German Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

These brownies won a 3rd place ribbon at the 2012 Tillamook County Fair.  It's actually two different recipes I threw together.  I thought they would taste well together.  The recipes are:  Black Bottom Cupcakes - which Russ brought home from work, and Coconut Pecan Frosting from my sister Lynda.

Black Bottom Cupcakes
1 (8) oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
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1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
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1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 TBSP cider (or regular) vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients until light and fluffy.  Stir in chocolate chips.

In large bowl combine remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Pour into greased 9x13 baking pan.   Pour cream cheese mixture over top of batter - try to keep it evenly dispersed.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until it tests done.  Now....you have 2 choices.  You can either leave your cake this way and call it good - which is very tasty...OR you can add the following recipe - which is what I did for the fair.

Coconut Pecan Icing
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cube margarine or butter
1 1/4 cup coconut
1 1/4 cup chopped nuts
1 TBSP vanilla

Combine all ingredients in large saucepan.  Bring to a boil and boil for 5-6 minutes.  Cool then frost cake.

Applesauce Spice Cake

This recipe received a white third place ribbon at the 2012 Tillamook County Fair.

Applesauce Spice Cake
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
3/4 cup applesauce

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Mix well.  Fill greased 9x13 cake pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cake tests done.  Cool and frost if desired.  I usually leave it unfrosted and the family likes it just fine.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8) oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl cream the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add in vanilla and powdered sugar.  Mix until well combined.

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake

There are no pictures. By the time I remembered I needed to take one....The men folk around here had devoured the entire pan! This is from morgainegeiser my August 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap partner. She hails from Ypsi, Michigan. This tastes a lot like a coffee cake!

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream - (I used homemade yogurt in place - made for a very runny batter - tasted great though!)
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients from the flour to the eggs in a mixing bowl. Pour half the batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan.
Combine the cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar. Pour half over batter in the pan. Add half the chocolate chips. Pour remaining batter on top. Add remaining half of cinnamon sugar and remaining half of chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick check comes out clean. Cool and enjoy!

Applesauce Oatmeal Cake

I've had this recipe in my cookbook for years. I don't know where it came from. It's a great afterschool snack for the kids though. Especially with a cold glass of milk. You can do this either in a bundt pan or a 9x13 cake pan.

Applesauce Oatmeal Cake
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup milk
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3/4 cup applesauce (I like to use my homecanned sauce - store bought will work well too)
1 cup regular oats

Mix all ingredients well in a mixing bowl. Pour batter into a greased and floured bundt pan or 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. If using the bundt pan - cool for 15 minutes then invert onto a plate for serving.

Banana Cake

I don't have a picture to show for this recipe. I made it to take to a church potluck and it was gone lickety split! The recipe comes from a cookbook Russell and I got when we got married. It's called the Farnsworth Family Favorites. It's favorite recipes from my first mission president's family. We love this cookbook.

Banana Cake
1/2 shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk (I used plain yogurt)
1 cup mashed bananas
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Combine all ingredients very well. Pour into greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Let cool and frost with....

Chocolate Frosting
1 cube margarine or butter
5 TBSP baking cocoa
1/2 cup milk
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Melt margarine and cocoa. Add milk and bring to a boil. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Pour over cake. Enjoy!

White Texas Sheet Cake

A few years ago my mom put together a cookbook on my maternal side of the family called Generations of Good Cooks. This is one of the recipes she entered. We really like it and hope you do to.

White Texas Sheet Cake
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

In a large saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil. Remove from the heat; stir in remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour into a greased 15x10x1 inch pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until cake is golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes and frost.

Frosting:
Combine 1/2 cup butter or margarine and 1/4 cup milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp almond OR vanilla extract. Mix well. Add 1 cup chopped walnuts if desired. Spread over warm cake.

*I didn't add nuts this time - I wanted sprinkles.

Chocolate Chip Cake

This recipe comes from my teammate Chef floWer on recipezaar. She comes from Victoria, Australia. She calls her recipe Ultra Choc-Chip cake because she adds chocolate frosting and chocolate zig zags. I am just sticking with the cake part since it stood so well by itself.

Chocolate Chip Cake
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup dark, semi or milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 cake pan. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Bake for about 50 minutes or until cake tests done.

