream cheese (full fat soft cheese)

25g/1oz plain flour
1 lemon, juice and finely grated rind
3 eggs, separated
150ml/5fl oz double cream, lightly whipped

FOR THE TOPPING:

150ml/5fl oz double cream, whipped

450g/1lb mixed fruits (blueberries, raspberries, red currants) or bag of frozen fruits.
a little icing sugar (optional)

Method: 

 Lightly grease a 23cm/9inch loose-bottomed round cake tin. Cut a strip of non-stick baking parchment to fit around the sides of the tin, fold the bottom edge of the strip up by about 2.5cm/1inch creasing it firmly, then open out the fold and cut slanting lines into this narrow strip at intervals. Fit this into the greased tin with the snipped edge in the base of the tin and put a circle of non-stick baking parchment on top. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Put the digestive biscuits into a polythene bag and crush the biscuits with a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a medium pan; add the crushed biscuits and sugar. Mix well, spread over the base of the tin and press firmly with the back of a metal spoon. Leave in a cool place to set whilst mixing the cheesecake. For the cheesecake, measure the butter, sugar, cheese, flour, lemon rind and juice and egg yolks into a large bowl and beat well until smooth. Fold the lightly whipped double cream into the mixture using a plastic spatula or large metal spoon. Whisk the egg whites with a hand held electric mixer until stiff but not dry and fold into the mixture. Pour on to the biscuit base and gently level the surface with a plastic spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1/1¼ hours or until set. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for a further one hour to cool. Run a small palette knife around the edge of the tin to loosen the cheesecake then push the base up through the cake tin. Remove the side paper and put the cheesecake on to a serving plate. Spread the lightly whipped cream in the dip of the cheesecake and scatter the fruits haphazardly on top. Lightly dust with icing sugar if wished

Enjoy!