Blueberries for Sal. . . or Bundt Cake!

I made this cake for our leaders' meeting Monday night and had a piece on Tuesday for breakfast.  So good!  The recipe comes from the "City of Suffolk Employees' Cookbook" it was submitted by Angela M. Gomer who apparently works in the City Assessor's office.  Suffolk is a city in Southeastern Virginia close to Norfolk where I spent ten years of my life.  They grow a lot of peanuts but I chose a recipe that used blueberries because I had a pint of them sitting in my fridge!

Blueberry Bundt cake
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
3 c. self-rising flour
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1 pt. blueberries

Grease bundt pan. Pick over berries, wash and drain.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.  Mix baking powder with 2 1/2 cups of flour and stir into creamed mixture.  Dredge berries gently into remaining 1/2 c. flour and fold into batter along with vanilla.  Pour batter into prepared pan and bake between 60 and 70 minutes at 325.  Cool in pan 5 minutes and turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes:  To make it easier to get the berries out of the flour use a slotted spoon or fork so the flour falls through.
I did drizzle it with some sugar glaze I had left over from a different baking project. . .it looked nice but isn't necessary.
I really enjoyed the flavor of the cake it kindof tasted lemony which made me think a few drops of lemon or orange flavoring would be even all that more tasty.
Thanks to Grandma Jeanne for the beautiful cake stand she gave to me the year Fig and I got married.  We miss her!

Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake

My family's origins (after Europe) are rooted in Vermont.  My great grandparent's house is still there and we migrate back in the summertime to see family.  The "Brick House" as we call it is even where Fig and I honeymooned!  Having roots in Vermont we really cherish and uphold their maple syrup as the best in the world which is a bit tricky now living in Michigan that also produces some fine (but not the best:) maple syrup.  In fact that was what our first fight as a married couple was about, whether or not we should buy Vermont maple syrup!  I love maple flavored anything and this recipe was found in the "Incredible Edibles 2011" (the cookbook that was the supplement to the Advance newspaper).  Lisa Kramer submitted it and it was the category winner.  Kudos to her, it's an amazing cheesecake that I made for last night when people were over for games.

Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake
1 1/2 c. crushed graham crackers
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c.melted butter
3 8 oz packages of cream cheese softened
1 c. canned pumpkin
2/3 c. maple sugar (or brown sugar)
1/4c. maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp.vanilla
3 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 Caramel Sauce

Mix graham crackers, sugar and butter; press onto bottom and sides of 9-inch ungreased springform pan.  Bake 8 minutes in preheated 325 degree oven.  Cool completelly.
Beat cream cheese, add pumpkin, sugar, syrup, and vanilla, then fold in eggs. Pour filling into crust.
Bake at 325 degrees for 60-70 minutes.  Cool for 15 minutes, then with knife, loosen crust from pan.
Cool another 30 minutes, remove from pan, cool an hour, then chill in refrigerator for 4-24 hours.
Drizzle Caramel Sauce over top when serving.

Caramel Sauce
1/4 c. whipping cream
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. maple sugar (or brown sugar)
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Bring to boil, all but vanilla 3 minutes, stir in vanilla, cool.

Note: I didn't have whipping cream on hand so I just didn't serve the cheesecake with the topping.  So I can only vouch for the amazingness of the cheesecake but I can imagine it would have been even better with the caramel sauce!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

My 20th birthday I celebrated in Virginia with my family.  I was home from college and Fig came to visit with our friend Naomi.  We had a Barbecue chicken dinner at the picnic table with the family and some neighbors (who brought a red velvet cake for me not knowing my mom had made me an Oreo cheesecake)!  That was the first time I'd ever had red velvet cake and it was great!  When I found this recipe I knew it was the best of both worlds!  I made it for our March Dine and Sign.

I also liked the way the blogger from "eat at allie's" described herself, 

"I am a wifey to one and mommy to three. I do not stamp, scrapbook, or make cards. I am not creative. Cooking and baking, those are my outlets. That is what I'm good at. I am often asked by others for my recipes so I thought that I would start this blog to share some of my favorite foods with family, friends and the rest of the world. Enjoy!"

I could have written this (with the exception of the third child)!   This is how I've been gifted and what I love to do!

Ingredients:

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
1 cup unsalted butter
4-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
 

2 - 8oz blocks cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.
Melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth.
Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and food coloring.

Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.

Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.

Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. 

Drop in dollops onto prepared brownie batter. 

Gently swirl two batters with a butter knife.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set.

A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned. 

Cool in the pan completely before slicing and serving, either at room temperature or chilled.
Enjoy!

Note: Mine were really sticky I may try using parchment paper next time instead of the foil.

Chocolate Walnut Toffee Bars

Pecans, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, walnuts; I'll take them all!  Growing up with two pecan trees in my backyard in Virginia and with my mom's pecan pie a staple in our house I always loved nuts.  As an adult I now keep them in the house all the time for baking purposes or to top salads!  When I bought the bag of walnuts the recipe on the back caught my eye and I decided to try it!  I made these for Post High last week and liked them so much that I ended up making these for the church dinner on Wednesday night. They are simple and really yummy!

Ingredients:
1 c. butter softened
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Heat oven to 350.  With mixer beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until creamy.
Stir in flour salt and 1/2 c. of walnuts.  Spread into lightly buttered 13x9 in pan.
Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
Immediately sprinkle with the chocolate and let stand 5 minutes so it melts.
Spread chocolate over cookie base and sprinkle with remaining walnuts and press lightly.

Makes 24 bars.
This recipe is from the Diamond company