Breakfast Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

This recipe won a red ribbon at the 2012 Tillamook County Fair!  The only change to the below recipe was the handful of fresh blueberries I threw in.  That's it!
Seasoned Cook from Eastern North Carolina had this in her recipe files in our Aussie/NZ recipe swap this month. We had Mom and Dennis over and this was almost gone before I got a picture. It was that good!

Breakfast Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

Combine all ingredients until mixed well. Pour into greased 9x13 baking pan.
Topping:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over coffee cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Carrot Cake

This recipe comes by way of Jen T from New Zealand. She found it in a "Taste" magazine in 2006 courtesy of the "Fat Dog Cafe" in Rotorua, NZ.

Don't mind my feeble attempts to decorate this cake. I didn't feel like messing with frosting so made carrots from gumdrops. I think it's a rather ingenious idea! :)

This is a very moist cake.

Carrot Cake - courtesy of the Fat Dog Cafe

1 cup vegetable oil (you could go 1/2 cup oil 1/2 cup applesauce as well)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs lightly beaten

2 cups grated carrots (this is where those grated freezer carrots come in handy)

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (plain - NOT shelled. )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat oil and sugar until well mixed. Add eggs and carrots. Mix thoroughly. Add in remaining ingredients.

Divide between two 9 inch round cake pans. Don't forget to grease and flour them. I forgot to flour mine and it was a bit tricky getting the cakes out of the pans in one piece.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the cakes spring back after pressing lightly. Don't overcook.

Leave cakes in pans for 10 minutes before turning onto cooling rack.

Icing

This icing was a bit overpowering so next time I will use something different. I changed the porportions as well since I was making a layer cake.

12 oz cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup powdered sugar (I would use more of this next time)

1 tsp grated lemon peel

Mix icing ingredients very well. When cake is cool, fill in the middle and frost the cake.

To make the carrots:

I rolled out orange gumdrops in some granulated sugar until flat. Then I rolled up the gumdrops to shape into a carrot shape. The tops - I cut a green gumdrop in half and used scissors to cut almost all the way through to make "tassles" for the carrots. Very elementary.

German Chocolate Cheesecake

German Chocolate Cheesecake
This recipe was made for Russell for his birthday. He loves German Chocolate Cake and he loves a good cheesecake. So why not combine them? I found a really super yummy recipe by Swan Valley Tammi at recipezaar. I used her cake recipe and my sister Lynda's Coconut Pecan Frosting recipe. It is very similar to the 'zaar recipe.

1 box German chocolate cake mix
2 8 oz each cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Prepare cake batter according to package directions; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar. Beat until smooth. Add eggs and beat just until combined.
Pour half the cake mixture into a greased 9x13 pan. Gently pour cream cheese mixture over batter. Gently spoon remaining batter over top, spreading to edge of pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.

Coconut Pecan/Walnut Frosting
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cubes butter or margarine
1 1/4 cups coconut
1 1/4 cups chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often. Boil for about 8 minutes or until thickened. Cool then frost cake.
Store cake in the refrigerator.

White Cake with Creamy Lemon Filling

On our wedding day - we had this really moist white cake with a creamy lemon filling. I think this recipe comes pretty darn close to what we remembered! Both recipes I came across at recipezaar. The Creamy Lemon Filling we will go over first as it has to cool. At any rate - I wanted to make something reminiscent of our wedding cake for our anniversary on the 22nd July.

Creamy Lemon Filling
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
3 TBSP butter
1 TBSP grated zest of lemon
6 TBSP lemon juice
Mix together the sugar and cornstarch in a 2 quart heavy saucepan. Slowly whisk in the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Continue boiling for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and spoon 1/2 cup of the cornstarch mixture in to the egg yolks, stirring quickly. Quickly whisk the egg yolks back into the cornstarch mixture stirring constantly until well mixed. Return saucepan to stove and cook over medium heat until thickened - about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add butter, lemon juice and zest stirring well. Cool before using.

White Cake
12 TBSP butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 large egg whites
3/4 cup milk (I used buttermilk)
2 tsp vanilla extract
Spray 9x13 pan with vegetable spray and dust with flour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Mix until batter is light and fluffy. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake approximately 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Cool completely.

After cake has cooled - using large serrated knife - slice through cake very carefully. Put bottom part back in pan and add lemon filling. Carefully add top half of cake. Frost with favorite cake frosting. I prefer buttercream frosting myself.